Well here we are, at the end of Volume 3 and a lot of things still to take care of. Long chapter ahead.
Nalia snarled at the black dragon. It had to be as big as master Glaedr. Unlike all other dragons though, this one was an evil-beast-Grimm. Nalia was out massed, but she was used to it. She never was the largest dragon, but she was the fastest dragon alive, and she used her speed almost flawlessly so far to harm her opponent.
The evil-Grimm-dragon had yet to land a hit on Nalia and Cerise. Both flew too fast for the large-evil-beast to land a solid hit on. The evil-beast-Grimm it birthed though irritated the dragons. While Cerise' see-through-Aura-shield protected her from any damage, Nalia had no such protection. She could handle the single black-bird-monsters and black-winged-horses, but there were so many of them. Those creatures were able to bloody the green dragon, but not to the point of crippling her.
The evil-Grimm-dragon flew toward long-tailed-Cerise. The red dragon roared and rose to meet her opponent. Cerise flew above the evil-beast-Grimm and swatted at its back. Unfortunately, the strike looked like it glanced off a bone plate. The evil-Grimm-dragon tried to bite at Cerise, but the smaller dragon evaded just in time.
Nalia flew to Cerise' side. The smaller dragon growled. I go left, you go right?
Aim for its wings. Nalia dove and roared again. The evil-Grimm-dragon turned to the two other dragons and barred its teeth. Nalia flew straight at it, and veered right at the last second. She swung both sets of front claws at the large-evil-beast's wing. Several large tears opened in the membrane. Judging by the evil-Grimm-dragon's roar of pain, long-tailed-Cerise had accomplished the same.
Instead of losing height though, the evil-Grimm-dragon flew higher, just like every time before. This isn't good. Nalia tracked the beast as it soared down into the city. The evil-Grimm-dragon dove down toward the ground instead of facing its opponents. It landed on a nest-stack and tore its talons into the fake-stone. Two-legs screamed as they ran about. The large-evil-beast roared at Nalia and Cerise, challenging them to come near.
We have to get it away from the city. Nalia tried to pry the evil-Grimm-dragon off the nest-stack, but to no avail. Too many people are in danger.
I may have something. Cerise dove at the evil-Grimm-dragon and opened her mouth. Fire burst forth as Cerise flew by. The large-evil-beast roared in frustration and flew after Cerise.
You can use your fire? Nalia asked as she flew after the evil-Grimm-dragon.
I don't know how either, but I'm okay with it. Cerise flew over the fake-stone-and-glass-city and toward the large-green-forest. She flew slightly faster than the evil-Grimm-dragon to stay out of its reach. It put on a burst of speed and tried to bite of long-tailed-Cerise' tail. Nalia saw this and dug her claws into the large-evil-beast's back. She pulled and tore off as much black flesh as she could.
The large-evil-beast roared in pain and tried to throw Nalia off its back. Eventually, it succeeded, and Nalia was thrown under the beast. The evil-Grimm-dragon lashed out with one of its feet and collided with Nalia's back.
Nalia fell to the break-bone-ground at too-fast-speed. She crashed down and felt several bones shatter. Pain coursed through her body, and she tried to keep it from leaking to her partner-of-her-heart-and-mind. Unfortunately, she wasn't quick enough. Nalia! What happened?
This Grimm is a challenge. Nalia gritted her teeth as she rose to her feet. But there's two of us, and we're faster. If we don't kill this thing, it will surely kill many people.
I can send Halcyon your way if needed. We can hold the fort here without him.
If we need him, I'll tell you. Keep him at Beacon for now. Nalia looked toward the sky to see Cerise circle-flying around the evil-Grimm-dragon. She tried to raise her wings, but was unable. There were definitely some broken bones in her wings. Cerise, I'm grounded. Return the favor.
Gladly, Cerise growled. Nalia could only watch from the ground as the red dragon did her best to bring the evil-Grimm-dragon to the ground. While Cerise was faster than the large-evil-beast, she had to fly around it to get a good angle of attack. During that time, the evil-Grimm-dragon could protect whatever area Cerise got an angle on.
Cerise eventually cut across the evil-Grimm-dragon's back and sunk her claws into the large-evil-beast's wing. Four large tears formed in the membrane, and Cerise even tore the tip of the evil-Grimm-dragon's wing clean off.
Its flight abilities crippled, the evil-Grimm-dragon spiraled toward the ground. It hit the break-bone-ground and a dust cloud rose from the impact zone. Nalia stalked toward the site, growling all the way. Even though it hit the break-bone-ground harder than Nalia, there was no way it could be dead.
Sure enough, the evil-Grimm-dragon rose from the ground and growled at the two dragons. Cerise flew just over Nalia, and both dragons growled back. With their opponent grounded, victory was that much easier, especially since the large-evil-beast didn't have any front legs to attack.
