This took longer to post than expected due to my graduation coming near, and the practically endless requirements to graduate had practically swamped me, disabling me from writing.
Once again, I'm very sorry. Enjoy this short chapter! Please, read and review!
Everyone waited with baited breaths for mother and daughter to come back. The Grimm remained lingering, but the numbers have drastically decreased, fortunately. Finally, the waiting was awarded. The remaining people saw Aphrodite and Pyrrha walk side by side, although the latter seemed... sullen.
Naturally, Jaune was worried and ran up to meet with his girl. Before he could even part his lips, Pyrrha threw herself into his arms and started sobbing into his chest. Jaune remained silent, not knowing what to say. He brought up his arm and wrapped it around Pyrrha, gently caressing her head.
Integra looked down, understanding what Pyrrha was currently feeling. However, she can't comfort her just yet. She needed to remain professional. She approached Aphrodite with her hands behind her back and uttered one word,
"Report."
Aphrodite lightly glared at the creamy blonde. However, this eventually ceased as she sighed and stood straight. "Cinder Fall is no longer a threat. Pyrrha personally saw to that."
"And what of the Grimm Dragon?"
"Unknown. It was nowhere to be seen when I arrived. It must've fled out of fear, or possibly self-preservation."
Satisfied, Integra nodded and left Aphrodite to her own devices and headed towards her men They need their orders and she needed to assure that their morale remained.
They would need it for what is to come.
Meanwhile, Anderson, Ironwood, Goodwitch and Qrow were discussing where they will be temporarily sending the evacuated civilians.
"What about Patch? It's nearby, and can probably accommodate all those people." suggested Qrow.
"No, Qrow." said Anderson. "Patch isn't large enough to fit all those people. We can't send 'em to Vacuo for obvious reasons."
Goodwitch nodded in agreement. "They lack a proper government, resources to provide, and the terrain would not fit everyone."
Ironwood sighed as he decided to place in his input. "Atlas, unfortunately, is also an unavailable option. It's too far, and too isolated."
The paladin couldn't help but roll his eyes and cross his arms at the General's reasoning. "You lot aren't the only ones that are isolated." Anderson cleared his throat, the remaining options obvious. "So, we either send them to Mistral... or Arcadia."
"Mistral would be the most prime choice. No offense, Anderson, but I'm not too keen on sending the evacuees to your land. Culture and all."
Anderson scoffed but otherwise said nothing. Glynda nodded.
"Then it's settled. We'll send them to Mistral, while the able fighters will remain to fight off the remaining Grimm. Only then can we focus on rebuilding."
Qrow tuned out the blonde's voice and looked to his left. He immediately regretted it. He saw Yang being carried away into one of the emergency medic air buses, Ruby following suit, The drunkard sighed and ruffled his hair, being reminded of his failures.
"Hey, I need to get going. Heading for Patch to give Tai the news."
Qrow jumped into the air and transformed into his namesake. He let out a short caw and flew towards the direction of Patch. Anderson rubbed his chin, watching as Qrow flew farther away. Once he was out of sight, Anderson turned his attention to the teacher and the general.
"Well, let's get star-"
The paladin was cut off as a Bullhead came into view and started descending down. Anderson bit down the growl that was about to erupt from his mouth as he saw an insignia on the ship.
"Schnee!"
He wasn't the only one. Weiss grew a bit fearful, already knowing who's inside. Damien could practically see his mate's anxiety and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Weiss, what's wrong?"
He would be answered as the Bullhead landed down. The hatch opened up, revealing a white-haired man garbed in clothing befitting of a business man. Integra quirked an eyebrow at the man's sudden appearance.
"Jacques Schnee."
The man regarded the blonde with a curt nod, before he set his sights on Weiss. He approached his daughter, looking at her with a "worried" look.
"There you are Weiss. Are you alright?"
While the heiress was confused, Damien stared at Jacques with narrowed eyes. One of his abilities was to sense emotion, whether negative or positive. And right now, he could only feel darkness inside of the white haired man.
Meanwhile, Weiss still quite confused. Her father had never shown any sort of concern for her in the past.
Was this a sign that he was changing?
"Father? What are you doing here?"
Jacques looked at her with "concern" and clasped her shoulders gently. "Taking you home, to where you belong."
Damien's eyes widened as he heard Jacques think to himself.
"And to forever lock you up. Your actions have damaged my reputation. Perhaps I'll marry you off to my partner, Wellington as additional punishment."
This set something off in Damien as he lost any sense of morality and grabbed Jacques by the throat, lifting him up into the air.
