Edge of Life
Chapter Forty Four
Beta: Smithrooks
Reunion
Rain was pouring down, violent streaks of water that tore through the school alongside gale force winds. Ozpin stared out the window in his office; grey light filtered in past the rain from the sun that was doubtlessly still shining behind the wild storm clouds.
The ancient man sipped his coffee slowly; he could feel the auras of all those that resided within his school. The young, pure souls floating around their dorm rooms in the late afternoon, the four utterly distraught spirits that were currently ascending the elevator to his office; three of which he knew to be the female members of RSYB and the fourth being… an artificial black that seemed to burn away any light aside from the single pure glimmer hidden so deeply.
And… he could feel Cinder. Something had happened, her power had grown tremendously; her aura now dwarfing any other being on the planet. It was only a matter of time now before she would come, and she would no doubt kill him.
The elevator door opened and out poured the girls, all of them looking greatly worse for wear. Ozpin's eyes glided over the children before him, something had happened. They had been missing this afternoon; perhaps they knew why Cinder was currently moving towards Beacon at an extremely alarming rate.
"Professor!" Ruby yelled as soon as she dashed up to him, "Solus! And-and the Queen! Cinder!" her words were coming out as babbles, but Ozpin had enough experience with children to know what she meant.
"Calm yourself miss Rose," he said smoothly despite the disquiet his old spirit felt. "Cinder is on her way here." She and the others gasped, their eyes widening. "There is little that can be done now I fear, but nevertheless we shall prepare Beacons defences; If Ashlynn is seeking a battle, she shall find one."
Even as Ozpin moved towards his desk so he could alert the school of the impending danger, he regarded the fourth aura that was not a student. He knew who she was, younger and no doubt a result of the witch's machinations; the Red Lady. The foul feeling of her aura was the product of the self-proclaimed 'Queen', but he wasn't particularly concerned; if Cinder had planned to use her as some sort of pre-emptive strike then that had failed. The clone's aura was mired by darkness, but right in the very heart there was a shard of light. Of love.
Gently the elder headmaster pressed the button for the school wide intercom, a small click indicating the entire school could now hear him. "Attention all residents of Beacon Academy," his voice echoed, the aura of every student and teacher listening. "Within a few minutes, our school will come under attack from an extremely powerful enemy."
The hundred plus auras of the students and professors flickered in shock, any dregs of their fatigue from the day forgotten. "This school has stood as a beacon of hope for centuries; thousands of hunters have passed through these hallowed halls. The enemy seeks to lay waste to this, to eradicate that which she no longer understands… but if we fight, if we stand united against this darkness, then the light will prevail."
"I call unto you residents of Beacon; man the battlestations, defend our school."
He could feel the roar of approval throughout the young and old souls within the school, hundreds of people rushing to equip themselves and prepare for the battle ahead. Slowly, he turned to the girls that still stood on the other side of his office. "Well girls… I suggest you go to your required posts."
The three RSYB girls didn't move; instead the young raven haired girl stepped forwards, her pale lavender eyes downcast. "Ozpin." He didn't miss the venom that accompanied her saying his name. "We don't have much hope of winning this, she's too powerful."
Ozpin didn't reply to her immediately, instead he gestured for the other girls to leave. Yang and Blake left quickly without much fuss, but Ruby lingered for just a few moments, her silver eyes darting between Ozpin and the clone rapidly, but eventually she relented and left the room.
"And what do you propose?" Ozpin asked the remaining girl, his cane held before him firmly. "That we just lay down and accept our fate? That we just roll over and die? I daresay that's a plan that would be poorly received by all within the school."
The small girl began pacing, her young dark aura pulsing gently as it regenerated from previous use. "No… we could just run. Leave this place."
"To what end? She will follow me to the ends of Remnant, nothing I hold dear is safe from that woman. When she is done with me she will turn her gaze to the rest of the kingdom, she may be defeated eventually… but by then it will be far too late."
