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Chapter 12: The Bipping Point
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Team JNPRR had stayed long enough in Higanbana to warm up. They'd headed out on the road again, walking down the dirt roads. They figured if all the trains were the same, with little 8 minute segments between stops, they'd save money by not buying the overpriced tickets. Jaune sighed. It was a long walk. His boots were already caked in mud.
Ruby stared at the map. They should've made it to the next town by now. She stared harder, willing the map to change, nothing changed. They were still walking along a muddy dirt road.
"So what's on the agenda today, guys?", Nora asked.
"Walking and more walking. Walking until our feet fall off.", Jaune said.
"Shouldn't we have reached the next town by now? Higanbana was close to a few small villages.", Pyrrha said.
"There's nothing here, but mud and old stone roads. We probably should've taken the train, but nooooooo, let's just walk there, that's the cheaper way! You guys know who I am right? I am Jaune Arc, heir to Hyperion of Atlas, I have enough money to buy a train! We could've been safe and dry onboard a first-class train to Haven right now!", Jaune complained.
"Hey, what's that?", Ruby said as she noticed a tower in the distance.
"I dunno? Maybe a town?", Jaune said. "Maybe we finally reached civilization after walking for a billion hours?"
"Jaune, it's only been 2 hours since we left Higanbana. We haven't been walking for that long...", Pyrrha noted.
Team JNPRR had reached a small town. It was empty, save for the small team of Huntsmen. Nora looked around inquisitively, Pyrrha stood guard, Ruby looked for anyone, Jaune didn't really care and Ren just seemed nervous. The town was empty. Buildings lay in various states of repair. It was as if whoever was here left in a hurry.
"Nobody is here.", Ruby said.
"It's almost like this place has been abandoned... The buildings aren't damaged, they haven't even been completely built. What happened here?", Pyrrha noted.
Ren stood over a small sign. He brushed off the face of it revealing the name of the town. 'Oniyuri'. "We should go. There's nothing but bad memories here.", Ren said.
"Ren? What's wro-", Nora said in realization as to where she was. "Ren. It's okay. We can just leave."
"What's going on?", Jaune asked.
"Oniyuri? I've never heard of that town...", Pyrrha said.
Ren sighed. "Oniyuri. Mistral's Mountain Glenn. People who were unhappy with the laws of the kingdom settled here. They hoped this place would give them the freedom they desired. They pooled their resources and hoped to one day build a kingdom of their own. My parents were advocates of this place. They lead the people here. And they were its rulers."
"What... What happened here?", Pyrrha asked.
"The same thing that always happens.", Ren stated sadly.
"Grimm?", Ruby asked.
"Just one. Just one horrible Grimm.", Ren said, looking to the distance. "We should go."
Team JNPRR headed out of Oniyuri. Ren said nothing more, he just looked around in near paranoia. This was unlike him, he was usually calm and stoic. Nora tried and failed to calm him. He just shook his head and stared at the ground.
"Guys! Movement up ahead!", Pyrrha called. She saw someone or something running through the ruins.
Ren pulled one of his weapons and held out a small ornate dagger in the other hand. He stood at the ready. Nora brandished her hammer, Ruby unsheathed Crescent Rose and Jaune pulled Conference Call. Pyrrha looked around, eyeing the motion in the distance.
A strange creature jumped at them. It flew down from the heavens and aimed at Ruby, twin blades slashing at the smaller girl. Ruby blocked with her scythe and fired its sniper form forwards, knocking her attacker away. Ren didn't know what this was, it wasn't Grimm. He fired a few shots from StormFlower peppering the opponent with gunfire.
The strange thing dodged the gunfire landing a kick to Ren's chest. Ren tumbled backwards off balance. The attacker then aimed again at Ruby, this time anticipating her scythe's path and jumping off the blade. It kicked Ruby in the face and knocked her down.
Jaune fired repeatedly with his shotgun, shots splitting into more shots. He fired incendiary rounds this time, lighting the cloak the stranger wore on fire. It tossed the burning clothing away and revealed itself. It was a Faunus. Particularly, an insane and cackling scorpion-like Faunus.
