Chapter 20: The right thing

"You know who I am?" Cinder asked, confused. She was suspicious of who this girl was as she hadn't remembered having seen or heard of her before. And after her previous encounter, she found it hard to believe it was pure chance.

"I'm a history nerd." Amber explained. "I've heard about the girl who killed the Werewolf of Patch. You've earned yourself quite a reputation. That thing had killed plenty of full grown huntsmen and huntresses. Yet a fifteen year old killed it all by herself. That's going to draw some attention."

Immediately, Cinder felt her distrust melt away as she purred with pride on the inside. It felt good to get the acknowledgement she deserved.

"Technically, I was fourteen. But I appreciated how close you were." Cinder approached the girl as she spoke. "So did you want an autograph or something? Unfortunately, I still have an exam to complete, so if you can keep up, I'll consider it."

Amber's smile twitched and her hand dropped, but she pushed on without comment. "You do understand we're now partners, right? Because that means WE have an exam to complete. There's no I's team, after all!" Amber still held her bright demeanor as Cinder rolled her eyes.

"Oh please. Don't act like you did anything to help me get here." Cinder said as she stepped forward, trying to look down on Amber, but failing as said girl was an inch or so taller. "I'm the one how got here and took the piece. I don't appreciate someone just latching onto my success without contributing to it. Go find someone else to partner with, I've got to get back before they can ship me off to Atlas with the rest of the rejects. I have so many more important things to do than-."

"You shouldn't speak about others like that." Amber cut in. Her expression becoming much more serious. "Everyone here passed their school's exam. Just because you got extra training doesn't mean you can talk like that about them. Everyone here is trying their best, and that really all someone can ask."

Cinder rolled her eyes at the girl. "Oh please, don't get started on that sentimental crap. You saw them last night. Half the people here are just here to goof off. People like me are held back by people like them, like you." Cinder didn't know why she felt the need to justify herself to this girl, but she was going to make it clear that Amber wasn't good enough to partner with her.

"People like that who aren't serious will just cause more problems in the future. Better get rid of them here and now before they fail later. That way, great people won't be dragged down by their stupidity. It's simple logic."

Amber raised an eyebrow. "People like you, you mean?" She asked and Cinder smirked. She seemed to be getting the message.

"You are very confident in your abilities. I must say it's a bit disconcerting for me. I don't think I've met anyone who's so completely confident they can win against anyone even without knowing what they can do." Cinder eyebrow twitched at Amber's observation. She didn't really like the way she said it, but her opinion wasn't completely off center.

"I don't think I'm better than everyone else. Just most people here." Cinder said, while waving her hand in a large circle to enclose everyone around. "Like I said, most people just mess around and do nothing. They shouldn't even be allowed to try the exam. I've worked my ass off to get this far, as well as paid my dues in blood, sweat and tears. I think it's more than fair to say I should have a spot at Beacon, not those other talentless losers."

Amber narrowed her eyes at Cinder, her lips pressed into a thin line. "That's extremely arrogant of you." She stated, taking a step forward. "Everyone's worked hard to get into Beacon. Just because they don't display it like you do, doesn't mean they're less than you."

Cinder rolled her eyes in annoyance. Brothers, could this girl get anymore cliché? "They're less than me because I've put in the work. They very clearly haven't." She explained, trying to keep her irritation out of her voice. "If they wanted to be treated as my equal, then they should have trained harder. They had more than enough opportunities to catch up to me and they didn't. They don't have anyone but themselves to-"

"What about me?"

Cinder stopped at Amber's question. What was she talking about?

"I don't display my skills in the same way you do, yet I don't think we're that far away in skill." Amber said, ignoring Cinder's snort of laughter at her comment. "Does that mean I'm lesser than you because I've put in the time and struggle to get stronger, I just don't let that control how I act. If you judge someone's skill based on how they behave, you'll end up misjudging most people."

Cinder bit back a retort. This girl had a point, even if she was off point a little. Cinder knew several of the people who were attending the exam. She knew they hadn't put in the work to get this far.

But Amber's argument wasn't without merit. She didn't act like she was skilled at all. In fact, she acted like a complete klutz, yet she was strong enough to reach this place not long after Cinder, even taking down a deathstoker on her own. If nothing else, she had earned a chance to prove her worth.

