Chapter 50
"So… Maidens? Magic? Salem? This… this is all true?" Weiss asked, still shocked.
"Pretty much." Qrow downed a glass with a sigh.
Yang growled and glared at Ozpin. "You forgot something."
"Oh?" Ozpin raised an eyebrow.
"You haven't told them what you did to Qrow and Raven."
"Ah. I didn't think she would be so willing to come clean about that." Ozpin sighed. "I was gifted with magical power a long time ago and I used a rather small amount of that power to grant Qrow and Raven the ability to turn into birds."
"Huh?" Ruby was confused.
"You turned them… into birds?" Ren asked.
"Okay," Nora said. "You're just messing with us now."
Qrow stood up. "Look. We made a choice. We wanted this."
"I can assure you that I did not grant this power frivolously. I required information on Salem, as well as a faster way to locate new Maidens, and the Branwen twins were willing, even if one changed her mind and decided to use it for selfish gains."
"Did you do it to anyone else?" Ruby asked. "Like General Ironwood or Professor Goodwitch?"
"While that would be most helpful, my power is quite finite. In all honesty, it has already dwindled by a large amount. I gave up much of it to reward four women for their incredible kindness and resolve. I hoped they would use that power for good, and that they could reach places I never could. They became the first Maidens." He looked around the room. "I never intended to lie to you. To any of you. However, I had to play some things close to the chest."
He stood and continued. "Everyone has a choice. The Branwen twins were given one. Summer and Taiyang were given a choice. Now all of you have one." His expression softened. "If anyone wants to leave, now is the time. There is no shame in deciding to abstain, only in retreat. Whichever choice you make, stick to it."
Yang stood. "I'm here as long as Ruby is. But if we are going to work with you, risking our lives against Salem and her forces, you need to be honest with us. No more lies or half-truths."
"I understand." Yang scanned his face for a moment and then returned to her seat.
"So… what now?" Jaune asked after a moment of silence.
"I believe we should answer that tomorrow, after a good night of rest. It's been a long time since you've all been together. Enjoy what time you have." Ozpin smiled and then relinquished control back to Oscar.
Yang let out an annoyed sigh. Things just kept getting more and more complicated.
The cool night air welcomed Pyrrha as she walked out into the back yard and joined Jaune at the edge. The mountain city was beautiful at night.
"Hey, Pyrrha."
"Hey, Jaune." Pyrrha smiled.
Jaune smiled back. "It's good to have you here. I… I wish you could have come at the start. We went through some tough times and could have used you by our side."
"I'm sorry to hear that. Nora was just getting us up to speed on everything. And I mean everything."
"Oh? How'd that go?"
"Well, she actually gave up halfway through and left the house. She was saying something about needing a whiteboard?" She shrugged "Ren and Ruby took over."
Jaune hummed in understanding. They were quiet for a moment. He broke it after a minute, however. "Do you…" he paused to rethink his question for a second. "Do you think badly of me?"
"Why would I?" Pyrrha was confused. He sighed.
"It's just… after Beacon we got together but then I rushed off and left you…"
"Jaune…" Pyrrha took his hands in hers. "I won't think less of you for going after Cinder and her allies. They're evil people who wanted to do abhorrent things. You chasing after evil is admirable. Especially considering where you started! You came from very little, with barely any training and no Aura! Your parents didn't believe in you. But look where you are! Look at how far you've come! I love you because you are willing to hunt down evil, not in spite of it!"
Jaune's eyes were wide. "I… thank you Pyrrha. Sorry I was just… worrying."
"That's okay Jaune. I love you for who you are, so just be yourself." She grinned and pulled him in close.
"Wah!?" Jaune let out a startled sound as he was dragged into her. His face went red a moment later as she kissed his cheek.
"Now, are you done moping?" She asked.
"Y-yeah." Jaune nodded.
Pyrrha giggled and dragged him back inside. He might have low self-esteem, but she'd make sure he grew out of it. She wasn't sure how, or even really what they were meant to do as a couple, but she would keep moving forward.
They were together together now, after all.
