Jaune knew stopping Mercury wasn't going to be the gear that derailed Cinders entire plan, that was never the case, there was always a fallback or a contingency or if he stopped enough schemes she would disappear and bide her time and strike later.
Cinder really had no choice in this life or any other, she was beholden to Salem and nothing would or could change that, he had tried, not hard at first but eventually he gave his most hated enemy an honest shot at redemption and she repaid that with a pillar of fire.
Jaune pushed the errant thoughts from his mind as he picked himself off the ground where he had landed moments earlier from a powerful backhand by an enraged Alpha Grimm. The impact had rattled his mind and left him thinking useless thoughts. Once more on his feet, he watched the Ursa as Yang exchanged blows with it.
This is ridiculous, an Ursa Alpha is not this strong or durable.
Jaune's eyes flitted across the Grimm's hide, the beast was marked with numerous wounds, none fatal on their own but the amount of damage he and Yang had dealt collectively should have rendered the beast immobile long ago, instead it seemed to just get angrier, faster, and stronger it would have a limit but whether it reached it's limit before he and Yang met their's was Jaune's concern.
His stamina was already fading and he wasn't sure about Yang but she looked taxed as well as she fell back from the beast as it recklessly crashed through a fountain, the cement structure barely hindering it.
One Alpha is taking two of the strongest Huntsmen in Vale to simply distract it away from civilians at this point, we can't do enough damage to kill the damn thing in one go.
Jaune was frustrated with his own fight but he was more concerned about the other four Alpha's that Roman had told him about, if Yang and himself couldn't deal with one between the two of them then what chance did others have.
The Ursa having lost track of Yang in its charge through the Fountain found a new target in Jaune as its eyes locked onto him again.
Jaune stood ready to dodge its attacks, blocking or parrying well out of the realm of possibility as he had already tried that multiple times each ending with his ass firmly introduced to a new piece of ground.
The Ursa charged, previously the speed had been catching him off guard, no Ursa, Alpha or otherwise had ever moved that fast before and he had paid for it, now though Jaune knew that he could react in time.
Dodge, slash, repeat. Jaune performed the actions with mechanical precision now that he was comfortable with the Usra's speed. Stronger and faster but no real improvement in the way it attacked, simple swipes or charges.
Jaune piled on the damage gradually he still had to be careful of multiple things but the fact Yang hadn't rejoined the fight after so many minutes had him concerned and against his better judgment, he moved in closer than before trying to get a clean shot at the Grimm's neck, hoping to sever something vital.
Just as Jaune was about to step in a Horn sounded nearby, not the ever-present wail of Vale's sirens that had been repeating none stop for well over an hour now, this was a loud crisp bleat of a large truck sounding an air horn.
Jaune barely had time to dive out of the way as the giant delivery truck crashed into the side of the Grimm, while he was picking himself off the ground Jaune noticed his blade was missing, a quick scan of his area turned up no sight of it. Rapidly getting to his feet he turned to see Yang walking back towards him with a grin, resting on her shoulder was his blade which she had somehow appropriated while he dove out of the path of the truck, the weapon was used to great effect as behind Yang and the destroyed truck was a rapidly dying Ursa, it neck cut open from side to side and it struggled feebly to crawl out from under the truck.
Before Yang had even handed him back his blade the movements had stopped entirely and the monstrosity began to slowly disintegrate.
"Well, that was simple enough." Yang said with a smile even though she panted heavily and her clothes were in tatters, Jaune also noticed Yang was bleeding from her left arm and the half of Ember Celica that was on that arm looked broken beyond repair. The Ammunition housing was exposed and sat empty but on top of that, the firing mechanism looked crushed.
"Yeah, simple." Jaune rolled his eyes he knew Yang wasn't serious that fight had taken more out of both of them either cared to admit. "Is the secondary function on your gauntlet still working?" Jaune indicated her left arm.
"Yeah, I think so anyways, the housing is still intact." Yang brought the weapon up for Jaune to inspect.
"Good, it still looks intact and clear of damage, I have a feeling we might need both shots if we run across any more Alpha's before reinforcements get here."
Both blonde's turned their attention toward Beacon, Yang had sent the distress call the moment the Sirens sounded, while Pyrrha and Blake had promised to be here as soon as they could they both knew that they were going to be on their own for awhile, until they encountered the Ursa tearing its way through a literal China shop and spent the better part of an hour fighting it they hadn't been overly concerned with the concept, neither had anticipated the level of danger to be this high.
