Fun fact everyone, when you delete a chapter it counts as a update causing the story in question to act as if a new chapter was posted. Really sorry about that happening yesterday. I didn't know how long it would take for the site to remove the chapter so I did it a day early. Turns out it happens almost instantly for anyone who was curious to how that ability functions. I will be continuing this story until it is completed so no worries about me stopping now that we're nearing the last arc.
I wonder what else can go wrong during the Hunt.
"This has to be the twentieth door. How long do you think you can keep this up for?" Ruby asked as another door fell to Penny's laser cutter.
"Since I only have to operate one blade I could perform this task indefinitely."
"Any idea how much further until we reach the bridge?" Ruby peered behind them at the long line of doors that had been cut from their frame and now laid in the halls.
"If every door is locked like this one we should only have twelve more to go through."
"I'm surprised we haven't run into more knights. I was expecting to have destroyed at least 6 by now."
"Their location during the lockdown does seem unlikely with how few we've encountered. They would have moved to the most crew heavy locations once they were hacked, so they might still be within those rooms." A mighty slam echoed through the ship as another door fell revealing a battle scarred hallway.
A multitude of scorch marks lined the halls along with bodies of Atlas soldiers slumped against the walls. They were covered in bullet wounds and thrown aside to clear the center of the hall. Ruby turned her gaze further down the hall to avoid the sight of the bodies around them only to see even more carnage. Entire limbs had been blown off from something explosive hitting them. Turning back to face Penny Ruby saw her looking over one of the soldiers with a saddened appearance.
"He was one of the people who were assigned to watch over me. Out of all my handlers he seemed to care about me as a person rather than an asset or weapon. He was always asking me if I was okay or if I wanted to do something." Penny pressed a button on the side of his helmet causing the visor to pull up giving them a view of his face. With her hand she closed his eyes in an attempt of giving him some form of peace in death.
"He sounded like a nice person."
Ruby put her hand on Penny's shoulder only to quickly yank it back when she felt a scalding heat beneath the android's skin. "Sorry Ruby, I seem to be producing more heat than my systems can manage."
"You aren't breaking down are you?" Ruby asked with concern for her friend's sudden state.
"It seems a few systems went off momentarily and others that shouldn't have started up. I just need to be more careful of my internals to make sure it doesn't happen again." Walking into the control room Ruby was greeted by the sight of 8 Atlesian Knights standing around the captain's chair which was currently filled by a red haired criminal.
"Roman!" Ruby yelled in surprise at seeing the criminal sitting in the captain's chair.
"Hello there Red. What a surprise to find you aboard my new prison, though if that door behind you is any clue I guess someone tore a hole in my cage. You should be careful leaving the door open like that, who knows what could walk in." Roman waved his hand and the eight knights surrounding him rushed Ruby and Penny.
Ruby's blade separated and whipped forward sawing through two of the knights with little effort while Penny's laser pierced another's head. Rifles were raised as Ruby dashed out of their sights knowing that sustained fire would eventually deplete her aura. Petals filled the room with Roman sitting in the middle of all the chaos taking in the sight. The knights wouldn't last, but they did provide a momentary distraction.
"Well at least this is proving more eventful than my breakout. I swear, they'll hire just about anyone to be a guard these days." Roman said with a bored expression thinking back to how easy it was to overtake the ship.
"You monster." Ruby's emotions were beginning to reach their limits with how the man could so easily dismiss the lives of other for entertainment.
"Sorry if I didn't keep track of everyone I killed." Roman mocked concern with his speech. "It would be quite the list if I ever bothered to keep count."
"They all had names and people they cared about. What gave you the right to cut them short?" Penny yelled at Roman who continued to play with his cane while walking around the cabin.
"They knew the risks when they signed on for the job, girl. The only one to blame for their deaths is themselves. They just couldn't measure up in the end." Penny drew her weapon and fired it in one smooth motion.
