Chapter Seven: Kill Switch
Petals in the Ash
Allison Illuminated
Chapter Publish Date: 6/29/20
[TW] Death, Gore
Cinder sat alone in the cafeteria and blearily munched on her Cookie Crunch, her mind blank, which came as a comfort in its own way, too tired to feel much of anything. She'd been up late at night – again – fruitlessly trying to make her failing endeavors work.
All of her plans were failing. Her efforts to take on Ruby's fighting style were floundering; Crescent Rose remained as difficult and frustrating to use as ever, and Cinder couldn't wrap her head around how to use such an oversized, niche, deadly weapon. How a fifteen-year-old managed, she had no clue. Her attempts to unseat Weiss' credibility were no better. She'd humiliated Schnee; she'd upstaged her; she'd proved her combat superiority.
Her team still followed Schnee without question!
It was infuriating.
The fact that Cinder was forced to live with Weiss made the whole situation that much harder to bear. Cinder had to watch Weiss exit the shower with her wet hair thrown over a towel in the morning and fall asleep in her ugly nightgown every night. She had to follow the Schnee to classes as she pranced around in her fancy skirt and heels and tiara and listen to her when they studied, her annoying sotto voice that Cinder had the misfortune of knowing could sing well enough for Weiss to hold concerts. Her partner was a literal primadonna. Ugh.
Weiss would look at Cinder sometimes and there was something Cinder had trouble deciphering – not because she couldn't read Weiss; she could, and her skill for reading people never failed; no, Cinder couldn't decipher her gaze because the sheer volume of conflicted emotion directed at her was overwhelming.
There was hatred and longing and sadness and anger and hope and depression. For a girl nicknamed the 'Ice Queen,' Weiss seemed to feel more than the other kids around Cinder.
Cinder began to fear her seduction ploy may have worked. The thought sent a strange shiver up her back, pooling in her stomach, and she squirmed at the table, gripping her spoon harder. You're a traitor, Rose, she hissed to herself, wishing she could melt the utensil in her hand. Your body is my enemy.
Stupid puberty. Wasn't once enough?
"Ruby!"
Cinder gagged as Yang threw an arm around her neck, choking on a mouthful of cereal. She coughed, shoving her way out of the surprise hug, whipping around to glare daggers at Yang. Yang grinned back unrepentant, putting a hand on her hip. "Yang," Cinder hissed, suppressing a shriek of rage. Why was her fake sister so infuriating? If she's capable of giving a good hug, why does she have to strangle me?
"Hey, sis," Yang beamed, grinning a bit too widely. She's nervous. "What a great morning, huh? I really love the… sun! Yeah, the sun!"
Cinder sighed. She put her spoon down. "What do you want."
Suddenly, Yang was in her face, giving Cinder her best pleading expression. "Be my wingman," she said, clutching her hand. "Please, Ruby, please. I swear I'll make it up to you."
Hmm, a favor from Yang. Could be useful. Putting on a show of rolling her eyes, Cinder got to her feet. "Fine," she said. "I'll go help you pick up guys."
Out of nowhere, Yang burst out laughing, loud enough to attract the attention of people all around them; she laughed for a solid thirty seconds, nearly coming to tears, while Cinder stared at her like she'd been possessed. What did I say?
When she calmed down, Yang wiped a tear from her eye. "Never change, Ruby," she wheezed.
Cinder chased after her 'sister' as she walked away. "What did I say?" she demanded, putting as much force behind it as possible. "Tell me!"
Yang, of course, didn't tell her, which Cinder noted on her mental list of 'Reasons Why I Hate Being Ruby Rose.' She had no authority! I bet this is all Ozpin's fault, she mused darkly, trailing Yang as they headed toward another table. He knew something when he confronted me the other day. Cinder hated being toyed with.
They approached Team JNBR. Ren and Nora were off in their own world, Nora talking Ren's ear off about their training, and Blake and Jaune had a conversation going. It was strange – Cinder knew they hadn't been friends in her past, but here they were now, chatting away like old chums. Food for thought. In some way, it proved a theory Cinder had long held: all relationships were matters of convenience and circumstance. There was no 'fate' that had kept Pyrrha on Team JNPR – no more than fate had brought Cinder to Beacon or made Ruby blast her into the past. All destiny was actionable.
Yang walked up to Jaune and Blake and grinned at Blake. "Hey, Blake!" she said, injecting a raunchy attempt to be suave into her tone. "How's it going?"
Blake looked up at Yang and raised an eyebrow. "I'm alright," she said. "You're Yang, right?"
"Yup!" Yang jerked a thumb at herself, winking. "That's me."