"So, you're just gonna lock her up like she's junk to be discarded?!"
The patriarch struggled against the choke-hold and could only struggle out a few words. "Who... What are you supposed to be?"
Damien glared at the man and unceremoniously dropped him to the ground. "The one who's dating you're daughter! Now, kindly piss off, you egoistic bastard!"
Jacques growled and stood up as he dusted himself off. He locked eyes with the incubus and glared at him. "You don't have any power over me, boy!" He turned to face Weiss and harshly grabbed her by the arm. "Now, Weiss you and I-"
A large explosion interrupted him, kicking up a large amount of smoke. When it settled, it revealed the flaming wreckage of Jacques's personal Bullhead. It was evident Damien was the cause.
His glowing, outstretched arm was a dead giveaway.
"Well, looks like Weiss isn't leaving."
Jacques growled and released his grip on Weiss. His entire focus and anger was now solely focused at the redhead in front of him. "Why you insignificant speck of feculent scum! How dare you-!"
Once again, the man was cut off by Damien. But this time, he was interrupted as he soon found himself in a hold, a hook sword hovering over his throat. Damien was struggling to contain his anger as he tightened his grip around Jacques.
"No! How dare YOU?! Your daughter just fought through a damn war, and you only give a rat's ass about your own reputation! You didn't even come here to help distribute relief goods, no. You just came here to whisk away a hero!"
"You don't know who you're dealing w-"
For the third time, he was cut off. This time, the cause was an elbow to the face. Damien released his hold on the man, causing him to fall to the ground. The redhead subconsciously spun around his weapon as he maintained his glared on the man.
"Oh I know. People like you are the reason why terrorism exists! You suppress, you extort, you exploit! Damn you all. Damn you all!"
Jacques sat up, rubbing his bruising cheek. He pushed himself up and stared down the incubus. "I am not the one at fault here. I am the one who gives those ungrateful animals a job so they can sustain themselves!"
"Ungrateful? Ungrateful?! I've seen their working condition. Their mediocre payment! Their treatment! I should kill you, right here and now! In fact!"
Damien grabbed Jacques by the collar and hoisted him up to the air. Before he could even pull back his arm, a hand placed itself on his shoulder, making him turn his head to look whose it was.
"That's quite enough."
Damien was quite surprised that Anderson, of all people, was telling him to stop. Stop from killing a piece of shit that deserved to face Hell.
"Why do you stop me, Father Anderson?"
"I want him to be nothing more but a stain on the floor, but now is not the time nor the place. We have others thing to worry about that are above this miserable wretch. He's not worth the blade to be stained."
Damien looked at the priest and nodded. He threw Jacques down and sheathed his hook sword. "Be glad, Jacques. You get to see another day."
With that, the incubus went to Weiss. He could see the tears starting to form, which made him frown. The incubus drew her in for a hug, allowing her to cry into his chest. Damien sighed, gently patting her head to comfort her.
Nora did not move from her place. She greatly preferred to stayed by Ren's side until he would wake up. She gently grabbed his hand and squeezed it. The only noise that decorated the room was the soft beeping from the heart monitor.
"Hey."
Nora craned her neck and saw Jaune approach her. She waved at her leader, giving him a sad smile.
"Hey, fearless leader. Where's Pyrrha?"
Jaune sat down at the nearby seat and answered the hammer maiden. "She told me she wanted to be alone, think about a few things. Her father did just die in front of her. And who am I to disobey her?"
He looked at Ren and couldn't help but frown at his condition. In a small part of his mind, he still blamed himself for failing to protect him. He sighed and looked back at Nora.
"So what about Ren? What did they tell you?"
Nora shook her head slowly, the answer very much obvious. Jaune sighed and patted his friend comfortingly on the back.
"It's alright, Nora. He'll push through. Ren won't be leaving us any time soon."
Despite his words of confidence, Nora didn't react. Just the thought of Ren's near death completely horrified her. What more if he were to die? Nora shook the thoughts out of her head and focused back on reality. That Ren survived.
Jaune then tried to gain Nora's attention by lightly shaking her shoulder. "Come on, let's leave him for a minute and get you something to eat."
Before she could utter a reply, three medics strolled in to the room. The one in the middle, who had blonde hair, held a clipboard, looking at it intently. She looked up from it and blinked.
"Oh. You must be from Mr. Ren's team. I'm sorry, but we're going to have to ask you to leave as we'll be examining Mr. Ren to see if he has healed fully."
