The Reaper's Flame - InherentRandomness (2024)

Chapter 1

Chapter Text

Squelch

Squish

Squelch

With every step, her boots sank slightly into the mud. She was unconcerned, however: it was the rainy season, with another typical storm having rolled by the previous night. The air was cool, but still and damp; an eerie fog emanated from the empty fields around her.

The first signs of civilization materialized in the distance. Two buildings lay within a basic, fenced perimeter: a large, barn-type structure and a smaller, more modest house. The barn looked like it had seen better days, some windows being cracked and others boarded up. Two old trucks were parked out in front, next to some hay bales. One could almost assume the place was abandoned entirely. However, the house still showed signs of life, some lights peeking through the windows.

She caught a glimpse of someone sitting on a bench by the barn. It was difficult to tell any distinguishing features through the fog, but she could see a basic outline. Her hair was tied up in messy bunches on either side of her head. Her white shirt and red apron were dirty and drenched. Had she been sitting there the entire night?

She hadn’t even noticed she had stopped her walking. When the girl looked up and presumably caught sight of her, she visibly recoiled. Jumping down from her seat, she scampered back inside.

She was left alone once again. She resumed walking after a bit; in this environment, and in her current getup, she probably looked like a ghost or something. That was fine; she preferred it this way. Once spoken about with reverence, her disappearance had reduced her to a hushed rumor. A mere afterthought.

She put a hand to her eyepatch.

All after that fateful day…

A lone girl scrubbed the wooden floor under a dim light. She knew the task was utterly pointless; there was nothing a mere sponge could do against literal decades of grime and neglect. But it wasn’t like she had a choice.

Her fingers were burning in pain, the skin raw and peeling. She was emaciated, tired, beaten from overwork and hunger. And yet, anything perceived as “not up to standard” would only worsen her current condition.

So, even in this late hour, scrub on she did.

Every time the sponge went back and forth, the more her frustration grew. If she was a boiling pot, the water was about to overflow. Just the previous day, she had lashed out at that scrawny kid that had been constantly picking on her. Tackled him to the ground, hands poised to choke his pathetic life out. That was the incident that had landed her here.

I hate you.

Her entire life had been nothing but pain.

I hate you.

Why do you even exist?

Her mind was becoming a dangerous swirl of negativity.

I hate you.

I hate you all.

Just die.

I hope you burn

Just die

Just die

Justdiejustdiejustdiejustdiejustdiejustdiejustdiejustdiejustdiejustdiejustdiejustdiejustdiejustdiejustdie

Chapter 2

Chapter Text

She only came into Mistral sparingly. Today, she was to visit the central market, nothing else. Here, she could simply blend in among the large crowds. Nothing suspicious about a woman simply here to shop, after all.

That didn’t mean she hadn’t built a certain reputation, however.

She walked up to a stall, one that was very familiar to her. The woman working the counter smiled cheerfully.

“Mary! Nice to see you back!”

She made an effort to match the smile, even if the enthusiasm inevitably fell short.

“The usual?”

“…Yes,” she muttered, looking off to the side. A couple kids were playing around the high rock face behind the stall. Kids being kids, some of them were trying to climb up all the way to the top.

The attendant’s gaze followed hers.

“Ah!” she exclaimed, running over. The group quickly scattered, except for one young boy, who was rather forcibly shoved back towards the stall.

“Come on, Ha-neul, what did I tell you about not doing that?” The attendant's tone was firm. “You don’t want the same thing that happened to appa happen to yo-….” She trailed off at the end. She suddenly dropped the whole thing, instead just tossing him a makeshift paddle and ball to play with.

“Sorry about that. He’s a good kid, but he just gets too…adventurous,” she lamented, filling a bag with fresh goods. “You get what I mean, right?”

She only nodded, still unable to take her eyes off the kid.

With her basket full, she headed back home in silent contemplation.

Never again. I promised myself that.

Let the past die.

The inhuman screeches alerted her first. Then, the faint smell of smoke. She looked down the road. Right…it was this place.

This was one of the safer paths in and out of the city, but trouble still flared up on occasion. It wasn’t like there were manned defenses along every milepost, after all. One still had a sense of responsibility to take care of themselves by travelling here.

Stopping in the road, she glanced down to the basket hanging on her arm, and then back ahead.

Tch. Not one second after uttering that thought.

She thought back to that short encounter she had in this same spot. How her hardened heart had felt a pang of pity for that girl’s plight. Was that why she was so fascinated with that boy back in the city?

With a sigh, she gently put down her basket. Underneath her cloak, she drew an old, wooden cane, adorned with a purple skull on its handle.

Everything was on fire.

They had struck just before midnight. No doubt, they were attracted here because of her. There was nothing a simple fence and a few ancient weapons could do against them.

Normally, the thought of willingly resigning others (and yourself) to certain doom should be a terrifying thought.

That was assuming you were sane, however.

To her broken mind, this was not terrifying at all.

This was cathartic.

The screams, the suffering.

The Grimm.

Without a care in the world, she strolled gleefully along the second level of the actively-burning barn. She assumed she was the only one left; the others were probably long gone, perhaps in multiple senses of the word. Regardless, she didn’t feel an ounce of pity.

That was why she was mildly surprised by what she encountered next. Crushed under some fallen debris, but still alive, was one of the “caretakers” of this godforsaken place. The entire platform here was in a precarious position, the wood having been severely weakened by the flames.

“Help…please…” she heard him groan, unable to look up at her.

Pathetic.

Where were you when I said the same thing, countless times?

“It…hurts…”

She crouched down, eyes narrowed.

How does it feel? To suffer like I did?

Hmm…

No…this isn’t enough.

He finally found enough energy to turn his head up. He quickly regretted that decision, however, as his terrified eyes met her deranged smile.

“No….!”

That was all he could get out before she stomped on the floor with all her strength. The platform finally gave way, sending both of them crashing to earth.

She was so used to hitting the ground often that it didn’t even hurt anymore. Now lying face up on the ground, she was unmoving, but still alive. The same couldn’t be said about the man next to her, now completely crushed by smoldering timber.

She coughed weakly, feeling the metallic taste of blood in her mouth. Her blurring vision gazed to a gaping hole in the ceiling, the shattered moon staring back her.

There was a low, rumbling growl of a nearby Grimm.

Finally. She closed her eyes.

This is how it ends.

Only…

…the death she begged for didn’t come.

She heard a roar, from the creature presumably attacking. But it wasn’t towards her. Confused, she leaned up a little. There, through the open doors of the barn, several Grimm were roaming in a circle. She couldn’t see what (or who) was in the center of this strange maneuver.

Suddenly, one of them pounced.

It happened so fast she almost completely missed it at first. One second, the Grimm was leaping in the air, claws certainly poised to tear apart what poor soul had gotten themselves into this mess. The next, it had been cut in half, instantly dissipating into smoke.

Now she could finally see what the Grimm were attracted to. With the moon directly overhead, she could only see an undefined, dark silhouette of a cloaked figure. In one of their hands was a scythe.

Just some Good Samaritan. Too bad it’s worth nothing. You got one, good for you! Now what about the other three-

Her sarcastic tirade was interrupted as the other three Grimm began their attacks simultaneously. Instead of the more expected outcome, the figure flipped high into the air, gracefully dodging all the attacks. They landed a good distance away.

She looked on with amazement as this mysterious person continued to cheat death, expertly weaving and dodging. It was almost as if they knew what attacks were coming beforehand. Interestingly, while they were undoubtedly skilled on the defensive side, they hadn’t done much in terms of offence.

Suddenly, with a heavy swing, the scythe embedded itself deep into one of the Grimm. Showcasing incredible strength, the stranger threw the beast onto another one, sending both of them crashing out of sight. Turning, they faced the last remaining one. Time stood still for a second as both of them waited for the other to make a move.

The Grimm went first. With a roar, it took off straight at breakneck speed. The stranger did the same, dashing nimbly compared to the creature’s heavy, bounding step. The gap between them closed in an instant.

At the very last second before impact, the stranger ducked down, sliding across the ground. It was too late and too quick for the Grimm to counter. Swinging the scythe upwards at the Grimm’s exposed underbelly, it cut clean through, bisecting the creature in two.

The last wisps of smoke dissipating around them, the stranger stood triumphant. Their only reaction? A simple pat down of their cloak.

That was the last thing she saw before everything went black.

Chapter 3

Chapter Text

Her slumber was surprisingly pleasant. No nightmares. No dreams at all, even. She was just floating in still, perpetual darkness. She could get used to this, she thought. Forever, perhaps. For the first damn time, she could rest in peace-

Her eyes shot open.

Dang it.

She was in a bed. The concept was almost foreign to her, courtesy of years of lying on the cold, hard ground. Leaning up a bit, she scanned her surroundings. She was in a small room, part of a slightly larger cabin, it seemed. It was only lightly furnished, nothing special.

This probably isn’t the afterlife, she thought, fully accepting that she was, in fact, still alive. I probably wouldn’t be wearing these same clothes, either…

She hopped down from the bed and immediately regretted it, falling to her knees.

What the hell…?

A shot of pain went through her ankle. It had seemingly been sprained at some point.

After a little struggle to get back up, she took cautious steps towards the door. Opening it slightly ajar, she peeked out. Pretty much the same thing. A small hallway continued to the left to what she assumed was the dining/kitchen area. Around the corner were some small half-steps that led elsewhere.

Other than that, though…it was quiet. Nobody?

Once she was confident enough, she stepped out into the hallway. The half-asleep fog in her brain began to subside, allowing her to retrace her steps. All the memories came back to her at once.

That’s right. The orphanage. Damn that place to Hell.

That person…

She deduced that she was likely in the home of that same person. They probably dragged her all the way here so she could recover. But now that she was awake…what now?

Her young mind had seen this countless times before. People coming to the orphanage, seemingly with good intentions. They take someone, maybe two, and leave, never to be seen again. Afterwards, rumors would spread like wildfire among the kids. That they would be killed. Or sold immediately after in some twisted monetary scheme. Who knows what happened the poor souls as soon as they left those gates.

So, now that she was awake, what exactly did her “savior” have in store for her?

She was alerted to a metallic clang nearby. It was the front door! Panicking, she quickly half-skipped towards the kitchen, nursing her ankle the whole way. Without even thinking, she grabbed a knife off the counter. Unable to find a decent hiding spot, she eventually decided on a darkened corner right next to the doorway, cramming herself into the shadows to the best of her ability.

She could hear the characteristic creak of a door opening. The sound of a few steps on the floor. She barely stifled a surprised yelp as the door slammed shut. Desperately trying to calm her rapid heartbeat, she kept listening.

A few more steps. Then, a strange pause.

Shoot, the door! She had left it open!

Well, the cat was out of the bag now. But she still had the element of surprise. They didn’t know where she was exactly…

The steps resumed, only they kept getting closer.

…Do the Gods hate me or something?

Holding the knife close to her chest, she took a deep breath. Now or never.

The steps were basically on top of her now. With steely anticipation, she saw a hint of a blue sleeve turn the corner. With a cry, she charged forward…

…and hit nothing.

In an instant, an arm got twisted behind her back. She hit the ground with a hard thud. The knife flew out of her hands, clattering on the floor nearby.

Perhaps in an alternate universe, she would have felt proud of herself that her hunch was right. But it was hard to feel any sort of vindication when she had utterly failed to do anything about it. She braced for a further twist of her arm. Worse, maybe a kick to the ribs. Anything that would punish her accordingly for such disobedience.

But, to her surprise, she felt the grip on her arm loosen.

“I was wondering when you would wake up,” she heard a distinctly female voice sigh from behind her.

She quickly scrambled away. Huddling up in a corner, she put a face to her mysterious “savior” for the first time.

Standing before her was a tall, middle-aged woman with a tan complexion. She wore a long-sleeve dress in alternating layers of teal and muted blue. Her black hair fell down to her shoulders, with visible wisps of gray and white throughout. Perhaps her most striking characteristic, however, was the black eyepatch that covered her right eye.

The woman put down the basket she had slung over an arm. She took me down with only one hand? Now she felt even more pathetic.

“Now, now, I’m not going to hurt you,” the woman tried to be reassuring, but this made her even more distrustful. She crawled farther away.

The woman’s brow furrowed, obviously deep in thought. Taking at a glance at the basket by her side, she reached in and took out an apple.

“You must be hungry,” she said, offering it towards her.

Indeed, she was, but she wasn’t about to fall for the oldest trick in the book. It was tempting, however. She swallowed a lump in her throat, trying the best she could to resist. Even if it was just an apple, her stomach felt like it was about to eat itself just from the sight of it.

Eventually, slowly, she crawled closer to the outstretched hand. As soon as she was within arm’s reach, she quickly snatched the apple and scampered back to her little corner, wolfing it down in an instant. Still needing more, she looked back warily at the basket, the woman still kneeling next to it.

“It’s all right,” she rapped a finger on the wickerwork. “Help yourself.” She took out an apple of her own, taking a more comfortable seat on the floor.

She emerged from her corner again, maintaining distrustful eye contact the whole time. She grabbed something else from the basket, this time a loaf of bread. She didn’t return to her corner this time, instead leaning against a wall a few steps away. The two ate in silence.

“…what’s your name, kid?” the woman tried to break the ice. She remained silent, taking big bites out of the bread.

“Look, if I meant you harm, I probably would’ve done it already,” there was a tinge of frustration in her voice. “Ease up a bit, would you?”

More silence, save for the occasional chewing.

With a sigh, the woman got up. She muttered something around the lines of not having enough time for this.

“I’ll leave that there if you need it,” she referred to the basket, turning towards the door.

Before she took a single step, however…

“…Cinder.”

“Hm?” The woman turned back around. “Pardon?”

“My name…it’s Cinder.”

Chapter 4

Chapter Text

Cinder awkwardly rubbed her legs as she sat on a couch. She was in the “living room,” so to speak. This house wasn’t some sort of fancy mansion or something, after all. The only things in front of her was a low table, a wooden chair, and a fireplace. The dancing embers emitted a distinct orange glow, giving a room a somewhat welcoming warmth.

She took a glance back down the steps towards the kitchen. The woman, who introduced herself as Mary, was cooking something. A pleasant aroma filled her nose, making her stomach growl again.

Her shields of distrust had lowered, but not completely. It was still up at about, say, 70%. There was still a lingering sense of dread in the back of her mind, just wondering when the other shoe would drop.

A knock on wood startled her. Mary was standing in the doorway.

“Dinner’s ready,” she said, still holding a ladle in her hand.

…

Cinder never knew that rice could look this tasty. It was certainly worlds better compared to the slop she ate at the orphanage. Along with the rice, her plate was stacked with strips of steak and some beans on the side. She stared at the plate, spoon in hand. She wasn’t sure where to even start. She shot a glance over to Mary, who was methodically helping herself.

She decided she would start basic. Taking a heap spoonful of rice, she shoved it in her mouth.

Shield level…0%

She had barely swallowed before another spoonful followed. Then another, then another still. Maybe some beans as well. Oh, and of course, the steak!

“Careful, if you eat too fast, you’ll hurt yourself,” Mary’s comment brought Cinder back to reality. She quickly bowed her head sheepishly. She probably looked like some sort of animal, wolfing down food this fast.

She continued eating, this time trying to regulate her pace a little bit. In the end, though, she still finished way before Mary. Her plate had been wiped clean. Reverting to instinct, she hurried to the sink to clear her plate. Alas, she got a bit ahead of herself and forgot about her ankle. It gave way from the sudden weight shift, sending her crashing to the ground.

The distinct sound of a shattering ceramic filled her ears.

Oh no.

All of the potential goodwill that had been built immediately flew out the window again.

Cinder was more frustrated at herself than anything at this point. Why did this keep happening to her? At the worst possible moments? Even worse, why was she just allowing this to happen?

“Are you alright?”

Another thing that Cinder couldn’t understand was just how…forgiving Mary was. She had almost tried to kill her the first time, and now she had broken a plate. The two couldn’t be any more different, yes, but was she really about to let her go for the second time?

With considerable difficulty, Cinder turned herself over.

“Oh Goodness…” Mary muttered.

Her ankle was a horrific shade of black and blue. If something wasn’t broken in there, it surely was now.

“Can you stand?”

Cinder shook her head, fighting off tears. The pain was intense, like a burning fire.

“…ok. Just hang tight, I’ll be right back. Watch behind you,” Mary said, referring to the broken plate.

A few minutes later, Cinder’s ankle was neatly wrapped up. She was back in the living room, Mary sitting directly across from her. Even if it wasn’t her intention, her gaze was intense. Cinder couldn’t bring herself to match it at the moment.

“How old are you, Cinder?”

“Fifteen,” Cinder reverted to instinct. It was a pure-faced lie, hammered into her head over the years. It was only to make the orphanage look good to the inspectors who stopped by on occasion.

Mary’s expression remained unchanged.

“…how old are you really?”

So much for that. As good-intentioned Mary seemed to be, Cinder got the feeling that further lies wouldn’t help.

“…ten…maybe…eleven…?” she squeaked out. This was her being completely honest; she actually didn’t know her exact age.

Mary cleared her throat roughly. She muttered something to herself to the side; Cinder couldn’t hear exactly what she said, but she assumed it was a curse.

Probably, hopefully, directed at the orphanage, she thought.

“How long were you there for?” Mary asked next.

“I don’t know…”

Cinder lamented not being able to give any straight answers, but it was the complete truth. For as long as she could remember, she had been trapped in that hellhole. Parents? What was that? She could put absolutely nothing on that concept, not even a vague outline of a face.

“…I’m going to assume you don’t have any friends or family to know of, then,” Mary said. Cinder gave a nod.

…

Mary suddenly got up after some silent seconds of thought.

“…I have to go,” she said.

Initially, Cinder had no reaction, until she heard the latch of the front door being unlocked.

Huh? Her head snapped up. Her mouth opened, but no words came out.

What was this feeling?

Cinder had only known Mary for about a few hours, tops, but during that short time…

She leapt up from the couch, limping the whole way.

Mary was about to leave when she felt a tug on her sleeve.

“No…” Cinder barely whimpered out.

“Hm? What’s wrong?” Mary said, turning around.

“Don’t…go…”

The thin wall of composure broke. Waterworks ensued.

Getting down a knee, Maria let Cinder cry freely into her shoulder.

“What the hell did they do to you…” she muttered to herself.

Maria paced around outside a short distance from her house. After she had gotten Cinder to calm down a bit, she had put her to bed. The moon was up in the night sky, along with the thousands of twinkling stars that accompanied it.

She hadn’t been entirely truthful to Cinder. Well, unless you considered “your thoughts” as a tangible object. She knew she was treading a fine line, but this nonetheless had been the second lie she had told the young girl.

The first one being who she was exactly.

For now, it was only limited to her name. By itself, this wasn’t all that serious. But what came after was where things could spiral. Cinder hadn’t asked any specific questions regarding Maria’s past yet, but it would only be a matter of time. Would she be able to keep her secret? But was it even worse to lead such a young child like this on a foundation of lies?

Maria sighed, putting a hand to her head. She hadn’t thought her choices completely through when she decided to intervene that night. In a way, she had acted upon her instincts, the ones that had built the legend of her past life.

Am I really about to start a third? She lamented to herself.

For a brief second, she considered just dropping this whole situation together. Taking Cinder somewhere else, to a different, more functional family than just Maria herself.

She dismissed the thought quickly, disgusted that she had even come up with such an idea. Not only was it almost inhuman, it was cowardly. And for as much as Maria had given up over the years, she was not about to throw away her pride.

But still…

Was she ready for all this?

…

…I suppose, she concluded. She had shut herself in for too long; it was time for a change. She would take care of this child.

As long as she doesn’t turn out like me.

Chapter 5

Chapter Text

As two weeks passed, many things changed. Other things stayed the same, sort of.

Cinder was sorting some cupboards. This time, however, it was of her own volition. Even though Mary had told her it wasn’t necessary, it felt strange to her to just sit idly by and do nothing all day. Her brain was telling her to do something productive, even if it was something as mundane as this.

Clean. Sort. These words used to have very negative connotations to Cinder, but it felt…different here. Maybe it was because there was no worry of harsh punishment for making the tiniest of mistakes. Maybe it was because there weren’t three dozen other kids constantly raising hell all around her, making her job much harder in some aspects.

The last cup made its way to its designated shelf. Cinder blinked; just like that, she was done.

Now what?

It was still midday; there was still plenty of sunlight left. Cinder glanced back towards the front door.

She still isn’t home yet, either…

Mary went out often; when she returned, she would usually always have the reason why with her: groceries, supplies, other stuff. Cinder still wasn’t 100% used to this, but she was getting there. It wasn’t like Mary’s self-preservation skills were inadequate, after all. She seemed like a very practical person in general, so Cinder didn’t have any qualms or burning questions regarding what she actually did out there.

Unable to find anything else to do, Cinder decided to go outside.

She had done this a few times now. She didn’t stray far, staying within the immediate premises of the house. She wasn’t confident in going any further, not that she saw much reason to anyway. Mary had seemingly assumed the same thing, seeing as she was comfortable with leaving Cinder alone for periods of time like this.

From what Cinder had explored so far, this house was quite deep in the woods. Where exactly, she wasn’t sure, but judging from how much time Mary took on her trips, it was probably a significant walk to the nearest town.

The house sat in a small clearing in the trees. Immediately to the west, there was a small downslope that led to a stream. To the northeast, a larger trail led up and over a hill, which Cinder assumed was the path Mary took in and out of this place.

Today, Cinder decided to go to the stream again. Taking care not to slip, she took small steps down the hill and around the various fallen branches to the water. Down by the water’s edge, she found a large-ish boulder to sit on.

Autumn was here, so the ground and trees were colored in a vibrant variety of red and orange. The natural sound of rippling water, plus the relative stillness of the entire area in general, made the atmosphere quite tranquil and relaxing.

As she gazed, something caught Cinder’s eye. A glint, something artificial, that stood out from the natural beauty around her. It was coming from across the stream, at the base of a fallen tree.

While she could have easily dismissed it as a trick of the eye, something compelled her to investigate further. Standing up, she considered her options. The stream wasn’t deep; she could just wade across no problem, spare for some wet shoes and pants.

…nah.

Starting from her last time here, Cinder had identified a possible route across without getting wet. It involved hopping from stone to stone, like some sort of ninja. She actually hadn’t tried it yet, courtesy of some lingering pain from her ankle, but today she felt confident enough to try it.

Scanning the ground, she found the “kickoff point,” a rock that looked like as if someone had carved a shallow bowl into it. From there, the path revealed itself, just as it had done in her head.

Ok…here we go.

With a leap, Cinder jumped to the next rock. It was small, so she could only balance herself with one foot.

Next…left.

Right.

Right again.

Both…

…and clear.

Just like that, she was on the other side. Cinder felt quite pleased with herself; it had seemed like a pipe dream within the confines of her mind, but she was able to translate it easily into reality. After giving herself a mental pat on the back, she turned to search for the glint again.

It was still in the same spot; the base of the fallen tree. Cinder stepped closer. Crouching down, she cleared off some leaves off the forest floor. Her fingers ran over something wooden, but of a different variety of the ones that could be found in abundance around her. Gripping it, she yanked it out.

It turned out, what she had grabbed was a wooden handle.

Connected to a square-ended machete.

Cinder almost dropped it in surprise; not to mention it was heavier than she was expecting. In her small hands, it looked massive. Steadying her grip, she looked it over.

It had obviously been sitting there for a good while; there wasn’t a single inch of the blade that wasn’t covered in rust. The handle was wrapped in an assortment of rope and tape. Cinder flicked the blade with an unsatisfying clink. It was probably beyond saving.

Still…

Another thing Cinder had wondered about was why there weren’t any Grimm to be found around this area. A single, secluded house in the middle of the woods? It had “bad, ugly, and gruesome ending” written all over it. She considered that encounter once again at the orphanage; how Mary had taken down four of them with ease. Was that why they avoided this area?

…are Grimm even capable of thinking like that?

Cinder shook her head. Too much thinking made her head hurt. She looked back down at the dull blade in her hands. Even if it was halfway gone, it still felt like a bit of a waste just leaving it back where she had found it.

You never know. Maybe I’ll find a use for it. Eventually.

Using it as a pseudo-walking stick, she took the machete with her back to the house.

Now…where to put it…

Greeting Mary at the door with a machete in hand would be quite a shocking visual, a wholly unnecessary one at that. So, for now at least, Cinder had to find a place to store it.

Right next to the front door was a small closet. Cinder opened it and peered inside. It was filled with various assortments, but it looked like there was just enough space. Pushing aside some clothes, she stopped.

Hidden away in the far corner was an odd-looking cane. Putting the machete aside for now, Cinder reached in and pulled it out.

This was even heavier than the machete, she noticed almost instantly. The wood was clearly expertly crafted, with elaborate swirls that one could easily slot their fingers in for a better grip. The thing that caught Cinder’s eye, however, was the dark blue skull on its handle. A large crack ran down its center. The cane as a whole seemed damaged; looking towards the end, Cinder noticed splinters from where something had been presumably snapped off.

There were three buttons, all in different locations and of different types. Without thinking much, Cinder pushed the first one, a slide switch just under the skull.

In an instant, a metal blade shot out from beneath the skull, stopping just inches from cutting her face. This time, Cinder did drop the thing, clattering to the ground.

Taking a second to register what had happened, Cinder bent down and picked the cane up.

Or at least, that was what it used to be.

The contraption in her hands now looked like something resembling a scythe. One that was oddly familiar to her…

This…

That was right. Mary had used something similar to dispatch the Grimm. She probably had that one with her at this moment; was this the second half of it, or what used to be the second half?

A neuron fired within Cinder’s brain.

Is Mary…a huntress?

Everyone in Remnant knew what Grimm were; conversely, everyone also knew what huntsmen and huntresses were. Whereas Grimm brought death and destruction, huntsmen and huntresses brought peace and security. It was pretty much everyone’s dream to be strong enough to become one; in the orphanage, there were always stories going around of their exploits.

For some reason, the thought hadn’t crossed Cinder’s mind that Mary could be one of these brave warriors, being civilization's first line of defense against these infernal creatures. But now, as she considered the possibility…

Her respect for her only grew higher.

So did her own ambitions.

I’m tired of being weak. I want to be strong.

I want to be powerful.

I want people to know my name.

…I want to be a huntress.

Chapter 6

Chapter Text

When Maria got home later that day, Cinder seemed quite excited about something.

“I sorted the cupboards today!” she said with a big smile on her face.

At this point, Maria had given up trying to convince Cinder that doing all that wasn’t necessary.

“…good job,” she said, with the best half-smile she could manage.

Unlatching her cane from her belt, she turned to put it in its usual place in the closet.

When she opened the door, however…

“What’s this?” she asked, pulling out the machete.

“I found it!” Cinder sounded quite proud of herself. “Down by the river!”

The river, huh…

“You haven’t been running off while I’ve been gone, have you?” Maria asked, half-joking, half-serious.

“Well…” Cinder trailed off, looking off to the side. “I’ve only gone that far…and not much further…”

Maria sighed silently. This reminded her of someone, all right.

“Then…try to stay within the area. I don’t want you getting hurt while I’m away.”

“Ok!” Cinder beamed.

Maria put her cane in the closet. As she closed the door, she noticed Cinder was still looking intently at her. Her hands were folded behind her back, her expression indicating that she might have something more to say.

“…what is it?”

“I…”

Whatever was on her mind, Cinder couldn’t express it immediately.

“…I want to be a huntress!” she exclaimed suddenly.

“No.”

Both of them were surprised at how quickly the answer came out. A temporary silence filled the air.

“…B-but…why…?” Cinder stammered, still trying to compute.

Maria covered her mouth. The thought had gone instantly through to her voice before she could stop it. She hadn’t wished to be so blunt; she had just been so taken by surprise from the sudden comment.

Just where had Cinder gotten that idea from?

Oh no…

“Just…no,” Maria said, trying to make it clear that she was going to leave it at that. Looking down at the machete still in her hand, she turned and tossed it outside.

Before Cinder could react, she quickly brushed past her. She didn’t want Cinder to see her like this; heck, she didn’t even want to see herself like this.

Her mind was in a panic; she was absolutely sure that she had kept her past completely under wraps! How had this happened?

…had she been found out?

Cinder was more confused than anything. Of all the things for Mary to take a hard stance on, it was this?

She was left standing alone in the hallway as Mary went to her room, door closing behind her.

Why? That question lingered in her head. If anything, she had expected Mary to be proud of her, having the tenacity to pursue her dreams at such a young age. What was wrong with wishing to become a huntress?

She glanced back into the closet, still half-open. Mary’s cane was visible, but not completely.

…did Mary not want Cinder to know that she was a huntress?

Again, why?

So many questions, no answers.

The two sides of her mind were in quite a conflict; that kindling brought on from discovering the machete earlier had developed into a burning desire. At the same time, the cooler side was urging caution. Was she in any position to defy Mary’s wishes? After all that she’d done for her?

Mind still in a slight daze, Cinder returned to her room.

Not before grabbing something from outside, however.

The next day, Mary left without a word. Cinder remained in her room, trying her best to put the previous day’s events behind her.

…It didn’t work.

With a heavy sigh, Cinder rolled off her bed. Reaching under it, she pulled out the machete, holding it up to the rays of sunshine shining through the window.

She could see it all coming together; Cinder, huntress extraordinaire, traveling the world, slaying Grimm all along the way. She would be among royalty, a household name even among the world-famous class of huntsmen and huntresses.

Cinder got back on her feet. She had come to a decision.

I’m sorry, Mary. I really am.

But this…

…this is my destiny.

Machete in hand, Cinder stepped outside. She considered her options.

Up next to the house was a typical assortment of stacked logs. There were also some flat, square wood panels leaned against them. Where they came from wasn’t relevant. Looking the lumber over, Cinder had an idea.

A few minutes of struggling later, she took a moment to admire her handiwork.

She had taken two logs, turned them top to bottom, and placed them about two feet apart from each other on the ground. On top of them, she had stacked a panel, then another log. It was exceptionally crude, but it would have to do.

Gripping the machete with both hands, Cinder held out the blade next to the log. Taking it back, she swung with all her strength.

*CLANG*

The log barely even moved; it only shuddered for a brief second. What shuddered more was Cinder’s arm.

Ow…

Cinder gripped her wrist in pain; it felt like every single tendon had snapped at once.

So much for that. Great idea there, Cinder.

After letting the pain subside, Cinder picked up the machete again.

Let’s try this again. Smarter this time.

She repeated the same thing, except she didn’t swing with all her might. Just before the blade made contact with the wood, she tried to stop herself. Alas, her arm strength was mediocre at best, so she ended up giving the log a light tap.

Hmm…again. This time, from the other side.

Not even a Grimm would just sit there and let her strike it. It would be shifty, constantly finding an opening to attack. On the other side, Cinder herself would probably weaving in between defense and offense as well, looking for the same opportunity. It was like a very competitive dance; the grand prize being your continued survival. Kinda morbid, but that was the reality.

After taking some more individual swings, Cinder tried taking multiple. Starting from the right, she quickly tried to shift to the left. Just barely stopping the right-hand swing, she reared the machete high over her head to switch to the opposite side.

No, no, no…

It felt way too awkward and clumsy. Wiping some sweat off her forehead, Cinder paused to reconsider her approach. Trying to avoid getting too into the details, she only tried to put her mind on how it “felt.”

She tried the same thing again with this mindset. This time, she noticed something. She was building momentum from the pullback, but it was being lost trying to shift it to the other side.

…how about spinning? That’s a good trick, right?

It seemed logical; the momentum wanted to go behind her. So, why not let it?

Raising the machete, Cinder tried again.

First, right.

Stop. Pullback.

Spin…

As she let her body turn with the machete this time, Cinder was taken by surprise by just how much easier it felt. Even if it was for just a moment, she did feel like a dancer, spinning around at high speed.

Wait. I gotta stoooppp…!

She had built too much momentum. Her left hand lost the grip, the right still just barely hanging on.

*CLAANNNGGG*

“God…agh!” Cinder exclaimed, feeling yet another shot of pain through her wrist. This hurt even more than the first; she staggered a few steps away to nurse the pain.

…I should stop before I hurt myself. Not to mention I don’t want Mary getting suspicious, either…

Giving her wrist a good shake, Cinder turned back around to pick up the machete.

Wait…

…where was it?

It was not on the ground as she had expected to be. Confused, Cinder panned her vision up.

The log had tipped over. It was still on the platform, just barely hanging off the edge. Embedded in it…

…was the machete.

Cinder glanced back at her right hand, still feeling some throbs of pain.

…wow.

She decided that would be enough for today.

By the time Mary got back home, everything was back where they were, as if nothing had happened at all.

Chapter 7

Chapter Text

For the rest of that month and much of the next, Cinder continued to train herself in secret, with Mary none the wiser. She still felt bad deceiving her like this, so she made some efforts to make it up to her in a way. One particularly quiet day, she had asked Mary if she could teach her a new life skill, under the pretense of passing the time at home. Somehow, both of them had decided on sewing of all things; furthermore, Cinder discovered that after some practice, she was a natural at it.

The seasons had turned; winter had set in. A fresh layer of snow had been dumped the previous day. Within the warm confines of the house, Cinder was in the process of making a new shirt for herself. At this point, her clothes were the last lingering remnants from the orphanage. She wanted to have confidence in saying that she had put that life behind for good, to have wiped the slate completely clean.

More importantly, she was waiting for something.

Soon, she heard the characteristic thump, thump of boots passing by. Then, the sound of the lock being undone. The symphony of sounds was concluded with the slam of the front door.

Cinder continued to do what she was doing for a few more minutes. Then, quietly putting down her stuff, she retrieved her machete from its usual spot. Opening the front door a smidgen, she peeked out, making absolutely sure that Mary had left. The fresh footprints in the snow, leading far out into the distance, seemed to confirm this.

Gently closing the door behind her, Cinder set up her little “training dummy” like usual. Raising the machete, she pointed it at the wooden thing like she was some sort of expert swordswoman.

By this point in time, Cinder had developed several “patterns” that she religiously followed. She had come to the conclusion that fast, fluid movements were key. Not only did it feel good, Cinder imagined it also looked good as well.

Alright. Start from the top.

One…

An initial jab towards the target’s right.

Two…

A downward slash, right to left.

Three…

Spin. Hold the machete out to increase your chances.

Four…

The ultimate attack; a vicious, spinning slash with all her momentum.

Every day, Cinder noticed something she could tinker with, the smallest perceivable “flaw” that she would subsequently spend the next few minutes addressing. This time, however, she felt perfectly satisfied.

Next, then. “Form two.”

This one was also four steps.

One…

Horizontal slash, left to right.

Two…

Spin. Reverse grip.

Three…

Backwards jab.

Four…

Reverse spin. Coup-de-grace.

…Repeat.

Cinder repeated these two sequences, one after the other. Slowly but surely, this was becoming second nature to her; at this rate, she thought, she could become a huntress in no time.

As she kept at it, time was lost to her.

“…Cinder?”

Cinder froze mid-swing. Her hand, finally at the cusp of feeling comfortable, began to shake with renewed uneasiness.

Slowly, she turned around.

Mary was standing there.

“I…ah…” Cinder stammered. This wasn’t good.

Mary took a step closer.

“I told you not to do this.” Her voice was low and firm; a terrifying combination. Cinder braced for the worst.

Except…she only walked past her.

With a quick whirl of her cane, she knocked over the stacks of wood. With an even quicker swipe of the hand, she had taken the machete from Cinder.

“And this? This is just junk.” She tossed it over her shoulder as if it meant absolutely nothing to her.

As Mary brushed past again, Cinder’s hands started to tremble. The confusion was gone.

What remained was anger.

“…why?” her voice started off soft.

Mary stopped, not even turning to face her.

“Why?”

“…it’s…”

“WHY!!!!???”

Cinder whirled around, tears in her eyes. She picked up the machete from the snow.

“What’s wrong with being who I want to be!?”

Mary remained still.

“…it’s not the life you think it is.”

What is that supposed to mean!??

The flames of rage only grew hotter.

“Then what am I then!?” Cinder demanded. “Why did you even take me in that night!?”

No response.

“TELL ME!!!!!!”

Cinder could feel her hands growing hot. She couldn’t take this anymore. All the non-answers, the vagueness! Why!?

…

“…I HATE YOU!” she screamed. With all her might, she slammed the machete to the ground.

Her sight temporary grew blurry. It wasn’t from the tears in her eyes, however.

…what?

This sensation on her face…weirdly felt like steam.

Cinder glanced down at the ground. At the spot where she had thrown down the machete, the snow had somehow melted away. The blade itself was glowing a hot red.

…Did I do that?

Slowly, Cinder looked back up.

Mary was completely still. The expression on her face was one of genuine shock.

“Cinder…”

Cinder couldn’t take it anymore. She turned and ran.

“…Cinder…!”

Chapter 8

Chapter Text

Cinder ran as fast as her legs could take her through the forest. Where, it didn’t matter. She just needed to get away.

Alas, she had thrown all caution out the window. Tripping on a hidden tree root, she faceplanted into the snow. The bitter cold pricked her face like a thousand needles.

With a gasp, she raised her head out of the snow. She tried to get back up again, but her fatigued body refused. She was left in a trembling heap on the ground.

She was just so…confused! Argh!

Why did Mary save her that night if she was just going to lock her in the house all the time? It was no better than the orphanage!

She should’ve died that night. Why did the Gods continue to torture her like this?!

At that moment, her ears were perked to a sound nearby. A low, inhuman grumbling.

Oh no. Cinder’s heart fell to the floor. That only meant one thing…

Out in the distance, a pair of glowing red eyes came into view. Cinder quickly scrambled to her feet, looking left then right. Where was she? Where could she even run to?

Even then…it was difficult to escape a Grimm once it had caught your scent. And in her current state…

Cinder tried to steady her panicking mind. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath.

What have I done for the past month and a half? Hours, every day?

I can't be afraid.

Just like that, it was decided. She would stand her ground.

There was a distant roar. Almost instantly, the Grimm’s full, charging form came right at her.

Cinder just barely was able to dive out of the way. The Grimm slammed into a tree, shaking off all the snow that had accumulated on its branches. Shaking its head with a snarl, it turned and locked eyes with Cinder.

Cinder instantly filled with regret.

…shoot.

She had left behind the machete; her only weapon. How was she going to defend herself?

Looking down around her feet, Cinder picked up a rock. Rearing her arm back, she threw it at the snarling beast.

It bounced harmlessly off it.

…what am I even doing right now?

Clearly angered at the provocation, the Grimm charged again. Cinder was left trying to frantically dodge again. This time, she was a step too late; she felt a sharp burning pain on her arm. There was another great thud as a different tree was struck.

Gritting her teeth in pain, Cinder tried to run, trying anything that would put some distance between her and the Grimm. This was nothing like what she had trained for! If only she had taken the machete with her…

It was no use. The Grimm was tracking her every move. She needed a distraction…

In her desperation, her mind flashed back.

That snow and steam…

…could she do that again?

Fresh blood was flowing down Cinder's arm, dripping red splotches into the pure-white snow below. She had to stop; but she knew she didn’t have much time before the Grimm caught up with her.

Cinder racked her brain. What had happened exactly, again?

She had superheated the machete somehow. What had happened that had allowed her to do that?

…what did she feel?

Confusion? Sadness?

Frustration?

…

…anger.

That was it.

This epiphany coincided with the arrival of the Grimm. Glaring straight into those soulless eyes, Cinder tried to steel her mind.

There’s an enemy in front of me.

It wants to kill me. I want to kill it.

Seems natural that I would feel angry. This is personal.

Once again, Cinder could feel her hand grow warm. Was it working?

…Only one way to find out.

As soon as the Grimm leaped, Cinder swept the snow in front of her with her only usable arm. As she had hoped, the snow was instantly converted into a billowing plume of steam. She quickly bolted, not wanting to stick around to find out if the misdirection had worked.

Another thud echoed through the forest. Cinder ran.

Finally, Cinder had some time to recuperate. There was a large, ugly scratch on her left arm; the pain was intense. She looked back at her right hand; for a brief second back there, she thought she had seen it glow a faint orange color.

Strange…

She was interrupted by a frustrated roar nearby.

What?! Already?! Argh!

The Grimm bounded into view again. Cinder concentrated hard, trying to tap upon her emotions once more. She picked up another rock; this time, she could see it actively start steaming from the heat. Hoping it would do something better than the first time around, she threw.

*BANG*

It did do something different. As soon as it left her hand, the rock exploded into several smaller shards. It pelted the Grimm, making it rear back in surprise.

Without even taking a second to comprehend, Cinder had picked up another rock.

Get the timing better.

She threw again. This time, her timing was right on the money. The rock fractured as it struck the Grimm, causing it to howl in pain.

More!

With renewed confidence, Cinder continued the onslaught.

More!!

MORE!!!

It was the Grimm that was now on the defensive. Not expecting to have to dodge a sudden barrage of makeshift bombs, it tried to evade to no avail. With every successful hit, Cinder could see larger and larger cracks form on its tough armor.

Just one more should do it!

Cinder picked up what she hoped would be the last stone. As she took her arm back, however…

…Her body gave out.

The stone fell to the ground, followed by Cinder herself.

What? No!

An overwhelming fog filled her brain. Her mind desperately commanded something to move, but there was no response.

…No! Not now, of all times…!

She was feeling increasingly dizzy. The Grimm in front of her was reduced to a dark-colored blur. Before her head hit the ground, she saw it bound closer…

…until it didn’t.

Wha…?

She could barely see anything from her current position. Just the vast, endless white of the snow.

Until the glint of a blade filled her vision.

Now she understood.

“…Mary…” Cinder mumbled, before passing out.

Chapter 9

Chapter Text

Cinder sat sheepishly on her bed. For the second time, she had awoken in this room. She might have been relieved, if not for realizing the magnitude of what she had done to land her back here in the first place.

With a grimace, Cinder tried to roll her left shoulder. The arm had been bandaged up, but it still hurt to move. She cursed herself many times.

She took a peek out the window. Outside, she could see the darkened figure of Mary, staring into the distance, standing completely still. She had been out there for what seemed like hours. Cinder was dreading when she would come back in.

How can I explain all this to her?

…can I even explain it at all?

I should've just listened to her. I should’ve!

But now…

While in her thoughts, Cinder hadn’t noticed that Mary wasn’t outside anymore.

The opening of the door startled her. Fearing the worst, Cinder slowly turned to face Mary. It was just like the first day all over again; what was she going to do to her?

…

…Mary gave her a hug.

Cinder was taken aback, but she tempered any physical reaction. She just quietly let Mary embrace her.

“…I shouldn’t have done that. I’m sorry.”

Huh? Why are you apologizing? If anything, I should!

Mary broke the hug. Cinder could now see the second genuine emotion that she had seen from her so far. This time, it was one of grateful relief.

“Do you really want to be a huntress?”

The atmosphere suddenly turned serious again.

“I…” Cinder began. She glanced down at her bandaged arm.

“…I do.”

“Are you sure? I need you to understand just how important of a decision this is. Give it a second thought.”

Cinder thought back as instructed. Mentally, she thought of that night at the orphanage again.

My desires haven't changed.

She wasn't going to let this "setback" dissuade her. If anything, it motivated her more.

Weakness must be purged.

“Yes.”

…

Mary sighed.

“Very well then.”

She reached behind her back and took out the machete, giving it to Cinder.

“As soon as that heals up,” she said, referring to Cinder’s arm, “Your training begins.”

With that, she left.

Cinder looked down at the machete in her hands.

...Thank you.

In a way, Maria had hoped that a rigorous, tough schedule would get Cinder to change her mind. But alas, it was a naïve presumption.

Every time the young girl hit the ground, she would get right back up again. Her taste to learn was insatiable; one could see it as an almost unhealthy obsession. Often times, Maria had found she had to stop for the day before Cinder hurt herself even more.

While her physical skills weren’t as up to par compared to her mental prowess, it was nonetheless surprisingly well developed for someone of her age. It seemed like she was a natural fast learner. But at the same time, Maria could see a willful, impulsive side to Cinder that if not tempered, would turn detrimental in the future.

But could she fully control this side of her?

One’s semblance was a representation of their character, their soul. And from what Maria had briefly seen…

It reminded her too much of herself. The last promise she had remaining was to never let the girl become like her; but now, with her very personification seemingly fated to be exactly that, what could Maria do to change it? Did she even have any power to do anything about it at all?

She hadn’t taken the time to explain all of this to Cinder yet; heck, she hadn’t even explained the basics of Aura at all really.

Then, there was the subject of her own semblance: when could she reveal it to her? Presently, Maria wasn’t sure if she ever could; it might portray herself as too powerful to even comprehend. Would you be particularly motivated to fight someone who always knew what you were going to do beforehand?

Months passed. The New Year’s snow soon thawed into the warmer, longer days of spring.

“Again.”

Cinder charged right at Maria, machete brought to bear.

Good, good, Maria noticed. Cinder’s strikes were getting more precise, controlled. There was still a wildness to them, but this seemed more like a product of youthful energy rather than something that could be immediately addressed.

Maria remembered what it was like training under her father. He was a veteran of the Great War, so everything was strict and by the book. It was partly due to this that her fighting style developed the way it did. She just didn’t see the point in all the rank-and-file drill that made a soldier. She was a freelancer after all; who did she have to answer to other than herself?

Taking this into account, she hoped that a slightly different teaching method could mold Cinder into a better warrior than she ever was. Allow for some leeway, but not completely. She would call her out if something seemed more form rather than function, but other, lesser things she would let slide.

“Good,” Maria said, blocking the last of the attacks. “Now, my turn.”

And of course, the most important aspect of all: defense. The one part that did her in, in a way. Cinder still needed some work in this regard; too many times she would get tied up on herself or try to brazenly switch to the offensive.

Today started off much of the same. Cinder was able to block the first three attacks, albeit just barely. Then, suddenly, she tried for a thrusting jab; an unwise move. Easily sidestepping the attack, Maria swiped up with her scythe, knocking the machete out of Cinder’s hand. Catching it with her other hand, she handed it back.

“In battle, there are very few opportunities to counterattack. That wasn’t one of them,” she said.

Cinder looked visibly frustrated (as she always was during this section of training), but she still returned to ready position regardless.

“Again.”

Again, three attacks blocked. Again, another jab.

I didn’t mean literally… Maria thought, preparing to do the same counter.

This time, however…

Her upwards slash missed.

At the very last second, Cinder had spun away, following it with an immediate attack from the other side. For the first time in what seemed like decades, Maria had to strain herself slightly to block the blow.

A great clang filled the air as metal clashed with metal.

Cinder had a rather smug grin on her face.

...Touché .

If we're doing it like that, then...

“Let’s try something different.”

Maria had seen hints of this possibility with Cinder’s developing style. While she was undeniably right-handed, she mixed her attacks well from both sides. That, and with all the spins and sweeps…

Searching the ground, Maria picked up a decently-sized branch, handing it to Cinder to use in conjunction with the machete. It would have to do for now, until they could find something else.

“Now, you have a second option,” she said. “Everything else is the same, but for now, keep that in the back of your mind.”

Cinder, after some fiddling with the branch, nodded.

“Now…begin.”

The effects of this additional factor were instantly noticeable; whether it was a slight hesitation in a swing or an extra step taken, Cinder seemed a bit uneasy with this new development. Alas, it was going to be something she would have to get used to over time. Or, if she was willing to admit it, a mere experimental footnote that went nowhere.

But it wasn’t like they were particularly pressed for time. They could keep at this for as long as they wanted to.

Hopefully Cinder’s thought this completely through, Maria thought.

Hopefully I’ve thought this completely through, too.

Chapter 10

Chapter Text

“How are you feeling?”

“Great!” Cinder perked up. Usually that question was a precursor to another training session.

Mary smiled.

“Good…we’re going out.”

Huh?

...going out?

We’re?

“Where?”

“Into the city.”

Cinder was flabbergasted. She had been thinking about asking Mary if she could tag along on one of her trips, but she hadn’t expected to be beaten to the punch.

Why the sudden change of heart?

“…why?”

“It’s your birthday, of course.”

…my birthday?

“…I don’t know my birthday…”

“I know. But today marks exactly one year since I found you. I believe that’s close enough.”

One year? Had it really been that long?

“…What are we doing?”

“Something about this, of course,” Mary said, picking up the machete. Ol’ Reliable, as Cinder had gotten used to calling it.

“Let’s be frank, it is a piece of junk. I think you deserve something better.”

Weapon shopping? Cinder gave it a thought.

…Yeah, she could get behind this.

“Ok!”

Maria was amazed at how much Cinder had grown within the year. Even with the subpar standards they had to work with together, the young girl’s combat skills had grown exponentially. Overall, Cinder seemed more confident, happy with herself.

She had also finally been able to discard those old clothes she had been wearing, replaced by an entirely new outfit she had made herself. She now wore a short-sleeved wrap top under a long, straight waistcoat, tied with a ribbon around the waist. Long, slightly puffy pants were tucked into her boots.

As for the color, Cinder had gone with a rather striking theme of red, orange, and gold throughout. It was the complete opposite to Maria’s own, and perhaps a bit too gaudy for her taste, but she let it slide.

“Are we there yet?”

“Almost,” Maria replied. Part of her was afraid that Cinder wouldn’t be able to handle the walk, but she seemed to be following along just fine so far.

…

Maria soon began to get the feeling that she was in an intimately familiar area. Not just to her, but to Cinder as well. Still not completely sure at first, she took a look around.

Nothing but empty fields abound.

Oh no.

Cinder suddenly stopped in the middle of the path.

“Cinder…” Maria said, concern in her voice.

Directly ahead of them stood the ruins of the orphanage. Save for a few patchy, overgrown spots where nature was starting to reclaim, the entire place looked the exact same as they had remembered it.

A place forever frozen in time.

Cinder came up to the perimeter fence, running a hand over what remained of the broken front gate. Maria slowly walked up beside her.

“Cinder…?” she put a hand on her shoulder.

Cinder remained silent.

...

Finally, she spoke.

“…I’m fine.”

With a sudden heel-turn, she walked away, continuing down the main path. Taking one last glance at the ruins, Maria followed.

This was Cinder’s first time in Mistral. It was her first time in a proper city, really.

The first thing she noticed was just how…dense everything was. Buildings stuffed into every corner. If it was too small for a building or a house, a vendor’s stall; anything to fill the remaining space. Along with the sheer amount of people out and about, the place felt very claustrophobic for a first-timer.

Mary turned off of the main boulevard and into a smaller alleyway. Struggling to navigate through the mass of humanity, Cinder eventually was able to follow. The alleyway was noticeably quieter; relieved, Cinder finally felt like she could take some proper, deep breaths.

Mary came up to a storefront.

“Stay here. I’ll be quick,” she said.

As Mary entered, Cinder took a peek through the window. Dust, Dust everywhere. What did Mary need Dust for? She didn’t own a car, did she?

With a yawn, Cinder got a good stretch in. Crossing her arms, she leaned against the wall of the store, one leg up. Trying to find something to look at, she eventually settled on a lamppost a few feet away. Other than its intended function, evidently it had found a second one as an ad-hoc newsstand. It was covered with flyers, new and old; reading some of them in more detail, Cinder noticed that only about half of them even applied to this year.

One of the flyers caught her eye.

…A “Huntsman Academy?”

Apparently, this was an entire school dedicated to training huntsmen and huntresses.

That’s…pretty smart, actually.

Evidently, there was one right here in Mistral. Haven Academy, it was called.

“Now accepting applicants age 17 and up,” Cinder read to herself.

Tch. Looks like she had a good while before she could even entertain the thought.

Mary exited after a few more minutes.

“Let’s go,” she said, beckoning Cinder to follow.

The next stop was the weapons store. The door opened with a jangle from the bell attached to it.

“Ah! Welcome, welcome,” the man attending the counter said with a jovial tone. “What may I help you with today?”

“…a trade-in,” Mary replied.

“Of course. And what are you bringing in?”

Mary glanced towards Cinder.

“…this,” Cinder said quietly, holding up the machete.

“Ah,” and shopkeeper said, taking it. He gave it an unusually close look over.

“A Mk. 1 Short Land Pattern. Once the long-time standard arm of our military forces,” he observed. “Although, this one is a square-head. Only one factory made these to this specification, and only for one batch. One of the rarer ones, I’d say.”

