Please enjoy the longest chapter that I've done in a while (and the longest I've done so far, I think).

Chapter 26

Summer's trip to the Cape of Ashes was a simple affair but it was the in Beacon where the next blow from the Reapers would fall. Explosives charges detonated in over a dozen locations, including the library, the armory and several classrooms. The chain of explosions reverberated across the cliff-side, throwing the thousand or more students and staff into disarray. Later on, some would note that no casualties were caused during the opening moments of this attack with most of the locations affected conveniently deserted, implying the Reapers' objective was disruption rather than destruction. Nevertheless, the chaos that ensued was perfect for a certain elite pair to infiltrate the school through the front door.

Vulcan noted that even while seen by a dozen people, no one paid any heed. Understandable given the anarchy, but strangers were often confronted or at least greeted even in such trying times. "You certainly know your explosives," he said to his helmeted companion.

"I am a master of conventional weaponry," Cyclopes put on a posh accent, sounding ridiculous and quite inappropriate in the context, "All I needed was a set of blueprints of this place and I could have levelled the main buildings in seconds,"

"Just as well then," Vulcan pushed on, "that we are only coming to visit an old friend,"

(GOST dorm)

Tristan stared out at the school grounds of Beacon in horror. Chunks of masonry and sporadic fires covered the normally bright walkways in a light brown fog. The blonde could only make out vague shapes and figures this far away. The door behind him burst open and he turned to see Ozpin and Qrow huffing in exhaustion with weapons drawn.

"What's going on?" the mohawk asked.

"I have no idea, but if anyone knows what to do, it will be Professor Lyons," Ozpin said and Qrow agreed with a nod.

"What about the others?" Tristan asked.

"My team are down at the library as well as Glenda and I haven't seen Summer all day," Qrow said, "but, knowing her, I'm sure she's fine,"

"Ok, nothing for it then," Tristan took a hold of Icebreaker and strapped it to his back, "Let's go,"

(Lilac Lyons' Office)

If his former partner had any idea or inkling that they were coming, Lyons showed no sign. Vulcan stood outside the door, staring at it as if it weren't real. After all he had done, this moment was one that he really didn't want to do. Betraying your country or people is easy. Betraying a friend was difficult beyond belief.

"Oh, stop procrastinating," Cyclopes barged past and kicked the door open. Lyons spun around slowly in her chair, as if expecting their arrival. But if she had, she would have reached for a weapon or escaped by now.

"Hello, Eric," she said, and the melancholy that he heard there was gut-wrenching.

"Hello, Lilac," he moved through the battered threshold after the Faunas, taking up position left of the desk while Cyclopes flanked right, "You know why we're here,"

The Headmistress nodded, "I must say, right up until the last moment, I truly believed that you weren't a part of this. I really thought you might have come to me or another instead of throwing your lot in with Lilith. What did she offer you, Eric? Money? Power? A share of the Kingdoms after the High Reaper had torn them down and carved them up-"

"She has Talia!" Vulcan didn't mean to scream or even speak but the words came in a roar that made even the stoic Head of Beacon jump. After a few calming breaths, he spoke again, quieter, "What am I supposed to do, Lilac? Cinder means everything to me. I would do anything to keep her safe,"

"I can't possibly understand how you feel," Lilac didn't waver from her gaze at her old friend, "You have a child, I don't. But do you really think a world ruled by Lilith is a world you want Talia to grow up in,"

"I can only do what I can," Vulcan turned away from her, "Living in a messed up world is better than not living in one at all,"

"This is taking forever," Cyclopes interrupted, "Just tell us where the Data Thief is and we will leave without killing you,"

Lyons looked to the other Reaper for a moment before shrugging, "I'm afraid I have no idea what you are talking about,"

Cyclopes' eyes flashed with anger under his helmet, "Oh really," he stepped forward and pointed his arm, now switched to its blade, "Are you absolutely sure?"

She sighed, "If you think simple threats will work against me, you clearly aren't very bright,"

"What did you-?" Cyclopes began before Vulcan pulled him back by the shoulder.