Nora was about to insist on staying, until a hand on her shoulder stopped her. The hammer maiden turned around and saw Jaune's disapproving look. She relented and sighed. Nora stood from her seat and joined her leader, exiting the room.
The medic couldn't help but let a sigh escape from her lips, a frown of sympathy overcoming her lips.
"Poor girl. Mr. Ren's condition must've greatly affected her."
The other medic grunted, adjusting his eye patch. "Well, let's face it. Orphans who've been friends till childhood are hard to separate. So, to suddenly lose the other..."
It didn't need to be finished. "Yes, well." The third medic pushed up his spectacles with his gloved hand, cutting it short. "Enough of the chit chat. Let's have a look, shall we?"
His fellow medics nodded in complete agreement. They went to work. They performed standard procedure: checking the heartbeat, pulse, breaths, any wounds to haven't healed, etc. Nothing too complex.
The medic with the eyepatch turned his attention to something, grunting as if he was talking to someone. With a nod, he turned to his comrades.
"Being called to the other section to tend to the people who ended up with either less a leg or an arm." He finished, gesturing to his left hand, quite obvious that it was a prosthetic.
"Don't worry, Venom." assured the bespectacled medic. "We can take it from here. Go on ahead."
Venom nodded gratefully and went out. As he walked off, the male medic turned to his blonde co-worker.
"What's your prognosis, Angela?"
Angela pushed away a fringed of hair, checking off the list on her clipboard. "His burns have recovered greatly. No sorts of blunt force trauma. Steady breaths. Normal pulse and heart rate. He should wake up in-"
She was interrupted by the horrifying sound of a flat line. The bespectacled medic cursed under his breath. He rushed to Ren's side and hovered his head over Ren's chest.
There was no sound of a heartbeat.
"No! He must not die here!"
Angela completely agreed. She grabbed an odd staff in the corner of the room. She twisted the top and pulled the trigger, a beam of Aura being released, shooting towards Ren. It completely shrouded the dead man's body. Much to their relief, the heart monitor started displaying a heart beat yet again.
"Now," began the medic, adjusting his spectacles as he pulled out a strange device. "Let us see the problem we did not notice."
He clicked the device and placed it over Ren's chest. It spazzed before it launched into the air. The lights on the device rapidly blinked before a beam spread across the body, as if scanning it. In a moment's time, it was done. The medic grabbed his Scroll and took hold of the device, inserting it in. It took a minute to load, before the results were finally displayed.
Least to say, it was not pretty.
"Oh. Oh dear. This... is quite drastic."
On the Scroll was Ren's X-Ray. In various parts of his body, dozens of shrapnel were embedded quite deeply. Angela gasped and placed a hand over her mouth.
"My Oum! No wonder... With that amount of shrapnel in his body, he was sure to die."
"Yes. Unfortunately, we are at a delicate situation. The shrapnel has completely been hidden in his bones, and it would take a great amount of work to remove every single one, with the high chance of him dying. We don't have the equipment to perform an emergency operation. And sadly, he might not make it to a specific hospital to receive treatment."
"Then what about Door 2?"
The two medics spun around, seeing Anderson standing by the door along with another medic. The priest strolled up to the comatose boy and looked at him sadly.
"It would be too much for Jaune's psyche to handle if he were to find out he failed to save his friend. That's why, I'm giving permission in using that."
Angela looked quite surprise, knowing what the man was implying. "But Father Anderson, the repercussions! You-"
"I know the risks. And to hell with those bastards who think they can bend our will. I don't plan on having innocents dying on my watch. And besides," Anderson faced the two with a smirk. "This is a great opportunity for him."
"But what about the equipment?" asked the bespectacled one. "We can't exactly operate without the proper tools."
The medic who was with Anderson uncrossed his arms and let out a short chuckle. "And that's why I'm here, Blüd."
Blüd narrowed his eyes at the man. "Didn't think you'd pick back up this practice."
"Well, considering I owe Jaune a debt. I think it's high time I pay him back." He faced Angela and nodded. "Ready the vial. Blüd and I will start the preparations." He turned his head to look at Ren with a small grin. "Let's see what happens when we play our Lord's role for a short amount of time.
"Are you sure you're not coming back with us to Mistral, Lady Aphrodite?"
Walter stood guard as the Hellsing Militia boarded the Bullhead. Aphrodite lightly shook her head as she gazed upon some of the burning wreckage.
"No... Pyrrha and I will temporarily go with Anderson to Arcadia, along with Damien and Weiss."
