Chapter 47: Sorrow in the rain

Rain poured down on Vale that hadn't let up all day. The sky's were gloomy and dark, only lit by the occasional flash of lightning overhead as every citizen below quickly finished whatever task they might be doing before heading home as fast as they could not only to get out of the weather, but also as night was rapidly falling. In a few more hours the sun would set. And after the attempted kidnapping a couple days ago, nobody was in a hurry to be out after dark. Especially with the rumors floating around about a masked man running around killing people and making the cops look like fools.

In the poorer parts of town, many homeless ran around looking for shelter, or huddled together in large groups, trying desperately to keep themselves dry and healthy. Or as healthy as they could hope to be.

So it was a bit alarming to many when a young girl came pelting through the area. She was completely soaked to the bone and didn't seem to give much thought or care to what she was doing. Despite clearly not coming from this district, she was just running from abandoned building to abandoned building. Quickly running through them, sparing only quickly glanced at the bewildered residence before leaving and disappearing down the road, heading to her next stop.

However, as some made vague comments and horrible remarks as the girl ran past, not one thing they said could compare to the inner torment the girl was already going through.

"Stupid useless idiot! Why didn't you notice sooner?!" Amber chastised herself as she ran towards the next potential Enlightened Seraphim hideout.

Her lungs were burning from running from place to place, but she knew she couldn't stop. Igor had very clearly told her what their intentions for Jiao were and while definitely hoped never to see him again after the mission, it was her stupidity and decisions that resulted in his capture. And now it was her duty to rescue him!

After Bobby found out, the man had flipped. Screaming so loudly about how badly his reputation would be damaged by her failures. After that, he consulted with the team behind Music Fest and together, they decided to keep this information from the police.

Not that Amber was surprised. She knew the main sponsor was a part of the meeting and he was probably the one who pushed for this. And seeing as she didn't have proof of her theory, she couldn't go to the cops herself. And even if she were to go to the police and tell them that one of the most influential and richest men in the kingdom was behind the attempted kidnapping and attacks on Music Fest, she'd need hard evidence. And a lot of it to boot. And even after a full night's work with no sleep, she had found nothing.

Although, with the benefit of the hindsight. That might have been for the best. If the public found out about a failure of this magnitude, it would shake the already growing distrust between the citizens of Vale and the huntsman who guarded them.

Something Amber wished she had thought about before pulling the all-nighter.

She had allowed only enough time to patch up her injuries to the point she wouldn't pass out because of them, then immediately started searching for the missing singer. Her arm rested in a cast and her leg had a tight bandage wrapped around it. The doctor had told her not to let it get wet, but she unfortunately didn't have time to rest. She needed to find this singer before her existence took another innocent life.

Once again, Amber found her mind tormenting her with her failures. Only this time it played back the more recent events. From her failure to push through with her original plan for the band's defense, to her literally handing her charge to the enemy because she was to stupid to notice he many inconsistencies with the man's stories.

Now she had as good as ended another life! Not just Jiao, but Eric now too! Adam went with him to the hospital where the doctors had said he needed emergency surgery. Surgery they needed more hands to perform that they didn't have on hand.

She hadn't stayed to find out how long it would take for the rest of their team to get there. She didn't want to know. Every second Eric drifted closer and closer to his end. If she had gone to check them instead of asking Howard, she might have been able to get him to a hospital sooner! But no! Her stupid, worthless self had to screw up even the simplest decision! And if Eric died, his blood would be on her hands! Another life lost because of her existence. And just like her parents, she hadn't just robbed the world of another person, but an incredible huntsman.

Why did she have to exist?! If she had just died in her village then this would have never happened! Everywhere she went and everyone she interacted with ended up getting hurt! She was a curse upon the world! One that refused to die because it thought it had some change at redemption! How many had already died because of her stupidity?! Why did it take her this long to see it?! Something like her had NEVER meant to get redemption! It's only fate was to surfer and drag others into itself suffering. She could never be redeemed, never make up for what she had done! So why was she even trying!? Something like her should just go and die like the disgusting waste she was!

As she ran, out of the corner of her eye, she saw her reflection in a puddle of water. Only it wasn't her physical form, but the monster that hid beneath her skin.

Amber came to a stop, looking down at the puddle taking in her features. Her skin was completely black, with red lines running across her entire body not unlike the Grimm. Her blood soaked hands had become claws, fresh flesh hanging in between her fingers, masking its horrible skin that was so tight she could see the muscles twitching below it.

She was still humanoid, but she had a dog's tail and white horns sticking out of her head. She was slightly hunched over with her nostrils flared and a warm breath that created a small puff of steam with each pointless exhaustion.

But the worst part of this monstrosity was the horrible grin it looked back at her with. Rows and rows of serrated teeth inside its grinning mouth that blood was still leaking from. Her eyes were still gold, but they lacked pupils, or any features really. They were simply hard gold orbs that hungrily looked around, hunting for the next person she would hurt and eventually kill as it gleefully tried to wash its hands of blood that she now understood would never come off.

It was horrific, disgusting! Yet despite that, Amber felt a sense of calm wash over her as she looked at her inner self. Maybe because she knew this was how she looked on the inside, or perhaps it was because she had finally understood that she would never shake her true self off, she didn't know. But one thing she did know was that this had to end.

Monster or not, she still had control of one thing, and she swore that once she had fixed what damage she could, it would finally be time to slay the beast that was inside.

Once she had taken care of Howard, she knew she finally had the courage to face all the people she had hurt herself once again. No excuses, no lies. But finally with the honesty and truth they had shown her, but she refused to accept until now.

There was no redemption for her, no matter how hard she looked.

Amber's thoughts came to a halt as she came to her last stop on her trip, the last lead she had on the Enlightened Seraphim, the underside of a bridge covered in spray paint, she felt her heart stop.

Nothing.

It definitely looked occupied at one point. Hell, there were even signs of a battle here recently. But right now, there was nothing.

