AN: Here we go. My honest to god attempt at fixing a backstory that frankly was very phoned in. But here's the kicker, I'm not changing the concept. We're just improving on where we went wrong. Oftentimes, when I criticize, I try to give an alternate take on the concept that would actually make it work. Honestly, when you look at a lot of stories, they often have good ideas, but it usually comes down to poor execution. It's very rare I see a story where an idea is bad off the bat.

But, enjoy the redone backstory of Cinder. Hope you all like it.

Chapter 59: A Girl Named Ella

This is the story of a girl whose life was marred by tragedy, manipulation, and a growing heart of darkness that slowly became desensitized towards death in the name of personal gain. This is the story of the girl who became known as Cinder Fall.

Of course, she was not always known as Cinder Fall. Her original name, which had been on the tag of her baby basket when she had been dropped off at an orphanage on Patch Island, simply read 'Ella'. And like every time a baby was dropped on the doorstep of the orphanage, the caretaker–a kindly old woman–was awoken to the sound of a baby crying.

Now, during her first few years at the orphanage, Ella was a surprisingly bright, sociable and positive little girl. Extremely friendly, quick with a smile, and shockingly clever for her age. Unfortunately, much like many places with large gatherings of children, this did not win Ella many points with the other orphans.

Some did not like how she seemed to have wormed her way into the heart of the caretaker and whispered awful things about her out of jealousy. Then there were those who despised her optimism that her parents would one day return to her. "We're orphans, Dummy!" One particularly cruel boy shouted. "Our parents don't care about any of us! Either that, or they're dead!"

Ella, who had mud and filth thrown on her by that boy during this particular day, simply smiled and reaffirmed her optimism that 'mommy' would one day come for her. Unfortunately, the caretaker had been within earshot of all this. After punishing the boy for his cruelty, the caretaker cleaned Ella up and delivered some very sad but 'necessary' news.

"Ella, I'm really sorry. I had hoped you would eventually realize it, but your mother is not coming back for you."

"But she has to come back." Ella insisted, shaking her head. "She has to, Ma'am."

"She can't come back for you, dear. The truth is, Ella, your mother died on the doorstep of the orphanage." The caretaker looked like she was about to cry just telling her this. "I'm so sorry, I never wanted to tell you this…but the last thing I want is for you to waste your life on a fantasy that will never come true."

"Then…what about my daddy? You need a mommy and a daddy, right?" Ella asked, trying to hold onto hope.

The caretaker shook her head. "I'm sorry, sweetie, but if your mother placed you here…I don't think there will be any father that will come to take you away from here."

At the time, the caretaker thought she had been doing a good thing for Ella. Like she said, the last thing she wanted was for Ella to hold onto false hope. Moving on eventually was the right thing to do, even if you had to be cruel to do it. However, this day marked the first great tragedy in Ella's life. It was the day she learned that she was alone in the world, with no family coming for her.

So, for a brief moment, Ella's bright and cheerful personality cracked, and she took out her rage and resentment on her tormentor. The next day, the bully was found with his face cut open, bruised all over, and too frightened to name who attacked him.

Meanwhile, still resentful over the fact that nobody was coming to save her, Ella began to close herself off to others. The other children all suggested that Ella had savaged the bully, but were too afraid to confront her on it, afraid of being her next victim. This was when Ella first learned the importance of power. That you were either strong, or a victim.

Then one day, a woman arrived at the orphanage, looking to adopt. She already had two daughters, but claimed she wanted another. She was also the owner of the famous Glass Unicorn in Atlas. Much to Ella's surprise, the Madame expressed an interest in adopting her. Then, her caretaker took her aside and told her to accept the Madame as her new mother.

"Ella, dear, listen to me, this woman can give you an incredible life. You will have everything you could ever want, because she'll have the money to get it for you." The caretaker told her. "And besides, in time, I'm sure you'll come to love her as a mother. How bad can she be? After all, she has two daughters and yet wants to add you to her family."

"Don't pass up such a wonderful opportunity."

