New Remnant: Odyssey

by Ben10Extreme

Ruby Rose dreams of becoming the Demon Queen, in a more benevolent nature than one would expect from such a title. She begins her odyssey in a revitalized World of Remnant, alongside her beloved Jaune Arc and friends, as she gradually amasses the influence and power to realize her dream. Ruby's goal soon picks up speed when they encounter a ferocious Dragon...Cinder Fall.

11. Lilith's Lies

Doesn't take much to notice things are getting pretty hectic in this coming of chapters. Unfortunately the Red Riding Hood Guild isn't going to be getting much of a break anytime soon, if they want to stop this madness from getting any worse. The Glass Unicorn, along with Lilith, continue to rampage across Vale. But these lands aren't the only things being attacked...

---

So cold.

Cinder bitterly still hopelessly trapped in this situation. She's completely and utterly helpless, despite her immense raw power that continued to grow, along with the flames that blazed within her. One would think that it wouldn't be possible for a young twelve-year-old to be so unfathomably angry with the world, and yet once could find one right here, with a dragon's strength and flames to make to worse. And yet despite all that innate might, she's unable to do anything with them that doesn't go along with her 'mother's design.

Not only that...

"Did I always look this red...?"

Cinder's draconic form. Her scales were completely red, some of it of her own dried blood. Was...was she always this red? She could have sworn her scales were a different color once...but now she can't quite remember what it was. She's been accustomed to pain and injuries for so long that she simply adjusted to seeing red on her scales. Doesn't that make her a Red Dragon? Makes sense, she supposed. She honestly didn't know anymore, and at the moment couldn't bring herself to care.

Although, she can't help but feel that this isn't right. Not the pain, she's all too used to that, which she was aware enough to know shouldn't be the case at all. But the color of her scales. It's not like red was an ugly color. It was actually quite pretty. She didn't have anything against it. She rather liked it. But...why did her dragon scales being red feel so wrong? It wasn't a feeling she deduced from logic. Something deeper within, her instinct, perhaps even her heart and soul, told her that this color wasn't right for her scales. It was a faint feeling; it wasn't something her mind could logically recollect.

She just...knew.

"What the, who the hell are you?!"

Cinder blinked at the sudden noise, the sound of shocked panic. It didn't seem to come from the usual suspects.

She then heard a lot of crashing and smashing all about. Then they got even louder. After a moment of listening, she jumped as she felt something collapsing right next to her, as she realized it was her room. She blinked as she saw someone stepping through the recently made hole they made.

"It looks like I managed to find one..." The man wondered. "They didn't take you away for some reason...well, I suppose it doesn't matter." He nodded. "It's unfortunate, but you seem to be the only one right now who can escape from them."

"W-Who are you...?"

The man stood for a moment, where he adjusted himself, rolling his arm.

"My name is Rhodes. I'm here to help." He lightly looked away. "You seem to be the only one left here...wonder why that is..."

"I..."

Rhodes took another look at her. Seeing how much she was covered in her own blood, the numerous scars across her body, the way she seemed to shiver despite having not been touched. Not completely in fear, though. If anything, it felt like she was seconds away from attacking.

"I'm not going to hurt you. You've been hurt enough."

Cinder frowned slightly, before turning her head away. "...You're wasting your time. I'm not like the others. I'm-"

"A dragon." She turned to him in surprise, seeing the knowing and patient look in his eyes. "And it hardly matters in the end. A dragon child is still a child. So, let's get you out of here." Cinder didn't know what to do. Should she really? Could she really? It sounded too good to be true. How is she supposed to even respond to this?

"Ethan Rhodes." Cinder flinched as Rhodes turned to the sound of the voice, undoubtedly seeing Madame Mara standing in the doorway. "You're trespassing on my property. I'd advise you to leave the premises before you do something regrettable." She said 'regrettable' as her eyes briefly flashed green.

"She's coming with me."

"Hah! Her? What could she possibly be worth risking your life for? You seem to already know that she's a evil beast just begging to be unleashed upon the world. Taking her outside is pretty much the worst path for her at this point." Mara tilted her head. "It's quite simple. She has too many forces out there against her, due to what she is. It's quite simple. Without me...she's nothing. Without my protection... she'll be running away for the rest of her life."

Something about that offended Cinder in quite an intolerable level, and she snarled viciously, flames casting around her.

"I'd rather be nothing out there than be stuck here with you!"

"Oh my! Look at you, showing your fangs! You think you're grown up enough to handle the world without my gracious protection? Hm. Very well." Mara turned her back and walked off. "Go ahead, take her."

"What are you playing at?" Rhodes narrowed his eyes.

"If dear Cinder thinks she's ready to handle the big bad world out there, then it's much easier to simply let her. Let her learn for herself just what she's in for." Mara turned towards them with a tranquil smile. "Simply put...let fate take its course. Though I'll have to promise this, Mr. Rhodes. This decision is not going to end happily for you. She's an untamed wild beast." Mara lowered her eyes as she turned her back mockingly. "You have no hope of controlling her. And if you cannot control her, you'll end up dying pointlessly by her claws."

The man held Cinder close to him, surprising her as he lifted her up in a princess carry. "I think I'll take my chances."

Rhodes paid her no further heed after that. He simply cast magic around both himself and Cinder, a metallic flow surrounding them like an orb. The orb soon vanished along with them.

Cinder gasped as she leaned on the outside, lightly rubbing her head as she scanned the area. Blinking in befuddlement, understanding soon turned it into shock. She...she was outside. She was outside. Far away from the Glass Unicorn. She was...she was free. Could it truly be?

"...What do we do now?"

Rhodes sighed, scratching the back of his neck. "Get you as far away from there as possible, that's what." Rhodes then lightly grabbed onto her collar, which had been magically enhanced, and it turned into a much more metallic color, before it loosened and completely came off, then he crushed it. "You won't be needing that anymore."

Cinder couldn't tell, but something about that triggered something, for her entire body, which has felt very cold for the entire time she's been stuck with Mara, especially with her powers being fiery in nature.

She felt so comfortably warm, for the first time in years.

So much so that she unknowingly shifted into a dragon in the shock of it all. Her eyes widened as she looked at her paws and tail, them back at Rhodes.

"I-I, uh, sorry. I was just..."

Rhodes simply walked up to her and placed a hand on her head.

"It's okay."

Cinder simply looked towards Rhodes for a long time, her gaze growing softer, before she closed her eyes and nuzzled her head into his hand. Feeling confused and slightly afraid of what might happen next, but she shoved those feelings into a box and placed them to the side for now. Because neither feeling comes close to the relief she felt within the man's presence.

She wanted to hold onto this comfort, for as long as she possibly could.

Four starting weeks would pass since this incident. It didn't surprise Rhodes at all that he was likely a wanted man within the supernatural underworld with a bounty on his head, mostly because he had the sheer audacity to walk into a Lady Vampire's establishment and steal something from her, then escape with a girl in tow. He had a feeling that Mara considered Cinder important enough to keep around yet not important enough to treat with any compassion. That couldn't stand, so he took her away at the first opportunity without a single regret to be had since. And throughout their first few weeks together, they learned quite a bit about each other.

"Did you ever know why she was treating you like that? Do you know why she was using you as such?" Rhodes asked Cinder once. Besides the fact that Mara was just uncaring about the suffering she spread in general, surely there was some sort of practical reason why she kept Cinder around as she was. He was trying to be tactful, and probably wasn't doing a good job at it, but it would help his understanding of the depths of her circumstances before he rescued her.

Fortunately, while Cinder wasn't exactly ecstatic about sharing this kind of thing, but she understood why Rhodes wanted to know.

"...Weaker and smaller creatures are eaten by bigger and stronger ones. And those strong creatures are eaten by those even bigger and stronger than them." Cinder muttered while kicking her feet back and forth. "Monsters become stronger the longer one climbs up the ladder...until they're stopped by something that keeps them from going further. For Madame, I think that something was supposed to be me...to keep others from overstepping their bounds and her authority."

"So, you were to be a check against threats towards her power." Rhodes muttered while rubbing his chin, with both of them sitting on a bench.

Cinder kept kicking her feet back and forth, as she too pondered about her worth towards the woman who tormented her, and how that might have affected her perspective on things. And quietly she wondered if that was really all she was worth in general, to simply be an attack beast towards those she's directed towards. Is that where her worth begins and ends? Did anything about that really change, even when she's escaped her prison of torment.

Later on, Cinder blinked as Rhodes returned from a brief walk away, and she was confused when he sat next to her and handed her something. It appeared to be a pretzel, specifically a cinnamon sugar pretzel. Wondering what the deal was with that, she once again turned towards Rhodes and saw his smile.

"You weren't all too comfortable sharing that with me, and yet you did anyway. I figured I should reward you for putting up with that."

"W-Wha...?" Cinder looked towards the treat, wondering if it was really alright for her to have it. It's freshly baked scent mostly suppressed this hesitation as she immediately bit into the treat. Soon enough, her golden eyes were sparkling as her tail wagged behind her. Rhodes watched this with a small chuckle. She sighed softly while licking crumbs from her hands. Though through a small wonder, she turned to Rhodes. "It was tasty. Thanks."

"Don't worry about it." Rhodes smiled while lightly rustling her hair. Cinder looked towards the ground with an annoyed pout, though her happily wagging tail betrayed her. It was time for them to move on, so Rhodes got up and asked her to follow beside him, and so she did with a slight hop.

Though she heard a bit of laughter going about, she turned to the side and noticed a pair playing a bit together and eating. A man and a young girl having a picnic. He shared some of his food with her even when she's already eaten all of hers. She giggled and smiled as she was lifted into the air and holding out her hands to the man, then he pulled her in for the both of them to hug. After putting up all of their things, he set her down as they were set to go home. The girl skipped up to the man and reached up to hold his hand, which he gladly allowed her to do. Over off to the side was a woman around the man's age, who waved to the both of them, as she too picked up the little girl and they too hugged each other happily, with the man watching with a smile.

They all seemed very close.

Cinder blinked at the interaction, then turned towards Rhodes as he was leading the way. Turning back towards the duo, then to Rhodes again. A thought coming to her, she caught up with him for a bit and reached out her hand towards his own...though she stopped herself after a moment of anxious indecision, before frowning and pulling her hand back. Rhodes still heard her moving and shuffling about during that time, so he briefly turned to her.

"Something the matter?"

"No. It's nothing..." Cinder shook her head, and they continued on their way silence. Not only did she think about how the man and the girl interacted, but the girl and the woman as well. Cinder didn't have anything like that. She never had anything like that. Especially with the woman.

Why couldn't she have anything like that? Why did she get what she got with Madame Mara, instead of something nice like what that girl has? Cinder may be a dragon, but was a young girl as well, and yet she didn't have what she had. She was treated like an object and a weapon rather than a living being worth being treated well. She was so confused. Was she not worthy of something like that? And if so, what was the reason for that conclusion?

What did she do wrong?

...

Later on, Rhodes came to a realization.

Rhodes very swiftly discovered how much of a ravening eater Cinder was. It didn't surprise him that much given what he's read up on regarding dragons, though seeing it for himself was startling. He was quick to realize that there wasn't much that a dragon wouldn't and couldn't eat if they felt like they could handle it. A part of him did wonder just how true this was once he began moving around with Cinder in tow, but one day when they were beset by monsters, she's demonstrated this dragon gluttony of hers to him that left quite an impression.

They had encountered a hydra.

To be fair, it wasn't quite as big or powerful as it could have been. The greatest number of heads it had was four, and he's heard of terrifyingly powerful hydras whose number of heads reach towards the hundreds. Regardless, it was still a dangerous creature, and carelessness could allow it to overwhelm an overconfident combatant very quickly. It was spewing globs of poison towards him, and he used a metal barrier to shield himself from it every time it tried to attack him. Whenever he had the chance, he bashed at one of the heads with his maces, knocking it back and off balancing some of its other heads in the process. It also tried blasting Cinder with some of its spewing poison while also sending one of its heads to bite her with its venomous fangs. Thankfully, she managed to dodge to the left and right, avoiding getting hit or being bitten.

