Patriot-112: Nothing much to say here, except enjoy the read, and be sure to leave a review, like, and follow when you're done.
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P.P.S./Disclaimer: RWBY belongs first to Monty Oum, second Rooster Teeth, and therefore is not mine...so all you critics and lawyers hush up!
Now, onward!
Chapter 12:
Face Your Enemy
Outside Vale
Hazel Rainhart was many things, one being intolerant of most things that have to do with failure, but a man of manners, and once upon a time...a loving brother.
However...if someone placed him in the same room with a certain Green Wizard, and then all reason goes out the window.
The mere thought of the man who caused his little sister's death made the giant of a man growl in anger as he clenched his fists. He wanted nothing more than to end the old fool, so no more children end up like his sister. True, Gretchen, who, rather stubbornly, made her choice in wanting to become a huntress, despite his numerous refusals to let her do so, Ozpin had to give her and her team the one mission to a remote mountain village, located not far from the infamous Mountain Glenn...and it was the mission where they never return from alive.
He shook his head to will away those painful memories, as he focused on the current mission that was given to him by the Queen...and that was finding, observing, and if possible, capture the girl who was responsible for Cinder's failure at the Vytal Festival. He arrived in Vale, not a few days after receiving his orders from Salem, and already the girl had gained notoriety as the Rogue Huntress, especially considering what she did to Cinder's currently incarcerated second apprentice, Mercury Black, and the humiliation she dealt to the Atlas soldiers and their robotic toys.
He had to admit, the girl was quite skilled, both with her weapons, and her fists, but he also saw that she was rather rash, as she attacked Mercury right in front of ALL of Remnant.
And what he heard from the report from Cinder was any indication, she had a rather radical protective personality towards the Mistralian Champion Pyrrha Nikos...to the most extreme point of being suicidal, while also sporting a distrust, and apparent loathing for Ozpin. One similar to himself.
His thoughts were interrupted as he heard the familiar clicking of the Seer, and turned and spotted the Jelly-fish type Grimm appear from the shadows of the Emerald Forest, and float toward him before stopping.
Hazel sighed, before turning and looking at the creature of darkness.
"Well, what did you find?" the giant of a man gruffly said, and the luminescent center of the Seer glowed brightly, before shadows encompassed it, until it revealed what it saw and heard, as Hazel watched and listened intently, blinking slightly at the now revealed girl's anger at Ozpin, and the man, who he didn't recognized, speaking to her and asking what she planned to do...which the girl responded, which shocked even the giant of a man.
"Girl's brave, I'll give her that," he said to himself, before sighing sadly as he shook his head, "But very foolish,"
He then looked at the Seer.
"I assume Salem knows this, already?" he said, and in response, the Seer's orb like visage changed from the two, to the said Grimm Queen herself.
"Indeed I have, Hazel," Salem clarified, while a smirk formed her face, "And this will definitely work to our advantage."
"What will you have me do then?" Hazel asked.
"Wait for her to retrieve the Relic, and let her leave as far from Beacon as possible," she instructed, "When she is alone, approach her with an offer she will no doubt cannot refuse...,"
Hazel blinked at that, "And what will that be?" he queried, while Salem's smirk only grew.
"A chance at a rematch...,"
Meanwhile - Beacon Vault
"Is there any other way in or out!?" Weiss said, as both teams tried to get the door open, with not much success.
Nora even tried using her hammer to break it down, only for the said weapon to bounce back and hit her in the face...thankfully her aura protected her.
"The only other way is a secret exit passage that was installed incase something like this would happen," Ozpin said, knowing he was actually the one who personally added that little passage, but not that anyone knew that, "Unfortunately it will only open once she has the Relic, which will be a problem in itself."
"Why the heck is that!?" Yang shouted before punching the door, though it still didn't budge, and it gave her was a sore hand, "And what's with this damn stupid door!?"
"The answer to the second question Miss Xiao Long, that door is made up of a special stone with a steel layer, meaning it's impossible to break through it," the Headmaster said, before sighing, knowing this will no doubt have them questioning about his origins, "As for the first one, let's just say I set up a series of traps incase something like this happens."
Everyone looked at the professor at that.
"Wait...you set up?" Ruby said.
Before Ozpin could answer, Canus cut in.
"It's a long and complicated story, Miss Rose," he said, "One Oz and I will be happy to explain to you all soon...but first, since the front door is now kaput, we gotta get to the back door...,"
He then turned to Ozpin as he continued, "...Unless of course you moved it, Oz,"
The headmaster sighed at that, "No, it's still in the same location, the only problem is that it's well camouflaged and we won't be able to see it until Dorée retrieves the relic." he said.