Cinder let out a sigh. "I can see what you're talking about, but I don't agree. So let's just agree to disagree and get moving. You must have some power to make it this far without a partner, so you can't be completely useless." Cinder resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Why was she apologizing again? It was Amber who had started insulting her, not the other way around.

However, Amber's face brightened at the apology. "No problem! I'm not the best at conversations anyway. How about we start from the beginning? I'm Amber Alsprings. Nice to meet you, partner!" She said, offering her hand again.

Cinder rolled her eyes at the girl, but took the happy go lucky girl's hand. "Cinder Rose. The girl on her way to becoming a legend." She said, giving a firm shake. Even though she had chosen to relent this once, she was determined to show that she was in charge.

"Not a social butterfly, are you?" Amber said playfully. "Don't worry, I'm not either. We can be weirdos together!"

Cinder was definitely reminded of Ruby, only older and much more annoying. But she decided they had wasted enough time arguing and she wanted to get through the school year without being charged with murder.

"Can we just get going?" Cinder groaned. She wasn't looking forward to having to spend the next four years with this girl. Maybe Ozpin could pair her with a different student? Him and Summer were close, right?

"I spotted some high ground to the East." Amber said pointing in that direction. "If we go that route we can pick our way back through the forest avoiding as much confrontation as possible. And it might be easier to scale the cliff from on high."

Cinder opened her mouth to protest, but stopped when she couldn't find a good reason. Amber must be good at Geology or something because that was a sound plan.

"Sure, let's go." Cinder said. As the two made quickly for the area Amber mentioned, voices and footsteps could be heard approaching the clearing. The rest of the students had arrived.

As Cinder and Amber made their way through the forest, they saw a few other students with their partners. Cinder noticed several of her old classmates had partnered with others of the same class. She suspected they hadn't played by the rules, but she didn't comment. As far as partners goes, she could do far worse than Amber, even if she could get annoying.

Soon they found themselves on the high ground Amber had mentioned, which was actually a lower level of the cliff they had been launched off at the start, which meant they would have an advantage in scaling it to get back to the top.

"Wow! Look at this view!" Amber said excitedly as she peered over the edge. Then her eyes brightened and she pointed off into the distance. "Look! I can see the ruins we got the chess pieces from! It looks a lot farther away than I would have expected!"

Confused, Cinder stepped next to Amber, looking in the direction she was pointing in. They hadn't gone that far, had they?

To her surprise, she indeed saw some ruins with the same six pedestals. But something looks wrong about it.

"Glad we took the high road, otherwise we might have missed this view." Said Amber as she glanced over at Cinder, trying to read her expression. "If you squint, you can just make out the pieces still on the pedestals. Doesn't look like very many others have gotten them yet. Hopefully, they'll get them soon. I'd hate for Beacon to fail so many students."

"That's not the same ruins."

Amber turned to Cinder confused and was met with a look of horror.

"I knew I found it too easily!" She snapped, eyes wide. "There were multiple ruins! We found one, but there are others! Damn it! I should have known something was wrong! There were too many students at the entrance exam for just one set! And I went to the farthest one." Immediately Cinder grabbed Amber's hand and started pulling her towards the goal.

"We need to hurry!" Cinder cried as Amber, realized what was happening, started to run with her. "If my guess is right, the ruins we were at were meant for the last resort! I bet a bunch of the others have gotten back already! If we don't hurry we'll be sent to Atlas!"

Both girls raced across the cliff, running as fast as they could. Cinder could feel fear rising in her stomach. She was not going back to Atlas! Never! She cursed herself for not figuring out what was happening sooner. If she had gone down the straight path she'd have her piece and be back by now! But she still had one advantage, she was faster than her peers. If she didn't get caught up in any distractions, she could still make it back before all the spots were taken!

Suddenly, Amber came screeching to a halt. This sudden shift in her weight caused Cinder to lose balance and nearly face-plant on the hard rock below her.

"Excuse me!" She yelled angrily, spinning around and clenching tightly on Amber's hand. "What's the big idea!? We're in a hurry if you haven't noticed! You shouldn't be stopping for no good reason like that! Gah! You are beginning to seriously try my patience here!"

Amber held up a hand to silence Cinder. Her eyes were squeezed shut as she focused on something Cinder wasn't aware of.