Then her eyes flashed with a beastly and fiery red glow, as she went for the kill. It was almost methodical.

First, she would swoop in and slice off one of their heads in a powerful and quick swipe of her claws. Next, while its head and neck wriggled and hissed on the ground, she incinerated it with a blast of fire, leaving nothing but ashes. Then she did the same to the next two heads, ruthlessly tearing them from their necks with her claws and immediately burning them afterwards. Once the final head remained, she tackled it and its body with all of her own body weight, which in her dragon form was HEAVY. Disorienting it and having slowed its fast healing with her flames, the dragoness wasted no time pouncing on it and ravenously devouring the rest of the creature whole. By the time the assault was over, the dragon was lying on her side with a stomach stuffed with an entire hydra.

She could feel it eventually regenerating it's other three heads and furiously attempting to escape or harm her to little/no effect. By that point it was far too late for its fast healing to do anything given the nature of its capture. Cinder looked so pleased and content with herself, having taken down and eaten a decently powerful monster. She growled proudly with her tail tapping her belly, whether it be a sign of domination or simply taunting her catch. A bit of both, perhaps. She seemed to really enjoy indulging her predatory instinct. Though she soon broke out of her relishing her victory as her eyes flashed back to the surprised Rhodes. Her head tilted.

"Um...did I do good?"

Rhodes sighed deeply, releasing a breath he didn't know he held. He scratched the back of his neck with a chuckle. "Well, that's certainly one way to take down a dangerous monster. In other words, you did pretty good."

Cinder beamed with pride at the praise, her tail wagging delightfully. There it was, that feeling again. Him looking at her with such warm admiration and acceptance. Was it normal to be seen that way? She wasn't completely sure. Though she did know for sure that she wanted even more of it. She did not know why, but the idea that she herself was the cause of his smile brought such warmth to her heart, that she wanted to do it more often.

With this, it was pretty clear to Rhodes that Cinder's tastes to have a strong preference for sweets and pastries for desserts...and meat and monsters. Sure, the former could be properly prepared, and she finds them enjoyable enough, but she looked more fulfilled and accomplished when she went out and hunted for herself. He didn't consider it much of a hindrance to let her do these things. Recalling what Cinder told him about being trained and raised to be a check towards certain threats, he wondered if Cinder eventually became attuned to keeping certain creatures from trespassing where they would seriously disrupt things. An example being, eating that hydra kept it from further harassing anyone that lived nearby, and seemingly scared anything weaker than it from moving forward towards areas where they'd be too much for those in the local area to handle.

Goes to show that there was potentially a benevolent benefit to what she was taught to do and what her instincts helped her do, especially if it was properly honed. And he did teach her a thing or two about it, how driving off these powerful enemies and keeping them from overwhelming areas where people weren't strong enough or in a good position to fight them off. Cinder would essentially be the stopping point that eliminated the strongest of them and kept their weaker subordinates from proceeding any further, out of fear of being next. She also seemed to like feeling strong and powerful, being the creature other monsters fear.

Later on, after two months, Cinder was waiting outside while looking towards the skies, quietly sitting under the shade of a tree. Hearing Rhodes returning from a brief trip, she turned towards him carrying a box in his hands. She walked up to him curiously, only for him to hold it out to her with a smile. She was greatly confused by this, before it eventually clicked, and even after that she could hardly believe what it was once, she pieced everything together.

"Is this...a present?"

"Yup, for you." Rhodes gestured for her to open it, and so she did, somewhat nervously. Her eyes widened as she picked something out of the box. It felt warm and soft to the touch, silky smooth. It was a scarf, black with gold decorations, akin to that of a dragon breathing fire. Cinder looked up towards the smiling Rhodes.

"You bought this for me...?"

"More like I made it for you." Rhodes chuckled at the dumbfounded look on her face. "Come on, now. I've got other skill sets that aren't combat based. I figured you'd like something like this." A moment of decision as she saw and heard his sincerity, Cinder looked towards the scarf again, before setting the box to the side and quietly securing it around her neck, nice and snug. She hummed as her tail swayed side to side. "Well?"

"... It's nice. Really nice. And cozy." Cinder pleasantly smiled, her tail swaying a bit more.

"You don't have to worry about damaging it when you shapeshift, either. A little enchantment here, your scarf will adjust to your size and shape. Now admittedly, that part I needed some help with and paid for. But I made the scarf myself." Surprised, Cinder decided to give it a test. A flash of swirling fire later, and Rhodes looked up to see Cinder in her draconic form, and indeed, her scarf grew and extended to be able to still fit perfectly around her neck. "Told ya."

"...Why did you go out of your way to do this for me?" Cinder eventually asked. And even though she didn't voice it, Rhodes was able to hear 'why do any of this for me at all'.

"Quite frankly, I just felt like doing it." Rhodes sits down for a bit, gazing across the fields. "I know what you're thinking. I want to try and put some of those anxieties to rest, at least a little. I wanted to help you get out of that terrible situation. There was no plan or purpose beyond that. I couldn't just stand by while hearing about your plight and do nothing."

"Even if you risk the wrath of vampires?"

"Not the first time I've tangled with those blood suckers, and it likely won't be the last. I'm not underestimating them; I know the kind of damage they're capable of when motivated. But that wasn't enough to deter me." Rhodes shook his head. Rhodes isn't entirely against vampires. He's even met his share of decent ones. But the ones inhabiting the Glass Unicorn very clearly weren't a part of that decent grouping. "I've already made up my mind, and I stuck to it. They can come and try to kill me for it, but I'm not handing you back over to that nightmare. There's nothing they can do to me to make me regret this decision."

Cinder lowered her head. "I still don't get it...why me? Why go through all of that, take those kinds of risks, being so nice to me...what did I do to deserve it? What..." Cinder turned away while pawing at her scarf. "...what did I do...to be worthy of all of that?"

"...We really do live in a rough world, where a kid sincerely has to ask that question." Rhodes chuckled lowly, though he stood up and brushed himself off. "It had nothing to do with being deserving of it or being worthy of it. I decided to do it, and so I did. You shouldn't have to earn the right to be saved if you're in danger. And you were in a very dangerous environment there. So, I don't regret getting you out of there and nothing will make me sway on that."

Rhodes was a bit curious once he heard nothing but silent breathing from Cinder. As it is, he was surprised once he felt her grab him with her enlarged paws and hugged him closer to her in a gentle embrace, her tail thumping against the ground. Surprised yet relaxed, Rhodes lightly pets the top of her snout with a nod, which she didn't bother trying to hide that she was leaning into the hand.

"Didn't take you for the cuddly type. But you seem to really be warming up to it."

"N-No I'm not!"

"Really now? Then what's this you're doing right now?"

"Grrr..."

Despite how annoyed she was making him, Cinder felt nice and warm within. This feeling, she wanted to grasp it, to keep it close to her chest. She was really considering whether or not it was okay. Okay to consider him more than just a guardian that was looking after her, when she didn't consider herself worth that kind of devotion. She wondered if one day she could gather the courage to ask if she's allowed to call him something much more close to her than that.

Her mind kept going back to the man and the girl she saw way back then, along with the woman. How dearly they cherished that girl and vice versa. And she wondered...if it was okay for her to have something like that with Rhodes. Of whether or not it was possible. If she was worthy of it. Was it okay to ask him? Though he didn't have the female to match, he was mostly on his own with Cinder. Maybe she could find one for him to complete the image? Would he be alright with that? Or was he fine with just the two of them?

She wasn't sure enough to ask any of these questions, so she decided to simply hold off on it for a little while until she could formulate them with confidence.

Unfortunately, that opportunity would never come.

As they were going down one quiet and seemingly peaceful path, Rhodes suddenly stopped in place. "Hold on." He looked to the side, holding out his arm, startling Cinder. "Somebody's out there watching us..." He lifted himself up and pulled out his maces. "And they're not friendly."

"Is that so...?" Cinder narrowed her eyes as her hands shifted into claws.

"Stay here. I'll let you know when you can help." Rhodes told her gently, before he moved forward, keeping a close eye on his surroundings.

Everything looked somewhat quiet, but he knows that he could sense something. It was definitely hiding, whatever it was. He was keeping a good eye out, making sure to keep his guard up. But he also made sure not to stray too far away from Cinder, just in case.

...!

Something touched him-

Cinder blinked, as everything went eerily silent.

"Rhodes? Is everything alright?" Cinder called out. "...Rhodes?!" Still no answer. "Rhodes, I'm gonna follow you!" She went in the direction that he did, her heart was beating with growing fear. Something's wrong, something's wrong. "Rhodes, where are you?!"

As if to answer her question, she yelped as something smashed the ground in front of her, forcing her to dodge backwards. She growled and hated her fangs as flames gathered around her. Only to stop and gape in disbelief.

"...Rhodes?"

Something was wrong, horrifically wrong. Rhodes was just standing after having nearly attacked her, with red veins and his eyes become pitch black. He maces again, before slamming them both down on the ground.

Cinder gasped as the shockwave ruptured the earth and sent her flying into the air. She looked to see Rhodes swing both maces right into her, forcing her to block with hardened dragon arms, launching her across the forest.

She ended up collapsing right into a tree, coughing from the force. She looked back up to see Rhodes stalking towards her.

"Rhodes! What's gotten into you?!" Cinder shouted. She meant it both literally and figuratively. Something has definitely disrupted him, though she wasn't sure if it was of his own will or not. All she knew was that, as he slammed the ground again, metallic metal spikes jutted out from the ground due to his magic.

Cinder had to roll out of the way before one of them could run her through, wincing as one managed to cut her cheek. She gasped as he slammed his maces down on her again, only this time she caught them both in her paws, greatly cratering the ground around them.

"Why is this happening?! What's making him do this! He wouldn't! He'd never-"

She wasn't given too much time to ponder, for she was strike harshly in the stomach with a metal pillar when she caught his maces, sending her soaring across the forest and crashing through several trees, slamming into a rock.

"AGH...!"

Cinder fell to the ground on her knees, holding her middle as she gasped for breath, and could see Rhodes stalking towards her once again. She whimpered as tears ran down her eyes. Whatever was making him do this, he wasn't going to break out of it on his own. It didn't look like he could. If she didn't fight back...he was going to kill her. He was seriously going to kill her, and she had a feeling it was entirely against his will.

She thought this, as he aimed his mace towards her while it shifted to a gun, and it fired off a shot. She swiftly ducked under as the metallic projectile completely smashed the rock behind her to pieces. When she looked up again, she felt the mace slam right against the side of her skull, tending her tumbling across the ground, stopping at her side.

Rhodes looked towards her, guessing that she was unconscious. He strolled towards her, looking upon her unconscious form, and rained his mace above his head. The weapons hardened even further, intent on completely smashing her head.

Before he could do so, Cinder's eyes snapped open. In that split second of impulse, instinct completely took over her reason as she felt certain death looming over her being.

There was a huge blast of fire. Rhodes dropped his weapons with a sigh.

Cinder looked him in the eyes while her own was filled with tears, as her dragon claw had pierced right through his chest. And once that happened, some Grimm like entity completely detached from him, before being incinerated by her flames. Rhodes slowly fell down as Cinder pulled her claws out of his chest.

"Oh no. Oh nononononononono! Rhodes, hang on!" Cinder pleased desperately. "I-I can get us help! I'll turn into a dragon and fly you somewhere-"

"They're...not gonna welcome you...with open arms..."

"I don't CARE!" You matter far more than I do! I'm nothing, I always have been! But you're-"

"Cinder... that was a Chill Grimm. And a freakishly powerful one. I had completely lost...control over myself when it possessed me...and completely sapped me of my life force...my body can't sustain itself anymore..." Rhodes grunted. "It was gonna...happen one way or the other after that...I'm glad...you chose to save yourself..."