Even though fire wouldn't do much to the evil-Grimm-dragon, some evil-beast-Grimm before had at least shown a fear of Nalia's inferno. Cerise, burn an arena. The red dragon complied, and burned a large circle around the two larger dragons. It would at least keep other evil-beast-Grimm away. Now stay back and let me handle this.
Are you sure? You're injured, and that thing's much larger than you.
Have you learned nothing? Size doesn't mean anything in a fight unless you know how to use it. Nalia took a step forward and ignored the pain that the limb caused. If I fall, you will be able to kill it.
Black blood dripped off the evil-Grimm-dragon's neck. It splashed harmlessly on the ground. Instead of staying blood though, each drop formed into evil-beast-Grimm. Each one stood in front of the large-evil-beast as if defending it. Nalia snarled. If you want to help right now, keep the rest of the Grimm off us.
Nalia roared and charged. She closed the distance in seconds, running through the defending evil-beast-Grimm, and body slammed the evil-Grimm-dragon's neck. The blow knocked the large-evil-beast back slightly, but it stood its ground. It snapped at Nalia's neck with its oversized jaws, but even on the ground, Nalia was still too fast.
Then one of the evil-Grimm-dragon's legs snapped out and connected with Nalia's side. Luckily her wing wasn't in the kicks path, or every bone in it would have shattered. As it was, Nalia was thrown to the side and almost rolled into the ring of fire. She felt even more bones break and for a few seconds she couldn't breathe.
Nalia slowly stood up and faced her opponent. The evil-Grimm-dragon growled at the green dragon, and several small-evil-beasts approached. She knew now she couldn't beat the evil-Grimm-dragon on her own. Just as she was about to call Cerise for support though, she felt something build up inside her. A new power, not unlike what Aaron felt right before he unlocked his energy-and-shield-Aura. Just like her partner-of-her-heart-and-mind, Nalia dug deep into herself and grasped it.
Instantly, Nalia felt a wave of energy course through her. A green glow appeared around her snout. She snarled confidently and glared at her opponent. Maybe she wouldn't need long-tailed-Cerise' help after all.
Nalia lunged at the evil-Grimm-dragon. While it prepared for a head on attack, Nalia veered left and clamped her jaws around the large-evil-beast's right wing. She snapped her head to the side, and with some help from her claws, she tore the wing right out of its socket.
The evil-Grimm-dragon roared in pain. It quickly snapped its jaws at Nalia, but not fast enough to catch a Quickwing. Even on her injured legs, Nalia ran circles around the large-evil-beast using her new energy. She ignored the small-evil-beasts, leaving them for Cerise to kill.
Nalia jumped at the largest of the large-evil-beast's right eyes and clawed at the largest of the three. The attack landed, and it tore away most of the unnatural-evil-red-eye. Now missing a primary eye, the evil-Grimm-dragon flailed around, using its tail as a club. A few strikes almost hit Nalia as she prepared for her final attack. However, the tail did manage to kill most other small-evil-beasts.
In a flash, Nalia pounced on the evil-Grimm-dragon's neck and bit down. She dug her claws into its flesh and started to pull it apart. The large-evil-beast tried to through Nalia off, but the dragon wasn't letting go. When she felt like she made a large enough hole, Nalia reeled her head back slightly and released an inferno into the wound.
Once again, the evil-Grimm-dragon roared in pain. A few seconds into the blaze, Nalia noticed her flame burning out of the destroyed eye. The large-evil-beast flailed around and tried using its legs to scratch Nalia off. The dragon took all the hits, her new see-through-Aura-shield taking most of the damage.
After an unbearably long time, evil-Grimm-dragon's resistance lost strength as Nalia kept her blaze strong as well as her digging. Something gave way in the large-evil-beast's neck and Nalia nearly pulled its head clean off.
Nalia closed her mouth and stepped away from her nearly-headless-kill. She raised her head and roared into the sky, releasing as much flame as she could. That was a victory that would be sung about for years to come.
Then Nalia collapsed to the ground and panted heavily. As the two-legs would say, her 'adrenaline rush' was wearing off, and she could feel her exhaustion and all her pain. Hopefully her partner-of-her-heart-and-mind would be able to do something about it.
The downed dragon looked around the circle of fire at the remaining evil-beast-Grimm. Instead of rushing Nalia, they turned away when her eyes fell on them. They all jumped through the fire, though it would have killed the smaller ones.
Cerise landed hard and rushed to Nalia's side. Can you walk?
Yes, but only that. Nalia moved a leg and winced at the pain it brought. When the battle is over, send Aaron for me.
Cerise blinked. Are you telling me to leave you here?
Yes. You can still fight. I can't, and I'll just be a liability if I return now. Nalia snarled. Go, before I decide to put you through advanced agility training early.
Of course. Just as Cerise was about to take off, her head snapped to the right. She growled. She's close.
Who? Nalia brought her head slightly off the ground.
The one who tortured my Gem at the flying-building. Cerise took off and angled south.
Nalia lay her head back on the ground. She hoped Ruby would forgive her dragon for what she was about to do.