"Well what are we waiting for, then!?" Jaune said urgently, as he grabbed a hold of Pyrrha, who had a frantic and grief-stricken look on her face, "Pyrrha, I know you're scared about her, but I promise you one thing, we WILL get her back! But I want you focus, for me, okay?"
Pyrrha didn't say anything, as her tears continued to stream, but she managed to nod, before Jaune drew her into a comforting embrace to calm her down as he turned to the Headmaster.
"Where is it?" he said, flat and simple.
"The place where that all of you are familiar with...in the ruins of the Emerald Forest,"
Meanwhile, with Dorée
A small flame lit the path, as Dorée ran down it, while her mind replayed, what could possibly be her last conversation with the woman who would, hopefully, in her new future, ber her real birth mother, instead of just being born in a tube.
She could still feel the ache in her heart as she remembered Pyrrha's cries for her stop echoed in her head...and a large part of her wondered if she WAS making a mistake like Canus warned her. That if stealing the Relic in order to lure Salem and her minions away from Beacon and focused entirely on her, would only just delay the inevitable...
She shook her head vigorously at that, stamping out the feeling.
No! It had to work! It WILL work!
She had made her bed, and now she'll lay in it. And with that thought in mind she continued on...until spotting a glow not far away.
She increased her pace, not intending to stop till she reached what she knew was her first challenge.
As she drew closer, she slowed herself down so she could see the glow being that of a dull yellow color, and coming from a symbol on the large door, which looked to be made of iron. Finally stopping, she looked up at it, and she saw it looked to be a Mistralian Eastern dragon in circle*.
"Well. That's a rather obvious way to symbolize a challenge," she said to herself, before she walked up to the door, pausing for a moment before she raised her hand and placed it on the door.
Clank!
She jumped back at the loud sound, before the sound of chains being drawn, and just like the door that opened before, it split down the middle before opening forward away from her, revealing the room on the other side. It looked to be a large platform, with four pillars on the outside, along with two bridges, with one on her side, and one on the other. Taking a chance and looking down below, she could see the multiple spikes on the ground, as well as the multiple skeletons scattered about.
Danger senses on high alert, Dorée cautiously began to walk forward, her hand near her longsword, Aurea, while her eyes scanned the room, before suddenly torches began to light, illuminating the area.
"Kukukukuku...so you have finally come... Invincible Girl's brat,"
Her eyes shot wide open, while a dark chill went down her spine as she heard that familiar voice, but the last time she heard it, the voice was younger. This time, the voice was older, and more familiar to her. Though, unlike the last time, where the tone was sincere and caring...this tone sounded more sinister, and devious.
"...N-No...it can't be...," she managed to whisper out, before the familiar sound of glass shoes clinking on the ground were heard. A clinking she knew all too well, as a familiar figure came out of the shadows in front of her.
They were dressed in a dark red dress, with gold highlights, with a wide long sleeve on the left arm, while a grey long glove with a gold ring at the top is on the right. The dress is split on her right side, with interwoven gold tassel ropes, with a rhombus shaped jewel with blue feathers decorating it. However, the main thing she was focused on, was the short ashen-black hair, the single right glowing amber eye, while the left side was covered by a black glass mask.
The person gave Dorée an snide smirk, as she looked at the girl who looked as pale as a sheet.
"My, my, Dorée," she spoke again, "You look like you've seen a ghost,"
That one line managed to snap Dorée out of it, as her face formed into a vicious snarl.
"How!?" she snapped out, "How are you here!?"
The original Cinder Fall gave another chuckle as she proceeded to walk forward.
"Poor, silly, foolish little girl," she said, "When you killed my original body back in the old timeline, it wasn't just your mother who sealed herself away into your subconscious...but I tagged along as well!"
Dorée's face formed into that of total disbelief.
"No...that's impossible! Mother and the Geist would've noticed you!" she said
Cinder's signature smirk never left her face as she proceed to walk around her.
"Yes they would've," she said, "But, I have learned not to rush things. So, I dug myself a deep burrow into your mind...so deep that they would not find me until the time was right...and now that time is here! Since your hatred for me is so strong, the magic of this vault has chosen me to be your opponent!,"
Dorée growled as she drew Aurea and readied her shield.
"I thought you would never ask," she said, before entering her as the older Cinder looked at Dorée with a nostalgic smirk.
'Oh the memories,' she thought with a sick sense of fondness, before doing something that surprised the daughter of Pyrrha and Jaune as she formed a flaming glass sword. "Ha ha ha ha, not expecting that were you?"