And with that, the last of the dark skinned girl's hope dried up. This was her last lead. The last known hang out for the notorious gang. What's more, it looked like someone, either the gang themselves or an underpaid city worker, had sprayed it down with a power washer, meaning there'd be no clues she could gather to get a new lead from.

Slowly, she made her way up the hill before slumping down on the sidewalk, hugging her knees to her chest as she buried her face in her arms.

This was it. Her stupidity had cost yet another person their life. And just like always, she couldn't do anything to stop it.

No. She definitely had the chance to stop all this. If she hadn't given the singer to Howard, if she hadn't been so weak as to need saving in her battle with Igor, if she hadn't needed to go back to rescue Cinder, then Jiao would have never been captured. Never been taken.

But of course she hadn't done any of those things. And in her infinite stupidity had practically hand delivered her charge to the Seraphim, never once questioning events until it was too late. And thinking back, this mission was full of nothing but mistakes.

Agreeing to the job without getting all the details, giving that slime-ball of a manager blackmail material, turning the whole band against them by assaulting one of their clients, following orders without a second thought, and of course, making a spectacle of that last event.

That had really been where everything had gone south. Had Cinder not pulled the fire alarm, they might have gotten everyone out of the building without the mass panic that had happened, they could have stalled for time until she could call for proper backup, they might have even managed to sneak Jiao out the back. There was an infinite amount of possibilities they could and should have done.

But those decisions had been taken from her by a single person's actions. And because of that person, any chance of being subtle had been thrown out the window. And while they definitely weren't completely to blame, they were far from innocent.

Anger began writhing in her gut. Anger the likes of which she had only ever felt towards the disgusting man mother that was herself. She knew she deserved this, but the universe had punished her in the most cruel and ironic way. Sticking her with one of the most insufferable people she had ever-!

"Amber?"

The dark skinned monster looked up to see her partner standing a little ways off, standing under a shop's canapé, covering her to keep her own fractured spine dry.

"Amber, you're supposed to keep that leg dry." The dark haired girl said in an uncharacteristic gentle tone. She began slowly approaching the miserable things, hands raised in surrender, as if not to frighten it.

"Come on, there's a cafe not far from here. Let's get you inside and patch you up before your bandages come off. I know your aura will eventually stop the bleeding permanently, but until then, you should follow the doctor's orders. He knows what best for-."

"Like your one to talk about following orders."

Cinder froze at the uncharacteristically bitter tone in her partner's voice. She hadn't heard her sound like this before. So bitter and full of resentment that she could taste it in the air. And seeing the normally so kind and gentle girl now glaring daggers at her made the dark haired girl stomach churn with guilt.

She had no defense against the accusation, no counter or retort that wouldn't sound childish. She had no one to blame for her actions and no excuse for her decisions.

Yes, there was some merit to choose to stand her ground and fight, but even she knew it wasn't to protect Jiao, or help push the cause of her mission forward. She had done it because she couldn't let Adelaide's words-. No. Rhodes' words, his challenge go uncontested.

As much as she hated herself for it, try as she might, she just couldn't let those words, his last words, go.

As the feeling of shame built in her gut, Cinder found she couldn't look Amber in the eyes. She knew full well she had let her down. Amber had done everything right, even going so far as to offer her the position once the mission was over. Yet she, Cinder Rose had, had decided that proving the words of her long dead mentor was more important than respecting the trust her leader had given her. Trust she now realized wasn't earned.

"Sorry." Cinder mumbled to herself as she shifted uncomfortably. She honestly wasn't sure what to say, back at Signal, she had never once apologized honestly. Mostly it was having a teacher force her head down as she recited an empty apology to whomever she had wronged.

Though back then, she had always just dismissed the people as being over sensitive babies who couldn't take a beating even though they were at a school for teaching you to take hits. Even with the strictest teacher, (her father) her only punishment had been detention and maybe a few lines. A very lenient punishment, if you could even call it punishment.

However, as Amber's eyes became narrower and her scowl grew larger, the dark haired girl knew this time, she wasn't getting off easy.

"Oh! Now she's sorry!" Amber snapped, taking an aggressive step towards the girl. Her eyes narrowed and her nostrils flared. She was glaring at Cinder with the same intensity as when she glared at Bobby after he brought up her parents. So while the dark haired girl knew she had this kind of intensity, she never once thought she'd be on the receiving end of it.

"First, you put us into this situation because you can't be bothered to muster up the slightest amount of remorse for HURTING your fellow classmates, and then because of my infinitely stupidity, I decided to try and cover for you resulting in me getting throw in the cooking pot along side of you!" Amber's words cut deep into Cinder, in a way nobody else's had. (With the lone exception of Rhodes)

Immediately the shame and guilt that had been building for the later half of the mission seemed to double with each venomous words her partner spat at her.

"And then, because of course you do, you fail to keep your cool even on a mission! Not sure why I ever expected otherwise! I guess I had hoped you were mature enough to understand what was at stake, but I should have expected that even with both our future on the line, you'd put yourself and your damn pride first!" Amber was now screaming at Cinder, her voice shaking with barely controlling rage. "First, the moment you get the slightest insult thrown at you, you blow up! And then when I'm not around to babysit you, you go and assault our client! Which even an ethically depraved girl with the mental fortitude of an eleven your old should understand is a stupid idea as he's the one who hired us and has the power to get us expelled! But oh no! The great and mighty Cinder Rose does whatever she wants because she's a god who can do no harm and makes no mistakes!"

As Amber shouted her grievance with the girl for all to hear, deep down she felt guilt rising in the pit of her stomach. She knew she wasn't being fair to her partner, but after all the stress and headache Cinder had put her through, she was past the point of caring. She wanted to make her suffer, to feel even the smallest shred of the anxiety she had put the dark skinned girl through.

"You'd think after being thrown out of the mission for the rest of the day would have taught you something, but no! Of course it wasn't! The very next day, you go and do it again! Yeah! I know about your late night escapade!" She said, making an accusational jab at the dark haired girl. "Threatening the client, assaulting them, and getting into a fight with them?! Are you even trying to complete the mission?! Or is your head so far up your ass, you can't even begin to understand the consequences of your actions?!"

