TWO YEARS?! Jeez, I really need to get my head back in the game...
Anyway, I apologize for the long break between chapters. Had some... issues. Nothing COVID related, though, so don't worry about that. Mainly just mental health matters, but I'm pushing through it. Equine therapy has been a godsend in that regard.
Chapter 55: Man In The Mirror
No sooner had Weiss and Yang left, Raven had me in a training arena.
To start, she wanted to see how my Semblance could be applied. All she knew about was my botched escape attempt, if it could even be called that.
"You can copy Semblances, but not know what they are until you use them?"
Raven was sitting on a stump before me, and had cleared out a dirt square, scratching out rings in the dirt around me. I nodded.
"Yeah. Unless I've identified a person's Semblance, I don't know what it is until I use it."
Raven leaned forwards.
"Interesting. And... that's all you can do?" She inquired. I looked to her, confused.
"Come again?"
"The Semblance is like a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it can grow. Sometimes, it can even evolve in its function. A person with the Semblance of Ice Control, for example, could advance from merely controlling ice in their vicinity to being able to shape it. In extreme cases, they may even be able to conjure ice at will." Raven explained.
"So... you're saying... my Semblance can improve?" I asked.
"That is what I intend to discover."
Snapping her fingers, one of her underlings strode towards me, offering his hand as he did so.
"Use your Semblance, and copy his. Try to determine what it is before you use it." Raven ordered. Grasping the outstretched hand, I felt his power flow into me. As he sauntered away, Raven spoke again.
"Try to focus. Do you feel anything?" Raven asked. Closing my eyes, I focussed on the power bubbling in my gut, trying to identify what kind of ability I had taken. But aside from a subtle tremor in my ankles, nothing seemed to provide any sort of clue. Sighing, I opened my eyes, looking at Raven.
"No." I answered, looking away.
"Are you certain? Do you feel anything at all?" She asked, the smallest hint of a knowing smile flickering across her lips.
"Well, there's a... shuddering in my ankles, but nothing else." I clarified.
"Hmm... try a stomp. See what happens."
Deciding to humour her, I raised my leg, and slammed my foot into the dirt. The sound of a thunderclap resonated from the earth, and a concussive wave emanated from my foot, causing the dirt to shift like a crashing wave. Some of the bandits in the immediate area were thrown into the air, but the shockwave petered out right as it reached Raven's feet.
"Wha—? How—?" I struggled to find words, but none came. While the thugs who had been knocked down recovered, Raven got to her feet, walking towards me.
"The body and the Semblance are entwined. Whatever a Semblance is can be deduced by small changes. You felt, as you described, a shuddering in your ankles, because the Semblance you absorbed was concussive shockwaves generated by stomping the ground." She explained. I looked to the footprint that had been left by my attack, seeing the hard dirt had spawned little cracks around the depression.
"I... I see." I responded.
"Come, let's continue."
After a few hours absorbing and expending Semblance after Semblance, I slowly began to make connections between what I felt based on the power I had copied. Shuddering ankles meant a shockwave stomp. Cold pinpricks in my fingers meant the generation of ice. A burst of energy in my arms was temporary super strength. A staticky feeling was the generation of electricity. After a few hours, Raven had seen enough, allowing me to wash up and prepare for the next task.
The arena was soon cleared, this time for combat. Because she hadn't seen me fight in actual combat yet, Raven wanted to gauge my skills. This meant facing down three of her lackeys at once, all armed with varying weapons. Raven had told me to fight as I usually did, and assured me that they wouldn't fight to kill. But, she added, that didn't mean they wouldn't try.
The bell rang, and two of them charged straight away. One armed with what looked to be a scimitar, another armed with a pair of daggers. The third hung back, twirling a staff into a guard position. Readying a cannon and unsheathing a blade on my gauntleted arm, I blocked Scimitar's attack with my sword, while Daggers jumped back to avoid my blast. Scimitar drew back, twirling his sword, and Daggers charged, aiming for a double overhead strike. I barely had time to adjust my stance to use my cannon as a shield.
