The Only Reason -[A RWBY Fanfic]

The grey sky was a harbinger of war. A blizzard spread across the valley, surrounded by steep, pointed mountains. The wind whistled, the burning ice stinging their skin. The storm gathered in the clouds, ready to unleash its snow when its incorporeal interior could no longer contain it.

Ozpin arrived at dawn. By then, most were already prepared, donning long, thick coats to protect themselves from the cold. Their weapons were loaded with enough ammunition for what was to come. The captains and leaders were already gathered at the front with their teams, the creatures would not take long to arrive.

An uneasy feeling tugged at Cinder's stomach as she looked at Ozpin, a boy of about fourteen, too young to have lost his soul. Everyone here was very young. It wasn't that Cinder was that old, but... damn, most of them were almost children.

The professor finished giving instructions to Team RWBY. It was strange that he himself had brought two relics with him, the Lamp of Knowledge and the Crown of Choice.

"We will stop Salem," the boy confirmed in a deep voice.

With a frown and a worried look, Ruby asked, "How did you get the other relic?"

The teen adjusted his grip on his staff before answering. "Before Beacon fell," He said. "Amber helped me. That same day, we had three Autumn Maidens in the same place. It was strange, Amber, Pyrrha, and then you," He commented, casting a sharp look in Cinder's direction. "The essence of three maidens, in different proportions, but ultimately, three maidens."

"Isn't it dangerous for us to have all these relics with Salem so close?" This time it was Yang who questioned him. The professor nodded.

"It is, but I am sure that we will need their power to stop her," he raised his staff to examine it carefully.

The silence in the group was palpable. "We will stop her," he continued. "We have the advantage, two maidens on our side," he pointed to both girls. "Ruby's silver eyes," another signal in the direction of the aforementioned, "the relics, and also our determination. We will stop her. Have faith."

"I have a strange feeling around you," Cinder forced herself to stand a little straighter when she heard the professor's voice near her.

"Yes. Well, that's how most people feel around me."

"I don't mean that, exactly," Ozpin hissed, moving closer, a questioning look on his face. "Have you really changed?" Cinder had to hide a grimace at that. She would never know what to say. So she said nothing, silence was her best defense.

At her silence, the professor let out an amused laugh that quickly softened into his usual calm smile. "It seems so," he seemed to answer the question himself. "Maybe... do you believe in the transcendence of souls?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"I've never been this close to you before, at least not without a fight." He analyzed her again. "And now I noticed something in particular. Perhaps scents, but I'm not sure, I've never seen it before."

A furrow appeared between Cinder's eyebrows. "I really don't know what you're talking about."

Ozpin smiled. "Maybe," he replied, turning to leave.

Cinder breathed. "Ozpin." For a moment, the professor looked at her expectantly. The brunette opened her mouth, but no sound came out. It was difficult to apologize, not because she didn't want to, but because apologies didn't fix anything. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I killed you."

He chuckled. "I didn't die, I didn't really die." He walked away towards Ironwood, leaving her alone.

She watched him go with slight bewilderment. Shaking her head, she walked over to where Neo was tying her boots, almost ready to go into battle. She glanced at the young woman's parasol. Cinder felt nervous, she didn't know how many losses this battle would leave.

She grabbed a gun from the supplies beside her and reloaded it. "Here," she offered it to Neo. Neo looked at the gun as if Cinder were offering it to a snake. She raised her gaze to question her. "It's just for safety. I know you fight better than most of us, but your attacks are melee. Just have this in case you need to attack from a distance." The bicolor-haired woman made a face of displeasure.

"Come on," Cinder urged again. "Just give me some peace." She admitted the last part while clearing her throat, avoiding Neo's gaze. Neo watched her for a moment longer, sighed, rolled her eyes, and took the gun, hanging it on her belt.

A tug on her arm alerted her. Standing up straight, she looked in the direction of the academy. The camp alarms went off. They were getting closer. All those who were missing rushed forward, drawing their weapons.

Both she and Neo approached the front. Team RWBY, JNR, Qrow, Winter, Penny, Ozpin, and General Ironwood were already in position. Cinder stiffened, heat beginning to rush in her chest like blood.

As Cinder's gaze fell upon the front, her breath caught in her throat. Grimm. Hundreds of them. Of all species and sizes. All approaching in a dark wave that loomed over the horizon.

