Endgame

Cinder slowly lowered her bow, watching the Grimm pursue the naive children, her free hand holding her scroll up to her ear as Emerald updated her on the girl's task. "What of Arc?"

"He ran in your direction, I'm pursuing him as best I can."

That man... honestly. Stubborn pride could be attractive in the right circumstances, but Jaune was taking it to unpalatable extremes. Was it so difficult to admit that she had beaten him?

"There is no need, I will deal with him. Coordinate with Watts to locate the crash site and get yourself in position."

"Yes ma'am."

Half-closing the device, she gave her aura meter a single glance before returning it to her belt. Seventy percent was lower than she'd hoped for but higher than her worst-case scenario had projected, and was more than enough to finish this matter.

The larger concern was the wave of exhaustion that had rolled over her after she had blown apart the ice wall that Schnee had thrown up to cover their retreat. Salem had warned her that, until she had the full power of the maiden at her disposal, that duration magic would be difficult if not impossible for her. Simple effects were easy enough, even the mixed explosions she had utilized had not felt like they had cost her much.

Magic may not have drained her aura, but it tired her physically, and her mimicry of true flight may have been a bit much in hindsight.

She shook herself once and let out an irritated huff. This wasn't the time for reflection, this was the time for action. Rolling her shoulders, she summoned a new arrow and lightly set it to the string, using her ears more than her eyes as she waited for her old friend to catch up.

It didn't take him long, not more than a few minutes passing before she heard him thundering in her direction.

"Honestly Jaune." She taunted as she caught a glimpse of blonde hair and gleaming steel, "There is such a thing as stealth."

In response he simply drew the sheath from his side, the metal expanding into a broad kite shield as he rushed directly for her. Settling her aim, she prepared herself, then released the arrow she released the arrow when he was no more than a dozen paces away, far too close to even deflect it, and he let out a violent breath as it struck his left shin.

Cinder shot forwards as he stumbled, her bow whipping around like a club to catch his left wrist, where his scroll was strapped to his forearm. The device shattered quite nicely, his sword arm recoiling from the blow, but her follow-up was blocked by his shield. He steadied himself as they exchanged a few testing blows, her adjusting to his shield while he adjusted to her unusual melee weapon, and then sped up as he earnestly began to try and break her defense.

So much effort, determination... all for a doomed cause!

She retreated before him, Mercury's analysis of his style paying yet more dividends. The man was at his deadliest when he was on the counter-attack, when he'd lured his foe in. By refusing to engage beyond light strikes, by not biting at the false-openings he left in his guard, she forced him to be the aggressor.

He was reasonably skilled in the role, he visibly copying much of what she'd seen Nikos do, but it was a far cry from his preferred style... and it gave her the time she needed to redirect her forces.

Surround the humans, she called within her mind, directing her thoughts towards the parasite within. Do not engage them. Let their fear build until my disciple arrives. Only then will you feast on them.

The strange emotions that were the Grimm's only response was the usual mix of restrained anger, excitement, and a kind of arrogant acceptance.

Jaune seemed to once more sense that she was stalling, his lips pulling back from his teeth as his emotions once more took hold of him. His attempts to emulate Nikos' aggressive skill began to fade, his fury overriding his sense as he became sloppier, trying to batter his way through her guard instead of skillfully finding holes in it.

Cinder kept up her retreat, crafting a smirk to annoy him further, then leaped behind a convenient tree when he tried an over headed blow. "What is wrong, dear Jaune?"

"Stop calling me that!" He snarled in reply, rushing around her cover to resume the attack, forcing her to twirl her bow to deflect a series of quick slashes.

"Tut. Here I thought-" She leaped back when he tried to bull-rush her once more, wincing as he suddenly drew up short and scored a hit on her shoulder. Not so blind after all, that will not do!

"Here I thought you were worried about your paramour!" She growled as she finally counter-attacked, lashing out at his legs, "Or did Emerald already cut her throat for you?"

The words had their desired effect, making him jerk in surprise and letting her dart backwards once more. "Come now, did you really think I came alone? My disciple was looking forwards to repaying the insults your harlot offered her."

He hesitated for a split second, finally realizing why she'd taken the moment to destroy his scroll, before rushing for her once more. That was all the time she needed to summon a burst of wind beneath her feet. Blue eyes were filled with hatred and fear, a delicious combination that more than made up for the sudden burning in her legs, and he stared furiously up at her.