"I understood." Cinder protested, trying to save a little face. "I held back. He was fine. Besides, I knew he wouldn't be injured that-."

"And then, you go and provoke Bobby, the one who actually knew who to fire us, completely giving up your position where you might have been able to make him see reason!" Amber cut in, completely ignoring Cinder's childish argument. "What is wrong with you?! Is your self-worth really so low you need the constant validation from others?! Or are you just a bully, taking pleasure from beating up those weaker than you because you're in so much pain you feel the need to make others miserable?! You have EVERYTHING you could ever want, yet it's never enough for you! Is it too much to ask that for once in your life, you put something else above your own needs?!"

Cinder's hands were clenched so tight, her nails were digging into her palms. That wasn't fair. She had stood up to Bobby FOR Amber! Yet here she was yelling at her about trying to be a friend! That hit the dark haired girl like a train, hurting more than she wanted it to or was willing to admit. She really liked Amber and having her tear into her like this felt like her own heart was going to break.

However it did one possible thing for her. It lit the spark of anger. And just like she always did, Cinder fanned that spark into an inferno, burning away her other emotions until it was the only thing left in her.

"Oh like you're any better!" Cinder snapped back, now advancing aggressively. "You think you're just SO perfect! That you're better than me in every way just because you haven't become cold to the world! You lie, cheat and treat me like a fool every day! If you want to act all superior, why don't you start actually do something to prove it instead of acting like your rank makes you better than us!"

Immediately Amber began stomping forward as well. Her rage now completely unrestrained too. "Excuse me! I've busted my ass keeping you and Adam out of trouble! Who was it who got you family time?! And who put you there to begin with?! Answers, I did, and you put yourself there! Without me wanting to help you, we'd be out actually doing some good in the world! I changed our mission because you couldn't act your age and stay out of trouble! Don't you dare put this on me!"

"Oh well in that case, by your own logic everything that happened during Music Fest is your fault!" Cinder shot back furiously. "I didn't ask you to put me in a deal where I'd be expelled if we failed! I didn't ask you to put your own life on the line! And I definitely didn't ask for your help! And I definitely didn't ask you to dump Jiao onto Howard! Not once have I needed you for anything! In fact, ever since I met you, it's been one problem after another! Have you ever once considered you might be the problem instead of me?! Or are you so self righteous that you can't see your own failings?"

Cinder's words cut deep into Amber, but the girl swallowed back the pain, refusing to let it show on her face. Fortunately, she had plenty of practice keeping her face devoid of how she actually felt. And now, even standing so close to her partner she could feel her breath, she held firm to her resolve and didn't waver, no matter how hard those words hit her.

"Me?! Who was the asshole who pulled the fire alarm?! Escalating the situation by telling everyone in the building we knew what was going on and immediately turning what should have been a quick and escort out of the building into a massive fight!? If you hadn't tipped our hand so soon, we could have gotten everyone out in an orderly fashion! But no! You couldn't pause for even one second to think and try to analyze the situation! You had to act first, consequences be damned!"

"Oh right, because sitting around doing nothing is the right way to win battles!" Cinder countered. Her voice taking on a sarcastic, mocking tone. "If I waited, they would have rushed the stage anyway! I let everyone know there was a threat without needing a com or a semblance that transfers sight between people! Which I know isn't it's only capability, you lying brat! So how about instead of demanding we trust you, you show us you can be trusted by actually explaining what your semblance does! Or are you too good for that as well?!"

"My semblance has nothing to do with this!" Amber countered, though her words held noticeably less bite, before she immediately went on the offensive again. "And why should that even matter to anyone! Semblances are an expression of our souls! Maybe I just don't feel comfortable enough to disclose-!"

"There you go again! Falling back on the big words to cover up simple facts! Why can't you just say you think you're better than us? At least I'm honest when interacting with others. You just lie and keep secrets from us for no good reason! If you ask me, your the one who needs an attitude adjustment, not me." Cinder's time had shifted to her mocking superior one, dripping with sinister intent. Then she took a step back and began miming the motion of frolicking as she stood in one spot.

"Oh! Look at me! I'm Amber! I'm better than everyone else because I have a moral compass the size of the planet! I don't have to tell my teammates what my abilities are because I'm in charge! Everyone has to do what I say or else because Ozpin said so!" Cinder said in a high pitched tone, deliberately using some of Amber's mannerisms in an over exaggerated, almost theatrical performance as she continued to mock the girl. "Nobody else can have a plan but me! I'm SOO smart! I'm SOO clever! My mommy and daddy made sure to produce the perfect little angel just to piss everyone else off!"

Slowly, Amber's hands tightly into fists as she watched this display. Any self control she might have been clinging to in an attempt to not blow things way out of proportion was rapidly slipping from her fingers as her partner continued to mock her.

"It's not like that." Amber said through clenched teeth.

"Oh? It isn't?" Cinder said in that same mocking tone. "Then prove it! You think you could do better than me? Well how about we find out already! You and me, right here, right now! Then you can show me how perfect you are!"

The two stood as still as statues at Cinder's challenge. The dark haired girl couldn't keep a smirk off her face as she crouched down, ready to charge at her opponent the moment she accepted. Forget weapons! She'd do this with her bare hands.

As for Amber, her hands were shaking as she thought about the proposal. On one hand, she had been wanting to beat Cinder black and blue for a while now. To take out all the anger and stress she had been out through because of the dark haired girl. And she wasn't planning on staying around anyway, so what was the harm if she beat the arrogant girl to a bloody pulp?

But Amber knew Cinder wanted a fight, and she knew a much better way of making the girl hurt then accepting her fight.

Immediately the dark skinned girl turned on her heel and began walking away from her. Not even bothering to look behind her at the stunned expression on the dark haired girl's face.

"W-wha?! Hey! Where are you going?!" Cinder yelled, completely bewildered. But her partner didn't turn, she simply slowed to a stop right before the bridge.

