CHAPTER 29
Hijacking !
It was a light that woke Summer. She felt groggy, and her ears were ringing. She half-opened her eyes slowly and gasped in surprise !
She lay on the floor, in a corridor covered with flames! It was their glow that woke Summer. Like a bubble that burst, her hearing came back and the roar of the fire alarms riped her eardrums !
In this hell, she shook herself to chase the glowing debris that sizzled on her skin and clothes. After long seconds to catch her breath, she eventually gathered enough strength to get up using a wall as support. Her arms and legs were bruised and she had a strange ferrous taste in her mouth. She wiped her lips and found blood on her hand.
She took a hard step forward and nearly fell. Her ears were beginning to identify other noises between two siren howls. Detonations, gunfire, punctuated by cries...
There was a fight aboard the Airship.
This revelation gave her the will to stay awake. She had to find her friends, defend the Four...
A violent explosion shook the ship. Summer flew away, her back banged against the wall that had been her support and she curled up in a ball, dizzy with pain.
How did she end up like that ?
Twenty minutes ago...
Summer's precipitous steps echoed through the corridors of the Airship. She passed by soldiers who were still unaware of the threat ahead. She ran wildly, stopping for nothing, no one ! With one hand she connected to the bridge and joined the captain.
— Miss Rose? What can I do for...?
— Captain ! Did you ever notice anything strange outside ?
— No. Nothing on our radar, but it is too archaic to spot anything anyway. We have to rely on those more sophisticated of the Bullheads to...
— Are you sure ?" cut off Summer, rushing through a corridor that led to an outside deck.
— There is a look-out that has spotted a flash among the clouds but...
— Could it be an explosion ?" she worried, opening the hatch as fast as she could with her other hand.
Guessing the Huntress's panic without understanding why, the captain first tried to reassure her. Maybe she was just afraid of heights ?
— Don't worry, this is one of our Bullheads. At last news, he engaged the fight with a Nevermore. These flashes are the reflection of his shots on the clouds, that's all.
— A Nevermore ?
Finally leaving the bowels of the ship, Summer stopped in front of a guardrail, circumspect.
— Something wrong, Miss Rose ?
— Captain, are you sure it's a Nevermore?
Troubled by the question of the Huntress, the captain consulted on a computer the history of incidents during the last ten months.
— Well, two cargo ships disappeared in this area about two weeks ago. We have concluded the culprit was either a Sea Feilong or a Nevermore. That's why the Council of Vale was keen to arm the ship and sent Bullheads for protection...
— Something is wrong...
Summer had faced enough of Grimms to know the behavior of each species. And the Nervermore were among the most common she could find in Vale.
— You don't believe it's a Grimm ?
— Nevermores do not attack over the seas. Their mass does not allow them to fly long ; they need to land quite often...
According to this knowledge alone, Summer rejected the Council's reasoning. But she must not forget the existence of Salem. If she controlled the Grimms, she could order them actions contradictory to their usual behavior... The Four were on board, it was more than enough to motivate her to attack !
.
Remained too long lost in her thought, Summer did not pay attention to a shadow that took advantage of her back turned to rush silently inside the Airship...
.
— Captain ? Bring back the aircraft, I have a... "A trusted person" pointed out a danger in the area. The formation should be strengthened rather than dispersed.
The captain snapped his fingers twice to the radio operator.
— Heard, Miss Rose. We are trying to contact the Bullhead.
She waited, sending a message to the rest of the STRQ Team to join her. When the captain answered, she knew the answer to the long silence he put before speaking.
— We cannot reach Trespasser. Maybe they cut their radio...
The captain tried to give logical explanations to avoid causing panic, but both knew that this silence was unlikely for the military.
— Give the alert, captain.
In ordinary times, the captain would not have paid attention to the unfounded suspicions of a passenger, but in this particular case, the nervousness of the Huntress was contagious...
— Aye, aye.
Both hung up. At the same time, Taiyang and Raven came to her, quickly followed by Qrow.
— I think Salem is attacking us," she explained calmly.
Her three friends assimilated the information without flinching. They just took their weapons in their hands, looking serious but quiet as if the fight was inevitable henceforth.
