RWBY: Biohazard

by Cosmic Sky

War gives birth to weapons. Some of them marvelous and others horrifying. Some say soldiers are the best. Others would disagree. Sadly the students of Beacon are about to learn sometimes the best weapons aren't the ones you can fire or swing. Sometimes they're the ones you can't touch or even expect. Like a friend... or a virus.

69. Chapter 69: Hitting Close to Home

Hey, everyone. I'm so sorry for the long, long wait in posting this chapter. I had some computer issues I had to work through which slowed a lot of my writing down. Given the massive cliffhanger that last chapter ended on, I'll just jump right in and save the author commentary for the end. Enjoy!

I do not own anything.

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Chapter 69-Hitting Close to Home

Eastside Campus, 9:09 AM…

When Cinder had said she was under no obligation to take her in alive, Ruby realized that meant she would be coming at her with the intent to kill. Watching her and listening to her, she detected what was undoubtedly joy at the statement. She wanted to kill her.

That didn't scare Ruby. She'd made it this far overcoming countless things that wanted to kill her, people that wanted to kill her.

She detected littler difference between Cinder's attempts to kill her and Vesuvius' attempt to "capture" her.

The flames they threw at her were the same, they carried with them the same murderous intensity. In a way, she was thankful to have fought Vesuvius first; her battle with him had taught Ruby some things. Namely that fire attacks tended to be big and sweeping, often thrown with the attempt to hit a generalized area, that is when the pyrokinetic wasn't focusing.

Cinder wasn't really focusing on her, she was trying to squash her as if she were a bug. Her irritation grew as Ruby made it clear that she was going to be hard to squash. Crescent Rose was swung in swift, powerful arcs that rent the air itself, depriving her opponent's flames of the oxygen they needed to burn. Ruby knew that for a certain fact-fire needed oxygen to burn. No oxygen meant no fire, meaning she had to use her weapon to create a vacuum. She'd seen Neil do it during training, and to an extent she'd also spotted Pyrrha performing a similar feat. It was possible, if one was willing to work at it. Ruby had worked at it, and that work was now on display as she engaged the infamous Cinder Fall near the academy air docks. Even as she dodged blasts of fire, she knew that she had to keep Cinder focused on her and not on fleeing to the docks.

Ruby knew for a fact that if Cinder made it there, she'd still an airship, then blow the rest to hell, practically sink them into the bay. There'd be no way they could catch up, unless avian Faunus like Chicahua could match the airship's speed and bring it down. Knowing Team IONC's tribal warrior, he probably could, but Ruby didn't want things to get that far.

Her mind briefly drifted to Emerald. Had she already made her escape? Was she still on the run? Ruby honestly didn't know, and she tried hard not to think about it. She needed to focus on the enemy before her. In spite of her brave words, Cinder wasn't an easy opponent. Her level of power was impressive, almost on par with Vesuvius', yet she couldn't help but feel there was something different about it, something she couldn't quite put her finger on. A portion of her mind stayed stuck on that while the rest coordinated with her body to fend off the fire blasts and occasional arrows shot from her bow. They shattered into pieces of what she realized were glass upon contact with Crescent Rose, others sailed past her cloak.

From a burst of fire the black-haired criminal, a wicked smile on her face. In her hands were two scimitars, her bow broken up into two blazing swords.

KLANG! KLANG! KLANG!

Ruby's face remained set in grim determination as she parried the attacks. They were fast, but not quite as fast as Vesuvius', which was a boon. Still, she knew if she messed up even once it could be the end of her. For her part, Cinder seemed to be a cross between amused and annoyed that her attacks had been deflected. She tried again, infusing more power into her swords believing that would be the key. Again, Ruby parried the blows, her scythe twirling as the gears in it shifted the blade into a glaive form. The black and red blade was thrust at the wanted criminal, who nimbly sidestepped the attack. She then ducked as Ruby shifted the weapon back into scythe form and swung it. Cinder's face lit up believing that now she had her chance, both her blades were pulled back then thrusted forward in a rising X-pattern that she was sure would bisect the freshman student.

WHOOSH!

Shock briefly overcame Cinder's features as she stared at a flurry of rose petals falling to the ground. Sensing a build up of energy, she snapped her head to the left.

Ruby finished her fourth twirl, the one in which she stomped her boot-covered foot down and swung her beloved weapon. The vacuum blade that flew out was close to ten feet in width, brimming with red energy, her Aura, infused into the attack. Slightly wide-eyed, Cinder threw her hand up, a wall of fire shielding her from the attack. Even then, she saw the flame wall bulk under the pressure of the attack. Her face morphing into a dismissive sneer, Cinder thrusted her hand out, a flame being emitted from her right eye. The wall of fire morphed into a concentrated blast that shot forward, searing the once snow-covered ground. She cared nothing for whoever else was caught in the blast, so long as the young redhead was incinerated.

Hearing the familiar cock of a gun, she realized that she hadn't been.

The silver eyes of the young huntress met the flame-colored orbs of the criminal. A second later and the two grew closer, the former having been propelled by her rifle shot. Ruby twisted in mid-air, rearing her scythe back as it hummed with her life energy. In the short seconds before impact, Cinder quietly debated on what she wanted to do, what she could do. Biting her lip, she ultimately chose to meet the redhead in another clash of weaponry.

Boom!

Cracks spread out along the ground, born from the clash of the two female warriors, one attacking and one defending. The resulting shock waves pushed the flames away, along with the residual snow, having melted away into water. Under the intense heat, it was starting to outright evaporate.

Ruby hit the ground then spun in a three-sixty circle, Crescent Rose no longer humming red, but instead glowing with a cyan-colored light. Cinder absent-mindedly retaliated. She hissed as steam exploded from her swords and Ruby's scythe collided. Heat energy and ice energy collided just as the two weapons did. Both combatants were pushed back, but that wasn't enough to stop either of them. Their weapons continued to clash, the power of ice fueling one and fire the other, completing the duality of the two women warriors. Amidst their clashes, their eyes met, each time examining the other, and each time disliking what they saw.

To Cinder, the girl in front of her was an annoyance, one that she felt had been given more attention than she deserved. She knew that Ruby was one of PESTILENCE's primary targets; they wanted her Silver Eyes, eyes that had the power to stop Grimm dead in their tracks. And occurring to her own superiors, could match the power of the Four Maidens. Cinder wasn't callous enough to brush off such a threat…but she wasn't willing to believe that this one little girl could be that much of a game-changer. Not yet anyway. That's why she had to die, before she reached that level of power where she could become a threat to her and her mistress. That, and frankly she just found the girl's optimism and spirit annoying as hell. Let her go down in flames, just like that blonde friend of hers nearly did. It was a petty that he wasn't here with her. From what she understood, following the battle against Vesuvius, the Arc boy now had a now crippling fear of fire. A wicked grin grew along her face as an idea came to.

A frost-empowered bullet whizzed past the criminal, shot from the barrel of the teenage prodigy's rifle. Had it hit, Cinder's head would have been flash frozen, then shattered in a matter of seconds. She was almost impressed. "Suppose it's a good thing that your little friend isn't here, isn't it? Or maybe not considering that you were barely able to hold your own against Vesuvius. Having him here, he'd make great decoy, wouldn't he?"

Fire burned within Ruby, the fire of rage. It had already been smoldering within her since Izaak found her and told her that Emerald was working for the enemy. The flame smoldered within her; it now seemed that this pyrokinetic woman was going to try to further ignite it. Ruby had an idea of what would happen if she lost control-the power of rage would flow through her, but in return her tactical awareness would drop to zero. When it did, she knew it was going to cost her either her limb or her life. Odds were it would be the latter.

Block her out! Block her out! A clear and focused voice told her. It sounded like her dad's, specifically when he was in "teaching mode". A second later as she waltzed out of the way of an attempted overhead slash, it changed tone to Professor Goodwitch's, thus its sharper and more pressing tone. Again and again it changed, taking on the tones of various guidance figures she'd had in her life. They were all right, she had to block her opponent's voice out.

"I hear he's developed quite a fear of fire, hasn't he? Really, it's hard to blame the poor boy, but what about you, little Ruby?" Cinder's continued, even as her arms rung from the vibrations born from clashing against the massive scythe. From both its weight and Ruby's own continuous flow of energy, it was proving to be a deadly weapon. What she had to do was get her hands on it, literally. Sturdy as it might have been, it was still made out of human metal; she'd melt it down into slag in seconds and that would leave her opponent defenseless. Not to mention it would leave her spirit quite broken. "Are you afraid of fire like he is? Were you spared that scar by virtue of his sacrifice? A sacrifice that nearly cost him his arm, oh, and his family heirloom! He gave up that for you too!"

"Shut up." Ruby seethed as she dashed to her left, the ground where she'd been standing on literally going up in flames. It was definitely becoming hotter. If the battle kept on going than even if she lost her snow coat and boots, she'd still feel like she was in an oven. The second the explosive burst ceased, she dashed toward Cinder, then spun to her left at the last second. She was caught, but Ruby had stepped up her speed, and power. Cinder grimaced as she was hit with more force than she was expecting. Ruby's eyes narrowed as she seized on that opportunity, small as it was.

Her second of being overwhelmed passed, and Cinder was back at it. "So, I'll take that as a no. Hm, quite cold-blooded of you, I approve!"

"Shut up!" Shouted the redhead, pushing through Cinder's defense. Pure instinct overwrote her mind causing her to do something she normally wouldn't do-aim for the neck. Now, normally, aiming for the neck was a common tactic, especially for scythe-users like her. She'd cleaved through the necks of countless Grimm, but human beings were another matter entirely. Normally, she aimed for the upper body or the legs, always seeking to immobilize and break her opponent's Aura shielding. It was only these last few months she'd begun activity aiming for the neck of human beings. Her battle with the Reaper of Flames was the first time that Ruby ever truly felt a burning desire to cleave through another person's neck and sever their head. The rage, the hatred she'd felt for Vesuvius as he seemingly killed Jaune found her again. Cinder's words had unearthed the memory, and with it, the same level of animosity was now surging within her; its aim was the black-haired villainess in front of her.