"Any particular reason why?" the butler asked.
"Right now, Mistral has too many painful memories that would remind us of Alu. We haven't had the proper time to grieve his death, so I think it would be best if we don't go back to Mistral for the time being."
Walter brought his hands behind his back, seeing sense in Aphrodite's reasoning. "Keep in mind, Arcadia is the home of Catholics. You, Pyrrha, Damien and even Ms. Schnee will be met with discrimination."
"I can assure you, that won't be happening."
The two turned their heads to see Heinkel walking up to them. The blond took out the cigarette in her mouth and puffed out a small cloud of smoke.
"They'll be staying with us, in our home. If any of them harass you, we'll deal with them."
Aphrodite looked at Heinkel and gave her a smile. "Thank you."
"Heh. Don't thank me, thank my little brother."
"Speaking of Jaune, where is he?" asked Aphrodite."I didn't get to apologize to him."
Heinkel shrugged as she put out the cigarette in her mouth. "Last I saw, he was in the medical room before heading for Father Anderson's personal Bullhead."
Pyrrha bathed herself in darkness. She just wanted to be alone right now. Yet at the same time, she wanted someone to comfort her, to ease her pain and sorrow. Oh how she regretted telling Jaune to leave her be for the time being.
But alas, her prayers were answered. The door behind her opened, some of the light that entered was blocked by a figure.
"Hey, little sister."
Pyrrha spun around and saw Damien standing at the doorway. The redhead regarded her half-brother with a nod.
"Hello, Damien. Shouldn't you be with Weiss right now?"
"Weiss is resting at the moment. After the revelation of that bastard really seeing her as nothing more but a tool to be used and can be discarded, it took a toll on her mind."
The incubus entered the room, the door closing on him, allowing darkness to yet again completely envelope the room.
Good thing they both possess night vision.
Damien sat down besides his sister, looking at her with a hint of worry. He could practically feel the sorrow permeate the room. So, he did his best to comfort her.
"I know that you and I aren't that close yet, but if you have a problem, you know you can confide in me."
Pyrrha sighed. She brought up her knees to her chest and hugged them, as she told her brother of her plight.
"I just... I don't know how to come to terms with Papa's death. I never expected that he would die, ever. I thought he would always be by mine, and my Mama's side, protecting us and walking with us through our troubles. The pain of loss... it hurts more than when I lose my limbs or head. How? How do I stop the pain?"
Damien crossed his arms and locked eyes with his sister's.
"You can't. No one can ever stop the pain. Even if after you've accepted it, it won't stop hurting. It's like it's all still there, never leaving. Sure, you can cope with it, but you'll never alleviate the loss. It's the same feeling I once felt when I thought I was all alone. But I didn't let it weigh me down, I did what had to be done."
"What did you do?"
The lone incubus uncrossed his arms and offered Pyrrha a smile. "I lived on, for their sake. Because that's what they wanted me to do. I didn't let the burden overcome me, instead I allowed to grow alongside me, changing me to a better person. I honored my mothers by adopting their quirks, if only to remind me that even if they're gone, they'd still be with me."
Pyrrha processed her brother's words and smiled in appreciation. She nodded in gratitude to Damien and smiled.
"Thank you, brother."
In the Grimm Lands
Arthur brought down his fist on the table, glaring heatedly at the smiling Major. "You fool! Why are you so giddy?! We've lost Cinder, and in turn, the Fall Maiden! And what's more, you've just reduced your forces by 30%!"
Major snorted and waved off the livid man. "Ha! Who gives a shit? They're Nazis! And besides, we're still ten thousands strong. And on the topic of Cinder, she was but a sheep to be fed to the wolves so we could strike from behind."
"Were you not listening? We just lost the power of the Fall Maiden!"
Salem raised her hand, effectively silencing the bellowing scientist. Arthur reined himself and bowed before the Grimm Queen, asking for forgiveness. Salem regarded him for a moment and spared only a nod.
"Your anger has no purpose, Arthur. Our dear Major is right. Cinder was pawn right from the very start. Ready to be thrown away at any given time. Our objective was complete. The results in our favor. That is all that matters."
Hazel raised an eyebrow at his mistress's words. "The death of a single person turned the tides to our favor that much?"
Major decided to explain. "Nein, Herr Hazel. It merely evened the playing ground. Alucard was the biggest wrench in our plan. Take him out of the equation, and voilà! Our enemies have lost their most powerful weapon. What's more, with Alucard's death, their morale should have taken quite the nose dive."