Emerald ran through the Emerald Forest, trying to get to the Bullhead she recently stole from the White Fang. Things had gone south in dramatic fashion. If only the Nevermores could have killed those pests when they were handed to them on a silver platter. She felt lucky that she got away from the people in the Colosseum that 'rescued' her, otherwise she might be in Atlas' custody. They wouldn't be able to do much if Cinder decided to punish Emerald.
Sure, Penny still 'died' and started this whole thing, but it was nowhere as dramatic as it should have been. Cinder was already furious when Yang didn't act as expected when Emerald was supposed to make the bimbo see Mercury attack. While she was narrowly able to make the cyborg see the Nevermores and cause another spike of fear and hate in the Colosseum, Cinder's wrath would be severe after the delayed act in the last match.
Still, that came nowhere close to the fury she felt from that dragon. Emerald shivered at the memory. She thought Adam was the angriest person on Remnant. He had nothing on the pure hatred that assaulted her head after she made the cyborg see the Nevermores. If she didn't leave now, she'd be killed for sure. Whatever Cinder had in mind for her had to be more pleasant than that dragon.
A loud roar filtered through the trees, and Emerald froze in place. That wasn't a Grimm. She stood still, hoping the dragon wouldn't see her. A lance of pain in her head dashed any hope she had. She started sprinting through the trees. The Bullhead was her only hope.
Eventually, the transport came into view. There were no Grimm around the Bullhead, leaving an open line to the cockpit.
Then the red dragon slammed down onto the roof, crippling the Bullhead. It snarled at Emerald, its pupils nothing more than slits. Emerald whipped out her weapons and started firing at the beast, but all the Dust rounds just bounced off its scales, or rather right in front of them. Too soon, she heard both her weapons click. She was out of ammo, and there was no way she could reload without that dragon being on top of her.
Emerald activated her Semblance and made the dragon see Emerald running away, or tried to anyway. Like with the bimbo and cyborg, there was something preventing her from doing exactly what she wanted. What she could access though, felt like no Faunus of human that she tried to mess with. She had no idea if it worked at all.
The dragon snarled. Your tricks won't work on me, mind-manipulator. While she sort of figured the dragons could talk, that was her first time experiencing it herself. The beast stalked off the ruined Bullhead. I could let you off for stealing Vert's egg because he hatched for Velvet. But you made it possible for Mercury to give Yang a concussion, you tried to make Pyrrha kill Penny, it growled low and loud, you tortured my Rider. I can't forgive any of those.
Emerald turned around and ran. The ground shook beneath her, and suddenly she found herself facedown on the ground, with a massive weight on her back. She felt hot breath on the back of her neck. The only reason you're still alive is because Ruby wouldn't want me to kill you. So here's what you're going to do instead. You are going to turn yourself in to Atlas, Vale, or whoever's in charge when this is all over. You are going to explain your involvement in all of this. You are going to tell them what you did to Yang and Ruby. Emerald felt the pressure on her back increase, then scales and teeth pressed against the back of her head and neck. If you try to leave Vale before you do so, I will know, and I will kill you.
The weight disappeared. At the same time, there was a gust of wind. Emerald slowly looked back, and saw that the dragon was gone. She slowly stood up and reloaded her weapons. She was scared enough to attract hordes of Grimm, and this time Cinder wasn't there to protect her.
Emerald looked to the ruined Bullhead. There was no way she was going to that heap of metal flying again, and there was no way she could outrun a dragon. Either she could go back to Vale and most likely face Cinder's wrath, or run and almost certainly be killed slowly by that dragon.
Seeing the obvious choice, Emerald ran back the way she came. There was always the chance that Atlas might be able to protect her from Cinder.
At the moment, the amount of Grimm surrounding Ruby was minimal. For whatever reason, the tide of Grimm slowed in the past few minutes. She plowed through what Grimm there were and headed for the docks. Most of her team was there, along with dozens of others. It would be nice to see a friendly face after Halcyon left her to find Yang.
Ruby cut down a Beowolf and looked around. For the time being, that was the last Grimm in the area. She folded up Crescent Rose and ran normally to the docks. Eventually they came into view. A lot of people loaded onto all sorts of transports from airbuses to Atlas transports that survived the android uprising.
Up ahead Weiss turned around and her eyes lit up slightly. "Ruby!" she called.
Ruby ran up to and hugged her partner. "It's so good to see you." She tried to keep the tremble out of her voice, but wasn't completely successful. Recent events were still fresh in her mind.
Weiss gently pushed Ruby away. "Ruby, where have you-"
"I got stuck behind a lot of Grimm when Halcyon flew to get Yang." Ruby looked around, even though she didn't feel her sister's mind anywhere near there. "Where are they anyway?"
Weiss didn't say anything. Instead, she looked over at Blake. Ruby took in a sharp breath when she saw a bloody bandage wrapped around Blake's midsection. "They're flying to Patch," the Faunus explained. "Yang took a pretty hard hit and couldn't really fight." She paused. "She might have actually saved my life."