Cinder saw the murderous anger in the teenager's silver eyes. It made her smile for a number of reasons. "Foolish girl." Cackled the older woman seconds before the scythe came for her neck. Aura had been poured into the weapon's edge making it sharp enough to cut through both an opponent's Aura shielding and their neck. Quite a merciless technique, but one quite fitting for reaper. But Cinder wasn't about to be reaped by one so young. Her right eye flashed bright like a star, then her own Aura flared up, literally. She watched the shock explode across her opponent's face as she was thrown back by the pillar of fire that surrounded the criminal. "Perhaps your charred corpse will send that boy further spiraling into despair. Be a dear and help him on his way." Cinder giggled as she stretched out her hand, the fire pooling into a massive orb, practically a miniature sun. At her mental command, the fireball collapsed into a beam of concentrated flames that shot forward directly toward the stunned reaper.

Boom!

Briefly, Cinder saw it, the sudden burst that left behind a banquet of rose pelts in its wake. Those petals caught fire near instantly, but she was able to observe their crimson splendor for just a second. It angered her beyond words.

The second boom sounded to her left, and that's where she responded, a massive claymore formed in her hands.

CRA-ACK!

And in a single flash of red, it was shattered into countless pieces. Cinder's fingers curled as she exerted control over those glass shards, commanding them to home in on the freshman girl who'd broken them. Said girl was already within striking distance of her, and going in for another attack. Growling in the back of her throat, Cinder flared up her powers, a wall of fire rising around.

Ruby wasn't detoured, she kept on charging.

SLISH!

A slightly diagonal line was cut through the wall of fiery aura that Cinder had thrown up. Beyond it, the protective shield of her Aura briefly flashed, cracks spreading out from the diagonal cut along her left-side. She felt it-pain, not great pain, but pain none the less. Her flaming eyes found Ruby's harden silver orbs. Hot-red rage was burning in both of them.

"You bitch." Cinder seethed, her left hand tightening into a fist that cackled with mystical power.

THUMP!

The air flew from Ruby's lungs as her body was lunched in the opposite direction. Her Aura took most of the impact, about eighty-percent, but that last twenty-percent still ended up hitting her, and it hit her hard. Silver eyes widened then shut as flames burned through her Aura and eventually her flesh, all while being delivered by immense physical force. Her feet left the ground as she was launched backward, skidding across the water-covered ground. As she rolled, she tasted blood, her own blood. Coming to a stop only gave the pain time to settle and her head the chance to ring like a bell. From all around her came the heat of fire; it caused her mind to jump back to little over a month ago, the last time she was in a situation like this. It had been one of the worst moments of her entire life.

"I was going to take it easy on you, but you deserve more now." Called her adversary's voice, cold and distant like looming thunder. Upon opening her eyes, Ruby saw little more than ten feet separated her and Cinder. Fire raged all around them, but the strongest flames were centered around Cinder. What Ruby saw looked less like Dust or Aura manipulation and more like something else, something almost…magical. The villainess' cold face morphed into a wicked smile. "I wonder where Jaune is right about now. Could he off be in the gymnasium training? Trying to make himself useful? Perhaps I should pay him a visit. Maybe I can help him with his pyrophobia, hehehe."

Ruby didn't need to hear any of that as she already had reason enough to want to kill Cinder. She now had an even bigger reason.

"Shut…the hell up. Shut up…shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" The memories flashed through her mind like a broken newsreel. Her blood raced, roaring in her ears louder than a thunderstorm. For several precious seconds, she could hear her own heart racing in her chest, beating as fiercely as a war drum. Just like before, it was the rage that caused her eyes to ignite, and with that ignition, came a sense of empowerment that made Ruby feel like a god. She wanted to become a goddess of death. "STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM HIM!" Like a bomb blast, the ground exploded as her feet kicked off it, launching her like a bullet from a gun barrel.

As the silver light approached her, Cinder felt something-fear-crawling up her spine. She immediately rejected it. Fear had no place in her, not anymore. The feeling only increased her rage, which fed her powers. Cinder Fall became a swirling mass of fire and wrath, instantaneously melting the snow then evaporating the resulting water. In a single burst of power, she turned winter into summer, the act of a deity. She was a deity enraged. Her hand rose and from her palm shot forth a massive burst of fire, a blast fit for a dragon; it was heading straight for Ruby.

Who yet again vanished in not just a burst of rose petals, but also silver light. Cinder saw the evasion just in time to avoid the reaper's next attack, a crescent-shaped blast of crimson and silver energy fired from her scythe.

WHOSH!

"What the-!" She jumped back at the last second, the energy slash annihilating the ground she'd previously been standing on. Cinder's hands came together forming a flame-infused glass broadsword that she brought up just in time to protect herself from Ruby's next attack, a spinning overhead slash. The resulting shock wave causing the ground beneath Cinder's heels to crack.

One set of eyes blazed with the fires of wrath, the other shined with the same emotion. Both seemingly magnified as scythe and sword met in a continuous series of clashes that generated more shock waves that further cracked the earth and fanned the flames around them. In addition to bursts of flames, bursts of silver light were released from the clashes as well, each one a miniature bomb blast confined to a space of no less than six feet. In that small space, a private war was being waged by two women with powers that were in no way human. Each wanted the other dead and was doing everything they could to make that a reality.

Cinder grew fed up first.

"Alright, you've had your fun! Time to drop dead, you pathetic little brat!" The criminal's glass blade burned a fiery orange as more magically power was infused into it. The glass wouldn't hold for long, but that was the point; Cinder always loved surprise attacks, they worked especially well on enemies so filled with rage they couldn't think straight.

Boom!

Ruby instinctively shut her eyes and looked away. Between the glass and the fire, she knew that if she didn't, she'd lost not just her eyes, but also likely her nose and lips and teeth. Death would likely come quickly after her facial disfigurement.

Pain came next, searing hot pain that left her gasping for breath while blood trickled down her lips. Somewhere through the haze of pain, she recognized she'd just been punched in the stomach, with another burning punch. She'd taken blows like this before, from Yang of course. This was different, the flames were much harsher and the force behind it greater, this was a punch meant to seriously hurt her. The next thing Ruby knew, she felt her feet being lifted off the ground, then her back was slammed into the ground, along with her hand. Before another pained gasp could escape her lips, something hot and powerful wrapped around her throat. A strangled cry trickled out of her lips. Her silver eyes struggled to focus on what was happening around her; a beacon or orange-yellow malice gave her something to focus on.

"Jumpy little thing, aren't you?" Cinder sneered, her face unsettling close to Ruby. Even without the heat, she could feel the raw malice radiating from the woman. Being this close to her made Ruby want to heave in revulsion. It was amazing really; she'd never hated anyone within five minutes of meeting them as much as she had Cinder. Though Vesuvius was a close second. That same anger was burning hot inside of her; Ruby needed it to burn to give her the strength to wrench herself free of Cinder's grip. She had to as not just her life, but several others depended on it. Cinder was seemingly quite aware of this. "I think I might have had a slight change of heart, little Ruby. I'm still going to kill you, but I'm going to take my time in doing so. See, you can kill a person in many different ways. You can kill them mentally and emotionally…and doing so is often so much more delectable than merely putting a bullet in their head." Grinning, the older woman raised her left hand, her nails igniting and shaping into flaming claws. "Those pretty little silver eyes of yours are a big problem for me and my associates, so I'll get rid of them. Once I do, you won't be so special, just another brat with a weapon running around thinking she can play hero. You won't be able to see it, but I'll let you hear, everything that you love and care about crashing and burning down around you. Not Jaune of course, his future is significantly brighter than you think, little Ruby."

Within the same second that Ruby's anger peaked, Cinder lifted her up by the neck, then slammed her down into the ground. Her brief groan of pain was sweat, but Cinder wanted more.

"He has a very special power, the Aegis, the ultimate defensive Semblance. I'm sure you remember just a little of what he did at Fort Lennox, his ability to project barriers that could fend off Vesuvius. For a little while at least." She added with a chuckle. Try as Ruby might, she couldn't completely hide her curiosity and even awe at the information her enemy was revealing to her. In the back of her head, she knew Cinder was doing this as to taunt her. She either wasn't going to live long enough to use it or be unable to use it at all after she was finished with her. "If properly trained, the things he'll be able to do. Creating fortress walls, barriers large enough and strong enough to shelter entire cities. He has such a bright future ahead of him…but he'll need someone to light the way. I think I could be the one to do that, after all, I do have a knack for bringing out the best of people's abilities." Her grin growing in malice, she tightened her hold on Ruby's neck as she struggled to move. "I'll help mold him into a powerful warrior, and who knows…maybe along the way I'll end up becoming the lady to his knight. At certain points he'll make some leaps in progress…and I'll have to be there to reward him for such achievements. Ooooh, the ways I'll raise him up and polish him. He'll surpass the fame of his-"

SHUT…THE HELL…UUUPPPPPPP!" After pouring all the gasoline that she could, the fire in Ruby finally exploded. Literally. The familiar anger within her reached the same level as it did at Fort Lennox. Amazingly, she could still see as her eyes became twin supernovas of silver light. She saw Cinder's grinning face, though the grin was momentarily lost as the light in Ruby's eyes grew brighter. It was "STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM HIM, YOU BITCH!" There was no holding back, only a full release of the anger inside of her, and the power that was responding to it. Ruby let the power surge forth from the depths of her soul.

And it felt oddly…good.

At last, Cinder shrieked in shocked terror as the blazing silver light erupted from Ruby Rose like a grenade exploding. Being so close to the blast was dangerous, every fiber in Cinder's body told her that, but one part of her more than any other.

The mystical power inside of her screeched for her to get away. She listened to it.

But her evasion came seconds too late.

"Aaaaaaaarrrhh!" Burning, it was something she was used to, burning other things. Being on the receiving end of the burning, that was a different experience. And Cinder absolutely hated it. Clenching her right arm as she jumped back, her mind struggled to comprehend what had just happened. She'd gotten hurt, that was obvious, she'd been pushed back. Smoke curled off her right arm, now sporting blacken singe marks from her finger tips up to a little past her elbow. The pain lingered in her arm instead of immediately fading away, which Cinder hated. "You…you little bitch, how dare you!" Barked the black-haired woman raising her head up and glaring daggers at the freshman girl who'd just done what few were able to do.

Ruby stood several feet from her. As had neem the case with Vesuvius, her silver eyes were blazing bright. They were a mirror to Cinder's own eyes, both serving as representation of the mystical power both women held within them. As Cinder's arm showed though, one had an advantage over the other.

