Chapter 14
The night was quiet in the city of Vale.
The street was desolate, the people having long gone to bed, preparing for their work the next day.
The storefronts were devoid of displays, which was just as well, since there was no one there to admire them. Cars sat empty along the curb, collecting dust.
The streetlamps that weren't burned out projected little circles of white light an empty, cracked sidewalk. The traffic light swung gently in the breeze, telling all of the nonexistent drivers to stop.
The clinking of glass heels was heard on the ground, as CinderFall strolled freely through the streets, her black hair cascading gently onto her shoulders. Mercury and Emerald walked beside her, the two of them following her lead as Mercury whistled a jaunty tune, and Emerald berated him.
They were heading towards one of Roman Torchwick's warehouses on the outskirts of Vale, looking to inform him of the recent developments.
Something tingled.
Cinder paused in her steps, holding a hand up.
She whirled, hand flashing out to block the first bullet with aura, then blocked the next two.
Mercury and Emerald kicked into high action, Emerald immediately cloaking her with her semblance and throwing behind two copies, as Mercury fired back at the rooftop behind them.
Their assailant was already gone, though.
Two quick shots were squeezed off, both slamming into Emerald's throat. Her aura managed to hold them back, but that didn't mean it wasn't painful.
The green-haired girl's scream was choked off by her own throat muscles, as she stumbled in pain.
She tried to cast her semblance, but she couldn't feel it… it wasn't there! Her aura was, though.
Cinder fired at the man, but it missed by a hair's breadth, singing his armor as he dashed towards them, avoiding the return fire by Mercury.
They clashed blades, the assassin a whirlwind of steel, but Cinder outclassed him.
Badly.
Her dual blades reached into his defenses with pathetic ease, chipping away chunks of his aura at a time. The assassin tried to run, but she snagged his wrist, and pulled her back to him.
Cinder Fall smirked.
She scorched his wrist.
Or at least, tried to. Cinder blinked in confusion when her semblance didn't activate. She felt something try to pull her semblance away from her body, but she yanked it back, making sure it was in her control.
The brief struggle allowed the man the chance to stab her in the abdomen. Although she managed to push aura to the region to blunt it, the force was great enough that she still doubled over in pain, before receiving a knee to the face for her reaction.
The man ducked under Emerald's sickle, backtracking as he grabbed one of the sickles by the chain, and yanked with surprising strength. Emerald was sent flying towards him, and he slammed his boot into her nose with force. Her body flopped from the momentum, and she banged her head on the sidewalk painfully.
However, Mercury hadn't been idly sitting by as they had been fighting.
He'd been stacking up blasts in the air, and as soon as Emerald went down, he fired the final tracer blast.
The assassin turned to see a behemoth of silvery blasts raining down on him, tearing at his aura.
The assassin tried to roll out of the blast range, but he came face to face with an angry Cinder Fall.
He tried slamming a boot into Cinder's stomach, but it was so clearly telegraphed that she'd already anticipated the move. She leaned out of the way, letting it pass by in the air harmlessly as she grabbed his arm before brutally wrenching it.
Aura could blunt pain, reducing it. It could heal, it could prevent injuries. But there was always a limit.
The force that Cinder used to wrench his arm was stronger than the aura that he pumped to it, and his elbow twisted the wrong way with a horrific snap.
There was a moment of silence, before the man let out a blood-curdling scream.
A sadistic, cruel smile made its way onto her lips.
His aura crackled and sizzled, on the verge of breaking. Several bullets from Mercury and Emerald finished the job, completely tearing through it. More of them tore through his actual body, leaving small holes in his torso.
Blood leaked slowly from the holes in his body, as the man began coughing up blood.
"Who sent you?" Cinder narrowed her eyes, glass heels clinking on the pavement as she approached.
The man laughed, coughing up more blood onto the ground. He collapsed onto the blood-stained pavement, barely holding himself up with his elbows as he slowly turned around to face her.
"They were anonymous," he grinned despite his position on the ground, "Hooded. I couldn't see them."
Cinder held out a hand threateningly, flames licking her palm as she pressed closer to his face, not believing him for a second, "Who. Was. There?"
Mercury and Emerald came closer, surrounding him and tearing his hood off.
They were met with white hair, black eyes, and pale skin much like Mercury.
The face of Marcus Black stared up at them.
"Oh hey son."
Mercury took a step back, his face filled with muted shock, eyes wide.