“…how much is it worth?” Mary asked.

“Hard to say. Although, in this state, it won’t be much, I’m afraid. But in the end, its true value depends on what you’re getting in exchange.” Both him and Mary turned to look at Cinder.

“Um…” Cinder trailed off, a bit uncomfortable that the spotlight was on her now. Backing up a step, she quickly turned to stare at one of the glass displays.

So many choices…

Pistols, revolvers. Scoped rifles, unscoped rifles. Machine guns, cannons! Swords, shields, knives! What to choose?

Rather quickly, Cinder decided against picking any sort of firearm; better to stick with what she was already comfortable with. Even with those out of the picture, however, it was still hard to come to a decision.

She moved to a different display case; something here caught her eye.

Ivory grips. A polished, shiny blade, with one end serrated and the other sharp enough to prick your eyes by just looking at it.

It was…the same exact thing as her machete?

Well, kind of. This one had a more traditional rounded edge.

“You seem to have a preference for this type,” the shopkeeper came up behind her, startling her a little. Unlocking the case, he pulled out the weapon for Cinder to see.

“The Mk. 1 was really more of a ‘catch-all’ designation, as it was one of our military’s first attempts at standardization,” he explained. “Very few of these were made exactly the same.”

Cinder looked it over. In a way, it felt like a waste coming all the way here just to get the exact same thing she walked in with; but for some reason, there was a certain allure to this one that she just couldn’t ignore.

“How much will it cost?” Cinder asked.

“With the trade-in,” the shopkeeper took a moment to think. “Eighteen Lien.”

Aware that she had absolutely no financial sense whatsoever, Cinder shot a glance at Mary.

Was that…good? Her expression read.

Mary only nodded.

“It seems we’re in agreement? Good, very good,” the shopkeeper said, taking the new machete to the counter.

Cinder looked over the cases and the shelves one last time, seeing if anything would change her mind. Nope, nothing. Nothing else seemed to “speak to her” as that machete did.

Cinder made her way to the counter, where the shopkeeper and Mary were exchanging Lien.

“Tell you what,” the shopkeeper said, looking at Cinder, “Excuse me.”

He disappeared into the back storage room. A short while later, he emerged from it with another, identical machete to the one Cinder had just chosen.

“Oh, no need,” he said to Mary, who was just about to take more bills out of her wallet. “This one’s on the house.”

“…why?” Cinder asked meekly.

“Well, I’ll be honest with you, young one, I won’t be losing much value in giving these away,” the shopkeeper said. “The common joke is that there’s exactly two million of these; the million they actually made, and another million you’ll find just lying in the woods somewhere. Just don't tell anyone else I told you that.” He gave a wink.

There was a characteristic cha-ching of the cash register.

“Pleasure doing business with you!”

During the entire walk back, Cinder couldn’t help doing some mock swings with her newly acquired weapons.

“Careful,” Mary tried to warn. “Not only are you at bigger risk of hurting me now, you’re also at a bigger risk of hurting yourself.”

Cinder only gave the warning a cursory acknowledgement. Her mind was completely elsewhere.

...

“It’s common for huntsmen to name their weapons. Do you have one in mind?” Mary asked.

Hmm…

Cinder held up one of the machetes in front of her; she could see the orange reflection of the sunset behind them. Turning towards the falling sphere of fire, she gave the machete a little wave. It reminded her of that day a year ago, back in her room, when she was doing basically the same thing but at a different hour. That was the day when she had decided to begin her journey as a huntress.

A basic, but fitting idea popped into her mind.

“…Sunset.”

“And the other one?”

“Sunrise.”

In a way, it just made sense to Cinder: the two terms were complete opposites, but one couldn’t exist without the other. Together, they formed a perfect harmony.

Sunrise and Sunset, she read out loud in her head.

…Perfect.

Chapter 11

Chapter Text

Cinder formed a fast affinity with her new weapons. Along with this, she began to accompany Mary on her trips more and more. Occasionally, in between more practical matters like groceries and supplies, they would pick up more Dust or some scrap metal in between. This, especially the former, piqued Cinder’s curiosity.

Finally, on one summer’s day…

“Do you know what Dust is?”

“It’s what you put in cars to make them move,” Cinder’s answer was immediate.

Mary chuckled.

“Indeed, that is true, but that is just one of their many uses.” She held up a red-colored crystal. “For example, this.”

After a brief second, the crystal began to glow with a light hum. Then, a small ember emitted from it.

Cinder’s eyes lit up with intrigue.

“Woahhhhhh…”

“These are properties natural to Dust,” Mary continued to explain. “Under the right circ*mstances, they can be used in battle as well.”

“Do you know what an Aura is?” She asked next.

Cinder shook her head.

“It is the very manifestation of your soul. It can help protect you from harm or increase your abilities in battle. Do you remember what happened that day last winter?”

“…yep.”

The not-so-good memories of that day lingered in Cinder's mind for a second before dissipating. Blinking, she refocused her attention towards Mary.

“That was your Aura manifesting. The fact that you figured out a use for it on your own almost immediately was impressive.”

Mary reached into her bag, this time taking out a blue crystal.

“Do you remember how you were able to do it? Try it with this one,” she said, handing it to Cinder.

Cinder’s brow furrowed.

...anger.

It was quite difficult to feel any sort of anger at this moment. Probing her mind, she tried to search for the smallest of inconveniences, something that could start a spark.

...I caught my foot in a door the other day. Hurt like hell.

Not only that…it was completely unnecessary. Why wasn’t I just more careful?

The crystal started that same faint humming she had heard earlier. Until…

*SPLASH*

*HISSSS*

A mix of water and steam flew everywhere.

…

After a second of stone-faced stillness, Cinder wiped some the water out of her eyes.

“…pfft.”

The sound she made surprised her. Whatever this was, she couldn’t stop it.

“ha…ha ha…”

She began to laugh. Harder and harder.

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

She couldn’t stop herself if she tried. So, why even try?

“Hmph…”

Hm? Was that Mary joining in with her just right now?

…it was!

Oh, joy!

The two laughed and laughed until they were on the verge of tears. Cinder’s stomach was hurting by the end of it.

“Anyways,” Mary said after clearing her throat. “All these Dust crystals have a natural element to them. Along with the basic ones, they can be combined to create other effects.”

Next out of the bag were two vials; one filled with yellow powder, the other black. Opening both of them up, Mary emptied their contents into a stone bowl she had brought over from the kitchen. Taking a pestle, she began to grind the ingredients together.

Soon, the mixture had turned purple. Mary poured the mix evenly into both of the empty vials.

“Gravity and Lighting Dust. Combine them, and you get…” she started, holding up one of them.

The vial began to glow a bright purple.

*Clink*

In an instant, the other vial, still on the table, had rose up and stuck onto the one in Mary’s hand.

“…magnets.”

Mary took out her cane, unsheathing the blade. Along with it, Cinder could see a purple ring jut out from underneath the skull.

“I used this mix a lot…used to. But this is just one of many possibilities. It all comes with practice.”

Cinder glanced down at her own twin weapons. She could certainly think of ways it could be useful to her, even right now.

“…do you want to give it a try?” Mary asked.

Cinder nodded eagerly.

A couple minutes of rudimentary crafting later, they were ready for testing.

Now Cinder understood what all the scrap metal was for: to add modifications to her weapons.

The handles of both Sunrise and Sunset had gotten a short extension; a short cylinder similar to the one on Mary's cane had been wrapped to the ends with a combination of rope and tape. A bit of this “magnetic” Dust had been poured into each. A small button, placed where the thumb would normally sit while holding the grip, completed the package.

Feeling ready, Cinder placed Sunset on the ground. Stepping about three paces away, she held Sunrise vertically, as far away from her as she could. She glanced over at Mary, who nodded.

Cinder pushed the button.

At first, nothing seemed to happen. But then...

Sunset's handle juddered slightly, starting to turn towards Cinder. Once fully aligned, it began to slide along the floor towards her with increased speed.

Ooh, wow! It’s working…!

Cinder was able to catch it just before it crashed into her arm. That probably would’ve hurt a lot if she missed.

“Very good,” Mary commented.

Cinder tried the same thing about three or four times. Each time, she began to feel more confident in stepping farther away, closer, or even just holding one of the machetes closer to her.

“Want to try throwing now?”

“Yep!”

Not even taking a second to wait, Cinder had Sunrise behind her shoulder, ready to throw. She gave it a hurl; she clicked the button on Sunset after about a second.

...Nothing.

There was a distant clang as Sunrise fell into the woods somewhere.

…whoops.

Mary let out another muted laugh.

“Likely we didn’t put in enough Dust. But that’s what experiments are for.”

After a quick intermission to retrieve Sunrise and to add some more Dust into the cylinders, Cinder was ready to try again. This time, she knew that she had to be a little more careful.

Deciding to throw Sunset this time, Cinder gave it a slight overhead toss, with less overall power and distance. As the spinning machete hit its apex, she hit the button on Sunrise to activate the Dust.

This time, the spinning blade froze in midair momentarily, before flying back at high speed. Too quick; Cinder completely whiffed on catching it.

Oh, crap-

*GONG*

The metal-on-metal contact sent vibrations up Cinder’s arm and all over her body.

…

After she got her bearings back, Cinder quickly checked herself over. No blood spurting anywhere; that was good, she hadn't cut herself on any sharp ends. She glanced at her hand; the two machetes were now stuck fast to each other, end-to-end.

Huh…

“That was pretty close,” Mary commented. “Are you alright?”

“Mhm,” Cinder muttered, still looking at the now-connected blades. Holding it up, she waved them around a bit; the connection stood firm. The weight, while expectedly doubled, didn't feel as bad as she was expecting.

“…Already getting ideas?” Mary asked. It seemed that she had figured out what Cinder was getting on to.

“…yep!” Cinder replied.

A sly grin pulled across Mary’s face.

“Then let’s get started.”

Chapter 12

Chapter Text

A machete cut through the air like a dart, knocking a log over. Just before it hit the ground, it suddenly flew backwards to where it came from. A leaping figure caught the weapon in midair before landing in the center of a circle of some more wooden dummies.

With a cha-chink, Cinder joined the ends of her twin weapons together, forming a long, double ended staff. With a spin of her body and a twirl of the staff, all the dummies were knocked over in an instant. Cinder topped it off with a cool ending pose.

*Clap, clap*

“Very good.”

Separating Sunrise and Sunset, Cinder stashed them away in their usual spots: one over her right shoulder, the other behind her back on her left. Brushing some hair out of her face, she began to reset the training dummies in a different setup.

Cinder was now fifteen, going on sixteen. Her hair had grown out, falling down to her shoulders and party over her left eye. She hadn’t gained that much height, unfortunately, much to her chagrin.

After setting up the dummies, Cinder decided to take a short break before proceeding. She plopped down on a chair next to Mary, who was lounging in one of her own.

Cinder grumbled a little as she kept fiddling with her hair. No matter how many times she pulled it back, it always seemed to fall over her face, just on that left side. Yes, she did prefer to be able to look out of both eyes, thank you very much.

Mary’s hand entered her field of vision.

“Try this,” she said, giving Cinder a hair tie.

The last time Cinder had her hair tied up was at the orphanage. Those memories, just like the rest of the ones associated with that place, were not pleasant. She always thought those bunches were way too tight, but she couldn’t do anything about them back then, of course.

It took her a few tries, but she eventually settled on something that was adequate. Rather than two bunches, she had pulled her hair back into a single ponytail. Some loose ends still fell over the left side of her forehead, but it was infinitely better than the previous arrangement.

Cinder blinked, testing her newfound eyesight.

Ahh…relief.

Getting up from her chair, she tried her hand at another round. Although a simple hairstyle change didn’t seem like much in the grand scheme of things, she was rather pleasantly surprised on just how much her field of vision had improved.

I’ll take it. Anything that gives me an extra edge.

The last log hit the grass; Cinder decided to call it a day. She went back to the chair she had taken a break in earlier.

Tomorrow, they were due to head into Mistral again; so, it was important that Cinder not exert herself too hard. Mary knew this as well; usually after these rounds, they would have some sparring sessions, but both of them were fine with omitting that portion of training for today.

Hopefully Mary’s not getting *that* old, Cinder thought to herself. Over the years, she had noticed that Mary had been physically exerting herself less and less. Whether it was a sign of age catching up or simply a voluntary reason, Cinder hadn’t worked up the courage to ask her yet.

…Maybe it’s best just to not ask at all.

She also hadn’t quite worked up the courage to ask something else, something she did want to tell Mary about sooner rather than later.

Something that was more related to Cinder’s own future.

Haven Academy. Those two words still echoed occasionally in Cinder’s head. Every time she thought back on it, the more appealing the concept became. It was probably at the Huntsmen Academies where one proves their mettle, right? And they must be popular, otherwise, why would they even exist in the first place?

…Did something bad happen to Mary at Haven? Was that why she was so against me becoming a huntress at first?

Then again, the concept of a school to Cinder was…nonexistent. She would essentially be going in blind.

Oh well. How bad could it be?

The next day

Cinder finally came to a decision.

It was when Mary was away, of all times. She was in a store when Cinder finalized the plan that she had been forming for almost the entire walk in.

When Mary exited the store, Cinder was staring at a wall; more specifically, a poster on the wall.

Every time they came back to Mistral, Cinder had noticed the number of advertising posters for Haven had increased. This only affirmed her assumption that this wasn’t some obscure concept. She still wasn’t sure where the actual place was, exactly, but she would probably find out sooner or later regardless.

…

Cinder’s eyebrow raised. She still wasn’t quite willing to turn her head to check yet, but it seemed like Mary had noticed what she was doing. She had heard the sound of the door opening and closing a while ago now; unless she had walked in the complete opposite direction for some reason, Mary should have seen her by now.

“…Cinder?”

There it is.

Ok…whew. Deep breath first.

Here we go.

Cinder slowly turned; as she had suspected, Mary was standing there.

“What is that?” Mary asked, eye squinting. Walking closer, she ripped down the poster from the wall.

She read it in total silence.

“…I’ve been thinking…” Cinder started.

“I know.”

Hm? That was certainly a bit surprising.

Mary sighed.

“I suppose it can’t be helped.”

Hoping not to get stuck in an awkward dance around it, Cinder just went straight for the jugular.

“…will you let me go?”

Mary didn’t immediately reply.

“How long have you been thinking about this?” She asked, still looking at the poster in her hands.

Cinder decided to be brutally honest.

“For a long time now.”

“…I suspected as such. To be truthful, I’ve been considering this possibility for a while as well.”

Initially, Cinder didn’t get what Mary meant. But as soon as she connected the dots…

…the realization hit her like a truck.

Mary was a huntress; current or former, it didn’t matter. That part was never in doubt. However, she wasn’t actively going out and hunting Grimm. All these trips she took? They were all into the city for simple or practical matters. So, why would she need all that Dust and scrap if she didn’t need them on a daily basis?

Now Cinder understood. Even from before she had seen that poster for the first time, she presumed, Mary had been discreetly preparing for Cinder to go to a huntsman academy. Cinder couldn’t even say it was a ploy or a ruse; there was no explicit trickery or deception involved. She just hadn’t made the connection up until now.

“So…?” Cinder started, wanting a concrete answer.

…

“…if you believe this path forward is the best for you,” Mary finally answered. “Do you?”

Another question shot right back at her. This time, though, Cinder had more confidence in her answer. She had been thinking back and forth about it for the past five years, after all.

“…I do.”

Mary’s expression was one of understanding warmth and weariness at the same time.

“Then there’s your answer.”

…wow.

That was…rather easy. Sort of; it still didn’t take away from just how monumental this decision was.

Without even thinking much, Cinder gave Mary a hug. She felt some tears run down her face; it reflected her current emotional state at the moment, a discord of happiness and sorrow.

“…Thank you.”

Chapter 13

Chapter Text

One year later

Today was the day.

If Cinder’s life was a novel, this would be the start of the third chapter. She had spent most of chapter two building herself up towards this moment; now, all she had to do was take the next step.

She was heading down the usual path to Mistral, one that she had traveled so many times at this point it was basically committed to memory. All she had was herself, her weapons, and a backpack.

As she walked, Cinder reminded herself of the conversation she had the previous night.

“Hmm…that probably won’t be likely, no.”

Mary had just helped Cinder finish packing her bag. Some clothes, essentials, and of course, Dust cartridges. You could never have enough.

They had been discussing a basic plan of what to do once Cinder got to Mistral. Initially, Cinder had thought this would be a simple matter. Find a recruiting office, walk in, fill out an application, walk out. Ironclad, right?

…seemingly not, based on Mary’s answer just now.

“You’re probably not the only one who wants to become a huntress. Hundreds, maybe even thousands of other kids like yourself might have the exact same idea. You’ll most likely get buried.”

Although her advice was always sound, Mary still could be rather blunt on occasion. She had noticeably lightened up over the years, however.

“In any sort of profession, you have to make a good first impression. Something that shows you’re experienced, willing to do what it takes.”

“…so, fighting?” Cinder assumed, following along.

“Correct,” Mary affirmed. “Back in my day, the best place to demonstrate your skills was the Regional Tournament.” Her gaze turned a bit pensive.

“Some of the kingdom’s best always fought there. Combine them with a fair bit of newcomers with big aspirations, it was always a chaotic affair,” she chuckled a little, presumably scrolling through good memories. “But it was our little mess. ‘Never a dull moment in the regionals,’ people liked to say.”

“Now, I’m not asking you to go in and try winning the entire thing,” she continued. “That would be very difficult, not to mention it would just be an additional burden on your conscience. But, if you’re able to put yourself out there, prove your worth, you’ll most likely get noticed. And I think we both know how fast rumors and stories spread.”

A regional tournament. Presumably filled with hundreds of actual or prospective huntsmen fighting each other, one-on-one. No tricks, just a classic showdown of will and talent. Kind of like what Cinder had been doing with Mary all these years.

How hard could that be?

“…But I do want to win it all,” Cinder couldn’t help herself.

Mary chuckled.

“While it is good to hold yourself to a high standard, doing it constantly will only get in your way. Remember what I taught you?”

Cinder nodded.

Humility goes a long way, she repeated in her head. Whatever that means.

“Good,” Mary said. She brushed some hair out of Cinder’s face.

“Let me see your face one last time.”

Cinder found it difficult to let her; a sudden wash of memories from the past seven years came over her. Mary had been the closest thing Cinder could call “family,” and now, in a few hours’ time, they were going to part ways. Cinder wouldn’t trade these years away for anything else. For the first time, she felt like she had something she could cherish for the rest of her life.

“I’ve taught you everything I know,” Mary said. “You’ve become strong and wise, a greater warrior than I ever was. I’m proud of you, so you should be too.”

Cinder sniffled, wiping a tear away.

“…really?”

“Yes,” Mary said, giving Cinder a hug. “Do try to visit when you think of it.”

Cinder turned to look back up the path where she came from.

I will, Mary.

I will.

The outskirts of the city were visible on the horizon.

Just a little more now. A new future awaits.

Uhhhhh………

Cinder was a bit lost.

Although she knew a particular part of Mistral like the back of her hand, the same couldn’t be said for the rest of the city.

And boy, was there a lot.

For now, Cinder was just heading straight, trying to find the city center. If there was anything, or anyone, that could help her in the right direction, it would probably be around there.

As she walked, the buildings and crowds of people grew denser and denser. She must be close now.

“Excuse me,” Cinder instinctively said as she felt a bump on her shoulder. Refocusing her eyes, she got a full view of someone’s torso. She panned her vision up, finally locking eyes with the mountain of a man she had accidentally run into.

The man only gave her a look before pushing past her with a hmpf.

Weird…Cinder thought, before continuing.

Eventually, she came upon a square of sorts. It probably wasn’t the “main one,” per se, but it was close enough.

In the center of this cobblestone courtyard was a small fountain. Placed around it were four pillars, all equidistant from each other. All four were covered with posters. Cinder walked up to one, looking for any hints about this “regional tournament.”

Bingo.

Here was one. And what timing as well, it appeared that the round robins were due to start later today.

Sign up at your local recruiting office, Cinder read.

Ah, a recruiting office, just as I thought.

…where is a recruiting office?

Cinder looked around. There had to be at least 20 different buildings surrounding this square alone; there was no way she could check every single one, it would take her the rest of the day.

There was a man sleeping next to the fountain. Tearing down the poster, Cinder reluctantly made the decision to approach him.

“…excuse me…mister…?” Cinder started.

The man’s tired eyes shot open.

“Whaddayawant?” He slurred.

After composing herself from the sudden barrage of words, Cinder held up the poster.

“Uhh…is there a…um, recruiting office around here?” She asked sheepishly.

The man squinted, as if he didn’t understand what Cinder said. But eventually, he slowly raised an arm, pointing towards one of the buildings behind Cinder.

“oh…ok. Thank you…sir.” Cinder said.

With another unintelligible grumble, the man got back to sleeping.

Cinder walked into the aforementioned building; almost immediately, she was greeted by a man behind a desk.

“Take a number and wait,” he instructed, pointing towards a ticket machine by the desk.

Nodding slightly, Cinder ripped out a ticket as instructed. Walking about ten steps, she came upon a decently-sized waiting area. Finding an empty seat, she plopped down with some relief. She had been walking almost constantly up until that point, after all.

There were some other people waiting, but not many; the wait probably wouldn’t be that long.

...

Cinder shuffled her feet awkwardly; one of the first things she noticed is that everyone else here had a sense of…preparedness to them. Whether it was a neatly stacked set of papers or a manila folder under an arm, everybody knew the exact reason they were here. The same really couldn’t be said about Cinder. With her rather hefty bag, not to mention the twin swords on her back, she stood out like a sore thumb.

Mercifully, before she completely burned up from the implied embarrassment, Cinder heard her number get called over the speakers. Promptly getting up from her seat, she walked up towards one of the individual booths.

“How may I help you?” the woman behind the glass pane said in the most monotone voice ever.

“Um…I heard here you were accepting sign-ups for the regional tournament?” Cinder half-stated, half-asked.

Without a word, the woman picked out a sheet of paper from the many stacks around her. She slid it through the slit in the glass, along with a pen.

“Fill this out.”

Picking up the pen, Cinder scanned the document over. Lots of basic stuff, personal information and whatnot. She filled out the sheet to the best of her ability.

After a few minutes of scrawling, she pushed the form back through the slit. The woman looked it over.

“You didn’t fill in your last name,” she said, side-eyeing Cinder.

“Oh, uhh…” Cinder stammered. “I…don’t have a last name…”

Thinking about it, she never did ask Mary what her last name was, did she?

There was just a hint of softening in the woman’s steely gaze.

“…I understand,” she muttered. She cleared her throat.

“Regardless, we still do need a last name for you in the system. Do you have one in mind, or shall I make one for you?”

Cinder delved into her thoughts. Not that she didn’t trust the woman, per se, but in the end she was a complete stranger. No one knew Cinder as well as herself.

Um…ok. Try not to think too deep about it. Details just make my head spin.

Abstract concepts, maybe?

...Anything…?

For some reason, her mind decided to focus on one memory in particular: that day where she found that old machete by the river.

What was her original reason for going outside again?

“…Fall.”

“Is that your final choice?” The woman asked.

“Yes.”

The woman filled out the corresponding field on the form. Putting it aside, she pulled out what looked like a map.

“Alright then, Miss Fall,” she said. “Head to this location.” She circled something on the map. “You have about two hours.”

Chapter 14

Chapter Text

Following the map, Cinder got to the circled location right on time.

Then again, if she had just been given a basic area to search, this place wouldn’t have been hard to find in the end. Just off to the side of the main road was a large, flat plaza, a rare sight around these parts. Farther back was one of the strangest structures Cinder had ever seen.

Unlike the surrounding architecture, everything here seemed to have been meticulously crafted from red brick and stone. Beyond the front gates sat a circular stage, surrounded by a massive semicircle of seats. There were three distinct tiers visible; built into a hillside, they rose to dizzying heights above the plaza.

Cinder walked up to the front gate; the guard on duty waved her through. She noted a small plaque by the gate; seemingly this had been some sort of amphitheatre built in ancient times. In more recent history, it had been repurposed to hold a wide variety of events, one of which was the Mistral Regional Tournament.

A sign pointed the way to the locker rooms. Cinder followed the marked path, down a semi-covered hallway flanked by pillars on both sides.

The interior of the locker room was a mesmerizing blend of old and new. Built-in stone benches, expertly carved and crafted, formed a stark contrast to the plain steel lockers lining the walls. Choosing an empty one, Cinder put her bag inside. Taking out some stuff she would need later, she locked the door via the keypad.

Placed on one of the walls in the locker room was a giant scoreboard. Large groups of individual rounds got smaller and smaller the more towards the center they went, until there were room for just two nameplates. Cinder soon found her name under one of the divisions, along with her time slot.

Looks like I still have some time.

Her eyes scanned other parts of the board; many, many names, all completely unknown to her. But she didn’t care much for those at the moment. She was looking at the start times, seeing if there were any rounds that would begin before hers.

…It looked like there were quite a few.

That’s good. At least it won’t be a boring wait.

Cinder looked back at her nameplate one more time before leaving. Right now, it was just a name in a list of hundreds more. But soon, it would be a name that hundreds of thousands would know.

Cinder chose a random free seat near the front of the arena. Although the first rounds had already started, the stands were still quite bare.

Hmm…hopefully there’ll be more people when I’m up.

The relative lack of spectators meant that the clashes of metal echoed clearly throughout the arena. Cinder was quite taken in by the vastly different styles that each fighter had: nimble acrobatics, brute force, ranged attacks. At the same time, there was always something that she believed she could do better.

Although…

Every weapon Cinder had seen so far had some sort of “gun-mode,” or something that fired projectiles for ranged attacks. This was something that Cinder didn’t possess at all. Against a pure ranged opponent, she would already be at a disadvantage before the fight even began.

Oh well. That only means I have to work harder. Be better.

“May I sit here?”

Startled, Cinder almost jumped out of her seat. Someone had walked up next to her.

He appeared to be just around Cinder’s age. He had light tan skin, with short brown hair in a bowl cut. He was wearing green cargo pants, with a brown shirt that strangely only had one sleeve. Furthermore, his exposed right arm was…quite larger than his left.

“…Sure,” Cinder said, turning her attention back towards the arena.

“Great!” he beamed, taking a seat.

Why here of all places… Cinder grumbled to herself. It isn’t like there’s not enough seats to find right now…

…

“Are you participating in the tournament too?”

“Mhm,” Cinder muttered, eyes still oriented forward.

“Me too!”

An outstretched hand entered Cinder’s field of view. Muting a sigh, she finally turned towards the stranger.

“Pyke Rite,” he said. “Nice to meet you!”

“Cinder…Fall,” Cinder forced out. It would probably be a little bit before she could get fully used to that. “…Nice to meet you too.”

Social interaction. Right. That’s certainly a thing.

…I’m gonna have to get used to this, aren’t I?

Ugh…

“So,” Pyke started again. “Why are you fighting here?”

“I want to go to Haven.” There was really no way around it, was there?

“Oh, really? I didn’t know they accepted more people through here. Me, I already got accepted, so I’m just trying to get some last-minute practice in.”

So he’s going to Haven, too…

Note to self: I might be seeing some of the people I meet here an awful lot more soon.

“Are those your weapons?” Pyke asked, peeking around at Cinder’s back.

“Yep,” Cinder said. Already anticipating what the next question would be, she unsheathed Sunset for Pyke to see.

“Wow! This is cool!” Pyke looked towards the handle of the machete. “What’s this?” He asked, brushing a thumb over the cylindrical endplate.

“For my Dust. Magnetic.”

“You can make magnetic Dust? I didn’t know that! Did you come up with that yourself?”

“Um…” Cinder trailed off, choosing her next words carefully.

“…Yes,” she eventually decided.

What was a little lie going to do? In this case, Cinder thought it would benefit her more as opposed to just telling the truth.

Additionally, she wasn’t really sure how to reconcile the two parts of her past quite yet. Would people even believe an admittedly-unbelievable backstory like hers?

“What time are you up?” Pyke asked next.

Good question. Cinder looked around; there wasn’t any sort of clock she could reference.

“Do you have a watch?” She finally asked her first question in this primarily one-sided exchange.

“Yep!” Pyke glanced at his wrist. “3:47 pm.”

Cinder’s time was at 4. It would probably be best for her to get moving.

“I’m up soon then,” she said, getting up. “Gotta go.”

“That’s fine. Nice meeting you! Hopefully we can see each other again!”

“…hopefully,” Cinder muttered, before leaving.

While Cinder wasn’t expecting a full house when she walked out, she was nonetheless expecting some more people to have showed up.

…it looked like that wasn’t the case.

Sometimes Cinder wondered why she came up with all these lofty expectations; it was just asking to be disappointed in the end.

Is this what Mary meant by "humility?"

…Bah, enough of that. I got something else more important to think about right now.

Her opponent was in the opposite side of the arena. Someone else, who Cinder assumed to be the match official, waved both of them to the center.

“First,” the official said. “Take these.”

He handed both of them a wristband. Cinder slid it around her left wrist.

“Now, I will go over the rules. You are eliminated when you are either knocked out of the arena or if your Aura level drops below 25%.” He gestured to the wristbands.

“These wristbands will measure your Aura level in real-time. You can see them on that screen behind you. The white line around us demarcates the arena boundaries.”

“Rounds in this phase are 10 minutes each. If neither contestant is eliminated by the end of the round, it is declared a stalemate. Is all of this understood?”

Cinder nodded; so did her opponent.

“Good. I will signal the round start. Best of luck to both of you.”

…

Cinder stood as still as a statue at her end of the arena, waiting for the starting signal. Her eyes scanned the ground around her; there were only some basic elements of cover, whether it was stacked piles of stone or an old pillar.

As for her opponent…ah, well…

…was it bad that she had forgotten his name already?

…no matter. A name has nothing to do with how well he fights.

Cinder had caught a quick glimpse of his weapon during the small meeting at the center. Its primary form seemed to be a standard longsword, but Cinder had spotted a revolving cylinder built into the handguard. So, it probably had a secondary gun function.

Cinder glanced down at Sunrise and Sunset in her hands. That all being said, her opponent had probably done the exact same mini-analysis of her own weapons. If he had made the correct assumption about their capabilities…

The match official, standing clear of the arena, raised a starting pistol into the air.

*BANG*

In an instant, Cinder’s opponent had flipped back the huge blade of his sword, revealing a gun barrel.

…Great.

Cinder scrambled for cover as shots rang throughout the arena; she just barely managed to dive behind one of the short walls.

Well, I guessed correctly. Isn’t there supposed to be a part after where you should feel proud of yourself?

…Yeah, not really feeling that at the moment.

Sitting up close against the stone, Cinder tried to peek around the corner; a near-perfectly placed shot dashed that attempt quickly.

Crap.

Cinder knew she couldn’t hide forever; but at the same time, she had no direct response or defense against her opponent’s bullets. Her strength was in close-quarters combat, but her opponent could probably fill her up with about two dozen bullets before she could even get a step closer.

I need a distraction. Something that can break his line of sight, even for a second.

…should I try “that…?”

…nah. It’s too early; I don’t want to reveal all my cards from the get-go.

Instead…

Cinder looked down at one of her twin machetes; she could see a vague reflection of herself on the metal. The gears in her head began to turn.

Aha…

Slowly, carefully, Cinder poked out the blade, trying to find the right angle so she could get a glimpse of where her opponent was exactly. It could also tell her if he was completely focused or not.

Ooh, almost there…

As soon as she thought she found the correct angle…

*PING*

The machete violently recoiled in her hand; a shot of pain went through her wrist as she nearly lost her grip.

Agh, you…!

Cinder grunted in mild annoyance as she rolled her wrist.

…Well, there goes that plan, she began to think.

Until…

…wait a second.

Cinder looked back down at Sunrise, the machete that had gotten hit; it was perfectly fine, not looking like it had taken any damage whatsoever.

Oh. OH.

Hah!

You thought you were smart, huh!

Her opponent had accidentally just revealed a key weakness: his bullets didn’t have much stopping power.

Yeah, that’s right. That barrel’s not that long, either. That means the shots are also low velocity!

So, that means if I can get the timing right…

Cinder took a deep breath; she gripped Sunrise and Sunset as tight as she could.

Here we go.

She charged out of her cover; immediately, her eyes saw her opponent’s gun barrel light up with a bright flash. A split second later, her ears caught the characteristic crack of a shot being fired.

Time appeared to slow as Cinder’s mind focused to its full extent. As she had suspected, she could actually see the bullet zipping through the air as it flew straight towards her.

Hyeah!

Cinder took a big wave in front of her with Sunset.

*PING*

A small vibration shot up her arm; however, that was it. She didn’t feel any pain anywhere around her body.

Cinder’s vision readjusted. Her legs were still moving. Her left arm was just finishing up the wave she had commanded it to do. And, flying in hundreds of small pieces around her…

…were the remnants of the bullet she had just blocked.

Oh, it is ON now.

Her opponent was clearly thrown off by this sudden move; the follow up shot was slightly delayed.

*PING*

Cinder blocked it again with ease.

Before she could completely close the gap in one fell swoop, Cinder dove for cover one more time.

Now’s the time.

Stashing Sunrise over her shoulder, Cinder prepared her "secret weapon:" hidden underneath her coat, she had hooked a small pack around her waist filled with assorted Dust crystals. Reaching in, she pulled out a water crystal.

Closing her eyes, Cinder tapped into her Aura.

3…2…1…

…go.

Cinder charged out again, blocking another shot while she was at it. Winding up, she threw the already-steaming Dust crystal into the ground a little ahead of her.

*FWOOSH*

A thick cloud of steam filled the area.

“Hiyah!!!”

With a cry, Cinder leapt through the smoke screen, catching her opponent by complete surprise. There was a great clang as metal clashed with metal.

How do you like it now!?

With a backflip, Cinder dodged a big cut from her opponent’s sword. As soon as she landed on the ground, she launched herself right at him again, not leaving any time for him to recover.

Her opponent’s sword was large, but hefty; that meant Cinder could practically run circles around him. Keeping Sunrise and Sunset separated, she kept up the flurry of attacks. With every clash, the more ground her opponent conceded.

One.

Cinder jabbed with Sunrise to her opponent’s left.

Two.

She slashed sideways, clashing with a vertical block.

Three.

During the spin, she struck again with Sunset from the same direction.

Four.

The two successive strikes had knocked her opponent’s sword clear to the left; he was completely exposed.

“Grrahh!”

With an audible grunt, Cinder’s ultimate strike hit home. Her opponent’s Aura flickered.

Let's finish this!

Planting her feet, Cinder drove a hard shoulder square into her opponent’s abdomen, knocking him clear off his feet. Flying backwards, he landed outside of the boundary line.

*Phhuuwweeeettttt!*

The official’s whistle echoed through the arena.

“The match is over!” He proclaimed. “And the winner, via elimination…Cinder Fall!”

Cinder let out a heavy exhale as the adrenaline subsided. She turned to soak in the reactions of the few onlookers; there were claps, even a few whoops and cheers.

Once again, there weren’t much people. But regardless…

A strong sense of fulfillment filled Cinder from within.

This.

I live for this.

This is my moment.

For now, her performance was done.

Stashing her weapons with one last flourish, Cinder exited stage right.

Chapter 15

Chapter Text

Whilst waiting in the locker room for her next match, Cinder ran into Pyke again.

“Oh, hi again, Cinder!”

“Hey,” Cinder replied, closing her locker door.

Pyke looked like he had just gotten out of a match of his own. With a loud thump, he dropped his weapon on the floor, a giant drill-like contraption.

…so maybe that’s why his right arm is so big…Cinder couldn't help but muse.

“Did you just finish a match?” she asked.

“Yep!” Pyke beamed. “I won, just as I left it to!”

…left it to?

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, it’s, uh, my Semblance,” Pyke said. “It’s…unique.”

…a Semblance?

“What?” Cinder asked, perplexed.

“Oh, it’s basically just, if I find myself in a particular situation, I ask fate to take over. I accept that things are completely up to chance. So, it could affect the outcome, or not at all. That’s the beauty in it!”

Cinder was now even more confused, but she would have address all that a little later.

“No, I meant…what’s a ‘Semblance’?” She clarified.

Pyke raised an eyebrow.

“You don’t know what a Semblance is?”

Cinder shook her head.

“You used yours during your match though! Oh yeah, great job, by the way. You looked great!”

I used it during my match?

Oh…is it that?

Cinder glanced down at her hand. Pyke nodded.

“Yeah, that’s your Semblance. You can heat up objects with your hands. Pretty cool, if I say so myself.”

“I thought it was just part of your Aura…”

“Well, you’re technically right there,” Pyke said. “Semblances draw on your Aura. If you use your Semblance too much, you can drain your Aura.” He giggled a little.

“Although, I guess that’s not much of a problem for me.”

Cinder’s mind was somewhere else.

Had Mary lied to her?

“So,” Pyke started, taking Cinder out of her thoughts. “You probably haven’t named your Semblance yet, then, right?”

“…you name Semblances?”

“Mhm. Just like your weapons,” Pyke gave his drill a kick. “I call it Rasen. My semblance? Fate’s Hand. Sounds pretty *ominous,* right?”

Pyke was right; Cinder hadn’t thought of a name for her Semblance. But for some reason, unlike the other things she had been able to come up with names with so far, no ideas were springing into mind at the moment.

“…got any ideas?” Cinder suggested rather reluctantly. Hopefully she wouldn’t regret this.

“Hmmm,” Pyke’s brow furrowed in thought. “You can heat up things with your hands…”

“How about…’Scorching Caress’?”

Initially Cinder thought it sounded a bit risqué, but thinking about it one more time…

…it was surprisingly fitting.

“…sure. ‘Scorching Caress’ it is,” she said.

Pyke was smiling from ear to ear.

“Glad I could help!” he said.

Cinder nodded slowly. Maybe this was all a sign that she needed to lighten up a bit. She wasn't going to be fighting 100% of the time, after all.

“You wanna watch some more matches?”

“Alright.”

As they turned the corner the leave, Cinder bumped into someone else.

…why does this keep happening to me?

“Ugh, sorr-“

“C’mon, what the hell, man?”

At least this time, Cinder could see the other party’s face without having to physically adjust her head position. The first thing she noticed was the impossibly lavish three-piece suit.

The second thing she noticed was the fresh wine stain that covered the jacket.

“Like, do you know how expensive this was? Probably more than your life. Oh, wait…sh*t, that’s right. Normal people don’t usually have prices on their heads…”

…what the heck?

The stranger scratched his head, brushing over some of his jet-black, gelled hair.

“Look, I’m sorry…” Cinder tired again.

“Yeah, you better be. Now I gotta get my backup suit. Luckily, I thought of this and packed some extra ones. You hear that, mom?!” He cried out, to nobody in particular.

Cinder shot a look at Pyke.

“Um…Yeah, hi Archer…” he started.

“Hm?” the stranger squinted. “Oh, damn, it’s you. What’s up?” He and Pyke bumped fists.

Cinder still had many questions. First of foremost, how the hell did this guy and Pyke get to know each other?

Secondly, he also seemed to be around Cinder’s age. Why was he drinking already?

“Whew, ok. Archer, this is Cinder. Cinder, this is-“

“Sterling. Mallory. Archer. World’s Greatest Spy,” The stranger interrupted. “Sorry, I’ve done that like a hundred times today, it’s getting tiring.”

“…ok,” Pyke said. “Cinder and I are just going to watch some more matches – feel free to join us!”

“…yeah, whatever,” Archer said, walking away.

“…you know that person?” Cinder asked after they had gained some distance.

“Yeah,” Pyke shrugged. “Once you look past some things, he’s pretty funny. Great storyteller. He knows a lot of neat little trivia stuff, too.”

What does that have to do with anything…

Just as she thought she could get around to interacting with other people. Cinder decided right then and there that she would have no qualms if she never met that guy ever again.

Later

“…You’ve gotta be f*cking kidding me.”

“…likewise,” Cinder couldn’t help but agree out loud.

In yet another cruel twist of fate, Cinder’s next opponent was…none other than Archer.

“C’mon, are you sure there hasn’t been some sort of mistake?” Archer began to accost the official. The official shook his head.

“I assure you, sir, these rounds were made well in advance-” he tried to reason. Archer wasn’t having it.

After letting out a frustrated growl, Archer pinched the bridge of his nose, recomposing himself.

“Agh, you know what – fine. Let’s just get this over with,” he said, immediately turning around and walking to his end of the arena. Cinder and the official shared a mutual glance and a shrug.

“…well, you heard the man…I guess…” Cinder muttered.

…

Cinder hoped that this fight would at least be a little different. She kinda didn’t want to square off against two gun-heavy opponents in a row.

Archer had, indeed, switched his ruined suit for a new one. Gray on gray, along with a striped black and white tie. He had also donned a long trench coat.

…ok. He didn’t reveal any of his weapons back there – so, whatever it might be, it must be small enough to fit inside that coat.

What could it be…?

…

…it’s another gun, isn’t it?

With the bang of the starting gun, Archer flipped out the tails of his coat, pulling out two silenced, semiautomatic pistols.

Oh, but it’s TWO guns this time. What fun!

…who would’ve thought fighting could be this repetitive?

Cinder blew some air upward as she sat behind some cover, flipping some loose strands of hair out of her face.

Well, at least I thought about this…

During the time between her last match and this one, Cinder had taken some time to think ahead, coming up with some possible contingency plans. One of which, with great reluctance she might add, was facing off against another gun-wielding fighter like Archer.

That’s just a standard, run-of-the-mill pistol. Not much stopping power, again, but he could probably fire it much faster than the last guy. Probably has more capacity, too.

So that means…

Cinder joined Sunrise and Sunset together.

…I just have to adapt.

Instead of doing individual swings this time, when Cinder moved out of cover, she began to twirl the combined staff in front of her like it was a giant fan. As Sunrise and Sunset combined stood as tall, if not taller than her, she enjoyed complete protection against the hail of bullets.

However, since both of her hands were now occupied, Cinder couldn’t use a temporary smoke screen as she had done before. She would just have to go straight in.

It would probably add to the fear factor, no?

Conveniently, as soon as Cinder closed into striking range, Archer’s pistols clicked empty.

Yes!

Splitting her weapons into two, Cinder leapt for an aerial attack.

But just before she could strike…

Archer dropped one of his pistols. Reaching inside his jacket, he produced a sawn-off double barrel shotgun.

Oh, fu-

Cinder crossed Sunrise and Sunset in front of her in a last-ditch attempt to parry; however, she couldn’t block every single pellet.

*BOOM*

Cinder couldn’t really describe what it felt like to be shot. Honestly? It felt like someone had just punched her in the stomach. Hard.

The concussive force launched her backwards, beyond and over a rock pile.

Lying in a heap on the ground, Cinder suddenly inhaled sharply.

Hoh! Oh, my Gods! Ok, I’m still alive…

She quickly patted herself over; her Aura had protected her from any mortal wounds, but it still nonetheless hurt like hell. She shot a glance up to the large digital screen; her Aura level had taken a bad hit, now hovering around 65%.

Damn it! Cinder gritted her teeth.

…ok, fine. If you’re gonna do it like that…

Cinder reached into her pack of little goodies.

…Guess I won’t be playing fair, either.

This time, instead of a Dust crystal, Cinder produced a reasonable-sized rock.

Play ball!

From behind her cover, Cinder hurled the rock with malice.

*CRACK*

The characteristic fracturing of the rock filled her ears.

“Ack!”

Cinder used that aural cue to charge out, hurling one more rock she picked from the pile while she was at it. This time, she stayed planted on her feet as she charged; this allowed her to just barely sidestep the second blast from Archer’s shotgun.

I have you now!

Clutching both her machetes, Cinder swung downwards with all her might.

*CLANG*

With a twitch of his wrists, a hidden blade jutted out from each of Archer’s cuffs, allowing him to meet Cinder’s attack.

How many weapons does this guy have?!

Breaking the clash, Cinder slid a few feet away. This time, more motivated by frustration than anything, she threw Sunrise right at Archer, who dodged it with ease.

The next weapon out of Archer’s seemingly endless bag of tricks was a compact submachine gun. Before he could get it completely lined up, however, Cinder rapidly closed the distance. She used her free hand to grab his wrist, forcing the barrel downward. At the same time, she attempted a weak-side slash with Sunset; it hit Archer’s hidden cuff-blade.

Locked in a stalemate, the two struggled for a bit.

“You missed,” Archer quipped, referring to Cinder’s attempt to turn him into a literal human-sized pincushion earlier.

“Did I?” Cinder shot back, clicking the button on Sunset.

*WOOSH*

Emitting a slightly esoteric whisper, Sunrise flew rapidly back towards the two. The handle struck Archer square in the back of the head.

Ha!

Cinder took the opportunity to use yet another shoulder charge; however, this time, her opponent remained within the boundaries.

Grabbing Sunrise, Cinder joined the two again. Instead of charging right back in, she shot a smug grin at Archer, who was slowly getting up. He couldn’t help but laugh in response; a discreet admission that Cinder had gotten him.

Bring it!

The thunderous booms and occasional impacts of metal on metal resumed with renewed vigor.

This time, however, Cinder wasn’t feeling any anger or frustration. Even she didn’t understand why she was feeling this way.

Why was she…enjoying this?

She should hate Archer right now! Hate his guts! He had been so rude to her, not to mention unspeakably vulgar. And yet…

The high stakes of this match seemed to dissipate in real-time. It was almost like they were playing a game now. What curveball would Archer throw at Cinder next? How would Cinder respond?

Archer seemed to be sharing the same sentiment, a strange grin being permanently plastered on his face. Cinder wasn’t sure how to describe it at first.

…sh*t-eating?

Yeah, let’s go with that.

Soon, there was absolutely zero semblance of thought-out or calculated moves to be seen whatsoever. Archer was eventually reduced to using a folded-up rifle as some sort of club; Cinder was still mixing in some rock throws combined with increasingly aggressive swings with her weapons.

But then, just when they were about to clash for what seemed like the hundredth time…

*Phhuuwweeeettttt!*

So focused they were in their fighting that both Cinder and Archer were completely caught off guard by the sound of the official’s whistle. Cinder tripped over herself and fell; Archer, now suddenly having nothing to swing at, faceplanted as well.

“Time is up! As neither contestant has been eliminated, this match is a stalemate!”

What? Had ten minutes passed that quickly?

“…aw, come on!”

Naturally, Archer was the first to complain.

“That couldn’t have been ten minutes! Are you kidding?!”

Even Cinder surprised herself with what she did next.

“Yeah, even one more second and I would’ve got him!” She half-agreed, running up to the scrum.

That last part probably wasn’t true, but nonetheless a sudden irrational anger filled Cinder from within. She had been having so much fun, until she was rather rudely interrupted!

Both Cinder and Archer shot each other a perplexed look. Although neither of them could read minds, they both were thinking the same thing.

“Hmph!” Scoffing in unison, they both quickly turned away.

Chapter 16

Chapter Text

Now Cinder understood what Mary meant.

More and more people began to show up as the hours passed. With each completed match, the crowd grew more and more raucous. The energy that the arena radiated was an entirely different beast compared to the level in the first few matches. There were even some fights breaking out in the stands in conjunction with the one on the stage!

It was getting late; Cinder should’ve been feeling dead-tired by now. But that couldn’t have been farther from the truth. An insatiable drive was driving her to keep coming back for more, more dueling. She let the crowd’s energy fuel her fire through the night.

Quite annoyingly, that draw ended up being the only blemish on Cinder’s record. She swept through her remaining two matches with ease.

With the preliminary rounds done, the elimination brackets began. Sitting comfortably on top of her group, Cinder was allowed to move on.

If one could see the preliminary rounds as a warm-up, the elimination rounds would be where the actual action began. The stakes were much higher here; you lose, you’re out.

This seemed to reflect on the other contestants, as Cinder noticed. There were much bigger, more physically impressive risks being taken, as it could always be willed to a greater result. More strategies or tricks being employed that could be seen as underhanded to some. But, most importantly, there was the psychological factor. It was easier to make decisions on the fly when you had literal thousands of people cheering around you, supporting you no matter which choice you made.

And, while there weren’t audible chants of her name from the stands quite yet, Cinder’s performance so far had garnered her a few “fans,” so to speak.

So, when she stepped out into the ring to begin her first elimination match, she couldn’t help but egg the crowd on.

As usual, there was a small meeting before the match started to discuss the rules.

“Welcome to the elimination rounds,” a different official said. “Rounds in this segment now last 15 minutes. You are still eliminated if your Aura level drops below 25%, but the boundaries have now been removed from the arena.” He gestured towards the stage around him.

“As you can see, the grounds have also been modified. Use this information as you wish.”

The official broke the conference. Her opponent stuck out a gloved hand.

“May the better fighter win,” she said.

Cinder was initially taken aback; not one of her previous opponents had tried to interact with her before the match, let alone be cordial and respectful.

She eventually took her hand.

“Yeah…good luck to you too,” she muttered.

During the walk back to her half of the arena, Cinder’s brain was silently whirring with the same usual pre-match analysis.

Now she remembered, she had seen her opponent fight before. Trifa, she thought her name was. Her weapon was a cross between a suppressed submachine gun and twin curved blades, built into the wire-stock. She could either flip up that stock and use the contraption as a semi-traditional sword, or she could disconnect those two blades to use individually.

Cinder made a mental note of the modified grounds: everything was overall denser, meaning some lines of sight were blocked without one side actually trying to make it that way. Despite this, one sightline was still clear: the one running right through the center, where Cinder and Trifa were currently aligned with.

Chock-full of anticipation, Cinder steeled her mind as she waited for the starting signal.

At the start of the gun…

…nothing happened.

All the tension within Cinder released all at once. She had considered being the first one to attack, but she had found that she preferred this defense-first style from the matches she had done so far. It was better to let your opponent make the first mistake as opposed to yourself.

But here? It seemed like Trifa was employing the same strategy. And when two people accidently think the same thing…

After a second of awkward silence, Cinder tried taking a step to her right. Trifa didn’t respond at first, but she soon did the same thing, a step to her right. Cinder took another one; same response.

It was almost like Trifa was trying to hyper-analyze every move Cinder made. It was every bit as uncomfortable as it was slightly annoying.

Having discerned that Trifa wouldn’t be making the first move, Cinder eased up her posture a little. She began to pace around as if she was on a Sunday walk, twirling one of her machetes in her hand. This drew some oohs and ahhs from the eager crowd.

For her last little trick, Cinder tossed Sunset up into the air. Doing a spin in place, she stopped just in time to catch it on its way down.

…Now.

As soon as she felt her hand get a firm grip the handle, Cinder bolted at full speed across the arena, straight towards her opponent.

Despite this sudden move, Trifa didn’t seem at all rattled. She calmly switched her weapon to its sword mode to meet Cinder’s attack.

The ensuing metallic clang drew a loud cheer from the stands.

Cinder then went into a semi-acrobatic routine, combining her two weapons into one. Despite this, she wasn’t going all out, not quite yet. She had made the first move, so she had to take extra care not to make any careless mistakes.

Whether it was a jab to one side transitioning into a slash to the other, or a vertical twirl culminating in a heavy downwards swing, Trifa was able to answer every one of Cinder’s attacks. With every unsuccessful attempt, the more impatient Cinder grew.

Suddenly, Trifa dodged a jab from Cinder’s staff with a head feint. Her left hand shot out, grabbing the handle.

What the-let go!

Pulling Sunrise and Sunset upwards, Trifa swung a vicious swing towards Cinder’s midsection. Using all the strength she could manage in the heat of the moment, Cinder was just barely able to rotate her staff just enough to block.

However, much to Cinder’s surprise, Trifa wasn’t done. Jerking Cinder towards her, she kneed her in the stomach.

“Ack!”

Cinder crumpled to the ground; her weapon flew out of her hands, landing just out of reach.

No…!

With all the air knocked out of her, Cinder couldn’t spare the energy to get back up. Trifa would deliver the finishing blow in an instant if she tried. Desperately looking around, Cinder’s field of view caught Trifa’s feet.

Come on…!

Mustering all her strength, Cinder was able to will her body into doing an impromptu leg sweep. While Trifa was able to dodge it by simply jumping, it gave Cinder the time she needed to scamper away. Quickly picking up her dropped weapon, she disengaged momentarily to recover.

…What is going on?