The beam sparked across the room as the green beam of aura hit Roman causing him to shatter like glass. A glowing red scorch mark adorned the the steel shutter in front of the window. Roman was stood a few feet away from where the laser hit looking bored as he drew his cane and pointed it at them.
"I thought we were trying to be civil, but it seems you children were never taught manners. Allow me to correct that." The base of his cane flipped open allowing the flare to fly freely at Penny. The moment it left Roman's cane Penny fired her weapon causing the flare to detonate and throw him back against the wall. "A little bit of help would be nice."
Penny was about to fire again when a petite girl kicked the hilt of the blade throwing it from her hands and into the ground. Shocked from the appearance of a new enemy Penny failed to react when the next kick landed square in her chest launching her back towards Ruby and away from Roman. Ruby jumped at Penny, catching her before she could slam into the wall.
"Neo, meet the pests. Pests meet Neo." The girl unfurled her parasol and gave a little bow to them. "Now I do cherish the short amount of time we've had, but I'm leaving with my associate now."
"You're not going anywhere." Ruby drew her scythe with one hand. Keeping it pointed at Roman for fear of what he might do.
"I am a busy man Red, now step aside before I break your friend anymore." Neo skipped up to Roman with a smile on her face and looked between the two Huntresses. "Alright, but make it quick. I'm going to stretch my legs."
Roman walked past Ruby and Penny without even sparing them a glance as he left the room. Ruby and Penny shared a look of concern as she brought her other hand to her weapon letting Penny stand on her own. When Penny held out her palm Neo smirked at the thought of the crippled girl posing any threat to her when something flew past her foot throwing her to the ground. In that instant Penny jumped into the air trying to stab Neo. She rolled out of the way while delivering a swift kick to Penny's side as the Android's blade stabbed into the floor.
Raising her parasol she diverted Ruby's strike causing the blade to go into the wall. Pressing the switch on her weapon caused the canopy to spring open and forced her away from Crescent Rose. When Ruby dashed back for her weapon Penny charged the girl to grant Ruby the opening she needed. Neo had to avert her attention away from Ruby to block Penny's strike, allowing Ruby to get past her and rip the weapon free from the wall.
Turning around to join the fight Ruby felt something wrap along her neck and that same object pulled her into Neo's rising knee. The impact would have thrown Ruby's head back if the crook of the parasol wasn't wrapped around her neck. Neo flipped over her captive as a sword tried to catch her in the back by surprise. Ruby could feel a foot pressed in the center of her back when she was thrown back to Penny causing her to stumble in the attack to catch her friend.
"Why are you doing this?" Ruby asked as she rubbed her own neck to alleviate the pain.
The only response they got was Neo pausing momentarily and tilting her head to ponder the question. When no answer came to her mind she gave a shrug and resumed her game.
Ruby was doing her best to keep up with Neo who seemed to always be a step ahead of each attack. The small woman would avoid each strike with little effort while using each evasion as an opportunity to land an attack. Neither Ruby nor Penny could attack simultaneously with how they were being maneuvered by their opponent. Even with the advantage they had in numbers Neo clearly had more experience when it came to fighting groups let alone two people. Knowing that unless something caused Neo to make a mistake they wouldn't be able to defeat her.
Penny had her sword fold back into its gun form. Like a growing flame the green energy seemed to only reach out three feet from the barrel before dissipating in what looked like embers. Penny tightened her grip on the now shaking weapon as the sudden amount of force being projected out of its end tried to fight her every move. Ruby crouched and aimed Crescent Rose behind herself in preparation for what was about to happen.
Penny dashed towards Neo and brought her blade of light up in a very telegraphed manner. Neo smirked at the rather slow movement from the odd weapon and weighed it as the girl being unfamiliar with it. Raising her parasol to catch the blade she was ready to turn the weapon on the user, except that before the blade touched her weapon it dissipated letting the handle pass below her guard before turning back on. The green blade sprung to life passed Neo's weapon and landed a clean strike across her chest. She could feel the large quantity of aura that drained in keeping the blade of light off of her and the insane heat it put out from burning her.
