Oscar watched as the Teryxes screeched in disdain, their movements frantic as they searched for the prey that had eluded them. The cable car swayed precariously as the Grimm Yang and the others had been fighting, jumped into the air, its amber eyes still searching for the humans but unable to see them. The same could be said for the monster that he had been fighting alongside Jaune. The turret was now beyond repair, sparks still flying from the scrap metal that remained. The remaining turrets slowly turned their guns towards the creatures. However Jaune ran past Oscar to the one that stood between them and Ruby's group, quickly pressing a series of buttons. It was with a small revving sound that the weapon was deactivated. Understanding what Jaune was trying to do, Oscar made to run towards the remaining gun that was erected on the furthest carriage but he stopped when he realised someone else was already behind it.
Oscar had no idea when Pluto had split away from Weiss and Qrow. Nor why he had returned to the cable car. However, Oscar saw him pressing a series of buttons, the weapon's barrel slowly moving away from the Grimm.
Confident that the turrets would not attract any further, unwanted, attention, Oscar allowed his attention to move back to the confused Grimm. The cable car was still slowly moving along its path towards the other side of the strait. Almost at the other side, he could just make out the dark shapes that were Qrow and Weiss.
All the Huntsmen and Huntresses had their eyes on the creatures. Not a single weapon would be lowered until they had safely reached the other side. They stood like silent sentinels, each person holding their breaths as they watched the Grimm continue to hunt for them.
It was in that silence that Oscar heard it- the mechanic revving of a machine being activated. The sound of a turret preparing to shoot. Oscar forced himself to look back at the furthest carriage, the one he had assumed Pluto had succeeded in deactivating. Something was wrong. Although the weapon had been directed away from the Grimm, a burning red light was beginning to swell within the barrel, preparing to attack. Horrorstruck, and with what seemed to be painfully slow movement, Oscar's eyes followed the path the projectile would follow if it were released. His blood ran cold when he realised that Ruby was in its new line of attack.
It was in that instant that the turret went off.
What had Pluto been trying to do?
Had he failed in deactivating the auto-targeting system?
Had the machine somehow malfunctioned?
Whatever the reason, it was now too late. The shot had been fired.
Time seemed to move unreasonably slow as Oscar watched the blast cut through the air towards Ruby. She hadn't noticed yet, none of the others had. They were too preoccupied with the monsters to notice the attack zooming towards them from behind.
Oscar stumbled forward, but he was too far. There was nothing he could do to stop it!
No.
That was a lie.
There was one thing he could do.
Instantly, he outstretched his hands, already feeling the tingling sensation he'd last felt in Atlas as Ozma's magic swelled within him. Using this archaic magic he had been able to hold back an explosion, this gun's measly ammunition would be nothing in comparison. However, the youth faltered as Ozpin's voice echoed in his mind in warning.
If he used this magic once more, the merging of their souls would be complete.
He would vanish from this world forever.
Oscar cursed under his breath as the thought caused his hands to tremble. The idea alone terrified him, freezing his movements.
No.
He shook away the selfish thought. He would not pay the price of his self preservation with the lives of his friends. But, no matter how much he tried, his fear of the unknown gripped at him, washing away the magic he so desperately wished to conjure.
Ozpin please! He begged to the voice. Ruby's in danger!
But the voice remained silent, the magic refusing to manifest.
No.
This couldn't happen.
He could stop this.
This didn't have to happen.
So why had fear frozen him into place?
"Watch out!" He finally yelled at the top of his lungs, his voice the only thing he could still control. Just like that, like a spell being broken, time sped up once again.
Jaune was the first to react, being the closest to the teenager and immediately noticing what had caused the boy to yell out as he had. Jaune raised his shield, jumping in the way of the blast, redirecting the projectile harmlessly into the sky. However, the top of the carriages had not been designed for such movements. The force of the blast had unbalanced him and his shield and sword were knocked out of his hands as he desperately staggered sideways, trying fiercely to stop his own movements.
