Hi! Who's up for some aerial shenanigans, Beacon Professors, and Fang and Huo getting in touch with their inner pyromaniacs?
24. Here Comes the Cavalry
Pepper fought every step of the way. She wouldn't eat the drugged meat, and when one of the soldiers approached her with a needle, she struggled hard enough to snap one of the thick tungsten chains on her legs.
By the time Glynda saw her, they'd gotten her back under control. Her head was locked in metal ring, keeping it fixed ahead, while a set of blinders kept her from seeing Peter. The two professors were forbidden from speaking, lest the dragon hear them.
Useless. She smelled Peter and fought all the harder, but the flaw in her bonds had been repaired. She couldn't move.
Glynda grabbed Peter's shoulder. He stared directly ahead, heedless of the tear tracks on his face, his lips moving soundlessly. As she stared at the blank grey sky, something caught her eye—a flash of movement in the clouds over the nearby Emerald Forest.
A soldier came with another needle, careful to keep out of Pepper's line of sight. Peter's breathing hitched. Maybe that warned her, because she let out a distressed whine that was muffled by the muzzle. Then the sedative took hold. Muscles in her shoulders that had strained against the chains went slack. The whine turned into a soft, contented rumble.
Glynda tried to guide Peter's face away from the scene, but he wouldn't be moved. She dropped it, understanding the impulse—the need to be together in this last moment.
Another soldier approached, this one carrying the gun with the spike that would end Pepper's life. Glynda gritted her teeth and watched. She refused to look away when Peter would not. On the horizon, the flash of movement resolved itself into what looked like a flock of birds.
The spike was loaded. Glynda stared at the winged shapes as they grew larger, her mouth falling slightly open. Too big to be birds. Qrow? But he was supposed to watch the school—and where in Remnant would he have found that many riders?
The gun was raised.
"Wait!" Glynda held up a hand. "I remembered something."
"Thought we told you to shut up," the executioner snapped. Pepper's tail twitched drowsily at the noise. The flock of dragons dipped over the crest of a hill, skimming just above the trees. A good idea—even knowing they were there, she had a hard time picking them out now that they weren't silhouetted against the sky.
Sargent Maise stepped out of the crowd of onlookers, her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Delaying isn't going to do any good."
"I might know where they are."
She felt Peter tense, an expression flashing across his face that was part betrayal, part relief. Glynda ignored it—whether her plan worked or not, he'd understand in a few seconds. The dragons were closer, now. She hesitated, as though grappling with her conscience.
"Well?" Maise prompted, irritated.
Glynda could pinpoint the instant the man on watch noticed them. He had been focusing most of his attention on the proceedings below, casting only occasional glances towards the horizon. Now he froze, his head turned in their direction...
"About a hundred yards behind you," she said, and pointed.
This, right here—diving down at the compound, the wind screaming in her ears, feeling Freya's muscles flex beneath her as she shouted, "Charge!" at the top of her lungs—this was what Nora had signed up for. She whooped and cheered as they leveled off, circling over the heads of the group of soldiers.
Soldiers that were now fumbling for their guns. That was something they should probably fix.
She tapped Freya lightly on the back of the neck, and she swooped over the group's heads. As she flapped, a gust of wind tore most of them off their feet.
It was chaos. All according to plan—with more than a dozen dragons shrieking and diving at the soldiers, they were too busy running for cover to line up a shot. The few that did manage to take aim were discouraged with blasts of wind and water.
Specter and Fang, meanwhile, got to work on the chains binding Pepper. Each took turns using their powers, heating and freezing the metal until Pit could pull the weakened link apart. It took less than a minute to free her, but already the soldiers were starting to regroup.
The last chain snapped. Nora heard a gun go off and felt her heart leap into her throat—but there was no cry of pain. Miss. The one who had fired adjusted his aim, pointing the rifle right at Pepper. Rudder pounced on him, grabbing him by the shoulders and dragging him into the air. He dropped the gun and swore at the top of his lungs. About ten feet up he dropped him. He was left sprawled on the ground, dazed and disarmed, but alive.
Nora was about to urge Freya to try the same trick, but before she could she heard an enraged roar from the other side of the compound. A bulky water dragon barreled around the corner, a council rider snapping a whip against its side as it ran.
"Okay, time to go!" Ruby shouted. "Pepper—"
But Pepper wasn't moving. Her eyes were half-lidded, and her tail curled lazily in the heap of broken chains. Fang pawed frantically at her side, but she didn't stir. They'd already hit her with the sedative.
The council dragon was almost on them, now. She guided Freya into a steep dive and landed at Goodwitch's feet. "Hi Professor," she said breathlessly, leaning down to offer her a hand. She took it, and Nora hauled her into the saddle behind her.
Across the field, Scarlet did the same for Port. A clump of dragons and their riders formed around Pepper—Pit, Specter, Storm, and Jade. Ruby jumped out of the saddle, and the others followed her lead. Nora really hoped they had a plan.
Fang took off running towards the council dragon, which was caught in a furious brawl with Huo. He collided with it, almost knocking it over, and all three of them wrestled while the rider tried to hit Yang and Sun with his whip.
