Scylla shrieked as Cyprus' body jerked and twitched as the pure energy coursed through him, his fist uncontrollably clenched onto his weapon as he took a step forward, his eyes already having rolled back into his head as he took one step, then a second. His foot dragged through the mud on the third, and he slumped to his knees and collapsed onto the cold, wet ground. The echo of the billowing thunder faded away, leaving the rain to continue to pelt his unmoving form. Whether their opponent couldn't help but commit to the act, or he wanted to rub salt into the wound, the Faunus howled with laughter, his giddy, staggered cries shot daggers into the young woman's already sunken heart.

"I'll kill you!" Scylla yelled.

"Oh? Is that so?" The man sneered, his gaze turning towards her as he crouched low to the ground, tail excitedly flicking from side to side. "I want you to try."

The Huntsman they were searching for was a few meters away, clutching the pained wound on his body as the splash of venom seeped into it, his face quickly growing pale from the sickly feeling. Scylla eyes welled up with tears as she gripped her Axe tight, and charged, taking care not to slip and fall in the watery grass.

The Faunus cackled as he took a stance, and prepared to parry her. However Scylla wasn't as headstrong as Cyprus, and despite being full of rage and fear, she was still an analyst and made sure to search for any kind of weakness. He was incredibly skilled, bloodthirsty and unafraid of any kind of danger to himself, but he still had his openings, and Scylla just needed to be quick enough to hit them. In those dwindling seconds, she used her semblance not to brace or avoid an attack, but formulate her own offensive. With his gauntlets up, she knew he wasn't strong enough to block the full swing of her weapon with a single hand, the momentum would be far too much for all but the strongest built warriors. Gritting her teeth, the redhead put all of her weight into the swing, a close, downward strike aimed across his chest that forced him to raise both wrists to deflect. She knew if she went for another attack afterwards, it would be blocked or worse, and so the young woman focused her semblance to keep her balance in the mud for the briefest of moments. Her upper half continuing the attack, she used her right leg to hook around his shin and pull with all her might, she speed of her movements just enough to rock the assailant over, although the strategy came with a price. Her own foot slipping, she too tumbled to the mud and was forced to roll to one side, her eyes fixed on him as much as she could.

He began to laugh once more, picking himself from the mud and swiping a clump into his fist which he then flung at the girl. The spread of dirt heading in a spray for her eyes, she was forced to close them to avoid taking the cheap hit directly to her vision, but this left the Faunus free to counterattack. Picking himself up, he began to charge, like a wild animal on all fours as he dug his blades into the ground, he lunged at Scylla, his blades inches from her neck before a hefty blow struck him in the ribs, knocking the wind from his lungs.

Finn stood clutching his stomach with an arm outstretched, the chain of his weapon slowly reeling back into the large handle following the lightning fast launch. "I told you to run!" he cried.

The Faunus chuckled as he recovered from the attack a few feet away. "Oh look, you've come out to play again. I can't wait to see which one of you falls first!"

"Get up, kid! You've got to get your friend out of here!"

The well armoured man moved himself between the man and his previous target, a distinct flash of blinding light throwing itself towards the Faunus's uncovered retinas. That was her cue. With the Faunus letting out a pained growl as he scratched at his eyes and blinked furiously to regain his sight, the redhead rushed to Cyprus and put a finger to his throat. She thanked the gods he still had a pulse, though his body seemed to be burning and twitching from the lightning that struck him, steam wafted as she rolled him over onto his back, and with her hands under each shoulder she dragged him through the muck.

She had just about reached the edge of the clearing, further sounds of yelling, gunfire and clashing blades poured from the smaller figures in the distance. But at last, the violent sounds seemed to stop, and the victor stood over his opponent, caked in red with his fists repeatedly smashing into the fallen Huntsman. His gruesome cackles growing more vile and rabid before he turned to face Scylla.


