Chapter Eight: Neopolitan's Mirror Mirror

"And, here we are in Sanus' main port, Viridian City!" Blake gestured wide. "It smells so nice with the fish and the people around, the most beautiful town I've been to outside of my hometown in Menagerie."

"Well, let's find a hotel," Maria checked her watch. "I'd like to get at least a little sleep before I challenge a bunch of Semblance wielders."

"I need a john quick," Weiss said. "I can't believe that the one on the ship was broken."

"I'm surprised you didn't cry about it," Maria laughed and put a hand on her shoulder. An icicle shot past her head, leaving a thin line of blood on her cheek. Weiss shot her a look that could probably kill.

"Note to self: Weiss gets super pissy when she doesn't have a bathroom," Maria noted.

"Either way, let's get to the hotel," Ruby rolled her eyes. "What about our 'guest'?"

"We can take her to the train later after we've had a rest," Maria said. "I'm exhausted from that boat ride."

"At least you didn't crash it," Ruby muttered, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it, taking a long drag on it.

"If you don't slow down on that, lung cancer'll kill you before Cinder can," Pyrrha taunted as she and Ruby hung back with Ilia.

"I'll take my chances," Ruby looked at Maria, Weiss, and Blake's retreating forms as she glanced at the nearby stand. "I say we get our guest some ice cream while they find us a hotel."

"Why Ruby Rose, you do have a heart," Pyrrha fake gasped. "And, here I thought it was the only underused muscle on your body."

"Let's just get the ice cream," Ruby rolled her eyes. The three walked over to the ice cream stand, Ruby ordering three ice creams. She got a raspberry swirl, a chocolate for Ilia, and a cherry supreme for Pyrrha.

"How'd you know I liked cherries?" Pyrrha raised an eyebrow.

"Are you fucking serious?" Ruby asked. "You're wearing them everywhere."

"I know, I'm just messing with you," Pyrrha laughed.

Ruby just grunted, eating her ice cream.

Pyrrha finished hers first, licking her lips. She looked down at her outfit and groaned.

"I can't believe I got some ice cream on this outfit! I just got this cleaned before we started this trip. Sorry, but can you guys wait here while I go clean this up as best I can for right now?"

"We'll be on that bench over there," Ruby pointed to it.

"Thanks." With that, the redhead walked off to clean herself. Ruby and Ilia sat down on the bench, watching for Ilia. After about five minutes, Pyrrha walked back. Ruby stared at her for a second before turning to Ilia.

"What, something on my face?" Pyrrha asked.

"That was sure quick for cleaning that," Ruby glanced down at her outfit. "You even dried it up real good."

"I used to be a messy eater, so I know how to clean a mess quick," Pyrrha shrugged. "You learn tricks real quick that way."

As Pyrrha stood there, a teenager walked by, grabbing Pyrrha's wallet from her pocket. Pyrrha glanced at him, her expression darkening. Milo Akoúo was out in a flash, a spear impaling the pickpocket's hand. He screamed, looking down at his hand. Ruby's eyes widened and she stood up.

"Pyrrha, what the hell?" She demanded. "Why'd you do that?"

"This piece of shit deserves it," Pyrrha grabbed him by the throat, squeezing it before kneeing him in the kidneys. "Don't you, you stupid cockroach dick?"

"Help!" The teenager choked out, trying to free himself from Pyrrha. Ruby pulled him from her grasp.

"Enough, Pyrrha!" She growled. "You've done enough."

"Well well well, look at the pot calling the kettle black," Pyrrha's tone was icy as she looked Ruby dead in the eyes. "You practically get off on beating the shit out of people who are stupid enough to cross you. I mean you're such a hypocrite with that."

"Well, I suppose it looks like I've gotta add another to that list," Ruby cracked her knuckles. "If you won't see reason, I'll beat it into you like I did back at school."

"And, look at you, using violence to solve your problems," The redhead taunted her. "I'll bet that's why your dad doesn't come home much."

"G-Guys, stop it," Ilia stood up, trying to come in between them. Unfortunately, she couldn't, as Ruby was pushing her behind her.

"Interesting theory," Ruby stared Pyrrha down. "How about you actually spew something truthful?"