Doktor nodded in agreement. "Indeed. The first ever pioneer of immortality, the monster under the bed that everyone dreads, the demon that plagues nightmares, the start of every vampire, etc, dead, by our hands. They would become anxious, fearful of our capabilities."
Tyrian cackled in the background, sharpening his claws. "Right right! And we didn't lose everything~"
A roar bellowed across the entire land, causing it to simulate an earthquake. From out of the windows, they could see the most obvious cause: the Grimm Dragon. It landed on one of the mountain, settling down and making it its home.
"We now have an Ancient Grimm by our side. If memory serves correctly, only the power of the Silver Eyes can kill it. And only one possesses it currently, and they haven't even unlocked it yet!"
Zorrin and Rip were situated by the far left, the latter fawning over the newly arrived Grimm. The scythe wielder looked at Salem and asked her a question.
"What's our next course of action, Mein Führer?"
"We bide our time. Gather our forces and strengthen our numbers. And when the time is ripe, we unleash our wrath against the forces of light." Salem faced her most fervent follower. "Tyrian. I'm in need of you."
Quickly, the Scorpion Faunus jumped to his feet and knelt down in front of his goddess. "What shall be done, my goddess?"
"Cinder's lackeys are still at large. Find them, and bring them here. Alive. But, if they don't cooperate, dispose of the garbage." she ordered. Tyrian nodded and went off to do his mission. Salem turned to Major. "Are there any more of your forces scattered across the kingdoms?"
Major pushed up his glasses. "Indeed there is~ There are plants in Vacuo, Mistral, and even Atlas! Alas... We were not able to infiltrate Arcadia for most obvious reasons."
"That is alright. Order your men to remain blended with the mortals, and to strike when the signal comes."
Major nodded and excused himself. Zorrin and Rip followed suit, having nothing to do anymore. All that was left was Salem, Doktor, Arthur, and Captain.
"How goes the rest of the conversion, Doktor?"
The man grinned. He adjusted his glasses and bowed before his führer. "It's excellent! By the end of the month, we would have over thirty dozens of Evolved Grimm at our disposal!"
"Good. And what about the other thing I've asked from you?"
Much to Salem's pleasure, the man chuckled.
"Nothing to worry, my führer. We've an abundance of Steel Cogs, laying inside ofthat place, waiting to be unleashed. And more are also being produced as we speak."
Arthur decided to ask a question. "How were you even able to create such machines in the first place?"
Doktor smirked at the scientist."It's our little secret, Herr Arthur. Although," He crossed his arms, craning his head in thought. "I suppose I could tell you if you were to help me locate someone. You see, one of our benefactors has fallen off the grid for reasons we do not know. We need him due to his knowledge in creating drones and other weapons."
"Is that all?" inquired Arthur. "Just tell me his name and my network can find him."
Doktor remained silent and instead pulled out a calling card and handed it over to Arthur. The man could feel his eyes bulged as he saw the insignia printed on the card.
"This is-!"
Finally, the last of the airbuses with the final batch of civilians left Vale and went en route to Mistral. The remaining able fighters stayed behind, spearheaded by Goodwitch. The group marched through the ruined streets, the blonde professor flicking her crop around, using her Semblance to repair the buildings that were not on fire.
Meanwhile, the others behind her scattered, hunting down the remaining Grimm in their current location. They attacked them with fervor, not allowing anything to escape their sight.
But, unbeknownst to them, someone did manage to give them slip, limping through the other side, unseen by the Huntsmen and Huntresses.
The person slumped against a broken piece of debris, desperately trying to stop the bleeding as he panted heavily.
"Damn. That. Bitch! Forcing me. To cut off. My own damn arm!"
The person was revealed to be Adam Taurus. He still bled heavily with his horns still stuck in hie chest. What's more, he was now missing an arm. It's quite a surprise he was still alive, or that he managed to evade Goodwitch and the others.
As he regained his breath, Adam managed to reach his destination: Emerald Forest. But in a few more steps, he crumpled down to the ground, pain surging through his entire body. Adam howled in complete agony. He couldn't even do anything to alleviate the pain.
The pain ceased, but was it enough to knock him unconscious. From out of the shadows, a drone-like robot came across the body of Adam Taurus. It seemed to observe and analyze the Faunus with fervor. Once it was finished, the drone let out a chuckle through the speaker, revealing it that it was remote controlled.
"Heh heh heh heh heh. Such a fine specimen for me to experiment my research on exoskeletons."
The lights on the drone glowed red, gleaming quite brightly.