Chapter 15: Chapter 15: A parent's love, a liar's scheme
So I'm not sure what happened, but the author's note last chapter got cut off. So I'm going to repost it here. This is just a quick explanation of what's going on in this version of Remnant. These will all become very important to the plot later, so keep parts of all this in mind for now.
The White Fang hasn't fallen to their radical methods do to the prologued war. And Ghira is still the leader.
The Eternal Dynasty are a group of loyalists who believe the royal family is the only one who should rule the kingdom. They view both Vale and the new Atlas government as traitors. Basically, they hate everyone because Atlas lost the war.
Mantle changed their name to Atlas sometime early in the war.
Their is a gang of Atlas hating people in Vale who want the kingdom to be wiped off the face of Remnant because their angry about the war. That took the name Enlighten Seraphim. And their extremely popular among younger people.
All of these factions will play a part in the story, so feel free to look back at this for reference if you need it.
But I'm done rambling. I hope you enjoyed, bye!
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Cinder raced across an open field. The first obstacle was a type of mine field with numerous traps strum across it. Behind her, she could hear her classmates being covered with color paint signaling their failure.
To her, the traps were obvious enough and when she did set one off, the clicking sound was enough to alert her immediately. Giving her enough time to dodge.
Soon she had cleared this joke of an obstacle and was quickly moving to the second. A cliff she had to scale.
Wasting no time, Cinder ran at the wall, keeping her chest high, she was able to use her moment to carry her a good few feet up. As she felt herself slow down, she pulled Midnight off her back and drove the blades into the wall.
She shifted her position so she was above her blade, then began forcing heat into the rock her blade had pierced. She could see steam coming by the time the rest of her class reached the cliff and started their climb.
Slow pokes.
Cinder released the heat causing an explosion that rocketed her up. She easily flew high above the cliff, letting her see the next obstacle and control her landing so she could fall gracefully onto the top of the cliff. She ran on, ignoring the screaming below her as her classmates were pelted with rocks from the blast.
Cinder's heart was hammering against her chest. She was making good time. If she kept this pace up she just might set a new record.
The next obstacle was a field of training dummies made up of different segments that rotated. Each segment had two long poles attached to it, so it could hit you as it spun. The objective was to get through them without breaking your aura.
Easy!
Cinder drew both Midnight's blades from her back and charged into the thick of it. She effortlessly dodged and danced through them, her blades slashing all around her not letting a single pole close to her.
As she reached the halfway point, she leapt onto one of the dummy's head. Using it as a springboard, she jumped high into the air where she slammed both half of Midnight together, using her semblance to bind the glass at the hilts.
Pulling two arrows from her quiver, she fired both of them into the ground several feet apart. There was a short pause, then the arrows exploded, burning the dummies to ashes.
With her way clear, Cinder landed in the charred area. She glanced back and saw her classmates had just reached the top of the cliff. They would be here soon. "Don't say I never do anything for you people." She muttered to herself as she ran ahead.
She followed the route into a dark cave. It wasn't very deep and she quickly reached the center of the cave which was illuminated by an opening at the top. Here is where she found herself facing the final obstacle, she had to get past a teacher and hit the buzzer in the center of the cave.
Her opponent was her own father, Tai. He stood waiting, arms folded across his chest. Cinder pulled Midnight back into its blade forms, a grin spreading across her face. She couldn't ask for a better opponent.
"You sure you want to do that?" Tai asked. "If your aura drops to zero at any point you fail. Probably better to wait for backup." He got his answer as Cinder took a battle stance.
"I'll take my chances." She said with a smirk. Tai sighed heavily. Then took a fighting stance as well, disappointment on his face. "Your funeral."
Cinder wasted no time charging at him, putting Tai on the defense with a flurry of fast attacks. Tai blocked and dodged several before he saw an opening. He lashed out, sweeping Cinder off her feet, but when he tried to land another punch, Cinder twisted midair and landed a kick to his neck forcing him to back off.
He hadn't regained his balance before Cinder was back on her feet attacking again. He blocked her first two swings, but Cinder landed a front kick to his stomach knocking him farther back.