They had seen the Bullheads in the distance depart from Beacon and they had headed their way but no huntsmen had flooded into the district weapons swinging to help the pair deal with their opponent, likely every available Huntsman had been sent to the wall to hold off the horde, Pyrrha, and Blake as well, as they would likely be under the command of the teachers of Beacon.
"So? Do we head to the wall and the big battle or hunt down the other Alpha's?" Yang looked at him waiting for his answer.
"The Alpha's are our priority, no one is coming to deal with them, they are too focused on the wall to even know about the threat behind them." Jaune's reasoning was sound, and if they approached the wall they would just be dragged into the larger battle and who knew how many lives would be lost to the four remaining Berserk Alpha's.
With their decision made they moved out of the park back towards the more populated areas of the district hoping to hear of find signs of another Grimm.
Reaching the edge of the park they both heard the sound of gunfire coming from a nearby block, both ran pushing their tired bodies forward and rounding a corner seeing further down the street was an extremely tall and muscular Beowulf, the Grimm's back to them focused forward on the direction the gunfire was coming from.
"Use one, we won't have a better chance than this to catch one so distracted." Jaune spoke and with a nod of understanding, Yang ran ahead of him quickly widening the gap as he slowed his pace.
As he watched Yang she became infused with her Semblance even at his current distance he felt the air around him heat up by a few degree's he doubted he would have been able to breathe if she was right beside him. The distance between Yang and Grimm shrank rapidly and as she leapt into the air behind the beast she pulled back her left arm and it was encased in blue and gold dust, a powerful combination and one that no one utilized, at least not yet, Weiss would figure out the mixture if she survived long enough and would he heralded as a prodigy on dust manipulation, merging and combining the effects of different types of dust in more subtle ways than anyone previously before her.
Jaune didn't want to steal that from Weiss as it made her her own person, someone untouchable even by her own father, so he had sworn Yang to secrecy about her final trump card, the fact that Jaune had to carefully mix the canister for ever shot meant Yang had little practice with the ability but Jaune had simplified it as much as he could so that it would be a simple thing to use that no one would expect or likely survive.
As the dust cleared and the heat faded Jaune made his way closer to the encounter, he frowned when he realized the Grimm was still not only alive but actively fighting still.
It should not have been able to withstand that, no matter how berserk it was...
Jaune got a clean look at the Grimm as he moved closer and was not sure how it had survived the attack but also knew it did by only the smallest of margins and clearly looked to be not long for the world.
The huge Beowulf was missing it's right arm entirely, it lay on the ground slowly dissolving, all along its back huge slashes crisscrossed at jagged angles and the Grimm swayed wildly with the immediate drastic loss of blood that was pouring from its wounds but it still persisted in its attack. It's target, however, was not Yang, it continued to assault the mystery opponent in front of itself.
Pyrrha stood on the wall and while she was actively engaged with holding the wall of Grimm back her attention was split, she was focused on her task at hand but her eyes constantly scanned the wall in search of her missing team leader and partner.
Blake and herself had responded to their call immediately and were two of the first to arrive at the Bullhead docks, their early arrival, however, did not exactly earn them anything as they were called upon by Professor Port to be the first reinforcements to the Wall. The Professor didn't listen to their mention of Alpha's already past the wall and when they tried to call Jaune or Yang to prove it neither would answer their Scroll. with no other option, the two girls were sent to the wall as they had no real choice in the matter.
Once at the wall and when the fighting became the fiercest Pyrrha covered for Blake allowing the stealthy Faunus to slip away from the fighting and sneak into the district to hopefully find what had become of their partners.
Pyrrha was pulled back to the fight as a pair of Beowulf's crested the wall where she stood, both marked with multiple wounds from gunfire already, thinking to preserve her stamina she rapidly shifted her weapon into its Rifle form and with two simple shots knocked both Grimm from the wall. Her bullets weren't likely to have killed the beasts she was more interested in keeping the wall clear so that those who could rain down heavier damage could do so with safety.
Sending one more glance into the city she turned to the wall intent on giving it her full attention and hoped that the day would find not only herself but her teammates safe when everything was said and done.
The withdraw from the forest had been costly, the Grimm seemed to sense a change in atmosphere and pushed their advantage against the Huntsmen lines as they retreated to the rally area.
Few were in any real condition to fight such a battle and if anyone was cut off there would likely be no escape for them.
Qrow finally took to battle, being fresh since he had kept himself away from the others during the entire day the figure he cut against the backdrop of Grimm was a sight to inspire confidence in those who were falling away from the fight.