And so, Ella agreed to the adoption, and returned to Atlas with Madame, her new stepmother. Though she did not want to admit it, the fact that somebody actually wanted her made her happy, and for a brief moment, the old Ella returned. But during the trip to Atlas, as she tried to connect with her new mother, Ella became concerned about this arrangement for one reason: throughout the journey back, the Madame did not say one word to her.

Upon reaching the Glass Unicorn, Ella was introduced to the two girls who would be her new stepsisters. Almost immediately, she realized they were as cruel as the boy who tormented her back at the orphanage. They looked at her the exact same way he did back then. Tragically, her first thought upon this revelation was that once they tried something on her she would put them both in her place.

Either you are strong, or you're a victim. Ella reminded herself, already waiting for the inevitable moment those two would slip up and try to assert themselves over her.

Then, the Madame revealed exactly where Ella's new stepsisters got their cruelty from: her. Within days of being brought to her new home, Ella was dressed in cheap rags that could very well have been taken off the corpse of some poor homeless child in Mantle. Her room was the hotel basement, cold, dusty and isolated.

And the Madame only had one thing to say to her about it: "Nothing in life is free, little girl, if you want to live here and benefit from my generosity, you will work here as well. And I expect nothing but the best."

"You can do that for your new mother, right? I brought you here, because I believed you could help me, after all"

Though she was shocked at this sudden change in attitude, Ella found herself taking to the chores very easily. She said she believed I could help her. Ella desperately tried to hold onto hope and optimism. Then maybe…I can prove I can do more than just work here. Maybe I can prove I can become every bit her daughter as those other two. And maybe if I can win a place in her heart those two will follow. If I can just get her on my side…get her approval…get her to love me. Then I can have that happy life the caretaker said I would have.

Ella was still a child. She still believed in the idea that things would work out if she just tried.

So, Ella did everything her new mother asked her around the Glass Unicorn. She put up with the snide jabs from her stepsisters. She kept a smile and a positive attitude, and for a brief moment once again, the old Ella returned, trying to win over her new stepmother. But every time she completed a job, the Madame just responded the same way every time: a nod, followed by: "Well done, now go do this." And then she would proceed to explain what Ella's next job was.

'Well done', those two simple words, the closest thing to praise Ella ever received from her stepmother. They got her through the day. They got her through the insensitive whispers of why such a filthy girl was cleaning a high-class place like the Glass Unicorn. They got her through the cruel words thrown at her by her stepsisters.

Little did Ella know, those two words also gave her stepmother power over her. It was her strength. A strength that Ella knew not of its existence. The strength that only an adult could have over a child. The strength of the carrot and the stick.

Then, came the day her stepsisters confronted her in her 'room', the hotel basement. "Ugh, this place is still so filthy!" The first stepsister exclaimed. "I would think you'd take some time to clean this place too, Ella."

Ella did her best to be civil. "Well, I spend all my time doing chores around the hotel." She pointed out. "I'm too tired to clean this place when I'm done with all of that."

The second stepsister was not satisfied with that answer. To express her displeasure, she walked right up to Ella and shoved her onto the ground. "You think you're so clever, playing the good girl, thinking it will get Mother to love you like she does us."

Ella gasped. "No, it's nothing like that!" Deep down, she knew that was indeed somewhat true. "I just want to make her happy! To show her that she made the right choice in adopting me!"

"Adopt you?" The first stepsister laughed cruelly. "Stupid Ella, you still haven't figured it out. Mother just wanted someone she didn't have to pay! You will never be her daughter! She already has two perfect daughters. Us!"

The two laughed and exited the basement. "Just wanted to make sure you knew that!" Ella heard the second stepsister say to her before both were gone.

Once again, the face of optimism and positivity cracked. A boxcutter near several unopened boxes was in her hands before she realized it. Taking several deep breaths, Ella dropped the boxcutter and calmed herself. They're just trying to get to you. Ella tried to tell herself. After all, I'm doing everything she wants.

She has to accept me as her daughter eventually, right? They're probably just jealous, threatened.

It was Ella's way of trying to tell herself that in reality, she was the one who held power over them. They were worried that this nobody was going to steal their mother's affection, so they were desperately trying to tear her down to avoid that.