Leaping back to avoid any more damage Neo saw Penny side step as a red cape flew past her and a scythe blade ran over Neo's shoulder. The serrated weapon reminded her of a chainsaw and how it would eat away at aura with a single strike requiring large reserves to stop each rotation of the teeth. The heavy blade of the oversized gardening tool wasn't doing her any favor either. Deciding the risk wasn't worth playing around anymore she leaped back against the wall and vanished in a flash of light.
Ruby looked around the room anxiously waiting for her to reappear only to meet silence. "You okay, Penny?"
"I'm doing great." Penny held up her hand to give a salute causing the handle that was now melted into her palm to strike her own face. "It appears my current arsenal hadn't been constructed with sustained auric beams in mind."
"Let's hurry up and get you set up then." Ruby walked over to the main console and gave a sigh of relief seeing it completely intact after the battle. Penny took the captain's chair and tried reaching for the wire in her neck to little success with her fingers melted to the hilt of her sword. "Let me get that for you."
"Thank you." Ruby easily found the plug and with some effort pulled it over to the console's jack. As the plug was connected to Penny wilted and slumped over in the chair.
The familiar voice of Ironwood over the room's intercom. "Hello Penny, I can only hope that it's you who managed to get here before any Atlas specialists. I've been forced to return to Atlas since war is beginning to take shape within the kingdoms. Atlas will need its leaders if there is any chance of them weathering the coming storm. It would be rather discourteous to leave Vale in such a state without aid so I've decided to initiate Puppeteer Protocol. The files required should have begun installation the moment you reconnected. What you do with the fleet is up to you, though I doubt you'd leave your friends to themselves. And if you could, tell Ozpin he owes me one."
The entire ship sprung to life suddenly with the emergency lights switching over to the usual white tone along with the shutters receding back letting them see the rain splashing against the window. The doors began to unlock with the mechanisms quickly spinning to open every door on the ship giving Ruby an unprecedented amount of mobility in what used to be a confined vessel. The sound of marching filled the room as Ruby peered down the hallway seeing a veritable army of knights walking towards them.
"Penny, it's time to wake up now." Ruby began shaking her friend as the mob continued to walk closer. Ruby drew her weapon and chambered her first round. "Okay, you can do this. There's only a few hundred of them and one of you. This is completely possible."
Ruby was about to attack when only walked into the room giving a salute. "I'm glad everything worked out." It said in a strangely feminine voice as the glow in its helmet shifted from red to green.
"Penny, is that you?" Ruby saw the sea of red turn green as every robot was concerted.
"I'm receiving and sending signals to this model as a mobile platform since my current body in inoperable while connected. Though disconnecting may prove a problem with most of the automated systems now offline. If I leave now every ship and knight under my control would cease functioning." The knights split ranks giving Ruby a clear path through the hall.
"Thank you Penny." Ruby began running down the hall towards the hanger when she realized that the ship would hold no use if she couldn't pilot it. She slid to a stop in front of one of the Knights. "Would you mind flying a few of those ships for me?"
"I'd be more than happy to assist you." A few of the knights broke rank to follow behind Ruby.
"We're starting to get swarmed over here. When's Evac showing up?" One of the soldiers yelled as a red spear impaled one of the beasts throwing it off the roof while the weapon raced back to through the air to its owner.
"Jaune fired up a flare 10 minutes ago. It should only take Beacon 7 more minutes before a ship reaches us." Pyrrha yelled back to the men as an explosion blew out the windows two floors below them.
The building shook for a moment as smoke spewed out of the now destroyed windows. "Nora, are you okay!" Jaune yelled over the edge knowing who the cause of the explosion was.
The door to the roof was busted open as Nora ran though and Ren opened fire into the stairwell in an attempt to slow down what was behind them. "Things got a little crowded down there."
"Fire in the hole!" Nora tossed two of her threw two of her grenades through the door before forcing it shut.