Oscar ran as fast as he could towards the Huntsman. His hands were outstretched towards the man, using all his strength to reach him. However, he was still too slow. Jaune vanished over the edge, Oscar grasping nothing but air as he fell to his knees, his hazel eyes wide as he could do nothing but watch Jaune fall. The man's mouth was open in a scream as his arms and legs floundered, trying to grasp at what wasn't there and he plummeted to the sea below.
This had been his fault!
If he hadn't hesitated…
If he hadn't been so scared...
"Jaune!" Oscar recognised Ruby's voice, looking frantically at her falling friend, who, too quickly, had fallen out of all their reach. At the rear, Pluto seemed to be struggling against the wayward gun, forcing it to direct another blast but, this time at the Grimm that had begun to dive after Jaune. The monsters dashed towards the falling Huntsman, confused at his sudden reappearance but eager to return to their hunt.
"Jaune!" Yelled Nora, running towards the carriage edge, her mind racing as she realised the only thing that could be done. Before the others could try to stop her, or even comprehend what she was doing, Nora extended Magnhild and shifted into its more compact form, allowing the petite woman to ride upon it much like a witch would a broom. Back in Atlas, when Pietro had made the upgrade, he had warned her it was no substitute for real flight. It was mainly meant to be a means of crossing short distances in shorter times. What she was about to do went against every warning he had given her, making it quite stupid and reckless even by Nora's standards. However, she wouldn't stand by again when another of her friends needed her.
If she could catch up with Jaune, would Magnhild even be able to support the weight of the Huntsman?
That didn't matter now. She just had to slow his fall. Maybe, if she came in close enough, she'd be able to use the Winter Maiden's powers. She wasn't yet skilled enough to use them so precisely from a distance but maybe…
Nora reached out her hand towards Jaune, a tail of pink spoke following her. Jaune struggled against the whipping winds to rearrange his body mid-fall, trying to grab his teammate's hand. He could see the fiery light begin to flare in Nora's eyes as she tried to call on the Maiden's power to help them. And, it obliged. Jaune could begin to feel the biting wind shift around him, pushing against him rather than moving with him, slowing his descent. He could almost reach out to her now. They were so painfully close, until a shadow fell over the pair. The Teryxes had been thoroughly perplexed by the sudden appearance of another human being but their hunger yearned to be satiated.
"Nora! Look out!" Jaune tried to yell but his voice was whipped away from him by the winds. Even if Nora had heard him, there was no time for her to manoeuvre away from the two Grimm. Their talons ripped into her Aura, knocking her off Magnhild, one hand desperately holding on to the hammer as the air was knocked out of her. She slipped out of the monster's grip, her vision blurring from the pain and, just like that, the light of the Maiden's power disappeared from her eyes. Now she too began to fall through the skies.
Dazed by the attack, Nora felt an unprecedented feeling of DeJa vu as the shadows of the Grimm slid over her. She could see, in the distance, the cable car. The heads of her friends all desperately looked down at them, their eyes wide and gleaming. Nora's eyes then rested on Ruby's silver eyes that shone in the light, her red cape flitting behind her. Nora blinked slowly, finally realising why this all felt so familiar. It was because of that dream she'd had back in Atlas, while she had been recovering at Schnee Manor. A dream fused with a memory. She had seen Ruby Rose in that as well, alongside a woman she believed to be her mother but whose face she no longer could see. Nora had been falling that time. Falling through the Grimm as she'd been left behind.
Nora closed her eye's sluggishly. Why had her mind decided to recall such a rancid memory at a time like this?
Open your eyes, Huntress. A voice whispered in her mind. A soft voice she'd only heard once before, when it had whispered to her the name of the Relic's spirit back in the Atlas Vault. It had been so soft and so brief back then, she'd believed she'd imagined it. But now there was no question that it was real. You will never fall again.
Confused by the alien voice's words, Nora forced her eyes open again. The Grimm were flying towards them, their mouths open wide ready to bite though the soft flesh of the Huntsmen that had destroyed so many of their kin.
