Pure unimaginable power, as if a hundred lightning storms converged in the same place at the same time, dancing in perfect unity with not a stray bolt to break from the pattern. Their core, the eye of which retained a perfect, even balance, acted as the foundation for her focus. Absolute serenity was the best way to describe it, with not a whistle or crack to distract from its complete and utter zen.

This was Raven Branwen in a nutshell. Wielding a mind of perpetually increasing peace, she was the centerpiece of her own little world; untouchable to all who did not possess the necessary power to trump her stature. Men with even an inkling of knowledge about the raw ferocity and limitless potential of the Elemental Maidens would cower like children to the storm born by the hands of these godly inheritors. And that was only at the sight of a single maiden; Raven doubled that in her current state.

So why was she tearing through several steel walls against her own will?

She'd not done more than looked at Cinder, greeting the woman's uncontrollable rage with a scoff. She'd seen what the untrained maidens bore, and it was pitiful in comparison to a true master. Once upon a time, the power of the Spring Maiden belonged to another, a fair girl who stumbled into the wilderness, fearful of her life as she ran from the beasts who ruined her village. Raven had seen the sparks form in the child's eyes as the Beowolves gazed hungrily upon her, ready to pounce, and once that spark made itself visible, the bandit queen took to the opportunity before her.

She'd taken the girl under her wing that day, but unfortunately, she was too weak to conjure more than a mere speck of the magic's force. Raven had goaded her on and on, and in a fit of anger and to prove her tutor wrong, she drummed up a storm so vicious as to tear not only half the forest apart, but one which left the girl herself in pieces across the woodland bedding. Raven hadn't known how to react, and it was only when the power of the Spring Maiden filled her that she snapped from her shock.

Standing on her own two feet again, Raven got not more than a glance before tides of flaming steel chunks uppercut her from the ground they tore themselves from and sent her flying into the dark of the early morning sky. Cinder moved mindlessly, closing the distance with little more than a ravenous growl.

Raven had never revealed the truth about the Spring Maiden's death to anyone. Not her tribe, not her family, and certainly not Ozpin or Cinder. Raven Branwen, the Bandit Queen, accepted only that which she had conquered herself; she did not merely take what was given, and adamantly made a point to refuse all that couldn't be paid in blood. But the raw power then in her veins was a permanent stain she could never, nor would she ever, rid herself of. It would be stupid to throw away life's rather wonderful gift. And so she lied, tricking all into believing she'd killed the girl herself. This made her a monster in the eyes of many, but it, in and of itself, was at the very least half true. Raven Branwen had killed the girl, that could not be disputed, but she'd not done so through any intentional means.

Raven's victory was an accident, pure chance, and this alone would make her appear weak. The queen of pillagers could not be viewed as anything less than the embodiment of absolute ruthlessness, even if that violent outlook had to be taken along with a healthy helping of loathing and disgust. She'd since trained with her ill-gotten powers, to ensure that the hated, putrid element that was luck could never interfere with her life again.

Raven Branwen had since then become the opposite to chance, destroying any appearances it made in her own life. To others, though, she was a paragon of the element, but for herself, everything was calculated to the decimal.

With that being the case, one could understand why Raven was more than a little shocked that Cinder, bearing only the strength of a single maiden, a foe who she'd bested in the past, could even land a hit on her, let alone three of significant power.

She was once again sent into a state of shock, and upon realizing this, returned her mind to the present.

The tides of conflicting magic ran along her skin like a highway, bunched together in lanes that were far too thin to hold them all. It was like her strength itself was caught in a traffic jam, and to make matters worse, it seemed as if both elemental masteries were flowing headlong into each other. No more than three minutes and her power was looking to collapse.

Cinder took her chances again with an ear-piercing screech, which nearly deafened Raven with its sheer unexpectedness alone. Struggling against her own body to cover her ears, she dropped what felt like several stories before somehow getting enough hold on her new power to reorient herself in midair. But by forcing the magic to comply, she'd taken her focus off of the fight, and was thus hit by a rain of flaming leaves, all the while both elements within her own service sought to strangle her from the inside out.

D-DAMMIT!

She couldn't breathe. Raven clawed at her throat, in part trying to rip the invisible binds away, and if that failed, then to maybe rip a hole through it, just to get some of the precious oxygen she desired. Desire... that had been it. Her mind settled on that one word, and while the pain of suffocation filled her to the brim, she began to notice that it had next to no impact on any of her movements or decisions.

