A/N: PLEASE READ THIS AUTHOR'S NOTE, WOULD YOU KINDLY?

*EDIT*

BEHOLD THE TROLLS!

Do you guys really want to make me cry?

Look at the bloody reviews for this story if you don't believe me. They're all over this chapter.

WHY THE HELL AM I DOING THIS IF PEOPLE JUST KEEP CHANTING "DIE" AT ME OVER AND OVER AGAIN?!

Pardon me engrish, I'm currently hopped up on painkillers and resting comfortably. Surgery went well with only minor complications, and I'd rather not speak anymore of it. Stupid cyst! At least its gone now, so that's one less thing to worry about. Also, the bastards who hoped that I would die during said surgery? Hope you have a nice day. -_-

This chapter was a monster to write, but I'm finally satisfied with it.

To quote Opzin:

"The single quality that is common across every living creature on this planet, is fear."

And this chapter is about Fear.

Kaguya's broken free. If that's not fear, I don't know what is.

I...don't enjoy writing darker stories, but there's no denying that this particular chapter veers into that territory. Still, character growth is often painful, and Cinder's arc reaches a peak here. We've spent the last few chapters watching her change. Now let's see if she keeps those changes or casts them all aside.

Congratulations, Cinder. You're the Spring Maiden now.

Is that enough for you, I wonder? Or do you still want more power?

One last note. Yes, Cinder can spit fire. We saw her do it near the end of Volume Seven.

"My dear girl, you cannot hide from my eyes. I see you for what you are. You're a child, Cinder. A lonely, wretched, miserable little child. One keening not for power and prestige as you'd have others think...but love and oh, yes, attention. You don't want power. Not really. Not anymore. You want a family. You want to be loved. Even now you secretly pine for the affection of a man who's forgotten what love even feels like. Will he cry if I bring him your head, I wonder? Will he weep? Will he wail? Will he break? Or will he-

"SILENCE!"

~Kaguya and Cinder.

Embers Extinguished

"Raven!"

Ozpin jolted awake in the dead of night with a ragged gasp; heart hamming, skin soaked in sweat. A curse leaped from his lips as he fought free from the dream. No. Not a dream. Nightmare. His mind bleated in fear and anguish and his chest ached in the worst of ways. When he looked down, there was no wound to be had. But he'd seen it all the same. Felt it. Lived every moment. He'd seen the blade pierce through her back. Hard the gasp that followed. He'd seen vicious glowing eyes like poisoned honey, burning with flame. And he knew it was no dream.

The Spring Maiden was dead. Slain, at the hands of Cinder Fall.

"What's happening?" Oscar flailed in his mind. "Ozpin? What was that?!"

Wrapped up in his moment of panic, the immortal ignored Oscar's frantic pleas.

Young hands flailed in the dark for an enemy that wasn't there. Sweaty palms scrabbled at thin sheets and flung them away as he lurched out of bed to land nimbly on his feet. Rather, he would have, had Oscar's body not failed him. Not yet accustomed to such rapid movements, he tripped and smashed his skull against an ill-placed dresser. Stars burst before his vision as the world burned a ghastly shade of red. Aura flared and pain blazed through his forehead. Ironically, this proved just the jolt he needed; for the sudden jolt served to clear head and banish that brief beat of bestial panic.

"Urrgh...

It also left him stunned on the floor, eyes spinning.

"Huh?" Qrow's bleary voice called in the dark. "Whuzzat? Oz? You alright?"

No. No, no, no. He couldn't tell him. Not here. Not now. Everything would fly apart.

"I'm fine, Qrow." Ozpin groaned, clutching his head. "Just fell out of bed. Go back to sleep."

Ozpin waited until he was certain his old friend had done just that. Only then did he dare to drag himself upright.

He didn't want to wake the others. Doing so would only panic them, or worse, terrify them. He daren't tell them what he'd seen in his dreams. This was his secret to keep. It was better this way. Revealing the truth would only imperil those under his care. Even telling Qrow brought an inherent risk. The truth would send him howling after Raven's killer; anyone who could murder a Maiden would make short work of him. Worse, if that truly was Cinder he'd seen...well. The implications were less than pleasant.

Cinder was dead. She had to be, else Ruby wouldn't have inherited her power. Yet he'd clearly seen that vicious woman ram her blade through Raven's back.

Impossible as it might seem, the madwoman had defied death. She'd be just as powerful as before, if not moreso. Spring had ever been the greatest of the four seasons and somehow, he doubted Fate would be so kind as to bestow Raven's powers onto Yang.

He knew what was coming. They'd have to up Ruby's training.

Grasping for his cane in the dark, the former Headmaster of Beacon found it and paced to the window. He flung it open and saw the storm raging in the distance. Scowled. It had been such a peaceful evening, too. Ruby's training had been progressing at a decent pace, and Salem had been silent for some time now. She'd been bested at Haven, her agents routed and forced to lick their wounds. He'd dared to think they were safe because of that. He'd been a fool. Now the darkness felt heavy, thick and cloying, like a dense fog, clouding his vision.

