Author's note: This chapter is shorter than the previous ones, since I didn't have as much to write here. The next few chapters will be longer again, but they'll eventually get shorter.
Also, trigger warning at the end, in case you're uncomfortable with some things.
Cinder was training her maiden powers and killing Beowolves left and right, when she heard whimpering and sobbing coming towards her. She decapitated the last Grimm with a fireball and turned to see Tyrian dragging himself into the room. He stopped in front of Salem, who looked at him with a cold and uncaring expression.
"Your mission, were you successful?" Salem asked.
"No, your Grace," Tyrian answered, winced and said, "Someone interfered. She fought. She is strong. This anger. This fear. No mercy. No remorse." He was shaking to the very core and began whimpering and sobbing again. Emerald, alarmed by the sounds, came into the room.
"Salem, can I talk to you?" she asked.
"Yes," Salem answered, "Tyrian, you can leave. I expect a clear answer next time I ask."
"Yes, your Grace," Tyrian said and dragged himself away.
"If Cinder learns to use her powers again, she won't need me anymore," Emerald thought, but quickly banished the thought. There was no way Cinder would just abandon her, not after all they've been through.
"What is it, Emerald?" Salem asked, and Emerald suddenly felt a bit more tense.
"I think I know who did this to Tyrian," Emerald answered.
"Who could do this to one of my strongest fighters?" Salem asked, sounding mostly disapproving of the fact that Emerald claimed to know more than her.
"Her name is Sirena Blue," Emerald answered, and Salem's expression changed to frustration.
"What do you know of her?" Salem asked, and Cinder backed away, never having seen or heard Salem get angry at the mention of a name other than Ozpin's.
"She is a silver-eyed warrior," Emerald answered, "And, from what I heard, she is in full control over her powers. I once saw her fight, and it still haunts me. She is unlike any silver-eyed warrior I know of, which admittedly aren't many, but she is violent, cruel, and even borderline sadistic when she fights."
"What do you know of her weaknesses?" Salem asked. Emerald thought for a moment.
"Nothing," she answered, "The more someone tries to defeat her, the stronger she seems to get. Her determination to win is incorruptible. She was trained by some of the best huntsmen in the world, and has even survived a fight against Carnage."
"As if," Mercury said and came out from behind the half-closed the door, "He just disappeared one day."
"Who are you talking about?" Salem asked.
"Carnage was the number 1 assassin for a while," Mercury answered, "His semblance told him the weaknesses of anyone he looked at, even if it was just a picture. He once got sent to kill someone, but he never showed up, and has been missing ever since." Emerald silently pulled out her scroll and showed a video, projecting it onto a nearby wall for all to see.
~o~
Sirena was lying on the floor near a tavern, with a crowd of people watching from the inside. Sirena had stopped the assassin's chainsaw with her arm, even after her aura was depleted, and the tissue had clogged up the mechanisms, causing it to overheat and explode. The chain and several other pieces were lodged into her torso, and a bulky man was standing above her. He wore heavy black biker clothes, had short red hair and green eyes. He pulled out a pistol and shot Sirena in the neck, cutting through her spine and wind pipe, and turned towards the crowd.
"And you want to protect people," the man said, "Don't make me laugh." Suddenly, Sirena's aura recharged and became clearly visible. The bleeding stopped and the metal was pushed out of her body. Her aura manifested as a dark blue arm on the stump where her right arm used to be, and the bone began regrowing immediately. Carnage stopped and looked at her. In the blink of an eye, Sirena dashed forward and pinned him against a rock with her natural arm, choking him. The bones on her right arm had fully reformed, and three small spikes were visible on her lower arm, resembling a fin. Muscle tissue formed next, as she began punching the man in the face. The tissue completely covered the bone spikes, and whenever her aura arm made contact with the flesh, it sizzled like bacon and left a burn mark. With each punch, another bone cracked, until the sound was eventually replaced by the sound of squishy material being hit. Sirena's arm was fully reformed by the time there was another cracking sound, and she kept punching the man until she had reduced the boulder underneath his head to rubble. She then walked away to pick up her trident, then looked at the group, pointing at a nobleman.