Ruby rushed to Blake's side and knelt down by her injury. "Why hasn't anything been done about this?" She started whispering in the Ancient Language to heal the injury.
"Aaron wasn't around when I got here." Blake sighed in relief when Ruby pulled her hand away.
"And Velvet's kind of…well…" Weiss trailed off. Ruby looked over to where Vert lay and her breath caught in her throat. Vert's right wing was bent at several unnatural angles with bits of bone sticking out at places. No blood poured out at the moment, but it could have been much worse earlier. Velvet had her arms around her dragon's neck, almost the entire front of her body stained red.
Ruby stood up and looked toward the forest. "Cerise said Nalia went down out there. I take it Aaron's checking on her?"
"From what I've heard, yeah," another voice said from the side. Ruby turned to it and saw Sun walking over. "Look, they're going to be okay. Atlas has their one ship back and I haven't seen that Grimm dragon in a while. Still, there's too many Grimm for us to take out. Reinforcements are coming, but right now the people in charge want us out of here."
"But Pyrrha and Jaune are still missing!" Nora said. Ruby looked to her and Ren, both of them looked like they had a tough battle. Ren's weapons didn't even have their points.
"The Grimm are still swarming!" Sun insisted. "Most of us are injured, and we won't be able to last in a long term engagement. There's no problem with tactical retreats."
Ren shakily stood up. "We're not leaving." He didn't even unbend his knees before he collapsed.
Ruby looked back toward the school and stretched her mind out. She didn't notice those two earlier while searching with her team, but then again she wasn't looking for them in particular. Both their minds had an odd feeling to them, something Ruby hadn't seen in either of them before. "I found them. They're near the base of the tower, and…wait… Jaune's flying?" Ruby looked at where she felt the other team leader's mind and saw a rocket locker flying through the sky toward the city.
"So, he just left Pyrrha alone?" Weiss asked while glaring at the rocket locker.
"There's more to it than that…" Ruby and Weiss locked eyes. "You with me?"
Weiss nodded. "Of course." She turned to Ren and Nora. "Find Jaune and figure out why he left like that. We'll bring Pyrrha back." She started running toward the center of Beacon with Ruby right on her heels.
The partners proceeded to the central courtyard without meeting a single Grimm, though a few White Fang grunts took potshots at them. Ruby took care of each of them with one carefully placed Dust round.
Weiss' scroll rang at when the pair reached the base of the tower. She quickly took it out. "It's Jaune!" She hit the talk button. "Where are you?" she demanded.
"Weiss! Please you have to stop her!" Jaune pleaded on the other side. Ruby and Weiss exchanged glances. Neither of them expected that response.
"What?"
"Pyrrha! She's going after that woman, at the top of the tower! She doesn't stand a chance!" Ruby looked up and stretched her mind out in that direction. Pyrrha was up there…along with a dark shielded mind. The same one that Ruby felt on the night of the dance.
"Jaune, what are you talking about?" Weiss asked, oblivious to what Ruby just found. "Where are you?"
"Don't worry about me! Please...You have to save Pyrrha." Jaune sounded like he cried out the last few words.
Weiss hesitated. "We will. Are you okay?" Jaune screamed over the scroll, and that was followed by a cracking sound. "Jaune? Jaune!" Weiss sighed and put her scroll away.
"Cerise, I could really use a lift right now," Ruby called with her voice and mind.
I'm still a minute out, Cerise responded, and that's if the flock of Nevermores I'm staring at don't attack me.
Ruby gritted her teeth. "We might not have that long."
"What's going on up there?" Weiss asked.
"Pyrrha's fighting the person I did on the night of the dance. Judging by the strength of their Auras, Pyrrha's losing." Ruby ran into the base of the tower and looked at the elevators. The only one that went as high as Pyrrha was completely missing. The doors were open and the elevator shaft could be seen through them.
"Looks like we're doing this the hard way." Weiss stuck her head into the shaft, then immediately jumped back. Seconds later, the elevator car rushed passed faster than an elevator ever should. Another few seconds later, it crashed at the bottom.
"You okay, Weiss?" Ruby helped her partner off the ground.
"I'll manage." Weiss brushed herself off.
Ruby looked back up. "Pyrrha needs help now. Wait for Cerise, I have to go up."
"Okay, just take care of yourself up there." Weiss turned around and ran out of the tower.
Ruby folded Crescent Rose into its rifle mode. She took a deep breath and jumped into the elevator shaft. "Adur." Her slight downward motion stopped and she slowly crept upward. It took her way too long to reach the top. Pyrrha needed help, and she needed it yesterday.
Faint light came in through an open door only a few feet above her. Ruby prepared to shoot whoever it was attacking Pyrrha. Hopefully she had the element of surprise. She rose to the same level as Ozpin's office. Pyrrha was on her knees, with her assailant aiming a bow and arrow at her chest.
