Wow, in only a few hours I got such a response from people about last chapter, and I found myself still wanting to write so...here it is. Chapter 14 already. I continue to screw everything up, but don't worry, I fix it!...maybe. Teehee. On a serious note, I really appreciate the responses, and all the reviews telling me they hated me but didn't hate me really did make me feel warm and fuzzy inside. So, here you go, the aftermath!
Disclaimer-I don't own RWBY. At all. In the least. Sadly. :(
Ruby's fall caused all hell broke loose. Flashes of time, snippets, as the rhythm they had created was broken and shattered. Weiss's heart-breaking cry broke Blake's concentration, making her take her eyes off the Deathstalker she was locked in combat with. She jerked forward, mouth gaping open, as the scorpion Grimm's stinger impaled her in the side, before retracting, the venom already working its way through her body. Glancing down, she could see the dark purple lines of the poison already seeping through her skin, creeping their way up to her heart. Falling to her knees, the faunus tried to cry out, but she couldn't make a sound. Rushing footsteps and a scream of her name were the last sounds she heard before consciousness left her.
Yang slid to a stop next to Blake, skidding on the ground as she ripped at Blake's shirt, trying to pull it away from the wound so she could get a good view. Every rational thought had left her mind, panic setting in. Ruby was falling, Blake was falling, she couldn't think, she didn't want to think, she needed to protect them how could she protect them what would she do oh my god please be ok don't die please I can't lose you.' Yang kept trying to remember how you handled poisons and she remembered something she saw on the internet long ago about sucking out the poison. Ok, she'd do that, it has to work right? It had to be the right thing to do! Immediately she placed her mouth on the wound in Blake's side, sucking hard, the metallic taste of blood mixed with an acrid taste that burned, oh how it burned, but Yang did not care. Raising her mouth and spitting out the mouthful of blood she'd sucked out, she dived back in, trying desperately to stop that creeping purple from taking Blake, not noticing how her own mouth had gone purple, how the purple lines were creeping across her face. Tears blurring her vision, she was trying so hard but the purple wasn't stopping, she couldn't see straight anymore, why was everything going dark? Yang collapsed over Blake, the flames of her semblance dying with the golden glow of her hair.
Ren tried his best to draw the Deathstalker's attention from Blake and Yang, shooting every single bullet he had left in his clips at the massive scorpion, but he hadn't thought it through. He wasn't looking behind him. A gasp escaped his lips as he felt an immense pain erupting from his abdomen, looking down to see the claws of a Beowulf protruding from him. He was lifted off the ground before being flung across the field, losing his grip on Stormflower as he flew. A grunt escaped him as his flight was stopped abruptly by the arms of Nora, catching him and laying him gently before screaming in pure rage, whaling on everything nearby, near constant eruptions from Magnhild sounding through the air. Ren tried to stay awake, tried to keep up, but even with the noise he just couldn't.
Nora could barely see through the tears in her eyes, but no one was touching her Ren. No one was touching her friends. She didn't care, no one was dying, no one was leaving her, she wouldn't let it happen. She didn't care what happened, no one was leaving her. Seeing the Beowulf leaping at her, she leapt up herself to intercept it, but a swipe from an Ursa caught her off guard, catching her legs just below the knees. The sickening snap of bone sounded and she cried out, feeling both her legs go limp before she landed on the ground again, the jarring nearly making her pass out. But she wouldn't pass out, wouldn't let go. Magnhild was swapped back to its launcher and she just screamed out loud as she began firing wildly, driving everything around her back.
Weiss dashed forward, faster than she thought possible, every muscle in her body screaming as she ran as fast as she could. Her eyes locked on the falling form of Ruby, her leader, her friend, her love. She had to get there, had to do something, had to help her. Ruby couldn't die, she wasn't allowed to die, Ruby was hers and she would not let anyone take what was hers from her. Weiss just chanted no no no no no no no no under her breath, desperate to catch her, but she wasn't quick enough. Ruby hit the ground, her body bouncing from the impact, her back arcing up into the air, before she fell once more and lay still next to the cliff face. Too still. Weiss launched herself at Ruby's side, grabbing her head and shaking her, trying to get her to open her eyes. Screaming her name at her, shaking her, desperately begging the younger girl to wake up, to please wake up, please let this be a nightmare.