Tai realized he had to go on the offense in order to win. As Cinder charged at him once again, he planted his feet and grabbed her blade as she swung at him. Surprised, but not stunned, Cinder activated her semblance, trying to force him to let go of her sword, but Tai pulled it back knocking Cinder off balance. Before she could recover, Tai landed a clean straight to her stomach, sending her flying back again.
Tai moved in to pin his daughter to the ground. As he approached Cinder quickly crawled onto all fours, then as he moved on to grab her, she gracefully leapt over him. Tai recognized that move!
He was off balance and could only watch as Cinder turned midair and changed Midnight into bow form. She ripped three arrows from her quiver and aimed them towards Tai all at once. He had just enough time to regain his footing before she shot. He planted his feet and moved to deflect them, but they all landed around him in a triangle. The next second the ground below him turned red and began glowing.
"Oh come o-!" Before he could finish, the entire triangle exploded with tremendous force that caused the cave to shake. Tai was sent flying to the far side of the cave, smashing into the wall causing his aura to flicker.
Cinder landed and sprinted towards the buzzer. She had pissed Tai off, she had to finish the exercises now!
She lunged forward, hand extended for the button. The next second…
"Bam! I hit the button before Tai even had hit the floor!" Cinder said, slamming her hand on the living room table for emphasis.
She had been telling Yang and Ruby about her triumphant graduation exam all summer. It had quickly become their favorite story and Summer must have heard enough times to repeat it by heart.
"Wow! I still can't believe you broke the record by over three minutes!" Ruby squeaked in delight. Summer could practically see her imaging herself in the same situation. "I want to graduate from Signal like that!" Even after all these years, Ruby hadn't changed much. She still greatly admired Cinder, even trying to copy her down to her hair. Those that hadn't ended well as Ruby had tried to cut it on her own.
"Well train hard and you just might. Although, I was the best in all my practical exams. So don't beat yourself up if you don't." Cinder smiled as she patted Ruby's head.
"What!? You were top of your classes! I had no idea!" Yang said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "It's not like you've mentioned it every day of every year, all summer for four years." The rest of the family shared a laugh as Cinder blushed.
"Hey! At least teachers are praising me for my skill, instead of sending me to detention!" Cinder shot back as Yang stuck out her tongue. To the surprise of everyone, not long after Yang had expected Cinder into the family, she had asked to get the ends of her hair dyed black. She said it was because it had actually looked cool with charged edges.
"And yet according to dad, you still get into more trouble than any of your other classmates." Yang taunted. "Guess being the best isn't going to give an attractive perso-! Hey!" Cinder cut her younger sister off by putting her in a headlock.
"I don't need to be the best to put you in your place!" Cinder laughed as she and Yang began play-fighting. "And from what I've heard, you're getting into just as much trouble as me! At least I'm setting a good example for Ruby!"
"All subjects except one." Tai said as he came in from the kitchen and watched the 'good example' struggle to keep Yang's head in its place. "You've failed teamwork studies more times than any other student. It's something you're going to need to train hard at Beacon."
Cinder sighed as Yang tried to twist away. "But the other kids were so annoying!" She whined, ignoring her sister's attempts to push her off. "I would have had no problem if they'd just stuck to the plan."
"Cinder, you're missing the point of the exercise." Tai explained. "Either the whole team passes or everyone fails. That's teamwork. And from what I heard, your plans were your ideas with no input from the others. If you can't learn to act with an open mind, then you're going to run into problems down the road."
At this point Yang had freed herself and latched onto Cinder's back with the older girl trying to get her off. "Oh come on! They've barely even got into Signal! I've gone head-to-head with a full grown huntsmen and a living legend! I've survived the tundra and got more experience than the rest of the class combined! I'm easily the best one to lead a team!" She winced as she finally got a hold on Yang and pulled her off.
"That's not leadership. It takes more than experience. You need to be willing to listen to your team. Otherwise you'll-."
"Gah!" Cinder cut in as Yang tipped the girl over, sending her crashing to the floor. The blonde girl laughed as Cinder struggled to a sitting position. She stuck out her tongue at the older girl, who grinned playfully. "Oh, it is so on!"
She tackled Yang around the waist, knocking her to the floor as well, where both girls resumed their wrestling match. Leaving Tai feeling somewhat exasperated.