Without really thinking, Ruby fired off a quick shot. It shattered the bow and arrow, most likely saving Pyrrha's life. Ruby placed her feet on the back of the elevator shaft and kicked off. She shot forward and used her weapon as a club to knock the woman off her feet.
As soon as she came to a stop, Ruby fully extended Crescent Rose and looked at her opponent. Cinder, one of Emerald and Mercury's other teammates, stood by the remains of Ozpin's desk. If two members of that team had evil intentions, why shouldn't their leader?
"You're not hurting anyone else, Cinder!" Ruby took several more shots at her opponent, but she blocked them all with a hand.
Cinder's eyes glowed and fire formed in her hands. "You don't have a choice in the matter." She thrust her arms forward and fire launched at Ruby. The Rider had to use her Semblance to dodge the attack, and keep using it to avoid all the following attacks. She took care to stay away from Pyrrha so she wouldn't be incinerated.
After making a full circle of the office, Ruby rushed Cinder and took a massive, bionic boosted swing at her. Cinder caught Crescent Rose on the blade and sung the scythe and wielder around her. Ruby flew into one of the few concrete pillars surrounding the office, missing flying off the tower by inches.
Ruby sprung back up and glared at the now flying Cinder. Cerise, I could use some backup! Where are you and Weiss?
I got held up by those Nevermores I mentioned earlier, Cerise replied, and Weiss is fighting a few well trained White Fang soldiers at the bottom of the tower. You can take my energy, but otherwise you're on your own.
Not entirely. Several large broken gears floated behind Cinder. They flew forward and hit Cinder in the back. The woman was forced to the ground and Ruby rushed forward to attack. This time she actually managed a few hits before she was thrown away. She landed on her feet and stood in place to catch her breath.
Then Ruby remembered something Aaron taught her before the tournament. He said it could be useful if she ever needed to run into a burning building, or the early days Cerise could breathe fire. Now though, it could turn the tide of battle. "Skölir nosu fra brisingr!" Shield us from fire. She felt a small drain in her energy as the ward formed around Pyrrha and her.
Cinder launched a stream of fire at Ruby, and the Rider didn't move out of the way. Instead of hitting her though, the blaze parted in a sphere around her. She could still feel the heat, but she didn't burn. Ruby activated her Semblance and ran through the inferno. Using the cover of the flames, she managed to hit Cinder into the concrete wall at the back of Ozpin's office.
Ruby felt the drain in her energy, but a stream from Cerise brought her back to full strength. "You're not the only with a few tricks up their sleeves!" Gears and other pieces of metal flew past Ruby and buried Cinder against the wall. Pyrrha may have been down, but definitely not out.
In a burst of fire, all the metal flew away from Cinder. Ruby put herself between Pyrrha and the flying metal to protect her friend. Cinder stood by the wall, the smirk she wore earlier gone. She waved a hand in front of her and two short swords formed out of glass. Ruby dropped into a defensive stance.
Cinder launched forward, using her fire to propel herself. Ruby caught the first strike on her scythe, but she was forced backward from the impact. Cinder pulled back and launched a series of strikes that Ruby had a hard time keeping up with. The Rider was forced to backpedal to stay ahead of the attacks launched at her.
Then Crescent Rose was ripped out of Ruby's hands. Cinder somehow got enough leverage to tear the weapon away. Now weaponless, Ruby had to catch strikes on her bionic limbs. Even though Yang helped in the matter, Ruby was no close combat fighter. Cinder continuously got past Ruby's guard and hit her all over. The Rider couldn't land a punch or on Cinder to save her life, which was exactly what was going on.
After a vicious swing, Ruby was thrown across the office and almost slid into the open elevator shaft. Her Aura was practically gone and she hurt all over from where Cinder hit her. She slowly pushed herself up, until an arrow actually embedded itself in her right shoulder. She screamed and fell back down. Ruby! Cerise yelled. I'm coming!
Ruby looked up at Cinder. She stalked over to Pyrrha, her swords now joined at the hilts to form a bow. "Now to finish what I started," she growled.
Ruby raised her left hand to cast a spell to knock Cinder back. Before she could open her mouth though, the light in the room got noticeably brighter. A strong wind suddenly blew through the office, despite most of the windows remaining intact. Cinder faced the wind, then was blown back into one of the concrete pillars between windows. "What?!" she shouted over the wind.
Only then did Ruby notice the drain on her energy. Wait…I'm doing this?... Just like the Nevermore base…But I can control it. Realizing this, Ruby increased the amount of energy she put into the wind. She pulled energy from her dragon to sustain it and get it blowing harder. The temperature dropped in the room and frost formed along the wind's path.
Ruby slowly stood up, never taking her eyes off Cinder. She rolled her right shoulder, despite the pain that it caused. At least she still had use of it. The Rider advanced on her opponent. She stretched her right arm out toward Crescent Rose, hoping Pyrrha would get the memo. Seconds later, a familiar grip found its way into Ruby's bionic hand.