"Is she trying to bring this entire place down?" A soldier yelled as he fired across the roof at some beasts getting ready to attempt a jump over to them.
"Excuse me for doing your job." Nora argued as a shower of grenades turned the adjacent rooftop into rubble.
"The rest of the charges will be detonated once we're off this damn thing. We don't need some psycho blowing us to kingdom come because she doesn't understand discretion. Hell, she nearly blew you up when we were retreating."
"Nora, save your ammunition for other buildings or for when things get despite." Jaune advised as the cheery grenadier nodded in understanding. "And you lot. I don't care who you are. You do not insult my team. We were sent out here to complete a job and that job will completed one way or another." Jaune pulled the detonator from his pocket flashing it to the group before walking over to his team.
His shoulders immediately slumped once he was out of view of the soldiers as his face filled with worry. "I think I'm going to throw up."
"Come on Jaune, we can make it through this." Pyrrha gave him a comforting pat on his right shoulder hoping to sooth her leader's trouble.
"Not exactly used to being in charge of so many people, never thought I'd get sick from stressing over them either." Jaune gave a concerned glance towards the surviving people that fought with his team.
"There are fates worse than a death surrounded by friends." Ren turned back to the door ready to attack anything that may have made it to the roof.
"Sure you're going to be okay? Your left arm took a nasty hit earlier." Pyrrha asked concerned over just how many attacks Jaune had taken for others so far.
"Better I take the hit then we lose anyone. Besides, someone has to play the role of the inspiring hero to rally the troops." He gave a grave chuckle at the thought after seeing what Vale was like now. "People really do cheer up when they know that 'thee Pyrrha Nikos' is going to fight alongside them."
"I'm not the only one fighting Jaune."
"No, but people look at you and see hope for the future. They see you turning the tides in any battle and that inspires them to push harder to see tomorrow. It's funny looking back on all those stories my grandfather told me about heroes. He always talked about the generals or soldier who single handedly took on an army. He never mentioned all the bloodshed or everyone else who was part of the battle dying in the background." He slumped down on the ground and used his hand to brush the wet hair out of his face. "I really don't know what it means to be a hero anymore."
"They're coming up the stairwell." Ren yelled to the others as he fired away.
"You ready for a heroic last stand?" Jaune asked standing up and drawing the sword from his shield.
"This won't be our last. You can be sure of that." Pyrrha pulled the shield off her back as her spear transformed into a sword.
"Now that we've caught our breath let's give them something to fear, Nora!" Jaune shouted giving his teammate the clear for weapon usage.
"On it." With grenade launcher in hand Nora decimated the entrance to the stairwell and probably the first three floors directly beneath it.
The hole that the explosion left looked like a crater with the outer edges caving towards the newly formed hole. As the rubble spilled into the opening they also saw claws beginning to reach out of the debris. Everyone backed away from the hole and towards the edge of the roof in worry of what was about to come at them.
A black claw rose over the railing ready to grab on of the soldiers when a sword came down on it causing the beast to plume to the streets below. "Watch your backs. They're trying to climb again."
"Keep firing at those beasts scaling the building. The Huntsman can manage those on the roof." One of the soldiers said as he looked over the edge and began firing at anything latched onto the side of the building.
A surge of beasts burst through the rubble and made it onto the roof. With the chance that any more explosions could cause the roof to collapse Nora was forced to use her war hammer. The beasts Nora nailed were often being thrown off the edges from the sheer force behind it. The damage would have been enough to cripple the beast temporarily, but the fall would most definitely kill them. Each swing of the hammer would lead into the next as she followed up each swing on a different target.
While Nora's was akin to an energetic dance of motions, Ren's was like a precise waltz. Each strike had a tempo that led into the next while shifting around the opponent. The blades on his guns would cut across a beast's chest one moment and the next both blades were being sunk into their back before being torn out. Every move seemed planned and took into account the enemy's reaction.