"I don't have time for your childishness." Amber said as emotionlessly as she could. "I don't have anything to prove to someone like you. See I have something called priority, and you just aren't on the list. So go and…do whatever it is you do when you're not on mission. I'll clean up your mess, just like always."

A sick feeling of satisfaction filled Amber's stomach as she could practically feel the death glare from her partner. She could picture the girl's hands tightly balled into fists and the furious scowl that spread across her face. It felt so good to finally let loose some of her pent up aggression.

Deciding to see how far she could poke the girl, Amber cast a look over her shoulder, filling her eyes with scorn and pity, the two things that drove Cinder crazy.

"You know, I was wrong about you." She said in a calm but tense tone, relishing the sight of Cinder getting even angrier. And between the late night, pent up stress, and just pure frustration with her partner, Amber let loose with everything she had.

"You are just like the person who enslaved you." She said, causing Cinder's face to freeze and her jaw to drop in stunned silence. "You may not enslave others, but you bully and harass everyone else who's weaker than you, just because your ego needs to be inflated. And I think I finally know why." Amber turned this time, facing Cinder had on now, doing nothing the girl could call hiding, or deflecting. "You are a scared little girl who needs constant validation, otherwise you begin questioning your own worth. And instead of facing them head on, you just turn around and run, dumping them on whoever happens to be around. And forcing them to take care of them for you. You Cinder Rose, are a coward."

And deafening silence fell at Amber's words. The sound of rain seemed to drown out everything else around them as the two stared at one another.

And slowly, Cinder's expression changed from one of shock, to one of cold fury.

"I'm sorry. Care to say that again?" Cinder said in a deathly quiet tone. Malice and rage boiling within her calm words as she glared at her partner, eyes slits that still held the purest form of animosity many had ever seen.

But Amber had seen more in her own eyes every day she looked at herself in the mirror.

"I said you're a coward." The dark skinned girl said in a very loud and clear voice, making sure that it held no fear or faltering in it. "You can't survive without someone feeding that ego of yours because you're scared and insecure. And the thing you hate most is when others call you out on your insecurities. Whenever this happens, you lash out at the object of your vendetta, unable to stop if you wanted to. Because rather than admit your scared, you'd prefer to live in delusion than accept at the end of the day, your just as small now as you were when you were a slave yourself!"

The extra effort Amber put into the last part had somehow left her out of breath as if she had just run a marathon. Her hands were shaking and her breathing was uneven, but she still got a charge of satisfaction as she saw Cinder baring her teeth at her.

She had gotten to her deep. As deep as where the dark haired girl had gotten to her. And she knew it, they both knew it. And they both knew what was happening next.

The next second, Cinder flew at Amber, not even bothering to go for her weapons. With their aura being diverted to healing their wounds, a battle with blades would be over in a heartbeat, and neither wanted that.

After everything that had been boiling between the two for months now, they wanted the other to feel each and every once of pain they wanted to inflict on the other.

In a heartbeat, Cinder was on top of Amber, launching a flurry of fast punches, each one aimed for the dark skinned girl's head, forcing her to retreat to dodge, until.

"Gah!" Amber cried in surprise as she slammed into the bridge, her back completely pressed against the stone arches.

Before she could get out of the way, Cinder shot forward, trapping Amber against it by pinning her neck with her forearm to her neck. There, she began beating the girl in the face over and over again. Not giving her any chance to counter.

"You! Have! Some! Nerve!" Cinder screamed, punching harder with each word. "I! Am! NOTHING! Like-!"

Before she could finish, Amber caught her off guard with a quick jab to the gash on the girl's side, immediately forcing Cinder to take a staggering step back, hand flying to her injured side. Giving Amber the opening she wanted.

Immediately she went on the offensive, landing a power kick to Cinder's head, knocking the girl towards the ground.

But Cinder wasn't fazed. Acting fast, she landed on her hands and launched a kick counter, hoping to catch her partner off guard. But to her surprise, Amber ducked down, and swept her arm out from under her. Sending her crashing to the ground.

The moment she landed, Cinder rolled onto her shoulders before pushing off the ground, landing back on her feet before her partner could capitalize on her prone position. Immediately she sharpened her heels into blades and tried to stab the dark skinned girl with a faint punch followed by a swift front kick.

But much to her frustration, Amber not only effortlessly dodged the punch, but also stopped her kick not with a conventional block, but by moving forward and kicking the top of her foot, shins and ankles, stopping the dark haired girl from getting her leg high enough to attack.

Snarling I'm anger, Cinder tried over and over again to raise her feet high enough to kick, but even as she retreated to try to get enough distance, Amber was right on top of her the whole way, stopping the girl from attacking.

Then, before Cinder could even realize she had dropped her guard, Amber's fist slammed into her face, staggering the girl.

Acting like a pro, Amber moved in, striking hard and fast at the weakest points on Cinder's body, her nose, her solar plexus, and the point where her ribs met her stomach. Each one hit with a surgeon's precision which quickly shattered the girl's aura.

However, right as Amber made to kick the girl into the side of the nearby building, Cinder spun, taking the hit right to her gut as she threw herself at her partner, tackling her and throwing her off balance, sending them both rolling down the hill before coming to a stop right next to the river, which Cinder on top.

Moving quickly, Cinder clasped both hands and raised them above her head, then brought them down with all her strength into Amber's face, slamming her head against the concrete so hard it actually bounced back up, shattering her aura immediately.

With the girl stunned, Cinder pulled her arm back, winding up for another blow. And as it came down, the crack that resounded as she landed a clean hit right to the dark skinned girl's cheek.

A heavy silence fell between as both partners seemed to stop in their tracks. Cinder gasping for air as she looked down at Amber. The blow had left a very obvious mark that would be an ugly bruise tomorrow. A trail of blood had shot from her mouth leaving the ground smeared as it had flown a good few feet.

But the dark haired girl barely registered any of that.

She was staring at Amber. Not her physical appearance, but how she had reacted to just getting punched in the face. And it wasn't normal at all.