"Marcus Black," Cinder looked interested, as she crouched, "When I came to recruit you, you were lying on the ground, very clearly dead."
"Yet here I am," he coughed loudly again, "You know son, I never wanted to hurt you. Just thought being hard on ya would make ya survive in the real world…"
Mercury had a hard look on his face, "Fat load of good that did me."
"Your semblance was mercury poisoning, I eva tell you that? You-" the assassin coughed again, red blood dribbling onto his chin, "you looked so happy to unlock your semblance… but I saw… with my own eyes. My own son, his black hair turning gray before my very eyes… just like how my wife died slowly, painfully with you in her womb…"
The man looked sentimental, unshed tears appearing in his dark eyes, "And right there… I made the decision to take your semblance away from you."
Mercury looked like he wanted to scream and cry at the same time. He opened his mouth, but no words came out.
"Heh," the man chuckled bitterly, "And you hated me for it."
"All this chatting is very well and all," Cinder cut in, "But you just attempted to assassinate us. I'll ask you this one. More. Time."
She narrowed her amber eyes, black hair falling over her forehead as she leaned in dangerously, gripping his chin and yanking it up to meet their eyes.
He spat in her face.
And Cinder Fall burned him.
She grabbed him by the chest, and burned his entire body, flames lighting his skin, causing him to scream in agony as he felt his very aura being scorched away mercilessly. The fire wouldn't stop, the flames licking at his skin for what felt like hours when, in reality, it had only been seconds.
His skin was blackened and charred by the time she had finished, pieces of his clothing and armor melted and molded to his skin, the sickening smell causing Emerald to gag, as Mercury took a step back in genuine horror, his gray eyes wide.
Still, the man forced himself through the pain, meeting Cinder's gaze.
He opened his mouth, somehow managing to speak through sheer force of will.
"F-Fuck you."
There was a cracking sound, as the man bit down on something, and he breathed out. Gas poured out from his mouth, the toxic fumes spreading throughout the air.
Cinder jerked back in surprise, barely managing to avoid breathing the poison as she backtracked several steps.
Mercury and Emerald imitated her, avoiding the venomous gas as they backpedaled.
The sounds of blaring sirens rang throughout the city, letting the three of them know that the Valean police were approaching the scene.
"Cinder, do we run?" the green-haired girl looked to her questioningly, eyes wide and frantic. Mercury looked conflicted, a torn look crossing his face briefly, his fists clenched. He masked it with his signature cocky smirk, hiding away any traces of emotion again, forcing his fingers to uncurl.
"No," Cinder ordered calmly, amber eyes signaling she was in perfectly control of the situation, "We'll have to stay. We don't want to be suspects, least of all to Ozpin."
"W-Will this interfere with the plan?" Emerald almost hesitatingly asked.
She tapped her chin thoughtfully, "No. We will proceed as normal. Mercury, I want you to find out who was behind this."
"Of course," Mercury grinned cockily.
Cinder smiled, a devious smirk crossing her face. Black bangs fell on the left side of her face, covering one of her golden eyes and casting an ominous shadow over the rest of her lightly tanned skin.
"Beacon and Vale will fall."
Pyrrha dodged frantically, her opponent's golden blade just barely missing her cheek.
She felt the rush of air from the missed swing, but he continued the swing, and the blade's flat edge slammed against her cheek. She stumbled in response, backpedaling as she turtled behind Akoúo̱. Her assailant slammed into her, tackling her and sliding his xiphos through her defenses.
She grunted, trying to fling him off her, but he wouldn't relent, and she had to resort to slamming her heel into his stomach.
Finally, he backed off, giving her a smile, before reengaging.
He was a literal blur of movement, a hurricane, a tempest that she couldn't do anything against. She could only turtle behind Akoúo̱, and use Miló to try and jab at his defenses every couple of strikes.
Still, Akoúo̱ was a relatively small shield, and that meant parts of her body were exposed, no matter how fast she reacted to his movements, and how much she used her semblance to augment her speed with her armor.
She could feel her aura chipping away quickly as his blade pierced through her defenses, and she had to act.
She pushed, seeing a miniscule gap in his defenses.
Pyrrha had to parry and block, tanking blows, as she managed to get close enough to prod at the gap. Her emerald eyes lit up as she struck a glancing blow, scoring a thin line of aura.
She bent under his next slash, parrying furiously as she tried to create another gap in his defenses, but there was none. She growled in frustration, backpedaling and hurling her shield at him.