The two of them seemed to work perfectly in tandem with each other. Nora and Ren seemed to have a perfect understanding of where the other would be even if they couldn't see them. Nora's hammer would swing just above his head to hit a beast while Ren slid around her strikes easily to reach his next target. Each style didn't necessarily compliment the other perfectly, but each had something to offer to the other in terms of advantages.
Pyrrha and Jaune held the line by keeping any beasts that ran past Nora and Ren from reaching the soldiers. Shields were raised in defense as claw after claw came crashing down atop the guard. His arm gave way letting the beast hit him square in the chest. Trying to bring up his shield arm again was met with disastrous results as the beast clawed through his suit leaving a bloody gash across his arm. The scream of pain caused Pyrrha to whip her head around and see what was happening. The beast was dead in an instant as a red spear pierced its head and flew back into the champion's hand.
"Where is that evac?" Pyrrha yelled as she carried Jaune away from the front lines.
"I can see three ships in the distance." One of the soldiers yelled as the ships continued their approach.
A hail of bullets began hitting the beasts in front of them. Each bullet wasn't piercing completely through, but hitting with enough force to stun them. The damage seemed impossible to gauge with how the bullets tended to react to the beast yet the sheer amount entering them definitely would cause problems. As the rain of gunfire died down the ships hovered just over the edge of the roof with their back compartments opening. Once the rear was open soldiers began piling on with JNPR being the last to fall back into one of the ship.
Once they were a in the air again Pyrrha took the detonator from Jaune's pocket and pressed down on the button causing the building behind them to ignite like a fireworks display. The light it gave off shined through the windows as rubble rained down on the surrounding buildings. With the ship leveling off the door to the cockpit opened and a familiar red cloaked Hunter stepped out with a first aid kit in hand. Handing the case to Pyrrha they began pulling out anything of use to treat their patient.
"It looks bad, but you might be fine. It could just be a bad cut." Ruby looked over the wound as Pyrrha pulled a liquid over the cut. Bubbles sprung from the wound as the chemical ate away at anything foreign. The injury was quickly wrapped as a somber feeling washed over everyone present. "You're going to be fine Jaune."
"Ruby, do you notice anything different between me and the team?" Jaune asked as he motioned to everyone around him.
Ruby looked up and down Jaune noticing nothing out of place until she realized that the upper right side of his suit was damaged. A More accurate description would be it was blasted off since the edges were frayed with burns. His usual blonde hair now had the familiar color of blood spread across it.
"I took a nasty hit when we first retreated to the roof. I failed to get out of the blast zone after a beast nailed me."
"No," Ruby whispered to herself in disbelief over the fact that she was likely seeing her friend dying.
"I'm still good enough to fight. Just finish up and…" Jaune paused for a moment as his eyes glazed over. Pyrrha had reached out and caught him as he fell headlong towards the floor.
"What's wrong with him?" She asked while laying him down on the ground before anything else could happen.
"If he's been fighting this entire time he might have sped up the process. For now just keep him laid down and try to do something about the fever he has." Ruby disappeared behind the door and the craft picked up speed.
As they touched down in Beacon a swarm of students surrounded the craft with weapons. Worry adorned their faces at the sight of an Atlas craft landing on campus. When the doors opened they were relieved to see most of team JNPR walk out of the craft. A few cheers came from the crowd at the team's return.
"We need a stretcher." Pyrrha said causing half the group to scatter back into Beacon in search of the tool.
"Let me try my scroll." Ruby leaped from the cockpit as she tried contacting with Yang.
"Ruby, is it you?" Yang's voice was heard coming from the scroll.
"Are you at Beacon?"
"Yeah, we just got done talking to Ozpin about the new communications system set up. Why are you asking?"
"Just gather Dunstan and everyone up. We'll meet you in his work space behind his classroom." Ruby ended the call and turned to JNPR seeing Jaune being loaded up onto a stretcher. "We need to get him to Dunstan. Come on."