With my free hand, my blade retracted, and I threw a fist into Dagger's stomach, knocking him away. Staff tucked and rolled under him, and swiped at my upper body. As I blocked it with a gauntlet, she changed her stance, and her balance in her weapon in a heartbeat. Before I could react, the opposite end of her weapon slammed into the back of my legs. I was knocked to the ground, and immediately felt a cold point of steel against my cheekbone.
"You're unrefined. You don't plan ahead, you don't anticipa—ugh!"
While she was lecturing, I had scissored my legs around her ankle, causing her to stumble backwards. Grabbing the staff that was planted right under my eye, I yanked it towards me, sending her sprawling. Rolling back onto my feet, I swung the staff around, nailing its wielder in the head as she tried to get back up, knocking her back down.
As I twirled Staff's weapon around, a whirling sound quickly caught my attention. Looking back, I barely had time to duck, as a metallic crescent ripped through the air. As it arced around the battlefield, it twirled in the air towards Scimitar, who held the hilt of his weapon up high. The spinning metal clicked into place on the hilt.
His sword functioned as a boomerang.
Clicking a button on the hilt of his weapon, Scimitar twirled while spinning his sword, causing the blade to slice through the air once again. As the metal approached me, I dropped the staff and dove forward into a roll, feeling the cold steel slice millimetres above my skull. Getting to my feet, I dashed forward, intent to tackle Scimitar to the ground.
But in all the commotion, I'd forgotten about Daggers.
He was only too happy to remind me, as his weight slammed into my side, sending me crashing to the ground. The slight dazedness from the impact cleared, and I saw Daggers straddling me, holding one of his weapons above his head, bringing it down in a flash. Crossing my wrists kept the blade from puncturing my sternum, but Daggers was stronger, slowly overpowering my block. The blade drew closer and closer to my chest, even as I resisted.
Letting my left arm sag, and rolling ever so slightly to the side, Daggers plunged the blade into the soft earth. Quickly, I swung a backhand into his chin, dazing him for a moment, and followed up with a double kick to the chest, causing him to stumble away. As I slowly got to my feet, a strike to the small of my back took me by surprise, followed up with a blow to the throat. The force of the blow sent me tumbling backwards through the air, resulting in me laying face down in the dirt.
"Some Butcher you are... You're just a kid... Pathetic."
Their words stung, and dredged up many other painful memories. Of belittlement, of derision, of humiliation.
"Nothing... but a failure."
"A naive fool..."
"...weAk."
No more. Enough was enough.
Getting to one knee, my head jerked upward, causing the smug grins on the faces of my foes to melt away. What remained was fear.
I charged, blade drawn. Staff leapt forward, hoping to clothesline me with her weapon, but I was faster: my hand gripped the metal, and with a firm tug, I ripped it out of Staff's hands. Twirling it around, I swung it with incredible force into the chin of its owner, causing her to fly into the air, along with pieces of the staff, as the bone crunching impact caused it to shatter. Discarding the remains of the weapon, I turned my attention to Scimitar.
His blade had already left the hilt, and streaked through the air. Unafraid, I held up my gauntleted fist, and felt the bladed boomerang hit my wrist. It continued to curl around my arm down to my shoulder, where I grabbed it with my free hand. Holding both ends of the blade, it was a simple matter to snap it in two, whereupon I hurled both halves at the owner. One entered his palm, the other embedded into his leg. While blood trickled from the wounds, Scimitar started to howl in agony, before being silenced by an Aura blast from my cannon.
Daggers, shaking like a leaf, held up his blades in a cross, as if he were trying to ward a demon off. But it was useless: one blow sent his daggers skidding away, and I immediately followed up with a metal-clad hand around his throat, holding him clear off the ground. With a dark smile, I began to squeeze.
"Enough."
The word barely echoed in my ears, as if someone had said it from the other side of a valley. Ignoring it, I clenched my hand tighter, relishing Daggers' chokes and splutters.
"I said... ENOUGH!"
A bolt of lightning descended from the heavens, crashing into the ground mere centimetres between Daggers and I, creating a deafening crash. I dropped my prey, clutching both hands to my painfully ringing ears. As the tinnitus slowly faded away, I began looking around for the one who had called down the lightning.
"Stand down, Vernal."