Cinder continued to chuckle as she moved forward, "Apparently, the magic of this place decided to give me a second chance, returning to me the power I once had before...more than enough to beat you and be reborn into this world,"
Dorée looked at the former Fall Maiden in shock, and cursed Ozpin again for this.
'Is there ANYTHING that old fool hasn't screwed up with!?' she questioningly accused, before shaking her head, and decided to just get it over with, as the flames of the Fall Maiden ignited in her eyes, as well as Cinder's solitary amber eye.
A few seconds passed, before as one, they sprinted forth, and the duel between the two began as Dorée's sword clashed with Cinder's glass flame one.
"This is my opportunity, Arkos!" Cinder said with a sneer, her single eye boring into Dorée's own eyes, as the two deadlocked, "You fail this challenge, your body will be MINE! First thing I'm doing...killing that Silver Eyed Bitch, then her team, and finally, your failures for parents-*SMASH!*- AGH!"
Cinder recoiled from the unexpected headbutt she was given as she gripped her nose before glaring at Dorée, who looked at her with a cold look.
"Just shut up and fight, you arrogant bitch,"
Cinder growled at that as she formed two swords with her power. The two women then charged at each other again as they fought one another, both of them determined to win at any cost.
Elsewhere
Two figures were hidden in shadow, as the sounds of armor being donned were heard.
"She should be facing the first challenge, now," a male voice said, while a familiar sword slid into a sheath with a resounding click.
"Yeah...," the second figure, a woman clarified, "...which means it's time for us to intervene,"
The first figure nodded in agreement before a white/gold trimmed gauntlet reached up and gave the female figure's shoulder a gentle grip.
"Hey, it'll be okay," he said, "We'll get her, and bring her home,"
The female figure said nothing, before a nod could be seen. The two finished with outfitting themselves, before they left the darkened room and outside, heading towards a specific destination in mind.
Back with the present Cast
"You're kidding me right?" Weiss questioned as they stood in the same exact spot that where their objective, which were chess pieces of all things, for their initiation into Beacon was. "It was right under our noses during that day?,"
"Well, considering that if something were to happen, I believed it was best to give you all a clue to go to," Ozpin said, while Canus smacked his forehead and the students looked at him with a deadpan look.
"Right...," Blake said, with some skepticism.
"So, what now?" Jaune asked, and it was Canus who answered.
"Now, we wait for Dorée," he said, and that's what they did.
However, they were unaware of the Seer that was watching the gathered group, or that it was being watched through it's link to more of it's kind.
Hazel growled as he spotted the familiar form of Ozpin, barely able to keep his anger in check.
"Calm yourself, Hazel," Salem said with a firm tone, "Acting rashly will surely bring about failure."
The giant did exactly that as he took in deep breaths in order to calm himself down.
"Forgive me, Your Grace...," he apologetically grounded out.
"One day, your time will come Hazel...," Salem said, "...but for now, focus on the current task you were given,"
Hazel nodded, before looking at the Seers translucent visage, as his eyes landed on the grey cloaked man with Ozpin and the student hunters, before they narrowed slightly in curiosity.
"Ah, Canus...," he heard Salem spoke in a rather, almost, endearing tone, "...if he is here, than that means that his premonition semblance warned him of the future,"
The eyes of the bitter brother blinked curiously at that.
"You know him?" he asked, and Salem sighed wistfully.
"An old friend from the past," she said, "Like me and Ozpin he reincarnates in other people, but the difference between him and Ozpin, he reincarnates in infants who would've been stillborn, and has them live to old age, while Ozpin does it with those who are in their teens, and slowly takes over the hosts mind and body in time destroying them in the process." Hazel's eyes narrowed at that, as Salem continued, "They used to work together till Ozpin became all arrogant, and Canus broke off from him, in order to fight me in his own way...and he has done well thanks to that Power of Premonition of his. Don't underestimate him, Hazel,"
Hazel nodded before looking at the image again, trying to find ways in how to deal with the Premonitioner.
The entire chamber was alight with flames, and filled with the sounds of clashing swords.
For the first time in her life, Dorée was fighting someone who was giving their all towards her, which she returned with her own. For the entire time since their fight started the two Maidens had not been able to land a fatal blow on each other.
Lighting and fire flashed between them as their weapons and powers struck together in a savage dance of death, matched almost perfectly as Dorée would cast off a blaze of Maiden fire, only to be absorbed and bended back towards her by Cinder, as the Maiden blocked the strike with her shield before rolling away as she fired once more at her opponent. This time firing a lightning bolt that grazed the Grimm arm, causing Cinder to shriek in pain, which Dorée noticed as she looked at the older woman.