It struck Summer to see how much they had changed since their last mission. They no longer had the same relationship with danger. Before Mountain Glenn, they approached the fight with humor and excitement. This attitude had disappeared now. In a sense, they had come back... aged, wiser. No need to exchange great words to know everything about what was waiting for them. As their leader, her words alone were enough.
Perhaps this was one of the first steps for them to become students of the Four ? Maybe Ozpin had already noticed this change in them ?
Her reflections were interrupted by the authoritarian voice of an officer through the speakers.
— Warning ! Warning ! All hands to battle stations ! I repeat : to battle stations ! This is not an drill ! Trespasser is down !
A siren rang three long times as the soldiers took their respective turrets. Within seconds, each part of the Transporter was defended by at least one turret and four 40mm quick-fire guns.
— If it's a Grimm, it'll have no chance," Raven said confidently.
Summer did not have that same insurance. Although reluctant to demotivate her friends, she ends up expressing her doubts :
— That's what worries me... Do you think a single Grimm could trouble the Man in Black ?
The Man in Black had not designated a specific threat, but she refused to believe that an isolated Grimm could be enough to trigger a warning from that being. The weight of his words still resonated in her head...
Taking a step back in the situation, Taiyang had a flash of lucidity.
— Doesn't it remind you Mountain Glenn ? Scharnhorst had sabotaged the defenses from within. Maybe Salem also has an agent on board ?
A silence…
The betrayal of Scharnhorst was still alive in their memory, of course ... The more Summer turned and returned the facts in her head, the more she failed to managed to understand what could have pushed the commander to betray his homeland. What had Salem done to rally this exemplary man to her cause ? He was supposed to be a hero, just like them !
And that was how he died with his men after the broadcast of the distress message according to the official version... "The world must not lose faith in its heroes," said Ozpin, and Summer had since asked herself how many false heroes had been glorified to conceal the existence of Salem ?
— What now ? What are we doing ?" Raven asked her.
— What the Man in Black said : we're getting ready ... Taiyang and I are going to check the bridge and the machinery of the ship. Qrow, Raven, watch the outside.
All nodded and dispersed.
The female assassin would have thanked the Huntress for forgetting to close the door if it did not risk ruining her infiltration ! Now that she had access to the interior of the ship, she could begin her research. She walked silently inside the Airship like a feline. All dressed in black, it would have been impossible for an ordinary person to see her pass between the shadows of two neon tubes. However, despite her ease in the dark, the assassin sought an opening in the ventilation ducts above her head. Even for someone of her level, it was impossible to take the corridors for too long : too many cameras and potential obstacles on the way. She preferred the company of shadows and the narrowness of ventilation ducts to large spaces.
A retired thief had taught her to always use ventilation systems. It was the best pass that could exist for those agile enough to sneak in. Every part of a ship needed a regular supply of fresh air, so she could move everywhere without fear of being seen !
Her research eventually led her to what she was looking for : a grille covering an air vent. Still in silence, she hoisted herself up with the force of her arms and kicked down the gate. She was lucky, the gate was badly screwed. The first blow was enough to dislodge the plate and make it fall. She grabbed it between her legs and crept into the opening. She repositioned the gate behind her and allowed herself a moment of thought.
There.
She was now free to go wherever she wanted.
The conduit was dark and cramped, but she didn't care. She opened her yellow eyes wide and they began to glow green, a phenomenon peculiar to her people. Thanks to this ability, she was now able to see the bottom of the duct as in broad daylight. She started to crawl, indifferent to her elbows and knees that the metal scraped.
Darkness and crawling were good occasions to meditate, even to rehash some memories of the past.
She let herself remember her first encounter with the Four...
It was almost ten years ago, during the Faunus Rights Revolution. She was barely eighteen at the time, an age when she was no longer a child but not yet an adult. Yet all she remembered was the reflection of her dead eyes in the pools of stagnant water...
The Revolution had turned to lynchings and human rejections of the Faunus, and now the last forces of the Revolution had gathered near Fort Castle, long abandoned. They were victims of the cold, illnesses and trapped. General Lagune's army vanguard guarded all possible escape routes while waiting for the bulk of the troop to arrive to destroy their camp.
Let the Faunus lose and they would be forever considered as second-class citizens, cut off from the world in their Menagerie… But how can we win?