"Ozpin?" This time there could no denying Oscar's worry. He bleated in the back of his head like a frightened animal. "Are we...?"

"Peace, Oscar." he murmured. "We're not in any danger at this time. That was merely a vision."

...someone died, didn't they?"

He couldn't lie to him.

"Yes, Oscar." Ozpin sighed. "Yes, someone did."

He'd made the Maidens. Their magic was his own, a gift he'd granted them in a bygone age, a time when he'd been...more than this. So much more. Still, the power that he'd parted with remained a part of him. He could sense when they used their gifts, no matter the distance. He knew when they passed on. Often it would be through old age, but sometimes...sometimes their end was sharper. More sudden. What he'd felt just now -what he'd seen!- was more akin to a knife in his back than anything else. He knew this feeling all too well. In the room adjacent to their own, he heard little miss Rose sob softly in her sleep.

Poor girl. As the Fall Maiden, she'd sensed it, too.

There was nothing he could do for her.

Raven was dead.

(.0.0.0.)

Ruby wept softly in her sleep.

"Jeez, sis. What kind of nightmare are you having..?"

Yang sighed and tucked her little sister just a bit closer in bed, curling her body around the smaller girl in a vain attempt to comfort her. Or protect her, from whatever she was seeing. It had to be something nasty, if she wasn't waking up. Poor thing was latched onto her like a limpet and holding on for dear life.

"Hey," she whispered and ran a hand over her sister's head, doing her best to soothe her fears. "You're okay. You're safe. You're here, with us."

Ruby whimpered, but slowly, gradually, her cries quieted. Yang turned her head and risked another glance outside.

She could see the storm in the distance from her window, far enough not to be a threat to Haven, yet still audible and visible all the same. Fingers of forlorn lightning lanced through the dark sky. Great purple bolts split the heavens above. Around them. the cloud seem to writhe and whirl as she gazed on, twisting and snarling in impossible places. Almost as if someone were actively controlling them, bending the very heavens to their will. A few months ago, she would have dismissed such a sight out of hand. Now she knew better.

Only a Maiden could do that.

Was Raven out there, somewhere? Was she fighting someone?

A sudden breeze brushed Yang's cheek, invisible fingers caressing her visage as it threaded through her golden hair. She frowned and shook her head, batting the strange feeling away. Stupid window. Why did she leave the damn ting open? She felt cold. Why was she so damn cold? Her thoughts twisted uncomfortably and in a fit of pique she stomped them down...

"She's coming."

...until she heard the voice.

Yang looked left.

Yang looked right.

Yang found nothing.

Weiss and Blake were still sound asleep in their cots. Ruby made not a peep against her. So who the devil was talking to her?

"I'm sorry, Yang. Be better than I was."

At first she thought it was just her mind playing tricks on her, or an overactive imagination; these words were little more than a whisper on the wind, so soft that she had to strain her ears just to hear them. But she did hear them. Try though she might to ignore it, a cold, awful feeling tore at her chest and a pit opened in her stomach. Because this time, she'd recognized those words, and the voice behind it. Harsh, bitter tears sprang to her eyes, accompanied by a pang of dread. A lone word leaped to her lips.

"Mom...?"

This time, the darkness didn't answer her.

(.0.0.0.)

Arthur Watts preened proudly as he watched the world burn around him.

Some might call him cruel for this. Perhaps he was. Salem's plan had been quite inspired, as hers most often were.

Her instructions were clear. She'd told him to divide and conquer today, and so he had. Now there were none left to oppose them.

Mercury was a helpless mess at their feet without use of his legs, unable to anything more than glower at him. Emerald stood paralyzed by indecision, dithering helplessly on the sidelines as she waited for her mistress to make her decision. Cinder herself was fixed firmly in his sights, face stony as she watched the village vanished under a tide of Grimm. Its leader and purported God -utter nonsense!- was too preoccupied by Raven and the Relic of Destruction to intervene on their behalf, while that meddling little imp of his was occupied with Tyrian. There was no need for Watts to dirty his hands here. He'd leave that to the coward and the madman.

And so he watched everything fall apart.

"So uncivilized." he sighed, listening to their screams. "Wouldn't you agree, Cinder?"

She didn't respond. A pity, but not unexpected. She'd likely had some aim here, and now that they'd ruined it, she was sulking.

Cinder would never fall prey to sentiment; which meant she would never betray Salem. Their queen was eternal. Immortal. Why, he dare say she was inevitable. No matter how you sliced it, hers was clearly the winning side in this war. This "Naruto" fellow had been foolish indeed to poke his nose where matters didn't belong. Now he would pay with his life.

Yes, all variables were accounted for.

Hazel's absence was...troubling to be sure, but if he'd turn traitor they'd deal with him eventually. Watts rather looked forward to it. He'd never gotten on with that brute. Too sentimental. Too soft. Always trying to spare lives, never willing to go the extra mile. His vendetta lay with Ozpin, and no one else. If he'd lost sight of that, then perhaps it was time they put him out to pasture with the rest.

He was still watching Cinder like a hawk when the world shook and the skies darkened overhead.

