Moving into the climax of the story!


Chapter 58


There was no intervening moment where Cinder pondered the logistics of launching herself at Tyrian Callows; the Maiden's fire blazing out of her eyes.

At no point did she consider that he was, technically, an ally. At no point did she consider what Salem would say or do if she killed Tyrian, or injured him, even. She did not care. He had hurt Glynda; poisoned Glynda. Cinder had seen before what that poison could so to someone.

And he'd done it to the one person that Cinder valued above any other.

He would pay for that. It was a simple equation.

And yet, Cinder was forced to halt herself, breathing flame out from her teeth, as Tyrian held Glynda's stiff form in front of her, mocking her with an, "Ah, ah, ah! None of that, little Cindy! You wouldn't want your precious Glynda to suffer, would you?"

Cinder had never been quite so livid in her entire life. Nothing… nothing could compare.

Even the rage that had built within her, day in and day out suffering under the Madame, felt small in the face of this.

"Tyrian!" She growled like a rabid beast. "Let. Her. Go!"

"Oh, I would, I swear to you, but I'm afraid I'm acting under orders at the moment, dear Cindy."

Her eyes bugged out. "Wha– What the hell do you mean orders!?"

"Ah, perhaps I've said too much?" Tyrian touched a finger to his chin like some stereotypical schoolgirl. "Well, regardless, you don't exactly have the power to demand anything of me, do you, Cinder?"

She snarled. "What are you–"

Tyrian just smirked. "After all, I somehow doubt you're in possession of an antidote to my poison. And given that you're not, the only person who can detoxify your little lover dearest is moi."

Cinder inched forward, trying to do so in a way that would not attract Tyrian's attention, but the man's beady eyes trained on her foot the moment it moved at all. He had always been terribly observant, always watching. In her youth at Evernight, she'd once compared Tyrian to a mantis. He was no scorpion. Scorpions were, in truth, quite docile. They were content to soak in the desert suns of Vacuo, and hunt during the nights.

Tyrian was a mantis. He would stalk about, waiting for the perfect time to strike. And then he would sink his claws into his prey, and rip their limbs off, one by one, eating them as those caught by him writhed and screamed in agony.

And all the while he'd smile.

"Another move and I take off a finger." Tyrian stated calmly, almost casually. "How about that, Cindy?"

She drew herself to a complete stop, although technically, she was fairly certain Tyrian could've acted on a technicality. It was impossible for her to truly hold herself still as things were. Her entire form was vibrating. Rage and fury coursed through her far too powerfully for her to stay motionless.

"Better, better." Tyrian stated, even as he stepped backwards, dragging Glynda's rigid, barely conscious form backwards. There was a film over her eyes; even though she was still awake, she was entirely absent. "Don't worry too terribly much, Cinder. I've been told to allow you to follow me. Isn't that grand?"

"What the fuck do you mean told!?" She screeched, about to step forward but, graciously, remembering Tyrian's threat. "Salem told you!? She told you to take Glynda!?"

"Ah, you figured that out, did you?" Tyrian laughed. No, he giggled. If she'd been burning before, she was a bonfire now. "Yes, well, sorry to inform you, Cinder, but Salem set me on a task a month or so ago. That was to investigate what exactly it was that was causing your heart to stray."

Her breath caught in her throat.

"And lo and behold, what did I find but a tale from out of the storybooks," Tyrian placed a hand on his heart, even as he forced Glynda's limp form over one shoulder, hoisting her with ease. "Star-crossed lovers, on different sides, held back by fate, yet wanting nothing more than to leap into each other's arms. Ah, but it felt like my heart started beating again!"

If Tyrian kept speaking, Cinder's teeth were going to shatter with how hard she was clenching them. Her jaw was trembling.

"Unfortunately, well… I'll leave the rest for later." Tyrian smiled, even as he finally stood upon the lift, and then, very dramatically, bowed his head. "Toodaloo now."

Cinder moved.

It was such a small window. She knew, more than anything, that Tyrian had purposefully given it to her, as well. He bowed to make her react, to make her jump in. To try and bait her into his clutches. He wanted to hurt her, or perhaps he wanted to hurt Glynda. Either way, Cinder knew she had to stop him.