With her eyes narrowed, Cinder hissed at Neo. "Be careful." Neo nodded, and then it all began.

Cinder pushed herself into the sky, the ranks of hunters and soldiers running forward, quickening their pace with war cries. With fingers filled with fiery energy, the black-haired girl transformed the fire into a row of sharp spears that stabbed into the winged Grimm approaching through the air.

The first sounds of the attack roared through the sky as Cinder tore apart the creatures around her. She summoned as many fire arrows as she could and destroyed the second row of thunderous flying beasts that approached.

Having turned them to ashes, the black-haired girl rushed to the ground at full speed, flying over the creatures and leaving a line of flames in her wake, which disintegrated another line of Grimm. The creatures died, screaming painfully.

Feeling satisfied at seeing several rows of beasts destroyed, Cinder dropped with a quick spin onto the slippery ice. The battle raged around her, she wasted no time taking a breath. With her teeth clenched, she lunged forward, her flaming sword cutting off the stinger of a Death Stalker. The creature shrieked as the brunette ducked to avoid its pincers. She didn't give the beast time to recover but instead burned half of its body and then jumped on it, driving her sword into its head against the ground. The weapon disintegrated with the creature.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Team RWBY making their way through the Grimm without stopping, a perfect synchronization of movements and attacks. They moved easily, with Qrow, Teams JNR, and CFVY covering them from behind to ease their passage.

Feeling calmer about this fact, she decided to look for her former pupils, Emerald and Mercury, but all she saw were numerous battles between hunters, soldiers, and Grimm. If they were inside the academy, she had to get there too. She had to, at all costs, get her young companions to join her, and if she still couldn't convince them, she had to make them flee from the fight.

Destroying as many beasts as she could, she moved forward until she reached one of the side entrances of the academy. At her side, she noticed Neo, fighting numerous Beowolves alone without any problem. The young woman annihilated them as if she were dancing, without breaking a sweat, the bicolor's combat skills were extraordinary. What scared Cinder was that apparently, the teenager hadn't noticed how a huge King Taijitu was approaching her at full speed.

Without thinking, the brunette rushed toward her. As she took Neo, she made sure to cut the Taijitu in half, flying several meters away to create distance before setting her down on the ground.

"I thought you were going to be careful!" she complained angrily. "Why did I give you that damn gun if you're not going to use it?"

Neo raised her arms in exasperation, pointing at Cinder with an angry grimace as if she were exaggerating.

Cinder protested again. "I'm not exaggerating!" she scolded. "Do you want to get killed? You need to be more careful."

The bicolor-haired girl rolled her eyes and stomped on the snow, causing it to fall at Cinder's feet. The amber-eyed girl let out a disdainful snort.

"How mature..."

But before they could continue their awkward discussion, the explosion of a battle was heard inside the side entrance. Both of them forgot what they were doing and rushed over in a hurry.

Weiss, who had at some point separated from her group, tried to defend her sister from Tyrian and Watts with a series of summoning and defense glyphs. Penny fought Hazel from a distance. The eldest of the heiresses had an injured arm, and apparently, the scorpion had managed to poison her, she was sweating cold and breathing heavily.

Hazel pushed the automaton away with a single blow, sending it flying until it landed near the platinum-haired girl. Weiss's eyes narrowed in concern. "Penny, use your maiden skills!" She crouched down, summoning another glyph to unbalance Tyrian.

The brown-haired man sneered, sidestepping her attack. "You won't win here, princess." He tried to stab her with his tail, but the heiress blocked it with her sword, parrying with skill.

"Cinder!" Weiss shouted. "Get Ruby! She's right behind you!"

The black-haired girl nodded, feeling the weight of that responsibility again. She rushed down the corridor to get to Ruby, but she couldn't shake off the feeling that something was very wrong. She skidded to a halt when she heard a voice she recognized.

"Is this a change I see?" she heard an annoying voice behind her.

" Changed? But I" *she fell down, looking at her bloody knuckles* "am still the same trash" 

" I see a different girl, fighting for different things. You are not the same, and I don't think you will be again" 

The brunette hesitated. "I can't change my past or fix what I did. In the end, I'll always be a monster," she said, but the burly man placed a hand on her shoulder, getting her attention.