Crescent Rose's edge glowed with the same argent light that filled Ruby's eyes. They were locked on Cinder, who returned her glare full force.

There was nothing but pure hatred between them.

In response to Ruby's scythe, Cinder manifested twin flaming sabers in her hands. She looked forward to driving them into her opponent's flesh.

Which wasn't going to be happening this winter day. "Cinder."

"W-W-What?" Stammered the black-haired woman, her angry vintage breaking into confusion.

"You have played around for long enough, it's time for you to get back to your mission. I shall send the appropriate forces to deal with little Ruby." The wicked witch's voice sounded.

"N-No! I can handle her! Just give me a little more time!" Shouted back the pyrokinetic rogue.

Several feet across from her, Ruby watched on in confusion, the glow in her eyes dimming. "What the…" Is on some sort of comm link with someone?

"Cinder," The voice spoke again, just a fraction harder than it had before.

To Cinder fall, that fraction contained all the weight of a mountain, one that would crush Cinder her into oblivion. There was no fighting it, no struggle, only cold assurance that if that mountain fell atop her, she would die.

Ruby watched as cold fear seized her opponent. A second ago she'd been a flaming mass of rage and malice ready to continue their duel to the death, now…Ruby couldn't help but see her as a puppy trembling in fear of being kicked. It left her extremely curious as to who Cinder was talking to, and what sort of power they held over her.

Boom! Boom!

Both girls heard the back-to-back explosions ripping through the air, above the roar of the fires around them. Those fires were breeched as something came blasting into the private bubble that the two women had created during their fight.

That something was Cardin Winchester, his hands burning bright red from use of his Semblance. It had propelled him through the sky, and it was now propelling him in Cinder's direction. His body twisted to the right with his adjacent hand spread out. A fiery explosion went off propelling him forward and his twisted his leg, the empowered kick aimed right at Cinder's head.

The teenager's surprise entrance caught Cinder off guard. She saw his kick coming in slow motion. Her ears still rung with the sound of her mistress' voice, a voice that could rob her of all of her willpower, just as it had seconds ago.

"Raaaaah!" Cardin shouted as his leg came within centimeters of impacting her face.

It was in those few seconds Cinder regained her composure. It was too late to parry the attack, and it was coming at her with enough force to hurt her.

And it did.

At the last second, Cinder was able to lean back, but that cushioned the impact by a quarter. The remaining three quarters hit her in full, painful force. Cinder grunted in pain as she stumbled backward, her Aura shield flashing as cracks spread along it.

Ruby realized the opportunity she had and seized it. Her feet kicked off the propelling her forward. The rogue heard the small sonic boom and responded to it on pure instinct, spinning around with her hand outstretched. A flaming sword materialized in her palm and headed on a collision course with Crescent Rose.

CRA-ACCCK!

Through the pain in her skull, which including a bloody nose, Cinder watched her sword shatter into pieces as Ruby's scythe cut through it. Heart racing, she realized the situation she was in-one that was going to end with her death if she didn't act fast.

Ruby and Cardin looked eyes with one another. In that moment, they came an understanding without words. There were no questions asked as their silent cooperation kicked off. The team leaders reared their respective weapons back, Ruby her scythe and Cardin his bare fist, the hand cackled with explosive fire taking on a fireball-like glow. They were ready to strike together at the off-balance Cinder. Neither of them knew her very well, but they both knew one thing for certain-the woman had to die, and she was going to die by their hand. Literally in Cardin's case.

The attacks would have impacted, had they not had to change course to protect themselves.

From the sky came a barrage of fireballs and acidic spitballs that descended upon the two leaders. Their combat instincts alerted them to the oncoming attacks and took control of their bodies, jerking them out of the way. In unison, they looked up to the sky to see a flock of wyverns having entered the airspace.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me." Cardin sneered. His huffing was coming out as clouds of cold vapor, same as Ruby. Like her, he too had expanded quite a bit of energy already, albeit less than her. "Don't tell me we're looking at another Grimm wave. Not here."

"I-I think the academy's defenses should be enough to hold them back." Ruby muttered. A few seconds later, she realized the Grimm had been a distraction. "Wait, where's Cinder? Where'd she go?!"

"Gone." Cardin grunted. "I don't know if she planned it or if it's coincidence, but she-! Get back!" Shouted the former bully springing backward. Ruby followed suit.

They saw the black blur hit the ground like a meteor. Both teens threw their arms up in defense of the resulting debris. Also the gunfire that came next. Cardin whipped his hands out, a wall of explosions protecting his front.

"Hehehehe, so, a pyrokinetic, you'll be fun to play with. After I deal with little red over there." Snickered a voice rimmed with malice.

It alerted both freshman students to this new threat's identity, and who its target was.

Ruby was ready when the attack came at her, a result of her now fully alert combat instincts and the voice' declaration. A flash of purple amidst the dust only further alerted her to the danger.

The blur came at her quick as lightning. Ruby was still fast enough to see it. Her arms rung as Crescent Rose impacted something metallic, a blade. Then the impact sounded again and again. She saw the flashes of silver coming at her and that's what she responded to, pure fighting instinct guiding her. It was better for her to focus on those flashes than the eyes, violet-colored eyes that looked to her as if she were prey. Whoever this assailant was, that's what he saw her as. The comparison was strengthened as she saw something rising up behind the silver flashes, something that caused her blood to freeze.

Thunk!

Before whatever it was could impact, a small flaming pebble slammed into it, then exploded. A slight hiss of pain sounded from the attacker; Ruby seized the opportunity to strike. Crescent Rose cleaved through the air in an upward swing, just barely missing its targets.

"Ah! That was close, a little too close. Hehehe, perhaps you've got some more fight in you than I first thought. Ooooh, this is going to be so much fun!" Squealed the unknown opponent. The two teens took immediate notice of the scorpion tail that rose from behind him. He was a Faunus, a scorpion Faunus. Cardin cursed while Ruby quietly braced herself. The scorpion comparison was only further strengthened when they saw the man's choice of weapons, steel pincers with gun barrels at the base. "Such adorable little children…it'll be such a pleasure to paint the snow red with your blood."

"How's about your blood instead, bastard." Cardin snarled.

"Oh…hehehe, tough talk from someone without a weapon. Tell me, are you one of those bare-fisted types? If so, this'll be fun! I promise, I'll be much more fun to play with than Hazel!" Cackled the man. Completing the look was a long pony tail and eyes that shifted from yellow to purple. They reeked of insanity, the kind of murderous insanity that told the two freshmen that they shouldn't underestimate this man.

"Hazel?" Ruby whispered shooting a brief glance over at Cardin. He caught it and grunted. In an indirect way, they'd just learned that this maniac wasn't alone. The problem was they had no idea who this Hazel was or what his capabilities were. Not to mention they already had one lunatic standing in front of them. Oh man, Ruby groaned looking around at the fires raging around them, fires borne of the battle against Cinder. Speaking of which, Ruby had no idea where she'd gone…and that terrified her, maybe a little more than the enemy in front of her did.

She had little time to set on it as the Faunus leaped at them, or more specifically her. Ruby pulled Crescent Rose back and braced herself for another round with the grinning maniac. She'd jumped from one lunatic to another, though this one ranked higher on the crazy scale.

As she parried his oncoming attacks, Ruby felt her mind slip away to another subject matter. Jaune. She thought through gnashing teeth. Where was he when the bombs went off? Was he nearby? Far away? The questions gnawed at her, but she had to keep it at bay. Jaune, wherever you are…please, be safe! She prayed for the same for her teammates, her friends, everyone she knew.

But for the life of her, Ruby couldn't help but worry about Jaune more so than any others. It was a bad feeling in her gut that wouldn't subside.

---

Beacon Campus, Southwest Side, 9:18 AM…

Outwardly, neither of the gray-haired youths paid attention to the series of explosions that rocked Beacon campus. Both of them knew if they did show an ounce of outward emotion at that point in the fight it'd be the end, especially Neil.

It took more effort on Neil's part to keep calm. The pain in his abdomen was keeping his adrenaline pumping, and that kept his senses alert. His hear was one sense that he always paid close attention. What he heard was death claiming countless lives in a in a single blazing sweep. In its aftermath was chaos.

Their duel had been a silent one, at least mostly on Neil's part. Mercury hated that. He hated how in spite of having been shot with an anti-Aura bullet that hampered his healing, Neil was still fighting back at not just a decent level, he was fighting back with a silent frown on his face.

Mercury hated his cold expression. He hated it from the bottom of his heart, which roared within his chest as he launched kick after kick at his opponent. Few of them dealt any direct damage, which infuriated Mercury. While he'd fought wounded opponents before, none of them had put up quite as much of a fight as Neil did. None of them had ever come close to putting him on the defensive.

His strikes were fast and powerful in spite of the bullet wound he'd suffered less than twenty minutes earlier. It was nothing short of miraculous that he was able to fight through the injury, parrying Mercury's attacks then counterattacking with precision and ferocity. Several times Mercury's Aura manifested, cracks and slash marks that caused it to fluctuate. In comparison, the number of blows he managed to land on his opponent were few and far between; what made it more frustrating was that it was clear that his Aura shield hadn't fully recovered yet. To counter that, Neil was doing his best to ensure he took no major blows, a feat that was as amazing as it was infuriating.

Mercury's attacks were just as swift as his, and precise. Yet they still were countered by Neil's sword. The air rung with the nonstop screeching of metal. A steel blade and steel greaves repeatedly clashing against one another, neither being able to overcome the other. Mercury knew the stalemate wasn't going to last, both he and his opponent had trump cards up their sleeves that could turn the tide of the battle.

In Neil's case, it was his Semblance. Thanks to his Semblance, he could turn any blade he held into a high-frequency blade that could cut through metal like butter. The problem was, doing that would require concentration and his Aura, the former which was pre-occupied and the latter of which he was still recovering from. Mercury's trump card could take it off the table completely, he just needed some room to use it. That's why he tried to put some distance between him and the young knight.

Mercury's problem was he was fast running out of that. Slowly but surely, Neil's precise blows were pushing him back further and further. If he ran out of room to fight then he was finished, something that Neil knew all too well. He knew Mercury's fighting style just as Mercury had a beat on his. That said, he wasn't fighting with in his usual dual-wielding manner, instead, Neil was coming at him with only one blade. And that one blade could be held with two strong hands; Mercury could feel the impact through his prosthetics. If Neil were fighting at full strength, they wouldn't hold up.