Tyrian was luring her in. But Cinder knew that. It was likely, as well, that Tyrian knew she would read him properly. She could further dig deeper and deeper into an endless string of one reading the other if she wished, but suffice it to say, this scenario was a toss-up.

In a straight fight, Cinder could take Tyrian; hell, she would demolish Tyrian with the Maiden's power.

But Tyrian Callows had not fought a straight fight in his entire life.

And she doubted he was about to start now.

So, when his head suddenly moved to be in line with her own, and he gave an almost feral grin, she wasn't the least bit surprised. His tail arced out from where it had been hidden behind Glynda's slumped form, and shot towards her face.

She channeled fire into her cheeks, and blew.

The next few seconds felt like they passed instantly. The stinger struck her, but bounced off of her aura, sliding across her face. It did not cut her. Her flames, likewise, weren't enough to break Tyrian's own aura, merely to singe him. He'd managed to divert her course ever so slightly with his tail, and so while the elevator back to the surface began to rise, Cinder barely managed to get a single foot on it.

But she was off balance.

She knew in her heart that she'd already lost.

Because while she had to play to beat Tyrian in one fell swoop…

Tyrian only had to play to buy time.

And so, when a completely inconsequential hit struck her on her right leg – the single thing chaining her to the platform carrying the both of them towards Haven, hanging above – she was not injured. But she was pushed back ever so slightly.

And that was enough.

She channeled fire into her limbs, into her legs and arms and tried to propel herself back up. But she was fighting gravity, and Tyrian wasn't a fool. His tail arced out one more time, and slammed her in the center of her stomach.

Again, it did not pierce her. But again, it pushed her down.

And it was enough for him to crest the edge of the roof, where the elevator that connected the upper and lower levels of Haven took him entirely out of her reach.

Cinder let loose an aching, desperate scream. She flew towards the elevator, trying to somehow break it; stop its ascent. But clearly, the elevator had been constructed at the same time as the vault it had been built to access. The material was something harder than iron or steel, and though she could, with great effort, dent it ever so slightly, she had no hope of ripping it apart in time to stop Tyrian's escape.

Which meant her only option was to summon the elevator herself, and wait.

That, or blow a hole in the ceiling.

She did make an attempt, but there had to be at least ten meters of stone between her and the insides of Haven Academy, if not thirty more. Though she screamed and shouted and raged against the rock, she had barely managed to carve an indentation a few inches deep by the time a minute or so had passed, and the elevator began to descend back towards her.

She honed in on that, flying towards it as it began its descent. The sounds of combat above her had all but died, and though Cinder knew that the seconds ticking by could not truly be as long as they felt, she was ready to strangle somebody by the time the elevator finally lowered itself enough for her to fly through the gap, and up the cylindrical opening to the ground floor of Haven Academy.

When she emerged, she observed the room. Several things became obvious.

The first was that Watts had not won the battle. There was not a single downed member of Team's RWBY or JNPR, and both Mercury and Penny were stood as well. None of them looked to be at one hundred percent, but then, that didn't much matter. Lionheart, likewise, had been downed, laying in a heap and being guarded by Valkyrie, Ren, and Pyrrha.

Watts wasn't there, though. If she were a betting woman, she'd have said he'd left with Tyrian.

There was a kid there she didn't know, along with Qrow Branwen. Upon seeing her, both glared her way.

"Cinder Fall," The young boy with the black hair and the olive skin spoke evenly. "Well, it's been quite some time. I believe I owe you–"

"Where's Tyrian!?" She shouted, calling out to the entire room of people. "Where did he go!? He had Glynda with him, didn't he!? Did none of you stop him!?"

She completely ignored the way that the boy – who she realized now was probably the current incarnation of Ozma – seemed rather indignant that she'd cut him off. She instead focused on the guilty expressions that passed over the faces of nearly every member of RWBY and JNPR.