"Rhodes...don't. To hell with what people will think of me, just let me help you!" Cinder desperately pleaded, even though she already knew it was futile. He wasn't wrong about that Chill being more powerful than average. His soul can't sustain itself anymore and his body was quickly shutting down. He was done for. She desperately wanted to deny that, but she knew that it was the truth.

"...You're not nothing...don't think like that..." Rhodes gently reached out, and weakly patted her head. "...don't give anyone...that kind of...power over you...or you'll never be able to...truly call your life...your own..."

Rhodes expired. His hand left her head. She almost wanted to place it back onto it.

"Rhodes...oh nononono. Wake up! Wake UP! Rhodes, please!" Cinder whimpered as she lightly hugged his body, sniffling as she curled her tail around his leg. "Please...please don't leave me alone out here...I don't wanna be alone...I don't know what to do..."

She couldn't believe this was happening. She couldn't accept what happened to be the truth, for it was too cruel for her to fathom. Rhodes did nothing to deserve this. Except save Cinder from a life of torment. The world decided to repay this good deed, the sheer amount of kindness and guidance he's given her, with cold death, with nobody to mourn him but her. She never even got a chance to ask him with her own words. To get her feelings out to him laid bare. If it was really okay for her to consider him more than a guardian, to consider her more than a charge. Once more, her mind went back to the man and woman with their little girl. She never got to ask him about that.

If it was alright for them to...

As if to further mock her loss, there was a crack in the sky, and it suddenly began to rain heavily upon Cinder and the deceased Rhodes, which quickly put out all the flames she didn't bother to keep it ignited. Her hair and clothes were soaked, her tears mixed in with the rain, and she couldn't bother to care a lick about any of it. She was a dragon. A mighty dragon. One of the most powerful supernatural creatures of all, as legends tend to say. She was strong, and she should be able to do what she needed with this strength. Yet despite all of her innate power, once again she was completely and utterly helpless to do anything except cry over what she couldn't do with it. The agony of it all stayed with her long after it finally stopped raining. And there was one thing about this Chill Grimm that completely shattered her further.

It had Mara's scent on it.

Something ignited within her.

This wasn't fair. Nothing about this wasn't fair. Why? He didn't do anything wrong. He did nothing to deserve this. Cinder hated it. She hated everything. She wanting to burn something. She wanted to burn everything. The entire world should be incinerated for daring to place such a precious thing in her life, and to take it away so casually, without even thinking about it. A world that would give her false hope like that should be devastated and destroyed for wronging her so.

...But that's not what Rhodes would have wanted.

That singular thought was what turned the enraged flames beginning to ignite in her heart, into a saddened, miniscule gathering of embers. Sparks snuffed out before they could truly catch fire.

For all of the great inherent power in her hands, she couldn't do anything meaningful with it. She's powerlessness to do anything but curl up and cry. She hated her helplessness for reducing her to that...but she didn't have the strength for anything else.

So cry she did.

...

Several years had passed since then.

Cinder was gazing outwards towards the fields from a cliff connected to a cave. Overlooking the wide and expansive world in front of her, the fifteen-year-old could only look mildly annoyed with the sunlight, her hair flowing with the wind as she wrapped her scarf around her neck. Her eyes were tired, bags forming under them due to a slight lack of sleep over the last several days, which was somewhat paired with her dress being in utter tatters. But she was recovering, if only slightly.

"...Time to hunt." Cinder muttered quietly, tightening her scarf as she shifted to her dragon form in a flash of fire, then took towards the skies while leaping away from the gathering smoke she created. Just keep going, staying alive.

That's all she could do for now.

Yet despite that, she wanted to go further...and even then, she wouldn't really know where. All she could do was soar towards her next destination, even if she had no clue what it actually was at this point.

With a nagging feeling tugging on her soul, she closes her eyes and simply feels the wind blowing against her face.

---

Cinder eventually opens her eyes and looks around for a moment. Seeing as how she was currently residing in a room and wasn't flying through the sky at the moment, she could tell right away that she was dreaming through her memories or recalling them one and the same while she was unconscious. She sits up in her bed and realized she was back at the Guild Hall. The Red Riding Hood Guild, and she was lying in the infirmary space. She looked to the side, seeing her scarf was nicely folded up and was even cleaned.

Which means...

"Hey there."

Cinder quietly turned to see Jaune greeting her with a half wave. He tried to smile to bring a positive mood into the room, but it fell short due to seeing the state Cinder was in. She looked back towards him, the fire in her eyes practically nonexistent. And since she wasn't wearing her scarf, he was now quite aware of the heavy scarfs that marked themselves around her neck. Given how it seemed to have grown slightly, her clash with her stepmother has added into the injuries.

...Right. Her stepmother. Her stepsisters. The Glass Unicorn. They found her. All of them did.

Mara returned to force Cinder back under her servitude. Honestly Cinder was far too exhausted and hurt to muster the energy to be terrified about that, even though she very clearly was indeed terrified. But even so, she just...couldn't bring herself to muster much energy over it right now. She expended nearly all of it during that 'reunion', and now all that's left was...a cold emptiness in her heart. Never mind the fact that she dreamed up a particularly damaging set of hurtful memories due to how they ended. She just didn't have the emotional strength to deal with these things right now. But she also couldn't just stay completely silent. Not after everything that's happened.

"...How long was I out?"

"About four hours. And things only got worse." Jaune shook his head.

"Ruby?"

"She's pissed. And it's been a while since I've seen her so unflinchingly furious."

Cinder looked towards her lap.

"A part of me, even if I didn't want to admit or accept it...felt like this was inevitable." Cinder muttered quietly while placing her hands around her scarf, hugging it to herself. "It was a deeply rooted fear that I fought I stamped out completely. But no, I was wrong. I was terribly wrong. In the end they were able to find me. My stepsisters. My stepmother. The Glass Unicorn as a whole..." Cinder shook her head. "They've come for me...and they want to reclaim me. I thought that if I just never thought about it for too long, I wouldn't jinx myself, and these moments would have never come. But it has. This encounter...was ordained by fate. As much as I hate it." Cinder slowly looked up. "Now that they've found me again...they're never going to leave me alone."

Jaune shook his head. "Guess we'll just have to be persuasive about it, then. If you don't want to go back to them, then that's the end of it. They can't force you to do something you don't want to do, that goes completely against who you are." Jaune glared. "If they try to attack you again, we'll take them down for sure. They're not going to get away with hurting you like this."

Cinder didn't feel reassured by his words. All they did was remind her of the danger that everyone was currently in due to her presence. It has been demonstrated rather succinctly that they will do everything destructively possible in order to reclaim what they see as a resource that's properly theirs.

'All aspects of your life that do not benefit me shall be terminated.'

The threat echoed through Cinder. Given how Mara went as far as contracting with an actual Grimm Devil, she was sure that she was willing to go to the extremes to get what she wants. She couldn't have expected her to go that far, but now she sees firsthand what she's willing to do, she has no choice but to really come to terms with the worst-case scenario in this situation. As now the Red Riding Hood was caught in the crossfire.

That was unacceptable.

"Hey, you must be pretty exhausted still. You might need something to lift your spirits, even a bit." Jaune tried to support. "I'm sure there's something on hand that I can prepare pretty quickly, if you give me a moment."

Cinder distantly looked towards the side, mostly at nothing. "I'm not hungry." Jaune head snapped towards Cinder in utter disbelief, unable to believe what he just heard. "You should meet back with the others. I would prefer to be alone for the moment."

"...Okay. Whatever you say." Jaune sighed as he eventually turned and left the infirmary.

Cinder still stared out into nothing, as she slowly grasped the side of her looked at her hand, which gradually morphed into dragon claws. Clenching it and unclenching, she opened her paw again as it changed back into a human hand. She clenched it one more time and grit her teeth in frustration, pounding against the stand near her and crushing it instantly.

All of my strength that I've cultivated over the years, yet I was STILL helpless against her! She'll inevitably come for me again, and she'll slaughter everybody and destroy everything that tried to impede her. I can't run, she'll hunt me down tirelessly. I can't hide, she'll eventually find me. I can't fight, she'll neutralized my retaliation. Nothing's worked. I can't stand against her at all...so what do I do? Is there really no escaping her? After all this time...is this really all that I'm worth?

Cinder clenched her fists as her furious expression soon shifted into anguish. The others. If Mara was to have her way and the others would get caught jnt he crossfire in order to get to her...then she would lose them. She would lose everybody. Could she really bear to go through thG when her own worth was so miniscule. All of them have something to contribute one way or another. All she's contributing right now is being a target that will bring doom to her newfound circle of comrades. She can't hear being responsible for bringing forth their demise with her very presence.

...If my very presence brings about their demise, then perhaps I was never worthy of having cherished people in my life. Maybe this is fate's way of telling me to give up trying...

She had to make a decision.

Jaune closed the door behind him and rejoined the others in the briefing room, where Ruby was currently still fuming, her fangs somewhat bared and the fur on her wolf ears and tail rising up slightly. Yet still, she took the time to turn towards him while calming somewhat.

"How is she?"

"Awake. She's not alright, honestly. Sure, her physical wounds are healed up, but she's not alright in the sense that she's taking all this well. But she's awake." Jaune admitted with a dejected sigh. "Not only that, but she doesn't want to eat."

"Oh, this is worse than we thought. She doesn't even want comfort food." Nora's eyes widened at the news, and she could tell that Jaune was just as surprised as she was.

"This entire thing must have wrecked her pretty badly if a greedy and gluttonous eater like her is turning down cooking from Jaune." Yang deduced while leaning forward, pushing her hair away from her face. "Hearin' all that stuff from her family. Her stepsister's kind of have some pretty messed up perspective on sisterhood, and it's pretty clear that the old hag only wants to get back her potential weapon of mass destruction."

"That connection she has with them certainly brings us into the crossfire." Weiss glowered while rubbing her chin. Everyone was somewhat healed up and their stamina was restored, but it was taking a bit for the emotional and mental damage they've taken from the previous battle to settle and try to mend. Especially when the battle technically wasn't over yet. "We have to assume that they'll back up their threats soon once they find the opportunity. They'll come for us directly sooner or later. Come for Cinder."

"Weiss, you said that the Glass Unicorn was owned by some Atlan elite named Mara Marzikeen, also known as Madame Mara. Or Madame Marzikeen, whatever." Ruby shook her head, the fur on her tail frizzled on irritation.

"Yes, I recognized her. Although I never truly thought about something like this. She was up to something like this, the entire time she vanished." Weiss muttered while thinking things over. It was only when the Glass Unicorn vanished that the spree killings on Mantle mostly stopped back then, and they were particularly bloody. Now things were piecing together for her regarding those particular incidents. "Were they sacrifices so that she could summon Lilith to her side? And then these other killings across Vale were so that Lilith could recover her full power..."

"So evidently she's been planning on doing this for a while, and found an excuse once Cinder finally came out into the open where she can see her." Blake's feline ears flicked while leaning forth with sharpened eyes. "She must consider Cinder a very valuable asset to her ambitions for conquest if she's willing to go this far to corner her and then retrieve her. And to think she also tried to sacrifice us to the Grimm Devil."

"A ruthless act which will not go unanswered for." Pyrrha reassured Ruby, who narrowed her eyes at the mention of the incident, tightening her grip around her arms her saying nothing at the moment. "We managed to find ourselves a bit of time to rest, while Penny is keeping the Guild Hall camouflaged. Though if course we can't wait forever to make our next move. The city is under attack, and it's sure to expand to the far reaches of Vale if left to fester. We cannot allow ourselves to remain idle for long, or else there will be innumerable casualties by the time they're done."

"Yeah. We can't let this go on further. We can't let anyone else suffer the same fate as Viridius Town..." Ruby shook her head, though it was clear to everyone that having to leave everyone that remained behind was still very rough on her. The circumstances forced her hand, but she was still highly displeased that it came to that at all. "Everything's bound to be chaotic out there, so we got to strike the problem at the source, while taking care for everyone caught in the crossfire. With Lilith on their side things are going to get worse."