Cinder's gaze lifted slightly to meet Hazel's peaceful eyes. "Sometimes monsters can... turn good."

A small smile flickered across the burly man's lips. Cinder looked at him, tears still streaming down her face, but this time they felt less painful. Hazel had always been the most sensible of that sinister group, the calmest, the one most inclined to kindness.

Another heavy exhale escaped him, shoulders slumping as he stared at the tunnel carefully. "The Grimm are coming," he said, standing up. *From afar, their presence could be felt approaching.* "Salem's objective is not what we thought. I guess it's best to stop her."

Cinder immediately stood up to follow him. "What are you talking about?"

" She doesn't want a world without humans... she doesn't want a world at all. She needs all the relics to summon the gods" was all he said.

[T/N: Yes, because her immortality is linked to the world, not humanity, we know this because before the humans were reborn she was alive all alone.]

The black-haired girl paused to think. For someone who had lived for so many thousands of years hating humanity, that must have been a difficult revelation. *Salem must be exhausted to reach that point.* Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Hazel take out raw powder crystals, black as oil with reddish fissures running along their edges, sparking with an unusual energy.

" Hazel, what is that? "

" Dust" he took a moment before clarifying " They're modified, explosives"

Cinder's breath caught in her throat. "What the hell are you planning to do?"

"I wanted to use them on Ozpin, but I guess it's better to use them another way"

The sounds of the bloody creatures approaching became more pronounced. Cinder watched Hazel's face as he stared at the tunnel entrance, his gaze wavering with a hint of melancholy. She realized he intended to use the crystals on himself. When she saw him walking toward the tunnel, she lunged, gripping his arm with both hands to stop him.

" No, you don't have to do that. Let me fight here, with you " she begged, trying to hold back her tears.

" There are too many of them. We will both die and still won't be able to stop them from reaching the relic " he said, looking at her without hesitation.

[T/N: Here's an idea, have Cinder fill the hallway with fire, incinerate everything inside, even Salam will take a few seconds to recover from that.]

" Why are you doing this? I thought you hated Ozpin? " She pulled on his arm, but he didn't budge.

" It's not for Ozpin, it's for the rest of the world... for my sister's memories," Hazel smiled. " I suppose you have similar reasons, to save this world and someone in particular, right? " Cinder's mind immediately conjured thoughts of Tessa, her eyes misting again. " Besides," he said " I want to do something good, at least this time"

" Do the right thing? " she asked, tears slipping down her cheeks.

" Yes, that's one way to put it"

The growls grew louder, the creatures were almost upon them. Cinder loosened her grip on his arm, watching as he took a few steps toward the entrance before turning back.

" Goodbye, Cinder... for a moment, you reminded me of my sister. That made me very happy. " He smiled again. " Don't let Salem take the relic " he urged. " Now go! Go now! " he shouted at her, raising his hand to stab himself with the crystals.

With tears in her eyes, Cinder turned, launching herself into the air as flames enveloped her. She soared toward the vault just as an explosion echoed behind her, the shockwave propelling her faster.

" Goodbye, Hazel " she murmured, tears falling, but she kept moving forward.

Leaving her former companions behind, she felt a tug in her chest. This chapter was closing, but not in the way she'd hoped. Her young colleagues, Emerald, Mercury, even Hazel would never return. It hurt deeply, for a moment, she thought she could rescue them from darkness, but that was not to be. Things rarely turned out as she planned. Gritting her teeth, Cinder pressed on. She had to fight for those who remained, for those who could still be saved.

The tunnel was wide and frozen, with underlying entrances on either side, leading deeper underground. The explosion had likely caused severe damage, part of the academy would collapse any moment.

Finally, at the far end of the room, in front of a massive double door, stood two young women, speaking in urgent signs. They fell silent when Cinder approached, both wearing worried expressions, especially Penny, who looked embarrassed and saddened.

" What's going on? "

Neo subtly nodded at Penny, who clasped her hands, a gesture of distress. 

" I" *the orange-haired girl began* "I can't open the vault... I can't" her voice faltered.

" Oh"

"I know why," Penny continued, still avoiding their gaze.

Neo and Cinder exchanged puzzled looks. The bi-colored girl shrugged.

" It's because I'm not a living being "The automaton lowered her head, making herself seem smaller.

" You're alive " Cinder insisted.