"Lilac, do not test us. This is beyond us all. Just give us the Thief and I can guarantee I will ask Lilith to be merciful with this school,"

The Headmistress stood up suddenly, "Are you threatening my students, Eric Lukas?" she snapped, losing her cool, "Have you really fallen so far as to resort to such a thing after just saying you are doing this for your daughter?"

"How about this," Cyclopes changed to his rifle and slotted a black-rimmed magazine into it, "These are bullets made from Aberration bones and have the same Aura-shredding qualities that their weapons have," he aimed right in the centre of Lyons' chest, "One shot from this and you are dead, no Aura or medicine will save you. Why not tell us what we want to know?"

In that second, Vulcan saw his old friend's gaze shift, a slight flicker away from the two of them and he knew she had just given away what she was hiding. He followed to where she looked off to for a second, her dusty old bookcase. No, not completely dusty. He moved forward and with a gun pointing at her, Lyons was powerless to stop him. Vulcan's fingers brushed upon a red book which was clearly newer than the others or at least, less dilapidated. "A false book, Lilac? Really? You didn't want to use something more original?"

The Head of Beacon's face was one like brittle ice, "Please Vulcan, I'm begging you, don't do this," the Reaper took out the book and opened it. Sure enough, the inside was hollow and right there was the Data Thief.

"All this for a trinket so small," he took the device in between his index and thumb.

"Its just data, it was hardly worth coming here to-" Lyons' plea was silenced by Cyclopes swiping the barrel brutally across her face, knocking her to the ground.

"What are you doing?" Vulcan demanded, his anger visibly flaring in his eyes.

"Lyons is one of the biggest threats to our plans. She has to be dealt with," the White Fang Reaper cocked his gun.

"She's a teacher,"

"She's a Huntress," the Faunas took aim, "that's threat enough,"

"Wait, don't-" Vulcan shouted but too late.

Time seemed to slow. In that instant, Lilac used her semblance to peer into Cyclopes' soul and realised with utter certainty she was about to die. And another thing she was certain of was that she was not afraid. He fired. The bullet punched through her chest, causing her to gasp suddenly.

Vulcan was on Cyclopes a split second after, throwing him across the room with force enough to knock most others unconscious. For a Reaper, he was merely dazed. "Lilac," the Reaper's voice broke as he saw his former teammate.

Lyons was already beginning to struggle to breath, the blood pumping rhythmically from her mortal wound, but spoke on anyway, "Why do you… look at me like that… Eric," she smile a blood-specked smile, "Aren't I… the enemy?"

"I didn't want you to die," Vulcan knelt beside her gripping her hand half in comfort, half in panic.

"People die, Eric. You can't escape… that. The trick in life… is to… make that death worth something. Tarik knew it. Aquila knew it. I know it," she looked at him with teary eyes- from pain or sadness?- and the sorry state she was in made Vulcan want to throw himself out the window of a tall building. Too bad he could survive a drop of almost any height, "Do you… know it, Eric?"

"I'm sorry, Lilac. I'm so, so sorry," Vulcan felt a lump in his throat that he had not felt in a long time.

"Please, Eric, don't… weep for me. You did what you thought… was best. We all must live… with the… the deamons we create,"

"I never wanted this,"

"Nor I, Eric. But promise me. When you die… please do not die… with any regrets-" the last words fell into a whisper and ended with a slow exhale that signalled her passing. She was gone. The last true friend he had in the world and he helped in her murder. And for what? Some bauble that Lilith wanted on a whim? He felt cold inside, quite an achievement considering his blood had been boiling moments before.

Cyclopes shock off his dizziness. He approached Vulcan knowing that disturbing him could be the last thing he ever did, "Vulcan, come on. We have to go," he gently lay a hand on his shoulder in as comforting a way as a killer like him could. Surprisingly the older Reaper didn't disembowel him on the spot. He just stood up and turned to leave without looking back. But Cyclopes did. He saw the dead headmistress, her eyes glazed over. Vulcan had laid her hands together on her breast just above where the bullet wound was which was only now beginning to stop bleeding. "Did you say the rites?" he asked.