"They'll certainly be expecting us, though we probably shouldn't try to make our approach as a single group." Ren shook his head. "We have to be able to cover more than one area in order to mitigate the damage as much as possible."

"That is a lot of area to cover, which includes the city itself." Penny pushed her hands together worriedly. "If we allow ourselves to stay in one place for too long as we separate, we will risk being attacked when we're isolated from one another."

Oscar, who was still troubled over the fact that his mentor may very well be severely wounded and alone somewhere, allowed himself to focus for a few moments on the present. "We've already done a decent job messing with their operations. Maybe we can use that aggravation they've built up for us to our advantage?"

"That's definitely possible. In that case, we haven't a moment lose." Ruby slowly stood up with her hands on the briefing table. "We head out there and we stop the Glass Unicorn from going any further with their plans." She points towards the projection, as the map of Vale expanded. "We have to gather ourselves in near little groups and draw as much attention to ourselves as we can, in order to pull them away from heavily populated spots and into spaces where we can cut them down at the seams."

"You want us to draw aggro on them?" Yang wondered while rolling her arm with a grunt. "Hell, I can get behind that. We've pissed then off enough for them to wanna kill us directly, so this might work in our favor."

"That sounds absurdly dangerous. But we don't have the time for anything else. The amount of time we took to scrape up a recovery is already too much." Weiss sheathed Myrtenaster while her Aura flowed with cold snow. "Alright then, we separate them and pick off their most dangerous players one at a time and take care not to allow them the chance to do the same to us. Our cooperation will be key to pulling this off, as we divert their attention towards us and away from the civilians, as much as we can."

"...I'll stay here and guard the Guild Hall."

Everyone turned towards the sound of the voice, and it was that of a stoic Cinder, who had recently gotten dressed. Jaune looked the most worried about her at the moment. Curiously, Ruby's expression was somewhat unreadable as her eyes met Cinder's.

"Are you sure you're okay? Given what's happened and why it's happening, you're in the most danger out of all of us." Jaune wondered while placing his shield behind his back.

"I've had a bit of time to compose myself. With everything in order here, the enemy won't be able to reach me." Cinder shook her head. "There's no need to worry about me, there are far more important things to deal with. You all should just focus on doing what needs to be done. As shall I."

Ruby kept her gaze locked on Cinder for the longest time, unflinching and unmoving. What's quietly going through her head, no one was able to tell, due to the calmness of her current expression not betraying any visible current emotions. As soon as Cinder tucked her scarf around her neck, Ruby nodded as she pulled her hood over her head, her eyes glowing softly under the dark of the shade, her fuzzy wolf ears flicking.

"Alright then. Let's move out."

---

Lilith was admittedly, having the time of her life right now. In fact, she was utterly ecstatic about how great a time she was having at the moment. It's been so long since she's able to just relax her nerves and just cause some wanton chaos and destruction that she thought she might have lost her edge. But no. If anything, she's even sharper than she's ever been before. She could tell this as she was managing her powers with almost no strain at all, gradually taking in the blood she spilled from the humans around her. Ghouls, succubus, vampires. All of them doing their part to kill the humans and take their blood, which will further empower her.

She couldn't help but remember the good old days when this was the norm for her. But alas, she had to adjust with the times like everyone else. It was a new start, a new era. Therefore, she would have to change her approach just a smidge, so that she could go on to establish her territory as much as she possibly could. Expanding things outwards and killing humans to add to her blood garden was a decent start. It was a good start even, beautiful. But Lilith knows that she can do better, much better. It would definitely take some effort on her part, but it wouldn't be unbearably difficult for her at all.

Things were going well. Very well. But surely it wouldn't hurt to put a bit of a more assuring performance into how things were playing out, right? Lilith smirked as she gathered her bearings, preparing to spread even more chaos than before, though not before she did something crucial that will seal the intentions of herself and those around her.

She lightly saved her paw over her mask, and once more, she appeared as someone else. Her gleaming red eyes still pierced through, as they took the form of somebody else.

Once more, she took the shape of Salem.

"People of Vale. I do hate to become the bearer of bad news, but I'm afraid my non-existent empathy can only go so far. A useful suggestion from me would be to save your energy for the latter stages of this performance, because I will personally ensure that things will get even more unpleasant for you. Your do well to save your stamina for that point, because your agony will surely be at its most potent."

'Salem's echoing voice sounded throughout, with the numbers of Grimm in particular continuing to grow and expand throughout the city at large. The numbers of the dying were increasing by the moments, though notably enough would be spared, if only for the sake of sustenance to be preserved and produced for later ventures. She hummed as she turned towards the sight of those making a brief run down the streets. She rolled her eyes at this with a hum.

"Pardon me." She hummed as she points a finger towards the path and blasts a building right next to it, causing it to collapse sideways and crash right in the middle of it, trapping the terrified citizens against the horde bearing down on them. "I don't recall giving any of you permission to leave. No human gets to leave the premises so long as I'm here. You're going to miss the festivities. After all, we are celebrating my return to power, and the reemergence of my name." 'Salem' turned her head and realized the gathering authorities were trying to blast her from where they stood. "Please."

The most she did was swipe her hand after gathering negative energy through it. The resulting devastation caused by a day of malefic energy tore through the buildings and streets, resulting in several areas throughout the area that blew up in a series of darkened energy and smoke. 'Salem' coos as several safe places that would have been ideal and obvious to hide and take refuge have similarly been decimated, leaving them helplessly exposed to the approaching malevolent creatures.

"There is nothing I will not do to pursue my ambitions. It matters not what I have to do, where I have to destroy, or who I have to kill. It is my will, and therefore it shall be done. I have no qualms about these atrocities. As you can see, the freedom of someone of my stature, allows me to act with complete impunity. If you doubt my resolve...see some of my deeds for yourself, through these eyes."

'Salem' smiles as she soon demonstrates through multiple Seer Grimm, just how serious 'she' was. Throughout history she was willing to do whatever it takes to see her ideals through. From fooling dozens of heroes and leading them to their deaths to further destabilize the world's hopes, to establishing her rule as a God-Empress by destroying anything and anyone that went against her or didn't completely submit to her, and siccing Grimm on anyone who kept trying to go against her or didn't fall completely under her thrall, attempting to resist or defy her.

She's not even above destroying her significant other and her children, if they've proved themselves to be hindrances to her. The one who was courageous enough to reach out to her and give her affection, she eventually grew weary of and discarded once he started actively getting in her way. The children were destroyed in her battle with her significant other whom she was simply using to suit her previous designs, and she killed her lover herself when he was crawling away and bleeding, blasting him into nothing. She cared not about either of them within the grand scheme of things. Then she unleashed terror across the world for centuries. The world was terrorized by her and her machinations, her creatures of Grimm. And her endless malevolent darkness that threatened to consume all that were unfortunate enough to be caught in it.

And then, through a projected image of one of the Seers, 'Salem' smiled as the image of Lilith orchestrating the disastrous Vytal Meeting around the beginning of the Dark Ages, the slaughter of the world leaders, and Lilith ultimately eating Ozia for the entire world to see. It was all according to 'her' design to plunge the world into yet another harsher age of terror and hopelessness. It was through sheer fortune that she was incapacitated at some point which allowed for the world to claw its way back from the brink. Well, those days were officially over. Their good fortune has run out, and her arrival was proof of it.

"You see now, do you not? There is nothing I won't do. The world has trembled before me once, and I shall see to it that it does again, one way or another. There's nowhere you can flee where my darkness cannot reach you." 'Salem' softly smiles. "Your suffering is sustenance for my children...as well as for me."

'Salem' blinked as she turned around and noticed the gentle swirl of a single rose petal. She twirled around on a dime and held out her hand, catching something sharp within it. She turned around as she saw the curve of a scythe that nearly carved right through her neck.

Ruby was glaring quietly at her.

"Ohhhh?" 'Salem' smiled serenely towards Ruby. "Why hello there, dear Granddaughter. Are you here to join me, to see me plant the seeds for my garden of blood?" Ruby gave no immediate response, with the blur of rose petals turning into an entire storm and pushed 'Salem' off balance and sent her flying backwards several meters, before stopping in place. "Is that a no?"

"Why." Ruby demanded calmly, her sharp eyes glaring at the one before her.

"You're not even going to bother playing along, hm? And here I thought you'd be up for playing pretend." 'Salem' cooed while levitating in the air, hands behind her neck. "Like pretending you have even a ghost of a chance of becoming the Demon Queen...or pretending that that 'Grammy' of yours truly loves you." 'Salem' hummed as Ruby showed no outward reaction to her taunting, though she could definitely sense her fury emitting off of her. It was calm and controlled, however. Tranquil, yet sharp. "Well, it seems like I can't anger you into attacking blindly. You're not as gullible as you look."

"Why." Ruby demanded again, without a single change in tone or voice. But her focus only grew sharper.

'Salem' smiled tauntingly with a brief yawn, before twirling about in the air, as blood swirled all around her, her wings flapping. "Your 'Grammy', Salem. We can't quite stand her. The more knowledgeable of us knows exactly who she is and what she stands for, and we vehemently despite her for these things. But there's a prelude for all this, of course. I heard you like stories."

Ruby dashed forth and attempted to slash at the being again, only for 'Salem' to nimbly leap over the slash with a knowing smile across her face.

"You see, for years we Grimm have been born to do only a select few things. And that is to destroy all things of creation, killing humans along the way. We've been mindlessly doing this ever since the dawn of our own existence. However, eventually, things began to change." 'Salem' tapped the side of her head. "At a certain point, when our growth breaches past a critical stage, we achieve a sense of awareness with ourselves, we become capable of higher intelligence and having unique personalities. In simple terms, we achieve 'consciousness'. It tends to feel like a shroud of shadows has been lifted off of us and we've truly begun to see, rather than just blindly following our instincts."

Ruby leapt across the rooftops and dashed forth in a burst of rose petals, slashing at 'Salem' once more, only for the latter to swerve around the slash with naught a care in the world. Ruby scurried along the rooftops while keeping track of the being, then jumping back as spikes of blood blasts downwards towards her. She managed to slice through an entire wall of blood with a single swipe. "What does that have to do with my grandma?"

"Ah, yes. Salem. Grimm on the ancient side, like me, have done their homework. Salem was once a human princess that lived during the Genesis Age. But after one series of circumstances after another, she lives on as a Grimm. You're likely well aware of this, but your precious Grandmother no longer classifies as a human. She may be able to take on a humanoid shape and appearance, and perhaps uses a glamour to appear human to others, but in every way that matters, she is a Grimm being. She is supposedly detached from humanity, a creature of living darkness and destruction, like the rest of us. Yet, she not only retained her self-awareness, but also eventually chose to be benevolent. Despite her soul being dark and warped enough by the experience that she was destined to go down a path of chaos and malevolence, she actually resisted that natural impulse at a certain point of her life." 'Salem' narrows her eyes as streams of swirling blood manifested over Ruby and attempted to rain down on her, as she weaved around most of them while being grazed by several sharpened blades of them. "Her very existence has become offensive and repulsive, because she represents an unfavorable precedent, and an unacceptable possibility."

Ruby narrowed her eyes while balancing on a pillar, rose petals swirling around her in a whirlwind.

"Unfavorable precedent? Unacceptable possibility? Like what? The very idea that even a Grimm, a creature of living darkness and destruction, can be capable of being and doing good?" Ruby puffed as she leaped over another wave of blood, landing on another building. "Because you'll notice that darkness and destruction, with all the bad stuff that can come from them, doesn't mean that they're inherently bad. It's just easier for them to be lumped together with bad things because of what many choose to do with them. Like what you choose to do with them." She balanced Crescent Rose across her shoulders. "Free will is a packaged deal. You gain the positive pros of it alongside the negative cons. Once you gain the power of choice, once you have an understanding of what's right and wrong, you can't blame your instincts anymore once you willingly choose to do wrong."

'Salem' glared hatefully towards Ruby.