"I have sworn to protect this man to the best of my abilities," she said, "And I never go back on my promise." She grabbed the assassin's scroll, took a picture of it and sent it to all his contacts, warning them not to take her as lightly as he did.
~o~
After the video was over, Mercury was frozen in shock, Emerald was still disgusted at the brutal display of power, and Cinder trembled in her glass shoes. Salem was unimpressed and turned to Emerald.
"Let me know if you find out anything else about her," Salem said. Emerald put her scroll away again.
"I will," Emerald said.
~o~
Cinder and Emerald were walking through a large city, when Cinder stopped in an alleyway and turned to face Emerald.
"Do you know where we are?" Cinder asked.
"Wait, this is where you found me, right?" Emerald asked.
"Yes," Cinder answered, "You wait here. I have something to take care of." She walked away and Emerald sat down on a cardboard box. Before she knew what was happening, it was evening. Emerald watched the sunset, the sunrise, and the changing of the seasons. There was an explosion, chaos, screaming people and Grimm, but Emerald still waited for Cinder to come back. Finally, Cinder walked past the alley, and Emerald stood up.
"Cinder, you're back," she called out.
"And you are?" Cinder asked, and the question hit Emerald like she ran into a brick wall.
"You… you don't remember me?" Emerald asked.
"No," Cinder answered and walked away.
~o~
Emerald sat up in her bed, breathing heavily. She realized it was just a nightmare, but something within her told her that it was still possible that Cinder would forget about her like that.
"I need to become stronger," Emerald thought. The next day, she walked up to Salem.
"Salem, let me go after the Spring Maiden," Emerald said.
"Why should I?" Salem asked.
"I helped Cinder become the Fall Maiden," Emerald answered, "I know how to fight a maiden."
"Alright," Salem said after some consideration, "Prepare, and take whoever you want. And be sure not to fail me."
"Of course," Emerald said and walked away, looking for Tyrian. She had plans with him, but also with someone else she would have to pick up on her way.
~o~
Tyrian was sitting on a chair, with Salem standing in front of him. The room was scarcely lit, and Tyrian held the stump of his tail in his hands.
"We will get back at her for what she did to you," Salem said, "She will rue the day she thought she could cross us." Suddenly, Salem was engulfed in a bright light and slowly turned to stone. A hand grabbed her head from behind and tilted her petrified form sideways, revealing Sirena's face.
"She's cute, isn't she?" Sirena asked, "As for you, I will always find you, no matter where you run. You cannot escape, you cannot hide, and you cannot win against me. Nothing will save you once I deem your life useless." With that, she crushed Salem's head in her hand and laughed, and Tyrian woke up in a cold sweat.
~o~
Tyrian and Emerald got off of the Griffons that had carried them to a remote location near a village in northern Vale, and started walking through the woods. After a few minutes of walking, Tyrian was picked up by a net trap, and Emerald turned around to see an all too familiar face.
"Hello Neo," she said and asked, "How have you been?" Neo pointed at Tyrian.
"Let me down!" Tyrian said while struggling.
"That's Tyrian," Emerald said, "He's a colleague. I have a new boss now, and she wants me to get something for her. A little heist, if you will. How about it?" Neo thought about it for a moment, then cut the rope holding the net Tyrian was stuck in.
~o~
One evening, in an Inn, Emerald noticed how nervous Tyrian looked and decided to try and help him.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"Nothing," Tyrian answered, and Emerald thought about how to help him.
"We can't get the job done if you're like this," Emerald said, "Now tell me what's wrong, or I'll tell Salem you endangered the mission." Hearing that, Tyrian froze in motion.
"It's… her," he whispered, "She follows me in my dreams. She won't rest until I'm dead. She will come for us all. She will find us. We cannot hide. Only our goddess can save us now."
~o~
Tyrian was running through a swamp, trying to get away from Sirena, who was swimming through the murky waters. Suddenly, chains made from ice shot out of the water and dragged him into the bleak and suffocating darkness.
"I heard what you said about me," Sirena said, "And I do not like it. That witch cannot stop me, and neither can you. Noone can. You chose your side, and it was your last mistake." She opened her mouth wide, revealing rows of razor-sharp fangs, and dashed towards Tyrian. He woke up in a cold sweat, sitting in the bed in his room, looked around, curled up and started sobbing into his knees.