Nora and Pyrrha carried Jaune on the stretcher while Ruby led the way. They would get concerned glances from the students they passed by and hushed whispers of concern for the injured leader. Ruby opened the door to the classroom for Pyrrha and Nora. When they got inside they saw WBY and Dunstan sitting around the teacher's desk.
"So the knight went and got himself killed." Dunstan remarked slightly saddened by the chivalrous student's death.
"He's not dead yet. Is there anything you can do?" Ruby asked knowing how bad things could get if left untreated.
"If we risk a transfusion he would be rendered unconscious for a few hours. Either he wakes up with some immunity or we accelerated the infection and he'll only have a few weeks' worth of clarity before everything goes downhill." Dunstan said as they laid Jaune down on the table.
"What are the odds of him turning into a hunter?"
"Somewhere around 1 in 1000." The group averted their eyes from Dunstan after hearing their friend's chances for survival.
"What can give me more time?" Jaune asked waking up momentarily from his fever.
"Jaune, you should be resting right now." Pyrrha said, not wanting to see her leader in any more pain.
"All of Vale is falling apart and team JNPR can't be deployed without a leader. Now what can get me out there the quickest?"
"If you want a temporary fix I can offer you some relief. The price can be quite drastic depending on how you respond." Dunstan knew how the church would grant their Hunters the ability to hunt for months on end without suffering the worst effects of the plague, but in the end it was nothing more than a patch job on a sinking boat.
"I'll do whatever it takes to go back out there."
"Well then, let's get to work. Lay on your stomach." Dunstan Walked away and began digging through his closet for the tools he needed while Jaune got ready.
When Dunstan returned he had a long iron stick and a steel box that gave off an aura of danger. Taking a wooden bit he placed it in Jaune's hand. Opening the box they saw a multitude of iron symbols that had a faint blue glow to them. Each one seemed unique and opaque in design. Reaching in he pulled out three of the same symbols of varying quality if the chipped metal was any indicator.
"I need four of you to hold him down while I do this. Jaune you might want to bite down on that so you don't chew off your tongue." Yang looked shocked at first, but when Ruby held down one of his legs she joined in not wanting her sister to bear the burden alone. Pyrrha was next with her taking his left arm and shoulder. With little deliberation Nora took his other arm while the others looked on with worry.
"Three Runes of the Great Deep Sea. Great Volumes of water will serve as a bulwark against the plague and all its strands." The first rune was pressed into his back. A blue glow erupting from the branding iron as Jaune screamed and struggled against the others grip.
"What hides the voice of those above will now protect you from this curse and hide your mind in its vast depths." The second rune was attached and pressed into Jaune. This flame seemed even stronger with it trying to reach up the stick to Dunstan who continued to press downwards until the blue aura faded.
"You take these Runes upon your body to stain the mind with their image. Let these words grant you the truth needed to continue the Hunt." With the final Rune in place Dunstan placed both hands on the stick and forced it on Jaune. The flames seemed to be pushing off of Jaune in an attempt to keep the symbol from pressing into him. Applying even more force the brand touched skin and the flames began to surge out of the symbol and into Jaune.
When the brand was lifted they could see three symbols now forever scarred into his back. Each one getting progressively more detailed until they came across the final one. A golden star like glow reached out of the center of the brand. They couldn't know if the uniqueness of the brand granted it such an appearance or whether it was some effect from Jaune's aura.
"When will he wake up?" Pyrrha asked.
"He should be up in 30 minutes. He should be nearly recovered in that time, though with aura helping he could be up in 10." Dunstan looked at the clock noting that it was just about midnight. "When he wakes up he should be more than good for the next several months."
"And what about his chances of recovery?"
"The longer he stays out there fighting the lower they'll get. If he stops fighting all together he might even last a few years. The toll on his mind and body might be too much for him in the end though."
"What do you mean?"
"Regular people weren't meant to have Caryll Runes burned into their minds. Each one has its own problems, but the deep sea puts pressure on the person's mind and body to keep everything else out. A constant forcing pushing against you would eventually wear anyone down."