"FINALLY!"

A voice like thunder rattled the ground, followed by a shrill scream. The flash of light that followed was almost blinding to behold in the night; he found himself forced to raise an arm and guard his gaze against it. Laughter followed, and it was not the laughter of a man, but a woman. It didn't belong to anyone he knew. A cold shiver stole over him, but he mastered himself, shook his head, and turned his gaze back to Cinder.

Watts frowned in mild irritation. "What the devil was that?"

"Nothing to concern yourself with." Wait. That didn't sound like Cinder.

Some sixth sense warned him at the last moment. Or perhaps it was the breeze.

"What're you-

Regardless, he wasn't quick enough.

A blade bit through Aura and slammed into his back, causing his eyes to bulge. Cold steel slid through his ribs to scrape bone and a choked breath tore itself past his lips as he arched his back. His mustache twitched as he stared down at the crimson stain even now spreading across his jacket. How?! When?! He hadn't even heard them coming! Twitching, he craned his neck back to gaze upon his attacker.

Neo granted him a feral grin.

"Why you little cretin!" A snarl leaped from his lips. "I'll have your head!"

Watts tried to turn as she ripped her weapon free, tried to fight back, tried to bring his revolver to bear, but the little devil anticipated him. Even as he drew, Neo danced forward, her blade lancing into his guard to find his wrist. It was a clean cut. He barely felt it...at first. Then came the pain. It blinded him to all else, leaving his gun to tumble free from nerveless fingers as he roared in pain. Someone else swept in and hamstrung him from behind, sweeping a naked edge against the back of his ankles to send him stumbling forward.

And so did Arthur Watts, great genius that he was, crumple to the ground with nary a sound.

"Cinder, you fool!" he cried! "Control your minions before they kill me!"

Frantic, he turned his head, searching for aid. There was none to be had. "Cinder" waved at him and vanished before his very eyes like a desert mirage. She wasn't there. Perhaps she never had been. Ah. So that's how it was. He understood what happened now. He'd been deceived. Emerald hadn't stood there without reason; she'd had him under her Semblance the entire time. Was this what defeat felt like? To think he'd almost forgotten this bitter taste of it.

Someone filched the remote from his coat pocket as he bled out, wasted and gasping for air.

"Don't mind me." Emerald's voice hummed in his ear. "I'll just be borrowing this."

Not a moment later, an ominous click rose in his ears.

Oh, dear.

The good doctor had a fleeting moment to realize his blunder before a shadow fell over him. Without that device locking down Mercury's metal legs, that mouthy brat would be free to move as he pleased. Sure enough, a heavy heel came down on one of legs, producing a horrible crack. He cried out, and the boot stomped down harder.

"Don't worry, Watts." Emerald flicked her weapon away. "We'll keep you alive. We still need a sacrifice for Neo. Don't we?"

The little hellion nodded sagely.

Watts croaked out a gasp. "Sacrifice...?"

They didn't deign to answer that question.

Mercury sneered down at him all too happily. "Nighty night, doc."

An iron boot snapped into Arthur's chin and sent a tooth whistling into the air.

(.0.0.0.)

Spring.

It sang through Cinder's veins like a nameless song she couldn't quite place; surging and swirling in her body with all the force and fame of its name. It was strength. It was power. It stole very her breath away. And what a breath it was! She felt complete again. Whole. As if a missing piece of her soul had slotted back into place. For if Fall was death, then Spring was rebirth. Her rebirth. New life and strength and power! Raven's death had granted her wings here and now, and she used them to rise from the ashes of her former self like a great phoenix reborn.

A triumphant shout tore from her throat as she cried her victory to the world. "FINALLY!"

On a whim the new Maiden spread her arms on either side of her body and raised them into the sky. Her new powers responded easily, eager to please. A great gale tugged her form into the air and held her aloft as her eyes burned afresh with crimson flames. She could see them in her mind's eye, like tongues of scarlet fire licking at the edges of her vision. The dark curtain of her hair found itself burgeoned by the storm engulfing her, fanning out over her shoulders in a rich ebony curtain. She gazed down at her hands and grinned, a bright and euphoric smile stretching across her face.

Gods, she'd missed this feeling.

Fire flickered at her fingertips, burning hungrily in her palms. Lightning rippled through dark clouds above her head, echoed by a fresh peal of thunder. An almighty gale keened through the air when she waved her hand through the night. Even the very earth trembled beneath her will. This. This was the power of the Spring Maiden. No wonder she'd lost to Raven. Maidens grew stronger as they came to realize their powers. And this? It wasn't the power of a fully-realized Maiden, but it was close, very close indeed. Made her Fall powers look paltry by comparison.

When the first fitful raindrops came, Cinder threw her head back and gloried in them.

Here at last, she had control. And so much more. Perhaps she owed some of that to him. Perhaps her training truly had made her stronger, perhaps her time without the Maiden powers made her appreciate them all the more. Perhaps she was simply more attuned to the power of Spring. Regardless, she felt stronger now than she'd ever been.

Vengeance was hers. And soon, very soon, she would have it again.