Still a child. Still believed things would work out if she just tried.

Then, shortly after that incident, Ella was doing her usual cleaning rounds of the hallways. No sooner had she turned the corner on one particular path, she was treated to the sight of her stepsisters grinning wickedly at her. One of them then casually pushed over a vase.

Ella just stood there, open-mouthed from shock. "Clean. It. Up." The stepsister who pushed the vase over ordered.

Something inside Ella snapped at that moment. She lifted the broom over her head and marched over to the two girls, rage in her eyes. At that moment, both girls flinched in terror, wondering if they had perhaps pushed Ella too far. Before Ella could strike either, however, the broom was grabbed by someone else. She looked over her shoulder and gasped to see her stepmother glaring down at her. "Mother!" She stammered fearfully.

Before Ella could comprehend what was happening, she was knocked over by a powerful strike to the face. "Do not call me that, you brat!" The Madame hissed hatefully at her.

"But…but I…" Ella trailed off, wondering how she could possibly salvage this situation.

The Madame ignored Ella and went to her daughters. "Are you two okay? You must've been so scared." The way she changed her tone of voice was shocking for Ella.

"Oh Mother, we were so scared." One of her stepsisters put on quite the act.

Throughout all of this, as she massaged her reddened cheek, Ella could not help but wonder, did she even care to know how that vase broke in the first place? Then, her eyes widened when she heard the Madame's next words. "Don't you worry about the vase, dears, we can just buy a new one."

That was the moment Ella realized that her 'stepmother' had power over her. It was also the moment she realized that even those wicked 'stepsisters' of hers had power over her as well. She was the weakest link, and they were the strong ones.

And now that the Madame realized she had the power to strike Ella and get away with it, she could now continue with impunity. So, whenever Ella stepped out of line even in the slightest, Madame made sure to physically punish her. It only got worse when Ella realized that the Madame would even strike her in public, in front of customers.

She discovered this one day when she tripped while holding a tray of food and drinks. Ella still did not know what exactly tripped her: A bunched up rug, someone's foot, it could have been anything. It also did not matter to her at that moment, because the Madame was upon her in moments.

"You damn clumsy girl!" Madame screamed, striking Ella in the face before she could say anything in her own defense. "Can't you do anything right?"

"I'm sorry…" Ella whimpered. "I didn't mean to…it was an accident."

"I don't want to hear excuses, you useless wretch! I want you to do your job! I took you from that filthy orphanage, all I ask in return is your gratitude and loyalty!" Madame yelled.

Ella looked around instinctively, desperate to see if there was anyone who would take her side in this. Someone who would speak up in her defense. Something this horrible could not stand, right?

Then she saw their faces, or lack thereof. They were averting their eyes from what the Madame was doing, refusing to look at what was happening. It was at that moment, she realized that the Madame did not just have power over her, she had power over every single person who frequented her establishment.

Then she saw a single face in the crowd that was actually looking at her. He was a tall, dark-skinned man with dark, graying hair and brown eyes. He wore a Prussian blue shirt which was covered by a bronze and navy blue vest, alongside straps over his chest and arms. His left shoulder was covered by a bronze pauldron. His expression was a mixture of horrified and sympathetic.

Then, his attention was forced away by the man sitting at the table next to him. She saw the other one shake his head. Her hope drained, realizing this one would not help her either. The Madame, apparently, was simply too powerful.

Unbeknownst to her, the one man who actually looked at her for a brief moment was a professional Huntsman who had returned to the bureau to speak with his superior about what he saw. His name was Rhodes, a respected veteran Huntsman. Described by his colleagues as a morally upstanding man who always tried to do the right thing.

Which was why he was speaking with a captain of Atlas's military police, a good friend of his. "...That's the situation, a clear-cut case of child abuse." Rhodes concluded. "So, is there anything you can do?"

The captain shook her head. "Listen Rhodes, I know you mean well…as usual, but it's best you let this one go. I have no intention of acting on this matter."