Not something Nora could help with. Freya couldn't do much with two people on board, and they were still stuck on the ground. Before she could think too much about that, she caught a glimpse of a soldier pointing a gun at her and yelped. Guang dropped on his head, knocking him to the ground and roaring. He grabbed the rifle in his jaws and pawed at it until the barrel bent under the pressure.
Nora glanced back at Pepper. Storm hauled on a chain that was wrapped around her and, impossibly, the two of them rose several inches off the ground. For a second she was convinced she had to be seeing things, until she saw Pit. He watched both of them intently, his freckles glowing bright silver. Ruby and Blake each climbed onto Jade and Specter, ready to take off.
They were so close, but most of them were still grounded. More soldiers poured out of the building, and Nora heard the cry of another dragon. She twisted in her saddle, looking for something, anything—there!
A small staircase led to a door on the second floor of the building. Nora urged Freya upwards, clinging tightly to Professor Goodwitch and the saddle as they made the final climb from the top of the staircase to the roof.
There wasn't much room to run... but Freya launched herself off the roof and flapped hard, and managed to stay airborne. She circled the building twice while the others followed her lead—all except Pit and Storm, who had the help of his powers. They veered north, aiming to get over the woods as quickly as possible. Nora craned her neck to look behind them and shouted, "What about Sun and Yang?"
Ruby, who was only about twenty feet away on Jade, heard her over the wind. "They'll catch up!" she called back.
Nora caught a final glimpse of the two dragons wheeling in the air... and a third, much larger one that had just launched itself from the rooftop.
Zircon trembled underneath him. Sage stroked his back as they flew, turning frequently in the saddle to look behind them. The council dragon hadn't tried to follow—Yang and Sun were obviously doing their jobs distracting it.
He grimaced, trying not to let the anxiety eat away at him. There was enough to worry about right in front of him—they were only a few minutes away from the council's detention center, and already Pit and Storm were struggling to hold up Pepper.
Their descent happened painfully slowly. Pit's powers flickered on and off. Every time it happened, Storm dipped into a sharp glide, then did her best to gain altitude once they came back on. Soon they were skimming just above the treetops, and Ruby finally called it—pointing downward.
Under the trees and out of the wind, everything seemed strangely hushed. The air smelled like clean earth, and cool shadows covered the ground. For an instant Sage felt as though he and Scarlet had never left their clearing at Beacon.
Pit collapsed onto his stomach. Blake climbed gingerly off Specter's back to soothe him, murmuring praise as she scratched behind his ears. Ruby spoiled Storm, too, who was barely keeping her own paws under her. Jade stretched her wings, winced, and sat down heavily.
"Okay," Neptune said, into the silence. "Now what? 'Cause we're definitely not far enough away."
"Could we do shifts?" Scarlet suggested. Then he looked at Pepper—she was almost twice the size of most of their dragons, and probably weighed more than every single rider combined. There was no way they were getting her off the ground again without Pit's powers. "Okay, stupid question..."
"I don't think we need to," Ruby said. "The dragon is distracted—" she shot a worried glance over her shoulder, "—and we've got an okay head start. We could just walk."
"Um... can Pepper walk?" Nora glanced over to where Port was kneeling by her head, gently stroking her brow.
"Not for a little while," he said, distracted. She purred at his touch, the sound coming out a little slurred.
"Okay." Ruby ran a hand through her hair. "Okay, um..."
Sage patted Zircon's neck. "We could hide the three of them," he suggested, gesturing at their professors and Pepper. "Then... they could meet up with Yang and Sun when the sedative starts to wear off."
No one had any better ideas, so Zircon, Mudslide, and Jade all set to work. They dug out the side of a small hill, leaving just enough space for Goodwitch, Port, and a curled up Pepper.
"Right." Ruby crouched down at the entrance. "If you can't find the others, I have directions to Raven's camp. She won't be there, but if you go west you should run into her." She fumbled in her pocket, took out a scrap of paper. "Um... okay, just gimme a—"
"Here." Goodwitch took it, stared at it for a few seconds, and handed it back. "I'll remember."
Sage and Emerald dragged branches over the opening the earth dragons had left until it was completely invisible. By then Pit was back on his feet, though his tail hung like a limp rope behind him. With him and Storm both exhausted, and Blake still limping a little, their progress was painfully slow.
Neptune glanced up at the sky. "They should be back by now."
"Stop that," Scarlet said. "They'll be fine. I mean, can you imagine trying to deal with Huo and Fang at the same time?"
Sage noticed that Ruby had tensed up. She walked with one hand on Storm's shoulder, looking at the sky more often than where she was putting her feet. He followed her gaze, watching clouds drift lazily by overhead, wishing more than anything that he could see what was happening to the two that had stayed behind.
They'd be alright. They had to be.
"This is not okay!" Sun screamed at the top of his lungs as Huo dove behind the wall of the compound to avoid a blast of water. He huffed in annoyance—why did his partner have to be so loud when he was trying to concentrate?