Cold lamps illuminated his path through the quiet streets. He knew the way off by heart, so he didn't even need them. Still, it helped his followers. Scarlett and Neptune leapt from rooftop to rooftop, always pretty far back. Hopefully, Ilia and whoever she brought to ambush him didn't watch the roofs.
Adam turned into an alleyway and kept going. Soon he turned into a second one, away from any streets. A moment after he stepped into it Ilia dropped from above, her skin shifting into its natural tones and away from the black she'd used to hide.
"Ilia."
"Adam. So you came."
"So I did." He sighed. "Ilia. You know that Blake is making the wrong choice. War with the humans won't end in our favour!"
She scoffed. "Do you really think I'm going to start listening to you now?"
"No. But I had to try." He shook his head sadly. "Now then. You wanted to duel?"
"That is what I wrote, isn't it?" Ilia drew out her whip.
"And no one to officiate? Oh well, I'll just have to trust you have too much pride to renege." His hand fell to the hilt of Wilt.
With a roar she attacked, her whip lashing out like a, well, whip. Adam easily blocked it with his scabbard but realised his mistake too late. The lash wrapped around Blush and then she pulled, wrenching it from his grasp. A moment later thick webbing launched from behind him and wrapped around his torso, trapping his arms. Adam glanced behind him to see Trifa.
Shoulda known. He internally growled. Externally he sighed. "So that's it huh? You ambushed me."
"Blake wants you safe and sound at her side. I don't care what you think of me, so I don't mind betraying your trust or anything like that." Ilia passed his weapon over to Yuma, who came out from behind Trifa. "Take him to the boat. I'll go ensure the capture of Ghira and Kali."
"Understood." Yuma said with a smirk. Ilia then turned and left. Yuma laughed as he turned back to Adam. "Who knew it was so easy to capture Adam Taurus!"
"Was it that easy?" Adam asked with a raised brow.
"Ha! Obviously. A little promise of a duel and you came running! Trifa's webs are strong. You won't be breaking them any time soon." The bat Faunus was cocky. Good.
"Yuma. I fought alongside you both plenty of times. I know all about Trifa's strengths and weaknesses. Yours too."
"Oh yeah, and what's that?" Yuma asked, taking a step closer. He was too smug, too sure of his victory. Which is why it crumbled. Adam didn't need to answer as a ball of electricity slammed into Yuma, throwing him back against one of the walls. Trifa yelled in confusion as a shadow dropped down on her.
Scarlett's scimitar cut into her, causing her Aura to spark and crackle. He followed it up with a few bullets to the chest. While she was busy Adam forced as much Aura as he could to the forefront and pushed. He roared as he broke free of the web net, grabbing it and throwing it to the ground. Trifa was quickly knocked out by Scarlett and Yuma was smacked around by Neptune's glaive.
Adam calmly picked up his weapons, marched over behind Yuma and slammed the butt of his sheath into his head. The surprise attack broke his Aura. Neptune thrust the butt of his weapon into Yuma's face. The Faunus fell over and Adam finished the job with a kick. Trifa and Yuma were unconscious.
A small, quiet voice in the back of his head called for him to kill them.
He ignored it and turned to his allies. "Let's head back to the house."
"Right!" Neptune cheerfully replied.
"Yeah." Scarlett nodded, a little more serious than Neptune was.
They rushed back.
His house was burning. Ghira wasn't sure when it had started, but it had. If he had to hazard a guess it was likely when Corsac and Fennic had started combining their weapons, letting out blasts of wind and fire. The reaction between the Dust had caused the fire to be much stronger.
Once this was all over he was going to send them the bill.
Ghira let out a roar and charged, barging through a group of White Fang soldiers. They went flying, landing all over the lounge furniture. Corsac cursed and sent a wave of fire at Ghira. He easily jumped over it though, using it as a chance to pounce on the enemy Faunus. Corsac let out a cry as Ghira landed and started punching.
Fennic would have helped if he wasn't busy fending off Sun's flurry of attacks. Ghira couldn't say he really liked Sun, but he was showing himself as capable at the very least. Ghira let out another roar as Corsac jammed the blade into his side, the Burn Dust ejected right against his skin.
