I survived all my exams this week, so it's time for me to start another AU to add to my collection! This is an AU of v8 that starts towards the end of Penny's battle with Cinder in Amity. Content warning for major character death.
Emerald gets there a second too late.
Cinder's head hits the wall with a sickening crack and immediately goes limp, the amber flames around her eyes dying out. Emerald, upon arriving at Cinder's side mere seconds later, seems to freeze in place, her eyes wide with horror and disbelief. "Cinder?" she calls tentatively, one hand hovering above the still chest of the fallen Fall maiden. She doesn't react when Penny lowers herself to the ground a few paces behind her, landing with a soft thunk.
"I—" Penny begins, stepping forward, unsure of what to do. Of all the outcomes she had envisioned or feared would be a result of this battle, this hadn't been one of them. The unfamiliarity of the unexpected situation has her at a total loss for her next course of action. She wishes Ruby was here. She always helped when Penny was having a hard time deciding what she should do.
"Stay back!" Emerald shrieks, bristling at Penny's aborted approach. "Don't you dare touch her!" she continues, punctuating her words with a harsh glare. Her eyes are bloodshot and rimmed with red. "This is all your fault!"
"I—I" is all Penny manages to stammer in response. She feels completely lost and adrift. Could Cinder really be—? Had she really—could she really have killed someone? "I didn't mean to," she says in a small voice, before trailing off into silence.
She doesn't react as Emerald shoves past her with Cinder in her arms, her face streaked with tears, nor when she hears the sound of an airship engine revving before it takes off, allowing Emerald and Neo to make their escape. She's far too lost in thought, consumed by horror and guilt, to respond to anything until she feels a hand close around her arm.
"Penny," Maria's voice is gentle, but firm. "Are you alright, dear?"
"Yes," Penny says quietly, forcing herself to nod. The hand on her forearm is a grounding sensation, a steady pressure that seems to lessen the intensity of the chaos of her thoughts. "I'm not injured. It's just some surface damage."
The truth of that last part is questionable, but Maria doesn't push the issue. "Good," she replies evenly. "Then let's get back to your father. Our job here isn't done yet."
"Yes, ma'am," comes the automatic response. Obediently, Penny scoops up the older woman and adjusts her so that she's positioned comfortably in her arms, before taking off and heading for the control sound of the tower. They fly in silence, with only the sound of the wind rushing by to accompany them, until Penny can finally bring herself to speak.
"I—I didn't mean to," she says in a small voice, barely audible over the air whooshing past.
"I know, dear," Maria says, her tone full of sympathy.
"I'm sorry," Penny manages to choke out. Not for the first time tonight, she wishes that she was capable of crying.
"I know, dear."
Neither of them can change the past, so they have no choice but to keep moving forwards, no matter how they feel.
Far below, Ruby jolts awake with a start.
At first, she's not sure what exactly it is that woke her up. She's still in Weiss' bedroom, where the three of them had holed up to wait for the broadcast to go off while keeping an eye on the still-unconscious Nora. Ruby guesses that she must have dozed off, exhausted by the events of the day. Mentally, she scolds herself. She's supposed to be the leader! She needs to be on the alert, not taking a nap.
Abruptly, Ruby realizes that she's been dozing with her head on Blake's shoulder. She quickly rights her posture, trying to hide her blush as she glances around the room, checking her surroundings. Blake is fiddling with her scroll, probably checking to see if Yang has messaged her back yet. Ruby wants to reassure her that her sister is fine, but it's hard to comfort someone else when she herself isn't really sure of what's going on.
On Blake's other side, Weiss is on her feet, leaning over the bed to check on Nora. Everything seems to be in order (as much as it can be with the mess they're stuck in), so what could have woken her up? Why does she feel so certain that something is wrong? And why does she feel so strange, like there's some kind of new power building up inside her?
"Shouldn't the broadcast have gone out by now?" Weiss asks abruptly, jolting Ruby out of her thoughts as she plops back down beside Blake. "Have you guys heard anything?"
Just as Weiss finishes asking that question, all three of their scrolls light up. The broadcast! Ruby breathes a sigh of relief, and allows herself to let go of the worry that's been nagging at her since she woke up. If they manage to get their message out and warn the rest of Remnant about the danger that they're in, then everything will have been worth it.
The three of them huddle around Blake's scroll, Weiss and Ruby ignoring their own devices in favor of watching the broadcast together. Ruby can't help but feel a mixture of pride and embarrassment as she watches herself on the tiny screen. To think that people all over Remnant are watching this right now . . .
"You did amazing, Ruby!" Weiss exclaims.
Blake nudges her in the side, careful not to dislodge Ruby's head from where it's resting on her shoulder. "I told you that you could do it."
Ruby allows herself to bask in the praise for a few moments, overwhelmed with relief. For the first time in what feels like weeks, it feels like they've accomplished something, like things are going right for once.
And then the broadcast abruptly cuts out.
All three of them cry out in alarm, immediately aware that something isn't right. Ruby jumps to her feet, relief replaced by a feeling of overwhelming dread. The strange feeling from before is back, even stronger than before, a feeling of overwhelming power singing in her veins. Like the feeling she got when she first unlocked her semblance, but more overwhelming, and more concentrated.
Something's gone wrong, again, and this time she's too far away to even try to fix things no matter how much she wants to. She's powerless in this situation.
Ruby hates feeling powerless.
"Penny!" she cries, filled with terror for her friend.
A second later, silver flames spring to life around her eyes.
Thank you for reading! Please leave a review if you liked it.