"Ohhhh hohohohohoooo... Hahahahaaaa...", Tyrian cackled. "Oh what fun! I'm not here for you, or you... or you... I'm here for the girl in red."
"Well, you'll have to get through us, first!", Nora yelled.
"Challenge accepted!", Tyrian said as he flipped into the air again, he aimed downwards on Ren and Nora, landing and split-kicking the two apart. He aimed his guns at Jaune and let loose a hail of gunfire, the blond-haired gunslinger dodge-rolling out of the way.
"What do you want!?", Ruby screamed.
"I want you, little rose. I'm here to whisk you away to a magical land!", Tyrian cackled.
"I don't wanna go with you!", Ruby declared.
"Well, I'm afraid you have to. I'm going to take you there one way... Or another.", Tyrian announced as he drew his blades again. He poised to leap onto Ruby Rose when a bolt of lightning struck just in front of him.
Pyrrha had been locked in panic. Her team was being attacked. She couldn't use her Semblance on the blades that were attacking; they were made of some kind of ceramic and she had no power over that. She looked at Ren and Nora being kicked down. She saw Jaune dodging gunfire, his weapon useless. She saw Ruby Rose helpless, her slower attacks easily dodged. She saw a bad future and she decided to change it. Her eyes glowed and she felt every particle in the world come alive. She felt a flame creep up her spine and into her mind. She felt limitless and godlike. She looked and aimed. Then she fired.
"Halt! You shall go no further!", Pyrrha stated, the red-haired Spartan now hovering several feet from the ground.
Tyrian turned, his eyes went wide. "Oh. I am very interested in you. Oh hohohohohooo Aaahahahaaa", he cackled.
"You might not like this, but it has to happen. Don't worry. We're in this together", the little voice in Pyrrha's head said. Pyrrha just looked at Tyrian. She saw a stranger abducted as a boy and trained to kill. He could've been anything else, but he made his decision. She looked at the possibilities ahead of her and she made her decision as well.
A popular theory was that lightning never struck the same place twice. Unfortunately for Tyrian, lightning struck several hundred times in the same place, over and over. Each time it fried the scorpion-like Faunus, he cackled in glee from the infliction of pain. He cackled and laughed like a madman. Pyrrha called down the heavens upon him. She didn't know who he was, but the little voice in her head did. Tyrian stumbled, shocked too many times to stand. He fell and stared at Pyrrha.
"And she failed! Oh she failed so badly! I'll see her soon. I'll laugh at her when she burns. I'll enjoy every moment of her unending torment!", he screamed.
Pyrrha's face was a grim visage. She wasn't unhappy; she was absolutely furious. She conjured up a tornado of fire, she focused the fire into a beam of pure incineration and aimed it upon the Faunus.
"Ashes to ashes... and Dust to dust... Burn for me, Tyrian. And know, I am coming for the rest of you.", Pyrrha said. She really didn't, she was still aghast of the power she wielded. Someone else spoke for her. Something hidden inside her own soul spoke for her. And it was terrible. Magnificent, but terrible.
The fire focused into a beam of melting heat hotter than a dying star and incinerated Tyrian. He died cackling, knowing that a specific someone would soon be joining him. He stared at Pyrrha as he burned, giving a one-finger-salute as his body turned to ash and scattered in the middle of Oniyuri.
Pyrrha still raged. She watched Tyrian's death. She watched him disintegrate. She scattered his ashes with a gust of wind, erasing the scorpion Faunus from existence. She felt godlike. Unstoppable. She felt the fire inside her, changing her. She felt the world as it turned. She looked at her team and they stared back in a combination of fear and awe. She was interrupted.
A dark form landed in front of them. It landed in front of the group, weapons drawn. It quickly stood down. Red eyes looked into Pyrrha's glowing ones and narrowed. "Heya, Red.", a gravelly voice said.
"Qr... Qrow?", Pyrrha said in recognition. Her eyes stopped glowing and she slowly descended from where she hovered. The fire she felt rescinded slowly, leaving a dull burning sensation in her chest.