Raven's voice sounded clearer this time, and I looked to her furiously, prepared to raise a blade, uncaring if anyone would stop me. But when she caught sight of me, her eyes visibly widened in fear.
"Your eyes..."
As I held my blade up, I caught sight of my reflection glaring back at me from the cold steel.
But the face that was reflected back at me wasn't my own.
Red eyes, with black sclerae. Inky veins spiderwebbing across my face, originating from my eye sockets. Pale skin, and a streak of bone white in my hair.
The face of my nightmare-dwelling doppelgänger.
The sight of my twisted face caused my stomach to twist, giving me a feeling of fearful nausea. The blade retreated into my gauntlet, and I fell to my knees, scrabbling at the dirt, desperately trying not to throw up. But it was futile; a stream of chunky beige fluid erupted from my mouth, splattering onto the earth before my eyes. My head spun, and before I could stop myself, I felt consciousness slip away.
The skin on my face tingled, as I awoke to the feeling of a damp cloth being applied to my forehead, drops of water prickling across my skin. Trying to get up, a firm hand gripped my shoulder, forcing me back down.
"Try not to move. You've gone through a lot."
Blearily blinking my eyes, I looked to the one who had spoken. The blurriness faded, revealing a man with a shaggy beard, and a scar running through a discoloured eye.
"Wha... what happened?" I asked, still somewhat confused at what had happened.
"Something weird went down after your fight. It's better if the boss talks to you about it." He responded plainly, removing the moist rag from my face. Turning away, he dropped the rag in a bucket of water, and opened a Scroll.
"He's awake, boss."
"Good. I need to talk to him. Face to face. In private."
"All due respect, boss, he's been through a lot. Shouldn't we keep him—"
"He's stronger than you'd think. Just send him to me."
"Yes, boss."
With that terse conversation over, the bandit medic gestured to the tent's exit without even looking at me. Slowly getting up, I gingerly made my way to the exit, and pushed the flaps of the tent apart. The sun was setting, bathing the surroundings in an orange glow. Groups of bandits were clustered here and there, whispering amongst themselves. The way to Raven's tent took me in close proximity to a few groups. With a slow pace, I made my way over, inadvertently hearing snippets of hushed conversations.
"...nearly killed them..."
"...a freak like him..."
"...too risky keeping the bastard alive..."
I'd gotten used to people calling me names in hushed whispers. Ever since the aftermath of the Breach of Vale, when I had awoken from my coma, some passersby had regarded me with fearful suspicion. This was no different, save for one condition: the ones whispering the words were capable of fiercer strikes, and wouldn't hesitate to kill me. Pretending I hadn't heard the ambient conversations, I made my way to Raven's tent, and pulled the flaps open.
Raven was kneeling in front of a small table, pouring a steaming liquid into a pair of teacups. She looked up at me, and gestured to the spread in front of her.
"Come. Sit."
Complying, I sat down in front of the table, legs crossed on the cushion. Raven took a sip, and gazed at me with hard eyes.
"Would you care to explain what happened in the arena?"
I had arrived feeling uneasy, but the harsh question caused my stomach to commence a full-blown acrobatic routine. Unwilling to meet Raven's gaze, I swallowed.
"I saw myself... in my blade. But... I've seen that face before." I started. Raven leaned forward.
"Do tell."
Exhaling, I began to talk. About how I had absorbed the Fragment of Arcadia, and the resulting transformation. About the toxin that had forced me to become Cinder's puppet. About the nightmares I had been having ever since becoming a fugitive. Nothing was spared. Raven didn't even try to interrupt me, fixing a hard glare in my direction the entire time, taking the occasional sip from her cup. When I had finally finished, Raven was silent for a moment, looking down in thought. Finally, she looked back to me.
"That pattern on your face… I've seen it once before." She breathed shakily, directing her crimson eyes to me. But instead of the defiant harshness that normally shone from them, a small sparkle from the corners betrayed a new emotion.
Fear.
"What?" I asked, slowly growing more worried at these new implications.
"Back when Ozpin first recruited Team STRQ into his feud with Salem, I decided to investigate. Verify what he was telling us." She explained, her voice trembling ever so slightly.