Cyprus was in darkness. His body felt the sharp burning sensation as his body rejected the commands to open his eyes and move his limbs, last thing he remembered was running out of the cave. Did they make it back to the town? Who was the person attacking them? And the Huntsman? All was in a distressed haze of faded imagery and muffled voices. He struggled to open his eyes as if his eyelids were linked to heavy weights, and despite the cold feeling of rain peppering his body, and the force moving him along, his body refused to rouse like he was desperately trying to get himself an extra five minutes of sleep before leaving his bed. He recalled having a job to do, help the Huntsman, but he couldn't think of all the details, a fog over his mind.

"Wake up, please...Come on." Scylla grunted, as she hurriedly trotted away from the Faunus who quickly sought to gain the distance, albeit slowly. Like a beast toying with it's helpless prey before devouring it. As he neared, and Cyprus showed no signs of recovering, she knew that she had to make a stand. She reached back with her Crossbow and fired haphazardly at their attacker, the bolts whizzing past him as he side stepped each one with no effort at all.

"Well, little bird. Just you and me now." He chuckled. "Put down the dead weight and let's see how well you fare, I might even make it quick if you beg."

As gently as she could, Scylla lowered her companion to the ground, turned on her heel and shaped her weapon back into it's Axe form. "Go to hell." She couldn't think of anything witty or more appropriate to say, in truth she was almost too terrified to say anything at all. This man had taken on three at once, and won. One of which being a professional Huntsman only made things more spirit crushing. She moved forward, grip tight on the thick haft of her weapon, standing a few feet forward and digging her heel into the dirt. If she couldn't escape with Cyprus, she could at least keep the villain busy until he could wake up, and make his own way out.

The courtesy of giving the girl a chance to ready herself over with, the Faunus's eyes lit up with excitement, and he charged with his body bent low, arms splayed wide. His first strike was a low sweep to Scylla's legs, which she jumped over and blocked the following strike to her centre with her Axe. Luckily for her, it seemed he was a little too eager to harm, and underestimated his prey, as the hacker managed to throw in a knee to his perfectly positioned face. More-so, what the Scorpion-man hadn't counted on was how his weapons acted when locked into place. With his curved blades resting on either side, Scylla's semblance allowed her to begin the motions before he could react, spinning her weapon in place, and once the pressure was met by the opposing force, she used her weight to somersault herself to one side.

Although the manoeuvre would surely have broken the man's wrist, Aura was a powerful defensive tool, and the shield that surrounded him wasn't close to being shattered just yet. Despite that, he still grunted with pain and was thrown to the side, the violet,wavy hue that surrounded him pulsating with energy.

"Ha! Well played, girl...But you're still just delaying fate!" The faunus jeered, rolling onto his front where animal like, he pushed himself off the ground with all fours, his body flailing towards her in an incoherent, unpredictable fashion. His tail swishing wildly as he swept again and again at her, their blades knocking together as Scylla parried and pirouetted around the attacks, once again forced onto the defensive. The longer the fight went on, the more troublesome it would be for her to stay alive, first a knock onto her leg, and elbow to the chest that sent her skidding across the wet dirt flared her Aura. And while her semblance helped the girl counterattack every so often, it was clear her opponent was, despite his erratic and crazed demeanour, was more well trained, disciplined and resilient than she was.

Meanwhile, Cyprus rested with his cheek half submerged in a puddle, his mind trying to break free of it's stupor. Occasionally something broke through, a gunshot, a cry of pain, and with them brought back more memories, such as the pain of the strikes against his bodies' shield received through cold steel from an unrelenting hand. His eyes opened just briefly, enough to see Tempest resting just beside him, but trying to muster the strength to reach out had his body refusing.

The Faunus struck back with an onslaught of hard-to-read blows, feinting time and time again as he made it clear he was merely toying with her, the assassin repulsively letting his tongue hang free from his maw as it thrashed around reminiscent of his tail. The bright blue of Scylla's aura flickered and glowed bright with each hit she failed to block, until a series of gunshots struck her knee and she staggered, the protective barrier around her beginning to fail. She looked up and let out a yelp as the man's boot connected with the side of her head, sending her tumbling across the clearing.

"Scylla?" Cyprus groaned, his body slowly giving in to his will to move.