The shield obscured his line of vision, and he swatted it to the side, but she was already there. She thrust at him, but he wasn't caught off guard. He deflected Miló, allowing it to slide along his own blade's length as he slammed his other fist into her jaw, and followed it with a kick to the stomach.
She was sent back, but soon pushed in again, attacking with speed and fervor, actually sending him on the backfoot for once.
There!
Pyrrha could see another miniscule opening. One that was nearly identical to the last one, and she knew it to be an actual weakness in his fighting style. No fighter's defense was impenetrable, after all.
She lunged for the opening, thrusting into it with all her strength.
The xiphos form of Miló just barely touched his abdomen, before she was on her back and staring up at the ceiling.
She'd been played. He'd let her get away with scoring a hit on him the first time to lure her into a false sense of security, and then made a similar opening to force her to capitalize on it again.
Percy grinned down at her, as she accepted the hand that he offered, and he hoisted her to her feet.
"Good fight Pyrrha."
"A good fight indeed," she hummed in response.
She was pleased with the progress she'd made under Percy's tutelage. She'd thought there was nothing left for her to improve on except conditioning, but he'd knocked that all out of the window. He was on a level that put the word 'unpredictable' to absolute shame. He would press and press, never letting her use any acrobatic moves to get away, and she could scarcely even touch him.
"You were holding back," she accused good naturedly, a smile on her face, "You weren't using your left hand as much as you would normally."
He shrugged, offering nothing more than a mischievous grin.
"You aren't even going to try to deny it?"
Percy shrugged again, "Why would I? Both you and I know what would happen if I did."
Pyrrha let out a petulant whine, embarrassed.
Once, her competitive side had emerged in full form, and she had demanded that he go as hard as he could against her. And she had ended up as paste on the floor.
"You didn't have to remind me of that!"
"It's okay sweetie, you don't have to be afraid~" he cooed, a wide grin coating his face that Pyrrha knew was trouble.
She tried to run, but he managed to grab her before she could, and he pulled her into his chest, ruffling her red hair as he did.
"Hey what's up- woah…" Nora peeked into the training room, along with Ren and Jaune.
Pyrrha let out an embarrassed squeak as Percy rumbled in laughter, his chest shaking. She tore himself from his grasp, smacking his chest lightly.
"Idiot! Nora, this isn't what it looks like-"
"Sure it isn't~" Nora sang, "At least you finally found a boyfriend! Pyrrha and Percy, sitting in a tree~"
She turned red, much to the rambunctious laughter of her friends, and she hid in his chest, embarrassed.
"So what are you guys doing here?" Percy asked, after finally having stopped cackling.
"Well, we were wondering if we could join you?" Jaune asked uncertainly.
"I mean, we have that combat exam coming up tomorrow, and we've already studied for the final in Oobleck and Port's classes, so…"
"Of course. You're welcome any time," Percy's grin looked shark-like, causing shivers to run up all of their spines.
Nora grinned in enthusiasm, while Ren and Pyrrha sighed in sync.
Jaune gulped, his Adam's apple bobbing in fright.
Weiss and the rest of the team froze as their team leader stepped out of the shower. Mainly because he'd forgotten to put on a shirt. And he was oblivious to the fact. He turned around, rummaging in the higher cabinets on the wall for a shirt, inadvertently putting his back muscles on display.
Ruby turned a bright red, letting out an embarrassed 'eep' and hiding herself in her bed, as Yang let a shit eating grin coat her face. Blake only blinked owlishly, before leaning in, tilting her head to the side like a cat might, interest on her face.
And Weiss had to admit there was a lot to like. His perfect, jet black, windswept hair, his beautiful, sea green eyes, the tanned skin that made him look like he was from Mistral…
Weiss' mouth felt dry as she trailed her eyes along his back, admiring the sculpted muscles as well as the scars that were on display as they moved tantalizingly in sync, like well-oiled cogs on a machine. Sure, she had seen more than a few huntsmen's torsos before, and they weren't any slobs per se, but his was a magnum opus compared to theirs. He outclassed others in every category, but not only that, he was always willing to help out. He wasn't some sort of arrogant snob who pushed everyone down; he brought them to the top with him.
Even if they were kicking and screaming along the way.
There was something powerful about him that drew people to him, almost something… divine.
Her thought train was interrupted by a certain someone licking their lips.
"Ooh~ Yang likes, Yang likes a lot!"
"Stop being such a buffoon, Yang," Weiss chastised, narrowing her icy blue eyes at her.
