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

(Cinder Ending) Chapter XIX: Soldier of Darkness

Exiting the house, you hear a gunshot off in the distance. You fail to react in time, the bullet planting itself right between your eyes. Stumbling back, you slowly slide down the front of the door. Summer hops out of the trees, her scythe in its sniper form. Replacing it on her back, she runs over to you. Grabbing you by the shoulders, she pushes you to the side as she tries to get inside the house and check on Tai. Just as she opens the door, you release a groan of pain.

"God dammit, that hurt." You hiss. Were you a normal man, that bullet would have gone straight through your head. Instead, it had lodged itself in your skull. Your head aches as the bullet pushes itself out of your skull as the skin, muscle, and bone reform.

Summer leaps back in surprise as you get to your feet. Her eyes widen in shock as you thrust your arm into her chest, hand wrapper around her heart.

"Have you ever wondered what it feels like to have your heart ripped out of your chest?" You ask as she begins to gurgle blood, tears leaking out of the corner of her arm. "Yes, I know it hurts. Believe me, it's a feeling I was all too familiar with. You should be dead by now, but I'm keeping you alive. I want you to feel the pain you caused me. I want you to feel as I tear your heart from your body, to feel the life leaving your body until you're left with nothing but darkness. I know, you think I'm evil. Honestly, I don't disagree with you. But this, this isn't evil. This is just quid pro quo."

Summer screams as you slowly pull withdraw your hand, your arm drenched in blood. As the arteries and veins slowly tear, your left with her heart in your hand. Summer's now lifeless corpse falls to the ground with a thud. Dropping the organ to the ground, you crush it under your boot before ascending into the air, making your way back to Salem's palace.

Time Skip:

Several days have passed since you killed the last remaining members of Team STRQ. You're not quite sure what became of Yang. You knew that Summer had run out of the house with her in her arms, but when she returned Yang was no where to be found. It didn't bother you much. She would either die at the hands of Grimm or starvation. Regardless, you had other matters to worry about. You were growing weary of living under Salem's thumb. She was insulting, condescending, and worst of all indecisive. You couldn't understand why she refused to act when all the cards were in your favor. You suspected the others were of a similar mind, except for Tyrian, who would blindly follow Salem to his death if she so asked. It didn't really matter how the others felt though, your mind was made up. Salem was no longer fit to lead, she needed to be replaced. The problem was she wouldn't simply relinquish her throne peacefully. The rest of the cabal wouldn't stand a chance going up against her, not even Cinder. You on the other hand, your power rivaled Salem's itself, even she had admitted it. So, just a week after killing your old team, you set your sights on an even grander prize.

Entering Salem's throne room, you found her sitting in her crystal throne, as usual. Instead of taking your usual spot in the seat on her immediate right however, you instead used your semblance to create your own seat, positioned directly across from her on the other end of the table.

"(F/N)." She says. "I don't recall you summoning you."

"Your summons are no longer any of my concern. In fact, I'm done taking orders from you all together."

"I see." She scowls, leaning back in her throne. "So, you've come to usurp me I take it?"

"Perceptive as always. It's a shame your actions aren't as resolute as your mind."

"Tell me something (F/N)." Salem says, resting her chin on her hand. "Why risk everything you have? You're a smart man, you must have known that once you walked in here, you wouldn't be walking back out. What do you hope to accomplish?"

"I think you give yourself too much credit." You respond. "I've risked nothing by coming here today."

"Is that so?"

"It is." You nod. "You're right to say I won't be walking out of this room, because I'll be sitting in that throne instead." You nod your head towards her seat. "I will kill you, conquer Remnant, and take everything you've built and turn it into something much bigger. That's how this will play out."

"Do you really think you can kill me?" Salem smirks.

"You said yourself my power rivals your own."

"Power, yes. But power says nothing of your experience."

Salem lazily waves her hand and the shadows that make up your chair start to creep up your arms and legs, engulfing your body until they've swallowed you whole. She seems surprised to find the shadows don't turn you to ash, instead simply receding back into the chair leaving you quite unphased.

"Many years ago, you told me the darkness knew who really controlled them." You tell her, referencing your first conversation held on the edge of the precipice. "I wonder if that is still the case."

Salem's nostrils flare as she inhales sharply. Hundreds of shadows lunge at you from all corners of the room, each about to impale you; but inches before they reach you, they stop, retreating back into the cracks from which they came.

"I have a question for you." You say, inspecting your fingernails. "I'm sure you've heard it before, after all it is an old question, older even, than you I might guess. Tell me, what happens when the unstoppable force meets the immovable object?"

Salem says nothing, her piercing red eyes narrowing.

"I have a theory." You continue. "When two beings of such immense power," you indicate the two of you, "come into conflict, well, brute strength is simply rendered null. Experience too. It doesn't matter how ancient the immovable object or how short-lived the unstoppable force, it doesn't solve the paradox. I've given this question quite a bit of thought, and the only answer I can find, is that something has to give. Someone must yield."

"Your question is irrelevant. Your theory is irrelevant. I have commanded the darkness since long before you were born, and you'll find that it is still mine to command."

"That's where you're wrong. The shadows are ours to command. You've never had to share the world with another soldier of darkness before, but now that I'm here, the shadows don't know who to listen to. That's why you haven't been able to kill me, they're waiting to see who comes out on top. They're waiting to see who yields."

"And you think that will be me?" Salem almost laughs.

"I know it will be you." You look her in the eyes. "I've destroyed all semblances of my past life, I have been reborn in darkness. But you, you still cling to the past. I can see it in your eyes. Tell me Salem, how old is this castle? Almost as old as you I'd say. And what of your relationship with Ozpin? It's obvious you two have a long history. Maybe in another life this castle would have made a nice home."

Salem's eyes widen before narrowing to slits. You're not sure what it is, but all of a sudden you can feel a pressure begin to encroach on you, closing in on all sides as Salem's red eyes burn. Inhaling deeply, you begin to push back, forcing the pressure away from yourself and focusing your rage and spite and hatred all on Salem. Her eyes widen and behind the anger and darkness, you can see something else, something you've never seen in her eyes before; fear.

A single bead of sweat falls from your brow and trails down the side of your head as you continue to push against Salem. The red veins that lined her body slowly start to fade to white as sweat dripped down her face, her hands balled into fists. You continued, with a tremendous amount of effort, to push against Salem's power until very suddenly, the resistance vanished. Salem still sat in her throne, her face still scrunched in concentration. As you rose from your seat, Salem's body slowly started to disintegrate, like a dying Grimm, the ashes being scattered into the air before vanishing completely. Catching your breath, you grabbed the back of her now empty throne and pulled the chair out. With a satisfied smile, you sat in your new throne.