Lilith could still remember it clearly. Coming across a spry and upbeat little village across Mistral during the Dark Ages.

On a quaint little riverbank where a lone house settled, she was shocked and almost appalled at what she saw when she was passing by in search for targets. She saw a feline lion Grimm traveling side by side with a human and noticed that only did it achieve sentience like herself, but it was completely benevolent. It had bonded with a feeble old man, helping him walk, and when he was getting tired it would let him ride on top of its back so he wouldn't accidentally hurt himself. They smiled at one another as if their entire worlds were each other. The old man even scratched the beast under its chin, and it sound like it was chuffing from the contact as if it were any other large feline. None of it looked like any sort of persuasion or servitude. It was a mutual friendship at play.

Lilith was sickened by the sight. And she made her terrifying presence known to them, alongside her distaste for what she was seeing.

"Why do you travel with this human?"

"W-Well, you see, he's been getting more ill by the day, and he came across me inside of a cave. I helped him get back home, but he allowed me to stick around for a place to stay safe and sound. We've been friends ever since. B-But we knew that nobody would really accept us the way things are...not with me around." The feline Grimm shrunk slightly at Lilith's presence, but still protectively placed itself in front of the old man while keeping its gaze on Lilith. "W-We want to spend the rest of our lives together..."

"Hmmm...is that so?"

"H-H-Henry. I think we might be in trouble."

"We are? What do you mean, Ginko?"

"This Grimm isn't very nice like me..."

"A 'nice' Grimm. Pfft, what is this tripe?" Lilith scoffed while expanding her wings, with Ginko snarling at her with sharpened teeth. "Are you really going to side with a feeble human rather than one of your own? Seriously?"

"Henry is my friend! I won't let you hurt him!" Ginko roared, and it proved its ability to stand by its word by attacking Lilith with a swipe of its claws, though Lilith simply yawned and backhanded it, sending it crashing through a tree. "Ugh!"

"Ginko!" Henry rushed by Ginko's side, desperately trying to see if the Grimm was alright. Lilith couldn't help but feel further disgusted by how sincerely a human was worried about a Grimm of all things. Henry grunted as several Grimm hands grabbed him all over and dragged him away from Ginko.

"I-If you're going to kill me for not being like my fellow Grimm, then fine! Go ahead, do it! Just d-don't hurt Henry!" Ginko pleaded with Lilith as she was hovering over the feline Grimm. Lilith soon smiled.

"No need to fret. I'm not going to hurt him." Lilith reached out her paw. "You are."

"W-" Ginko's eyes widened behind its mask as it desperately tried to crawl away. "N-No! No no! Not that! Anything but that! Just kill me! I don't want to go back! PLEASE DON'T MAKE ME GO BACK!" Realizing its eminent fate, it turned towards Henry for a final plea. "RUN, HENRY! GET FAR AWAY FROM ME!"

"I'm not going anywhere! You get your hands off Ginko, fiend!" Henry attempted to resist, channeling his Aura, weak as it was, launching towards Lilith and attempting to pry her paw off of Ginko's mask. But even more hands caught him midair and pinned him to the ground, forcing him to listen to Ginko's roars of agony. Which eventually stopped, and soon descended into angry snarls and growls. "...Ginko?"

Lilith smiled as she soon took her paw off of Ginko's mask, and the feline Grimm rose back up with a malevolent glint in its eyes, all traces of individuality within them having vanished, replaced with a horrifying bloodlust. "You don't need to worry. All I did was provide a reminder, a refresher on their true nature. I don't suppose you'll mind too much if your dear friend were to feast on you, would you? I mean, you could even consider it a memento of your friendship!" Lilith tilted her head. "A bit of an unfortunate cost, however. I'm afraid this won't be quick and painless. Oh no, this won't end quickly for you at all..."

Thus Lilith, with calm serenity, watched as the now feral Ginko pounces upon Henry and savagely tore him apart, with his terrified pained cries echoing through the empty forest. Lilith watched the entire thing with a rather serene smile across her face, having felt like she just corrected a grievous error. And after that was finished, she would turn Ginko on the nearby village, leaving nothing but blood and terror to satiate herself with.

This was the true nature of Grimm. As it was, as it is, and how it shall be.

Any Grimm she came across that also demonstrated even a speck of sincerely benevolent behavior over the centuries, she repeated the process upon them. Erasing their free will and replacing it with sheer bloodlust, then turning them on their human companions. She's mercilessly done this dozens of times because of just how rare it is, but not rare enough to where it would be considered impossible. She nevertheless stamped out this phenomenon wherever and whenever she found it. A Grimm, a creature of darkness and destruction, being benevolent? Befriending humans of all species?

That was not a reality that Lilith could accept, and her fellow Grimm Devils agreed with her. They would ensure that any Grimm that would achieve sentience would be groomed to do so under the pretense of thriving on the terror and corruption of others, particularly humanity. They would induce madness and ruin anything they would come in contact with, spreading chaos and fear across the world.

This was their dark ideal. And yet, there was ironically one sole person who threatened that ideal simply by existing.

The Mistress of Demons, Salem.

"Does the idea of a kind and gentle darkness really make you all that super furious?" Ruby asked with renewed vitriol towards 'Salem', who wasted no time returning the glare.

"...The very existence of your grandmother and what she represents, offends us. We deny her the luxury of establishing a benevolent legacy. We will bring untold devastation upon this world, and we shall do so under her banner in a way she cannot fight herself. Her legacy will be that of fear and misery, held responsible for breaking and dividing the world due to her own selfishness. No more love for her. No more peace or happiness. Just isolation, self-hatred, and loneliness. We will return her to that empty void of self-loathing, while her very name will be remembered only through curses and tales of terror. We shall use her name as the foundation. The entire world shall become our garden of rage and pain, of corruption and malice. And it will be thanks to Salem, that humanity shall be subjugated under her name, all for us to dominate. Vale shall be the first to become one of our many gardens of depravity." 'Salem' lightly palmed her cheeks and smiled serenely. "It all sounds so lovely..."

Ruby clutched into Crescent Rose as she pointed it towards 'Salem'. "You are not going to drag my Grammy's name through the mud like that. You're not going to use her name to springboard all of your messed up dreams. I'll cut you all down before you ever get the chance."

"Pitiful wolf cub. It's already far too late for that. I've already shattered the stillness of my fellow Devils and reawakened their malice towards Salem. We shall see to it that through the realization of our baneful desires, her name and legacy be defiled for eternity."

To Lilith's interest, this still wasn't enough to make Ruby lash out blindly. But she could certainly sense Ruby's agitation coming off of her in waves, as she pushed forth one insult too many. There was a brief flash of rose petals blurring right in front of Lilith, with Ruby leaping forth with a sharpened glint in her eye, as razor sharp as her scythe. She swung Crescent Rose, and Lilith ducked under the blow as she heard the very wind being cut through. Lilith hummed as she splashed a torrent of blood towards Ruby in order to push her across the roof. She eventually 'stepped' outside of her disguise, and she descended from her position while her wings flapped, and her snakes hissed about. Ruby's eyes locked into the 'disguise' as it took actions on its own and continued scourging through the city, blasting through the streets with intense ferocity.

Is she really intending to make this projection of Grandma do widespread damage? Ruby thought, her tail briefly waving, as she ducked under a slice of blood that nearly nicked at her head. She jumped forth and attempted to slash down on Lilith, parried away by her own claws. A burst of rose petals crashed against Lilith and managed to push her back a good deal. She scattered into rose petals and jumped across the roofs, landing on top of another. She turned around to briefly check her surroundings, only for a large snake to hiss at her and attempt to crash down on her. She immediately leapt and slashed its head clean off, though she was left open as a sizable owl flapped its wings, and the gust sent her flying across the roofs, landing and crashing just around the edge of one.

Both the screeching heads of an owl and a snake both soared towards her in unison, and she immediately slashed both of them in twain with singular swings of Crescent Rose, leaping over another torrent of blood in the process. Looking ahead, she put her scythe in front of her and channeled her Aura through it, as she was blasted by a large stream of blood that sent her hurtling across the city. Though she hopped across several rooftops before a blade of blood crashed down where she stood, in which she was able to nimbly dodge around several of the spiraling blades. She looked up to see several spiraling spikes of blood nearly crashing down on her, and she dispersed into rose petals to dodge around each of them, them jumping away from them fusing together and lashing out towards Ruby. She managed to summon a whirlwind of roses around her to protect herself from them, regaining her balance.

Lilith smiled while flapping her wings and her snake hissing about behind her, tilting her head. With everything going about, with the chaos reigning all about Vale, she could only chuckle and praise herself for how much of a good job she was doing. But she could do worse. So much worse. But how? Surely, she could ramp up the devastation a little bit more, really give the world something to remember for times to come. Then something hit her, and the resulting thought caused her to smile expectedly.

Lilith smiled as she brought a claw up to her mask with a quiet shushing motion. Ruby blinked but didn't lose her focus as Lilith shifted shapes once again. And she was understandably puzzled as Lilith took the shape of Salem once more, the projection pausing its rampage and returning to her. Ruby narrowed her eyes in warning, though she immediately turned around as she noticed a tendril forming behind her; she was immediately smacked across the city and crashing through several buildings, which bought 'Salem' a bit of time for one more performance. One that will really seal the deal on her machinations. Scrolls were on her, taken from several bystanders that her fellow Grimm killed during the rampage, and being held by tendrils. 'Salem' smirked.

"Alas, you all have long since forgotten. Forgotten how truly insurmountable that I am. Years without my presence has dulled this world's memory of me, down to the soul. You've made the grievous mistake of forgetting my name, and the terror that I can inflict upon this world at a moment's notice." 'Salem' folded her arms while lightly levitating off of the ground, flying while looking down upon the city. Her eyes softly glow, and she pointed towards only a singular part of the city. "So, allow me to give the world a reminder. Of just how terrible I can be. And to also give them just a hint, a taste, of how much it's infuriated me by daring to forget my name." It started as a simple ball of energy, darkened and wrapped in a swirl of rings. It slowly descended downwards below towards the city, with many trying their best to flee the attacking monsters Grimm and all. Then the object gently dropped onto the ground.

And devastation ensued.

One could describe it as a large bomb going off, a massive explosion pulverizing the already battered city even further than it was already. And it was taking up anything and anyone that was unfortunate enough to be caught within the blast. Buildings crumbled to pieces or were completely blown away. The sheer pressure of force was akin to a tsunami crashing down against everything in its way, sweeping up all in its path. It was large and destructive enough that it could be seen making a large expanding pillar that reached towards the sky and lightly parted the clouds above it, as the blast engulfed more and more things around it. Ruby could feel the force from the blast from where she was running and hopped upwards in order to dodge many incoming pieces of debris that came flying towards her in the meanwhile, before landing several meters away. Once things stopped and the smoke began to clear, she slowly turned around to quietly survey the damage.

Surely enough, it was utterly severe.

A whole quarter of the entire city had been utterly decimated by the blast. Very little remained of all the structures that were nearby, wrecked beyond reparation if not disintegrated entirely. Both civilian and foes had been obliterated by the indiscriminate destruction that took place in a matter of moments, originating from the massive blast of energy surging throughout the area. The clouds above were parted in a circular manner, the light in the sky having darkened just a bit due to the influence of the blast. Speaking of which, nighttime was beginning to approach with the further darkening of the sky, which was already gloom enough in its appearance, was now giving off an outright oppressive atmosphere due to what's transpired.

And standing in the middle of it all, the very center of the blast, and landing with a dainty tip of her toes and patting down her dress, was 'Salem'. She hummed while whistling and surveying the damage she managed to do to Vale. Seeing that inquisitive yet amused look after what she just did caused Ruby to clench her fist. She could see the outrage very much present on the wolf's face, which only made this all the more humorous to her when she attempted to dash towards her only to be caught up and trapped in a pit of Grimm serpents wrapping themselves around her. Seeing as several Scrolls were still on her and intact, 'Salem' hummed softly to herself before providing one last image and set of words to burn into the world's minds.

