"Your wish is my command, old man." The red blade, which had been locked with Arc's three, suddenly flashed red, and then Adam was behind the elder Arc, sword inching towards the nape of his neck.
Arc didn't even flinch. A clang rang through the air. Neo blinked to find there was now yet another sword. And another. And another. An armory of seven stylized swords unfolded behind Arc like the tail of a peacock. All seven pointed at Adam.
Adam growled. "This is bullshit." The fight started up anew. Each time Adam slashed with his sword Arc brought up another to block it, and yet another would strike at the same time. They appeared from out of thin air, giving no time to dodge. Adam was fast, but even he couldn't counter ten swords with his one, all at the same time. And Nicolas Arc was no slouch in speed, one sword in each hand, he adopted a dual-wielding fighting style, crouched low, striking when Adam was distracted by the other weapons. Dodging by the barest breaths whenever Adam managed to find a rare opening.
The fight was beyond one-sided. Nicolas never got hit, but Adam was bleeding from twenty cuts from twenty swords. Still, Adam's eyes never lost its glint. He was like a beast, waiting for an opportunity. One strike, one kill, his eyes said.
Neo couldn't tell what he was waiting for. There were no openings in Arc's stance. Any such were covered for by the extra swords floating around him.
Adam leapt back, and Neo realized what he had been planning.
"Stay back! Or I kill her." Adam had Blake by the throat, his red sword drawing a line against the cat faunus' neck.
"Blake!" Sable screamed.
Blake's eyes were wide. "Adam, please. Don't do this."
"Shut up." Adam hissed. His one good eye was wild. Darting around for escape routes. This wasn't a good time to force anything. A cornered animal was the most dangerous.
It looked like Arc knew that too. "Let her go. Let her go and you will keep your life."
Adam scoffed. "I don't trust you. And I have business with this woman. Let us go unharmed or I will kill her." He sneered. "I don't think your daughter will be too happy about that." The red blade pressed hard against Blake's neck, and redder liquid dripped from the metal.
Neo saw Arc forcibly grab his hand to keep it from wielding his sword.
Sable choked a sob. Blake, wincing, smiled back. "Don't worry about me. I can handle it. You guys figure out what's going on. Stop Cinder." And with that Adam stepped off a ledge, taking the two of them deeper into the Colosseum. They were gone.
Gone too, was the veritable blockade of Grimm that had blocked her ability to help her friends during the whole fight. She arrive at their side mere moments after Adam took Blake.
"Neo." Nicolas Arc nodded at her. He had sheathed his main sword and the auxiliary swords had disappeared somewhere. "It is good that you are here. Take care of Sable. I will go after Blake."
"No!" Sable protested. "I'm coming with you. You need someone to protect Blake if she's hurt while you fight that bull faunus."
"Fine." Nicolas grunted, turning back to Neo. "Are Hazel and Jade safe?"
Neo nodded. She'd taken them to the cafe before her teleportation had stopped working.
"Good. I have taken Juniper and the kids to a safe place. After I find Blake, I will find them and then meet up with you. You will be going to the person that's behind all this, correct? Beacon Tower?"
Neo nodded.
"Best of luck. We will help you if we make it in time." And then the tall man stalked off in the direction Adam had left, looking for all the world like a man with a bloody mission.
"Be safe," Sable offered with an encouraging smile, before she followed after her father.
All was in order. Now all Neo had to do was finish what she came here to do. Kill Cinder, that is.
Beacon tower was a stowaway's ride away on a fleeing Bullhead. Of course, none of them were flying directly at the Beacon, so she had to make a few jumping transits midway. That was helped partly by the aerodynamic nature of her parasol weapon. She reminded herself somewhat of that one princess, the one that kept getting saved by that plumber. Of course, Neo was a princess of an entirely more badass sort. She didn't need saving. In fact, she was the one doing the saving, right now.
Beacon had had a makeover since she'd last been. The trees had been uprooted, walls were on fire, the spires were toppled and exposed to the acrid smoky air. It was a new look. Neo could respect that.
Out of the topmost tower where she knew Ozpin's office was, she saw flashes of energy and heard the noises of combat.
"Neo!" A voice cried out. Jaune, the face she hadn't seen in person in what felt like forever, was running to her. His face was covered with soot, and his hair was plastered to his forehead, but he seemed unhurt. Thank the gods.
"Thank the gods you're here, Neo!" Jaune panted as he reached her. "It's Pyrrha. She's in trouble. Some Atlas soldiers came and took her away. They said it was for her own protection. I think, I think whoever caused the terrorist attack on the Colosseum is after her! We have to help her!"
Neo agreed. The problem was, how? She pointed up to the tower, where a massive fiery explosion lifted what remained of the roof off and scattered into the distance. Neo held her parasol up to block the debris. The fight looked fierce, and was getting only more so. They didn't have much time.
Jaune saw where she pointed. "I know. We have to get up there. Can't you use your teleportation and take us there?"
Neo drooped. If only. She signaled with her hands that her Semblance wasn't working right now. In fact, the block in her head felt even sturdier than before. What was going on?
"Damn it," Jaune cursed, and Neo had to double-take at the rare sight of Jaune cursing. "Sorry," he apologized. "It's not your fault. It's just, this is a time-sensitive situation. My partner is in danger, and I don't know what to do!" Neo could see the despair in his eyes, and something inside her trembled. That expression was so close to how she had felt with Roman, that she couldn't help but emphasize. She pinned her arms around him, until finally his breathing slowed and trembling ceased.
"Thanks, Neo. I-I needed that," Jaune managed.
"Might I offer my assistance?" A deep voice reached them from behind.
Neo and Jaune untangled themselves awkwardly and turned to see the new member of the conversation. They had both had different reactions. Jaune had an older brother? Neo gaped. In addition to seven sisters? What a family. Neo thought about Juniper. What a woman! Was she just super horny?
"Dad? No, you're not. Wait, who are you? And why do you look like me?" Jaune asked.
The man, blue-eyed, and blonde-topped, clad with equipment embossed with Arc imagery, only smiled.