Qrow had no hopes of stalling for long, the numbers were too great and he was merely fighting the tip of the spear as it were, bring his scythe to bear, each swing ended multiple Grimm as they tried to get past his position.
"Qrow, get out of there!"
He heard a voice shouting but he ignored it multiple Bullheads were still on the ground exhausted Huntsmen piling into them.
"God damn it he's going to get himself killed." Winter left the safety of her Bullhead intent on dragging the Huntsman away to one of the Bullheads.
A strong arm attached to a blonde man she didn't recognize stopped her before she had even made it off the ramp of the Bullhead both occupied.
"Qrow is gonna be fine, you going out there with some half-baked idea of saving him will likely only get both of you hurt." Taiyang spoke calmly and from experience, knowing full well that Qrow was fine, as long as he was left alone.
"And who are you to know this?" Winter inspected the man.
"Taiyang Xiao Long. Qrow and I were teammates a long time ago and like I said before, you going out there is just going to get you both hurt."
Winter looked at Qrow who was rapidly getting surrounded by Grimm and back at the man holding her from going to his aid, it only took an instant for her to decide her course of action, she pulled out of the man's grip and moved down the ramp, or that was her plan anyway, she broke his grip that was certain but she was instantly grabbed again this time in an uncomfortably tight grip that seemed to sap the strength from her body.
Taiyang pulled the limp form of Winter back up the ramp ignoring the stares he received from those onboard who watched the interaction. Tai hoped he wasn't making a huge mistake, he knew about Qrow's other abilities but when your Semblance is bad luck every time his friend put himself at risk like this might be the last time as well, as the Bullhead door slid closed he couldn't tear his eye's off where Qrow fought.
Qrow had lost track of the Bullheads and with the noise the horde of Grimm was making, he wasn't even sure if they had all managed to leave yet as the only thing he could hear anymore were the deep guttural growls and snarls from his opponents.
Figuring it was time to make his escape Qrow began swinging his weapon in ever increasing swirls and arcs killing any Grimm within the sweep of the weapon and forcing the others behind those further back. With a gap formed Qrow kicked off with as high a leap as he could, when he felt his momentum stop he vanished from sight replaced by a large Black Crow that pumped his powerful wings and strained to put even more distance between it and the ground, Qrow was rarely attacked by Grimm in the form but he didn't care to be near the roiling horde as the odd behaviour made him concerned they might attack even this form when they would otherwise leave it alone.
Once he reached a comfortable height he turned his gaze downward and stared at the mass of Grimm wondering what they would do now that they lacked an enemy. Looking at the mass Qrow watched in silent horror as the Grimm had already turned seemingly in unison after he had left them and pointed themselves West heading as quickly as they could towards Vale.
Pumping his wings with as much effort as his form allowed Qrow angled toward the Southwest hoping if he pushed himself he could beat the wave of Grimm to the wall and give the defenders of Vale time to prepare not knowing that was a pointless gesture as the walls of Vale were already fully engulfed in conflict already.
Mercury had been left stranded on the third story roof of some upscale beauty salon my Neo, he didn't mind it took him away from any possibility of encountering one of the Alpha's they had released. It did have the drawback that he was nearly deafened when the sirens did their original loud blast as the roof of the building was also home to a siren terminal, though it was designed to be a part of the building's overall design which was why he hadn't seen it beforehand.
Now it sat behind him a broken and twist heap of metal.
Mercury had done a more thorough job of inspecting his legs and repairing them after Neo had deposited him on the roof but it also allowed him time to think.
Who is the 'She' in question, Cinder is out of the question, why would she attack her own people. That leave's Neo and Emerald. Neo saved me from the park and the blonde man who crippled my leg. If she wanted me out of the way all she would have had to do is not interfere, the bastard beat the two of us back with ease so he would have had no issue with any of Vale's police, there is the chance the two are working together but Neo is loyal to only one person and that is Roman, as much as I wouldn't put it past Roman to act against Cinder if the right incentive was handed to him that incentive would have to be considerable considering what I know Cinder was paying the man for his services and his stipulation that he remain concealed from being seen attached to any of their jobs.
No Roman and Neo were out of the Question as a simple leaked photo or tip and Roman's face would be all over the Vale news and the Criminal had worked very hard to keep it that way.
The only leaves Emerald though...