Everything in the room shook for a second, a small shudder caused by the emotions of the young clone. "But… surely there must be a way to stop her! Some way to appease her! Anything!"
Despite knowing who the girl was cloned from Ozpin felt a small pulse of pity for the girl, so consumed by her fear and hatred… so similar to Solus. "Calm yourself little one, there is always hope," he said smoothly; her pacing slowed at his calming words. "I know who you are, and I don't begrudge you for the choices of those before you." She looked at him, her pale lavender eyes conveying little emotion beyond acceptance.
"If you know who I am then you will try to kill me." The words came out in absolute monotone, complete certainty behind the statement.
The far older human sighed, his spirit feeling weary after years of seeing the young suffer. He would not allow it to happen any more than was possible. "No my Lady, I will not. Your presence here tells me all I need to know about your allegiances, whatever sins you committed were washed away in death." He paused, the words quickly formulating in his mind. "As long as you don't seek to harm any students you may leave this place, but if you wish to stay and lend your might to our coming struggle against Cinder then I would be a fool to turn you away."
The clone was silent, her eyes locked onto the aged headmaster. Finally, a slight bob of her head; Ozpin nodded grimly.
It was time to go to battle.
Rain poured down, what little light was left was fading as the sun settled behind the horizon. The walls of Beacon were raised; students and teachers alike stood guard, their gaze hard and strong in preparation for any kind of attack. Not a word was said, the only sound was the thunderous hail of the rain.
Ozpin stood atop the gates, the courtyard behind him and the landing pads for the Bullheads on the other side of the collapsible wall.
Minutes were spent waiting in dead silence, only a mounting feeling of unnatural fear and pressure alerting the watchful defenders that danger was coming their way.
Finally after what felt like hours but was really little more than a minute or two, a thunderous crash was heard. The metal walls shook in their foundations, each defender that could moving to a position from which they could see what caused the noise.
Standing before the gate and by extension Ozpin, was Cinder Fall. The ancient woman stood tall and completely dry despite the gushing rain, heat and power radiating off her in huge waves; the vast majority of those that laid their eyes on her felt a sudden urge to run and hide from the obvious predator.
"Ozpin!" the name boomed like thunder from her lips, making the vast majority of the defenders flinch. "You know why I'm here!"
The headmaster nodded solemnly, then he spoke into a small metal device that amplified his calm voice. "If I go with you… will you leave this place? Will you harm anyone within this kingdom?"
The heat radiating from her seemed to grow even fiercer, her eyes blazing with fury. "I will take what is rightfully mine! All that you took from me and more!"
Ozpin seemed to slump for a brief moment, but quickly his posture straightened and gaze became like iron. "I did what I had to do Ashlynn, were you in my position you would have done the same."
"NO!" she howled in fury, the ground beneath her beginning to burn in sync with her mounting rage. "I would rather have died a thousand times over than abandon them! They meant more to me than all of Remnant!" her fists were shaking, flames coming out of her hands in sporadic bursts. "I had thought you would have felt the same about your own children but you left all of us to die!"
"For the greater good of us all," the man replied weakly, his eyes hard but still glistening with small tears. "Please Ashlynn, it doesn't have to be this way. You don't have to do this!"
"I will do what I must, old man."
Ozpin sighed, death loomed ever closer. The pale, fake aura of hundreds of clones slowly sprouted across Vale; his heart hardened, he would have use all his power to fight her… he could only hope that would be enough.
"Everyone!" he yelled, his voice amplified across all the students and teachers. "To Vale at once! Her army attacks there!"
Cinder said nothing, did nothing as a thunderous roar of outrage burst forth from the much younger hunters.
All of them quickly poured into the Emerald Forest; the only land path into the city.
Ozpin dully noted that the Red Lady and the female members of RSYB had stayed, far enough away to stay out of the fight but still close enough to watch. So be it.