"Well, I got what I wanted. Salem's lackeys managed to capture me. I initially thought they were going to kill me. Ozpin had sent countless warriors after her, and none of them had ever returned, after all."
"So how did you escape?" I asked. Raven looked to me incredulously.
"Are you really naïve enough to think I managed to leave on my own terms? There's no escaping from Salem. No, I never escaped. After I was brought before her, she… let me go."
This brought a wave of silence. Why would Salem merely let Raven go?
"That's the question of the day, isn't it? Why?" Raven stated bluntly, clearly seeing the question plastered all over my face. I nodded. Raven sighed, and placed the cup back onto the table. But instead of the soft clink of ceramic being placed smoothly onto a wooden surface, the cup rattled ever so slightly. Her hands were shaking, and I could see a bead of sweat drip down from her hairline.
"You remember our previous conversation? How I told you that Salem couldn't be stopped?" She asked. I continued to stay silent, only nodding once more.
"You must have grown up hearing stories about how the villain has a weakness. How they can always be permanently defeated in the end. Salem is nothing like that. She is something that can't be stopped, killed, or even slowed. She is endless, she is patient, and she is inevitable. The one single time I looked at her, I knew Oz was fighting a losing battle." She expounded.
"But you—" I got no further, as Raven held up a hand to silence me.
"I know, I know. I had an obligation, I was a Huntress. You sound just like my brother." She stated, a hint of frustration in her voice.
"At least your brother's out there, fighting Salem." I countered. Raven glared harshly at me.
"And he will die a fool, fighting for a hopeless cause."
"Give me a choice between dying a fool for a hopeless cause, or hiding like a coward. I'll take option one any day of the week." I retorted.
"So those last few months you spent living in the wilds? Living in fear of the bounty on your head? Was that fighting? Or simply living in denial?" Raven accused. This gave me pause.
The six months I had been on the run, I hadn't done anything, but scrounge for scraps, keep my head low, and disappear into the shadows. I'd done what Raven had been doing all this time. Running from duty. Selfishly trying to stay alive. Abandoning my allies. Closing my eyes, I took a breath to steady my nerves.
"You're right. When the odds were stacked against me, when the world wanted my head on a spike, I just ran away. I'll admit, a part of me wants to keep on doing that." I started. Raven raised an eyebrow, clearly unsure what to make of what I was saying. Letting out a breath, I continued.
"But… I'm not going to run anymore. And you may think me a hypocrite, but I acknowledge that. My friends have put their lives on the line for me, more times than I can count. If I turn my back on them… what kind of person does that make me?"
"The kind of person who knows how to—"
"How to survive, I know. You don't rely on anything, you keep people around for as long as they're useful, you do what you can to survive another day. But from what I've seen these past eight months, survival is an unattainable goal. You wake up, check the perimeter, scrounge up what you can, hope the world doesn't throw a curveball at you, and sleep with one eye open. But doing that every day… when can you say you've achieved something?" I asked. Raven didn't look at me, nor did she respond. Unwavering, I continued.
"It's only a goal if you don't have to do it anymore. This life, the one we've chosen… it'll only end if we try and fight. And if we die, then we died fighting." I concluded. The silence that followed was only a few seconds, but it may as well have been hours, even days. Raven looked to me, scrutinising me closely, before the tent canvas fluttered as Vernal burst in. Both Raven and I turned to look at her.
"Raven, we have a problem." She stated, a slight hint of breathlessness in her voice.
"What is it?" Raven asked.
"Salem... she's found us." Vernal answered. Turning back to Raven, I saw her eyes grow slightly wider in fear.
"Salem... okay."
"Salem? She's here?" I asked. Vernal shook her head.
"No, only four of her followers. They're waiting to speak with you." She stated, both answering my question and informing Raven. Letting out a shaky breath, Raven got to her feet, sheathing her sword.
"Right. We planned for this... Bring me my helmet." She ordered. As Vernal went to do as she had asked, I looked to Raven.
"What are you going to do?" I asked.
"What I am going to do is not your concern. Now stay here." She ordered, as Vernal returned. Raven took her mask, donned it, and strode outside, leaving Vernal and I alone. I slowly moved to the flap of the tent, trying to get a good look at who Raven was talking to.