"Who do you save, Jaune?" She taunted as she settled onto a thick tree branch, well out of his reach. "Your lover, or Ozpin's false-maiden?"

Jaune kept up his glare for several moments, then slowly collapsed his shield and returned it to his belt. For a split second she thought he might actually have finally taken the hint, then his hand blurred behind him and yanked another weapon free from his back. The dust flail whirled out to full extension as he swung it at her, but no matter fast he was, he was not faster than thought.

Another burst of wind flung her upwards a mere second before the branch was obliterated with a gravity dust enhanced strike, and she rolled her eyes, making sure he saw her do so before her will created an even greater gust that flung her in a long arc through the canopy and into the sky. She quickly relaxed its thrust as she cleared the trees, until she could spot the smoke rising from where the Bullhead had crashed, then summoned up a final bit to throw herself in that direction.

Not terribly elegant, but it took far less out of her than controlled flight... and she could feel the waves of tiredness roll over her even as her aura remained reasonably secure.

It is of matter. Soon I will be whole, and then I can deal with the remainder as I see fit.

Rather than land dramatically out in the open and invite any and all survivors to attack her at once, she aimed for an intact section of trees not far from the debris path. She allowed several branches to scratch and scrape at her as she fell, cushioning her fall only once she'd penetrated the canopy and the ground became a more immediate concern.

Her knees flexed as the landed, allowing her to rise into a smooth jog as she moved away from where she'd left Jaune, aiming to approach the wreck from its rear.

She would give his pilot this much; he'd managed a far more controlled crash than she'd anticipated. While pieces of an engine and most of the tail were strewn all across the ground, along with the trees the vehicle had smashed through, the core of the aircraft was intact and resting mostly upright. Its remaining engine was burning slightly, but she could make out movement even from a distance.

One survivor, a large figure, hauled two slimmer frames away from the wreck. Even better, just as she noticed the three of them, three more figures emerged from the treeline had stumbled into the clearing. It must have taken them longer to locate the actual crash given that they were stuck on ground level amid a sea of trees, and she could only smile at her good fortune.

Destiny, it seemed, remained firmly on her side.

Schnee and her two little bodyguards looked all too relieved to see that their companions had survived. Of course, the screeching Griffons behind them diluted their joy rather quickly, and gave her some amusement as the three retreated further to form a battle line with the only upright survivor from the crash.

She considered her position, the locations of her enemies, then carefully drew a small vial of dust and made a mild effort of will. Her red dress rippled to a dark black, and once she was certain they had not noticed her, she began a quick stalk through the edge of the tree line. Her eyes remained on her targets as the largest figure drew a weapon from his back, light glinting a massive battle-axe unfolded in his hands.

His voice carried easily as he began to give orders, "Schnee, you're ranged support, stay back and hammer down any fliers! You, guard my back, you, check the wounded! Is it just Grimm?"

Their conversation quieted just enough that she couldn't make out the words, her continuing movement bringing her behind them. Not that she really needed to know what was said, or even cared. The children would have probably guessed that Jaune or one of the others had distracted her, delayed her, but nothing more than that.

Her legs slowed to a stop as she carefully settled onto a knee, carefully making sure that a broken trunk provided all the cover that she needed while she caught her breath... and waited for her moment.

"They're staying back." Weiss shook her head sharply, Myrtenaster up and ready as she watched dark forms stomp around farther into the forest. "Why aren't they coming after us?"

"Old Grimm." The Vacuan huntsman replied, his deep voice low and hard. "They aren't quite as mindless as the usual ones. They're trying to drive up our fear, make us better meals."

She swallowed against her dry throat, "...oh."

"That," He continued, "Or this Fall woman is commanding them to stay back while she plots something. All of you keep your eyes open, watch our flanks. You, faunus, how are they?"

Ilia, by virtue of having next to no aura left, was kneeling beside Sable Arc and Mister Levi, carefully checking them over. "...unconscious still, but breathing."

Mister Vest grunted once. "Grab one of their rifles, start taking pot-shots at the Grimm. See if we can't bait them into coming before they're supposed to."

