Chapter 58: Midnight

Hi there. This is the author here, RatCrimes. Instead of giving you a teaser summary of the upcoming chapter, I'm going to instead give you a little advice. If you stop reading now, Ruby and all her friends are still alive at the moment ('cept that dirty bitch Neo). If you choose to continue – well, that's on you.

Penny decided it would be in everyone's best interests to have a friendly chat with Friend Nora. She could wish her luck in the upcoming fight, and it would also be a good chance to find out why Friend Nora was wearing the relic of choice on her head.

Activating her rocket legs, she flew over to them as they entered the arena. Several non-friends were quite surprised to see a young huntress levitating overhead, but Friend Nora excitedly waved her over.

"Penny!"

Friend Ren and Friend Sky were with her. The three launched into an inaccurate explanation of where they had been, claiming that Friend Pyrrha had been afflicted by PTSD and was now in the custody of the Beacon staff. Penny declined to correct them.

"So, did Ruby win?"

"Friend Ruby suffered a serious injury during an accident during her match. Fret not; Blake has informed me that she is recovering well. Unfortunately, the judges have decided to award the match to Team Caiman, as Friend Ruby did exit the boundaries of the arena and suffer the aura loss required for elimination. The four academies have agreed to award Friend Team Rainbow with an Honorary Champion medal."

Sky smiled. "That's nice of them to do. I guess you'll be kicking Cinder's ass instead of Ruby's, eh, Nora?"

"I've been in the mood for some crocodile soup!" Friend Nora gnashed her teeth for maximum comedic effect. "Gonna eat that bitch up and spit out the scales!"

"Atta girl," Friend Cardin said, walking over to join his walkabout company. "If I were Cinder Fall, I'd be quaking in my heels. What's with the circlet?"

"It's a crown," said Friend Ren.

"Oh, well excuuuuuse me for not being up to date with every piece of medieval jewelry, princess," Cardin drawled sarcastically.

Friend Sky threw his arms into the air. "How do you know what a circlet is and not a frickin' crown?"

Friend Nora took it off and looked at it. "It was a gift from Ruby. I guess."

"You guess, Friend Nora?"

"Ren found it in their dorm, and Professor Branwen offered it to me on their behalf. He was all stutter-y and weird when he saw it. It was pretty obvious that there's more to this crown than meets the eye."

"I believe I can shed some light on this." All eyes fell upon Penny. "May I see it?"

The relic was handed to Penny. Penny grasped it with both hands and pretended to shake it a few times. On the third shake, she dropped a couple of General Ironwood's antacid tablets out of a compartment her right hand. To Friend Team Castle, it looked like the small white pills had come out of the crown.

Friend Nora picked one up and inspected it, confused.

"Amphetamines," said Penny. "More specifically, benzoylethanamines. Blake is hopelessly addicted to them. After her team started confiscating her pills, she took to hiding them in every nook and cranny possible. Friend Weiss told me the sordid tale. This crown seems to have a secret compartment where Blake's stash is located."

Friend Team Castle looked shocked. Penny handed the crown back to Friend Nora.

"That's horrible!"

"Blake? I never expected her to be a drug addict. I always thought it would be Yang."

"Imagine the effect it's having on her friends."

Penny nodded. "That's likely why Friend Qrow gave you all the crown; to keep such vile medicaments away from his beloved nieces. These kinds of pills can be difficult to dispose of without the proper tools."

"What are the proper tools?" asked Nora.

"Laser beams. Laser beams and nothing else."

"Penny, your swords shoot laser beams!"

"Huh. I suppose they do."

"Miss Valkyrie," boomed Professor Port over the speakers. "We are ready to hold the finals when you are. Please proceed to the battlegrounds as expediently as possible."

Friend Nora hastily shoved the crown back into Penny's hands.

"Please, Penny. Destroy the crown. Destroy it for Blake and Ruby and Yang and all the other cute little woodland creatures that are in danger!"

"If you insist. I shall see to its safe destruction."

Ren shook his head. "First Pyrrha, then Ruby, now Blake? Are all of our friends in life-threatening danger?"

Friend Ren, you have no idea.