Jaune had frozen, the sight of Ruby's lifeless body flying through the air taking away all his will to fight. He didn't even react when the Boarbatusk came spinning at him, having been broken free from the ice by the last Goliath to enter the clearing. As he saw his own death approaching, he could only stare at Ruby, the first person to show him kindness at Beacon, falling, the red trailing behind her not from her semblance, but from her lifeblood pouring out. Just before the boar struck him, a force impacted with him from the side, sending him to the ground just in time to hear the pained cry of Pyrrha. Swiftly rolling to his feet, his eyes widened at the sight of his partner slamming into the ground, her entire back covered in blood as the spines from the Boarbatusk had ripped through her, her desperate attempt to protect Jaune not leaving her time to bring her aura to bear to protect herself.
Jaune couldn't think, he didn't know what to do, his friends had all fallen. Weiss was hugging Ruby to her chest, begging her to be ok, the front of her white bolero being stained red with Ruby's blood. Nora still firing wildly, until a clicking sound came from Magnhild. Unable to fire more, she turned it back into a hammer, swinging it around desperately, unable to move but still trying to keep the Grimm away. The thundering sound of footsteps brought Jaune's attention to the Goliath Pyrrha had been fighting, head lowered and headed straight for the spot her body lay still. His eyes widened, his mind seeing what happened to Ruby happening to Pyrrha, and he moved. He didn't even remember moving, he didn't know what he thought he was doing, but he planted his feet over Pyrrha's body and raised his shield. He had no idea how that would help, but he didn't care, not again. He would not watch that again!
A brilliant white light shone from Jaune just as the Goliath reached him, blinding everything around them for a brief second before the Goliath flew away, launched backwards from Jaune, a distinct look of surprise on its masked face as it slammed to the ground, skidding backwards until it hit the Deathstalker, leading to a tangle of limbs and angry Grimm assaulting each other. Jaune gasped, unsure what had happened, before shaking his head to clear it. Reaching into his bag, he grabbed the crystal Azure had handed him and stared at it for a second, before making up his mind. He still didn't know a lot about Aura, or how to control it, but channeling it into a Dust crystal was something he could do, even if he couldn't use Dust correctly. Concentrating, he threw as much of his Aura into it as he could, causing it to glow brighter, before lobbing it up into the air.
It exploded with a deafening bang and a flare of light that made the previous one coming from him look like a firecracker. The sound wave made him cover his ears in pain as he closed his eyes tightly, praying it would work. As the echoes of the sound began to recede, he opened his eyes to see Nora scrubbing at her own, trying to blink out the spots, the Grimm around them running in seemingly random directions. Some began crashing into each other and brawling, while others were running headfirst into trees or the cliff wall. Even the Goliath's seemed affected, butting heads and one of them impaling a second one with its tusks, making it bellow out as it turned on its fellow. Spinning, Jaune tried to find his other friends on the field, needing to see where they were. A soft blue glow made him look to see Weiss, still holding Ruby, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed, her entire form and Ruby's glowing with a pale blue.
Weiss wouldn't let her go. She couldn't go. She was not allowed to leave, not now, not ever, she wasn't allowed! She reached deep within and drew every last bit of Aura she had, willing it as hard as she could to bring Ruby back. She didn't care if she ran out, she'd use every bit of energy she had to bring Ruby back. The world didn't need Weiss Schnee, the world needed more people like Ruby Rose. Someone who saw the good in everyone, who tried so hard to help and protect other people, someone who made everyone around her happy just by smiling that damned adorable smile of hers. It didn't matter if she had to give every ounce of her life to Ruby, she'd do it, because Ruby deserved to live. Spots danced at the corners of her eyes as her breathing became that much more difficult. She felt a tightness in her chest, her heart beating erratically, weaker the longer she held on, but she didn't care. The flow of blood had slowed, the hole in Ruby slowly closing, but her aura was flickering, the light fading as she faded.
