Reader x Cinder Fall x Summer Rose / The One You Feed: A RWBY Fanfiction

Chapter I: Split

An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. "There is a battle between two wolves inside us all." He tells him.

"One is darkness. It is Anger, Jealousy, Greed, Resentment, Inferiority, Lies, and Ego. The other is the light. It is Joy, Peace, Love, Hope, Humility, Kindness, Empathy, and Truth."

After thinking for a minute, the boy asks, "Grandfather, which wolf wins?"

The old man responds quietly, "The one you feed."

Present Day:

Third Person POV:

Screams pierce the night sky and echo throughout the darkness. The blackness of night is illuminated by a blazing fire rampaging throughout a small isolated village. The town's residents run back and forth through the streets as they cry out for their loved ones, their fear and anguish attracting the creatures of Grimm which only add to the chaos. A small number of fighters do their best to hold the Grimm at bay, giving the citizens time to escape, but the tiny village has no huntsmen, and the few defenders the town does have are quickly disposed of as the dark creatures continue their onslaught.

At the center of the chaos stand two lone figures. One of them, a woman dressed in an elegant crimson dress, her hair blacker than night while her amber eyes pierce through the darkness as she watches the spectacle before her unfold with a hint of amused entertainment. Next to her stands a tall, (H/C) haired man. His black trench coat billowing in the wind of the once peaceful night. His coat's upturned collar does little to hide his cold expression, the light of the flames reflecting in his black eyes as he watches the chaos uninterestedly, almost bored.

"Come now (F/N)." The woman in crimson says to her partner. "We must not allow the Spring Maiden to escape."

The man simply nods and the two begin to slowly walk through the town streets, ignoring the pandemonium surrounding them. As they move through the village, several of the still standing fighters take notice of them and move to attack them, raising their swords, bows, clubs, and whatever other weapons they might have at their disposal as they prepare to strike. However, all are struck down by the man in black. With no effort or apparent movement, shadows simply fly from the man's body, impaling the would-be defenders one after the other.

Hearing a child's cry coming from their right, the pair turn their attention to see a frightened young girl standing fifty feet away, rubbing the tears from her eyes with one hand, the other grasping tightly to a small stuffed bear. Rooted to the spot with fear, she looks at the two menacing figures with glowing blue eyes. The pair begin to make their way towards the young girl when her mother and father run out of a nearby alley. The mother scoops the child up into her arms as the father throws his arms out, shielding his wife and daughter.

"Stand aside." The crimson woman says.

"Never!" The father shouts. "I won't let you hurt them! I won't let you take my baby girl!"

"I applaud your bravery." The crimson woman says. "But you never really had a say in the matter."

Shadows suddenly fly from the man in black's body, lunging towards the father. Two of the dark tendrils wrap around his arms as a third stabs him through the stomach, lifting him off the ground. As the man coughs crimson, the life leaving his eyes, the shadows drop his body and return to their owner, leaving him to lay in a pile of his own blood.

"What about you woman?" The crimson woman asks. "Are you as much of a fool as your husband?"

"Please!" The mother screams as she clutches the crying girl to her chest. "Please don't take her! You can have me instead! Take me, but please, just let my daughter go!"

"It is not you who we want."

More shadows fly from the man in black towards the mother and her daughter. Just as they are about to send the mother to the next life, a white cloaked figure drops from the sky slicing the shadows to pieces with a large white scythe.

"Run." The cloaked figure says. The mother doesn't hesitate to obey, fleeing with her daughter in her arms. The man in black sends more shadow tendrils their way, but they are blocked once again by the figure in white. Several Beowolves lunge at the newcomer, but she simply ducks and weaves, easily avoiding their claws and teeth, all the while slicing them to pieces with her scythe.

More creatures of Grimm make to attack the woman; packs of Beowolves and Creeps, swarms of Ursai, and a flock of Nevermore, all moving to attack the woman in white. Dropping into a fighting stance, tightly gripping to her scythe, the cloaked figure is surprised when shadows impale all the approaching Grimm. Looking up she sees the man in black, his right hand raised, having slain the numerous armies of darkness with almost no effort. Power radiates of this man in waves, but it is accompanied by a darkness, one that cannot be cast out by the light of the raging flames.

The screams have all died, silence returning to the night. Most of the residents have fled the area, flooding into the nearby woods, huddled together. Those that remained in the village have all been slain, either roasted by the fires or devoured by Grimm. Only three figures remain within the blaze; the raven-haired woman dressed in crimson and her tall, silent associate. And fifty feet from them stands a woman completely in white. Her cloak flapping in the breeze, her hood obscuring her face.

Reader's POV:

You slowly lower your hand having just dispatched of an army of Grimm. This is a personal matter, and nothing will interfere. The three of you stand in silence for a minute, the only noise the crackling of the flames which continue to devour what remains of the wooden structures, black smoke clouding the sky and threatening to shroud the light of the stars and moon. Then, the woman across from you speaks.

"Step away from her (F/N)!" She shouts. "It's not too late for you."

"She doesn't love you, you know." The crimson woman whispers into your ear as she walks around behind you, tracing her index finger across the top of your back as she moves to your other side. "Not the way I do." She whispers in your other ear, curling her fingers over your shoulders.

"Don't listen to her (F/N)!" The cloaked woman says. "There's still light in you, I know there is. Please, let's go!"

"It's just like I said." The crimson dressed woman hisses into your ear with a smirk. "She may claim to love you, but in reality, she's just afraid. Afraid of your power. She wants to lock away your darkness like some shameful secret. But I see the darkness in you and love you anyways. She doesn't really want to be with you. She just wants to control who you are. But me? I have always loved you just as you are. Light, or darkness."

The cloaked woman pulls down her hood to reveal her face, tears streaming freely from her eyes. "(F/N)." She whispers, begging to you as she searches your eyes. "Please. Come home."

You're torn. You can feel the internal struggle taking place within you as the light you had thought long since extinguished threatens to overcome the darkness you've embraced. Overcome by the stress put on by the weight of this decision, you fall to your knees. One half of your body, the side closest to the woman in the white cloak, radiates a powerful white light, so strong and bright that it could drown out the light of a million suns. The other half of your body facing the woman in crimson, is shrouded in shadows, a darkness deeper than a black hole from which no light can escape. The conflict within you feels as if it's going to rip you to shreds and you grip your head and scream in pain.

How did you end up here? What series of events must have transpired to bring you to this point in time and space. On one side, the light, your friend, Summer Rose. The first woman you ever loved, who chose your best friend over you. The woman who was always so determined to see the good in you, no matter how bad things got. On the other side, the darkness, your partner, Cinder Fall. The woman who loved you, never trying to change you, and accepting the darkness she found within your soul. What could have happened to bring you here?