Rather than respond verbally, Ilia simply grabbed the old huntsman's heavy weapon and got it settled across a fallen bit of the Bullhead's wing. Weiss tuned out the thundering gunshots in favor of scanning the treeline, turning slightly so that her back was more towards Ren and Mister Vest.

That gave her a perfect view of the enemy Bullhead as it finished a lazy turn and began to dive straight for them.

Her sword swept before her on pure reflex as she called on her semblance, on her magic, a new wall of ice erupting from the ground as the others let out surprised shouts. Ren and Vest wasted no time in running towards her, while Ilia threw herself over Miss Sable and Mister Levi to cover them with what aura she had left.

The wall barely got up in time before bullets started to hammer into it, and she flinched when several cracked their way through, feeding more of her energy into the structure to solidify it, growing it even taller to protect Ilia and the wounded as well. She expected the barrage to continue, but instead of simply hovering and trying to batter its way through, the enemy pilot kept up his speed, swooping overhead with a roar before beginning a slow turn in the distance.

"Dammit." Mister Vest spat, glaring at the aircraft as he stepped away from her. "We're not going to be able to stay in the open with that bastard around. You, Schnee, can you bring him down?"

"I think so!" She shook her head, "But it-"

Ren abruptly grabbed her and spun her around, then hissed in pain as an arrow rebounded off of his back. Weiss gasped and snapped her head around, spotting a pale figure in black for a brief moment before it vanished farther back into the trees.

"We need to-" The adult huntsman didn't get to finish his sentence either when the Grimm let out a series of cries, the ground shaking as they finally charged.

That's her plan. Weiss felt her chest go cold. Wear us down, distract us, then kill me when I can't focus on her.

She couldn't keep her defenses across her entire body, fight the Grimm, and try to bring down the Bullhead all at the same time.

Or can I?

Weiss sucked in a breath then backed up rapidly, only distantly hearing Mister Vest and Ren both telling her to go, to chase down Cinder, to end her while they held the Grimm back. Four Elder Griffons bounded towards them, smaller Nevermore beginning to come as well, drawn by the battle... the three of them wouldn't last long, and then the wounded would die, and then the Grimm would catch up to wherever she and Cinder would be fighting.

And then she would die as well.

Her back hit her ice wall, the cold rolling down into her as she focused, remember every lesson that Winter had ever given her. Ignoring Ilia's furious question as to what she was doing as guns began to bark and more Grimm howled, she swung her blade up and then drove it point down as she called on the true form of her semblance.

"You will rise!" She ordered as the glyphs spun wildly, her aura draining as it responded to her will. Do not ask. Do not beg. Do not push. Simply expect it, anticipate it, command it to arise.

An armored helmet made of pure ice rose from the center, shoulders, arms, a sword, and then long legs following at once. Blue eyes stared at the visor as she fought to keep her icy calm, to finish the process, to not let it dissolve as she had allowed so many other attempts to fail.

"You will protect the wounded!" Weiss shouted, "Protect my companions!"

In response her knight swung its massive sword around, batting aside a Griffon she hadn't even heard coming before it could leap onto her. Ice creaked and mist surrounded it as it took a single long stride before plunging its blade entirely through the old Grimm, tearing it free in a spray of black.

Then it was lumbering into a charge, sweeping around where Vest, Ren, and Ilia were trying to protect the wounded, and drawing the attention of more than half the Grimm present.

"Step one, complete." She whispered, holding Myrtenaster up in salute when Ilia turned to openly gape at her for a moment before being drawn back into the fight. Her own eyes drifted upwards as the Bullhead leveled out once more, coming right for them. Weiss felt her legs tremble once with exhaustion, and she had no idea how much of her aura that summons had cost... but none of that really mattered.

So long as she could still stand and grip her weapon, she would fight.

"Time for step two," She squared her shoulders and locked onto her target, "Destroy the air support."

Jaune plowed through the forest as fast as his legs could carry him, cursing Cinder, the world, the gods, and himself more or less at random as he did.

Of course Cinder wouldn't have come alone! Of course her little apprentice had escaped Blake's pursuit and come with! Of course she'd have stayed behind to finish off the wounded as soon as Cinder had led him away!

And of course he didn't have a choice about what to do.

Cinder destroying his scroll had made sense the moment she'd begun taunting him about what she'd ordered Emerald to do. She was forcing him to make a choice; run back the way he'd come to try and save Neo, or run after her and try to save Weiss from someone who'd proven she could hold him off without any real effort.

