Ugh, so I got into the office this morning Monday and we have two windows smashed by vandals. One at the front, and one right around the back – which involved them climbing over a steel fence to even get to the window. It's too small for anyone to fit through and barred on the other side, but CCTV just shows them throwing rocks at it, presumably "because it was fun". Bastards.
Naturally, they wear hoodies in the CCTV so the police have said there's "little they can do".
I really hate people sometimes.
On a more "forged destiny" note, there was a continuity error in the last chapter that people pointed out. Namely, it was Jaune failing to recognise the Rune placed on Raven's sword, since it featured on the door in Vacuo and his amulet. The door could be forgiven as he only saw it briefly, but not the amulet. I will therefore be going back to last chapter and changing it to read "familiar" instead of "didn't recognise it". Thanks to those who pointed it out for me. It won't change anything as I just needed "a design" for the rune and defaulted to that, forgetting I'd used it before, so don't worry about the change affecting much. The only reason I didn't change it when people pointed it out was because I didn't want FD to jump back up to "newly updated" and then have people be confused because there's no new chapter.
Beta: College Fool
Cover Art: Dishwasher1910
Book 7: Chapter 14
"Kill Salem?" I rasped. The thought should have pleased me, but for some reason it didn't. Maybe it was the impossibility. Maybe it was that I couldn't believe Raven wanted to do it for some altruistic purpose. "Why?"
"Hm?" Raven swung her new sword to the side, watching the blade cut through the air. Still giddy, she laughed delightedly before answering. "Why not? Is it not the goal of all Heroes to slay the great monster? Does it not make sense for I, the strongest of Heroes, to face Salem? Consider it. When you kill someone, human or Grimm, a piece of them enters you, becomes a part of you, and you grow stronger. Salem is akin to a God. What will become of me when I slay her?"
There was no telling. I wasn't sure Salem would even have Exp, since she didn't have a name above her like most people did. That said, even if she didn't, Raven removing her from the world would mean there was no one left to challenge her. Even on a reputational level alone, the act would make entire Kingdoms bend knee. I was looking at someone who might rule over all of Remnant.
And she was laughing like a child, playing with a weapon she'd forced out of me through torture and blackmail.
"You're insane."
"Am I? Insanity is in doing the same thing over and over expecting something to change. The Greycloaks are feared across all of Remnant, our influence unmatched. I am the strongest and now I have the strongest weapon in the world. Every action I have taken I've taken deliberately, and successfully. Tell me, where is the insanity in that?"
"You've made enemies of too many people. Even if you kill me, my friends saw your face. They'll find out who you are and tell everyone. The world will want you dead." I expected Raven to become angry, to shout – or even to deflect it with sheer arrogance alone and not believe what I was saying. I did not expect her to smile, nor to look at me with such amused eyes. "You want that," I whispered, horrified. "You want the world to hunt you…"
"There's a lot of Exp in the world, Blacksmith. Why seek it myself when it's so willing to come to me?"
"Y-You think you can take on everyone!? You may be the highest level, but quantity has a quality of its own. You can't hold up to a hundred professional Heroes. It wouldn't matter if you were Level one hundred and fifty. It still wouldn't be enough."
"It might not be," she admitted, "But then, I'm not alone, am I?" Raven gestured around her, to the castle we were in and the Greycloaks that dwelled in it. "Bring your hundred and my Greycloaks will face them. Even assuming you win, how many will survive to face me? Five? Ten? Fifteen? Those numbers are much more manageable. Even if their levels would be higher from the battle, it would never be enough to match mine."
"You'd throw away the Greycloaks like that?"
"Throw away? Don't be foolish. Their sacrifice would come back to me soon enough. Those who survive the battle would be glut with Exp, exhausted, but far closer to my Level. Far more value to me when slain. There is no wastage here. Even if they were to pose a threat to me, do you believe I could be caught? I can open a portal wherever I wish. I could stalk them one at a time, slowly killing one after the other, absorbing their Exp and growing ever stronger."
And then, presumably, she'd flee to whatever other strongholds the Greycloaks had to begin the process all over again. I wasn't sure the Greycloaks could hold a against the might of all four Kingdoms, but they didn't have to. Even if Raven only killed a few people, it would be a profit from her point of view.
