Here we go.
Cover Art: GWBrex
Chapter 52
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All citizens required to update to new digital ID system in latest safety push.
Atlas Times
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Vale Council summons ambassador after rumours of Mistral plan to poach Jaune Arc.
Vale Daily Tribune
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Mistral Council declares "no plans" to tempt Jaune Arc away from Vale and blame radical groups for attempt to sow further discord.
The Mistral Review
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Vacuo Council proposes new law to REMOVE term limit for mayor, Gillian Asturias, citing that an arbitrary limiter on a proven and capable leader does more harm than good. Democracy advocates raise concerns.
Vacuo Today
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White Fang under Adam Taurus capture six abandoned Atlas military bases in one week.
Kuo Kuana Express
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Things were going astoundingly well, Cinder couldn't help but think. Jaune was showing a clear interest in Pyrrha, while she had been lusting after him for a long time. They might have called it love, but that was such a fancy way of saying their teenage hormones were raging out of control. It was almost too easy.
Pyrrha was an avid student as well, lapping up everything Cinder offered now that she'd had a taste of success. Little touches here, a brush of her hair against Jaune's arm there, and leaning in to listen to him, angling her head just so and letting his eyes trace down her neck to the treasure beneath.
It was all very beneath Cinder, and wouldn't have normally been worth her time, but driving a wedge between Jaune and Weiss was one of the last steps to fully committing him to running away. Weiss Schnee was the last thing holding him back, and it wasn't like she could remove the girl via her usual means.
Murder didn't really stick when Jaune Arc was in the vicinity.
Currently, Jaune and Pyrrha were chatting over a light lunch while Cinder sat at the counter sipping a cappuccino. They didn't even notice she'd been absent after her so-called "bathroom break" a full six minutes ago. It was lucky for him he had her team to handle security, because he could be woefully inattentive at times. Not that they could have made use of it before. His Arc-Ops weren't exactly amateurs, and Elm Ederne had been a paranoid woman at the best of times.
Patience wins out in the end. And I can be very, very patient…
It wasn't even like she had to worry about the maiden's powers anymore. Amber hadn't resurfaced, and that meant she was on death's door. Ozpin and Ironwood might have found a way to elongate that, but she wasn't going to magically get better. She would die eventually, and Cinder would inherit even if she was on the other side of Remnant. And, with Jaune under her wing, Salem wouldn't even begrudge her not destroying Beacon. That plan had taken second stage to acquiring him the very moment Salem heard about his Semblance.
When Pyrrha and Jaune finished and look like they were ready to leave, she set her cup down and "appeared" at their sides as if she'd just returned from the restroom. "Ready to go?" she asked. "It's getting on late. We should head back sooner or later."
"Late?" asked Jaune. "But it's-" He checked his scroll. "Whoah! It's almost six! How?"
"Time flies when you're having fun," she teased, noting Pyrrha's pleased flush. "But we really should return to Beacon before people start to notice your absence. They're unlikely to recognise you in disguise, but they'll recognise the fact you were both missing all day."
Cinder wasn't sure if it would be good or bad if Weiss Schnee noticed. There could be some value to having her go on the offensive against Jaune and Pyrrha, and alienate him even further, but, at the same time, there was a chance Jaune would take that on the chin and feel guilty, and further bind himself to Weiss in apology.
It was better not to risk it.
It was still light out as they made their way away from the busier parts of Beacon. Air travel slowed down after the day's commutes were over, and foot traffic moved instead toward the residential and entertainment districts. The office buildings and businesses they made their way past were mostly quiet, locked up and asleep, with only the occasional security guard in a booth, or the odd cyclist going on by.
And the person following them.
Cinder wouldn't have had a chance of noticing them in the crowds, and they probably had been following since then, but now they were in quieter streets she could tell the person was after them. Her hands clenched as she drifted back behind Jaune and Pyrrha, wondering how someone had identified them. She'd been careful with their disguises, and even avoided standing with them. There had been thousands of people who walked by without noticing a thing, yet this person had picked them out easily.
It could have been a Semblance, or a spy, or someone who knew. The specifics didn't matter, because if they were a threat to Jaune, then they were a threat to her mission. He wasn't ready to fake his death yet. Cinder cleared her throat, cutting into Pyrrha and Jaune's conversation. "We're being followed. Don't look back," she hissed, as Jaune made to do so. He stopped himself. "We're only a few minutes away from the Bullheads. Pyrrha, do you think you can get him there safe?"
Pyrrha gasped. "You're staying!?"
"Only to buy time. I might even be wrong and this is all just a coincidence." Doubtful. "No one should be able to recognise you though, and it's not far to go." And Pyrrha Nikos was no amateur. "Just keep on walking while I double back. If someone has recognised you, then it's as likely to be a fan wanting an autograph as it is anything else."