"You think you're the only master of Dust Ashlynn?" the wizened headmaster called out as he gathered his strength, feeling the aches and pains of age fade away under the influence of his rising power. "You thought you could just come here and kill me? Destroy Vale? Well think again!"
His cane glowed with pure power as Ozpin swung it violently at his enemy. Three huge chunks of the metal wall tore off and rocketed towards the woman at speeds similar to missiles, but were melted into slag as soon as they came even remotely close to her.
Feeling the heat rising in his blood, Ozpin roared. "YOU THINK THAT YOU ARE THE ONLY MASTER OF FLAME?" a massive jet of fire shot forwards towards the witch.
She sneered, and with a simple gesture the flames parted.
Her sneer deepened when she swung her feet around, a massive wave of fire shooting out in every direction. The wall that Ozpin had been standing on melted almost instantly, but he had already moved. A moment before it was too late, he hurled a molten chunk of metal towards Cinder.
She dodged long before the attack came near her, leaping into the air with flames to sustain her flight. Her right hand shot outwards and a massive gust of flame shot forth, but the aged headmaster swiped outwards with both his hands and the flames parted, barely.
Another gust of flame, he barely had time to defend himself. The stream of fire shot forwards and only in the nick of time did he manage to shoot a powerful gust of wind forwards to block the flame. But the strength was almost too much, the aged headmaster flew backwards and into the sodden courtyard.
Cinder's attack continued; she spun in mid-air and a huge vertical line of fire whipped downwards to where Ozpin was.
Despite the gushing rain that made his clothes sodden, Ozpin moved with the speed of a man a century younger; his glowing cane lashed out above him and the burning attack dissipated. Another violent swing of his cane, and a massive chunk of stone from the ground shot towards Ashlynn.
She dodged nimbly with little to no effort, sending another gust of fire at her most hated enemy.
But Ozpin dodged yet again, completely avoiding the violent attack from the woman. This time as he dodged he swiped his cane smoothly through the pounding rain, demanding that it obey him.
The water snapped to his command and in an instant a massive burst of icy water was sent in Cinder's direction. She dodged it but he was unrelenting, again and again he whipped his cane and huge waves of ice and water soared towards her.
But it all evaporated moments before it came near her, the heat exuding from her body far too great for the liquid to come close. Soon she grew bored and sent another stream of powerful flames towards him; the aged headmaster flipped backwards and forced the stones of the courtyard upwards as he did so, blocking another jet of flame.
They were very close to the inner rings of the school, large decorative pillars that had massive rails atop them so they almost looked like a fence for the academy. But that was paid little mind as Cinder lazily sent another gust of burning fire towards him, there was little Ozpin could do since he was still halfway through dodging her previous attack.
Even as he sailed through the air the headmaster defended himself though; he swung his glowing cane before him and a gust of powerful wind blew the fire away, even as his back thumped against the stone pillar behind him.
As soon as his feet hit the ground he was moving, in an instant Ozpin swung around the decorative pillar to avoid yet another burst of fire. The heat parted over the stone into a massive V shape but the stone was melting away extremely quickly.
Supreme calm dominated his mind as Ozpin spun around and struck the pillar with his cane with all his dwindling might. What remained of the pillar rocketed towards his attacker, and for a moment he was sure his attack had made contact.
But he was wrong, faster than he could comprehend Cinder appeared to his right with a massive plume of fire heading in his direction.
He hardly had any time to react, in a desperate attempt to defend himself the elder man swung his cane outwards. The flame seared across his arm and cane as he was blasted backwards, the burning heat charred his arm but was quickly deflected to the best of his ability. His formerly pristine, if sodden suit was destroyed, the entire right side burnt away to show his wizened upper body, mostly unharmed.
He was blasted backwards and crashed into another pillar, a cry of pain escaping his lips as his spine slammed painfully against the stone.
The headmaster slumped to the ground, his aura half gone from the single blow.
