Sorry about the wait guys! My house was stuck by lightning yesterday of all days. This is the chapter where all the changes to the original RWBY storyline will be the most apparent, hope you guys like my decisions.
Disclaimer: I own nothing!
Speech
Thoughts
Chapter Thirteen: End Of The Beginning
"Pyrrha and Penny? That doesn't sound like a match up I would've expected" Yang laughed as she and Slade played her favorite board game.
"To be fair, Penny is a lot more talented than she looks. Pyrrha won't be able to win that easily"
"Well she did screw up the White Fang back at the docks awhile back... trap card" she added giggling at his annoyed expression.
"You've always got one of those" he groaned "Anyway, Ruby said Penny's an android or something so she's the perfect-" Slade stopped what he was about to say.
"Slade? What's wrong you just got quite-"
"That son of a bitch" Slade said standing up dropping his cards.
"What? I don't get it"
"Cinder" he answered.
"Your not making any sense, Slade. What're you thinking?" Yang asked concerned.
"Your match against Mercury, Pyrrha's against Penny. She's planned all of it!"
"How do you know?"
"Think about it, you said Mercury attacked you first but everyone saw you attack him unprovoked. Neo, who works for Torchwick and we haven't found since that night with the train could use some form of illusions, what if she or someone else made you see Mercury attack you when it never happened at all"
"You mean like a hallucination or something?"
"Exactly... If the same method was used with Penny against Pyrrha, she could get seriously hurt. Her semblance is polarity" Slade explained picking up his scroll from the desk he dialed a few numbers.
"Mr. Stroud?" Ozpin's voice asked through the device "Is there something-"
"Shut up and listen. Cinder's making her move tonight" Slade said quickly.
"Slow down, what makes you think-"
"Listen to me damn it! Cinder and Mercury planned the whole thing with Yang using some form of illusions, they could do the same thing with Pyrrha and it would be catastrophic, they would panic everyone bringing the Grimm"
"You mean she's spreading panic by injuring her own teammate? Do you know how crazy that sounds-"
"It's only crazy for someone who cares for their subordinates, I get the feeling she doesn't. The injury was just a taste of what she can do, imagine how everyone watching would feel if one of the students died" Slade said.
"As much as I wish I could just act on your word, I need proof before-" Ozpin was interrupted by a call from Ruby indicating on his scroll, Slade answered it confused.
"Ruby? Is everything-" he heard a gunshot through the phone.
"Let's just keep- us friends" he heard Mercury's voice through the static before the call cut off. Slade dropped his scroll in shock his hands shaking.
"That was Mercury!" Yang yelled. Slade vanished from the room using his semblance. Silence came from Ozpin's line on the phone.
"James, evacuate the battlegrounds!" Ozpin yelled calling Ironwood.
"Ozpin what's going on-"
"James listen to me, a lot of people are going to die if you don't get them out of there right now!"
Yang ran out into the hall running until she found the nearest TV screen, Pyrrha used her semblance on Penny's blades far more powerful than necessary for the small amount of them. Penny's arms began to twist from the metal strings wrapping around her, Pyrrha's face turned to one of horror at what she had done.
Slade appeared between Pyrrha with his blade in hand slicing through the strings around Penny freeing her, she dropped onto her back. There was dead silence around throughout the stadium as everyone looked on in confusion.
"Mr. Stroud? What're you doing?" Oobleck asked through the speakers. Ironwood grabbed the microphone away from him.
"This is General James Ironwood, I would ask that you all exit the stadium in a calm and orderly fashion"
Everyone in the stadium began panicking not really understanding what was going on.
"Please, remain calm. There is no reason to be alarmed" he continued. Slade looked up into the crowd to find Ruby staring in shock with Mercury standing behind her with the same expression. Appearing between them he slammed his fist into Mercury's face throwing him on his back.
"Slade?" Ruby asked confused.
"Everything is going to be okay, Ruby. Help with the evacuation, make sure Penny and Pyrrha are ready to fight as well. We're gonna need their help" Slade instructed unsheathing his blade.
"What about you?"
"Mercury and I have some unfinished business" Slade growled.
"You think just cause you saved that bot you can save everyone?" Mercury asked standing up "Grow up. This is the real world"
"The real world is about to let me kick your ass" Slade growled charging him.
Mercury was surprised by his speed barley able to deflect his downward slash with his boot, Slade continued to strike furiously while Mercury barely managed to avoid or deflect the attacks stumbling as he did. Using this opportunity, Slade attacked for his leg just above his boot only to hear metal clash against metal. Mercury twisted around kicking Slade, as he managed to block with his gauntlets, he was thrown back several feet flipping into his landing.
"That explains how you've recovered from your "injury" so quickly" Slade scowled.
"Hard to break a leg when they're made of steel in the first place. Worth every lien. Especially since it locked up that blonde bimbo for us"
Slade pulled his pistol out aiming it at Mercury "Watch your mouth when speaking about my friends" he growled.