"You want something truthful?" Pyrrha scoffed. "If your precious mommy dies, you won't have any family that would abandon you. But, with the way you treat her, I guess you don't care, do y—"

Before she could finish that sentence, Sundragon's fist slammed into her face. The force of that impact sent her crashing into a building.

"Wh-Why did you do that?!" Ilia shouted. "That was mean, but you punched her through that building."

"That's not Pyrrha," Ruby simply said, walking toward her. "Find a phone and call the old lady. Have her come get you. I'll handle this."

Pyrrha stood up, but she was staggering, pieces of her falling off like glass.

"S-So, you knew I was a fake?" Pyrrha's voice sounded off, like the sound of smashing glass. "Or, did I just piss you off?"

"Nah, you just look different," Ruby narrowed her eyes, having closed the distance. "You can't fool me with such a shitty illusion."

Pyrrha stared at her in shock, her lower jaw falling off and shattering to the ground.

"B-But, that's impossible!" She exclaimed as a crowd began to gather. "N-No one has seen through my illusions! No one except—"

The illusion that had pretended to be Pyrrha began to shake, a strange fear entering her voice.

"No wonder she wanted you dead most of all," She clenched her fist, the glass breaking away fully, revealing a small girl. The girl was dressed in brown, pink, and white, her hair and eyes the same colors. There was even a bowler hat on her head, which clashed with the outfit.

"So, this little shit was trying to fool me," Ruby crossed her arms. "Now, where's the real Pyrrha?"

"I killed her already! There never was a Pyrrha Nikos!" The small girl stood up, sidling up to Ruby and staring her in the eye, the entire time still speaking in Pyrrha's voice. "Just like I'm going to kill you."

"Oh, and how do you plan to do that?" Ruby grabbed her by her collar. "That shitty Semblance isn't very strong, another reason I don't believe you killed Pyrrha."

"Oh, it doesn't need to be strong to kill you," The girl smirked, Ruby feeling a sharp pain in her hand. She looked down to see shards of glass in her hand. They wiggled and moved, entering her hand and disappearing under her skin. "It just needs to cut you."

"The hell did you do to me?" Ruby could feel her hand growing numb as it began to crystalize, turning into glass.

"My Semblance turns anything it cuts into glass and absorbs it into itself," The small girl smirked, smacking Ruby across the face with an umbrella, embedding glass in her face. "It begins to crystalize its host within minutes. I give you thirty minutes."

"Plenty of time to beat you to a pulp," Ruby tried to grab the girl with her afflicted hand, but it wouldn't respond to her commands.

"You don't get it, do you?!" The small girl took on a new form, this one a woman with green hair, red eyes, and dark skin, arms spread wide. "I can be anyone, anyone at all! There's no limit to my disguise! You'll never find me unless I let you!"

With that, she ran for the crowd, shattering into glass and covering all the people she touched. They all screamed in agony, glass piercing their skin. Ruby ran after her, glancing at Sundragon. The Semblance looked the same except for its left hand, which looked like molten glass, burning and twisting. Maria's message about shared damage rang true.

"Ruby, wait!" Ilia ran after her.

"Stay back, kid!" Ruby called. "I don't want you getting hurt!"

"But, I want to help you!" Ilia shouted.

But, Ruby ignored her. The Chameleon Faunus huffed, continuing to run after them. But, an idea struck her. Where would the best place to find someone be? She turned to the left and ran a different direction.

"Man, this is boring," Weiss complained, leaning on a chair. "Why do we have to wait here at the hotel?"

"Because I don't want to take any chances," Maria said. "Ruby can handle herself and Pyrrha's pretty tough too. Only one I'm worried about is Ilia, but they can handle themselves."

"I've a bad feeling," Blake murmured. "Cinder surely wouldn't let us rest here, now would she?"

"I'll see if I can use the TV with Beholder of Life and Death," Maria stood up. "I mean, if I can use a camera, why not a TV?"

"Yeah, but I'm not gonna let my ass be on the line if you break a TV," Weiss waved her off.

"I won't break the TV," Maria pouted slightly. "I'm not reckless."