Mercury sat on the rooftop deep in thought his legs repaired and ready to take him anywhere he needed to go but considering he had no order's he chose to take the time to consider what he really knew about Emerald and what his associate really stood to earn at Cinders side, both working for her or against her.
Ozpin's Office, Shortly before the Siren's sounded.
"Thank you Oobleck." Ozpin accepted a portfolio from his temporary assistant that highlighted the students that would soon be arriving at Beacon in preparation for the Vytal festival later this year.
The names and schools inside held little interest to Ozpin, normally they would but at the moment his attention wasn't on the paperwork he was attempting to distract himself with it was with the Battle that would be happening far to the North in Forever Fall, Qrow had been sending updates at regular intervals all day detailing how the fight was proceeding and by all accounts everything was going perfectly according to plan.
The only change in the plan was the numbers had apparently been wrong there was more Grimm out in the forest than they had initially guessed and Qrow and the others in command of the mission had informed him that they would be gone longer than expected.
Having no real reason to say no to such a simple request Ozpin had returned to his office and tried to distract himself.
The distraction was failing though, his eyes constantly went to his clock and while he was still receiving updates something about them seemed wrong he just couldn't quite say what.
"Bartholemew, do you also feel that something isn't right?"
"A great many things, but I assume you are referring to the communications sent from those fighting in the forest."
Ozpin nodded.
"While I may not know Mr. Branwen as well as you, he does not strike me as the most punctual of individuals, in either time or grammar."
"No, he would definitely not be either of those things I agree."
"Then his messages are likely what is causing you to worry, at last count we have eight messages from Mr. Branwen since Noon, each message exactly twenty minutes apart, his next one will be arriving in seven minutes."
Ozpin sat at his desk, he never new Qrow to be punctual like that, that was Glynda or Oobleck levels of professionalism that Qrow never had, the two men waited in silence for the seven minutes to elapse and as the clock shifted to three exactly a new message appeared on Ozpin's monitor, typed out perfectly.
Ozpin stood from his desk and grabbed his cane as he quickly came around the front.
"Contact Peter, have him get the Bullheads any and all we have ready for departure immediately, then contact the reserves we have on standby get them up to speed on the situation in the Forest, also pull any none essential personnel from the wall and have them report to Beacon as well, send the remaining second years to cover their positions." Ozpin's mind raced through the possibilities of what could be happening in the forest, Qrow would never respond like that and he cursed inwardly that he felt something was wrong earlier and yet couldn't place what it was.
Both men stepped into the elevator, Oobleck typing away on a tablet and sending out his headmasters instructions, the door slid open and Ozpin stepped out to the main control room on the CCT, the room was quiet and calm, spotting the woman he knew to be in charge Ozpin made to cross the room to speak with her about someone maybe interfering with the message system.
He hadn't made it halfway across the room when even those inside could hear a faint siren in the distance, the noise was replaced as an alarm inside the room sounded as well and the room exploded into action, technicians, formerly standing around chatting or filing the odd bits of paperwork rushed to their terminals to figure out the source of the siren and dealt with what it meant.
Avoiding the commotion the room had descended into Ozpin looked at his now Vibrating Scroll it being fed the same information that was likely being displayed on nearby monitors.
"Oobleck! Change of plans Send everything we have to the Northern walls." Ozpin turned and left the room as it devolved into an organized chaos as the technicians and terminal operators set about their jobs that if he remained would just be in there way.
"Sir, what about those in the forest?"
Ozpin stood in silent contemplation as the men rode the elevator to the base of the tower. "The wall's come first, the huntsmen out there are on their own for the time being, they are some of our best and brightest, we will have to trust that they are managing on their own. Keep trying to contact them though, Send Peter with the first group to the walls and you take charge of the organization and distribution of Huntsmen."
"Very good, and where will you be?"
"I am sure the Council will be looking to speak with me shortly so I will be returning to my office once I refill my cup."
She appeared exhausted, panting for breath and drenched in sweat. Cinder looked nothing like Roman ever remembered, in his other life he doubted if dirt had ever touched the surface of her skin for how impeccably flawless she managed to appear at all times.
Now after a full day of, well Roman wasn't exactly sure what, Cinder stood covered in dirt and grime.
Roman toyed with the idea multiple times of placing Melodic Cudgel against the base of her skull while she was distracted and pulling the trigger, some broken part of is mind, the part that seemed all to in favor of him throwing his life away if it meant killing her egged him on to try. The tiny voice was usually easy to ignore as Cinder had always radiated such power that giving into the voice would only spell his own death.