"Roman certainly had you pegged right, he said we should've killed you from day one before you found your semblance. Personally I agreed, but Cinder wanted to be cautious not to be caught before we wanted to reveal ourselves"
"What exactly are you planning? What do you gain from any of this?"
"Is this the part where I'm supposed to spill my guts to you?" Mercury mocked.
"In a few seconds you won't have a choice in the matter"
"Sorry, no can do" Mercury smirked charging Slade.
Slade fired his pistol only to have it thrown from his hand by Mercury's kick, flipping around he kicked for his face. Slade vanished appearing behind him, he punched Mercury in the face then reappeared to his left kicking him in the side and again above him kicking him hard in the chest. Mercury slid backwards groaning in pain.
"You and I both know you can't win. I'm too fast for you"
"Bold words"
"Keep fighting if you wish, but you won't get anywhere but a hospital"
"I don't actually care about winning you see... all I care about... is staling" Mercury grinned.
Suddenly loud roars tore through the stadium, turning around Slade saw a massive Nevermore attacking the stadium with a large amount of Grimm flying overhead.
"This was your plan the whole time... spread panic so the Grimm would attack forcing us to fight them instead of you"
"Exactly. The White Fang should be attacking your school any second now" Mercury grinned "Roman will certainly be happy to see you finally dead"
"Not happening, you're plan is going to fail"
"I'd love to stay and chat but I have somewhere else to be" Mercury said firing multiple bullets from his boots creating a wall of white smoke as they rushed toward him. Slade teleported through it finding an empty space where Mercury once stood.
"Damn" he turned around hearing the Nevermore breaking through the shield around the ring where Ruby stood with many other students prepared to fight. He rushed out into the ring as Penny used her blades piercing the Nevermore causing it to screech in agony.
"Glad you're on our side" Slade said stabbing his blade into it as well.
"I'm combat ready!" Penny smiled back at him. Ruby suddenly smashed into the side of the Nevermore as it came down after Penny knocking it back.
"LEAVE HER ALONE!" Ruby yelled. Slade smirked at her courage.
"That's my girl" he laughed leaping off the Nevermore's back. It screeched flying toward them but was stopped by multiple lockers smashing into it's back forcing it to the ground. Huntsman and Huntresses from all the kingdoms equipped their weapons ready for battle.
The Nevermore sprung back to life attacking them, they all went to work attacking the beast. Ren used his weapons to attack it's eyes removing it's vision while Nora slid down it's head smashing it into the ground. The killing blow was executed by teams CFVY and SSSN bringing down they're heavy swords on it's neck from above decapitating it.
"That was easy" Slade chuckled.
"There's like a ton of us versus one Nevermore. Was gonna be pretty stupid if we lost a fight like that" Sun offered with a shrug.
"Fair enough"
"We need to get to Beacon" Jaune said handing Pyrrha her weapons.
"How?" Ruby asked.
"I have an idea" Slade answered.
"Get us to Beacon!" Slade yelled as they all entered the airship.
"Beacon? That place is in chaos-" the pilot argue, Slade pointed his gun at his head.
"I suggest you get moving then before it gets worse" Slade growled.
"Yes, sir"
"Thank you" Slade holstered his weapon. The airship soared toward Beacon as fast as it could, Slade watched Ironwood's ship attacking the other ships up there.
"What's up with that?" Sun asked confused.
"Torchwick" Slade growled.
"Ruby, what're you doing!?" Penny yelled causing him to turn around, Slade watched as Ruby jumped out of the back of the shuttle.
"Ruby!" Slade called after her, running to the edge, watching as she used her semblance to reach the arena. Slade sighed in relief.
"You gonna let your girl show you up like that?" Neptune asked.
"Well... I suppose I can let her have this one" he said with a smirk before vanishing.
"Why is it RWBY has all the crazy people on their team?" Sun asked.
Slade appeared in front of Ruby with a stern look on his face "What exactly do you think you're doing?" he asked as she slid to a stop.
"Ironwood's shuttle went down and his ship is attacking us. Someone needs to bring it down-"
"How exactly did you plan on getting there?" Slade asked. Ruby looked toward her own locker where she had previously grabbed her weapon from.
"You... are... brilliant. Insane. But brilliant"
"Maybe a little" Ruby agreed. they both got on her locker entering the code into it and flying toward the airship.
"What's the plan for landing this thing?"
"Get as close as we can then improvise the rest" Ruby shrugged.
"Improvise... right... why did I expect you to have a full plan?"
"You're the idea guy here, you're supposed to be the one with the plans"
Once they were close enough they both jumped off their lockers, Ruby used her semblance to make it and looked back to see Slade fall past it.
"Slade!" she yelled running to the edge.
"Yeah?" he asked dusting himself off behind her. Ruby punched him in the shoulder "Ow"
"Don't do that to me again!"
"Shouldn't we be more focused on getting Torchwick?"
"I suppose we should" Ruby agreed reluctantly turning away from him, just then a gryphon landed behind them. Ruby sliced through it instantly revealing Neo to be standing behind it, her outfit transformed from an Atlas uniform to her usual appearance as she took a photo of Ruby. She sent it to Roman.