Penny pursed her lips. "The maiden magic won't work on someone like me. Not a faunus or a human… I'm just… a machine."

" I see"

" What? " Penny asked, worried.

"You have a trust issue," Cinder pointed out.

" Trust is a feeling of hope, it's a human feeling"

" You said it" Cinder responded, leaving Penny bewildered. " Trust, hope, are human feelings. They're as real as you"

" But I'm just a robot, and everyone trusts me to open the door, but I don't know if I can. It would have been better if another girl had been the Winter Maiden, not me, a simple robot " she rambled.

" So insecure, like a human" Cinder observed. " Have you even tried? " Penny slowly shook her head, and Neo raised an eyebrow in confirmation.

" It's just that I..."

Before she could continue, Cinder interrupted, raising her Grimm arm to show it to Penny. "Maidens shouldn't be like this, right? Yet here we are." She flexed her fingers slightly. "I think maidens can be different… you just need a soul. And you have one."

Penny looked at her intently, mouth agape, her expression one of childlike surprise.

Cinder hid her arm behind her cloak again, stepping closer and speaking softly " Penny, you are alive and have more humanity than I do"

The young automaton fell silent, absorbing Cinder's gentle expression. She turned to Neo, who nodded in approval. Penny's eyes shone with newfound determination as she boldly faced the vault doors.

Closing her eyes for a moment, she opened them to reveal elegant green flames dancing in her orbs. She reached out to touch the door with an open, firm hand. Initially, nothing happened, but then white symbols began to etch themselves across the doorway. The door creaked, as if awakening from a long slumber, slowly parting to reveal the vault in full.

They entered, awestruck by the vast ice fortification surrounding them. White runes glowed along the hardened walls, forming an endless horizon.

At the center lay an altar of dry ice, on which rested a medium-long scepter, white as snow, edged in gold, its upper end forming a small head like the tip of a feather, adorned with jade.

The relic of creation. It radiated an ancient power, making Cinder's body tremble with a stinging sensation that coursed from the symbol on her back to her chest, settling in her navel with a permanent tingle. The black-haired girl suspected it was her Grimm limb drawn to the relic, feeding on it.

As Penny hesitantly grasped the scepter, the energy in Cinder surged violently, the pain inside her back intensifying. She let out a grunt but fought to contain it. The orange-haired girl stepped back, clutching the relic. The proximity made Cinder writhe in agony, a scream escaping her as flames engulfed her chest.

*Do you believe in destiny?* a familiar voice echoed in her mind.

" What? "

*Do you believe in destiny?* The question repeated, drowning out Penny's voice. Amid the heat raging inside her, Cinder answered defiantly.

" Yes," she gasped " Yes. Yes, I do"

*You can change destiny"*

" What do you mean? " she questioned, struggling to grasp the meaning "Tell me, Pyrrha, what does it mean? "

*You can change destiny* Another silence hung between them. *You can still save us* The ethereal echo of the voice pierced her thoughts.

Though Pyrrha's voice had haunted her in nightmares, this felt different, real. Her pain was real. The relic of creation...

Cinder raised her head, meeting the worried gazes of the girls in front of her. 

" Cinder, are you okay? " Penny asked uneasily. " It seems like you're talking to yourself"

The black-haired girl focused on the scepter in Penny's hands. *Maybe...*

" Penny... can you lend me the relic for a moment? "

Penny looked surprised, then turned to Neo, who nodded, confirming Cinder's unusual request.

The orange-haired girl tentatively handed Cinder the relic. 

At the moment of contact, the power surged again, coursing through Cinder's body like a flood. It felt alive, she felt alive, and suddenly, visions rushed through her mind like fireworks bursting in the night sky.

*Change. You have the power to create your own destiny.*

She realized she could rewrite the narrative, a world of possibilities lay before her. In that moment, she knew she could do anything.

[T/N: The relic of creation, remember this book was written before Volume 8 of RWBY so the original author didn't know about how the relic worked. Heck, I believe it was written back when Volume 6 ended. If you like this chapter then leave a comment, write a review, and drop some stones. If you want to read a few advanced chapters then check out the Patreon or the Ko-fi.]

[Also check out my other books, either go to my profile or search up 'Invisible-a Harry Potter FanFic', 'Searching in the Abyss', or 'Omnitrix of Justice'.]

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