There was crying around her but she was no longer paying attention. She had joined the Revolution, convinced that the merits of this uprising would change the customs of Humans. What would she have said if she had seen herself two years later, lost among the roaming tents with rotting fabrics from the constant and exhausting rain ? The time for hope was lost.
As she languished in the rain, a man approached her and…
.
The woman smiled, sighing with happiness at the idea of being (at least she hoped) soon to return home in her husband's arms.
She emerged from the narrow tunnel in one of the Airship's main ventilation ducts. She was able to get up and did not stop from a perhaps undeserved stretch. Her ears swiveled, searching for a special sound. Only the hum of the air conditioning machine came to her ears.
Knowing her target's preferences, she knew it had to be deep inside the ship. As isolated as possible from any noise, any disturbance. Calm and rest were rare and precious commodities for it. Recalling the ventilation system plan for this class of vessel, she ventured without hesitation through the various junctions. In this labyrinth, she was without rival. Her keen senses were more effective than radars; scents of smell, inaudible sounds for men, and more particularly the terror which seized her guts directed her with surgical precision towards her target...
Let it not be him... She would give a lot - and by a lot, she meant A LOT - so that it would not be a Man in Black...
.
Her instincts warned her in advance that she was on the good track. She was now in a new narrow duct and no sound was heard in front of her. As if even the artificial components of the ship were holding their breath near a predator. This silence comforted her "almost", at least she was certain now that her information was good.
Too bad her hopes are disappointed, however...
She closed her eyes and suppressed an instinctive shiver. She started to crawl again until her ears caught the bits of a conversation in front of her.
— … You don't help them ?
She crawled further forward and knew that she had succeeded in recognizing this unique voice in the world :
— We do not meddle in human conflicts. This fight is theirs... And yours, too.
— Our fight ?" repeated a third irritated voice.
She continued her crawling and observed the room below her by a ventilation grille... And held her breath !
The Four were there. All of them !
The four greatest heroes of Remnant were all gathered before her eyes ! She was speechless for a long time, amazed at this meeting ! She had expected only one of the Four, or even two, but that they would all be present...!
— Is it not the purpose of the existence of the army ? Have you not made a vow to protect the Kingdoms and Humans ?" declared the Woman in White, addressing a maimed Atlas officer.
— I remember that this oath was reserved for Atlas and its inhabitants," James corrected with a cold smile.
— If that was really your thought, you would never have come to Mountain Glenn.
She seemed to have scored a point to the wounded man.
— It could change, you know ? People change in this kind of situation.
This time, the Man in White replied. Surprising James and the female assassin with his almost warm words.
— People change when they make mistakes, it's not your case.
— ... I guess that's the best compliment I can get from you," said Ironwood after a long time.
While they continued their discussion, the assassin began to unscrew the ventilation grille, slowly and silently. Almost naturally, her eyes fell on Raptoria, sitting on her lap as if to pray. She frowned, suspicious. The last time she saw the Woman in White sit like that was during the Battle of Fort Castle...
— Are you praying ? asked Ironwood.
This made the woman smile, who refuted politely with a shake of her head.
— No, but ... Pray and hope are not different in the end. We all really want the same thing…
— Meaning ?
— Act on time.
— Ah ~!
Sélénée looked up, suddenly plunging her eyes into those of the assassin with her mischievous smile. Taken by surprise, the woman backed up, losing herself in the abyss of this look ! How long she had been spotted was a mystery, but more so was the advice she gave to the two soldiers, but also to the woman.
— Hang on tight, it's going to get rough.
Her warning barely announced, a violent shock shook the ship and the lights went out, plunging its occupants into darkness !
Fenix Altar, the pilote of the Battler followed the Airship closely. He glanced at his radar screen almost every minute. What had brought down Trespasser must still be lurking in the area. But how could this thing appear on the radar earlier and disappear now. This thing guessed what was a radar and its range or what ?! It wasn't right. This kind of situation was more like air combat like during military maneuvers than a confrontation with a Grimm…
— Airship, here Battler. Authorization to speak ?
— Go on.
— We'd better go back and try the trip again with a reinforced escort. I am not able to cover you effectively alone.
— I send the request back to the major.
The contact was cut off.
"Yeah, right ... As if he was going to listen to me" the pilot thought bitterly.