"Ladies and gentlemen! The moment you've all been waiting for! In one corner…she's the Queen of Team Castle. She's hunted Grimm, and now she hunts our hearts. Let's hear it for NORA VALKYRIE!"

The crowd went wild, though Cinder was not envious. She desired neither adulation nor cheering. It was power that she was after, not popularity. Strength would decide everything. That was why they held these tournaments – to weed out the weak and let the strong rise to the top where they belong.

The mustached old tub of a huntsman was right. This was the moment she'd been waiting for. All her plans came together tonight. Every moment she'd spent shaking stupid first years' hands and holding back her true strength – it all was about to pay off.

I can't wait to see the looks on her face when everything she believes in crumbles. I'll show her just what Cinder Fall is capable of.

Nora Valkyrie was her opponent tonight. Unlike Ruby Rose, Coco Adel, or Sun Wukong, this one did not repulse Cinder. Valkyrie had proven herself to be the second strongest, and that commanded some respect. Nobody before the singles had even put up a real fight, and Rose had fallen like a fool at the crux of their fight. Weak.

"In the other corner…she's Haven's finest. She's drop dead gorgeous but make no mistake; this alligator has teeth. The competition falls before the might of her bow and arrows. She is CINDER FALL!"

Another roar of applause.

Cinder leveled her blades and aimed them at Valkyrie before the crowd had finished its chanting. "You're the one who dethroned the Invincible Girl."

"That's me."

"I was rather hoping to be the one to clip that bird's wings."

"Dude…Ruby! Too soon!"

"My apologies. I only meant that I was looking forward to beating Pyrrha Nikos myself."

"You'll have to settle for Nora."

Said Nora pointed at herself with a thumb proudly

"Are you not afraid, child? None who face me have gone any further."

Valkyrie stuck out her tongue. "It's a tournament, lady. I've won all my matches too – that how it works. Dumb-ass…"

Both were silenced by the judges' alternating voices. "For the championship…"

"…and title of Vytal Huntress…"

"…and the honor of your academy…"

"…you may begin!"

Cinder did not attack first this time. She was not afraid of a first year, but only a fool would discount a huntress who'd made it this far for her age. Instead, she waited for Valkyrie to make the opening move. Everything hinged on winning this match – everything. If Cinder lost, years of training would be wasted. She could not afford to take risks.

Cinder's opponent looked back to her teammates. A gray haired boy nodded. Valkyrie nodded in confirmation and refocused her attention on Cinder.

Sky Lark. Try as she may to distance herself from the weak and undeserving, Cinder knew the names and faces of all members of Team Castle. It was impossible to walk through Vale or Beacon without catching a glimpse of some gaudy product or such featuring the beloved kids. Cinder now needed to watch out for some kind of plan. If Valkyrie was the muscle, Lark was the brains of the operation.

That was the difference between their two teams. Cinder was the brains and the muscle.

Scorching Caress worked fast. Within seconds, the ground around Cinder became a thick molten magma. Cinder's feet were protected by her heat resistant heels, but Valkyrie had no such safeguards.

Let's see you try to trap me when you can't even approach me, dear Nora.

Valkyrie eyed the volcanic floor and took a step back. Switching the oversized hammer into a weapon launcher, she locked on. Cinder merged her swords into a bow and aimed right back.

Valkyrie fired. Cinder fired as well. Her arrow struck true, piercing the projectile midway between the two girls. Cinder braced herself for the explosion.

It never came.

Water splashed onto Cinder's skin. Cinder looked up to see the torn up patches of bright green on the ground next to her arrow.

Valkyrie shot off another projectile at her. Cinder rolled out of the way to avoid the…water balloon?

The next shot caught her right in the face. Cinder made no effort to defend herself. Her hair was wetted as liquid poured down her shoulders and dripped through her dress. Emerald must be having a heart attack from the view.

"Eat water, you fire meanie!"

Does she think it will 'put out' my fire semblance or something? Or the Dust in my dress? That isn't how it works, you imbecile!

Another balloon hit Cinder head on. Cinder stood up. Advancing towards Valkyrie, she split her bow into twin blades. Valkyrie kept futilely firing shot after harmless shot straight into her enemy's chest. As Cinder got closer, Nora slowly retreated away from her drenched and now steaming foe. Suddenly on the back foot, the leader of Team Castle seemed a lot less confident in her subordinate's plan.