When she had beaten her schoolmates in Signal, or Yang's and Ruby's bully back in Patch, even the toughest showed signs of pain, of wanting to either get her to stop, or pay her back. Yet When hit, Amber didn't even bother turning her head back, simply letting her cheek rest against the cement where it lay after Cinder had punched her. Something was wrong with the girl, and deep down, she had known that for some time now. But now that she saw her this close, with emotions this high, she finally realized what she saw.

The girl was dead behind her eyes. No emotions as they turned back to look up at her partner. She honestly had felt next to nothing from that punch. Maybe nothing at all. And as she looked back into her eyes, Cinder knew this wasn't hiding pain and acting tough. Nobody was this good at keeping their emotions in check. Not after a hit like that. And definitely not when they had just been fighting with that level of intensity.

Immediately that guilt flared up once again, shame right next to it. Everything inside her felt wrong. That this fight was pointless. No matter who'd win, she would get any of these irritating feelings off her chest. Nor the pain that was always present when she compared herself to Amber.

But instead of listening to her emotions, Cinder smothered them with her rage yet again. She refused to be weak! She refused to let herself open up and hurt herself with the harsh reality that no matter how hard she tried, Amber was always ahead of her. A silhouette she'd always be chasing.

No matter how hard she trained, or worked, all she did was fail. She couldn't protect her sister from being traumatized when the Phantom attacked, couldn't avenge her fall friend, couldn't become leader like her mother, couldn't handle mission without losing her temper, couldn't come up with a plan her leader would even consider, couldn't protect Ruby from being kidnapped when Amber had found her so easily, couldn't feel the pain of other even when she killed them, couldn't act reliably when she was in a position to take charge, couldn't beat an opponent she had already fought, even when going at her for the first time, Amber had driven her back with next to no trouble. Hell, she couldn't even keep her cool when these things were being pointed out and she knew about them already!

Everyone could see who was the better huntress, and deep down, she knew too. Just as aura was made up of both light and shadow, so too was this world. And if Amber was the light, who basked in the radiant light, she'd forever be the shadow lurking behind her. Always behind her, always just an afterthought. Just another faceless side character in someone else's journey.

All because Amber was bette-!

"No!"

Shaking her head, Cinder rid herself of those thoughts, completely giving herself to the all consuming rage that was so close to the surface. She wasn't weak! She was the strongest! She didn't need anyone else!

She wasn't in Amber's story! SHE WAS IN HER OWN!

"Shut up!" She screamed, squeezing her eyes shut so as not to see the truth in front of her. Then without holding back, she began beating Amber in the face over and over again!

"I am not a loser! I'm not! I'm stronger than you!" She screamed, trying to pretend she didn't know who she was trying to convince. "I don't need your judgment! I don't need anyone's help! I'm stronger than back then! Nobody is going to push me around anymore! Not mistress! Not my sisters! Not Rhodes! And most certainly not you!"

The sounds of the rain failed to drown out each crack as Cinder continued to punch Amber's face. Each blow knocked her head from one side to the other, sending blood splattering to either side of her head. A dull pain quickly took hold in Cinder's knuckles. She knew the skin had begun to peel off and they were mostly fracturing, but she didn't care. If anything she wanted the pain. She needed something, anything to take her mind off the searing pain that burned inside her chest. Coursing through her with each beat of her heart.

A part of her wanted Amber to knock her block off. She knew even with her eyes open, and in this position, Amber, dazed or not, should have thrown her off by now, then she'd land a good counter before they'd start circling again.

Yet despite that, Amber didn't move. She simply lay there, not even trying to block, letting each and every punch land its mark.

And so they stayed like that, the dark skinned girl letting her partner beat her over and over until finally, after what felt like an eternity to Cinder, she found herself no longer able to put any strength into her blows.

With all energy gone, the only things that kept her awake were the rapidly dwindling ember's of rage that were already dying out. And if not for her stubbornness, they would have gone out long ago.

With the last of her strength, Cinder rolled off Amber, collapsing to the side, barely able to catch herself with her arms. Her fingers had gone numb and she had worn the skin on her knuckles done so much, she could almost see bone. Her arms were strained and stiff, her joints locking up the moment she caught herself, leaving her trapped sitting on her side, leaving her feeling more helpless then she had before she had beaten Amber to a pulp.

But all that was nothing compared to the horrible feeling that was now eating away at her.

What the hell was she doing? Since when had she taken things this far? And against her own partner no less! A nice girl who's only sin was being better than her. Yet here she was, sitting in the rain right after beating the dark skinned girl senseless. And for what? She didn't feel any better, she couldn't move her arms, and going by the growing pain in her stomach, she had reopened her wound.

Feeling bile rise up in her stomach, the gasping girl tried to move her hand to cover her mouth just in case she couldn't keep it down. Only to find her limbs had locked up, refusing to move after excessively beating her partner. As such, inside of trying to swallow the little that made it to her mount, she just turned and spat it out onto the hill.

But as she turned back, Cinder would have jumped if she physically could.

Beside her, Amber had slowly got to her feet, her face a bloody mess.

"Are…you…satisfied?" The dark skinned girl gasped. The girl had two black eyes and a broken nose. Blood trailed down each nostril and lip had cracked in multiple places. Her cheeks were swollen and she had to spit off a couple teeth, showing just how much damage Cinder had done. And while her injuries made her words sound slightly different, but the dark haired girl could still understand her, even if she almost didn't want to.

"You…win. Now…I have…important…business to attend to." Amber gasped, staggering to her feet, wiping blood off her chin, which stayed blood free for less than a second before more dripped down. "You…go home…or whatever you want…I don't care…just…leave me alone. I…don't want…to see your face…again today…so get lost or something. I'm going to find Jiao. I've wasted…enough time…on you as is."

With that, Amber started to limp away, back up the bank and towards the road, leaving Cinder staring after her disappearing form for several seconds before the girl regained her ability to think.

"W-wait! Where are you going?" Cinder demanded, immediately trying to push herself to her feet, only for her arms to fail once again leaving her laying face first on the wet ground where she forced her head up to glare at her partner.