But as he rose to his feet less than a second later, Cinder appeared before him and lazily sent another gust of flame to his face.
He lashed out with his cane; the flames deflected outwards, but she was relentless and sent another gust of flame towards him lazily.
Ozpin leapt backwards, away from the burning heat and back into the cool rain.
"You can't win this Ozpin!" she cried as she flicked another massive burst of fire towards the slightly older man.
He leapt to the side, swinging his cane out and sending a massive boulder towards the woman. "Please Ashlynn!" he panted, thoroughly exhausted from fighting at such a high level. "I'm sorry! I am so sorry! But we don't need to do this! They wouldn't want this!"
Another violent gust of fire was lazily swatted towards him. "They wouldn't have wanted to die either Oz!" she yelled, slipping into old habits and calling him Oz.
He swung his cane and a wall of ice formed in front of him to block the fire. "It wasn't like that! I had to do it! Either they died or we all died!"
A howl of pure rage escaped Cinder's lips, and faster than he could follow she sent another gust of flames towards him. This time she wasn't playing around however, the fires far far stronger and more powerful.
Ozpin was blasted backwards almost a hundred metres. He tumbled through dozens of walls and through the school, but almost instantly he was through the other side of the building and in the rain again.
Cinder was on him again in an instant, grasping the aged man by the throat as her burning eyes stared into his soul. "THEY WERE OUR CHILDREN OZPIN! EMERALD AND MERCURY! BOTH OF THEM! AND YOU LEFT US TO DIE!" she screamed into his face. "AND FOR WHAT? FAME?! GLORY?!"
Ozpin choked, his aura utterly depleted. "I- I'm s-sorry."
She roared in utter fury, rage clouding her mind. With unnatural strength she threw the battered man back into the school, walls collapsing under the force of her throw.
Despite the pouring rain, for the first time in what felt like decades Cinder threw her head back and laughed in triumph. Finally, finally Ozpin was dead! After 80 years she had finally delivered justice!
Joy coursed through her body; she had hardly expended any energy in killing her former husband. Utter elation speared through her senses, and she howled in laughter.
He's finally dead…
But… something felt off… what's that noise?
An incessant buzzing that seemed familiar rang out, it was quiet at first but was getting steadily louder. What the hell-
"OI BITCH! REMEMBER ME!?"
The ancient woman spun around, her eyes finding the source of the voice in an instant.
Rose was standing atop a Bullhead that was currently speeding towards where Cinder stood; right at the last moment before the aircraft smashed into the ground the time-traveller jumped off. Rose sailed through the air and fired explosive shells from the worn and faded Ember Celica on her wrists.
She landed on the ground with a thump and watched as Cinder burst out of the wreckage without a single hair displaced. "Quite the entrance you made," Cinder mocked as she stepped out of the burning wreckage and back into the heavy rain. "Too bad it's going to cost you your life."
Rose smirked. In the corner of her eyes she saw RSYB minus Solus slide up next to her, the little clone of Kira also there.
"Ashlynn Ember…" the small clone said over the pounding rain. "You made me, copied me from a dead woman that had wrought such terrible destruction… But you don't control me any longer! I will fight you for my freedom! For the freedom of all those you seek to enslave!"
The other girls nodded, despite the terrible fear they all felt.
"Pretty words…" the Queen purred. "But I made you… you were created with the express purpose of killing Subject 13. You failed in that task, and now you and your pathetic 'friends' will die."
Rose stepped forwards, in her hands she held her mother's sword; the blade gleamed in the pouring rain. "You feel it, don't you?" Rose questioned, hoping to any god that was listening that her voice didn't quiver. "The darkness that has always driven your ambitions, your hate and your determination have finally consumed you." Rose paused, feeling the aura of Vale. Innocents dying by the dozens… it had to stop. "All you feel is rage, utterly blinded by your lust for blood. You're not the strong woman you once were; you're just a by-product of your own hate, envy and rage… all destroying your own sanity." Rose paused, watching the heat emanating from the elder woman's form as her anger mounted. "Your power is like wildfire, you have no control; and like wildfire you will consume everything in your path… until it dies out."