Jaune relaxed a little. "You don't think it's one of those terrorists from Atlas? They've been quiet since those two in the forest blew themselves up."
Since I killed them, thought Cinder, smiling darkly. "I think this one would have attacked the diner if they were one of those. Targeting you in a quieter part of the city is actually less useful from their point of view since I could deal with them without having to worry about civilian casualties. This is probably just a paparazzi."
Again, she doubted it, but she wanted them gone. Her casual manner must have convinced them however, because they nodded and kept going, leaving Cinder behind to lean against the wall directly in the path of their shadow. They would either need to pass by her or cross the street, in which case Cinder was prepared to cross with them and have a little chat about their motives.
Those thoughts faded when the person came close enough for Cinder to see their face. Her entire body locked up, mouth dropping open, before forming into an absolute snarl. She pushed off the wall, blocking his path completely, and held her hands at her side, ready to summon fire or weapon. Her fingernails dug into her palm.
"Tyrian…"
The psychotic, fanatical madman that Salem kept as her little pet and attack dog smiled crookedly at her. He was insane, well and truly touched in the head, and that made him unpredictable. Dangerous. Cinder could understand Watts and Hazel, and thus logically determine why they were doing something.
With Tyrian, it was a complete guess.
"Cinder," he said, voice lilting. He giggled a moment later. "You look upset."
"I am upset. At you. What are you doing here?"
"Me? Why, I'm helping!" The faunus cackled again, his tail flicking under the brown coat he'd worn to conceal it. Cinder kept her aura up, even though she knew he could pierce it.
"I don't need your help. Leave."
"Ah, ah, ah. You don't get to order me around. I'm here helping because she told me to."
Cinder froze. "What?"
"Yep. I'm here on orders." He rocked on his heels, still grinning. "And those orders are to kidnap him."
"But I haven't had any like that-"
"That's because it's a two-sided plan, you get me. Our Goddess, in her wisdom, has come up with a plan that'll work either way. I try and kidnap him, and if you can fend me off then he'll trust you more. You can get him to listen to you, and it shows that old fraud in Beacon that you can be trusted to look after him. And if you fail, well, that's a win for us as well, isn't it?" He threw his head back and laughed. "The perfect plan!"
No. No, it wasn't. Her plan was already perfect, and this was just unnecessary interference. Cinder wanted so badly to say that, but she knew it would be taken as an insult against Salem, and then Tyrian would lose what few marbles he had left. Instead, she said, "Is Salem – our Goddess," she amended, when his lips peeled back, "-is she displeased with my progress? Last I checked, she was satisfied that things were going well. I have his ear, I have his trust, and I've about halfway convinced him to leave Vale with me. I just need to sever the last things holding him back. I'm working in her interests, Tyrian!"
"I know that. You've been gooood," he stretched the word out. "And she's pleased with you, Cinder, she really is. Said so herself." Cinder let out a breath, relieved. Tyrian wasn't smart enough to lie, and certainly wouldn't about something like this.
"Then why do this now? Is-" Her eyes widened. "It's Watts, isn't it!? That idiot did something!"
"He might have." Tyrian didn't even try to deny it. Watts was no more his friend than he was hers. "I heard him explaining to our goddess how Arc's Semblance is limited by time – four hours now, isn't it? Watts might have suggested that the longer this takes, the smaller the chance he can bring back the people she wants him to. Our goddess was… understandably concerned."
That blasted, petty man. She should have expected he would do something like this. Watts simply could not accept a world in which he was sidelined for someone else, and, much like he had when they'd expelled him from Atlas, he was going around trying to ruin other people's success to drag them down with him. He was the kind of man who, if he was drowning, would pull you down and make sure you drowned too.
He's also setting me up to disappoint Salem. He's planted the idea in her head that it'll be my fault for taking so much time if Jaune's Semblance can't bring her children back. Even though they died thousands of years ago and there's literally no chance anyway. Damn it all.
"This isn't good for my plan," said Cinder. "But I assume there's no way I can convince you to stop this, is there?"
Tyrian grinned. "I have my orders."
"Fine. I wouldn't dare to place my own above hers." Her mind raged, but anger was of no use here. "I take it we're to fight if it ever comes to defending him? Can I at least trust you not to use your Semblance to pierce my aura and kill me?"
"Funnily enough, you can," he said, giggling. "I've been told not to kill any of yours."
Well, that was a relief. Cinder was confident in her ability, but Tyrian's Semblance meant she only had to make one mistake to die. "That's good. You're aware of my team, then? Please avoid killing the pink-haired one as well. Also, the girl you saw him with today."
"Is she one of yours as well?"
"In a sense. She's unaware of the specifics, but she is serving our cause. Also, he has feelings for her, and if you kill her and take him, then I guarantee he'll kill himself rather than aid Salem. That won't serve anyone, and Salem will probably blame you."