The fire filling her vision, tightening itself against her body like a thin layer of sweat, had been the wake-up call for her to take a chance of her own, regardless of how much she despised it. She ignored the pain in her lungs, telling herself over and over that it wasn't real to try and rein in control of herself, and put all her energy into observing Cinder.

No better than a dog, the bitch shot forth predictably, and just as Cinder closed the gap, Raven gripped at all the magic actively violating her insides, forced it out, and had it clung to Cinder's fire. She still couldn't breathe, and her everything hurt more than she'd ever dare speak of, but she could feel the fire being chained up by her magic. Right as Cinder had been about to slash, much like the Beowolf's signature lunge, Raven released her power.

She'd expected an explosion the likes of a city block or two, but all she got was a burst, no farther than about an arm's length. Raven visibly saw the burst of magic as it popped, stopping just a step or two away from her in an almost bubble shape around her person. It dissipated into a mix of mossy green, with splotches of ivory.

Cinder, on the other hand, left a sizable implant in a neighboring tower of the academy itself.

Looking down to her own hands in disbelief, Raven temporarily wondered if she herself had really just done that.

No loud bang accompanied it, nor fireworks of color, just pure unrivaled force, with a muted sheen.

Trading form for functionality: her powers had doubled in effectiveness, but lost most of their flare. But it couldn't have been that simple, could it? She'd not lost her range, had she? Facing down Cinder, and watching the woman pull herself from the tower before shooting up again, Raven stuck out a hand. Commanding the energy within the air itself, she dropped the temperature, and the sky began to form into an icy fog, in a very literal sense. Frozen in air, roots and planes of ice pathed all around her, creating what looked like a maze of translucent pipes in the sky.

Even Cinder's fire began to freeze, ensnaring her in a pristine prison of almost crystalline aura.

Shifting a little to the side, Cinder's icy appearance flew by Raven, but based on the cracks forming along her sculpturesque skin, she wouldn't be trapped for long. The ever expanding maze of semi-translucent pipes were beginning to wet, and droplets ran along their surfaces to drip down towards the land below.

It wasn't enough to keep Cinder trapped for long, but even so, the colossal strength of combined maiden powers was something to behold.

Raven figured it out now: in exchange for this much power, the user was forced to suffer for the duration that they had their abilities active. This must have been a failsafe designed to dissuade individuals from actively seeking out the four elements for themselves. Really, she never did question why it was that the powers were never all kept by one maiden; she'd just assumed, perhaps like everyone else as she began to think about it, that no one had successfully taken more than one set for themselves.

Her body functioned fine, even with her lungs screaming into the void, and it was then that Raven realized: all of it was phantom pain. Her chest rose and fell with little in the way of struggle, and her body never actively lost function, it was merely an emulation of the warning signals before the body really started to suffer the effects of low oxygen. Heck, realizing this, Raven began to assume that she was breathing just fine, and that the maiden powers themselves were simply mimicking the effects of suffocation in hopes of keeping her from using them.

Ozpin, you clever bastard.

For as scummy as she thought him to be, Raven had to admit that he was a deviously brilliant mastermind when it came to deception and circumvention. He'd known that people like Cinder and her would seek more than a single batch of elemental magic, and put punishments in place. Oh yes, you'd get the power, but your every waking moment of using it would be nothing short of agony.

Fuck, if she had to make an educated guess, she'd assume the pain only got worse as more and more of the ensemble united within a singular user.

Was that disturbing to her? Incredibly, but Raven didn't really care. Illusions were merely that, illusions: lies of another name. Without any real negative effects besides that of the mind, all it took was a diligent and steadfast mentality to stare down the fraudulent deceptions against the user. She wouldn't actively seek more power, but she was more than ready to force her current collection to adhere to her.

She was their master, and they shall obey.

While Raven was willing and able to deal with the false pains that having these powers brought, she was soon introduced to real pain once more as something wrapped itself around her neck. Unlike with the phantom pains, this time her aura reacted, letting her know she was in tangible danger. Claws clamped down around her neck, and it didn't take a genius to figure out who was currently behind, and actively dragging Raven to the ground in a makeshift dive.

When did she get behind me? Had been the only thought afforded to Raven before her face collided with the cement. She could hear several shouts and screams, presumably from bystanders watching on. Flaring her essence once more, the cement below exploded from underneath her, shooting out in all directions as the burst of force repelled everything in a three-hundred and sixty degree radius.