I've got to end this fast! I can't let this drag on any longer or else I'm screwed! Thought the rogue as he ducked an overhead slash that would have split him in half, then counter attacked with a side kick. Neil showed that even with the wound, he was still able to move fast, ducking the blow then surging forth with a rising slash that Mercury jumped away from. His Aura felt the pressure of the air slash that went with his attack, it always did as he evaded Neil's blows. Gnashing his teeth, he surged forward with a shot from his greaves, coming directly at Neil, who assumed a guarding position. It was a feint.

Mercury went up, propelling himself several feet into the air. He knew he wasn't out of Neil's reach, something that both boys were aware of.

Howling cyan-tinted winds swirled around the broadsword as it was lifted up in a reverse grip. Neil's gray-blue eyes flashed an azure seconds before he planted the tip of his sword in the rooftop. The swirling winds exploded outward in a massive cyclone of that quickly encompassed the entire rooftop. Briefly, blue light flashed, then came the cold shush of winter. Mercury was above it, but he too was caught in the sudden freeze. He gnashed his teeth as the cold chill traveled past his cybernetics and reached his flesh, a testament to how powerful the cold burst was. Before his legs could freeze, he switched his greaves' ammo type over, firing off a few rounds to launch himself higher, out of reach of the attack. In fleeing the cold burst on the rooftop, he subjected himself to the natural cold air of the sky. He immediately hated it, but at least it wasn't actively trying to consume him.

Yet.

CRAAACK!

The ground was over twenty feet below him, but Mercury could see it well. It was nearly impossible to miss the cracks spreading through the frozen rooftop. It had been completely frozen over, and under Neil's control. Even from so high up, he could see the absolute loathing in his eyes as he snapped his head upward in Mercury's direction. The kickboxer returned the loathing with equal intensity.

At Neil's command, the ice shards flew skyward, directly toward the airborne criminal. Mercury's eyes widen as fear seized his heart. He knew what he had to do, and knew if he didn't move fast, he was going to be coming back down as a bloody mess. Roaring, he swung his legs in various arcs, firing shots that blew apart the approaching ice shards. The problem was there were so many, and even those were just a cover for the real attack.

Neil shot upward with his sword reared back, icy winds coiling around the blade giving it a cyan-colored glow that shined amidst the gray clouds. It wasn't just the sword; Neil's Aura was flaring as he ascended toward his target. In the midst of his ascension, the knight's glowing blue eyes locked with Mercury's.

Dammit. Dammit. Dammit! "Dammit! You and those damn eyes of yours! Those goddamn eyes of yours! Always looking down one me, judging me! Pitying me!" Mercury roared over the howling wind.

"Because," The voice on the wind whispered into the kickboxer's ears. "I do pity you, Mercury."

Red hot fire filled Mercury's veins. "SHUT THE HELL UP, YOU FU-"

SWOOOSH!

His original plan was to dodge the attack. Really, it was. It was quite powerful, the type that would either flash freeze him or cleave him in two, or both. A simple exchange of words had thrown that pre-set plan out the window. He didn't realize that until the surging mass of concentrated wind and ice was inches from cutting him in half. By then, it was too late to get out of the way completely, so Mercury took what he could get. Raising his right leg, he prayed the propulsion from the bullet would come fast enough to push him out of the way. While he could feel himself moving, he also felt the arctic roar of the attack, flash-freezing his cybernetics while at the same time cutting through them.

The next thing, Mercury knew, he was falling, his right leg was gone, cut off at the upper though where frost also lay. It wasn't just his leg, almost the entire right side of his body was temporarily numb from the frost. Pain quickly followed-nail-biting pain that made him feel as if he were being stabbed by hundreds of tiny needles. Still, Mercury knew what he had to do. Focusing what remained of his Aura, he pumped it into his remaining left leg and blasted himself downward. Pride aside, he knew he had to put some distance between himself and Neil; his life depended on it. He didn't want to admit he was scared, but he felt fear pulsing through him as he propelled himself backward. It only grew stronger when he looked up and saw Neil still seemingly suspended in mid-air. He watched the wind and ice swirl around his sword, which was reared back. Mercury knew what was about to come next; stopping it wasn't going to be easy since he was now down to one leg.

But he still tried.

Executing his "special move" with one leg wasn't easy, but Mercury had anger and desperation fueling him. Somehow, he managed to pull it off. Gray energy swirled around his leg, whose back ankle opened revealing a jet booster that he used to spin around. A swirling wall of wind formed around the teenage rogue, shielding him against the oncoming crescent-shaped slashes that were barreling his way.

Mercury finally hit the ground, albeit it was in a roll and his entire body feeling like it'd just been rung like a bell. His counter attack had saved him from taking the brunt of Neil's attack, but the shock wave was still enough to knock him down to the ground and leave him grunting in pain; his Aura was in the lower digits, even single digits. There was little time to stew in it as he felt a surge of murderous intentions heading his way. Heart still racing, he looked up just in time to see Neil flying straight at him, that same cold look on his face.

Then, it broke into a grimace of pain.

Realizing it was his only chance, Mercury prompted his himself up on his hands and fired off an Anti-Aura round, one he'd been saving, directly at the incoming knight.

In spite of the pain, or rather because of it, Neil saw the attack coming and was able to deflect it. Seeing the other incoming shots, he swung his sword again and again, deflecting each of them up until he hit an explosive round. Neil faltered, the pain in his abdomen flaring up. His momentum was lost leaving him fall to the ground.

"Hah! Not so tough now, are you!" Mercury shouted

Neil pushed himself up and shot him a grin. "At least I still have both legs, asshole."

That was the last straw. "You son of bitch! You damn son of a lying bitch! I hate you! You and that damn look! Looking down on me, pitying me!"

"Again, I do pity you, Mercury." Muttered the blue-eyed teen getting to his feet. He had to use his sword for support as the ice that had frozen his wound had begun to crack. With those cracks had come the pain, pain that was making it hard for him to stand up, much less keep on fighting. His Aura was working, but at a snail's pace; fighting was the last thing he should have been doing, but he had to do it. "We both came from the same place…but look at where we've ended up."

"Yeah…I'm free doing whatever the hell I want while you're here playing hero-in-training with a bunch of brats. I'd say I got the better deal." Snapped the kickboxer. He was running a little low on ammo, not to mention he was now down a leg. Those two things would make escape infinitely more difficult if not impossible. "You think you've had it so good, haven't you?"

"Evidently you do too, after all, you're the one getting all worked up over it." Sniped back the swordsman. His parents had taught him that words had power, especially when spoken in the right order at the right time.

Such wisdom was validated, as was his previous statement.

Mercury's eyes flashed red with anger. Veins bulging up his neck and arms, he launched himself toward Neil, all pretense of tact and gone. With its vanishing, the duel came to a close.

Neil was glad that Mercury was coming at him with his remaining metallic leg, it made aiming much easier.

Boom!

Straight from the skies, a bolt of whitish-blue lightning descended to the ground in seconds. Albeit the ground wasn't the target, Mercury's left leg was.

He froze in mid-stride, his eyes flying open as millions of volts of electricity surged through his prosthetic leg, overloading it causing it to explode. Those volts traveled into him, blasting through his Aura and hitting him directly, Mercury's mouth was frozen open as a pain-filled scream was ripped from his lungs. It grew louder as Neil sprinted forth, the icy cover on his wound further cracking, yet he continued to run. First, he brought his fist down atop Mercury's stomach, the blow coming down like a sledge hammer. The legless teen bounced off the ground from the punch; he grasped for breath as Neil drove his sword into his right bicep. Holding out his right hand, Neil conjured an icy sword which he proceeded to drive into his opponent's left forearm.

Mercury Black was pinned, by steel, ice, and lightning. His vision was blurry from it all. For a minute, he stared up at the snow falling from the gray sky, then he saw the gray-blue eyes of his opponent. A sneer immediately crossed his face.

"Where…is…Cinder?" He huffed. It was clear that he was in pain, but as always, Neil was fighting through it. That's what he'd been-a fighter, different from his parents who were thieves, assassins. Just like Mercury's own father. The difference was, they had some shred of humanity in them; the testament to that humanity hovered over him. "Where is she…Mercury." Repeated the young knight, sweat pouring down his brow.

"Gah…why don't you…go look for her your-" His words were silenced as a pillar of erupted from afar with the boom of a bomb. Both gray-haired teens looked in direction of the tower of silver light. The reactions of the two were polar opposite: Mercury's face fell as the light bathed him in an unsettling sense of dread, Neil looked to the light and smirked.

"Well, I guess that answers my question." He chuckled.

"Don't get too ahead of yourself, you self-righteous asshole!" Snapped back the now legless rogue. "Look at yourself! What the hell do you think You can do running into that hell!" Mustering what strength he could, he spat at his opponent. Neil's eyes darkened at the insult, but he maintained some measure of calmness as he continued to glare down at him. "Fine, go off. Get yourself killed, dying a 'hero's death', it's something you've always wanted, right? Better than how your parents went out, right? Gunned down like the miserable dogs they were. The that they deserved!"

His words got a reaction. Neil's cold face darkened with silent rage, his hair spiked out in the back and his eyes glowed a bright azure tint. Lightning cackled through his left arm, passing into his right arm. The pain was white-hot, a stark contrast to the agony his left arm was experiencing. From the stab wound, ice began to spread, freezing not just the skin but the muscles and tendons beneath it; it was instant frostbite, the kind that could likely cost Mercury his left arm. There was a possibility he'd lose his right arm too.

Mercury sneered at his counterpart. "Go on, do it!"

Two voices argued inside of Neil's head, they argued while his body was rocked by the pain from his wound. He was almost out of Aura and his physical stamina was reaching its limits. If he let Mercury live, he could become a problem in the future, cybernetics made limb loss survivable…but that was only if Mercury was let out of their sights. Even if he didn't know the entire operation, what he did know could prove useful to them.

On top of that, something just told him that death would be a little too-

Feeling his heart pounding against his chest in fearful alarm, he ripped his swords up out from Mercury's arms and brought them up in front of him. He saved himself from the brunt of the attack, but he was still knocked back a considerable distance. The knockback further agitated his wound, which ached as he attempted to sit up.

