Duty before pleasure.

"Yeah, and it looks like a rat," you say with a smirk. "C'mon! Let's check it out."

With a nod of your head, you beckon her to follow you and set off at a light jog. She struggles to keep up, stumbling every now and then in her heels but you take the time to slow your pace. Ignoring the urge to tease the girl, you instead focus on the task at hand. Externally, you were eager to finally meet someone like Cinder in combat and test yourself but internally you were a tad nervous. She would be your most dangerous adversary yet and while you had full faith and confidence in your abilities, there was still that small sliver of doubt in the back of your mind questioning your skill. You were, after all, preparing to fight a faux Fall Maiden which would be the closest example of a demi-god. No matter; nothing ventured, nothing gained as they say.

Tracking Cinder across the rooftops with your eyes, your hunch in her destination proves true as she changes direction towards the CCT Tower. Pausing a moment, you take the time to materialize your katars onto your hands. Shortly afterward came Ruby trotting up with her beloved scythe in her grasp.

"Jeez, did you really have to move so fast?" she complains as she joins you. "It's hard enough just walking around in these stupid things!"

"Sorry, I just didn't want to lose sight of our mark," you apologize with a sheepish smile. "You seemed to keep up pretty well all things considered though."

She doesn't answer as the both of you approach the CCT. Immediately you feel the hairs on your neck stand on end when you notice the unmoving forms of several Atlesian soldiers, as well as Ruby's involuntary flinch as you moved to check their vitals.

"Are... are they...?" she asks uneasily.

"No, just knocked out," you say reassuringly as you feel a pulse beneath your fingertips.

"Oh thank goodness," comes her sigh of relief.

"C'mon. Our little interloper is probably at the top of the tower already," you say, beckoning her to the elevator.

The ride to the tower summit was quiet, the only sounds being your shared breathing and the hum of the lift. Ruby fiddled about with Crescent Rose in her hands, the young huntress eager to get back into the action of fighting. She had a surprising warrior's spirit despite being such an introvert. Certainly for the best given what kind of work she's chosen to pursue.

In no time at all, the elevator chimed your arrival and the doors slid open revealing the darkened interior of the tower's main communications hub. Numerous computer terminals with black screens were lined up in neat rows, and your intruder was nowhere to be seen, at least to Ruby's currently untrained eyes. Stretching out with your senses, you easily locate Cinder crouched in the shadows of a secluded corner amongst the terminals. Before Ruby could start her advance, you raise one of your katars and fire a ruby-red bolt of plasma directly at Cinder's chest, forcing her to vault into the air and out of hiding, a glass composite bow strung with three arrows materializing in her hands.

Out of reflex, you fire three more bolts at the exact moment she lets loose her arrows, the projectiles impacting against each other in midair and creating a brilliant explosion of fire and ash with enough **** to rock the tower. Ruby immediately settles into action at your flank, planting her scythe into the floor and opening fire with her dust rounds just as Cinder landed in a crouch. Unfortunately, these did nothing against the superior Huntress as she casually batted the bullets aside with an aura enhanced hand. Her lips twitch upwards with the barest hint of a smirk.

"Ruby, go get Professor Ozpin and General Ironwood," you order.

"What? But why? We can take her on together!" she argues.

"This isn't just some Grimm you can carve in half. This Huntress is far beyond your skill level right now," you go on to explain, your eyes never leaving Cinder as you begin to advance. "More importantly, the Headmaster needs to know what happened tonight and that security was breached."

"But you-"

"Ruby, trust me. I got this," you say with a smile and a thumbs up, though she only agrees with great ****.

"Fine, but I'm coming back for you," she relents as she palms the button for the ground floor.

"Sending her away to fight me all on your own? You're even more arrogant than I thought," Cinder mocks smoothly as the elevator door closes behind you.

"And look at you pulling strings from behind the scenes like some little mastermind. Normally I wouldn't care what you did with your time but you're starting to step on my territory, and I don't appreciate rivals."

"Oh cry me a river. It's about time I taught you a lesson for crossing me."

Her declaration comes out with a growl as she morphs her bow into a pair of ornate broadswords and charges you. You rush forward to meet her, Adam and Eve clanging loudly against her blades with a furious ring. You knew Pyrrha was immensely skilled given how she dedicated her entire life to training, but Cinder was noticeably a few more levels ahead. She moved with **** speed and agility, and hit twice as hard, forcing you to reinforce your limbs with your powers lest they be battered into a numb and useless mess.

Twisting underneath your slash, she crouches low and swings her leg in a sweeping kick, forcing you to hop over the offending limb, but as soon as your feet are airborne, she places a palm on the floor and conjures an angry orange glyph where you were once standing. Eyes widening in surprise, you brace yourself as a fiery explosion engulfs you, the intense heat washing over your body and burning your clothes whilst the shockwave throws you against the far wall. You impact with a grunt but thankfully you recover quickly enough to re-engage before she can make a break for the window. Twisting your heel, you vanish in a flashing burst of speed, reappearing in front of her and cutting off her escape route. She stumbles to a stop at your display, her once stoic demeanor now hardened with rightfully warranted concern.

"Now that wasn't very nice," you complain, making note of your now completely exposed chest and heavily tattered trousers. "I really liked this suit too. If you wanted me undressed so badly, you could've just asked."

"Hmph. Pig," she huffs, though she fails at completely hiding her wandering eyes.

"Oh don't give me that. I highly doubt a woman such as yourself has pledged celibacy. Besides, don't think I didn't notice those pretty little eyes of yours checking me out."

She smirks at your flirtations, relaxing ever so slightly if only to play along with your game.

"If you ask nicely, I might actually forgive you with all of your fingers still attached."

"You'd change your tune about my fingers if you knew exactly what they could do to you, though right now I'm more interested in talking than fighting."

"Assuming I even let you touch me in the first place. More importantly, you honestly think you can just make conversation and buy time until your back up arrives?"

"I don't need to buy anything when time itself obeys my commands."

With a snap of your fingers, you halt time's passage just as you've done on so many occasions before. The world takes on a gray tint as the Universe halts at your whim, drawing an intrigued glance from Cinder.

"Strong, fast, and a powerful Semblance without the need for Dust? Alright then Mr. Hazelton, you have my full attention. Why are you so adamant about getting in the way of my work?"

"Because I have a vested interest in Vale and Beacon, and would prefer not to see them burned to the ground," you answer smoothly. "Besides, I know what it is that you're after, and quite frankly you could go for something so much better. Something so much more... powerful. Do you follow?"

"Is that so? And just what is this power that you speak of?"

"I probably already know the answer to this question given whom it is you ultimately work for but I'll ask anyway; do you believe in Gods, Cinder?"

"Every fairy tale always comes with a small modicum of truth. Do you claim to be one of them?"

"Would you like a demonstration?" you ask, suddenly flash stepping behind her though she maintains her composure splendidly.

"If you're trying to impress me, you'll have to perform something better than simple parlor tricks."

"I believe the more accurate term here would be... arouse."