"He was fast," Blake Belladonna muttered beneath her breath. "Faster than us. And by the time any of us reacted, he told us that if we tried to follow him, he'd–"

So, he'd threatened Glynda's life, just as he had with her. It made sense if he didn't want followed, and yet he'd all but explicitly told her to follow him. Tyrian was many things – a psychopath perhaps the most major of them all – but he had never once been a liar.

He wanted her to follow him…

And he wanted only her to follow him.

Cinder couldn't waste time. Tyrian had nearly a two-minute-long head start on her. That didn't sound like a lot to someone who'd never been in a high-pressure scenario, but it was a massive deal. Simply put, Tyrian could have gone in any direction the moment he'd left. The longer she was kept from beginning to track him, the more he could begin to disappear.

And that wasn't an option.

So, she stepped forward. She ignored the way that Emerald looked up at her with a question burning on her tongue, cradling the wounded form of one Penny Polendina, who seemed to be watching her rather closely. Perhaps on another day, that would've worried her, caused her to think she was to be abandoned.

But she needed to go alone regardless, so she would not fret too terribly.

"Are you going after her?" Emerald asked.

Cinder didn't bother pretending. "I am."

"You'll save her?"

"I will."

Emerald just nodded. "Don't die."

Cinder nearly laughed. "I won't."

Emerald seemed content with that.

Pyrrha Nikos nodded her way, and Cinder did the same back to her. That seemed like all they'd have time for, but there was a quiet respect there, one which Cinder had no trouble with.

Unfortunately for Cinder, two figures moved to block her, then. Qrow Branwen's expression was conflicted. Evidently, he understood a bit of what it was she was going through. Ozma – or whatever the hell he was called these days; she'd just call him Ozma for now – did the same, holding his cane up at her as if to strike her, or prevent her from striking him.

"And where are you going?" The boy's voice was off-putting, given that an immortal as old and powerful as Salem lurked behind it. It was high and somewhat nasally, but it had the air of someone far older and wiser. "You are an ally of Salem, are you not?"

"Out of my way." Cinder stated simply, stepping forward and ignoring the weapons pointed at her. "I have to save Glynda."

Harbinger hesitated somewhat. "And how do we know you're not bullshitting!?" Qrow Branwen questioned her. "Glynda… I could tell she cared about you, but in the end, you destroyed Beacon and left her behind; how am I supposed to trust–"

"Every moment you two talk," Cinder cut him off, watching as the two bristled somewhat. "Tyrian Callows gets further away, carrying Glynda upon his back. He's counting on me to follow him; why, I do not know. I imagine he will not allow Glynda to die, but that is all I can do; imagine. So, for all I know, every moment you stand there, prattling on, Glynda gets one step closer to death."

She took another step, walked forward so that Harbinger's edge rested against the bridge of her nose, and met Qrow eye-to-eye.

"And if something were to happen, and I wasn't able to make it there in time? I need you to understand that I would come back for you. I would come back here, and I would obliterate every single person who got in my way."

"Threatening us, are you?" Ozma commented.

Qrow, on the other hand, was wavering. She doubted it was from the threat. It was likely the emotion behind him was what eventually stayed his blade, causing him to lower it and rub a hand down his face.

"Fine, go." Qrow stated. "Don't die."

Cinder just nodded. "I won't."

And yet, despite the fact that Cinder felt the two of them had come to a decision, one weapon still stood in her way.

"Oi, Oz!" Qrow tried to barter for her.

"You will not leave with the Relic." Ozma stated, his eyes saying that he didn't want to do this, and yet do it he did. "I am sorry. Truly I am. But you do not know that which you–"

Cinder took the Relic of Knowledge from off of her belt, and haphazardly threw it right into the kid's hands.

"Have it." Cinder snarled, pushing by him, barely focusing on the boy's stunned expression. "I've bigger things to worry about."

And the moment she was out of the doors of Haven, she set herself aflame, and took to the skies.

/

Glynda was fairly certain she was being carried along on someone's back, but then again, she couldn't help feeling as if she wasn't entirely conscious of exact happenings at that moment.

There was wind coursing through her hair, and more of it on her legs and rear – curled over someone's shoulder – than there was upon her face and arms. That meant she was being taken somewhere…

That wasn't helpful.