Nora clenched her fists, her grip on Magnhild tightening.
No.
She refused to fall again.
From the cable car Ruby watched, horrified, as the Grimm inched closer and closer to their friends. She felt helpless as none aboard could think of a way to save either one of their fallen companions. Ruby had tried to aim her sniper at the creatures but, to her dismay, not a single bullet remained.
Not again. Ruby begged, her eyes shining slightly. She couldn't lose any of her friends again. She could feel the warmth swell in her eyes but she blinked it away, what use would her silver eyes be if she couldn't reach them?
But her breath hitched when, even from this distance, she could see bright blue light erupt from Nora's eyes and engulf her whole body in blue flame. The Huntress twisted her body, attaching Magnhild to her back as she pressed her arms to her side, accelerating her fall as she did so. She pushed herself forward, her hands finally grabbing onto her teammate's still outstretched hand and holding it in an iron tight grip. Struggling against both gravity and Jaune's added weight, Nora forced her body upwards, propelling herself in such a way that her feet faced the sea below. The two continued to descend a few meters more like this before Nora succeeded in pulling out of the fall.
She hovered there in disbelief.
Panting, she looked down at Jaune, his blue eyes wide, finally comprehending, as their friends above her were, what she'd just managed to do.
"Nora, you're flying!" He yelled, looking up at his teammate, seeing the strain the effort was putting by the crease of her brow.
"Apparently." Nora answered, hovering on the spot for a moment longer, rotating slightly to look at the Grimm overhead. She had no idea how long she'd be able to keep this up but her number one priority was to get Jaune to safety before this unexplainable burst of power left her.
"Hold on!" She yelled, her hold on Jaune tightening further as, in response to her thoughts, the pair were propelled upwards, past the Grimm and towards the carriages. Unsteady in her movements, Nora zoomed overhead, releasing Jaune who shakily landed on the carriage roof, quickly held in place by Neptune and Ruby. Nora staggered to a halt in the air, watching as her team leader gave her a thumbs up, feeling Ren's Semblance washing over him and hiding him from the persistently advancing Grimm once again. As Nora hovered, taking this moment to catch her breath, she noticed that the monsters' wing beats seemed slower now, struggling to keep up with the speed she had conjured. Nora retrieved her hammer, her eyes narrowing at the two remaining Grimm. She was tired of them chasing her and her friends.
The monsters were no match for the Huntress. Magnhild's reinforced head made quick work of turning the monsters into dust. It was only then did Nora allow her exhaustion to wash over her, Magnhild suddenly feeling awfully heavy in her hands. Every fibre in her body felt as if it had been turned to gelatin. She collapsed onto the carriage, her breathing heavy as she felt the Maiden's power recede, most likely to the same depths the voice had disappeared into, once again. A chilled sweat ran down her face, her every muscle screaming in pain and exhaustion.
Shadows fell around her when she finally landed, falling to her knees. Nora heard frantic voices speaking to her though she could barely comprehend what they were saying through her ringing ears and racing heart. Eventually, however, she mustered enough energy to raise her head and look up at the group that had huddled around her. Each one face was openly amazed at what she had just accomplished but equally as concerned about what effects such a surge of power may have had on her body.
Jaune gingerly knelt before her, his mouth moving, uttering words she still couldn't hear. However, Nora did not need to hear him to understand the look in her friend's eyes.
"Thank you."
She beamed tiredly up at him, the effort of the motion intensified by her indescribable fatigue. She couldn't speak, her breathing alone seemed insufficient to fill her lungs but the relief must have been obvious on her face.
He was safe.
When the cable car finally made it to Vojt Harbour on the other side, understandably so, the passengers rushed out but not before thanking the group of foreigners for keeping them safe. At the platform on the other end, a collection of individuals was waiting for them. Most seemed to be Huntsmen and Huntresses that had been called to deal with the Grimm problem. However they seemed both bummed out and perplexed that, by the time they had been briefed on the situation, the situation had been quelled by a group of kids.