Weiss shook her head, growling out loud, refusing to let go, refusing to let Ruby go. She just kept chanting 'no' in her head, kept pushing and pushing her aura into Ruby. Her head was hurting so badly, a pressure at her temple making her close her eyes in pain, gritting her teeth. A strange sensation of something dripping from her nose made her open her eyes, seeing the steady drip of blood coming from her nose, falling over her lips down her chin, before falling into the pool of blood on the younger girl's chest. She felt her throat seizing up, could feel her pulse getting weaker and weaker. Didn't matter, had to focus, had to…A feeling of impact hit the back of her neck, making her eyes flutter closed as she felt the darkness of unconsciousness reaching to her, as surprisingly gentle hands caught her shoulders. She felt herself being laid down before she was gone, mind in sweet oblivion.
"Jaune! What the fuck happened here?!" Azure grabbed the blonde boy by his shoulders, shaking him desperately to get his attention, the knight still staring off into the distance. Azure's fears of catatonia were unfounded as Jaune focused on him, before gasping in relief.
"Oh god you're here please they need your help please do something now they are dying and-"Azure shook Jaune again, breaking off his rambling pleas, before speaking in a calm and reassuring tone.
"Jaune, please. Stay calm. I saw what happened to Ruby and left immediately, I didn't see the rest of this. I called for the medics but I need to know what happened after I left the house. Quickly!" Jaune took a gulp of air, before recounting everything he'd seen, Azure nodding along, never letting his hands leave Jaune's shoulders. Glancing around at the still fighting Grimm, Azure's face fell into a grimace as he cursed both Weiss and Yang for being fools.
"Ok, listen Jaune, I need you to help me right now. Grab everyone and bring them over to the cliff wall next to Ruby and Weiss, now. Right now. Don't worry about being gentle, just drag them over, right now. You get Pyrrha, Yang, and Blake. I'll get Nora and Ren." Not waiting to see if Jaune would obey, Azure dashed over to Nora, ducking a quick swing from Magnhild before grabbing Nora by her hands, making her look at him. A quick glance back showed Jaune holding Pyrrha in his arms, running with her to the cliff wall as fast as he could. Turning back, Azure spoke softly. "Nora, listen to me. I need to take Ren with me. I'll bring you right to him in just a second, just let me take Ren, I promise I will bring you right to him, ok?" At Nora's tearstained nod, he grabbed up Ren and dashed over to the cliff wall, arriving just as Jaune was setting off to get Yang and Blake. Seconds later, as promised, he returned to get Nora, trying to be as careful of her legs as possible, but unable to avoid making her wince in pain as her legs clacked together. Setting her down carefully, he reached over to help get Yang off Jaune's shoulder, having already set Blake down.
"Ok, Jaune, pick Nora up and stand back." Not hesitating, the blonde boy grabbed up Nora, her hand tightening over his arm as she hissed in a breath from another shooting pain through her legs. Azure reaching into a pouch on his belt and withdrew a vial of light golden dust, before moving his hands in a quick series of gestures. A bright golden glow surrounded those laying on the ground, an image of clocks appearing over each of their chests, before it faded, as each person on the ground froze in position, seemingly unbreathing. Jaune just gaped, before shaking his head.
"What did you do?"
"Advanced dust technique. You should learn it in your fourth year…well, maybe you won't, but Weiss certainly will, maybe Ren. It's a form of suspended animation, it's very useful for when your teammates are injured like this and help is not near. Now listen, this will only hold for a couple of hours, but we have a bigger problem." Azure turned and gestured at the still rampaging and fighting Grimm. "I can't fight all those off. The medical team is at least two hours out, and we can't get all of them out. Even if we got them up the cliff, everything but the Goliath's and Boarbatusk's could follow us up. We can't escape with them. So set Nora down while we go grab everyone's weapons, and quickly."