"You're not hurting anyone anymore!" Ruby ran forward and swung her scythe one handed. She ended up standing at the very edge of the tower. Crescent Rose met a little resistance, then it hit concrete. Ruby pulled her weapon back to strike Cinder again, but she wasn't where Ruby expected.
She looked back into the room and saw her opponent lying on the floor. A streak of red spread across the floor behind Cinder.
Ruby's breath caught in her throat and the extra light in the room faded. She looked at the blade of her weapon and her legs weakened. The blade was not supposed to be red, or dripping. Ruby looked back at Cinder and saw a tear in the back of her dress that was oozing.
The Rider stood in place, not sure what she should do. On one hand, Cinder was a bad person. The memory Ruby took from Mercury's mind showed that Cinder was in charge of everything that happened that day. She essentially ordered the deaths of who knew how many people. Then again…Ruby wasn't judge, jury, or executioner. She was too young to kill anyone.
Her mind made up, Ruby dropped Crescent Rose and ran to Cinder's side. Before she could get close though, Cinder created a large ball of fire around her. While it didn't burn Ruby thanks to her wards, it pushed her back. The fire lasted for a long time, and Ruby was too weak to push through it this time. A burst of flame spouted out toward Pyrrha and looked like it may have had impact even through the ward. "Pyrrha!" Ruby shouted. At the moment, she couldn't get over to her friend. Whatever was in Cinder's fire was too strong.
When the flames died down, Ruby looked at where Cinder lay. The woman was perfectly still, her chest wasn't even moving. Ruby hesitantly stretched her mind out to Cinder…and felt nothing.
Ruby took a step back. She couldn't breathe. I…I…she shook her head. She still had work to do. "Pyrrha!" She ran to her friend's side and fell to her knees. The warrior pushed herself off the floor. "Pyrrha, what happened?"
"We were down in the vault." Pyrrha's pain was present in her voice. "Cinder attacked. There was nothing we could do. Ozpin's still down there."
"What?" Ruby looked toward the elevator shaft. How could Cinder beat Ozpin? He had to be one of the greatest Huntsmen on the planet.
"Ruby, are you-"
"I'm fine Pyrrha," Ruby cut her friend off. "I can take care it. But first where were you hit?"
"…My heel, but that's not what I meant. Ruby, you're-"
"A killer?" Ruby took a sharp breath in at her own words. She saw Pyrrha's horrified expression right before she focused completely on the injured heel. It had an entry and exit wound, signifying that the arrow head traveled all the way through. Cerise leant her energy as Ruby worked, helping the process go faster.
As she worked though, Ruby noticed a few changes in Pyrrha. For one, her Aura had recovered almost completely. Her injured foot said that at some point her Aura was completely gone. The bigger thing was the fact that Pyrrha's mind was now shielded. Aaron only said that he'd help Weiss and Blake do that, not anyone from JNPR. All Ruby got from Pyrrha's mind was an image of a woman she didn't know. Also, Pyrrha's mind wasn't shielded a few minutes ago when Ruby first touched it. If it wasn't shielded then, why now?
Questions for another time. Ruby pulled her hand away from Pyrrha's heel and held it above her right shoulder. A few minutes later that hole was healed. "Cerise, we need a medevac up here," Ruby said with her mind as well as out loud to clue in Pyrrha.
I'm coming Ruby. Cerise responded immediately. Any place you have in mind.
"Take Pyrrha to the rest of her team." Ruby stood up and retrieved Crescent Rose from the floor. "I'm going after Ozpin."
Cerise forced more of herself into Ruby's head. No. You're coming with me. I'm not leaving you alone again.
Ruby whispered a few words in the Ancient Language and all the blood dropped off her weapon. Pyrrha's not in the best shape, even though I did all I could to fix her heel.
Neither are you! Cerise voice was almost pleading. I'll get Pyrrha to the docks, then the two of us can fly back to Patch together.
Great. We'll do that as soon as I get Ozpin.
Gem, your head isn't in the right place! Please come with me.
Ruby had to suppress a shudder. It will be in an even worse place if I don't stay active.
Which is why I need to be with you when it happens! Ruby! don't jump down there!
I'll see you after I get Ozpin. Ruby jumped into the elevator shaft, and she heard Cerise roar behind her. She didn't see what the problem was. It wasn't like she was going to be fighting anyone, or be surrounded by the Never…
Ruby slammed her scythe into the wall of the elevator shaft. Metal screeched and sparks flew, but she slowed down as she neared the crumpled elevator car. She dropped on top of it and stepped into what Pyrrha called a vault. She was pretty far underground, but apparently not enough to entirely block her connection to Cerise.
The Vault might have looked impressive at one point. Right now though, stone and concrete rubble piled high in the center of the large room. Ruby stretched her mind out in the chaos and searched for her headmaster. She found him almost right away, but he was very faint. "Ozpin?" she called, hoping to get an answer. None came.