"Get back here! Don't you dare ignore me!" She screamed, using her chin to try to crawl after her. "Stop acting all high and mighty! You could have thrown me off whenever you wanted! Any time that you wasted was your own damn fault! Don't you dare pin this on me! What?! Think you're too good to fight back?! Too good to actually treat me like an opponent! Why the hell didn't you!? Explain! You OWE me that much!"

Now at the top of the hill, Amber paused and looked back to the girl, who had once again struggled into a sitting position, using her arms to prop herself up to glare up at the dark skinned girl. And while she knew she didn't owe the girl anything, she decided Cinder should hear her actual opinion at least once.

"Because you're a horrible person." Amber said coldly, locking eyes with her partner. "And I have better things to do with my time than entertain your ego."

Immediately Cinder felt all the rage empty itself from her body, leaving only a cold pain gripping her chest. It squeezed her heart, making each beat send pain ripping through her body which had somehow also gone numb.

The fury in her eyes died and her mouth hung open limply as she stared up at Amber, who's gaze was cold and unflinching. She was serious, Cinder could tell. And somehow, that made everything hurt even more.

And with nothing more to be said, Amber turned and walked away, leaving Cinder staring blankly up at the place she had once stood for several minutes, before falling to the ground, burying her face in her arms.

And there, laying face first in the rain, Cinder finally let all her pride go, and began sobbing openly.

A little while later.

Amber sat slumped against a stop sign in the slums of Vale.

Normally, she'd never dream of coming here without a plan. But right now, even in her auraless state, she couldn't care less if she got mugged or something. She had lost all her strength in her fight with Cinder and didn't have the energy to even get to a safer place.

Inside, her emotions were in chaos. She didn't even know what was what anymore. All forms of normality were gone in the raging storm inside.

But one emotion kept rising to the surface. Guilt. Guilt and self loathing. And each time they came up, they hurt even more than before. She hadn't even known that was possible until now! Back then, she had thought she couldn't feel more guilty. But now, instead of drowning in it, she had swallowed the whole ocean and the pressure from both inside and out made her feel like she could burst. And she almost wanted to.

Because if nothing else, it would end her suffering. Worthy or not, she just wanted this to be over. Anything to be rid of this pain. Forget not being born, she'd honestly wished she could just disappear into nothingness, with nobody to remember her.

And as she sat there in despair, she felt herself become disgusted when she remembered what Howard had said. How she reminded him of her mother.

She didn't deserve to look like her mother! Not after everything she had done! And she hated how he had used that against her!

Well, she'd just have to make sure that never happened again!

Immediately she reached into one of her pouches and ripped one of her dust crystals. A quick examination of the blade told her it was more than sharp enough to leave permit scars. She'd just have to dig it deep enough so her aura wouldn't be able to heal it!

Without hesitation, she raised the tip to her own face and dug the point into her check, flinching slightly as it pierced her bruised skin. Yet as she felt the tip touch her teeth, she smiled slightly to herself.

This was deep enough. Now, nobody would be able to see her mother in her. Now she could finally free the noble woman of the tarnishing shame of having a disgusting creature like her as a daughter!

Without hesitation, Amber immediately began to drag the dust towards her eye.

Only for a hand to shoot out of left field, bringing her to a screeching halt.

"What are you doing?" She asked emotionlessly, not even bothering to look at the person who had stopped her, instead trying to continue cutting her face open. "It's my body. I can do whatever I want with it. Let me go and continue on with your day."

Despite her words, the hand held her wrist firmly. She expects that. In fact, she expected some speech another importance of life or some sexual comments about her looks. Honestly, she was past the point of caring and was just trying to come up with a way to make them leave her alone.

But what she didn't expect was what happened next.

"No. Your face isn't just your, it's your mother's." Howard said, slowly and gently pulling Amber's hand away. "You know as well as I do how proud she was when you got her appearance instead of your father's. Can't say I blame her, she always was beautiful. And you will be too, assuming you don't maul yourself first."

Carefully, Howard eased the dust crystal out of Amber's face, making sure it came out the same wound it went in. And given his incredible physical strength and her exhausted state, he had little resistance.

But with that said, the dark skinned girl hadn't even tried to fight back as her mind had gone completely blank.

Howard, here. Talking and treating her as if nothing had happened. Just hours ago she had been hyperventilating because of his betrayal and now she thought she might again!

"Hmm. Got beat pretty good. I'd hate to see what the other guy looked like." He said, examining her face as he gently turned her chin to see all of it. "Well, you need stitches, that's for sure. Come with me. My daughter's house is nearby and she's out making preparations for dealing with the singer. I'll patch you up there. You need something to hold your face together until your aura heals it."

Carefully, Howard reached out and offered his hand to the girl, a gentle smile on his face as he looked caringly at her.

But the moment Jiao had been mentioned, Amber had broken out of her trance. Immediately she dove back, putting distance between herself and Howard as she ripped her spear off her back and leveled it at the old huntsman.

"I don't know what your game is, but I'm not letting you play me again!" She yelled, making a threatening jab at him. "If you think I'm walking into a trap you're dead wrong! Now give me back Jiao and-!"

"Put that away."

Howard's words were quiet, barely audible over the rain. Yet it held so much power and conviction that Amber felt her legs begin to tremble just from his voice alone.

For a split second, she had forgotten where she was and what she was doing. Everything around her had vanished, turning into a white void that swallowed her whole! At that point, the only thing she could see was the massive man, aglow with an aura so intense it had burned her skin away. The rain was blowing back into her face.

At that point, it really dawned on her. This man standing in front of her wasn't the kind old man she had met and had given her comfort when she needed it. This was Issac Howard, a war hero of Vale and one of the strongest men of his generation. A man who could bring warships out of the skies with a wave of his hand, a man who fought through the flames of battle, had been forged into a mighty warrior. One more than capable of ending her life in a single move.

Then, just as suddenly as it had flared up, Amber suddenly found Howard's aura suddenly lowering. Returning to a non threatening level as he raised his hands in surrender.

"Don't worry. I'm not here to hurt you. If I was, I would've attacked when your back was turned." He said gently, taking a step towards her. "I just want to treat your wounds, nothing more. So please, let me help you."