It took only moments for Jaune and Azure to fetch everyone's weapons, dumping them in a pile next to Nora. Grabbing Crescent Rose, Azure made it transform into its full scythe form, before slamming the point down in the ground next to Nora. Dropping Gambol Shroud in pistol form, Milo in rifle form, Stormflower, and Nora's Magnhild next to her, he then grabbed and dumped all of the ammo out in front of her. Kneeling down next to her, he gestured to the weapons.
"I wish we had time to splint your legs Nora, I really do. But we don't have that sort of time. That dust is going to fade very shortly, and they won't forget what they were doing before. So here's the plan…I will lead the Goliath's away. As I said, I am an expert at pissing them off. You've taken out most of the bigger Grimm, so I'll get the Nevermore's attention as well. Looks like the Goliath already crushed the Deathstalker, so that's not a worry. But a lot of the smaller Grimm won't follow. That's where you two come in. You have to hold them off till help arrives. Nora, use whatever weapon you need to to provide fire support. Jaune, you have to hold off anything that gets through her fire. You have to."
"But…I can't-"
Azure gripped Jaune's arm in his hand, squeezing tightly as he looked dead into the blonde's eyes. "Yes Jaune, you can. You have to. Your friends, your family, your love is laying there, and they need you. They need you Jaune. So step up, and do what needs to be done."
Nora's voice rang out, weak but steady, calling Jaune's attention to her. When he looked down at her, she looked him dead in the eye. "Let's do this." Those three words flashed Jaune back to the first day he had met Nora, and the words she had said on the broken bridge.
He chuckled, before replying. "But I can't make that jump." Nora just grinned at him, that manic gleam appearing in her eyes once more even as she winced in pain. Azure nodded at them, placing his hands on their shoulders and squeezing for a second, before a roar interrupted him. Looking up to see the Grimm shaking their heads, seemingly calming down, he gave a quick salute to the two before dashing into the middle of the field, blade already drawn. Throwing it up into the trunk of a tree, wire trailing behind it, he activated the gears in his weapon, dragging himself up into the tree. A quick hand gesture and a large purple glyph appeared in the air, the sound of thunder rumbling from it before bolts of lightning flew off, striking the Goliath's and making them spin around to look for him. Azure grinned once at the massive Grimm, before leaping off into another tree.
"Come and get me!" With a trumpeting cry, the massive creatures began to charge after him as he left them back into the southern forest from whence they had come. The screeches of the Nevermore's faded into the background, as a large portion of the Grimm around had followed the Goliath's away, but plenty still could smell the blood. As one, the remaining Ursa and Beowulf's turned to look at the gathering by the cliff face, their eyes gleaming red as fangs were bared. Jaune shared one more look with Nora, before drawing his sword, expanding his shield, and narrowing his eyes. No one would touch his family, not again. As the Grimm charged and Nora opened fire, he yelled his own battle cry and waded into the fight.
Minutes bled into an hour, and then beyond. Jaune was soaked in sweat, unsure how much time had passed anymore. Gambol Shroud, Stormflower, and Crescent Rose were already tossed aside, completely out of ammunition. Nora had dragged Yang's gauntlets off her and was doing her best to use them, but the powerful recoil from the shells was tweaking her legs with every shot she made. Gritting her teeth, she kept firing, not even caring if she hit anymore, just caring that she could give Jaune a chance to get a swing in. Blood dripped down her right arm from where a claw had slipped through and slit open her shoulder. It wasn't enough to stop her from using the arm, but it was making her hands very slippery, making it difficult to fire Ember Celica.
