SAPR

by Scipio Smith

Don't Look Back in Anger (New)

Don’t Look Back in Anger

How should one behave in the face of impending death?

The question was on Cinder's mind for obvious reasons as she sat in the back of an armoured transport, with several grim-faced soldiers surrounding her, towards her execution.

Not that she was helpless. Bound as she was, without her aura as she was, she yet possessed half the magic of a Maiden. She could have broken her restraints, killed the guards, killed the Valish general, and then…

And then what? What would that avail her? To escape, to go after Amber again, having already failed once, to what end?

To make Sunset and Pyrrha finish the job this time and actually kill her? That had a certain appeal, to be sure; it was a better death than she would obtain else — and at this point, a better death was about all that she could hope for — but on the other hand, it would rather take the shine off their victory tonight in capturing her in the first place, and Cinder didn't want to do that to them.

Sunset might be in enough trouble already without invalidating the victory that, with Sunset's part in it, stood against the accusations made against her.

That was Tempest's doing; of that, Cinder was quite certain. Tempest feared what Cinder might say — and rightly so; why should Cinder hold her tongue in the face of betrayal and abandonment? — and so she had released this attack on Sunset's reputation to distract attention from herself, and Amber, and Sonata.

Not that Amber in particular needed the distraction; she had them wrapped around her little finger.

In a way, the fact that everyone was so enthralled with her made Amber's betrayal even worse in Cinder's eyes; it was one thing to betray those who treated you poorly — that was not so much betrayal as revenge — but to betray those who opened their hearts to you, embraced you, whose trust in you was absolute? That was just not on, was it?

Certainly, if Cinder had been so fortunate as to have been so well beloved by such people, she would have held them close and bound them to her with chains of steel.

Except she hadn't, had she? She had betrayed Sunset herself, and more than once.

Well … all the same, Amber was making a mistake. There was nothing she could gain from this that would be worth what she lost.

Cinder almost laughed aloud — would have, save that she wasn't sure how her gaolers would take it — as she realised that, while Tempest had smeared Sunset to distract people from thinking about Amber, she, Cinder, had become distracted from Sunset's smearing by thinking about Amber.

The worst part of what had been done to Sunset was that Cinder could see it working.

She hoped it would not, of course. That was why she had defended her … well, that had been part of the reason, with the other part being that she did not want — on the night of her capture no less! — to share her infamy. She was Cinder Fall! She was the shadow over Vale! She led grimm hordes and White Fang armies on, she dared damnation, she! She was not merely Sunset's co-conspirator, and she would not, on this night, on the night of her downfall when she ought to have been centre-stage, be pushed out of the limelight by Sunset's so-called treason.

Especially when there was so little to get upset about in that regard.

What Sunset had done was nothing but what the safety of her friends prompted her to. It was no less than anyone ought to do or have done in her position, otherwise…

Otherwise, you were just heartless, and undeserving of those that you would condemn to death by your action.

Just like … just like Ashley’s mother, abandoning her husband and her child to an uncertain future.

And in that line stood Ruby Rose, who was more fond of grief than of any living soul, and a self-righteous little madam to boot. She had wanted to kill Cinder, during their time allied together against Doctor Merlot; she had wanted to cut Cinder down, in spite of the truce that they had agreed, because Cinder was wicked, and dangerous, and it would be safer to make an end of her swiftly.

That might have been true; in fact, it had been truer than Ruby had realised at the time, and if they had taken her advice, then Amber might not have betrayed them now, but it took some brass neck to make an argument borne out of sheer ruthless pragmatism and then get up on your high horse and act as if you were the voice of moral clarity.

The day that Ruby realised that, actually, she was no better than anyone else, she was just harder in the heart, was the day that she might become somewhat tolerable company.

Or she would find someone that she could not live without; that might make her happier, provided that she didn’t lose them.

In any case, Cinder had seen the way that she looked at Sunset, and combined with what she knew of Ruby’s nature, Cinder suspected that if no one else suspected Sunset, if no one else believed the allegations made against her, then Ruby did.

