Battle of Haven

"Really, aren't you going to say 'hi' to us?" Mercury asked, "Isn't that what friends do?"

"Up your's creep!" Nora shouted.

"That's more like it!" Mercury declared. RYPJ and RWN could only stare as the lackeys of those they knew had to be Salem stood before them. They weren't outnumbered or anything, but the odds still didn't necessarily seem to be in their favor.

"How long were you with them Raven?" Qrow hissed at his sister, whose glare just hardened.

"Don't get your feathers so ruffled," Cinder sneered at him, "She only came in recently, finally using her brain. As for the lion…" All eyes immediately went straight to Lionheart, who continued to hold his head in shame.

"Professor…," Ruby said softly.

"You advise the Empress," Qrow said dangerously, taking a step forward "And you know every huntsmen in the Empire."

"I…," Lionheart began.

"Granted, he could never be as useful as the Imperial Guard," Tyrian said, as he rose to stand up straight. Everyone's attentions swung to him.

"Oh yes, they're with us too," Tyrian added, as he spread his hands in dispaly, "And they proved exceptionally easy to turn. I'll admit, I sometimes feels rather ashamed knowing my fellow Faunus can be so... malleable."

"Lin…," Ruby muttered, as she realized her friend was in danger.

"You sent that team to their death!" Qrow shouted at Lionheart, who visibly flinched under the yell.

"Oh don't be so hard on them," Tyrian continued, stepping forward "I'm sure I would've found all those huntsmen on my own at some point."

"How can you do this?" Attention fell to Jaune at his words.

"You know what you're all doing is causing of the deaths of countless people," Jaune continued, "Causing all this pain to so many people, and you're doing this all with a smile on your faces. You enjoy this? What kind of people enjoy this?"

"Jaune," Ruby said softly, as the room fell silent, staring at Jaune. The silence however was broken by the sound of Tyrian laughing, as he looked very intensely at Jaune.

"Leave this one to me," he was all he said, and in a flash, he was on top of Jaune. He thrust his stinger out, which Jaune just managed to block. Cinder was quick to make her own move, as she then leapt in Pyrrha's direction, all to eager to finally get her revenge, only to be blocked by Ruby, who had Crescent Rose at the ready.

"You want to get to her, you have to go through me," Ruby declared.

"Gladly," Cinder said, narrowing her eyes, all to happy to bring down girls like Ruby. With that, she held out her hand, as a sword manifested herself in it, and the two launched at each other, their weapons clashing. Meanwhile, Emerald had tried to go help Cinder, but was being obstructed by Yang.

"I don't think so," Yang declared. Emerald just narrowed her eyes, not happy to have her mistress obstructed from her, as she fired the sickle end of Thief's Respite at Yang, who managed to knock it away. Pyrrha moved to help her partner, but found herself having to dodge a strike from Talos. She held her sword and shield at the ready, as Talos held up his clenched fists and long blades came from both his wrists.

"Finally," Talos growled, as he got ready to fight, "I've been waiting a long time to kill you."

"What are you talking about? I don't even know who you are!" Pyrrha said.

"You will," Talos answered. With that, he sprung at Pyrrha, bring down one blade, which Pyrrha just managed to parry. Weiss looked after them, before she noticed Mercury advancing on her. She sighed, as she held Myrtenaster en garde.

"Of all the thugs to fight, why'd it have to be you?" she said.

"Cause you owe me a leg, Princess," Mercury answered, as he took a fighting stance. Weiss rolled her eyes at the quip.

"I don't know why I expected anything smarter from you," she said, as she switched Myrtenaster to fire Dust.

"I would recommend you both leave now," Hazel said cooly to both Ren and Nora as the two stood before him, with their weapons drawn and at the ready.

"And leave our friends?" Nora demanded, as she tightened her grip on her hammer.

"Better to save yourselves at this point."

"That is not going to happen," Ren said, as he took a fighting stance. Hazel just took a breath, as he cracked his neck slightly.

"So be it then," he then said, as he advanced on them. During all of this, Lionheart was watching. While he didn't doubt that the children were capable. Even Qrow, who as now battling Raven as one could've expected, wouldn't have been able to take them all at once. Figuring this was as good a chance as any to get away, he turned to bolt.