She was very out of it.

She was seeing things. Strange things. Unknowable things. As she gazed down at the ground, it seemed to warp, turning ninety degrees, so that she was flying. Now, as she looked ahead, she could see her old teammates. All three of them. They'd died, some part of her reminded the rest, but Glynda ignored such statements.

She'd longed to see them again. She truly had. She hadn't gotten to say goodbye to any of them. They'd not thought… they'd not thought they might die when they'd had that final reunion, a few months before Mt. Glenn. So, they hadn't said goodbye.

She'd not said goodbye to Cinder either.

That was a good idea. She should introduce Cinder to her team; oh, and to her parents, too. They were there as well, her father, an investment banker, and her mother, a regional manager of a pharmaceuticals brand. They were smiling at her. She hoped they'd like Cinder. Glynda quite liked Cinder.

Cinder was nice.

Where was she?

Who was she?

Was she Cinder? No. No, she wasn't Cinder. Because Cinder was someone who wasn't her.

Infallible logic.

"Oo, it seems little Cindy's begun her chase!" An excited voice bellowed out from all around her, so loud that it made her entire head spasm. "We'd best hurry then!"

"So, we're finally moving then!? It certainly took her long enough; I told Salem of Cinder's little crush nearly–"

"Oh, don't fret so much, Wattsy-poo! It's terrible for your complexion."

"Never call me that again."

The next few words went in one of Glynda's ears and out the other. She wasn't really listening, so that made a good deal of sense. Instead, she was focusing in on James, who was standing a way away, smiling at her, holding out a hand, asking her if she'd like to go to dinner.

She frowned, her lips pursing in on themselves.

She didn't want to go to dinner with Ironwood. She wanted to go to dinner with Cinder.

She wanted to make Cinder her dinner.

To be clear, she didn't want to eat Cinder.

She wanted to eat ou–

"Whoops!" Suddenly Glynda's entire world shook, but steadied itself in the next moment. "Nearly tripped! Won't happen again, I swear it! Tyrian-Postal-Services promises your packages will arrive promptly and perfectly preserved!"

It was amazing that the postal service had such advanced artificial intelligences to deliver their packages these days. Glynda had thought Penny was quite advanced, but apparently not! Technology had evolved quite quickly, it seemed. Perhaps they would invent an artificial intelligence that would entirely eradicate their kind from the surface of Remnant within five or ten years!

That would be swell.

She wretched, and vomit spilled from her lips. In that moment, Glynda felt she was just the smallest bit more lucid, more aware. She realized that she had been thinking about absolute nonsense for nearly four or five minutes now, and that she probably had to do… something.

What to do, though?

She did her best to squirm somewhat and get a better view of her surroundings. She'd taken enough courses during her time preparing to maybe join the Atlesian Special Forces on what to do when one was kidnapped to know that first, she needed to get her bearings. After that, she could formulate a plan.

Hm…

She had absolutely no idea where she was.

That was in large part due to the fact that some chemical was swirling throughout her body, turning her all loopy, but it couldn't have been helpful that she was in a city she'd never spent much time in during her life. The only thing she recognized at all was the streak of fire burning above her in the sky, like some kind of grand phoenix.

Cinder.

Oh, right. That was Cinder.

And Cinder… Cinder was…

A hand comes to rest upon her stomach, running up and down as she coaxes little reactions out of her. Glynda makes a noise then that's equal parts surprise and pleasure as Cinder suddenly takes things quite far, pushing her lips against those lower, but she's certainly not complaining. When they're finished, Cinder crawls her way up her body, flesh sliding against flesh rather easily with the sweat coating the both of them.

Glynda is almost expecting Cinder to say something cocky, or domineering. After all, she'd just coaxed such easy vulnerability from out of Glynda, essentially took control. And yet, instead, she ducks her head, and slots it within the crook of Glynda's neck. And she pushes herself against Glynda like it's all she can do to try and become one with her, to join together with her entirely, to become one being.