Rhodes' eyes widened. "Are you out of your mind? She's hitting a little girl and you're just going to ignore it?" He was in complete disbelief. "Hadria, you're a mother! How would you feel if it was one of your kids getting struck?"

"I'd rip them to shreds." Hadria admitted. "But this little girl isn't one of my kids."

Rhodes glared at her. "How very honorable of you, Hadria."

Hadria sighed. "Rhodes, listen to me, I'm going to shoot straight with you." She told him. "That woman has her fingers in more pies than I can count here in Atlas. She has dirt, a lot of dirt. How else do you think she hasn't been arrested for anything yet?"

Rhodes shrank back, eyes widening. "Hadria, you're one of those pies, aren't you?" He asked softly.

Hadria sighed. "I made a mistake, Rhodes. A mistake that is known to the wrong people. And I have to live with that, for the sake of my kids. It's like you said, I'm a mom. And I'm taking care of my kids…even if it means ignoring everything that woman does."

Rhodes shook his head. "Then there's nothing anyone can do? She's really too powerful? And here I thought the strength we gained from Atlas Academy meant something?"

"There are a lot of forms of strength, old friend." Hadria said sadly. "Physical strength is only one of them. Monetary and political power go a long way too. You're aces in a fight, but you don't have the money and influence that woman has. You can try to go to someone else, but chances are, she's got a finger in that pie as well."

"That kid is trapped until she's able to leave and support herself. And something tells me that that woman is never going to allow it."

At that moment, Rhodes got an idea. "Fine, be that way." He muttered before storming out of Hadria's office before she could say anything else.

Inwardly though, he had hope, because of the idea Hadria had inadvertently given him. So, the only way to save that kid is to make sure she can leave and support herself. Fine, then I'll make it so the kid can do exactly that. And that damn Madame will have no choice but to agree to it.

The next day, Ella was doing her best to avoid any run-ins with her stepmom and stepsisters. However, as fate would have it, this would allow her to meet him. She recognized him immediately as the only one who bothered sparing her a second glance when the Madame struck her in public.

"What do you want?" Ella bitterly asked.

"First, I owe you an apology." Rhodes said to her. "After that woman struck you, I tried to report her to the police. Unfortunately, it seems she has a lot of people in her pocket."

"You…tried to help me?" This got Ella's attention.

"I tried, and I failed, and I'm sorry. It seems that that woman is too powerful to deal with the normal way." Rhodes admitted. He then gave her a serious expression. "Tell me, how does that make you feel?"

Ella narrowed her eyes in anger. "Angry," she said bluntly, "nothing would make me happier than to hurt her back, same with my so-called sisters."

Rhodes nodded in understanding. "I get it." He admitted, before sighing. "But hurting them isn't going to make your life any better. You can run, but you're gonna be running for the rest of your life. Or, you could find another way to handle it."

"What do you mean?" Ella was attentive at the thought of something that could save her from this miserable life.

Rhodes smiled gently. "The name's Rhodes. What's yours?"

"Ella." Ella replied.

"It's good to meet you, Ella. I'm a professional Huntsman. What if I told you could apply for Atlas Academy once you turn seventeen? What if I also told you that if you passed the entrance exams, she would have no choice but to let you go?"

"I'd pinch myself, to make sure I wasn't dreaming." Ella admitted. "However, you would certainly have my interest, Mr. Rhodes."

Rhodes chuckled. "If that's the case, I'd like to make you a deal." He told her. "How old are you?"

"Ten, sir." Ella replied.

"Seven years is plenty of time. Here's the deal: Let me train you for the next seven years. We'll do it in secret, because I'm sure she won't approve." Rhodes told her. "You do everything I say, you be a sponge and soak up as much knowledge and skill as possible. And once you turn seventeen, I'll recommend you to take the entrance exam at Atlas Academy."

Ella did not hesitate. A chance to escape this life, even if it took awhile, was all she needed right now. "When do we start?" She eagerly asked, a flicker of hope returning to her.

Rhodes grinned. "Is there someplace we can unlock your Aura? In private?"