It was like Cinder was fighting a completely different person; This was nothing like what she had observed earlier!

From seeing her matches earlier in the day, Cinder had noted Trifa’s fighting style was a bit slow, apathetic even. She seemed completely unconcerned that there was a time limit to these rounds; despite this, she was always able to snatch victory at the last second, quite literally.

But from what Cinder had just seen in that exchange…

Trifa was fighting with energy, something completely unexpected. It was almost like she had drank a full thermos of coffee or something between her last match and this one. Well, maybe she did. But then again, what kind of crazy person drinks coffee this late at night? And for this match in particular?

Stabilizing her breathing, Cinder turned out of her cover. Trifa was still standing at the same spot where she was from before, just staring. It was unsettling; Cinder could read nothing from that gaze.

With one last deep breath, Cinder split Sunrise and Sunset. She wasn’t going to hold back now.

Hope you’re ready, ‘cause I am.

If Trifa was feeling even the slightest bit winded from Cinder’s sudden escalation in intensity, she didn’t show it in her face. Her movements, however, was a different story, at least Cinder thought.

Cinder loved going all out. Why? Because it works! When in doubt, just overwhelm your opponent with brute force. Simple as that!

After a clash, Trifa attempted a swing from Cinder’s left. Cinder countered it with Sunset, going into a left-to-right spin. Blocking another move with Sunrise from the opposite side, she then swung both her weapons in sync, the diagonal attack hitting Trifa’s vertical counter.

Cinder then went for an exaggerated jab with Sunset to Trifa’s right. She dodged it by shifting to the left, just as Cinder wanted her to.

Now!

Cinder dropped Sunset in midair. Turning her body slightly, she grabbed it in a reverse grip just as Trifa was attempting a two-handed counter-attack to her left. With a lot more extra momentum, Cinder was able to literally pull down Trifa’s weapon to the ground.

Now presented with an opportunity, Cinder took it. She swung Sunrise with all her might. Perhaps instinctively, Trifa released one of her hands from her sword in a last-ditch attempt to protect herself.

*SKRIPPPP*

Sunrise’s sharp edge clipped part of Trifa’s sleeve and her glove.

sh*t! Off the mark!

Hitting the ground, Trifa delivered a two-footed kick into Cinder’s midsection. She was a bit more prepared for it this time, but she was knocked back nonetheless.

Filled with newfound vigor, Cinder gave herself an imaginary pat on the back.

Ok. This “strategy” works. I can just overwhelm her.

So, back to it-wha…?

Part if Trifa’s left sleeve was now torn, not to mention the glove was a complete loss. But what momentarily perplexed Cinder was what they were formerly covering.

Her hand was a strange shade of pale blue, just like her eyes and hair. Some individual veins of the same color could also be seen running further up her arm, which was a more normal skin tone.

Dusting herself off, Trifa glanced down at her exposed left hand; she then looked back at Cinder.

“Interesting…” she muttered.

…Really? That’s all you have to say? After all that?

Cinder shook off some tiredness. Preparing herself, she charged in.

What happened next surprised the whole arena.

From Trifa’s left hand came out a silky, white string. She shot it towards the top of one of the stone pillars, lifting herself up into the air.

What the heck…?

Cinder screeched to a halt.

Shooting another string onto another pillar, Trifa began to swing through the air as if she was some sort of ninja. Switching her weapon into its gun mode, she began to rain bullets from above. Cinder was left scrambling, once again having to employ the “super-fan” strategy with her combined staff.

Are those…webs?

Was that her semblance? They can do that?!

Cinder gritted her teeth.

Come on! Focus, Cinder!

Nothing can completely catch me off guard for long. Remember that?

Just…

...adapt!!!

Quickly splitting her staff, Cinder threw Sunrise as soon as Trifa swung again. The blade cut through the web, leaving her to fall.

Yes!

As she fell, Trifa shot out another web, this time right at Cinder. It caught around her foot, sticking it to the ground.

What? Oh, shi-

Cinder barely even had a second to struggle before Trifa went straight into attack mode. Quickly blocking, Cinder called Sunrise back to her.

*WHOOSH*

As the magnets were attracted to the swords rather than Cinder herself, Sunrise naturally headed towards a slightly offset direction. Trifa took this as another attack, and backed off before the back of the handle hit her.

…I’ll take it.

Plucking the machete out of the air, Cinder cut herself free. Her vision blurred momentarily; she blinked a couple times, trying to refocus.

All the signs were pointing to one thing; Cinder was slowly running out of energy. It was expected in a sense; it was honestly a miracle that she had gone this far without a single break. She had to finish this, quickly.

Trifa shot out another web; this time, it stuck to Cinder’s overcoat.

Um…cool.

I don’t care.

Undeterred, Cinder attempted to go on the offensive. With every swing, however, her limbs felt heavier and heavier. This wasn’t good.

What’s going on?!

Was I this close to exhaustion this entire time?!

In a last-ditch attempt, Cinder put all her remaining strength and focus into a combined jab-spin combo; only, when the jab inevitably missed, her body refused to spin.

Oh, no…!

Off balance, Cinder felt herself fall forward; Trifa grabbed one of her arms and twisted it violently behind her back.

Cinder hit the ground with a thud; this time, however, she wasn’t getting back up.

Everything hurt. Every limb was screaming. Her brain was overwhelmed by this heavy fog.

*Phhuuwweeeettttt!*

Cinder didn’t even need to hear the official to know that she had just lost. In fact, she literally didn’t hear him.

That was because she had already blacked out.

Chapter 17

Chapter Text

Leonardo Lionheart was having a good day.

It was always exciting, this time of the month. The start of the school year was coming up, and he, for one, couldn’t wait. Would he be the headmaster of Haven Academy if he wasn’t? There were so much preparations to be done!

After another round of faculty meetings that took up most of that day, Lionheart had taken some time to visit the Regionals. While this could've be a time to catch up with old colleagues and friends, he also had another reason for coming here.

This had become a sort of routine for him, for about 10 years coming now: using the Regional Tournament as another way of scouting prospective students. Although, admittedly, he had first done this for more self-serving reasons (to boost Haven’s enrollment numbers a bit on paper), he soon surprised himself with how much untapped potential this method had. This year was no exception.

“Mhm, hm. Very good, very good,” he muttered to himself, looking over a list of names he had compiled. He recognized some of them, as they had been accepted already, but there were also quite a few new names. That was what Lionheart was looking for. At this pace, he would have plenty of people to round out the incoming class.

“What do you think, Logan?” He asked the person sitting next to him.

Logan Icirrus was the most senior of Haven’s faculty, and one of the longest tenured professors in the institution's entire history. He had been teaching from even before Lionheart had been appointed headmaster, which as a bit longer ago than he’d like to admit. If there was anyone that Lionheart felt the most confident in confiding for matters such as these, it was him.

“Hmm…” Icirrus muttered. He was shuffling through some papers, some ID sheets of some of the tournament’s many participants. He had separated one in particular from the pile, resting it on his leg.

Lionheart peeked over to the loose sheet, silently reading the name at the top of the page.

“Miss…Fall? Is that someone you’re watching?” Lionheart asked.

“…yes.”

Lionheart tried to remember if he had seen this “Cinder Fall” fight. He had been here for a while, after all…

“Ah, yes,” he said. “I remember her now. She was knocked out in the first elimination round. Poor girl. She pushed herself too hard and drained her Aura.”

This was unusual. Although Lionheart tried to look past the boundaries of the competition, and more towards the very fighters themselves, picking someone who was eliminated very early on was nonetheless out of character for Logan.

“If I may ask, what do you see in her?” Lionheart inquired. “I could see some potential, but she still seems very raw.”

Icirrus adjusted his wire-rimmed glasses as he internally considered his answer.

“…her Dust.”

“Her Dust?” Lionheart repeated. He implored his mind to think back again; that was right, the girl had utilized a rarer type of Dust during the few rounds she had made appearances in.

“The type, and the style,” Icirrus clarified further. His aged, wrinkled eyes narrowed.

“It’s something I haven’t seen in a long time…”

Cinder awoke with a start; she had just had the most horrible nightmare.

She was back in the orphanage, back to suffering endless amounts of abuse, whether it was from other kids or her “caretakers.” The worst thing about it all?

She still remembered every single face. She had been away from the place for seven years, and she could still remember.

Every.

Single.

Detail.

After getting her bearings back, Cinder looked around. She was in a hospital bed. There were some faint beeps and whirrs from the machine next to her, hooked up to a pack around her arm.

All the memories came flowing back at once; Cinder remembered now. She had gambled it all on this one chance…

…and she had failed.

Where could she go now? Back to Mary’s house? How could she even face her after what she had done?

Her wrapped arm began to tremble as frustration grew within; it had to be released.

So, Cinder opened the floodgates.

She screamed.

Over and over again.

She thrashed back and forth in her bed.

She caused so much commotion that a nurse came rushing in. Her presence didn’t help; she was a doctor, not a physiatrist. And, most importantly, she wasn’t anyone Cinder knew. She wasn’t Mary.

Eventually, Cinder was able to calm down a bit, enough to actually listen to the other person who had been desperately trying to get her to do that very thing for the past few minutes.

“Now, now. I understand you’re frustrated, but you cannot physically exert yourself in any further way at the moment,” the nurse said. “Your Aura is completely drained; what you need right now is rest for it to recover.”

“Is this…really all necessary?” Cinder looked around at the multitude of machines around her.

“It is,” the nurse confirmed. “Not only that, professional treatment will certainly help your case more than just your own instinct.”

“…how long do I have to be here?”

“Worst case, a few days. Do try to get some more sleep for now; I’ll check back in a couple hours.”

With that, the nurse left. Cinder was left alone to her own conflicted, frustrated thoughts.

Cinder absentmindedly chewed her breakfast, which consisted some eggs and potatoes. She was coming up on her second full day here. According to the scans, her progress was good; she could be discharged as early as today at this rate.

It was here that Cinder had discovered another problem that added to her current predicament; she had no way to pay.

For a brief second, she considered just sneaking out. But before she could entertain that thought further…

There was a knock on the door.

“You have a visitor,” said a voice from outside.

Huh?

Cinder’s heart skipped a beat. Oh no.

Was it Mary?

She hadn’t been able to discern any specific faces in the stands that night. Had Mary been watching?

Cinder hadn’t even thought of what to say if she saw her again!

Fearing the worst, Cinder watched the door slowly open. Into the room stepped a shoe…that she didn’t recognize.

Whew…

Who actually walked in was a complete stranger. He was a wiry old man, although his posture remained tall and resolute. His wrinkled face had a sense of aged stoicism to it; something Cinder could start to see in Mary.

“Cinder Fall?” he asked.

“…that’s me,” Cinder affirmed.

“Good, good,” he muttered. He gestured to a chair next to Cinder’s bed. “May I?”

Cinder nodded.

The stranger settled into the chair with a slightly strained exhale.

“First things first, how are you feeling?” He asked.

“Better,” Cinder replied, finishing the rest of her plate. “I’m sorry, but do I know you?”

“Perhaps you will, in due time,” the stranger replied. “Professor Logan Icirrus at your service. Senior Combat Instructor at Haven Academy.”

Haven Academy. Cinder straightened up a little at the uttering of those two words.

“You-you’re…from Haven?” she stammered.

“That is what I just said, yes,” Professor Icirrus confirmed. “I am here because I have a proposition for you.”

Cinder nodded eagerly, full of anticipation.

“To put it in simple terms, I have seen your combat skills and determined that you are worthy of joining the incoming class. I have confided with Headmaster Lionheart, and he shares the same opinion as well.”

“When can I go?” Cinder couldn’t hold herself back any longer.

The corners of Icirrus’ mouth upturned slightly.

“The semester starts in five days. An airship will depart from the Central transit center at noon sharp.”

Five days! What luck-

Oh. Wait a second.

Cinder still had nowhere to stay here in the city. Walking all the way back to Mary’s house and then all the way back didn’t seem like a logical idea, either. And if there was something that Cinder absolutely, positively despised, it would be living on the streets. It would just be like the orphanage all over again.

“I, um…” Cinder trailed off, not really sure how to frame the sentence. “I…don’t really have anywhere to stay at the moment…I come from outside the city, you see…”

An eyebrow raised.

“Hmm…I suppose then we could arrange for you to arrive a couple days early. Campus is technically open at the moment, it’s just that no students have arrived yet…”

“That…that would be great, professor!” Cinder said, suddenly trying to be a bit more formal. “Thank you so much!”

With a nod, Icirrus got up from the chair.

“In that case, I shall arrange for you to be released tomorrow morning. In the meantime, make sure you are fully recovered and ready to go by then.”

Before he left, Icirrus stopped in the hallway.

“One more thing, if I may. Does the term ‘Grimm Reaper’ mean anything to you?”

Grimm…Reaper…

It certainly sounded like a badass nickname. But, nonetheless…

“…nope. Never heard it before.”

Icirrus didn’t seem too particularly satisfied with the answer, but he dropped it anyway.

“…I see. See you tomorrow,” he said, before closing the door.

Cinder still wasn’t sure if she was dreaming. A pleasant dream would certainly be a change, for once, but she vastly preferred this to be reality right now.

Her plan – no, her and Mary’s plan had worked. Although it hadn’t nearly gone as smoothly as Cinder had expected it to be, it had nonetheless fulfilled its main objective. She had just gone over the ultimate hurdle; she was in.

Haven Academy. Here I come!

Chapter 18

Chapter Text

Five days later

Cinder had learned something new about herself: she really didn’t like being alone.

She might as well have been bouncing off the walls of the hospital when she walked out of that place five days ago. The entire way to Haven, she had dutifully followed behind Professor Icirrus; presently, she owed everything to him, after all.

As the airship (a singular one, apparently) wasn’t available to pick up and drop off two people early, their trek to Haven had involved some walking, a cable car, then more walking. They were soon in the outskirts of the city, in a valley that was small in comparison to the mountains that flanked it on both sides.

Placed snugly within the little resemblance of flatland was Haven’s campus proper. A medium-height, blue-rooved stone wall separated the grounds from the surrounding wilderness. Immediately beyond the big main gate, three buildings formed a neat square around a small courtyard. Right in the center was a stone emblem with the crest of Mistral on it. All the buildings around here followed the same general architectural style as the rest of the city, but to a more refined, ornate degree: gold embellishments, white stone, and higher quality wood was the norm.

The entire area was very large and spacious; and, for the past five days at least, completely empty.

The honeymoon period had been rather short, mainly because Cinder had managed to explore almost the entire campus on just the first day. That was how far the initial excitement had taken her.

Afterwards…? It was a whole bunch of nothing. There wasn’t particularly much to do when you were the only student on campus. And although Cinder had seen a few staff or faculty roaming around a couple times, she hadn’t worked up the confidence quite yet to approach any of them. She wasn’t technically supposed to be here, after all…

Today, however? That was about to change.

As soon as Cinder woke up, she hid away some of her stuff in a place where it couldn’t be easily seen. Grabbing something from the dining hall (the workers there didn’t seem to care), she headed outside past the “quad,” (as it was called here, seemingly) the grand hall, and the path out of this little cluster of buildings.

The path extended into a more wooded area, until it gave way once again to another large clearing. Unlike earlier, the ground here was covered with black tarmac.

There’s the airstrip.

If I’m right…

Through some remnants of the morning mist, a large shadow materialized in the distance. Not wanting to be seen quite yet, Cinder quickly ducked behind a tree.

Slowly but surely, the airship came into full view. It was a majestic, if slightly awkward looking contraption; it had a large wooden hull that emulated a seafaring ship, with two sails and two propellers at the front and back. It also had “wings,” so to speak; made of canvas, they slowly flapped as the airship flew through the air.

Slowing even further, the airship hovered over the landing pad for a brief second before descending, hitting the ground with a thunk. Three sets of stairs popped out from different places; two on either side of a door that had opened in the lower part of the hull, and one more from the back.

Soon, a steady group of fellow newly-admitted students began to stream out. The majority of initial reactions were kind of just like Cinder’s: somewhat starstruck at the sights before them.

Good, good. Everybody’s kind of distracted; I can use this to my advantage…

People stopped coming out of the rear stair; Cinder took this as a cue to move. Sneaking out of her spot, she ran towards the airship, taking some cover near the rear of it. First taking a peek out, she then walked out casually, blending in with the crowd. She wasn’t noticed at all; she just looked like any other student that had exited the airship.

Cinder quietly followed the crowd in, not really paying attention to anything in particular. Until, she felt a tap on her shoulder.

“…Cinder?”

Cinder recognized that voice. She turned around; it was none other than Pyke.

“It is you! Hello again!”

“Likewise,” Cinder replied.

“So you did end up getting in! Heh, if I had known that, maybe I would have tried it myself,” Pyke’s gaze wandered. “The written test this year was a bit of a chore.”

Looks like a dodged a bullet there…

While general knowledge could always be learned through experience, academic knowledge was a different story. Right now, that part of Cinder’s brain was empty. Like, completely. There might as well be cobwebs in there.

“It’s funny, I didn’t see you in the airship,” Pyke commented.

Uh oh.

Cinder still didn’t want to reveal that she had already been here a for a bit. She quickly scrambled for a believable lie.

“Um…oh, well, you see, I’m not quite good with heights…” she trailed off, swaying back and forth a little to try to sell it further.

To be honest, even she didn’t know if she was afraid of heights or not. Hopefully not…

I seemed fine in that cable car back then…but then again, maybe all the excitement masked it…

Luckily, the lie seemed to work.

“Oh, I see! I can understand that; one of my friends had the same thing.”

With that out of the way, Cinder tried to change the subject.

“So, now that we’re here,” she started, pretending to gaze around. “What happens next?”

“Well, from what I’ve heard, just for today, we all sleep together in various places around campus. Tomorrow is Initiation, where the actual fun begins.”

“Initiation?” Cinder repeated.

“Yep! It’s how all the academies choose teams during your entire time here,” Pyke explained.

…Teams?

Hoh ho…

“How does Initiation work?”

“Actually, I’m not too sure,” Pyke replied. “Haven seems to switch them up pretty regularly; they’re unique in that regard. The others, they've kept the same routine for a while. I heard that in Vale, they launch you into a forest full of Grimm!”

That certainly sounds like an experience…

…But somehow, I don’t hate it. Huh.

The group soon arrived at the main campus. It was here where people started to branch out, spreading all over the area.

“You think of a place to crash for the night yet?” Pyke asked.

“Hmm…” Cinder muttered in fake thought. “There.” She pointed to the first building past the quad, where her stuff currently was.

“The one behind the big one?” Pyke peeked towards the direction Cinder was pointing at. “Sounds like a plan!”

As they walked, chatting about other things, Cinder felt more and more at ease being around Pyke. For once, she felt like she could call him a “friend.”

Hopefully I can make some more, she thought to herself.

Later, that night…

“…oh. It’s you.”

“Likewise…again.”

…Seriously? Cinder couldn’t believe her luck at times.

Archer was also here?

Who’s next, Trifa?

“We still need to finish that fight, you know.”

“Yeah,” Cinder reluctantly agreed, again.

Archer reached into his jacket pocket (a blue one this time), pulling out a flask. Popping the cap off, he took a swig.

“…you can drink?” Cinder couldn’t help but remark, addressing a lingering question from their previous meeting.

“Is there any law that says I can’t?” Archer scoffed.

Cinder had no reply to that. Even if there was one, she wouldn’t know about it, anyway…

“Exactly,” Archer correctly took Cinder’s silence as her answer.

Cinder exhaled through her nose. She really, really wanted to get one up on Archer again, but time and time again, he would end up getting her back or she would inadvertently end up agreeing with him. Just what was their relationship right now? Cinder didn’t know, and she didn’t like that at all.

“Ugh!” Cinder let out a frustrated growl. “I can't believe I came all the way here just to possibly have to share a room with you-"

“Phrasing.”

“…for the next four-wait, what?” Cinder’s train of thought broke at Archer’s sudden interjection.

“Phrasing!”

“Phrasing, what?”

“Phrasing, as in watch what you say,” Archer explained. “It can be taken the wrong way, do I even have to explain this to you?”

…came all the way here…

...share a room...

Oh.

Aw, f*ck. He’s right.

“…Point taken,” Cinder grumbled out, while simultaneously trying to remember what she was about to say. “Aw, great, now I forgot what I was going to say!”

“Not my fault.”

“…What?! Of course it was yours!”

“Look, if you can’t multitask, that ain’t my problem.”

“Agh, you…!”

Cinder was interrupted by a sudden commotion. Looking towards the direction it was coming from, she ended up having to scramble out of the way of a large crowd of people rushing straight towards her. The group sped past, heading elsewhere.

“What’s got them all riled up?” Archer remarked. Cinder shrugged, watching the group bust through the doors of the building.

“Hm?” Archer turned back. “Oh, you too?”

Trying (and maybe failing) to follow the crowd, Pyke screeched to a halt in front of the two.

“Oh hey, you two! What, you aren’t following?”

“…what for?” Archer and Cinder said in unison; they subsequently shot each other yet another look.

“Well, the Prince is here, that’s why!”

…"the Prince?"

“…as in, an actual Prince?” Cinder asked.

“Yep! The second Prince, more specifically. It’s amazing, we’re going to be sharing this school with actual royalty!” Pyke looked ahead. “Anyway, gotta go!”

With that, he left Archer and Cinder in their silence.

“…care to explain?”

“I didn’t even know people still cared about the Royal Family that much…” Archer muttered, surprisingly taking up Cinder’s offer. “They don’t even rule anything nowadays…”

Cinder began to connect the dots in her head.

I guess there used to be Kings here in Mistral. But not anymore.

…so yeah, why are people that excited, then?

“Anyway, I need another drink,” Archer tipped over his flask, revealing that it was empty. “See you later, and I don’t mean that in a good way.”

“…whatever."

Left alone, Cinder decided to head elsewhere. Too much people would just give her social whiplash. Stepping outside, she wandered around the quad. Her adventures eventually took her to one of the two towers on either side. She tried the door; it was locked.

Hmph.

Cinder began to walk around towards the back, seeing if there was another way in.

She didn’t find another door. Instead, she ended up finding another person, seemingly trying to hide from someone (or something).

“Oh, heavens!” the other person exclaimed in surprise.

“…sorry,” Cinder muttered, perfectly content with walking past. Before she could, however…

“Hm? Are you perhaps not aware of who I am?”

…what kind of question is that?

Interest now piqued, Cinder turned around.

“Agh, stupid me, I'm afraid I've just outed myself…”

“…sorry, I still don’t know who you are,” Cinder admitted flatly.

“Is that so? Fascinating…” the stranger muttered, leaning in closer. "I had assumed that everyone knew who I was..."

Whoa. Personal space…

This other person was a bit taller than Cinder. They had short, shoulder length blue hair, and rather striking red eyes.

The stranger straightened up.

“Then, I find it prudent that we exchange introductions, then,” they gave a courteous bow.

“Rosaria Tsukiyama. Second Prince of Celestia.”

Cinder’s eyes lit up with realization.

Oh…

So this was the “prince.”

Hell of a way to meet 'em, eh?

"Cinder Fall. Nice to meet you...”

…wait a second, huh?

Cinder glanced downward.

…is it some sort of royal tradition that princes wear skirts…?

Not to mention, that voice…definitely of the female variety.

“Ah!” Rosaria exclaimed, seemingly having caught on to Cinder’s thought process. “Now that we’ve exchanged pleasantries, I’m afraid I have to demand something from you. It will be only this one, however; will you be so inclined?”

“…sure,” Cinder muttered, struggling to keep up with the constant flow of eloquent vocabulary. The slightly posh, high-class accent didn’t help matters.

“Very well! This has been a constant point of confusion, I’m afraid; yes, I am a Prince. That is my official title. If you decide to refer to me by this form of address, take utmost care to make this distinction. It is a mere formality, after all, something this world desperately needs more of.”

Cinder slowly nodded.

So it’s just a terminology thing. She’s a girl, through and through.

“…Good? Now, I’m afraid to admit, I have just deceived you. One more request, if I may, for familiarity's sake: please, call me Rosie.”

“Alright…Rosie,” Cinder tried, following along.

“Lovely! Happy days!” Rosie exclaimed. “I must say, it is refreshing to finally meet someone that isn’t constantly pestering me for my autograph, or anything else. On that subject, has that crowd dispersed yet?" She peeked around behind to where Cinder had come from.

"I think so," Cinder replied. She certainly hadn't been followed here, or had she seen much people about outside.

"Excellent. However, so I've found, more evasion a posteriori is often necessary," Rosie gave one more formal bow.

"With that, regrettably, I must make my leave. I look forward to seeing each other again, Cinder!”

“…you too.”

...Certainly a wide range of characters in this school...

Chapter 19

Chapter Text

The next day

It was time for the Initiation ceremony. Presently, the entire student body was gathered in the Grand Hall, where the Headmaster was making a speech. Flanked on his sides were the faculty. Even from where she was, Cinder could feel Icirrus’ piercing gaze bearing down on her.

I do wonder, why is he so interested in me?

…

Cinder yawned; all this talking business was a bit of a bore. She just wanted to get on with the actual thing at this point.

Even worse…

Heh, “Phrasing,” Cinder internally remarked at one specific point of Lionheart’s speech. Her train of thought immediately turned serious.

…hang on a second. Why am I thinking this?

Oh Gods, I’m starting to think just like Archer, aren’t I?

Nonononononononono, Ihatethisihatethisihatethis…

“…With that, let the ceremony begin!” Headmaster Lionheart concluded with a flourish, inciting some claps and cheers from the students. Immediately, people began to turn rank and file, heading towards the exits.

Hm? Aw, shoot, I missed something important, didn’t I?

Not knowing where to go, Cinder decided to just follow the crowd.

As it turned out, the Initiation was to take place outside the Academy grounds, in a different area of the mountains. From what Cinder had been able to infer from various snippets of conversations she had overheard, the ceremony this year was to be some sort of multi-leg athletic event. Additionally, people would be randomly paired up in order to participate.

Hopefully it won’t be Archer. That would the stuff of nightmares.

Luckily, from what few alternatives that were available to Cinder, she managed to get a favorable one.

“Ah, Cinder! It is so good to see you again!”

Cinder smiled a little; her assigned partner for this little expedition would be Rosie.

“I must say, ‘tis a wonderful day for some outdoor leisure. Wonderful, indeed!” she remarked, taking in a satisfied breath of air.

Compared to their previous meeting, Rosie had donned a different outfit, one that Cinder assumed she wore when fighting. She wore a military-style navy blue overcoat, with two rows of gold buttons running down its length. Gold tassels hung off the shoulders, leading to some more gold embellishments liberally weaved into the collar. Her pants, a slightly brighter shade of blue than her jacket, was neatly tucked into some boots, with stripes running down each side. The color was, you guessed it, gold.

Rosie shrugged her left shoulder a bit, adjusting the strap of the weapon she had slung over it. It appeared to be an old-fashioned, lever-action rifle. Over the same shoulder, going across to her right side, was a rectangular-shaped leather box.

“Well then, shall we get going?”

As they walked together, Cinder was feeling the heat of a lot of gazes at her; strangely, they were all of the jealous variety.

Is Rosie really that popular?

Eh, more power to me, I guess.

Eventually, they made it to the starting line. One of the professors from earlier (but one that Cinder still didn’t know by name yet) approached them.

“Now, in case you missed something important, I will briefly go over the rules again,” he said.

Whoops. Cinder felt called out, even if it clearly wasn’t his intention.

“There are four stages ahead. How you complete them is entirely up to you, however, in the end, you must have completed every stage with your partner, on equal participation.” He stressed the last two words.

“Additionally, completion time is not the only factor you will be judged on. Is all of this clear?”

Cinder and Rosie nodded.

“Good. Your attempt begins…now.”

Oop! Cinder had expected some sort of numerical countdown, not just a “off you go, good luck.” Without even thinking, she began to sprint down the marked path.

Hm? Wait a second…

Cinder screeched to a halt. Rosie wasn’t following her, at least at the same speed.

“Is it really necessary to make haste presently?” Rosie asked, walking at a leisurely pace.

Oh, right.

That professor had just said it, and yet Cinder had already forgotten; time was not necessarily of the essence.

“But still,” Cinder tried to reason. “Wouldn’t it be better to get this done with quick and easy?”

“I certainly hope it will be easy,” Rosie remarked. “But I hath the feeling that it might nary be that way...” She scratched her head.

“I would also hate to work up a sweat this early, on unnecessary matters such as these…”

Cinder took a second to think; if they were to work together, it probably would be detrimental if they were already at odds over little things.

“…alright,” she conceded. Waiting for Rosie to catch up, they walked together to the first stage.

The first stage was clearly marked via a sign planted on the side of the road. A short distance beyond was a large gorge, a startling reminder of just how high up they were. Cinder couldn’t even see the ground below, just an abyss of mist and clouds.

Unlike what one would think, there was no bridge linking this side to the one across. Instead, there were two rows of large, flat rocks, twelve in total, going all the way to the other side.

The first thing that tipped Cinder off was, well, the fact that the rocks were literally floating, with seemingly no help such as ropes or anything.

“Gravity Dust…” Rosie muttered. Squinting through the mist, Cinder soon found what Rosie was referring to: some black, glowing Dust crystals jutted out of the bottom each rock.

…Ahh. I understand now.

It was kind of like a game Cinder had seen the kids play at times at the orphanage: hopscotch. Drawing some squares on the ground, in order to get to the “other side,” you had to follow a specific pattern. You could either use one foot, or the other, or both. The pattern was what made the game “hard,” so to speak.

…maybe the only good thing that came out of that goddamn place, Cinder thought to herself.

It would seem that this stage followed the same basic concept: you had to follow a specific pattern, jumping from one rock to the next, to get to the other side. If you guessed wrong…well…

“Wait,” Cinder stopped Rosie before she could take a jump. “I got a plan.”

As it so happened to be, Cinder had the perfect tool to counter this little game’s “trick”: her weapons.

Taking out Sunset, Cinder tossed it at the first rock on the left.

*KLUNK*

*CRASH*

The rock immediately gave way, tumbling down at terrifying speed into the mist.

…Just as I expected.

“…pardon me, but your weapon?” Rosie asked with some concern.

“Oh, right. No problem,” Cinder said nonchalantly, clicking the button on Sunrise. It took a little longer than usual, but eventually, Sunset came rocketing back up into Cinder’s waiting hand.

Rosie’s eyes lit up in relief.

“Ah, splendid!”

Backing up a little, she took a leap, landing on the remaining rock in the row. Cinder followed close behind. With this strategy, the stage was a breeze; they were at the other side within three minutes, tops.

“I must admit, I had made the assumption that you were wielding mere common weapons earlier,” Rosie said. “I deeply apologize.”

“You’re good. No offense taken.”

The second stage was probably the strangest resemblance to an obstacle course Cinder had ever seen in her life. The first part consisted of a bunch of flat disks, each with a spinning bar in the center. It appeared to hold the same basic theme as the previous stage, but it had the added factor of timing. To fail was, once again, a long fall into the void below.

Cinder and Rosie shot each other a glance and a shrug. Although the fall certainly seemed daunting, it wasn’t like the deed itself was particularly difficult to pull off. At a brisk pace, they went at it without hesitation.

Five minutes later, both of them were at the other side. Before they could get to the second part, they had to climb a few ladders which took them even higher.

I seriously hope I don’t have a fear of heights…

The spinning bars in this part were oriented vertically. So, instead of getting your legs taken out, you would get blindsided if you missed the timing.

Meh, what a bunch of nothing.

Easy pass.

The third part, at least, seemed a little more exciting. A very large slide descended below the mist, presumably towards the third stage. From this high vantage point, Cinder could see some obstacles and other stuff placed haphazardly at various points of the half-pipe.

“After you,” Rosie offered. Cinder took her offer, taking a mini-jump down the slide. As she had seen them beforehand, she was easily able to maneuver away from the first couple obstacles.

Another easy one. When will this get-

Oh, f*ck!

The ground suddenly dropped out in various places, severely limiting the room available to maneuver. Once over the initial panic, Cinder was able to dodge, just barely.

…That’s what I get, I guess.

Down past the mist layer, the slide suddenly angled upwards. Cinder had an idea of what was coming.

I. REALLY. HOPE. I. DON’T. HAVE. A. FEAR. OF. HEIGHTS…!!!

At impressive speed, Cinder shot out from the ramp. As she flew through the air, her field of view drastically increased; she even thought she could see the academy from where she was for a second.

Luckily, the landing spot (conveniently marked with a large red X) was fairly large. That still didn’t mean Cinder was slightly off target, however.

Instead of landing in the clearing, she found herself wrapped around a tree. She slowly slid off pathetically, finally hitting the ground with a thud.

Ow.

With a groan, Cinder pulled herself back up, patting herself down.

On second thought, maybe I wouldn’t like Vale’s Initiation that much…

Eventually, Rosie followed, flying down to earth. However, unlike Cinder, she landed perfectly in the center of the X.

“…Positively excellent!” she laughed. Her tone of voice was normally on the lower side, but it raised to a strange pitch as she laughed. “Oh, I would certainly like to do that all over again!”

“…let’s not,” Cinder said, still a bit loopy from her crash landing.

The third stage was inside a vast cave system. A flexible track led deeper into the darkness; at the mouth of the cave was a small cart. There was a small note printed on a sign next to it.

You do not have to hit every target to pass this stage.

“Target practice?” Rosie asked. Cinder nodded.

“Seems so.”

“A task for me then!” Rosie took her rifle off her shoulder. “Although, how shall we get you involved in this affair?”

She was referring to the “equal participation” bit mentioned to them at the start. Cinder shrugged; she had a different idea.

“I was thinking with just letting you take this one,” she said.

“Hm? Do explain?” Rosie inquired.

“They said equal participation by the end, right? They didn’t say anything about the middle. Besides, I took that last stage first, now it’s your turn.”

“…sound thinking,” Rosie muttered, deep in thought.

The two got situated in the cart: Rosie at the front, Cinder at the back. Reaching over, Cinder pushed the button to begin.

At first, the cart started off slow, as the downslope wasn’t that steep yet. Eventually, however, it began to pick up speed.

“Over there!” Cinder pointed ahead. At various points around the track were the targets. They had rather humorous depictions of Grimm painted on them, each with a marked bullseye in the center.

“No problem, love!” Rosie said, giving Cinder a wink.

…love?

The first cracks of gunfire interrupted Cinder’s thoughts. Rosie methodically went to work on the targets; and boy, was it some sight.

There wasn’t even a scope on Rosie’s rifle, and yet, she fired with impeccable accuracy. Cinder could barely focus through the rolling and lurching, but the few targets she had been able to see had perfect center hits punched through them. The cart didn’t stop, so they had seemingly passed.

Rosie rotated a tab at the end of her rifle’s stock, pulling out a long, spring-loaded stopper that was connected to it. Flipping open her bag, she pulled out a metal tube. Flipping it over, she poured its contents down the open chute. Returning the tube back into the bag, she closed the stopper.

“Any more?” she asked, giving the lever a rack.

“Doesn’t look like that-oh, sh*t!”

The cart suddenly lurched into a sharp turn, trashing Cinder back and forth again. There weren’t even any brakes on this hunk of steel; that meant they were just passengers in this wild ride.

Hurtling down a tunnel, a faint light could just barely be made out in the distance. Hopefully that meant they were in the home stretch.

As perpetual darkness suddenly turned into the blinding light of daytime, Cinder squinted. Her vision took a second to readjust; when they finally did, she could suddenly see a whole swath of more targets up ahead. Placed tightly together, these were placed in much difficult positions, not to mention they were on both sides.

I guess that’s what they meant by saying you don’t have to hit every single one.

Despite all the swaying, Rosie remained resolutely still within the cart. Tracking the first target, she took careful aim down the sights of her rifle.

What happened next happened in an instant. Cinder was halfway through a blink, so she almost entirely missed it. But she was able to catch just enough, mainly because of the aural cue as well.

A thunderous rat-a-tat-tat of cracks echoed through the air, bouncing off the stone cliffs outside. It almost sounded like one heavy gunshot, but in reality, it was multiple fired in very close succession; far too quick for Rosie’s rifle, and certainly far too quick for any human to pull off.

But Cinder had just seen it happen; there was no way that this was just a figment of her imagination. Suddenly, Rosie had become a blur of rapid movement, like she had activated some sort of time dilation.

As the cart sped past the targets, Cinder looked back at them in amazement; all eight of them had a perfect bullseye in the center.

“…w-what the heck did you just do?”

“Hm? Oh, just a small use of the Semblance, that’s all. Not dissimilar to how they did it in that one popular film, if I gather correctly. What did they call that again? Umm…ah, right! ‘Bullet time!’” Rosie put some dramatic emphasis in those last two words.

So…um, she can basically slow time?

I wonder if there’s a course on Semblances here. Might definitely help with the growing list of questions I’ve got right now…

Hitting a slight incline, ostensibly to slow down the cart, the two finally reached the end of the line. Cinder, for one, was amazed she hadn’t thrown up once during the whole ordeal.

“…you were right. This definitely isn’t quick or easy,” she admitted.

Hopefully this last stage won’t be too difficult…

Chapter 20

Chapter Text

Finishing up the trek through the woods, Cinder suddenly stopped.

“Is something the matter?” Rosie asked.

No.

No.

No.

…answering her question, yes.

Cinder could see the start of the fourth stage from here. Standing there were two people she really, really, didn’t want to see right now.

At this point, she wasn’t surprised that Archer was here again. Whatever divine being was in control of fate (if there was one), them, in their infinite wisdom, had seemingly decided that Cinder and Archer would always meet at inopportune times.

No, just seeing each other a lot won’t help our current relationship, thank you very much.

The other person, however…

…Trifa.

This world really can be cruel…

“Let’s…just keep going,” Cinder finally got around to answering Rosie’s question.

As they got closer, Cinder braced herself for the inevitable tirade.

“…why.”

Instead of multiple, only one word came out of Archer’s mouth.

Cinder had to stop a surprised snort.

So little, yet so fitting.

Trying to ignore him, Cinder considered the start of this final stage. The path continued down to a dock, where a large, circular raft was moored in a fairly wide river. The river snaked through the landscape into the distance, out of sight.

“Hey-“ Cinder started, turning around.

Rosie was already talking to Archer.

f*ck’s sake.

Guess that’s what happens when you’re paired up with a social butterfly.

Sighing, Cinder reluctantly made the choice to approach. Before she could even say a word, Archer held up a hand.

“Talk to the hand.”

You little sh*t…

…you know what? Fine.

“What are you doing just standing around here?” Cinder said directly to Archer’s hand, voice dripping with all the sarcasm she could manage.

Archer’s brow furrowed.

Hah.

Clearing his throat, Archer finished up his conversation with Rosie.

“That’s what I’m wondering. This genius back there thinks that this part isn’t possible without more people.” He stuck a thumb back towards Trifa. Cinder peeked back towards that direction.

Um…she was sleeping?

Like, she was genuinely asleep. Laid across a bench and all.

Cinder was starting to notice a pattern.

Is she like, nocturnal or something?

“…well, now that we have two more people…maybe we can actually get going!?” Archer raised his voice a bit, projecting behind him.

Trifa stirred a little bit, eyes fluttering open. Slowly getting up, she ruffled her pale-blue hair.

“Ah…you’ve arrived…” she muttered, still drifting in and out of consciousness.

Cinder, Archer, and Rosie shared a glance and a shrug, all in their own little ways.

“…and why does she think we need four people?” Cinder asked.

“Just…hear it from her,” Archer closed his eyes in some frustration. “I’ve already explained it like, five times already…”

…that’s how long they were sitting here for?

“You see…” Cinder suddenly heard Trifa’s voice directly behind her; she jumped a little.

“The raft has no method of steering, nor do we have any paddles. That means we can only steer using our weight and positions…two people can’t provide this. You need more…”

Cinder glanced back at the waiting raft. Trifa was right; there was no rudder, steering mechanism, or any provided rows from what she could see. The four of them together would have to carefully spread themselves around in order to maintain balance.

“Well,” Archer said with a proclaiming tone. “Let’s get this sh*t done with.”

The combined group of four clambered aboard the raft. Cinder was just about to cut the rope when she heard a muted zip from behind her; the rope seemingly snapped on its own.

Cinder turned around. Archer had taken out one of his pistols and shot the rope. He gave her a sneer. Cinder in turn gave him her best “that all you got?” face that she could manage.

Show-off.

With a slight jitter, the raft was soon underway.

While a strategy had been discussed beforehand, actually implementing said strategy was still nonetheless difficult. As the raft picked up some speed, complaints came loud and clear. Mainly from two people in particular.

“No, it’s that way.”

“No, you go that way!”

“What? Are you dumb?

“No, you-“

*THUNK*

“Ah, f*cking hell!”

“This is the most co*ckeyed ship I’ve ever been on!!”

“Bold for you to even call this a ship!!”

Once Archer and Cinder stopped getting at each other’s throats constantly, and Trifa had finally completely woken up (she still looked a bit loopy), the group was slowly able to get a rhythm in. This was good, as the course ahead of them got significantly more difficult. Not only were there rocks in the middle of the river they had to dodge, Cinder could see some oddly floating rocks ahead. They looked similar to the ones at the very first stage.

“Full right, full right!” Whatever it took, they couldn’t be directly under those rocks when they fell.

“Heave-ho!”

Although Archer probably meant that in a more sarcastic way, it sounded genuine in the current context.

The four of them all ran to the rightmost side of the raft, at least as far as they could go without slipping and falling overboard. Together, they were able to coerce the raft to go right, just barely out of the way when the rocks began to fall.

*SPLASH*

Water flew everywhere; a drop happened to get under Cinder’s foot as she was lifting it, causing her to slip.

sh*t!

Cinder fell, sliding dangerously towards the edge. Before she could fall over, someone grabbed her by the back of the collar.

“Careful there, love!”

“Thanks,” Cinder panted gratefully, quickly getting back up to her feet.

There it was again…

The river soon decomposed into fast rapids, leading into another cave. The ride got significantly bumpier, not to mention another sudden increase in speed.

“Hold on!”

“To what?! Each other?”

“Aw, for fu-…you get the point!”

Once in the mouth of the cave, the river slowed a little. Ahead, it clearly split into two paths. To the right was more of those floating rocks. The left appeared to be clear; perhaps a bit too clear.

“What, do they think we’re stupid or something?” Archer quipped, already walking towards the left.

Cinder followed, but she had the feeling it this path wouldn’t be as easy as it looked. She glanced at Trifa; her expression was still stone-faced neutral, but it seemed like she was thinking the same thing.

Sure enough, as soon as they passed the split to the left side…

“Does anybody else hear that?”

The other three responded to Rosie’s query, looking down at the water around them. Cinder could see several small, dark shadows zipping around under and around them.

“Oh, shi-“

One of the shadows suddenly leaped out of the water straight towards her; as it did, it suddenly expanded into a large, spiked ball.

Cinder hit the deck, this creature just barely grazing her head as it passed over.

“Pufferfish!”

Godsdammit.

This path was arguably the more difficult one. The raft was now surrounded by Pufferfish. An aquatic form of Grimm, their primary method of attack was to zip stealthily around you, then suddenly jump out of the water and attack. Once they did, they could expand their bodies into large, spiked balls. Alone, they weren’t too much of a problem, but once you encounter an entire school of them…

Everyone in the group immediately produced a weapon, standing at the ready.

“Here they come!”

Initially only with Sunrise, Cinder designated the back side of the raft as hers, dodging and taking occasional slashes at the onslaught of attacking Grimm. Rosie and Archer were at the front, standing back-to-back; Rosie had her rifle out, while Archer had decided on his sawn-off shotgun as his weapon of choice. Trifa just kind of free roamed from left to right, mainly using her weapon’s sword form.

Oh, jeez!

Cinder narrowly jumped out of the way as a Pufferfish landed directly next to her. Slowly shrinking back down, belching water, it flopped around desperately.

…shifty f*cker!

Winding up her leg, Cinder gave it a punt. It hit the cave wall, exploding into smoke.

Aw, f*ck this!

Taking out Sunset, Cinder joined her weapons together and went back to the “big fan” strategy. She really had to come up with a better nickname for that.

Maybe…the “Grimm Purée?”

Anyways, this strategy gave her a much better advantage against the swarm.

Soon, the waves stopped. This coincided with the exit to the cave. Back in some sunlight, the group stopped to recuperate and take some stock.

“Whew!” Rosie said, wiping some sweat off her face. “That was fun! It was like...oh, how do you refer to it in layman’s terms…”

“…shooting fish in a barrel?” Archer suggested.

“Yes! Precisely that!”

Easy for you to say…Cinder muttered to herself.

The river became calm again; however, this time, none of the raft’s occupants took it for granted. They all knew this was a precursor to something bigger.

“Straight ahead!” Rosie pointed out; with her accent, she sounded kind of like a seafaring captain.

Three large, ominous shadows materialized in the water ahead.

Uh oh.

“Bigger Pufferfish?!” Archer lamented.

The three shadows split off into separate directions, surrounding the raft. Unlike the mindless swarm earlier, these Grimm appeared to be employing some sort of a strategy.

“Woah!”

There was a large thump from directly underneath the raft. The ground underneath seemed to start rising up.

“We’re gonna tip!” The four quickly scrambled to the center; however, the Pufferfish was still lifting the raft up from below.

Dang it! Cinder gritted her teeth. As it was right below them, none of them could get a clear shot.

“Well?! Any bright ideas?!” Archer said with increasing panic.

“We all jump.”

Cinder, Archer, and Rosie all turned to look at Trifa.

“Wha-are you f*cking insane?!”

“No, no! Wait!” Cinder interjected, springing her mind into action.

Yeah, I get it.

Smart…

“She doesn’t mean jump overboard. She means that we all jump then land at the same time!”

With their combined force, they could create a downward push that even the Pufferfish couldn’t overcome.

“Jump, then pound. Got it?”

…

“…phrasing.”

“Oh, SHUT UP!”

Quip aside, everyone slowly figured out the assignment on their own. They quickly huddled up at the very center of the raft.

“Ready? 3, 2, 1…jump!”

Jumping as high as they could, all four of them slammed the ground below them with all their strength.

*THUMP* *THUD*

There were two distinct sounds, one from the group landing, and one from the Pufferfish hitting the river floor.

Yes! It worked!

Given a metaphorical middle finger by physics, the Pufferfish bounced back up from hitting the ground, shooting out of the water.

Stepping up, Rosie took out her rifle. Using her Semblance again, she unleased a pinpoint staccato of gunfire, ripping straight through the Pufferfish’s vulnerable skin.

“Reloading!” Getting on a knee, she took out another tube from her bag.

“C’mon, we’re not done yet!” Cinder tugged on Archer’s sleeve, who was staring silently at Rosie. It almost looked like he was…impressed?

Heh. Looks like even he can appreciate her skills with a gun.

Soon, the second Pufferfish tried its attempt at doing the same thing. Although it seemed like it could think, it nonetheless had fallen into the classic pitfall of a herd mentality.

“Again!”

Another ground pound; another satisfying thunk.

This time, as the Pufferfish shot out of the water, Cinder sidearm-tossed Sunrise straight at it.

*PING*

Before it made contact, another bullet whizzed by Cinder. It hit Sunrise right on the blade, giving it some extra momentum as it slashed through the Pufferfish.

Cinder turned; Archer had, once again, taken a shot from behind her. He gave a wink, blowing some smoke out of the barrel of his pistol.

Cinder only scoffed, calling Sunrise back to her.

As much as we hate each other, we do kind of work together, in a way…

The third Pufferfish met a similar fate. Finally snapping out of her slight slumber, Trifa took one of her gloves off. Shooting a web towards the closest cliff face, she literally swung through the air straight towards the Pufferfish. With a quick slash of her sword, the last Pufferfish was dispatched.

Swinging all the way around, shooting one more web along the way, Trifa swung back towards the raft, landing gracefully.

…huh.

“…Most impressive!” Rosie broke the silence. “And here I hath held the belief that Arachnid Faunus were just a mere myth!”

Trifa gave no response, instead just putting her glove back on and turning away.

Cinder peeked around, observing Rosie’s reaction.

“Ooh…I like her…” she could make out her mutter.

Um…ok.

Some more rapids lied ahead; however, with some actual cohesion this time, the group was able to steer the raft clear of any danger.

After a bit, however…

“Um…guys?” Archer said. He pointed ahead.

The river…stopped?

Oh no.

No, a river couldn’t just disappear. That only meant one thing…

“Oh, I’m sure it will be just fine!” Rosie tried to be reassuring. “It won’t go down…”

Archer, checking one more time at the front, whirled around, eyes wide in terror.

“...It DO GO DOWN!”

Oh, f*ck!

“Then get down!” Cinder just barely managed to get out before the ground fell out from beneath them.

The raft shot out over a massive waterfall, falling down to earth.

Cinder’s fingernails dug into the soft material of the raft; it was the only thing here that she could really get a firm grip on.

*SPLASH*

After a few seconds of terrifying freefall, the raft hit the water below.

Cinder dared to lift her head up. Everyone else was still there with her, all still holding on for dear life.

Slowly, she got back up. The others followed after a bit. All sharing a look, they couldn’t help but chuckle (or a light smile, in Trifa’s case).

“Well, where to now?” Archer looked around. They were in a bay, not really moving anywhere fast.

“Who knows? Hopefully we’re done with this sh*t.”

Turning around, Cinder noticed that Trifa was staring out behind them in silence.

“…something wrong?” Cinder tried putting a hand on her shoulder.

“…yes.”

She didn’t seem like the person to lie easily. Cinder reluctantly looked towards the same direction Trifa was looking at. These were completely calm waters, and yet, some unnatural eddies were starting to form.

Cinder noticed that the raft was slowly turning to the right.

We’re not done, are we?

A shudder alerted the other two. Scrambling towards the back, they looked out towards the distance, where a large whirlpool was beginning to form.

“…Amazing…” Rosie muttered.

“Um, ‘amazing’ ain’t the word I would use to describe that…!” Archer said with increasing horror.

Yep. I agree. Wholeheartedly.

The raft was soon pulled into the growing swirl; at its very center, something very big emerged from the water.

“A King Kraken!” Rosie said with astonishment. “One hasn’t been seen in over thirty years!”

“Are you kidding?!”

Oh sh*t. Oh f*ck.

Is this even part of this entire thing?!

Trapping the raft within the whirlpool, the creature gave out a loud, eerie roar.

“We’re stuck!” Cinder exclaimed. The raft was slowly getting pulled closer and closer to the center, to certain doom.

The group didn’t even need an explicit confirmation to understand what they had to do. They had to fight, or die.

Archer and Rosie tried their best with their guns; however, it didn’t seem like it did much to the Kraken, only angering it more.

With a swish, the Kraken sent a rough wave towards the raft. Everyone was sent scrambling to grab something.

*WHOOSH*

Cinder got tripped up; this time, however, she was just fine getting up on her own.

As she did, however, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye.

Oh, look out!

Cinder just barely ducked out of the way of one of the creature’s humongous tentacles, it sticking to the raft with a shlunk. Eyes wide, she watched it slowly detach itself, lowering back into the water.

At that instant, she had an idea.

“…the tentacles! Cut them off, cut ‘em off!!!”

As soon as Cinder said that, another tentacle shot out of the water, just barely coming up empty. Just like the first time, it took a bit for it to detach its suckers from the raft.

Rosie inverted her grip on her rifle, now holding it above her shoulder like a club. With a cha-chink, a sharp, bladed edge jutted out from the end of the stock. Swinging it downward, Rosie was able to cut through the tentacle before it could retract.

The creature cried out in pain, sending another errant wave that the group had to brace for.

Not wasting any time, everybody got to work. Dodging another attack, Cinder was able to cut through a tentacle of her own, followed closely behind by Trifa on the other side.

That’s it!

Switching to another side, Cinder noticed something: Archer was kind of just standing around. She quickly realized his predicament; he didn’t have a bladed weapon of his own. Well, other than those two knives he had in his sleeves, but what was that going to do against this thing?

You know, it feels good being on the other side of this, for once.

Reluctantly, Archer turned to face Cinder. The question written on his face was loud and clear.

With equal reluctance, Cinder tossed Sunset at him.

“Don’t lose it.”

“Heh, worry about yourself,” Archer shot back.