"Don't."
The single word from Vernal grabbed my attention, and I turned to look at her.
"I wasn't going to go out there." I protested. Vernal strode over, grabbed my wrist, and sat me down, taking a seat opposite me at the table.
"I know what you and Raven were talking about. How you plan to fight Salem, and why Raven won't. But you can't go out and rush in blindly without a plan." She chided.
"What makes you think I would do that?" I scoffed.
"The one responsible for placing all of the blame onto you is out there." She continued. Immediately, the feeling of unease my debate with Raven had birthed quickly melted away, replaced with intense loathing.
"Cinder..." I snarled. Vernal nodded. Without thinking, I got to my feet, and prepared to make my way to the tent flaps, ready to make her suffer. But I barely got to take two steps when a pair of metallic discs flew in front of me, halting my advance. Whirling around, I saw the discs return to Vernal's hands.
"I understand your desire for revenge. But if you go out there, with your mind poisoned by anger, she will kill you." She warned.
"How do you know?"
"Because she has the power of a Maiden at her disposal. You can't match that, no matter how good you may think you are." She answered. I scoffed.
"Vernal, after everything she's done... to me, to my friends, to Beacon... she needs to die."
"But will killing her change anything? Will it undo all the damage that she dealt in your name?" Vernal asked gently. I clenched my fist.
"I don't care about that, Vernal. She has to suffer. For everything." I hissed.
"And with your determination, I'm certain she will. But if you reveal your hand now, you may not live to see hers." She answered. The boiling fury in my gut told me to go out there, and make her suffer… but she had a point. Cinder was powerful that night Pyrrha and I faced her in Ozpin's office. If I went out there, a neophyte Huntsman, up against a Maiden who had undoubtedly trained in the eight months since I had last seen her… the fight would be short, and bloody. I took a breath, and tried to quell my rage.
"You're right. I'll hang back… for now. But if she tries anything while she's here, I will step in." I growled. Vernal holstered her weapons on the small of her back, and stepped towards me, placing a hand on my shoulder.
"Good." She said.
"Vernal!" Raven's voice rang out across the camp, and into the tent. Vernal gave me a glance, then strode past me, exiting the tent and leaving me alone. Walking to the rear of the tent, I sat down, and shut my eyes, trying to dispel the thought of Cinder's still-pumping heart crushed to a pulp in my hands, her bloodied, mangled corpse lying before me, eyes pleading for mercy.
You have a very colourful imagination when you want revenge.
Believe me, Kimba, these thoughts are all that's stopping me from going out there right now.
Maybe so, but if you stay hidden, you may be able to learn a bit more.
What d'you mean?
We both know that Cinder isn't here for a social chat. She's never acted without reason, and strolling into this bandit stronghold isn't something done on a whim. She has a plan, and whatever it is, it won't be good.
Looking to the back entrance, without thinking, I quietly exited the tent, and tiptoed around the makeshift foundation, stopping to kneel behind a pile of precariously-stacked crates. Glancing through the gaps in the pile, I craned my ears to listen as best I could.
Facing Raven were four people. Emerald and Mercury, both of whom hadn't appeared to have changed one bit in the months since I had seen them, stood flanking Cinder, who had traded in her previous dress for a more intricate one, which had a long, flowing sleeve on her left side, while her right arm was covered with a long, black glove. Her hair had been cut shorter, and a black mask shielding her left eye now adorned her face. Beneath it, some scar tissue had seeped through the borders of the mask, revealing that whatever Ruby had done was obviously not pretty. The three of them stood next to a moustachioed gentleman I didn't recognise, with dark skin and a grey trenchcoat. The third Mario brother approached Raven, talking as he did so.
"The Maidens are merely a means to an end. Salem's true desires are the Relics locked inside the Huntsman Academies. Come with us. Allow Vernal here to unlock the Relic of Knowledge, and all previous acts of defiance against Salem will be forgiven." He proffered, going in close and whispering something to Raven, before walking away from them to rejoin his group. Raven let out a huff.
"You talk as if walking straight into Haven will be easy."
"That's because it will be." Cinder purred, the soft tone sending a shiver down my spine.