"Oh, really?" Weiss and Blake both scoffed. "Says the one who was in three plane crashes, one time working with one of the most controversial armies in the world."

"Look, Penny was cool with it," Maria beat a hand to her chest. "She was one of the most honor bound women I've ever met. If she were here, she would be sure to say some great things about Atlas and she fought for Atlas that day with me."

"Tell me more about her," Weiss' scoffing was immediately reneged at the mention of her hero. Her eyes were focused on Maria, expecting a story.

"Well, she was quite the proud Atlesian," Maria chuckled, fondly remembering her friend. "Even as she stared what would become the ultimate being, she proudly stood up, gave the Atzi salute and proclaimed 'You utter fool; Atlesian Science is the best in the world!' before unleashing a barrage of bullets and swords from her body."

"Her courage was limitless," Weiss clapped her hands, almost like a child watching a film of their hero. "I truly do not know how she could have been killed. She was truly a marvel."

"I dunno," Maria said. "She came back from death once before, so if anyone could, she could. I've cheated death, but I never came back from as close as she was to the grave. She was practically entering the gates of hell before she stubbornly and with immense Atlesian pride clawed her way back out even stronger. In fact, she's the one who gave me this hand. It's a real beaut, even if it does click sometimes."

"Was it made of the same material as she returned as?"

"No, she said that they had used their entire stockpile to create her, the third creature to come back from the dead."

"Who were the first two?" Weiss asked.

"They say it was the gods," Blake crossed her arms. "The story was that they became mortal and were murdered. It's odd that their story comes up with mentions of Grimm. Perhaps he had a connection to them."

"Either that or Aura," Maria clenched her fist, an electric spark of her Aura dancing between her fingers. "They are two sides of the same coin. A god of light and a god of darkness."

"It is said that from the bones of the god of darkness, the first of the masks was formed," Blake muttered.

"Perhaps the gods were members of the Grimmlord race," Maria added. "It's possible, given the texts about them."

"So, the god of darkness was behind the mask that made Cinder into a Grimm?" Weiss asked.

"No, that was Salem, the most dangerous Grimmlord," Maria crossed her arms. "But, my mother mentioned that a being of light taught the first Aura wielder how to harness the sun."

"But, Grimmlord couldn't be in the sun," Blake said. "Like the Grimm that they turned humans into."

"Perhaps he didn't teach him directly," Weiss held up a finger. "But, rather, because he taught the first Aura wielder the techniques to harness the sun, he became regaled as the god of light? And, the god of darkness as a reference to the one whose bones were used to carve the masks. Two sides of the Grimmlord race, or whatever they were called before Salem wiped them all out."

"It's likely she also made the blade to give one a Semblance," Blake nodded. "Which would mean that the abilities you mentioned her and the other two having could have been Semblances, but they manifest differently in Grimmlord physiology."

"Perhaps," Maria nodded. "Well, let's see what we can see on this TV."

She touched the TV, her Semblance snaking around it, turning the TV on.

"Tonight on 'Cheaters in Vacuo'," The show started to say before Maria hit the TV.

"Wrong show," She chuckled.

"Your husband already knows about that," Blake rolled her eyes. "Just try to find what Cinder's plan is."

On the TV swirled an eye, which looked at Maria, images of various things. It seemed to take various parts of images of shows and sucked them in to create an image.

"That looks like Pyrrha," Weiss pointed. "But, why is she there?"

"It seems like the TV is warning us about her?" Blake suggested. "But, why?"

The image shifted to display an image of Pyrrha stabbing Ruby through the chest. She had a manic look in her eyes, staring the crimsonette down as the blood flowed.

"Wh-what the hell is this?!" Maria exclaimed. "Does… Does this mean Pyrrha is a traitor?!"

The image rippled and distorted, shattering to reveal the visage of Cinder, staring at Maria, orange eye glowing demonically, silver eye pulsing softly behind her hair. Her face was still obscured in shadow, her chest bare save for the bandages wrapped around her breasts and waist. A pulsing silver eye rested in her palm, staring at them, vines snaking around Cinder and lashing out at the air like some wild creature.

"Maria Calavera Rose," The Grimm pointed at her with a clawed finger. "You're watching me, aren't you? Trying to peer into my mind with your Semblance? Well, no more."