Now with everyone properly equipped, they could all counter the puzzle of attacks. Soon, all the King Kraken’s tentacles were cut off, leaving it completely defenseless.

Trifa walked straight up to Cinder.

“Your Dust. I need it, now,” she demanded flatly.

“Hm? Ok…” Cinder put a hand inside her bag. “Which one?”

“Lava.”

The orange one? Alright…

“…now what?”

“Heat creates glass,” was the only response.

…my Semblance?

Knowing time was of the essence, Cinder just tried it. As the Dust crystal began to heat up, she noticed that it began to melt a darker, black liquid.

Trifa shot a web across the whirlpool, sticking on a rock on the other side.

“Sprinkle it.”

Doing as instructed, Cinder spread out the actively-melting crystal over the web. Its formerly white color was now a shimmering black.

“Next, some…” Trifa turned around. She didn’t even need to finish her sentence; Rosie and Archer had caught on to what her plan was. Both standing on the same side of the raft, they prepared to shoot directly sideways. Rosie had her rifle and her Semblance; Archer had an old blunderbuss-looking thing.

For a second, Cinder thought she could see Trifa genuinely smile.

“On your mark,” she deferred to them.

Archer and Rosie nodded; looking at each other, they fired at the exact same time. Cinder covered her ears.

The thunderous recoil finally broke the raft free from the weakening whirlpool. With some momentum now, it began to spin around. The web, still connected to Trifa’s hand and the rock, shot around straight towards the Kraken’s head.

*SHHHINNNGG*

The glass from Cinder’s Dust meant that the web was now a razor thin, sharp string. It cut the Kraken’s head clean in half. With a guttural blubber, the creature’s smoking remains sank back into the sea.

Back in the Grand Hall, all the first-years had gathered once again for the closing ceremony: the official formation of the teams.

“Cinder Fall. Sterling Archer. Rosaria Tsukiyama. Trifa Safavid.”

Cinder walked up to the stage with the same group she had just completed Initiation with. Headmaster Lionheart gave them a warm smile.

“Henceforward, you will now be known as Team ARTC (Artic). Led by…Sterling Archer!”

There were some claps and cheers from the audience as all of them shook hands with Lionheart and exited the stage.

Archer’s the leader? Of all people?

Huh…

Cinder kind of glazed over the rest of the teams (there were quite a few). However, she caught focus just in time for one in particular.

“Pyke Rite, Asher Mora, Arrastra Skye, Fenix Nemean. Henceforward, you will now be known as Team SAFR (Sapphire). Leader…Arrastra Skye!”

Cinder hadn’t seen Pyke once during the Initiation, so, she assumed, he had completed it with one of those other people he had been just teamed up with.

Although…

Cinder looked at one of Pyke’s team members in particular. Asher, his name was.

Um…is that a beard?

“…That’s just a man.” Cinder heard Archer observe somewhere near her. She nodded in silent agreement.

There was a minimum age requirement to get into Haven. Was there a maximum age limit?

Mm. Do I even care…? Nah, not really.

Cinder was just tired; she just wanted this to be over with so she could get some sleep.

As soon as the ceremony ended, that was exactly what she did. She walked straight up towards her newly-formed team’s room, chose a bed at random, and plopped down, falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

I’ll deal with whatever “problems” I may have with my team tomorrow…she thought, as she slipped out of consciousness.

Chapter 21

Chapter Text

Cinder awoke to bright rays of sunshine peeking through the shades of the window. With a yawn, she got a good stretch in before getting out of bed.

Wait a second. The sun’s already out?

Classes started today; it would be terrible for Cinder if she was late on the very first day.

Quickly exiting her room, she rushed past the common room before sliding to a stop on the carpet.

Sat by a table, calmly sipping some tea, was Rosie.

“A good morning to you, Cinder.”

“…morning,” Cinder replied, her mind still in a bit of a jumble. “Do you know what time it is?”

“Quarter-past seven.”

Whew.

Cinder sighed in relief; she still had some time (at least she assumed).

“Would you like some tea?”

“Sure, I guess,” Cinder took up Rosie’s offer. She did need to eat breakfast, after all.

Pulling up a chair, she took some scones from the pile plated on the table. Taking the teacup that was given to her, she tried a sip.

Yowzers, that’s hot!

Cinder fanned her tongue; through the mild sting, she could hear Rosie’s muffled, high-pitched giggle.

Waiting for it to cool a little bit, Cinder tried again.

…that’s not bad.

“Unfortunately, I only have stocks of Earl Grey at the moment. Once the semester is underway, however, I may be able to acquire more varieties if this isn’t to your liking.”

“Oh no, it’s completely fine. This is pretty good, actually,” Cinder said in between bites of the scone.

“Ah, that’s right,” Rosie pulled out a folded-up piece of paper from her pocket.

“They handed out schedules last night. You were asleep, so I picked up yours for you.”

“…whoops. Thanks,” Cinder said, taking the sheet and unfolding it.

Monday, September 4

8:30 am

Introduction to Weapons Crafting

di Castani

10:15 am

Grimm Studies I

Murasaki

1:45 pm

Mediated Sparring Period

Icirrus

It looked like Cinder had three classes today, almost back-to-back (with a brief reprieve for lunch, of course). Two of the three names were unfamiliar to her, with the sole exception being the last one.

Guess I’ll see what his interest is in me later today…

“It appears we will only be sharing one class today,” Rosie said, putting down her teacup. “Grimm Studies.”

“Grimm…Studies?” Cinder repeated. She, for one, didn’t really see the point of having an entire class dedicated to the things that she would kill on a daily basis.

“Of course. ‘Know thy enemy,’ as that famous person stated that one time.”

Hmm…ok.

Looking around, Cinder got a proper look at her team’s room for the first time; this common space was flanked on both sides by two separate, single rooms. Everything was adequately furnished, not to mention still clean. Pretty neat.

“Where’s Archer and Trifa?” With that question, Cinder finally fully remembered what happened last night.

Archer…is the leader.

Interesting…

“I believe Trifa is still asleep,” Rosie gestured towards one of the rooms, its door still closed. “Archer, he left a little earlier. He said it was a ‘confidential’ matter.”

Confidential?

Oh, right. He literally called himself the “world’s greatest spy” when we first met.

Although, isn’t the whole point of being a spy making sure that no one knows you’re one?

“You would think as the ‘leader,’ he would make sure everyone gets up on time…” Cinder muttered out loud.

“I have not found any particular qualms with the choice to select him,” Rosie replied. “He certainly seems to possess the skillset capable to be a leader.”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, he regaled me in some amusing tales from his career last night,” Rosie smiled a little. “Admittedly, my understanding of the term ‘spy’ is of the more bureaucratic variety, but I never imagined that the life of a modern spy would be this…exciting.”

Well, judging by what you seemingly find “exciting…”

So that’s two other people I know that he’s told these “stories” to. Wonder when he’ll get to me.

About one hour later

Archer is the leader.

Archer is the leader.

Archer is the leader.

Aww, f*ck.

The full gravity of that statement finally hit Cinder while she was waiting for the professor to arrive for her first class.

Why. Even more, how!??

Combat wise, Cinder could think of a thousand things she could do better than him. Maybe a thousand more in the, you know, actual leading department, too.

Oh, as soon as I find him…

She was interrupted by the swing and slam of the classroom door.

“Sorry about that, folks. Got held up with something.”

A man of average build, age, and height, Professor di Castani (that was his name according to the schedule), took off his jacket and hung it over a nearby chair. Strangely, he was dressed rather formally; not as fancy as Archer’s average outfit, but still a choice of wardrobe that was interesting for this place.

This classroom…wasn’t really a classroom. The vast majority of it was some sort of a machine shop, with a particular section hastily cleared out to put in some old chairs and desks. This was all in the basem*nt of one of the smaller buildings on campus; everything felt a bit dreary and musty.

Cinder looked around at the other students in this class with her; she recognized no one.

…damn.

“I’ll start off this class with a question for y’all,” Professor di Castani said, rolling up his sleeves. “Show of hands. How many of you created your current weapon on your first try?”

Cinder briefly considered raising her hand. Thinking more on it, however…

Well, I technically bought my weapons, so already that’s kinda different.

Plus, he said current. My current iteration took some experimentation.

No one in the room ended up raising their hands.

“That’s what I thought. In battle, your weapon is your most prized possession, the one true constant you will have in your careers. However, that doesn’t mean you should discount the virtues of experimentation and improvement.”

“That’s why for your very first assignment, to be presented at the beginning of next class, is to make one improvement on your weapon. It can be anything, something as small as a new grip, even. Something that shows me that you are actively thinking of such upgrades in your spare time.”

More weapon upgrades? Neat.

“But, before that, you obviously need to know how to work all the various machines around you here. I’ll attempt to teach you that in the next…hour and thirteen minutes. Any questions? No? Then let’s get to work!”

Cinder’s “learning tank” had been completely filled in that hour and a few. For the next class…

…

…

*ERROR* brain.exe not found…

Cinder had been utterly lost. It wasn’t even like Professor Murasaki was a bad lecturer, she seemed like an okay enough person. But none of the material she had presented had actually gotten to Cinder’s memory bank. She had looked around the large lecture hall multiple times; every time, everyone else had been dutifully writing in their notebooks. By the end of class? Cinder’s notebook had remained bare. Not a single thing had been scrawled on the page.

Well. I’m gonna be in trouble for that class… she thought, walking to lunch.

While Cinder had seen a few large groups of people about, she hadn’t seen a crowd quite like this. At this hour, the dining hall was bustling, a far cry from the first time Cinder had been here. Once again, suddenly faced with so many people, Cinder wasn’t sure where to even go.

Luckily, after some searching around, she found someone she recognized.

Or was it perhaps unluckily?

Archer was leaned so far back in his chair it looked like he was going to tip over at any second. Other than his tray of food, there was his signature flask, of course.

“Heh, and I finally thought I was going to have a good day today.”

“If that’s your baseline, you’re just asking for more disappointment,” Cinder scoffed incredulously, taking a seat. “We’re a team now, remember?”

“Doesn’t mean I like it.”

“Trust me, it’s mutual, team leader.”

Archer visibly cringed at that term.

“Ugh, don’t say it like that. Makes me sound like I’m your mom or something.” He took a big swig from his flask.

Admittedly, Cinder didn’t know what being a “leader” entailed in everyday life, outside of battle.

Well, I can at least imagine “being a good role model” is one of those responsibilities, right?

“So…you’re the leader,” Cinder forced out. Yaaayyyy, she sarcastically thought to herself. “How’s it feel?”

“Doesn’t feel like anything different from what I usually do,” Archer shrugged. “Maybe it’s something else I can brag about to my butler, I guess.”

“I…wait, you have a butler?”

“…do you not?” Archer asked with a surprising amount of genuine curiosity.

“…no. Unlike you, I’m a normal perso-“

“Yoo-hoo!”

One-arming several stacks of food, Pyke came up to the table. Behind him were two other people, the ones Cinder recognized as members of his team.

“Can we sit here?”

“…I don’t know. What do you think, team lead-“

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever,” Archer quickly cut Cinder off before she could finish her sentence.

Don’t be thinking that’ll be the last of it.

Cinder took note of Pyke’s teammates. The first one was a blue-haired girl with glasses, with some discolored spots on her face. Furthermore, her legs were canine in shape, with three sharp toes each. The other, a tall, well-built guy (taller than Pyke), had red, flowing hair, with a pair of lion ears just barely poking out.

“You must be Pyke’s friends. I am Fenix Nemean,” the guy cordially introduced himself.

“Yo. Name’s Arrastra,” the girl followed suit, although she appeared overall less enthusiastic.

“Where’s the other guy?” Archer asked the question Cinder also had on her mind.

“Oh, Asher?” Pyke paused. “I don’t know, actually. You seen him, Astra?”

Arrastra shook her head in response.

“Hm. Oh well. Anyways, how are y’all’s first days going?”

Cinder wasn’t about to admit that she had sat through the entirety of Grimm Studies doing nothing. Luckily, Archer’s knack for storytelling took over. By the time he was done, it was about time for Cinder to get to her next class.

Cinder had taken a bit too much food for herself. Her relative scale for food intake had been, to put it lightly, a mess for most of her life, after all.

“Oh, wait! Do you mind if you leave that?” Pyke stopped Cinder before she could take her tray away.

“Why?”

“Oh, well…let’s say Fenix here’s a little…food aficionado.” He lowered his voice into a whisper, pointing a thumb behind him.

All those trays of food Pyke had brought over earlier? It wasn’t for him, as it turned out. Fenix had gone through two of four, and showing no signs of slowing.

“…alright,” Cinder relented, leaving her tray at the table. She did throw away all the half-eaten stuff, however.

2:00 pm

“Mediated Sparring Period” was pretty self-explanatory: get to know other students’ fighting styles, as well as improve your own. Don’t get too carried away, though, because someone was always watching.

In was in this context that Cinder had to be uncomfortably cautious. She had always been used to giving it her all in fights, a level of effort worthy of the stakes at hand. Here, however? Unless she wanted to make a lot of enemies very quickly, she had to hold herself back.

Currently, Cinder was sparring with someone called Sil. His twin weapons consisted of a strange blend of a heavy-caliber pistol and a underbarrel knife. It was strange in the sense that it didn’t have a traditional vertical grip; instead, there was a circular hole cut out at the end, with a horizontal grip inlaid within. This was free-spinning, allowing, as Sil was currently showing off, the user to spin the pistols with just a slight flick of the wrist. While Cinder could sort of do the same with her own weapons, she imagined that this method required less physical exertion (but perhaps some more coordination, on the other hand).

Obviously, Sil wasn’t allowed to use his pistols in this context, but Cinder could hear occasional clicks from when he dry-fired them.

And you know what? Cinder was fine with that. In fact, she treated those shots in her mind as real ones, as if she was in an actual combat situation; she wanted to get the most out of these sparring periods, after all.

Sunrise clashed with one of Sil’s pistol-hybrids. Once again, with just a light flick of the wrist, it began to rotate, twisting Cinder’s weapon along with it. Cinder had to quickly let go of her grip unless she wanted her wrist to hurt for next couple days.

Oop!

As Sunrise was launched into the air, Cinder wasted no time. Taking out Sunset, she twisted her body left-to-right, leaving her able to meet Sil’s follow-up slash.

Glancing up, Cinder could see Sunrise slowly tumble back down. Not even needing the Dust, she plucked it out of the air with ease.

“…not bad,” Cinder couldn’t help but acknowledge out loud.

“Heh, there’s more where that’s comin’ from,” Sil replied.

Pushing each other back, the two paused before continuing. Sil flipped some of his hair away from his face, a habit of his judging from how many times he had done it in the past 20 minutes.

…

While she didn’t know anything about him as a person yet, Cinder had come to the conclusion that she wouldn’t mind sparring with Sil more in the future. He was perfectly capable as a fighter, if not a bit of a show-off; in a way, he and Cinder were one and the same in this regard.

Soon, it was time for them to rotate partners.

“That was nice,” Cinder tried to compliment. Sil gave a nod and a wink.

“I aim to please. Myself, first and foremost.”

Well, as long as he’s not like Archer…you know what? I’m cool with that.

On the topic of Archer…Cinder had an amusing thought.

He has a lot of guns. I wonder how he’ll fare here, when he can’t use any of them…hah.

Cinder would pay good money to see that.

As she walked past Icirrus, she couldn’t bring herself to even take a glance at him. Even if he had been a total stranger, how he presented himself alone made him appear very intimidating.

…maybe that’s the point.

Even though most of her focus had been elsewhere, Cinder could still get the feeling that Professor Icirrus had been watching her closely. Whatever interest he had in her, he still hadn’t made it explicit yet; Cinder wondered when he actually would.

Hopefully it isn’t anything that implies I’m in trouble…

Chapter 22

Chapter Text

Tuesday, September 5

Cinder was getting a little worried. It appeared that her mind and fundamentally theoretical classes were still not in agreement. She had underestimated just how much trouble she would have in this regard; if this continued, well, the problems would just keep on getting worse.

So, Cinder had to make a rather difficult decision: ask someone for help.

“My notes?”

Cinder really only had one choice of who to approach; Archer was a complete no go, of course, and she still didn’t have a clue of where Trifa even was half the time.

“And which part do you desire?”

“Um…basically all of it.”

Rosie promptly opened her notebook, flipping through the pages until she got the page she wanted.

…wow.

Even though it had been only for a couple of classes, the amount of notes compiled on the page was…extensive. Neat, orderly lines of words, all in cursive, of course. There were even small drawings and diagrams that Cinder vaguely remembered from lecture (but couldn’t really explain them to a stranger if she had to).

Cinder blankly stared for a few seconds.

“If I may inquire, do you want this material or do you want to understand it?”

“…the second one,” Cinder reluctantly admitted. “Sorry, I’m just not getting anything from that class…”

“No apologies needed,” Rosie turned back a page. “Hmm. I suppose we should start from the very beginning...”

“…you’ll help me?”

“Of course. Would we be teammates if I refused?”

Fair point.

Sometimes Cinder wondered if she would have been better off teamed up with three complete strangers. Would she have had as much trouble getting along with them as she was right now? Two members of her team she had met under inopportune circ*mstances; Rosie was really the only one she didn’t know too much beforehand (even though they had met that night before Initiation), and yet, she was the only person Cinder felt comfortable even talking to on a daily basis.

…maybe that’s just how the cards fall. Everyone’s different, right?

Cinder opened her own notebook, its pages still pristine and clear. Picking up a pencil, she finally scratched the first words on the paper.

Later

The emergency tutoring session had gone well, all things considered. Once past some initial hiccups, Cinder had at least gotten a basis of what Grimm Studies was even about. For now, it was just an overview of the common types of Grimm one might face; after that, things would get more in-depth. Additionally, Cinder had gotten some advice on note-taking, something she tried applying for that day’s classes.

Near the end of the day, Cinder looked over her compiled notes one more time, making sure she could still make sense of them.

…it’ll do.

Closing her notebook, Cinder now shifted her focus on another issue, something that didn’t expect to have so much trouble on: the weapon upgrade assignment for di Castani’s class. It was due first thing tomorrow morning, and Cinder still hadn’t come up with an idea of what to do.

…Perhaps that was the wrong way of describing her predicament.

This problem was slightly different: Cinder had too many ideas. Naturally, she wanted to try to combine all of these into one big package deal, but that was what she was currently stuck on. The scale of it was just logistically and physically impossible. She had considered splitting it up, implementing one of the smaller “sub-ideas” multiple times, but her internal voice had pushed back every time. She just didn’t feel satisfied with any of them alone.

Not knowing where (or who) to go to, Cinder wandered outside. She had noticed this had become a habit of hers; something she had picked up from Mary, perhaps.

It was nearing the end of the working day, so there were not many students about, either having gone back inside for the day or still in classes (in rarer cases). The sun was just about to dip under the mountaintops as Cinder wandered around the quad.

At one end of the quad was a rather strange looking display that Cinder had caught a glimpse of multiple times, but had never actually taken a closer look into it. She decided that today would be the day her curiosity would be sated.

Standing right in the middle of the grass, surrounded by a basic fence to prevent anyone from getting too close, was a gigantic wooden-wheeled contraption. It stood as tall as some of the buildings around here, so it would certainly catch a passerby’s eye. A small plaque in front of it identified it as a type of siege engine from ancient times. It had apparently been discovered by complete accident, unearthed during the construction of this school.

The engine had two distinct levels, connected by a series of ladders and internal stairs. The lower level housed the remains of a battering ram, while the upper level was semi-enclosed with a combination of wood panels and metal pikes for defending its occupants. This entire structure sat on two sets of massive wooden wheels; each one was taller than Cinder and then some.

They really built all of this by hand…wow.

Cinder checked around, confirming that no one was still around. Wanting a closer look, she climbed over the fence.

As this thing had been moved to its current resting spot as-is, and not professionally restored at all, it was under a decent bit of wear and tear. Looking up, Cinder could see the night sky through some rotted-out holes in the second floor. Going around to the rear, she could see evidence of a door that would’ve provided entry into the internals. It was missing, just leaving a rectangular gap into pitch-black darkness. Despite this, Cinder could see some soda cans and some other discarded trash inside, suggesting that she wasn’t the only person that ignored that sign.

Walking back around to the large wheels, Cinder considered their overall shape. The center hub protruded outwards a bit, housing a smaller wheel of its own; five spikes jutted out of it. It appeared to be controlled by some separate crank inside, independent from the larger wheel it was inlaid in.

Cinder took out Sunset, holding it to the wheel as if it was one of those same spikes. She began to imagine what it would look like if the wheel could rotate which her weapon connected to it.

Hmm…

“You know, the sign does say ‘no touching.’”

Ah, sh*t.

Not only had Cinder been found out, she recognized that voice. Muting a sigh, she turned to face none other than Trifa.

“Well, I’m not the only one who ignored that,” she replied, kicking out one of the discarded cans.

“The main difference between you and them was that they were never caught,” Trifa commented in response.

Urgh.

Just from the way she talked sometimes, Trifa sounded as condescending as Archer; perhaps even worse than him, she actually had the skills to back it up. It left one with a feeling of complete hopelessness, that they could never win against her. Those memories from the tournament were still fresh in Cinder’s mind.

“What are you even doing out here, anyway?” Cinder took a rather standoff-ish stance, crossing her arms and leaning back against one of the wheels.

“I prefer this time of day,” Trifa replied. “It’s quiet, everyone goes in for the night – perfect for when you don’t want to be seen.”

…kinda weird way to put it, eh?

Cinder looked off to the side, lost in her own thoughts. In fact, she was perfectly fine with ignoring Trifa entirely.

…

“…I’ve done something to anger you.”

Yep.

“What is it?”

“…are you kidding?” Cinder scoffed incredulously. “The tournament.”

“Ah,” Trifa gazed off, as if she was straining to remember. Somehow, that just pissed off Cinder even more.

“You fought well. I didn’t anticipate having to go all out that early.”

“Somehow, that feels very hollow.”

“I mean every word. I hope there won’t be any continued animosity between us.”

“Why is that?”

“It would be detrimental to our continued cooperation as a team.”

Hah. I can think of someone else you can do that spiel to…

With a sigh, Cinder vaulted back over the fence.

“I suppose the least I can say is…thanks, I guess.”

“Good. It wasn’t personal, nothing that I do is. So you shouldn’t have to put much thought into it, either.”

Cinder had the feeling that Trifa didn’t really know much about human interaction. Well, neither did she, but how the two had taken that awkwardness couldn’t have been any more different.

“Anyway, I got an assignment I need to finish up,” Cinder said, giving Sunset a twirl and putting it back in its usual spot.

“Good luck with that, then.”

With a mild uh-huh, Cinder left Trifa behind. Her mind was a bit conflicted; it probably coincided with just how mysterious Trifa’s character was to her currently.

I suppose, if I have to think of a good thing, is that she’s on the same side.

Hopefully, they wouldn’t have to fight each other all-out ever again. Even if Cinder had doubled her powers or something, she felt like she still wouldn’t enjoy it.

Anyway…

That little analysis of the siege engine had put an idea into Cinder’s mind, one that she could work with. She headed to that same building that she would have a class in the next morning; while it wasn’t necessarily open 24/7, it was open late.

Cinder cracked her knuckles.

Let’s get to work.

Wednesday, September 6

Most of the day passed by in a flash; doing the assignment at the last minute had come at the cost of sleep, so Cinder had wandered into her first class in quite a daze. She didn’t even remember half of the things she had said as part of her little show and tell. Grimm Studies had basically been the same thing, although this time she had something written down that she could reference later.

Right after lunch, however? Cinder couldn’t be more focused and excited. That was because she could finally test out her new and improved weapons.

From just a glance, the changes appeared strictly cosmetic. The two Dust cylinders at the ends of the handles were gone, replaced by metal knobs that provided a much stronger joint when combined together. The most prominent change was a circular handguard-like protrusion sticking out from the very top of the handle; it didn’t run full length, instead stopping only about a quarter of the way to a full circle.

As for the first person who would see this demonstration? It turned out to be one of Pyke’s teammates that Cinder had met the other day, Fenix.

“I see you’ve upgraded your weapons.”

“Yep,” Cinder affirmed. “Careful, or else you might get cut.”

Fenix let out an intrigued chuckle.

“Then honor me with your improved skills.”

Oh, I intend to.

For now, Cinder kept Sunrise and Sunset split. Fenix prepared his own weapons: they were bronze, arm-mounted gauntlets that could either deploy retractable claws or shields. For now, he deployed claws on his right, and the shield on his left.

Alright…let’s go.

For just being a shield, it had a surprising amount of…bounce? Every time Cinder’s blade met it, the ensuing clang knocked her arm back farther than she was anticipating.

…maybe I’m just imagining things.

Fenix’s claw attacks required a bit more concentration to parry than traditional bladed weapons, just from the virtue of having three distinct points. Cinder found that she had to do long waves rather than a single block. At the same time, on the offensive side, she had to take care to not get her blade caught in between his claws, as she could get easily disarmed this way.

Cinder braced against a shield bash from Fenix, sliding back a little bit.

Let’s do this.

*Cha-chink*

When Cinder joined Sunrise and Sunset together, the mini-handguards extended all the way, forming a perfect ring around the length of the joined handles. She immediately dashed in with this new setup.

Just before she got into striking range, Cinder pushed a small button on the combined handle, emitting a small click.

The blades, formerly fixed in place, began to spin freely within the ring. Cinder made this with one of her characteristic body spins, masking where she would exactly strike.

Fenix quickly engaged his shields, presenting both in front of him like a legionnaire.

*CLANG*

“…Most impressive!” Cinder could hear Fenix remarked from behind his shields. She could tell that he liked what he was seeing.

Cinder broke the clash, taking a few steps back. Blades still spinning, she twirled it around and behind her back in an impressive display of coordination.

Fenix had a toothy grin on his face. Retracting his shields, he put out both of his claws. Cinder returned the smile.

ready…go!

The strikes of metal on metal resumed. Soon, they were so into it that some other people stopped just to watch the impressive display.

Cinder had impressed herself with her ingenuity; the upgrades made things so much easier and smoother. While she still had to catch herself occasionally from doing a manual twirl (which was a great way to accidentally cut yourself), she adapted quickly to the slightly modified style that was now required.

By the end of their sparring period, both Fenix and Cinder were in a sweat.

“I can see you are a very skilled warrior,” Fenix complimented. “It would be an honor if we could continue to train together in the future.”

“Yep,” Cinder agreed, slowing her breath. She could see the virtues of fighting against a similar fierce competitor; it would constantly push her to be better, to be all that she could be.

“Oh, right, tell Pyke I said hi.”

Unfortunately, it appeared that Cinder and Pyke didn’t share any classes, lunch being the only time they could meet up regularly.

“I shall,” Fenix replied.

As he left, Cinder examined her new and improved weapons with satisfaction. Already, she could think of some more upgrades, but she tempered those thoughts.

Too many at one time might actually work against me.

Perhaps she could implement these changes slowly, over a longer period of time. An iterative process, leaving time in between for her to fully re-master the changes brought by the upgrades.

Man, I can’t wait to try this out against some Grimm. They’ll never see me coming.

Chapter 23

Chapter Text

It wasn’t long before Cinder got her wish.

She had been wondering what a “First-year seminar” entailed; it turned out it was just academic-speak for fieldwork assignments.

Like, actual missions outside the school.

As soon as Cinder had figured this out, she had been eagerly waiting for the first assignment to roll in.

That was how she found herself here, walking through the woods with her team.

Haven’s campus was large, but it didn’t hold a candle to the surrounding wilderness; Cinder had to remind herself a couple times that she wasn’t back home in that little cabin in the woods. Judging from the map they had been given, the part they were to explore was just a little sliver of the area.

The actual assignment wasn’t too interesting; it was to check up on the school’s security system. Apparently, this consisted of a series of sensors and elaborate traps placed a bit beyond the walls. It didn’t sound that hard in theory; however, this was all outside the “safe zone.” There were always risk of Grimm attacks here, so the team had to stick together.

At least, that was the hope.

“Are you sure we’re not lost?”

“Look, do you want to try making sense of this thing? …no? Thought so.”

Currently, the team was just wandering around the forest, towards no clear direction in particular. Archer was “leading,” map in hand; the other three were sort of following along.

“…I see. Quite remarkable.”

Cinder was in the middle of explaining her upgraded weapons to Rosie.

“Apologies. Which was this one called again?”

“That’s Sunset. No worries, I sometimes get confused myself.”

Rosie did some light stabs and cuts; it looked like she had done these before.

“Are you familiar with swords?”

“I did have lessons, once upon a time,” Rosie said, feeling the weight of Sunset’s handle. “Fencing was always a staple around the royal palace, courtesy of my great-grandfather.” She chuckled a little.

“Although, I always did find I enjoyed hunting with my eldest uncle more.”

Huh.

Thinking about it, wouldn’t Rosie’s Semblance work even better with a sword? Does she really find using a gun that much better?

After a few more minutes of aimless wandering, the team arrived at an overlook, a good place to make out some landmarks. Shame that the ones that they were looking for were barely visible from up here.

Cinder stood back a little, watching Archer continue to fiddle with the map with Trifa, who was looking somewhat...sprightly?

“What’s got into her?” Cinder had assumed that they would’ve accidentally left Trifa behind by this point, but she had managed to keep up.

“…I may or may not have slipped her my non-royal cousin’s ‘special brew.’ He does own a coffee company.”

“…Coffee?”

“Indeed. While I do prefer tea, I cannot discount coffee's virtues.”

“…decide on a direction yet, leader?” Cinder turned her attention to the main issue.

“Yes, in fact, that way.”

Somehow, that doesn’t instill that much confidence.

Cinder felt her foot catch on something in the dirt. She thought it was just a tree root at first, but she caught something turquoise-colored sticking out of the leaves when she glanced down.

…what the heck…?

Sweeping some of the leaves aside, Cinder pulled out a small, rectangular box. There were only four things on one of its faces: some sort of gauge that said “SIGNAL” on it, a turn-knob, a switch, and a small light. An extendable antenna jutted out from the top.

“And what contraption have you just uncovered there?” Rosie asked.

“I…don’t know-“

“It’s a tracker,” Archer stepped into the conversation.

“And how…did you know that...?”

“Duh, I’m a spy, remember? f*ck, if I couldn’t ID one of those things at a glance I would be in a lot of trouble.” Reaching over, he tried the switch a couple times.

“Broken. It’s probably something from like, thirty years ago that someone dropped and forgot to pick up. It probably was junk when it was still working back then…”

…okay…

“Anyways, let’s get going already.”

Cinder tried her own attempts at the switch and the dial; still nothing. Shrugging, she slipped it into a pocket.

Somehow, Archer guessed right on the direction, and the team were finally able to check off something from the list.

While in transit to the next item, however…

“On the left!”

Cinder sensed it a millisecond after the verbal warning. With quite a commotion through the shrubbery, a Beowolf shot out with a roar. The team was separated, with Archer and Rosie having to duck out of the way, while Cinder and Trifa had to stop abruptly.

If there was one thing Cinder could recall from Grimm Studies, if there was rarely such thing as a singular Beowolf. Before they could regroup, the two pairs were cut off and surrounded.

“Where did they all come from?!” Cinder could hear Archer exclaim.

Cinder was going to snark something along the lines of what to do, but even she knew there was a limit to the teasing. It wasn’t like she didn’t already know the answer to the question, anyway.

Well…I got my wish.

Cinder still remembered that winter’s day in the forest; she was never going to let that happen to her again. Clicking her weapons together, she didn’t even wait for anyone to give a cue; she went straight in for the kill.

The first Beowolf leapt out of the way; the one behind it, however, wasn’t so lucky. As she bisected the Grimm with one swing, she caught another bounding towards her out of the corner of her eye. Quickly bringing Sunrise and Sunset to bear, she activated its spinning mechanism.

*SHING*

How ironic, all the momentum the Beowolf built up in its charge ended up working against it. There were barely even enough parts of it left to dissipate into smoke, that was how much Cinder had flayed it.

She dunked under a heavy swipe, quickly splitting her weapons. She swung upwards with one, making contact. It was not a fatal blow, but nonetheless painful to its recipient. Feeling a surprising amount of resistance, Cinder let go, leaving the blade embedded in the Grimm’s arm.

Dashing a couple paces away, Cinder clicked the button to make the discarded blade return to her. Instead of catching with her free hand, she tried something different this time. She spun with the “calling” machete held out, causing the “called” one to follow the same circular motion. About halfway through the spin, Cinder grabbed the handle, more to guide it than anything. With the extra momentum, she slung it at high velocity.

*CRACK*

The blade was so fast and so accurate that it pierced straight through the Beowolf’s armored skull.

Come on!!!

Cinder was seeing red (black?). Nothing could stop her.

As it turned out, not even her own team.

She had heard vague cries throughout, perhaps a few mentions of her name. However, her mind tuned them out. When the remaining Grimm, having seemingly wisened up after the demise of their compatriots, retreated, Cinder gave chase.

She thought she had only ran out for a little bit. But when the trail inevitably went cold, and she stopped to turn around…

…she realized she had no clue where she was.

“…Guys?” Cinder tried shouting into the woods. “…anyone there?”

…

“…c’mon guys, this isn’t funny.”

…Nothing.

Uh oh.

She was lost, in a completely unfamiliar area. She couldn't even try picking a direction that could take her back if she tried. Trying to recompose herself as best as possible, she began to walk; however, she was very much still panicking internally.

*…beep…*

*…beep…*

…huh?

There was a faint beeping coming from somewhere. Stopping, Cinder listened again.

*…beep…*

*…beep…*

It took her a second to think before checking her pocket. Sure enough, the tracker had caught onto something. The needle on the gauge was consistently ticking in sync with the flashing light. Curiosity piqued, Cinder decided to follow the signal.

*beep……beep…beep…*

The beeps grew more frequent. Eventually, Cinder could see a small clearing in the trees ahead. Oddly enough, there were some trucks and vehicles parked around.

What the hell…?

Thinking she had spotted some movement, Cinder quickly ducked behind a tree. Peeking out slowly, she rechecked the area.

While, indeed, she had spotted a shoe underneath one of the trucks, she hadn’t registered that it was pointing upwards.

Cinder switched off the tracker. Taking out Sunrise and Sunset, she carefully approached the scene.

The horrible stench hit her first; having to momentarily stop herself, she continued on.

Oh, f*ck…

What lay before her was a grisly scene. Cinder could count at least five dead bodies strewn about; the way they were brutalized were telltale signs of a Grimm attack. Various guns, weapons, and blood littered the floor.

Was that where that pack of Beowolves came from…?

Cinder covered her mouth, feeling increasingly nauseous; she quickly decided to leave the area. Before she could, however, a metallic thump nearby alerted her. Cinder ducked close against one of the trucks. She noticed the door was slightly ajar; inside was another freshly deceased person, slumped over in the passenger seat.

Suddenly, the body moved with a gasp.

“…woah!” Cinder quickly backed away into a defensive stance, holding her weapons close.

The man groaned in pain, clutching at his abdomen. Realizing that he was not a threat (not now, anyway), Cinder quickly scrambled to help. Dropping her weapon, she tried to block some of the blood spurting out of the wound.

“…help…please…”

“I’m…ugh- trying…” Cinder said. “…what the hell happened here?”

If there had been a reply, it was barely coherent; Cinder didn’t blame him. Desperately, she grabbed a loose piece of upholstery from the dashboard and pressed it against the wound as hard as she could.

…C’mon…hang in there…!

Cinder needed to find some help. But where? She had no clue where she was!

Despite her efforts, it was too little, too late. With labored breaths, the life slowly faded from the man’s eyes. All Cinder could do was watch.

no...no!!!

Cinder released her grip with a gasp. She slowly held her trembling hands up to her eye level, seeing the dark red bloodstains covering them. She blinked, making sure this wasn't just a twisted nightmare.

It hadn’t been her first time seeing death; that didn’t mean she wasn’t feeling the shock, however.

…I…I could’ve saved him.

If only…I had only come one second sooner…

…I failed him.

Finally in acceptance, Cinder reluctantly reached up and closed the man’s eyes. Picking up her weapon, she stumbled out of the area.

“…I’m gonna be honest, I don’t remember much of what happened after that. I wandered for a bit, and I somehow ended up finding my team again. They rushed me back.”

Cinder certainly wasn’t expecting to be here this early in the year. Any other time, and she would have assumed that she was in trouble. However, it wasn’t the case at this moment.

Headmaster Lionheart’s office was very spacious. Natural light streamed through several windows right behind the desk. There were several shelves and a second balcony above them, filled with haphazard stacks of books.

Lionheart stroked his graying beard.

“I see. Was there anything else you noticed?”

“I’m not too sure…my mind was in a panic, I-“

“Ah, no need to answer if you're uncomfortable. My apologies for being too pushy,” Lionheart quickly interrupted. He made a circular motion with a finger on the map spread out on his desk.

“Are you sure that it was here?”

“…yes. I think.”

Lionheart’s eyes narrowed in thought.

“…most interesting…”

“What’s wrong…sir?” Cinder asked sheepishly.

“We’ve done two sweeps of this aforementioned area. As we speak, a third is on its way. However, the first two patrols have reported the same thing: they have have found nothing there.”

…what?

“I-um…that’s…that’s impossible…” Cinder stammered. “I saw it, I’m sure of it!”

“Now, now,” Lionheart tried to be reassuring. “I’m not implying that I do not believe you. Considering the proximity of this location to the Academy grounds, this is a very serious matter, and I can find no reason why you would simply make up this story. However, to have zero evidence left behind after-the-fact is unusual regardless.”

Cinder’s mind was full of confusion and self-doubt. She had seen all that destruction. She had seen a person die right in front of her eyes. And yet, all of that was somehow cleaned up and spotless between the time she had left and now?

I couldn’t have imagined it…could I?

Wait. No. I still have something.

“…I still do have the tracker. Do you want it?” Cinder stuck a hand in her pocket, where the small turquoise box still was.

“That would be excellent. While not many would consider it conclusive evidence, it is a start.”

Taking the tracker out, Cinder slid it across the wooden surface of the desk. Lionheart considered the device briefly. Whatever conclusions he reached at that moment, he didn't bring them up for further discussion.

“Thank you, Miss Fall,” he stood up from his desk, ready to escort Cinder to the door.

“You should take some time to rest and recover now. You have my permission to be excused for the next day’s classes if you need it.”

“Oh, that…won’t be necessary, Headmaster...um, thank you.”

…hopefully I won’t need it…

Cinder entered her room silently. It was getting late; she assumed that the rest of her team had gone to bed by now.

She was wrong.

“Goodness, there you are! Are you all right?”

“I…am. Thanks, Rosie,” Cinder was still a bit downtrodden, which made her answer hard to believe.

Her entire team was in the common room, waiting for her. Arms crossed, Trifa stood in a corner, looking silently out the window; Archer was sitting on the couch, but not in his usual sprawled position.

“How’d the meeting with the big man go?” He asked.

“…fine.”

Archer had been surprisingly serious throughout the whole ordeal, from finding Cinder wandering through the woods covered in blood, and taking her back to Haven as quickly as possible.

“Let me guess, he told you he didn’t find anything?”

Cinder finally glanced up.

“…how did you know?”

“The gangs,” Trifa answered. Archer gave her an acknowledging point.

“…gangs…?”

“y’know, organized crime. Mafia,” Archer leaned back on the couch, an echo of his previous, snarky self. “They run like crazy in the lower levels. Some f*cked up sh*t happens down there…”

The way he said that last sentence…Cinder had a feeling he wasn’t bullsh*tting.

“…just one of the many regrets I feel beholden to,” Rosie all of a sudden turned serious as well. “The seeds were strewn under my family’s watch, after all…”

“You really think it would've been that easy?” Archer asked.

“I understand it seems simple to state in hindsight. However, if I had the chance, to have ruled back then…affairs would have been different. I swore by it when I learned about it for the first time, and I still do now.”

“Anyway,” with a shrug, Archer took out his flask, of course. “Your weapons got a bit dirty; I cleaned them for you. They’re in your room.”

“…thanks.”

This was weird. Cinder hadn’t expected Archer to care for her so suddenly. In fact, she hadn’t expected her entire team to have forgiven her this easily. It was her fault that she had gotten carried away, after all…

Cinder went into her room, plopping down on her bed. She held up her hands; they were clean now, but she could still visualize the blood that had covered them earlier. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, trying her best to just forget and move on.

Chapter 24

Chapter Text

“…You look like hammered sh*t.”

“Heh, tell me something I don’t know.”

Eyes fluttering, Cinder tried desperately not to let her head hit the table. That would be quite embarrassing, not to mention there was a chance she could faceplant into her tray of food as well.

The past few nights had been…difficult, to say the least. What had happened in that forest played in an endless loop in Cinder’s head. Every time, unlike her usual nightmares, there wasn’t any feelings of fear or anxiety.

They were only full of crushing regret.

Cinder had tried every strategy she could think of. The first one had been a thought experiment; considering Archer’s inferences on the situation, she tried to (rather horrifyingly, thinking back on it) justify those people’s deaths in some way. If they were that heavily involved in illicit activities, what values did their lives hold, really?

At the same time…

Does anyone truly deserve to die by the hands of a Grimm?

At this point, Rosie wasn’t going to just need more kinds of tea; she was going to need more tea, period. Cinder hadn’t moved on to coffee quite yet, but she was actively beginning to consider the idea.

Through her heavy eyelids, Cinder noticed four people entering the dining hall; one of them she recognized. She gave a light wave to Sil; he gave her a nod back.

With a perplexed expression, Archer turned around in his chair to look at the group of four, then back at Cinder.

“You know those guys?”

“One of ‘em. Sil’s in my sparring class. He’s pretty good.”

Archer chortled.

“Whatever you say.”

Cinder’s eyes narrowed.

“What are you tryin’ to say?”

“Oh, well, I think they’re assholes. Posers too full of themselves.”

“…you’re kidding.”

“What?” Archer genuinely asked.

Cinder was too tired to even try to call out the blatant hypocrisy. With a sigh, she just dropped it.

Unbelievable, this guy…

Cinder peeked a couple tables over. This was the first time she had seen Sil’s team. The first guy kinda looked like Fenix if all he did was eat and not exercise. He had on a pair of dark-tinted goggles, making it impossible to even see his eyes. The first girl had her hair up in a bun similar to how Cinder did with hers, but her hair was a bit straighter and longer. The last girl had a hospital-style mask on. Strangely, she didn’t even end up sitting with the rest of Sil’s team; after she got her food, she walked straight back out of the dining hall.

…huh…

Cinder looked back at her own team gathered around her. At least her team had finally managed to get all four members in here at the same time, even if interpersonal relationships were still a work in progress.

In general, Cinder was feeling like there was finally a daily rhythm she could start getting used to, with school and all this other stuff. Hopefully it would be the foundation for something better.

Later that night

Cinder was sprawled on a chair in her dorm’s common room. She wanted to sleep, but at the same time she couldn’t. Perhaps it was knowing that it would be difficult to get any sleep even if she tried. So, she just sat there, mind still in conflict.

She heard a soft shuffling from one of the rooms.

“Can’t sleep?”

“Mhm,” Cinder affirmed. Right on cue, Trifa had come out to do…whatever she does outside at night.

“What even do you do out there anyway?” Cinder had to ask.

“Train, among other things,”

…among other things, huh?

“…you really have to do all that alone?”

That didn’t quite come out the way Cinder had wanted it to.

Trifa was in the middle adjusting one of her gloves; at Cinder’s question, she stopped.

“What are you implying? That we train together?”

…whatever, let’s roll with it.

“Yup.”

“Impossible. Our fighting styles make us incompatible for a mutual spar.”

Man, talk about stonewalling…

“…really? You don’t even want to give it a try?” Cinder tried a light push.

“…”

For one, Trifa seemed very insistent on this “routine” that she had. At the same time, Cinder could sense that she was still internally considering her offer, something that she appeared to be slightly uncomfortable with.

“…very well then,” she finally relented.

Cinder had to admit, the only reason why she had made that offer in the first place was to get even for the Regional Tournament. However, whether it was due to her sleep-deprived mind or something else, by the time she got outside, she wasn’t feeling that urge anymore. Plus, while she was rather blunt in that regard, Trifa did seem quite knowledgeable on combat skills. If there was anything that Cinder would take any day of the week, it would be an extra opportunity to improve.

The two chose a quiet spot a ways away from the campus buildings, but still within the perimeter fence.

Does she really just train here, by herself, all night?

Cinder couldn’t even imagine how boring that would be, even though she herself had done the same thing once upon a time.

Oh, how long ago that time was now…

Trifa made a point by taking out the Dust magazine on her weapon; so, even if she had a chance to use it, she couldn’t. She flipped it up into its hybrid-sword form.

“Sorry in advance of any unforeseen injuries.”

Cinder weakly grinned, taking out Sunrise and Sunset.

“You don’t have to worry about a thing.”

…

Ten minutes later…

“Ok, ok. Timeout.”

While things had started out better, it had soon ended the exact same as it did the last time they fought. Cinder just couldn’t understand why; there was something about Trifa’s fighting style that made her inherently annoying to fight against. Whether it was that or something else, things just turned tiring after a while. Trifa, meanwhile, didn’t even look like she was winded.

Honest to Gods, she turns into a whole different kind of person at night…

Cinder sat down on the ground. Trifa leaned against a nearby tree, waiting for her to stop resting.

“Your movements are quite heavy.”

“What?” Cinder turned at the comment.

“Every step, every swing of your weapon, it can be lighter, more controlled. Currently, you’re unnecessarily exerting yourself too often; that’s why you’re getting tired quickly.”

“…well, any suggestions to fix them, then?”

Trifa appeared to stir uncomfortably.

“…I still don’t see why all of this is necessary…” she muttered.

“C’mon, sometimes you can learn something about yourself through teaching others.”

Cinder had no clue where those sudden words of wisdom came from, but they seemed fitting for the situation.

Heh, sounded like Mary for a second there…

After a second of pondering, Trifa sighed.

“You can start by shortening your swings. It makes them quicker, more powerful. Just like this…”

She attempted to demonstrate, but looked very awkward doing so. Cinder couldn’t help but snicker a little. Expression darkening, Trifa turned her head away.

“It’s fine, I got it.”

As much as it amused her to see Trifa’s composure nearly break, pushing it any more wouldn’t do much good in the grand scheme of things.

“So…” Cinder stood up, detaching her weapons and holding it out in front of her.

“…like this?”

Elsewhere…

“Hm? Oh, it was you, Logan! I was wondering who was in here this late at night…”

The book lowered just enough to reveal the wrinkled, spectacled face of Professor Icirrus.

“Apologies if I disturbed you, Stefan.”

With a chuckle, Professor di Castani walked into the room.

“If you didn’t have that light on I might’ve locked you in here! Now we can’t be having that, can we?”

He peered over, reading the cover of the book Icirrus was reading.

“…feeling nostalgic?”

“…perhaps,” Icirrus responded, gaze unwavering.

Icirrus was looking over some old records, whether it was for past students or huntsmen that the Academy had kept track of over the years. He was almost to the Great War era, that was how far back he had gone.

“Well, um…since you’re here, I guess I’ll leave you to it,” di Castani dropped a heavy ring of keys on the desk. “Good night.”

Icirrus was still primarily focused on the list he had in his hands. His eyes narrowed as he saw a familiar passage penciled in among the neatly typed letters:

“The Grimm Reaper”

August 19^th, 902 – I have added this in here as a placeholder.

I will be honest, I haven’t had the slightest idea what to say with this one. Some sort of vigilante huntsman, appearing mysteriously to slay Grimm, then disappearing almost as quickly. The commoners certainly seem to believe that this is more reality than myth. The faculty here are similarly divided, and the Royal Council is at a loss as well. I shall update this as I find more information.

1-30-31 (AGW) – Oh wow, I didn’t know that Headmaster Ashton actually made an entry for this. I guess I’ll take over on updating this, since he’s no longer here anymore.

We now have confirmed sightings, although it is still difficult to corroborate them. Subject appears to be in her early-to-mid-twenties, wearing an overall teal and dark blue outfit. The most distinctive feature, however, that everyone can agree on, is the mask that she wears. It depicts a skull, and covers her entire face. It would appear that she does not want anyone to know her true identity. This might be more difficult than anticipated…

6-1-33 AGW – We’ve managed to narrow down sightings to a relative area. It would appear that she either prefers to work in the mountains just north of Lake Matsu or that she resides around there. I did reach out to Governor Königsblau up in Argus; however, he didn’t give me much.

12/4, 56 AGW – Mark me down as the third professor to update this entry. Sorry to any future readers, this is where this story will end.

It’s dried up. No more sightings, no more stories. Half the people I’ve talked to have no clue who this person even is anymore. We can only assume the worst. Damn shame.

We’re trying to move all this paper to "digital" archives soon, so we had to put a firm conclusion to this. What I just wrote was decided by committee. The vote was nearly unanimous.

“…nearly” unanimous.

Icirrus sighed; he still remembered that meeting, 20 years ago. No one believed him back then, and neither did anyone now.

If only they knew…

Chapter 25

Chapter Text

“…we’re doing what?”

“You heard me.”

Cinder had been looking forward to spending another quiet weekend, but no, Archer just had to throw a wrench in that plan. However, it wasn’t quite in the way Cinder had anticipated.

“…well? I’m going to take your continued silence as a yes. The empty shelves at the bar ain’t gonna fill themselves!”

So, um, yeah, Archer had managed to (somehow) empty the comically large bar of alcohol that he had stored on one side of the kitchen already. Cinder had walked in on him making co*cktails on more than one occasion; every time, the mix and sheer number of bottles used was baffling. Rosie had described it as “monstrous” to Cinder in private once; when she of all people wasn’t mincing words, you knew something was up.

Apparently, there was some sort of big sale that the distilleries around here did occasionally, and today was one of the days. And, for some reason, the entire team had to be involved in this little shopping spree rather than Archer alone.

It was during preparations for this trip that Cinder realized that she didn’t have that much casual clothes to wear. There was her combat outfit, her school uniform, and her pajamas; that was pretty much it. Not wanting to wear any of them alone, Cinder had ended up with a very strange outfit combination: the white undershirt from her school uniform, the pants from her combat outfit, and some casual shoes she typically wore around the dorm. Problem was, she had made the pants to be tucked into boots of some kind. Without them, the fit was kind of weird, with the pant legs widening noticeably past the knees. It looked like her ankles and shoes were about to be vacuumed up.

“Is that what the youngins refer to as ‘hip’ now-a-days?”

“Eh? Um…sorry, I don’t really know. I just threw on whatever I had for this.”

Compared to Cinder, Rosie had on an even more unusual outfit, at least, compared to what she usually wore: sweatpants and a light-gray pullover hoodie.

Uhm…is this even the same person I thought I knew…?

“Do you…usually wear that outside?”

“It is not preferable, but unfortunately I find it is necessary,” Rosie lamented. “In certain places, I have to remain…’incognito,’ for lack of a better term.”

Rosie’s expression suddenly brightened up.

“Would you like to go clothes shopping, you and I?”

Huh? Where did that come from all of a sudden?

“Why?”

“You appear to be in need of some new clothes. Am I wrong?”

“…no.”

“Precisely! To be honest, I was thinking of acquiring some new outfits, myself. Why not address both our issues at the same time? ‘Two birds with one stone!’”

“…where are we going then?”

“I know a place, around the same area we’re going. Oh, this will be great! We can see what all the latest trends are!”

“You’re interested in ‘trends?’”

“Naturally. There was hardly anything to do at the Royal Palace: only meetings and lounging, so tedious! Not to mention any time you were able to leave the grounds, there had to be at least three guards with you at all times…”

“…but I digress. My point is, my interests are in all things that are considered ‘modern living.’ Why wouldn’t a Royal desire to live the lives of their subjects, after all?”

Cinder’s shopping trips with Mary had been primarily at the Central Market. Where she and her team were heading today, however, was a different place: somewhere called the Blue Hills Centre. The route there largely remained in the upper levels, through some more natural, less densely populated areas.

At the very end, the path dipped down a hill. From here, Cinder could get a good layout of the area. Unlike the Central Market, which was primarily open-air, the Centre was within a semi-enclosed structure; a distinctive feature Cinder noticed was its large, glass-pane roof, which shined a bright blue in the sunlight. Evidently, that was where this place had gotten its name from.