Ruby ran to the rubble pile and climbed to the top of it. Halfway up, she found Ozpin's cane sticking out of the rocks. She yanked it free and continued up. Once she reached the spot directly above where she felt Ozpin's mind, she jabbed Crescent Rose under a piece of concrete and started to clear the rubble. It was slow work for her already aching muscles, but it kept her head busy.
A few minutes in, she heard something land on metal behind her. Ruby turned to face it, weapon at the ready. She relaxed when she saw who it was. "Uncle Qrow, could you give me a hand here?"
Qrow hesitated, then ran to the rubble. "What are you doing down here, kid?" he asked as he wedged his own scythe under a piece of rubble.
"Looking for Ozpin. He's a few feet under where I'm standing." Ruby removed the piece of rubble that she was working on before.
"I saw your partner upstairs." Ruby paused in her work and looked at her uncle. "She looked exhausted and has a few new scars to accompany her eye, but she's okay."
Ruby nodded and got back to work. "I don't know what you have against her sister, but Weiss is nice once you get to know her. She's much better than she was at the beginning of the year."
"Do I want to know what she was like back then?"
"Let's just say me and Yang infected her." Ruby removed a large piece of concrete and wedged her scythe under another. "I think this one's it. Could you give me a hand here?" Qrow stuck his scythe right next to Ruby's and they both pulled back. Their combined strength removed the stone quickly, giving them a view of Ozpin.
He could very easily have been in worse shape. A few strips of dried blood coated his face, but the cuts that leaked them had since healed. His glasses were nowhere to be seen. He was unconscious, but relatively unharmed.
Ruby jumped into the small hole and hooked her arms through Ozpin's. She pulled, but the man didn't move. She looked over his body to see where the obstruction was. "His legs are pinned. Could you help me with this?"
Qrow wrapped his hands over the piece of concrete and Ruby pressed her back against it. She pushed and he pulled. A few seconds later the slab tilted and fell out of the way. With the rubble cleared, Ruby pulled Ozpin out of the pile. She handed the headmaster off to her uncle. "Now to get back to the surface…"
"I know another way up," Qrow said with Ozpin over his shoulder. He walked off toward the elevator, though at a slight angle.
"So do I." Ruby jogged to the elevator shaft and stood on the wrecked elevator car. Cerise, I need your energy again.
Take what you need, Cerise huffed, irritation mixing with her concern. Just get back up here quickly.
"Ruby," Qrow called from inside the Vault. "Last I checked, that elevator was out of commission. Unless you can fly, we're not getting up that way with any kind of speed."
Ruby turned back to her uncle and put on a light smirk. "Adur." Her feet left the floor and she hovered about a foot off the crumpled metal. "I can get us all up there in under a minute." She cut the flow of energy and touched back down.
"Something from your dragon, I take it?" Qrow quickly joined Ruby on the mangled elevator car.
"Yeah, I just hope Ozpin doesn't wake up while we're going up." Ruby looked to the top of the tower and pulled energy from Cerise. "Adur." All three people slowly rose through the elevator shaft. Ruby expected the energy drain to be significant with the added weight, but not at the rate it flowed out of Cerise and her. Still, it got the three Huntsmen out of the vault quicker than stairs would have been.
Ruby started to cut the energy flow as they reached the ground floor. "Ganga fram." The three people moved forward out of the elevator. The Rider completely but the flow of energy and collapsed to the floor. Ozpin's cane rolled out of her hand.
"Ruby!" Weiss voice called. Ruby looked up to see her teammate. Weiss gently helped her partner off the ground. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, just a little exhausted." Ruby looked Weiss over to see if what her uncle said was true. Sure enough, there were a few thin lines of blood on her arms and face. "Weiss you're hurt. I can-"
"You've done enough," Weiss interrupted. She threw one of Ruby's arms over her shoulder. "Cerise told me what you did in Ozpin's office. She asked me to freeze the shaft to stop you from going down there, but you were too fast."
Ruby's head sunk. "She tell you everything?"
"Yes." Weiss' voice turned more soothing. "I'm not even going to pretend to know what that's like for you. You've done enough, and you need your rest. I promised Cerise I'd get you to her by any means necessary."
"This is enough." Ruby turned her head back toward the elevator shaft and saw Ozpin stirring at the base of a wall. Qrow was right there, his scroll in hand. Ruby faced back forward and the ground.
The mission was over. Everything Ruby heard said they were winning. Her part was done. No more fighting Grimm, no more White Fang...no more Nevermores...no more people she could… "No more…No more…"
If Weiss said anything else during the walk, Ruby didn't hear it. Her head swam with memories of the past few hours, and none of them were any good. Seeing the Nevermores, Penny dying, killing Cinder…This was a level nine Grimm attack. Who knew how many people didn't make it in the city?
Suddenly she stopped walking and the shoulders supporting her left arm disappeared. After a few seconds of no movement, a single large, red eye moved into Ruby's line of sight. Gem? Cerise said.
"Just…just take me home," Ruby whispered. Cerise blinked once and lightly hummed. Her eye disappeared and was replaced by one of her paws. It gently wrapped around Ruby's waist. The Rider was moved next to her dragon's belly. Seconds later, she felt the wind from takeoff.