"What will it be like for him?"
"At first it just feels like you're heavier than usual. You may not move sluggishly, but your mind will tell you otherwise. Eventually that builds into it feeling like something is always pushing against you lightly. Not so bad until that light touch turns into a hard press against your skin. Eventually it gets in your head as a constant pressure that won't go away no matter what you inflict on yourself. End result is crippling pain in the head and the inability to move your body due to the amount of pain it causes to the brain."
"Is there anything we can do to stop that from happening?"
"The only way to remove the runes is in the Hunter's Dream. Unfortunately only Hunters who hold a connection with it can walk those grounds."
"This isn't about some archaic system of whatever your people wanted. Jaune's life is ruined unless he gets those things off of himself." Pyrrha was on the verge of tears from learning about Jaune's lack of a future.
"It's not a matter of tradition. The only way to physically access the Dream is to be connected to it. I don't even have access anymore after everything I did."
"Then why did you grant his request? You knew it would only cause him grief later."
"Because it is better to live on your feet then to die on your knees. Could you live with yourself if you made the choice to stay locked up in here rather than out there saving lives?"
"If it meant insuring my friends' safety, then yes."
"That's where the two of you are the most similar. JNPR would have likely been sent out there with or without their leader. There is too much going on not to have every able body out there fighting. While this is a rather stupid decision on his part it's still the choice he would take to insure everyone survives."
"Why did you have to make that choice? Why couldn't you just sit back and focus on recovering while we went back out. Why couldn't I save you this time." Pyrrha kneeled down next to the table as she broke down in tears while held Jaune's hand.
Seeing that the Spartan would need a minute with her leader to calm down the group walked out of the room. Looks of worry were exchanged between the teams on whether they made the right decision to help Jaune like that. Weiss and Bake seemed disgusted at the sight of the brand with both of them still thinking back to the scars it left.
"Ozpin wants to see us so we're heading out." Ruby stated as everyone's attention snapped to here. "Jaune and Pyrrha will need you once he wakes up. Would you mind staying here?"
"We'll keep an eye on them. Whatever you have to see Ozpin about is bound to be important." Ren put with a faint smile.
"I'll keep Ren company." Nora said while doing her best to keep up her appearance of enthusiasm.
"We'll tell you what's going on after we see Ozpin." RWBY and Dunstan left the room and headed towards the tower.
As soon as team RWBY left the room Nora began to silently weep as it built up into a cry of emotions. Ren walked over and pulled her into a hug knowing what was likely running through her head. She tightened her arms around Ren not wanting the comforting embrace to end
"It's all my fault Jaune got injured." Tears began to pour from her eyes again. "If I just waited for the all clear from Pyrrha I wouldn't have hurt him. I wouldn't have fired and blown most of the ground floor with him still in it."
"Nora, that wasn't your fault and you know it. You had no way of knowing Jaune hadn't made it into the other stairwell. When we split up we all knew how long we had before you'd start firing."
"Did he Ren? I was the one fired Magnhild when the beasts started approaching us. I'm the one who made the bad call. If I just waited Pyrrha would have gone back for him and pulled him to safety."
"If you waited we might have lost Pyrrha too tonight."
You don't get it Ren. She was right there when it happened. She saw Jaune go down and get engulfed in the explosion. Do you know how helpless she must have felt digging through the rubble to pull him out? Pyrrha is probably blaming herself for all of this when it wasn't her fault." Nora continued to weep tears over the damage she caused to her best friends. "Why does it hurt so much?"
"Because you're one of the most caring people I know."
Entering the elevator they began their ascent through the tower. Reaching the top the doors slid open and revealed Ozpin sitting at his desk overlooking Vale in the distance. Turning around he gave a polite nod to team RWBY for heeding his summons.
"I felt it was within your rights to be here for what happens next with all you've done." Ozpin pressed his scroll and the screen in his room turned on.