Despite its refined exterior, the interior had the familiar bustling aura of a typical market. Stalls haphazardly set up, people rushing here and there.

Almost immediately upon entering, Archer rushed in, pushing and shoving through the crowd to some unseen area of the market.

Well, that was quick…

Cinder glanced at Trifa.

“He’ll return…eventually.” She said.

“Hopefully,” Cinder replied. She then turned towards Rosie.

“So, the place?”

Rosie had pulled up her hood so it covered most of her head. Despite this, she gave a bright smile.

“Follow me!”

…

While some areas near the entrance looked like a mess of completely unrelated vendors, the farther in the two went, the more sectionalized the Centre became. Soon, everything Cinder could see around her were clothes, clothes, and more clothes. Popular brands (judging by the large groups of people around them), to boutiques looking so sophisticated and expensive Cinder couldn’t even believe there were people who could actually afford them.

Cinder thought that the place Rosie had in mind was one of the latter; it seemed fitting for her external aura, after all. However, this ended up not being the case. In fact, the storefront where the two went into seemed bit…lowkey…?

In a semi-quiet corner of the Centre, only two racks chock-full of clothes even indicated that there was another vendor here. A little past it, there was a semi-hidden doorway that led…somewhere.

“…this is it?”

Rosie enthusiastically nodded.

“Just down here!”

Cinder felt like she was walking down into the abyss. The abyss of clothes, maybe. Past the doorway was a set of stairs. The entire way, miscellaneous articles of clothing lined the walls: T-shirts, jeans, ties, even sports jerseys. There was just so many!

The near-claustrophobic descent finally ended at a semi-basem*nt level. Overall, in a strange sort of way, Cinder was reminded of home, with the dim lighting and wood planks lining the floors.

The single employee behind the register looked like she was about to fall asleep. When Rosie pulled down her hood, however, she nearly fell out of the stool she was sitting on.

“By the God-*ahem*…P-Prince Rosaria! w-What brings you here to this humble establishment?”

“A simple matter. My teammate here requires a new outfit, you see…”

“a-ah! Of course…!” the employee clapped her hands together. “…you’ve come to the right place! Right this way!”

When suddenly presented with a whole trove of choices, Cinder’s brain short-circuited. Everything started to blend together into an abstract wash of color.

…

Uhm……..

First things first.

Cinder grabbed a red shirt off one of the racks. It was a similar color to her pants, perhaps with a slight purple hue.

…now what?

Her pants and shirt being the exact same color would look kinda strange. So, change the pants. Problem was, what color?

Cinder considered a pair of blue jeans.

…maybe…?

But at the same time…those khakis over there also look good.

Wow. This is hard…

Cinder decided to ask for help.

“…good starting choice on the red. It suits you very nicely.”

The employee expertly weaved in and out of the racks, until she emerged with a v-neck sweater.

“I always like recommending this color at this time of the year,” she said, running a hand through the white-gray fabric. “Winter’s almost here, and yet it’s still Fall. Not to mention you’ll need this for the colder weather.”

Cinder nodded in agreement.

“Now, where was that other one? Oh, I just saw it…”

Muttering, the employee promptly disappeared again. Taking a little longer this time around, she came back with a long skirt. It had a similar checkered pattern to the one Cinder had as part of her uniform, but its color was different, being a dark brown.

“A similar shade to your shirt, but a different tone. Meanwhile, it’s complementary to the sweater,” the employee led Cinder to a full-length mirror. “What do you think?”

Cinder held up the three articles of clothing to the best of her ability.

It looked…good?

“There’s changing rooms over there if you need it,” Cinder’s eyes followed the employee’s gesture to the far end of the shop.

“Thanks.”

A few minutes later, Cinder emerged from a changing room. Spotting another mirror nearby, she looked herself over.

She looked…great.

The sweater was oversized to a degree, so it wasn’t too tight or form-fitting. She had to wear the skirt a bit higher than she was anticipating, otherwise it would have been dragging along the ground. Evidently, a belt had been built in to the waist for this reason.

Cinder did a little twirl in front of the mirror; everything felt nice and comfortable.

“Satisfied?”

Cinder turned to face Rosie. She nodded.

“Mhm!”

Rosie stroked her chin, looking Cinder’s new appearance over.

“…may I?”

“Hm? Um…sure.”

Rosie gently undid Cinder’s ponytail, letting her hair fall free.

Cinder was momentarily surprised at how long her hair had grown. She usually tied it up first thing in the morning and untied it late at night before bed, so she only had vague recollections of having it down at best. Her hair now fell past her shoulders at their longest points; the usual locks that partially blocked her eyesight had grown all the way down to her chin. Still a bit irked that its length didn’t seem to change a thing, she futilely tried to clear them out of her face.

“I think that suits you,” Rosie said, referring to Cinder’s current “hairstyle.”

“Does it?”

“Of course.”

Rosie lugged up a whole pile of clothes she had picked out.

“Now, I would like to ask of your opinion on some of these, if you are willing.”

…

Cinder never knew that shopping could be this fun. She was free to have a choice, compared to the school uniform provided to her, but at the same time, there were slight limitations compared to making your own clothes. The subsequent mix-and-match puzzle could go any which way, and it was neither tedious nor frustrating.

After some gasps and a couple laughs, Cinder and Rosie had decided on what to buy. Along with her first outfit, Cinder had also decided to pick up a pair of jeans and some high-ankle shoes. She had also gotten a black turtleneck sweater, to wear underneath her combat outfit for the cold winter months. Rosie, meanwhile, had chosen a white-button down shirt, a sleeveless black cardigan, and some light brown pants. The cardigan had a red, cursive “R” sown onto it; it was purely coincidental, but Rosie was convinced that it was too good to be one.

When it came time to pay, Cinder turned a bit sheepish again. She still didn’t have any money to speak of, really. Luckily, Rosie was more than willing to pay for both of them. While Cinder was appreciative, she knew that she couldn’t depend on others’ goodwill forever.

How do people make money nowadays, anyway?

While the walk to the Centre had been pleasant, the walk back decidedly wasn’t.

There had been a lot of strange looks from passerby at this group of Academy-aged teenagers, lugging several heavy crates of spirits and other alcohol up the path. There were five crates and only two cart rollers; the arrangement ended up with two crates per cart, with Trifa awkwardly dragging the other along with a web. Of course, there was little to no help from Archer, as he was busy actively consuming the product he had just bought the entire way.

Once back at the dorm, there was another predicament on where to even store all this stuff.

“These cost 300 Lien each?” Cinder remarked, holding one of the bottles.

“Indeed. It is one of the most prestigious distilleries in this kingdom.”

“How do you even pronounce this anyway? Gl…glen…”

Archer, who had been fast asleep on the couch behind Cinder, suddenly rose up like a ghost. He swiped the bottle from Cinder’s hand.

“Glengoolie™. For the best of times.”

He finished it off with a wink; immediately after that, he slumped back down. Cinder had to catch the bottle before it smashed on the floor.

“Did anybody else hear that?”

“Hear what?” Rosie asked.

Cinder could’ve sworn she had heard a folk-sounding tune from somewhere…

…whatever.

Chapter 26

Chapter Text

The semester was starting to wind down; soon, winter break would be here. Along with the onset of exams and other end-of-semester projects, Cinder had noticed a significant uptick in sparring sessions and assigned missions. The reason why remained unknown to her until she was talking to Pyke one day.

“The Vytal Festival?”

“Mhm! It’s held every two years. The main event’s a tournament where the best teams from all four kingdoms fight to see who’s the best of them all.

That’s why they’ve been making us spar as a team a lot more lately…

“When is it?”

“Next semester. It’s up in Atlas this year.”

“Atlas? That floating city up north?”

“Yep. Teams who get chosen usually spend the semester in the host kingdom’s academy. That’s why it’s so exciting!”

Currently, “Atlas” to Cinder was just a white, wintery landmass she had seen on the big map of Remnant hung up in the Grand Hall.

“…really?”

“Yeah! You get to meet new people, first things first. Second, Atlas has all this cool technology they’re constantly coming up with. You can get a good preview of them before they make their way to the other kingdoms.”

“...I’ll keep that in mind.”

A plan was starting to form in Cinder’s head. She still hadn’t forgotten those words she had told herself:

I want people to know my name.

Despite this, she knew that it would be a difficult process to even get to Atlas. She was a mere first-year, after all; her team would have to win out against her own Academy’s upperclassmen to even be considered. Not to mention, if she got to Atlas, there was also the representatives from the other kingdoms…

…no more half-measures. I’m going all-in.

Cinder was going to Atlas, whether her team wanted to or not.

Team ARTC’s next mission was a collaborative effort with Team SAFR.

The location this time was a place called Chargestone Cave. Once part of a very large mining operation back in the day, it had found a second life as a one-off tourist attraction after the mining companies moved out. However, several high-profile collapses had led the local officials to close it down, citing further concerns of instability. The part that the two first-year teams were to explore was just a small part of a larger cave system that stretched across an entire swath of Mistral city proper.

The primary objective was to gather Dust crystals. The implied secondary objective (typical in missions like these) was to also clear out any Grimm encountered. Grimm certainly didn’t care about perceived “safety concerns,” and if some had managed to get underground, it could lead to a breach.

For this mission, Professor Murasaki was here for guidance. At the mouth of the cave, she paused.

“As I said before, it is very important that you do not get separated once within the cave. Are your pairs set?”

Everyone nodded; they had been paired up beforehand during the way here.

“Good? Ok. Stay close; it’s going to get dark.”

Day turned into night once the group entered the cave. Cinder blinked a couple times, trying to get her eyes to adjust. They eventually did, but visibly was still low nonetheless.

The singular tunnel soon widened, branching off into various directions. Murasaki once again stopped the group.

“This is where our paths split. Good luck.”

Cinder’s volun-told partner for this assignment was Arrastra. She was Team SAFR’s leader, as it turned out.

“I can’t see sh*t.”

“All the better that I lead, then.”

Evidently Arrastra had some sort of night vision. More than willing to defer to her in this situation, Cinder followed her lead.

Even though some areas had been visibly blocked off by rubble, what remained was a testament to just how extensive the tunnels went. Soon, Cinder had completely forgotten all the turns they had took to get to this point.

Straight ahead around a corner, an odd blue glow danced along the walls.

“Looks like we hit a pocket,” Cinder remarked.

“Mhm,” Arrastra agreed.

The main reason why the former Chargestone Mine had been so profitable was due to its large seams of electric Dust. For some rule of nature unknown, the crystals here were noticeably more potent than electric Dust found elsewhere, glowing a unique blue color rather than yellow. As this had been in an era before refineries, crystals from this mine became the prime (if not, sole) energy source for the entire kingdom. As technology had now caught up, combined with the inevitable drying of the well, demand for these “Chargestones” was now a thing of the past. Although, recently, someone had evidently been feeling nostalgic, as there had been a recent resurgence in research surrounding these crystals.

Around the corner was a single crystal, with small flecks of blue coating its exterior. It wasn’t that large, but it was a start. Arrastra took out her weapon, its primary form conveniently being a pickaxe. With one good swing and a chunk, the crystal was freed from the rock it was embedded into.

Cinder watched the crystal fall. As she did, she noticed that some of the smaller chunks that had broken off fell…strangely. Instead of going straight down, they fell at an angle, as if they had been pulled towards something momentarily.

Cinder had heard that these crystals held some magnetic properties. They weren’t as strong overall as actual magnetic Dust on their own, but if it could be substituted in the mix…

“I think there’s more down that way,” she commented.

“There probably is. But we should stop here.”

“What?” Cinder turned. “Why?”

“They’re still untouched for a reason. The risk is too high.”

Cinder shot Arrastra a look.

“And how can you possibly know that?”

“I’ve done this before. I’ve also seen what happens. People get too eager; they just keep going farther and farther until they never come back.”

Cinder’s eyes narrowed.

“Are you trying to imply something right now?”

There was no explicit response; in reality, both of them knew the intent behind that statement.

The staredown was interrupted by a rumble that echoed throughout the walls.

“Exactly,” Arrastra took that as a confirmation of her previous point. “We need to go, now.”

Still frowning, Cinder followed.

Arrastra expertly cut through the tight turns and passages; she seemingly had the entire route memorized. Cinder, meanwhile, was left struggling to catch up. Somehow, this didn’t feel like any sort of cave collapse. The muffled cracks of gunfire soon confirmed that theory.

Professor Murasaki wasn’t at the spot where the teams had split up, nor were any of the other pairs in sight.

“They must’ve fallen back to the entrance. Let’s go.”

Gah…

There wasn’t a chance for even a small break before Cinder had to start running again. She still wasn’t sure why she was even still following Arrastra, but she kept up nonetheless.

At the mouth of the cave was Professor Murasaki, as well as two other pairs: Fenix and Rosie, and Trifa and Asher.

“w…why are we even running away anyway?” Cinder panted. “If it’s Grimm, shouldn’t we be in there-“

“This isn’t any normal Grimm,” Professor Murasaki interrupted.

Thumps, roars, and gunshots continued to emanate from the cave. Soon, Archer and Pyke came sprinting out. They ran past the gathered group, stopping a ways away to catch their breath.

“What did you do this time?” Cinder asked.

“Hey, it’s not my f*cking fault that we ran into-THAT!”

The entrance of the cave quite literally exploded. Large chunks of rock were sent in all directions, scattering the group. Cinder in particular had to dive into a bush, which she instantly regretted.

Ow, ow, ow!

Cinder pulled herself back out, patting herself down of various splinters and prickly leaves. Her eyes darted around; the rest of the group were in similar states to her. All except for Murasaki, who was facing down the creature that had emerged from the cave.

The giant, primate-like Grimm bellowed a loud roar. If Cinder remembered correctly, it was a Beringel. With its sheer size and strong bone-like plates, it would be a tough kill.

Rushing back to the main path, Cinder got ready to draw Sunrise and Sunset. Before she could, however, Murasaki stopped her with a hand.

“I’ll handle this.”

Murasaki drew a small hilt from her side. With a simple click of a button, it expanded into a naginata that stood quite noticeably taller than her. Cinder tipped her head a little; she was hearing a faint, resonant hum from somewhere.

As the Beringel charged, Murasaki remained still. Gripping her weapon with two hands, she presented the sharp end at the approaching Grimm. Cinder took out her own weapons as a precaution.

What is she doing?!

The large blade of the naginata began to crackle with bolts of blue electricity; it looked just like the Dust crystals this mission’s original assignment was about. With a push of another button, some fire Dust was activated, combining to create a purple glow.

Cinder couldn’t hold herself back any longer.

“Professor!”

Before she could even take a step, she was blinded by a brilliant light.

*CRACK*

When Cinder opened her eyes, the Beringel was gone. There were only a few lingering wisps of black smoke left.

Murasaki retracted her weapon from the single swing she evidently just did. Collapsing it back down into the small hilt, she put it back on her side, sweeping her cloak forward.

What…the hell just happened?

“…Ha- what?”

“Hachiwari,” Rosie repeated. “A renowned Aura technique from ancient times.”

After Professor Murasaki had one-shotted that Beringel, the reunited Teams ARTC and SAFR were on their way back to campus.

“When a blade resonates at a certain frequency, it weakens the molecular bonds of any object it strikes. It may seem easy in theory, but it requires immense concentration.”

“…how do you know this?”

“Dost thou recall the ‘lessons’? My father was quite insistent that Hachiwari be taught to all. Unfortunately, in my case, it hath only led to a terrible discovery…”

Rosie was referring back to the swordship lessons she had received “once upon a time.”

“My Aura reserves were always quite low,” Rosie continued. “Even from when I was young. Time and time again, I was reassured it would ‘get better’…it never did.”

So that’s why she doesn’t just use her Semblance all the time…

Despite this weakness, Rosie didn’t stay at a distance in fights nearly as much as Cinder had expected. In fact, she was often in the thick of it, duking it out in close-quarters combat alongside her, if anything.

“Oh, dear. I’ve soured the mood.”

“Oh, no, you’re fine,” Cinder quickly reassured. “I was thinking of something else.”

That last statement was true.

“Hachiwari,” huh…

…when can I learn that technique?

Chapter 27

Chapter Text

Exhibition Hall #1

Grand Hall – Haven Academy

A couple dozen students were gathered in the stands to watch the main event: Team ARTC vs Team SMMK. It was a tense, evenly matched fight, much to their enjoyment.

Cinder quickly sprinted across the arena, dodging a series of explosive Dust shots from Khaki, that aviator-looking girl. Before she could give her a piece of her mind, the fat one, Marton, stepped in with that giant club of his. Cinder was barely able to block his powerful strike. Bowing to his strength, she disengaged.

Next, Cinder tried taking on the girl with the mask, Mina. Sidestepping a shotgun blast, she attempted a combination attack. However, Mina was ready for it, countering every move with her axe.

“This isn’t working!” Cinder backed off alongside Archer, who was in the middle of reloading.

“Well, that’s your problem if you keep trying to solo the entire team!”

“I’m not-ugh! Do you realize what you’re saying right now?!”

“…I do?”

“Not in that way!!”

Cinder took a glance to her right, where Rosie was currently employing her rifle as a club. Despite being utterly outmatched on paper, she was holding her own, albeit barely.

“Why don’t you try helping her? Hell, maybe try fighting like her instead of sitting back here the whole time?!”

“And why the hell would I do that?” Archer flipped open his flask. “It just gets my suit dirty-“

*CLINK*

The flask shot out of Archer’s hand, a bullet having pierced it clean through. Time seemed to stand still as everyone in the hall froze.

Cinder turned towards the direction of the shot; Sil gave one of his guns a spin, dropping a pretty big hint at who was responsible.

“…Archer?” Cinder gave Archer a poke. She had to really focus to make sure, but she could see his hand start to tremble.

“…y-you…”

“…wha-“

“…yoU f*ckIN’ BASTARD!!!”

With murder quite literally burning in his eyes, Archer ran right at Sil. Marton once again stepped in, using some Dust in his club to set a smokescreen. Archer was unfazed, however, charging straight into the thick smoke. A rough grunt from within indicated that he had found…someone to tussle with.

Now suddenly missing their leader, the rest of Team ARTC shared a glance. With various reactions, some disgruntled, some puzzled, they followed Archer’s “lead.”

Visibility was instantly reduced to zero as Cinder entered the smoke. Still moving her feet, she almost ran directly into Khaki. Both of them were as thoroughly surprised as the other, but Cinder managed to recover slightly quicker.

While Cinder still hadn’t made much progress on “tempering aggression” in her extra training sessions with Trifa, she had learned to be a bit lighter on her feet, increasing her agility.

Khaki didn’t even have enough time to fully switch her weapon out of its gun mode. With one heavy swing and a blade spin, Cinder disarmed her. This time, instead of the shoulder, she utilized a solid kick to the midsection, knocking Khaki out of the fight.

A loud, bellowing roar behind her took Cinder by surprise. Before she could react, the cry was interrupted by the sound of two bullet impacts. As the smoke finally started to clear, Cinder could see a rough silhouette of Marton a few feet away, slowly pulling himself back up.

“Who goes there?”

“It’s me, it’s me!” Cinder quickly replied to the challenge.

Materializing right beside her, Rosie lowered her rifle with a relieved sigh.

“How did you know he was there…?” Cinder half-remarked, referring to Marton.

“Luck, admittedly,” Rosie replied. “Although, a hunch can go a long way.”

With the smoke fully dissipated, the extent of the chaos was revealed. Khaki and Marton had been dealt with, as aforementioned; Trifa had seemingly taken on Mina and subdued her, given that she was trying to help her up.

Wait…she’s helping her up?

She never did that to me every time I hit the dirt…

As for Archer and Sil…Professor Icirrus had stepped in before it had turned into a bare-knuckle boxing match. Both looked as equally disheveled as the other, and equally vying for more.

“…you were saying?” Cinder quipped, slapping some dust off of Archer’s suit.

“Never…get between a man and his drink…” was his only reply.

Cinder tried to help Sil up, but he slapped her hand down with a hmph. Pulling himself together, he walked away. Cinder’s hand remained outstretched for a bit before she finally closed it.

…guess he needs to cool off.

So…we won, yay. Sorta. It certainly wasn’t in a way anyone was expecting…

Later

After another training session with Trifa that night, Cinder headed in. Instead of going straight back to the dorm, however, she made one more stop on the way.

Evergreen Hall was where all the technical, science-y classes were held. That was where Cinder’s weapons crafting class was, in that musty basem*nt. Other than that, however, she wasn’t too familiar with the rest of the building.

At this hour, the building was completely empty, with all the lights turned off. It was dark, save for a soft glow from one of the streetlamps outside. Slightly unnerved, Cinder walked down the halls, searching.

Soon enough, she found what she was looking for. Professor Murasaki was doing something in one of the classrooms, strangely in the complete dark. If Cinder didn’t know any better, she might’ve thought she had just seen a ghost. Noting the door was slightly ajar, she gave it a knock.

“…p-Professor?”

Murasaki’s head shot up from what she was doing, projecting an odd reflection on the window in front of her. She flipped down the shades on her glasses before turning around.

“Ah, Cinder. What can I do for you?”

Murasaki had been studying one of the Dust crystals from that mission back at Chargestone Cave. Her Semblance allowed her to project some sort of "ultraviolet" light from her eyes, which was why she often had those glasses on. What that actually allowed her to do…? Cinder didn’t really know.

“I thought you taught Grimm Studies…”

“I dabble in other subjects as well.”

“Um…I…” Cinder fumbled her words slightly. She cleared her throat.

“I never got to…thank you…for dealing with that Beringel back in the cave.”

“The pleasure was all mine,” Murasaki said reassuringly. “It was unusual that one of that size managed to get in there, and it would’ve been unreasonable to expect first-year students to take it on.”

“I was just so surprised you managed to kill it in one swing…later, my teammate mentioned some sort of technique and I got curious…”

Murasaki smiled.

“Always perceptive, that Rosaria,” she remarked. “Yes, I found that the situation required a use of it.”

“Is it…possible…that you could teach me that technique?” Cinder finally asked.

A brief chuckle.

“Hachiwari…Hachiwari,” Professor Murasaki spun in her chair. “How shall I put this? Let’s just say it’s an ancient technique for a good reason.”

“…what do you mean?”

“In its heyday, Hachiwari was considered something only the best could truly master. Everyone could learn it, sure, but to completely hone its skills was something exclusive to few. Are you familiar with the history of this kingdom?”

Cinder shook her head.

“Very few people who mastered Hachiwari kept their sanity. Slowly, the perception around this technique changed; it was now seen as cursed, forbidden. What few practitioners remained were practically wiped out during the Warlord Era.”

“If this conclusion seems strange to you, it is. In reality, their own high expectations broke them. At the same time, they fell behind the times; they underestimated the power of Dust and new technologies.”

She continued.

“What I’m trying to say is this: ‘perfection’ is impossible. All of us will have flaws, one way or another. Don’t take every burden as your sole responsibility. While it’s good that you’re striving to better yourself, a constant desire for power can lead you down a dark path.”

Cinder had to take a minute to internalize that before replying. Yes, she constantly wanted to be stronger. But it was for a good reason...right?

“But what if…you feel…alone? What if you don’t…trust your teammates?”

Agh. That last bit really didn’t come out good…

“I believe what makes you ‘strong’ is how you, or others, can cover for weaknesses. You’re on a team for a very good reason. Now, I understand that there will be disagreements; it’s inevitable, after all. Resolving these issues is just one part of your journey in becoming a Huntress.”

This, combined with what had happened earlier in the day had put Cinder’s mind in a bit of conflict. She seemed to be the only one in her team who actually saw that Archer wasn’t that good of leader thus far. But now, thinking about it…what if she was the one that was wrong?

Then again, if I do end up deferring to him, he won’t let me hear the end of it. That’s what I hate about him.

Murasaki was right; she was on a team for a reason. That was different than a group of four individual fighters. But with so much differences between them at the moment, could they really be able to resolve them by the time the Vytal Festival rolled around?

“Is there anything else you want to talk about?”

“No…thanks, Professor,” Cinder replied.

With the night completely settled in, Cinder walked back to her dorm. During the way, she noticed that Trifa was still out there; strange, she thought she would’ve gone back in as well. Instead, she was with…someone else? Cinder squinted her eyes, not wanting to be seen in her current state. It didn’t help that the two were in a clearing under a broken streetlight. Trifa had led Cinder to that spot a lot recently, to emphasize “stealth and night-fighting.”

Oh? Right there!

This second figure managed to stand in a light just long enough for Cinder to identify their face.

It was…Mina? Of Team SMMK? The same girl that Cinder had just fought?

Huh.

So even Trifa’s making friends…

This began a retrospective within Cinder's mind. Through almost a full semester, she had managed to at least talk to all the members of her team. She’d forged a positive relationship with one; the other two, she still wasn’t sure how to describe quite yet. In combat, the team did appear to be able to work together decently. Even if cohesiveness was still an issue, they seemed to genuinely care for each other; Cinder recalled that incident that befell her during their first mission. She also remembered what had happened earlier; if the remaining three team members truly, absolutely despised Archer, they could’ve just left him out to dry when he ran into that scuffle. But they didn’t. They followed him in, for some innate reason they didn’t even need to think about.

Hm…a team. T-E-A-M.

I think I need to ask one more person on their opinion.

Chapter 28

Chapter Text

One week later

The semester was over. For the first time in about four months, Cinder was heading back home.

While she had tried at first, visiting Mary during the semester had been wishful thinking. Oh well, better late than never, right?

After a little bit getting out of the city, Cinder was soon back on the familiar path. Her shoes lightly crunched on the fresh layer of snow that had fallen the day prior. It was a good thing she had picked up that turtleneck, as it was quite frigid on this early winter morning.

Cinder shivered a little as a cool breeze hit her. Besides this, she was feeling an odd chill from within, as if she was being watched…

She suddenly whirled around in place, checking behind her. The only thing she ended up scaring was a squirrel, who scampered away.

Hmph…

Looking around one more time, Cinder resumed walking. When she reached the ruins of the old orphanage, she noticed some things had changed.

The barn was completely gone; the area had been swept clean of any debris or other evidence that a structure had once stood there. The decrepit house was still there, but the windows had been boarded up. Additionally, there were various words and marks spray-painted on the front door. A recent-ish set of tire tracks led in and out of the place.

A small sign had been hammered in next to the exterior fence. Cinder walked up to it, giving it a read. Some sort of…development company?

They’re already trying to bury this place…

Whoever was redeveloping the area probably didn’t know even half of what had happened here. Cinder, however, still did. As much as she wanted to forget, seeing what was happening here made her angry.

I’ll make sure they know. For as long as they live.

Before continuing on, Cinder kicked down the sign.

For some reason, Cinder was expecting something different to have happened to the house when she arrived. But no, there it was, looking the exact same as she left it. A stack of logs neatly piled up against one side, a small column of smoke coming out of the chimney. It had been the one true constant in Cinder’s life, and she had finally returned.

Walking gingerly up to the front door, Cinder knocked.

Silence.

The door was unlocked; strange. Cinder gave it a light push open.

“…hello? Mary? Anyone home?”

Something really wasn’t feeling right…

Getting increasingly worried, Cinder cautiously entered with a hand on Sunset’s handle. She approached the first door on the left; her room. Reaching out with a wavering hand, she stopped before she could grip the handle.

What am I doing, trying to be sneaky? This isn’t my style.

Cinder barged into the room with a bit of force.

If someone had been in here, they had an almost inhuman amount of restraint. Other than the loud thunk of the door hitting the wall, all was quiet.

Everything about Cinder’s room had been left virtually untouched. The slight wrinkle in the bedsheet, the position of the curtains, even the closet door was still slightly ajar from when she had searched for something last-minute.

…guess she really isn’t home, then.

Dropping her bag in the middle of the room, Cinder sat down on her bed. She wasn’t sure what to do to pass the time yet; so, she sat in silence. She had never noticed how…quiet this place was; the bustling ambient noise of city life had become something she had taken for granted now.

After some trivial contemplation, Cinder decided to start to unpack. As she reached around her shoulder to put her weapons down…

Mmph!

A hand suddenly shot out from behind her, covering her mouth.

What the…f*ck!

Cinder struggled, trying to escape, but this unknown attacker’s grip stood firm.

Someone was following me! Gods, I’m an idio-

“I was wondering if you’d forgotten about me.”

The squirming stopped the instant Cinder heard that voice. All the tension and fear left her at once.

“…mmph…”

As soon as the hand released its grip, Cinder had the person behind her in a tight hug. She even shed a few tears, something she would’ve felt very embarrassed about normally. Not here.

“…Mary…”

“…I’m sure you did just fine.”

The past hour had been just a nonstop outpour of everything that had happened during Cinder’s time away. Mary listened through it all, without even a hint of boredom.

“Really?”

“I’m sure,” she flipped over Sunrise, which she had been holding in her hands. “If you’re already making stuff like this all on your own…”

Although Cinder had talked about a lot of things, she had meticulously dodged one thus far.

“Were you ever…part of a team, Mary?” Cinder asked.

“A ‘team’?” Mary laughed. “Never was. I worked alone.”

Hold on, what? She was never part of a team?

That means…

“…you didn’t go to Haven?”

“Nope. Heh, they were just starting out back then, so nobody really gave them much care, really. I did receive an offer to teach there after I took my license exam, but I turned it down. I decided it just wasn’t for me.”

With that, the long-standing theory Cinder had about Mary’s past went out the window. She was only left to question now: What had happened to Mary back then that made her give up being a Huntress?

Whatever it is, it’s definitely related to that eyepatch…

“Why do you ask?”

Cinder quickly turned her mind back on track. She had wanted to ask Mary about this, after all.

“I think I’m not…getting along with my team.”

“…you think?”

“It’s just…I feel like they’re holding me back, in a way.”

Mary took a second to consider this statement.

“Hmm…in what way, exactly?”

“I don’t know…maybe it’s because we’re still getting used to each other, but I always feel like I can do better than what I’m doing right now. But I can’t, because…” she let the end of the sentence imply itself.

“Careful, that’s very dangerous territory you’re venturing into,” Mary’s expression turned serious. “Constantly wanting more and more strength can have consequences, often very serious ones.”

…wow. Almost word for word…

“Then…how can I get better? With my team?”

“For one, you’re not alone. No matter where you go, you’ll always have your team to fall back on. I never had that luxury, and…” she trailed off, before changing the subject. “If I’ve heard it correctly, they do genuinely care for you. So, the very least you can do is to reciprocate this appreciation.”

“What if I can’t, though? Or…what if I feel like I can’t do that right now?”

“You’re going to have to. Communicate your problems; that’s the first step in working in a team. Like it or not, it’s inevitable. If I were you, I would try to work myself towards liking that.”

Right now, Cinder couldn’t even formulate a single sentence about Archer that didn’t include at least one curse. She crammed a mental note in a corner of her brain to work on that.

“Anyway, enough of that negative stuff,” Mary broke the silence. “You’ve got about a month here, what do you want to do?”

“Train.”

“That was quick,” Mary chuckled. “Oh, well. I guess it was about time to give these old bones a spin again…”

Three days later…

This was unbelievable.

Cinder was bored.

So I can get bored of training all day. Huh…

While she always enjoyed Mary’s company, Cinder had forgotten how monotonous life at this little cabin was. Even the shopping trips didn’t have that much excitement attached to them anymore. Cinder wanted to try something new.

One day, she had followed Mary to a usual trip to the Central Market. As she walked by a display of carpets, she was reminded of something.

“How do Huntresses earn money?”

“Money? Ah…well, first things first, there’s always “missions” that you can complete for money. Additionally, there’s a pension. Although, since you’re not yet a fully licensed Huntress, neither of these things are available to you. Hmm…perhaps, a part-time job?”

Eh? A job?

“…any ideas?”

“Unfortunately, I’m not sure I can help you on this one. I’ve never actually thought about earning more money than what I have before you asked…”

The two of them thought in silence, although one of them was clearly thinking harder than the other.

Wait a second…

“You have something?”

“I do. Is it ok if I take you somewhere?”

“Where exactly?”

“A different market.”

“A different market?” Mary repeated. “Oh well, why not? Switch things up once in a while.”

After cutting through the heart of the city, the two had reached the place Cinder had in mind: the Blue Hills Shopping Centre.

“You shop here?” Mary looked around. “I guess it’s reasonable, since it’s closer to the Academy.”

Well, I’ve technically only gone here once so far.

But if I get my way, I might be coming here more frequently…

Trying her best to remember the way there, Cinder saw a familiar pair of clothes racks.

“Clothes?” Mary’s eye lit up in understanding. “Ah…”

“Do you mind waiting here?”

“Sure.”

The sole employee was still sitting at that same spot behind the register, still looking like she was about to fall asleep.

“Hm? Oh, it’s you again! What’s the matter, back for more?”

“Yep…kinda.”

“Kinda? Do tell?"

Cinder smiled a bit sheepishly.

“I…I want to work here.”

…

“You have a good sense of fashion?”

“…no.”

“You know how to clean?”

“I guess?”

“You know how to work the register?”

“…maybe?”

The employee sighed.

“Look, kid, you ain’t giving me much to work with here. What can you do?”

“I can…sew,” Cinder gave her outfit a tug. “I…made this myself.”

“Wait, you made that all by yourself? Danggggg!” The employee gave Cinder’s outfit a look over. “You sure you don’t have a good sense of fashion? 'Cause you’re rockin’ this!”

“…thanks…”

“You do any more like that?”

“No…but it isn’t like I don’t know how to.”

“That’s great! While I’m fine with running things 'round here solo, what I do need right now is someone who can fix some things.” She gestured towards the stairs. “All that stuff? They’re almost junk at this point. Best they can do are decorations. Unless…”

“...I can fix them,” Cinder wanted confirmation. “So, I got the job?”

The response was an eager nod.

“Mhm!”

“When do I start?”

“How’s tomorrow sound?”

Chapter 29

Chapter Text

Hi, I’m Cinder Fall. Huntress-in-training, part-time seamstress.

Hah, like that’s ever gonna happen.

…

Except it did.

Life is certainly strange, isn’t it?

While Cinder still had time to spend back at home with Mary, other times, she was back here at Blue Hills, helping out as much as she could. More often than not, this included things other than sewing.

“Hey, Nabi! We’re out of fives!” Cinder called to the back. As it turned out, the “employee” was actually the “proprietor.” Cinder had wondered why she had been always alone here.

A few seconds of hurried footsteps later, Nabi quite literally slid into view. She was wearing one of those shoes that had roller wheels built into the soles.

“Here ya go!” She said, slapping some loose bills onto the counter before rolling away.

“…sorry about that,” Cinder apologized for the delay. “13 Lien, 7 for change.” She counted out the correct amount and handed it to the customer. “Have a good one.”

Cinder wasn’t sure if it was because of her, but there had been an uptick in business lately. According to Nabi, things had been admittedly quiet for a while, but that was because “trends were changing.” Since she didn’t know any better, Cinder took her word for it.

Once the customer left, Cinder got back to what she had been doing, fixing a hole on a blouse. There had been a bug infestation in the storeroom, which was why Nabi was being so feisty right now.

Cinder’s current ball of thread ran out as soon as the next customer came in.

“Good after-“ Cinder said whilst looking up. The word stopped in her mouth.

…Mina?

“…noon.”

Mina only gave a cursory nod as she looked around.

“…need help with anything?” Cinder offered. She was treading into dangerous territory with this, as she was risking exposing her utter lack of fashion sense.

“Anything purple here?” Mina finally spoke after some silence. “Preferably dark.”

Oh. Ok, I can answer that. I know the layout of this place, at the very least.

“Back…there,” Cinder pointed to a corner of the shop. “I’ll be here if you need any more help.”

As Cinder fished around for another ball of thread, she was watching Mina closely with one eye. At the same time, she was trying her best to make it discreet.

That mask just stays on the entire time then, I guess. I’ve never seen her with it off. Even when eating…

Mina had always left the dining hall after getting her food, ostensibly to eat it somewhere else.

…why though?

Eventually, Mina had gone so far in that Cinder couldn’t see her at all from the front. Carefully putting down the sweater she was working on, she decided to try and eavesdrop. Sneaking through the aisles, she caught sight of her next to one of the racks. Immediately putting up an act, Cinder pretended like she was sorting some stuff on the next rack over.

For now, all seemed normal. Mina was just checking out some clothes like any other customer would. But something just felt…off about her. Maybe it was because Cinder had seen her with Trifa, the notorious social outcast of her team, that night after their fight.

Not to mention, when only the top part of her face was visible, it was very difficult to discern any sort of emotion from those eyes alone…

So mysterious…heh, I suppose they’re made for each other in that regard.

When Mina moved, Cinder followed. Her next cover was a cleaning closet. There was a small mirror angled on the ground that gave her a perfect view. As she gave far too much attention into a half-empty bottle of bleach than it deserved, Cinder kept sneaking peeks over to the mirror.

…Nothing. It really did seem that Mina was here just for shopping.

Hmm…

Eventually, Cinder had to call the thing off, going back to the register at the front. A few minutes later, Mina came up with some clothes she had picked out.

“This’ll be all?” Cinder asked. Mina nodded.

As she began to scan the first items, Cinder’s brain was gnawing at her to try to find out more.

“You fought well in that match. Gave me a run for my money.”

Despite Cinder’s best efforts, the complement still felt excessively empty.

“…thanks.”

“I saw Trifa helping you up at the end – she didn’t hurt you, did she?”

“…no,” Mina replied. Although she didn’t say it, her eyes seemed to imply the follow up question.

“Oh, it’s just that she never helped me up every time she knocked me down,” Cinder tried to lighten the mood, even if she was very anxious inside. “Which was many.”

Hopefully that’s good enough…

…it wasn’t. Mina simply internalized the explanation, and didn’t speak any more.

…dang it.

Cinder finished scanning the last item, which was…a black leather jacket.

Huh…

“That’ll be 23 Lien,” Cinder stuffed all the items neat into a paper bag. Mina paid with a card.

*Beep*

“…thanks. Have a good one.”

Mina left without a word.

…f*ck. I failed. Hopefully she wasn’t tipped off to anything…

Oh well. Cinder was beginning to debate why she was even taking an interest in her teammate’s personal life. Did she have any right to, really? It wasn’t even directly affecting her, or anyone else around…

…at least I think.

Before continuing to sew, Cinder stood up. During this entire sequence, she had been thinking of an idea that could potentially solve this “silverfish issue” that Nabi was dealing with.

Cinder navigated through the tight confines of the storeroom. There were even more clothes back here than out front, which was saying something. Eventually, she found Nabi, stressing out over a strange-looking machine.

“Gods-damn piece of junk!” She gave it a frustrated kick.

“What’s wrong?” Cinder walked up beside her.

“Fumigator isn’t working,” Nabi scratched her head. “Yeah, it’s old as sh*t, but it’s never given up on me before…”

“Did you find where they’re coming from?”

“Yep,” Nabi thumbed towards an open pipe in a haphazardly-cleared-out corner of the room. “Little f*ckers are crawlin' up from there.”

From what Cinder understood, a fumigator was something that turned pesticides into smoke, which then could be used to flush out any sort of insects and kill them.

“So…you have chemicals, but you don’t have smoke,” Cinder said. Nabi nodded.

Cinder took out a water Dust crystal from her trusty pouch.

“I think I have just the thing for that.”

15 minutes later…

“Hoh, boy, I really feel like I should say the obligatory ‘don’t try this at home’ into a camera somewhere,” Nabi chuckled, shaking her head.

Using some old glass bottles, wax, tape, and rags, Cinder and Nabi had constructed several makeshift smoke bombs. It was just as sketchy as it sounded.

“Ready?” Nabi put down the visor on the mask she had on.

“Yep,” Cinder did the same with hers.

Taking one of the bottles, Cinder aligned it the best she could with the opening of the pipe. Once satisfied, she gripped the rag that had been shoved down the top of the bottle. Activating her Semblance, she lit it on fire.

After quickly shoving the burning bottle down the chute, Cinder skipped a couple steps away. There was a muffled crash as the bomb exploded somewhere down within the system.

Soon, a couple puffs of smoke came out of the pipe.

“Think it worked?”

Cinder shrugged, picking up the second bottle.

“Only one way to find out.”

…

After using the rest of the bombs, Nabi and Cinder stood rather awkwardly aboveground, just outside the shop. There was still a slight haze in the air from their ad-hoc operation.

“Well,” Nabi started with a clap of her hands. “Safe to say, we’re closing up early today.” Reaching into her pocket, she picked out a couple bills.

“For your trouble,” she offered them to Cinder.

“Oh…thanks,” Cinder was initially taken aback, but accepted the extra pay regardless.

“…so, you’re now a seamstress, and an exterminator,” Mary remarked. “You’re moving up in the world.”

Cinder and Mary had just finished up another training session, and were resting on the usual chairs out front. For being a couple months out of practice (assumingly), Mary was still able to hold her own quite well.

“Let’s try something with your Semblance, this time,” Mary stood up.

“My Semblance?”

“Utilizing it in conjunction with your skills can greatly boost your capabilities.”

Mary knocked the ground: the dirt was tightly packed and frozen from the long winter.

“Try it.”

Cinder kneeled over the spot that Mary pointed out. Laying her palm flat on the dirt, she began to concentrate. A sudden crack broke it; opening her eyes, she noticed some clean fracture marks where the ground had been suddenly thawed out thanks to the heat.

Mary scooped up some dirt.

“A near-endless resource. It’s basically lava…I think.”

The odd attempt at humor aside, Cinder followed. Packing some dirt between her hands, she began to heat it up slowly. After about a good ten seconds, she opened her hands.

What she had created was something as flat as a pancake and as rough as perhaps tree bark. The distinguishing feature, however, was its dark, almost-transparent color. As this seemed to imply, it was very delicate; from the smallest movement of Cinder’s hand, the thing was already coming apart. Concluding that it was beyond saving, Cinder crushed it up and let it sprinkle into the ground. Regardless…

“…I did it,” Cinder looked up excitedly. “Right?”

“You did,” Mary smiled. “Let’s try again.”

The next few attempts all produced the same brittle, delicate plates, but Cinder didn’t let this discourage her. Eventually, she was able to produce something resembling a blade, even if it looked like a flat version of the many icicles hanging off of the house.

“Ow,” Cinder tested the point on herself. For as rough around the edges as it looked, it was decently sharp.

“…now what?”

“I’ll leave that up to you,” Mary replied.

Cinder tossed this newly-crafted glass blade against a tree; it shattered upon impact, as expected. She scooped up another handful of dirt, forming another similar blade. This time, while part of it broke off when it hit the tree, one chunk was strong enough to embed itself into the bark. Feeling like she was getting the hang of this, Cinder tried again, and again, and again. Each time, bigger chunks of glass were burrowing into the tree.

Without thinking much, Cinder took out a Dust crystal next. As it so turned out, it was lava. Heating it up into another rough shape, she threw it at the tree.

*BOOM*

There was a thunderous explosion. Cinder and Mary hit the deck. With a lot of wooden groans, the top part of the tree came crashing down to earth.

Cinder was the first one to peek her head up. Luckily, the tree had fallen away from the house. A jagged stump now stood in its place, precisely where Cinder had thrown the remolded Dust crystal.

“Well,” Mary said, getting up. “That was certainly something.”

Cinder laughed; both from narrowly avoiding death for the second time today, and from something else.

I had the ability to create mini-bombs this entire time, and I didn’t know it?! Hah!

Cinder checked her stock of crystals. It was still adequate; but in order to maintain that, she had almost spent all of the reserves she had brought with her at the beginning of the semester. Eventually, she would need more.

Although…that wasn’t necessarily a problem anymore.

With a satisfied smile, Cinder patted the growing roll of Lien bills in her pocket.

Well, I didn’t want this break to be boring. And it certainly isn’t right now…

Chapter 30

Chapter Text

The days and weeks continued to fly by. Soon, it was almost time for Cinder to return to Haven.

“Up high! Down low!” At the last second, Nabi moved her hand before Cinder could hit it. “Ohhhh, too slow!”

Cinder gave her a playful shove. They were just about to close up after another successful day.

“Hey, you free after this? I got this really good fried chicken place I wanna show ya.”

Usually, Cinder walked straight home after leaving work, but it wasn’t like she had any pressing matters waiting for her there.

“Sure, why not?”

“Whoo-hoo!” Nabi pumped her fist. “You’re gonna love this place, I guarantee it!”

The place Nabi took Cinder was closer to the lower levels of the city. Things were definitely not as upscale here compared to the other places Cinder had been to (even the Central Market). Maybe it was because the sun was setting, but there wasn’t a whole lot of natural light to be found anywhere, putting a dreary, damp filter on everything.

“It’s around here?” Cinder looked around. She wasn’t too sure if she should fear for her safety yet, but it was getting there. Not to mention she had left her weapons behind…

“Mhm!” Nabi said enthusiastically. “'Don't judge a book by its cover,' or whatever you call it. The stuff here's as authentic as they come!"

The two soon entered a narrow-ish alley; this appeared to be where all the restaurants and bars were concentrated. Nabi stopped at one closer to the entrance. Cinder read the sign, an old neon-light contraption with half of the bulbs broken:

WING KINGDOM

Heading in, Nabi walked straight towards an empty table.

“What’s the matter?” She turned back towards Cinder, still standing at the entrance. “C’mon!”

Majorly confused, Cinder followed.

“Oh, right, it’s open seating around here,” Nabi explained. “First come, first serve.”

She gestured to a panel of signs on the wall.

“That over there’s the menu,” she opened a drawer under the table, revealing some basic utensils and a notepad. “You write down your orders here, then you hand them off whenever the folks come walking by.”

Ripping off a page, Nabi gave it to Cinder, with a pen.

“Go crazy.”

Ok…

Cinder stared at the menu for a solid three minutes, before writing something down.

“That it?” Nabi said, reading it over. “No drinks?”

“…drinks?” Cinder repeated, glancing at Nabi’s order sheet; she instantly recognized several brands of beer. “…I’m fine with just water.”

“Eating chicken without the beer. The world truly is ending…” Nabi lamented. “You can’t tell me you go to Haven and not have a drink every once in a while.”

“Well, I don’t. One of my teammates does, and let’s just say I probably won’t ever drink because of him.”

“Whatever you say,” Nabi handed the two slips to a passing server.

…

The food came impossibly fast. Despite this, it certainly didn’t take away from how good it looked. Nabi dug right in; being more reserved, Cinder took a small bite.

…is this heaven?

“What did I tell ya?” Nabi said. “Been comin’ here for a good ten years now, and I still don’t know how they do it. It’s crispy, but it's not dried out. And the seasoning, it's so...flavorful."

Cinder had never put that much thought into food before, but the description made a surprising amount of sense. She took another hearty bite.

This place was obviously a local attraction, as it was absolutely packed at this hour; people constantly coming and going, every which way. Taking a peek behind her, Cinder could see a line start to form out front.

Looks like we got luck-

A sudden scraping of a chair nearby startled her. Someone had…taken a seat next to her at the table?

“…What the f*ck-“

“Shush!” Archer interrupted her. “People around here think you’re insane if you eat here alone!”

“Hm?” Nabi had just finished tipping back her second bottle of beer. “Friend of yours?”

“…unfortunately,” Cinder sighed, earning a glare from Archer. “This is Archer, the teammate I mentioned.”

“Ohh, sh*t, no kidding? Yo, I’m Cinder’s boss.”

Archer raised an eyebrow.

“I’m working at Blue Hills now,” Cinder added the necessary context.

“What for?”

“What do you mean, what for? I need money.”

“...Damn, you’re side hustling?”

"I don’t know what that means.”

“It’s what you’re doing.”

“Mhm,” Nabi agreed.

Oh boy…

“…Alright, I guess I am,” Cinder relented.

Archer finished writing out his order; it was all alcohol.

“This isn’t a bar, you know,” Cinder remarked.

“So? sh*t’s all overpriced there nowadays. And besides, you don’t eat chicken without beer.”

“That’s what I’m sayin!” Nabi was already sounding a bit tipsy. “Give me five.” Archer surprisingly obliged.

“…whatever,” Cinder muttered, turning back towards her chicken.

Later…

“Say, have you ever tried, like, not drinking?”

About a third of the table was now solely designated to hold all the bottles and cans that had been downed.

“I did…once,” Archer was swaying quite a bit, his hair very messy. “I’m scared if I stop all at once, the cumulative hangover will literally kill me.”

“Oh, the lamentations of an alcoholic!” Nabi chimed in.

“…how old are you again?” Cinder asked.

“Old enough…”

Yeah, just, no, you’re not.

“And I still got *hic* plenty more left in me,” Archer mumbled. “Nothing’s still beaten that time when I tried flying that plane…”

“Just…what?” Cinder was wondering why she was even trying to make sense of Archer’s ramblings right now.

“Heh, yeah…some asshole was trying to become the ‘ultimate lifeform,’ or some bullsh*t. Anyway, he sprouted some wings and tried to fly away, so I crashed a plane into him.”

Cinder spit out her water.

“That’s funny…” Nabi said. “I swear I saw that in a TV show one time…”

“I know, right? I keep telling people that happened, but no one believes me for some reason…aww, f*ck…”

Archer put a hand to his head; getting (falling) up, he stumbled to the bathroom.

Oh, thank the Gods…

“You think I won…Cinder?” Nabi was slightly more coherent, but it was just slightly.

“…Sorry, couldn’t tell you.” Cinder didn’t even know that they had been treating this as some sort of competition.

“Aww, man…say, what time is it?”

Cinder looked back towards a clock on the wall.

“8:29 pm.”

Nabi suddenly sobered up, if that was even possible.

“Oh, sh*t. We need to get going.”

“Hm?” Cinder had noticed a decent amount of people had filed out in the past half-hour. “Why-“

*BANG*

A loud gunshot cut her off. There were screams and sounds of broken glass.

“Everybody stay the f*ck where you are!”

Cinder checked behind her again. A group of perhaps a dozen thug-looking people had walked in, all armed with sort of weapon.

“sh*t…sh*t, this isn’t good…” Nabi muttered nervously.

“…what’s wrong?”

“The f*ck you mean, what’s wrong?” Nabi hissed. “That’s Spider – they’ve come to collect!”

That didn’t help.

Spider? What was that? Hell if Cinder knew what that was-

Oh…wait, like, mafia?

“Hey, Cinder, whatever you do, do exactly as they say. Or else…you’ll be lucky if they kill you.”

A fist slammed into the table, momentarily shocking her. Nabi quickly emptied her pockets. Cinder, however, hesitated.

“You deaf or something, girl? I said, pay up!”

A tall, burly man intruded into her vision. Cinder noticed a tattoo depicting a spider on his arm, confirming her previous theory. He pointed his gun right at Cinder’s forehead.

“sh*t…Cinder, what the f*ck are you doing!?”

Cinder disregarded Nabi’s hushed warning; she continued to stare straight into the thug’s eyes. For some reason, she wasn’t feeling any fear. Perhaps it was due to her pride as a Huntress-in-training; she had fought much stronger people than these wannabe punks, after all. Or maybe it was because she still had another way to fight, even without her weapons.

Something caught the corner of Cinder’s eye; without moving her head, she peeked towards the far corner of the restaurant. Archer had just finished up in the bathroom; he froze when he saw the situation before him. He made eye contact with Cinder; even if it was just for a second, he instantly understood what was happening. Ducking down, he began to sneak up behind one of the thugs.

Cinder looked back at the guy in front of her; it looked like he was just about to run out of patience.

Good. Because I’m all out of it, too.

In a flash, Cinder covered the gun barrel with her hand, heating it up as much as she could before it could fire.

*BOOM*

The gun malfunctioned, the back part of the gun exploding with a fair bit of shrapnel. Cinder covered her eyes; she let her Aura take care of the rest.

“Argh!!” The guy backpedaled, covering his face.

Cinder shot to her feet. Grabbing a metal tray from a cowering waiter nearby, she brought it in front of her just in time to block a gunshot from another thug. Winding up, she threw the tray like a disk right at her, making solid contact.

*CLANG*

“What in the fu- *CRASH* Oof!”

Cinder heard the distinct sound of a glass bottle breaking; that was Archer smashing someone upside the head with one. With that one down, he was now in the middle of strangling another person.

Let’s go, then!

The next guy was only armed with a knife; too bad for him. Easily sidestepping a jab, Cinder kneed him in the stomach, letting him crumple to the ground. She finished him off with a kick to the ribs.