Vulcan's footsteps stopped, "Of course I did," he said with a cold edge, "But scum like you do not even deserve to hear it for a saint like her,"

Cyclopes felt annoyed at the insult but knew he shouldn't press the matter given his partner's current mental state, "Then let's get out of here,"

(Minutes later)

Tristan jogged ahead of the other two even though they were lighter and were carrying less. More than most Huntsmen, he pushed himself in training to be beyond even the high standards of Beacon. They were in the hall leading to Lyons' office in minutes. The door ahead of them was ajar. "Professor…" he said as he opened the door but the rest of the words left his mind as the room was empty. Empty, except for a pool of blood forming just behind the desk. He quickly rounded the desk and his knees almost gave out at the sight of the motionless body lying there. "By the spirits, no…" Ozpin said as he followed in.

"What… oh Dust, what's going on?"

"Someone was here and they killed Professor Lyons," Tristan said in a whisper, "Who would have done this?"

"Wait," Ozpin knelt down, trying to avoid the blood and mostly succeeding. He fished out something that was pulsing rhythmically from her pocket: her scroll.

"Don't do that," Tristan snapped, "Show some respect,"

"She's dead, Tristan," the grey-haired boy said bluntly, "And I think she left us something of use here,"

He laid the scroll on the table and maximised the view and pressed play on the new message sent by Lyons to herself. The view became the camera just above the door into the office. Qrow instinctively looked back to find it, and there it was. Lyons sat facing it and sighed sadly, "This is a failsafe of sorts. The Reapers are traitors and these explosions are far too coincidental given the information I now possess. They think that their Date Thief's data is uncopiable but they have not met someone like me," a pause, "or at least most of them have not. I know that unless Vulcan is the one coming for me I'm going to die. No weapons or armour will save me from that. And if Vulcan is the one that arrives, it will prove that he is a man so different from the one I knew that I can no longer count on the compassion I know he has… or had. They will come for the Thief and find it but this scroll also contains all the relevant evidence to condemn them." She turned around in the chair, speaking softly as footsteps could be heard on the other side, "Please don't let it be Eric,"

From there, Vulcan and Cyclopes arrived and events played out just as they had, the image cutting off shortly after they left.

"The monsters…" Tristan snarled when it was over.

"What do we do? Get help?" Qrow asked.

"This message is date-marked only moments before we arrived, meaning the might still be in the school," Ozpin looked to Tristan, unofficially making him leader for this, "What do you think?"

"I think we should do what any Huntsman would do in the face of this… atrocity," Tristan drew Icebreaker, "Kill those traitorous bastards,"

(Beacon dining hall)

The airship they arrived in was different to the one they would leave in. Lilith knew that a lockdown on air traffic would be in effect the moment the bombs went off, and so made sure their first ship had landed before things kicked off. The second on the other hand was a stealth ship, made for slipping in unnoticed. Even so, it had docked near the forest to minimize contact with the staff and students. This meant Vulcan and Cyclopes needed to traverse half of Beacon itself. But they had made sure the most pressing damage was away from their direct route to, once again avoid unnecessary contact. But they had not expected anyone to follow, sure in the fact they had been quick enough to evade pursuit. This mistake became apparent as they were halfway across Beacon's cafeteria. "Hey!" a boy's voice made the two turn around. Tristan, Qrow and Ozpin rushed in, weapons drawn.

"Well look at this," Cyclopes laughed, "Kids playing at being Huntsmen. I suggest you boys leave,"

"Leave them, Cyclopes," Vulcan said quietly, "They wouldn't last long against us so why bother,"

"We know what you did, traitors," Tristan shouted.