With that, the TV exploded, throwing Maria backward into Blake, who caught her.

"Son of a bitch!" She exclaimed. "That caught me off guard.

"Well, perhaps that would be her keeping an eye on you too," Blake said.

"Well, that means we have to find Ruby and Pyrrha and stop her from harming Ruby," Weiss stood up. "I will not lose more friends like my brother."

"Right," Blake nodded, standing up, letting Maria drop to the floor.

"Hey, help me up next time," Maria pouted, standing.

"We have no time for you to pretend to be old and weak," Blake chuckled. "Let's go find them."

Ruby kept running, looking for anyone out of the ordinary. The crystallization was slowly beginning to spread, her whole hand crystalized at this point. She wondered if she would have to remove her hand to stop it.

She had to stop that girl before she infected everyone with her glass. She had already afflicted more people, making Ruby glance at them. She watched a girl with rabbit ears run into an alley. Something in her gut told her that she should follow her. She turned the corner, running into the alley.

"Hey, kid," She called out. "Hold it right there!"

The kid kept running, dodging quickly out of the way of a small fire built in a barrel. It was a quick dodge, too quick.

"I said stop!" Ruby caught up with her, turning the rabbit eared girl around to see a horror of nightmarish origins. The rabbit girl had pale white skin, black sclera, and red pupils, a monstrosity. Her teeth were jagged and opened into a black hole of destruction and vilehood. Thin black lines ran along her skin like cracks and she looked to be in pain.

"Help… me!" She wheezed, Ruby taking a step back as she swung at her, her hand turning into a giant black claw. Ruby ducked under the swipe, Sundragon slamming her uninjured fist into the creature's hand, shattering it.

"Looks like I found you," Ruby clenched her fist.

"You fool!" The rabbit eared girl shouted, her visage breaking to reveal the ice cream themed girl. "You've just ruined your good hand! But, I must say, it was mighty clever of you to try and avoid my clutches. I didn't think even you would be able to hold your lunch when you saw this monstrosity."

"The fuck are you even supposed to be?" Ruby asked.

"You know those special little things inside of people's brains?" The girl pointed at her head, snickering. "Well, when Cinder plants her cells inside of someone, it slowly mutates them into this! Into a Grimm monstrosity capable of nothing but violence. Of course, like a true Grimm, it can't go out in the sun. But, you probably didn't know that, did you?"

"Well, you being able to go out in the sun means you weren't able to avoid the ass kicking you are about to receive," Ruby cracked her knuckles.

"What are you talking about?" The girl laughed, still talking in Pyrrha's voice. "I win! You can't avoid my Semblance, Mirror Mirror! Man, Cinder is gonna pay me big time for your head in particular! Know that Neopolitan was the one to kill you!"

"You were too quick to reveal the weakness of your Semblance," Ruby smirked slightly. "But, I figured you were too stupid to avoid it."

"Oh, and what is that?" Neopolitan asked.

Ruby stepped over to the fire in the barrel, placing her hand into it. She watched as the crystallization receded immediately, removing itself from her hands and dripping into the fire.

"N-No way," The ice cream girl stepped back, fear on her face as Ruby stepped closer, her fists still smoking a bit from the flame.

Before Neopolitan could move, Sundragon grabbed her where her Semblance wasn't and held her by her head. Ruby delivered a blow to her face that released a resounding crunch of bone on bone. Neopolitan's head jerked back, the force of Ruby's blow clearly hurting and injuring her.

When she looked up, it was clear Ruby had dealt major damage. Her nose looked as if a baseball team had had their way with it or if she had been repeatedly pelted in the face with soccer balls. There were several of her teeth missing and she was already beginning to swell.

"Now, start talking," Sundragon released her and she dropped to the ground in a pathetic puddle. "Where's Pyrrha?"

"Okay okay okay you got me!" Neopolitan held her hands up in surrender. "I'm sorry! I wasn't really gonna kill her! I didn't even kill any of those other people! I don't need to kill to use someone's form! She's alive, I swear! I just stashed her in the bathroom stall until I could take you out!"

"Tell me about the other Semblances we'll be up against." Ruby leaned in.