“…you bitch!”

A hooded girl swung a metal chain like a whip; Cinder had to lean back hard, the end of the link just grazing her hair. She had to continue this acrobatic act for a bit, as the girl kept waving the spiked chain around like a complete lunatic.

Ack!
One of the spikes clipped Cinder on the side before she had a chance to put up her Aura. At the same time, something hard hit her in the back of the head.

*CLONK*

Cinder’s entire world became a blur. She suddenly found herself on the ground; someone was standing above her with a bat, ready to bash her head in.

Before he could, however, a chair hit him from behind.

…what?

Cinder’s brain still felt like mush; her ears were ringing. Through it, however, she could hear quite a bit of screams and shouts, much louder than before. Desperately pleading her eyes to focus, she looked up; the person who had just smashed the chair on her attacker wasn’t Archer, or Nabi even. It was a complete stranger.

*Ahhh! Oh, f*ck!*

*CRACK* *…Ow, my finger…!*

Apparently, Cinder’s little act of defiance had inspired the remaining patrons to fight back.

Well, damn.

Cinder winced as she tried to drag herself along the ground; putting a hand to her side, she felt blood through the ripped fabric. Using all her willpower, she managed to get up, sprawling unsteadily over a long table for support.

*...Agh, son-of-a-bitch!*

*I’m gonna kill you, you f*ckin-* *SHINNGG*

“AAAAHHHHH!!!!”

That was Archer just right now, wasn’t it? Still in lots of pain, Cinder glanced across the table, where Archer had gotten restrained by two of them. A third was just about to plunge his knife into his chest.

Oh, Gods-damn it!

Stumbling across, Cinder covered the thug’s face with her hands. There was soon an extremely loud, blood-curdling scream, overpowering almost everything else in the entire restaurant.

“Ah, God...! He’s biting meeee!!!”

Holy f*ck, Archer was biting one of them. When that unfortunate victim finally released his grip, Archer elbowed the other one right on the nose. Continuing to scream bloody murder, he grabbed a pencil.

Oh.

OH, f*cking hell-you know what, I’m gonna leave him to that.

Turning around, Cinder searched for Nabi.

*BANG* *CLATTER*

*…No, no!!*

*Yeah, shock him! Wait-ubrbrrbrbrbrrbrrrghhhh!!!*

Eventually, Cinder found her, huddled up in a corner. Before she could get to her, however, someone else blocked her path.

*Go to hell, you-argh! Gah!*

*...I am armed and dangerous, motherf*cker!!!*

Cinder tried throwing a punch, which got blocked. Grabbing her arm, the thug tried to wrestle her to the ground.

“Oh, I don’t think so!” Cinder’s internal voice, which had been working overtime so far, finally broke free into reality.

Before she completely fell over, Cinder kicked out one of his legs, forcing him to fall to a knee. Wrapping an arm around his neck, Cinder tried to employ the same technique she had seen Archer do earlier; alas, all she could manage was a cheap imitation at best. As she struggled, she tried to send a desperate message to Nabi using just her eyes.

Just…try…something!!!
Nervously, Nabi stood up. Gaining some extra speed from those roller-shoes, she ran straight towards the scuffle.

*CRUNCH*

Cinder scampered out of the way just before Nabi delivered a sideways kick straight into the thug’s face.

“Oh, ho-ho-hoh-ho-ho!”

Nabi suddenly had a big grin on her face. Cinder offered her a high five, which she gladly reciprocated.

Let’s finish this!

There was just one last man standing. Grabbing a glass cup, Cinder quickly reformed it into a sharp point. She threw it like a dart, it jabbing into his foot. With a cry of pain, the man was stopped in his tracks. With a broken table leg in hand, Nabi rolled towards him at high speed, clotheslining him.

“Incominggggg!!!!!”

From out of nowhere, Archer leaped up and over a chair. Shifting his momentum in midair, he landed an elbow right into the man’s chest.

“OH!” Nabi exclaimed. “It’s the most electrifying move in sports entertainment today…!” Archer soon joined in.

“THE PEOPLE’S ELBOW!!!!”

Cinder laughed probably the loudest she’d ever done before she keeled over.

…No, no, no! Not this time!

Somehow, Cinder managed to stay conscious. Looking around, she admired the three’s work. There was an awful lot of groaning, sparks from exposed wiring, and the crunch of broken glass on the floor.

“Say…where’s the cops?”

She only heard Nabi laugh.

“They wouldn’t give two f*cks about something like this,” she said. “This sh*t? Probably just a Tuesday for them.”

Cinder glanced beside her; Archer, of all people, had been the person to pass out this time. Either from tiredness or drunkenness, that was still up for debate.

“Let’s get out of here before any of these punks commit our faces to memory.”

“Heh, like they’ll remember anything from this beatdown,” Cinder remarked. She tried to lift up one of Archer’s arms. “Here, help me with this…”

Chapter 31

Chapter Text

Mistral Central Transit Center

This time, Cinder was able to catch the airship back to Haven, like she was meant to do. As she headed to the boarding dock, a certain prince-ly character was waiting for her.

“Good morrow, Cinder! I do hope your break was full of happy days and cheer!”

“…it was. Hope yours was good, too,” Cinder had to take a second to translate all that.

“Do forgive me. ‘Tis a force of habit when I return to the Palace for extended periods of time.”

Rosie was in the middle of cleaning her rifle. Cinder noticed that it had been modified, especially in the aesthetic variety. The wooden stock had been chequered in places, whilst the mechanical portions had been given a blued finish. There were some intricate engravings on the metal, including depictions of a Beowolf and an Ursa.

“What’s this?” Cinder looked at an odd metal piece jutting out of the top of the rifle.

“A last-minute adjustment, admittedly,” Rosie pointed towards the rifle’s hammer. “This was an old family heirloom, passed through generations; back then, it was still required to work the hammer after every shot.” She pulled back the hammer a notch.

“Now, however? It needn’t be necessary anymore.”

Rosie opened the levered action; the piece moved backwards with it, pushing the hammer back.

“Oh, wow. That’s smart,” Cinder remarked.

“It brings it within this century. However, as I’ve always insisted on, nothing modern nowadays defeats the feel of an antique.”

Rosie glanced up, looking behind Cinder.

“Oh, look who’s just arrived.”

Still looking like her usual half-asleep self, Trifa joined the two. As she and Rosie exchanged greetings, Cinder noticed something odd about her.

Wait a second…

…she’d seen that black leather jacket before…

“…Now, I do wonder where Archer is? It would be terrible if he was late…”

Hold that thought.

“Who knows? He’s probably wasted again,” Cinder remarked.

…

*Tick, tock…*

The big clock in the center of the station was driving Cinder crazy. Not only because it was loud, but it kept signifying that one member of their team was still missing. She was just about to call it and get on the airship without him, until…

“Oh, hey…what’s up?”

“Wha-are you drunk?” Even though she had said it earlier, Cinder still couldn’t believe she was right.

“Winner!” Archer said, waving a bottle around.

“Just…how and why are you drunk at eight in the morning!?”

“Well, the how’s pretty self-explanatory, and the why is because- *hic* I thought we were leaving at eight p.m, tonight. Ergo, plenty of time to sleep it off.”

“You know what, I…urgh!” Cinder put a hand to her face. “Do you still have any more of that coffee, Rosie?”

“I do.”

“Good, because he’s gonna need it.” Cinder wasn’t about to get a truckful of second-hand embarrassment from her team leader throwing up all over the airship.

“Alright, let’s get on before we get left behind.”

Archer did end up throwing up. Several times. Luckily, not too many people had seen him; Cinder had insisted he be outside, towards the rear balcony of the airship for that exact reason.

“You done?” Cinder asked as Archer stumbled back in.

“Oh…oh, God…” he mumbled, sitting down.

“Will he be alright?”

“Probably,” Cinder said. “After what happened last week, this is nothing for him.”

“Last week?”

“Heh, yeah,” Archer butted in. “We got in, like, a big fight with some assholes at a bar.”

“Chicken restaurant,” Cinder corrected him.

“Whatever, same thing.”

“A…fight…?” Rosie paused. “…were they deserving of such unpleasantries?”

“Yep. One of them tried to rob me at gunpoint.”

“Oh, how terrible!”

“Eh, it wasn’t, actually. It was kind of…fun.”

Cinder snuck a peek at Archer. He had fallen asleep again, so he wouldn’t have heard that last sentence anyway. Trifa was similarly nodding off as well.

Again, that jacket…

“…say, when are we going to figure out who’s going to the Vytal Festival?” Cinder decided to take her mind off it.

“By the beginning of next week, I believe,” Rosie replied. “I imagine the faculty’s just doing some last-minute finalizations before the big announcement.”

Cinder did the math. Today was a Tuesday; that meant five days of agonizing anticipation, at the very least.

“Have you ever been to Atlas?”

“No, unfortunately. My older brother is more privy to affairs in that area.”

“Well, that makes two of us, then. I guess we’ll find out in a couple days if we get the chance or not.”

“Indeed, we shall.”

Thursday, January 18

Pinwheel Forest

12^th ward, Greater Mistral

“See anything?”

“I do,” Trifa jumped down from her perch on top of a tree. “Follow the tracks, straight that way.”

Team ARTC was on another mission. An “anonymous tip” had claimed there was “suspicious activity” at an abandoned fort in this area. It was actually quite far from Haven, at a key interchange on something called the Zephyr Line. Once the crown jewel of the now-defunct Mistral Trading Company, the line connected several major industrial elements in its heyday, one of them being the Chargestone Mine.

Today, large parts of the line had been abandoned, left for nature to take over. Down here in the forest, those same rusty rails were Team ARTC’s only guide at the moment.

“You really need to do something about your map-reading skills,” Cinder remarked.

“Hey, it’s not my fault the maps they give us are literally archaic,” Archer shot back. “Who even uses paper maps nowadays?”

“…many people do?” Rosie responded.

“Well, I don’t. Digital all the way.”

“…and why did you tell us this just now?” Cinder asked.

“Duh, you think a secret intelligence agency would willingly share information like that? No! Besides, we might’ve gotten some of them illegally…oh, crap.”

“Then…should we even be discussing this right now?”

“Eh, are any of y’all gonna rat me out when we get back? No? Thought so.”

“By illegally…perhaps dost thou purport…?”

“Atlas? Yeah, we do some stuff there, but we don’t have, like, an office there or anything. Krieger used to work there, though, so he reverse-engineered most of their tech for us.”

“Who’s Krieger?”

“A doctor…I think.”

“I’m not going to even try to ask what you mean by that.”

“Good, you shouldn’t.”

After some walking, the team reached an overlook; the aforementioned fort was visible below them. Archer pulled out some binoculars, surveying the area.

“What do you see?"

“A fort that looks like it was abandoned 50 years ago,” Archer replied bluntly. “What the hell would anyone want out here, anyway?”

“What did they call this place again?”

“Fort Charon,” Archer replied. “It defended the…lake, I guess.”

“I may have sighted something,” Rosie had taken out a single telescope of her own. “Look yonder, near the Easternmost point.”

Archer adjusted his view.

“Hoh, yeah, that’ll do it. Heh, ‘suspicious activity,' my ass.”

“Can I see?”

Archer gave Cinder a look, but handed the binoculars over regardless. Cinder pointed them in the rough direction Rosie pointed out. Somewhat hidden behind the central observation tower, a small area just before the inner wall had been cleared out. There were some boxes and other stuff stacked about; there was a flag draped over one of them. The insignia on it was unmistakable.

Spider.

The same assholes from the restaurant.

“They’re building an entire outpost down there.”

“Why?”

“Who knows? Only one way to find out.”

Everybody seemed to be in agreement. Even though they could’ve easily just turned around and reported back, it made the trip all the way here seem like a bit of a waste. Besides, Cinder was more than fine with beating up some more of those goons again. She actually had her weapon with her this time, after all.

…

“Where did the turtleneck come from?”

“Hey, I didn’t invent the turtleneck, but I was the first to recognize its potential as a tactical garment.”

“…ok.”

“It’s the tactical turtleneck! The…um…’tactlene-‘ wait a minute, why are you also wearing a turtleneck?”

“…because it’s cold?”

“No it’s not! You're clearly wearing that just to piss me off!” For some reason, Archer was quite frustrated by Cinder’s choice of…wardrobe?

Cinder decided to play along.

"...is it working?"

"Yes! Now take it off!"

"No, it's actually cold out here."

"You actual-agh! Whatever. Just stay behind me before I get pissed off even more that you’re also wearing a turtleneck.”

“Whatever you say…”

The team came up to one of the tall stone walls of the fort. Archer pulled out two compact box-looking things from his belt; connecting them, they expanded into a grappling hook.

“You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you?” Cinder remarked.

“It’s a spy thing. Duh,” Archer said, shooting a hook up and over a wall. A muted clunk signified that it had caught securely on something.

“Now, I’ll…”

“Oh, there you are!” Rosie walked around a corner of the wall. “The wall has collapsed in areas – there is an opening we can go through over here.”

“Wha-Goddammit.”

“pfft,” Cinder stifled a laugh. “So much for that.”

“You know what, I don’t care,” Archer latched some sort of hook onto the rope. “I’ll see you on the other side.”

The team joined up just before the tower.

“You hear that?” There was a muffled putt, putt, putt of a car engine from somewhere ahead. Everyone nodded.

Archer took a quick peek around the corner with the binoculars.

“We got like, twenty at least. Five up high as well,” he reported.

“Can we take them all on?”

“If we’re smart about it, yeah…why are you looking at me like that?”

Considering the tower for a moment, Archer turned towards Rosie.

“Think you can give us overwatch?”

“Not preferable…but possible.”

“Good,” Archer handed something to her. “Give me updates with this.”

“What was that?” Cinder asked as Rosie went into the tower.

“Two-way pager,” Archer pulled out an identical device of his own. “Nice way to talk to each other from a distance.”

“…huh?”

“You’ll see. And you…oh, she’s already gone.”

Trifa had been by their side one second, now she wasn’t. Looking above her, Cinder caught a glimpse of her pale-blue hair moving stealthily on top of the wall. It seemed that she had figured out her job already, to deal with any stragglers above.

“It’s like she read my mind,” Archer chuckled. “We sure she can't do that?”

“…I still don’t know what her Semblance is, actually,” Cinder admitted.

“sh*t, you don’t know either? Damn, I could be right then…”

Turning the corner, Archer beckoned for Cinder to follow.

“C’mon, you’re with me.”

“You still haven’t told me what we’re doing.”

“Just watch and learn.”

Grumbling, Cinder followed. There was still that abrasive side to Archer that made him eternally hard to work with.

The two took some cover behind a stone staircase, peeking out again.

“Damn, is that a Sandcat?”

“What?”

“Over there,” Archer pointed out. A truck had backed through another gap in the wall, with some supplies that were being unloaded. It looked heavily modified for the terrain, with big tires, roll bars, and an olive-green paint job.

“How the hell did they get their hands on one of those…” Archer muttered.

“No, seriously, how do you know this stuff? You stared at that thing for like a second.”

“I just…do.”

Directly opposite of the two, there was another pallet of crates that they could hide behind. Archer took something out of his pocket.

“Yo, here, take this,” he gave it to Cinder. “It’s a tracker. Put it on that thing over there.”

“Alright…” Cinder peeked out. There were two guards nearby, but if she got the timing right…

…now.

Moving quickly, Cinder ducked behind the pallet, attaching the device given to her on one side. A small light flickered on, which Cinder took as an indication that it was working.

Ok…now wha-

“Whoa, whoa-freeze! Put your hands in the air!”

“What the fu-“

Cinder immediately slapped a hand over her mouth as soon as she realized she hadn’t been the one busted. Instead…

Archer…what the f*ck is he doing?

Archer had literally walked out in plain sight, like that was a good idea.

“Don’t move, jackass!”

“Whoa, whoa, hey! Wait! I swear, I’m just trying to get to Wind Path! I just…got a little lost…”

“…you think we’re dumbasses or something?!”

“…yes?”

Some plan this is… Cinder thought to herself, facepalming. How they didn’t shoot him on the spot after that statement was a wonder.

“Look, ok. Here, you can have my weapons,” Archer took out his pistols, dropping them to the floor. “But I do have some conditions.”

“You think this is some kind of a negotiation, tough guy?!”

“…No, not really. But I have to tell you guys this, or else-“

* ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫*

“What the f*ck was that?!”

“…case in point. Look, I need to get that message. It’s my mother, I swear-“

“Hey! I said, don’t move-“

“’Hey,’ right back at ya! This was a condition, remember?! I have to see this!”

Hands still open, Archer slowly lowered one towards his pocket. Before he reached in, however, he made an odd pause by his belt, scratching his stomach.

…the f*ck?

…wait a second.

Cinder kept her pouch of Dust crystals at that exact same spot.

Oh, I get it now.

Heating up a water crystal, Cinder tossed it at Archer’s feet.

“Took you long enough…” she could barely hear Archer mumble as he was concealed.

“What was tha-“ *BANG*

There was an echo from a distant gunshot; most likely Rosie. Sunrise and Sunset in hand, Cinder vaulted over the pallet. She instantly subdued the nearest guard with a slash; she was momentarily surprised when she saw blood.

Some of them don’t even have Aura?

Another well-placed shot took out someone nearby. As the smoke dissipated, Cinder could see that Archer and Trifa had joined the fight.

Well, I don’t want to miss out on the fun!

Against these goons, it was easy work. Cinder didn’t even break a sweat. Until…

*CRASH*

A wooden door swung open; from it, emerged a very big man covered in metal plates. In his hands was a machine gun.

“Oh f*ck, take cover!!!”

The three scattered as the gun spewed fire. Bullets were sent every which way, breaking off chunks of stone wherever they hit.

“Juggernaut! He’s got armor on!” Cinder heard Archer from somewhere.

Cinder joined her weapons together. She wasn’t sure if she could block all those shots at once.

But…if I can distract him…

Cinder ran out of cover, presenting her spinning blades in front of her. The juggernaut fired in her direction; many shots missed, but the sheer volume of fire nearly overwhelmed her.

Holy f*ck!

At the last second, before falling over into an open door, Cinder threw a crystal. She didn’t even have time to identify what it was.

*BOOM*

Oh, well, that narrows it down.

As her throw was slightly off the mark, Cinder didn’t end up doing much damage. However, it was enough for the juggernaut to be stunned temporarily.

“AAAHHHHHHHH!”

With another terrifying cry, Archer ran right at him. Ducking under a big, lumbering punch, he fired a shot into his leg, through a gap in his armor. With the target down and on a knee, Archer was now able to reach over and take off his helmet.

*CRUNCH*

At that instant, Trifa came swinging down from…someplace. With a lot of momentum, she drove a foot right into the side of the juggernaut’s head, knocking him out on the spot.

“Whew!” Archer said. “The bigger they are…”

“…the harder they fall,” Cinder finished the sentence.

Eventually, Rosie joined the group.

“Good shots out there,” Archer complimented. Wait, what?

“All in a day’s work. Now begs the question, what shall we do about our ‘little mess’?”

“Well, the guards? I’d say just leave ‘em. The usual patrol that goes through here’ll pick ‘em up.”

“…and these?” Cinder slapped a hand on top of a pallet. “You think…uhm, Krieger might like some of this stuff?”

“Nah, not really. Although…” Archer picked up the juggernaut’s dropped machine gun.

“He might appreciate this.”

Note to self: never meet this Krieger fellow.

With their mission “complete,” so to speak, Team ARTC all climbed aboard the discarded Sandcat.

“Wait, wait, wait. Why is he driving?” Cinder said, worried.

“Because I’m the only one I can,” Archer looked into the rearview mirror. “Right?”

He was right.

“Oh, Gods…” Cinder muttered. “Just, don’t crash.”

Chapter 32

Chapter Text

Saturday, January 20

“Yo, the big man wants to see you,” Archer said, entering the team dorm.

“Hm? Why?” Cinder asked, perplexed.

“I dunno. He didn’t give me a reason.”

“Ok…”

Was she in trouble? Cinder couldn’t think of anything that would warrant another meeting with the headmaster. Heck, she had only been back for, like, five days!

Headmaster Lionheart was seated behind his desk as usual when Cinder walked in.

“Ah, good afternoon, Miss Fall. Please, have a seat.”

Cinder obeyed, nervously sitting down on a chair.

“Are you adjusting to classes fine?”

“…I am.”

“Good, good,” Lionheart cleared his throat. “Now, for the subject at hand. It was been brought to my attention that you and another team member were involved in a…public disturbance recently.”

Crap. Cinder instantly knew. The fight at the restaurant.

Wait a second, how did he know we were there…?

“Am I in trouble, sir?”

“No. I am simply trying to get the facts straight. Now, is what I just said true?”

“…It was.”

“Alright. What happened exactly?”

Well. No getting out of this one.

Cinder explained everything truthfully. How she got a job over the winter, and how that inadvertently led her to that chicken restaurant that Archer also frequented, seemingly. Then, the fight. How those Spider goons had trotted in talking big, how one of them had threatened her with a gun…

“…After that, we dragged Archer to a hospital,” Cinder concluded her story.

Lionheart nodded.

“I see…”

Cinder rubbed her hands awkwardly, no longer able to meet the headmaster’s eyes. For the past week, somehow, she had disregarded any possible consequences of someone finding out about this incident. How stupid was she!

Still…the police never ended up showing, at least until we got out of there. Who else was there that could recognize me?

Archer…Archer, he didn’t just rat me out, did he?!

Wait, wait, wait, hold it. That doesn’t make sense. He would’ve had to snitch on himself for that to be true. He would literally die before he’d admit he did anything wrong.

So-

“Considering the circ*mstances, you and your teammate did well.”

Huh? Cinder looked up.

“However, I do have to give you words of caution. Do you know what Spider is?”

“…some sort of criminal organization.”

“Not just some sort. The most powerful criminal organization in this kingdom.” Lionheart rapped his fingers in his desk.

“For years my predecessors tried to eradicate this stain on our society. However, this is a very difficult, if not impossible, task. The grip Spider have in the lower levels is extensive. When I became Headmaster, there were major incidents or killings on almost a monthly basis. For the sake of peace, I was forced to make…certain concessions to them.”

“…what kinds of concessions?”

“None I can share with you, I’m afraid. But I made myself very clear that the instant these agreements were broken, all bets were off. So, if they’re now resorting to indiscriminately accosting people on the street…this is a worrying development.”

“I do not blame you for doing what you did. No one would if they were put in that situation. However, I urge you to be wary. These people do not take perceived ‘provocations’ like these lightly.”

“…I understand…sir,” Cinder said after some silence.

“Good. Now, get some rest. I’m imagining you’re full of anticipation on some possible…changes of atmosphere.”

Heh, he’s right there.

Wait, was he just trying to imply something…?

Monday, January 22

The general atmosphere in the Grand Hall was one of anxiety. All eyes were on that elevated balcony, waiting for Headmaster Lionheart to announce the list of teams selected for the Vytal Festival.

“Is he here yet?” Pyke walked in, out of breath. He was so chock-full of anticipation that he couldn’t take standing still any longer. This was his fourth lap running around the quad outside.

“Nope.”

“Drat!” Pyke walked straight out the door he had just entered through.

In the meantime, Cinder had done some more research on the Vytal Tournament. 32 teams would participate in total, eight from each kingdom. The teams were chosen via skill level alone, so it wasn’t necessarily two teams from every year.

Archer idly adjusted his cufflinks nearby. Evidently, he had his suit cleaned recently.

“You look surprisingly sober.”

“Trust me, I won’t be after this.”

"...regardless of the outcome?"

"You bet."

The latch to Lionheart’s door unlocked with a thunderous clang, immediately silencing the hall.

“Oh boy, now he’s gonna be late,” Archer remarked, referring to Pyke.

One by one, the professors filed out of the office, taking their usual positions by the side. Lionheart was the last to exit, taking center stage.

“Thank you all for joining us. Now, after careful deliberation from the faculty and myself, I shall announce the teams selected to participate in this year’s Vytal Festival.”

For some reason Lionheart decided to start with the higher-year teams first. As he got to end, however…

“…and finally, Team ARTC and Team SAFR.”

…

…

…holy sh*t.

People around Cinder were celebrating, some actively jumping up and down. And yet, there was no sound.

…

…

…ccciinnndderrr!!!

Something hit Cinder from the side. It was…Pyke?

“We did it! We got in, Cinder!”

“Gah…we did! Now…get off me!”

Wobbling, Cinder fell over, taking out some other students behind her. However, there were no hard feelings. In fact, people were…congratulating her?

“…Give ‘em hell, ARTC!”

“Yeah! Show those stuck-up elites what Haven’s best are made of!”

Getting up, Cinder noticed the other members of her (and Pyke’s) team were being similarly swarmed. Archer was actively being tossed in the air; even Rosie seemed a bit overwhelmed.

“…Now, now!” Cinder could barely hear Lionheart. “To the teams just mentioned, you will depart for Atlas next week. In the meantime…enjoy yourselves!”

“WHOOO!” Archer shouted from somewhere. “LET’S PARTY!!!!”

To his credit, Archer did have something prepared when the team returned to the dorm that night. Even if most of the “refreshments” were only able to be consumed by him. So, while he did his own thing, Cinder decided to get some fresh air.

Even though she had walked the quad plenty of times, perhaps hundreds, something felt different about this particular instance. Cinder was suddenly able to put things into perspective, just how far she had grown since she first walked through those front gates. For the first time…Cinder felt like she had accomplished something. She had the prestigious honor of being one of the very best Huntresses the entire kingdom had to offer; everybody was watching her, her and her team.

Heh, yeah. It was a rocky road…but I made it. We made it.

Ever since that last mission, Cinder was feeling better and better about her team. She had mostly gotten used to Archer’s antics. Rosie was still Rosie. And Trifa…

Ooh, on that subject…

Cinder searched around the usual spots, until she found Trifa and Mina at one of them. Even though she had stemmed her inherent curiosity that day, that day was also in the past. She just had to know – what was their relationship?

“Never miss a beat, do you?” Cinder said, approaching the two. “Mind if I join in?”

Stopping, Trifa gave Cinder an unreadable stare. She nodded.

…

“Whoa, sheesh!” Cinder exclaimed as she had to jump to dodge a slash from Mina’s axe. While she hadn’t had many opportunities to see her fight, Cinder had the feeling that Mina had greatly improved under Trifa’s tutelage.

Oh no, I’m not about to be knocked down by another person!

Crossing Sunrise and Sunset, Cinder parried a heavy swing. Utilizing “Form One,” she struck down Mina’s weapon before doing a characteristic spin. For just a second, her killing instinct kicked in; she was left scrambling to stop her momentum.

Sunrise’s blade stopped inches from the side of Mina’s face; nonetheless, it had cut something. With its strings broken, Mina’s mask fell to the floor.

…whoa.

Cinder could see Mina’s full face for the first time; that meant she could finally see the two large fangs that jutted out of her mouth. Covering her mouth, Mina immediately turned around.

“Whoa, I’m sorry-“

Cinder felt a cold, sharp blade at her throat.

“State your true intentions for coming here, now,” Trifa demanded.

“o-Ok, Ok! Relax!” Cinder stammered. “I just wanted to know if you were…you were…”

Why does this feel so embarrassing to say all of a sudden?

“…if you were friends.”

Silence. The blade remained at Cinder’s throat.

Oh Gods, am I about to die? Tonight, of all times?

“…I’m ok, Trifa.”

Slowly, Mina turned around. She had put another mask on.

“Let her go.”

The blade lowered, although Cinder sensed it was with great reluctance. Rubbing her neck, she stumbled a few steps away.

“Was that really your only reason for coming here? To see if we were friends?” Mina asked.

“I know it seems really lame…but yeah. Ever since last semester, when I saw you two out here one night.” Cinder went on, even noting that encounter in the clothes shop.

“…why?”

“I…” Cinder tried to choose her next words carefully. “Being completely honest…I didn’t think you were the type of person to have much friends, Trifa…”

f*ck, f*ck, f*ck! All wrong!

Understandably, Trifa’s expression darkened. She turned her head away, in…embarrassment?

Hang on…is she blushing?

Mina rubbed Trifa’s shoulder. Her eyes gave a vague indication of a smirk.

“I’m not sure if she would’ve known at the beginning of this semester, either. Heck, neither would I…”

“…what do you mean? Is it because you’re-“

Trifa suddenly glared daggers into Cinder’s eyes, shocking her into silence.

“Now, now, don’t assume the worst,” Mina kept taking the role of a mediator. She considered something briefly.

“Are you aware of the history of the Faunus?”

“…no. I’m kinda bad with history in general…” Cinder scratched her head.

“…she…she doesn’t…no…impossible…” Trifa muttered.

“I’ll ask a different question then. Do you care that we are Faunus?”

“No. Not really,” Cinder replied bluntly.

“Then you’re already one of the good ones,” Mina replied.

“Huh?”

Mina pulled down her mask, revealing her fangs once more.

“I’ve grown to tolerate initial reactions like yours. However, unlike you just right now, some people never get over the shock. They turn that shock into fear, hatred. They think we’re some sort of animals, not deserving to be on the same level as humans.”

“…who does that?” Cinder asked, genuinely. What a despicable concept!

“Many, many people,” Mina replied. “All we’ve ever wanted is to coexist peacefully; we’re not bad people. However, no one seems to listen…”

Cinder suddenly had a flashback.

…here I hath held the belief that Arachnid Faunus were just a mere myth…!

Trifa and Mina were rare sub-types of an already stigmatized group; so, it was only natural that they find solace with each other’s company.

“Ah…” Cinder made a sound of understanding.

“Do you understand now?”

“I…do. Thank you. And…I’m sorry.”

Cinder unconsciously got on her knees; she didn’t know where this came from, but she felt that it was appropriate for the situation.

“If I had known about all this…I wouldn’t have bothered you, I swear. But that aside, I bothered you in a way I shouldn’t have…I’m really sorry about that.”

…

Finally composing herself, Trifa took a step closer.

“…apology accepted.”

Whew.

Slowly, Cinder got up. She knew that this wasn’t done; her and Trifa’s relationship had hit a big setback. She would have to work doubly as hard to repair it.

“…I’ll be heading in, then. See you tomorrow. And nice meeting you too, Mina.”

“Same. I hope you enjoy yourself in Atlas.”

Chapter 33

Chapter Text

Exactly one week later

The preceding weekend, Cinder had visited Mary one more time, to update her on things. She had hugged her, and said “Go get ‘em, kid.” While the reunion had been short, it felt perfectly adequate.

Before boarding the airship, Cinder saw Sil sitting on a bench nearby.

“Oh…hey, Sil.”

“Mm,” he grunted. “What do you want?”

Lately, Cinder had been in an apologetic mood.

“Just making sure…there weren’t any hard feelings from that fight we did. I didn’t know Archer would lose it like that so suddenly.”

…

Sil suddenly laughed.

“You’re kidding.”

“…what?”

“You’re still hung up on that sh*t? I forgot about that a long time ago. I never really cared about any of that stuff, really.”

“You don’t?”

“Nah. ‘Prestige,’ all this righteous stuff – I don’t give a damn. I already know what I’m doing. As long as I’m paid for my work, I’m happy.”

“Money? …I guess you’re right.”

Sil raised a brow.

“…I do like making money too,” Cinder clarified.

Another laugh.

“Whatever. Have fun on your little ‘field trip,’ I guess.”

“…thanks.”

“Whoa…” Cinder’s face was glued to the window. The sight below the airship was…certainly something.

In the middle of this wintery landmass known as Solitas sat a massive, floating island, full of vibrant colors and life. Tall skyscrapers stretched so high Cinder thought she could reach down and touch them from up here. Large overpasses held rail lines that criss-crossed the entire city. Every single design detail had been perfected to an brilliant elegance Cinder had never seen before.

“I had the opportunity to exchange pleasantries with brother Azami recently,” Rosie took a seat besides Cinder. “Would thou desire some…previews?”

“Sure.”

“Very well. The floating landmass there is Atlas, the capital. Just below it is the former capital, Mantle.” Cinder shifted her vision downward; indeed, she could see some dimmer lights and smoke trails directly below the floating city.

“Despite being the youngest kingdom, Atlas enjoys a level of technological advancement seen nowhere else,” Rosie continued. “It has become the premier supplier of Dust in all of Remnant.”

“Additionally, the Atlesian Military possesses great influence. The Academy grounds are also their headquarters. Look yonder, there.”

At the very center of the city, a large tower stood high above the rest, flanked by four smaller ones. It was as impressive as it was slightly ominous.

“Statistics show that the denizens of this city hath the highest standard of living ever seen.”

“…and they’re one of the most discriminatory against Faunus,” Trifa added; Cinder took a glance at her, sitting alone.

“…that is also true.”

Cinder pursed her lips; the events from last week were still fresh in her head.

I have to make this up to her.

So, if what she just said is true…

But at the same time…I don’t want her to feel like I’m pampering her. She’ll most likely take that as an insult.

…Agh, stupid Cinder! Just because you were curious…

An eerie hum echoed from outside. Looking out the window again, Cinder could see two ships that had fallen in to escort this slow, lumbering airship in. Based on their smaller size and sleek, sharp polygonal edges, these were some sort of air-to-air fighters.

*Touchdown in one minute,* the pilot’s voice crackled through the intercom.

“Come,” Rosie beckoned Cinder towards an empty seat. “It might become bumpy.”

After landing, only the rear doors opened; it revealed a two long lines of soldiers marking a path straight to the Atlas Academy gates. They were all equipped with futuristic-looking white armor, as well as fancy-looking rifles. Standing right in the middle was a single man, sharply dressed in a military uniform. As the students began to slowly disembark, he approached.

“Good afternoon. You must be the contingent from Mistral. I am Major Queenan of the Atlesian Military. On behalf of the entire kingdom, I welcome you to Atlas. Follow me.”

“sir, yes sir,” Cinder heard Archer mutter sarcastically.

Looking around, Cinder could see multiple airships of different designs all at this dock; she assumed those were the ships from the other kingdoms. All of their students were getting the same treatment.

“Uhh…excuse me, major?” Pyke pushed his way to the front. “What about our luggage? I mean, I personally brought a lot-“

“No need to worry about them. They will be waiting for you in your accommodations,” the major interrupted.

“Oh, ok! Thanks!”

Ah, Pyke. Always the joyful one.

Major Queenan led the students down several very long hallways. Overall, everything felt very sterile. Everything was painted a utilitarian white, with no other extraneous decorations. It certainly did not help the constant sense of uncanny valley Cinder had been feeling from the moment they walked in.

The group was herded into a giant auditorium; the size reminded Cinder of the coliseum from the Regional Tournament. It looked like it could hold every single student here and then some.

“This is your section,” Major Queenan referred to a section of seats marked off with a sign. “Please wait patiently.”

“As I stated,” Rosie took a seat next to Cinder. “The military is fully integrated with the Academy and the government.”

The wait wasn’t long. Soon, some doors on the center stage opened, raising a platform up. Standing on it was a gray-haired, middle-aged woman, and a younger man. Behind them, a giant screen turned on, projecting the woman’s face clearly to the auditorium. There was a large scar going vertically through her right eye.

“Welcome, one and all students. I am General Anya Wolffe, Headmaster of Atlas Academy. I would like to formally welcome you into the great halls of this institution.”

“To simply be here is a great honor. Your presence means that you have been deemed worthy to represent your respective kingdoms. Regardless of what may lie ahead, cherish this moment. Additionally…”

“Say, who’s that next to her?” Cinder whispered to Rosie.

“I do believe that is Lieutenant-General Ironwood,” Rosie whispered back. “General Wolffe’s handpicked successor.”

“Really?”

“Indeed. There are rumors that Wolffe is retiring at the end of this year. She will still likely retain her positions within the military, but headmaster she will no longer be.”

“…interesting…”

*Click*

A sound from Cinder’s armrest made her jump. A small panel opened, poking something out.

“…Our R&D Department have worked tirelessly to advance technology, not just for the good of Atlas, but for all of Remnant. We have decided that for this year’s festival, we will be beginning trials for a new form of mobile communications device.”

Cinder pulled the object out, a compactly sized rectangle. There was a hinge on one end; she flipped it open. Two digital screens, one on each end of the hinge, turned on.

“We call these ‘scrolls.’ All the functions of a standard telephone or pager, all condensed into a portable device. Additionally, it can access information, execute commands, and much more.”

“It would appear they are also testing different designs,” Rosie remarked. Her scroll was larger in size, roughly equivalent to Cinder’s unfolded, but with no hinge. There was a retractable antenna built in on one side.

“Oh yeah…mine doesn’t have an antenna,” Cinder flipped hers over.

“If you open up your contact lists, you will note that there is one already preset.”

After some figuring out, Cinder got to the “contacts” page. Indeed, there was already a single entry.

“Throughout your stay here, each and every one of you will be ‘shadowed’ by either a student here or an esteemed member of the military. Barring any extreme emergencies, your first point of contact should be them.”

So, like a personal tour guide. Neat.

Cinder looked back down at her scroll: her “guide” was someone called Ciel. Huh.

“Now, I imagine you are rather tired of hearing my voice at this point,” Wolffe admitted. Heh, at least she’s self-aware, Cinder thought. “I would now like to cordially invite you all to the dining hall, where you can introduce yourselves to your guides.”

Cinder had noticed that there were no Atlesian students in the auditorium.

“Hmm…very impressive…” Rosie kept messing with her scroll. “Should we establish contacts, you and I?”

“Sure, go for it.”

“Splendid. If you don’t mind…”

Rosie flipped Cinder’s scroll over, showing a logo etched in the back of it. Clicking a button on her own scroll, it emitted some sort of light.

“…and done!”

Cinder went back to her contacts list; indeed, Rosie’s name was now on it.

“Now, no time to waste, tally ho! I have heard nothing but good things about Atlesian cuisine!”

Judging by the signs posted on the walls, there were actually two dining halls on the premises. And judging by how big this one was…

…yeah, it’s larger than Haven’s.

*♫*

That was Cinder’s scroll. Opening it up, she saw that she had already received a message from Ciel:

<Third table from the left.>

Following the instructions, she came up to one of the many round tables set up in here. While there were six chairs, there was only one person seated at the moment. She had dark skin, teal-blue hair, and some sort of gold marking on her forehead.

“…You must be Ciel,” Cinder said, taking a seat directly across from her. She nodded.

“Ciel Soleil,” she finished her name. “Team WICK, second year. And you’re Cinder Fall.”

“That’s me.”

“I must say, your file was…interesting to read.”

…file? As in, a profile?

“Hit me.”

“Why would I strike you?”

“Huh?” Cinder gave Ciel a confused look. “Oh…I didn’t mean that literally, like actually hit me. You said my file was ‘interesting,’ so I meant ‘give me some examples.’”

“Ah. Is this one of those so-called ‘figures of speech’?”

“…I guess.”

“Noted. As for your file…it is one of the...'emptiest' I have ever seen. It marks your date of birth as September 13^th, but there is a sidenote that says ‘assumed.’”

“Yeah, I don’t really know my birthday.”

“You have no known family, immediate or distant. Until the age of ten, you were lodged at Greene’s Orphanage, just outside Mistral.”

“…unfortunately.”

“You were presumed deceased when the orphanage was destroyed in a Grimm attack. However, seven years later, you suddenly resurfaced, as a participant at the Regional Tournament.”

“Oh yeah…a huntress saved me from the Grimm that night. Took me in, trained me.”

Ciel took out her scroll; it looked a tad bit more advanced than Cinder’s. She opened something on the translucent widescreen.

“Is there a name for this huntress?”

“Mary,” Cinder answered. “Sorry, I actually don’t know her last name.”

“So, your current last name…”

“…is something I made up, yes.”

Ciel’s gloved hands quickly tapped on the screen.

“Is there anything else?”

“…none that I’d like to share, no.”

“Noted,” Ciel closed her scroll.

“Where’s everyone else?” Cinder looked around. While there were still some open seats at the other tables, all of them had more than two people.

Ciel looked at her watch.

“…twelve seconds.”

“Huh?”

Exactly twelve seconds later, someone enveloped Ciel in a hug.

“Agghhhhh! Cieeellllll!” she exclaimed. “Help meee! This blondie won’t stop talking!”

…blondie? Cinder turned around.

“Oh, hey Cinder!” Pyke walked up to the table, taking a seat. “Is this your mentor?”

“I am,” Ciel confirmed, still somehow undisturbed by the person clinging onto her. “Ciel Soleil, team WICK, second year.”

“Oh, you’re also from Team WICK?” Pyke said. “That means you’re…”

“Teammates, duh,” the other girl pinched Ciel’s cheek.

“…Ivy,” Ciel said, expression still unchanging. “I’ve reminded you precisely 1623 times that taking your beret off during operating hours is a violation of dress codes.”

“And I’ve told you one-thousand-whatever times that I hate wearing hats,” the girl flipped some of her brown hair to one side. “My hair’s gotta breathe, man!”

This person called Ivy then caught sight of Cinder.

“..and you’re the firebender.”

“Fire…wha?”

“’Cause you can heat things up with your hands. That means you can bend metal. Damn, does everyone need to have this explained to them?”

Almost immediately, Cinder could sense Ivy’s similarities to a certain teammate of hers. So, she knew exactly how to deal with her.

“Says the person who needs the dress code explained to them,” she shot back.

In an instant, Ivy grabbed Cinder by the collar.

“What the f*ck did you just say?” she hissed, her green eyes burning lasers into Cinder’s.

“Ivy,” Ciel repeated. “Language.”

Cinder didn’t back down, giving Ivy a smug smile. The staredown continued until Ivy suddenly scoffed.

“I’ll be watching you, hot stuff,” she said, letting go of Cinder’s collar.

The last two seats remained empty for a bit, until…

“Whew! Sorry I’m late, guys!”

Another Atlesian student, similar in complexion to Ciel, but with dark pink eyes, screeched to a halt before she took out the entire table.

“Hah, man, count your blessings that you don’t have to interact with this person on a daily basis!” Ivy laughed, putting a hand on Ciel’s shoulder.

“…Indeed,” Ciel agreed, tapping her watch. “Especially with your abilities…”

“Well…I made it though, right?”

“You were 7.3 seconds late.”

“Heh-hey! That’s four seconds better than last week!”

“Actually, it was three-point-“

“Yeah, yeah, whatever, I get the point,” she waved Ciel off. “Oh, damn, I didn’t just lose my shadow, did I?”

“You didn’t,” an unknown voice from beside Cinder said. Filling the last remaining seat was a girl that was strangely wearing just a black t-shirt and some jeans. It certainly stood out among the proper uniforms of the other five.

“Nice to meet you,” she greeted the table. “I’m Rowena Sunnybrook, from Shade.”

“And I’m Harriet!” The late one piped up. “How does it go again…right, Team EHRN (Heron), first year!”

With everyone now present, Cinder tried to enjoy the food. It was…fine. She could taste certain Mistrali elements in it, but it wasn’t a complete copy. More like an amalgamation of many different changes over time.

“…So!” Pyke tried speaking first. “Are we getting anyone else?”

The three Atlesian students shook their heads.

“Oh. I thought we would be assigned team-by-team, not individually…”

“The aim was to have a representative from each kingdom per table,” Ciel explained.

“And from other teams,” Harriet finished the sentence. “But I guess we’re the odd ones out, eh?”

“Inevitably, there will be-“

“Yeah, yeah, issues with the ‘spreadsheet.’ You were going to say that, right?” Ivy interrupted her. Ciel nodded.

“Anyway, most of this stuff was random. Most of it.”

…

From the general atmosphere of the entire dining hall, Cinder was getting the feeling that Atlas Academy didn’t put much emphasis on…socialization. Even Ivy and Ciel, supposed teammates, didn’t talk to each other much.

“Is this your first time here for the festival?” Rowena asked Cinder.

“Yep. I’m a first-year, actually.”

“Oh, really? Just getting started, I see. I’m a fourth-year, myself.”

“A…fourth-year?” Cinder glanced at Harriet. “And you’re paired up with a…”

“I don’t put much weight on seniority, and I’ve already made that clear with Harriet. We were all chosen from skill level alone, after all.”

“…that’s true.”

The awkward silences continued.

“Hey, firecracker!” That brought Cinder back. It was the third nickname Ivy had come up for Cinder in the past half hour.

“My name’s Cinder, you know.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Ivy waved a hand. “Harriet’s been tryin’ to get your attention for like, five minutes!”

“Huh? Oh, sorry,” Cinder shook her head. Spacing out aside, she was getting a little tired from all the travelling.

“You’re from the northern part of Mistral, right?”

“I am.”

“You must have seen the Grimm Reaper then! Did you?”

Grimm Reaper.

That’s the second time I’ve heard that nickname.

“…no, sorry.”

“Really? Darn. I’m really wondering if it is just a myth now…”

“From the lack of information in the records, this is most likely true,” Ciel remarked.

“Aww, man…”

“Well, can’t always meet your heroes,” Pyke said.

“Regardless, they were an inspiration to us all,” Rowena commented.

Damn, just how famous was this person? To think that they’re a household name in every kingdom…

“Eh, I think it’s a waste of time, believing in superstitions like that, but knock yourselves out,” Ivy said. “I mean, have you even heard some of the stories around this person? Does that seem possible for just a single person to do?”

“I mean, they could’ve just been a very strong warrior,” Rowena responded. “If there’s a will, there’s a way.”

“Then why keep everything a secret? How did no one find out, even by accident? I just…don’t get it…”

These had all been good arguments so far; Cinder, however, had the virtue of knowing something that the other five did not.

Professor Icirrus was the first person to mention that nickname to me, and he’s ancient.

Must be some sort of myth, if people even believed in it back then…

…what was I just thinking about? Agh.

This forced conversation stuff is driving me crazy. I just want some sleep…

Chapter 34

Chapter Text

Cinder awoke in a room she had no memory of ever entering. Sitting up quickly, she nearly banged her head on the narrow ceiling of the bunk bed she was in. Evidently, after all that awkwardness last night, she had somehow made her way back to her team’s assigned dorm. Getting up, she climbed down the ladder built into the wall. No one else was in the room; sunlight shined brightly through the single large window beside the beds.

“Gods, what time is it…” Cinder muttered to herself.

*The time is 9:32 am.*

What the f*ck?

Cinder checked her pocket. The voice had just come from her scroll.

Huh…

After freshening up and getting into uniform, Cinder opened the front door.

“One hour and two minutes.”

The door handle dug straight into Cinder’s ribcage.

“…good morning, Ciel,” she muttered, rubbing her side.

Ciel stood stoically next to the door, with her hands folded behind her back like almost everyone else Cinder had seen so far. How long had she been standing there for?

“I guess that’s how late I am,” Cinder referred to the arbitrary time callout.

“How late you would have been,” Ciel corrected. “Consider yourself fortunate that the Academy designates today for R&R for this exact reason.”

“R&R?”

“Rest and Recuperation.”

Cinder glanced back into her team’s room one more time before the door slowly closed on its own.

“How…did I get back here?”

“You fell asleep at 8:49 pm and did not wake. I had to bring you back to this room myself.”

…what?

“Does that mean…you carried me all the way here?”

“I did what had to be done,” Ciel stated matter-of-factly.

Uh…..

“…thanks, I guess.”

Ciel glanced out a window at the end of the hallway.

“It is now 9:37 am. We should get going.”

“Where?”

“It is typical to spend this day embarking on an official tour of the premises. I do not intend to deviate from this.”

“Oh…I guess that’ll be fine.”

“Good. Now, no more time to waste.”

Unlike Haven, Atlas Academy was pretty much all contained in a massive, singular complex. The only reason why one would leave the area was to see the “CCT Towers” (whatever that was), or to acquire transit to other parts of the city. Even with signs pointing the way, the sheer number of turns, hallways, and doors made Cinder’s head spin.

“…of course, you saw the dining hall from yesterday,” Ciel’s voice faded in and out of Cinder’s consciousness.

“Whoa whoa, hold on,” Cinder stopped, leaning against a wall. “Slow down, I can’t take this all at once.”

“That is impossible in the current circ*mstances. We must make up our lost time.”

“Why though?” Cinder asked, admittedly a bit frustrated.

“Look around you,” Ciel gestured around her. There were other students walking around, but all of them were in crisp, gray-white uniforms. “Everybody else has finished their tours already. I do not want to be left behind.”

“But…” Cinder countered. “Doesn’t that mean we can choose our own pace, rather than being held up or pushed ahead by other people?”

Ciel’s gaze turned pensive.

“This is true…” she muttered. She thought about it some more.

“…very well. Inform me if you think the pace is too fast or too slow.”

Damn, talk about tunnel vision… Cinder thought to herself.

The next stop was the library. This was probably the pinnacle of the “ice-blue aesthetic”; shelves were flanked by pillars on all sides, with hooded statues placed in front of them. In between the aisles, there were big central tables set up for studying. On each one, there were these strange-looking projectors on them that emitted a glowing blue color.

“This is Hard-Light Dust,” Ciel explained. “It can only be artificially made, using a combination of fire, water, lighting, and wind Dust. It has many uses, one of which is the screen on your Scroll.” She pointed towards one end of the library, which was cordoned off.

“We are currently working to digitize these archives, to free up more open space for seating and other uses.”

Ever since the beginning of the tour, Cinder had felt strange stares at her from passing students. Yes, Haven’s uniform was black, which was the complete opposite to Atlas’s white. But Cinder felt it went deeper than that. Just from the looks on their faces, how they made feeble attempts at hiding their voices with the stereotypical “hand by the face…” no, there was a suffocating air of stuck-up superiority everywhere they went. Cinder didn’t even need to make sure. Maybe others wouldn’t be as overt as, say, Ivy from yesterday, but she still had the suspicion that every interaction with these people would go a similar way.

As for Ciel…well, she needed to lighten up, first things first.

Although, judging from one of her teammates, maybe she needs to play the straight person within her team.

“…say,” Cinder tried to make some small talk, while at the same time find out more information about Ciel. “Why do you keep looking at that watch?”

“I am sensitive to tardiness.”

“…that’s it?”

“Yes.”

“…you sure?”

Ciel’s brow wrinkled. It was clear she had not been challenged this much before.

Kinda reminds me of Trifa…

“I can precisely judge time by looking at the position of the sun, moon, or stars.” Ciel looked up, out the long, skylight-like ceiling. “10:02 am, 32 seconds.”

Cinder checked her scroll; she was right on the money. She was going to assume that she was right on the seconds, too.

“Of course, this requires that I be outside or have line-of-sight outside,” Ciel continued. “Many of the older parts of the Academy are underground or reinforced, so this is not available to me.”

So that’s her Semblance…wonder what’s its good for. I mean, for fighting and stuff.

Oh yeah, fighting…

The next stop was the training room.

“Everything here is completely simulated,” Ciel said. “People always doubt, but it is as real as the real thing.”

Right now, the room was one giant, empty cube, with strange electric-blue grid pattern everywhere. Ciel took out her scroll.

“Course 1,” she spoke into it.

In an instant, the field became…not so flat. Soon, the grid squares had formed a complete obstacle course, not too dissimilar to the one Cinder saw in Initiation.

“Wow…” Cinder said, amazed. “This is all for real?”

“Take a look for yourself.”

Walking up to a wall, Cinder gave it a knock. Indeed, she…felt it. It was like rough rock, even though its outward appearance was nothing of the sort.

“When can I start?” In that instant, Cinder was sold.

“When you find an open time slot. You can sign up on your scroll.”

“Really? You can’t just go in your free time?”

“Demand is high, and availability is currently low. This current arrangement was determined to be the best. Additionally, any brandishing of weapons or unnecessary uses of Semblances outside of this room is forbidden.”

Dang, really?

How on Remnant does anyone around here get regular practice in, then?

Right next to the training room was a smaller, more regular-sized room. A lot of projectors and screens covered every inch of the walls.

“This is the briefing room. It is here where you will receive your missions.”

“…receive?”

“For the sake of safety, first-year students will have missions assigned to them rather than the opposite. They are chosen specifically based on your profile.”

Cinder gave some of the missions a read; some were extremely mundane, like acting as a crossing guard, while others sounded a bit more…exciting, like Rosie’s definition of the word.

“I sense you are very eager to do fieldwork,” Ciel observed. Cinder nodded.

“Then I shall not disappoint you; you can expect your first assignment at some point tomorrow.”

“…you don’t know the specific time?” Cinder tried to tease a little.