She happened to be right, in this particular instance, but nevertheless…

Nevertheless…

Nevertheless, she was still annoying.

Annoying, and annoyingly, the sort of person least likely to understand Sunset and why she had done it.

Cinder’s grand speech had left her unmoved, so had the words of Professor Ozpin, and even the rather good point that it seemed to be open season on false accusations and slanders to the good character of Beacon students at the moment, just look at what had happened to Pyrrha, and the things that were being said about Weiss Schnee — although Cinder had no idea if they were false or not; she wouldn’t put it past the Schnees to behave in such a way — they had the power to do so, after all — but looked at as part of a pattern, it did seem a little suspicious — so why should the accusations against Sunset not be lies as well?

But Ruby seemed unmoved. Cinder had seen suspicion in her gaze, from first to last. She believed what they were saying about Sunset, and that…

That meant trouble.

Cinder did not know exactly what that presaged for Sunset, but she knew that it meant something.

She could only hope that the trouble was not too great. That Sunset might ride out the storm and emerge into the sunlight once again.

Hope, and regret that she had not pulled the trigger herself.

Just a few more moments, Sunset, just a few more moments, and you would have been innocent.

I thought that I could show you that you were better off with me, more suited to be at my side, but the truth is that you were always where you were meant to be. Fate decreed it so, and who was I to set myself against destiny?

I only hope that Ruby sees it the same way, or can be persuaded to.

Don’t give up, Sunset. Battle on, and win great glory.

It is as well that someone should.

After all, that opportunity was lost to her now. She would die. She would … submit to death, rather than subtract from the victory that Team SAPR had won by escaping. To do so would be to render their work tonight hollow, and that … was a little too spiteful for Cinder, in spite of the fact that it rankled with her a little bit that Pyrrha had not done her the good service of taking her life.

Yes, Pyrrha, I know that in Vale they have laws and such, but we are not Valish, are we? We are not denizens of this bourgeois place. We are creatures of an elder world, or ought to be, and by the elder rules and customs ought be bound.

Aren’t simple laws the best?

If you had killed me, no one would have blamed you. And you would have shown me the respect due to a fellow warrior of Mistral.

Instead, I must confess I feel a little insulted.

And more than insulted, I feel … I do not know how to meet this death.

Thinking about Sunset, thinking about what she was or might be going through, hoping that she could avoid the worst of it, that had all proven a very handy and a useful distraction for Cinder as the transport rattled and rumbled down the roads. None of her captors seemed very interested in talking to her — they all watched her in complete silence, fingers upon the triggers of their rifles — and so, there had been nothing stopping Cinder from escaping into her thoughts, escaping from the reality of her present situation.

But now, she returned to it, to the metallic interior of this armoured vehicle, with its harsh red light, with the rumble of its engine, to the motion which bore her onward, ever onward, inexorably onwards like a river towards her end.

Towards a cell, and thence a gallows, and thence…

Fleeing down to the shades.

But how to meet it? How to behave in the face of impending death?

The answer was that it depended a great deal upon the manner of death in question. In battle, it was one thing, and that thing was thankfully very well documented in the ancient texts. At the last, faced with the inevitability of her defeat, knowing that the gods had tricked her into turning to face Pyrrha, Juturna faced the wrath of that most vaunted warrior bravely, had fought fiercely, and in the end, had perished with her face to the front, refusing to beg for her life or try and buy her survival.

Cinder could have done that. She could have taken Pyrrha’s spear to her breast, either in Vale or in the Emerald Forest; she could have suffered to be impaled, beheaded, have her throat slit. She could have perished in stricken battle, and quite apart from any good it might have done her reputation, at least, she would have known how to behave.

But this? To die caged, to swing from the neck, to perish in whatever manner Tempest Shadow had planned for her, to have her throat cut to keep her from talking? How was one supposed to comport oneself in the face of that?