And Glynda… she understands, of course, because she's always been fairly good at understanding these sorts of things. A sad smile finds its way onto her lips, but she doesn't say a word. She just pulls her right arm up and curls it around Cinder's form. She rests her right hand within her hair, and cradles her against her body. With her left, she begins to run her hand up and down her back, trying to relax her.

She will forget this moment, she vows. This moment of complete and absolute vulnerability that Cinder is showing her, and no one else. She will forget it, but she will cherish it. She will cherish that she can be this place for Cinder, this space where she can return if she needs to feel.

Her body is shaking, her eyes are wet. She is sobbing into Glynda's shoulder, holding onto her like there is nothing else in the entire world for her to grasp.

She has lost something. Perhaps she feels she has lost Glynda. She will, after all, take the Maiden's power in just a few days. Perhaps… perhaps she feels she will die, regardless of how blasé she has been about everything, and that she is scared of it.

Or, Glynda guesses. There is so much that she doesn't know about Cinder, despite what she desires. She wishes she could know everything, everything, about her. But she cannot. And she will not force Cinder to. No matter her own insecurities.

She's not entirely sure when it is she starts humming. It's a silly little theme, a lullaby from a children's show she'd watched when she'd been… maybe seven or eight? But she hums it to herself, and to Cinder, and she leans down and kisses the cowlick of Cinder's hair – which she has never noticed until this moment, it's adorable – and tells her that everything's going to be okay.

And Cinder just bawls. Breaks within her arms. And she clutches her and squeezes her so tightly that even if Glynda knows that she cares for her so deeply, she almost thinks she's trying to kill her.

But then, eventually, the sobbing begins to quiet. And the hold upon her form begins to weaken. Throughout it all, Glynda continues humming. She hums and hums, and eventually, as Cinder's breathing evens out, she lightly maneuvers her so that she's the little spoon to Glynda's big.

She wraps her arms around her, presses a kiss against her neck, and whispers something she's not entirely sure of herself.

But the silence will keep her secret, she thinks.

"I love you."

She snapped from out of her own head without any warning, the memory going just as quickly as it had arrived. Suddenly, she was herself again. She was Glynda Goodwitch, and she was in a rather steep predicament, to put things lightly.

She'd been poisoned. That or drugged, but given she'd been stabbed by a scorpion faunus' tail, she was betting on the former. Judging by Cinder's lack of lateral movement, she likely didn't know where Glynda was.

She hadn't seen her.

Oh.

That was actually fairly easy to rectify.

It was more difficult than it had ever been for her to channel her aura into her fingers, then. She normally utilized a catalyst while using her semblance, but she couldn't draw her crop without drawing attention to the fact that she was now conscious and alert. Or, well, as alert as she was going to get. Vomiting out a good deal of whatever was going through her system had likely helped a bit.

Still, given it had been injected into her, she'd likely only shed ten or so percent of it. She was already feeling woozy again.

She needed to make this happen, and now.

So, with all that she had, she raised her right arm. It was torturously slow-going. It felt like it took an hour just for her arm to level out with her gaze, and then it still had to go higher, higher still.

And then a voice called to her, "Hey, what's she doing!?"

She had no time.

So, she simply acted.

She shouted as loud as she could, and then fired a touch of her aura into the air.

It glimmered purple, radiating dazzling, gleaming colors, almost like it was shattering and reforming over and over again. She did not know if it would be enough, and as Tyrian Callows lifted her, and smacked her across the face, sending her already fragile mental state spiraling, she got the feeling she wasn't going to be getting another chance.

But even so… she'd simply have to hope it had been enough.

She flitted in and out of consciousness for the next few minutes. She did not know their destination, but whoever was carrying her was doing so quite quickly, going faster than Glynda felt she could've, and doing so while carrying someone along their back.

But finally, they stopped. It was outside the walls of Mistral, perhaps a kilometer from the gates. Glynda couldn't see Cinder's blazing form anymore.

Perhaps her semblance hadn't been seen after all.

"You brought her?" A gruff voice that Glynda hadn't heard before suddenly chimed into the conversation.

"No, I just brought another woman with me for fun and kicks."