Righting herself once more, she shot up, rapidly throwing her head around in an attempt to find her foe.

Like a ghost, Cinder was gone, and Raven was left with an immense trepidation. She'd been staring at the other maiden for the entire fight, but there were moments where she'd lose focus as she realized what was going on. It was within these breaks that Cinder fled, but for the life of her, Raven still couldn't discern how such a thing was possible. Cinder was no more than a beast at this point, the multitude of war cries and screeching had been proof of that. And with the power of only one maiden, there should have been no realistic way Cinder could ever trump her in any category, let alone speed.

Making excuses would accomplish nothing though, and so, in an attempt to focus, Raven raised herself higher; if nothing else it would get her away from all the screaming idiots drowning out her thoughts. Rather than simply stop when she was beyond the noise, she kept on going, until there was little around her, save the night sky.

It was beautiful out tonight, and for a second she considered just how lucky she was that not a single cloud coveted the surrounding air. Now, there was nowhere to hide, and with little else to do, Raven stared up at the moon as she awaited any and all sounds of Cinder's inevitable approach. Said moon, a pale, shattered light in the black of night, sat intimidatingly large, at least from her position. Raven had positioned herself just before the shield which protected Atlas from the Grimm. That's all the shield did: it kept Grimm away.

Which explained why Cinder had not breached it, and merely hovered there, in the center of the broken, and yet so beautiful, celestial midnight sun.

Intimidation was not a word Raven liked to say, for it was far too common in her heart, no matter what she was doing, or who she was staring down. For days on end she'd convinced everyone around her that she was, in fact, fearless. Few knew how bold a lie that was. Raven feared everything, for fear itself was no sign of weakness. No no, fear was an asset, and one could not truly survive or covet power if they themselves did not embrace the often misunderstood emotion with the same adoration and respect they did others. However, it was one thing to respect fear...

But another to cave into its demands.

Why... W-why am I... afraid! Terror kissed her skin so softly, with passion nearly on the same level of Tai, who'd time and time again offered her sanctuary, no matter how much she turned him down. But unlike Taiyang Xiao Long, the father of her daughter, Yang, Cinder's presence promised only doom.

Raven felt so pathetic right now; all that power, and here she was, scared stiff by one who was significantly weaker than her. Had she had anything to drink, she was sure it would be shamefully flowing down her leg right now. Cinder, on the other hand, probably loved this fear...

Hold on.

Watching intently and furrowing her brow as she focused, Raven stood her ground as Cinder rose up an arm, which twisted and contorted into all manner of spiky shapes, before settling on a large, grotesquely floral set of claws. Her foreboding presence was accompanied by absolute silence, and her lacking emotion besides that of rage had been the final nail in the coffin. Raven knew what was going on.

Cinder had succumbed to the Grimm within her arm.

Her fury at losing out on the Winter Maiden's power must have pushed her over the edge, and with so much hatred in one place, it could be assumed that whatever spell Salem had put over the Grimm had fallen way to the monster's natural urge to latch onto and feed off of negativity. And at that moment, when Cinder saw her life's goals ripped away from her very fingertips, there was no more potent location in the entirety of Atlas for unwavering purified fear than Cinder herself.

Not even the nightmares of thousands could hope to match Cinder's current rage.

There was no more Cinder Fall in the beast ahead of her, only the dark, blackened pits of the Grimm's destructive existence remained. On the bright side, this meant she didn't need to worry about Human cunning, or any sort of logical reactions... Except she did. Had Cinder not shown any signs of intellect since the beginning of the battle, Raven would have no issues devising a plan to take the monster down. A Grimm with the powers of a maiden, while a horrid concept to behold, meant little in the way of any extraordinary danger.

It was still a Grimm at the end of the day, and thus would retain all the faults and weaknesses that their kind were beholden too. Vanishing from sight and awaiting opportune times were proof of a mind, and if that hadn't been enough, then the simple fact that it had been able to control and wield the power of a maiden with even some level of competency proved the final piece of evidence to close the case.

On the bright side, its lack of adaptation showed that this combination, whether still holding on to at least a little bit of its original host or not, didn't hold a candle to a true maiden. Whether Cinder was conscious inside or not stood irrelevant, as while this... this thing had a little bit or brains, it was mostly relying on its brawn.