"Oh let her have her moment." Summer said, placing her hand on Tai's shoulder. "I'm sure once she get to Beacon, Glynda will beat some humility into her. Until then, let her be." Summer smiled as she watched her two oldest daughters wrestling as Ruby cheered them on. It was a perfect moment she didn't want to ruin.
"I hope so." Tai answered, placing his hand on hers. "I'm just worried about Beacon. Did you know Ozpin's sending kids out on missions much earlier than before? If she's not careful, she could be hurt. And if she treats her teammates the way she does in class, she might get severely injured. One girl can't carry the weight of the whole world."
"That's just because of the war." Summer said. "Like it or not, our military is still not covering enough ground. Huntsmen and huntresses are desperately needed right now. And I've looked into it. There's an incredibly low fatality rate for students. And if there's ever a reason for travel, it's always with a professional huntsman. Besides, Cinder survived Solitas all by herself. I'm sure she'll be fine."
Despite her words, Summer couldn't shake the feeling there was more going on than Ozpin told her. He had been meeting with General Ironwood much more than any of his other lieutenants, and even Qrow seemed to be in the dark about what they were doing. It didn't give her a good feeling.
"Besides, you're taking her to Vale in a month, right?" Summer asked, ignoring her nervousness. "I'm sure you could teach her how to be a team player. You'll both be there for two months. I'm sure that's more than enough time to figure it out."
"I hope so." Tai said. If he heard the uncertainty in her voice, he didn't comment. "I'll probably introduce her to old man Beige. His stories might scare some sense into her. Although, knowing Cinder, she'll probably enjoy them. She always seems to love creepy stuff. I'll always remember movie night where a fifteen year old girl chooses slasher over an action."
Summer laughed at the memory. It had taken them some time to talk Cinder down as the movie's age rating was much too high for Ruby and Yang. Technically, it was too high for Cinder as well, but they doubted that would stop her from trying to watch it.
"Well, I still liked it over the westerns Yang's been growing attached to." Summer said playfully, causing Tai to laugh.
"Yeah, I guess almost getting killed by Wild West would put someone off westerns." Tai said, pulling Summer close. She leaned her head on his shoulder and sighed at his warmth. She sometimes wondered how she had survived eighteen years without knowing Tai.
"Hey! Mom! Can we watch the Vital Festival recording again?" Ruby asked and immediately both her sisters stopped fighting.
Summer laughed. "Again? We must have seen it a hundred times!" Despite her words, she pulled a disk from the shelf. As she walked towards the TV, Ruby and Yang raced to the couch. Tai and Cinder joined them as Summer put the disk in the DVD player. Then she took her own place in between Tai and Cinder, with Ruby on her lap.
As the video began to play, the younger siblings became so excited they began bouncing in their seats until Summer told them to stop. She sighed as no matter how many times they watched it, they still behaved like it was the first time..
"Can you blame them? This is one of the best things the kingdoms have done." Cinder whispered to Summer. "And next year, it's going to be me accepting the cup." Summer smiled at Cinder and ruffled her hair.
"If you do, then Ruby and Yang will want to watch it every night. I'll get no rest! Good to know your priorities are in order." She joked as she pushed Cinder's head down, causing the girl to push her hand off with a laugh. Then she went back to watching the students compete.
After an hour or so, (Summer hadn't let them watch all of it.) The first ever victory ceremony began. This was Cinder's favorite part. Even through the screen she could hear the excitement, the thrill. She watched the winner step forward as Headmaster Ozpin handed them the trophy.
The crow exploded in cheers as their new champion stepped to the edge of the podium, hands raised in celebration. Cinder closed her eyes and let the cheers sweep her away.
Soon, she was no longer in her living room, but was standing in Amity Coliseum. All around her people were cheering for her and chanting her name. She stepped forward and received the trophy from Ozpin.
As she stepped forward, she scanned the crowd and saw her family looking up at her. Yang was jumping up and down with joy. Tai was clapping along with Summer, both parents' eyes shimmered with joy at their daughter's accomplishment.
And Ruby was the happiest of all. She was staring up at Cinder, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. She had just seen a hero walk out of her books and into reality. And that person was her sister.