"Okay, I'll talk!" Neopolitan glanced over slightly, looking afraid. She noticed a group of children, but looked back to Ruby. "I don't know too much about them!"

Ruby pulled her fist back and the ice cream girl tried to hold her hands up in defense.

"Wait, wait, it's just because you fools, er, I mean people keep using your Semblances a lot! Most people don't do that!"

"So you don't know anything?" Ruby's eyes narrowed.

"I-I know the Semblance of the one who killed Weiss' brother!" Neopolitan cowered back. "He uses something to do with air!"

"There, now was that so hard?" Ruby rolled her eyes, standing up. "You really helped somewhat."

"Y-you're gonna let me go?" Neopolitan asked. "I-I mean, my nose is definitely broken and I'll need lots of surgery."

"Are you trying to piss me off?" Ruby asked.

"S-Sorry," The ice cream girl said. "I guess it's my lucky day then."

"How's that?" Ruby asked.

"Because you didn't see those kids!" Neopolitan said, getting up and running toward them, grabbing one. "One move and this one gets her throats sliced open and I'll have several new looks to hide with. Do you understand?"

"Is that so?" Ruby stepped closer and the ice cream girl flinched. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a potted plant dropped on her head, knocking her to the ground. The children ran and Ruby stepped over to them, glancing up. She saw Ilia standing there, the child gasping and hiding.

"Now, what was that about your lucky day?" Ruby picked her up with her human hands, holding her by the hair. "I would suppose it was your lucky day alright. But, I think the luckiest part was where you only got away with the injuries you got."

"Y-You're not really gonna hit me, are you?" Neopolitan whimpered softly. "I-I have so many injuries now."

"Do you understand?" Ruby asked her, throwing her own words back at her. With that, Sundragon gave her face a real working over, fists flying and pounding her. When she was done, Ruby tossed her over her shoulder, throwing her down in front of the police station.

"If you're really lucky, they'll give you medical attention," She looked back, seeing Ilia run over to her. "And, what were you doing?"

"I-I went to find a safe place to see what was going on so I could make sure you were safe." Ilia looked away.

"That was pretty stupid and dangerous," Ruby glanced down at her with a cold expression. "But, I suppose you did save those children. Just don't be stupid next time."

Ilia nodded quickly as Ruby walked to the hotel they were staying at and saw Pyrrha stumble out.

"What happened?" She asked, rubbing her head. "Something knocked me over the head and the next thing I remember was waking up in a bathroom."

"Yeah, I beat the bitch up," Ruby pointed with her thumb toward the police station. "So, you feeling alright?"

"I could use a few cherries," Pyrrha said. "Something sweet will help me feel better."

"You sure that's a good idea?" Ilia asked.

"Yeah, I could go for some ice cream too," Pyrrha nodded.

"Eh, we're good on the ice cream part, but the cherries I can do," Ruby said. "We can check if the hotel has some. I could use a rest. I got some stuff for the group anyway."

"Like what?" The redhead asked.

"I'll wait till we're all together," Ruby said.

"Alright," Pyrrha nodded.

"Well, it seems your assassin failed," Cinder glanced at Emerald, who looked ashamed.

"I did not think that she would fail like that," Emerald bowed in submission.

"At this rate, I shall have to go myself and take care of this."

"You needn't worry yourself, Mistress. The rest will make short work of them."

"I do so hope that is true." The Grimm narrowed her eyes, turning to walk away. "Now, tell me of how our newest recruit."

"His Semblance is progressing wonderfully," Emerald smiled, happy to be off the previous topic. "He will no doubt be ready to defeat them. But, we will not have to use his abilities, for the rest will be sufficient. Those Roses will be no match."

"You don't know the Roses like I do," Cinder fixed a gaze on her, piercing into her very Soul. "The accursed blood that flows through their veins causes them to be a tenacious bunch, none moreso than their progenitor, Summer Rose, who, even in death defies my ambitions. I am not stupid enough to forgo the possibility that one of them may have gained an exceptional Semblance and must be dealt with accordingly. Do not fail me, Emerald."


And, here we have another piece of the board out of play. What will fate bring these warriors? We shall see.

Sorry this took over two months to come out.