"They're licensed Huntsmen and Huntresses." Qrow hastily corrected them when he'd heard the comments, many displeased, not only for being outshone by kids, but outsiders no less. By the time he and Weiss had made it to Vojt Harbour the confrontation over the sea had already died down. The Relic was safe and all they could do was wait. The Huntsmen awkwardly scoffed out an apology as, only when the last civilian was off loaded, none showing any sign of injury, did the Huntsmen and Huntresses in question finally exit.
"Good job, Kiddos." Qrow greeted, putting his hands on his nieces shoulders, relieved to see they were in one piece.
"T-thanks." Ruby stammered out, still in shock that things could have gone very wrong hadn't Nora figured out how to fly when she had.
"Is there anyone hurt?" Demanded Weiss as, mentally, she took in the state of her friends.
"Have a little more faith in us?"
Weiss folded her arms when the man that had spoken limped slightly out of the carriage, Jaune's hand on Neptune's shoulder for support. It was only a sprained ankle, a little more rest and it would be good as new.
"I have faith that you'd do something stupid and reckless." Weiss answered, her frown deepening when Nora, who had closely emerged after her leader, seemed almost as much of a mess as Jaune.
"You aren't wrong there." Ren confirmed, causing Nora to look up at the taller Huntsman.
"You weren't there." Nora loudly protested, since the incident she'd regained some of her energy, a sign that the after effects weren't permanent. Although her body was still begging for rest she was in relatively high spirits after the ordeal. Ren was just irritated that he'd been stuck inside the carriage while two of his teammates had needed help.
Nora then turned to Weiss, giving the former heiress a reassuring smile. "I'm fine really!" She insisted, flexing her arms jokingly. "Fit as a fiddle, see?"
Weiss had no idea of the stunt Nora had tried to pull to help Jaune but Nora was not looking forward to the scolding she'd surely receive once she did.
"You should still get checked by a doctor." The calm voice of one of the Vacuan Huntsmen that had been called to deal with the problem stated. He was a middle aged man, his long blond hair pulled back in a low braid. His amber eyes scanned the small group skeptically, most of them were barely old enough to have graduated from a Huntsmen academy, let alone actually have a license. But, he'd checked the white haired girl's license, it had been the real thing and, after seeing what they'd just accomplished, all remaining doubt had been erased from his mind.
"We aren't seriously injured." Jaune protested, looking at the unnamed man.
"We'll be heading to Shade Academy from here." Sun explained. "It's routine for students to get a medical check following missions, so they'll be in good hands there."
The man nodded his head, although he would have rather the group get checked immediately, he'd seen enough minor injuries swiftly aggravate due to lack of treatment, the doctor at Shade was renowned for being the best in the continent. The treatment they'd receive at the academy would be no worse than what they'd get at the port.
"Then let us organise your safe passage to the Academy, it's the least we can do." The man concluded, already pulling out his Scroll. "I'll also inform Shade of your arrival."
The group shared excited glances amongst themselves. At last, their next stop would be Shade Academy.
Yang yawned, rubbing her eyes as she stumbled through the dark hallway of her home. It was late, way past her bedtime but she'd really had to go to the bathroom. Through blurry eyes, she walked past a window, Remnant's broken moon had risen, warding off some of the darkness but bringing with it bizarrely shaped shadows. Yang quickly ran past it, the sound of the branches hitting the glass frightening the young girl. Although, in front of her baby sister, she acted brave, she was only eight years old and, alone, she had no need to pretend to be braver than she was.
The bathroom was at the other side of the hallway and Yang was half contemplating running it lest the shadows decide to reach her. However, the young girl halted as she noticed some of the lights were on downstairs. Yang tilted her head curiously, her long golden locks falling around her face. Had her parents accidentally left the lights on? Or where they actually still awake? It always dumb-fumbled her why adults had a different bedtime then she and her sister. If they could stay up late, why couldn't she?
Curiosity momentarily overshadowing her need to use the bathroom, Yang tentatively began to climb down the stairs. Each step made a soft thumping sound against the wooden floor. Yang stopped half way down as she wrecked her ears to make out the soft sound that whispered through the air. It almost sounded like someone was crying.