Roman was standing in front of the command console "You can not be serious" he groaned picking up his scroll as he turned to leave. Slade stood in his path "You too? Why can't I ever catch a break!" Roman yelled.
Ruby viciously struck her scythe at Neo, spinning it expertly in her hands. Neo backhand sprung away from her dodging her attacks, Ruby fired her sniper at her causing Neo to shatter like glass. Neo smacked into Ruby with her umbrella throwing her into the air, Ruby embedded her scythe into the ship holding on for dear life. Suddenly Slade came crashing through the ship as an explosion tore through it. Rolling on the ships hull he threw his katana embedding beside Ruby as he planted his feet on the blade sliding to a stop slightly behind her, he stood on the blade his light blue aura sparking around him.
"Little Red, Little Red, and her annoying boyfriend. You two are just determined to be the heroes of Vale aren't ya?" Roman asked mockingly standing over Ruby.
"What're you doing? Without these ships the Grimm will destroy Vale!" Ruby asked in distress.
"That's the plan" Roman laughed pointing his cane at her. Ruby grabbed his cane pushing it back he missed his shot stumbling toward Slade. Slade grabbed his blade in his hand back flipping over it he slashed Roman into the air then kicked him back into Neo stopping her from attacking Ruby as she stood up.
"But why? What do you get out of it?" Ruby asked not understanding.
"You're asking the wrong questions, Red. It's not what I have to gain. It's what I can't afford to lose" he answered looking at Neo with a concerned expression.
"He's afraid" Slade breathed out in realization. Ruby charged Roman, Neo kicked her using Roman's back as leverage then hooked her umbrella handle onto her scythe flipping her over as it flung from her hand. Slade caught the scythe embedding it into the ground as Ruby flew backwards from Roman's attacks grabbing it and hanging off from the side. Slade Fired his pistol at Neo, she shattered once more appearing behind him. Slade twisted around blocking her blade, she placed her hand onto the floor kicking him in the chest with tremendous force knocking him onto his back.
"I may be a gambling man, but even I know there are some bets you just can't take" Roman mocked.
"Those are the only kind worth taking" Slade shot back struggling to get back up. Neo walked scraping her blade along the ship threateningly as she pointed it at Ruby with a grin.
"Like it or not, the people who hired me are going to change the world. You can't stop them and I can't stop them. You know the old saying: If you can't beat em-" Slade appeared behind him clicking the button on Neo's umbrella opening it, causing her to soar over the edge of the ship.
"Neo!" Slade kicked him in the side stumbling him back several feet. Slade clashed his blade with Roman's cane as Ruby struggled to get up from her spot hanging by Crescent Rose. Slade's blade was knocked from his hand, Ruby barely caught it almost falling back down because of it.
"You are just the most annoying bunch of kids, why won't you both just die already!?" Roman asked. Staring at his fist he took a deep breathe, Slade then punched Roman in the face hard knocking him back, he delivered another punch to his face followed by an uppercut stumbling Roman, approaching him Slade hit him again with a powerful kick to his chest knocking Roman onto his back flipping onto his stomach as he slid stopping himself with his hands with Slade still slowly approaching him.
"I don't care what you say. Nothing is going to stop me from protecting those I love... bet on that!" Slade yelled picking him up as he pulled his fist back for another hit. Roman pointed his cane into his chest firing throwing them both back. Slade soared over the edge of the ship.
"Slade!" Ruby yelled worriedly.
"Now we're even!" Roman yelled smacking Ruby onto her back "You've got spirt, Red. But this is the real world!" he yelled hitting her again.
"The real world is cold!" he smacked her leg hard "The real world doesn't care about spirit!" Ruby kicked him in the leg stumbling him back.
"You want to be a hero?" he asked as she stood up "Then play the part and die like ever other Huntsman in history!" he smacked her across the face knocking her back down.
"As for me? I will do what I do best! Lie, steal, cheat, and survive-!" Roman ranted off on his fingers as Slade tackled him seconds before he was eaten by Grimm. The Grimm roared soaring for Ruby, she jumped onto it's head crashing it into the control room on the ship.
"Now why, why, why would you do that?" Roman asked standing up with a shocked expression on his face, it quickly turned to anger. Roman placed his boot on Slade's chest aiming his cane for his face "News flash: I'm the one who's trying to kill you!" he yelled. Suddenly the ship started to descend rapidly as explosions tore through it. Roman stumbled off of him at the force of the explosions, he scowled as he steadied himself.
"I'll let you live this time... I can't say the same for my employers" Roman warned lifting his cane into the air it latched onto the talon of a Grimm pulling him off the ship "Adios!" he called back.
"We've got to go!" Ruby yelled picking him up and handing him his blade.
"I've noticed!" he yelled back as they ran for Crescent Rose. Ruby grabbed it and launched them both off the ship freefalling through Grimm "Hold on!" he yelled wrapping his arms around her as he teleported them both. They appeared in the school courtyard crashing into the ground hard, they both rolled to a stop separating as they crashed.