"In the flesh. We have a lot to talk about.", Qrow noted.
Pyrrha sighed. This was getting more and more complicated.
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In a purple and red and very unhappy place, Cinder Fall sat at a conference table again. She was still in a full-body cast, but she could talk and wiggle her fingers. Her master seemed a little unnerved.
"So... Tyrian is dead. He was killed by a Maiden...", Salem noted
"Urrrrghhh... Uggghhh...", Cinder grunted.
"I know you can talk, so let's get down to business. Did you kill that Maiden? I need an answer here and I'll only accept one.", Salem said menacingly.
"No.", Cinder said in fear. Salem was awfully close to her face now.
"I thought so...", Salem said as she slammed Cinder against the wall with her magic, her body-cast breaking to pieces on impact. "Remember the lesson in 'Learning to Not Piss Off Your Boss'? Well, we're here, class is in session! And you are going to learn today!", Salem said.
Cinder was mostly healed, but her burns hadn't and still scarred her body. She attempted to stand again, but was yanked through the air by Salem.
"I hope you've felt pain. Because you're about to feel a whole new level right now!", Salem raged.
Screams echoed through the boardroom, some in happiness and most in horror. Salem hated when she was deceived. And Cinder would learn to never deceive the the one who kept you alive. A few Grimm far below heard the cacophony of misery and quickly left the vicinity. Even the creations of destruction didn't want to be present for this.
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A small campfire roared. Qrow had just finished telling his story of the Maidens. The story of the four seasons as Ozpin had told him many years ago... Team JNPRR just stared at him. Qrow drank from his flask, his breath smelling strongly of whiskey.
"Really? No questions?", Qrow said in disbelief.
Pyrrha had a lot of questions, "How did he get here? What was he drinking? Why did he drink so much? Why did he wear a cape? Was he Ruby's real dad?", she thought.
Pyrrha just said, "Just one or two... How did you get here so fast?"
Qrow just thought for a moment. He technically was on official business, he had met with his sister earlier back in Higanbana. He recalled that interaction as he thought of something to tell the cereal mascot.
Qrow had sat down at a table in a bar, he was directly across from the Inn the Team JNPRR was staying at and could creep on them through the window. A waitress brought him a drink.
"The woman with the red eyes said to give you this.", The waitress noted.
Qrow just glanced to the 2nd level of the bar. He took his drink and walked up the stairs to meet the 'mysterious woman'.
"Oh, hey Raven. Seen Tai lately?", Qrow noted as he looked at his twin sister. She was roughly the same shape as Yang, but had crimson colored eyes and long feathery black hair. She just scowled at him.
"Not since Tai mistook you for me. That was the last straw, Qrow.", Raven said.
"Aww, come on. It wasn't even that bad. He was really drunk.", Qrow said.
"Nope, no. That was the last for me. Anything else, if he did anything else or anyone else I'd have been cool with it. But it was you. 'Whole Team Taiyang' managed to screw the entire team. Any port in a storm, apparently works for him.", Raven rambled. She really didn't like Taiyang.
"Uhh hey, did you hear Yang lost an arm?", Qrow changed the subject. He didn't want his sister to know that he still had a thing for Tai.
"Yeah I did. I also heard that those bastards in Atlas, Hyperion, gave her a shiny new one.", Raven said.
"Well, uhhh... Vermilion was demoted. How about that?", Qrow noted. He kept in touch with other uncles around the world who were also Huntsmen.
"Demoted from their already mundane jobs as stewards or teachers at the Academy in Atlas. Back on their feet and fighting again like Huntsmen. Wow, what a demotion.", Raven lambasted. "Do you have any actual news or are you just trying to make small talk, Qrow?"
"Well, it seems like a lot of cereal boxes have a prize inside of them. Pumpkin Pete's has a Maiden apparently...", Qrow said in code.
Raven's eyes went wide for a moment. She quickly returned to her normal apathetic demeanor. "Really. That's quite a prize. And what about the Fall? Does the little old lady in the tower have what she most desires?"