Then the shook wore off and Ruby started pointing at her and shouting. "That's my sister! That's my sister! She's my hero!" Over and over again until Summer hushed her. But it didn't matter. Because there and then, she had finally lived up to Ruby's expectations. She was an unbeatable hero, who wouldn't ever lose.
Cinder smiled to herself. That's right. This Vital Festival was her's.
Ozpin sat in his office looking at an application to Beacon. It was far too late to deny them, but he still found it somehow frustrating as he pondered what to do about it.
Name. Cinder Rose
Age. Eighteen?
Birthdate. Unknown
Ethnicity. Atlesian?
Weapon. A pair of dual blades that combine into a bow. It's capable of shooting five arrows at a time, but the student lacks the skill to accurately fire more than three. Her arrows are a combination of fire dust mixed with glass. While not volatile on their own, Cinder has used it combined with her semblance to create much larger explosions then what the small amount of dust used could provide on its own.
Semblance. Cinder calls it Scorching Caress. It allows her to heat objects and manipulate their shape. However, she can only make small adjustments, such as smelting sand to glass and sharpening it into blades. She has also demonstrated the ability to store heat inside an object, then release it to create explosions. Used in collaboration with her weapon, she can fire burning arrows with enough heat to melt most metals on impact, or superheat her blades to burn anything they touch.
Teacher's note. Cinder possesses incredible individual skill. Many of her teachers have praised her abilities. However, Taiyang Xiao Long, has gone on record saying she can't seem to play nice with others. Reports suggest she once blew up a classmate to complete an object before anyone else. Given her stubborn nature, Taiyang has suggested she be required to take extra teamwork classes in place of individual improvement classes.
Ozpin leaned back with a sigh. This girl seemed more trouble than she was worth. He had seen people like her come to Beacon, but they always left going one of two ways. Either they changed and became team players, or didn't and got killed later down the line.
Personally, he believed Cinder would go down the latter path given her destructive nature, but in the best case scenario, he might have found someone skilled enough to work alongside Qrow. On the other hand, if she were to join Salem, it would be a disaster. Her incredible skill alone was enough to warrant concern, but if used correctly by Salem, she might become her centerpiece for whatever plan she was cooking up.
A part of him wondered if he should just remove her from the picture right now. After all, she was a loose cannon too wild to use accurately. But even the faultiest weapon could be utilized if given the right directions. Maybe he could use her to deal with another problem he'd been having.
It wasn't tied to Salem, so no risk of her finding out about the powerful woman, and it would save him so much headaches when she died in action. Sure, he'd have to apologize to Summer and Tai, but if Ironwood was right, soon he wouldn't be at the mercy of Summer's single silver eye.
His thoughts were interrupted by a ding as the elevator doors opened revealing Glynda. She walked in carrying a large stack of files he had asked for a few hours ago. Given the size of the stack, it must be at least eight years worth of records.
"Thank you, Glynda." Ozpin said. "I'm sorry to have asked, but I couldn't let someone else see what's inside theses." Glynda set the stack down on his desk, then stretched her back with a groan.
"So are you going to tell me what's inside them?" She asked as she continued to stretch. "I'm assuming it has to do with the secret project you're working on with James, but I can't think of any reason why you'd need this many documents on Atlesian refugees. These have come from all four kingdoms and every major city and town in them. What on Remnant are you doing with all of these?"
"Glynda, I promise to explain everything as soon as I can, but the more people who know a secret, the harder it is to keep it one." Ozpin explained as he got up from his desk and walked over to a coffee machine he had in his office.
"If word got out about what I'm doing, Salem will move to stop me. And she can find information out much faster than I can. I'm sorry to have to keep you in the dark, but please understand I'm doing what's best for Remnant." He finished pouring himself a fresh cup as he heard Glynda sigh.
"I understand." She said uncomfortably. "It's just… Qrow doesn't trust James. Frankly, I have my concerns about him as well. Are you really sure his semblance won't be a problem?"
"Ahh, but you see, his semblance is why I wanted him to join this battle." Ozpin said as he sat back down at his desk. "Once his semblance turns to stopping Salem, there's nothing I, nor anyone can do to stop him. I'll admit, it's not the safest ability to have, but I know he'll never betray our cause because of his single mindedness is to keep her away from the relics." Ozpin took a sip of his coffee before continuing.
