Chapter 4

The life-support unit exploded when he was just a metre from it.

There was no warning, and he would have met a rather distasteful death if Ozpin hadn't reacted with inhuman speed, erecting a wall of viridescent light before him.

He'd cracked open his eyes, fully expecting to find himself impaled by bloody shrapnel. Instead, he was met with ripples spreading across the flickering shield where the pieces of jagged metal had impacted.

Ozpin's hand clamped onto his collar seconds later, dragging him back before he could even comprehend what had happened. The question forming on his lips died early when he followed Ozpin's gaze, back towards where the smoke was clearing.

A figure was sprawled in it.

His eyes ran over the brown hair, lightly tanned skin, and burnt fabric. His mind tried to put together the pieces, but failed because it refused to accept the existence of any puzzle in the first place.

The denial didn't last long. Not when the Fall Maiden stumbled to her feet, clutching her chest. She stumbled, slamming into the ruined machine behind her.

"W-wha…" Polendina managed, jaw slack from shock. Embarrassing, really, for someone who liked to see himself as a man of composure and discipline.

Had he been in a better state of mind - which he evidently wasn't - he might have been upset about that.

The headmaster stood beside him shared none of his inaction. Ozpin was moving in an instant, disappearing in a blur of green and silver. Amber jerked, struggling weakly when an arm settled around her shoulders. Her hand clawed at him, ablaze with flames that sent ripples of heat through the surrounding air.

Where the fire would have scorched skin, Aura flared in bursts of emerald light.

"Amber, please." Ozpin said, by some incredible feat of willpower completely ignoring what had to be an excruciating pain. "You're safe now. I need you to calm down."

The girl was not at all placated by his words. She stilled for a second, but only so. Her eyes widened a moment later, dawning in realization of something. She certainly didn't seem to like that something, evident by the roaring gale that erupted outwards from her. Ozpin was thrown away, flipping mid-air to orient himself.He drove his cane into the stone floor, jolting himself to a halt that would have torn the limbs from a normal man.

Unfortunately, Polendina did not have the benefit of a hunter's physical prowess and training. He was lifted from his feet by the powerful gust, and flung into the air bodily.

Terrified scream torn from his lips, he could only perceive the disorienting blur his surroundings had suddenly become. That was, until they stopped perceiving altogether.

The object the back of his head struck must have been hard, for his vision went dark like a light turning off.

Chaos, was an excellent word to describe his thoughts.

He liked plans. He was good at making them. He was good at carrying them out - or at least finding the right person to do it for him.

This was most definitelynot a situation he'd planned for. It was made all the worse by the fact that the only one that had the slightest idea of what was going on was sprawled unconscious behind him. Polendina deserved plenty of suspicion himself, too. Or maybe he didn't. Not that he was being given ample time to ponder that question.

Ozpin forced down a budding frustration as yet another blast - lightning this time - sent him skidding backwards.

She posed no real threat to him. The projectiles Amber launched were easy enough to avoid so long as he wasn't in point blank range and even if one hit, his Aura would sustain the damage without much complaint. He could have defeated this enemy with absolute certainty, but…

This wasn't quite an enemy he was dealing with. To say that Amber was in a poor physical condition would be a colossal understatement. He could hear her strained breathing, even at this distance, and sense her dwindling Aura. He'd need to - impossibly - be in melee range in order to perform a non-lethal neutralization, since blasting the already weak girl with energy would undoubtedly kill her.

The only reason her heart was still beating should have been because of the cutting-edge, and very experimental, medical technology that sustained her. Obviously said technology wouldn't be doing much in the way of sustaining anymore. If Amber died, her powers would pass on to the whoever had caused her coma, which… Wouldn't be good.

Convincing her to talk was also out of question, with the unknown influence she was under, leaving him with a single undesirable option - allow the Fall Maiden to simply run herself out of Aura.

Ozpin dodged right, away from a barrage of splintered debris, frozen into tiny blades, then weaved through a miniature tempest - thunder, rain, and all.

He signed internally, leaning left to allow a deadly sharp shard of ice to whiz past. A split second later a roaring stream of fire struck where he had been standing, leaving a patch of melted slag on the once smooth marble.

He was already dashing away, creating distance to give himself more time to avoid whatever attack was thrown at him next.

One that never came. Ozpin came to a halt, muscles coiled and ready to spring back into action in a moment's notice.

There wasn't the need.

The storm of elements that formed an impenetrable barrier of around the Fall Maiden sputtered. It did not take long to die out afterwards, leaving the chamber in a deafening silence as he watched warily.

Amber fell on one knee, Aura clearly depleted seeing the tiny, but numerous cuts that covered her body. With great difficulty, she lifted a hand, from which a small spark of electricity popped.

Then her eyes rolled into her head, and she collapsed, succumbing to the pull of gravity. Her limp body was not allowed to reach the ground, as a pair of hands that had been twenty metres away an instant before appeared to halt her fall.

Ozpin let out a long breath, shifting his weight to gently lay the unconcious girl onto the ground. He spared a glance for Polendina - relieved to make out the faint rising and falling of the man's chest - before returning his attention to Amber.

His exhalation cut off abruptly, replaced by a sharp intake of air.

More excitement this time.

Hope you enjoyed!

P.S. as always, please let me know of any mistakes you come across.