"Huh, now that I get a good look at you, you do look a little like your folks. But damn, kid, you've got your own style. I'm actually pretty impressed! Really makes me wish we could spare a little, but it's clear you're done for the day." Snickered the man currently approaching the two downed boys. His cobalt blue eyes cackled with amusement, even as he turned to look at Mercury who sneered in response. "Looks like someone got themselves caught up in some trouble they couldn't run away from."

"Shut up, Hoyt!" Mercury immediately barked. Moving his neck and head was all he could do, and even that might not last for much longer given the injuries he'd suffered. "Gah, just…just help me get out of here! Our cover's blown!"

"No shit, Sherlock." The former Huntsman chuckled as he moved over to the kickboxer. Hoy's grin contrasted with Mercury's sneer. Both of them knew that with the latter's legs gone, he was going to have to be carried away. Both of them, Hoyt himself, knew that he was a gentle man. At least not with mouthy teenage boys, especially one who'd just gotten his ass kicked thus giving him quite a good show. "Come on, you can come back and play with your old friend after we've gotten all your bobos fixed up." With that, he grabbed Mercury by the collar and hefted him over his back. Of course, Mercury groaned, in both annoyance and in pain at the rough handling; he'd endured it though.

All Neil could do was watch them go, quietly accepting his feud with the son of Marcus Black would have to wait for another day. Matter of fact, his new order of business was making sure he lived to see that another day.

Which got drastically harder as his ears registered a familiar roar on the wind. Neil's eyes widened and his heart skipped a beat as he recognized the draconic howls of wyverns in flight. His first thought was how had they made it into Academy airspace, but then he remembered who it was he, they, were dealing with.

Shit. Shit. Shit! Could this day get any worse? In retrospect, he probably shouldn't have said that. The universe heard him and responded accordingly.

"Gaarrrrggghhh! Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Every person in ear-shot of the voice, a couple dozen, froze in shock and fear as it bounced around in their heads. It was undoubtedly feral, the voice of a wild beast like an ape or bear would make if they could talk. Sadly for the residents of the Academy, what was coming their way was ten times worse than either.

Neil looked up and saw the wyverns as black blips in the sky. Were he had full strength, swatting them out of the sky would have been child's play, but Neil wasn't at full strength. All he could do was watch as the wyverns caught the scent of his blood and began to home in on him. Their riders were more eager to touch down and tear into his flesh. How long had it been since they'd been allowed to rampage about? Neil didn't know, but he knew at the very least he could put up a fight as best he could.

Which was more difficult than he originally thought as he tried to sit up only to howl in pain at his bullet wound. It was harder to push through it this time, but Neil did his best, managing to get to his feet.

He didn't have to wait for long as the wyvern's rider grew impatient and leaped from the winged Grimm's back. In doing so, the freshman student got a quicker look at the approaching orc. On a scale of one to ten…he'd have given it a six. A malformed face, two beady red eyes, a crooked nose, mouth filled with sharp and bent teeth, and its left arm had a massive cleaver-like blade raised and ready to dig into human flesh-his flesh.

It probably would, but Neil resolved himself to take a chunk of the orc's flesh in return.

ZLASH!

Neil did a double-take, briefly believing his eyes were playing tricks on him. The two severed halves of the orc fell to the ground, its black blood splattering across the snow. His ears twitched as he heard the familiar "pop-pop" sound that he knew to be Olivia's Semblance going off. A grin grew on his lips as he looked back up into the sky and saw several green flashes dancing their way across the clouds. Some of them were gleaming emerald-colored slash marks; where they were, the split halves of Grimm began to fall to the earth.

"You better not run away from me again!" Huffed a feminine voice that caused Neil's body to completely unwind.

The Storm Knight chuckled as he allowed himself to fall back. There were a pair of hands there to catch him. He chuckled while grunting in pain.

Weiss was not amused. "I'd chain you down right here if I didn't know you were injured so badly."

"And if he weren't?" Playfully jabbed Team JNPR's hammer-wielding tank. She giggled as Weiss turned to her with a sharpen glare. "Hey, you never know! You got to get out and explore! Find out what you like!"

Neil looked off to the side and wasn't surprised to find Blake looking away with a slight blush on her face. He was pretty sure that Weiss was blushing as well. Smiling, he asked, "Weiss, you okay?"

"Dammit, worry about yourself before me! You're the one who ran off with a bullet wound in your stomach! A wound that I hastily had to seal up, then you ran off before we could get you to the infirmary!" Ranted the white-haired heiress. The swordsman finally turned his head and looked at her, taking note of the frustrated look on her face. And the worry in her eyes, the naked concern for him. It was painful to see, yet also a tad reassuring. "I'm going to close the wound, again."

A green flash illuminated the space in front of the group. Before anyone could raise their hands to shield their eyes or close them, it was over with, a familiar figure standing before them. Neil chuckled as he let his eyes drift to the right.

"Been a while since you broke out Zanku, not that I'm complaining." The knight remarked. Amidst the falling snow, the katana gave off a light green shine, the exact same color as his teammate's aura. He knew in the blink of a second it could ignite it. It'd been blazing as she "flew" her way across the battlefield and the sky.

Olivia turned around and looked him over. Her gray-green eyes zeroed in on the now bleeding wound. Her sword was sheathed as she stepped forward and kneeled down and placed her hand atop Weiss'. A shudder raced across Neil followed next by a sigh of relief. "I'm taking you to the infirmary."

He knew that voice and that look in her eyes. There was no arguing this, not that he even wanted to. "Olivia,"

"Don't go getting all sappy on me. This isn't going to be Fort Lennox 2.0!" She looked up from her teammate to the rest of her classmates. "We are not going to let it be Fort Lennox 2.0."

Nora's face hardened reaching the same level of intensity as Blake and Weiss'. The memory of their last battle was still fresh in all of their minds, especially Nora's. The three nodded in affirmation of the silent promise that had just been made, a promise that they intended on keeping.

Weiss looked to Neil as he was helped up by his teammate. Crystal blue eyes stared into grayish-blue, the stare down wasn't unnoticed by those around them. No one said a word as they knew the moment was a necessity, even in the midst of an unfolding crisis.

"Weiss," Neil started.

"Save it for when this is over with. You and I are going to talk when this is over with." The Schnee heiress declared.

Neil smiled at her. "Sure thing."

Olivia activated her Semblance a second after he'd finished speaking. The two of them were gone in a flash of light leaving Weiss, Nora, and Blake alone. Multiple roars rent the air giving them reason to look skyward. Various black dots lined the gray sky, roars of malice emanating from them.

"Some post Valentine's Day this is shaping up to be." Blake muttered as it truly sunk in that this was going to be another long day. She looked ahead to the myriad of buildings that made up the academy. Given that Yang was absent when she was Mercury's original pursuer, she guessed that Neil had caught up to her and then took over for her; he'd sent her off to find Ruby. Emerald. Ruby was a tough fighter, she'd trained her to deal with surprise attacks…but she was also a little too trusting given her youth and naivete. "That silver burst of light, let's head that way. Nora, give us some cover."

"Got it! We better hustle because it's looking like Beacon's going to be the site of Grimm wave."

"Not if we have anything to say about it." Weiss heatedly retorted. "Come on!" There was no debate amongst them over who would be leader, or if their little trio even needed a leader. Weiss had just taken charge, and taken the lead; Blake and Nora followed her without a word of protest. The burst of silvery light had come from the east side of the campus, in the direction of the air docks. That didn't surprise her. Odds were, whoever these people were had their sights set on stealing an airship. Triggering a set of explosions across campus gave them adequate cover, but they'd gone a step further and somehow summoned forth Grimm.

Including orcs. It just had to be orcs.

---

Beacon Campus East Side, 9:44 AM…

"Whelp, Olivia's going to be pissed." Izaak shrugged as he swung his axe in a sweeping horizontal arc that split four orcs in half at the waist. As their black blood splattered across the snow, he shifted his axe so the blades were facing vertically, then twisted his body about bringing it down atop an approaching orc who stood at a stagger six-feet-four. It too was cut clean in half-right half and left half.

He'd gone from rescuing his classmates and teachers to fighting to defend them from a sudden Grimm invasion. Izaak immediately knew that it was Cinder's work, somehow. This time, she seemed to be trying to outdo herself.

Wyverns and Nevermores, two of the most common and most annoying flying-type Grimm. That by itself would have been trouble enough, and manageable enough…but it was snowing, and when was snow ever a good thing?

Thanks to his enhanced hearing, he heard the damn orcs breathing. His uncle had told him that canine senses could be a blessing and a curse. In that instant, Izaak counted it a curse as he really didn't want to hear the heavy breathing of one of the defining "mook" classes of Grimm. From the moment he heard that he and his team were heading to Beacon Academy, he had a sinking feeling one day he'd run into them. This was not how he pictured that encounter going, not at all.

Several of them dropped from their winged mounts, some cracking the ground or rooftops with their immense weight. There was a customary roar, their massive black and bony armored bodies on full display

Someone shot one of them through the chest blowing a nice fist-sized hole in the Grimm. Its war cry ended seconds after it began.

"Kill everyone of those disgusting bastards!" Someone shouted. From that second onward, the counter attack began in full force.

Before they could even touch the ground, some orcs were blown out of the sky, including their flying mounts. Black body parts and pieces of bone armor quickly began cascading to the ground along with the thousands of snowflakes. Black and white falling from the sky, it was an oddly beautiful scene.

Once the orcs arrived, Izaak knew he needed Storrdetta, so he called it. He was grateful that the lockers were still working. His axe was drawn and put to work on the humanoid monsters that did make it to the ground; he took it upon himself to ensure that they didn't live for long.

Ah, now isn't this so much better than playing rescue worker? Cackled the hellhound in his head. Garm was already prone to maniacal laughter, but this was the first time that Izaak heard his laughter while in combat. It was louder than before, and more maniacal were it possible. The laughter was joyous, the mad laugh of a mad dog finally set free to rampage about. Hey, why not take to the skies? It's been a real long time since you used your Semblance to take to the skies! Show those winged bastards that the sky doesn't solely belong to them!

He couldn't deny that he was enjoying himself slashing through orcs and spilling their blood across the snow, but it wasn't something he could continue doing. Every second I'm slashing away here, Emerald and the rest of her crew are getting away!