“That decision is above my station. I will be informed at the exact moment you will.”

Before Cinder and Ciel could leave, someone else entered the room.

“Winter. Good day to you,” Ciel gave a nod of her head.

“Good morning to you, too,” this other person said. “I imagine this is your shadow?”

“Correct. Cinder Fall, Winter Schnee, Team WICK, second year.”

“Cinder. Pleased to meet you,” this person named Winter gave a similar nod.

Winter? That means…

Before Cinder could finish that thought, Winter brushed by her. Cinder felt an odd chill; just how Winter presented herself made her stand out, even if the basics were similar to everyone else. How she held her taller height, how she almost glided across the floor as if she was walking on ice, and oh, not to mention that snow-white hair…

Winter considered the mission board briefly before turning around.

“Now, I would like to be left alone.”

“Acknowledged. Come,” Ciel beckoned Cinder to follow her out.

Really? Is that it? Just a simple “hello,” nothing more?

Cinder waited until they had gotten some distance before asking the obvious.

“Was that your team’s leader?”

“Correct. I am not sure if you will be able to meet the last member today; for future reference, her name is Kristina Noelle-Maier.”

“Where is she right now?”

“She is currently out on a mission.”

“And not taking a break?”

“Her tenacity is one to be admired.”

Well, let’s hope she’s not as off-putting as everyone else…

Somehow, just a couple hundred yards past the briefing room, the two were back at the dorms. Cinder noted that they had approached from the opposite direction that they had left; it would seem that this one “main” hallway was actually a big loop, connecting all the major facilities together.

Ciel stopped in front of Team ARTC’s dorm room.

“The tour is now complete. Do you have any further questions?”

“…no, not really.” In reality, Cinder had glossed over so much of the tour she didn’t even have enough knowledge to ask a question. Well, except for the training and briefing room, of course.

“Good. Should any arise, you can contact me with your scroll. Good day.”

Cinder watched Ciel as she walked away. Even though they were only one year apart, they couldn’t be any more different in terms of personality, appearance…well, everything, really.

Let’s hope I don’t become like her when I’m older, she thought to herself.

Chapter 35

Chapter Text

Classes at Atlas were…radically different than ones at Haven. Theory was king here. Every single minute was spent meticulously explaining hypotheticals and strategies, while at the same time not actually implementing them in any sort of real-world trials. If Cinder’s initial experience in Grimm Studies was any sort of baseline, it was looking to be another semester of pure academic torture.

Walking out of an hour and thirty minutes of having her brain thoroughly scrambled, Cinder’s scroll rang.

~Rosie ♕~

Today 10:02 am

<How is your day going so far?>

<Could be better>

<I’m sorry to hear that. Tis a shame

we don’t share any classes.>

<Yeah.>

<Perhaps you can ask your guide

for help?>

<She wasn’t in the class I just had>

<Besides, she’s a little strange>

<Oh? How so?>

<Its hard to describe>

<Ah. Well, perhaps it is simply a matter of

knowing each other better.>

<I can’t imagine that will be too difficult.>

Oh, you have no idea…Cinder thought.

The next class was called “Dust Refining.”

…whatever that was. It turned out to be a more science-y lab class, with experiments and other hands-on stuff. This was partway to what Cinder wanted, even if it still contained an abhorrent amount of theory.

What Cinder didn’t want, however, were the people in her lab group.

For a solid two minutes, Cinder and Ivy just glared at each other in silence.

“Um…guys?” Rowena waved a hand in front of both of them. “We should really get to work.”

Still engaged in this staring contest, Cinder and Ivy opened their books. Their gazes averted at almost the exact same time.

…what the f*ck is this?

Ok, we’re making Hard-light Dust. At least, attempting to. In very small portions, for safety’s sake.

The crystals are here…now…

Cinder picked up a flask.

“Wrong one, dumbass,” Ivy said, picking up a different one. Cinder bit her lip.

This bitch…

The Dust crystals had to be crushed; Rowena was working on that. Which left Cinder and Ivy to work these strange machines. Everything had to be done precisely, or else it wouldn’t work.

“Why did we even get thermometers anyway?” Ivy remarked. “This thing here already displays it for you…”

“I dunno, either.”

“I didn’t ask for your opinion.”

This time, Cinder pinched her thigh.

“…I’ll start mixing this up, then,” she began to pour some ground water Dust into a pot.

45 minutes later…

“Aghhhh, Gods!” Ivy leaned back her chair. “This is f*cking hopeless.”

Like you’ve done anything so far… Cinder came dangerously close to uttering out loud.

“It is rather difficult,” Rowena commented.

If you finished early, you were allowed to leave; a lot of teams had done so. Cinder’s group was one of the few left, and even then, they seemed behind.

“Is this thing even working?” Ivy smacked a device that apparently heated up stuff. “Why is it turning blue into green?”

“Did you plug in the right conditions?” Rowena asked.

“Yeah, like seven f*cking times.”

Cinder had a headache. She just wanted to get this over with. She glanced back at still-unused thermometers on the table, and the five-or-so flasks containing failed hopes and dreams.

Hmm…

There was just enough water Dust for one last try. Cinder discreetly swept them into a clean flask. Or so she thought.

“Hey, the f*ck are you doing?”

“Trying out an idea,” Cinder gripped the flask with both her hands. Somehow, that got the message through to Ivy’s thick head.

“It’s against the rules to use your Semblance here, genius.”

“That’s funny, Ciel told me unnecessary uses. And besides, do I look like a person that would care?”

Ivy stared; an eyebrow slowly started to raise. She let out a low whistle.

“Hoh, ho…” she muttered.

“Um…” Rowena got both their attention, gesturing discreetly towards the front of the classroom. The monitoring professors had begun to scrutinize the three in particular, due to their terrible pace.

Ivy’s eyes darted towards that direction, then back to Cinder.

“Don’t f*ck up,” she mouthed.

Turning back to the possibly-malfunctioning machine, Cinder feigned putting the flask in. A metallic clatter was her cue.

“Ah, sh*t. My bad, teach!”

“...It's Professor. And I’ve told you countless times to watch your language, Miss Thickety…”

Still with her back firmly facing the scene Ivy was making, Cinder discreetly peeked under the table, where she was heating up the flask. In the moment, the numbers on the thermometer’s display ticked by agonizingly slowly.

Come on…92, 93, 94…

Finally, the thermometer hit the magic number: 97.2 degrees. Cinder rather emphatically closed the machine’s door in response.

“Took you long enough,” Ivy discreetly snuck back to the table. Cinder gave her a “really?” look.

“Well, moment of truth,” Rowena said.

Cinder poured the semi-melted powder into a pot. With slightly trembling hands, she mixed in the other components. There was various hisses and other slightly-foreign sounds as the solution settled. There was a very brief hint of green in isolated areas; however, the entire mixture soon turned a bright blue. Just like it was meant to.

“Woohoo! We did it!” Rowena exclaimed. Cinder nodded.

“f*cking finally,” Ivy stretched. “Gods, two hours of this bullsh*t…I got places to be.”

Without even a goodbye, she picked up her stuff and left.

What is her problem…

“Do you…not care much about people like that, Rowena?” Cinder was genuinely curious how she was still able to keep her usual cheery demeanor at all times. Kinda like Pyke.

“Hm? Oh, about Ivy? Well, let’s see…I like to think that’s just part of how she is. And if you can’t change that, no problem! Sometimes the hardest thing is accepting other people for who they are.”

“And…you’re really fine with people like that?”

“You haven’t gotten to talk to her much, right? Sometimes you just have to hang out with the person more to get to know them better.”

“You make it sound so easy…”

“Heh, trust me, I also have those moments where it feels awkward to approach people. But, since we’re going to be seeing each other for the next couple months…well, better now than never!”

After confirming with the professors that they had, indeed, done everything correct, Cinder and Rowena left the classroom together. Harriet was waiting for them outside.

“Oh, hey Cinder! Are you heading somewhere right now?”

“Not really,” Cinder was thinking about just going back to her dorm for the day.

“Oh, that’s good. You want to come join our study session?”

“For what?”

“Oh, just for things in general. First-year classes have different sections, but they all basically work the same.”

Maybe if just Harriet had asked her alone, Cinder would’ve been fine with declining. But with Rowena here as well, there was some implied “peer” pressure.

“…alright.”

“Great! Follow me!”

Harriet led Cinder and Rowena to one of the many open atriums that Ciel had gone through the previous day. Presumably, it was still just the first week of classes, yet the place was already packed with students, in little groups of three, four, or more.

At one of the tables were two people. Cinder recognized one of them.

“Oh, Cinder! Please, come hither!”

Cinder didn’t recognize the other person Rosie was sitting with. She was rather short in height, perhaps even shorter than Cinder. She had long, black hair that she let fall loosely behind her back and over her shoulders, except for a headband that barely peeked through above her bangs.

“I believe you two have not met yet. Cinder, this is Kristina.”

“Just Kris will do,” the other girl said, with a slight accent Cinder couldn’t place.

Kris? Cinder mouthed. Where had she heard that name before?

Ah, right. Ciel told me yesterday, that was the last member of her team I hadn’t met yet.

So, that’s one full team I’ve seen at least once.

“You mind pulling up some chairs for us, Cinder?” Harriet asked.

“…sure,” Cinder replied, looking around. She approached the first empty-ish table she saw.

“Do you mind if we take these?” She asked the people sitting there.

“Sure, whatever,” someone said dismissingly, not even looking up. As Cinder walked back with the chairs in tow, she could hear some snickers behind her.

Just…agh, what the f*ck is going on with this place…

Could this place be any less insufferable? It really looked like Harriet was the only exception…

…And perhaps Kris, depending on how things go right now.

“Thanks for that, Cinder.”

Compared to everyone else’s notebooks, Cinder’s was a jumbled, incomprehensible mess. Something else she was also confused about was the difference in years; herself, Harriet, and Rosie were first-years, Kris was presumably a second, and Rowena was a fourth. How could they even understand each other right now?

“Say, on the subject of the library,” Harriet referred to one of the problems being discussed, which had a passing reference to the library. “Did the council ever say what they were planning to do with that extra space?”

“We are still in deliberations,” Kris replied. “Procurement of the necessary resources has been more difficult than expected.”

Harriet noticed Cinder’s utterly-lost expression.

“Oh, right. Our little superstar Kris here’s the Secretary of the Student Council, just like her father! It’s been what, like 15 years since a second-year was able to get into any of the seats?”

“12 years,” Kris corrected. “And I have told you, I do not appreciate that nickname.”

“Aw, I think it kinda fits…anyway, anyone else have any ideas on this question? Because I don’t.”

Despite all this combined brainpower, the entire table seemed to be stuck on a single problem in particular. It was centered around some sort of logistical problem. Cinder read through the problem statement again; basically, a Dust supplier was supplying Dust to several specific locations through an agreed-upon contract. However, there was now another possible method, with different stipulations. The objective was to figure out whether this new contract actually was beneficial.

Cinder decided to ignore the numbers; they were too large and overly specific to even comprehend. Instead, she decided to think about the two choices completely logically.

You get a fixed percentage back…that already makes it more appealing.

But at the same time, you have to spend more on transportation…

On the other hand…you spend more on transportation, but you get quicker delivery times, meaning less cost overall to hold inventory…

“I think this other one is better,” she proclaimed. All eyes instantly turned onto her.

“Your reasoning, if you may,” Rosie said.

Cinder explained the flow of logic that she had just laid out in her head.

“That…makes sense, actually. Kris?” Harriet asked.

“Already done,” Kris had done out the actual numerical calculations impossibly quick. “She’s correct.”

“Ah, splendid!”

“Yeah, thanks, Cinder,” Rowena commented. Cinder meekly nodded.

“See, that’s the magic of group studying!” Harriet said. “Just one person thinking outside of the box, and the pieces start to fall for everyone else!”

“Hear, hear!” Rosie added.

Cinder’s scroll buzzed. Taking it out, she saw that she had a new message:

Ciel Soleil

Today 4:37 pm

<Your first mission has been assigned.

Open the Dashboard application for

more information.>

“You get a message?” Rowena asked.

“Yeah. I just got my first mission,” Cinder said.

“Ooh, really? Let me see, let me see!” Harriet said.

Following Ciel’s instructions, Cinder pulled up the mission brief. The first words on the screen jumped out at her:

MISSION TYPE

SPECIAL – SECURITY

MISSION STATUS

ASSIGNED

“Special? Ooh, lucky!” Harriet commented.

“What does that mean?” Cinder asked.

“There’s six types of missions right now, but there’s a ‘special seventh’ – reserved for unique circ*mstances. Looks like you got one of them,” Rowena explained.

Cinder recalled Ciel’s explanation of the process. Evidently, something about her profile had deemed her the best fit for this mission in particular.

“Just ‘Security’ seems rather broad…”

“Yeah, usually it’s not too different from ‘Village Security.’ Just the places and the scope are different.”

“Did the rest of you get your missions already?”

“Mhm,” Rowena replied first. “I got Perimeter Defense, down in Mantle.”

“Escort duties is mine, to a town called Dormir,” Rosie said next.

“I’ve actually just finished up a mission myself…so I’m taking a break,” Harriet scratched her head. “And I imagine you already heard about Kris.” Cinder nodded.

Kris had been silently glancing at Cinder’s mission brief.

“I recognize the location you are going to. The former owner was an associate of my grandfather for many years, back when we still lived in Essen.”

Cinder scrolled the page down, revealing some more information; this included a location.

The Glass Unicorn

“…What can I expect?”

“I haven’t been familiar with the place for some time now…but if the stories I’ve heard are true, you will have to be diligent.”

Cinder texted Ciel back.

<When should I start?>

4:40 pm

<ASAP – As Soon As Possible.>

Chapter 36

Chapter Text

The next day

5:00 pm

After she had finished her classes for the day, Cinder went back to her dorm before leaving.

“Well, I haven’t seen you in a hot minute.”

Archer was in his typical garb, evidently preparing for a mission. All of his weapons – at least Cinder thought all of them – were laid out on a table beside him. Seeing the entire collection…Cinder continued to wonder how he managed to carry all that on his person. Like, the pistols, she could understand, but fold-down rifles? Submachine guns? Was that a glove with a gun attached to it?

“Hey – I need to ask you something. You think I should take this or this?” He held up a switchblade and a…deck of playing cards.

“…what’s the mission?” Cinder asked with an eyebrow raised.

“Oh, just your standard ‘bag and drag’ operation – gotta capture this high-show wannabe down in Mantle.”

“I’d take the knife.”

“Ok, so that’s two votes for the knife. But five other people I asked picked this, so…” Archer put the knife back down, putting the deck in his breast pocket. “Too bad.”

…nice. Why did you even ask me in the first place then?

“I’m going to guess you’re not going to ask the other person to play nice.”

“Phrasing.”

“f*ck you.”

“Phrasing.”

“Oh you-AGH!” Cinder exclaimed in frustration.

“Hah. Well, you’re right, this isn’t just a deck of cards,” Archer took out the box again, opening the top cover. With a strange mechanical cha-chink, the first card was pushed out halfway. “Fulminated mercury. Hair trigger on impact, it makes a big boom.”

That seems like the worst possible choice for a mission that probably is going to involve some sort of stealth, but…

“…Kreiger?”

“The main man himself!”

“Well…knock yourself out, I guess.”

“Where are you going?”

“Security. Some place called the Glass Unicorn.”

“Security? What, like a f*cking bellboy?” Archer laughed.

“It’s a hotel?”

“Yeah, some upscale place downtown,” Archer began to put all the stuff on the table away. “Don’t know why they would need someone for security, though.”

Me neither…me neither.

Well, I guess I’ll find out soon.

5:26 pm

District 2, City of Atlas

Cinder wandered the streets, taking in the various sights. Giant skyscrapers all around, sophisticated cars everywhere, each street corner completely spotless. Some of the gaudiest outfits were on full display among the wandering folk.

Nabi would probably have an aneurysm if she was here right now, Cinder mused.

She stopped at a particular street corner.

…there it is.

Just across the street was a giant, ornate building. It only had five floors, a comically small number compared to the structures surrounding it, but this didn’t take away from its aesthetic sophistication. It was clear that this building was built with a different purpose in mind. A backlit sign written in cursive was mounted just above the front doors: The Glass Unicorn.

It was strange; why would a hotel need not only security, but extra security? From some extra reading on her scroll, Cinder had found out there was already a huntsman assigned to this place. But apparently, they needed more help. Cinder happened to be the (un?)lucky person chosen for this job.

Oh well. Let’s get this over with…

The interior was just as grand as the exterior. A long, red carpet marked the way through the reception area to the front desk. Some people were scattered about, lounging in the various tables and chairs set up on this floor. Cinder panned her vision up; despite its diminutive size from the outside, from the inside, it looked giant.

Refocusing her mind, Cinder walked up to the front desk. She was caught on to a few peculiar stares at her as she walked; it was undoubtably due to her appearance, one that correctly identified her as a foreigner, and as a huntress, more importantly.

A very young woman was behind the front desk. She had long blond hair tied into pigtails, topped off with a black head ribbon. Her green eyes, just like every other person Cinder had seen here so far, exuded arrogance and egoism.

“How may I help you?” She said in perhaps the most condescending “formal” tone ever.

Trying her best not to outright sneer at her, Cinder cleared her throat.

“…Hi. I’m Cinder Fall…Rhodes sent for me?” Cinder had to pull out a note in her pocket to remember this other huntsman’s name.

“Ah! I see. One moment.”

Turning around, the attendant went into a back room. As she waited, Cinder looked around some more. There were two giant sculptures of Borbatusks on either side of the desk.

Heh. If any of these posers could actually even take on one.

Eventually, the attendant returned with someone else. This new person was an older woman, probably at the age where she could be the attendant’s mother. Unlike her (presumed) daughter, she held herself high, keeping both hands folded behind her back.

…Just like everyone in the Academy.

“Ah, Cinder Fall,” she said with a strange sort of emphasis.

“…that’s me,” Cinder replied. The woman gave a slight nod and a smile.

“I am the Madame DuBois, the owner of this establishment. This is my daughter, Bridgette. Please, let her take your stuff for you.”

Cinder readily handed her bag off; She prevented Bridgette from taking her weapon, however.

Uh, uh. This stays with me, her expression read.

“Rhodes is currently out at the moment, but I’m sure he will be pleased to see you once he returns,” the Madame made a sweeping gesture with her hand. “Shall I give you a tour?”

“Sure, I guess.”

At this point, Cinder was over all this tour stuff. By the end, her eyes were half closed from drowsiness.

“Is something bothering you?”

Ah crap. Cinder snapped out of her trance. She had fallen behind enough for the Madame to notice.

“…no. It’s nothing you need to worry about.”

After the tour was done, Cinder was left alone to freely roam the premises.

Um…yeah, like I would get anything meaningful out of that.

Cinder ended up awkwardly standing in a quiet corner…waiting, she guessed. For Rhodes? Yeah, she decided, she was waiting for Rhodes. The Madame hadn’t told her much about the actual mission, so she assumed Rhodes would be the one to fill her in. One glaring omission from the mission info on her scroll had been an actual time duration.

The wait turned boring quick. The continued hushed whispers about Cinder’s presence certainly didn’t help things, either.

*Is she a huntress?*

*Nah, she’s too young. Probably a student.*

*Yeah, I thought so too. I like Rhodes better, he’s so cool…*

Cinder clenched her teeth. Needing to blow off some steam, she resorted to looking through her scroll. Somebody had been busy; there were several new “group chats” under the messages app.

Study Buddies

Good vibes only. We’re totally not gonna fail!

A👓R👑T🕸️C🔥

The best and the coolest (just like a long island iced tea) (What is that?) (hit me up and ill show you)

Outer Heaven Haven

The official unofficial group chat for part of an entire school

Cinder took an amused minute to consider who had come up with the names and descriptions; she was able to narrow it down to a couple people. She opened the first one on the list.

Harriet

<Oh yeah, does anyone know how to solve

this one?>

5:31 pm

A picture of the aforementioned problem was attached. There had been an answer almost instantly, from Kris, sent at 5:33.

Harriet

<You’re a lifesaver, Kris!>

Kristina

<You’re welcome>

Cinder opened the next group chat on the list; the conversation here had been more recent.

~Rosie ♕~

<Mission successful!>

5:47 pm

Attached was a picture of Rosie, some other huntsmen, and the group of people they had evidently been escorting. The next picture was from Archer (presumably), showing some sort of police truck being loaded up with people. While it was barely in the shot, there was clearly some rubble visible from a “recently-redecorated” building.

Randy

<rip bozo>

~Rosie ♕~

<Is “Randy” one of those codenames thou

mentioned to I?>

Randy

<bingo>

Not wanting to be left out, Cinder decided to send something of her own. Tipping up the scroll a basic amount, she snapped a quick picture. There was nothing really much of note in it, just some random people, tables, and a bit of one of the statues.

<I’m bored>

5:51 pm

~Rosie ♕~

<Sophistication amain! I would much like

to visit sometime!>

Randy

<They got a bar?>

<Yep>

<what kinds>

Discreetly sliding over to the bar, Cinder snuck a look. She listed out the first things she saw:

<Black Pearl XI, Ice Sapphire, Spades,

<Woodford Reserve

<omw>

<omw?>

~Rosie ♕~

<“On my way,” if I recall correctly.>

Oh. Hopefully that was a joke just right now, from Archer…

<And how anent thou, Trifa?>

5:56 pm

The chat stayed silent for a couple minutes. Until, a response, rather surprisingly.

Trifa

<I’m doing fine.>

~Rosie ♕~

<Any notable happenings from your mission?>

Trifa

<No>

6:02 pm

Classic Trifa. It was probably true, all things considered.

Cinder had been so engrossed in her scroll that she had sort of lost track of time. Not that she was really complaining. However, soon enough…

“…Cinder?”

A rather rough, gravely voice directed her attention out of the scroll. Standing in front of her was a much taller man, with long graying hair he kept in a bun. There were two big maces latched on his back, as well as a sword on his side. Interestingly, there was also a scabbard on his other side, but it was empty.

“Yep,” Cinder affirmed. “And you’re Rhodes?” The man nodded.

“I trust that the Madame’s already shown you around?”

“Mhm.”

“Good. Now, for the important stuff,” he took a seat on an empty table, whistling a waiter over.

“How long do I have to stay here for?” Cinder had already beat him to that.

“That’s the thing,” Rhodes took a long, heavy sigh. “This mission is ‘special’ for a reason. Basically, you’ll have to be here, during these hours, for the foreseeable future.”

Huh?

“How long is…’foreseeable future?’”

“It might be as long as your entire stay here, in the worst case.”

…are you serious?

“…why?”

“Well, look around. This place is one of the oldest, most established hotels in this entire city. It’s popular with all kinds of types.”

Indeed, Cinder had noticed from before, there was some…liberal consumption of alcohol and other foodstuffs. She remembered Wing Kingdom, that chicken restaurant; although this place definitely wasn’t as seedy, alcohol was bound to cause trouble eventually.

Still, does it get bad to the point where a Huntsman or Huntress is needed?

“Secondly…I’m not really assigned here, really. Just a frequent visitor. Because of that, I have to go out often, on other jobs. The Madame prefers that someone be here for ‘peace of mind,’ even if it’s for part of the day.”

“Is there a reason for that?”

“I haven’t asked,” Rhodes looked off to the side. “I’ve known her for many years, so I trust her judgement.”

…ok.

“So…to get this right, every day, after school, I just have to stand around here for a couple hours, then leave?”

“Ideally, yes. Of course, you can communicate with either the Madame or me if you have to miss for a day.”

Cinder grumbled something unintelligible. She really wasn’t liking this.

“Look, I know that you might not like this place. Hell, maybe this kingdom as a whole, I can understand that. But you’re going to have to just power through.”

“…and how would you know that?” Cinder wasn’t convinced.

“Heh, well, just look at myself. If you put me next to myself from, say, 10, 12 years ago, you’d think they were two completely different people. In this line of work, things will inevitably get tough. You’ll sit one day and think ‘what’s the point?’ or maybe get a mission you’re not too keen on doing. But it’s part of our jobs. These people might not look like they do, but every single person on Remnant has an inherent appreciation for you, just by being here.”

Cinder internalized his words.

“How long can you stay here tonight?”

Cinder looked at the time on her scroll.

“Maybe until…9.”

“Are you sure you can’t stay longer? There’s always usually at least one room open here: the Madame can make arrangements.”

“…no, I’m fine.” Cinder wanted to be in this place as little as possible.

“Alright. That’ll do, then. I’m here for the rest of this week, but after that, I have to go out of town for something.” He got up from the table.

“Nice meeting you.”

Still sitting at the table, Cinder considered the platefuls of food still there, largely untouched. It looked good, but their presence took on an entirely different meaning. Somehow, Cinder felt, just by eating here, she would be guilty by proxy of whatever slimy things these other people had probably done. All this vain flaunting of wealth just made Cinder angry; all of this had probably been achieved at the expense of others.

Reluctantly reaching over, she gathered a plateful of strawberries.

I still do need to eat. Maybe just this, nothing more.

Chapter 37

Chapter Text

“Gahhhh!”

Cinder plopped down on her bed, looking at her scroll. This was the third day in a row where she had tried to sign up for a timeslot in the training room, and the third time she had failed. Every time the slots for an upcoming day opened up, they filled up almost instantly; how were people that quick?

It was the weekend, so Cinder had nothing else to do. Studying? Well…that could always be something that could be done later. Excessively bored, but at the same time not satisfied with just lounging here alone, Cinder threw on a basic outfit and began to wander around.

As large as this place was, there were as many places off-limits as there were on-limits: Cinder assumed those closed off doors had things to do more with regards to the military. Other than that…there really wasn’t much to do here in terms of leisure. Unless you counted the atriums and the library, but Cinder couldn’t break the inherent association between those places and her eternally-struggling academic life.

So, even though she didn’t intend to, Cinder had ended up in front of the training room. She considered the closed door in front of her.

At the very least, maybe I can watch…

As soon as Cinder opened the door, there was an echo from a distant explosion. There were blurs of quick movement, the roars of artificial Grimm, and the zing of high-velocity projectiles cutting through the air.

Some people were practicing; it didn’t take long for Cinder to figure out which one. Mainly due to the fact that only three were actually engaged, while the fourth was standing idly by on the sidelines.

“What are you doing here?” Ciel queried.

“Watching. What, is there a rule that says I can’t?”

“…there is not.”

Ciel looked back forward, scrutinizing some complicated-looking data on her scroll. Cinder in turn did the same, without the scroll, of course.

Two arrows zipped through the air, precisely striking down a digital Beowolf. A portal suddenly materialized out of nowhere, and Kris stepped out of it, holding an extremely modernized-looking bow. It collapsed into a wrist-mounted gauntlet, the former ends of the bow shrinking into sharp blades that covered part of her arm. Using it in this form, Kris slid under the claws of a diving Razorwing, slashing one of its legs. As the Razorwing flew away, it suddenly exploded; evidently Kris had stuck some sort of explosive charge on it with the cut.

Another portal opened up; this time, Ivy stepped out. She had dragging behind her a long, thorny-like whip. Even from here, Cinder could tell that she had just given Kris a wink. With only a simple nod in response, Kris waved a hand over Ivy’s whip. Soon, it became even longer and…”flowerier.” Instantly utilizing its extended length, Ivy summoned another portal, the end of the whip grabbing the leg of a nearby Sphinx and dragging it down to the ground.

Flying through yet another portal was Winter, sword at the ready. With a single slash, she cut the Sphinx into two, landing gracefully some distance away.

Meanwhile…

“So…why are you over here and not, you know, over there?”

“My role on this team is well-defined,” Ciel replied. “In this situation, I am not needed.”

“…really?” Cinder’s gaze went down to the fancy-looking pistol by Ciel’s side.

“Yes.”

With one last Beowolf, the simulation appeared to finish. Ivy offered a high five, which was taken after a second by Kris; Winter, meanwhile, did not.

“Huh? Oh, the firecracker’s here. Why, you drag her over here, Ciel?”

“Cinder came here on her own volition.”

“You came here just to watch? Man, people are getting weirder and weirder nowadays…”

“Well, I figured I would at least do this instead of constantly missing out on timeslots.”

“Oh, that? Heh, careful with that, you’ll get hooked.”

“I think I already have,” Cinder admitted.

Ivy laughed.

“Regardless,” Ciel said. “You will have guaranteed practice as the tournament draws closer, both by yourself and with your team.” She swiped through her scroll.

“Another marked improvement. Ivy, continue to scrutinize the location of your portals. Some placements were rather sloppy.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, coach,” Ivy said dismissingly. Ciel had no reaction to this.

“Kris, the timing was off on that second charge; you could’ve easily eliminated a third had you waited 1.3 seconds later. And Winter…”

For some reason, Winter currently had a larger-than-life aura around her. Cinder had just seen her fight; she moved gracefully and struck with precision, the markings of a perfect fighter. Did she really have any improvements as well?

“Continue to monitor your Dust usage. You ran out of fire Dust once again, correct?”

Winter slowly nodded.

Huh. Not even a perceived ego hit.

Guess Ciel really has a knack for these kinds of things…

“Alright. That is all,” Ciel concluded.

Winter, Ivy and Kris began to head back to the locker room. Ciel hung behind, still doing some last-minute things on her scroll.

“What does that do?” Cinder stopped her before she could leave. She was referring to her handgun. Ciel paused, before turning back around. She took out the pistol from the hostler; there was an chi-chi-chi-chink as a small digital screen on its side turned on.

“AX-11 multipurpose sidearm. Voice-programmed variable ammunition to fit any type of mission varieties.” Cinder glanced closer at the screen; it currently displayed “SEMI” in block letters. Just below it was a smaller row of text, showing “50 FMJ,” “25 AP,” “25 IN,” and “25 HE,” respectively.

“You wish to see a demonstration,” Ciel correctly surmised. Cinder nodded with a sheepish shrug.

With a sigh, Ciel turned to her scroll.

“Target range, standard,” she said into it. At once, the grounds in front of her changed into a standard gun range, with Grimm cutouts about 100 yards away.

“Burst fire,” Ciel said to her pistol. It replied with that same electro-mechanical sound it had made earlier, the digital display now showing “BURST.” Turning her side to the targets, she took aim with just one hand.

*BA-BA-BANG*

The first burst went straight through the bullseye in the center, almost without any spread.

*BA-BA-BANG*

The second hit the bullseye at the Grimm cutout’s head. Ciel shifted to the next target.

“Incendiary.”

This time, instead of bullets, the pistol shot a single, bright red flare. It lit the cutout on fire.

“High Explosive.”

The third cutout just exploded with quite a sizable boom.

…wow.

If Cinder didn’t know any better, she might’ve clapped. Instead, she kind of gawked as Ciel holstered her weapon.

“What’s with all that ruckus?” Ivy emerged from the locker room, back in uniform (sans beret). “Oh, you wanted to see Ciel’s gun?”

“Mhm,” Cinder replied.

“Heh, everyone wants to when they see it for the first time. Don’t ever try to shoot it yourself, though. That thing’s ID locked; if it detects someone it doesn’t recognize, it’ll blow your arm clean off!” she laughed.

…what?

“As this is highly sensitive technology, necessary steps have been taken to ensure that it will never fall into the wrong hands,” Ciel clarified, as if that made it any less morbid.

“You mean hand,” Ivy continued to joke. “You know, since…”

“Technically correct.”

“What the f*ck? Ciel Soleil, actually getting jokes? What’d you do with her, eh?” Ivy suddenly turned her attention towards Cinder.

“…I didn’t do anything. At least, I don’t think I did anything.”

“Hmm…” Ivy muttered, a familiar snarky grin pulling across her face. Cinder had to resist doing anything overtly antagonizing in response.

“Ahh, well, I don’t really care. In fact, maybe it’ll help, maybe she’ll finally not be such a gods-damn downer all the damn time,” Ivy threw an arm around Ciel’s shoulder.

“It is not my intention to constantly dampen your mood, Ivy. I merely state the facts.”

“Bah, whatever you say. Anyways, we should get going, next group’s bound to show up any minute now.” Ivy literally covered Ciel’s mouth before she could correct her with a specific number. “Peace,” she held up two fingers at Cinder.

“See you later,” Kris said similarly as she walked past, followed by Winter. Before she left, Winter paused; although her head didn’t turn, Cinder could feel her icy gaze on her.

“…see something wrong?” Cinder asked.

“…no,” Winter finally replied. “Not many people watch our practice sessions.”

“Well, I do. I don’t want to be bored, not to mention, you can also…how did my teammate say it…?

“Know thy enemy?”

“Yeah, that, exactly. Wait, actually, no, not exactly like tha-“

“I understand,” Winter interrupted.

“…oh. Ok, good.” There was a bit of an awkward silence, at least, awkward to one person in particular.

“…you did pretty good.”

“Thank you,” Winter replied promptly, gaze unwavering. Correctly assuming that Cinder didn’t have anything more to ask, she left.

Cinder looked back out at the still-empty training room.

Damn, so if they can fight like that with just three people, my team’s got their work cut out for them…

The honeymoon period had been very short. So short, in fact, an argument could be made that it ended right at that very first day. Regardless, now, whenever Cinder had to go to the Glass Unicorn again, it put her in an excessively foul mood.

Rhodes had gone out for at least the rest of the week; that meant Cinder was the only Huntress present during the hours she was available. That didn’t mean the job got any more exciting, however. She was still just standing around doing nothing the entire time; even looking at the scroll was getting boring at this point. She hadn’t made the effort to get to know anyone else, either, with the possible exception of the doorman, Barkley.

Tonight, Cinder was loitering around one of the back rooms, one where some food was stored. There was a cake on the countertop that she had been eyeing up for the past few minutes.

“Looks delicious, right?” a voice from behind her nearly made her jump.

As it turned out, the Madame had two daughters, Charlotte and Bridgette. Cinder had the (mis)fortune of meeting Bridgette on the first day. This one was Charlotte, differentiated by her slightly dirtier blonde hair color, in an overall different style compared to her sister.

Charlotte swept up the cake with excessive bravado.

“It isn’t for you, though.”

At that moment, Bridgette came in through the door; as she and her sister crossed paths, she picked out a strawberry from the top of the cake and ate it.

Cinder’s eye twitched.

What the…this bitch!

This had just been the latest entry in a long list of frustrations Cinder had endured in the week-or-so she had been here. No one was this tone-deaf, she had decided long ago; no, these people were clearly doing this on purpose, to rile her up. And it was working.

Huffing, Cinder looked around for a quiet room, preferably to scream in. She eventually found a suitable place, a larger storage room at the end of a darkened hallway. Things here obviously hadn’t been touched in a while; a visible layer of dust covered every surface. Except for one.

Pushed up against one wall was a large cabinet, resting on its side; the handle was spotless. Tipping her head in curiosity, Cinder reached over, turning the handle. The weight of the door meant that it fell open on its own. From inside flipped out a…makeshift bed? There was a mattress, blankets, even a pillow.

What…? Someone lived here?

…someone lives here? Cinder corrected that thought.

From further in the cabinet, there was a faint glint from something jutting out. It almost looked like…a handle to a sword. Cinder pulled it out; indeed, it was a sword. Furthermore, she had seen this design before.

…Rhodes. This is Rhodes’s! He must be looking for this, right?

Cinder had found it odd that Rhodes hadn’t been scrutinizing the empty sheath more; maybe it was just because he had lost it a long time ago, and had accepted it was gone for good. But if that was true…why hadn’t he replaced it? Was he that attached to one weapon in particular that he felt that no replacement could come close to the original? Not to even mention the fact that Cinder had found this here, along with this “bed…”

Just what the heck is going on here?

“…Cinder?”

A voice and some footsteps outside alerted her. Not wanting to get caught, Cinder hastily shoved the mattress back into the cabinet. Pausing to consider for a second, she decided to return the sword as well. She exited the room promptly, but not in a manner where it seemed she had just found something she shouldn’t have.

“Ah, there you are,” the Madame said. “What were you doing in there?”

“Oh…” Cinder scrambled for a believable excuse. “I was looking at the inventory list out there and saw some things I couldn’t find…I thought they might have been in here.”

“It is likely you just missed them. Everything on that list pertains to the items in that room and that room only. Now come, I have something for you to do.”

“Something to do,” as Cinder had figured out very quickly, was just chores. Like, literal f*cking chores she did at home. Somehow, compared to Mary’s house, doing them here felt absolutely soul-sucking. Wonder why? It couldn’t possibly be due to this place in particular, could it?

As she followed the Madame, Cinder’s mind was still on what she had just discovered. This was certainly something that needed more investigation. And certainly something the Madame, or anyone else in this hellhole, couldn’t know about.

Maybe I’ll finally get some f*cking answers about this place…

Chapter 38

Chapter Text

“Hey, you hear? One of Pyke’s teammates nearly got into a fight. The big one, I forget his name.”

“Fenix.”

“Yeah, him.”

“Why?”

“Someone called him a slur, at least, that's what he claimed.”

“Damn…really?”

“I wouldn’t put it past these rich idiots. Too much money, not enough brains. They’re so self-centered in their little worlds, it makes beating them up even more satisfying…again, why are you looking at me like that?”

“...Hey, Archer?”

“Whadaya want?”

“How do you spy on people?”

“…you feeling ok?”

“Just perfect. Now answer the question.”

“Well, first, I would probably assume a secret identity, because nothing beats ‘going undercover.’”

“…I can’t do that.”

“Um, then…well, just sneak around. Go through air vents, I don’t know, something like that.”

“Really? That’s it?”

“Yeah.”

“I thought you were the ‘world’s greatest spy.’”

“Did I say that? Oh, I meant ‘world’s deadliest spy.’ Big difference, I know.”

“…yeah, there is a big difference there.”

“Wait…” Archer raised an eyebrow. “You’re serious?”

“Are you kidding?!”

“It’s really hard with you at times!” Archer said quickly.

Cinder grumbled, exasperated. She supposed it was on her for thinking she would get a straight answer from Archer, of all people.

“Well, I mean, in general…for espionage, I guess, it’s all about blending in. People always think that asking questions’ll get you there faster, but they’re idiots.”

“So…I can’t ask questions?”

“Just act natural. Don’t go up to someone you haven’t talked to for like, a week and suddenly try to make a conversation. Even the biggest dumbass in the world would start to get suspicious.”

Cinder was completely fine with avoiding interaction with anyone in the Glass Unicorn.

“Sneaking around” it is, I guess.

Two nights of “sleuthing” later…

Cinder had begun to notice something: where were the workers?

For such a sizable building, the staff was quite barebones. Cooks aside, there didn’t appear to be anyone responsible for doing regular room service or any of that sort. This place seemed decently popular, judging from the number of people that moved through here on any given night; so, who was responsible for cleaning up after all those inevitable messes? It definitely wasn’t Charlotte or Bridgette; although it appeared they did room service themselves on occasion, it wasn’t nearly frequent enough to cover every single room. The Madame? Certainly not; other than her "job" of manning the front desk, she just didn’t seem like the person to go out and do that stuff herself. Unless…

…one person’s doing it all.

A horrifying thought got into Cinder’s head one night. It was horrifying in the sense that her mind didn’t instantly refute it. Honestly, the more she thought…the more it made sense.

Whoever this person is…they must have been “living” in that bed I found, if you could even call it that. Obviously, there’s probably about a million laws being broken right now, so that bitch has to keep it a secret.

Gods-damn…I’ve just figured it out.

Cinder wanted to go straight to the authorities with this, but she restrained herself. She still needed hard evidence, not to mention just leaving in the middle of her “shift” would be “suspicious,” as Archer put it. Actually, wait, “shift…?”

Is this entire “mission” just another scam, too?

That made Cinder even angrier. Was she being used right now!?

Currently on the second-floor balcony, she began to pace back and forth; her gaze wandered in between the clock just above the door, and some of the rooms that stretched down this wing.

Something caught her eye. A door to a room was slightly cracked open; Cinder was able to shoot a quick peek inside, before, frustratingly, a clearly-drunk couple in the middle of a hardcore makeout session blocked the way. But for that brief second, Cinder had seen someone actually doing some cleaning.

The couple finally moved out of the way; the room appeared to be empty again, until a head peeked out. The first thing Cinder noticed was just how…young it looked. Heck, it was just a boy! He looked younger than Cinder herself! He had dark red hair, with a bandana oddly tied over one eye.

Checking both ends of the hallway twice, the boy slowly walked out of the room before dashing down the hall, further away from where Cinder was standing. He disappeared into a smaller storage closet at the end of the hall.

Was that…just now…

He had been holding just a hand scrubber; that was the only thing he had been given to clean that entire room with. Just like Cinder had done in the orphanage.

Just like Cinder had done in the orphanage.

In an instant, Cinder was in pursuit. Throwing all caution out the window, she ran straight down the hall towards the closed door. The people around her were probably too drunk out of their minds to notice, anyway.

Cinder flung open the door. It was…empty?

No…

A chair was oddly tipped over in the middle of the room. Turning it back up, Cinder pushed it against a cabinet on the wall. Standing on top of it, she peeked up and over.

Bingo.

There was a ventilation shaft above the cabinet, close enough to the ceiling and high enough that it was not easily seen. The screws on one end were loose.

He must’ve went through there. But where to?

Probing her memories, Cinder tried to remember specific rooms she had been shown or inadvertently walked in. Which ones had ventilation shafts in them?

…that one.

The room where she had found the bed; it all made sense now.

Cinder quickly went down the stairs to the lobby. Straightening herself up only briefly to walk casually by the desk, she rushed back into that back hallway where this little mystery had begun. Checking around to make sure she wasn’t being watched, Cinder opened the door slowly.

…there he was. He hadn’t spotted Cinder yet; he had his back to her, rifling through some of the stores. He had opened the tipped-over cabinet, bed and sword in full display.

*Creeeeaaaaekkkk…* the door emitted a terrible groan.

…f*ck.

The boy shot around, his single visible eye wide in terror. Immediately dropping the soup cans he had been holding, he picked up the sword and pointed it at Cinder.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Cinder put both her arms out, trying to calm him down. “It’s ok, I’m not here to hurt you.”

He remained distrustful; sword quivering in his hands, he started to back up a few steps.

“It’s ok…it’s ok.” Cinder tried again. Using her foot, she quietly closed the door behind her.

Why did this remind her of someone?

Ah…right.

Cinder slowly took out her weapons, tossing them aside.

“There. No weapons.”

It seemed to work; slowly, bit by bit, the boy appeared to ease up.

“w-w…what are you do-doing here?” He demanded meekly.

“I’ll be honest, I don’t know anymore. I was assigned to ‘protect’ this place, but things around here aren't making that much sense anymore.”

Cinder paused before continuing; moment of truth.

“Now, I need you to be honest with me,” she started. “Are you being…mistreated?”

He instantly shook his head.

If you’re going to lie, at least make it believable…

“Are you sure? Think about it, come on. No normal person lives like this.” She gestured around the room. "I just saw you on the second floor; did you really have to clean that entire room by yourself with just a scrubber?"

Same thing; emphatic denial.

Cinder pursed her lips. This wasn’t going to work.

Let’s try a different way.

“What’s your name?”

The boy began to stammer some words.

“I…um…it’s…A-“

“…Adam?”

It was Cinder’s turn to whirl around. The Madame was standing in the doorway.

“Oh, shi-um…I mean…I can explain-“

Still unmoving, the Madame closed her eyes in visible frustration. When she opened them again, she had recomposed herself to that same neutral expression.

“Adam, I told you not to do this. Get back to work.”

The boy nodded hurriedly. Dropping all the stuff he had taken, he quickly left.

“And as for you, Miss Cinder Fall…we have to talk.”

Cinder was led to a darkened office even deeper inside the building, well out of sight. A desk lamp was the sole source of light.

“Take a seat.”

Cinder obeyed, sitting down. The Madame sat down in a chair behind the desk, settling back a little bit. Opening a drawer, she took out a cigarette.

…huh.

For some reason Cinder had assumed the Madame was a person that wouldn’t smoke. Guess she was wrong.

“It was not my intention for you to find out the truth this way,” the Madame said, with a hint of regret in her voice. “But alas, this is how it has turned out.”

“What do you mean?”

The Madame put a thumb to her forehead.

“I’m sure I don’t need to explicitly tell you that this kingdom has some…derogatory views towards its lower-class citizens.”

No sh*t.

“But you have to understand – this is a delicate balance we are treading on, one that cannot be easily swayed without consequences.”

“…your point is?”

“That boy, that you just saw in that storage room…his name is Adam. He’s been living here since he was ten.”

Cinder almost stood up and left the room right at that instant. Going straight to the appropriate authorities and reporting this hellhole of a place. It would certainly relieve some of the rage she was bursting at the seams with.

But, for some reason, she didn’t.

“I know that this is unethical, perhaps illegal. But I have no choice. No one else wants to work here.”

“Gee, I wonder why?” Cinder couldn’t help but retort.

The Madame took a long drag from her cigarette.

“I’m afraid we’re not seeing eye to eye. Did you not notice anything when you first walked in?”

Huh? What kind of question is that?

Despite this, Cinder did do a quick rewind nonetheless. Other than how opulent the building was? No, not really-

Wait a second.

In almost every other establishment Cinder had seen whilst out in this city, there was a sign plastered on the front door. <<WE DO NOT SERVE FAUNUS>>, or something along those lines. Anyway, from the moment you saw this sign, you could tell which side of the spectrum that these businesses were on.

For the Glass Unicorn, however?

There wasn’t one.

Cinder’s jaw hit the floor, perhaps literally. The Madame only solemnly nodded in response.

“Due to my family’s power, I can have a strong influence on the matter of policy-making in this city. As you can imagine, my stance in this issue has earned me quite a few enemies. Enemies that have made their disdain…more overt as of late.” She put out her cigarette in a nearby ashtray. “Just last month, someone tried to stab my dear Charlotte as she was walking down the street, in broad daylight! The bastards, they know I won’t budge under duress, so they’re going after my family…” she paused, taking a moment to calm herself down.

…What?

…What??!!

What the f*ck?!!!

Cinder’s mind had blown a fuse. “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” f*ck! Not even in a million alternative timelines could she imagine this!

“…why?” Was all that Cinder could manage after a long silence.

The Madame’s gaze wandered.

“To be truthful, I was once just like any other person in this kingdom; believing everything I was told without a second thought. This was certainly true about the Faunus as well. But then, something happened, one winter’s night…”

“Mother hadn’t arrived on time to pick me up from school. Naïvely, I had tried to find my own way back home; a terrible folly. I found myself utterly lost, in a place where nothing seemed familiar.”

“I still remember how chilly, how dark, that night was. I was still rather young, and quite terrified. But then…a man came along in his car. Said he could help me find my way. I was most grateful.”

“Years passed, and I had nearly forgotten about this stranger and his selfless act. One day, however, when I was down in Mantle, a vagrant called out to me. I would’ve been content with ignoring him had it not been what he said: ‘you’ve all grown up now.’”

“Despite some years of age wearing it down, I still recognized that voice in an instant; it was the same one that had called out to me that night. I was pleasantly surprised that I had found my savior again, and confused at the same time. What was he doing down here, living in such a sorry, impoverished state? I didn’t understand, until…I discovered something I had not noticed that night. There were deer antlers sticking out of his head.”

So, a Faunus had come to her aid, when no one else did. Ironically poetic, in a way.

“From that day forward…things looked different. No longer were there any of these vile, despicable lies clouding my vision. Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for the rest of my family at the time…”

“So…you keep this little act up, as you think it'll bring you atonement?”

The Madame’s eyes narrowed.

“For generations, the DuBois family name has been one of compassion, of honor; I will not let a few rotten apples tarnish it forever.”

…whatever you say, I guess.

“…and for Adam…?”

“I found him when I was in Mantle on another matter. The poor boy, he had been forced to work for that bastard, Schnee.” She uttered that name with some contempt.

Schnee?

“Someone had branded him, the monster. If I could find that person now, oh, the things I would do to them…”

A brand…holy sh*t.

That must be what the bandana is for.

“…Schnee?”

“Jacques Schnee, CEO of the Schnee Dust Company. A piece of work, in all definitions. For decades, I’ve called to the council to investigate the constant allegations of worker abuse surrounding his company, especially around the Faunus; I’ve been met by silence every time.”

…Winter.

…Winter Schnee.

At this point, the metaphorical cracks forming beneath Cinder’s feet had grown into large, gaping caverns. Nothing about this Gods-forsaken world made sense anymore; Cinder risked getting swallowed whole into the depths of confusion and uncertainty.

“Is there anything else you would like to know?”

“…there’s many,” Cinder admitted. “I guess, first things first…why are you having Adam live like that?”

“I found it strange as well, but it seems that he prefers living that way. He is very resistant to change overall; it took many months for him to get acclimated to just being here.” The Madame leaned in closer.

“Whatever happened to that boy…it’s clearly taken a toll on his mental stability. There once was a time where myself, Charlotte or Bridgette, or even Rhodes were able to take care of him, but times have become difficult as of late. Even allowing him to work here was a reluctant decision; I fear that without proper supervision, he will spiral."

"I know I am in no position to ask, but I would like to request you to watch over him. He’s a good kid; we just need to break this…brainwashing, this indoctrination that he’s been subjected to his entire life.”

As it turned out, Cinder knew a thing or two about that. If there was some solace to be had, it appeared she had just figured out the reasoning a random office worker back in Atlas Academy had worked off of when they put her name under this mission.

As for the Madame and Rhodes...Cinder still wasn't sure if she could completely trust them yet. But if she had just interpreted this conversation correctly, they were not going to interfere, purposefully at least, in this matter.

“I will,” she accepted, nodding decisively. “Gladly.”

Chapter 39

Chapter Text

“Oh, hey! Have you seen Rowena?” Harriet asked Cinder.

“No. Why?”

“I’ve been texting her all morning, and she still haven’t replied to any of them. She usually doesn’t take this long to get back to me.”

“Did you check her dorm?”

“Yep. Her team hasn’t seen her since yesterday,” there was growing concern in Harriet’s voice. “Gods, don’t tell me I lost track of her…”

“I’m sure she’s fine. I’ll keep a look out.”

Whilst heading elsewhere, Cinder decided to take a quick stop at the dining hall to get something to eat. As she entered, Trifa walked by her in the opposite direction, head lowered, only holding a half-full tray of food. A group of students by the doorway snickered at her, whispering various things among themselves. Cinder temporarily shut them up with a glare; as soon as she turned around, however, she could hear the whispers start up all over again.

Hmph.

Getting not even a trayful herself, Cinder decided to go and try to find Trifa. She eventually found her sitting in a quiet corner near one of the atriums.

“Something wrong?’ she asked, taking a seat next to her. “Were those guys bothering you?”

Silence.

“Look, I know you like to keep things to yourself, but you don’t have to do that all the time. You’ve got us, always.”

Well…some of us, maybe.

“…it’s none of your business.”

“See, I don’t think so. You said you didn’t want to hinder our continued cooperation as a team. Keeping secrets certainly doesn’t help that.”

…

“…what do you know.”

“Huh?”

“What do you know!” Trifa suddenly raised her voice. Luckily no one else was within earshot, but it still stunned Cinder into silence nonetheless. “You know nothing!”

“…look, I’ve heard plenty-“

“You’ve only heard! How could you ever know! What it’s like, every day, to be seen as a…stupid, disgusting monster!”

Cinder tried to get her to quiet down a little, but it had an unfortunate side effect of pushing Trifa even farther away from her metaphorically. Scrambling for options, something to potentially make her feel better, she made a fateful decision.

“That’s…not necessarily true.”

She swallowed a lump at the back of her throat; was she really about to do this?

“When I was a kid…”

Cinder brought all those repressed memories from the orphanage back into the light. For the first time, she dumped the full extent of her life story to someone else.

“I don’t even know who my parents were. Not even a face. For ten years…I was locked in my own personal hell.”

Still to this day, Cinder had plenty of anger to spare for every single former inhabitant of that orphanage, no matter where they currently were. The group of boys that tried to dump mud on her every day, the cruel owners who forced her to stay up late every night to do their work for them. The constant beatings, abuse, and forced starvation. She laid it all bare.

“Even now…” Cinder muttered, “Seeing him suffer in his final moments, realizing that I had the pleasure of ending his wretched life…” she felt a strange, gleeful smile pulling across her face. “All the blood, the fire…”

She blinked, stopping herself. What had just happened? She recounted with increasing horror what she had just said. Was that really all it took for her to lose herself? She met Trifa’s eyes again, which had grown slightly concerned at the revelation of her unhinged inner thoughts.