He was quiet, far too quiet and slow moving to distract the man from playing with his target. Scylla's rolled herself a couple of times and tried to collect herself, on all fours she pushed herself upright and kept the tight grip on her Axe. But the man was too persistent, and despite his confidence never took his eyes off her movements, he playfully danced around her telegraphed swing and slashed at her shoulder, her Aura finally giving way as the blades on his wrists drew blood, the cold sting forcing out a cry of pain.

"What's happening?" Cyprus was on his hands and knees now, gritting his teeth and forcing his eyes open, the blurry image was enough for him to begin to make sense of their situation. "Something hit me...What?" He heard it again, the thunderous roar as a streak of powerful lightning surged across the sky, illuminating the darkened clouds that barraged him with rain.

The redhead spun on her knees and lifted herself to her feet, Prismatic Flurry held diagonally across her chest in a protective stance. She had forgotten how it felt to lose Aura, the sinking feeling it caused as the remaining energy protecting her flickered and died, she was truly vulnerable now, and it looked like her opponent hadn't even gotten started. He paced back and forth before her, watching her and giggling as she switched her footwork depending on the side he faced. In the end, though, he took a more insulting approach and raised his hand and fired a shot from his vambrace that struck just under her breastplate, a metal bullet lodging just under her ribs. Scylla gasped in shock as she clutched the wound as it began to bleed crimson through her clothing.

The vigilante's eyes focused just in time to watch her collapse, her body fearfully clawing into the dirt as she backed away from the assassin who took another step closer whenever her feet pushed her through the mud.

"Get away..." He breathed.

Groaning through the effort, it felt like he was wading through a thick paste, his body shaking wildly as it struggled against gravity. Another scream as Scylla was hit once again, this time just out of view, the twin blades on the man's right hand settled themselves against her shin, piercing it until it struck bone.

"Stop..." He said, a little louder. Just enough for the Faunus to hear. Perking up in response, and though his grin couldn't physically get wider, his eyes did so as he chuckled, more high pitched than before and he turned to face him.

"Oh look, you're just in time for the end of the show!" He cackled, maniacally stepping forward and glancing back to ensure the downed girl hadn't tried anything while his back was turned. And no, she simply clutched her body and keeled over, gritting her teeth while struggling to breathe. Cyprus had just now managed to rise back to his feet, like a drunkard he stumbled with a hunch, but the fatigue was replaced by a new feeling, a painful, sharp rush that coursed through his veins and caused his aura to flare repeatedly. The Faunus, taking the show for little more than a simple, last ditch trick to drag away his attention, turned back to the girl and smirked. "I wonder how close you'll get before I slit her pretty little throat."

He figured it out narrowly a moment before the villain, who turned around just in time to see Cyprus put on his own show. Though his body seemed to be bruised, broken and beaten, his Aura proved that signs of life were still fuelling his form. True enough, a strike of lightning would have killed someone unprepared or had their shield depleted, and severely injured anybody that didn't share his unique trait. Streaks of white and icy blue flickered over his left arm where it twitched and shook violently from the overwhelming power.
"You won't touch her." He breathed, lining his finger up with the murderer who was just about to dive out of the way of the blast.

But the phrase 'fast as lightning' didn't spawn from nothing.

Cyprus wailed in pain as the energy stored within him coursed out of his body, shattering his remaining Aura and leaving his arm steaming and with several nasty burns, before toppling backwards. Within an instant, the Faunus's body was blown back through the clearing, soaring over Scylla who was almost too busy blocking out her pain to notice what occurred, she heard the smack as he fiercely collided with the trunk of a large tree, his unconscious form spinning wildly, vanishing from sight. The vigilante groaned and sat himself up, the pain thankfully not enough to knock him out a second time. He uncouthly approached Scylla, running his hands through his soaked hair while he looked over her wounds, they weren't pretty. Her leg and gut were both bleeding profusely, and the several other cuts on her body were thinner, but were no paper cuts either.

"Scyl? I...Oh gods, I don't know..."

The girl grunted as she held out her hand, motioning for him to help her to her feet.