"You'll regret this." a familiar, sullen voice whispered in the back of her head. "That power is a curse."

Aha, and there she was. Raven's Aura, or rather the last dregs of it, were fused with the might of the Spring Maiden, and now her own. Aura was the soul after all, and naturally with those dregs came some portion of the woman's memories and emotions. Some semblance of her very self. Her strength. Her Fear. Her arrogance. Her cowardice. Her pride. Team STRQ. A girl with Silver Eyes. And there, beneath it all, an irritating fondness for a mouthy girl. For her daughter. These treacherous feelings threatened to swallow her victory, to whisper doubts in her ear. Cinder shoved them into the back of her mind before they could take root deep in her heart.

"Says the dead woman." Cinder scoffed instead, smile shrinking as her joy turned sour. "Can't you rest in peace?"

"You know I'm right. You'll be hunted for this."

"Then I'll reclaim what is mine and become stronger still. " the new Maiden huffed. "Haven is close by, no?"

A jolt of fear snapped through her, fear that wasn't hers. "Stay away from Yang and Ruby!"

"Calm yourself. I have no interest in your daughter. But I will have what is mine."

Hrmph. More whispers from a dead woman. Cinder ignored them. They meant nothing. She'd expected as much, even experienced it once before, when she truly became the Fall Maiden. Amber had haunted her for days after the Battle of Beacon. Raven's nattering would prove short-lived. She would fade, in time. All things faded. All things died.

All Things Must Die.

But here, in this moment, Cinder felt immortal. Invincible.

A peal of delighted laughter echoed over her shoulder and stole such thoughts away.

With a supreme effort of will, the Spring Maiden lowered herself to the earth. So lost had she been in her shining moment of glory, that she'd all but forgotten her surroundings. A dull pang of dread bloomed in her bosom as the laughter redoubled, taking on a wild, almost manic note. It had been freeing to lose herself in her new powers, but now she regretted doing so.

Because she'd forgotten about Kaguya.

Only an stone's throw to the east, the mad goddess stood tall among the burning trees, gazing at pale, bloodied hands with rapturous glee. She didn't even seem to notice Raven's corpse at her feet, nor that her kill had clearly stolen her kill. If she did, she certainly didn't show it. Cinder gazed stood among the burning forest, eyes wide and unblinking as wild shadows danced across her face

And the goddess laughed.

"How...wonderful." she purred with the voice of a thousand angels as flexed her fingers. "I'd almost forgotten what it felt like to breathe again. To be whole."

She flicked her gaze to Tyrian's corpse...no, not a corpse, Cinder realized with faint horror. Somehow the maimed madman was still moving, frantically trying to crawl away using nothing but his chin. Like some deranged inchworm. Without his arms and two broken legs besides, he wasn't much of a threat. He'd been so proud before. Now he was a shadow of his former self. She almost pitied him.

Kaguya did not.

"My, my, my!" she sauntered after the faunus with slow steps. "Still alive are we?"

"No!" Terror writ itself across Tyrian's face as he redoubled his efforts. "Please! Have mercy!"

"My dear boy," The Rabbit Goddess shook her head slowly, as though lecturing a naughty child. "There is no mercy."

Cinder turned away before she could witness his final fate.

This was the monster Naruto had warned her of? She found herself torn, caught between the desire to stand and fight and then the urge -Raven's instincts be damned!- to retreat into the shadows while the goddess was distracted with her victim. In another lifetime, she would've challenged her outright without hesitation. But she'd learned. Appearances could be deceiving. This woman had hijacked his body and used it to pick Tyrian and Raven apart like schoolyard bullies. Still, she didn't look that tough. Odd to be sure, but she almost felt she could take this woman -this parasite!- with her powers.

A gleam of metal caught her gaze in the flames.

There, before her very eyes, the Relic of Destruction lay some yards away, forgotten in the chaos as Kaguya preened over herself. Cinder gazed at the sword longingly. In another lifetime she would've wanted it solely for the power it presented her. Now, she gazed at it for another reason. This was a tool of the the Gods. A weapon forged for one purpose, and one purpose alone. Surely that would make all the difference. Perhaps she could even use it to destroy Kaguya without risking the body she inhabited.

Her heel inched forward.

Kaguya was busy tormenting Tyrian; and that meant she wasn't looking her way. She could do this. Snatch the Relic up, get the drop on her, drive the blade into the beast's blackened heart. She just had to be quick about it. Very quick. She'd seen how agile the woman could be. A mistake might well cost her life.

"You'll never make it!" Raven's voice hissed. "She'll get you!"

"Quiet, coward."

Flames burst from her palms and flung her forward.

All the world turned to a blur of burning wood and ruined ground. Cinder ignored it all, her gaze focused on a single point. If she still had her Grimm arm, this would've been a simple matter of stretching it out to claim the Relic from afar. Instead she had to get close and that brought risks of its own. Still, Cinder was certain she'd make it. She closed the distance in an instant.

She stretched her hand out, fingertips brushing the hilt.

'Got you!'

A pale hand closed around her wrist and wrenched it away with a painful crack.