~o~
A woman walked along a path leading through a lush forest. The path had white fences on either side and was fairly well maintained. The woman wore black boots with green leaf patterns embroidered on them, dark brown pants and a black t-shirt under a light green long-sleeved vest. Her black hair was cut short and seemed unkempt. Suddenly, something hit her in the stomach and knocked her back a fair distance. Emerald was sitting on a nearby tree and used her semblance to keep the Spring Maiden from seeing either Neo nor Tyrian. Tyrian hit her in the back with a spinning attack, knocking her forward. Neo kicked her in the face before delivering several quick blows with her umbrella sword. The Spring Maiden created a force field around herself and kicked up some dust, flinging lightnings at her attackers once she located them. Emerald shot her weapon's sickles past the maiden, anchoring them in trees on the opposite side of the road. She retracted the chains and pulled herself towards the Spring Maiden, catching her by surprise and kicking her into the forest.
"You wait here," Emerald called out to the other two as she and the maiden disappeared into the forest.
"Who are you?" the Spring Maiden asked. Emerald used her semblance to trap her in an illusion where everything looked like herself, and the wind constantly repeated her name. The Spring Maiden looked around in confusion, not sure where the enemy was, and felt several strikes against her. Before she knew it, she was pinned to a tree and chains started constricting her upper torso. While her aura protected her from damage, it didn't block the pressure forcing the air out of her lungs, and she rung for air. Emerald watched as the Spring Maiden slowly lost consciousness, and the pink energy followed her weapon's chains into her hands. She felt a strong surge of power and let go of the woman.
"No," Emerald thought, "I'm no killer." She knelt down by the woman and began CPR, eventually bringing her back to life.
"Wait, what?" the former Spring Maiden asked, "Who are you?"
"I'm sorry," Emerald answered, "But I had to do something. Dangerous people were after you, and they wouldn't have been so nice. I hate what I had to do, but now the target is on my back, not on yours. I hope you can forgive me. There is a trail of strawberries to the nearest village, but please keep a low profile for a while." She faded away and the real Emerald turned around and walked back to the others. The former Spring Maiden looked around and saw a patch of strawberries. She slowly made her way there and saw another one in the distance, and the patches eventually led her to a village.
~o~
When Emerald walked back onto the road, she saw Neo and Tyrian waiting for her, with Neo clearly being happy to see her.
"Where… is the maiden?" Tyrian asked.
"Guess," Emerald answered, waved her hand and restored Tyrian's tail.
"Wait, you took her powers?" Tyrian asked and said, "If Salem is displeased with this, she will make you feel worse than before Cinder found you."
"Yeah, right," Emerald said, scoffed and said, "She can try, but it won't work. Let's go." Neo gave Emerald a questioning look.
"Don't underestimate her," Tyrian said.
"I'm not," Emerald answered, turned to Neo and said, "Salem is my new boss at the moment. She's also Cinder's boss. Mercury is there too." The trio got going again and headed back to Salem's castle.
~o~
The trio reached a village in southern Vale, close to the border to Vacuo, and decided to rent a room in an Inn for the night. At night, Emerald had trouble sleeping, wondering whether or not the former Spring Maiden was still alright. She went outside to take a walk through the village, and found a small apple tree sapling growing in the center of the village.
"Well, it worked once," Emerald thought and knelt down beside the sapling. Holding her hands around the small tree, she focused and let her maiden powers flow into the plant. It immediately began growing into a mature tree that bore fruit. Exhausted, she went back inside and fell asleep almost as soon as she laid down.
~o~
The next morning, Emerald, Neo and Tyrian noticed people had gathered around the center of the village, and everyone was staring at the tree in awe. They snuck away and continued their way back to Salem's castle.
"Did you do that?" Tyrian asked.
"Yes, why?" Emerald answered, "I offered to capture the Spring Maiden so I could give you your tail back, but that doesn't mean I won't train my new powers every now and then."
"Really?" Tyrian asked.
"Yes," Emerald answered. She knew it was just so that Cinder wouldn't abandon her, but she didn't want to admit it. Healing Tyrian was just a random idea she had after getting these powers.