The only thing that Cinder could think of was to adopt a sort of casual insouciance, to act as though you hadn’t a care in the world, to say things like ‘I know it’s traditional for the condemned to enjoy a last hearty meal, but if it’s all the same to you, I should prefer not to be hanged on a full stomach, so I’ll just have a cup of black coffee.’ Not that Cinder would be able to taste the coffee or the hearty breakfast, but if you refused to eat or drink anything at all, then you’d just look afraid — afraid of throwing up or worse, if nothing else.

Yes, that was probably the only way to behave in the face of execution, at least as far as Cinder could see. The trouble was that it required a degree of … indulgence, perhaps, was the right word. In battle, you could be as brave as you wished, as stoic as you wanted, could face death however you liked; all the enemy had to do was kill you — and Pyrrha couldn’t even do that, but leave that for the moment. In a cell, in captivity, your captors had greater say on how they treated you, and they didn’t have to humour your attempts to appear brave, or unfussed, or anything else.

And why would they, in Cinder’s case? She was nothing to them. Worse than nothing; she was a monster.

And that was without recalling the fact that it was not just Vale that held her prisoner, but her enemies.

Cinder prayed … Cinder prayed they would end her quickly. Not a likely prayer, perhaps, and a swift death in darkness, unseen, unmourned, having left no great legacy behind her, it was not what she had wanted. It was not what she wanted at all. But it was a sight better than some of the things she feared … it was better than some of the things she feared.

Yes, she feared. Cinder had striven to banish fear, to murder fear, she had killed Phoebe so that she might murder fear, and yet, she was afraid.

She was afraid of that for which she had murdered Phoebe: humiliation, to be demeaned before her enemies, to be used by them, to be treated as a slave.

Or a prisoner.

She feared that, and she had little cause to hope for better from Tempest Shadow.

There were no windows in the transport, and Cinder had no idea where they were being driven through, or to which precise destination. She wasn't even really sure how much time had passed while she had been lost in her thoughts.

Much good losing herself in her thoughts had done her in the end; they certainly hadn't made her feel much better.

Nor had they yielded up the answers that she was seeking.

But then, what would, she being so ignorant as she was about the fate that awaited her? What torments, what travails, the manner and the length of her captivity, the means of her passing, be it swift or slow? How was she supposed to know how to behave when she didn't know the occasion or the circumstances that she would have to behave for?

All terribly inconsiderate. Why, she didn't even know what to wear.

She supposed that all she could really do was show no fear, no matter what they did to her. That … that was advice applicable to all situations.

Put a brave face on things, no matter what.

She may not have lived the life that she had wanted, but she could at least model the death that heroes desired.

Cinder smiled at her captors, to see what they would do; nothing, as it turned out, except glower at her with those stern countenances of theirs. But they did not strike her, or threaten her, or even tell her to stop. They just stared at her.

It did occur to Cinder to wonder why they were bothering to take her anywhere, why not just put a bullet in her head right here and now?

Because of Amber, most likely. They didn't trust her — since their alliance was founded upon fear and convenience, they may have had a point there — and so, they would not reunite the Maiden powers in her, lest she get cold feet about holding up her end of the bargain. So they would keep Cinder alive until then, and like as not, they would let it be known to Amber that they had Cinder in their custody, lest she grow too comfortable.

In which case, it further occurred to Cinder that she might do some little good by forcing them to kill her. Then Amber's magic would be made whole again, and she might — she might — realise who had her best interests at heart and where those interests lay.

She might. She might not, but that would not be Cinder's fault or doing.

Some little good yet, she might do.

Yes. Yes, she would do it. Once they arrived, wherever they were taking her, then she would shatter her bonds and rage and storm and force them to put her down for good and all.

A good death. A brave, but, as importantly, a good one.

As good as that she meant to do.

And do it soon she would, she must, for the transport that bore her in its belly like the grimm that had swallowed her whole and brought her to Salem suddenly slowed to a crawl, and thence to a halt.

The engine turned off, and silence descended upon the transport and its occupants.