"Uh, Sky?" she called.

Yet another balloon. Cinder twirled Midnight and smirked.

"Sky, it's not working. You said it was gonna…S-Sky!"

Cinder laughed and held her blade at Valkyrie's trembling throat. "Did you serio–"

At such close range and directly into her gut, the force of the point blank grenade blast blew Cinder straight to the edge of the arena, where she just barely managed to dig half of Midnight into the ground to stop her momentum in spite of the pain nearly shutting down her entire body. If she had not, a ring out at nearly full aura would have been Cinder's fate.

Team Castle was the motherfucking pride of Beacon. Their teamwork, their skill, their camaraderie. Move aside Pyrrha Nikos; Nora Valkyrie was born to be invincible. Yang could still remember when Weiss had to physically restrain Cardin to stop him from bullying Velvet. Sky Lark had been a pushover, afraid to speak up lest he upset some delicate balance only he saw. Lie Ren apparently used to use his semblance full time to keep his emotions in check, at the cost of his humanity. Now, they were a fully functional team that brought down mutated Grimm and tore through the competition at tournaments and did all sorts of cool shit when the clock struck cool shit'o'clock.

As she watched the fight live on her scroll (while still keeping an eye on the door; Yang was no slouch), Yang noticed that Nora's modus operandi was to lull her opponents into a false sense of security, then blast 'em with a grenade or a Cardin or somethin'. She'd overpowered Penny by skill alone, but every time she rolled out one of Sky's plans, it was the same trick. Still, it worked. Until a gimmick wore off, you kept milking it for all it had.

Yang's gimmick had long since worn off, and she'd fallen behind on getting a new one. Letting herself take hits to power her flames didn't work against Adam Taurus, and he was only a few years older than her. Imagine going up against a pro-hunter with nothing but her washed up gimmick of a semblance.

Maybe it was time to start investing more heavily in team-based strategies. She and Ruby could work together like two heads of a King Taijitu when the situation called for it, but Yang had yet to actually make any real combo moves with Blake or Weiss.

No. Blake and Weiss.

Yang had finally grown enough courage to admit it wasn't just about Blake. Weiss' feelings mattered too. How was this going to work? If Blake chose Yang, would things ever be the same in Team Rainbow? Blake and Weiss were huntress partners. Yang couldn't imagine working back to back for the rest of her life with someone who'd rejected her for another woman.

Checkmate was the original romance. Before Sky and Ren, before Cardin and Nora, before Arkos, those two had always been a surefire couple. Things only got shaky when Yang stuck a stake between them at the dance and pried her way in. The two might not have broken up the way they did if Yang hadn't…hadn't pulled a Raven.

Yang looked at the video feed to see Nora smiling at her team and shouting something unintelligible. They shouted back more inaudible encouragement to their queen. Team Castle was a team who stuck by one another. Yang wanted to be a part of something like that more than she wanted a lover.

What we have right now…this isn't worth it.

There had to be other guys and gals out there who Yang could chase without half the guilt and uncertainty that came with Blake. The Faunus was just her first puppy love. Er, kitty love. No, wait, even better: pussy love. Yang snickered at her own mental joke.

It was decided, then. When Blake and Weiss came back, Yang would encourage them to give it another go, this time without herself in the way.

Just like that, a huge weight lifted off of Yang's chest, and it wasn't just her epic rack rocking from side to side. All of the worrying about whether or not Blake would choose her floated away. Yang hadn't realized just how much she'd been stressing over it. There was no way this kind of stuff could be good for her health.

Blake emerged from the other room alone. Yang struggled to rapidly come up with a pun on the fly.

"Hey, Blake. I was…uh, cat–"

"I'm so done with Weiss. I just can't be around that…that child right now! This time, we're through. And I mean through through."

Through through? Weren't they already through through?

"Yang." Blake stepped right up and put her face into Yang's. "Kiss me."

Yang blinked. "Wei–"

"Is going to be occupied for a minute or two. Now kiss me."

"I – uh, okay."