"Headmaster Lionheart is loyal to Salem. And now, all we need is the key to the vault. You're not the only one to turn your back against Oz, Raven." She continued. Raven moved to grip the hilt of her sword.
"I'm not helping Salem, I'm not helping Oz! I don't want a part in any of this!" Raven stated firmly, her voice growing slightly agitated. Cinder let out a chilling chuckle.
"That ship sailed when you chose to harbour a Maiden. But if you come with us to Haven, we'll leave you, your tribe, and your little secret to live out the rest of your lives squabbling in the wilderness. We just... need... the Relic."
Raven didn't respond right away, and her hand never left her sword.
"I need time to think this over."
"You don't have time. In two days, Haven Academy will be destroyed by the White Fang. You're going to choose. Now." Moustache Man ordered. Even from a distance, beneath the mask, I could tell Raven was fuming.
"Backed me into a corner, huh?"
"So, are you with us, or against us?" Cinder asked, her tone betraying the offer as a threat. Moments passed, the air thick with tension, until finally, Raven relaxed her stance, took her hand off of her weapon, and removed her helmet.
"Agreements like these are built on trust. And forgive me for saying, but I don't trust a single one of you. You're going to need to give me more."
"You are in a poor position to negotiate." Moustache Man countered, only to be interrupted by Raven, who talked as if he hadn't even spoken.
"I want my brother dead."
Those words caused my heart to skip a beat, and I very nearly let out an involuntary gasp of surprise. True, I'd figured that Raven was ruthless, but what she was suggesting now… this was unthinkable.
"He knows I have Spring. And if I help you get your Relic, he's going to become a problem. I have enough problems to deal with. Qrow doesn't trust me, but he does trust Ozpin's other lieutenants. If Leo really is loyal to you, then you can order him to invite Qrow into an ambush. He arrives at Haven, we take him down, you get your Relic, and we all leave happy." She offered. Cinder smiled wickedly.
"Now this is a proposition I can get behind." She purred. But before anyone could move to sign the deal, Moustache Man stepped between the two.
"Alright ladies, let's pause for a moment. We have one objective - retrieving the Relic of Knowledge. Now Qrow Branwen may be on our list of individuals we would very much like dead, but he's not going to go down without a fight, and he's not going to fight quietly. Our advantage here is just as you said - we walk straight into Haven, no resistance, no one the wiser. A battle with your brother throws that all out the window." He summarised. Raven rolled her eyes.
"He's good, but not that good. All of us against him? It'll be over in a heartbeat."
"But it's not just him. He has the students with him. He has Ruby!" Emerald pointed out. At the mention of Ruby's name, a brief flicker of hateful rage glanced across Cinder's face.
"He certainly does." She snarled, her lusty whispers now gone.
"If we leave that school a bloody mess, we will draw the attention of the authorities! The Kingdom will be on high alert, and the White Fang's attack will be ruined!" The man stated. Cinder turned, and shot him an angry glare, her remaining eye glowing ever so slightly.
"Then we wait. We wait until the full moon. Leo invites Qrow and his little fighters to Haven the same night Hazel and Adam arrive with the White Fang. As soon as the battle is won, the White Fang demolishes Haven, and any evidence we may have left behind is lost along with the school."
"Then, Salem leaves my people alone. For good." Raven demanded. Cinder's anger melted away, restoring her confident smile.
"You have yourself a deal." She said, holding out her hand for Raven to shake. But before she could, Moustache Man grabbed Cinder's extended wrist, a dangerous look in his eyes
"Wait. Don't think I don't see what you're after. If this falls to pieces over your grudge with a child, I will not be taking the blame." Moustache Man warned. Cinder leered angrily at him.
"Then what are you worried about?" She asked, her voice burning with hostility. At the same time, Cinder's arm began to glow, and smoke started to seep out from underneath Moustache Man's grip. Letting out a hiss of pain, he retracted his now burning hand, cradling his wrist in pain.
"Fly back home and tinker with your machines. And tell Salem she'll get what she wants - and more." Cinder ordered, before looking back to Raven and once again offering her hand, no longer emitting the scalding glow. For a few moments that crawled by at a snail's pace, Raven looked at the hand…
and joined it with her own.