"Slade? Are you okay?" Ruby asked standing back up.
"Yeah... think I'll just lay here for a minute" he groaned out painfully. Ruby helped him to his feet with a light giggle.
"What should we do?" she asked looking around and watching the teachers and students all fighting against the Grimm.
"Save the day?" Slade asked.
"I like that plan"
"This could've been our day! Can't you see that?!" Adam yelled angrily at Blake.
"I never wanted this!" Blake yelled back gesturing around her "I wanted equality! I wanted peace!" Blake shoots at him, he blocks the bullets easily with his blade.
"What you want is impossible!" he backhanded her sheathing his sword knocking her over "But I understand because all I want is you, Blake"
Blake attempted to attack him only for Adam to knock her weapon from her hand pushing her over once more.
"As I set upon this world and deliver the justice mankind so greatly deserves, I will make it my mission to destroy everything that you love!" he yelled.
"Blake! Blake!" Yang's voice could be heard calling out for her.
"Starting with her" he smirked.
Adam draws his sword and stabs it into Blake's abdomen near her left hip causing her to shriek in pain.
"Blake?" Yang's voice called looking in to see her and Adam, he stood upright turning his attention toward her.
"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Yang yelled charging Adam.
"No... please..." Blake begged gasping for breath.
Adam sheathes his sword, smiling. Yang screams, her eyes turning red and a burst of flame erupting from her. She leaps at Adam, drawing her fist back with tears in her eyes. Adam swiftly draws his sword, swinging it through the air at Yang, as his Semblance activates. Yang suddenly vanished as he sliced through the air.
"What?" Adam asked confused, he heard the tables behind him crash, turning he saw Yang and Slade laying on the ground both groaning in pain.
"That hurt" Slade groaned lifting himself off the floor "But at least I made it in time"
"What the hell, Slade?" Yang yelled standing up "I had him-"
"No, you didn't"
"You're the one Cinder has told me so much about... It's a pleasure to finally meet you" Adam bowed slightly.
"Can't say the same for you. Blake never even talks about you when she brings up the White Fang"
"You and I both know that isn't true" Adam replied with a confident smirk.
"What was your name again? I can't seem to recall... oh well, you must not be that important" Adam growled in annoyance.
"Not important am I?"
"Well if you were, I would surely know you"
"You think just because I am a Faunus you can just mock me so easily?"
"I don't see a Faunus anywhere... only garbage" Slade shot back unsheathing his blade.
"What's the plan here?" Yang asked.
"Someone needs to get Blake help, she's been hurt"
"I can handle him-"
"If I hadn't intervened you could've been in the same condition she is, or worse" Slade shot back "I can do this, they're gonna need you out there handling the Grimm"
Yang reluctantly nodded "Be careful, okay. I don't want you dying on my conscience" she picked up Blake in her arms.
"Don't worry about me"
"You're not going anywhere!" Adam yelled as he attacked Yang as she fled, his blade clashed with Slade's instead.
"I'm dislike being ignored" Slade growled.
"Much faster than I expected you to be" Adam admitted looking over his shoulder at Yang's retreating form.
"You cannot afford to be distracted" Slade warned sliding his blade to the left then kicking his abdomen throwing him back into the wall.
"Guess I don't have much choice" Adam groaned lifting himself out of the indentation in the wall "Guess I'll kill you first"
"Give me your best shot... Perry?" Slade asked mockingly, earning a growl from Adam.
Adam charged forward with a downward strike, Slade blocked it easily countering with a horizontal slash for his legs forcing him back a step. Lurching forward he attempted to impale Slade only to be sidestepped and elbowed in the face. Striking downward once more he was blocked yet again, forcing his blade up he left himself an opening to attack Slade, slicing for his chest. Slade jumped back then shifted his head to the right narrowly avoiding his strikes. Slicing outward he forced Adam back several feet to avoid his attacks, he struck hard for his head clashing with his own.
"You're training is clearly far from over, boy!" Adam taunted head-butting him to the floor, knocking his blade into a nearby wall as Slade fell onto his back.
Adam spun his blade around thrusting it for his chest, Slade used his gauntlets to catch the blade between them. Pushing his blade back he stood up only to get slashed across his back causing him to yell out in pain falling forward.
"You have failed, Slade... even now everyone you love is going to die from the Grimm, White Fang, or Cinder. Nothing you do can stop this from happening.
"My friends are stronger than you think" Slade shot back over his shoulder.
"You deceive yourself!" Adam yelled lurching forward to strike him. Slade easily blocked the strikes with his gauntlets, Adam kicked him in the chest knocking him onto his back again.
"Look, I have a message from your precious headmaster" Adam said pulling out his scroll to show a video of Cinder fighting Ozpin. Slade kicked Adam in the face throwing him onto his back, Adam sliced his shoulder as he fell dropping Slade onto his knees.
"After he is dead, you shall be delivered to Salem for punishment for interfering with out plans and rejecting her offer... I cannot imagine she will be merciful" Adam continued standing back up.