Ella led Rhodes to her room in the basement. Thus, Ella made her first real friend, and began her path as a Huntress.

So, Ella trained with Rhodes in secret for the next several years. During that time, the two made several discoveries about Ella. The first discovery was that she was a natural, and both were thrilled to find this.

"If we can cultivate this potential, they'll have to take you on as a student." Rhodes promised her. "Even she can't say no to a Huntsman Academy that wants you that badly."

The second discovery was that as long as Cinder did her work during the day, the Madame did not care in the slightest about what went on at night. That gave them the opening to train until the clock struck midnight. From there, the two went their separate ways. This schedule also turned Cinder into a model employee, one who quickly and efficiently worked through her chores to maximize her time with Rhodes. The Madame actually seemed satisfied with the change in attitude. So, she did not look into the matter much.

The third discovery was Ella's Semblance, which was discovered and developed three years into her training. Ella was quick to name the ability Scorching Caress. The power to superheat dust for a variety of effects.

Over the next several years, Rhodes also made sure that Ella would become a well-rounded adult once she joined Atlas. He brought a few of his old school textbooks (regular school, not the Huntsman Academy textbooks) from his youth and instructed her to learn from those as well.

"Nothing makes people feel less safe than a Huntress that's dumber than a sack of rocks, kid." Rhodes told her. "You'll thank me for this, trust me."

Ella made one other discovery during the years she spent under Rhodes' tutelage. Praise from him made her heart soar. Whenever she did well in something, and there were plenty of moments like that, Rhodes made it a point to pat her on the head, affectionately. She craved that praise from her mentor and friend more than anything in the world.

A few years into his tutelage, Ella came to realize something. This must be what love actually is. What that woman cannot give me…he can.

For five years, hope came back to Ella, and the bright, cheerful girl from that little orphanage in Patch Island was back. And even the cruelty of the Madame and her daughters, which still continued, could not change that.

The Madame was still physically abusive, to the point where it seemed she started looking for reasons to strike Ella. Sometimes it would be for the pettiest of reasons, such as: "I never gave you permission to smile."

But Ella endured, fueled by the promise Rhodes had made her. And having gotten to know him for five years, she believed with all of her heart that Rhodes was a man who was good for his word.

But five years into Rhodes' tutelage, tragedy struck. A tragedy that changed both Ella and Rhodes' lives for worse.

One day, a now fifteen-year-old Ella had been riding high from a great training session from last night. They had reached the point in their matches where Rhodes actually had to use his Semblance to spar with her. It was at that moment, she truly comprehended how strong her father figure and his Semblance, Metal Skin, actually was.

She was so high on cloud nine, that she forgot Rhodes' only rule for her outside of training: never do anything that could possibly expose what you're doing at night to your adopted family.

And as Cinder casually played with a sword made of Dust while doing her chores, she was spotted by her two stepsisters, who were still as wicked as the day she first arrived at the Glass Unicorn. So, they did what two wicked stepsisters do. They tattled on her.

"Mother!" One exclaimed, as the two barged into her office. "She has a weapon!"

The Madame sighed. It had been a slow month. Some serious security breaches in Atlas had put the whole city on lockdown. No customers. No money. "She? You mean Ella?"

"Yeah! It was a sword, Mother!"

The Madame leaned into her chair with a scowl. "Now dears, I find that to be very hard to believe. How does a rat like her get her hands on a sword?"

"We know what we saw!"

The Madame thought the matter over, desperate to try and put two and two together to figure out how her adopted daughter could have possibly gotten a hand on a sword of all things.

Her expression darkened as she suddenly remembered one of her regulars. That Huntsman, Rhodes. I didn't think too much of it at first, but he starts showing up more often…she becomes a model worker.

She slammed her hand down onto her desk, startling her daughters. Damn it! How could I not have seen something so obvious? She snapped inwardly. What was that wretched man's name? Rhodes?

"I will deal with this, you two." The Madame said darkly, leaving her office and making her way towards the basement: Ella's room.

This ends now. The Madame vowed. I was far too kind to your mother not to stamp out this rebellious phase that seems to run in your family, little girl. But I won't make that mistake again!

