Salem's Castle (Night)

Cinder's mind was wracked with pain. She clenched her fists, trying to stop the agony from getting worse.

"Ms. Fall?" Arthur Watts said, prompting the Half-Maiden to face him. "Please try to keep your... anger in check. There's only so many rooms in this castle to destroy, after all." That angered Mercury, who approached the man. Cinder raised her arm, still riddled with pain, stopping her subordinate. "Hear that? Silence. If he weren't dead, I'd have half a mind to thank the boy that bested you." Watt taunted.

Kill him! Stab through his heart with your blades and crush his skull beneath your foot!

'Be quiet!' Cinder mentally yelled, trying to hush the voices in her head. A burning substance was surfacing, causing her skin to bubble. Then, as quickly as it started, it all stopped. The Maiden turned to the massive wooden door at the end of the room. It opened, and a woman with pale white skin and a black dress came through. Everyone stood up in her presence.

"Do you find such malignance necessary?" Salem asked. She raised her hand, allowing everyone to sit back down.

"I apologize, ma'am. I'm not particularly fond of failure." Watts said, keeping his head high. He couldn't show fear in the face of his Queen.

"Then I see no reason for your cruelty towards young Cinder." Salem said, sitting down. "She may not have acquired the full powers of the Fall Maiden, but she has attained something that will assure her victory the next time she meets Pyrrha Nikos."

Annihilate Pyrrha! Show her that you deserve this power! Take her SOUL and relish in the flames of her despair!

Cinder's eyes became pitch black, leaving nothing but the bright orange flames her HATE was kindling. With an anguished scream, a tendril of black slime shot out of the wound in her chest and stabbed into the wall, detonating the side of the castle.

While she would never admit this, even Salem herself feared this new power.

Forest (Day)

"I'm just saying, there's more members of JNPR in the Team than RWBY or XICR. It just makes sense to go with THAT one." Nora told her partner as they walked through the woods.

"But 'Jurripin' isn't a word." Ren said.

"Ugh. How can I be more clear!?" Nora yelled. "One, two, four." she said, counting the number of members from each Team. "That's MORE than one and two."

"But we're helping Ruby and Gregory with their objective. Wouldn't that make Ruby the leader?" Ren reasoned. Before Nora could make her retort, a large explosion rattled the area. "Well, I guess training's happening again."

"Do you think Pyrrha will ever master her new powers?" Nora asked.

"I have faith." Ren answered, walking to the source of the explosion. He and his partner arrived at a clearing where Gregory and Pyrrha were sparring against eachother without the use of weapons.

"Hey guys." Ivy said as Ren and Nora approached the group of spectators. For everyone's safety, those not participating in the battle were standing far away. "You made it just in time. Things are starting to get interesting."

Pyrrha was trying to use her new pyromancy, but it paled in comparison to Gregory's skill with magic. The boy summoned shards of ice that flew through the air, cutting into his opponent's Aura. Small embers trickled out of Pyrrha's hands, but nothing of substance was being released.

"Time out!" Gregory shouted, causing all of his attacks to vanish. "Pyrrha, it's been eight days. We need to make progress, or you'll never be able to beat Cinder." the boy scolded, the blue light in his eyes reflecting off his glasses. "And if you don't beat Cinder, she'll be able to take the Fall Maiden powers from you." The grass beneath him started to turn white. "And if that happens, then we are all screwed!"

"Gregory, please calm down." Ruby told her brother.

"I am calm!" the boy yelled, causing small stormclouds to appear above him. "I just... I can't stop thinking about what happened to Dominic. He was a master with Fire Magic, and even he couldn't stop Cinder." Gregory's eyes started to tear up. "I want to make sure we don't lose anyone else to her."

Nobody said anything for a while after that.

"Let's continue in five. I need to think." Gregory said, walking into the woods.

"He's still broken up." Jaune said.

"We all are." Ivy responded.

"Dominic and Gregory had a relationship that was different than the ones we all shared with eachother." Ruby said. "They were always at the other's throat, trying to impress Mom and Dad with the magic they were learning. It's why so many of their attacks mirror eachother's."

"That explains a lot." Ren said, remembering how similar the brother's fighting styles were. "I'm guessing he's going to decimate a large section of forest."

"Most likely." Ruby said.

"Should we stop him?" Nora asked, slightly worried.

"Not unless you want to lose an arm." Ivy said. She then turned to face Pyrrha. "You know, I could help you with Maiden Magic."

"Please do. I've been trying everything to get it to happen, but so far..." the redhead said, holding out her palm. Smoke came from her hand, but other than that, nothing.

"It's not something you can force. It needs to come from the heart." Ivy said, demonstrating her Life Magic by willing a sunflower to emerge from the earth. "If you have a clear goal, you simply have to visualize what you want your magic to do. That's really all there is to it."

Pyrrha had a thoughtful look on her face. "I'll see what I can do." she said, looking down at her hand.

Arthur Watts

Age: 39

Gender: Male

Species: Human

Semblance: Unknown

Element: Tech

Battle Class: Quickshot

Salem

Age: Oh, dear lord, that is a lot of zeroes.

Gender: Female

Species: Former Human

Semblance: Never unlocked.

Element: Dark

Battle Class: Sorcerer