Jaune's left arm was hanging nearly useless at his side. A particularly powerful blow from an Ursa had knocked his shoulder out of its socket, leaving him swinging desperately with his right arm, trying to push back the remaining Grimm. He was panting, breath coming in short bursts, as he ducked another swipe and came straight up, impaling the wolf straight through its jaw. Growling, he yanked Crocea Mors clear in a spray of blood, bringing it back up as he tried to deflect another swinging claw. But his grip was too weak, and the blade was torn from his hand, flying behind him. The sounds of clacking sounding from Nora, as she screamed in pure rage at the empty chambers of Ember Celica. She deployed Magnhild once more, before yelling out at Jaune to catch. Throwing it up and over his head, Jaune reacted instinctively, the giant hammer landing in his hands. The weight of it almost made him drop it, but he dug deep and found a reservoir of strength, just enough to swing it one handed, letting the momentum carry the strike.
The impact with the Ursa landed square in its chest, enough to stagger it back, making it trip over another Ursa, causing them to fall in a tangle of limbs. The hammer fell from Jaune's hands, his energy spent as he fell to his knees. He couldn't hold it anymore, it weighed too much. He looked up through his bangs, seeing the approaching Grimm, and staggered to his feet once more. Planting himself in front of his friends, he spread his arms wide, hoping to buy them another couple of seconds if the Grimm would reach him first. Closing his eyes, he cringed as he waited for the pain to begin.
He could hear some sort of dull roar through the ringing in his ears, wondering if this was normal as he waited. A few seconds passed before he realized the dull roar was not one of the Grimm, but coming from above. Opening his eyes, he looked up as a blur of green and orange fell to the ground on either side of him. A hail of bullets were spraying out from a Gatling gun, the wielder none other than Coco from team CFVY, above in a Bullhead. Fox and Yatsuhashi had been the ones to land next to him, and they immediately went on the offensive, dashing into the Grimm and ripping through them. More thumps resounded next to him, as Velvet, Goodwitch, Port, and Oobleck landed, adding their firepower to the mix.
Jaune couldn't help it. He fell to his knees and began crying in relief, tears pouring from his eyes as he simply sobbed, unable to wrap his mind around what had happened. Nora simply fell over backwards, laying spread eagle on the ground and closing her eyes, trying to just get her breathing under control. A gentle hand fell on Jaune's shoulder, and he looked up to see the concerned eyes of Glynda looking at him, kneeling next to him. For the first time she didn't look angry, just worried.
"Mr. Arc, can you tell me what happened?" Haltingly, interrupted by his own uncontrolled sobs, Jaune tried to recount everything he remembered. Even as Coco landed next to him, as each of the teachers and members of team CFVY began fanning out, slaughtering the remaining Grimm, he kept talking. Watching as Glynda's expression kept changing between horrified and enraged. She seemed particularly incensed at the report of the extra two Goliath's appearing, making sure to get Jaune to repeat that and confirm it with Nora, still lying on her back. Finally, after she had gotten the whole story, she nodded before standing up, getting the attention of everyone near.
"Miss Adel, take your team and clear out the entire perimeter. The medical Bullhead is still on its way, we want a safe landing zone. Miss Scarletina, stay behind with me, we can try to keep the students suspended until they arrive. Port, Oobleck, take the Bullhead and see if you can find Silva and evacuate him." Velvet's soft voice sounded out as her ears twitched.
"He's about five kilometers straight south. I can hear the Grimm and the lightning strikes from Dust." Glynda nodded, before gesturing at the two other teachers who hurried to follow her orders. Glynda looked down and kneeled before Jaune again, putting her hand on his shoulder once more. Speaking in a voice so quiet it was nearly a whisper, she said "You did well Mr. Arc. Rest. Your friends are safe now."
Yang woke to a world of pain. Every muscle in her body screamed in agony as she struggled, trying to get them cooperate with her. She needed to make sure they were ok, they had to be-A voice interrupted her struggling, one she recognized.