"Didn't you anything learn from your battle with Raven?" she said, "Aura cannot protect your arm, it's Grimm,"
Her predecessor's response was a fierce glare, not wanting to remember that night where she failed Salem, all thanks to that Bandit bitch.
"Shut up!" she yelled, "I don't need a lecture from you!"
Dorée returned the glare, before gathering up a fireball.
"You're right about that," she said, "Which is why you're gonna die down here...permanently,"
Cinder's face turned into a snarl as he formed her own fireball.
"I will not die down here!" she shouted, as she and as the clone fired off their attacks. The older Maiden then charged through the flames with two swords formed and clashed with Dorée's own yet again.
"It's you who will die! Just like your mother when she made the foolish decision to challenge me!"
Cinder then blinked as she saw Dorée's face grimace, before it formed a smirk.
"Oh, that's right." she said, "You saw it for yourself since you have her memories! Well, you'll probably remember how I shot her in the heel and mocked her in how I took the power that old fool Ozpin planned to give to her! And then how I shot her through the heart with my arrow and burned her body to ash! Of course, not before I destroyed her reputation, when Emerald tricked her into killing that toy from Atlas!,"
Dorée's teeth gritted, as she heard more and more, how Cinder destroyed her mother, not only physically, but her memory as well.
"I must admit how fun it was destroying the image of the strong, honorable, and sweet, Invincible Girl," Cinder continued, as she chuckled, "I remember finding out that her own famil-,"
"SHUT UP!"
With that single scream, a fist encased in burning metal hit her square in the face and sent her flying into a pillar, and falling down flat on her stomach.
After shaking the webs from her mind, Cinder looked up, but only found her face grabbed in a vice-like grip, before being lifted up and felt herself being slammed into the pillar repeatedly.
"YOU! WILL! NOT! GO! NEAR! HER! AGAIN!" the girl screamed each word as she slammed Cinder into the stone, while said previous Maiden was now struggling to get loose. After the slam fest she then tossed the scarred across the room, flinging her hard enough that she bounced off the floor a few times.
'Dammit!' Cinder groaned as she struggled to stand up, but only managed to get to her knees, before hearing a familiar sound, causing her to look up as Dorée, via the flames on her feet, came at her at high speed, arm and hand raised in a palm thrust, and glowing a familiar blue, before she delivered said thrust to the older Cinder's face, and sent her toward over the edge of the platform, her glass mask shattering and revealing the scar that Ruby Rose inflicted upon her years ago.
As she tried to use her power to get back up and not fall to her apparent, she noticed the figure of Dorée standing on the edge, with a look of cold fury on her face, as she raised, as the familiar blue glow appeared again, causing Cinder's eyes to widen.
'No...No not again! This can't be happening to me again! Not when I'm so close!' she shouted, before feeling the familiar cold, as ice traveled across her body. Deja vu was playing it's part, as the memories of her first major failure came back to haunt her again.
She leveled a glare at the clone, who had taken away her chance to be reborn and destroy those who had brought about her downfall in the original timeline.
"You may think you won, girl! But know this! I'm nothing but a pup compared to Salem!" she shouted as the ice reached the based of her neck, "If you somehow, by some miracle, manage to get passed my younger self and the others, what hope would you have of beating her alone!? ASK YOURSELF THAT!"
The ice then completely covered Cinder's whole head, and the now frozen maiden, plummeted toward the bottom below, before the sound of shattering confirmed what Dorée wanted to hear.
She stood there, silent as the grave, as she took in what happened...before realizing what she had done.
Feeling something wet on her face, she reached up and wiped it off before looking at her gloved hand. Then she noticed the salty smell, and realized instantly what it was...her tears.
She closed her eyes as her hand formed a fist, before releasing a shaky sigh.
It was a few more minutes of silence before she finally said something.
"Mama...Papa...I did it,"
The moment she said that, the familiar sound of doors opening, and chains rattling got her attention before looking in the direction of the second bridge. Taking a deep breath, before letting it out, she proceeded toward the open door, her thoughts on the second task.
'One down...two more to go,' she said, as she walked across the bridge and through the doors, which shut themselves soon after.
Patriot-112: And done! Finally, that took me forever! Sorry it took so long everyone. My gramps and his construction projects around the house, and a bad case of Writer's Block hit me good. Not mention I've just started participation in a Social Vocational Services group, reason being because of my Asperger's Syndrome, which is a social disorder.
But enough of that, I know some of you have probably figured out who the two 'mystery' figures are, but please for the sake of the story, and those who don't, tell me via PM.
Right, anyway, be sure to leave a review, and what you liked most about this chapter. And also, don't forget to check out my Arkos Child Challenge forum.
Until then, see ya later!