Tyrian was an insane man but he was also a fanatic, and he was obsessed with Salem's praise. He nodded quickly, almost desperately. "I'll make sure to be gentle with her, then. Any other silly rules I have to observe?"
"No, but…" Cinder paused, and then smiled. "Have you perhaps heard of a terrorist group trying to kill him? My team and I have already dealt with two of them, but I'm sure more exist in the city. They're using explosives to try and kill him, and I can't protect him if he's blown to smithereens in an instant. Given they're working against both our missions, and that you'll have a lot of downtime while Arc is untouchable in Beacon…" Cinder watched his smile grow into a wicked grin. "I thought you might appreciate a chance to let loose…"
"Ha ha. Ahah. Well, if it's for my divine orders, then I'm sure it's okay to have a little fun!" He giggled, practically vibrating with glee. "And we'd both get in trouble if he died. We wouldn't want that."
"We certainly wouldn't. That idiot, Watts, would gloat all over us. Also, as an aside, when I do succeed in convincing him to cut ties with Vale and flee, faking his death…" Cinder raised an eyebrow. "I assume you'll be working with me and not against me?"
"Yes. Yes. Absolutely. I'll help you get him to our goddess safe and sound. But," he said, "until then, we're enemies." He was grinning. "So do try to keep up-"
Cinder's hand moved, a sword in her grip. It was a sudden attack, even by her standards, and yet Tyrian reacted with almost impossible speed, going from mid-conversation to his stinger spearing for her face. Cinder aborted the attack, twisted to the side and threw herself back. The vicious stinger hovered in the air where her head had been, and Tyrian was still smiling wildly.
"That's better!" he crowed. "Like that! Yes, like that! Hey, since I wouldn't be kidnapping him today, I can really kill you here, can't I?" He laughed. "I can kill you and he'll bring you back. The deal only counts if it sticks. I bet it'll look really convincing too! They'll definitely trust you if you die for him!"
Cinder took a step back, her heat racing.
Tyrian did not let her escape easily.
/-/
Jaune, having thrown off his disguise and washed the dye out, reached the infirmary at the exact same time as Pyrrha did. They hadn't faced any trouble getting to the docks and back to Beacon, but the longer it went without Cinder getting in touch, the more they worried, and when Glynda called him to request he meet her in Beacon's medical bay, he feared the worst.
But Cinder wasn't dead.
Even if he looked close to it.
She was grimacing on the bed as Tsune dabbed at a horrific slash down her left arm, cleaning the insides of the wound with a cotton bud gripped between a pair of tweezers. Cinder's other hand was gripping the metal railing of the bed tightly, and her teeth were gritted together.
Glynda Goodwitch was there, and she shushed them and waved them over, motioning for them to stay quiet. The headmaster was there too, and he was also quiet, waiting for the doctor to finish her work before bothering Cinder with questions. It took time for the wound to be cleaned and then stitched shut, and, by the end of it, Cinder's face was slick with sweat and a little pale. She was pushed into a laying down position but deemed healthy enough to answer questions.
"Miss Fall," said Ozpin, stepping forward. "First of all, you have my compliments for stepping in to deal with a threat to your charge's life. You handled yourself well. That said, I really must insist you travel with your full team in future-"
"You're telling me," Cinder gritted out. "B-Believe me, the lesson has been learned."
"I imagine it has. I hate to put this on you now, but can you tell us anything about the individual who did this?"
"Huntsman. Scorpion faunus. Brown hair, psychotic face." Cinder listed off details, including his clothing and fighting style, and Ozpin's face seemed to darken as it went on. "He wasn't White Fang," she forced out. "Didn't talk like one and no mask. Said he was going to take Jaune to bring someone back. Probably has a dead family member."
Jaune swallowed. He'd dealt with many people just like that, but this was one of the first ones to have genuine huntsman training. It was strange to think that he'd never had to deal with that before, but it sort of made sense. A lot of huntsmen families passed down the profession, so children of huntsmen and huntresses tended to have aura, which made them a lot less likely to die in a random accident. While the mortality rate for huntsmen was higher later in life, it was actually a very safe profession while you were young. Aura kept you safe, and the various schools and academies were heavily regulated. He'd not had to resurrect any students from Atlas Academy or Beacon, in his time living at both.
"Is there anything else you can tell me?" asked Ozpin.
"Some of his attacks went through my aura. It wasn't a mistake on my part," added Cinder, scowling. "I know how to keep my aura up. He was just able to ignore it, but it wasn't all the time. It was some of his attacks."
"A Semblance, perhaps," said Glynda. "I can reference the databases and see if anyone fits."
Ozpin nodded. "Do so, please. Thank you for your time, Miss Fall. Rest assured we will be on the lookout for this individual. You have my thanks for stepping in to protect Mr Arc. I know it's your job now, but we are still grateful." He moved away. "I'll leave you to rest. Mr Arc, Miss Nikos, please do not keep her awake too long. Miss Fall needs her rest if she's to recover."