"Of course, should they not come I'll simply summon Salem myself," she said, shrugging one shoulder. "And don't worry about her not granting Exp. I already have a way to ensure that. I shall summon her to this plane and then wish for her to become a part of it, wish for her to manifest permanently in our world and walk among us."
My heart leapt into my throat. "Are you mad!?" I screeched. "She'll slaughter untold people, destroy entire Kingdoms!"
"Not if I kill her."
"And if you don't!?"
Raven smiled, "Then I won't be around to suffer the consequences of my failure."
That bitch! I thought I'd hated Vernal more than anything but standing here right now with that smug smile and uncaring attitude, my mind was changed. Raven's plan was insane, assuming it even worked. If Salem had to follow a wish, then she probably would manifest in this world, but I couldn't help but think she'd be furious about it. Finding the caveat to kill Raven would be easy for her. She could just do it herself. But Raven was prepared – even counting – on that.
More than any of that, though, I couldn't believe how candid she was being with me.
"Why tell me this? Why tell me all your plans like this? Unless you plan to kill me…"
"Isn't it obvious? I want you to inform Ozpin. I want you to inform the world. Bring your armies, lay siege to us, slaughter my Greycloaks and fight your way through to me. I'll feast on what remains and grow stronger still, all the better to face Salem when the time comes. As for the wish…" Raven chuckled. "Consider that insurance. Act as cowards and fail to attack me, and I shall summon her anyway and make my wish. If I fail, the whole world will fall into darkness. Knowing such, Ozpin will have no choice but to act." She turned away. "Whatever route you choose, I win in the end."
Kneeling, Raven reversed her new weapon, bringing the blunt tang around towards the side of my head. The meaning was clear, and I struggled wildly, only to have her foot push and hold me down.
"As for killing you? You're not worth the effort, Jaune. The Exp I would gain from you is inconsequential. You have no worth to me dead. At least alive, you can pass a message on. It's time for you to rest now. Don't forget my message for Ozpin…"
Pain exploded in my temple as the Starmetal hit.
My vision faded.
/-/
"Stay back," Pyrrha shouted, fighting to be heard over the noise. "Stay back for your own safety."
"You can't stop us!" a Baker shouted, swinging a meaty fist towards her face. It flailed harmlessly by as she stepped back, only to be caught and twisted, the man's body spun around as she pinned his arm behind him. She would have taken him to the ground, but considering the mass of people behind him, didn't have the opportunity. Instead, she pushed him back into the crowd.
"Yes, I can. And will."
Taking the moment for what it was, she glanced left and right, to Ren and Blake respectively, who formed the next links in the human chain she and the majority of students in Beacon were forming. They cur across a street, a key street apparently, though she wasn't sure in what way. Ozpin and Miss Goodwitch probably knew better, and considering that they hadn't been attacked from behind, they must have still had the city on lockdown, New Dawn confined to the streets they were keeping them in.
Other than that, she had no idea what was going on. Their job was to follow orders and there was just too much going on for the teachers to explain every little decision. New Dawn were marching through Vale building their numbers as they went, and they were to protect the street they were on. Falter, and not only would the storefronts and citizens along it suffer, but Heroes and Soldiers holding the line further down would be ambushed from behind.
Not all of New Dawn were being violent, but enough were, and Pyrrha knew how quickly a crowd could be whipped into a mob.
"Oppressors!" someone shouted.
"They're working with the Nobles!"
"Justice for Lisa! Justice for New Dawn!"
"The Nobles don't have Lisa Lavender," Blake shouted, not for the first time. "She was taken by a terrorist organisation known as the Greycloaks!"
"Lies!"
"Deflecting the blame!"
"Ugh." Blake caught two people as they tried to fight past her and shoved them back. One caught her in the side with a fist, and to Pyrrha's shock, Blake keeled over a little.
"Blake!"
"I-I'm fine," the Assassin hissed. "Just caught me by surprise."
Nora, on the other side of Blake, was hearing none of it. "Yang, come and relieve Blake!"
"Really, I'm fine."