"That's not gonna happen. Ozpin is stronger than Cinder, trust me, I have faced them both"
"Ah but you have yet to face her with her newfound powers. She will be more than a match for him. And you" Adam taunted. Slade appeared behind him slamming his fist into his back then again in front of him kicking him into the air, he slammed his foot onto his chest throwing Adam into the floor. Standing back up Adam twisted around stabbing his blade forward through Slade's abdomen as he appeared there. Slade groaned painfully on his blade.
"You fast, but you're style is far too direct. Almost obvious" he grinned twisting the blade painfully.
"You haven't won yet" he spat.
"Oh, but I have... you see without you, your school won't last-" Adam was interrupted by Slade removing his blade from the wall and slicing through his arm severing it from his body, Adam fell onto his back writhing in pain.
"No, you haven't" he replied removing his blade from his abdomen and tossing it onto the floor next to him.
"This isn't over" Adam swore picking up his blade and fleeing quickly.
"Slade!" he heard Weiss's voice calling from outside.
"In here!" he shouted falling onto one knee.
"Slade! What happened?" Ruby asked entering the room with Weiss.
"Is Blake alright, where's Yang?" Slade asked.
"Blake's getting medical attention right now, Yang's helping protect the injured she sent us to find you"
"Glad to hear it, I'm gonna need some help" Slade choked out struggling to stand up.
"Of course" Ruby replied as they both let him lean on their shoulders, he limped his way out toward the injured.
"We need a doctor!" Weiss yelled. Yang ran up to them taking him from them.
"I've got him" Yang said easily lifting him with one arm.
"Glad to see you're both safe" Slade sighed laying beside Blake on the ground as Yang placed him down gently.
"What happened?" Blake asked.
"Taurus got away... Took a few bad hits during our fight, but he didn't get away clean either" he answered with a groan.
"What do you mean?" Yang asked curiously.
"Took off his left arm, he wasn't too happy about it" Slade laughed.
"He's not gonna forget that anytime soon" Yang warned.
"I'd hope not, I won't be forgetting what he did here"
"Is Slade going to be okay?" Ruby asked concerned.
"He'll be fine, we're taking care of him. Everyone here will be in the safe zone soon then we'll take the school back" Sun said placing his hand onto her shoulder.
"Take it back?" Ruby asked.
"Yeah, thanks to Slade here Atlas was ready for a fight the minute the attack started. We've already driven off most of the Grimm and White Fang have evacuated completely" Sun explained.
"So we're planning a counter attack?" Slade asked.
"Soon as we're done evacuating. Just get on the ship-"
"Pyrrha and Jaune are still missing" Nora said worriedly.
"What?"
"Look, guys, that giant Grimm is circling the school. We all have to go now" Neptune pointed out.
"We're not leaving" Ren replied standing up then falling down on one knees "Ugh!"
"I'll find them, I'll find them and bring them back" Ruby promised.
"No! We'll find them. Look after Slade and Blake. We'll be back" Weiss ordered Yang before rushing off with Ruby.
"Take care of Slade for me!" Ruby shouted back as she ran.
"You better be!" Yang shouted after them concerned "I promise" Yang whispered to herself.
"Idiots!" Sun groaned.
"She'll be ok" Slade assured squeezing Yang's hand trying to comfort her.
Yang's scroll rang connecting a call between her and Weiss with Jaune "It's Jaune!" she yelled answering it "Where are you?" she asked.
"You have to stop her!" Jaune yelled into the scroll frantically.
"What? Stop who?" Weiss asked.
"Pyrrha! She's going after that woman at the top of the tower! She doesn't stand a chance!" Jaune answered unable to control the volume of his voice.
"Jaune, what're you talking about? Where are you?" Ruby asked.
"Cinder" Slade growled.
"Don't worry about me!" he yelled "Please... you have to save Pyrrha" he begged the sadness clear in his voice.
"We will. Are you okay?" Weiss asked as the call dropped on Jaune's end.
"What're we gonna do?" Yang asked as they hung up.
"I need to get up there" Slade said standing back up painfully.
"Oh, no you don't I promised my sister I was gonna keep you safe, I'm not letting you go off and get yourself killed" Yang argued.
"We both know you can't stop me" Slade shot back his tone turning dark "If I don't get up there and one of my friends die I won't be able to live with myself"
"How do you expect us to be able to live with ourselves if you go get yourself killed?"
"I'll make sure I don't die" he answered with a cocky grin.
"Slade I'm not gonna-" Yang stopped noticing Slade had vanished "That idiot!" she yelled punching the ground in rage cracking it underneath her fist.
Ruby ran along the side of the tower up to Ozpin's office, arriving she found Cinder loosing an arrow toward a kneeling and helpless Pyrrha. Instead of piercing her chest, the arrow found itself in the hand of Slade standing between them both.
"Slade Stroud... ever the thorn in my side" Cinder sighed.
"Slade!" Ruby yelled worriedly.
"What're you doing here?" Pyrrha asked confused.