"Blake, you have to understand. I didn't mean it like that."

Blake just stared at her, wide eyed.

"Animals is a non-specific insult to describe any race, like calling someone an animal when they do something horrible. Like, if I heard that someone had burned down an orphanage, I might say, 'You bloodthirsty animal! How could you?' Like, you know, like that…"

Weiss trailed off, unsure of where she was going with this. Blake didn't say a word.

"I promise, I don't think of the Faunus as animals. I was just so angry at the White Fang that I blurted out the first insult that came to my mind."

Weiss was being honest here. Or at least she thought she was. Winter probably didn't feel like a racist, but she'd only openly admitted her biases when placed under enough stress. Perhaps Weiss had more in common with her sister than she cared to admit.

"Marcus Black is an animal, too. Calling someone an animal implies they were devoid of human emotions. A-And that's not to suggest that the White Fang are devoid of human emotions because they're Faunus. It's because they're terrorist who target civilians."

Blake stared.

"Not you! Oh, Dust, I didn't mean you. You left them, so it's…I should stop talking, shouldn't I?"

Blake's gaze continued to pierce Weiss' soul.

"Who am I kidding? Maybe I am just like Winter. Maybe everyone turns hateful when they lose the people they love. But I swear, Blake, from the bottom of my heart, I don't consciously think like that anymore. I've spent time around you and Velvet and Sun, and I've seen your humanity. I don't use that word in a mocking way; Penny taught me the truth. Faunus are humans. Or maybe humans are Faunus. It's our choices in life that define us, not what we look like or what parts we have. I've seen your joy. I've seen your rage. I've seen your love. No animal could do that.

"You were right. There's so much that separates the two of us that a relationship would be impossible. I see that now. But whether we're girlfriends or partners or nothing at all, I hope we can work together to excise hatred from the world. And we can start with my own hatred. The White Fang killed my parents. That much is true. But how many innocent men, women, and children has the SDC killed in their mines? Father was a monster that refused to back down until his greed caught up with him. I won't be the same. The SDC is mine now, and I'm going to turn it around. I'll stop working Faunus to their death, I'll make sure every worker gets equal pay, and I'll see to it that profit never comes before the safety of the employees. It'll take time, but change will come."

It would be quite the audacious undertaking. Lives were priceless, but giving workers rights cost lien. Father ran a tight ship, and the shareholders had come to expect the generous profit margins that he'd brought. The old guard would fight it. Management of the SDC was exclusively in the hands of wealthy humans who had no interest in impoverished Faunus (or impoverished anyone, for that matter). Weiss would have to change policies slowly, or she'd be ousted. The Schnee name meant a lot, but having it didn't guarantee the loyalty or compliance of the SDC. Just ask Willow Schnee. Or Jacques Gelé.

Blake remained silent.

"Blake?"

Nothing.

Weiss poked her partner's cheek. Blake had no response. Her face stayed in the same wide-eyed pose it had held since Weiss' little outburst.

A shadow clone!

Damn. The real Blake hadn't heard Weiss' speech. It hurt that Weiss had poured her heart out for nothing, but she still meant every word of it. The SDC needed to change, and not just because Weiss wanted to impress a prospective love interest.

Weiss poked the clone again. Usually, they disappeared by now. Why had Blake even left it here?

Because I had called her an animal.

Because Blake wanted a chance to cool off without stupid little Weiss babbling to explain herself like she totally had. Because Blake didn't want to be around Weiss, so she'd left the dummy for Weiss to distract herself.

Weiss sighed. Weiss x Blake was truly dead, for sure this time. No more takebacks or last minutes saves: their romance was done like dinner. It was time to go out and face the music.

The clone Blake was still standing there, staring at the wall. It didn't feel right to leave it there to surprise whoever came into the room next, so Weiss hoisted it up underneath her arm and carried it out with her.

Who knows? When Blake and Yang shack up, maybe I can keep the clone.

The only light came from the stadium's artificial Dust-powered illumination. Neither the shattered moon nor the stars were out tonight.

Since the day Cinder had her aura unlocked, she'd never let it fall this low. Neither Grimm nor combat nor any of the brutal abuse she'd suffered over the course of her entire life had ever brought her below half, but now she was down to 35%.

One might have thought Magnhild, with its bulky head, was a slow weapon or one useable only for massive strikes and broad swings, but Nora manipulated it with the ease of a dagger. And the handle itself was more than just a handle; thrice had Cinder been beaten across the face by the reinforced steel pole. In a rare moment of panic, Cinder had overreacted to one of these attacks and spent all of the Dust that she'd spent so long integrating into her dress to defend herself.

For all the damage Cinder had taken, she'd doled it out with equal or greater ferocity. Both huntresses had endured more punishment in this match than the entire rest of the tournament combined, easily.

Midnight had sung a beautiful song tonight. Valkyrie was sweating profusely and struggling to catch her breath. By this point, she had depleted her entire arsenal of grenades, water balloons, glitter bombs, beehives, grapefruits, nails wrapped up in tin foil, and even the odd hedgehog. Where she even stored such a menagerie of munitions, Cinder would never know. And all of it had been registered in advance with the judges; Valkyrie had clearly come to win.

The little tricks Lark had given her were all spent as well. From batting Cinder's arrows back at her, to physically destroying half of Midnight with her hammer to partially disarm Cinder, to vomiting up some sort of green algae smoothie onto Cinder, Nora had tried it all. Cinder was now willing to recant her prior statement that teams were an obsolete relic of the past. Neopolitan and Mercury hadn't ever truly been necessary – their names, perhaps, but not them as people. Nora, though? Cinder would've gladly taken Nora as a minion in place of either of those oafs. She could see it now: Team CEN. Century? Central? It would never come to be – Valkyrie would neither bow nor break – but it was a curious concept.

Power is absolute. You have power, Nora Valkyrie. Not enough to match my own, but enough to face your own demise without backing down. You may have lost, but you are a warrior. You shall have the warrior's ending you deserve when I finish you. This I swear.

Valkyrie's team was cheering her on, and she managed to force out a weak smile. Only by leaning on her hammer could she remain standing. Cinder had to admire her dedication; any other foe would've yielded. Dust, Cinder herself might have yielded to spare herself the indignity of the impending crushing defeat, were the tables turned. If you can't stand, you can't fight. It was over, even if Nora's aura hadn't dipped below some arbitrary limit set by an irrelevant committee that didn't matter.

"Betcha never thought I'd get this far," said Valkyrie.

"I'm impressed. You've exceeded all my expectations."

"And just how did you come to have expectations of little old me?"

"You stood out among your peers."

She winked at Cinder knowingly. "And you were watching. You were watching all of us."

Cinder internally cursed herself for being so sloppy. "Perhaps my methods were underhanded, but power is not limited to brawn. Intelligence, skill, planning – these are all aspects of true power."

"I always believed that power comes from our muscles, but victory comes from biggest muscle of all."

Cinder smirked. "The brain?"

"No. The quadriceps femoris. A.K.A., THUNDER THIGHS!"

Nora pushed off of her hammer and widened her stance. After a brief pause for effect, she dashed forward. Cinder didn't know where the exhausted huntress had dragged this second wind out of, but it didn't matter. She'd come too far and risked too much to lose. Valkyrie could have her little last stand. Cinder Fall did not lose.

Magnhild slammed into the ground, but Cinder had slipped to the side to avoid the obvious attack. Nora kicked a piece of rubble into the air and hit it towards Cinder, swinging her hammer like a baseball bat. Cinder blocked the distraction with her short-sword and leaned backwards just in time. Magnhild swung back around and clipped a few strands of Cinder's hair as it whizzed by. Valkyrie overstepped in her desperation, and Cinder slashed Midnight straight through the handle of the hammer into her waist. The orange haired girl's face contorted in pain, and Cinder blew her backwards with a blazing punch. She had made sure to limit the use of her semblance upon entering the yellow, but the fight was finally over, and she could afford to splurge.

Perhaps it was her imagination, but Cinder swore she could hear the Vale clocktower chiming twelve times from miles below the floating colosseum.

Midnight.

This is it. This is the moment. The hour of Cinder Fall is finally at hand.

Nora's aura exploded apart, as did her hammer. Fragments of the steel pole clattered to the floor of the stage as the hammerhead fell at Cinder's feet. The girl soared through the air before landing on the ground with a thump. She did not get up. Fans stood in shock as their disappointment from seeing their hero fall warped into concern for her safety. Team Castle was screaming something, but Cinder couldn't hear it.

Finally. As I promised you – an end befitting a warrior.

Step by step, she approached Nora Valkyrie's defeated figure with Midnight's remaining blade clutched tightly.

Reaching down, Cinder offered her free hand to the fallen huntress.

"Good match."

Valkyrie groaned, rubbed the back of her head, and accepted Cinder's help getting up. She seemed slightly discombobulated, but otherwise unharmed. Glancing at the short-sword in Cinder's other hand, the orange-haired girl winced.

"Sorry about breaking your bow-sword thingy."

"I can have Midnight replaced. I apologize for the destruction of your hammer."

"S'okay. Cardy'll but me a new one. Congrats on winning, Cinder!"

Beacon's professors clapped through their microphones and animatedly announced her victory. "Honored festivalgoers, you have your champion! Cinder Fall!"

It took a moment for it to sink in.

All of her planning and training and persistence had led to this very moment. Her dream had come true. Her plans had been realized.

She, Cinder Fall, had finally won the Vytal Festival Tournament.

Who'll never be a real huntress now, stepmother? Suck on that, you dusty old bitch!

Such thoughts were juvenile, but Cinder had earned it. Nora patted her on the back as confetti and glitter streamed down. Cinder smiled and waved at Emerald, who excitedly raised both thumbs up and cheered.

Dust, this isn't a dream, it's really happening. Oh, I'm so excited! I can't wait to call Rhodes and tell him the good news!

"When's the bomb going to go off?" asked Mercury.

"What bomb?" asked Emerald.

"It's not a bomb? Okay, so what, is it going to be an attack? Or…or…or an assassination? Or something?"

"Nope."

He fell back into his wheelchair in a defeated pile. "Fine. You win. I'll bite. What's Cinder's big plan? What was all this for?"

"My partner's big plan was to win the Vytal Festival Tournament."

"And she needed the White Fang and ten trillion tons of Dust and my dad under her control to do it?!"

"Again, nope."

"Then why'd she make a deal with the Fang? Why'd she put you up to messing with the Schnee in the doubles? Why'd she hire me?"

"Oh, Mercury," Emerald said, shaking her head. "Cinder never did any of those things."

"W-What?"

"I warned you. I specifically said, but you didn't listen."

Emerald turned to face him with a devious smile. Mercury raised an eyebrow. She made sure to enunciate every word in the next sentence for maximum effect.

"Cinder. Fall. Isn't. The. Boss."

"She's...but I…she…she was…I…you…"

"I'm guessing your tiny little mind has just exploded."

"Yeah," Mercury admitted, too distrait to counter her barb. "Yeah, I guess it has. But, if Cinder's not the Boss, who is?"

Weiss stepped into the main area of the hospital room with the shadow clone under her arm. Remembering that danger was afoot, she surveyed the room.

Ruby was safe in her bed, dozing quietly even though her legs were mangled.

The ice barricade Weiss had made over the door was dripping as it began to slowly melt, but it was otherwise secure.

Yang and Blake were kissing.

Damn. She'd know it was coming, but it stung more than she ever could've imagined. The sight of it threatened to tear her heart out of her chest, and Weiss wondered how she would be able to get through another three years watching stuff like this. It went without saying that things were going to change for Team Rainbow.

I'll do my best to be supportive. At least Blake is happy. O-Or, at least both of them are happy. Yang is a teammate too.

Weiss politely coughed to announce her presence to the two lovebirds. Blake dislodged her lips from Yang's and pulled away.

Yang's eyes were closed.

Schachmatt was stabbed through her stomach.

Semi-Canon Omake

Penny: Friend Ruby suffered a serious injury during an accident during her match. Fret not; Blake has informed me that she is recovering well.

Nora: Hey, didn't you mean to say 'Friend' Blake?

Penny: No. No, I do not.

Author's Notes

Three days isn't that far away, is it?

Happy rats, and don't do crime!