He took another step forward, but Amber didn't lower her spear. Even though she knew in the long run, it wasn't going to do anything, she still felt safer with it up. But as her eyes locked with the old man, she saw there was no malice, no ill intent. Did he truly want to help her? He was right, if he wanted to hurt her, he'd just attack when her guard was down. No point in announcing himself like he had.

"I can't see you don't trust me. That's good." He said calmly, taking another step forward, the point of the spear now resting against his chest. "You're a huntress, and betrayed you. If you had tried to forget that, I dare say I'd be a bit disappointed. And for what it's worth, I am sorry. I never dreamed you'd be in charge of guarding one of the most high maintenance bands from Mistral. Honestly, I'm actually very proud of how well you acted for your first job."

"You don't get to be proud." Amber snapped, the words leaving her mouth before she could stop them. "You tricked me, used me! If you think you can worm your way back into my life, I've got some news for you, you can't!"

She gave the old man a forceful push with the blade of her spear, making him take a step back as she advanced. Her hands shook as she tried to keep every part of him in her sight. Which was very hard to do given that her eyes were swollen after Cinder's beating.

But even that didn't stop her vision from becoming clear as her eyes became as wide as plates the next second.

"I'm not trying to get back into your life." Howard said gently, arms still raised. "I know what I did was unforgivable. I'm not asking for forgiveness, I don't deserve it. But can we please, just for tonight, just forget about our differences and allow me to patch you up. And after that…" He paused for a second as he took a deep breath, then continued in an exhausted tone. "And after that, if you choose to hate me for the rest of your life, that's fine. Just please, let me help you tonight. And after that, you and I can go our separate ways and never have to see each other again."

Amber stared at Howard, her eyes wide, heart hammering in her chest. What was she supposed to do? Everything about the old man seemed genuine, and he was even giving her space. On top of that, as he said, he didn't want to hurt her. And if he wanted to capture her or remove her from the picture, he would have done so by now. Hell. Even at full strength she couldn't take him in a fight. He had no need for a trap of any kind!

Try as she might, she just couldn't find a reason for this to be a trap. Or anything beyond what he claimed. But she had been wrong about him before. And who's to say she wasn't this time?

But after several days of exhausting work and falling deeper into her depression, Amber couldn't muster the strength to refuse and so she made her decision.

"The hell with it, I've got nothing to lose."

With that, she put her spear back on her back and began walking towards Howard, her head hung in both defeat and exhaustion.

The old man waited until Amber had reached him where he offered his arm to her thinking (rightfully so.) that she might need it. But the dark skinned girl just pushed it away. She might be willing walking to her own death, but she wasn't going to forgive the man, even if it made her even more exhausted.

Fortunately, Howard seemed to understand and he didn't offer again. Instead, he started off at a slow pace, making sure to keep an eye on the girl to ensure she didn't collapse. And while that never happened, it was a good thing he did as Amber doubted she'd be able to get up once in the ground

The walk through the rainy night was tough. The ground was slick and Amber could barely see. Fortunately, Howard's giant figure was enough to guide her all the way to a little cul de sac consisting of single story houses that were crammed together all in a row with small yards separated only by fences.

Their walk took them to a house near the end of the street. The lights were on and Amber could see the house was noticeably better cared for. With a shed crammed off to one side and a few toys scattered across the lawn.

One would naturally think a place like this would be targets for thieves, but a part of angelic wings had been set up on the gate, telling any would-be criminals that the house was Uber Enlighten Seraphim protection. Meaning any attempt to so much as break In would be met with severe consequences.

Slowly, Howard pushed open the gate with a loud creek before beaconing Amber through. And as they made their way across the lawn, Amber saw a shadow in the window. It was moving back and forth at first, but one the gate opened, the shadow froze, then immediately headed in the direction of the door.

"Maybe this was a trap after all." Amber thought to herself. But it still didn't make sense why Howard hadn't just polished her off before. Why take her here? Was it just because he could get rid of the body easier? No. The body of a young girl in Seraphim turf wouldn't raise any eyebrows. But if anyone saw her going into this one house, that would definitely draw unwanted attention. Why risk his daughter's safety just to off her?

Either way, Amber knew she should probably run, or come up with an exit strategy. Maybe attack Howard from behind and hopefully incapacitated him long enough to find a hiding place. But she was just so tired. Tired of running, tired of fighting, of hating herself, of people trying to comfort her, of accusing her, of being suspicious of everything. She was just tired of the world. And if she was being honest, a part of her welcomed the thought of finally getting to see her parents again. Even if it was only for a little while before she was taken away.

No way something like her would be allowed to say with them.

As they reached the door and Howard took out a key to unlock it, Amber braced for something. She wasn't sure what, but she knew something was coming. And whatever it was, she just wanted today to be over. One way or another.

And sure enough, the second the door opened, an object flew outside, charging right towards them at a speed that would catch an unsuspecting person off guard.

Immediately, Amber's reflexes kicked in and her body slid into a fighting stance, ready to catch whatever might be charging at her and throw it away. But to her complete shock, instead of ramming into her, it slammed head first into Howard. Who laughed as he caught it.

"Aden, what's the rush? I told you we could play after dinner!" The old man laughed as he hugged what Amber could now see was a small child around Ruby's age. No. He was younger. With dark hair and a beaming Innocent face that for some reason looked familiar to her.

"I couldn't wait." The boy, Aden, said, burying his face in his grandfather's chest. "Mom said you'd be here five minutes ago! Now we're going to have five minutes less play time! You promised to play with me grandpa!"

Howard laughed again, gently patting the boy's head. "I'm sorry." He said. "I ran into a…another person I know and she needed help. I'm going to patch her up, then make dinner. Think you can wait? I promise to visit on the weekend and play with you then if you do."

"Okay." Aden said, his tone definitely carried some disappointment, but he seemed to understand that sometimes he couldn't have things his way. Very mature for a child his age, Amber noticed, her gaze still on the child.