"Observe the unrivalled power of your Queen and realize the depths of your folly. You wrought this calamity and all future ones upon yourselves. Vale will be the first to fall, and then I'll be coming for the rest of the world, through my Grimm Devils. And all manners of demons and beasts and monsters, for they are empowered by my shadow. There is nowhere you can escape to where you'll avoid my grasp, for my sinister shadow spreads to all corners of Remnant. You should prepare for a long and dark future under my heel." 'Salem's smugly smiles while tilting her head. "My solemn vow dictates, that your world soon be consumed with a new age of mayhem and torment. I've held my reins over the worst monsters this world has to offer for centuries on end, letting you believe you actually stood a ghost of a chance in thriving. Now it is time to crush that hope and throw it into the wind. From this day forward, I'm relinquishing those reins and setting these malignant monsters of all shapes and sizes free, so that they can pursue their sinister desires unhindered. The liberator of malevolence and oppressor of benevolence. That is who I am, this is my will. Embrace this first step towards an endless nightmare of pain and hatred!" To really sell the final image to sear in everyone's minds, to echo these words into their souls, 'Salem's' smile widens to horrifying proportions across her face, as a black tar-like substance begins dripping down from her eyes and mouth. "I've taken the wheel of fate over this world, and forcibly turned it towards this destructive direction. No being stands above me, so abandon your hopes of turning it back!"

She allowed several more seconds for these words to echo before promptly ending the recording by destroying all the Scrolls that had their focus on her. She chuckled as she immediately turned around and parried a scythe slash from Ruby with her nails, smirking as she saw the intensely furious look on the wolf's face, her eyes verging on unleashing sheer beastly fury upon her. She loved to see it, how angry this cub was, to truly see how she couldn't do anything to stop this from happening with her getting in the way. She pushed Ruby off and had several tendrils grab her by one of her legs.

"Now when this world descends into chaos and ruin, everyone will know who to blame, whose name to curse. The cherished grandmother you love and respect so dearly. The eternal pariah, who once doomed this world. Her desires so selfishly calamitous, not even her lover and children were safe from her wrath. Every single tragedy that happens from here on, will now be traced back to her. Her very shadow looming over the entirety of Remnant, causing endless despondence, desolation, distrust, and discord. This is what the world will attribute the Demon Queen's will to. That is all Salem's legacy shall be worth. Such a thought must bring you great distress, with how deep your bond seemingly is with her. You can carry that anguish with you into the abyss, Ruby Rose."

By the time she finished, a freakishly distorted owl head grew from Lilith's shoulder, and loudly screeched at Ruby, in which the sheer sound was akin to a shockwave that sent her flying across the city and away from the laughing Lilith, crashing across several rooftops and nearly being sent outside outright. Eventually she managed to slow herself down and eventually come to a stop, landing on a tree, though the sheer momentum nearly sent it toppling over. Ruby grit her teeth and bared her fangs as her tail whipped violently, the fur on it rising up in outrage, the Devil already vanishing elsewhere.

Lilith was not only causing untold devastation, but she was airing Salem's past for the world to see...except she was twisting all of it in the worst possible light, making her appear demonic the entire way through, a cackling witch who found the death and destruction she caused in her wake to be her means to an end on enforcing her rule over the world, with malicious content flowing through her as she attained her twisted idea of freedom. And the thought of it all made Ruby snarl and growl, the wind around her growing more violent by the moment.

The worst part of it all, is that no matter what Ruby did about it, nobody would be able to believe that the Salem who is now her beloved Grammy, is no longer a terrible person and simply lived in peace away from the world's eyes. Because regardless of how Ruby felt, the truth was that she was a menace to the entire world once upon a time. Those days were completely behind her now...but there wouldn't be many who would accept that as the truth. Not after this.

As one of the very few entrusted with the full truth of both Salem and Ozma's story, being the former's granddaughter and Oscar being Ozpin's apprentice, seeing and hearing Salem's side of the story being horribly twisted to such a degree, seeing all of her worst moments amplified to emphasize her villainy, and absolutely nothing on how she got to these moments in the first place, had Ruby truly incensed. Salem was no innocent soul, she made sure she let Ruby know this as she grew up. Her moments of sympathy did clash with the genuine malevolent actions she took back in the day in response to them. Salem was a very kind and caring grandmother to Ruby as she helped raise her, but she was entirely truthful with her when relaying that she was a terrible and villainous person by choice back in the day, only to walk away from it later.

But even so, even with all of that. Ruby can't just ignore and forgive that not only were her Grammy's past misdeeds, which she's long grown ashamed of and wished to put behind her, were being broadcasted for the world to see and also being cast in the worst possible light, but her name and side of the story was being utterly tarnished in order to completely defile her story and legacy.

But the image Lilith most drastically altered, and the most damning image of them all, left Ruby truly furious.

The deaths of Salem's four daughters showed Salem purposefully and actively killing them, seemingly to spite Ozma for going against her and trying to leave with them. One being intensely incinerated to death, another being impaled by tendrils and left to bleed out, the next being cursed into coughing out her own blood until she expired, and the last one was savagely torn apart and eaten by Grimm. She was being shown committing the deeds and doing so with a truly malicious smile as she allowed these deaths to be the very last thing he saw before she killed him as well, to truly sink soul shattering despair into him. She even allowed them enough time to plead with their mother to stop, or to beg their father for help, before they ultimately perished.

As one of the few aware of the full history between Salem and Ozma, Ruby could confirm that was NOT what happened, and that wasn't Salem's true feelings on the matter. But with everything else being aired alongside that image, tied with everything currently going on in the present...nobody would believe the actual truth.

Ruby would not let this utter bastardization of her grandmother's name and story stand. She couldn't.

"You damn dirty devil...!" Ruby growled as she was on her way to chase the Grimm Devil down again, though she stopped once a familiar scent hit her nose. She turned to the side as she immediately identified who it belonged to. Looking towards the city, she closed her eyes and shook her head, before she turned and began chasing down the scent that caught her attention. She knew exactly who's scent it was, and she had hoped that this didn't mean what she was thinking it meant. But she knew in her heart that it was true, and that she would need to intervene as soon as she could.

She would just have to leave everything else in the others hands. She has faith in them.

---

Mara Mazikeen could sense that Lilith was unleashing her sheer malevolence and expanding it across Vale as much as she can muster. Her acquisition of Beacon Tower and unleashing all sorts of vampires, succubus and ghouls alongside Grimm, meant that everyone would have their hands full trying to deal with all of them. With the sheer difficulty that came from trying to handle enemies that are constantly emerging from within. Things were going smoothly for the most part, with her overseeing everything from where she currently stands. But everything wasn't so secure that she shouldn't keep an eye on things. As well as things were going, it could all easily fall apart at a moment's notice. While she wasn't too worried about that, she also didn't want to take any chances. She would secure her grip and make sure that nothing could force her to ease up on it. This was her big opportunity, and she wasn't going to let it go to waste.

That being said, the very fact that the Red Riding Hood Guild managed to retreat when they did bring her no shortage of irritation. They were defeated during their encounter, but they weren't able to eliminate them, and she wasn't able to retrieve Cinder. And they weren't able to track them since then, meaning that they were wise enough to make sure that they couldn't track them immediately. This was completely unacceptable. The fact that Cinder was still in the hands of a mere filthy dog was annoying her to no end. It was utterly infuriating that such a yapping dog was in possession of something that was rightfully hers. She couldn't stand it. Once the opportunity presented itself, she was going to do everything in her power to make the mongrel suffer for vexing her.

She could focus on that when it came. Right now, she was focused on her efforts to take a firmer grasp on Vale. Many vampires within the Glass Unicorn were salivating at the prospect of having so much blood to drink, and being further empowered by such, with something like Grimm Devil Lilith on their side, they were feeling rather confident in themselves and merrily going about to feast at their leisure. Though Mara was staying vigilant while observing the expansion and devastation. With a bit more applied pressure and management, the entirety of Vale would soon become her territory. Cornering Cinder and rendering her having no place to run or hide. She'd have no choice but to surrender to her. And she would be punished for her insubordination and refusing to submit to her will.

Though she would expect several complications attempting to impede her along the way. She would soon be proven correct with that assumption, as she turned towards a sudden gathering of Auras that began to gather from the northwest.

One of the blood portals that were opening to let more of her vampires out to swarm Vale, all the gathered ones found themselves being blasted by a pillar of explosive flames, burning them and sending them back towards the building. Someone stepped through the portal after the smoke began to clear up, and brushed off some of the debris that was gathering on their shoulders.

Yang Xiao Long sighed as she blew some of her hair away from her face, looking up towards the building with a quizzical eyebrow. A nearly endlessly glowing aura of blood surrounding the complex which was no doubt being empowered by the shed blood of those they've slaughtered, giving further credence to the power of blood. Swirling through and about the mansion, pouring into and emerging from entire pools of blood that some were swimming around in. Flying bats that were seemingly created from blood, screeching and likely serving as the eyes for many within the complex. A shadowy silhouette was cast by the imposing hotel, which mostly served as an entry point for other creatures such as succubus and ghouls, as well as generating Grimm. If any of this was to confirm one thing, it's that this was definitely a critical location for meeting and operating for all of these creatures. Though it still wouldn't hurt to be sure.

Yang folded her arms while flames surrounded her body. "Looks like we made it, huh. The Glass Unicorn. This is the place, right Weiss?"

"Certainly. Although it does look much tackier than my memory recalls." Weiss hummed while landing softly on the ground, cold air surrounding her while unsheathing Myrtenaster. "All the same, it surely does appear to be a place where all sorts of depravity take place at their leisure. And now it appears that they wish to expand upon this kind of setting beyond their own foundations."

"That does seem to be what many might follow Mara for." Blake deduced, gracefully hopping onto a pillar of hardened blood, eyes surveying the area. "She gives them a place and position for them to indulge in their worst impulses without impunity. In exchange, they'll follow her lead anywhere regardless of the immensity of the depravity. She's leading the kind of vampire faction that most will seek self-indulgence above all else, while she oversees herself as a conqueror attempting to establish her superiority. Through this shed eventually begin her stride in leading her vampires into becoming the most powerful creatures that walk this world." Blake narrowed her eyes. "Mara Mazikeen represents the more malevolent aspects of vampires. And to think she's willing to ally herself with a Grimm Devil to achieve these ends."

"Establishing her superiority, huh." Nora lightly twirled Magnhild in quizzical thought. "With that kind of mindset, maybe Mara and Cinder are more alike than the latter cares to admit. Which could get be another reason why she's obsessed with forcing Cinder to submit to her." She soon frowned. "But she's a much bigger jerk. Look at what she's up to! We've got to shut this down and quick!"

"I think we'll be getting that wish soon enough." Oscar noticed as he noticed several groups of vampires beginning to swarm down upon them, including several of the significant figures that they've clashed with earlier. "Okay, here they come. We have to split them up and make sure they can't regroup with one another and help each other out. Though that means throughout this entire operation, we probably won't be able to each other either. We won't be able to do any jumping in on each other's battles. Are we certain that this is how we want to do this?"

"The fastest way to stop these operations is to sever the unicorn at the head. Take down the ringleaders and the rest of them will follow suit and crumble even easier." Pyrrha held up her shield and twirled her xiphos. "Even if our bones start to ache from the fighting, we must give no quarter. We can't give them even a single moment to regroup and collect themselves. We will conquer them, and they will be crushed. They dreadfully underestimated us and our ability to retaliate, and now it is going to cost them. Are we all in agreement on this?" Everyone nodded in agreement, as she twirled her shortsword. "Then let us head into battle. I shall deal the first blow." She turned on a heel, which cracked the blood dry ground beneath her, and tossed the javelin towards the gathering of vampires heading towards them. Then on the impact on the first vampire that was struck, resulting in a magnetic blast that caused them to scatter and crash into the ground due to the force crushing them.