Cinder resisted the urge to facepalm. Blake, clearly, was doing the same, although a smile played at the corner of her lips. She's awful.
Yang cleared her throat. "I like your… shirt!" she exclaimed. "It goes great with your… bow!"
"Thank you," Blake said, giving Yang a little smile. "I like your shirt too."
I can't watch this, Cinder thought as Yang beamed like she'd won the lottery, baring her chest, too awkward to come up with a witty response. She didn't have the time to teach lesbians how to flirt properly. Neither Blake nor Jaune ("Hey, I like your shirts too!") had noticed her yet, and Cinder decided it was time to make her presence know.
Careful not to let Yang see, Cinder stepped up behind her sister and flared her aura, letting the red whip to life around her body. Both Jaune and Blake went deathly pale, staring at Cinder in abject fear, and Cinder gave them a sweet smile. If you hurt Yang because she's an idiot, I will kill you. For Ruby's sake. She didn't care about Yang, obviously.
Blake gulped.
"Oh, Jaune," Cinder said, her tone dripping with cloying venom. "Didn't we have to talk about that thing? Right now? Over there?"
"But I haven't finished my banana!" Jaune protested.
Rolling her eyes, Cinder activated her semblance and forcibly grabbed Jaune, yanking him away from Blake and Yang at his speeds. When they reappeared by the wall, Cinder forced Jaune back against the stone, smirking at the fear in his eyes. She tapped his jaw. "My sister is busy fulfilling her hormonal desires," Cinder growled, using one of her most intimidating tones. "You'll stay out of her way and you'll help your little friend there figure out what's good for her, do you understand me?"
"Y-y-yes!" Jaune yelped. "Please don't hurt me."
Cinder released Jaune, knowing he would get the message, and let him run away. Satisfaction filled her chest. At least she could still use intimidation – that was a relief. And Yang had never specified how she should be a wingman.
"Lovely. So now we're bullying our classmates," came the voice of the last person Cinder wanted to see.
Weiss leaned against the stone wall behind Cinder, her arms crossed, giving Cinder an unimpressed look. She pushed off and walked toward Cinder. Cinder shrugged. She didn't feel the need to lie to Weiss – her partner and nemesis was perfectly aware of her darker intentions, mostly. "He was getting in Yang's way," she said. "Didn't get the memo. I gave him a suggestion and a push in the right direction."
"You're disgusting," Weiss sneered, coming to stand next to Cinder. They stood together at the edge of the cafeteria, watching Yang make an absurd gesture and Blake laughing. "Is she trying to flirt again?"
"Again?"
"She's been at it all week. Clearly she sees something in Blake," Weiss said.
Cinder boggled. Had the time travel nerfed her ability to clock attraction? "She asked me to be her wingman," she grumbled. "I got Jaune out of the way. She could at least pretend to be a better flirt."
"I know," Weiss groaned. "She's awful. Do you know she winks at me every time I get out of the shower? She does it with everyone! But the one time she finds a girl she actually likes, she can't even piece together a full sentence."
Cinder and Weiss shared a look, Weiss rolling her eyes. Then they both froze.
Was I having a civil conversation with Schnee? And why the fuck are we standing together?
Quickly, Cinder walked away, her cheeks hot with embarrassment. What was wrong with her today? Had she gone mad? Clearly she'd knocked something loose training last night, because she refused to stand for some twisted camaraderie with the girl she'd sworn to destroy.
Plans needed to be moved up. Ozpin was on Cinder's tail, and she was slipping. It was time for Cinder to take charge.
If her teammates wouldn't give Cinder authority, Cinder would take it.
"Alright, everyone! Get up! We're wasting time!"
"Hngh?" Grumbling, Yang got up from her bed, where she was napping. Pyrrha looked up from a book, and Weiss, who was doing nothing in particular, froze and glared at Cinder. Yang tilted her head. "What're you talking about, Ruby?"
Cinder gave her team a glare, pointing at the table. "We've done nothing all morning. We have a test on Wednesday, and I don't intend to fail, so we're going to study. Together. Now. Out of bed, come on!"
Weiss spluttered an incomprehensible protest, but Yang and Pyrrha were already moving – grumbling, but going to the table at Cinder's command. Cinder gave Weiss a pointed look. Throwing her hands in the air, Weiss followed the rest of her team, earning a catlike grin from Cinder. Works like a charm.
Settling down, Cinder spread out her study material and directed Yang to the page; Weiss couldn't hold in her protest any longer. "Why are you running this?" she asked. "You didn't even take the last two years of history at Signal!"
"Ah, ah, ah." Cinder held up a languid finger. "I graduated two years early."
"On combat merit!"