Until, at least, the metal hatch at the back of the transport dropped open, revealing Sonata Dusk standing in front of it, looking up into the belly of the beast.

"Hey guys!" Sonata cried cheerily. She gasped theatrically upon seeing Cinder. "I don't believe this; did you bring me back a present? I mean, I would have settled for a taco, but this?" She clasped her hands together over her chest. "You fellas really are the sweetest." She grinned. “Hey there, Cindy! Lookin’…” She wiggled one hand back and forth, like a wave on the ocean. “Eeh.”

Cinder ignored her and leaned forward a little bit, craning her head to see out of the transport as she looked for Tempest, or possibly Sweetie Drops.

“Huh?” Sonata asked, as she looked round in turn. “What are you… oh. Oh!” She giggled. “Oh, you think I’ve got adult supervision! Aw! Well, I’m sorry to disappoint, but I’m performing solo tonight.” She clapped her hands together. “That’s right, I’ve got you all to myself. Bring her out, boys!”

Cinder was instantly seized by two of the soldiers, who bundled out of the transport and into the midst of a military base, the barracks of the … Cinder took a glance at the patches on the shoulders of the Valish soldiers; she hadn’t paid much attention to them up until now, but paying attention, she could see that they were the Grenadier Guards, with the old-fashioned bomb design on their patches, complete with fizzing fuse.

Their barracks, assuming that was where she had been taken, was a hive of activity; hemmed in by walls, enclosed within metal gates, cut off from prying eyes, soldiers bustled here and there, marching at the double in platoons, driving cars and trucks with machine guns mounted on them this way and that, parking them and then driving off again, loading up lorries with munitions.

“Are you planning to storm Beacon?” she asked. It was not what her plan had called for, but then, she expected that significant changes had been made to her plan already; that was why she’d warned Sunset and Pyrrha about the grimm attack.

“'Storm Beacon'?” Sonata repeated. “No! No way! These are soldiers of Vale, why would they want to go and attack the school in their own city, no. They’re going to take their city back, aren’t you, General?”

She extended one hand towards General Blackthorn, emerging last out of the transport. He took her hand and bent his head to kiss it.

“We are indeed,” he confirmed. “Those arrogant Atlesians won’t know what hit them.”

Maybe not, but you’ll know what hits you when they start shooting back, Cinder thought. Or perhaps General Ironwood would be very noble and refuse to allow his forces to return fire, because these were fellow humans, after all.

No. Surely not. Surely, he wouldn’t hang his own men out to dry that way.

Not for the Valish Defence Forces, certainly.

“They’re prepared for you now,” Cinder declared. “I told them everything.”

“Is that right?” Sonata asked. She looked at General Blackthorn. “Is that right?”

“I’m not sure,” General Blackthorn admitted. “Aspen was being very cagey. Those Beacon huntresses have poisoned him against me.”

“Well, never mind, I’m sure that you can handle him,” Sonata said. “One way or the other. Vale is counting on you, General; don’t let her down!”

“I never have,” said General Blackthorn, puffing out his chest. “And never shall.”

“But just to be sure, maybe make sure that they haven’t beefed up security anywhere, and if there is … take care of that, too.”

General Blackthorn bowed his head. “Whatever obstacles are placed in our path, we men of Vale will show that we are as good as any soldiers of the north. They shall not stand before us!”

Cinder rolled her eyes. “Tell me something,” she asked Sonata, “does Tempest Shadow still think that she controls you?”

Sonata’s smile made an audible squeak as it blossomed on her face. “Tempest tells me what she wants, and I tell people to do it. If I ever decided not to tell them … well, that would be something that she wouldn’t see coming, wouldn’t it? But, you know, why would I want to get into a fight with my good friend Tempest? It’s not like I—” She stopped, clutching both hands to mouth as though she had just revealed something confidential. “Oops. Never said too much there, didn’t I? Anyway, the point is that I don’t want what Tempest wants, so why shouldn’t we both get what we want?”

“Shouldn’t that be all three of you?” Cinder asked. “You, Tempest, and Amber?”

