Lurking Darkness (Main Timeline)

Downtrodden

"Wow!" You gasp out as you enter the portal with Penny and the rest of RWBY.

"It's... kind of unreal."

"I thought there'd be more people by now."

"Our job is to get Penny and the Staff to Vacuo, for now we have to rely on the others." Ruby says to Weiss.

"So Penny, squishy guts all adjusted yet?"

"Not quite, it's still surreal—." A massive explosion is heard and seen out of nowhere.

"Penny, go on to Vacuo! We'll meet you there!" Ruby runs toward it and you all follow. Ruby speeds ahead with her Semblance only to be blocked by a fiery wall by Cinder.

"Your little friend Oscar was right! But the easy part is ends here." All of your eyes open wide, you and Team RWBY are stunned.

"How'd she know about that?" Cinder mocks, you fire up and charge her. But she effortlessly blocks your attack.

"Why are you so obsessed with us!?" You ask.

"I'm not obsessed with you. I'm obsessed with power! And power is only for the WORTHY!!" She kicks you away and slams the floor, creating a fiery whirlwind, surrounded by Team RWBY.

"I knew your plan would be bold, but I never could've predicted all of this! At least not without a little help from Jinn." You stand up and look at her as she rises into the air.

"I suppose I have you all to thank for this one last lesson." You prepare and get into a stance, as does Yang.

"Sometime if you want to win, you simply can't do it alone!"

"RUBY!!" Yang's hair ignites and she runs for her sister, blocking a strike from Neo. You watch as Yang is sent flying toward the edge of the platform. You and Weiss begin running for her, Blake joins you. Blake throws Gambol Shroud as hard as she can, you can see Yang's eyes open as her Aura flutters. But it is too late, Gambol Shroud's ribbon is too short.

It misses.

Yang's form disappears into gold dust.

"YANG!!!" Weiss screams out, the terror in her voice shrills throughout the air. It takes you and Blake to hold Weiss back.

"Weiss! She's gone, if you jump then you will be too!" You try to talk sense into her. But even as you try, Cinder is still on the attack, a trap forms beneath you all,.

"MOVE!!" You all manage to jump out of the radius before it explodes. You look up again, vision groggy and ears ringing, you see Ruby fighting Neo, barely holding her own. Weiss joins Ruby, rage filling her cold blue eyes.

"Y/n! We have to move!" You hear Blake through the ringing. You manage to get you your feet as you and Blake prepare to fight Cinder.

"Your next, Aspro." Cinder snarls, almost animalistically. The fire from her eyes flares as she utters your name.

"You can take me down. But I will not allow you to take anyone else!!" Your eyes light bright red, fire surrounds you. You run at her, fury burning in your heart, fury for your friends, fury for Yang. The resulting clash on metal and flames engulfs the platform you and Blake stand on, and for but a moment, you feel excited for a real fight with Cinder.

"Are you mad Y/n? Have I angered you?!" She screams out psychotically, the clash and clangs of tempered metal exchange is barely recognizable to you, you see red, dark bloody red.

"Why couldn't you have just learned your lesson?!" Penny rushes in and lands a fist flush against Cinder's face.

"Penny NO!" Blake screams out. Cinder recovers and wipes some blood off of her lip.

"Oh Penny... I did." Penny attempts to pull her swords out, but she doesn't have her mechanical parts anymore, causing her to receive an attack that sends her flying. Cinder and Penny begin to go all out, the Maidens using their full strengths against one another.

"I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU YET!" You use the fires from your Semblance to raise yourself off the ground, flying at Cinder, ready to fight with your full might.

"Two of the three biggest pests right in front of me. I get to take out two birds with one stone." Cinder's eye lights aflame. She charges Penny, but you speed in front of Penny, blocking the attack.

"PENNY! YOU NEED TO GET THE RELIC OUT OF HERE!"

"I won't leave my—!"

"I'M... NOT REALLY ASKING HERE PENNY!" You struggle against Cinder's strength. She eventually pushes you away, you land hard on a platform. You can only look with hazy vision as Cinder and Penny begin a melee with each other. You look to your left to see Weiss summoning every creature she's ever killed, Beowolf, Boarbatusk, her Knight, Nevermore, it doesn't end. You can tell she's only thinking about one thing. Neo's life, for Yang's. You look at the portal to Vacuo, you see most of the people have gotten out. You see Ruby still in shock from Yang's fall.

"Ruby! You have to snap out of it!" She just stares down at the abyss.

"RUBY!!" You scream out, flames flaring across the ground. She looks up, still in a daze.

"YOU NEED TO FOCUS! WE STILL HAVE A JOB!" Cinder lands a kick to your jaw, you quickly recover and you two begin trading fists again.

"Why work for Salem?! You know she doesn't hold your interests at heart!" You catch her foot and throw her, she stops herself in the air.

"I don't care about Salem, but I do care about the power I've received from her!"

"That's what this is about? Power?! You truly are weak if that is your only goal from all of this death and carnage." She bolts at you, you barely block it with your metal arm, she grabs it.

"The strong rule over the weak, that means I will rule everything!" You can feel the heat on your arm. You heat up and push her back, the fire on your feet propelling you upward. You land a mighty straight to her jaw, a shockwave of fire is sent outward, you push harder and she is sent flying away, screaming in both rage and pain. You hear a person scream.

"Blake..." You look over and see Neo has kicked her off the edge, she's hanging on with her fingers.

"BLAKE!" You dart toward her and on your way over, you're hit by a fireball, you fall onto the platform in front of Blake.

"How does it feel to lose?" Cinder says, rubbing her jaw, she walks over to you.

"Now it's your turn to go down." She kicks you in the stomach, and you feel the air in your hair as you fall.

Fall.

Fall.