"You know, he really believed in you." Lionheart's attention was drawn to Oscar, who was slowly advancing the stairs, holding Long Memory in its collapsed form in his hand.

"Young man, I highly recommend you get out of here as soon as you can," the professor said. Oscar didn't say anything, as he expanded his cane, and took a stance. It was a stance, and more to the point a weapon, that Lionheart knew very well, as a chill ran all the way down his back to the tip of his tail.

"It can't be…," he muttered, "You've already come back?" He instinctively held up his arm, as his weapon, Stalwart opened up. An idea then came to his head… If he could deliver the boy to Salem, then he might just be able to get in the witch's good graces. And if he get in her good graces…. Narrowing his eyes in determination, he spun Stalwart, as two separate glyphs came up, and a burning rock shot at Oscar, who managed to avoid it.

"What do we do now?" Oscar asked.

"Fight, what else?" Ozpin answered dryly. Oscar barely had time to hold up Long Memory, as Lionheart brought Stalwart down at him.

(in the Imperial Palace)

Lin looked from her window of the massive, royal suite that served as her bedroom, looking down at Haven. Standing behind her was Rowan, while the rest of the guard stood in the corners of the room, all at parade rest.

"Hey, Rowan," she called back.

"Your Majesty?"

"Why didn't you ever go to Haven Academy?" Lin asked, turning towards her bodyguard. Rowan thought about it, before he shrugged.

"It was simply a matter of interest on my part," he said, "I never wanted to be a huntsman." Lin nodded in understanding.

"I wish I could be a huntress," she said, "To go out and fight the bad guys and save people."

"You can do that quite well from here, Your Majesty," Rowan said with a nod, before asking the other guardsmen, "Don't you agree?" He just got simple affirmations from his allies. Lin sighed, as she looked back at Haven, but her attention was quickly drawn away as the door burst open, and Chancellor Bartley burst in, looking exhausted.

"Your Majesty, Captain Hammond!" Aurelius said, as he tried to catch his breath with his hands on his knees.

"Breath, Chancellor," Rowan said, approaching him, "What's going?"

"Something's happening at Haven, Salem's forces, they've penetrated the Academy." Rowan gasped at that, as did Lin. The rest of the guard only looked straight at Aurelius as Carmine advanced in his direction.

"How could she have…," Rowan muttered.

"It doesn't matter how," Aurelius said, "Now come, we must get Her Majesty to…" He was silenced as Carmine kicked out, as a massive sickle like claw appeared out of her boot, slashing the Chancellor's throat. Aurelius was dead before he even hit the ground. Lin could only scream, as Rowan stared in shock

"What the hell are you doing?!" Rowan asked his comrade. Carmine didn't answer, as she locked the doors.

(in Haven Academy)

As the fight in the Academy wore on, things weren't looking good for the students; with everything that was happening, and all the surprise, none of them were able to clear their minds enough to assume their dragon forms, which put them at a severe disadvantage. Yang was probably doing the best, as she was clearly phsically much stronger than Emerald, but Emerald was far more nimble than she was; the fight generally consisted of Yang punching at Emerald, the thief dodging the attack, before pressing her own, which Yang would block or parry. Meanwhile, Ren and Nora were doing the same with Hazel, who seemed to be able to simply soak up anything they threw at him. Oscar was doing pretty well against Lionheart, who fought with remarkable ferocity for a Faunus such as him. Perhaps desperation had something to do with it.

For his own, Jaune was doing his best to hold off Tyrian, but the fierce, and almost berserk fighting of the scorpion was hard to defend against. The most Jaune could do was occasionally block, while Tyrian attacked, with him proving far too quicky for Jaune to ever successfully attack back.

"Come on!" Tyrian hissed, as he struck out with his tail, which Jaune managed to parry, "Don't tell me you're just talk in the end!" He then lashed out with his weapons, knocking Jaune back and to the ground. Tyrian was quickly on top of Jaune, who had to roll away to avoid getting stung, as he retrieved his shield.

