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Weiss looked beautiful with the glow of a maiden to her shut eyes, closed in concentration. Her face divided by the line of Myrtenaster held up to her visage. Only the seam of her prominent scar could have detracted from the view. But the blemish, a slight battleworn imperfection, only added to the sense of flawless grace about her. It did not mar her beauty, it seemed to make her glow. Glow even more, that is.
She took a deep breath inward and with it rose up off the training room floor with a flare of wind to her wake. Then she sighed and fell to the floor. Collapsing in a slight heap from the strain of it.
We will never know how the powers would have manifested their way in Winter's hands. However, it would seem that flight is well within the realm of possibility for Weiss. Magic was abstract and in my case, subtle. In Weiss's hands the power was bold and defined by clear strokes of action.
It was clear to Weiss what the limits of her semblance were. So it was clear where the magic began and she ended. I didn't have that luxury. I still had no idea what the nature of my semblance truly was. Yeah it made me better, but what did that mean?
Weiss mastered herself and picked her body off from the floor. Then she focused again and drifted on upwards into the air on a gust of wind. She exhaled and allowed the wind to set her gently back on her feet. Her face was still schooled in quiet meditation. She didn't even show any sign that she'd accomplished something or had great success. Instead she remained with grim determination.
"She's progressing rather well with the training," Oscar told me. "I think so at least. It's been a while since I last trained a maiden personally and I think she's doing exceptional. Her sister chose well."
"I think it's better to not let Weiss hear that last bit. Her sister's selection is a bit of a touchy subject, I sense," I muttered back. "I think she'd rather not have the power."
"All the more reason to think it's in good hands with her. Salem won't be getting her hands on the relic of creation."
"Speaking of relics, what did you do with the relic of knowledge?" I asked him. "After I put myself in Atlas custody you took it."
"I'm not sure we should tell you…"
"Don't trust me, eh?"
"Yes, well, can you blame me. Do you trust yourself not to fall into Salem's hands?"
"Can I be honest with you?" I asked.
"I should hope so," he replied.
"Then not really. She's like this dark star. Deep and entrenched inside of me. At all times she pulls at me. Like a bottomless pit inside my mind. Her tentacles are in my skull."
"Oh, is that all?" He asked jovially.
"I'm serious." And I truly wondered: is this all I have now?
"I can tell. Yet you remain around Ms. Rose and Ms. Schnee. They trust you. And you have built considerable mental defenses. I have hope for you yet."
"But not too much," I fired back.
"It's important to temper our expectations in the face of reality. You turned on us once even though it was through no fault of your own. It seems foolish to completely count out the possibility of that happening again. I am sorry."
"Don't be. It's all really my fault. At least the relic is in safe hands now. One more thing for me to not worry about."
"Your death concerns you."
"It does. Yeah. Not all of us are reincarnating immortal bastards. No offense."
He shrugged. "None taken."
"When I'm gone, I'm gone. And what will happen to my friends then? What will happen to the world then? My sisters aren't going to go quietly. And they're all ideal candidates for my Mother to use as maidens. And that's even if I do kill Cinder, and I'm not sure that I can. You couldn't beat her. She killed you. And that was a whole maiden ago. So that leaves a slew of problems for me to deal with before I kick the bucket."
"You aren't alone."
"And don't you think I know that? Sometimes I wish I was. It would be less scary if it was only my dumbass dependent on me."
He grunted. "Maybe so."
"Every person I pass on the street is depending on me. Everyone everywhere needs me to be good enough to take down Cinder and I don't know if I am," I confessed.
"You are burdened with terrible purpose. I won't lie to you. We need you."
"And that's without getting into my girlfriends who I know want more from me than this half life I've been providing them. And all of that, all of it, is without really getting into my Mother. Or my sisters, really, who I still dream about saving."
"You don't have an easy road ahead of you."
"Impossible. Herculean. I'm going to have to face my Mother again and I pray I'll have the strength to cut her head off and sprint from her body with her head in tow. My own Mother. I'm matricidal. And my sisters imply that her powers over us are all the more terrifying in person. How do I deal with all of that, oh wise wizard? I'm beseeching you."