"Did you hear that?" Amber asked, causing Cinder to frown. She hadn't heard anything. Deciding to see what Amber was talking about, Cinder closed her eyes and listened intently for something out of the ordinary.

Then she heard it, the distance crack of gunfire, one after another. And coming from different barrels. Three? No. Four. Four different weapons firing wildly from the same point of origin. That must be what Amber was talking about.

Immediately, Cinder felt her anger bobble up again. She had stopped for that!? Who cares if someone was still fighting!? That only meant they were giving them a chance to steal their spot!

Biting back her irritation, Cinder tried to keep her tone calm even though it was laced with annoyance.

"Probably just a team who hasn't finished yet." She reassured Amber. "Probably got together then headed for the ruins. Nothing wrong with using strategy in the exam. Now can we move?! It's not our concern what they're doing. Besides-"

"No. Listen." Amber protested. "Doesn't that sound like the shots are being deflected? I think there's more going on than a simple fight."

Cinder scrawled. Now that someone mentioned it, it had sounded like some of the shots were hitting metal, but as time wore on and the slots at Beacon filled up, she didn't care. At this point she wasn't even in the mood to humor her partner.

"Look, I'm sure whatever's going on down there is under control." She said as she struggled to keep her voice even. "It's not our business. So let's get back to finishing our exam. We might still have time if we hurry, so can you please stop being such a-?"

"Look!" Amber yelled pointing to a set of ruins towards the center of the forest. "I think some of the other students are battling! I- isn't that Callum?"

Cinder looked in the direction Amber was pointing and saw it was indeed Callum. He was standing over the sheep Faunus mace in hand. She watched him take a swipe at the smaller boy, knocking him out of view. He then pointed in the direction he had sent the kid and two more students ran after him.

"That dirty, no good son of a bitch!" Amber yelled, catching Cinder off guard. She hadn't expected that kind of language from the girl.

But that was least of her concerns as Amber wiped her staff off her back and got ready to leap off the cliff.

Immediately, Cinder launched forward, grabbing Amber's arm stopping her just before she jumped. "Are you crazy!?" She screamed. "We have what we need! If we go down there now, we can kiss our spot in Beacon goodbye because there's no way we'd make it back in time!"

Amber stared at Cinder, eyes wide with shock. "You can't be serious!" She said. "If we leave him, he could get severely hurt or even killed! If we stand here and do nothing, then we might as well kill him ourselves!"

"He knew what he was signing up for when he applied!" Cinder countered giving the girl a shake. "We have ourselves to worry about! If we don't get back soon, then our spot is forfeit! I am NOT going to Atlas!"

Amber gave Cinder a look of disbelief. "You can't be serious!" She cried. "You're willing to trade his life just for the spot in school! That's inhumane! It's the job of a huntress to protect others at the cost to themselves! You can't seriously be-!?"

"Oh shut up!" Cinder yelled, her patience finally exhausted. "I'm so sick and tired of hearing that same old line over and over again! Why can't anyone else see how stupid that is?! Protect the weak!? Sacrifice yourself for a stranger!? Are you kidding me!? I don't care about that crap! There! I said it! I don't care about people so stupid they don't bother learning to defend themselves! I grew up with NOTHING! I had to survive on my own for years! And if these idiots don't seize the opportunity to get stronger themselves, that's on them! I'm not going to get myself killed just because their lazy and incompetent! They should have thought about that before they got themselves into a position to be killed! I DON'T CARE!"

A long silence fell between the two, broken only by Cinder's heavy breathing. She had held that in for so long, endured listening to lecture after lecture on morality and doing the right thing so many times she wanted to throw up. Her teachers, her classmates, even her own parents! She was so sick of biting her tongue and not telling them the truth, there was no point saving people so weak they couldn't save themselves.

The two held their gaze for a long time, each one staring the other down until finally Amber turned away.

"I see." She said quietly as she pushed Cinder's hand off her. "I misunderstood you. I thought that you would understand what it was like to grow up with nothing and see that nobody should endure that." She glanced over her shoulder, disappointment and hurt in her eyes.

"But I was wrong." Amber's voice was laced with frustration, as if Cinder was somehow in the wrong. "You only care about yourself. You just want power to bully and force your way through life. Trampling everyone else in your way, no matter who desperate they are. You aren't a hero, just a thug."