Ruby slowly moved her arms to wrap around Cerise' belly as far as they would go. I should have listened to you Cerise. She started to sob, her emotions finally catching up with her memories. I should have gone with you and Pyrrha.
My Gem, Cerise hummed, you did what you thought was best. Either way, we'd be in the same situation we are now.
I…I killed…
You killed no one. Even with your limited medical knowledge, you would have been able to save her. I was in Cinder's head in her last seconds. She didn't want to be saved, so she used what energy she had left to keep you away.
But I still hurt her so she could die. Why did I do that? What was I thinking?
You were eliminating a threat. Some take a little more pressure than others. No one will blame you for what you did.
No one but me…
Talk to Yang when you both have clear heads. I believe she's found some ways to grow from this, or at least she's looking for some.
Ruby tightened her grip on her dragon and Cerise gently returned the favor. The past two days…it's been too much.
I know. It's been hard on all of us. I believe there's a saying here, 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.'
Or paralyzed…and that really the best thing to say right now.
Sorry. Cerise paused. Is there anything I can do for you while we're up here?
Don't let me fall…and how about some music? Almost immediately, Cerise started humming. It still felt weird being so close to her dragon while she was doing that, but it felt right at the same time. Cerise 'sang' a lot of Ruby's favorites during the flight, well, those that weren't normally head bangers anyway. She couldn't hum at that speed and fly at the same time.
Eventually, Ruby was jarred in Cerise' paw. She looked behind herself and saw ground only a few feet away. As Cerise turned her right side up, Ruby saw her home, untouched by all the chaos in Vale.
Her dad burst out the front door, gauntleted hands raised. He slowly lowered them when Ruby and he locked eyes. Cerise released her Rider, and Ruby ran toward her dad at full non-Semblance speed. She ran into her dad and immediately wrapped her arms around him. Neither of them said anything for a time, they just held onto each other.
Taiyang broke the silence. "Ruby, what happened over there?"
"Everything. The Nevermores, White Fang, Penny, and…" Ruby tightened her grip on her dad.
"Hey, it's okay. It's over. The CCT signal is sketchy, but it's sounding like the Grimm and White Fang are retreating. No one's going to hurt you here."
"I know…But I can't get all that out of my head…"
"It's hard, but you'll get through it. A good night's sleep and-"
"If I sleep I'll see it all again!" Ruby buried her face in her dad's shoulder.
"None of that's real though. You aren't alone here. I'm here, Yang's here, Qrow's coming here, and it sounds like the rest of your team will be here." Her dad pulled away but kept his hands on Ruby's shoulders. "If you need anything tonight, anything at all, don't be afraid to wake me up."
Ruby nodded and turned back to Cerise. Surprisingly, Weiss was standing by the dragon's side. She was in the saddle while I carried you. Cerise gently shook her back. Halcyon passed us on the way here on his way to pick up Blake. We'll have to make a few more trips if JNPR and CFVY want to get out of the city, if they can't find other transport that is.
Okay. Ruby waved her partner over. Weiss slowly approached Ruby. "Well, since you're the first here, you get first pick on the guest bed or a couch."
"What makes you think I'd take a couch?" Weiss only sounded half annoyed.
"Last week we all slept with stone under our bedrolls. We're not exactly the most picky people when it comes to that anymore. Plus, some of our couches are really comfy."
Weiss sighed. "You have a point." Ruby led her partner into the house, while trying to keep her mind off anything that happened that day. Her dad held the door open for the two girls.
"You might want to take off your shoes," Ruby suggested as she did the same. "Dad doesn't like people tracking dirt into the house."
"Him?" Weiss looked back at the front door, which Taiyang hadn't come through yet. "He hardly seems like a clean freak."
"It's more along the lines of this was my mom's house first, and apparently she didn't like having to clean up all the dirt. It messed up her hood..." Ruby shook her head then looked into the living room. "So, you've got your choice of anything in here or the one guest bedroom."
"You have any suggestions?" Weiss asked, her eyes half lidded.
Ruby pointed at one of the chairs. "I'll unintentionally fallen asleep in that recliner several times."
"Good enough for me." Weiss walked over to the suggested chair and dropped into it. She held down one of the inside buttons and the chair automatically reclined. The heiress looked like she was out cold before the process finished.
Ruby walked through her house and quietly entered Yang and her shared room. Yang lay on her bed in her combat clothes. One of her gauntlets sat on her dresser, the other on the floor next to it. Ruby put the weapon in its proper place, then did the same with her own on her dresser.
The Rider lay down on her bed and latched onto Cerise' mind and gently reached out to Yang's. She was going to need all the help she'd get if she was actually going to sleep that night.
Yes! Kevin's dead, Cinder's dead, Pyrrha's alive but has to deal with the fact she killed Penny, and Ruby is in shock from everything that's happened. Despite those first two things, not a lot of good happened here.