"There is no worse opponent for Salem than one she can't turn against us. I truly believe one day, you and Qrow will be very happy he's on our side, and not hers." Ozpin assured her. "Sure, he might lack civilian leadership abilities, but when it comes to the military? He can't be beat. After all, if it wasn't for him, we'd still be at war right now. And I'm certain when the chips are down, he'll make sure to do the right thing."
Glynda nodded, satisfied with his answer. She turned to go, but stopped when she caught a glimpse of the file he had been reading before.
"Isn't this Summer's kid?" She asked as she picked up the file. "Hard to believe she's adopted. She looks just like Summer back when she was this age." Ozpin laughed lightly.
"Ahh yes, I quite agree. Little Cinder is the spitting image of Summer, isn't she? Hopefully she'll be less of a handful than her mother. Have the record keepers ever found all the student files she lost?" Ozpin joked as Glynda read Cinder's file.
"She's good." Glynda commented as she scanned the page. "If we could hammer down her ego, she might even become a candidate to become a Maiden. Or is she the candidate you were talking about a few months ago? The one coming to Beacon this year?"
Ozpin chuckled as he shook his head. "No. That was someone else." He said. "But as far as Maidens go, the only one who we'd need to think about is winter. And I don't think Atlas would be happy to see her return." He paused to take another sip of his coffee before continuing.
"Maybe one day she'll become one, but right now, she's still too green. Best to put her down as a maybe for later. After all, she has her entire life ahead of her."
That night at Patch
Cinder lay on her bed reading a book on glassblowing. If she could figure out how to shape things more efficiently, it would save her a lot of time and aura. She still wasn't as strong as the heroes Ruby looked up to and she didn't plan on resting until she got to the top.
The familiar creek of her door caught her attention, but she didn't look up from her book.
"Ruby, can you read by yourself tonight? I want to get caught up on somethings I want to try next time I'm in a fight. And I'm so close to a breakthrough." She knows she sounds a bit cold, but she felt so close to figuring something out about her glass manipulation. If she could have just a few more hours of silence than she could start trying some new things.
But then she was startled out of her concentration when her guest spoke. And it wasn't Ruby.
"Actually, I want to talk to you about something." Summer said calmly, standing in the door frame holding a box. "I promise I won't be long. Just give me five minutes and I'll be out of your hair."
Cinder quickly put her bookmark in and placed her book on her nightstand. "Hey mom!" She said happily. "What's up?" Summer smiled as she sat down next to Cinder. She rarely heard Cinder call her mom. It was saved for a moment that was just between them.
"I know you're heading out in a month, but I want to give you something to take to Beacon." Summer said, placing the box on the bed. "I know you're not the type to care what others say, but if you're ever feeling overwhelmed, I got you something that helped me during my first year at Beacon."
Cinder wasn't sure what to say. She didn't think she'd be too overwhelmed at Beacon, but she wasn't going to say that. She opened the box and was taken aback by a beautiful cloak embroidered with a rose on the back.
It was a dark red, with velvet black lining. The inside was warm and soft while the outside had been made waterproof. It was designed to keep the temperature of the wearer the same so it wouldn't be too hot or too cold. The embroidered rose was made from different colors which start red orange at the bottom, then turned blue in the middle before turning white on the top. It was shorter than Summer's. Hers went all the way to the ground, while Cinder's was only waist long. There was even an area cut out of the back so she could reach her weapons without any hindrance.
"I know you're not the biggest fan of long cloaks, so I got you something shorter." Summer said to the stunned girl. "Back during my first year, I spent a lot of time hiding under my hood. Not the healthiest coping method, but it helped me feel safe. It wasn't until Raven got mad at me for hiding it that I stopped. She said, and in her words exactly. "Stop hiding that perfect pretty face that makes me want to punch you behind that annoying white rag." Again, her words, not mine. And in fairness, my cloak had seen some better days that time. Anyway, if you don't like it you don't have to wear it. It's just something tha- Oh!"
Summer was cut off as Cinder grabbed her and pulled her into a tight hug.
"It's perfect. Thank you so much." Cinder's voice was muffled as she spoke into Summer's chest. Smiling, Summer wrapped her arms around her daughter, returning the hug.
"You're very welcome, Cinder."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone