RWBY: Pale Heart

Chapter 20: Bergwerk

(F/N) POV

There's an old saying from when I was little, the teacher used to say if you can't become friends become frienemies. That is to say, if someone has something you want you don't have to fight them for it, just become their friend and share, or in this case, kidnap. Hiding my face with my hood, I managed to get a ride to Bergwerk, more accurately to the entrance of the valley that leads to Bergwerk. It was an armed checkpoint, after all the military wants to protect its Dust mine from foreign troublemakers, and there's no bigger troublemaker than Grimm. I took out the relic and ordered everyone to either freeze or not stop me, and so I simply walked into the valley towards Bergwerk.

(F/N): "Well that was easy, so Jinx, who's this Winter Maiden?" Silence. "You break the rules once and suddenly you can't speak?" She appears and floats beside me.

Jinx: "I wanted you away from Winter."

(F/N): "And I take it you won't tell me why you want that."

Jinx: "Correct." Then she vanished, leaving me alone once more.

(F/N): "Yeah, just leave me like that."

The walk felt long even though it didn't even take a whole day to make the trip to the town, Jinx showed no sign of telling who the Maiden was and with soldiers around it wasn't going to be easy to spot her. After wandering around aimlessly I started to get annoyed, only for that annoyance to escalate when I spotted patrols searching the streets, questioning people about someone that matched my description. The effect of the relic of choice seems to have a time limit. I tried to stay in the shadows, but not knowing the layout of the city was proving to be a disadvantage.

A new problem arose, Winter Schnee had arrived, and she didn't head for the Maiden, she walked around the place as though she was just visiting. It was all getting under my skin, Jinx's silent treatment, the hidden Maiden, and no doubt Ozpin and the others will be arriving at some point behind Winter. I could feel it burning inside me, anger, and not the kind that's directed at others, the kind that you direct at yourself, that fuels itself. Done lurking in the shadows I stepped into the road ahead of Winter, the two of us eyed each other down as she drew her saber and I readied my blood.

(F/N): "Where are you hiding her?"

Winter: "Oh, are you having some trouble? Allow me to assist." She stabbed her weapon into the ground, a swarm of white mini-Nevermores pelted into the blood shield I made.

(F/N): "Pathetic." I raised a hand to create a large fireball but nothing happened. "What the? Jinx."

Winter: "Says the child who won't attack."

I attempted to bring out the relic of choice but found I couldn't, with that my anger transformed into a blinding rage. I ran at her, going for the kill, but she used her glyphs to move around and speed away, the ground where she stood was destroyed, much like how the town was going to be. Crashing through buildings, tossing bystanders, whatever it took to reach her and get what I wanted. Winter constantly threw summoned beasts at me, I knew she was just buying time, if not for the Maiden's escape, then for reinforcements. By the time we both stopped running around most of the buildings had been leveled, soldiers were either dead or escorting the living civilians out through the valley.

Breathing heavily as I stood there with my back to the mountain, I still felt filled with negative emotions, she tried to control her breath and stood ready to move. Her appearance, the thought entered my mind, she reminded me of Weiss, it was making me furious, my heart didn't feel broken, nor did I feel bad for wanting her dead. All I could see was a person I wanted to blame, a person to make an example out of, all I could see was myself slaughtering her. I've had my friends, I've had my home, and I've had my powers taken from me, no one was going to stop me from getting what I wanted, not her, not Ozpin, not anyone.