"Saving you, from the looks of it" he answered with a wink.
"You're supposed to be on the airship to Vale!" Ruby yelled.
"I couldn't leave knowing Pyrrha was in danger, I wasn't going to let you fight Cinder on your own"
"I can handle myself, you need to get onto that airship" Ruby lectured as she prepared Crescent Rose to attack, Cinder formed a blade of fire in her hands. Ruby launched herself at Cinder, she easily deflecting Crescent Rose thrusting her blade toward her chest. Slade caught the blade in his hand stopping it from hitting Ruby and Pushing her away from them.
"Ruby, she's too strong. You have to get Pyrrha out of here"
"What about you? How do I know you'll come back to me?" Ruby asked concerned.
"I will not allow my friends to die... trust me, Ruby. I will be fine"
"Fine then" Ruby relented running over to Pyrrha and helping her to her feet.
"Slade won't be able to take her on his own, not in his injured state" Pyrrha said leaning on Ruby's side.
"I know. Slade can keep her busy long enough for me to get back to help" she replied.
"I'm not going to be letting you go that easily" Cinder growled as Slade broke the blade in his hand. Cinder kicked for his head, Slade crouched under her kick placing his hands on the ground with a wall of ice appearing around them.
"Ice? How?" Cinder asked confused.
"I've picked up a few things since our last battle, souvenir from my last tournament match" Slade taunted rushing her. Cinder stabbed a second blade into his uninjured shoulder stopping him in his tracks. Slade struck for her head with his blade only for her to shift her head to the right dodging him. Jumping backward off her blade he held his shoulder in pain.
"You should never have tried to fight someone in your injured state, let alone me" Cinder laughed placing her hand onto the wall and shattering it around them.
"We'll I guess I'm gluttonous for punishment" Slade coughed into his hand.
"You'll wish you weren't" Cinder created another flame sword in her free hand dropping into an attack stance then charged him.
Slade blocked her furious strikes with his own blade barely managing to keep up with her. Struggling due to his injuries he lowered himself down onto one knee, with a powerful strike he shattered the blade in her left hand.
"Too slow!" Cinder yelled striking at him with the opposite blade only to clash with his gauntlet.
"Your arrogance is unbearable" Slade groaned out in pain from his multitude of injuries.
"You're much stronger than I would've expected you to be. Considering your current condition though... you won't be able to fight for too much longer" Cinder mused aloud.
"I wouldn't be too sure about that" Slade dropped down onto both knees freeing her blade from his gauntlet, Cinder used this opportunity to strike for his throat. Slade's katana changed hands allowing him to block the strike but be knocked over by the force behind it.
"Enough of the bravado. You've already lost, I'm invincible now" she stated proudly.
"Really? Is that what Salem told you?" Slade asked standing back up weakly in a defensive stance "You weren't able to kill me before, that hasn't changed yet" he goaded.
"What exactly do you hope to gain here? It's obvious you won't be able to win this fight. Why resist?" Cinder asked genuinely curious.
"I'm not trying to win... my only goal is to buy those precious to me enough time to escape. That's all that matters"
"Then perhaps I should just send my pet after them" she grinned gesturing to the Grimm Dragon perched behind her.
"I may be weakened right now, but we both know if you turn your attention else where I will kill you. That's why you haven't already" Slade explained his legs buckling underneath him.
"You're right, I don't want to take any chances with you after what you did to Taurus. I won't suffer the same fate-" Slade appeared behind her slicing his blade for her head, she lifted her hand up in defense shattering his blade. Slade was knocked back slightly by the force.
"What're you going to do now, Slade? You're weaponless" Cinder taunted.
"True Huntsmen are never unarmed" Slade replied looking at his fist before striking Cinder in the face, her face recoiled with the blow her hand shooting up to hold it in pain. Slade hit her again in her abdomen then her face, kicking her knee she stumbled as she attempted to defend herself. Slade caught her blade in his hand, then slammed his foot into her chest throwing her backwards onto her knees. Looking back up at him, Cinder grinned, Slade's surprised expression was short lived as the blade in his hand exploded throwing him back, his eye shut to protect them from the fire.
Opening his eyes he saw Cinder striking upward for his face. Jumping back away from her attack her blade cut over his left eyelid "Ugh!" Slade groaned flipping onto his back in the air placing his hand over his eye in pain.
"You can't escape now!" Cinder grinned wickedly flipping toward him swinging her blade down onto his face. Her blade clashed with Crescent Rose instead shocking her.
"I won't let you hurt him anymore!" Ruby yelled a determined glint in her eye.
"Ruby?" Slade groaned out in confusion "What're you doing here?"
"Saving you from the looks of it" she shot back with a smirk. Cinder pushed her scythe up with her left heel then kicked Ruby in the face with her right throwing her into the air.
"You're mine!" she yelled firing a massive blast of fire toward her. Ruby fired her scythe throwing her above the blast only to meet Cinder in the air. Slade appeared between them blocking the strike with his gauntlet shattering it with the opposite arm then roundhouse kicking Cinder back down. Slade dropped onto his knees as he landed weak from blood loss.