“Amber?” Sonata asked, as though the name were unfamiliar to her. She began to walk up and down, tapping her chin effectively. “Amber, Amber, Amber.” She scuffed at the ground with her chunky boots. “Oh, Amber! Yeah, I know who you’re talking about now. You know, I’ve never actually met Amber. But I’d sure like to, one day.”

“That will probably be a very unexpected surprise for her,” Cinder observed dryly.

“Yeah, but aren’t all the best surprises unexpected?” Sonata asked. “I mean, when I heard that I was getting let out, that was a surprise; and when I met you and realised that you were so, soooo full of yourself that you were never going to see me coming, that was a pretty great surprise! And when I came into this city and realised that it was mine, all mine for the taking!”

She raised her hands up in the air and struck a pose as though she expected pyrotechnics to light up behind her at any moment.

“That was a pretty awesome surprise too,” she added, almost sheepishly, as no explosion was forthcoming.

“Is that so?” Cinder asked. “So, Tempest will return to—”

“To the boss, sure,” Sonata said.

“And you … will take all of Vale for yourself?” Cinder asked. “With a bargain like that, no wonder you preferred Tempest’s offer to my own assistance.”

“Don’t get me wrong,” Sonata replied. “It was really nice of you to offer to set me and my sisters free, very generous, but this way, I can have that and have a whole kingdom to call my own, so, you know, it really wasn’t a very hard decision. Speaking of which, can I get a glass of fruit punch and a slice of banoffee pie?”

“Right away, ma’am,” someone — Cinder didn’t see who — replied.

“Thank you, honey!” Sonata called. “Do you want anything? They’ll get me anything I ask for, they’re real sweethearts, it’s awesome!”

“Thank you, but I’ll pass,” Cinder muttered. “Do you really think that you’ll get away with this?”

Sonata looked around, and shrugged. “I think I’m getting away with it. And, you know, who…” She stopped. “Tempest is always complaining about you, and how close you are to some of your enemies up at Beacon; are you going to tell me that they’ll stop me, because Tempest is going to wish that she was here to hear that.”

“They know you’re here,” Cinder said. “They know everything, I told them everything.”

“But did they believe you when you told them?” Sonata asked.

“Yes!” Cinder insisted; a lie, of course, but hopefully one that Sonata might believe.

Sonata cocked her head first this way, and then the other. “Not bad, but I don’t believe you,” she said. “They might believe some of it, but even if they do, it’s a little late for them to do anything about it now, right? The warm-up act is almost done, and it’s about time for the headliner to start the show. You can’t stop the gig now; all the songs are already cued up.”

“Maybe they can’t stop it from starting,” Cinder admitted, “but I would advise you not to take your enemies lightly … if I were at all invested in your victory. As I’m not, then be overconfident by all means. I just hope that I live long enough to get the pleasure of watching you all fall flat on your faces in abject failure.”

That will teach Tempest to look down on me, once she has learned for herself that it is not so easy.

“There she is! There she is!” Sonata cried as she strode forward, advancing upon Cinder, reaching out to grab Cinder’s face with one hand, squeezing her cheeks. “There’s the—”

Cinder shoved her arm away, wrenching her face from Sonata’s grasp. “Don’t touch me!”

Anger flashed in Sonata’s raspberry eyes, eyes that flashed as red as the glittering jewel around her neck as a bestial snarl of anger rose from her throat. She bared her teeth in Cinder’s face as she grabbed her by the shoulders, grabbed her so tightly that Cinder could feel her fingernails digging into her skin, even through her dress in some cases.

Cinder forced herself not to wince in pain.

“Don’t tell me what to do,” Sonata growled. “I’ll touch you wherever I want. I’ll do whatever I want, and there’s nothing you can do about it!”

Here comes a monster to gobble you up.

Cinder tried to force that thought to the back of her mind; she had killed Phoebe, she had put that in the ground, it was all dead and done and behind her now. But it was very difficult in the circumstances.