"Ruby?" Yang curiously called, unable to imagine why her four year old sister had waddled her way down the stairs or why she was crying. Maybe she had tripped and hurt herself?
"Yang?" It wasn't Ruby's voice that hiccuped her name and, when she forced her head in between the banisters, she could just make out her mother sitting on the sofa.
To Yang, her mother, Summer Rose, was the most beautiful woman she'd ever seen. She had kind, silver eyes, just like Ruby had, and short, red tinged hair. Her mum was also the bravest woman Yang ever knew. She was a Huntress, so she travelled around the world, fighting monsters and saving people. She was a living breathing hero… and she was crying ?
Summer's cheeks still glistened as she aggressively wiped at them, her eyes red and her face flustered.
"What are you doing up, Yang?" Summer cleared her throat, trying to regain some of its normal volume.
"I had to use the bathroom." Yang answered, her voice soft as she explained to her mum. "But then I saw the lights on..."
"R-right, the lights." Summer breathed out, her voice shaky.
"What's the matter, Mum?" The young girl carefully enquired, tilting her head as her brow creased in worry. "Why were you crying?"
Summer opened her mouth to say it was nothing but she quickly shut it. She gave Yang a small smile and patted the empty seat beside her on the sofa. With light steps, Yang jumped down the final steps of the staircase and sat beside her mother. Yang leaned back, allowing her mum's arms to wrap themselves around her, warding off the slight chill that had begun to creep into their home with the start of winter.
"Well, you remember I was away on a mission for a few days?" Summer began to explain to the child, her fingers running through Yang's hair gently.
"Mhm." Yang answered, it had only been a day since she'd returned, but her mother had been surprisingly quiet since then.
"I was actually helping out an old friend of mine." Explained Summer, in a low voice. "She has- had- a daughter about your age and they were going to stay with us a while."
Yang looked up at her mother, confused. Her mother had, very obviously, returned from her mission alone.
"We were attacked by Grimm on the way here… she lost her daughter." Summer choked out, remembering the incident with regret. Val had been too weakened by her sickness to fight and, even with the power of her eyes, Summer had been rendered useless.
Summer had said the word 'lost', as in not lost her daughter in the supermarket but lost lost. This was a concept that Yang had only just begun to grasp after having had to flush her goldfish down the toilet when it had floated to the top of its bowl and had refused to move, no matter how much she shook it.
"Will your friend be okay?" Yang innocently asked, looking up at her mother with large violet eyes.
"No." Summer admitted, wrapping her arms more tightly around her daughter. Even if they were not related by blood, Yang was as much her child as Ruby was. "Not for now anyway. She really misses her daughter."
"Like when you go on jobs!" Yang chimed, proud of herself for understanding her mother's 'adult' talk. "We feel sad when you leave… but you always come back."
"And know I will always come back to you and Ruby." Summer said, kissing the top of Yang's head.
"I will be going on another mission soon." Summer suddenly blurted out, still playing with the girl's hair.
"Already?" Yang complained. "But you just got back."
"I know, dear." Summer admitted but, the more she thought about it, the more her resolve grew. "But this is very important. Maybe my most important job yet. It may make sure that what happened to my friend never happens to anyone else ever again."
"Is it a big monster?" Yang enquired, yawning as sleep began to wash over her.
"Worse." Summer admitted as Yang's eyes slowly shut. "A witch."
Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed the update and thank you for reading. So last chapter kinda ended with how I started this series back in previous volume but this little talk between Yang and Summer may be the last flashback we'll see for a while.
I would also like to add that, for the time being, I am not taking on any story request ideas as I am currently overflowing with studies while also writing multiple fics at once (if I try write anymore I'm certain I won't finish them). Although they have been great ideas I simply don't have the time at the moment. One such user is Dragon Sage god who has asked me, if anyone is interested in writing a crossover fic to PM them.
Thank you so much for understanding and I'l see you all next week 😁