With some clever thinking, she might be able to slay the creature. Somehow, the combination of maiden magic with the natural destruction of the Grimm overtook her own mix of powers. But what good was power if the mind behind it was dull? In the end, no matter what was true, Raven still held the advantage; she just needed to make use of did bring about one issue though, and it was a problem now starkly on her mind as she watched Cinder lift her clawed extension to strike.

How much punishment could this new demon take?

.


.

It wouldn't be long now.

"Hey, V!" Yang pulled up alongside me as we dashed up a flight of stairs. The lift was on the floor above, which would take us up to the level where the headmaster's office was. From there we'd be able to get to the outdoor rest area, which was just a little ways off of the dorms and past one of the upper cafeterias. In the meantime I nodded over towards Yang, who got the memo. "You said it wasn't just Cinder, right?"

"That's right." She was here too, I could feel it.

"So who are we going after?"

"Yeah." Blake called from behind. "Do we even know where they are?"

"I can feel them both, but I'm certain Cinder already has the maiden powers by now."

"What? Why?" Ruby was a bit closer than Blake, but she still trailed behind as we came upon the elevator. Stepping inside, I was able to face Ruby head on as we stood crammed in the lift. It would take a minute to reach the top, so I kept it brief.

"She's shooting around rapidly, like an arrow. All the while, our second intruder is waiting for us up top."

"Excuse me?" Weiss cut in, sparing no less than an exasperated, and somewhat aghast expression. "Waiting?"

"In the recreational space, on the outdoor balcony." I told, seeing her already queer face mold into an image showing disbelief. "She's not moving. Cinder, on the other hand, won't stop moving."

Opening her mouth, Weiss gaped like a fish for a bit before biting down on her lip. "Okay, first off; we call it the Visitor's Park. And secondly: she?"

Blake stepped in here, having been the first to figure it out and astutely asked, "do you recognise this second woman's... feeling?"

"Their radiance." Not the best name for the unique essence these Grimm tainted individuals gave off, but it would do for now; I didn't care what they were called, but I couldn't have the others getting confused. "And yes, I do. It's the same one I felt back at the Schnee manor."

"My home." Weiss's eyes spread wide. "Then she was the one who attacked my mother!"

"Yes." I didn't know the details - my focus had been set on Cinder, after all - but Weiss appeared to, and so I went along with it. I had seen the woman in person, and knowing Cinder would never be so careless as to leave a trail behind, It seemed fairly obvious who had attacked Willow Schnee.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Yang called, right in time for the elevator doors to open. "Let's move!"

Taking the quickest route, we'd high-tailed it towards the Visitor's park with ease, but not before Ruby paused just before the entrance.

"Hold on." Before anyone could ask, she shot off, and we were left awaiting her return. After about a minute, I saw Weiss visibly huff as she made to speak, only for Ruby to zip back to my side. "Okay, I'm done."

"Where did you run off too?!" Weiss, clearly irritated, crossed her arms.

"I needed to grab something important." Ruby patted a pouch at her side. Her face almost looked to fidget, almost uncertain, like something was bothering her. However she said nothing more, and so I did not ask.

"Whatever." Weiss tossed, not bothering with Ruby's sudden antics, looking at me instead. "Are we all set?"

I nodded. "She's still there."

"Not moving, I take it?" Blake chimed, and I nodded again. Sighing, she settled on a ready look. "Alright then, let's get to it."

I took point, and rather than make any flashy sort of entrance, I casually pushed open the double doors. Cinder's acquaintance never made a fuss before, and so I could only hope the same would be true this time.

"Ah~" She purred loudly up ahead, waving gently as she sat upon the railing overlooking the outskirts of the city. "And so the guest of honor has arrived."

And apparently, I hadn't been the first. I counted four up ahead, although I knew it was five - not counting the Grimm bearer. Qrow and Winter snarled, not so much at me per say, but more or less at the fact the woman had given me a title. Roman just waved, calling out, whereas the other woman, one of Robyn's crew from before, glared.

"Took you long enough, kid." Roman gave a halfway chuckle. "Although, if I'm being honest, I had a feeling you were somewhat related to this mess." Spitting out a sigh, his shoulders slumped. "It's always got to be about you, doesn't it?"

"Oh dear~" The way she purred seemed to spook Roman, who nearly leapt with the force of someone who'd just had icicles shoved down their pants. "You have no idea~"

"I'm here." A bold proclamation for sure, but I had little care for pleasantries with Cinder so close by. I stepped forward, and assaulted her with my demand. "Tell me who you are."