"Already on it," Yang said, placing a hand on Blake's shoulder and drawing her back. "Grab some rest, kitten. I'll cover here. And none of that," she said, grinning at Blake's indignant expression. "You're hardly the first to need a break. Weiss and Ruby are already resting."
Ruby because her stamina still wasn't the best and they'd been at this for two hours now. Weiss, because she'd caught a plank of wood to the side of her face. Not swung with enough force to badly hurt her, it had still left a mark and Pyrrha had relieved her place in the human chain. It had been the hardest thing to disarm the Carpenter responsible and not hurt him for it. Right now, the last thing they needed was to be seen hurting the protestors, even if this protest had long since devolved into a riot.
No weapons drawn, no Skills to be used. It was little wonder Weiss was less than useless like this, but Ruby was no better. Really, they were all limited, but at least as a Champion herself, her Stats were just far higher across the board. None of the citizens here could take any of them individually, but they weren't here as individuals. They were here as part of a mob numbering well over two thousand.
"Give her back!"
"Down with the Nobles!"
"More rights, more freedom!"
"Revolution!"
"Same old, same old," Yang gritted. "Not like we're even against the idea of more rights, but this isn't a good way to show it." She raised her voice, "Not when you're acting like wild animals!"
A stone impacted the side of Yang's face. Her head whipped to the side and her eyes flashed red.
"Yang," Ren remarked, unnaturally calm, "Please stop trying to calm them down. Diplomacy isn't your strong suit and it's not working."
"You can say that again," Pyrrha groaned, watching other protestors get the same idea as their friend and stoop for stones and rocks on the streets below. Pyrrha brought her shield up before her and spared a thought for all her friends who didn't have such protection. "Incoming!"
The first rocks pelted off her shield with loud clangs. A few hit her legs, one or two finding the gaps between her greaves and skin, earning a grunt. Ren and Yang weathered the storm far worse, hands held protectively in front of their faces but little more they could do.
And then the crowd rushed in.
"HOLD!" Yang yelled, digging in.
The first bunch of rioters smashed into Pyrrha while she still had her shield up. Hands scrabbled above and below, trying to pull it down and get to her. The weight of numbers squashed them against her, but her Strength held. The ground did not, or rather could not. Even as she remained unbowed, her feet slid back, not finding enough purchase. If she were pushed out of line, rioters could rush through the gaps and get to the others from behind.
Pyrrha's eyes flashed brightly.
Her Shield Bash caught those pressed against her unawares. Her arm swept out, launching at least six people back into the crowd. They landed hard, taking others down with them and causing a localised collapse of the horde. Thankfully, those behind were able to halt their momentum and so not crush their fellows beneath their feet. For a blessed moment there was no one before her, a brief instance of peace.
"No Skills!" Weiss yelled from behind, breaking it.
"S-Sorry. I had to."
"Pyrrha's got the right idea," Yang shouted. "We're not going to be able to hold like this. One punch and I can carve up this street so they won't get past."
"And in doing so, destroy the street itself. Miss Goodwitch will have our heads!"
"These guys are going to have our heads if they break through. Especially if we keep handicapping ourselves."
Yang was right. None of the civilians were a danger on their own nor in small groups, but the sheer mass of them would be enough to pin them down, especially if they couldn't properly fight back. Pyrrha was strong, they all were, but put enough people on top of her and sooner or later she'd not be able to push them off. From there, all it would take was more people to crush her so she couldn't breathe, or one maniac with a knife to start sawing away at her throat.
If they could fight back, Pyrrha was sure they could dismantle this crowd within the hour. It wouldn't be easy, especially to knock them all out instead of kill them, but they could do it.
"Fight back and we do their work for them," Ren said calmly, cutting the idea in two. "We might as well don grey cloaks ourselves. We'd be helping them."
"Gah. This is shit!"
A sudden stampede of footsteps behind them had Pyrrha cursing, though it soon turned to a sigh of relief as uniformed members of the city guard rushed forward with their shields held before them. Several other students down the line cheered as the guards set up, forming a line about ten paces back.
"About time," Ren muttered.
Miss Goodwitch came with them and strode in front of the guards. "You will be stepping back slowly," she called. "I will shout out one pace at a time. Do not let the protestors through."