"I have eyes, ya know," the blonde retorted, a shit-eating grin on her face, "I can see you looking too, Weiss cream."
"Hmph," she crossed her arms, "I simply know a masterpiece when I see one. And I have restraint, unlike you, Xiao-Long! I know to look but not to touch."
"A masterpiece hm?" Yang purred, that stupid grin still on her face, "And don't think I don't see you looking to, partner."
The cat faunus rolled her eyes in response, "What? A well put together body is the symbol of hard work and dedication."
"See!? Even she isn't as shallow as you, Xiao-Long."
Yang was undeterred, her grin widening, "You're just trying to distract us from the fact that you got caught in 4k."
Weiss squawked, about to reply when an amused voice interrupted them.
"I have ears, you know."
Weiss flushed at having been caught so easily, Blake doing the same.
Percy turned around, a twinkle in his mischievous sea green eyes as he pulled his shirt over his head.
"Take a picture, it might last longer," he smirked teasingly.
"Nah, not when the real thing's right in front of us," Yang winked salaciously.
Percy was about to respond when he frowned. Weiss eyes instantly latched onto the two-tone bronze and black ring that he had been wearing recently, the ring vibrating on his left hand.
She wondered who it was from. A secret admirer? No, it seemed like it had some kind of robust purpose. Of course, they had noticed and asked, but their team leader had only smiled indulgently, refusing to give anything away.
"I… gotta go," he hurried, pulling on his socks and shoes
"Did you finish your homework?" Weiss called out in question before he left.
"Yes, mom," Percy snarked, rolling his eyes and throwing on a coat as he left their room and entered the hall.
"Y'know, you really do act like a mom sometimes," Yang commented randomly.
"Shut, Xiao-Long."
"That wasn't a denial," Ruby finally spoke, blatantly pointing it out, "You are a worry wart sometimes. It's already enough with Percy on our backs."
"That's for training," Weiss harrumphed, "Your studies have to be kept up to par with everyone else, Ruby. Have you finished your homework yet?"
"B-But it's Friday!" she protested, her silver eyes widening innocuously.
She raised an eyebrow in response, "And?"
"Percy and Yang promised me that we would have a gaming tournament in Team JNPR's dorm!"
Weiss gave her an unimpressed look, "And did Percy tell you to finish your homework first?"
"Well…" she pouted, twiddling her thumbs together innocently. Weiss was not going to fall for that look, even if it worked all the time on their esteemed team leader.
Weiss turned to level her death glare at Yang, but the blonde only shrugged in response, "I mean… Percy's the team leader. He's the one who's supposed to be enforcing all the rules, y'know?"
The heiress rolled her ice blue eyes at her. It was impossible to enforce rules on Yang Xiao-Long, as she had learned long ago. Better to let Percy do it with that scary wolf glare of his. She was glad she had never had to suffer through it.
She turned back to Ruby, the red and black-haired girl looking exactly like a chastised child.
Weiss planted her hands on her hips, narrowing her eyes, "What do you have to say for yourself?"
"Heh…" Ruby scratched the back of her head nervously, "I… thought I could finish it later?"
Mount Weiss, short as she was, blew up.
"Ruby Rose! Our team leader might fall for your devious tricks, but I won't!" she declared dramatically to her audience and the ceiling, "Finish your homework before you go, or I'll tell Percy, and you'll have no cookies for a week!"
The frightful look on Ruby's face truly made her day.
Percy trudged the typical route to the elevator, groaning internally.
What was it this time? He'd been to the headmaster's office at least once a day, sometimes twice, for a little more than a week at this point.
Today was supposed to be relaxing! Yang had insisted, and he had promised Ruby and Yang that he would join them in their little gaming tournament with Team JNPR after they had nagged him incessantly.
Instead, he was heading to another meeting. Again. It wasn't like he hated meetings; it was more like… he never had to talk so much before.
He was more of a power card that fought and led on the field, in battle, rather than a strategist in council meetings. Annabeth had been the one to devise most of the general plans, and he was always one to improvise and adapt on the fly. Maybe that was why they had worked so well together, always complimenting each other.
My Wise Girl… oh how I miss you, he thought miserably.
He straightened himself, standing taller as the elevator doors opened, and he stepped into Ozpin's office. A quick scan of the room revealed that he was the last one to arrive, and he was about to crack a random joke when he noticed Ozpin and Ironwood looking rather solemn, and he held back instead.
"Thank you all for coming here today on such short notice," Ozpin began, as Percy internally rolled his eyes. Every single meeting was on short notice with him.