"Oh no." She let out, tiredly, as if let down by something. "You're rude. The goddess won't like that very much."

"I don't care." I countered, pointing to her. "You are not her, and therefore, you are not worthy of my respect or patience, of which I have none to spare." Dropping my arm, I approached. "You came here, knowing I'd follow. I should be focusing on Cinder, but here you are, drawing my attention away." Stopping ahead of the others, I felt no fear towards her, nor caution. All I wanted was a reason not to fight her, so that way I could return to hunting down Cinder. "Who are you to beckon my presence?"

"Cinder, hmm?" She dropped off the rail and skipped towards me, coming to a stop a few feet away. "So, it's because of her you're in such a hurry." She tapped her chin, eyes locked onto mine, and yet making no immediate signals of wanting to strike. Leaning back, she said, casually, "the goddess says you'll kill her. She says the lamb's purpose died the moment you revealed yourself, and that the lamb is now pointless."

Does she now? While interesting in its own right, that didn't do much to answer the important question here, which I asked immediately. "Why tell me this? And you still haven't answered my first question."

"Pushy pushy." She took a step forward, looking up at me. "I tell you because you are the only one the goddess truly cares for right now." She reached out, carefully wrapping her hands over one of mine, and pulling it up. "And I'm here to collect you."

"Collect me?" I pulled, and with not even an inch of real force, she let my hand go free.

"Mmhmm." Her head tilted to the side, and she looked back out to the city, pointing up a little above the streets. "She's on her way, and she wants to see you again." The woman looked back, now without the previous warmth. Only a cold chill sat within those crystal orbs, who seemingly froze themselves to mine. "I have been ordered to bring you to her."

"I see." I pulled away, backing up a few steps, and drew my blade. Pointing it at her, I inquired, "what makes you think you can?"

An intense rumble shook the whole of the park, and as the dust and debris settled into place, I saw the woman was still standing upright as if nothing had happened, barely even moved from the force that shook and pushed us all back. Behind her was another story though, as I spied Raven pulling herself up from a crater, only to leap over to us as the platform ahead began to cave. The balcony dipped a touch, and I saw a good chunk of it fall off.

I heard a few of the others gasp behind me, with Roman in particular spitting out, "Brothers..."

The woman took a single step forward, and as I watched her skin blacken, a shadow descended from behind. It looked like Cinder, but the sheer presence it exuded was alien to me on just about every level. And yet, for some reason, I could only feel resentment towards the display of power she bore, as if she'd merely mimicked what she believed it to be, without knowing what it truly was.

Deep inside, at the behest of a voiceless whisper, I alone bore the only true knowledge of how such power was to be governed.

"My name is Steele." The mystery woman, now dubbed as Steele, began to stretch and bend, with boney plating culminating along all her visible skin, ripping her dress and leaving her bare - not that anything important was visible, due to the mismatched and chaotic spikes ripping outwards from within the heinous beast's very body. "By the grace of the goddess, I was permitted to keep that name." Cinder drew close to the creature, as if nothing more than a curious creature aligning itself with a guardian. Steele's voice seemed to echo off the winds themselves. "I will guide you to the goddess, supposing I need to force your hand."

Before, she and Cinder had been separate, but here I was seeing the dark maiden aligning herself with the newly revealed monster. I had no reason to kill her before, but now I did, and I felt as though a tiny part of me had just been waiting for an excuse to do so. I didn't feel emotion, per say, but rather, it was like a strange lust for destruction, as if it were an addiction about to be fed.

Leaning back and spiking up my blade, I called out, accepting their challenge, and ready to see just how powerful this duo was. They sought to introduce me to Salem on their terms, but I had my own ideas for both how, and when, I would find her. And so, when ordered to adhere to their self-centered demands, I had only one thing to say.

"Make me~"


Author's note

Okay, so things have picked up, perhaps a little drastically.

This time, Raven gets to experience the downsides of having more than one set of maiden powers, and while she can deal with them, she certainly isn't itching for more. Cinder, on the other hand, appears more monster than woman, so we'll get to see just how monstrous next time. And finally, we have the main crew set up for what should be a rather exciting battle; hopefully the bit we got this chapter was enough to wet your apatite's.

Anyway, that's it for now. See you all next week.