RWBY: Pale Heart

Chapter 20: Bergwerk

Winter: "Chasing me around like a child throwing a tantrum, and to think I might have considered you a threat."

(F/N): "Big talk coming from someone who keeps running. Come closer, you won't regret it."

Winter: "Is that all you can do? Pretend to be some big bad final boss? You are nothing but a nuisance, a worthless child acting tough." It all started to play again, the darker times between me and my family.

(F/N): "Worthless?" It was like the floodgates opened.

Mom: "You are nothing compared to your father, I don't see why you even bother trying." Every time I was looked at as a failure.

(F/N): "Nuisance?" All of the emotions.

Amethyst: "Could you just shut up? I don't care." Even the smallest things like being forced to walk home.

(F/N): "I'll show you what a nuisance I am!" It all just erupted into a storm that formed a glowing black pattern on the ground.

Winter: "A Leviathan?!" I looked up to see a giant Grimm, it roared from its three heads, the dragon-like beast had risen from the ground, I looked back to Winter.

(F/N): "Would you call this a little nuisance?" The Grimm spewed from two of its mouths a black tar substance, from which crawled out more Grimm. "I believe this is where you run like a coward." She cursed silently as she leaped back, with her glyphs she attempted to form an ice wall between us, I charged and slashed through it. "If anyone is worthless, it's you, you can't do anything but run." From the side, a fireball attempted to strike me.

Girl: "She isn't worthless!" I look over to see the one I've been looking for, though she's wearing normal clothes her stance tells me she's a fighter, a trained one.

Winter: "What are you still doing here?!"

(F/N): "Thank you, you've made my life so much easier.

Girl: "Let me and Winter go, or else."

(F/N): "Or else what? Not like either of you can beat me." She takes out a handgun and puts it to her head. "What are you thinking?"

Girl: "I'm thinking the rules are clear, even if I die looking at you, you're still a man, the powers won't go to you naturally."

(F/N): "Holding yourself hostage... that's both a foolish and risky move."

The three of us stand still, locked in place, if they move I attack, if I attack she kills herself, if she kills herself I lose the maiden and Winter leaves. The air is tense, waiting for someone to move, I stare her down, slowly I move my blood closer to disarm her from behind, it was at that point she called it. The echo rang out across the ruined town, I didn't even bother to look at Winter, I slowly stepped forward and dropped to my knees. She had to know for certain that I wouldn't let her go, she had to know she could pull the trigger, but how could she know, she looked too young to know something like that.

This event angered me, I was irate at that point, yelling, cursing, mindlessly destroying the already ruined buildings. There came a point where I even took out the relic of knowledge and threw it hard onto the ground hoping it would break and kill Jinx inside, when it didn't I kicked so hard I fell and grabbed my foot. In the end, when I started to calm down, I just sat against what remained of a nearby wall with the relic in front of me and the girl's body some yards away. I looked to the Grimm, I shouted, asking what they were looking at, there was no response, they just turned their heads and did nothing. Looking up I saw one of the heads from the dragon Grimm looking down at me.

(F/N): "What?! You have something you want to say?!" He just moves his head and lays it down with the rest, I look to the relic. "What about you Jinx? I'm sure you have something you want to say."

But there was nothing, in a place where the streets were once busy, where people lived honest lives, there was only silence and Grimm. I took out the relic of choice, useless, just like me at this moment, it was as though I had forgotten how to use my powers, then it crossed my mind, they weren't my powers, I never had my own powers. The Cell was practically given to me, my second chance at life was a gift from Salem, I took the powers from Iris and Cinder, just as I had taken the relics. I couldn't have on my own, meaning they were all right, I'm worthless on my own, Drag saved me from Raven, Salem told me where she was, Jinx gave me all the knowledge I could ask for.

No longer did I need to search for answers, no longer did I need to fight when I could simply control my opponent. It was that train of thought that made me realize why the relics didn't work, Jinx judged my intent, and she had somehow taken my knowledge, that is why now I can not use the relics or the Maiden powers. I had lost all rights to them, no doubt she'd take the rest away if she wanted me to die, something Winter and the others will gladly do once the Grimm are cleared. Part of me wished to, just like after losing my team I felt nothing for myself, the Grimm could turn on me and I wouldn't do a thing.

(F/N): "I'd call you a fool for taking your own life... but I know I'd be some form of a hypocrite for saying that." I slowly made my way to my feet just to walk over and kneel down beside her. "I'm sorry... sorry that you had to give up your life."

Moving to close her eyes, my hand on contact with her faintly glows, I examined my hand and found nothing unusual. Placing it against her cheek I felt her warm body, I couldn't believe it, the odds almost seemed nonexistent, she was alive. Her breathing picked up, I looked over to the lantern and looked back, I stayed there until the glowing stopped and she appeared to be simply sleeping. It was dark by then, the red eyes of the Grimm looked over, it was in their nature to kill humans, no doubt they were looking to take her life in her defenseless state. After picking up the relics and putting them away I took the girl and begin walking down the valley.

Near the exit was a barricade, I didn't bother to approach it, not just because a soldier yelled for me to halt, but because I didn't plan on going any further. I placed the girl down and started walking back to the town, a few days passed before I finally left, using the dragon Grimm to get over the mountains even though we were shot at. I could tell it was the power of the Maidens that allowed me to bring the girl back on the brink of death, but it felt odd, even wrong to have been able to fix all of what happened with seemingly little effort.

Jinx: "You're going after the relic."

(F/N): "I still have to free Salem."

Jinx: "Hm."

(F/N): "I'm not going to ask you any questions, you can leave."

Jinx: "You realize it, absolute knowledge is absolute power."

(F/N): "And absolute power corrupts absolutely, I read a philosophy book once as well."

Jinx: "(F/N)."

(F/N): "I get it... but you should also get me."

Jinx: "I do, you're not the first edgelord to throw a tantrum." I look at her.

(F/N): "Well... I can't actually argue against that."

Jinx: "It's hard to argue against the truth."

(F/N): "Thanks." I said sincerely. "You were trying to help, weren't you?"

Jinx: "Knowledge is meant to lead to wisdom, but sometimes the power of that knowledge blinds the individual from seeing said wisdom."

(F/N): "Those that turn a blind eye are either corrupt or kind."

Jinx: "Read that in a philosophy book as well?" She smiles cheekily before disappearing, I think she was legitimately trying to roast me at that point.

(F/N): "Yeah, I actually did."

Third Person POV

As the dragon Grimm that Winter referred to as Leviathan flew towards Atlas where the relic of creation waited, the former Winter Maiden laid in a medical room even after waking up. Winter Schnee recorded her stated, the young girl couldn't recall anything after taking her own life, but when the girl failed to use her powers Winter knew that not only did she fail in protecting the girl, but now the enemy was stronger. After hearing the dragon-class Grimm had flew over the mountains she left in the fastest transport available and went off to Atlas.