"On skill. So, Weiss, I'm actually overqualified to lead the study group! And I've already done the homework. So I think it's perfectly reasonable that I lead."
In reality, Cinder knew far more about the true history of Remnant than these children ever will, had already successfully graduated college, and had over a decade of Salem's tutelage under her belt. She could do these basic tests with her eyes closed. She'd been busily tanking tests she could have easily aced in order to keep Ozpin from picking up on a sharp, inexplicable jump in her knowledge.
But Little Miss Schnee didn't need to know that.
Weiss threw up her hands in defeat and grabbed her book. Cinder smiled, knowing she'd won, turning the textbook over in her hands, and began to 'teach' herself and her team history.
Easy.
"Alright, group combat! We only need to do this when we're outclassed, right? Any one of us could probably take down a lot of Grimm, but if we're way outnumbered or outclassed, we need to be smart! So, Pyrrha, you're our frontline because you're the strongest. Weiss and Yang, you guys are strikers because you're mobile and have range. I'm point, since I have coverage."
Cinder hefted Crescent Rose, impressing how much coverage she had with the six-foot-long blade, even as doubts about her skill played in the back of her mind. She'd easily fallen back on her commander persona, barking orders, moving her teammates in the formation in which they'd be most effective.
The practice went well.
On the arena floor, Pyrrha was an absolute monster, and it was hard to see how she could lose to anything short of overwhelming force, like Penny, or Cinder herself. Yang was… strong but stupid, too focused on her opponent, too hot-headed, too easy to provoke. And Weiss was bewildering. On one hand, she was an awful fighter, dependent on by-the-book footwork and dust, clearly following basic drills and protocols that had been beaten into her head years ago. On the other hand, when she cut loose, she was a unit. In the Emerald Forest, Weiss had all but carried Cinder out, single-handedly holding off an entire pack of Beowulves. She could be fierce and deadly but she wasn't and it made no sense to Cinder. Also, wasn't the Schnee semblance supposed to be summons? Why did Weiss use glyphs but not summons? It was illogical!
Argh! Cinder wanted to set Weiss on fire. Why did everything the heiress did have to be so infuriatingly confusing?
Cinder glared at Weiss. Weiss glared back. They both were panting from the exertion of combat drills, equally sweaty, but Cinder knew that with her semblance – Ruby's; why did she keep forgetting it wasn't hers? – she could get the first shower.
When they had a moment where Pyrrha and Yang weren't paying attention, Weiss stalked up to Cinder and got in her face. "I hope you're having fun playing the leader," she hissed.
"Oh," Cinder said loftily. "I am."
When the knock came at the door, Blake looked up in interest, placing her book against her chest. She was alone in her dorm room; everyone else was out and about. "Hello? Come in."
The door slid open, and Blake's ears perked up when she saw Yang. She smiled at Yang, who leaned against the door nervously, and motioned for her to come in. Yang slipped over and sat down. "Hey, Blake," she said. "Mind if I drop by?"
"Not at all," Blake said. "You're alone? No sister?" Please say Ruby isn't here, please say Ruby isn't here…
"Nope. Just me." Yang gave her a sheepish smile.
Thank the gods.
Setting her book down, Blake leaned back against the headboard of her bed. She gave Yang an evaluative look. She is really hot. The long blonde hair was gorgeous, and Yang had assets and she knew it. Blake could admire her easy confidence and sunny outlook. Yang's intentions were clear enough – Blake was unsure about her end, about jumping into something new so soon after she'd left Adam. If not because she'd only recently discovered she was gay, a realization that had made getting away from the Fang all that much more necessary, then because a relationship would make Yang a target.
Still, Blake wasn't turning her away.
I've never been with a girl before, Blake thought with a hot feeling in her chest. I- I do want to know what it's like. And she's the one who's expressing interest in me.
"Like what you see?" Yang asked. Yang stretched luxuriously over Jaune's bed, kicking a boot up on Jaune's baby blue covers without any regard for his clean sheets. Blake hid a smile. So cool.
"Take out a pair of Aviators and it'll almost make up for the fact that you're getting mud on my partner's sheets."
"Sorry, sweetheart, I left them in my motorcycle."
"You have a motorcycle?" Blake asked, impressed.
Yang gave her a sly grin. "Wanna take a ride sometime? I keep it in our garage at home on Patch, but I could bring it into the city for a day."
"Moving fast, huh?" Smirking when Yang's expression turned alarmed, Blake raised placating hands, forcing her ears to stay still and her eyes to stay put. "You weren't half as smooth earlier. Don't like putting on the moves when you've got your terrifying little sister around? Also, sweetheart?"