Several of said `protestors` screamed and shouted abuse at Miss Goodwitch, but the Warlock seemed more than capable of ignoring it all. Looking up and down the line to make sure they'd all understood, she began to call out. "One step. One step. One step."
There was a pause of ten seconds between each call, giving them a chance to steady the line once more and make sure no one was left behind. Of course, the protestors could hear the commands as well and pushed all the harder after each one. Pyrrha strained to keep her shield in hand against people who would push against it one moment and then try to yank it away the next.
"One step. One step."
Pyrrha's back hit a Soldier's shield.
"Soldiers!" Miss Goodwitch called. "Step forward!"
The armoured figure behind her stepped forward, angling his shield so that she rolled off the front and slid between him and the soldier next to him. It wasn't a seamless transition, but it was the best they could hope for in so dire a situation. The moment she was through, the soldier grunted as the mass of rioters pressed on him instead. At least he had a large tower shield to rely on. They all did, even the Archers who had no reason having them.
"Students fall back to the rest point," Miss Goodwitch called. "Any with injuries come to me immediately and I will open a portal back to Beacon for treatment."
Apart from Weiss, none of them had been hurt and Weiss was already back on her feet and arguing with Ruby that she didn't need healing. Pyrrha didn't have the energy to get involved and simply trudged back down the street, rotating her shoulder to try and work some of the strain out.
The `command point` as it was being called was a square between several inns on a major road that cut from Beacon to the Palace, and which could be easily reinforced from both. It was there Ozpin had set up most of Beacon's students and ordered them from. The headmaster was on the ground himself, stood beneath a pavilion surrounded by various people. Before him, a map lay on a table made of several barrels brought together with a rug thrown atop it.
There was food and drink out on another set of tables protected from the sub by some drapes. Not good food, more dried fruit, buts and pieces of jerky. It was just to keep them topped up should they need it. Pyrrha bit into an apple and savoured the sweet taste as juice ran down her chin.
"My thoughts exactly," Nora said, appearing alongside her with Ren and Blake. The three piled their plates high with snacks, Blake and Ren doing so silently, too tired to talk. Nora, predictably, was not. "How much longer are we going to have to do this for? It's been two days now. Haven't they gotten tired yet?"
"It's not like there's anyone for them to arrest," Ren pointed out. "There's no leader behind New Dawn and Vale doesn't have the cells for so many people. I've a feeling it would lead to all-out civil war if they tried."
"There must be some way to break it up…"
"There is," Blake said. "You wear them down."
Nora groaned. "I meant a quicker way…"
"The only other option is to massacre them all, which Ozpin and the King are unwilling to do for obvious reasons. I've a feeling if it were only one or two hundred, they might do it, but you can't kill over three thousand people."
"Wait, you think they'd kill everyone?" Nora asked, aghast.
Pyrrha was no less so, but also wasn't as surprised. If this were Mistral, the people would already have been rounded up and disposed of. Then again, if this were Mistral, it would have been far harder to organise a mob like this. Loyalty and duty were a part of everyday life for them.
"I'm not saying they'll do anything," Blake defended. "Only pointing out the options. Right now, we're trying to outlast them. Make their anger wane and the violence die out. That should be evidence enough Ozpin isn't going to call a massacre."
"True," Pyrrha said. "He wouldn't go through so much effort if he intended the other option."
The sudden `crowing` of a bird diving out of the sky caught their attention. The bird swept towards Ozpin but transformed en route. Qrow slammed to the ground, bending one knee and planting a hand down. He was up a second later, pushing aggressively through the people crowded before Ozpin.
"Looks like something is happening," Nora said, already moving towards it.
"Hm." Pyrrha swallowed the last bite of apple and tossed the core into an empty barrel set aside for disposal nearby. They were only halfway towards the pavilion when the noise increased, people shouting out suddenly. Ozpin waved one hand wildly, already moving away with Qrow beside him. Whatever was going on, it was deadly serious.
A red blur sped out from the crowd towards them. Ruby had been in there the moment Qrow arrived and now hurried to them.
"The Greycloaks," she panted, coming to a stop before them. "They've appeared in the city!"