"I'm alright. Just need to get out of here, what about you? That was..." She paused, cursing. "Do you think he's dead?"

"His Aura was still up, so I think it's at least stripped that away. Still, he seems crazy enough to try taking us on without it, so we should hurry while we still have a head start, let's get back to town." Cyprus replied, sweeping Tempest off the ground and using it for support as they walked, clinging to one another.

"Wait, what abut him?" Scylla pointed to the Huntsman, who lay unmoving, his blood pooling beneath him and staining the muddy waters beneath his corpse.

"Nothing we can do now. Let's just focus on getting back." He said, regretfully.

The pair stood, one peppered with cuts and bloodied clothing, the other with one arm limply draped over the others' shoulder, taking the brunt of the weight and leading them back through the thick forest, back the way they had come.


It took considerably longer for the two to make it back to town, and when they did they were a point of much discussion. Limping through the Southern gate just as night began to fall, two unprepared guardsman called out in fear before seeing their state, and with their calls for help on the doors of the village's doctors, woke up more or less the whole town. Unfortunately for Cyprus and Scylla, they didn't have the chance to think up a proper way to break the news to the Huntsman's wife, Marigold, who stood in the street along with the small crowd in her nightwear. Looking at Cyprus as he sat underneath the shelter of a large eave at one of the larger stone buildings, a well travelled man examining his arm, she caught his gaze. His remorseful, pained expression was all the information she needed. The young man shook his head and choked back tears, and Marigold ran. A small trickle of others giving him a dirty look before chasing after the woman.

Scylla, already out cold as soon as she stopped to rest her body against the brickwork path, was taken to the small clinic. Leaving Cyprus alone to tend to his bandaged wounds, alone in the Inn after being given the all clear, his burns while painful, would fade as his Aura recovered and healed him. Perhaps the village found his wounds too minor to treat thoroughly, or perhaps they agreed he might have been responsible for their resident Huntsman's fate, he was unsure. Not that it mattered, as he sat by the bar, ignoring the stares from folk and the poorly concealed glances from the moustached man serving out drinks, choosing to look into the auburn, clear liquid in the glass, his dirt smeared, tired expression gazing back at him.

"...Thankfully, the breach into the City has been completely filled and repaired, thanks in no small part to the efforts of Huntsman and Huntresses in training from Beacon Academy, who arrived at the scene within moments."

The voice snapped him out of his daydream, Cyprus's eyes flicked up to a small, old screen in the corner of the bar. And politely asking him to turn up the volume, he listened in more. Footage of Grimm pouring into Vale at sunset, a large train carriage hurled through a closed off tunnel had sent debris and concrete in wide arcs around the spacious complex. And through shaky footage, he noticed familiar faces all working together to defeat the onslaught of dark creatures.

"...The man behind the assault, one Roman Torchwick, a wanted criminal for charges of arson, theft and assault, has been captured in the attack and is now in custody."

"At least someone finally got the bastard." He thought, proudly as he watched shaky camera footage of Team RWBY and CFVY fighting together alongside several of Beacons' teachers and even a battalion of General Ironwood's armoured troops, some of which seeming more mechanical than others.

The eve passed and Cyprus lay on his back, a towel around his waist from a brief shower, his hair still damp and dishevelled. He stared blankly at the ceiling, the moonlight giving him just enough to see the outline of the rooms' objects. Suddenly, the bedside table let out a sharp electronic ping as his Scroll illuminated the room, the brightness of the transparent screen forcing his eyes to squint heavily before he picked it up, pressing a button and holding it to his ear.

"Hey, it's me."

"Yang? Everything okay? I thought we were supposed to keep contact to a minimum." Cyprus responded, trying to make it seem like he wasn't excited to hear her voice.

"Oh come on, it's just a phone call." She said, no doubt smirking on her end. "Besides, I don't think anybody would care that i'm just calling a friend to see how he is after being away on vacation for so long. So? How are you?" The girl asked.

The vigilante was unsure how to respond, the day had taken it's toll on him, and venting is healthy. Unfortunately it's easier to think about saying certain things, than it is to actually do it.