Despite him not being a treat, Amber just couldn't shake the feeling of dread she got from being around him. He just looked so familiar yet she couldn't place why. It was always at the tip of her tongue, but she just couldn't place it.

But then her gaze shifted to the boy's feet. Or more specifically, the things on his feet.

The boy was wearing a pair of roller skates, which was how he launched himself at Howard. And with this new insight, as she looked back at Aden, it finally hit her where she had seen his face before and why she had struggled so much to place.

The boy had Adelaide's face. Almost a perfect match! The reason she had such a hard time before was because of his age. Yet now, when she compared them, they were an exact match!

But why? Didn't Howard say this was his daughter's house? Why would this Adelaide lookalike be right here? And why call him grandpa? Was it a coincidence? Some kind of freak accident by the universe? No. After today, she had learned that nothing was just random chance, she'd end up getting burned. There must be a reason why this kid looked like Adelaide. Maybe he was her son? It would explain the resemblance. But then why would he-!

Then it hit her. And for what must be the umpteenth time this week, Amber's mind was blown, resulting in her blurting out her thoughts before she could stop herself.

"Adelaide's your daughter!?"

Rain poured down on the hotel the Rose family was staying at. In the distance lightning flashed, which was quickly followed up by a boom of thunder. Warning the lone occupant of the increasing chance of a blackout.

Carefully, Summer unplugged any and all personal electronics, making sure they were stored off the floor and high on shelves in case the power did go out and left them in complete darkness. And once finished, she sat down on the couch and turned on the hotel TV.

She was alone today as Tai had taken the kids on an unplanned shopping trip. After Ruby's kidnapping and rescue, they had decided to throw the girl a little party in celebration of completing what was effectively a bounty mission. Something that was deemed too dangerous for first years, let alone someone's first mission.

Still, she had to admit she had been pleasantly surprised by how well everything had been handled. Cinder had managed not only to work as a team (something she failed miserably at in Signal.) but also followed her leader's directions to the letter. Resulting in a somewhat successful rescue.

Of course, there were definitely places to improve, but over all, Summer had to give credit where it was due. Team AACE had impressed her. Just discounting the flaws Cinder brought to the team, she had been a bit worried about the other three as she knew two of them at least had a very similar appearance to a couple of criminals she had heard about not that long ago. Good to see they weren't hoodlums.

But the one person who she had earned the MVP spot in her opinion was Cinder's partner, Amber. Not only had she commanded her team so well Summer would have thought they were long time friends, her quick thinking and plans had been the key to their victory, as well as a good testament to her potential.

At first, when she had learned of the girl, she had been curious. But after meeting her in person, she had learned several things about the girl. Namely, her crippling self-doubt. The bane of every leader.

Summer knew all too well how stressful the job was, but she also knew something Amber might not, that a leader can't just call the shots, they need to stick to them. A hesitant leader is worse than not having one, as without a clear idea of what to shape the battlefield into, it would quickly become a free for all. A team where everyone is both a soldier and a commander was no team at all. Fortunately, after seeing her make the decision to hide…whatever Cinder did. And then getting to watch her in action had all but put those fears to rest. She had proven herself worthy of leading the team. And even if they wouldn't admit it, Summer knew they felt that way too. Now the girl just needed to see what they saw, and become the leader they deserved. And who knows, maybe Cinder could help her find some of that confidence. After all, she had plenty to spare. And in all honesty probably could do with a little les-.

Knock, knock!

Immediately Summer was jerked out of her rambling thoughts by a knock on the door. Surprised, the woman rose quickly, drawing up her blades as she went. Ozpin warned her about the increase in criminal activity in the recent months, something Tai had backed up with his own experiences.

A quick glance at the clock told her it was 6:15. Well past the time anyone would make a social call in this weather. And Tai had the spare key, so it wasn't him either. This only seemed to heighten the possibility this was some poor mugger who chose the wrong target.

Summer quickly and quietly moved to the door, making as little noise as possible as she did. Coming to a stop right next to the door, the woman crept up and pressed her eye to the peephole, expecting to see a would-be criminal or a homeless bagger wanting food.

But what she actually saw made her heart leap into her throat.

Without another moment's hesitation, she grabbed the door and threw it open it find her oldest daughter standing in the hall, soaking wet, hair and clothes disheveled, hands dripping with blood, and a dead look in her eyes as she stared at the floor.

"High, mom." She said in a completely emotionless tone, her gaze still fixed on the floor. "Can I come in? I… I wanted to use the shower, if that's okay."

At this request, Summer found herself completely speechless. Cinder never behaved like this since she had been adopted! What on Remnant had happened to reduce the proud girl to this!?

Then she saw it. The water dripping onto the floor wasn't just the rain. Cinder's head was lowered in a half hearted attempt to hide it, but Summer still caught it. Even with only one eye, she was still sharp enough to see through her daughter's facade.

Cinder was crying. Hard and without restraint. And that made Summer's heart hurt in a way only a mother's can.

What had happened?

//////////////////////////////////////////

So, a lot has happened in this chapter. The massive train wreck that had been building for a while now has finally hit, and oh boy was that a long writing session.

So I'm just going to say it before anyone else can. Yes, Amber is very much a huge reason for this argument. She's normally level headed, but try putting yourself in her shoes. Now is normally when I'd put the list, but I'm just to tried right now. And I'm sure you can think of more than a handful of things on your own.

As for Cinder, this is basically an intro to her mind. Amber got most of her points spot on, and of course this forced Cinder to face some harsh realities.

And in typical Cinder fashion, She reacted violently to it.

Not much else to say. But here's a couple of extras things that didn't make it into the chapter.

Originally, Bobby was going to have his blow up on screen, but I did such a good job at making people hate him, I actually couldn't bring myself to write more scenes with him. I'm emotionally exhausted enough without his BS.

Second, I had planned to give a quick check in with my favorite green knight, but ultimately decided to keep everyone in the dark about his fate.

And besides, Amber and Cinder are going to be the main focus point for a while. And added Adam and Eric just felt unnecessary.

Anyway, until next time. Bye!