Cinder cried out as the bones of her wrist ground together, pinching nearly every nerve in her right arm. Horrible white eyes dominated her vision and despite her best efforts, she found herself recoiling. It was the smile that did it, not Kaguya's sudden proximity. What kind of speed was that?! She hadn't seen her move. Tyrian wasn't making anymore noise, and she could only assume he was dead or dying. That left her alone and far, far too close to an angry goddess.

"You must be Cinder." Kaguya cooed. "Its so nice to finally meet you, face to face."

She didn't sound happy. Not at all.

...the pleasure is mine."

"Snarky little thing, aren't you." the grip on her wrist turned agonizing, bones fracturing under the goddess's grip. It was all she could do not to scream. "Such a pretty face. I can see why he's so sweet on you."

Her eyes drifted to the Relic, just out of reach.

"I am almost tempted to let you take it." Kaguya's dulcet tones purred in her ear as she drew her closer still, "If only to see you suffer." Those cold, bleak eyes seemed to break through to her very soul as she spoke, "To watch your fear overcome you, destroy you...see it corrupt your heart...and drive you mad."

Pale eyes narrowed.

"But I think not."

She seized the sword by the hilt and cast it away into the burning wood, sending it skittering out of sight.

"That's better." she hummed. "Now, then-

SLAP.

Kaguya's head snapped backward as Cinder's palm cracked across her face.

Pale eyes narrowed to hooded slits. "You dare?"

Cinder wanted to weep, and not just from the pain. Instead she slapped her again, snapping the woman's head to the one side. Fool. She'd been a fool. She thought she had a chance. What had she been thinking?! She knew she stood no chance against this creature. Raven had been so much stronger than her, armed with a Relic and help, and she'd still lost. She might be able to fight. Perhaps even Her one one was to wake Naruto up, snap him out of whatever trance he'd fallen into, and leave this to him.

"Give him back!"

"I think not." Kaguya caught her wrist and wrenched it down. "He's lost to you."

Her face twitched, but she mastered it. Pale eyes blazed blue for the merest of moments.

Cinder pounced on it like a cat. "He's not, is he?" a cruel smile bloomed upon her lips. "You're lying."

Kaguya gazed back at her with those milky white orbs and smiled.

Then that smile turned cruel.

"Kneel."

Cinder bristled. "I beg your pardon?"

"Are you deaf, child? I am your goddess. I told you to kneel."

Compulsion struck the Spring Maiden like a physical force and her legs buckled beneath her. She nearly bent the knee then and there and it was only through sheer fury that she managed to resist the command at all. This was the creature Naruto had dedicate his life to seal. This. This was a living Goddess. Salem was nothing compared to this.

"And still you resist." Kaguya chided her, striding forward to seize her by the chin. "You, who are naught but a child compared to my might?! You dare to strike me?!"

Cinder's arm swung back and Kaguya casually caught it with her free hand.

She pulled.

Cinder grit her teeth as something popped in her shoulder and her arm fell slack. Her vision went black for a moment. Then came the pain. A soundless shriek tore past her lips, only to find itself muffled against a palm as the Rabbit Goddess reached down again to grabbed her by the face one more.

"I could kill with a flick of my wrist." she snarled, wrenching her head aside. "Unmake you a dozen different ways. Rip your very soul from your benighted corpse!"

"Then what's stopping you?"

She expected another outburst. What she received instead was chilling.

"What indeed? But there are worse things than death." Kaguya took that pale hand away from her mouth and used it to cup her chin instead, pale thumb running over her face. "I could strip that precious power from you, you know. Cast you down," and here her smile turned most vicious indeed, "Make you the little girl you truly are on the inside. Or perhaps I could break you and turn you into a slave. Would you like that?"

Cinder twitched, but didn't dignify her with a response.

"There it is. There's the fear." And still Kaguya continued, peering into the depths of her heart as though she were an open book. "You cannot hide from my eyes. I see you for what you are. You're a child, Cinder. A lonely, wretched, miserable little child. One longing not for wealth or prestige as you'd have others think...but attention, and...oh!" her grin stretched further still. "What's this? You don't want power." she tilted her head, seeming to consider her in a new light. "Not really. Not anymore." her eyes lit as they saw into the darkest corner of her being. "You want a...family."

Cinder stiffened. "Nonsense."

"You want to be loved!" Kaguya crooned in delighted disbelief, laughing over her denial. "Even now you secretly pine for the affection of a man who's forgotten what love even feels like!" A sneer overtook her fine features, warping them into something hideous. "How precious! How sweet! You, the monster, the murder, actually want to have chil-

"SILENCE!"

Cinder's head snapped up and her eyes burned with fresh flame, the intensity was that her gaze momentarily turned red. That was all the warning Kaguya had before her victim screamed; that, and the faint light burning in the back of her throat. She frowned at it for a moment, not quite comprehending what it was.

It was fire.

Cinder spat a wave of vicious napalm right in her face and the Rabbit Goddess toppled backward with nary a sound.