Drooping, the swagger bleeding out of her posture, Yang slumped back against Jaune's pillow. "Was it that obvious? I thought I had gotten the Yang of it." Blake choked out a laugh. Yang looked over with a much more casual, sheepish expression. "And Rubes- She isn't terrifying. More like, uh, cute? Yeah. Like an overenthusiastic puppy with a weapons obsession. It's endearing, when she isn't trying to light everything on fire. Or in her new petal form; that's pretty scary, I won't lie. But she's just Ruby, y'know? My sis. I love her."
Blake considered it. Just Ruby, huh? I suppose I don't know her all that well… But she knows my secret! Somehow! "We'll see," she said, a little dubious. "I mean, if we'll be seeing more of each other…"
"Will we?" Yang asked, perking up.
"You did offer me a motorcycle ride."
"It's a date, then."
Some of her fear subsiding, Blake nodded, a surprisingly wide smile crossing her face – she blushed, shyly meeting Yang's eyes. Academy is a time to be brave and experiment, right? Yang's lilac eyes were full of hope and excitement, which made Blake's blush deepen and her ears curl, hopefully hidden by her bow. "Yeah," she said. "Sounds like fun."
Yang pumped a fist, whispering yes, and Blake giggled. "Wanna hang out some more now, then?" Yang asked. "Nothing serious, just getting to know each other?"
"Sure," Blake agreed. "I've got nothing planned, and Jaune's off with the Cardin asshole again, so we should have the dorm all to ourselves. Ren and Nora are out in the city today, I think."
Yang raised an eyebrow. "Jaune and Cardin? What're they doing together? Seems like a strange friendship, if you ask me. Jaune's always seemed like more of the… dopey type, to me. Are they, like training partners, or do they just like each other?"
Laughing again, Blake shrugged, swinging her legs off the side of her bed to face Yang. "I'm not so sure they're really friends," she admitted. "I hate Cardin, he's a racist asshole. But I know Jaune isn't racist, and I'm fairly sure that there's some kind of foul play involved. I don't know. Maybe if I was a better friend, I would interfere and make sure they're not, I don't know, extorting Jaune or something, but I guess I am a little upset that he'd choose to spend time with Cardin over me. He's my best friend, though. He'll come around, or he'll ask me for help, and I'll have some… choice words for Cardin." She held up a fist, letting Yang know exactly what that meant.
"I'd probably go right in and beat the crap out of Cardin for messing with Jaune," Yang admitted. "Or beat the crap out of Jaune for being an idiot. I hate waiting and seeing."
"Yeah, I get that. I suppose… It's not really my fight, you know? I trust Jaune enough to let him fight his own battles."
"Fair enough. You really hate racists, huh?" Yang said. "Got a faunus friend? A cousin? A guy down the street?"
Blake gave Yang a catty smile. "Something like that. You could say I have something of a vendetta."
"Neat," Yang said, and that was that. Blake's smile grew, as did the warm feeling. She didn't know what it was about Yang that was so appealing, but she knew that she had made the right choice already, making her leap of faith.
They talked about nothing and everything for the next hour or two. But the time that Yang departed, Yang had migrated off Jaune's bed to Blake's. Blake and Yang sat side-by-side, leaning against Blake's pillow, shoulder to shoulder, their hands close enough that their fingers could brush each other. Not intimacy quite yet, but companionship. Comfort.
Yang swung her legs off the bed and got to her feet, and Blake found she missed her presence at her side. A rosy blush had settled on Yang's cheeks, and Yang grinned at her. "This was nice," she said. "I wouldn't mind doing this all the time. Can I give you a hug?"
Blake nodded. They embraced, then broke apart. "See you later, Yang," she said softly, meeting Yang's eyes.
"Yeah," Yang agreed. "I'll be around."
"I can't believe it worked," Cinder grumbled, crossing her arms and shooting Yang an annoyed glace. "You're never going to shut up about this, are you?"
"Aw, somebody's jealous," Yang cooed. She grabbed Cinder in a tight hug, much to Cinder's absolute displeasure, and gave Cinder an adoring look. Cinder wriggled out of her sister's grasp, her disgust slightly tempered by Yang's apparent happiness. She glowered at Yang, who wasn't affected.
"I am not jealous of you having a girlfriend. Why the hell would I have helped you pick Blake up if I hadn't wanted to help you? I'm just confused how anyone would fall for your terrible flirting."
Yang's wide grin grew more devious. "Oh, you are jealous. You're jealous that you can't pick up girls as well as I can."
"Yang!" Cinder protested.
"So? Who's the lucky person?" Yang asked. "Pyrrha?"
"No."
"Jaune?"
"Don't make me laugh."
"Oh, I know. It's Weiss, isn't it?"