"Well, that a reason," the Faunas readied his rifle. But before he could fire a round the boys didn't even realise would definitely kill them, Vulcan pushed it down, "Let me do this, you have enough blood on your hands for one day,"

Cyclopes looked eyes with him, the nodded, "Fine," he walked on to their destination, "Finish them quick,"

The older Reaper nodded then turned to face his opponents, "This isn't the practice ring anymore, boys. Against a Reaper, one wrong move and you die,"

"We went easy on you last time, old man," Tristan said as the other two spread out.

"Tristan was it? And Ozpin, and- You are?" he asked.

"Qrow Rose," the scythe-wielder said.

"Summer's brother," Vulcan raised an eyebrow, "She spoke highly of you. Admittedly I expected more," It was a clear jab, they all knew it. And all but Qrow seemed to care.

"Qrow, don't," With a battle cry he charged out of formation, disregarding the warning Tristan just shouted. He swung both scythes for a decapitating strike but the Reaper wasn't there to be hit. Instead he ducked beneath the wild attack and punched him right in the stomach. Qrow was pushed back a few feet and a few inches into the air from the hit and he quickly collapsed on his hands and knees, gasping for breath. Tristan cursed and way moving to defend Qrow but Vulcan already roundhouse kicked the younger boy and began launching a rain of fists at him. Tristan thought trying to defend against an unarmed foe would be easy, but, as he once said so long ago, Vulcan didn't need weapons to fight. The blonde was losing ground with each block, his arms already feeling the strain of keeping up with such a surprisingly agile opponent.

Ozpin came to his teammate's aid, launching jabs and stabs of his own which seemed to at least throw Vulcan off his A game. Qrow, too was up again and charged into the fray. But once this happened it suddenly became clear Vulcan had been faking any disadvantage he'd shown. In one fluid movement, he dodged Opzin's sword, swept Tristan's legs from under him, grabbed Qrow by the scruff for the neck and tossed him into Ozpin, coming around full circle in under two seconds.

Tristan barely had time to avoid Vulcan's curb stomp to his face, the mohawk struggling to roll away from the foot that was cracking the floorboards where his head was only a moment before. He swept his sword up blindly and, in his effort to wound the boy, Vulcan caught the blow on his forearm. The Reaper stumbled back, confused as to why he suddenly felt weak. Tristan managed to crawl a bit further away before climbing into a crouch, "Funny isn't it," he grinned for the first time since the fight started, "Like you, most misinterpret my semblance to do with ice but that's just a side-effect. Each time I hit you, you get weaker. Nifty trick against a guy like you,"

Vulcan shock off the cold feeling of his energy dissipating and smiled back, "You are certainly doing well. The last fight we had barely lasted as long as this, but you only get one hit like that," Qrow suddenly fell from the ceiling where he had managed to sneak up on the Reaper… or so he thought. Vulcan grabbed both scythes by their shafts and slammed Qrow to the ground. Ozpin pressed the advantage and went for the killing thrust. But Vulcan was hardly going to fall for so obvious a distraction and managed to twist aside, but not enough to avoid it completely. A fine red line crossed the left side of the Reaper's abdomen but he caught hold of the short-sighted boy's sword and mercilessly punched him until he let go, his face already bruising as he fell, half-conscious, "That's one down," Vulcan turned to the other two, Qrow having been pulled up by Tristan.

The Reaper lunged forward and the pair broke off in opposite directions. Vulcan immediately followed the older boy who was already slashing for his neck. Guarding with his arms and Aura, he absorbed blow after blow until the blonde overextended himself in a thrust. The Reaper wasn't taking any more chances with Qrow lurking nearby. Grabbing his wrist, he twisted Tristan around until they had their backs to each other. With a savage snap, Vulcan broke the boy's arm over his shoulder at the elbow. Even a veteran like him grimaced at the horrified shriek as the Huntsman-in-training collapsed clutching his useless sword arm. The final punch the Reaper delivered was more a mercy than anything, silencing his screams. "And then there was one," Vulcan turned, panting from the draining feeling of taking so many hits from the mohawk, but the last boy was nowhere to be seen, "Hmm, quite cold-hearted," the Reaper mused, "Letting your friend take the fall to set up an ambush. Too bad it won't work on someone like me,"