Neo... please have gotten the two of you out of there.

His worries for Neo, and Charcoal, made his chest ache as he ran, following the trail of screaming Grimm, bursts of fire, and rising smoke that seemed to indicate where the battle had migrated to. He was sure had Weiss to thank for the light show that was guiding him, catching glimpses of bright flashes through the trees whenever she aimed something at the Bullhead. It must have gotten hit at least once because its engines had a noticeable whine, and his next glance up was just in time to see several glistening ice-spears slam into its flank.

The pilot banked away at once, vanishing out of sight, but he was fairly certain it was retreating.

Thank the gods for that much at least!

Jaune's eyes returned to ground level as he came close enough to see the dark forms of Grimm ahead, all of them howling, shrieking, and moving as they attacked his friends. At least two of the massive Elder Grimm were still alive, though one of them seemed to be entirely occupied fighting with a giant knight made purely out of ice, while the other was bleeding black ooze from a dozen wounds as Vest cut into it with his axe.

Rather than waste his breath shouting at anyone, Jaune elected to announce his arrival by barreling into a smaller Griffon that had just landed near Ren's flank. The pony sized Grimm shrieked as he lowered his shoulder, throwing it back and cutting at its neck in a single smooth motion. Two more Grimm were engaging his student, and he dealt with one when it spun around, neatly ducking a frantically swat of its claws and taking off the top of its head in reply.

"Professor." Ren tried to sound as placid and calm as he usually did he kept the last creature off of him with quick cuts of his weapons, but it came out both exhausted and strung-out. "Weiss is under attack!"

His head snapped around on pure reflex to see Weiss retreating frantically, a flurry of Nevermore swarming about her head. He'd have thought those easy enough to deal with until he saw her throw herself out of the way of an obsidian arrow.

Sucking in a breath, Jaune moved past Ren with a quick nod, making his third charge towards Cinder.

"Professor!" Weiss' shout was half-relief, half-warning, "She's staying back!"

"Cover me!" He bellowed in reply, keeping his shield up and sword down as his eyes searched the forest. Cinder revealed herself a few seconds later, stepping out from behind a distant tree to cut loose with another arrow.

Jaune absently brought his shield up and felt it jerk back against the blow, his feet already churning as he got back up to full speed. Cinder seemed to scowl, even from a distance, and began to slowly walk backwards, firing arrows at him as she went. Each one struck his shield or deflected off of his sword until he was within ten paces, then she shifted her aim and fired low.

This time he was ready for it, his shield already dropping to protect his legs, to stop her from knocking him down again.

...which made it an unpleasant surprise when two hard strikes slammed right into his sternum and sent him into a stumble. He regained his balance quickly enough, then felt his throat go dry as Emerald Sustrai stepped forwards from where Cinder Fall had just been standing.

The girl looked horrible. A bandage soaked through with blood covered a shoulder, her pupils were dilated to the size of large coins, and her breathing was more than a little uneven... but that didn't stop her from aiming her gun and double-tapping him again in the chest at point-blank range.

Grimacing in pain and sudden worry, where the fuck was Cinder!?, he snapped his shield up and slammed it across her wrist before she could fire again. Her drugged up reflexes weren't quite up to the task of dodging, and she let out a pained yelp before trying to retreat. He followed her, lashing out at her wounded shoulder, and she went down with a breathless scream when it impacted.

He took a moment to kick her weapon away from her while she curled instinctively into a ball, then stomped hard on one of her ankles with a boot to keep her in place.

Behind him the battle abruptly went perfectly silent, and his heart stopped beating as Ilia screamed Weiss' name.

"I do apologize for this." Cinder murmured, a hand caressing the girl's pale features. "But the power was never yours."

Weiss Schnee coughed, blood dribbling down her lips as she stared helplessly up at her, then dropped her eyes to stare at the black sword which had run her through.

The girl had been a more difficult opponent than she'd have thought, but still far too inexperienced for this level of engagement. She had been overly committed to her semblance, merely using her magic to enhance that aspect of her talents rather than being able to utilize the full power on its own. And while she had not been unskilled with her weapon, she hadn't been any match for Cinder in close quarters battle.