Weiss- Cinder's mind went blank at the mere prospect that she might do something as disgusting and absurd as date the Schnee. Flushing in horror, she shot Yang her darkest, most furious look, forgetting to pretend she was Ruby for a moment, and a noise between a choke and a hiss escaped her lips. Yang had the audacity to give her an adoring look. "No," Cinder hissed. "I do not like Weiss. Don't you dare-"
"Sounds like someone has a crush," Yang sang, loud enough to carry across the airship.
Team PWYR and the entire first year had packed into an airship bound for Forever Fall for a field trip led by Glynda, a forest notorious for Grimm. From Cinder's memories, she knew the trip would involve tree sap and Grimm; then again, in her past, Yang and Blake had been partners, not dating. Just how much had Cinder changed the past? She didn't know, which scared her.
She also didn't want an existential crisis today, so she avoided the thought.
"Who has a crush?" Blake cut through the crowd and came to Yang's side. When Blake caught sight of Cinder, she stiffened, but then her eyes flickered to Yang and back to Cinder, and she relaxed. "Hey Yang. Hi… Ruby."
Cinder leveled her venomous glare at Blake, who flinched. Don't think dating Yang will protect you, Kitty. "Someone is insinuating that I have illicit feelings toward a certain teammate of mine who I happen to despise," she growled.
"She definitely does," Yang told Blake, grinning. "I mean, look at what a rise it got out of her. She's totally got a crush."
"I do not!" Cinder cried.
Blake laughed, subtly leaning into Yang's side. They made a good match, Cinder thought, in between hating the both of them. "You guys are cute," she said, grinning. Blake's eyes slid to Cinder, and a cunning edge that promised revenge entered. "I can see what Yang was talking about. You're adorable."
Yang snorted, and Cinder squawked. "I am not adorable," she half-snapped, half-shouted. "I'm terrifying.
The expression Yang gave her was deeper than affection – it was a simple love, warmth, that Cinder was unable to defend against, forcing some of her outrage to dissipate. "That's my little sis," Yang said, smiling at Cinder. "It's okay, Rubes. You can be adorable and terrifying. I'm sure Weiss will come around eventually."
Cinder was about to lash out again, but Blake laughed and Yang turned the same look she'd given her to Blake, albeit less intense, and Cinder bit her tongue. She… didn't want to break Yang's illusions, or ruin the relationship she'd somehow helped create. Cinder could be satisfied because Yang was happy. She wanted to see Yang joyful, because- because Yang loved her. And because Yang was her sister. Ruby's sister. Her sister. Because Cinder was Ruby, and Ruby was dead and so was Cinder.
Exhaling, Cinder tried to let go of all her anger, leaving only a resigned, strange happiness behind that she had rarely, if ever, experienced. It felt strange and wrong. Almost like it wasn't hers, but it was hers, or if it was hers, it was like no happiness she had ever felt before. It wasn't the joy of watching the flesh of a bastard who'd been foolish enough to lay hand on her melt off of his bones, slowly curdling his blood and blackening his skull. It wasn't the rush of power that came with using magic. It wasn't the happiness of a plan gone right. Or was that all satisfaction? This felt different.
She didn't understand it. It scared her. Not just because Cinder had never felt such a happiness before, not in all her years of existence.
No. Cinder was scared because this feeling had too much of Ruby and not enough of herself.
And if she was feeling it, what did that say about her? What was she becoming? How much had she compromised herself in the name of Ruby Rose? Cinder had sacrificed so much to keep up the charade – had she crossed some invisible line in the sand between a performance and an identity? She couldn't kill. She couldn't fight. She couldn't keep her cool. She cried. She cared. She was happy. She wasn't Cinder Fall. I'm not Cinder Fall. I'm not Ruby Rose. Who am I? Is this just an enormous psychotic break? Is Salem torturing me? I want it to go away.
Make it go away.
Make it GO AWAY.
Her panic was silent and intense. Neither Blake nor Yang noticed Cinder slip away, breathing hard, and find a place against the airship wall where nobody could see her. Paradoxically, the happiness in her chest, the vile, corrosive emotion, burned bright, like it wasn't hers- like it wasn't hers. Cinder fell to one knee, hissing, wishing for all the world she had her maiden's powers. She needed control. She needed to make something burn.
Stop doing this to me.
She's our sister.
I hate you.
She's our sister.
Why are you making me feel this?
She loves you. I love you.
Cinder bit back a scream, her eyes burning, and grabbed at her hair with violent hands.
She almost wished somebody would come and pull her out of her panic. She yearned for somebody to take the anguish away, to relieve her of the violence in her head. But nobody did. Paradoxically, the isolation was what allowed Cinder to regain her sense of self. She was alone. She had always been alone. That had always been the root of her strength.