"Where?" Ren asked.
Behind Ruby, Qrow pushed away and leapt into the air once more, transforming the moment his feet left the ground. He shot off like an arrow, weaving between a nearby rooftop and rising up on a thermal, headed deeper into the city.
"The town hall," Ruby said, pointing to a tower with a bell on it in the distance. "And they have Jaune!"
/-/
It was the sound of metal rattling on metal that woke me. "Rise and shine," Vernal cajoled, slamming one of her blades between two bars of my cage. "You don't want to be asleep for this, believe me."
Distant screams brought me to full wakefulness.
The first thing I noticed was that we were high up. My cage was perched near the edge of a ludicrous drop, though thankfully not precariously so. Lisa's was beside mine. Vernal stood between the two with a wide grin on her face, while several other Greycloaks, Raven included, waited behind. Seeing me looking her way, Raven nodded her head towards Lisa.
"No, no, no!" Lisa gasped, tears running down her cheeks. "This isn't what I wanted!"
Nervously, I looked below. Vale was on fire. Not the whole city, but large portions of it were ablaze, buildings going up in flame while others lay shells of their former selves, black smoke billowing from the remains. Large masses of people thronged several streets, distorting the grey stone with multi-coloured clothing. They were like a river, bodies streaming down eddies cut by streets and roads before crashing onto something and stopping.
Soldiers, I assumed. The city was in full revolt and the city guard were trying to restore order. Desperately, I looked towards Beacon, breathing a sigh of relief when I saw its towers still stood. The Palace did as well, with most of the damage being confined to the merchant's quarter. Still, it was anarchy. Anarchy in the streets of Vale that hadn't been present before we were kidnapped.
"What happened…?"
It was Raven who answered. "Without the leadership of their beloved Lisa Lavender, the people of New Dawn were cut adrift. Angry. They looked for someone to blame and considering the Assassins were sent by various Nobles, they turned their attention on the Palace itself. When words fail, force is all that remains."
"Nooo," Lisa wailed. "This wasn't supposed to happen!"
"Not like it'll change anything," Vernal interrupted. "They're too weak to get past the Soldier Caste, let alone the Hero Caste. Sooner or later, this'll be stamped out. Not without a whole lot of people dying, though."
"Do not belittle them," Raven rebuked. "Though weak in body, it takes spirit to fight as they are."
"They'll still die…"
"True, but they will die warriors fighting for a cause. Not cowering mice." Raven watched the carnage fondly. "That is all we can give them."
"You organised this," I accused. "You didn't just kidnap me for a sword, but Lisa to drive New Dawn into a frenzy. You knew this would happen!"
"I may have taken advantage of the opportunity, but it wouldn't have been possible without the Nobles resorting to assassination first. Predictable of them, but still necessary to arrange this. If you want to blame someone, blame them. Or yourselves." Raven smirked my way. "You're as much a part of this as me."
My eyes drifted back to the scene below. Though the crowds had carved a trail of destruction, much of the city still stood. This wasn't going to bring Vale to its knees by any stretch, but then, that wasn't Raven's goal here. She wanted Vale strong enough to challenge her. This was just to make sure they couldn't ignore the threat of the Greycloaks. Attack and she would accept the challenge, reaping what she could.
Ignore her, and even if she didn't summon Salem, she might orchestrate another tragedy like this. Again and again, until she was dealt with once and for all. My attention was caught by one group, however, an organised one that had begun to cut across the rooftops, a good hundred or so in number.
"Looks like Ozpin has finally chosen to react," Raven said. "I wondered how long it would take him to notice us."
Ozpin? The Guild! Not just them, but a good portion of Beacon by the looks of it. They were too distant and too small to make out in any detail, but the speed at which they were covering ground, jumping from one roof to another far above the rioters below, told me they were Hero Caste.
"Raven," one of the nearby Greycloaks said. "We're not going to have much more time."
"Yes. Begin preparations."
The man, a Mage, nodded and moved over to one corner of the tower we were stood atop. Another followed him and then a third, a Sorcerer and another Mage respectively. The three of them were each cloaked in their familiar uniforms. As one, they raised their hands and began to chant.