"The same way Ms. Schnee is dealing with her own responsibilities. The same way she is dealing with the death of her sister. With grim resolve and a dedication to see the task through to the end."
"You don't have to remind me of that either. She's so fucking strong. And I'm so fucking weak. Indecision and doubt plague me. Look at her. Fucking look at her go." And look at her go indeed. She was already going about mastering the powers.
Weiss was hovering in the air once more. Her blade unwavering and the gale unflinching.
"You should see yourself in action. You underestimate yourself," he promised.
"Am I? Against Cinder and my Mother? I'm good. I'm good. I am. But that good? That's another question. You get it, right? What it means to have literally every single person alive depending on you. And quite a few dead ones too."
"All we can do is try our best," he returned.
"You sound like Ruby," I shot back.
"I shall take that as a compliment considering your relationship to her." Which, I mean, fair cop.
"You worked with her mother's team? Right?" I wondered.
A lengthy pause. "I did…"
"When are you going to tell her what happened to her mother for real?" I asked.
He sighed.
"You pit her mom against my Mom along with the rest of her team. Something happened. Something went wrong. Don't lie to me. I see through you," I vowed.
"A sad story for another time," he seemed to agree with me.
"You don't owe it to me," I intruded. "But you do owe it to Ruby. Don't forget. I'm not allowed to forget my responsibilities, you're not either. We both have terrible purpose," I turned back on him.
He let out another long sigh. "I haven't forgotten. Not a single one. That's not something time takes from you. I've forgotten how many people I have killed. I don't know how many people I let die. But I do know my responsibilities to the living. Do you doubt me?" He wondered.
"I still really don't want to from our last long chat." I was referring to just before I turned. When I told him I didn't trust him.
"But do you?" He persisted.
"I doubt everything ever since I killed my best friends. I would have lost track of my head if it weren't secured to my neck. I still almost did. Still almost do. Mother takes from me with each passing day. I'm getting weaker," I promised.
"You're getting stronger by my reckoning. Your mind is stronger. Your skills with a blade are improving all the time. You aren't without weakness but you are once again underestimating yourself. You have the reserves to stand up to Salem. I know it," he affirmed.
"Some offense meant this time…" I trailed.
"Very well," he answered.
"But what the fuck would you know?"
He didn't answer me.
My scroll buzzed mutely in my pocket. "Strife," I answered it.
"Cloud, my friend…" it was Aurum's voice coming through the little speaker.
"You've got some nerve after you waltzed me into her trap, calling me friend."
"You made it out alright. And she didn't burn me to death. That's a win-win. Can you blame me for not sticking my neck out any further than necessary?"
I sighed into the microphone. "I suppose not. You making out okay without your bar?"
"I have some back-up locations. And the Den is already being rebuilt. It was insured so it's fine. Might even come out with a bit of profit."
"But I didn't kill her. She's still out there. That's trouble."
"She's stirring up the underworld. Been making threats and killing anyone that gets in her way. She was concerned with one of the Schnees. Just like you were. I know that for sure."
"She already killed Winter Schnee," I informed him. "Is that all you have for me?"
"Not quite. I know where she's been staying. Ever since about a week ago she's been keeping her head low. She's in an apartment in Atlas. High class place for a lady on the run from the law. Twenty-three-hundred Windsor Avenue. Apartment 'v' two. Her and her green haired and tan friend are holled up there."
"Looks like I've got a date tonight," I muttered into the mic. "Thank you Aurum."
"Don't thank me. Just kill her. I don't need this," he was exasperated.
He cut the connection.
"Good news?" Ozpin asked me.
"Some. I have Cinder's location. I'm going to call up Penny and another friend and deal with her."
"Is your friend this Neapolitan?"
"She may be…"
"Be careful," Ozpin advised.
"I trust her. At least as far as Cinder is concerned. She's a sadistic bitch but she's reliable."
"I'll leave that in your judgement."
"You're going somewhere?" Weiss came up to me and asked.
"Going to fight Cinder Fall," I answered.
"I'm coming too," Weiss decreed.
"I don't think that's wise," Ozpin said.
At the same time I gave an, "absolutely not."