Popping her shoulder back into place, the Spring Maiden stood and leaped back to gain some distance. Then she thrust both hands forward and showered Kaguya's still form with a wave of fresh flame. Her power restored and more, she flung it all at the false goddess with a shriek.

"You think you know me?!" she howled! "You! Know! Nothing! Each word brought a fresh volley of fire to bear upon her. Each blast rattled the ground itself, scorching heaven and earth alike. "Nothing of what I've seen, what I've been through! You have no right to look through my thoughts-

"My dear," Kaguya walked right through the fire and the flames to stand before her, untouched. "Has this ever worked?"

Cinder felt her jaw click open.

A contemptuous backhand cracked across her face and snapped it shut. The sheer impact ripped her free from the ground and sent her skidding down the lane like a squirrel in a hurricane.

Kaguya loped after her almost lazily.

"He cares for you, you know." the Rabbit Goddess mocked as she stumbled upright. "Well, in as much as he can care about anything these days." she spoke the words with relish, savoring every second of torment on her face as she drew near. "I wonder how he'll react when I bring him your head. Will he break, I wonder? Will he weep? Will he wail?"

"The only one crying here is...you!"

Cinder whirled, summoned a pair of blades to her hands, and flung herself at the self-proclaimed deity. Kaguya met her all too happily.

They raged back and forth like a pair of demons, whirling and striking, slashing and cutting in a mad melee of hellish proportions.

It wasn't enough.

She soon realized that her skills with the blade meant nothing to Kaguya; it was like trying to fight a hurricane with sticks. You couldn't. Kaguya didn't need a blade to match her. She used her bare hands and her hair -that was just cheating!- to ward her off time and time again. And that was to say nothing of the woman's offense. Every block left Cinder's bones creaking angrily, and what blows she did land meant next to nothing for her foe; every injury healed nearly instantly.

So she drew back and turned a hand to the heavens.

Fresh power surged through her and a torrent of lighting fell from the skies to strike Kaguya dead in the chest.

Here at last, the Rabbit Goddess gasped in surprise. Cinder felt a brief flare of pride deep in her chest as she watched the woman squirm. Dirty and disheveled she might well be, but at least she'd managed to hit the bitch once. Was that petty of her? Very much so. Did she care? Not at all.

That is, until Kaguya she laughed and flung it back in her face.

Every muscle in Cinder's body clamped down as one and she toppled to a knee, Aura crackling angrily.

"My, my!" her tormentor laughed softly behind a raised hand as she watched her spasm. "That felt quite pleasant! Do try again, dear girl. Its been ages since I've had a chance to stretch my legs." she jerked her head to the right, then the left, producing an agonizing pop with each motion. "I hope you'll forgive me if I...prolong this a bit. Now. Lets start with your eyes.

A knot of dread unfurled in her stomach, but she didn't look away as that manicured hand arced back.

...bite...me...!"

Kaguya scoffed at her.

"Tsk, tsk! Language, my dear!"

A boulder crashed into her back and sent her flying over Cinder's head.

Cinder blinked through bleary eyes, trying to piece together one moment and the next as she gasped for breath that refused to come. She hadn't been the one to create that rock, much less throw it. Who, then? Neither Emerald nor Mercury possessed the raw strength to fling something like that around. Who...?

A large arm wrapped her waist and hoisted her upright as though she weighed no more than a child.

"Stand." a familiar voice grunted. "There's work to be done."

Cinder did as she was bade, glowering all the while.

Sure enough, she found him looming over her.

"Hazel...?"

She'd not expected him to return from...wherever the devil he'd run off to. Naruto hadn't said, and she'd come to assume he'd simply returned to Salem's side. For him to be here now wasn't just a stroke of luck; it was nothing short of divine intervention. Another hit and she would've lost an eye or worse.

He pressed a sword into her hands as her Aura flickered fitfully. "Don't lose it."

When she looked down, the Relic of Destruction burned bright in her grasp. Cinder balked at it.

"Emerald's nearby." a large hand dwarfed her shoulder. "Be mindful and don't give her away, or we'll lose our advantage."

No wonder he'd been able to sneak up on Kaguya. Doubtless she'd figure out the trick soon enough, but a slim chance was better than none, she supposed.

"Ah, and now the gentle giant enters the fray." Kaguya rose, dusted herself off, and sketched a curtsy that just reeked of arrogance. "But not so gentle, is he?" she smiled and touched a dainty finger to one cheek. "Hazel the dullard, Hazel the murderer, Hazel the betrayer."

"What of it?" the stout man frowned. "Your words mean nothing to me."

"Whatever would your sister think of you now?" Regardless of his intent, Kaguya found the chink in his armor with ease. "You sold your soul to the devil, and for what? Revenge? Against a deathless man? Ha!" pearly white teeth flashed out at them in another ghastly grin. "The Grimm killed your sister, and you joined their master!"

The giant didn't bat an eyelash.

"I've made peace with who I am and what I've done."

"You really have, haven't you?" Kaguya sighed airily and shook her head. "Mores the pity. Its no fun when I can't torment my victims."

Cinder twitched.

She'd been silent for some time now, allowing her Aura to slowly trickle back in.