What did they hope to achieve? Three magic-users couldn't deal with all the Heroes approaching. Leaving aside the distance involved and how easily the Heroes could dodge, there was the fact that even the most powerful of spells likely wouldn't kill someone with enough Constitution to withstand it. It might kill someone like Ruby, but there was no way she'd be hit with her ridiculous Agility. Anyone slow enough, like Nora or me, would be able to tank it. Did they intend to make a barrier like Cinder had? That was only possible thanks to Phoenix.
Slowly, three large balls of magic appeared above the spellcasters. Two were of fire, while one crackled with what might have been lightning. It was a dark purple in colour.
"Any particular choices, Raven?" the lead Mage asked.
"Hm. Why don't you pick, Vernal? I know you've been grouchy looking after our guests."
"Can I?" the Rogue asked excitedly. She darted away from mine and Lisa's cage to kneel by the Mage's calf, looking down over the edge. After a second's thought, she pointed. "There. There's at least five or six hundred of the idiots there."
Five hundred? I could see the Heroes below and there were only-
My stomach churned as realisation set in. They weren't aiming at the Beacon Heroes approaching. They were aiming at the rioting civilians.
"NO!" Lisa screamed hysterically. "STOP!"
Raven crossed her arms. "Kill them."
The spells were cast.
My screams of protest mingled with Lisa's but were overwhelmed by the sounds the spells made as they hurtled forwards, aimed down towards the ground, towards the masses of civilians pressed against walls of Soldiers.
The distance was great, easily six hundred metres from the tower down to the floor and across the city, but New Dawn wasn't looking behind them, let alone above. The Soldiers must have seen it for the line began to crack and break. New Dawn, convinced of their victory, rushed in, never once considering the strange noises behind. Those that did never had a chance to flee. Too low-level, too weak, too fragile.
They never stood a chance.
The only mercy was that Lisa and I didn't have to see the slaughter. The explosion was so bright and so great that it blinded me. The flames licked far and wide, splashing out from the point of impact to strike several buildings nearby. Anyone hit would have died immediately, their lives snuffed out in a fraction of a second.
The silence left behind echoed. It felt like the entire city had frozen, even the New Dawn that remained, who finally turned away from their riots. Ozpin's party had also halted, lost in indecision, no doubt wondering whether they could have prevented this. They could not have, I knew. The attack was aimed so far away from them that no one could have reached it in time.
Lisa began to cry brokenly.
"RAAAAVENNNN!"
A black blur fell from the sky, sunlight glinting off a blade that came down towards Raven's head. Qrow struck like a falling star, his sword crashing into the one I'd made. Raven supported all Qrow's weight as he fell, even his body itself, without taking a single step backwards. She smiled up at him.
"Hello Qrow. Time for a family reunion?"
"What have you done? So many people!"
Qrow flipped back and kicked up, striking the underside of Raven's sword and knocking it high. He landed and charged in, swinging for her side, only to find Raven's sword there again. The Knight laughed in genuine delight, hopping back and forcing the Druid to give chase. "You'll have to try harder than that, brother. Come. You were always my equal back in the tribe. Show me how you've grown." When several Greycloaks made to intervene, Raven snapped angry eyes onto them. "No one interferes! Vernal, continue with the plan."
Nodding, Vernal hurried back towards me, smiling widely. My stomach tensed and I grabbed the bars in front of me, slowly heating them, trying to keep the heat low enough that I could hide the reddening metal against my palms.
To my surprise, she ran straight past me and knelt by Lisa's cage, grinning down on the sobbing woman who had long since hidden her face in her hands. Her legs were splayed out, shoulders hunched.
"Those were all your people, you know," Vernal said. "They wouldn't have been out there if it wasn't for you. They were fighting to save you. How ironic is that?"
"Stop it!" I hissed. "Lisa, don't listen to her!"
"Oh, but she can't help it, can you, Lisa? You know the truth. You were the one who made them passionate, you were the one who started New Dawn. You're the one who, through your own weakness, allowed it to come to this. Hundreds are dead, maybe thousands once the fires take their toll. All because of you and your daddy issues."
"N-No. T-That's not true!"