Ghira was practically thrown off by the attack. Corsac used the chance to throw more Dust his way. He was distracted by the previous attack for too long, causing him to be too late to dodge the next wave. The smell of burning fur and hair filled his nostrils as the fire washed over him.
His Aura was getting low, he could feel it. The fight had been going for a few minutes now. His guards were trying their hardest, but their hardest wasn't good enough. Blake had sent some elite reinforcements, led by the man currently throwing Sage through a wall.
The White Fang Lieutenant, who wielded a heavy chainsaw, charged after his opponent with fervour. Ghira would have gone to help if it wasn't for Corsac throwing more fire his way.
Sun's winning, slowly. If Sage and I hold out then he can back one of us up. That will lead to our victory. The other option was Adam coming to the rescue, but they had no idea how that had gone. Ghira would have to hope.
He was good at that. He had been doing it for decades after all. Though that had been hoping for his ideals to prove true, and for the lives of Faunus to improve. Still, he'd had plenty of practice.
Although I wish I'd trained more. Championing peace doesn't lead to much in the way of combat ability.
Ghira let out a roar, after ducking beneath another blast of fire, and charged towards his opponent. Corsac aimed another blast towards him, but it never fired. A ball of bright blue energy broke glass and slammed into his hand, throwing his aim off. Corsac didn't waste his Dust and instead took the momentum in stride, using it to twist around to face the new threat.
Neptune and Scarlett jumped through the broken window and came to their aid. Scarlett chased after his partner while Neptune came to Ghira's aid. The old Faunus felt relief pour over him.
He never thought he'd feel that for Adam Taurus of all people.
Gunfire forced Ilia to dodge. She'd been so close. Just in that next door was Kali! She could have grabbed her and gotten out in moments!
But Adam had broken free and come for her. They were stuck in a tight corridor. Far from ideal for her. She needed more room for her weapon. It was far better for him. Ilia swallowed loudly.
"Surrender Ilia!" He called out to her.
Her eye twitched. Didn't he have anything else to say!? It was always 'Blake is wrong, violence is bad, don't kill people, we shouldn't start a war'! He had never been this whiney before! Ilia growled.
He sighed. "Fine. If you won't surrender then I'll have to take you down. I'll try not to hurt you too much, but I'm done letting people escape because I wasn't willing to go all out!"
He charged. Ilia attacked, going for his sheathed weapon once more. He grabbed it with his spare hand and yanked her forward. Adam dropped it as her momentum carried her forward. Wilt gave a click as he unsheathed it. Ilia's eyes went wide as he slashed.
She cried out as her Aura crackled. She hadn't taken any real damage, but it had hurt. Ilia used her momentum and rolled past him. She dashed away, trying to get into a more advantageous space.
He followed, opening fire with Blush. Buckshot cascaded off of her back as she ran, causing her to wince in pain. Her whip sang as she lanced out, breaking a door to her side. She leapt through and into a wide-open room. She abandoned the top floor and jumped to the ground floor, rolling as she landed.
Adam followed without hesitation. Now in an open room, she had regained her combat ability, but he was still just as strong.
And he didn't look like he was going to go easy on her.
A/N: Chapter 50. Wowza. I wanted to do a little retrospective here. It's been a while since this story started and I've learned a lot. I definitely feel as though my writing has improved, though I probably have a long way to go still. That's fine though. Looking back I realise that early on I probably should have done more to differentiate from canon. While I do think what I put was justified, it would likely have been better if I'd done more to make it stand out even if I wanted the docks and such to happen. Not going to go back and rewrite anything, but it's a lesson I'm going to try to remember. Overall I think I've done alright with this story. Although I worry about what I'm going to do once this catches up to canon. I'm unsure of my ability to create a satisfying continuation or conclusion at this point. I might consider a hiatus. I'll cross that bridge once we get to it though. Either way, I'll do my best and try to learn from it.
Aside from that, I wanted to once again thank everyone for reading and especially those that review, follow and favourite. You guys are great.
I hope you all continue to enjoy this story! I'll see you all next time!