Her voice trembled a little as she said, “Nice to meet the real you at last.”

Sonata’s grin seemed a little more vicious now than it had done even moments before. “And nice to know that you’ve not become a complete sad sack. I mean, really?” She let go of Cinder and turned away, waving her arms back and forth as she skipped across the tarmac towards one of the armoured vehicles.

And as she skipped, she started to sing.

“Slip inside the eye of your mind,

Don’t you know you might find,

A better place to play.”

She turned around to look at Cinder; Cinder saw that the gem on Sonata’s choker was burning even brighter now, brighter than any star in the night sky above them. It burned red, bloody red, as red as wrath and fury.

As red as the wrath that Cinder could feel building up inside of her. It wasn’t fair, it wasn’t fair! After all that she had done, after all that she’d been through, after everything that she had suffered, that it should end like this? End in ignominy, end forgotten, end ignored, end with everyone focussed on Sunset instead of her? She wanted to scream out her frustration at it!

“You said that you’d never been,

But all the things that you’d seen,

Slowly fade away.”

Cinder grunted, she seethed, she exhaled from between her gritted teeth, she growled like an animal. Anger pumped through her veins as readily as blood.

Pyrrha could have killed her. She could have spared her this, all of this, the suffering, the humiliation, all of it! With a single stroke of her spear, she could have given Cinder oblivion, granted her the respect that she deserved.

Instead … instead, they had condemned her to this, to be Sonata’s prisoner!

Cinder hated them: Pyrrha, who had shown her the cruel mercy that had brought her here; Sunset, who had spat on Cinder’s hand when she had offered it freely; Tempest, Amber, Sonata, she hated all of them.

She felt … she felt like Pyrrha, the great Pyrrha, not the milksop at Beacon, the hero of the Mistraliad, she felt as Pyrrha had felt when news was brought to her of Camilla’s death.

She felt as though there was nothing left in her but rage. If she were to come across an enemy now, she would kill them straight away, for death would come for all of them, and if she came across one whom she hated, one who had done her wrong, one who was deserving of her wrath, then she would eat their heart up in the marketplace!

And Sonata, who had done her wrong, stood right before her.

Some little good I mean to do, for all my wrath.

Sonata whooped delightedly. “You know, your power really makes a big difference to the taste! It’s like the difference between … between avocado crema and no sauce at all. I wonder if Amber will taste this good.”

“I thought you’d promised to spare her,” Cinder grunted.

“We did,” Sonata confirmed. “But what are you gonna do? Not pass up free food, that’s for sure!” she giggled.

Cinder scowled. “So … you like surprises? I’ve got a surprise for you.”

Sonata cocked her head. “Oh yeah? What’s that?”

Fire blazed from Cinder’s right eye. “I can break these restraints!” she yelled, as fire leapt from her hands, fire like the sun blazing all around her, erupting out in all directions, a protective dome of fire expanding outwards, hurling the soldiers around her backwards in all directions, melting the bonds that restrained.

They turned to ash and fell like vanquished grimm to land round Cinder’s feet.

Cinder turned and hurled a fireball into the open hatch leading into the Valish transport. The vehicle exploded, a column of fire leaping upwards into the sky as Cinder turned to face Sonata once again.

“And that,” she declared, “is how you do pyrotechnics!”

Flames leapt up in the palms of both her hands as Cinder strode towards Sonata, intent upon burning her to—

Sonata opened her mouth, and a crimson beam leapt from her maw to slam straight into Cinder’s chest. Cinder felt the blow to her aura; it was stronger than any of Sunset’s magic, and stronger than a blow from Pyrrha too; it knocked her off her feet and bore her backwards, hurling her through the burning wreckage of the transport to land heavily upon the tarmac on the other side.

What?

“Surprise!” Sonata called cheerily as she strode through the flames. “Betcha thought that singing was all I could do, right? Well, since you and Tempest were so nice as to feed me so much all by myself, I can do lots of other stuff too. Like this.” She began to sing again, a song without words, a soft and lilting melody, almost like a lullaby that a mother might sing to her child.