Now the voice had traction, Cinder was visibly exhausted, having seen her return to the Bullhead multiple times looking further and further taxed he wanted nothing more to give into the voice in his head.
The only thought staying his hand from the action was the consequences of a failed action, if he didn't kill her he was certainly dead nothing would change that. If it was just his life in question he would probably take the shot, he honestly probably would have months ago when he first met Cinder again in this life if a failure meant just his life ending, it wouldn't, Neo would be next and honestly, his psychotic partner would never forgive him either.
Pushing the voice of revenge deeper into his mind he stepped out from the cover the Bullhead engine provided him from the dying sunlight.
"We done out here yet Cinder?"
"..."
"Great stuck in another Trance again? Should I just drag you on board by your ankle then, we really should be getting out of here."
"..."
"I'm starting the Bullhead, if your not snapped out of this before I get back I'm dragging you inside and taping you to the loudest part of the cargo area." Roman Scowled in frustration, Cinder had given him a timetable to keep and the one time he had almost missed it today he felt like it was close to costing him his life instead he just felt a few years bleed away in the tense moments.
their list was done and all they had to do now was get somewhere safe to hide for the next few days, Entering Vale was out of the question and for how short notice the agenda was given to him and the final portion of the plan particularly the massive army of Grimm he hadn't had time to find a safe spot outside of Vale they could hole up for a day or two, let alone contact the Blonde's and give them a heads up on the Army of Grimm headed their way.
They are tough and resourceful they will be fine, plus Neo is free if they need help.
The Bullheads engines roared to life just as Cinder slide the panel to the cockpit open.
"Bout time you snapped ... 'ghgk'" Roman found his airway restricted as a black tendril snaking out from Cinders shoulder wrapped around it, tighter than anything he was ever felt.
Cinder stepped into the cockpit completely, Roman looked desperately at her as he brought his arms up to struggle against the tendril that was crushing his throat.
The Crushing feeling stopped as his fingers made contact with the tendril of, well, Roman wasn't really sure.
He could breathe again albeit with great effort, as his neck was no longer being crushed but it was still uncomfortably tight.
Trying to relax Roman stared at Cinders back and immediately wished he hadn't, between her shoulder blades flowed a viscous black pus that seemed to be stretching the skin attempting to push past the thin barrier and spill out.
Somehow sensing his gaze Cinder turned to face him, her movements quick and jittery, no smooth motions were made, every movement had a powerful force behind it and an immediate jarring stop.
With her turning to face him one horrifying image was replaced by another, Cinder's face was no longer her own, instead of her attractive visage he was met with a black visage of a Grimm he had never seen before, it had a too wide mouth filled with more teeth than he could count, an odd set of mandibles moved with its breath a trail of some greenish fluid dripping from one.
With quick jarring movements, whatever this was scanned his entire body from an uncomfortably close distance before it's mouth split into a shape one could loosely describe as a smile, horrifying as that was, and with the smile completed it looked him dead in the eyes.
"Ssssseeeecccccrrrrrreeeeeetttttttt..."
With the utterance of the single word the tendril around his neck tightened to a frightening degree that Roman began to feel his neck buckling under the pressure before it all stopped at once.
Roman saw stars pop in his eyesight as he struggled to draw air into his deprived lungs, he wasn't sure how long it was before he could breathe or let alone see clearly but when he recovered Cinder stepped into the Cockpit moments after and without so much as a word to him settled into her chair and lost herself into a trance once again.
And another one!
Buncha stuff is happening.
1) I teased Yang's extra weapon addition her and Jaune did forever ago. (See I didn't forget about it.)
2) They are about to maybe, possibly get some reinforcements to deal with the rest of the Alphas. (Who is that mystery Huntsman or Huntress) [Betcha a couple of you will make the right guess]
3)Qrow, Winter, Taiyang still in the forest but at least on their way back. (With another army of Grimm also)
4)Mercury starting to doubt Emerald, what might that cause. (Probably some stuff I already have planned.)
5)Also what the fuck's up with Cinder's skin, she should really have someone take a look at that.
Heh fun chapter to write, it was actually interesting to try and make the Alpha's a challenge for Yang and Jaune, Having them basically lose their shit after being under Cinders control for so long that it puts them in a Berserker state was a fun way to go about that and it gives the two an actual challenge.
Not much else to say, a lot going on ATM and I'm putting ADVENT Failure on hold while I do this, though If my Beta gets's done with it I might have chapter two of my new story up sometime this weekend.
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