"Are you okay?" Ruby asked worriedly.
"I wasn't expecting you to come back" he laughed ruefully.
"I got Weiss to take Pyrrha once I reached the ground. Hard part was getting back up here"
"Isn't this cute... the love birds are going to die together" Cinder laughed.
"Not today we aren't" Ruby shot back as Slade fell onto his back unconscious.
"You think you can escape me? Is that it?"
"Slade we need to get out of here. You're in no condition to fight" Ruby said turning to him worriedly, she noticed his unconscious form "Slade!"
"You're done for" Cinder said appearing in front of Ruby with another blade in hand.
"Ruby!" Qrow's voice yelled as he attempted to stop the attack. Ruby closed her eyes in fear hearing the blade pierce her chest, opening her eyes slowly when she felt nothing she was shocked at the sight in front of her.
"No... it can't be... please" tears began to stream down her face.
Slade stood between her and Cinder with her blade through his torso his hand pierced on the end of it closed into a fist stopping it from touching Ruby. Looking up into his eyes Ruby found him to still be unconscious. Qrow grabbed her shoulders trying to shake her from her trance.
"We've gotta go!" Qrow yelled.
"Shame... I expected more from him" Cinder mused thrusting her blade out forcefully to the right Slade flew off the end of it soaring over the edge of the tower.
Ruby screamed in agony as her eyes lit up emanating a powerful white light engulfing everything it touch causing Cinder to scream in anguish and the Grimm Dragon to roar painfully.
Ruby sleeps in an familiar bed, wearing gray pajamas. Birds are chirping and sunlight is streaming onto the wall behind the bed's headboard. After a few seconds, she wakes up and looks over to see her father asleep in a chair. She sits up and sighs quietly, causing Taiyang to stir awake.
"Ruby!" He gets up and runs to kneel by her bed "You're awake!" he nearly shouted.
"Ugh... what happened?" Ruby asked not fully awake.
"Your uncle Qrow found you, just before you fell unconscious. He got you out of there, though, and brought you home safe"
"Wait! Yang! Is she alright!?" Ruby asked concerned.
"Uh... She's uh... she's gonna be alright. I think she's just... it's gonna take some time to recover" he covers his eyes for a moment, sniffling, then looks up, smiling "I'm just glad to have my girls back at home"
"What happened to the school?! And Vale?! Were they able to clear out the Grimm?"
"Everything is fine, Ruby. Ozpin was able to get rid of the remaining Grimm around the school and Vale is safe. It's gonna be some time but they're rebuilding everything"
"Thank goodness" Ruby sighed in relief.
"We got lucky that's for sure. Could've been a lot worse... it's still a mess though"
"It's always a mess" Qrow sighed. Ruby and Tai look to see Qrow suddenly standing in the room, near the door. He finishes off the contents of his flask before continuing "Mind if we have a minute?"
"What, I can't stay here?!"
"Tai, please"
Taiyang stands up, sighs, and then leans in to kiss Ruby on the forehead. "I'm glad you're alright" he starts walking away "I'll go make us some tea" Taiyang glares at Qrow on the way out, but the latter doesn't appear to care. As Qrow approaches Ruby's bed, he grabs the chair and drags it with him. He then spins it around to face the bed and sits in it with a significant slouch, crossing one leg over the other.
"So, how you feeling?"
"Um... I kind of hurt... all over" Ruby answered earning a chuckle from him.
"That makes sense, after what you did" Qrow crossed his arm.
"What I... did?" she asked confused. He uncrosses his arms and legs, leaning forward in the chair.
"What's the last thing you remember?"
"You asking me what the last thing I remember is" she answered.
"Let me rephrase" he chuckled "What's the last thing you remember before waking up in your bed this morning?"
"I ran up the side of the tower, and when I got to the top to help Slade fight Cinder-" Ruby gasped "Slade! What happened? Is he...?" she let the question hang in the air.
"I'm sorry, kiddo" Qrow shook his head somberly.
"I... I..." tears began to stream from her eyes "I arrived at the tower and attacked Cinder, she kicked me back and Slade caught me, then he fell unconscious and Cinder went to stab me... Slade saved my life even after falling unconscious" she wept into her hands. Qrow stood from his chair sitting down next to Ruby he placed his arms around her as she collapsed into his chest. They remained this way for several minutes until she stopped sobbing.
"Do you remember anything else?"
"I remember... my head hurting, and everything went white" she answered wiping her tears with her sleeve.
"The night you met Ozpin, what was the first thing he said to you?" Qrow asked.
"I... I don't know. I think it was something about..."
"Silver eyes. That's an extremely rare trait" he stood from the bed and approached the window.
"So?"