"We've arrived in Forever Fall! All students, please exit the aircraft and prepare for instruction!"
Sure enough, just like Cinder remembered, they were collecting sap from the maple trees, a thinly disguised team building and Grimm surveillance exercise. The jars, luckily enough, had metal lids, so at her suggestion, Pyrrha carried all of them with her semblance, floating them behind her as they trod through the woods, searching for the right trees.
Cinder was in a foul mood; nervous breakdowns tended to do that to you. Even worse was the faint conversation between Weiss and Yang behind her.
"She is undermining my leadership and I am sick of it," Weiss snapped, her shrill voice cutting through the trees. "She's your sister, Yang, tell her to stop. I'm done playing games with her."
"She's not doing any harm," Yang responded in a far more serious tone than Cinder liked. Why did Yang have to be taking Weiss seriously? "Really. Ruby… She just needs to feel control, okay? Letting her call shots is an easy way to do that, and it makes her happy. Pyrrha and I've talked about it already, and we agreed that we don't mind letting her take charge, you know?"
"I have a problem with it!" Weiss exclaimed. "This is my team. I'm the leader, but you three never give me a chance to lead. Does my opinion not matter at all?"
"Of course it does. We know that. And in a real situation, when it really counts, I trust your authority, Weiss. You're my leader," Yang said. "I think you're thinking about it the wrong way, if all you think it is is how we see you, right? You're our glue. Ruby doesn't realize, even, but you're the only one who can keep her under control – I love her, but she's going through a tough time. You know that. Is this about what your father-"
Yang's voice dropped, and she and Weiss talked in hushed tones. Tensing in frustration, Cinder slowed her pace until she came back into earshot. Yang was talking again.
"...always been like this. She's only fifteen. Getting thrown into Beacon and everything's only made her control issues worse, I think. I'm actually really glad we ended up on the same team; I'm worried what would have happened if we weren't."
"She wouldn't want you to play advocate for her," Weiss muttered. "You know that."
"I know. But I'm her sister," Yang said in a simple tone. "I'm in her corner, even if she doesn't want me there. Just like you're our leader, and you will be no matter what. We all care about you, Weiss. Even Ruby. Don't let anything that idiot or Ruby says to you get to you, you hear me, Weiss?"
"Thank you. I still want you to show it more."
"We will," Yang said. "Promise."
Cinder made a disgusted noise and sped up, not wanting to hear another word Yang or Weiss had to say. In my corner. Bullshit. Love is bullshit.
"They were talking about you, weren't they?"
Leveling her glare on Pyrrha, Cinder growled. Pyrrha, as always, wore a perfectly naive expression, striding through the woods like she owned them, barely aware of the way she made the jars orbit behind her in hypnotic circles, a casual display of her power and finesse. "I hate when people talk behind my back," she snapped. "And you're no better, since Yang said you and her have been making agreements about me."
Pyrrha looked ashamed. "I'm sorry," she said. "But you know you're our friend, right? Even Weiss. If something's bothering you, you can talk about it to us."
Cinder barked out a laugh. Yeah, sure, Pyrrha, I'll tell you all about how I murdered you for power. "You wouldn't understand."
"I'm sorry."
"Stop apologizing."
"I'm- I mean, yes, Ruby. Of course." Pyrrha hastily changed tacts, offering Cinder a levitating jar. "Would you like to take your frustrations out by collecting some sap?"
"You talk like a therapist," Cinder muttered, snatching the jar.
Pyrrha laughed, scratching the back of her head. "I may have taken a class in conflict de-escalation a few years ago," she said. "I suppose dealing with fans and challengers all the time meant I had to. I want to use my powers for good, after all, and there's the saying, you know, a semblance is a poor man's law, a virtue for the just. I think I've always hated fighting, in a way."
"That's a good one. Pyrrha Nikos hates fighting."
Pyrrha gave Cinder a sad smile that hit harder than it should have in her vulnerable emotional state. "Yes, I suppose it is."
Cinder couldn't deal with thinking about the lump in her throat, so she clutched her jar and turned away, heading for the nearest sap tree.
They got the sap into the jars quickly and efficiently. The thick viscous purple liquid filled Cinder's jar with goo, and her hands ended up sticky in spite of her best efforts to keep them away from the sap. Disgusting. She wiped her hand on her combat skirt, brushing Crescent Rose, and sighed, screwing the lid back on tight. Great. What an absolute waste of time-
A growl came from the woods and she snapped to sharp attention.
Or not.