"What's the point in having these powers if I'm not going to use them to fight people like Cinder?" Weiss asked rhetorically.
"To keep them out of the hands of people like Cinder. If Cinder claims the winter maiden's powers she would be able to access the relic of creation," Ozpin tapped his staff against the ground. Then he lifted it and pointed it at Weiss. "You are not ready. Penny and Cloud and I suppose Neapolitan will fight Cinder."
"You're calling her up?" Weiss asked me.
"It's time to gang up on Cinder, that means all the help I can get. Maybe Ruby and the others too. Maybe Ace Ops as well if they're not busy. All the help I can get."
"Just everybody but me," Weiss replied.
"Now you're getting it."
"Fine. I'll just sit back and twiddle my thumbs." She sounded disgruntled. But she leaned forward and gave my cheek a quick peck of a kiss. "For luck," she stepped back.
I rubbed aty face with a dumbass grin. "I don't feel very lucky yet. Maybe one more-"
She hit me in the shoulder.
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"Penny meet Neo. Neo, Penny."
"It is a pleasure to meet you," Penny held out her hand for a shake but Neo didn't take it. She instead turned and gave me a long look.
"Penny is going to help me deal with Cinder. You fight Emerald Sustrai and together we'll come out on top of this thing. Cinder will be dead and we can move on with all of our lives. Just take Penny's damn hand, Neo."
Neo had to reach up to take Penny's still outstretched arm. She gave it one firm shake. Then Neo looked back at me. Something glinting in her eye. She pointed between the two of us.
"What about us?"
She held two fingers apart in a 'v' then closed them together, then opened them, then closed them again.
"We'll still be friends. That won't change even after Cinder dies."
My answer seemed to be good enough for her because she nodded. I wouldn't punish her for what she felt. We had grown fairly close even if it had been a few weeks since I last saw her. I had missed her as well.
"I'm a little on edge," I muttered. I hadn't taken any of the sedatives before this so I could feel my panic rising. This was it. This was the moment I had been truly preparing for ever since Beacon fell. The moment I would finally get my revenge against Cinder and avenge Pyrrha, my first partner perhaps even my first love. It was still all so confusing. The kiss the rush of the locker. All of it.
Neo held out a packed pipe and a lighter to me that she withdrew from somewhere on her person. I stared at the ground up THC and CBD crystals. My mouth watered as I smelled the plant. Greens… after so long.
"Is that wise before a fight like this?" Penny asked.
"I was as high as a kite when I killed Tyrian…" I trailed.
"That was Tyrian. This is two you-know-whats."
"Neo knows about the maidens," I told her. My eyes never left the pipe.
I reached out with a trembling hand and took the pipe from Neo. She handed me the lighter. She grinned up at me. I rotated the fire all the way around the bowl and burnt the greens to ash as I inhaled all of the smoke. It tasted so good.
Immediately my head felt lighter and the panic I felt in my heart intensified as did the feeling of my clothes against my skin. I felt numb, yet awake.
"Cloud! What about your other meds?"
"They don't work," I said exhaling smoke. "This shit does. Man, I missed this. I can almost forget how I'm going to die. I feel fantastic!"
"Well, this is the address we were given. Are we sure that it isn't a trap like last time?" Penny asked as we came up on the apartment.
"Oh course it could be a trap. But we gotta spring it anyway," I felt calm and handed the pipe back to Neo who grinned and waved her hand for me to keep it. I stuffed it into a deep pocket after tapping out the ash.
We took the elevator up to the second floor and found the 'v' apartment. I activated my semblance and let the blue glow wreath me. The flames licked up my body and I drew the broadsword from my back.
"Ready?" I asked my companions. The nausea from the pipe was pleasant. "Neo, pull that fire alarm. Let's get civilians out of the building." She reached over and flipped the switch on the grey wall. A siren started, loud and ringing.
"I'm combat ready," Penny replied.
Neo just nodded and tapped my shoulder. Her umbrella out and stiletto in hand.
Then I burst the door down with a mighty kick that splintered wood and launched the panels of fraying kindling inside.
I flew in with a mighty horizontal leap, bringing my great weapon to bear against those horrors that lurked inside.
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-WG