Dumbass, can you even track them in all of this chaos Garm fired back. Izaak hated to admit it, but he had a point. Once he lost sight of Emerald, odds were he'd lost her for good. His gaze shifted to his far right-the direction of the airship. He'd been so busy running into various buildings and moving debris he'd taken his eyes off the docks. For all he knew, the PESTILENCE operatives could have stolen away on an airship and made their escape. Or at least Emerald had. Cinder…she's probably still here because there's something she wants here. Something…in Ozpin's tower.

Storrdetta cleaved through four more orcs in a single swoop, then three more as Izaak fired off an Aura slash that cut through bony armor and skin alike. "His tower…" He repeated. The so-called "Tower of Oz" was one, if not the defining feature of Beacon Academy. There were a number of rumors regarding its existence and contents, almost as many as there were Ozpin himself. One particular enticing rumor was that Ozpin supposedly had some sort of buried treasure at the bottom of it. Izaak didn't think of gold so much in terms of something else…something that could change the world if it were brought to the source. Or stolen. He had no idea what lay in the basement of Ozpin's Tower, but he had a gut feeling that Cinder wanted it.

His hypothesis was proven right as he saw a mass of fire jetting across the sky directly toward it. It was an ideal time to make a run for it as everyone else was too engrossed in fighting the invading Grimm to take notice or do anything about it.

Except for Izaak.

With a carefree expression on his face, he split an advancing orc in half at the hip, his gaze focused on the speeding fireball. Izaak's free left hand curled into a fist as he prepared his Semblance for flight. Much like his foster brother's, his Semblance allowed him to fly like a bird, a true boon for when the situation called for it. Learning to fly hadn't been easy; he wasn't Neil as he felt more comfortable on the ground than he did in the sky. His foster brother had helped him throughout the years.

Neil, Izaak thought as his Aura ignited encasing him in a veil of deep purple and black gravitons.

Bing! Bing!

"Olivia?" He whispered taking out his Scroll and picking up the call.

"Neil's in the infirmary being treated for a gunshot wound with an anti-Aura bullet." She immediately responded. Predictably, the Viking's eyes widened. "He's going to be fine, Izaak." The Mistral-native assured him. "Chicahua's on air control and I'm mopping up where I can. You're going after Cinder, aren't you?"

"She's heading for Beacon Tower." Izaak responded.

"Then that means that you have to head her off before she gets there! Go! We'll take care of things here! And be careful!" The brains of Team IONC cautioned before ending the call.

You too, Olivia. Thought the Viking before he launched himself into the sky like a bullet. Cold air whipped him in the face, but he ignored it; in fact, Izaak could hardly feel it. Yang. He couldn't help but wonder where was she. Though he was confident she was alive, he still couldn't help but privately wallow in concern over her. She was a capable fighter, but she didn't have a weapon. Because of him.

Hey, if you two make it through this, how's about you quit dragging your feet and make her those new gauntlets like your promised yourself you would? Who knows what's going to come after this.

Izaak didn't worry about that, he knew he couldn't worry about it. The situation at hand was what he needed to focus on-Grimm, bioterrorists, a wanted criminal and her associates, an attack on their home. It was enough to make one break down in confusion and despair, but as he flew after Cinder, Izaak looked down and saw no one was sitting around doing nothing. Everyone was fighting, everyone. The sight reminded him of the morning he and his team first arrived at Beacon, the morning of an earthquake of all things. Everyone had been caught flat-footed, some paying the consequences for such. Not this time.

Rearing his axe back, Izaak put a sizable chunk of his Aura into the blade causing it to glow with violet-colored energy. It would without a doubt be strong enough to knock Cinder out of the sky, and a second strike would hopefully be enough to separate her head from her neck. He was stealing Neil's kill, but he'd apologize to his brother later.

"Not so fast, little wolf." Boomed a deep masculine voice he didn't recognize, but he knew it was close.

Izaak responded in a fraction of a second, raising Storrdetta up to his left side; just in time to block the punch that would have taken a chunk out of his Aura and probably left him with a bruise. Or maybe broken a rib given the immense force that he felt from behind his axe. Izaak was impressed, though that was also probably reason to be worried. He looked up beyond the edge of his axe and saw his attack. Thick shoulders, thick arms, one of which had been launched directly at him, black hair, a stumble, and hazel-brown eyes that stared at him with cold intensity. Sensing a pulse of energy, he looked back down at the arm that Storrdetta had stopped; it was glowing.

The next thing he knew, he was flying backward. Eve as he was propelled backward, he was able to focus on the arm of his opponent. He recognized the glowing veins of Dust, namely wind Dust, which he'd likely used to launch himself skyward and intercept him. Well, that's pretty old school, actually kind of cool. That had been his left arm, the mysterious man's right arm glowed as fiery orange crystals jetted out of his forearm. The flames naturally began to swirl and concentrate around his fist. Wind was coiling around his left arm as well, which was also reared back. Ah shit. Groaned the brown-haired teenager while rearing his right arm back, his Aura amassing in Storrdetta.

A singular crescent-shaped mass of gravity flew across the snowy sky, it was on a direct collision course with the firestorm fired from the man's arms.

Boom!

"Another time then, Cinder." The Viking growled once he hit the ground, his boots skidding across the snow. There was a lingering heatwave as an after effect of the attack. He'd avoided getting burned alive so he'd ultimately succeeded. Plus, it'd turned the heat up considerably. "So, I take it you're one of those guys that goes old school, huh?" The axe-wielder called as his opponent hit the ground directly across from him; his impact was a small tremor unto itself.

"You could say that, though you'd best not mistake my age for weakness." He boomed standing to his full imposing six-foot height. In a single gaze, Izaak knew this may was far more dangerous than any of the Grimm currently on the loose.

"I can say the same, albeit reversed in regards to me." Izaak coolly shot back standing up.

"Oh, believe me, I know all about that, Izaak Egilson." The man explained, quietly impressed as the teenager kept his composure in front of him. His body language still spoke of a man who was ready to move at a moment's notice, which he was going to have to do in a few seconds. "I have no quarrel with you or your teammates."

"Then who do you have a quarrel with?" He chose his words careful. In spite of looking the part of a brute, this man didn't have the stereotypical personality. Izaak saw a calmness in his eyes that he wasn't ready to immediately brush off. If he could get a bit of information about him, then he was willing to hold his tongue and his axe.

"Ozpin." The flash of darkness in his eyes told Izaak everything he needed to know. He followed the man's eyes to the tower, Ozpin's tower. It was clear the man wanted nothing more than to bring the entire thing crashing down atop its namesake occupant. "There's no reason for you to die for his secrets…and his sins. There's no reason for any of you kids to die for them."

It was dangerous to take one's eyes off the enemy, and Izaak knew that the man in front of him was definitely an enemy. That said, he was a civil one who was willing to offer Izaak something of an olive branch. He looked over to the tower in the distance, seemingly so far out of reach, but for him it'd be a short flight less than a minute long.

"I know that he's got secrets and sins, some of which…may pertain to me." The Viking spoke with a placid expression. "I know that he had some kind of hand in smuggling my parents out of Vale to Mistral, beyond that, I don't know much."

"…Would you be interested in learning more? I know that you seek vengeance for the death of your family…just like I do."

His grip on Storrdetta instinctively tightened. The Viking's eyes widened just a little while he kept his mouth sealed shut. He'd wanted to show as little emotion as possible, but there were certain things that could rile him up. As it happened vengeance was one of them. Sighing, he leaned his head back and looked skyward. "Damn…this is really making me hate the snow, ya' know? My school gets attacked, some old enemies show their faces, and finally I run into a kindred spirit whom I'm going to have to cut down. Could this day get any worse? Heh, having said that, odds are it will in a couple of minutes." The man allowed him a moment to wallow in his little drama, not saying a word at his humorous laugh; he was taking his masked refusal to stand down rather well. It's possible that he already knew what Izaak's response was going to be. "Shit…shit…shit. This is really a shitty day…and it's going to get even shitter." His head fell causing his snow-sprinkled hair to drip over his face. "Look, Mister, I'm sure if you and I sat down, we might have a lot to talk about, probably even learn we have some things in common. It'd be nice if we could do that…but it's not going to happen." When his head rose, the teenager's pupils were no longer round, they were instead silted, the eyes of a predator readying itself for battle. "You may not be a member of PESTILENCE, but you are allied with them, which makes you my enemy by extension. You've taken part in this attack on my home, injuring my classmates and teachers. Such an action directly makes you my enemy. You just stopped me from killing a criminal bitch whom I know is a danger to every person in this school. That too makes you my enemy." Storrdetta was raised, its muzzle tip aimed at the unknown giant. "You have invaded my home and threatened the people that I care about, for that, I'll cut you down."

The breath of winter blew across the school ground turned battlefield. Neither combatants moved as the world around them continued to devolve into chaotic warfare. On one side were humans and on the other side were Grimm. Amongst the former, there was a question as to where the latter were coming from in such larger numbers. It was a question Izaak himself had asked, but he wasn't interested in it at the moment. All he saw before him was an enemy to be cut down.

"That is…unfortunate, but not unexpected." The man stated raising his right hand, an arm empowered by fire Dust. His face was illuminated by the glow of the flames in his hand. "My name is Hazel, Hazel ( ). Now, little wolf, show me your fangs."

Both of them kicked off the snow-covered ground in a fraction of a second. A heart beat later and their weapons met, Izaak's axe and Hazel's fists. Amazingly, the latter weren't cleaved apart, something that quietly surprised Izaak.

He looked into the eyes of his adversary. I won't fall so easily. They said to him.

If you're planning on getting revenge on Ozpin, I wouldn't expect you to. The Viking silently responded back.

The two broke off from each other, their eyes never leaving one another. Cold determination solidified within each of them, that determination fueled their next attacks. Steel met flesh, and unlike the usual outcome, the flesh held. Embers scattered whenever the massive axe made contact with Hazel's right arm. Though Storrdetta wasn't penetrating flesh, it was gradually chipping away at the defenses of its target; it could keep on going as Izaak had built his axe to be able to withstand such intense heat, up to ( ) degrees to be exact. In turn, Izaak realized he was going to need to really true to sever Hazel's arms from his body.