Pulling away from my hiding place, I began to make my way back to Raven's tent, my mind alight with worry.
Dusk fell soon after Cinder and her cronies had left. Raven had decided to cut my training short for the day, telling me to get some sleep. But in my cot, surrounded by bandits snoring at various levels of noise, my mind wandered.
Raven had made a deal with Cinder. They would get this "relic", whatever it was, and Qrow would die. But some things just didn't add up. Why would Raven want her brother dead? Qrow did say that they didn't see eye to eye on their perspectives of the world. But was that enough to kill over? And this relic... the third Mario brother called it the Relic of Knowledge. From the sounds of the conversation, it seemed to be sealed under Haven Academy in a hidden vault.
A hidden vault... like the former Fall Maiden.
The pieces slowly began to fall into place.
Raven was harbouring the Spring Maiden. Cinder promised to leave Raven's tribe alone, but her ambitious and duplicitous nature told another story. Cinder would get the relic, and kill the Spring Maiden. Take her power. And if she didn't want to leave witnesses to the attack on Haven, she'd likely kill the entire tribe.
And the relic... Whatever it was, it was certainly capable of something that could rip society apart. And Salem wanted it.
Meaning that she couldn't be allowed to get it.
Quietly rolling my sheets back, I tiptoed to the pile of used blankets and pillows, and grabbed as many as I could. Balling them up, I stuffed them into my cot, hoping to fool anyone who would come by. Then, slipping out into the cold night air, I made my way to Raven's tent.
If I wanted to warn Qrow about his sister's murderous intentions in time, I'd need her portal Semblance.
But as I approached the tent, I heard the creaking of the camp's gates. A quick glance in that direction revealed that they were opening, revealing Vernal. Instinctively, I dove behind a pile of supplies, and listened out for her footsteps crunching on the dirt, followed by the creak of aged wood and the peeling of canvas. She had entered Raven's tent. Creeping out of my hiding place, I reached the edge of the wooden foundation Raven's tent rested on, and started to crawl underneath. Through the cracks in the floorboards, I stilled my breathing, and listened.
"Do you... actually believe they'll let us go once they have the Relic?"
"Of course not. They'll never leave us alone. Once our purpose has come and gone, we'll be discarded. Salem only uses people until they are no longer useful. If we want to have any chance of defending ourselves against her, then we need this Relic." The floorboards rattled, as Raven got to her feet, and strode to the rear of the tent.
"If Qrow and those brats want to follow Ozpin, then let them. When the chaos reaches its peak, we'll grab the Relic and make our escape."
"And the fact that your daughter will be a part of all that?" Vernal asked.
"Doesn't matter. I warned her. She made her choice." Raven answered coldly, without a hint of remorse or hesitation. The canvas fluttered, as she moved to exit the tent, before stopping.
"This path won't be easy for us either, but we must do what's right for the tribe."
"I know. I'll do whatever it takes."
"Good."
And with that final word, both women exited the tent. A few seconds later, I could hear a raven cawing, and the sound of Raven's portal. I cursed under my breath, realizing that I'd lost my chance. But I wasn't going to give up that easily.
Raven had told me that the Semblance could evolve. It was a long shot, but maybe… if Raven had left something of hers behind in the tent, I could use that to absorb her latent presence, and use that to channel her Semblance.
Praying that the coast was clear, I edged out from under the foundation, brushed myself down, and quietly made my way to the back of Raven's tent. Peeling the canvas apart, I saw her helmet resting on a nearby table. Thinking back to my Semblance training, I wrapped my fingers around the mask, and gently lifted it up. I shut my eyes, and tried to focus on the mask in my clutches, thinking about all the Semblances I had absorbed in my time on Remnant.
...Ruby's speed...
...Blake's shadow...
Nothing happened. But one failed attempt wouldn't be enough to deter me.
...Pyrrha's polarity...
...Kimba's camouflage...
Still nothing. Exhaling, I tried again, digging deeper.
...Sun's light clones...
...Weiss's glyphs...
Nothing.
Placing the mask down, I got to my feet, only to see the canvas flutter, revealing Vernal, training her weapon on me.