Of those present, only Jaune could have reasonably expected to hold her off for any length of time, and dear Emerald had played her role perfectly when he had arrived. Exploiting his hatred for her and luring him away even as his compatriots had screamed for him to come back had been all too easy, even in her disciple's state. The little faunus had even tried to rope him in with her little weapon, forcing Cinder to temporarily break off from fighting the false-maiden to put an arrow into her arm.

Behind her, the last of the Grimm were dying, their purpose spent in blocking the remaining huntsman from interfering with either herself or Emerald.

But that hardly mattered as the full power of the maiden began to flow into her. The girl was dying, if not dead, and her fading soul could no longer prevent the magic from re-uniting with its true master.

"No..." Schnee gasped as motes of golden light began to drift away from her skin and into Cinder's. Behind her, the towering form of her knight abruptly faded, disintegrating into a small flurry of snow as its mistress began to die.

"Goodbye, little girl." Cinder purred as she brought her second sword up for the killing blow, "Embrace your destiny, as I embrace mine."

Schnee shook once, then jerked her leg up at the same time as Cinder began to lower her weapon, fingers yanking a tiny pistol from a boot. Cinder felt her lips part in surprise and ducked on reflex, keeping her sword arm moving until the blade had cut into the girl's chest.

Noise and pain exploded across her features when the girl's finger tightened on the trigger as she died, and even her self-control failed as agony ripped through her. Her aura had been focused on her left, where the remaining members of Jaune's cabal fought to bring down the rest of the Grimm, and she had been a beat slow in shifting her defenses thanks to her divided attention.

She got it up enough that the SDC manufactured air-dust round didn't simply tear through her skull, but the sheer impact was more than enough to destroy the area where the bullet had impacted. Worse, the rest of the maiden's mantle slammed into her like a runaway Ursa, the pleasure of that contrasting horribly with the burning in her right eye, her entire head throbbing in pain as half of her vision went black... and the rest turned an agonized red.

Cinder screamed uncontrollably, stumbling backwards until her back hit the last bits of the Schnee's ice wall, not even noticing as the girl's body broke down into fading golden light.

"Weiss!" Arc's horrified cry was a distant thing... but it gave her an outlet.

A vague sweep of her arm summoned fire as she stumbled and wavered, her throat aching from her own screams of pain. What little she could see through the haze of pain blossomed into red flame, heat roaring in the direction she'd heard Jaune's voice. Something struck her hard on the right side, her aura flaring as it held off the blow, and she once more covered herself in fire to force whoever it was back and away.

The ice behind her abruptly cracked and burst into steam as the heat vaporized it, and she felt herself once more howling with pain as it scorched her back.

Pure instinct had her summon wind beneath her, the ground falling away through the haze as she flung herself into the sky, fulfilling the primal need to simply get away while her body was wounded. Exhaustion and agony made it impossible to focus enough to achieve a proper landing, and it was all she could do to focus another burst of wind to slow herself down as she came down.

She landed on a knee, panting, shaking her head furiously to try and clear her vision, Salem's teachings on pain letting her slowly push the throbbing in her head away. The feeling of blood, and probably pieces of her eye, dripping down her cheek didn't do much to calm her, but the rage she felt helped her focus in its own way.

Her close range attacker must have been the little faunus; Amitola was prone on the ground near where she had been, instinctively curled in a ball and smoking slightly from the heat Cinder had left behind her. From her twitching she was still alive, but was definitely not a threat.

Jaune was farther away, she must have caught him with the wave of fire she'd sent in his direction because he was busy scrambling away from burning trees and his white aura was cracking apart.

Easy enough to deal with.

That just left the last student and the old huntsman. Both were upright and moving in her direction, the younger of the pair firing his weapons as they came on. It was no difficulty to thrust a hand out, a shield blocking away the impacts while she stoked the rage to ever higher levels.

She unleashed it when the boy was a few paces away; roaring column of fire that struck them both like a physical object and sent them skipping along the ground to smash through several fallen trees. The older actually struck Jaune, sending both to the ground, while the small of the student's back came to rest against one of the few trees still upright in the area.

...and Cinder found herself collapsing onto a knee as she gasped for breath, the effort of so much magic on her already tired body making itself felt. She might have had the full power of the mantle now, but it didn't seem to be doing nearly as much as she had hoped to rejuvenate her.