Amber turned back facing the cliffside, back to Cinder. "Fine." She murmured. "Go back with your precious piece. Get your spot at Beacon. I'll go help him myself. And if I fail, so be it. I'd much rather be a decent human than a huntress who abandoned herself."

Without a second glance, Amber leapt off the cliff. Spinning her staff behind her, she blasted a cyclone of wind from one end propelling herself in the direction of the ruins, leaving Cinder alone on the cliff.

"Huff, whatever. Who needs you anyway." Cinder snarled to herself. She turned and ran back in the direction of the starting point. She wasn't stupid, she wouldn't gain anything by going to help that stupid kid. It was pointless. Like the time Ruby had tried to get a baby bird back to its nest and broken her leg as a reward. Or the time Yang had tried to help an injured dog and was sent to the hospital for stitches. It was completely pointless.

Just like the time Summer had found a scared, orphaned girl alone in the tundra stealing to survive with no future.

Eyes widening, Cinder slowed her pace until she came to a complete stop. Summer didn't have anything to gain by giving her this life. She had never asked for anything in return. It was out of her pure kindness that Cinder was alive and well today. She had gone so far out of her way for the girl, she had lost an eye.

Cinder's hand clenched into fists. She shook her head trying to get rid of these feelings. If she didn't get into Beacon, then she'd never avenge Mr. Beige, never become the hero Ruby idolizes, never become strong enough to protect Yang, never be strong enough to repay Summer and Tai for their kindness.

Never kill that masked man.

But what if she hadn't been so lucky? What if Summer had chosen to kill her in the tundra and just moved on with her life? Would she have even been remembered? Would anyone even care?

No.

She had been lucky to be found by someone so loving and kind hearted. Even after learning Cinder was just using her to get away from Atlas, she had still given her a home. That one random act of kindness had saved the young woman, and as a result, probably saved her daughter as well.

Cinder squeezed her eyes shut angrily. Why had Summer done all that? It was because of that stupid code she followed. Helping others. Doing the right thing. If nothing else, it had saved Cinder, protected her even when she hadn't deserved it. And now here she was, turning her back on the very code she owed her life to.

"Aaahhhhh!" Cinder screamed angrily as she punched a nearby tree. Then she turned and leapt off the cliff, using an arrow to blast herself towards the ruins.

"Brothers help me! If I get sent to Atlas because of this, I'm going to rip somebody's soul out of their body!"

At the sight of the ruins, Amber swung her staff downwards, blowing her opponents back. Unfortunately, there were five of them and the sheep Faunus had already been knocked out by the time she got there. In fact, if she had been a few seconds later, he would have been killed.

Her only advantage was the numerous pillars surrounding her alongside the pedestals that held the pieces. Behind her was a building that used to be a temple of some kind with two statues standing at the door. Although they had both crumbed away so much it was impossible to tell what they were.

"What are you doing!?" She yelled at them, brandishing her weapon at them. She had already knocked them back once before and now they were being much more careful. "A huntsman's job is to protect people! Not hurt them! What could you possibly gain by killing this innocent kid!?"

Callum laughed as his friends began to fan out surrounding Amber. She took in what she was up against. Two on her right, one with a sword, the other with a pair of Tanfa. One on her left with a battle axe. Callum in front, mace drawn guarding the last one who had a rifle.

Given their formation, they were used to working together. That alone wasn't good, but Amber also couldn't move without putting the sheep boy at risk.

"He got in my way!" Callum said with a lazy gesture to said boy. "I can't be paired with some stupid Faunus! It'd ruin my rep! So if I get rid of him now, then I get a partner worthy of my skills! So get out of my way or I'll crush you too!"

Amber's eyes narrowed. Was that all people thought about these days? Their own reputation? The noble name of huntsmen and huntresses in history weep for this disgusting display.

"Huntsmen are supposed to protect people! Not just build their own egos! You-!"

"I am protecting people!" Callum cut in. "That thing can't reproduce if it's dead! And if I don't stop it, eventually the Faunus will outnumber humanity ten to one! Then they'll rebel against their rightful masters! It's so easy to train a beast then a warrior! We would lose! So just stomping them out now will help us control these animals' population! "

Amber felt her stomach churn in disgust. What a piece of work. She had no words to even describe some…thing! like him.