"Jaune!" Weiss called out, only to be reminded about what was happening as she had to avoid a strike from Mercury.

"You can't help your boyfriend now," he said. Weiss just glared at him, as she drew her finger across her rapier, as it ignited with flames, and she shot a fireball at Mercury, who literally kicked it down. He then kicked off towards Weiss, who nimbly avoided it, as she swung Myrtenaster, which Mercury parried also with his leg.

Qrow and Raven continued trading blows, though no one could get the upper hand. Qrow switched Harbinger into scythe mode and swung wide, which Raven managed to dodge easily. She then thrust Omen forward, which Qrow almost managed to dodge easily, as he switched to gun mode, and fired, which Raven deflected.

"You've done some pretty terrible things in your time," Qrow said, as he switched Harbinger back to sword mode, "But this is definitely a new low, even for you."

"I'm doing what I have to in order to survive!" Raven answered, pointing Omen at Qrow.

"By siding with the genocidal witch?!" Qrow demanded.

"This isn't about Salem," Raven said, "This is about me and the tribe."

"You don't know what you're talking about!" At that Raven paused, as she lowed Omen slightly, and looked to the ground.

"I've seen what Yang and the Schnee can do," Raven said cooly, "I think it stands to reason the rest of the kids can do the same?" Qrow wasn't entirely pleased to realize that Raven knew that little tidbit of information, but figured Yang must've found someway to intimidate her to get her to do what she asked.

"What of it?"

"I don't know here they got that power," Raven continued, "But at this point, I don't care, I only care about ensuring that my real family aren't at risk." Outraged at Raven's selfish rationale, Qrow pressed his attack at his twin. The two exchanged several more blows, as the twin birds continued their struggle. Meanwhile, Talos and Pyrrha continued to fight with each other, though Pyrrha was surprised at how… aggressive Talos was being, as if he had a personal vendetta against her, and her alone. Eventually, as he came at her again, Pyrrha activated her Semblance on instinct, and the force sent Talos all the way back, which surprised her slightly.

"I will admit this," Talos said, as he recovered, and readied his blades, "you fight well." Pyrrha didn't answer, as she glared at her opponent, not sure where he was going with any of this.

"Of course, this is not the first time you fought one of my kind," Talos said, "But you will not win this time."

"What are you talking about?" Pyrrha demanded. Initially, Talos didn't answer, as if the question offended him somehow, before he held one of his hands to his face plate, and removed it. But instead of seeing a human face, she saw a face that was flat and featureless save for a pair of metallic green eyes, and what almost looked like a speaker where his mouth would be. It was then that her mind made the connection.

"You're…. you're an android," Pyrrha said, "Just like…"

"Penny," Talos finished for her, as he put his face plate back on.

"What you... knew Penny?" Pyrrha asked. Talos was silent for a time, as his fists clenched, and he began to shake slightly as if rage was building. But that shouldn't have been possible in an android… right?

"Penny Polendina, was my sister!" Talos then declared. It took a while for Pyrrha to process what she was just told. The idea that Penny, an android herself, had a "brother" admittedly seemed rather strange, though she supposed in a weird way it made sense.

"How…," Pyrrha said slowly.

"You murdered her, turned her into nothing more than smoking wreck," Talos said, as he started advancing on her, his blade's dragging against the floor.

"It was an accident!" Pyrrha said.

"You must pay for what you've done!" Talos declared, as he held up his arms. To Pyrrha's horror, another pair of arms unfolded from his back, also armed with blades. The now four armed android pointed all his blades at Pyrrha.

"I don't care how long it takes, but I will avenge my sister's murder," he declared, "You will suffer for what you've done!" With that, he sprung at Pyrrha, swinging all four of his blades at her. Pyrrha leapt out of the way, but she felt one of the blade's graze her cheek slightly. Tumbling away, Pyrrha felt the blood. While he had no facial expressions, Pyrrha swore she could feel the bloodlust coming off of him.

"You have to understand," she said, "I didn't mean to kill her!"

"You think that matters?!" Talos responded, as he leapt at her again, thrusting his blades down. Pyrrha blocked his upper arms, but then Talos' lower arms came up, and slashed up, knocking her shield away. Talos then grabbed her by the throat, and slammed her into the ground.