"You know, the night doesn't get that cold here. Certainly not cold enough to justify stuffing your cot full of blankets." She drawled. I rolled my eyes, and turned away.
"Why are you trying to run? You won't get stronger if you abandon us." She inquired. I didn't respond.
"Raven offered to train you. Tell you everything. And you're throwing that all away... why?" She continued.
"Because she's making a mistake." I answered, still not giving her a glance.
"The only mistake I see is letting you train with us. You've barely been here for two days, and you're already trying to run away." Vernal shot back at me, taking a few tentative steps towards me.
"Is it because you're afraid?"
"No."
"Do you mean to find Cinder?"
"No.
"Then why? Why are you throwing everything away like this?"
"Do you believe me?"
The single question I asked caused Vernal to stop moving, but her gun did not falter.
"Raven believes yo—"
"No. Do you believe me?" I interrupted.
"Explain." She stated. I looked to her.
"Do you believe that I'm responsible for the Fall of Beacon?" I asked.
"There was video footage showing you giving orders to White Fang forces at Beacon. You were there, and you were in command." She answered.
"But do you know the truth?" I asked.
"What other explanation is there?"
I looked at her, and began to circle around the table where Raven's mask rested, like a shark approaching a meal. Vernal did the same, never taking her weapon away from my chest.
"That woman your boss met with? Cinder? She drugged me. Made me a sleeper agent for her own agenda. That was me giving orders, I'll admit that. But I wasn't acting on my own thoughts." I explained.
"And you expect me to believe that? If you were drugged—"
"I was. Only I can't prove it because that virus Cinder uploaded scrubbed my medical records." I countered. As Vernal said nothing, I decided to elaborate.
"You've only seen Cinder once. You don't know her." I began.
"And you do?" Vernal scoffed derisively. Ignoring the jab, I carried on.
"Cinder and her lackeys rigged the tournament. Not so they could win, but so they could cause chaos. That broken leg of Mercury's? An illusion he made, making Yang see him attack her. The pride of Sanctum going up against a robot disguised as a girl? That wasn't an accident, that was planned. All so she could work in the shadows and get the power of the Fall Maiden while I take the heat." I explained. Vernal's finger curled around the trigger of her gun, her eyes narrowing.
"All I'm hearing is you foisting the blame onto her. You've said nothing about—"
"Because I'm not done!" I hissed. Vernal flinched slightly, obviously not expecting someone who she thought to be a coward strike back.
"Cinder works through underhandedness and trickery. She never lies, only twists the truth or hides it behind double meanings and vague descriptions. The first time we talked, she said that she'd send me home if I helped her. What do you think she did after I got her what she wanted?" I asked. Vernal raised an eyebrow.
"She tried to send me home, alright. Via a body bag." I continued, causing Vernal's eyes to widen ever so slightly. It wasn't the absolute truth, but it wasn't a lie either, not really: even though Cinder never did try to kill me, I had a hunch that she did know that my way back to Earth could only be accomplished by having my soul traverse the void. But Kimba had told me that my Earth body was long since dead. She'd kill me, and my soul would eventually fade without a body to hold it. It was only my intuition talking, but in the past eight months, I'd learnt to trust my intuition above all else.
"If I'm right about her, I know she won't be satisfied with just the Fall Maiden's powers. She'll try to collect them all. Meaning you'll die. And if Cinder gets your power, you won't be the only one; she'll kill everyone here as a trial run." I warned. Vernal scoffed.
"She gave us her word. Salem would leave us alone." She countered.
"Exactly. Salem would leave you alone. Nothing was said about her protégés." I stated. Vernal lowered her gun, and looked away to Raven's mask for a moment, deep in thought. Finally, she glanced back at me.
"What if you're wrong?" Vernal asked.
"So you can either believe that I'm telling the truth, and let me go... or keep me here, and get a front row seat as Cinder massacres you, Raven, and everyone else in your little cadre." I proffered. Vernal's eyes narrowed.
"Is that a threat?" She hissed.
"It's a choice. One that is not going to be offered a second time." I responded.
"So go ahead, Maiden. What's it going to be?
Again, I'm sorry for the long hiatus. But hopefully, I'll be able to get more chapters up and running at some point.