He stepped into the centre of the room. He was wasting time here. He needed to finish this quickly before anyone else came along. So he tried a tactic that worked already, "The strong are strongest alone I suppose. That's what Summer said to me. No wonder she joined the Reapers to become even better," Several seconds passed. It wasn't working but he wasn't finished, "Look kid, I'm done. Two out of three is good for me and its not like you can stop me," he walked to where Cyclopes had left. He started to think that hadn't worked either when the shadowy figure wielding scythes dropped in front of him and became a hurricane of blades. Vulcan was surprised. He had been joking when he said the strong are strongest alone (for everyone outside the Reapers anyways) but this kid only seemed more dangerous now that he was the last one standing against him.

Vulcan knew scythes were possibly the most annoying weapon to defend against because their shape was perfect for getting around a Hunter's guard but they were unsuited for defence as well. Whoever could keep their opponent on the off-foot would win. Vulcan smiled, knowing this fight was over the moment Qrow had gotten within arm's length of him. The boy sent scythe-swings and kicks his way but they might as well have been landing on steel for all the damage they were (not) doing. Vulcan meanwhile worked on his footwork, getting into positions inside the boy's weapon's effective range then landing heavy punches when he could before moving back again. The result was a few nicks where the blade had finally drawn blood but also a completely battered and exhausted Qrow.

"Give it up, kid," Vulcan said, seeing the boy could barely stand, "You did well but not good enough," at those words, Qrow lifted his weapons and charged again, but it was a clumsy, futile attack. The Reaper side-stepped him and grabbed the back of his neck. With a slight grunt he threw Qrow face-first into a nearby table, smashing it into splinters and taking the boy out of the fight.

Vulcan looked at the state of the smashed room before turning to re-join his partner at the rendezvous. "Hey," No way, Vulcan thought, how is that kid still standing?. He turned back and there Qrow was, against all odds, standing with one scythe for support, "I'm not done with you,"

"Just stay on your ass, kid," Vulcan said in a voice that was almost sad, "Don't make me put you down for good,"

"Well, you'll just have to do it, cause I'm never going to stop," he broke into a run, jumping when a few metres away, weapons ready. Vulcan threw a punch but in the second as he came into range, he noticed something impossible. Mid-way through the jump, the boy changed radical trajectory. Of course, I forgot about his semblance. Qrow hit the ground, his feet buckling from the gravity he'd put himself under to avoid the punch. Vulcan's attack threw him off-balance and the leader of Team QROW sliced the blade across his enemy's abdomen. The blow was deep but the Reaper's semblance protected him from the worst of it. That, sadly, was Qrow's last gambit.

Taking hold of the scythe even as it carved over his stomach, Vulcan gave a brutal punch and the boy's grip on the weapons loosened as he fell like a sack of potatoes. "Not bad kid," Vulcan said with genuine admiration. He snapped the scythe in half over his knee, just where the blade met the shaft. "When I fought serious, not even Summer could land a blow like that without her AM," he stepped on the other scythe blade and snapped the grip off, tossing the useless weapon aside. Qrow groaned and tried to rise. Vulcan caught him by the back of the neck with one hand and the leg by the other. with a grunt, the Reaper lifted him above his head, Qrow now powerless, "But life isn't a fairy-tale and one lucky shot isn't going to save you," half kneeling, Vulcan let him drop. There a was slight gasp as Qrow's back broke over the Reaper's knee, overshadowed only by the sound of the actually bone breaking. Then came the moans of pain as what happened finally reached the boy's senses. Vulcan was far too tired to knock him out like he did with Tristan. He just left, the echoes of his footsteps rebounding off the walls along with Qrow's pitiful cries for help as the sounds of Beacon burning continued outside.

I truly am a horrible person when it comes to the characters I write about. *Queue sad music*So ends the Part 4. Now onto the fifth and final part: The Choice. Hope you guys liked it. Comments and criticisms are appreciated.