Still casually practicing with her sword made of dust, Ella was startled when she heard a loud banging at the basement door. "Open up! Open up, now!"

Ella's eyes widened. She quickly dispelled her creation and ran towards the door. She was face to face with the Madame. "Umm…hello, do you have a job for me?" Ella awkwardly asked.

"Where is it?" The Madame demanded.

Ella tried her best to keep a good poker face. "Where is what?" She asked.

"My girls say you have a sword now, where is it?" The Madame shoved past her and entered the basement.

The Madame looked around, noting that the basement seemed to have more wide open space than usual. Has that man really been training her? She snarled at the thought. How dare he? Nobody tries to undermine me!

Ella laughed nervously. "Come now, me with a weapon? I think they must've been seeing things." She claimed.

"Are you calling my girls liars, you wretched girl?" The Madame glared at Ella for even insinuating such a thing.

"Well, yes…I mean, no!" Ella exclaimed as she ran up to the woman. "I carry a lot of tools, Ma'am, it's possible that they made an honest mistake and were just seeing things."

The Madame let out a hum at this claim. She then glared hatefully at Ella. It was the most angry glare she had ever seen her give in the five years she knew her. "Do you think I'm an idiot, wretched girl?" The Madame snapped.

"No, of course not!" Ella fearfully exclaimed, stumbling away from her adopted mother.

"Five years ago, your demeanor changed. Five years ago, a certain Huntsman started coming here and became a regular." The Madame narrowed her eyes. "Do you know what I think? I think he's been training you. I don't like it when people do things with my property without my permission."

"Leave Rhodes alone!" Ella instinctively yelled.

"Ah, that's his name." The Madame hissed hatefully. "Let me make this clear to you. You will never see him again. He is not allowed in this establishment. No, that won't be enough, I think I'll make sure he gets the message."

"You can ban him from the hotel, that's fine!" Ella pleaded. "That should be enough, right?"

"YOU DON'T TELL ME WHAT I CAN AND CAN'T DO!" The Madame snapped, striking Ella across the face.

This time though, Ella instinctively put up her Aura in defense. For five years, she actively kept her Aura from defending herself to avoid suspicion. Rhodes had not asked her to do that, she chose to do that for his sake. The Madame yelled in pain as her hand nearly broke from striking what felt like concrete.

"Mother!" The two sisters exclaimed.

"You!" The Madame screamed, realizing what happened. "I was right! You went behind my back! I took you in and this is how you repay me?"

"Repay you?" Ella could not believe what she was hearing. "All I wanted was your love! Your acceptance! And you gave me cruelty instead!"

"I chose you, out of every other worthless creature in that orphanage I plucked you from!" The Madame hissed furiously. "All I ever asked in return was that you do every little thing you were told! But this rebellious phase of yours…even now your bitch of a mother continues to haunt me!"

"What?" Ella's eyes widened.

"Do you really think I picked you just because? Do you know why I specifically chose you? It's because I knew your mother." The Madame revealed. "She was my employee long before you. But she defied me and ran away with your father. And thanks to that idiot doctor in my pocket, I knew exactly why. She was pregnant with you."

"You did to her the same things you do to me." Ella realized. "My mother…me, we're just objects to you! You're inhuman!"

"I can do whatever I want!" The Madame insisted. "Don't you get it, brat? This is power! The power to do as you please and dominate those weaker than you! The power to put those with influence at my fingertips with money and knowledge! The power to put a Huntsman behind bars with just the snap of my fingers!"

"No!" Ella yelled, realizing that was what she meant to do to Rhodes.

"It is also the power to squash rebellious phases of ungrateful little girls like yourself." The Madame instinctively reached for a stray wrench and approached the shocked Ella. "So let me explain to you how this is going to go down. You are going to take this punishment. You will never see that man again. And afterwards, we're going to discuss your future with one of my clients, who I know has a taste for girls like you. I will break you so thoroughly that you will never be able to call on that power of yours again!"

"And I will do all of this, because I am the one with the power! Never forget that!"