~o~
Salem opened the doors to her castle and saw Emerald, Tyrian and Neo in front of it. Tyrian bowed excessively, Emerald nodded respectfully, and Neo looked about as horrified as Emerald and Mercury when they first arrived in her castle.
"So, you have returned," Salem said and asked, "Now, where is the Spring Maiden?"
"You're looking at her," Emerald answered.
"I see," Salem said and asked, "And who is that?"
"Neo Politan," Emerald answered, "If we ever need a Winter Maiden, she can fill the role."
"I see you learn fast," Salem said, "And you saved Arthur the trouble of making a new tail for Tyrian." She turned around and let the others inside. Emerald walked ahead, followed by Neo, and lastly Tyrian, who closed the doors again.
~o~
Cinder and Emerald were training their powers in the training room, flinging fireballs and lightnings at each other and blocking or dodging them. Flying through the training room, Emerald dropped corn seeds on the floor, while Cinder flung fireballs at her, and she blocked them with force fields. At her command, the seeds all grew into fully matured plants. Cinder, thinking it was an illusion, unleashed a wave of fire. In an instant, the room was flooded with popcorn, and when Mercury opened the door to find out how training was going, he was swept away by the food.
"What is the meaning of this?" Salem asked as she made her way through the popcorn.
"I noticed Cinder only used fire," Emerald answered, "So I wanted to see how she reacts when that wasn't the best option."
"Clean it up, both of you," Salem said, "And then continue training." Salem left the room and Cinder huffed, incinerating a good chunk of the popcorn.
~o~
While Salem was walking through her castle, a Seer following her to inform her of everything the Grimm all over Remnant were doing, she didn't notice Mercury and Tyrian walking up to her.
"Hey Salem, I've been thinking," Mercury said.
"About what?" Salem asked.
"Maybe we could try and take out some of Ruby's friends, now that they're split up."
"And who do you think you could take down?" Salem asked.
"How about that heiress," Mercury suggested, "She's weak enough."
"I'll tell you something about weakness," Salem said, "Especially about who has none. Her bodyguard, Niob Bolt."
"I've dealt with bodyguards before," Mercury said.
"Not with his kind," Salem said and explained, "He is no mere man, he is fear incarnate. Look at what Sirena did to Tyrian. You can't hope to get away from Niob in that state. If you cross him, he will find you. He will catch you, and he will make you pay. Not even death can save you from his wrath. There is a reason I never send anyone to kill him or those close to him. I know his semblance, and I know that he is too powerful to be killed. If you were to actually succeed in harming the person he was tasked to protect, he would make you suffer a fate worse than death. And you would do nothing, because there would be nothing you could do. Now stop fooling around and get back to training." Suddenly, a piece of paper floated down from behind Tyrian, and landed in front of Mercury's feet. He picked it up, opened it, and read it.
"I heard that," it read, and Mercury froze up. Ideas flooded his mind, and he thought of everything anyone he knew had ever done to someone. Dismembered, burnt alive, sprayed with acid, every single heinous act crossed his mind at once, and was replaced by something so much worse, the initial thought seemed merciful by comparison. Outside the castle, Grimm were reacting to his fear and getting closer to the black walls, roaring and pushing past one another to get closer to the darkness within the assassin's heart and mind.
Triggers: Minor character death, minor blood and gore.
Author's note: I like the idea that Emerald knows a bit of just about everything, since she picked it up on the street at some point.
Also, I took some creative liberties with the maiden powers, since it was said that each of the original maidens taught the wizard something. Spring brought his garden back to life, or something, so it would make sense that Emerald thinks that this is something she can do. In reality, making those plants grow was just water/earth/energy manipulation.
And Cinder learns an important lesson: Don't shoot fireballs at corn.
Tyrian's condition is called Adaptive Nightmares. Not a real thing as far as I'm aware, I just made that up. Basically, his subconscious judges his behavior by another person's values, in this case Sirena's, after a traumatic encounter with that person. It doesn't affect his decision making, but it torments him with nightmares based on how much Sirena disagrees with what he did that day. It also works in the other direction, where she would reward him with pleasant dreams if he did something she approved of.
Emerald has just regular nightmares.