For all her claims at being a goddess, Kaguya struck her as a petty creature. A vengeful soul lashing out at everyone and everything near her. Someone who cared for naught but themselves. She delighted in causing pain and agony and misery. And for what? Did she derive some sick pleasure out of it? Everything she did was for a purpose. Kaguy was simply cruel for the sake of being cruel.

"We're not yours to torment!"

"My dear Cinder," Kaguya crooned briefly in Naruto's voice, the words gone jagged and cruel. "Everyone is my victim. Everyone is mine to torment." She spread her arms wide to each side, as though to beseech the very heavens themselves. "Really, you have no one to blame but yourselves for this. He befriended you, he formed bonds with you, so naturally, you must die. And your deaths will make him suffer." thunder rumbled overhead and the fitful raindrops began to intensity, but still her smile remained beatific. "Everything he has ever made must be undone. Such is the punishment he deserves for delaying me."

Hazel slammed a fresh dust cylinder into his arm and started forward. Kaguya tittered softly and moved to meet him.

"Careful, now. Defy me, and you may destroy any chance of seeing your sister in this lifetime."

Hazel did not rise to the bait. "No one will die today, save you. Begone, parasite."

As Cinder looked on the man's muscles began to twist and bulge beneath his coat. Another cylinder followed and the coat tore itself to shreds. He shrugged his shoulders at the lost and stormed onward, footsteps like an avalanche. Then came a third syringe. He grunted and cracked his knuckles as muscles swelled further still, lending him a monstrous appearance. Yet a fourth syringe came and went in the blink of an eye, only to be discarded with its brethren over his rapidly swelling shoulders.

Kaguya paused, brow furrowing in concern. "You would destroy your body to face me?"

Hazel didn't answer. Hazel blurred.

Even as Kaguya's hair surged in to entrap him, the giant broke through and struck her across the face. It was a good punch all thing considered; unlike Cinder's earlier slap, Hazel's fist struck with sound and fury, shattering her defenses to send the proud woman sprawling in the dirt. Kaguya got right back up and he smashed her down before she could mount a defense. She reared back and tore a bloody trench in his chest in recompense, only to lose the limb as he tore it clean off. He bulled through, grabbed her by the skull, and slammed her body into the dirt.

It was his Semblance, Cinder realized. Hazel couldn't feel pain.

And he fought all the better for it

It pained her to admit it, but in terms of sheer physical prowess he'd always been the better fighter.

When the goddess lashed out he caught her remaining arm and reached in to snap off one of her horns atop her head. Even as Kaguya gasped, Hazel reared back with the shar in his grasp, then drove it through her third eye. Kaguya yelped and slammed a hand at his kidney, only to inexplicably miss what should've been a lethal blow.

Kaguya whipped around and found Emerald lurking behind a tree. "Little bitch!"

The thief ducked just as a strange ashen spike leaped from the woman's sleeve and jabbed at the space she'd occupied. It struck a tree and left it to crumble like so much ash. When Kaguya lashed out after, Hazel stepped in, and Cinder moved to flank him. Kaguya snarled and struck out with her hair, to no avail; yet again she failed to find her target once again thanks to Emerald's meddling.

"Meddling ants! Just die already!"

Cinder saw her opening and lunged; in her hands, the Relic of Destruction burned angry and bright to score an angry line down Kaguya's back.

The goddess whirled on her, only for Hazel to yank her back by the hair. And so the dance went.

Together, they three of them made progress. Slow, gradual progress.

Looking back, Cinder would wonder why they'd fared so well. Perhaps Kaguya didn't quite have control of Naruto's body yet. Maybe she was weakened from being contained for so long. Perhaps they'd just gotten lucky so far. The last one was more likely. Naruto had spoken long and at length of what Kaguya was capable of. If she had the full breadth of her powers at her disposal, they would've been so much dust on the winds. Maybe that was his doing; why he didn't show himself.

Regardless, the tide was turning in their favor.

Until, quite suddenly, it tipped over.

"That's enough."

White eyes flickered into blue without warning, and Kaguya froze.

It was an abrupt thing indeed; one moment she'd been ready to skewer them all; the next her lips moved of her own volition and she fell to a knee. Even then, Cinder didn't dare approach. Kaguya had already proven that she was capable of deceit. She'd not get close unless she knew it to be him.

"Naruto...?"

Kaguya's head snapped up, bearing bright blue eyes.

"NO!" They burned an unholy white not a beat later. "I will not be denied! Vengeance will be mine!"

"You don't have a choice." Her body wrenched itself as though struck by a great blow. "I've had enough of you!"

"I will destroy everything you've ever loved!"

"And I'll be there to stop you."

When the Rabbit Goddess shrieked everyone flinched against it; wincing before that awful, high pitched sound. She threw her head back as a crack etched itself across her pallid face. The another. And another. Another still as they looked on. Long nails clutched at her skull, as though trying to hold it together through sheer willpower...and failing. Shards of flaky grey fell away from her face, exposing a blue eye and whiskered cheeks lurking beneath. It made for bloody spectacle as that half-and-half face gazed at them.