Below them, a second council dragon clambered up the stairs. This one was an earth dragon built like a brick wall, flaring his wings in anticipation as he lumbered after them. Huo wasn't too concerned—he was big, but he was also slow. It was the riders, and the soldiers on the ground, that worried him.
"We have to distract them," he roared at Fang.
"Duh." The other dragon swept low over the heads of several soldiers, whipping his tail against their guns and sending them flying. Then he circled higher, blowing smoke. "How, genius?"
Huo hissed and rolled in midair to avoid another blast of water. The earth dragon took off an flapped towards him. He dived at the bigger dragon, shrieking furiously, but veered off to one side when Sun tugged on the reins.
Wimp. Huo could take him.
Then the water dragon tried to break away and pursue the others. Huo and Fang both converged on her, snapping at the rider who hunkered down against her saddle. He snapped his whip at Fang's face, making him roar in pain and drop halfway to the ground before he recovered. Huo chomped down on the water dragon's tail, and both of them spiraled towards the ground. He let go just in time to stay in the air. Her paws skimmed the ground, but she clawed at the air with her wings and followed him back into the sky.
The important thing was that she was following him, not Pepper. For now, anyway. In a couple hours Pepper would be able to pin a whelp like this with one paw. He said as much, she screeched in outrage and shot another blast of water at him. This one hit, though he rolled in midair to protect Sun from the worst of it.
Bruised and slightly dazed, Huo had to grab onto the side of the compound to keep himself from falling. He dug in with his claws, leaving a long rent in the walls. Above him, Fang roared defiantly and dive bombed the water dragon's rider, tearing the whip from the man's hand.
He came too close to a clump of soldiers. Several shots rang out—most missed, but one found its mark.
Huo leaped from the side of the building as Fang spiraled towards the ground, sweeping over the heads of the soldiers with fury bubbling up in his stomach. He spat, and a ball of flame crashed into the middle of their group. They scattered. One woman ripped off her uniform jacket, slapping frantically at a bit of flame licking up the sleeve.
"Whoa!" Sun's hands tightened on the reins. "Okay, I don't like them either but how about we don't set them on fire?"
Fang stabilized in the air and climbed higher to keep out of range, holding one of his forelegs awkwardly against his stomach. Something in Huo's chest unclenched.
Then Fang shot him a challenging glare and dove towards the compound. He made several passes before he managed to shoot fire at the roof. Huo heard Sun swear softly as he took up the challenge, spitting flames at anything that looked important.
All of a sudden, the soldiers were too busy trying to put out the fire to aim their rifles. The water dragon ran out of water halfway through dealing with the blaze Fang had started on the roof, and flew towards a small pond just before the treeline. The earth dragon smothered a burning car with dirt.
Sun tugged on the reins. Huo grumbled a bit—it was exciting watching them scramble around, and he wasn't hurting the people. Just the stuff they'd need to chase after them. And the building they were using to kill dragons. Really, he was doing a service!
Another, more insistent tug. Fang had already veered northward. Huo followed reluctantly, pausing only to hawk a last, spiteful fireball at the compound as he passed over it. The shouting of the council soldiers—and the smell of smoke—soon faded into the distance.
Once they were a few minutes' flight away, they touched down in a small clearing. Fang growled as he hit the ground, stumbling a little and favoring his right foreleg. Yang slid out of the saddle so fast she almost fell over. He hissed when she tried to touch it, then relaxed when she gave him a soothing pat on the shoulder.
Huo leaned in to see, only for her to shove his head aside. He squawked indignantly.
"Okay." Her hands shook. "Okay. What the hell do I do?"
Sun, who had just dismounted, winced at the sight. "Wow. Uh... that is a very good question."
Huo rolled his eyes and butted them both out of the way so he could lick the wound clean. Fang hissed at him. Huo flicked him with his tail.
"There has to be a doctor or something at R—at the camp," Yang said. "I don't think we can do much with what we've got right now."
"Right." Sun glanced around. "Uh... see anywhere we can...?"
"Cliff," she said, pointing. "That way. Saw it when we were landing."
They started moving—Yang and Sun on foot, Fang limping along on three legs. "Those dragons are such wimps," he grumbled. "Won't even fight without a bunch of guns backing them up."
Huo growled agreement. They kept walking in dappled shade. Once, far in the distance, they heard the deep-throated bellow of an earth dragon. Fang sped up, wincing with every step.
"Do you think they got away with Pepper?" he asked, after a long moment.
"'Course. We didn't let the dragons leave, so they couldn't have caught them."
Fang's tail curled upward. "So... we won."
Huo blinked. Then, slowly, he looked at the other dragon. "Yeah. We won."
Fang's neck arched as he preened, and Huo mirrored the motion. Months and months of all the grown dragons talking themselves horse about how dangerous the council was, and how they had to keep their heads down and behave until they were older. And now, they just beat them!
"We should have started doing this a long time ago," Huo decided.
Despite his hobbled leg, Fang purred agreement. The sound hitched partway through, turning into a growl. "We won," he repeated. "So we keep fighting them, and we keep winning. Make them wish they'd never come to Beacon."
Huo's claws flexed, biting deep into the forest floor. "No. We'll make 'em wish they'd never joined the council in the first place."