He finished his round behind the Transporter when he noticed a problem with the thrusters. There were four contrails when the ship had only three engines.
— Hey ? No worries about the engines ? Looks like something's wrong with the engine exhaust.
— One moment, I check... Uh ... Negative Battler, everything is in order according to the engineers.
— Copy that.
If engineering hadn't reported anything specific, that meant either there was a problem they didn't know about, or...
It was this second possibility which motivated the pilot to unlock all his weapons, in disregard of the regulations which prohibited it so close to an allied ship.
A compartment opened under the Bullhead's nose, revealing two heavy machine guns. The pilot was ready to unleash their firepower if his suspicions were proven based...
His aircraft began to descend under the Airship, his finger on the trigger...
.
At the same time, Summer entered the bridge. Non-commissioned officers came and went at a run, gun in hand, almost hustling her as they gave orders over the radio. Her first impression was good.
The tension was palpable, to say the least.
If the radio operator's station overflowed with radio transmissions, the rest of the bridge was plunged into dead silence. The helmsmen kept a professional silence. Only the captain and the major responsible for the soldiers conversed gravely, indicating positions on a digital map. Surrounded by his staff, the major coordinated the defense and distribution of soldiers in each sector of the ship. He wore a serious air when he analyzed the geography of the place. Summer recognized Vale's familiar coast as she approached.
— Captain.
— Miss Rose ? You arrive at the right time !
He invited her to come closer and the major greeted her with a nod.
— You were at Mountain Glenn, I was told. Perfect.
— "Perfect" ?
— You got a taste of the battlefield," the officer developed." This is not the case for many Huntsmen.
He cleared his throat before continuing :
— As you wanted, the ship is on high alert. So ? Do you have any idea of what's outside ?
Summer shook her head.
— No. One of the people we are accompanying has identified a threat...
— What kind?
— He didn't tell me...
Summer herself recognized that this lack of detail did not help to lend credibility to her words. The major sighed :
— Damnit ! How can I establish an organized defense if I don't know what I'm fighting against ?
— Believe me, I'm not trying to waste your time. But this man has more combat experience than you and I combined. So we should trust his intuition…!
Summer bit her tongue realizing that she had spoken too quickly! The major blinked as if he had heard an insult through her words.
— His "intuition"? You're joking, right ? Miss Rose, I act on concrete evidence. Just…! You're a Huntress for the love of the Gods ! Would you act this way if one of your teammates simply had a intuition ?
His tirade was interrupted by the rhythmic noise of a machine gun outside ! The radio retransmitted the panicked voice of Battler !
— AIRSHIP ! They are below you ! Get out! Get out !
Leaving Summer behind, the major rushed to the radio desk.
— Repeat, Battler ! What's going on down ?
— Ooh shiiit !
The connection was cut abruptly. Right after, the ground began to tremble under their feet...
The first thing Fenix saw was the aircraft. Despite its dark color and its heavy modifications, the pilot immediately recognized it by its unique engine between the wings. It was a Vector, an old model that had been completely outdone by the new Bullheads. He was naive for a moment wondering what could such an antiquity do here ?
The shuttle was three-quarters turned away from the Battler, giving the pilot time to analyze the situation. He could see strings from the Vector stretching up to the two inactive ventral turrets. Damn, he was even able to see flashes of gunfire through the portholes !
A goddamn hijacking !
Fenix crushed the trigger with both hands while yelling his warning to the ship ! The continuous deflagration of the guns deafens him despite his helmet ! He felts like in a video game ! A continuous stream of orange light connected the Bullhead to the hostile aircraft ! The cannons hammered hundreds of rounds of the enemy shuttle. Its heavy protective plates flew away, cut like a blowtorch ! Panic-stricken, the Vector's pilot swerved to the side to avoid the bullets and exposed his side. A beginner's mistake ! Presenting its entire length facilitated the chances of being hit ! Fenix aimed for the cockpit when at the same time the side door of the cabin opened. A man introduced himself, but he was too far for the pilot to discern his face, however, he perfectly recognized the rocket launcher he was carrying ! When the hijacker raised his gun and fired, the pilot of the Battler only had a few seconds to avoid getting down !
— Ooh shiiit !" he swore, forgetting that he was still online.