"You're special, Ruby. And not in the "Daddy loves his special angel" kind of way. You're special the same way your mom was. Remnant's full of legends and stories, some of them true, some made up. But there's one Oz told me from a very long time ago. Back before Huntsmen, before Kingdoms, it was said that those born with silver eyes were destined to lead the life of a warrior. You see, the creatures of Grimm, the most fearsome monsters mankind had ever encountered, were afraid of those silver-eyed warriors. They were the best of the best. It was said that even a single look from one of these fighters could strike a Grimm down. Heh. It's a ridiculous story"
"But... you think that I might be..."
Qrow chuckled "Well, a giant monster was frozen atop Beacon Tower. And you're here, safe in bed" he gets to his feet and walks over to a window, leaning on the sill and staring outside.
"Wait, wait, how did you know what Ozpin said to me... the night we met?"
"All those missions I go on... all the times I'm away in some far-off place... it's been for Ozpin"
"What could I do? If I'm so special, then I can help, right?"
"You really wanna help? Get some rest. You're in no condition to go anywhere right now" he walked toward the door "Besides, Ozpin wants to speak with you when you get up and ready. He wants to see us"
"Us?"
"That's right, pipsqueak" he winked before leaving.
"Wait" she called after him stopping him in the doorway "What'd they do with the body?" Ruby asked.
"Slade's?" Qrow asked for clarification, Ruby nodded hesitantly "We never found one" Qrow answered looking away from her, he turned walking away.
Ruby sat alone for a while. She looks at the window that Qrow looked out of, then stares at herself in a mirror hanging on the wall across from her bed. Getting up she walked to Yang's room to find her sitting in the room alone watching out her window silently.
"Yang" she called. Yang flinched lightly but didn't turn around to face her. Ruby turned to leave.
"Ruby" Yang called back stopping her, Ruby reentered the room with a small smile.
"I'm so glad you're okay!" Ruby yelled grabbing her into a hug.
"I'm sorry, Ruby" she cried into her shoulder.
"For what?"
"I couldn't stop Slade from going into the tower. He's dead because of me"
"That's not true, Yang. None of us would've been able to stop him from going up into that tower. Pyrrha's alive because he did, I wasn't fast enough"
"That's what she told us too"
"What happened after I pass out?"
"Ozpin showed up from wherever he had been hiding and saved everyone. I guess Cinder incapacitated him or something. He killed the dragon you froze and the rest of the Grimm ran, then he took charge of everyone calming the rest of the kingdoms who were panicking"
"What about our friends?"
"Slade was the only one who died thanks to him warning us about the attack and his intervention with Pyrrha and Penny. I might be dead if he hadn't shown up to fight Adam Taurus" she admitted "Other than that everyone else is helping with repairs, Weiss was taken back home by her father and Blake ran away... again"
"What do you mean?"
"Weiss's father came and took her back to Atlas to "ensure her safety" Weiss wasn't very happy about it, she was worried about you. Blake... she ran the moment we got to town and she was healed enough to leave. She just took off without even saying goodbye"
"What about you? You never said how you're doing?" Ruby asked placing her arm on her thigh concerned.
"I can't be a Huntress anymore" she answered.
"What?" Ruby asked confused.
"I couldn't protect anyone. Not Blake, not Pyrrha... not Slade" she cried again tears falling onto the sheets of her bed "If I can't protect my friends then why even fight?" Yang asked.
"You can't give up-"
"Yes I can!" Yang yelled her eyes turning red. Ruby shrank away from her shaking slightly, Yang's face softened when she did this "Just... I need to be alone for now" Yang said closing her eyes holding back more tears.
"I... understand" Ruby nodded walking out of the room sadly.
Walking out into the hallway she found Ozpin, Qrow and Tai all sitting at the table together.
"Ruby" Ozpin greeted happy to see she was alright.
"Ozpin!" she grabbed him into a hug, he returned the hug with a small laugh.
"I'm pleased to see you have recovered" his face darkened "I'm so sorry I wasn't there to help Slade. He deserved better"
"You did all you could, Oz. That kid saved more lives than we expected. We didn't lose anyone during the whole attack because of his warning"
"And his actions" Ozpin shot back "Rescuing Ms. Nikos and Ms. Polendina was no small feat"
"Agreed. That kid is a hero" Tai sighed taking a sip from his mug.
"I shall see to it he is properly recognized for his heroism in all the kingdoms" Ozpin assured placing his hand onto Ruby's shoulder.
"Thank you, but what're you doing here, Professor"
"I have a mission for you and your Uncle"
"Really?" Ruby asked surprised.
"Yes, Ozpin. Really?" Tai asked slightly annoyed.
"Yes, I will give you the full details tomorrow" he answered turning to leave "You will all be attending the service tomorrow?" Ozpin asked without turning to them as he stood in the doorway.
"Wouldn't miss it, I owe him everything. He saved both my daughters after all" Tai answered.
"Thank you... please ensure they meet with me afterward, Qrow" he ordered leaving. Qrow sighed shaking his head slightly annoyed.
"What service?" Ruby asked curiously.
"That's all for now folks! This is not the end of the story in case you were worried, trust me there will be more chapters ahead. They will probably take me slightly longer to write than the previous ones, thank you all for your patience and support.