"Long story short, the assassin failed and paid the price for it," Ironwood clasped his hands behind his back, strolling to the windows of the large office. The mood was somber, but not for the man who had died; he'd been an assassin after all, and his days were numbered as they were. No, the mood was somber because they'd failed to kill Cinder Fall and her team.
"His name was Marcus Black, apparent abusive father of Mercury Black."
Mercury's father was an assassin!? That brought a new perspective to things…
"Mercury Black has been brought in for questioning, while Cinder Fall and Emerald Sustrai have been put in the infirmary to check for injuries pertaining to the toxic gaseous substance that Marcus Black released from his mouth to attack them with during his dying breath. Cinder Fall was closest in vicinity to the poisonous substance."
"Describe the corpse," Percy spoke, ignoring the look he got from Goodwitch and the 'damn kid' comment from Qrow.
"I suppose you would want to know that," Ozpin shifted in his seat slightly, "The corpse was charred, pieces of his clothing and armor melted into the flesh. So it would appear that Cinder Fall does indeed have a semblance that is related to fire, and from what Perseus saw that night in the CCT tower, she could also superheat objects and utilize them as projectiles."
"Superheating," Qrow rubbed his chin in thought, "A useful semblance indeed."
"Perseus, if you don't mind me asking, how much did you pay the assassin?" Goodwitch crossed her arms under her breasts, clearly not liking her own question.
"Well…" he shrugged.
His combat professor gave him an unimpressed look, as he raised his hands innocently.
"Okay, okay, we got down to six thousand lien, forty percent up front, but if he finished the job, I'd pay him the rest, and a thirty percent bonus on top of the six thousand."
"Damn kid, you pulled a fast one on him," Qrow complimented.
"You did," Ozpin nodded, an amused smile on his face, "You may keep the rest for yourself."
Percy internally pumped his fist; he was poor as fuck, after all. But still, he schooled his expression.
"General Ironwood, you said Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Black accompanied Cinder Fall when they were at the scene, is that correct?"
"It is."
"What happened to Noir?" Percy emphasized the name with air quotes, knowing that there was always a possibility it was just a fake name.
"I have been unable to locate her," Ozpin frowned, "It is almost like she disappears at times."
"An illusionary, or hallucinatory semblance?" Percy speculated out loud, "Such a thing would be very dangerous."
"Dangerous indeed," Qrow snorted, "It would allow this Noir to escape from the authorities, go undercover, the limits are endless,"
"Regardless of Noir, let's get back to the subject at hand," Glynda Goodwitch chimed in.
Ozpin nodded, "Very well then. I will tell Tsune to keep Cinder Fall in the infirmary for three days, with security around the infirmary and her team's room that would monitor them. I believe it would be best for James to handle the questioning, since he is in control of the security for the Vytal Festival."
Ironwood nodded, "We may also perform a scan of their team's room to check if they were involved in any illicit activities. After all, not any random person would be targeted by an assassin, which is our formal justification, at least, and the justification we will present to them. We will take the opportunity to plant listening bugs in the room."
"No," Percy shook his head, "Cinder Fall is no slouch. In spite of us discovering her undercover status, we should not be so arrogant as to assume she wouldn't see the bugs and notice. She would understand that there would be more eyes on her."
"Is that so much of a problem as you believe it is, though? If she knows that we know, she would be unable to act against us either way," Ozpin hummed in question, tilting his head.
"No, no, he's got a point," Qrow argued with his gravelly voice, "Never corner a wounded animal, for it makes them all the more dangerous."
"If we were to so clearly telegraph the extent of our knowledge to her," Percy said, "Then she would be forced to act out, and that won't be pretty. She could cause mass chaos and destruction at any time, as long as she feels like she's about to be discovered."
"If we keep quiet and don't telegraph it," Percy continued, thinking, "She would proceed with her plans as normal."
"Better the devil you know than the devil you don't," Goodwitch nodded in clear approval, Ozpin agreeing.
"Very well then," Ironwood sighed, looking out of the window over Beacon Academy, "I will not order them to plant bugs in their room, only to investigate the dormitory according standard procedure."
"Then we are all in agreement," Ozpin said after setting down his mug of heavenly coffee, "We will continue to observe Cinder Fall carefully, but do not make any drastic moves that will alert her of our presence."
"You may leave now. This meeting has been concluded."
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'til next time!
Next Chapter: July 29th (1 week)
-thann3