"This isn't over!" her lone eye found Cinder and locked on with all her might. "I'll get out again, and when I do...! You're dead! All of you! Dead!"

Her remaining horn receded, pale hair falling out as a shaggy blond mane emerged from beneath.

"Its over. You've lost. Now give me back my body!"

"No!" Her body didn't break.

It crumbled.

Like peeling back a layer of dead skin to reveal life beneath, so too did the last of her away from Naruto's body. An arm tore free from her wide sleeve. Followed by a leg. Pale lips parted in one final wordless cry as the blank canvas that was her visage gained color that had been there before. Everything fractured. She fell forward like a husk, leaving her host behind as she crumbled away to nothing. What remained of her shattered as she struck the ground, leaving naught but ashes behind.

Naruto staggered out of the ashen shell on wobbly legs.

"Well." he croaked softly. "That was...unpleasant."

Something in his voice broke Cinder. Perhaps he was being too blase about his near-death experience. Perhaps she was simply fed up with him. Who could say? She wasn't sure what it was that set her off, only that he did and she was having none of it. Even as Naruto stumbled forward she moved to meet him. Her heels clicked harshly against upturned stones, eyes burning in the rain. With the Rabbit Goddess gone it finally fell freely upon them, a warm spring rain that soaked her to the bone.

Cinder didn't care. Her eyes burned with fresh flame. She'd found her target, and she would not be denied. Not after what she'd been through. Not this time.

"Imbecile!" A muscle jumped angrily in her jaw as she walked. Words tumbled from her mouth like wine. "Of all the reckless, arrogant, pigheaded...!"

"Oh." Naruto saw her coming and raised a hand. "Now, wait just a second. I know you're angry. I can explain...

Hazel winced at the poor choice of words as Cinder slapped the Relic into his hands.

Cinder? Cinder absolutely twitched. Angry? No, no, no. She was beyond anger. Well and truly beyond it. Kaguya had aired truths she'd rather not speak of, and worse, Naruto knew them. Oh, he'd keep quiet about them to be sure, but that wasn't what had her blood boiling in her veins. He'd given up, handed this fight to her, and expected her to make the right decision. She had of course, she always would, but the knowledge burned all the same.

She stepped into Naruto, grabbed by the face. "Never again."

The blond blinked back at her. "Its really not that simple."

She pinched his cheeks. "Never. Again."

For a fleeting instant she thought he might protest. Naruto looked like he wanted to. In the end his shoulders slumped. "Alright, alright, I give. I'll try not to let that happen a second time."

"Try?"

He capitulated with a shrug.

"Good. Because after this?" she flung a hand at the chaos around him. "You're mine. Objections will not be tolerated."

They both knew she was trying to save face. She'd been worried about him, damnit. But she'd never speak the words. Not aloud. Gods above, she could feel Emerald and Hazel gazing at her. There would be a reckoning for this. She knew that. Right now? She was too tired to care. She just wanted to bury her head in a pillow and sleep. But first! She would have what she was owed.

His cheeky grin warmed her in ways it shouldn't have. But did all the same. "Wait, does that mean-

Cinder yanked his head down with growl and crushed her mouth against his.

"Awww," he hummed when she pulled away. "You do care."

Cinder glowered daggers at him. "Shut up, fool."

She still kissed him again.

A/N: PLEASE. READ. THIS. Else, you might be horribly confused. Wouldn't want that, would we?

Aaaaand away goes Kaguya!

This was a heavy chapter, but it paves the way for the good bits to come. Did you think such a fight would go unnoticed? Nope.

That said, I'm sure everyone's going to notice how vicious Kaguya is in this story. There's a reason for that. Think about it, if you were sealed away by your own kids, released, then SEALED AGAIN in the body of their descendant, you'd probably swear vengeance on the one responsible for it.

Nevermind the fact that she's been draining Naruto's chakra for the better part of an eternity. Kaguya loathes him. Now she hates Cinder in equal measure. She wants to destroy everything they hold dear. Heaven help them if she finds a way to get out and STAY out.

In other news, holy hell, Untraveled Road is nearly at 1200 reviews?! When?! Where?! HOW?!

Any chance ya'll could get it to 1200? We'll try and update that one next regardless, but reviews are fuel for me and the team. They also push us to make longer chapters, and seeing as the last one was more than 20k+ in terms of length...

...well, we just enjoy reading feedback. It makes us feel like we're making a difference.

As ever, reviews keep this old man alive during this dark and crazy time. I ain't joking.

Seriously, we're all locked away anyways these days, its all that sustains me.

So in the Immortal Words of Atlas... Review...Would You Kindly?

And enjoy these previews! Remember those hints?

Yes? No? Hope you paid attention. Because!

SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!

PLOT DETAILS AHOY!

YE BE WARNED!

Read at your own risk!

(Preview)

Salem blinked rapidly.

"He...can revive the dead?"

Oh. Oh! This changed things. Changed quite a bit.

"Why couldn't you let me stay dead?! I wanted to rest!"

"Alright, then. You've made your choice."

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you...

"GET OUT!"

R&R~!