"The only animal here is you." She said deathly quiet. Eyes burning with fury, she was almost happy she could fight him here and now to ensure he didn't get into Beacon. She wouldn't let people like him tarnish the name of huntsmen ever again!

Callum's eye twitched at her insult, but then he just smirked at her and raised his hand. "If you can't see my glorious work for what it is, that's your problem. I can just take you out as well! No point discrimination between the animals and the people who are to stupid to tell them apart. Get her!"

Immediately, the one to her left charged at her as the one behind Callum readied his rifle. Amber took a step back, spinning her staff to keep them guessing. She planned to blow the charger away before the snipe could take his shot.

But before she could, she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. Before her opponent could get in range, Cinder shot from the tree line, driving her elbow into the axe guy's stomach right below his ribs.

The force sent him flying backwards into a tree. Callum and his friends were caught completely off guard letting Amber release a power gust blowing the swordsman on her left back before spinning her staff back around just in time to deflect a bullet that was aimed at her head from the sniper.

"What are yo-!?" Amber began, but was cut off by Cinder.

"Shut up!" She snapped. "I just need a partner to finish! That's it! Don't waste anymore time on these losers! If I don't get my spot at Beacon I'm going to kill you! Very slowly and painfully!"

Amber eyes widened at Cinder, but then she smiled at the other girl. So she did have a heart.

"Okay, we'll win and then get you your spot. I promise. You might be rough around the edges, but you have a kind heart." Amber said, still smiling. She watched Cinder turn away, but not before she had seen the blunt girl blush.

"Whatever." Cinder mumbled to herself.

The two girls got into their fighting stances. Cinder crouched low to the ground, both blades drawn and pointed to either side of her. Amber bending at the knees, spearhead level just above her opponent's chest. They might still be outnumbered, but both found themselves smiling. This just felt right.

"You two done with your cute girl thing?" Callum said mockingly. He ripped his mace off his back and crouched down into a battle stance. "Because I, unlike you, know exactly what I'm up against!" His gaze locked onto Cinder and he smirked.

"Cinder Rose, the girl who killed the Werewolf of Patch. Congratulations on killing a horrible movie series. That must have been such a challenge." His voice was drenched in sarcasm making Cinder look forward to breaking his face.

"And Amber Alsprings. The girl who won the Junior championship tournament in Vale. Hate to break it to you, but I ain't as weak as those you've faced before! I've been hunting Grimm since I was a boy! My father has been preparing me for the next war since I could walk. There is no way you two little girls can win!"

With that, Callum took his hand off his weapon and raised it to his face. A blue energy wrapped itself around his fist, glowing brightly as he charged it was his aura. He smirked at them, then threw a punch in their direction, discharging the energy from his fist which flowed towards them at high speeds. It whizzed past them and smashed into a pillar, knocking the thing over effortlessly.

"Behold my semblance! The ultimate attacking semblance! Blue steel fist! It's an ultimate move that nobody can ever block!" Callum threw another, this time blasting through a well in the old building that was at the center of the ruins. "Surrender now, or be crushed by my might!"

Both girls stared back at him with bored looks on their faces. "What a blowhard." Cinder said unimpressed. She had learned a long time ago that big flashy attacks were generally nothing more than a way for insecure weaklings to try to look strong.

"So that's his semblance? Glad I don't have something that lame." Amber added. She seemed just as bored as Cinder. "It's just a pure power attack with no versatility to it. The only saving grace is it's raw power and even then it pales in comparison to some others that I've seen."

Callum snarled in annoyance. Clearly he wasn't used to this kind of reaction. "Why you little-!"

"Enough chatting!" Cinder snapped, stepping forward. "I've got something to do and you're in my way! So get out of my way now before I lose my patience! Or if your stupid enough to try and fight me!? If so, hurry up and come! I don't need much time to take you down!"

With a snarl, Callum charged, followed by his cohorts. And soon, the forest was filled with the sound of clashing steel.

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okay, I want to clarify something here. Cinder didn't have a see the light moment in this chapter. She felt like she owed a debt to the ideology that Amber was preaching. Once she sees the debt repaid, she'll k to her uncaring self, for the most part.