Chapter 11

Cinder limped to Watts' office. The past several days had been grueling. Tyrian had somehow managed to find new ways to be sadistic. Her body hurt all over and now Watts wanted to see her. She wasn't sure why; she was just told to go to his office. She lightly knocked on the door.

"Come in."

She did as she was told. The room was not that different from the laboratory that he usually resided in. There were still piles of notes everywhere, she didn't know what was on them. Not that she had had the time to ask about them. A lone desk occupied the back of the room with a large leather chair behind it. Two similar chairs sat in front of the desk with a small table between them.

She shuffled where she stood, just by the door. "I…I was told to come see you."

He was sitting at his desk, looking over some documents. He looked up at her and set his documents down. "Please, have a seat."

She slowly seated herself while Watts stood up and moved to a counter that was stuffed between two file cabinets. She heard some clinking and before she could ask about why she was here, Watts was handing her a teacup. She hesitantly accepted it and took a small sip. Instead of returning to his desk, Watts sat in the other chair beside her. He sipped from his cup before setting it on the small table.

"I take it that Tyrian has been treating you well."

She didn't think he was being sincere with that statement. "His training is…rough."

He hummed. "Indeed, at times I wonder if he truly knows the meaning of excess. He knows his way around combat nearly as well as I know my way around the various scientific fields Our Lady has employed me for. That being said, having him teach you is not something I truly understand."

She quietly sipped on her tea. "This is really good."

He smiled. "It's my personal recipe. I find that the sweetness helps calm the nerves. Believe it or not, I used to have a cup every night before bed when I first came here." His smile faded. "Now…now I save it for…special occasions."

She wasn't sure what he meant by that but the warmth that settled in her stomach was pleasant. She drank a little more greedily from her cup. The warmth made her eyes feel heavy.

"Believe it or not, but I was quite ecstatic to come here. The opportunity to see humanity brought to greater heights was too tempting. But the things I've had to do have weighed rather heavily on my mind.

Still, I need to continue. My job isn't complete, and I still have my uses so I doubt that She will be getting rid of me anytime soon." He looked at her. "All that aside, I do find myself to be the most empathetic of the group, so if you have something on your mind…I'm willing to listen."

She finished her tea and clumsily set the cup on the table. She struggled to think. She felt so light and sleepy. "I miss Rhodes. I miss the sunlight. Even if my stepmother and stepsisters were mean, I wasn't so tired. Those nights of training with Rhodes were my favorite."

She leaned against the chair. "Sometimes I dreamed that I would grow up to be a Huntress. Escape from my stepmother, have a team of people who care about me, and save people from the Grimm. We'd be happy and together."

She closed her eyes and for a moment Watts thought she had fallen asleep, then she spoke again. "Thank you for listening to me."

With that, she started lightly snoring. Watts sat there in silence, before sighing. "Don't thank me, Cinder. I'm just an old man incapable of doing the right thing."


Watts sat down in the chair at his desk, the terminal on the home screen. It was done. Salem had gotten what she wanted, and Watts had delivered it to her. He opened a file, a collection of photos. He added one more to the large collection, right next to a picture of a young man.

"One more added to the pyre. One more sin to drag me down."

He stared at the photo of Cinder for a moment before closing the file. His sins would catch up to him in due time, but, for now, he had more to add to the pile.


They were good to go. A brief explanation that the bust wasn't there at the manor was enough to convince Silkie. It was good that the girls were actively distracting her and had corroborated his story. Now that he had everything squared away enough for them to take a few days to go treasure hunting.

He had some brief thoughts about the danger that may come from it, but the headache from thinking through those scenarios made him ignore those concerns.

Roman ran through the final preparations for take-off. He stood and left the cockpit. "You girls ready?"

The two excited nods he received brought a smile to his face. He strapped them into their seats before heading back into the cockpit. The starting sequence finished; Roman's airship lifted off.

The walls of Vale passed under them as they took off to the north. It was a few hours' flight to their destination, so there was every possibility that the girls could get bored. He'd deal with it if it happened but hoped it wouldn't.

The morning sun was heartily over the horizon as they sped over the wilds. The coast was fast approaching as they continued north. There had been some weird encounters with the Grimm. A flock of small Nevermores had briefly circled them but soon lost interest. There was some cawing, but overall the Grimm had left them alone.

Roman might have chalked it up to dumb luck, but he had a hunch that Red's eyes might have been connected. When he saw the flock fly off, he was briefly reminded of what little information he had gotten about special eyes. Silver eyes were rumored to be capable of destroying Grimm with a single glance.

It was likely some special power that was similar to Red's, only that it only worked on Grimm. Was that what that was? Red had some passive effect to dissuade Grimm. Roman thought of an old religion that came up a few times when he did a little more research. Something about twin gods.

He'd have to think about it later as his navigation showed that their destination was almost upon them. He looked out the windows, trying to get a visual. It was rough with how dense the foliage was, but he had managed to catch a brief peek at a stone grey structure hidden beneath it.

Landing also proved to be a bit problematic, as there wasn't any way for Roman to land the airship near the building. He searched the area and found a clearing. Once they landed, Roman went to check on Red and Neo, only to find them unbuckled and waiting for him.

Shaking his head, Roman pressed a few buttons and the landing ramp descended. The girls barely waited for the ramp to fully descend before running down to the waiting grass. He sauntered down, exuding his normal confidence. Though the girls would never notice the attentiveness he paid to their surroundings. That weird encounter with the Grimm aside, the place felt strange.

The air itself felt charged and Roman couldn't help but think back to his previous thoughts on magic. Maybe the stress of going through with this was getting to him. Whatever it may be, they were here now.

"Alright, girls. While we're here, make sure to stay close; by close, I mean where I can see you."

The two pouts he received made him roll his eyes.

"Look. We're in Grimm territory. Those things are crawling all over the place, and if I can't see you, I won't be able to get to you in time to help."

That killed some of the excitement, but this was important. Who knew what they'd find here, Roman wasn't taking the chance that something would go wrong. He pulled out his Scroll and tapped a button. The ramp pulled back up into the craft.

"Let's get going."

He set off at the front of the group.

The forest was starting to get to him. They had been walking for some time with him checking his Scroll for directions every so often. Despite that, Roman noticed that they hadn't made any real progress. He could have sworn that they had passed the same cluster of trees a few minutes ago.

'It's like we're in a…magic…forest.' His mind had once again wandered to that encounter with the Grimm. The way they ignored them was strange, but it might have to do with Red's eyes. The stories of the silver-eyed warriors and the twin gods. Was there a connection? If some of those old stories were real, then which of the others were also real? The girl in the tower? The girl that fell through the world? The maidens?

Was magic real? It was such a silly question, but the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Red's ability, the strange rumors he'd occasionally hear about strange girls with strong elemental Semblances, the entire legend that was the last king of Vale. Maybe he was starting to lose it, but it wouldn't hurt to start thinking in terms of these being a possibility.

That said, if the forest was enchanted to protect the ruins, then there was no way to ensure they would still be able to get there without some guide.

'Maybe there is a particular path to take.' He put a hand to his head, a small headache starting to brew. He may not have had a guide, but if the forest required you to take a certain path, then he had the tools to get the job done.

He took a sharp left and heard the telltale signs of the girls keeping pace behind him. For the first time, since they entered the forest, Roman felt they had finally started making progress. He'd walk a few seconds, wait for the girls, then repeat. Sometimes he'd take multiple turns in a row, followed by long stretches of walking forward. They continued until Roman felt himself walk into something as the air around him rippled. His next steps took him into a darkened room and soon the girls ran in behind him, their soft gasps filling the silence.

After a few moments of standing in the dark, Roman reached for his Scroll, only to find it unnecessary. A soft hiss echoed throughout as golden flames appeared in braziers that lined the now-illuminated hallway. It seemed to stretch on forever as more flames lit the dark gray walls, the only other color being the yellow stretch of the walkway that took up most of the hall.

Roman whistled. "Well…that was certainly a welcome."

A tug at his coat had him turn to look at Neo, who was signing a question. "Why did we take that weird path? Why not just walk forward?"

She genuinely wanted to know. It was strange to watch the man she'd known for years decide to do something as strange as abruptly change direction when they had spent a couple of hours walking toward the temple. She was sure it was a straight shot, yet they hadn't kept to a straight path. Now they somehow were inside, even though there was not a building where they had been.

Roman scratched his head. He knew that her question wasn't as simple as she had put it, but he didn't have a good explanation for it other than magic, well, and his Semblance.

"How to put it?" He mumbled. He thought a bit longer. "Let's start with how we found the path. My Semblance lets me find things that are valuable to me. It's a little vague about how valuable a thing has to be for my Semblance to track it. Sometimes it's as simple as a sock, others it's a priceless bust of a long-dead king that has been locked away inside the downtown manor of a crime lord."

Red and Neo nodded along with his explanation. At the very least, they understood the general idea behind it.

"The other bit though…" he started, "It starts with a few thoughts that have been bothering me for a bit. You know how Red has her special ability that isn't related to her Semblance or Aura?"

Two nods.

"I looked into it a few times and only came up with stories that weren't related aside from a few interesting bits. I know you girls like your fairytales, but have either of you ever thought about the possibility that magic might be real?"

The two girls were about to shake their heads but stopped. They had wondered about Red's ability. Sure, they never put too much thought into it, but it was weird. Maybe magic was real.

"As to what led to me using my Semblance that way, we were walking around in circles."

That shocked them. Had they really?

"Yeah, I noticed after a while that we kept passing by the same plants over and over again. That got me thinking about some of the old fairytales alongside some rather odd stories that I've heard pass through the grapevine about some incredibly powerful Dust users, not to mention the King of Vale. The dude's history is some of the strangest ever put to record. There were stories of him razing entire battalions of soldiers by himself with little effort. It's said that he built an enormous cannon in a single moment that was capable of annihilating an Atlesian warship.

Seriously crazy stuff. I think Goodwitch plans on having you two learn about him soon enough. Recalling those stories made me wonder if the forest was enchanted. So I used my Semblance and here we are." He gestured around.

His look became more serious. "Since magic is apparently real, that makes this all the more dangerous. I want you two to follow exactly where I go. We don't know what might happen, so, unless I say otherwise, don't touch anything."

Red and Neo both nodded. If Roman was nervous enough for the "dad face", then it really was serious.

"Good, then let's…" he stopped, staring behind them. The girls followed his gaze and saw the solid wall behind them. Roman walked up to it. "I sure hope this is one of those magic walls or something."

He reached out and touched it. Nothing happened. Roman sucked in a breath. "Well. That complicates things."

He looked down, muttering under his breath before turning around and walking. "Only thing to do is go forward. Remember, keep up and stay as close as possible to me."

He proceeded down the hall, Red and Neo hurriedly chasing after him.


They walked and walked and walked. Were it not for his Scroll, Roman would not have been able to keep track of how long they had walked. By the sixth hour, he knew that they had walked long enough for one day. He knew that Red and Neo must have been tired, he was. A brief lunch was all that had interrupted their walk through the seemingly unending hallway. The constant drain on his Aura that using his Semblance was had seriously taken its toll. It was already fairly draining when using it on vague concepts, but trying to factor magic into it just made it worse.

He checked his Scroll. His Aura read at just over 30%. Down to a third of his and they still hadn't found anything, hell, they hadn't even found another room other than this long-ass hall.

Just as Roman was about to call a stop for the day, the fires lining the hall went out, once more plunging them into complete darkness. The overbearing darkness lasted only a few moments before the golden light of the fires returned. However they were no longer in the hall they had been in before, they were in a circular room, the walls the same dark gray while the floor was entirely yellow. A single hall on the opposite side of the room was the only path there seemed to be. Unlike prior, the hall did not light up with the rest of the room, leaving the hall eerily coated in shadow.

"Huh. Well, this seems like as good a place as any to -"

Roman stopped when he heard what sounded like metal bouncing against metal emanating from the hall. A girl emerged from the darkness, Roman was torn between being impressed with the girl's boldness and covering the eyes of his two young girls to preserve some of his sanity when they grow older. A vain hope, and likely misguided, neither girl was averse to blood, but he would rather they not sink to this girl's level of promiscuity.

Skeletal claws barely kept the girl's modesty hidden, leaving the vast majority of the girl's pale skin uncovered. Two of the claws loosely gripped the underside of the girl's breasts while another cupped her groin. He noticed the two swords on the girl's hips held by something he couldn't see. He forced his eyes to her face. Green met green as Roman stared at his fellow orange hair.

"You-"

"Identify yourself" She interrupted him. He was taken aback by her interjection and the harshness in it. "Identify yourselves or I will initiate protection protocol."

Play along it is. "Roman Torchwick and with me, Red and Neopolitan."

"Acknowledged." Her eyes glowed for a moment. " Identities verified. Unauthorized access of relic storage facility. Activating disposal protocol." She drew her swords, two Mistralian katanas. Her right sword an icy blue, the left an emerald green.

From the shadowy hall, three more of the same girl emerged, each dressed differently and wielding their own unique weapon.

One snapped open a icy-blue bow, a full quiver on the small of her back. A fuzzy, white strip of cloth covered her chest. Over that, a small white jacket with a black collar covered her shoulders. A half-skirt of white hair with white-blue loincloth hung in front. Fur-lined gloves and boots of the same coloring covered her extremities. Her clothes seemed to pulse with light.

Another hefted a large red hammer from her back. Dressed in what looked more like a ceremonial armor set than anything normally worn. Ornate gold lined the immaculate white armor that clung to her frame. A green cape hung from her collar. Her armored skirt covered her midthigh with greaves covering the rest of her legs.

The final pulled a large metal object off her back, one of the pieces sliding to the end to create a long shaft axe with a blade on the opposite side. A blue cloth top with a straw collar covered her top, a single detached large sleeve hung on her left arm with a simple black glove covering her left hand. A blue skirt with an open slit in the front with a single long black sock covered her left leg.

"I am combat ready." They all intoned in sync.

Roman took a step back as he readied Melodic Cudgel. "Well, crap."


This took a bit, but it is finally out. Things could be better, but it is what it is. The plot and set up are finally hurrying along and next time we get a fight with identical quadruplets. Speaking of them, their outfits are from the Monster Hunter series (at least three of them definitively are). We have Kirin Gamma, Guild Palace Aplha, a modded Kamurai, and a "Bone" outfit... the mods might have gotten out of hand. Regardless, things have come to a head.

To answer a comment, these chapters are mostly written from the viewpoint of the character at the center of the given section, like a third-person camera. Don't know how well I convey that, but oh well. As for making Yang and Adam more similar, that remains to be seen.

As always, I hope you all have a good day.