"Tyrian, your sarcasm would be much more effective if that were not a thing you would indubitably do."

The one named Tyrian sneered.

"Whatever." The gruff one voiced. "Just get her up and attentive. She wants her conscious."

Glynda wasn't entirely sure what was going on then, but suddenly, a sharp object was being stabbed into her thigh. She winced as she felt something entering into her bloodstream, fearing it was yet another poison, but relaxed after a moment as she realized it was, in fact, neutralizing the poison already in her system.

An antitoxin, then.

"Well, she won't be able to move freely for a few hours yet," Tyrian stated, "But she won't die now, I suppose. Pity, really. I always love to see them succumb to the final stages. The spasms are just–"

"Yes, yes, I'm sure they're orgasmic for you," The one that Tyrian had called Wattsy-poo sounded rather done. "Can we get on with this already? As much as I'm looking forward to seeing the look on Cinder's face, I believe we could perhaps get this done a bit quicker?"

Glynda's autonomy was beginning to filter back into her, so when she was set down on the earth below her – or, well, dropped down; Tyrian just sort of threw her off his shoulder – she was able to push herself to her feet, albeit shakily. She could see why they'd allowed her control over her own body; she barely felt confident to stand, let alone fight.

She took in her surroundings first and foremost. They were a bit away from Mistral it seemed, in a clearing that had trees on both sides of them, and a dirt path that they'd been walking upon. It was grey and lifeless, and had rather clearly been tread upon so much that nothing but weeds would ever grow within it.

Still, she watched as a creature that she'd seen only a handful of times in her life floated its way out of the nearby forest. Its tendrils hung beneath it like some sort of eldritch nursery mobile.

A seer; a Grimm made with the express purpose of communicating with the Queen.

She'd only ever encountered dead Seer's, and only ever at Ozpin's side. They'd usually only arrived to see the aftermath of such incidents; those who'd been bought by Salem, or perhaps coaxed into loyalty, either having been killed, or dealt with by her hand afterwards.

Salem was thorough, that was undeniable.

And now she was to meet her.

The Seer spun with dark energies, engulfing the surrounding areas in shadow. All around Glynda, the three servants of the dark kneeled – Tyrian was giggling excitedly – as the shadows began to take shape.

And then in the center of the deadened path stood Salem.

Glynda thought of herself as a steady person. Generally unaffected by things that others would cower before. But in the face of the Queen of the Grimm, she could not deny that her heart began to beat far faster than was normal. It was erratic as well, the poison not nearly finished with her yet.

And then Salem's lips parted.

"Well, well. So, you are the one whom Cinder chose."

Glynda couldn't speak. She wasn't entirely sure as to why. Salem leaned towards her, and despite Glynda knowing without doubt that the Seer could not conjure a physical form into being, she feared the way that Salem's hand came up to touch her cheek, to caress her, or perhaps more accurately inspect her.

"And to think she changed so much… for someone as inconsequential as–"

A meteor struck the earth.

Despite it all, chaos did not ensue. In fact, aside from raising their arms to block out the dust, none of Salem's present enforcers reacted in any way to the blast. No, even as rock and stone were kicked up, and a cloud of dust settled in the area, they remained steady, if somewhat tense.

Despite their form being obscured, Glynda had little doubt that everyone within the clearing knew the identity of the person standing there.

And despite everything, Glynda could not deny the way that her heart soared as the dust settled, and Cinder stepped out of it.

The look on her face was one of purest lividity.

"Ah, how nice of you to join us, Cinder." Salem spoke, extending a hand to her as if to draw an entire halls attention to her. "We were just talking about you."

Cinder didn't respond. Her eyes were trained not on Salem, but on Glynda's own.

She had but one goal, here.

But despite that, Salem hummed amusedly, and then began to speak again.

"Now, seeing as how everyone's here…" She said, splaying her fingers together.

"I do believe it's time we begin."


End Chapter 58


Cinder is here, Glynda's in danger, and we're cresting the ending of Paved with Bad Intentions! Only four chapters left to go.

Next chapter is pretty much The chapter, to put things into perspective, so I hope you all look forward to that!

See you all next week!