Rose smirked. "If you kill us here tonight it won't matter, someone even stronger will rise to stop you."
Cinder shook with anger, her fury pumping through her veins. "I have lived for over 130 years! I won't die. Not now, not ever!"
No more words were spoken. The five do-gooders charged forwards as one with their weapons drawn, ready to slice the far older woman to pieces.
But it was not to be. Ashlynn's eyes flashed with burning power, and a massive explosive wave shot outwards and sent all her attackers flying backwards.
Fire poured off her body, rage seeping from her eyes as she glared at the fallen forms of the younger women. The Queen stalked over to where Rose had fallen, half crushed under rubble and stone. "What did you expect would happen? That you would come here, and in a hail of glory defeat me?"
Cinder grasped the younger woman by the throat and held her aloft; silver eyes met blazing orange, and for a moment no words were said. The two darkened souls stared at each other under the pounding rain, one far older and stained by years of suffering and loss and the other tainted by her urge to destroy all those that wronged her. "I never expected that I would win," Rose rasped, her voice weakened by the chokehold the elder woman had her in. "I'd almost forgotten what it felt like to win a fight before coming back here…"
Cinder didn't know what the younger woman was talking about, but her patience was wearing thin. "I am a Queen, a GOD!" the gorgeous woman declared. "I can't be beaten, not by you or ANYONE!"
A small, raspy chuckle slipped from Rose's lips, "Don't you feel his power?" she asked. "I may not be the one to beat you, but he certainly will be."
"He?" Cinder chuckled mirthlessly. "Who are you-"
The elder woman dropped Rose to the ground with a thump and spun around. That power… it couldn't be…?
A/N
Dun dun dun! This new power… it couldn't be… Zwei!?
Haha just kidding. But in all seriousness you guys should tell me what you think of the fight in this chapter, I wanted to show both Ozpin and Cinder in a different light.
So finally we get to the part that indirectly reveals the history of Ozpin and Cinder, married and had children back in Mountain Glenn… so Ozpin basically killed his own family. I'm interested in what you guys would have done in Ozpin's situation: would you have stayed in Mountain Glenn and let Vale burn? With the capital gone then what remained of the kingdom would have been thrown into anarchy. Or would you have done as Ozpin did? Save Vale and be hailed a hero, but in doing so you damn your family to a gruesome death.
Seriously let me know, I'm curious.
Let's take a look at the reviews:
Inkboy:
Thanks for reviewing.
Thanks man! I'm not exactly sure it could be described as 'fun' for the characters, but I know that I certainly enjoy writing it haha.
Smithrooks:
Thanks for reviewing.
I expanded on how Rose arrived because I wanted to show a different side of Weiss mostly, I know I portrayed her poorly in early chapters but I wanted to show that she grew as a person quite a bit.
Yeah, Rose's initial desire to run was a major thing for me. Ruby would never run from such a fight, whereas Rose pleaded for Solus to come with her... despite the fact that he was basically dead. As for when Rose 'fell' for Solus... well in truth she didn't really. While yes there is that lingering affection from what she remembers of Beacon the main reason she kissed him was more akin to an acknowledgement of him trying to better himself rather than a declaration of love. Given time and the right circumstances it might evolve into something like that... but we both know it won't end that way. And like you said: Emotions are confusing.
Altiar234:
Thanks for reviewing.
Thanks! I try to keep my characters interesting, but to hear that you like my Jaune better than the cannon one? You nearly made me blush haha.
Julini:
Thanks for reviewing.
Who ever said he wasn't going to get the upgrade? I said said it wouldn't help much… on its own anyway. Hint hint.
Remember to leave a review!