"I'm alright...Today was pretty rough, had a lot of things go wrong, but we're okay. What about you? I just saw the news report, looks like you guys kicked ass."

"Oh, you saw that, huh? I feel like it's because we didn't kick ass that the whole thing happened." She whispered, and the tone made Cyprus wonder where she was.

"What do you mean?"

"It's a long story, I'd rather tell you in person. That's not what I wanted to talk to you about anyway." It took the blonde a moment to continue with her conversation, her friend being very close to interrupting the awkward silence. "The Vytal festival is in a couple of weeks, and...Well, we're kinda nervous about the whole thing. I feel like once we're out there we can focus on the fights, but that crowd? And all those people watching on TV? That's a lot of pressure."

The Vytal festival was no joke, Cyprus thought. The parades and large showgrounds were nothing to scoff at, but the main event, the tournament, was broadcast around the world, featuring the best upcoming talent from the three Huntsman Academies; Atlas, Shade, Haven and Beacon. There were rumours that there would be higher security measures this year, including a fleet of Airships to guard Amity Colosseum, the enormous stadium that gave the impression of a large aircraft when seen at a distance, the upside-down cone shape created an alien appearance, but inside held a gigantic battlefield and stands that could fit tens of thousands of spectators.

"Hey, as far as I know you aren't one to crack under pressure." Cyprus said, calmly.

"Sure, but the others-"

"Are just as bad-ass and capable as you are. They're probably feeling the exact same as you are, which means they also know you've got their back the same way they have yours. I assume even Blake has relaxed a little now that Torchwick has finally been taken down."

"You're right, she has!" Yang exclaimed, "She's been getting along with everyone a lot more, too, even Weiss if you can believe it."

Cyprus smiled, though Yang seemed a little too excited to talk about her teammate. "I know you guys will do great out there, and I'll be watching when I can."

"Oh, so you won't be back in time, then?"

Ouch. So that was the reason she called. While it was true that they had made considerable progress, there were still a few names left on the list, which meant a good week or two travel at least. Not to mention they would need to stay in the village for another day, until Scylla had healed up completely, and their gear had gone through a thorough cleaning. He cursed under his breath as he looked at his clothing that lay in a messy, crumpled heap in the corner of the room, shrouded by darkness. Not only was it caked in mud, but there were several visible tears and dents, even some of the leather straps began to come loose.

"I...I don't know. I want to be, but we're not done here. And..." He stopped. If Yang was feeling anxious enough as it is, despite the closure to most of the issues she seemed to have on the surface. Telling her of the days' unexpected and frightening events might only make things worse, unfortunately keeping more secrets wouldn't help much, either. "Maybe we will make it, at least for later fights. We'll try at least, if we move quickly enough we can get back in time!"

Her voice was deadpan, and it was clear that it wasn't the answer she wanted. "It's fine, really. You guys have a job to do, so you might as well take your time and do it right."

He couldn't be angry with her, for as much as it hurt to hear her address him in such a stinging tone, it wasn't fair to leave her in the dark about the specifics. Such is the reality of their situation, the job came first as much as it hurt to admit it, and he had hoped she could see past the inconveniences and remain on good terms.

"I have to get some sleep, goodnight Cyprus."

He wanted to keep her on the line, say something so she wouldn't leave so abruptly, but he was too late. The aching young man barely mumbled out an apology before the line went dead. The cheerful chiming tone as the line went dead cut into Cyprus' ears, causing him to wince slightly and sigh heavily in frustration. For a while he simply lay on his back, staring up at the blank, empty ceiling above him. The murmurs of patrons drinking well into the night occurred beneath him, muffled through the woodwork and craftsmanship of the building, continuously so that he gripped a pillow on both sides, and covered his ears.

He was sick of this, he wanted to go home. But at the same time he knew he could at least try and make a proper difference, instead of simply being another Huntsman, killing Grimm in a routine fashion to simply keep things running. The vigilante cursed and rolled over in his bed, the sharp fatigue finally hitting him once his heart rate rested now that the surprise call from Yang was over, and he at last succumbed to sleep.