Ultimately, both knew they were going to have to step up their game a little if they wanted to win, and that's exactly what happened next. Their attacks grew stronger, the air itself shaking with every clash between the two combatants. There was little left of the original snow that had covered the ground in a thin white coating; around them, the snow was rapidly melting away as bursts of fire rode mighty gusts of wind that fanned out in an omnidirectional wave. Spider-web cracks spread across the ground when axe and fist, both glowing bright with their owners' Auras, collided. Izaak and Hazel dug their feet into the broken ground, their respective arms ringing from the collision which bore no victor.

The larger man's face remained passive while a slow grin spread out along the Viking's face. Seeing it, Hazel couldn't help but smirk.

"So, the wolf starts to reveal its fangs." He muttered.

"You may not be happy that it is." Shot back the teenager, his Aura amassing within him. It was fuel for his Semblance, which he was about toa activate. Gravitation afforded him many unique abilities, one of them being the ability to propel himself in any given direction with the force of a comet. He reasoned it'd taken a chunk out of Hazel's Aura if he could make a direct hit on him. That was easier said than done, but Izaak was willing to try. Storrdetta was flipped into its rocket form, the blades falling back and the tip of a rocket protruding further at the shaft's tip. Izaak squeezed the trigger and out came three rockets, all heading straight for the bare fisted man.

He knew they were a diversion and that the teen's real attack was going to come from somewhere else, and it was going to hit a lot harder. Hazel braced himself for where he would attack from.

The next attack ultimately didn't come from the Viking, it came from elsewhere. He sensed it coming of course and responded to it with the reflexes of a trained fighter.

Behind his axe, the teenager's eyes widened considerably as he felt his feet sliding across the ground. He knew he'd been hit by something massive, but it took him a second to look and see what that massive something was. His first clue were the various arcs of blood-red lightning that jetted out in all directions. Izaak buried his feet in the ground and shoved against the entity, his mind racing with possibilities of what he was facing. As he pushed back, he got a better look at the entity.

Of course, it was a Grimm, but not one he expected to see, least of all in the heart of Beacon Academy. Lightning constantly cackled around the tiger-like Grimm, most of it jumping between the various bony spikes that protruded from its back. The lightning arced from them to the Grimm's two prominent fangs; the sight of them alone would have had a Huntsman thinking they were facing a ( ) were it not for the larger than average size and bulk armor-like exterior. To be fair, it was hotly debated amongst Huntsmen if there indeed existed some relationship between ( ) and Vināśaka such as the one he was currently facing. That debate didn't matter one bit to Izaak at the moment.

Arcs of lightning jumped from the spikes into the front claws, the Grimm pounced on Izaak a heartbeat later. The monster's shadow quickly loomed over Izaak, he an ant about to be crushed beneath the tank-sized Grimm; however, he was an ant who could fight back.

"Hate to break it to ya, but you've met your match today!" Barked the hazel-eyed teen, his axe swirling with gravitational energy that seemingly distorted the air itself around the blades. He swung Storrdetta, the arc of gravity manifesting as a massive crescent moon that slammed into the Vināśaka's electrified claws. Arcs of lightning and swirls of gravitational energy jetted out I opposite directions, tearing across the earth while cracking it. Hazel eyes glowed a faint silver as they stared into the hateful flame-colored orbs of the Grimm. It was angered that its attack had been stopped, and Izaak planned on making it even angrier. "Rrrragggghhh!" He felt the muscles in his arms suddenly expand, new strength surging forth within him. The Vināśaka flew backward, but not by much thanks to its own immense strength. Its claws left skid marks across the ground, then it was charging back at him again.

Izaak readied himself, even as he felt his senses alert him to another threat-the first one he'd encountered. The sound of fire barreling its way toward him was fast growing in his ears. It was coming from his ten o'clock meaning he was going to need a circular defense, something strong enough to repel a magnified fire blast and an oncoming seven-foot Grimm with thousands of volts of electricity coursing through it.

In other words, nothing new for him.

"Izaak! I got the brute! You focus on the Grimm!" Shouted a familiar vice that caused his lips to twitch upward into a smile. The following buzzing nose made the smile blossom in full.

He'd always been able to track Xolotl's movements, though sometimes they could be pretty fast. Now, Izaak could have sworn his Faunus teammate had thrown his shield in slow motion, even though he'd probably thrown it with a great amount of force. Regardless, it moved swiftly, drawing numerous bolts of lightning from the Grimm before cutting into its armored back. The tiger-like monster winced in pain, its pounce disrupted giving Izaak the opportunity he needed to attack, which is exactly what he did. At the exact same time Chicahua hit the ground at his backside, his arms and wings spread out and a grin on his face as the fire blast headed straight for him.

SWOSH!

Izaak had put much of his strength into his swing, his Aura flaring up as proof of how much strength he was using, those and the veins bulging across his body. As his swing came from the left, he managed to tear off the Vināśaka's right paw and scrapping off the left. At the same time, the fire blast slammed into Chicahua, who laughed.

"Ah! I should have asked someone to do this to me weeks ago! It's one hell of a way to warm up!" Boasted the Faunus prince, his clothes burning away to reveal his muscular body, a body glowing with tribal tattoos. No flesh burned, instead, it glowed as the attack was absorbed through the skin and converted into power which now coursed through Chicahua's body. His orange eyes looked straight ahead to the man his leader had been fighting, a giant with no weapons but scarred hands that cackled with residual flames and tendrils of wind. There was a brief moment as he locked eyes with Chicahua; the latter grin as he dashed for him.

He was there in a second, his right fist flying toward the man's face. To his credit, his response was fast, moving aside while letting fly his own right fist. It never made impact as the Faunus' left fist moved in front of his stomach catching the attack. Within a second, the teen's punch turned into a karate chop that came down atop the man's left shoulder. For a brief second, his eyes widened as he felt the raw impact of the attack. That was it though; Chicahua was impressed with the man's resilience. He was keen on testing it.

Hearing the sound of nails elongating, Hazel responded instantly. Knowing the boy in front of him was almost as tough as he, he went with the most direct attack possible-a headbutt.

Amazingly, the Faunus withstood the blow, his own feet digging into the ground. His left arm latched onto his opponent's right. There wasn't much Dust left within him, but Chicahua was going to take what he could get. Realizing that, Hazel lifted his left arm, which throbbed with emerald-colored energy. Chicahua knew he was about to use the last remnants of his wind Dust to create a small whirlwind to push him back. The teenager quickly removed his right hand from the giant's shoulder and pointed his now sharpened talons at the wind-powered arm.

Raaaaaaarrrhhh!

The wyverns had been commanded to aid Hazel, but they were still Grimm, as such, their primal instincts still had a hold over them. Hazel was in a tight situation? One that required him to put some distance between himself and his opponent? Hit both of them and see who flinched first.

Neither combatants did as they were both immensely durable, something that they both prided themselves in. After their fireballs were launched, the wyverns outright dive-bombed the pair, their poison-tipped jaws open and ready to chow down on mortal flesh.

That was what made Chicahua decide to break away. His right hand went to Sprekelia, sheathed on his back. The macuahuitl cleaved through Grimm flesh as easily as it always did, though the process took few seconds, which was all Hazel needed to counter attack. Dropping to a knee, he slammed his fist into the ground releasing a shock wave that pushed the Eagle Warrior back. Hazel dashed upward in a straight surge; unfortunately for him, his opponent's shield returned to him at that second.

Instead of blocking the attack, Chicahua counter-attacked, raising his saw shield up.

Chicahua wasn't expecting his opponent's arm to be split down the middle, something told him that he was too fought for that. Sparks of life energy shot out as Xolotl collided against the man's fist; his Aura held, but Chicahua funneled his surging power into his shield to bolster its power. Seeing that, he threw his left hand down at the ground, an air bullet being launched from his knuckles. The giant flew backward, having put some considerable distance between himself and the Faunus.

"Hey, Chicahua." Called the bronze-haired Viking that Chicahua called his team leader, comrade, and a friend.

"Seems like whoever is in charge sent the big guns to keep us occupied." Murmured the eagle Faunus. He knew it was a distraction. The lightning-charged Grimm and this giant of a man, powerful as they were, they were ultimately meant to draw their attention away from Cinder. Chicahua had seen her flying toward Ozpin's tower and knew that he had to head her off, but then he saw the lightning bolts and got that familiar shiver down his spine. Olivia had called him and told him that Neil had defeated Mercury but was out of commission leaving the three of them. Checking in on Izaak took precedence over stopping Cinder in his mind, especially since he had a feeling the more he tried to intercept her, the more resistance he'd meet. He didn't regret his decision, though he had a feeling when all of this was over with and the damage was tallied, he'd get an earful for not going after the mystically empowered criminal.

"Thanks for backing me up…but I'd like to take on the big guy over there."

Curious, he craned his head back around. Izaak had done a good job in keeping the Vināśaka at bay, even managing to wound it. He saw the giant feline Grimm was missing pieces of its body, armor and flesh alike, from its right paw up to its back, there was even a gash across its right eye, no doubt from Storrdetta. It still cackled with lightning which hung around the Grimm like a protective shield. Its gaze was flickering between the humans, the giant, and finally the other Grimm in the other. Since it was injured, it needed to replenish its strength. Chicahua cursed as he knew try as he might, he might not be able to stop that from happening, not unless he was able to slay the monster in a single blow.

Looking back ahead, he saw that the human had regained his bearings and was now back on his feet. He was also "rearming" himself with a new batch of Dust crystals inserted into his arms.

"So, this man has caught your eye?" He whimsically asked.

"Yeah, something like that." Izaak admitted.

Chicahua smiled at him. It was that soft yet cunning smile that always made Izaak smirk back in return. On the surface, the Faunus gave off the impression of a hot-blooded warrior ready to dive into every battle he came across. While that was true, it wasn't the whole story. Chicahua was much sharper and wiser than people initially gave him credit for. It made sense once one realized that he wasn't just a Faunus, he was a prince from a tribe of warrior Faunus who'd only been barely subjugated by the Kingdom of Vale. Amongst his tribe, he'd grown up with several brothers and sisters, especially brothers who were just as eager and competitive as he was, maybe more so. Growing up in such an environment had made it easy for him to adjust to combat school, and befriend his future teammates.

At the end of the day, Chicahua knew the ways of battle, the physical and spiritual and emotional dimensions of it.