The pirate fired.
A single time.
Gritting his teeth, Fenix threw his Bullhead to the side at the risk of losing the control of his aircraft ! This maneuver saved his life. When the rocket flew next to the Battler without detonating, he couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief ... quickly replaced by a desire to fight ! This guy wanted to play with him ? Very well, challenge accepted ! He changed the target and aimed his cannons at the man. Far from panicking, the latter raised his index finger to Fenix, pushing the audacity to the point of signaling him to bring it on !
This guy has some balls !" recognized the pilot as he prepared to shoot.
But he was mistaken about the nature of his gesture. It was not provocation, but an indication.
Behind the Battler, the rocket made a sudden change of direction. Its ailerons on the left lowered and those on the right rose. As if animated by a life of its own, the rocket turned around towards the Bullhead, like a shark attracted by the smell of blood.
Fenix did not see this change of course. He did not see the light of the rocket rushing on him at full speed. It was barely if he perceived a strange noise behind him, and attributed it to the malfunction of one of his engines.
.
The explosion tore the entire rear of the Bullhead apart. Its right wing was torn to pieces by shrapnel ; the engine exploded, taking with it the rest of the wing ; shards ripped the nose of the aircraft. Unbalanced by the sudden loss of its lift, the Bullhead descended into a deadly spin, leaving its occupant only a few seconds to eject before crashing into the sea.
Summer, like the major and the captain, heard the explosion of the second Bullhead. Just as they heard the radio soon saturated with panicked voices :
— Enemy fire ! Battler is hit !
— No kidding ?! Where did it come from ?
— Can someone tell me what's going on down there ?!
— I can't contact the gunners !
— Hey ! At nine ! I see something !
— Oh shit ! INCOMING !
A terrifying rumble was heard. Summer turned her head and saw an agonizing gleam looming on the horizon. Can't say what it was but she couldn't hold back a chill. The rumble increased from second to second as the luminous object run at incalculable speed on the Airship.
— For the love of…! It's a goddamn rocket !" whispered the major, frozen in horror.
Everyone on the bridge understood that nothing could stop the warhead. As they backed away from the inevitable, Summer remained motionless, calmer than she would have thought in such a situation. A strange feeling drove all fear from her heart. In silence, she fixed her silver eyes on the rocket swooping down on her and, without blinking, saw it split in two, divided in the middle by the blade of a red katana.
The two parts of the rocket passed on each side of the bridge and fell into the void while Raven was landing on the glass of the bridge in front of the disbelief of almost everyone ! Summer nodded gratefully to her friend who, after giving it back, disappeared into a portal.
.
— Tss!" let out of the mysterious individual, disappointed that he didn't hit his target.
But he didn't care about the immediate failure, he landed on the roof of the ship with a new target in mind. Between him and the bridge was the Airship's only dorsal turret. Seeing the gunners maneuvering the cannons toward him, he leaped into the air and raised his imposing war hammer. A mechanism activated and the mass split in two, a rocket charged it and the ignition of the engine accelerated the attacker's half-crescent movement. He knocked down his hammer and the detonation of the rocket added to the carnage of the shock. The protective metal of the turret was ripped open, and the flames burned the trapped occupants.
At least that's what he expected...
A thick layer of ice protected the soldiers from the fire. By following the thin thread of frost that fed this surprising Semblance, the executioner could go up to the bridge from where he could see a red-haired woman with her hands on the glass. Ice... A Schnee ? No, no white hair. A bastard, maybe ? Was this girl the VIP that the ship was carrying ?
— This ends now, pal. Don't try to move, I won't miss you at this range.
He felt the tip of a sword on the back of his neck. But the sting didn't deprive him of his ears... If his memory wasn't playing tricks on him...
.
Raven teleported to her brother, who was holding the assailant at gunpoint. He was a colossus that outshone his brother by one head. She didn't like tall people, which reminded her of her father... He wore a heavy leather coat that was too loose for most people, but it was almost tight on him. There were a lot of alterations and improvised pockets sewn without the concern of the visual, if not that of the purely utilitarian purpose. This guy had been in a lot of fights... Qrow secured his grip on the hilt of his sword even more.
— You're good, Qrow ?" asked his sister, arming her katana with a new blade.