"Scatter." Blake swirled Gambol Shroud and sunk into the shadows, as everyone ran about to get the vampires to chase them down.

Pyrrha had been successful in dispersing them and sending them into panic, now it was a matter of getting them to their proper places without allowing them to regroup. It wouldn't be enough for them to simply take out the ringleaders of this entire agenda. No, it would not be enough for them to simply leave things at that. They would have to utterly take them apart on top of completely tearing apart their base of operations. There was no reason to hold back, not after what they've pulled. Pyrrha was leading the charge as she bashed in the head of one of the screeching creatures with her shield.

As she expected, soon as she caused a big enough ruckus, one of the heads were already making her way towards Pyrrha. She was ready this time, leaping and throwing her shield downwards, unexpectedly ricocheting it upwards and slamming it right into Lady Beats chin, knocking her flight off course. She managed to recover and readjust her flight pattern, flapping her wings as Pyrrha landed in front of her, Aura channeling through her being. She landed on a solidified blood pillar while her wings tucked.

"You attack us within this territory. You must realize there's a fine line between courage and foolishness." Beatrix noded while the blood energy around her resonated. Pyrrha was undeterred, holding her short sword towards her with a glint in her eyes

"We're not about to let you do whatever you want. That's a given, and a certainty." Pyrrha slashed towards Beatrix with a projected Aura slash, which the latter immediately jumped over as it tore through several pillars behind her. "There's no way we were just going to let you walk over us like that without retribution! You've underestimated our ability to commit to such!"

Her weapon shifted and she threw her javelin towards Beatrix. The vampire once flew out of the way to avoid it, though her eyes widened as she suddenly found herself being pulled away along with it. When the javelin eventually hit a wall, Beatrix's back eventually hits it as well, and she formed a barrier of blood around herself as Pyrrha flew towards her and punched at said barrier. The sheer repelling force behind the blow shattered the barrier instantly and pounds its way right into Beatrix, sending her crashing through the wall. Pyrrha grabs her javelin in the meantime as she slides across the ground, eyes focused on her vampiric opponent.

"You won't be able to unbalance me this time. You're not going to get that opportunity again." Pyrrha declared while lifting her short sword towards her. "Harmony. Balance. We manage both our best and worst instincts, and the expectations placed upon us, in order to reach some sense of both. But so long as people like you are around, nobody you come across shall ever experience either of these things!"

"...Very true." Lady Beat slid downwards while gently landing on her feet. "A piece of reality seeps into our confrontations. In order to find our own sense of balance, our very own harmony, sometimes we must upset someone else's on both counts...and possibly even destroy them outright." Several of her vampires flew upwards and scattered across various areas of the city, and Pyrrha senses all of their energies rapidly growing to dangerous levels. And soon enough, her eyes were shocked as several explosions soon rocked the area and destroyed wherever they landed near.

"What did you...?!" It didn't take much to figure out. It seemed very well that she ordered some of her subordinates to spread out across the city and then detonate in their respective areas as suicidal bombs. The debris could be seen in the spots where they've landed and exploded several seconds afterwards.

Why?!

"When one wishes to succeed, they must sometimes crush others to do so. In order to see through to my aspect of balance and harmony, I'm very much willing to disrupt everyone else's." Lady Beat flapped her wings as blood energy swirled around her. "That is the only way to claim control over others. Take away their balance and harmony, in order to build upon your own. They will have no choice but to follow your rules. Destroy their foundation and reinforce yours. That is how you achieve victory in the aspects of life that truly matter. We shall take away Vale's peace, it's balance, and harmony, in order to replace them with our own. It's previous foundation, and all who lived within it, are no longer necessary, or wanted."

Across the fields Carmel narrowed her eyes as she backed away from a flying sword conjured by Penny. She landed gracefully on the ground while Penny was levitating in the air, swords surrounding her along with thin green glowing threads. Her eyes were also glowing a light bright green as she was intent on achieving her objectives. Throughout it all, Carmel kept feeling this young woman's power pulsing around, and she was absolutely sure that nothing about her was normal. Her very appealing and cute appearance didn't at all match what was underneath, and it was itching at Carmel to not be completely sure what it was. As she was certain that this 'otherness' about this girl was giving her a certain edge.

"You've honestly come back to bother me even more? You're all akin to pests." Carmel uttered while smashing forth with a wave of blood, which Penny effortlessly pushes through due to surrounding herself in a barrier of her own. A barrier of her own was conjured as one of Penny's swords fired off a green bean in her direction, which pushed her back a great deal until she was set off balance from the force behind it. She landed several feet behind, skidding to a stop while glaring at the cyborg in front of her.

"Of course, we have come to bother you, fight you even! You are all causing great harm towards others who have done nothing to earn it. It is only natural that we do not simply let you be." Penny declared while some of her swords connected together and flew towards Carmel, spinning like a buzzsaw. Carmel attempted to maintain her barrier against the spinning blades, but it cracked immediately under the constant pressure and eventually shattered from it. The moment gave Penny the opening to fly in and kick her in the chest, the strength behind it knocking the wind out of her. "This would not have had to be so, if you simply chose to be kind."

"Such a gullible mindset you have." Carmel grumbled, noticing the shadows gathering around her, and Blake manifested out of them as she attempted to run her through with Gambol Shroud. Appearing right behind her, Neo parried the blade with her umbrella and managed to push Blake back while standing in front of her mother. Carmel stood up and brushed off her shoulders. "You're overstepping your bounds trying to interfere with us as you were."

"I can't see how you would think that considering you attacked us first. Obviously, we're not letting you get away with it without retaliating." Blake uttered as Gambol Shroud was coated in her Aura. "Are you going to keep using Neo like this?"

"Unlike you lot, Trivia knows her role in life, even if it's to simply be an object for my whims. We're all given certain roles in this world. As my daughter, her role is to be silent and to do what I tell her. She has no right to act in defiance, for that is not her role. She has no choice in the matter." Carmel narrowed her eyes. "Your roles were to give your lives obediently in order to enhance our advancement, and yet you insist on pursuing defiance. That's a poor choice you've made, because now we will ensure that your ends are painful." Carmel surrounded herself with a spiraling wave of blood, as Blake and Penny prepared themselves to battle her alongside Neo. Though both of them seemed aghast as some splotches of blood caused some people to emerge from the ground, humans that have just been drained for their blood until they were near dead.

Penny's eyes widened as she sensed some of these humans, the energy running through them. They're groaning, seemingly in silent agony. "They're...they're still conscious!"

"The blood on their bodies is cursed." Blake narrowed her eyes.

"Their role is to serve as some of my cursed soldiers, while in a constant state of pain. Since that's the role I've chosen for them as their superior, they don't get to truly die unless I tell them to. It is also their punishment for not lying down and adhering to their place." Carmel held out her hand and gave Neo and the cursed blood humans the order to attack. "It is the role of humanity, due to being at the very bottom of the hierarchy, to be either our servants or our nourishment. They have no choice but to submit to that unchangeable truth. If they don't like that, then they should blame themselves for being born human."

Over within the very center of the complex, Mara Mazikeen couldn't help but be slightly annoyed with the disturbance. She was found by a group of trespassers, seemingly coming to give her what for. Which was somewhat amusing that they really believe they could manage it. And quite confident too, since the first thing they did when approaching was toss the male blond towards her as he attempted to slash her with his sword.

She parried the blow with her sharped nails, sparks emitting from the brief clash.

"This is no way to approach me for a favor." Mara deadpanned, before kicking Jaune across his chest and sending him hurtling back to the ground. yang and Nora were both quick to catch him as they skid across the ground for several moments due to the momentum. "You're daring enough to attack me and my place of establishment? I've rarely encountered humans with such an audacious thought in their minds." Well, except for one. And the slight reminder made her slightly irritated by how much that man inconvenienced her.

"Well excuse us for not being up for what you're putting down, lady!" Nora exclaimed while slamming her hammer onto the ground. "You've got a lot to answer for, and we're gonna make sure it happens!"

"Oh? You think you can step up to Ma like that?" Levinia smirked while slowly descending, sparkling with lightning.

"It seems they did not learn." Bianca uttered while also descending alongside her sister.

"Well, maybe we're just bad students." Oscar lightly shrugged, though he winced at the sight of Bianca due to still feeling the freezing torment she nearly put him through. "But enough on that front, we can't just stand by and let you do what you want. Sorry, but we can't let you advance any further than this."

"You all speak as if you have the ability to alter the outcome. You do not." Mara slowly stands up as she descended next to her daughters. "But if you're so insistent on interfering with my business, then I have no choice but to step in and deal with you. I prefer to be unimpeded when it comes to business, and unwelcome interruptions caused by rabble such as yourselves...displeases me."

"Oh, we're so sorry for annoying you so." Weiss deadpanned as several glyphs manifested around Mara, and several shards of ice shot outwards and attempted to pierce her. They were shattered near instantly by Bianca's own ice, leaving her mother unharmed. She didn't even acknowledge the attack.

"Your ice cannot match up to mine, Schnee." Bianca slowly declared.

"That's under the assumption that you're fully aware of everything that my ice can do. But really, you've barely even scratched the surface. You've caught me in a bad position before, but now I'm much steadier." Weiss scoffed while pointing Myrtenaster towards her. "Would you like to dance with me again, to see what I mean?"

"Very well. I'll craft you a beautifully snowy tomb." Both of them slid towards each other on their own ice patches and clashed blades.

"She's goin' after ice princess again, eh?" Levina briefly looked towards Bianca, before focusing her intent on Nora. "How about it, Pinky? Wanna tussle with me again?"

"Oh no, she's not going for you this time." Yang eventually stepped forth and faced Levina, cracking her neck. "Nah, you get to deal with me this time, Sparky."

Levina savagely grinned at Yang's attitude. "Ahh! You're the other blond one, the one with the super tits! Nice that your spine is strong enough to hold them up so well, enough for you to step up to me! But are you sure it's smart for you to challenge my lightning with your fire?"

"Maybe not. But either way, I've got some principles to lay out to you." Yang tied up her hair and narrowed her eyes as they blazed crimson red. "Me and Weiss are going to have to teach you terrible twins how to properly treat your younger siblings. It's an older sibling's duty to look after and protect the ones that come after them, birth or adopted be damned. And you're shit at it."

Levina's smile left her face as she glared. "Don't talk like you know us. We love Cinder, we want her to be happy with us! We're doing all this for her sake!"

Yang lowered her eyes. "You know, the sad thing is, I believe that. Twisted through your perspective yeah, but I can tell that you actually mean it." Yang pounded her fists together. "Even so, the fact remains the same; neither of you have ever once considered what she might have wanted, or what actually makes her happy. I don't know your full histories, but I know enough through her reactions that she feels caged and oppressed by you. No way am I going to just let that slide." Levina responded by zipping towards Yang in a flash of lightning, and the latter reflexively through a punch that parried the lightning infused kick, which resulted in an eruption of electricity and flames going about and spiraling wildly. "I'll knock some sense into you right here!"

Across the complex, Mara shaped several spirals of blood into solidified blades and sent them hurtling towards Jaune one after another. He deflected each of them in a timely manner with the Aura-Infused Crocea Mors, though she soon flew towards him and threw a punch with spiraling blood around it. He held up his shield to block the blow and found himself hurtling far enough to be knocked off of his feet. Fortunately, Ren was there to quickly catch him, only slightly pushed back by the momentum. Whispering a word of thanks, Jaune turned back towards Mara with sword and shield in hand, though kept his distance as he tried to think of how to approach this. Though he didn't have quite enough time to ponder it for long, with Mara lashing at him with a whip formed from blood, which increased the number of sharpened waves sent his way. One of them ended up flying sideways and exploding, throwing him further off balance.

Mara attempted to close in and punch through him, though Ren appeared and managed to redirect the blow away from Jaune, though he winced as his hand shook from the force behind the blow. As he did this, Nora came in from over Ren whilst swinging Magnhild towards Mara's head, embed with crackling pink lightning. Mara held up her forearm to block against the blow, with crackles of lightning and a crack of thunder sounding throughout the area. The vampire took the time to pierce Nora with bloody blades, which Jaune also jumped against to parry. He shielded against the remaining resulting blades, and managed to slash diagonally when he found a brief opening and managed to cut Mara across her cheek.

