RWBY Through Worlds (End)

BC81: Red Herring (Heroes and Villains)--8

Then what did they want? If it wasn't them...

* * *

Cinder's first conscious thought was her head was pounding and she had a weird taste in her mouth.

She thought there was pressure on her hand, like someone was holding it, but she was more concerned with the feeling she had that something bad had occurred.

What had happened...? Her memory was foggy. She was in the sick bay. Someone came in--

Someone came in!

She sat up, eyes flying open.

Royal was sitting there, holding her hand.

"You're awake," he said with relief.

Cinder yanked her hand away from him with a warning look.

"I was just trying to help." Royal began to make excuses right away. "I thought maybe I could do what I did before, to make that stuff wear off faster, but I couldn't tell if it was working or not. I thought maybe it felt different... I mean, you did wake up, so many it was."

Cinder decided not to listen to his excuses--though they would have perhaps been kind of cute if she'd been the type of person to see it that way.

"Forget it," she said, and her words were slurred because of the sedative. But she struggled to get more ahold of herself. "Listen, someone was here."

"We know," Royal said. "Neo got your message, but by the time they found you, you were out. Someone drugged you... The medic said you wouldn't remember what happened at first probably...but if you can remember anything, that would be good."

"How long has it been?" Cinder asked.

"I think at least 2 hours, maybe more. We were going to try to get help for it sooner, but they wouldn't hear it till...well, nevermind that's not important. We've been looking for anyone suspicious...well, I haven't, but the others have. Only we didn't know who to look for."

Rather blurry images were playing in Cinder's head, something about someone with horns...

Her eyes lit on the cabinet, and the memory came back to her with a jolt.

"That!" She pointed at it, hurrying to get up--and, finding that wasn't the best idea yet, she sank back down. "There was a...man, here. Faunus. He put something in that cabinet... He said something too..."

She rubbed her head and muttered a curse. "What was it...? I think it...I don't know, something about...ready?"

"This is it right here?" Royal went to it. "Let's see... I think I saw what they punched in..."

He pressed the buttons on the lock, and it clicked open.

"Do you have a photographic memory?" Cinder asked.

"No, they just made a nice kind of beat while they put the numbers in, and the pace of them, it's precise." Royal shrugged. "I'm good with patterns... Now, which stuff would he have tampered with? Besides they took nothing and it was the same as yesterday."

"Then something was replaced since yesterday." Cinder, even loopy, could see this much.

"Yeah," Royal agreed. "But what? It's just medicine and vaccines."

"Why do they need vaccines?"

"They were saying that up top. I guess everyone who stays there has to get them. There's this Water Fever people get from bugs here. I hope we don't have to since we're leaving. I hate shots."

"I see." Cinder didn't care. "Well, I don't know what--"

Then, as if it was divine inspiration, the memory hit her.