— Like clockwork," he assured before adding to his prisoner" : No luck for you, you picked the wrong ship. Now, put down your weapon. And don't waste time wondering if you'll have time to attack me. Where I come from, speed is key.
— Oh ? REAllY ? I WOUld hAve SAId sOmeTHINg ELse.
The pirate's response was surprising. Qrow and Raven squinted at the sound of his voice. It was broken, between gravelly and barely audible breath. Something really unpleasant to the ears... But where did he get this assurance about their origin ?
— Turn around," Raven ordered." Slowly.
The massive pirate obeys. Arms outstretched but still holding his hammer, he presented his face to them. The left half had been burned, his eye was fixed and blind, and the outline of his throat showed the badly healed scar of a deep cut.
But the other was relatively unharmed... and recognizable. The years had changed him, and not frankly for the better. He had an early beard, a crooked nose, and a scar on his right eyebrow, but he was the only person they knew who wore the same dirty, torn purple headband at all times.
— The FAMILY. Isn't THAT the MOst imPOrTANt THINg fOR the TrIbe, COUsINs?
The Branwen twins remained silent for a long time. Raven sheathed in first and finally replied :
— Yeah... It's been a long time, Shykra...
She stepped forward confidently, unaware that behind her Qrow was trembling, terrified of the consequences this meeting might have on his relationship with his sister !
At the very bottom of the Airship, eighteen men completed their infiltration aboard the ventral turrets. All around them lay soldiers. The artillerymen who had been unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time... Armed with guns and edged weapons, they silently set out to finish off the wounded. It was even easier than killing chickens. The neutralized soldiers were all lying on the ground, unable to oppose their execution. But the result was, to say the least, disconcerting…
No matter how hard they tried to strike, choke or slit their victims' throats, an astonishing halo of light protected them like an impenetrable veil. It was the first time they had ever observed such a Semblance !
They didn't have time to find out who the owner was. Unable to guess the magic at work by Raptoria, they gave up. Time was running out !
None of the soldiers were in any shape to move or attack them, so they left them to their fate.
They silently climbed the steps leading to the engineering. The plan was simple : after seizing the ship's propulsion, they would have plenty of time to loot important equipment and kidnap important passengers for ransom later.
The first pirate to reach the airlock drew his gun. He did not check whether the hammer was cocked or the magazine in place, his gun was part of his body.
He wasn't worried about how the mechanics would react. Other than tools like wrenches, they were helpless. One shot in the air would be enough to convince them to obey, and if not, one less would not hamper their operation... So he overconfidently entered without waiting for his allies...
This was his first error.
He arrived among the bewildered mechanics and fired into the air, shouting orders that had been said over and over again in previous raids :
— Nobody move ! The first one who tries to play the hero gets one, it's understood !?
He grabbed the nearest man and pushed the barrel of his gun under his chin.
— I'm not kidding ! If something goes fishy, he's dead !
His hostage obediently spread his hands. The pirate didn't pay attention to his leather shoulder pad or his strange golden gloves, atypical for a guy supposedly always with his hands in oil and dirt.
It was a monumental mistake...
The other pirates heard a thud inside engineering, like a shotgun blast.
The second hijacker to enter was thrown against the opposite wall, hit by a projectile that sounded like the first hijacker, unconscious, with his belly covered in smoke.
— Ah, sorry!" excused a young man with blond hair, blocking the way to the engine room." It's been a long time since I've used these gauntlets, I can hardly control my blows with them. Well, then...
Taiyang banged his fists together with an amused smile.
— Sorry in advance if I break you a rib or two !
Far from being impressed by Huntsman's arrogance, the pirates pointed their guns at him.
— You're gonna to regret runnin' into the Tribe !
.
The leader of the group smiled cruelly when he saw the blond man react as expected : he widened his eyes and became pale and speechless. The other criminals giggled at the sight of his stunned look. Did this idiot finally understand how much trouble he had gotten himself into ? The name of the Tribe alone was enough to make even the strongest of them shiver ! Everyone knew what happened to those who resisted the Tribe in Anima, so here in the middle of the ocean, without close help ? Oooh, it was like playing with food at that level ! Still, this guy's gear looked really good... Shykra will be very happy to add these gloves to his collection. At worst, there was nothing to say that he should be given such gear...