The Madame swung the wrench down towards Ella. Instinctively, Ella screamed and threw her hands outwards like she was stabbing something. There was a sickening thunk and a gasp of pain. Then the sisters started screaming. Ella opened her eyes and saw her sword of dust fatally embedded inside the Madame's chest.

The Madame looked down at Ella in shock. Unable to resist this moment of triumph due to the adrenaline she felt, Ella laughed as she stared spitefully at her adopted mother and tormentor. "It seems that I'm the stronger one between us."

"You…you…" The Madame stumbled backwards and collapsed onto her side, dying before she hit the floor.

"Mother!" The sisters screamed, running to her body.

Realizing she was dead, they glared at Ella. "What have you done?" One demanded.

"You're a monster!" The other added.

Ella glared at them. One took the wrench from her mother's cold dead hands and screamed, charging at Ella. Feeling the rush of finally having power over her despicable adopted family, something snapped in Ella as she casually avoided the wrench swings. The other sister, seeing red, tried to sneak up on her from behind. Then, two new blades stabbed the girls simultaneously, created by Ella's Semblance.

Still running on this high of power, Ella could only laugh as the bodies of her adopted sisters collapsed. "I did it!" She exclaimed. "I'm free! The three of you…you're the weak ones! Just like I always knew!"

Then, she came down from the high and began to realize what she had done. Her laughter was replaced with broken sobs. "I did it…" she sobbed. "Oh Gods, I did it?"

"What did I do? What have I done?"

"Ella?" A shocked voice spoke up.

At that moment, Ella was horrified to see Rhodes entering from the outside entrance to the basement. He stared at the carnage in shock. "Ella…what happened?" He asked.

"Rhodes!" Ella sobbed. "Rhodes, you have to believe me, I didn't mean to do any of this! She…she found out we were training and tried to attack me with a wrench! She told me she tormented my birth mom like she did to me, and threatened to put you in jail too. And the other two, they tried to attack me as well and I just…I couldn't stop myself!"

Ella ran over to Rhodes and threw her arms around him. "Rhodes, please, believe me! I know it was wrong…but I just couldn't stop myself! Please, I don't know what to do!"

Rhodes looked around at the carnage, unable to believe that his student was capable of something like this. She's not lying…but killing those kids in cold blood…they may have been brats, but they didn't deserve this.

But that woman…she had so many people in her pockets. Is this perhaps a blessing in disguise? I mean, if she's dead, her influence dies with her.

Rhodes looked down at Ella. And I couldn't turn her in if I tried.

He then forced a smile as he patted Ella on the head. Ella relaxed considerably as she wept. "It's okay, kid." He said gently, "we'll figure this out."

At that moment, Rhodes came to a decision that changed both their lives. It was time they both disappeared.

A few hours later, Hadria was speaking with Rhodes for the last time. "I'll make sure what happened to that woman and her children remains a cold case." She promised. "And considering the number of people she had been controlling, I doubt anyone will be too interested in looking too deep into it. Though, I'd avoid coming back, just in case those whose pockets she used to line start snooping."

"Don't worry, I've got no intention of bringing her back here." Rhodes promised.

"Rhodes," Hadria said seriously, "it's still not that simple. You realize you have to go off the grid completely."

"We're going to Mistral." Rhodes explained. "I can find work underground there."

"Is she really worth it? You're destroying your own life for her, Rhodes. Why?"

"Same reason you debased yourself for that woman for the sake of your kids, I guess." Rhodes shrugged. "It's because I care, Hadria."

Hadria sighed. "Then…take care, alright. I'd say stay in touch, but that's a bad idea."

Rhodes smiled. "You take care too, Hadria."

Rhodes and Ella were both gone before the night was over. The official police report was that an assailant had broken in and killed the Madame and her children in a struggle. However, one more death occurred that night involving this secret matter.

Hadria had made it seem like she was going home, only to turn into an alleyway. She took a deep breath as she addressed a man in the shadows. "Rhodes is going to Mistral." She grimly reported.

"This has turned out better than I could have hoped." A smooth voice replied. "Your report on what transpired involving Rhodes and this protege of his certainly made for an interesting read, Captain."