"We've got Grimm!" she shouted, speeding toward where Weiss, Yang, and Pyrrha were, her jar tucked under her arm. "We've got-"
The rest of her team were surrounded by a ring of Beowulves, their red eyes gleaming in the daylight, an Alpha pawing at the ground in the center of the pack. Behind Cinder, more Beowulves came to fill the gap. They were surrounded.
Her heatbeat quickened. Salem. Salem's found me. We have to act.
"Quickly. We need to-"
"Pyrrha, you're on the Alpha," Weiss commanded, pointing an authoratative finger at the biggest Grimm. Pyrrha nodded. Weiss held herself with an imposing strength she hadn't minutes earlier, chin lifted, Myrtenaster drawn, her aura flickering round her body. "Yang, you and I are striking. Ruby, point!"
Cinder drew Crescent Rose, her hands shaking, her mind spinning. She spiraled.
Things weren't supposed to go this way.
She was Cinder Fall. She was the leader. The planner. The one in charge. Weiss was stealing her plan. Yang and Pyrrha were following Weiss, as if all of Cinder's efforts, her manipulations, her most desperate plans, had been for nothing. Weiss had somehow found a power Cinder no longer possessed and in that moment, Cinder could see Weiss as the one respected, the one others cared about, and herself as nothing but the vile, unpleasant teammate who was only tolerated, who didn't fit, even if the others didn't know why. Without her power, Cinder was nothing. Worse than nothing. She was despicable. Worthless. Scum.
The Beowulves rushed in to attack, and Cinder was taken off guard.
"Ruby, I said point!" Weiss shrieked, but Cinder was having trouble breathing and her scythe movements were sloppy and she reached for her maiden powers and they weren't there and she had to dodge a Beowulf and bash another's head in and a claw caught her aura and Weiss was there shooting a wall of ice dust and staring at her.
Cinder panted, wincing as a line of blood trickled down her arm.
"What is wrong with you?" Weiss exclaimed. "I said point. This is your plan. I'll take point – you go do striker and just… take out any of them you can and don't get killed!"
"I-"
"You're a child," Weiss hissed, getting in Ruby's personal space as Beowulves tore down the ice wall. "You're not ready for the battlefield. You freeze up every time. Now are you a huntress or not? Go!"
Cinder vibrated in anger. Months of rage spilled out of her chest and she shrieked in anger, hefting Crescent Rose, and moved.
Her body dissolving into petals, Crescent Rose a deadly arc of death, Cinder shot through the Beowulves and tore through their immaterial flesh like paper, faster and faster, taking out every last frustration on the Grimm. Salem's abominations. She hacked and slashed and tossed a fire dust crystal. At one point she started laughing and couldn't stop. Something in her mind cracked. The berzerker haze of violence descended and didn't lift until there was nothing else to kill, until Cinder was soaked in her own sweat and Grimm detritus and Crescent Rose was coated in thick black blood and Yang, Weiss, and Pyrrha all stared at her to varying degrees of horror.
She was Cinder Fall.
She would be respected. She would be feared.
Stalking forward, the tip of her scythe dragging in the dirt, Cinder snarled, "You will not talk about me behind my back. You will not make deals about me without talking to me. I am not a child, and if you ever insinuate I am again, Schnee, I will make you regret it. Don't patronize me, Yang. Pyrrha-" For a second, Cinder's resolve wavered, but she clamped down with an iron will. Spitting on the ground, Cinder reached down and chucked her fallen jar of sap at Pyrrha. "Carry my jar."
Without waiting for a response from her team, Cinder stalked off.
She was done pretending. She was done with Ruby Rose. Her plans had failed, but they'd been a fool's errand in the first place, anyways. She'd been stupid to think she could become somebody else and leave her past behind, stupid to think she could find love and family and happiness, stupid to think she wasn't alone. The charade ended now.
Cinder Fall always made good on her word.
"Hello?"
Cinder sat on the edge of the pier, impartially washing off her bloody knife with a hankerchief she'd found in the woman's purse. The woman's scroll was pink, and using the woman's fingerprint to enter her phone and dial in the number she knew by heart was easy. The woman, of course, was dead. She laid in a bloody heap on the pier behind Cinder, her throat slit. Murder had helped to take Cinder's edge off – immolation would have been preferable, but she could handle the classics.
"Don't bother tracing this number," Cinder said in a bored tone, turning the knife over in her hand. "This is a burner phone. The woman who it belonged to is now quite dead, so there's no point in tracking this since I'll be throwing it into the bay."
"Who is this?" Other Cinder said through the receiver. Cinder could tell Other Cinder was panicked – she knew herself after all. "How did you get this number?"
Cinder smirked. "I know all about you, Cinder Fall," she said, enjoying the pain and fear she knew she'd be causing herself. "I know all about your power gambit and how Salem made you her bitch. You're a bit pathetic, aren't you? But you need the power you're working for."