As the leader rubbed his hands in advance, the Huntsman took up a fighting position, the gauntlets armed and locked ! The amazement was returned to the members of the Tribe. What part of the "TRI-BE" didn't this jerk understand ?!
— You have a screw loose or what ?! You think you can take down the best among the Tribe ?!
Taiyang shrugged his shoulders and said, confidently :
— The best ? I see them every day !
And without further ado, he threw himself at his enemies !
Shykra and Raven remained silent for a long time, sizing each other up, spying on each other, determining whether this family member was a threat or not. That's the way it was with the Branwens...
— I didn't know you had also trained with Huntsman," Raven finally said.
— YOUR fAther's ORdERs. HE sent ME TO VAcUo If YOU hAppened to sCREw UP in VAle. I had TO lEAve at the end of a yEAR, but I had alrEAdY masTERed the essENce.
Then he added with a cold smile, pointing to his devastated face:
— HunstmEN DON't lIKe bEINg tAKEN fOR sucKERs.
— I guess it wasn't easy. But as your cousin, I'm asking you to leave this ship alone. It's crucial to our training.
— SUre…
Raven relaxed. Unlike Qrow.
— Once I KILL yOU traitORs !
To Raven's surprise, Shykra swung his huge hammer and aimed it at his cousin's head ! Qrow was faster. In one bound, he made his blade describe a curve which, if it missed the head of the colossus, forced him to change his target ! The blow Qrow received would have been enough to kill an ordinary man, fortunately for the Huntsman, his Aura absorbed the shock ! He was propelled into the air, triggered the pistol lodged in the hilt of his sword and shot his cousin who, also master of the Aura, endured Dust's bullets like mosquito bites !
— Qrow ! What's going on?" Summer asked from the bridge.
— No now !
He narrowly missed the next hammer blow under Raven's shocked eyes. She had not yet reacted, not disturbed by her cousin's aggression but devastated by his words...
She and Qrow...
Traitors ?
— Impossible..., she murmured, unable to realize that the fight before her was real.
The sparks of metal squealing against metal shone before her eyes like a thousand shooting stars, the echo of the shocks vibrated in her ear canals like the wave against the shallows. She could see, hear, but her brain, numb with emotion, could not help her make a decision...
CLANG
Shykra and Qrow were both thrown back after another head-on collision. Shykra was covered in cuts but all minor, while Qrow was visibly unharmed but covered in sweat.
No need to hide the evidence : the Huntsman was in trouble.
The first hammer blow had greatly weakened his Aura, and Shykra was in so little danger that he didn't even try to use his Aura to defend himself. Did he really leave Shade Academy after a year ?!
— YOU softened wIth the HunstmEN. BEfore yOU wOUld AIM fOR the head, now, yOU AIM mY tendONs. ME, I've KEpt mY pUrItY.
— Yeah yeah...
He was a hell of a challenge Qrow was facing up, but he wasn't worried about the outcome of the fight. His cousin was nothing compared to Sélénée... and even less compared to the Man in Black ! He didn't have that inner strength that terrified and suffocated anyone they pointed at as a target. The training with the Woman in Black was going to be more grueling than anything he had ever endured before, so he might as well warm up with Shykra !
His cousin tapped his hammer with one hand, two fingers pointing to the sky. Qrow took a deep breath, feeding his mind overloaded with information and questioning. Most important was his cousin's Semblance...
When he and Raven had left the Tribe, Shykra was just an "ordinary" boy among the other ones of the Tribe : a budding young killer, certainly, but without Huntsmen's abilities. What Semblance had he discovered in Vacuo ?
— REAllY... Softened," added his cousin, frowning more harshly." WhEre a wEAK lIKE yOU dId fINd the strENgth TO bEtray us ?
Without waiting for an answer, he lowered his two fingers and a shiver ran down Qrow's body. His instincts screamed danger but he saw nothing !
Enemy reinforcements ? No, nothing in sight. More rockets ? Impossible, he would have heard them coming. However, he swore he could hear a slight hissing sound...
No matter what his cousin was up to, Qrow wasn't going to give him time to put his plan into action !
— Summer ! NOW !