"Pyrrha!" Yang called, but couldn't break away from her fight with Emerald.

"All Penny was doing was dueling you in the tournment, but you... you" Talos hissed, as he pointed one of his blade's at Pyrrha's eye, "You mudered her in cold blood!" He then held up his blade.

"That's not what I saw," Pyrrha then muttered. Talos wasn't sure why, but that made him stop. What was this girl talking about?

"What do you mean?" he demanded. Pyrrha then looked the android straight in the eyes.

"There was an illusion," she explained, "I didn't just see her challenging me, I saw an entire cloud of blades coming at me, and I... I acted on instinct." Talos hestitated at that, and his gaze drifted in another direction, towards Emerald, the one he knew could induce halluciantions, and who helped Cinder in her infiltration at Beacon. In that moment of distraction, Pyrrha was able to unleash her Semblance, as the wholly metal being was suddenly pushed off her. Talos careened across the room, before slamming into the wall.

Meanwhile, Ruby let out a cry, as she ducked a slash from Cinder. She followed up by firing a bullet at her, only for the Maiden to easily deflect it. She then manifested her bow, and took aim, with Ruby using her Semblance to dodge the attack. She then switch back, and gave a wide slash at Cinder, who caught the scythe with a spear made out of fire. Cinder then sneered at Ruby, who gasped, as sword appeared in her hand, and she swung up. Ruby was forced to abandon Crescent Rose to avoid the attack, as she stumbled down.

"You're way in over your head," Cinder said, as she approached Ruby, glaring down at her with her one eye, "How did you think this would end?"

"I don't know," Ruby answered, returning the glare, "But I wasn't going to let that stop me."

"Kids these days," Cinder growled, as she spun her spear through her hands, "Always the same stupid thought they can save the world alone."

"No." The sheer forcefulness behind those words actually made Cinder stop, as she cocked her head.

"Pardon?" she inquired.

"I never thought of doing this alone," Ruby said as she pulled herself to her feet, "I was always going to do this with those I cared about. They are who are important not me." She then took a fighting stance as she faced the Fall Maiden.

"And as long as they're okay, I don't care what happens to me," she declared. Cinder looked at her for a time, as her grip on the spear lessened, before it suddenly tightened.

"Well, in that case," she said with a shrug. She then threw the spear, but not at Ruby….

Weiss quickly switched Myrtenaster Dust, and when Mercury kicked her, and she parried, it sent a shock through Mercury, who instinctively flung himself back, as he stumbled away. Weiss nodded in affirmation, as she moved to press the attack, when she suddenly felt like she had just been slugged in the gut. All the fighting in the room seemed to stop, as everyone looked in her direction suddenly.

"Well," Tyrian said between laughs, "Ain't that a sight?" Jaune opened his mouth as if to call out, but no words came out. Talos and Hazel continued to stare coldly at the sight, while Mercury and Emerald both smirked. Nora's eyes turned as wide as saucers. Weiss could only stare down, at the glowing red spear coming out of her torso right beneath her breast. She let out a weak gasp, as friends continued to only stare at her. Raven, however, was staring in shock at the sight; she knew what was coming now….

"You fool," she muttered. That was when Weiss then let out a cry, as a white light then consumed the entire room, and the cry turned into a roar….

Note: I debated to myself whether or not to include the entire fight in one chapter. In the series, it spans nearly four episodes, each 15 to 16 minutes long, sometimes longer. The big question was how to incorporate my own elements (the dragons, the new characters, etc.) into the narrative, since there were scenes that I really wanted to happen for the sake of plot and character. Also, you'll note Vernal's absence, there is a reason for this, but I won't say what. I'm sorry some characters got more focus in the fight than others, but it's easier

I'll now clarify that Talos refers to an automaton from Greek mythology who guarded Crete. I think most people at least had an idea that he was an android, or at least a cyborg, but I didn't want to make it too obvious. However, in turns of the story he's based off of, I'd say he's closer to the character of Robbie from the short story of the same name by Isaac Asimov. As for how exactly, you'll see.

Be sure to review.