"No. She does not. And she won't have what she wants until the plumbers and utility workers stop fighting. But by then, she won't be able to get near it.", Qrow said.
"Good. And what about Ozzy?", Raven asked.
"Seems like he bit the head off a bat outta hell and is nowhere to be seen.", Qrow noted.
"Hm. Odd...", Raven said.
The cryptic conversation probably looked like madness to anyone in the bar. The twins just kept what they knew close and waited for a better hand of cards to be dealt.
"You could come back, Raven. We could still use you.", Qrow said.
"I'm well aware, dear brother. But now is not the time.", Raven noted.
"Well, keep on your guard. They don't know we have Fall, and I know you know where Spring is.", Qrow said.
"Always. Now, I have to be going. This was an interesting... chat.", Raven concluded.
Raven used her Semblance and katana and cut a portal into the air behind her. She left quickly. She had some things to take care of.
A glass shattered behind Qrow as he watched his sister depart. The waitress had seen the portal. Qrow just tossed her a 750 Lien chit. "You didn't see anything. Also, I need a double shot of this."
Back around the campfire, Pyrrha and everyone else waited for Qrow to respond.
"I'm on official business. I saw you out there, headed to that old ruin, Oniyuri. I was afraid you'd run into something you weren't prepared for.", Qrow stated.
"Oh. Well, that makes sense.", Ruby noted.
"So the maidens, there are always 4 of them? And their powers are only held by females... The last one that was in their thoughts.", Nora said.
"Yep.", Qrow agreed. "Afterwards, their souls become combined.".
"Like me, then. I think I've got a little bit of Amber...", Pyrrha said.
"Yep, right again. The Maiden's souls combine with the successors, so there's some kind of instruction on how to use the power. Amber was young and inexperienced in life, probably just a whisper on the wind. The more dominant soul remains in control. And obviously, yours is exactly that.", Qrow stated.
"Oh. Okay...", Pyrrha thought. "Why was that weirdo after Ruby?", she asked.
"Well, Ruby painted an odd picture at Beacon Tower. She has silver eyes and silver eyes have some interesting abilities. Some abilities that certain people fear. And I'm afraid that those same people have an interest in finding Ruby.", Qrow explained.
"Alright yeah, I guess that makes sense. What about the attacks on the schools, Why even bother with that? They're full of Huntsmen in training, why go to such a length for fear?", Jaune noted.
"Well, that's a long one, kid. Hope you're in this for the long game... Ozpin ever tell you about the religions around here? If you listened to his lectures, you'd know that he believed that only two of them were real...", Qrow said.
Qrow began to spin a yarn, a long tale about the creation of humanity and the gifts of creation from the gods themselves, the God of Light and the God of Dark, two brothers forever in conflict with each-other. The Relics, as they became known as and the true purpose of the Huntsmen Academies around the world.
Jaune came to realization. Huntsmen. They were the protectors of the Vaults that held the Relics. The Academies were built over the Vaults. And now, Jaune Arc was a Vault Huntsman. He and his team of misfits would have to find and secure the next one in Haven before the literal forces of evil could take control of them. He was going to be a real hero. The hero of his story.
"So yeah, there's that.", Qrow concluded.
"The forces of evil... You mean Salem?", Ruby noted.
"Not many people know who she is and that doesn't really matter right now. What does is securing the Vaults and keeping the Relics out of her reach. This story won't have a very happy ending if she gets them.", Qrow said.
Team JNPRR looked at each-other in shock. Qrow could probably be believed, even if he was a drunkard, he spoke truth while others tried to hide it. Qrow just spoke whatever was on his mind since his mind had no filters. And his mind didn't have any filters because all the booze had washed them away decades ago. They had a mission. Protect the Vaults, find the Relics, and defy Gods themselves.
Chapter 12 is done. Woohoo. Anyways, Tyrian died, he never got his trial and never got Mercury to fight Hazel in his trial by combat. He never even got to shoot Watts with a crossbow while he was on the toilet. Oh wait, that's a different Tyrion... Oops.