And as she sang, as she hummed the wordless song, as nectar and ambrosia flowed from her mouth to tickle Cinder’s ears, an iridescent light flowed out of her mouth as though her voice was too lovely to be for the ears alone but had to be seen, somehow, to be believed.

Tears sprang to the corners of Cinder’s eyes. She was … what had she been thinking? Hate Sonata? Attack Sonata? Kill Sonata? What madness had overtaken her? How beef-witted had she become? Kill Sunset, yes, kill Pyrrha, certainly, but kill Sonata? Strike down this beautiful voice?

Strike down Sonata, and you banished all loveliness from Remnant.

Kill Sonata, and you killed all the world.

Sonata put her hands on her hips. “We’re not going to have any more problems, are we?”

Cinder shook her head mutely, for it would be such immeasurable arrogance to dare to make a sound in the presence of a voice so sublime as hers.

“Awesome!” Sonata chirruped. “Because I’ve got plans for you, Cindy! You’d better believe we’re not done with you yet!”

Comments

[AngelicTitan]

Oh, fuck. From the mastermind to Sonata’s puppet. Well Cinder, you have fallen a lot now. I wonder if after the Fall the fact that Sonata was manipulating Cinder would alleviate her crimes. And this makes for a wonderful opportunity for a one-on-one Sunset vs Cinder fight for the heart (and free will) of the Maiden! The Fall is going to be HUUUGGGEEE and I wonder, how many chapters are we away from the start of the climax? I am excited as fuck for how the Fall will occur.

[Kiue Jin]

11753985
A Sonata who's got some plans of her own. She's played the long game... and now she's going to reap the rewards.

[BeardedRedMane]

Big oof. This was not something I expected and its like watching a tragedy unfold before your eyes with no way to stop it. So many things could have been stopped with just a small bit of kindness from Ruby. I wonder if she will understand the lives that will be lost due to her moral high ground.

[Mastermind4892]

Poor Blackthorn. To fall prey to Vale’s greatest enemy, sabotage its defenses, attack its allies, and thus bring as much global shame and hatred unto Vale as Atlas suffered in canon?

And Cinder… to be reduced to a doll that smiles and nods, worse than anything her stepmother did? Nothing could be more ignoble to her. Somewhere deep down, Cinder is wailing in the most pitiful grief and shame. I wonder if the doll can hear the screaming?

[Voltaje]

Totally different from before XD, but even better.

[Stet709]

Well shoot... that's not good.
I don't know what I want more: Cinder vs Sunset round 2, Pyrrha vs Cinder Round 2, or Sunset vs Sonata, Equestrian vs Equestrian, Unicorn vs Siren.

If Sonata, the usually ditzy one, can be this dangerously manipulative, I'd hate to see what kind of damage Adagio can do.

[RanmaChaos]

When the egotistical, self-righteous Villain thinks you're an egotistical, self-righteous twat, you know you have a problem Ruby.
Say, I had a thought. Can we replace Ruby with Jessica Cruz? I haven't seen the crossover movie, but I hear that people liked her.

Loving Sonata right now. Well, mostly. I wish it didn't come at the expense of Cinder. Pyrrha really should have just ended Cinder. Still, hope Sonata keeps being a badass. Can't wait for the Dazzlings reunite.

[Stet709]

What I just realized is, amidst all this controversy about Sunset, Pyrrha still hasn't mentioned anything about what Cinder said after Sunset tried to make sure it was mentioned despite the stuff about her. If it doesn't get mentioned the following morning and is left unsaid, at the very least, the rest of Sapphire and Rosepetal will be caught off guard about the Siren, since Sunset is the only one who knows extensively about them, not to mention Tempest and Bon Bon. Of course, everyone's gonna be caught off guard by Amber, even those who heard Cinder's confession.

[Christopher28]

OK, I am really liking the changes. Sonata deserved to strut her stuff… the Sirens are no joke, and now we get to see her in all her evil glory. Bravo.