“I know that I’ll never know. I’m not a Faunus, after all. But you’re not alone when things get tough. No one truly is.”

Trifa remained silent.

“…whatever.” She finally muttered. Finishing her food, she got up and left.

Although it didn’t seem like it, Cinder believed she had managed to get into Trifa’s mind a little. Now, it was just a matter of her accepting that fact or not. Hopefully it would be the former.

Cinder headed out of her last afternoon class. Usually Rowena would be with her, but it wasn’t the case today.

Where is she, actually? Did Harriet end up finding her-

*♫*

Harriet

Today 3:34 pm

<Did you end up finding her yet?>

…Guess that answers that question.

Cinder typed out the simple two-letter answer. As she hit send, she noticed someone walking towards her in the opposite direction.

“Have you seen Rowena, Kris?”

“I have not. Not since yesterday.”

“That’s odd. That’s the last time anyone’s seen her, including Harriet.”

“Including Harriet?” Kris repeated. She considered a thought briefly to herself.

“Ah…I may be aware of her current whereabouts. Follow me.”

Kris led Cinder to an unfamiliar set of sliding doors. The path there had been complicated, through a staircase Cinder recognized but never actually thought of traversing, then down a narrow, yet brightly lit hallway.

Whoa…

On both sides, glass panes separated the hallway from extremely intricate, complicated-looking machines. And, judging from the complete lack of staff around, they were all completely automated.

“…what is this place?”

“The machine shop. Did Ciel not show you this?”

“I…might have forgotten.”

“No matter then; you will get an introduction right now.”

A bit deeper into this mechanical labyrinth was a single classroom. And, hunched over one of the desks, fast asleep…

“Rowena,” Kris lightly tapped the sleeping girl’s head. Stirring, her eyes slowly opened.

“Oh…I stayed up for too long…” she muttered, yawning.

“Harriet’s been worried sick about you,” Cinder remarked, looking around at the various mechanical bits and pieces scattered around the table. “What were you doing?”

“Heh, right, Harriet. I was fixing up a little something for her,” she held up two folded-up items of some mechanical nature. With a click of a button, they unfolded into two robotic exoskeletal arms.

“Are these her weapons?” Cinder asked.

“Mhm. Something was glitchin’ out, so she gave them to me to take a look.”

“And were you able to resolve the issue?” Kris asked.

“I never even figured out what was wrong with them in the first place…” Rowena muttered. “But I tested them like a hundred times, and everything seems to be working fine.”

“That’s good. Harriet will be happy to hear that.”

Rowena tightened up a loose panel before folding the two devices back up.

“Alright, let’s get these back to her, then.”

Harriet might as well have passed out from relief when she found the group of three. She did fall to her knees, which seemed like a bit much, but at the same time perfectly in character for her.

“Thank the Gods!” putting them on, Harriet punched the air a couple times with her exoskeletal weapons. Her fists were accelerated to a blur; Cinder made a mental note to never get caught in front of one of them.

“Huh…they feel…lighter. You sure you didn’t change anything?”

“Nope,” Rowena shook her head.

“It is probably merely confirmation bias,” Kris commented.

“Well, it’s awfully hard to avoid it, ain’t it? After all, it’s her we’re talking about…” Harriet slapped a hand on Rowena’s shoulder.

“…are you some sort of weapon mechanic or something?” Cinder piped in.

“I like tinkering,” Rowena replied.

“Oh, come on, understatement of the century!” Harriet laughed. “When it comes to weapons, Rowena’s a bona-fide magician.”

…”tinkering,” eh?

Although Cinder was perfectly satisfied with her weapons currently, she kept this in mind. It could always prove useful later on, after all.

This time, the Madame was waiting for Cinder in the back room. By her side was Adam, looking quite nervous.

“I believe it is time for you two to be formally introduced to each other. Adam, this is Cinder Fall. She will be with us for the next couple of weeks.”

Adam still couldn’t meet Cinder’s eyes, solidly focusing them on a spot on the carpet beside him.

…do I have to put my weapons away again?

“That won’t be necessary,” the Madame stopped Cinder from doing so. “Cinder here is just like Rhodes.” She gave an exceptionally vague explanation to Cinder’s appearance.

Adam’s eyes lit up a little; he finally brought himself to look up.

“You’re a huntress?” he asked excitedly.

“Well, I…” Cinder was about to delve into technicalities, but the Madame shot her an icy glare.

“…I am.”

Adam suddenly straightened up as tight as a board.

“…one day, I’ll become as s-strong as you!” he fumbled through a proclamation.

Cinder literally had to halt her breathing temporarily to stop from laughing. Why was he so…cute? What the f*ck was this feeling?

“I’m sure you will,” the Madame affirmed. While her words alone seemed like she was coddling the young boy excessively, the tone behind them was genuine.

She really is serious about this, isn’t she?

“Do you remember your jobs for tonight?” Adam nodded enthusiastically in response.

“Good. Cinder will help you with them.”

…I will?

“…yep,” Cinder eventually muttered, keeping the façade up.

Adam hurried in the direction of his “room,” presumably to get ready. The Madame walked past Cinder in the direction of the front desk.

“Today is a special day for him,” she whispered, leaving Cinder with just those words.

Adam soon returned with two brooms.

“We have to sweep the floors today!” He said eagerly.

The Madame’s hint had allowed Cinder to narrow down a list of potential options. She was warming up to one in particular.

If that’s the case…

“Then let’s get to work,” Cinder said, rolling up her sleeves.

11:27 pm

Cinder had almost forgotten what it felt like to do chores. It was strange as the term raised two distinctly opposite feelings within her; on one side was the orphanage, the other side was Mary’s house. In the past couple hours, she had realized something: when there wasn’t any constant fear of reprimand (physical or verbal), cleaning and sorting things at your own pace felt…surprisingly soothing.

“I did the fourth floor!” Adam came almost-running down the stairs. Cinder hadn’t even gotten halfway through the third.

“…good job,” she said.

As for Adam, he did all of his duties diligently and efficiently; however, Cinder sensed there was a deeper motive than just a general love for cleaning. He wanted to be appreciated, recognized, not just thrown away to the side like some nameless background character. On one hand, Cinder could understand this completely; she herself had acted almost the exact same way in the past, after all. But observing such behavior from the outside…it forced a deeper retrospective.

I can see what she meant by “brainwashing.” He’s still forcing himself into doing work when he doesn’t need to.

But, what else can he do here other than working…? Hmm…

After sweeping the floor was a general inventory. As she mulled over a clip-boarded list, Cinder caught a glimpse of Charlotte trying to sneakily move around the kitchen. The lobby was empty, with all the occupants having either left or retired to their rooms for the night; the theory turned into a fact. The conditions were perfect for a slight bit of unanticipated noise.

“…flour,” Cinder read the last item on the list. “Five bags?”

“1…2…3…4…5…” Adam counted off slowly. “All here!”

“All right. That’s it…” Cinder trailed off, fully anticipating something to happen.

At that moment, the lights turned off. The two were left in pitch-black darkness, except for a faint, warm orange glow coming from around the corner. Coming around it was Bridgette, face barely lit by the candles on the cake she was holding. Following her was Charlotte and the Madame.

“Happy Birthday!” They said in unison.

Mhm. Thought so.

“Congrats, kid.” Rhodes suddenly appeared from behind Cinder. Where did he come from?

Cinder had seen Adam initially jump in surprise from the lights going out, but any further negative emotions he might have had were quickly quelled by the sight of the cake. Taking a deep breath, he blew the candles out; Cinder counted 13 of them.

He’s five years younger than me…

Isn’t it still way too early to be feeling old yet?

“…yoo-hoo?”

Cinder’s eyes refocused to a hand waving in her face. Charlotte had offered her a slice.

“Don’t tell me you don’t like cake, now.”

“No…I do,” Cinder quickly cleared up any potential misunderstandings. Although, thinking about it, was this actually her first time eating a “proper” cake? Accepting the plate, Cinder looked it over before taking a bite. Red velvet, with some dark chocolate filling inside. Shrugging, Cinder shoved a forkful into her mouth.

Wow. That’s sweet.

Her face momentarily pulled into a very strange expression; Charlotte giggled at the sight. Instead of taking offense, however, Cinder found herself smiling along. Part of her mind’s reasoning was to avoid fouling the mood, but the other part (a majority, at that) reasoned that there was no more reason to be so tense anymore.

For the first time since coming to Atlas, Cinder felt…at ease. Watching Adam’s, everyone’s, bright smiles and laughter… dare she say, she could start calling these people “friends.” It certainly was a step up from a mere “acquaintance,” which she felt like she could use very liberally for everyone else she had met so far in this kingdom.

Cinder took another satisfied bite of her cake. Stepping forward, she joined the mini-celebration.

Chapter 40

Chapter Text

About midway through the semester, the tournament prep began to ramp up. This included, finally, the guaranteed training and sparring sessions.

A digital Sabyr charged right at Cinder, its large fangs bared. All Cinder saw was a weak spot. When it opened its jaws, she swung the sharp edge of Sunrise’s blade right in between them. There was stronger resistance than she had anticipated; she felt the handle’s progress grind to a halt about a third of the way through. Forced to let go for now, Cinder turned her attention to a nearby Ursa. She had noticed the Grimm here in Solitas (these representations, anyway, assuming if they were accurate) were slightly different from the ones in Anima: they were just overall tougher, having been infused with ice and other adaptations due to the colder climate.

Sliding under the Ursa’s swipe, Cinder tried slashing at one of its ice-encrusted legs. This time, the blade just straight up bounced off.

The f*ck!?

Cinder tried to call Sunrise back to her; however, she only felt a weak pull. Turning to her last-ditch option, she pulled out a vial of granulated magnetic Dust from her pouch. She had tended to avoid using this type in open combat (other than the amount in her weapons), as quantities were always scarce.

The extra boost did the trick; Sunrise soon made its way to Cinder’s waiting hand. Turning on the spinning mechanism, she lopped off one of the Ursa’s arms before proceeding to maim it with a series of violent strikes. Deciding to continue experimenting with this little trick, she took careful aim at a Manticore, currently being pestered by Archer. Almost like a discus thrower, she hurled her spinning weapon as the Manticore entered her sights.

Her timing was slightly off the mark, but she was able to clip one of the Manticore’s wings. Flailing, it crashed against one of the elevated platforms. Expertly traversing up the ledge, Trifa pinned one of its legs to the wall with one of her swords.

*BANG*

Rosie only needed a single shot, straight between the eyes. With that, the simulation finished.

Before the still-spinning Sunrise and Sunset could continue to fly off into the distance and break something, Cinder called them back with the last bit of magnetic Dust in the vial.

“Good show!” Rosie gave Archer a high five. Trifa nodded at Cinder. Although her internal thoughts remained as enigmatic as ever, her expression seemed on the friendlier side of its usual “cross me once and I’ll kill you” self. Shrugging internally, Cinder headed in to check her performance.

“You finished 2 minutes and 13 seconds earlier compared to last week; well done.”

Ciel was ever-so-present on the sidelines, with her ever-so-present scroll.

“Archer, you waste too much ammunition often. Try to be more…precise with your shot placement.”

Her feedback to Archer was brief, yet perfectly accurate.

“Yes, ma’am,” he sounded off sarcastically. Ciel took that as an acknowledgement, moving on to Trifa.

“Trifa, you performed well given the circ*mstances. I have no suggestions in particular for you.”

Hm? That was rather surprising…based on what Cinder had seen in regards to her own her team, Ciel wasn’t one to mince words. I mean, she even had something for Winter last time!

“Prince Rosaria, your accuracy has improved by an additional 3.7%,” Rosie shrugged a little in response to that, sheepishly grinning.

“However, your tendency to make risky actions is still unacceptably high.”

“Understood. If I may inquire, what does ‘risky actions’ entail, specifically?”

“Where just a single strike would have over a 70% chance of completely breaking your Aura. I am aware of your low reserve, which artificially increases such risk compared to others; however, this doesn’t mean you can’t be mindful of this fact. Play to your strengths, not your weaknesses.”

“…I see. I shall give my utmost effort to address this next time, then.”

“I’m sure you will,” Ciel replied sincerely. With that, Rosie headed to the locker room.

“And…for you, Cinder.”

Cinder already had an idea of what Ciel would start with.

“You adapt well to sudden situations. However, such situations can be avoided from the outset. I’m sure I do not need to specifically describe what I’m referring to.”

Yep, thought so.

“In particular, some sense of strategy would help your naturally aggressive fighting style greatly. I suggest you confer with your teammate, Trifa, more often.”

“I know,” Cinder started. “It’s just, she’s…”

“I unfortunately cannot give any advice regarding ‘social issues.’ That is something you will have to figure out yourself.”

Well, ouch. Okay, then.

Compared to previous times, the post-match assessment today had been rather lenient; was that a discreet admission that Cinder was improving? In fact, on that subject…

“…why do you do this, Ciel?”

“What do you mean?”

“Like, do all this ‘pep-talk’ stuff after every session. Aren’t you going to be participating in the tournament?”

“I am.”

“So, you don’t find it strange that you’re openly giving helpful advice to someone you might be fighting against later?”

“I do not.”

“…”

“…”

Ciel side-eyed Cinder, who was giving her a confused look. She lowered her scroll.

“Any perceived advantage or disadvantage from purposefully withholding such information is negligible. Perceptions are inherently one-sided; thus, they are unreliable.”

“Perceptions?”

“An offshoot of feelings. Do you go about your life on mere ‘feelings’?”

“…I mean, yeah-“

“Incorrect. You execute every action you take because your brain has already calculated beforehand that it is the best possible one to make.”

“But…by doing that, doesn’t your brain have to consider your - well, its - state of mind?”

“Once again, a perception.”

“Then…why do we do the things we do, then? Go and have ‘fun,’ hang out with friends?” Cinder hadn’t anticipated for this to turn into a debate, but she guessed it would be a good opportunity to get to know Ciel’s inner machinations better.

“Every single living being inherently has a desire to feel comfortable, to be safe within the herd; they hate being presented with something that is unfamiliar to them. We are unique as we sometimes try pushing against these boundaries; however, by doing so, we are simply expanding them, not breaking them.”

“You mentioned like three different feelings in that,” Cinder pointed out.

“Correct. Feelings cannot be described with a universal definition. Therefore, they hold no value or meaning. And yet, the brain comes up with these to describe anything that it itself cannot define; a twofold paradox. This introduces further uncertainty to a previously stable environment, paralyzing the brain’s logical decision-making skills.”

“So you just think feelings are inherently bad?” Cinder couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“I would not say inherent. Consider this – the same definition of ‘fun’ you presented, your definition. Are you 100% certain that those specific circ*mstances induce what you would describe as ‘fun’? Do you know the exact reason why they even induce these ‘feelings’ in the first place?”

“…I don’t know.”

“Indeed, you don’t, and neither do I, yet. Feelings are what is preventing the mind from working to its full efficiency, to find these truths that are currently shrouded in mystery to us; we must purge this weakness before it becomes ingrained into our very nature. What just happened to you was the same emotional paralysis I just described.”

...sh*t. She actually has a point, there.

“Congratulations. You have now become aware of your biggest weakness, not as a Huntress, but as a conscious being. We are now one step closer to improving ourselves as a whole.”

“…really? Just this little thing?”

“I never said that this would be a quick and simple task. We have been ignorant to this for almost as long as our entire existence on this planet; if past statistics can be taken with 100% certainty, it will take at least double this amount to break this notion and instill a new one.”

Ciel looked at her watch.

“Anything else? I really do need to get going.”

“…one more thing. You mentioned ‘we’ and ‘ourselves’ – does that include humans and Faunus?”

“Are there any fundamental differences between humans and Faunus?”

Cinder was about to state the obvious, but she stopped herself to think about it further.

I mean…is there, really? Forgetting about the animal traits, they’re pretty much identical to humans…

“…No. There isn’t.”

“Then my point still stands; it can include Faunus as well.”

Cinder had been a bit hesitant on this topic, which was why she had saved it for last; while she felt uncomfortable guessing people’s stances on the subject of the Faunus, at the same time she feared that she would learn some ugly truths about the people she had gotten to know around here.

“I do find the current practice of categorizing and separating conscious beings dubious at best,” Ciel correctly assumed what Cinder was thinking. “I find the discrimination to be completely irrational, for the same reasons I have mentioned. Additionally, it is unproductive; this issue requires a collaborative effort to correct.”

This was a rather new line of thinking: instead of morality, Ciel’s stance was based on pure, unadulterated logic. And it felt really weird.

“I must make my leave now. I will see you in three days for your individual training session.”

…are we sure this girl isn’t a robot?

Cinder had hoped she would get to know Ciel better with this conversation; now she felt like she knew even less. How could a person like this even function in daily life?

Whoa, whoa, hit the brakes. I’m doing the exact thing she just told me to stop doing. That’s right; I have to withhold judgement, or else my brain won’t work at its full capacity.

…

…

…

…

…nah. I don’t like this.

Oh well. "To each their own," I guess.

Chapter 41

Chapter Text

“Oh, come on! That doesn’t count, it hit that pipe!”

“No it didn’t!”

“It didn’t even make a sound!”

“I agree with big sister Charl!”

“…Ok, fine! That’s two outs for me.”

Picking up the ball, Cinder threw it towards the wall in front of her. Adam caught it before it hit the ground, doing the same. Charlotte and Bridgette were also here, participating in this little game that was taking place in a quiet alleyway behind the Glass Unicorn. For a game that was very basic, Cinder hadn’t expected it to be this competitive. Or fun.

The rules were simple: throw a ball against a wall, someone else has to grab it before it hits the ground. If the ball hit you, or hit the ground the closest to you, you had to run and touch the wall before someone else picked up the ball and threw it off the wall. Each person had three outs; you could also only catch your own throw a maximum of three times before that counted as an out as well.

The ball hit a dead spot, dropping short; despite this, Bridgette was able to pluck it just before it hit the ground. With semi-decent form, she tossed the ball with some backspin so the next person would have to run up to the same spot to catch it.

Cinder was having another “don’t judge a book by its cover” moment; hell, she had been getting that a lot around here. Just spoke volumes about how assumptions could twist things, eh?

Heh, Ciel would probably like that one.

For her throw this time, Cinder gave it a little more mmph, but not with too much arc. That way, the bounce was basically on a straight downward trajectory.

“I got it, I got it!”

Adam went all out, running as fast as he could toward the ball. Despite that, it still didn’t look like he was going to make it…

…Oh sh*t don’t do that-

Adam hit the ground quite roughly; he had tried to dive for it and failed. Everybody froze momentarily; Bridgette and Charlotte broke the time stop simultaneously by rushing to Adam’s aid. Cinder was still left frozen, gawking.

Oh, no. Oh, no no no no no no no

She had just made a horrible mistake.

“…Are…are you ok?” As if that could even do anything useful after the fact. “I’m so sorry-“ Bridgette cut her off with a glare.

“Mhm! A-ok!” Adam exclaimed through a wince. That, and the big rash on his right hand and arm made that proclamation doubtful. Additionally, his sleeve had gotten ripped a bit.

Before Cinder could do anything more, Bridgette took Adam inside, leaving her awkwardly standing around with Charlotte.

“Is…Is he going to be alright?”

“Probably,” Charlotte sighed. “He is going to need a new shirt though, most likely.”

Compared to her sister, Charlotte seemed a bit more level-headed about this.

“Are you…not mad?”

“Not particularly. This happens every once in a while: he tries to take too many plates with him on one trip, he trips on all the towels he’s stacked by the door…” she trailed off, not wanting to get side-tracked on presumably countless more examples.

“So he’s a bit of a handful?”

“He is. Yet at the same time…there’s a certain pleasantness at watching the naivety of youth. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Cinder wasn’t particularly sure if she could relate. All it did was conjure up bad memories.

“For me…not really.”

Charlotte tipped her head.

“…I had a rough childhood.”

“How so?”

Really? Cinder couldn’t help herself, flashing a scowl.

…

…

“…Are you serious?”

Charlotte nodded; there was absolutely zero hint of sarcasm detected anywhere.

…

“…I still don’t want to talk about it.”

“Interesting…”

Cinder changed the subject.

“What about her?” She referred to Bridgette.

Charlotte sighed.

“I’m sure mother told you what happened to me.” Cinder nodded.

“It was more my fault than anything, staying out late at night. But ever since then, Bridgette’s gotten more and more wary around me…mother as well…”

“I’m not sure if I can really follow you around wherever you go, if that’s what they want.”

“No, no, of course not; it would be foolish to expect that from you.” Charlotte glanced towards the back door. “Besides, my well-being shouldn’t take first priority.”

“…Everything for his sake?”

“Precisely.”

Well, if we’re going along those lines…

“That shirt…I might be able to fix it. It’s the least I could do for him.”

“Fix it?”

“Yeah?”

“You know how to sew?”

Cinder nodded. It was Charlotte’s turn to look slightly uncomfortable.

“…you don’t?”

“My hands, they tremble far too much…”

Cinder recalled how long it had taken her to get it down. While ithad been relatively short, the first few attempts had been rough. One of the first problems she remembered was keeping her hands steady. But with time, she had been able to overcome that.

“Do…you want me to teach you?”

“Would you?” Charlotte perked up.

“Sure…” why not, she finished in her mind.

Charlotte seemed genuinely enthused with Cinder’s offer.

“When can we start?”

Cinder’s lips upturned slightly.

“Let’s start now.”

When Cinder walked into the training room for her individual session, she wasn’t expecting two people to be waiting for her.

“Good afternoon,” Ciel greeted automatically. “For today’s session, you will be sparring with Winter.”

…are you serious? Why her, of all people?

At one point in time, Cinder had seen Winter as a mysterious, cold (haha), yet skilled Huntress. Maybe part of her still did, But now…

…someone had branded him, the monster…

…Jacques Schnee…a piece of work, in all definitions…

“Good luck,” Winter stuck out her hand. Cinder shook it, but whilst looking off to the side. If Winter found something strange with this, she didn’t show it in her face. Neither did Ciel, but well, that was pretty much a given.

“Alright…begin.”

Cinder went for an aggressive attack straight out of the gate; although Winter was able to parry it, she conceded some ground from the sheer force behind it. Pressing on, Cinder underwent a flurry of spins, attacking with Sunrise up high and Sunset from the middle.

Winter countered; despite her attacks being strong and well-coordinated, she was still using only one hand, keeping the other folded behind her back.

What…the…f*ck…!

Cinder’s life flashed before her eyes as she saw a thrust coming straight towards her face; just barely slashing it aside, she backed up a few steps. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath.

Just the beginning.

Winter seemed to agree; the hilt on her sword opened, along with the entire shaft itself. A second, smaller sword dropped into her left hand.

Interesting…

Cinder joined her swords together; giving them a spin in front of her, she went back to the attack.

The fight became one of wills; and in this regard, the two seemed evenly matched. Cinder tended to be more aggressive on the attacks, but was able to recover sufficiently to defend when needed.

Striking one side with her shorter sword, Winter suddenly thrust the other blade straight between Cinder’s ring; reacting quickly, she split them before she could get disarmed. Reversing her left hand’s grip, she blocked an attack behind her before swinging around hard with her free hand.

The apples don’t fall too far from the tree.

Both of Winter’s swords met only one. Cinder shoved her back.

I would like you to watch over him.

She executed her most elaborate attack yet; a triple twirl with her spinning weapons, the third one being a dual slash from right to left.

Everything for his sake.

There was an opening.

Take it!!!

*PINGGGG*

A resonant hum ran up Cinder’s arm all the way to her ears.

…what…?

She let her momentum continue to take her away. How had she just failed to capitalize on that opportunity?

I could’ve sworn I saw something…

Her arm had bounced back, far too much for it to have been just a normal block from Winter’s swords. No, something else had blocked her attack. What was it?

Was it her Semblance?

Cinder pondered this question as she continued to fight. She hadn’t actually seen Winter use her Semblance at all, hadn’t she? Also…

…Something feels off.

Her left-side moves were faltering; it was like there was an imbalance there or something. As she held a clash on that side, Cinder’s gaze ran up Sunset’s blade. What she saw at the end made her blood freeze.

Oh no.

A sizable chunk had broken off its tip, leaving a jagged, useless notch. Shoving herself back, she stumbled backwards with increasing panic. Eyes darting around, Cinder tried to appeal to Ciel with them; all she did was take a note on her scroll.

sh*t. She had to continue.

With the next round of this delicate tug-of-war between offense and defense, Cinder tried using just her right; however, the results were less than stellar. She had to get Sunset involved again. She tried leaving it reversed again, designating it in her mind for only blocks or less-exerting attacks.

With every passing attack, one side of Cinder’s mind kept losing optimism that she would be victorious. The other side, however, still burning with passion and pent-up anger, urged her to keep going.

What they did…unforgivable.

Stepping back, Winter pointed the end of her sword at Cinder. A glowing fireball emitted from it, shooting straight towards her at high speed. Cinder quickly blocked the blast; the smoke hadn’t even cleared before Winter dashed forward for another attack. Caught slightly off guard, Cinder had to block with her left.

“Ack!”

One of Winter’s swords slid down into the broken notch, applying an extra pushing force too much for her wrist to handle. Sunset clattered to the ground as Cinder was forced away, left with just one sword. Cinder tried to call it back, but there wasn’t even enough time for that.

Gripping Sunrise with both hands, Cinder faced down the seemingly impossible task of fighting two with one. She had almost forgotten that she had first started training with just a single weapon. Despite having used exclusively two since then, she was hoping the basic fundamentals were still there, hidden away in a corner of her mind. She just needed a little practice to bring it back out…

Much to her surprise, Winter joined her two swords back together, reverting back to the one-handed fencing style she had employed at the very beginning.

Cinder’s emotions flared up again. How dare she try to pander to her!!! Throwing all caution into the wind, she went all-out.

This time, it actually worked well; in terms of sheer strength, Cinder seemed to have the edge over Winter. Despite forcing an advantage, however, she still couldn’t get her to capitulate. Until…a cooler head prevailed at just the right moment.

As Sunset slid across the floor towards her, Cinder switched hands, putting Sunrise on her left. She kept up the attacks, preventing Winter from accessing her second sword for now. When she did eventually try, however…

There!

When the hilt opened, a small gap was exposed between it and the handle. Way to small for any standard-sized sword, but for the currently-broken Sunset…

Cinder didn’t even need to hit the sword away, she was able to hook the entire thing with the broken tip. With a quick swipe, she tossed the sword aside.

Finally, for the first time in seemingly an eternity, there was silence.

…I did it.

Ciel walked over to the two; Winter picked her sword back up.

“Well done, both of you…” she trailed off, clicking through some more data on her scroll.

“I will need some more time to analyze your performance. Expect your assessments to be complete the next time you are here.”

All while Ciel spoke, Cinder could feel Winter side-eyeing her. It wasn’t one of hard feelings, however. It was more along the lines of “I’ll be watching you.”

Mysterious as ever…

“Additionally, for you, Cinder…I would get that fixed before your next session.”

Thanks, Captain Obvious.

Cinder tapped the broken tip of Sunset’s blade. Luckily, she knew just the person that could help with that.

“Understood? Very well. Dismissed.”

Chapter 42

Chapter Text

“Hey Cinder, wanna tag along with us to the festival tomorrow?”

“Festival?”

“Yeah…it’s in the name?” Harriet said, rather perplexed.

Oh, right. Silly me.

Cinder had been focusing so hard on the tournament that she had kind of forgotten about the other part. Then again, she hadn’t really though much on how a kingdom like Atlas would put together such a “festival.” Although spring was coming, it remained cold and dreary most days. At the same time, Cinder was bit sick and tired of being constantly cooped up inside these buildings.

“Alright. Who’s coming?”

“We’ve got Rosie, Rowena, Kris…that’s it for now, I think. Did you ask the rest of your team?”

“Archer’s probably going to be there regardless. For Trifa, I’ll try asking her.”

And…maybe Pyke’s team…

They hadn’t talked in a bit, haven’t they? They weren’t in the same classes, nor did it seem like any of their free periods lined up…

Oh, right. I do have his contact.

For some reason, Cinder still hadn’t gotten used to the fact that she could simply call anyone she knew at the press of a button. It was doubly strange because she did use her scroll regularly, but mainly for checking training room signups.

She shot off a quick text to Pyke:

<I might be going over to the festival with

some friends, want to come?>

The reply came almost instantly:

<That’ll be great! Who else is coming?>

<We’re still deciding on that>

<Ok. Keep me updated!>

Recieved 10:23 am

Perhaps she could enjoy a few days off. Her weapons were still with Rowena getting repaired, so she couldn’t train or anything.

On the subject of her weapon…

The previous night

Rhodes had returned for the next couple of days. As it turned out, he had been well aware of one of his swords being missing, and it being in Adam’s possession. Before things had gotten busy, he had been actually training Adam. And, that night, whether it was due to a simple impulsive thought or due to Cinder’s mere presence, he decided to resume them. Of course, without her weapons, Cinder could only watch.

*CLANG*

As muted clangs of metal bounced off the walls of the storeroom, Cinder was silently inserting herself into this spar. How would she respond in Adam’s shoes? Or Rhodes’s? How would her opponent in each scenario adjust accordingly?

In the end, so much, if not all…it reminded her of her own upbringing. The Madame was right; this feeling was constantly compelling her to mentor the kid, to try make him better than her. But could she make all the correct decisions on her own, still not having exited her teens yet? Or were any “mistakes” just something that Adam would have to keep track of, to pass on to the next generation, and so on?

But then…where does it all end?

With a sigh, Cinder leaned back in this makeshift chair she had crafted for herself out of potato sacks. Tipping her head straight back, she looked out the window behind her, at the moon shining brightly in the cloudless sky.

I’ll probably have to think about this stuff eventually, but not now. I’m still way too young for this sh*t. Heck, I’m not even a licensed Huntress yet. That has to come first.

Cinder glanced at Rhodes; the gray streaks in his hair only gotten more prominent with each passing visit. Although his exterior aura remained resolute, what was on the inside was clearly getting battered and bruised beyond recognition every time he went out on missions.

This was the second full-time Hunter/Huntress Cinder had seen that was like this, perhaps three if she counted Professor Icirrus. Which begged the question: were they all like that? Was being completely drained physically and mentally just part of this profession?

Cinder did end up thinking about it somewhat: was she up for this?

I can’t really think of anything else I could do to put myself out there. This seems like the best way.

*CRASH*

An old glass cup got knocked off a shelf beside her, smashing on the ground. Cinder honestly wasn’t that shocked; Adam and Rhodes had been kinda getting into it for the past couple of minutes.

“You ok?” Rhodes asked.

“Yeah, I’m good,” Cinder affirmed. As there was no dustpan nearby, she tried her best to sweep the broken fragments up into a little pile. About halfway through this endeavor, she realized that she could do something better. Gathering all the pieces in her hand, she remolded them into a rough block, placing it beside her.

After Adam’s training was done…

“How did you do that?” he asked Cinder.

“Oh, this?” She tapped the block. “It’s my Semblance.”

“A Semblance?”

“You didn’t tell him yet?” Cinder turned to Rhodes.

“I figured it’d be easier to tell him after he discovers it,” he shrugged.

Cinder tried her hand at a short explanation regardless; what she only did was support Rhodes’s notion. It didn’t help that she herself didn’t know much, anyway. A lot of what Mary had taught her was in regards to combat, not much else. But then again, that could’ve been all that she had been taught by her mentor, and so on.

“When will Cinder join?” Adam referred to the training.

“As soon as I get my weapons fixed, maybe.”

“Weapons…” Adam just seemed to notice that Cinder didn’t have her trusty two swords on her back.

“Yeah, the…spinny things?” Cinder tried to jog his memory.

“Oh, right! The ‘Airships’!” he exclaimed in understanding.

There’s that again.

There was a certain toy that Adam really liked to play with: one that apparently depicted an older model of airship used by the Atlesian military. Among the many differences between it and the ones currently being used was its hovering system: there were propellers embedded in each of its four “wings,” that spun at low forward speeds to change altitude much quicker than conventional aerodynamic surfaces. Seemingly Sunrise and Sunset’s spinning mechanism had really reminded Adam of this system. He had been quite disappointed to find out that no, Sunrise and Sunset didn’t have a function to just let Cinder fly around; just from regular use, she had found that at most they might produce a stiff breeze.

Ever since she had told him that, Cinder had been kind of disappointed as well, in herself for not having considered this function when she first built her weapons. Although later she had discovered (from Archer of all people) that it would’ve been a futile endeavor: the blades just weren’t the right shape. At least, that was the takeaway message she had been able to gather, as she had instantly started to space out once Archer tried to get into the math and physics behind it.

But, then again…it wasn’t like the blades themselves were the limiting factor. Cinder glanced down at the block again: that was right, she could easily just create “blades” for herself at will. Yeah, certain characteristics could be off, but, that could be something fixed through practice. Right?

It’s just, the blades on my weapons right now are fixed…I have no way of detaching them…

…Unless…?

That little seed of an idea had nurtured in Cinder’s mind ever since, to the point that she had an entire mental blueprint laid out going into the morning of this little “group trip” to the festival.

Cinder had been told to head to the airship docks; there were shuttles there that ran to the grounds during all working hours. A small gathering of people by the doors gave her a hint at where to go.

“Hey Cinder! Right on time!” Harriet waved with one hand, the other slapping over Ciel’s mouth. Wait, what?

Ciel? What was she doing here?

Other than her, everyone else had shown up as expected: Harriet, Rowena, Rosie, and Kris. Something had come up with Pyke’s team, so they had to cancel. Trifa had similarly declined. Archer probably hadn’t even opened the message, as he was still asleep somewhere.

“…you’re probably not here for fun, right?” Cinder asked Ciel.

“Correct. I have other reasons for my presence here.”

Cinder figured that, but didn’t have the patience to ask her what they were specifically. She just boarded the airship with no further words to say.

…

…

Cinder wasn’t even where they had flown to exactly, even though she had looked out the window for the entire trip. Half the time, it looked like they had been flying around in circles.

As Cinder stepped off the airship, she had to block the sunlight a little bit with her hand; the weather had decided to be sunny today of all days. At this hour, all the rays were reflecting off of a massive glass dome situated in the middle of the grounds.

The scale of this place was certainly impressive; a perfect balance of indoor and outdoor spaces, even if a lot of it seemed artificial. Cinder glanced at a patch of grass to her side: it was fake. Oh well, she figured. Did it even get warm enough around here for grass to grow naturally?

“Where do you wanna go first?” Harriet asked the group, rapping a knuckle on the big map behind her.

Cinder took a look: there were many options. It was like whichever committee that was planning this wrote all of their ideas on a board and said “let’s do all of them.” Right next to the “Expo” section, there was a building dedicated solely to jobs and professions?

“I shall start here,” Rosie tapped the “Expo” section.

“I missed breakfast…I was thinking of going to the restaurants first…” Rowena said.

“Heh, me too,” Harriet agreed. “Hmm…why don’t we split up, then? It’s gonna be hard trying to go to all of these places together.”

Everyone nodded in agreement, including Cinder.

“Alright, then. Why don’t we meet back here in, say, three hours?”

Cinder still didn’t have much of an idea on where to go, really. She decided to follow Rosie to whatever this “Expo” section was.

…

…

“…impressive, isn’t it?”

“…yep,” Cinder agreed.

Seemingly Cinder wasn’t alone in wondering what an “expo” specifically entailed, so there was a plaque at the front gate that had a definition:

Demonstrating building the world of tomorrow, together.

…It was actually still kind of vague, but it was a nudge in the right direction. While the majority of the displays were focused on technology, there was a little bit of cultural elements mixed in as well. The interior was split into four distinct sections, each one representing a kingdom.

Even though the space had been evenly distributed, Atlas clearly held dominance in the sheer ingenuity and scale of their displays. Like, automated robots? New airship and weapon prototypes? None of the other kingdoms could compete.

“Any ideas on where to start?”

“Yes, in fact,” Rosie began to walk towards the Vale section.

As Cinder hadn’t gotten to know any Beacon Academy students, pretty much that entire part of Remnant was unknown to her. Perhaps more, if she could count Vacuo (Rowena had given her a basic rundown, but not much beyond that). She wasn’t sure how to describe it, but she could see why Rosie had decided to go to this exhibit first. From first impressions, there was an inherent nostalgic feeling to this exhibit, to bygone days of kings and queens; somehow Cinder could relate to this perfectly, even though wasn’t even alive back then.

Ah. There’s another reason, too.

Tea. Of course.

A big painting was on display on a wall nearby, depicting an impressive complex of spires and buildings.

So that’s Beacon Academy…wow.

“Impressive, isn’t it?” A teacup entered Cinder’s field of view.

“Yeah…it is.”

“They say Beacon is the best place to attend. Although I have always heard that from alumni…”

Cinder tried the tea: it was pretty nice.

“…Think that’s enough?” Rosie had brough a bag with her, and was loading up boxes upon boxes of this stuff.

“There is never enough.”

With the stocks replenished for probably a year or more, Rosie and Cinder headed to the next closest exhibit, which just so happened to be Atlas. Cinder didn’t think there would be much to see, but she was soon proven wrong. Through all the cool gizmos, however, there was something that gave her pause.

The SDC. Their logo was everywhere. Even worse: nobody was acting like anything was wrong. No, it wasn’t simple lack of knowledge; things were way too blatant to be that. This was more like knowing, malicious ignorance.

“Is something bothering you?”

Cinder side-eyed a poster for the SDC nearby.

“Ah…I see.”

“I just…how do these people sleep at night, knowing that they’re doing this every day?”

“Money usually has a factor in that.”

Both Cinder and Rosie turned around; Kris was behind them.

“Is it really that simple? Money shuts everything up?”

“‘The Devil’s fruit often tastes the sweetest,’” Rosie seemed to recite a saying.

“The world is often cutthroat like this, prosperity at the expense of others,” Kris affirmed. “De grote vissen eten de kleine – the big fish eat the small.”

“And how do you know this, exactly?”

“Because it’s happened to me,” Kris replied matter-of-factly.

…

“…really?”

“Yes…but I would rather not tell you here,” she turned to Rosie. “May we?”

“Of course,” she replied.

While Rosie went off to “get some food,” Cinder and Kris sat on a bench outside.

“Long ago, my family owned a company. It was the most powerful in Mantle, and perhaps all of Remnant. We owned everything beyond one’s wildest dreams: shipbuilding, construction, imports, you name it. We had a good thing going for a while…until it all came crashing down.

“You see, the house was once two distinct ones: the Noelles and the Maiers. There was never open warfare between the two, but at the same time cooperation wasn’t seen as a necessity. That was, until it was found out that the heir of the Noelle family was secretly dating a Maier. The fallout from that scandal is still talked about today.”

“So it was like a ‘true love’ kind of thing?”

“That was the hope. To preserve both their legacies, the two families saw no other choice than to merge; their businesses did the same. That was the beginning of the Golden Age…but also of the end.”

“When the money was coming in, everyone was happy; but when it didn’t, the bad blood that had lingered underneath the surface rose back up.”

Just like she said before.

“While the Great War gave a brief reprieve with the military contracts, our luck began a steady downward spiral afterwards. In-fighting continued, until there was almost nothing left. And then…they came in.” Kris glanced up towards a banner nearby, prominently showing a logo of the SDC.

“Jacques Schnee took over what little was left. With that, our company was no more.”

“…How long ago was this?” Cinder asked.

“Within my living memory. I grew up eating from porcelain plates; now, I wait for a sandwich wrapped with paper.” She referred to Rosie.

…Wow. Does everything around here revolve around the SDC? What haven’t their scummy fingers touched?

“…You must not like the SDC that much, then.”

“Quite the opposite, in fact.”

“What?” Cinder half-blurted. “Jacques Schnee…he ruined your family!”

“What was left of it,” Kris replied. “The writing was already on the wall a long time before that. Any other entity could’ve taken the place of the SDC and I still wouldn’t blame them one bit. In fact, such an opportunity would’ve been foolish to let up on the grounds of ‘morality.’”

Oh Gods. Don’t tell me she’s like Ciel, too.

“It…must be a bit awkward then, right? Knowing at one point you were as powerful as them?”

“I try not to think about it; it’s all in the past. I focus on the present, which is to help everyone else as much as possible. Alle beetjes helpen – every little thing helps.”

“Everyone?” Cinder repeated.

“Yes. Ivy, Ciel, Winter, or even beyond that. This can include you.”

Winter. Cinder was unable to suppress a visible reaction to that.

“…Something about Winter is bothering you,” Kris correctly deduced.

“The Glass Unicorn…” Cinder recalled the warning Kris had given her before her first night. “Did you know?”

“Only in passing and in rumors. Although, I will take your word as confirmation, now.”

“You know that…and yet you still don’t feel wary around a Schnee?”

Kris slowly bobbed her head in understanding.

“I see now. Allow me to clear up the confusion; Winter is the person who you think she is.”

“She isn’t?”

“First, she is quite estranged from her father, for the same reasons you probably hold.”

What?

“Her choice of attending this academy was completely against his wishes. Furthermore, she has told me multiple times that she wishes to join the military after graduating; this means that she would be willingly stepping down from her position as heiress of the SDC.”

What!?

“I…” Cinder bit her lip. “I had…I had no idea.”

Another assumption gone awry. Dammit, Cinder!

“She does prefer to keep this hidden, for reasons still unknown to me. I can only guess that it is due to the immense pressure she is already under for going against her father. Not to mention, she’s skipped ahead a year.”

“Wait…she’s still 17?”

Kris nodded.

“…you’re right, it must be hard.” Cinder shuddered internally at the concept: taking harder classes, not to mention the inherent ostracization from having everyone else be older than you.

“Indeed, and I respect her greatly for continuing on this path, to make a new name for herself. It is something that I, unfortunately, am not brave enough to do. This is the issue; when such inequality gets ingrained into life, it grows very difficult to eliminate.”

Cinder had a sudden flashback: one to the discussion she had with Headmaster Lionheart, after that fight she had in the restaurant.

“…And yet, you can’t just tear it all down and try to rebuild it in a day,” Cinder followed along. “You end up doing more harm than good in the end.”

“Exactly. Do you understand now?’

“I do.”

Rosie returned with the sandwiches. It was about time to head back to the meet-up spot; after eating the food, the three began to walk there, Kris in front.

“Did you have a good talk?” she half-whispered to Cinder. She nodded in response.

“She’s been through a lot, and things are really precarious around here.”

“Indeed they are.”

“What do you think?”

“What do I think? Hmm…’tis difficult to say.”

“Do you think it’s too late?”

“I wouldn’t say that. But I would rather not waste time musing about mere hypotheticals.”

“Leaving a visible impact on the world?”

“Precisely. It was just one of many reasons I left the Royal Palace; so much debate and bickering over policy, and all for what? Nothing! I was always left thinking: I could make a better impact on the world than them.”

You and me both.

Everyone met back up at the entrance as previously agreed to.

“Hey, Rowena, about my weapons…” Cinder began.

“Oh, right!” Rowena inadvertently cut her off. “So sorry about that – I’ve had them fixed for a while now but I got caught up in other work. Tell you what, I’ll return them to you as soon as we get back.”

“…thanks. But I was actually thinking about something else.”

Cinder laid out her ideas.

“Interesting…it’s gonna be difficult to implement, though. Not to mention, you can’t use it in the tournament.”

“You can’t?”

“Nope. It’s a rule that all weapons and Semblances must be constant for at least three months beforehand. I mean, you can’t just waltz in there and suddenly pull out a gun you haven’t been using up until then, right? It wouldn’t be fair.”

Damn, she’s right.

“That doesn’t mean you can’t still build it, though!” Rowena cracked a grin.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Let’s get back first. Then I’ll tell you.”

Chapter 43

Chapter Text

Before continuing, Cinder checked the amount of orange Dust crystals she had left. If everything went well, she would have just enough for this final wave. She nodded to Ciel, who resumed the simulation. As various Grimm began to materialize in front of her, she drew the new and improved Sunrise & Sunset Mk. III from her back.

The designator had been Rosie’s idea, assuming the initial two machetes was the Mk. I, and the first ring the Mk. II. Cinder wasn’t too sure if the name would stick yet. The “Mk. II” still existed, for two reasons. First, she still had to use that for the tournament; rules were rules. Second, as she and Rowena had found out, her ideas had been quite difficult to add as a retrofit to an existing item. It had been easier to build it totally from scratch; so technically, what she was holding right now was sort of an experimental offshoot.

So, regardless of the outcome of the tournament, a question was waiting for Cinder on the other side: which one would she be using going forward? Surprisingly, this was rather difficult one to answer at the moment. Most of the connections remaining to her old weapons were of the emotional kind: even though they had gone through some changes, they were still the same ones that she had bought in that shop in Mistral oh so many years ago. It wasn’t like her skills had grown beyond its capabilities, either: with almost every passing session, Cinder found a new quirk or technique she could use, no matter how small it was.

This didn’t take away any positives from these new weapons, however. In fact, they were quite fun to use.

Very fun to use.

At first glance, it didn’t look like much had changed. The basic ring shape was still the same, but it had been aesthetically cleaned up; it no longer looked like an amalgamation of many different parts and colors. The most notable thing that was missing was the blades themselves. Where were they? Well…

The black lacquer-esque finish of the handle began to glow beneath Cinder’s hand. With a crackle and a fwoom, two glass blades seemingly materialized out of thin air.

One thing Cinder had been trying to figure out for a while now was how to better integrate her Semblance with her fighting style. She wasn’t sure how to explain it, but just using it solely for water bombs or other Dust shenanigans felt…off. She knew she was grossly underutilizing its potential, and yet she hadn’t found a good solution to that problem…up until now.

Recently, Cinder had been doing some practicing with reshaping and manipulating orange Dust crystals. While she still probably had a ways to go, she was at least able to get a consistent shape most of the time. That was where the main advantage of these new weapons was.

Inside the two handles, there was now a revolving cylinder that had room for three Dust crystals, four at maximum. What this allowed Cinder to do was basically create her blades whenever she wanted, to whatever she wanted. She hadn’t actually put too much intentional thought into the latter, but it was yet another intriguing possibility that had come out during the process of building this.

Cinder took a swing at the ice-encrusted legs of a Beowolf. Unlike previous attempts, she was able to slice clean through.

Fire melts ice, after all.

At its core, it was still same old, same old; no relearning necessary. Two Sabyrs at the same time? No problem. Disconnect, take on both at the same time. A flying Manticore?

Cinder pointed one of the glass swords towards it as it flew by, as if she was expecting to be able to poke it all the way from where she was standing. When she thought the time was right, she clicked a button.

*BANG*

With a hefty bit of recoil, the entire blade shot out from the handle. It flew towards the direction of the Manticore…and missed.

She still needed a bit of practice on that.

Luckily, the Manticore seemingly took that miss as a sign to rush in. Cinder simply created a new blade and fileted it eight different ways. It was hard to imagine that a couple years ago, just a single Grimm was an existential fear for her. Nowadays, not so much. From her studies and experience, she now knew that Grimm were inherently basic creatures; once humans were able to level the playing field (i.e Hunters), they were no real big threat. The only real issue was ensuring that there were enough Hunters/Huntresses across Remnant to take on this threat. And well, as long as Hunters continued to hold this mystique that ordinary people could look up to, that wouldn’t be a problem.

“People…” just like Adam.

“You are improving quickly,” Ciel remarked. “Far quicker than predictions.”

“Just me, I guess,” Cinder shrugged. Ciel continued to show an enigmatic expression to her Scroll.

Cinder was getting the feeling that Ciel was constantly “interested” (perplexed, for a better word, maybe) with her for one reason and one reason only, that being her combat performance. I mean, she could understand why. She barely even went through life in general with everything planned out well in advance. She considered that one of her strong points: she could adapt to a wide range of situations with minimal time and effort. Things like that couldn’t be described with cold, hard numbers.

“Expect your new mission to be received by the end of the week.”

“New mi-mission?” Cinder stuttered as she computed what she had just heard. “…You can have two missions at the same time?”

“You cannot,” Ciel glanced up, eyebrow raised. “Have you not been checking your Scroll lately?”

“No…I haven’t…” Cinder trailed off, pulling it out. She hadn’t been checking certain apps, that was for sure. Sure enough, when she opened the Dashboard…

MISSION TYPE

SPECIAL – SECRUITY

MISSION STATUS

COMPLETED – 2 DAYS AGO

…Two days ago?

She had visited that night just as usual! At no point then had anyone told (or even implied) to her that it was to be her last night there!

“…How do missions get completed?” Cinder asked.

“Once they are marked so by the one undertaking it, an official cross-checks the claim with the relevant authorities. However, in “special” cases…the one with ultimate authority may not be as well-defined.”

So, just like how this mission had been assigned to Cinder in the first place, it could also be marked completed by some higher-up without her input whatsoever. Somehow, she didn’t really like the implications of that.

“Well then…I assume you’ll let me know once you get some info?”

“But of course.”

Later that day

Of course, this revelation didn’t stop Cinder from just going to the Glass Unicorn by her own free will that night. After giving herself a couple hours of thinking, she had come to the conclusion that there was just no logical (or logistical, really) reason to keep someone on a mission for months on end. This had been Cinder’s only mission ever since arriving at Atlas; in the meantime, everyone else she knew was on their third, fourth, or even fifth. So, there wasn’t some grand, nefarious conspiracy behind all this. The one thing left now that would give Cinder any further closure would be to get confirmation herself.

“Completed?”

…Perhaps she was wrong.

There had been an audible tone of distress in the Madame’s voice, no matter how slight it had been.

“You weren’t told, either?”

“I wasn’t…”

“Well, I was told that for special missions like this, other people might have the final say other than us. And I mean, I can sort of get their reasoning, I couldn’t stay assigned to here forever.”

The Madame cleared her throat.

“I…suppose so.”

Nonetheless, the fact that she had assumed the worst had set off some alarm bells. Furthermore, it brought up some other questions…

…was she the one that was out of the loop on something here? Just what was the Madame so paranoid about? The threat was real – at least from what Cinder had ascertained. But from who, exactly?

Is it really that bad around here?

Cinder just couldn’t imagine being so hateful towards other people like this. It almost seemed cartoonish, beyond reality or rational comprehension. She still wasn’t going to touch politics even with the end of a five-foot pole, but she was starting to get why Rosie had left that aspect of her life behind.

“Sorry to ask…but has there really been any trouble since that incident with Charlotte?”

…

“…I suppose I would be a fool to assume you wouldn’t ask eventually,” the Madame replied. “Part of me dismisses it as mere paranoia, but the other…”

Well, that makes two of us. The “two minds” part, anyway.

“There have not been any overly serious incidents on that same level. Some verbal arguments, but nothing notable. There was an act of vandalism, but it also was not targeting us in particular.”

“Vandalism? As in, graffiti?”

“The police took more time trying to decipher what was even written than taking it down. According to them, there were similar messages on other structures in Atlas and in Mantle that week.”

“Do you remember what was written?”

“The writings, no. They were not too far from the ramblings of former Councilman Greer, anyway. But there was a strange emblem painted alongside it. One of Fort Arrowfell.”

“Fort Arrowfell?”

“Formerly a major military base outside the city. It’s been closed for decades now.”

Hmm. Kinda odd.

“Perhaps it is just a matter of setting some time aside to think. But knowing what happened to Charlotte, knowing that these people are capable of doing these things…”

“I can understand that. It’s probably safe to say that some people around here aren’t really rational.”

“You could certainly say that.”

Just like Cinder herself, there was a constant air of unpredictability about this kingdom in general; it felt like even the smallest of things could snowball into things magnitudes worse. The only thing one could do in this situation? Constantly be on guard.

“Well, I mean…I’ll still keep stopping by, just like Rhodes.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“How is he doing, by the way?”

“He has been able to train Adam more often. From what I hear, he has been improving greatly.”

Cinder had been thinking of joining in herself for a little bit now. Not to mention, she now had a set of spare weapons she could lend to someone else if needed, say for a friendly spar where the other person didn’t have anything to fight with. She didn’t feel like she even needed to ask for this one; the ultimate goal out of all this was to train Adam so he could protect not only this place, but himself.

And with two of us watching over him? Should be a piece of cake.