"Alright then, just try not to get too riled up. As much as I would love to see what those artificial cells inside of you can enable you to do, this isn't the time or place." Advised the Eagle Knight.

"Noted." The Viking responded.

The switch off was near instantaneous, a testament to the trust that existed between the two boys. They kicked off the ground, barely an inch separating each other as they headed toward their respective target. Chicahua wore a happy grin on his face as he sped toward the Grimm. The beast's eyes narrowed as if it were displayed with the change-over, maybe it was and was looking forward to feasting its fangs on the flesh of a Viking instead of a Faunus. No matter, it readied itself.

As Izaak drew close, he got a look at Hazel's arm. The Dust on both his arms had been used up meaning he needed to refill. While Dust could be manually integrated into the body, it came with some push back. The more one used, the greater the strain on the body became. Hazel didn't seem to mind that as he'd jammed the new Dust crystals into his arms just as he had the previous ones. Instead of wind and fire, he'd gone with wind and ice.

CLANG!

"I hear that you hate ice." The black-haired giant spoke in a rather lax tone as he held off the teenager's axe. Frost spread along the blade's edge, the point of contact between it and Hazel's arms, now covered in a sheet of cyan-colored ice. It didn't crack beneath the pressure of Izaak's attack, not even as he continued to bear down on him. "Snow and ice…they remind you of when your parents and your uncle died, don't they? The latter…dying in the middle of the snow after rescuing you from PESTILENCE's clutches."

CRA-ACK!

"…Yeah, I do." He seethed, his head low causing his unruly brown hair to cover his face. It was still snowing; he was reminded of that as he felt countless snowflakes fall against his skin and atop his head. Each snowflake, no matter how small, stung. The wind chilled him, the cold breath of winter that he did his best to avoid. "I do hate it…I hate snow…I hate it. I hate…all of it." The veins across his body suddenly bulged, his muscles expanding then tightening. His ears rung as he heard another icy crack, another sweet, vile crack. He felt his feet take a single step forward. Finally, he rose up to look his adversary in the eye.

Hazel was both impressed and saddened by what he saw.

Children were meant to be smiling and laughing, happy and safe from the world's horrors.

The face he saw wasn't that of a child, it was a beast hungry for blood. And it was going to have it.

"You know, I don't think I'll kill you. Not yet." Izaak couldn't see it, but Hazel could. His eyes were glowing a mixture of silver and bronzish yellow, an odd yet exotic mix. It would have been somewhat amazing to behind had the eyes not been filled with hatred and malice, the pupils silted having taken on a feral quality. "You know too much so I'm going to have to beat some information out of you first."

As the boy spoke the words, Hazel saw the shadow rising behind him-a massive black hound with blood-red eyes, four of them. Upon seeing such a beast, the first impulse was to believe it was a creature of Grimm, but it wasn't.

Grimm were monsters of darkness and malice, but such things lived within the human heart. If unleashed, they could turn humans into monsters. Hazel knew that, and so did Izaak Egilson. He had long walked the path for several years, and he was seeing that the huntsman in training was embarking upon it as well.

Upon seeing his inner demon, Hazel couldn't help but respond in kind, letting his own inner hatred roar to the surface.

---

Beneath Beacon Tower, 9:40 AM…

This morning hadn't gone the way that Jaune had intended, which had become something of a regular thing at Beacon. When he enrolled, he had a gut feeling that there would be some mornings when he woke up to…chaos. In this chaos, he'd woken up to peace and snowy quiet the day after Valentine's Day, and then chaos had descended upon them all before it was even ten o'clock.

He'd gone to sleep with…quite a lot on his mind, and woken up feeling like he was floating through the sky. It was a truly odd feeling, like waking up in a daze and continuing on in the morning in a daze. In spite of it, there were some things he could clearly see, like what he wanted to do for the day. First, there was breakfast, he wanted to have banana pancakes for breakfast and had them. They tasted amazing. Second, he wanted to go see Ruby about a new weapon. He'd officially gone two weeks without a weapon; Beacon Academy was a combat school and a student without a weapon was…well, it was like a bird without wings. Though the pain of losing his family heirloom was still incredibly strong, Jaune knew that he needed to start moving on. He needed a new weapon, unless he got one then his time at Beacon was going to be more abysmal than he originally thought it would. Not to mention his grades were really going to take a nosedive, which was the last thing he needed. Third, somewhat connecting to the second point, he was going to have to do some serious training. For that, he was going to need a multitude of people, but one, really two people, came to mind.

Ruby could help him design a weapon…and maybe test it out alongside Pyrrha. The two redheads had eaten up a lot of his thinking for the past several weeks, which might have been natural as from what he heard, they were the most broken-hearted to hear that he'd died. For a second. Then he came back to life and they were hugging the living hell out of him.

He got to see Pyrrha, but not Ruby. He had no idea where she was during all of this mayhem. It started with explosions all over the school then freaky light shows and lastly Grimm flying in from the forest. It was one disaster after another, kind of like Fort Lennox. His heart was racing in raw fear at the memories. One of the few things that kept him grounded was Pyrrha's presence.

As they ran underground, Jaune had a feeling that he was keeping her grounded as well.

"…The Headmaster's tower." She said after receiving a call on her Scroll. "I…we…I…" Her green eyes looked to him with a mixture of fear and anxiety. She was wrestling with her desires again. "J-J-Jaune…" A decision was made within her. "J-J-Just follow me." She grabbed his hand and began running, dragging him with her.

Jaune didn't ask her any questions, even though he had a ton. He had a gut feeling that some of those questions might be answered once they got to wherever it was they were going…and probably replaced by new ones. He was proven right as while they ran, several teachers took notice of them, and started guiding them. When the Grimm descended upon them, those same teachers sprung into action, telling them not to stop for anything and keep pressing forward. At the end, at the base of the tower Professor Goodwitch awaited them.

Instead of going up, they went down, way, way down into a basement level that Jaune didn't know existed.

"W-Where…where are we?" He whispered as they ran down a massive hallway.

"Some place that only a select few are allowed access to." The blonde teacher responded. "Jaune, keep up, the barricades are going to start coming down soon."

"Barricades? What barri-" His question was answered by the loud clanging of metal-metal doors slamming shut. Jaune looked back and his blue eyes widened as the hallway they were running down became blocked by thick metal doors that slid from one end to another. Seeing them caused his heart to quicken and gave him motivation to keep up with the other two ladies. He shuddered to think what would happen if he was left behind and caught between the two doors.

At the farthest reaches of his vision, he saw something more terrifying-a flickering flame-like light. A second later and it wasn't exactly flickering, it was growing brighter, and it was gaining on them.

Boom!

"Don't stop running!" Screamed the professor knowing full well that they were being followed. The blast doors were only going to provide them so much time, perhaps not enough at the rate that their pursuer was gunning for them. Her mind came to a single conclusion.

"P-Professor Goodwitch!" Pyrrha cried as the blonde teacher stopped and stood where she was, her riding crop held out and flickering with purple light. "What are you-"

"Buying you two some time." She answered without looking back to face them. "Both of you, keep on going until you reach the end of the hallway. Once you do…everything…everything will come together. Pyrrha, you know what you have to do. Jaune…protect her with your life, do so as best you can." With her free hand, she tossed four crystalline orbs.

Of course, Jaune fumbled in catching them. One look was all he needed to tell they were Dust crystals. "P-P-P-Professor G-Goodwitch, I-I-"

"You don't need a sword, Jaune. Those Dust crystals will work well with your Semblance. It's a strong defensive type, arguably the strongest in existence. Use it to protect Pyrrha, she is your teammate, and your friend, after all."

Sometime in her voice told Jaune that any feeble argument he made wasn't going to stand, though he could already feel one building in his throat. It was the voice of the "Jaune" that he hated and wanted to run from, discard. It was the voice of a coward and a weakling. The Dust crystals in his hand glowed as he quickly found his resolve. "I…I understand, Professor Goodwitch!" Holding onto his resolution, he looked over to Pyrrha.

The Spartan got the memo and started running again, with Jaune following close behind her. They were just in time as the barricades began to close up.

Hidden from the two students was the smile of their teacher. "It's sad that incidents like this are forcing you kids to grow up so fast…but you are growing, and you're going to need that growth. It may prove to be the difference between your death and survival."

The walls and ground around her trembled as if in preparation for the clash about to occur. One between a young wicked witch on the rise and the good witch, a seasoned veteran. Glynda knew that her purpose was to stall for time, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to give it her all. It had been a while since she'd been able to cut loose, and who better than one who'd stolen one half of the Fall Maiden's power? And invaded her school putting her students in danger?

---

Certainly a lot of encounters this chapter, huh? It's certainly turning into one hell of a Sunday morning for the cast, isn't it? I can say with certainty that by noon, the action will have begun to wrap up, though that isn't for another two chapters or so, said two chapters are going to be full of more twists and battles that I'm hoping some of you will be hyped up to see.

Encounters and battles was the theme of this chapter, something I decided upon as I was writing it. Sixty-nine…well, dirty jokes aside, it's an interesting number. It's kind of the closest thing you can get to yin and yang in terms of numbers. This chapter features several characters fighting their designated opposites/foils; it was pretty fun for me to write as I love writing clashes between rivals/foils.

Though brief, this chapter I introduced two more species of Grimm that'll be appearing in this story. First up, orcs. Yes, LotR/Warcraft-style orcs. They're ugly, smelly, not too bright, and are for all intents and purposes mooks. At least the normal ones are. As this chapter showed, they're capable of riding bestial Grimm like wyverns (and later Grimm horses) and wielding weapons. Stronger orcs are larger, more armored, and smarter making them more dangerous opponents. One such orc will be showing up next chapter since Salem's sending some of her best to give Cinder the cover she needs.

The second one is a Grimm I'd more strongly put into the mini-boss verging on boss class. Vināśaka is a Hindi word meaning "ravage", "destroy", and "to consume". Design-wise, it's based on the Vajra Aragami of God Eater, a giant tiger-like monster able to generate lightning to enhance its attacks. It's also able to grow stronger by consuming its fellow Grimm and human beings. In keeping with the above, it parallels Chicahua in that its able to regain lost strength during a fight and strengthen itself creating for a rather tough opponent if you're not careful.

Next chapter should be up before the end of the month (hopefullu) stay safe and healthy until then!