"Hey, hey, Yang. Calm down. You're ok." Opening her eyes slowly, the light blinding her, she blinked rapidly to clear it as she saw Jaune looking down at her. She tried to say something, but her voice cracked, throat so dry she wondered if someone had poured sand down her throat. Jaune quickly reached to his side, grabbing a water bottle, before pressing down on something she couldn't see. She felt herself being elevated into a seated position, before he brought the water bottle up to her lips. Stubbornly, she reached up and grabbed the bottle herself, but stopped when she saw how badly her hand was shaking. Suffering the indignity, she let Jaune help her drink, before licking her lips and trying to speak again.
"Where's Blake and Ruby?"
Jaune smiled softly at Yang, her concern so evident in her voice. "Right here Yang." Jaune pointed behind himself, making Yang slightly tilt her head, able to see the black hair and ears of her partner to her left, laying on what looked like a hospital bed. Jaune then pointed to her other side, and she turned again, neck protesting the movement as she saw her baby sister laying on her other side, her entire midsection covered in one giant bandage wrapped tightly around her torso. Glancing farther on, she could see a shock of white hair on the other side of Ruby, and assumed it was Weiss. She took a moment to try to figure out her surroundings.
She seemed to be in a large hospital room. Jaune was sitting on a chair next to her bed, one it seemed he had dragged over as soon as she started struggling. Across from her, she could see the still forms of Pyrrha and Ren, with a wheelchair bound Nora sitting next to Ren, her head on his stomach as she slept quietly. Yang shook her head as she finally noticed how many different machines were in the room, IV's everywhere, bandages wrapped around torso's and limbs. She looked over at Jaune, noting the still fading bruises all over and the large bandage around his left shoulder.
"What happened?"
Jaune sighed, before recounting the events to Yang. The more he spoke, the angrier Yang got at herself, for failing to help. Her fists clenched, her teeth gritted, eyes closed tight as she kept picturing her friends falling and her failing to protect them. Her little sister, nearly dead. Blake, dying beneath her. As Yang went over the story in her head, she got confused. "Wait, how did Weiss end up in here? I thought you said she didn't get hurt."
Jaune shrugged. "They told me later she had given Ruby so much of her aura she almost killed herself from it. She would have if Azure hadn't knocked her out before she could." He paused then, going quiet, before he noticed the slight scent of burning. Looking up, he saw Yang's hair beginning to glow, and he panicked. "Whoa, Yang, calm down! You'll set the place on fire at this rate!"
"I…I…I failed them. I can't stand this. They got hurt and I didn't do anything to help! I failed them!" Seconds after that outburst, the door to the room opened, as Oobleck walked in, apparently having been nearby enough to hear Yang's shout. Striding over to Yang's bed, he spoke softly, unlike his normal tone.
"Miss Xiao Long, you are quite incorrect. In fact, you saved Miss Belladonna." Blinking up at Oobleck in confusion, he took her silence as permission to continue. "In most cases, sucking out venom is a poor idea. It never seems to draw enough venom out to help a person, not to mention with Deathstalker venom, you simply poisoned yourself. However, something very interesting happened with you. It appears your Semblance quite literally burned the venom out of you, and somehow it leapt to your partner as well. At least, enough to keep it from reaching her heart until the proper antidote could be retrieved. In fact, when you are feeling better, I would like to spend some time with you to study this phenomenon. But that's for another time. Regardless, you saved your partner, and you should be proud. But for now, rest. That is what is best for all of you." Oobleck nodded smartly, and not giving anyone time to respond, he strode back out of the room, closing the door. Jaune and Yang shared a look of slight confusion, baffled at Oobleck's behavior and presence, before sighing. Jaune stood to go back and sit by Pyrrha, but a hand on his arm stopped him.
"Jaune…could you…could you move Blake and Ruby closer? I just need to touch them."