"Fools!" She gasped, her bow appearing with a thought, giving her something to use to help hold her upright. "It is over! You're beaten! So just... fucking... die... already!"

"Murderer!" Jaune croaked in reply, getting himself upright and beginning to stagger in her direction. Her arm burned as she drew back the string, then all but fell to her side when she released the arrow.

She'd once more aimed low, and her foe's reflexes were too shot to react in time. The arrow shattered what was left of his aura and embedded itself in his ankle, sending him to the ground for the final time.

"It's over." She repeated, dragging her legs forwards through sheer will, the maiden's fire burning in her eyes. "Over! You are coming... with me. Salem will deal with you."

Jaune got a knee under himself, his lame leg stretched out behind him. "I will... never go with you! Neo was right, should have just killed you!"

Cinder found the energy to bark out a laugh, "Yes, you should have. But you didn't, did you? And now your friends will have to die to remind you of your mistakes."

His expression froze, then twisted as he lunged in her direction. He managed a step before his leg gave out, leaving him prone and shouting curses while she turned and brought her weapon up. The two men were still recovering, but mobile, but that left the faunus and a pair of prone forms she could partially make out near the wrecked Bullhead.

The White Fang traitor was the easiest target, and the one she settled on as she spent a pittance of aura to call out another arrow.

Jaune's howling curses and the crackle of burning wood stopped her from hearing the footsteps until they were all but on top of her.

Pyrrha's hands were shaking, her chest was thrumming in a way that couldn't be healthy, and her left foot wouldn't stop twitching whenever she wasn't moving. She only had Akouo thanks to Ilia's theft of Milo, and her armor was more than a little damaged thanks to her fall from the Bullhead.

Not that such things stopped her from lowering her shoulder and driving it into Cinder Fall's side, both women tumbling to the ground. Fall's bow shattered to glass as it tumbled out of her hands, leaving pale hands to seize Pyrrha's wrists a moment before the champion could slam her bronze shield into her sternum.

Her enemy snarled something that might have been a word, her eyes blazing as an unseen force abruptly hurled Pyrrha off of her. The red head struck the ground, rolled once, then got back up to a knee as she glared at Fall. The woman reciprocated the look in kind, both of them scrambling up to their feet, but Fall took that a step further by kicking off from the ground and levitating.

Pyrrha threw Akouo without hesitation, her semblance accelerating the toss. Cinder flung herself backwards somehow, a clawed hand thrown forwards, lightning lashing out to hammer the shield into the ground before it could impact her.

...then she seemed to waver, falling a foot or two before catching herself, a hand snapping up to clutch at her chest.

She's blind on her right side. She's exhausted. Her aura must be low. Everyone else is down. Recovering. Or out. I heard Illia and Jaune scream. Weiss is... gone.

The steady litany ran through her mind just as her trainers had taught her, and she felt her jaw set as she settled on her plan, as her eyes finished a second's sweep of the torn up and burning battleground.

"Fool! You cannot-" Fall's words cut off when Pyrrha thrust a hand of own out, fingers curling in a gesture of command as she reached out with her semblance.

Debris strewn from the fallen Bullhead responded at once, leaping up into the air as invisible magnets drew it upwards. Fall stared at the tide as it swirled into a churning mass of steel, then allowed herself to fall to the earth and thrust both of her hands out as it descended on her.

Pyrrha's lips pulled back as she pushed more of her aura out, focusing. Pieces of an engine came in from Fall's left, crashing into a shield of fire and force, quickly followed by part of a wing and some kind of cabling that threatened to ensnare her.

Cinder focused all of her attention on that barrage, and was unprepared when Pyrrha sent Myrtentaser's thin blade down at her from her blinded right. It came down nearly vertically, striking just between her shoulder and neck, plunging straight down into her chest.

Author's Notes;

So... here's my Christmas gift to everyone, a chapter that more or less signals the end of the journey. Should just be one, maybe two, epilogue chapters before it's completed. I'll definitely include a long author's note about how everything went, where I think I did well and poorly, and how the nature of the story changed as it went along.

Please read and review, criticism is welcome, flames not so much, as usual. Reviews are my lifeblood as a writer.. every-time my email goes off with a review it makes me want to write more, so please take the time to leave one. Guests can leave them as well, and it only takes a minute, so please. Even if it's as simple as "I enjoyed it, please continue."

Thanks, Kat