He slipped out with Glynda, leaving Tsune behind, but the doctor was already off attending to another student who had come down with something or other. Jaune approached Cinder's bed with Pyrrha beside him. "I'm so sorry-"
"Don't," hissed Cinder. "This is our job. It's what you're paying us for." Her eyes closed, and she let out a sigh that somehow sounded more annoyed than pained. In fact, Cinder looked angry more than anything. "We couldn't have predicted some idiot would attack me like that. I'm fine. It's just some stitches. I need you to tell Emerald to come see me so I can give them orders. Or anyone from my team. Whichever you pick, have the other guard you."
"Are you sure that's wise?" asked Pyrrha. "You need to rest."
"I'll sleep through tomorrow morning, but not if they come wake me up once they hear what happened. And Jaune should not be unprotected tonight after what happened. Now would be the perfect time for someone to try and harm him."
"I'll do it," said Jaune, just to calm her down. "I'll go right there after this. Do you need anything else? Are you… Do you want to quit?"
Her eyes snapped open, panicked, and then locked on him. "What!? No! No, I…" She growled out something under her breath. "It's fine. Injuries were expected when we agreed to this. We knew there would be risk. We're training to be huntresses. The Grimm would have done worse to me." Cinder raised her arm, grimacing as she did. "This is a minor injury. Don't be so stupid as to beat yourself up over it."
They left soon after, on their way to Cinder's team. Pyrrha was quiet, pensive, but he felt the same way so it wasn't anything out of place. She must have been wondering if she should have stayed and fought alongside Cinder, but then that would have put him in danger. Sometimes there were no good options, and at least Cinder was okay.
"It feels wrong to say today was fun," said Pyrrha, surprising him. That wasn't the line of thought he'd expected at all. "I had a lot of fun – more than I've had in years, to be honest. And then this ruined it right at the end. I want to do it again, the two of us out in disguise, but it feels wrong to say that when Cinder got hurt."
Jaune hummed. He felt the same way now that she said it. The day had been fun, and he'd enjoyed himself, and if it hadn't been for the attack then he would have also said it was one of his best days in recent memory. Not knowing how best to say that, he just up and said it. It was enough to please Pyrrha because she smiled happily.
"I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels that way. I hope we can do it again as well – just maybe with her full team there, and with us being more careful."
"With any luck, they'll capture this guy."
"Yes. That, too. Do you think he'll try anything at the hospital tomorrow?"
"He'd be pretty ballsy to given how many people will be there. Besides, he doesn't want to kill me from what Cinder said, so I think it won't be somewhere crowded like the hospital or the festival. There's a reason he followed us to a more secluded spot."
"That's true." Pyrrha let out a relieved sigh. "It's good to know we should be safe on Amity. There'll be a lot of protection there as well. I should head off," she added. "My team are probably looking for me. Thank you for today. I had an amazing time." Before he could react, she leaned in and kissed him.
Only on the cheek. It was soft, quick, but impactful all the same. Jaune could feel the faint traces of her lips on his skin cooling in the air as she turned and walked briskly away, never once looking back. He was glad she didn't because she would have seen his mad blush otherwise.
And I should count my lucky stars Weiss didn't see that either. Did I just go out on a date with Pyrrha? No. There's no way she'd do that. Pyrrha knows I'm engaged. But, then, she'd known when she kissed him on the lips before. No. I need to stop overcomplicating things. It was just a kiss on the cheek. My sisters have done the same plenty of times. It's… It's probably nothing…
Even if Pyrrha had looked so good in those outfits.
"Not going there. Find Emerald. Send her to Cinder. Focus, Jaune. Focus."
Emerald was horrified when she found out Cinder was in the infirmary, and practically burst past him in a sprint. Mercury was much more chill, rolling his eyes at Emerald and leaning back in his sofa. He was playing a fighting came on his console. "Wanna join?"
"I…" Jaune sighed. "You know what, yes. Yes, I do."
"Cool. Got another controller around here." Mercury fished it out and plugged it in. "So, how was the date?"
Jaune flushed. "It wasn't a date, Mercury."
"Uh-huh." Mercury rubbed his finger over his own cheek. "It's just that you've got something here."
Jaune's hand shot up, wiped, and came back with a faint trace of pink. He hadn't even realised Pyrrha had been wearing lipstick, or that he'd walked through the halls of Beacon with it marking him. His face turned bright red.
"Cinder doesn't wear lipstick so I'm guessing that's Pyrrha's."
"No comment."
"You realise that only makes you sound guiltier, right?"
"No comment."
"Heh." Mercury wore a shit-eating grin. "Whatever you say."
Next Chapter: 6th July
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