"This is the last favor I'm doing for you." Hadria promised. "You can reveal my secrets to the public. I don't care. My kids are out of college, so it's not like they need me to look after them anymore. I can't do this anymore."

The man chuckled. "Oh, dear Hadria. The widow who, secretly, was so desperate for money, she slept with her superior until she was first in line for captain. Such juicy material, straight out of a soap opera."

"Well, you don't have to worry, this was your last job anyway. We needed information on the Huntsmen here in Atlas, the kind that you don't get in the news, and you delivered."

"I don't know why you want Rhodes on your team…but you're barking up the wrong tree." Hadria promised. "Well, not like it's any of my business anymore, anyway. I'm going home."

"Mmm…no you're not."

"The hell do you mean no I'm not?" Hadria demanded, slowly moving towards her sidearm.

"I said this was your last job…I never said you were going home, Captain." The man reminded her. "You're a loose end, and loose ends need to be tied up."

Hadria grabbed her sidearm, only to feel a hand against her back. At that moment, her Aura became visible and shattered, surprising her. In that moment of surprise, a silenced round was fired from a pistol carried by the man in the shadows. The round bounced off solid light that appeared out of nowhere and then went right into the side of her head. Hadria slumped to the ground, dead.

A pale-skinned man with a sinister expression and purple eyes was revealed to be the one who struck Hadria in the back. "Poor dear never saw it coming." He giggled maniacally.

"Ah, Tyrian, you almost make business as nasty as assassinations and artform." A mustachioed man stepped out of the shadows. With a few wiggling fingers, the solid light disappeared. "Of course, I'm becoming no slouch myself. By tomorrow, all of Atlas will be convinced that dear Hadria killed herself due to the guilt of her dirty little secret finally getting the best of her."

Tyrian Callows just laughed at the praise. "So, my good doctor, what happens now?" He inquired.

Arthur Watts smiled wickedly. "We must inform Her Grace of these developments, of course. I think she'll be quite interested in what our newest prospect is up to."

AN: Whoo, boy, a lot to take in, yeah? Let's start by going over what we changed.

First, we changed Cinder's name to Ella for this. I still think, to this day, that Cinder cannot be her birth name. That would be dumb even for canon RWBY nowadays.

The orphanage was changed to Patch Island over Mistral, yes. For...reasons. I mean, can you blame Cinder/Ella's mom for wanting to get as far away from the Madame as humanly possible?

Also, I probably made the Madame a hundred times worse than she was in canon. And I did that without needing a slave collar. Just some good old emotional manipulation and unbelievable pettiness. I mean really, adopting the daughter of your ex-employee just to torment her the way you tormented her mother, just because she ran away from you? That's next-level petty. And we're actually showing how she was able to get away with shit like child abuse (show not tell people, even I struggle with that, but RT REALLY struggles with it). And the collar never made sense to me, considering the whole Faunus subplot. How is it that a human was shown being treated worse than the supposed "victims" of discrimination in this show.

We also have Rhodes making some very different decisions, leading to some very different events.

And the inevitable murders of the Madame and the sisters. I kinda went the Tomura route with that whole deal, where Cinder experiences a sort of high and joy at murdering people she genuinely hates, but then reality hits and she feels sick to her stomach. The direction I tried to show there was that there was always SOMETHING inside of Ella/Cinder. Something twisted. It's one of those situations where you just fall further and further down the rabbit hole of insanity, because you slowly become desensitized and enjoy inflicting violence on others. She hates herself for it now, but as we know, it'll slowly get easier for her. And that's the tragedy of this interpretation of Ella/Cinder. She's sympathetic, but at the same time she's not because she just keeps falling further down that rabbit hole willingly.

And we've got Salem gunning for Rhodes of all people.

Like I said before, you can hopefully take a poorly executed concept and make it better if you just tweak some stuff.

Hope everyone enjoyed this take on the tale of the girl who became Cinder. We've got one more visit into this sad life of her's. And fair warning, I can make it darker...and I probbably will.

See you all next time.