Shykra felt a shiver on his back and instinctively parry the ice stalactite thrown behind him ! Fearlessly throwing herself off the bridge, Summer threw about twenty of these same ice spikes at the Tribe member. Unsurprisingly, Shykra destroyed them one by one. But that was precisely what the Huntress wanted ! The more the ice disintegrated into water at the feet of the colossus, the more a puddle formed. Not wanting his cousin to suspect anything, Qrow threw himself into the fray, his Semblance in action !
Bad luck favoured the "traitor" : the water impregnated on the hammer shaft made it slip out of the hands of its carrier ! This time, Shykra seemed surprised to lose control of his favourite weapon in the middle of the fight !
This moment of inattention was what Summer was waiting for to put her technique into action! As the Tribe member found himself in the middle of the now large puddle, Summer laid her hand on it and the water froze at a supernatural speed ! In an instant, it was on Shykra with a hardness comparable to steel ! It was only a matter of seconds before the fight was over ! Summer drew a satisfied smile !
— He's all yours, Qrow!" she said.
— Thank you !
Qrow attacked Shykra head-on and turned his sword so as to stun her with the flat of his blade! When he will try to dodge the blow, his feet, trapped in the ice, will hold him in place and there...!
.
— I'm a HunstmAN, REmemBER ?" Shykra declared, unimpressed by his impending defeat.
Just when the ice was about to take hold of Shykra, he jumped up into the air, much higher than his stature would suggest ! He avoided the ice trap, his cousin's sword, and grabbed his weapon in flight. He fired a new rocket into his bazooka hammer and with his amplified speed smashed through ice and metal, turning the water into a fleeting mist that enveloped Qrow and himself.
Summer was stunned by the colossus' unexpected reaction and hesitated to join Qrow in the fog. It may have been a trap, or they both risked getting in the way with the limited visibility. She heard the reverberations of multiple blows inside... metal against metal, metal beating metal... Only luck could tell who would come out the winner...
But it wasn't a matter of luck... not when one side was Qrow Branwen...
A scream came and Summer saw him leap out of the mist with a hand covered in blood on his neck !
— Qrow ! You're okay ?
— Yeah, I'm fine. Watch him !
The fog had lifted. Shykra was still there, in the middle of the battlefield as expected of a leader. He proudly raised a powerful finger to the sky, hammering backwards like a rock star, but the comparison ended there.
— MY tURn, nOw.
The warrior of the Tribe flicked his index finger down on them like an implacable judgment, and the fine hissing that Summer and Qrow perceived became a terrible howl ! Tearing off from each side of the ship, they saw the two severed parts of the rocket moving as if they were still united !
They climbed high into the sky before diving ferociously towards the Airship. One part aimed at the bridge and the other at the roof. More precisely, their position! If Skykra was indeed the pilot of those warheads, he must have been even crazier than he let on !
Summer and Qrow looked at each other. There was no time for words, barely enough for a nod from the Huntress. Qrow understood, with a heavy heart. Tacitly, they took on their own task.
Summer jumped up in the air while Qrow jumped back. Releasing their Aura, the two Huntsmen separated in a flash ! Qrow seize Raven in his arms and both jumped into the void while Summer, propelled by her Maiden powers, reached the bridge seconds before the rocket. She rushed to the front of the bridge and summoned her powers for help.
She applied her hands to the metal walls and the entire superstructure of the Airship was covered with a thick layer of ice. The effort was prodigious, but Summer persisted ! She had to compact the ice as much as possible before the shock !
A noble attempt which proved useless…
.
The first thing Summer felt was the air forced out of her lungs by an unspeakable force. A wind as strong as a giant's hand ripped her from the ship as a light blinded her as if the sun was rising in front of the Huntress, then came an intense heat that enveloped her as she disappeared into the molten monster that had become the Airship...
PS :Really sorry, dear readers. Usually, I try to release the English version of the story no later than two weeks after the French original, but it's been a month now ! XD
Also, I would like to thank you all for forgiving my spelling mistakes (feel free to leave a comment to correct me, and also give me your opinion on the chapter ;))
Finally, I would also like to thank JenniferRodriguez21 and undeadone1 for following this fanfic. I don't get much feedback but it's a proof that I don't translate for nothing ! ^^
I now return to the writing of the next chapter and wish you all the best for this year 2020!