Jaune stared at Yang, unused to seeing the normally invincible Yang so vulnerable, before nodding. Lowering the railing on the beds, he went to the other side of Blake's bed and pushed it, careful to drag the IV drip with him, until it was right up against Yang's. On her other side, he did the same with Ruby's bed, and as an afterthought, pulled Weiss's next to Ruby's. Yang reached out with her arms and took Blake and Ruby's hands in her own, squeezing softly before relaxing backwards, sighing in relief. Pressing the button to lower her bed, she looked at Jaune and whispered 'thank you' to him. He waved it off, before returning to the side of the room his team was on. Looking down on them, he came to a decision, and dragged Pyrrha's bed flush up against Ren's, before he sat his chair down on the other side of Pyrrha. Nora lifted her head for a moment to look at Jaune, before smiling and laying her head back down again, snuggling into Ren's stomach, careful to mind the bandages. Jaune took hold of Pyrrha's hand and leaned his head back in the chair. Taking a deep breath, the exhaustion finally took him out of the world of the awake and into a deep, dreamless sleep.
Ozpin was quietly sipping from his mug as he thought over the events of the day, his mind elsewhere. Ironwood stood at the window to his office, his own thoughts in a similar vein, but both men were interrupted by a commotion from outside the room. The sounds of voices arguing, one admonishing the other to go rest while the other kept protesting he was fine came closer to the office, before Ozpin's door burst open, slammed into the wall by a very unhappy Azure, with Glynda following close behind. Storming into the room, he practically threw his scroll onto Ozpin's desk, before slamming his hands down on the desk and looking directly at the Headmaster.
"Who the fuck wrote this report?"
Blinking at the uncharacteristic vehemence, Ozpin was not given a chance to respond before Ironwood spoke, his voice steely. "My scouts were the ones who wrote the report, and I passed it along to Ozpin." Azure whirled on Ironwood, stomping over to stand face to face with him and pointing directly at him.
"Well then, your scouts are either utterly incompetent or trying to get someone killed!" shouting the last part of that sentence, Azure stormed back to the desk and grabbed his scroll, before holding it up. "Every single location on this fucking report was off! Every…single…one! They missed two entire Goliath's, every nest they scouted was off by at least three kilometers apiece! Those children nearly died because of your FUCKING SCOUTS! They hadn't made a single mistake in their mission, they were performing perfectly, even when things weren't going according to plan, but no one can expect two more Goliath's to appear out of nowhere! How the hell do you miss two more Goliath's!?" Ending his rant for a moment, he shoved the scroll into Ironwood's hands, the map showing the original report along with Azure's own notes scrawled in. Ironwood scanned the report before his eyes went wide, pulling out his own scroll and comparing.
"This isn't the report I sent Ozpin. The one I sent him is the same one you've made."
Azure blinked, taken aback, before yanking Ironwood's scroll out of his hand and scanning over it. Staring at the screen, he took a deep breath, the rage that had been swirling around him slowly cooling. Closing his eyes, he tried to reign in his anger as Ozpin took the scrolls from Ironwood and Azure's hands, reviewing them himself.
"Someone tampered with the report before it reached me, it seems." Ozpin's quiet declaration broke the relative peace of the room, as those in the room exchanged glances.
Azure covered his face with his hand before drawing it down, squeezing his chin slightly before rubbing his temples. "We'll need to evacuate the village. As soon as I broke off my attack, the Goliath's turned around and went back north again. Something is drawing them to the village, and we don't have time for another assault." Ironwood nodded.
"I will send my forces out to begin the evacuation. I will also begin an investigation into who tampered with this report…from now on, any reports I have I will personally hand deliver to you. I will find who did this, rest assured." Saluting sharply, he left the room. Ozpin quietly handed Azure's scroll back to him, before speaking quietly.
"We will figure it out, Azure. I swear to you, this tampering will not go unpunished."
Azure nodded, knowing full well that Ozpin would move heaven and hell to find out what happened. Sighing, he finally listened to Glynda and left the room, headed back to his office to get some much needed sleep.