A longer silence. "What do you want?" Other Cinder growled.
"I have information. In a week, there will be an attack on Torchwick's routine dust transfer. The attackers will be a collection of student huntsmen with a hero complex, but they will attract the attention of an essential, top-secret Atlesian military asset that will become a thorn in your side. Preempt the attack. Take out the students. Destroy the asset – it's too dangerous to be contained."
"What is it?"
"Artificial intelligence construct, in an experimental stage. Laser beams, kinetic swords, aura, flight, robotically enhanced strength. Possibly on par with a maiden. But it's weaker now than it will be."
"This is valuable information. You aren't giving it freely."
"No."
"What's the price?"
"Other than your paranoia?" Cinder smirked. "One of the student huntresses will be Weiss Schnee. I want her dead. And I want you to be the one to do it."
There was a bark of laughter, then silence. "Interesting. And how exactly has the Schnee Heiress wronged you? I can hear the… vengeance in your voice. What has she done to hurt you?"
Cinder gritted her teeth. What hadn't Weiss done to her? She'd driven her over the edge. She'd mocked her, humiliated her, seen her for who she really was and let her play her charade. Cinder hated Weiss with every passionate fiber of her being, she remembered kissing her in the hallway- Fuck fuck fuck she'd just killed a woman what had she done what had she done she wanted them all dead she wanted Weiss to burn who was she who am I-
It took all her strength not to hurl the scroll on the ground.
"Sunday," Cinder hissed into the phone. "The night transfer. Kill Schnee with your own hand. I'll know if you don't. I know things, things you need, things you won't fucking get if you don't kill the girl yourself. Understood."
Other Cinder laughed. At her. She laughed and laughed. "Understood," Other Cinder said, amused. "Is that all?"
Cinder hung up, screamed, and flung the phone as far out into the ocean as she could. It landed with a far-off splash. Breathing heavily, she knelt down and pushed the unnamed woman's body, rolling it over, leaving a smear of blood from her neck along the dock – the sloppiest assassination she'd ever done – until the woman's body plunged into the bay after her scroll.
She rifled through her purse one more time. She pocketed the lien because she felt spiteful, ripped a photograph of the woman with a man in half, and was ready to chuck the purse in too when a business card slipped out.
GLORIA FLEUR, FLORIST
Cinder stared at the card. Her hand shook. That's… That's so on the nose, she thought. Her last name is Fleur, and she's a florist.
Oh Gods.
Her last name is Fleur and she's a florist.
Stuffing the card back into the purse, Cinder threw the purse out to sea and walked away. She looked down. Her hands were coated in crimson, and a quick dunk into the water wasn't enough to cleanse them. She had blood on her hands. No, not her hands. Ruby's hands. Hands that should never have killed.
A part of her was wailing in grief and agony. The rest of her was just numb.
Cinder tried to pretend she wasn't crying and walked off into Vale, leaving her crime scene behind. Soon it would all be over. Soon Weiss Schnee would be dead, and Cinder could leave this cruel afterlife and go to hell in peace.
[A/N] I mean, come on guys. This is a story where the main character is Cinder Fall. Did you really think she would make it through without killing somebody?
Cinder snaps and regresses. Her team is all there for her, but she's too angry and blinded to see it. Of course, they're also part of the problem – and a harsh word from Weiss at the wrong time is enough to send her tipping over the edge.
Note: this fic is dark, but it is not a darkfic! Repeat: This is NOT a darkfic. This is not a 'Cinder Fall corrupts everybody' story or a 'woohoo yippee mass murder' story. The second is just kinda gross imo, but there are enough of them on this site that it bears mentioning. Things will get better for our main protag Cinderuby.
I think it's really tragic that I couldn't see a viable way to write a story about Cinder without murder, even when she's on a clear redemption arc. I think it's even more tragic that she feels that murder is the only way she can validate her identity.
Also, Bumblebee. I wanted to try it from a completely different angle from re:Bound, and I'm very happy with the result. Blake and Yang just have great supportive chemistry, and without the whole partner element I imagine they get together easier. Distance can help a lot in that way.
Thank you to merendinoemiliano, TheHolyBlade, TheBoxGhost117, Obsequium Minaris, Loli, 44, LOL, Mr. G0D, Izunama, KING, 128, Oll, Gamer, Kyve, U, The Keeper Of Worlds, JL, GB, TacoKing23, DOT, chicken, and two guests for reviewing! Also, thanks for 200 follows and 100 favorites! Your support continues to be overwhelmingly awesome.
Next chapter, the Volume One finale. Stay tuned, and remember to review!
Cheers, Allie.