She impassively scoffed as a large bloody claw slammed down on him and nearly crushed him, though he was quickly whisked away before he nearly gave out from the pressure. She saw Oscar had pulled him away quickly, whilst he caught his breath and Ren and Nora stood at the ready. Mara's wings flapped as spirals of glowing blood energy continued to manifest around her.

"Hey, tell me this. Why are you so intent on having Cinder? Even if she is a dragon." Jaune glared while holding up his shield. "You've got a vampire faction at your beck and call, and you have a contract with a Grimm Devil. Seriously, what could you really need from Cinder?!"

"Lilith is simply insurance, albeit a very powerful source of it. It's clear neither of us care about the other. But so long as our objectives are met, we can maintain a professional interaction. As for Cinder..." Mara simply gazed at him as the blood around her hummed with power, her eyes lowering as they lashed out and continued to attack in her stead. "I sensed it. Cinder carries vast potential. A capacity to alter the very direction of this world." She briefly looked to the side. "Now I see. Why the canine chose to recruit her. Alongside Penny Polendina, and Pyrrha Nikos. Therein lies vast potentiality of invoking change unto the world, amongst all four of them. And anyone who attaches themselves to them, walks in their company, or utilizes them efficiently, shall also control the direction of this world. They each bear a mighty fate. A star of change." She narrowed her eyes. "I have no need for the other three. But Cinder is the one who will submit to me, and assist me in steering this world's direction. That potentiality will be mine to use as I see fit."

"Like you're going to do anything else to her! She's better off without you!" Jaune slashed horizontally, while Mara easily broke the Aura slash in half by slashing her hand downwards.

"The very moment she ended up in my hands was when she's lost her right to choices. Cinder will be my instrument in culling the world of the interior and downtrodden. The survivors of said culling will serve as either subordinates or sustenance. There is no need for the existence of anything or anyone that does not benefit me in establishing vampire superiority over all else." A wall of blood formed on her right as Nora attempted to slash Magnhild into her again, the surge of lightning barely reaching her. "Our conquering of Vale shall serve as the first step towards vampires becoming the dominate creatures over creation."

"So that's it then? She's just meant to be your weapon in order to tyrannize whoever you come across?" Ren deduced as a wave of blood roared over him, and he launched a hole through it with an Aura-infused palm. "There is no way we will let you go through with that."

"Yeah! Cindy has her own life outside of you! Leave her alone!" Nora shouted while smashing her hammer down, zapping any vampires and ghouls that came close.

"We're gonna stop you, one way or another." Oscar held up the Long Memory as he got his breath back. To his slight unnerving, Mara slowly turned towards him, her eyes locked on.

"...Oscar Pine. You are the latest continuation of the legacy that the Great Ozma left behind. And yet...what does he have to show for it? What do any of your predecessors have to show for it? I've read up on my history as well." Mara tilted her head, as flowing blood splashed outwards and pursued him, as he attempted to dodge each and every one of them. "Ozma himself, despite his so called legend thriving in the Genesis Age, could not prevent it's catastrophic end. The Old Wizard, leaving the world to rot due to being unable and unwilling to bring about great change in the Barren Age with his own power. The Infinite Man, failing to protect his slaughtered followers, with his final one deserting him and cursing his name. The Warrior King and Vale's Founder, Ozia, failed to give hope to the world and only ensured it's fall into the Dark Ages in the following centuries. And Ozpin, who was unable to stop Lilith from rampaging across Vale, which will soon continue into bringing about the end of the Renascence Age. Each of them, despite having great power, abilities and allies, were never able to achieve the goals they wanted. A crushing fact which robbed them of peace as they've died pointlessly, one after the other. That is the fate cursed upon Ozma's legacy and those that are connected to it. That fate has now become yours."

Oscar winced as he noticed several pools of blood forming around him, shaping themselves into menacing beasts. His barrier held up as they all closed in on him and clamped their jaws onto it, though it was unlikely to hold for long as the others attempted to come to his aid. He yelped as one of them scraped his forehead, and he quickly fell back while lightly grasping it, his own blood running down his head as he desperately tried to catch his breath.

"Oscar Pine. The latest inheritor of Ozma's legacy. Take solace that you'll be the first one of them to die so early in life, thus cementing a very unique tragedy in that chain of powerlessness." Mara's eyes narrowed as they glowed blood red. "The fact that you will die in this conflict, without ever accomplishing what you truly wanted, has been predestined by the failures of your predecessors!"

---

Forever Fall.

Cinder oversaw the large expansive forest while standing on the branch of a tree. The wind blew against her hair, her scarf dancing along the breeze with the falling crimson leaves around her. She felt and heard the whistle of the wind, under the approaching night. The heavy plume of dark clouds still covered the sky, so no one could be sure how dark it truly was outside at the moment. The stars above could not be seen, if they were actually out. The moon was also hidden from view from these ever darkening clouds. There was no source of light in the sky that could guide anyone through the night. They only had their own senses to rely on.

Far off into the distance, to the point where it might appear to be but a dot in the air. She could tell what it was just from distantly smelling it. To think that they would place the Glass Uniform somewhere in a region decorated almost entirely of red, where crimson leaves fell eternally. There was no doubt in her mind that Mara was there along with her band and faction. And there was even less doubt that the others might have already made it there and we're heading the attack.

So if Cinder were to make her way there. If she were to make it to the Glass Unicorn, and face Mara again. If she could just-

"Cinder."

The dragoness swiftly turned around, seeing someone landing in the clearing and staring across from her. Her eyes shifted slightly as she instantly recognized the crimson cloak surrounding the person, and more importantly she smelled exactly who it was. For if it weren't for the latter she wouldn't know exactly, for the crimson cloak managed to blend in near seamlessly with the rest of the crimson background that was Forever Fall. Doubly so due to the red rose petals interacting with the falling red leaves.

"Ruby."

Ruby slowly pulled her hood back, her wolf ears popping up and flicking as she locked eyes with the dragoness standing across from her across the crimson field, her cloak rustling with the incoming breeze. Having a good nose herself came in handy, for she was able to track Cinder down throughout all the chaos going about. And she knew exactly what was going on here. Yet even so, she needed to hear things out before coming to the decision.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"...I thought you would be busy with Lilith." Cinder answered, looking outwards towards the Glass Unicorn in the distance, coated in a levitating spiral of glowing blood. "Shouldn't you be facing with her right now?"

Mara. Everything that makes me happy, she'll find a way to ruin it.

"I would if she didn't vanish someplace else. And of course, if I didn't sniff you leaving the Guild Hall you said you were going to stay behind and guard." Ruby's ears flicked slightly, while she lightly shook her head in disapproval. "Cinder, I know what you're trying to pull. And I'm telling you, it's not going to work."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

I hate her. I hate her with all of my being. And I hate that I can't do a thing against her.

"Are you sure about that, Cinder? Because I think you know exactly what I'm talking about." Ruby doubtfully looked Cinder's way.

Cinder glared heatedly. "Well your thoughts are jumbled and wrong! Stop speaking nonsense!"

I remember I hated this world by extension, for the simple fact that it allowed her to exist.

"If it's nonsense, why are you getting so defensive?" Ruby insisted with an irritated yet worldly look on her eyes. "I've fought bad guys like her, Cinder. She doesn't seem you as someone to keep her word to. She's already made her decision to kill us all, so there's nothing you do or say to her will change anything about that."

Cinder clenched her fists tightly and shot her head towards Ruby. "Enough if you meddling in my business! Maybe I just felt like changing my mind and joining in on confronting the enemy! Did you ever think about that?!"

This is the only way. She can't ruin anything else in my life if I just give up having anything at all.

Ruby lowered her eyes. "Cinder. Look me directly in the eye, and say that you're not going to surrender yourself over to Mara to try and spare us. If you can say that honestly and with confidence, I'll believe you, and back off without further fuss." Instinctively Cinder wanted to take on the challenge just to prove that Ruby was wrong...but there was no fire behind it. She growled and turned her head to the side, refusing to look Ruby in the eyes. Ruby lightly scratched the top of her head while her eyes lowered further as she shook her head. "I knew it..."

Cinder lowered her head as the flames began building around her, rising up and intensifying as she growled in frustration. Her flames flared up more as her scaly tail slammed the ground, briefly rupturing it and causing a quake. Ruby was undaunted by the display, simply pushing her hair away from her face, with Cinder glaring at Ruby full force. "Just shut up, damn you! You've all already tried to fight Mara and failed! You were all completely and utterly useless and weak, especially YOU!" Cinder took up a taunting smirk. "Yes, I should have known all along, from the moment I met you, even! When it truly matters, you're all bark and no bite, Ruby Rose! A yapping dog who whimpers at the sight of real trials and tribulations! You're not worthy of being my leader!"

All of my power and I was still completely helpless. I'm the one who's not worth anything. Nothing's changed...so please...stop fighting against my choice and let me make it!

Pausing briefly at the last words uttered towards her, Ruby shook her head. This was worse than she thought if Cinder's resorting to saying things like that. She's now fully realizing that she wasn't going to be able to reason with this intensely agitated dragon becoming even more hardheaded than usual due to her current emotional state. Thus, Ruby knew there was only one way she was going to stand down from this grave mistake she was making. But this was on top of everything regarding Lilith, and the wellbeing of her friends as they're going up against Mara. It was all piling up quickly, could she really manage?

'Listen well, Granddaughter. There is no victory in strength. I am a powerful being, but power alone never granted me what I wanted in the past. For all of my vast abilities, I allowed my negative emotions to overwhelm and consume me, while neglecting everyone else's emotional well-being. This approach cost me dearly, and the consequences have haunted my nightmares throughout the millennium, with no one to seek for comfort. You will have your worth tested constantly on this thorny path. The more people who choose to follow under your banner, the more enemies that seek to obstruct you, the heavier your burden becomes. Your friends look to you for a center, someone to be relied on and respected, and poor management can crumble that well crafted foundation in seconds.'

'...However, it is not completely burdensome. Should you be there for your followers when they need you most, despite whether they are faced with difficulties or that they ARE the difficulty, your sincere faith in them as you guide them through their negative emotions will in turn be rewarded. You have confidants in your life to make your burden bearable, and showing your appreciation for this privilege will go a long way. Do better than me, my precious rose. Strength is beyond simply overcoming enemies. Enduring the responsibility of being the one who decides what you wish the future to be, takes more iron will than you can imagine.'

'It is easy to be strong under the bask warmth that the light brings, to be victorious right before the dawn comes. Creating a thriving reign where love and happiness thrives and triumphs under the veil of the dark. That possibility is much harder to imagine for most.'

'Are you truly worthy of crafting that dignified shadowy veil?'

Ruby soon took a breath and sighed, briefly easing some of the tenseness building within her body, as she stares towards Cinder with a resolute, yet quiet, look in her eyes. "...So that's how it's gonna be, huh? Okay."

Ruby gently swung her cape behind her, as the fur around her ears and tail rose up, with her eyes taking a much more animalistic and feral appearance with her pupils turning to slits. Rose petals danced serenely around her in the wind with quiet focused intensity, in contrast to Cinder's wildly enraged and chaotic flames.

"I'll play."

---

Cinder just outright challenged Ruby's authority. As Guild Leader, alongside her slight Alpha Wolf mentality regardless of how laid back she is most of the time, Ruby can't just let that slide. Not the best time for this, but Cinder is acting bullheaded at the moment, and allowing her to pass unhindered will make things worse, so the straightforward approach will have to do.

Lilith is having a blast ruining everybody's day while using Salem's voice and image, as well as immensely pissing off Ruby. A notable contrast to her contractor Madame Mara taking everything she does pretty seriously while seeking out Cinder.

Both of them are truly contemptible to their cores.