A man slicked back black hair and red eyes appeared on screen. "Ozpin, we need help and we needed it sent yesterday. Rally whoever you can and send help to Signal Academy."
"Qrow, let me handle this." A blonde man pushed Qrow out of the camera's view. "Hello Ozpin, this is Taiyang. This is an immediate request for aid from any and all available resources. I can see the fires in Vale from here so I know we aren't the only ones in need, but we need to evacuate the students."
The video ended as the computer spoke again "You have '24' unheard messages from Signal Academy."
"Oh, play the next one." Ruby said at the thought of seeing her remaining family still alive.
"Ozpin if you don't get off your ass and send help I swear, to whatever god there may be, that I will come over to Beacon and throw you from that damn tower of yours." Qrow yelled into the camera as it was quickly panned around to Taiyang.
"Qrow watch your language. We have children present."
"What? It's not like Ruby will ever see this and I don't really care about the students here." A series of cries could be heard in the background from some of the students.
"He doesn't mean it like that. Qrow and all the staff here will do everything in our power to make sure all of you make it home." Taiyang got close to the camera and whispered into it. "Seriously though, send help. I'm not sure how much longer our defenses will hold out with those crazed cultists running around."
"Maybe we should just skip to the last one." Yang offered as Ozpin scrolled through the message until reaching the latest one.
The location behind the camera had changed with a large number of furniture and other metal object apparently welded together against a door. "Hey Ozpin, it's Taiyang again. I know the CCT is down currently since all these messages are just piling up on Signal's end, but once this gets to you we could really need some help. Last shelter kind of got blasted into since some of the cultists brought explosives. Currently we're in the forge and crafting reinforcements for the doors. We really need help Oz. I'm not sure how much longer any of us can last."
"So we'll be back in about an hour or two." Ruby said walking back towards the elevator. "If you need any help just call Penny. She'll be more than happy to lend some resources to Beacon. Come on team." RWBY gathered into the elevator letting the doors close before conversing among each other.
"So I think we found our bad guys." Yang said thinking back on what Dunstan told them was the likely cause for tonight's horror.
"That certainly simplifies things." Weiss added, slightly disappointed that she didn't have to do any searching for their target.
The doors opened revealing Dunstan who was waiting for them to return. "So, what does Ozpin want you to do now?"
"We're going back to the Atlas Gunship. We think we know where the cultists who stated all this are." Ruby was walking circles around the group as they continued towards the remains of Beacon's docks.
"Where were they hiding out?"
"They're apparently on Patch attacking the school there. From what we heard our Dad and uncle are still alive and fighting." Yang said with a grin on her face thinking about her family kicking the apocalypses' ass.
Ruby leaped onto the craft with her cape flowing behind her as she pointed towards Patch. "Let's head home."
"Excuse me, I was born in Atlas." Weiss said picking apart Ruby's rallying cry.
"I was born outside the kingdoms." Blake added enjoying the sight of Ruby beginning to get annoyed.
"Yes, and Dunstan's from some town we've ever heard of. Can all of you just get on the gunship so we can go?"
With a smile now on each of their faces Dunstan, Weiss, and Blake walked past Ruby and into the ship. "I thought it was pretty great sis."
"Thanks" Ruby mumbled as the doors closed and they took off towards Patch
So heads up for anyone who wanted everything to turn out sunshine and rainbows by the end. This story will not have a happy ending for most of the characters involved. This story is a crossover with BB so you can expect some Cthulhu esque stuff going on including the 'bad end' that happens to most everyone involved. Not to mention I am a huge fan of the concept of a 'Bad End' in any game where your choices can lead to real failure and the deaths of others. Those of you who know me will also know that I'm not a huge Jaune Arc fan. I think his character has a lot of potential, but I love Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora so much more with how they would interact with each other. If I had the skills and time I would love to add to the tragically low number of fics about Pyrrha working through her insecurity and fears. For now though I have a few things I need to plan out.
I'll be back in another two weeks with the next installment. You stay classy Fanfiction.