"It is, though. You know that. Listen, can you hear their screams even now? Some of them are trapped in the buildings burning to death. Adults, children, there are probably plenty who will die in the coming days, losing their battles with injury and disease."
"Nooooo!"
"And it's all your fault, Lisa. You did this."
Above us, the clouds began to darken, swirling inwards. An oppressive atmosphere settled atop the tower, a tickling in the back of my head that I dimly recognised. Some of the Greycloaks grunted and one fell onto one knee, pushed down by some invisible force. Despite it being the middle of the day, the sunlight was blocked out entirely.
Realisation dawned on me, and with it, horror. A thick, inky portal of purest black had already begun to form in the air behind Lisa.
"Lisa, no!" I yelled. "Don't listen to her, don't let her trick you. She's trying to use your pain to summon-"
"Your pain?" Vernal interrupted, shouting over me. "Your pain is nothing compared to the pain of those who believed in you. They trusted you. They relied on you. You brought them ruin, Lisa. More ruin than your father ever could have!"
"Don't listen to her!"
"Lisa Lavender," Vernal crowed. "Or should that be Lisa ap' Falar, illegitimate daughter of Galan ap' Falar, princess of Vale. No wonder daddy dearest banished you. You've brought his Kingdom to the edge of civil war, and now slaughtered the people you were supposed to protect!"
My mouth fell open. "P-Princess…?"
It proved the final straw. Lisa's body shook. Her hands gripped her head. One long, painful wail escaped her throat, piercing through the sounds of combat, the screams from below and even the distant roars of flames overtaking the city.
It was swiftly echoed by a cry from Qrow as he fell to one knee, a vicious cut across his thigh exposing muscle and bone. His weapon was gone, his shoulder hanging low, blood pooling down from his elbow. Raven stood before him, my sword having completed its cut now hanging in the air over her shoulder.
"Such a shame. I once admired you more than any other. A Druid forced to fight in a way he shouldn't by a tribe who refused to let go of tradition, yet you equalled me each and every time. With everything against you, you were still able to fight me to a standstill. I was in awe of you, Qrow. You amazed me."
"A-And I used to respect you," Qrow bit back. "But you've changed. Not in a good way." He clenched his teeth and tried to stand, only to slump back down, spent. "You let me, Summer and Tai down. You let Yang down, too. You're not the same person you used to be, Ray."
"None of us are, Qrow."
The sword swept down.
I couldn't watch. Through all the blood and death and people I'd been forced to kill, Qrow was someone I couldn't watch fall. As little as I knew him, I still knew him. The sound of his body falling to the floor was damning.
"Not even a single level." Raven said sadly. "Oh, Qrow…"
Too much. It was too much. I couldn't even bring myself to stop Lisa's grief. It didn't matter. I was just as bad and if Ruby saw this… Without thinking, I kicked out, snapping the bars that I'd already weakened. I caught one and surged out of the cage. Vernal hopped away quickly. "You fucking monster! He was your brother!"
"And now he is a part of me," Raven said, stood over the Druid's body. "Together, we shall do great things. But that is not for now." She looked over my shoulder, towards where I could feel Salem forming. "Our part here is done. Come, Vernal. Everyone. Let us see Ozpin brush this under the rug. Salem's summoning in the middle of Vale, in front of hundreds of thousands of people. Faced with so many questions, he will have no choice but to attack us."
"Raven!" I screamed, charging in with my bar. It was not a sword, as much as I wished it could be, but I was too far gone to care.
"I've got this," Vernal snarled, stepping up.
"No. He still has a part to play." Raven pulled Vernal out the way and let my attack come in. The iron bar crashed down onto her forearm as she brought it up to block. The sound of it striking flesh echoed across the tower, driven down through all my Strength.
Still, she wasn't moved.
Desperately, I brought the bar up to melting point.
"Ah, ah, ah," she chided, letting go suddenly and twisting to the side. The bar came down beside her, and a moment later she drove her knee into my side, under my ribs. As quick as it was, the blow was devastating, enforced with one hundred and twelve levels of Stat growth. I was launched back several feet and fell onto my rear, gasping for breath as I stared up at the stormy sky. "You've still a message to deliver. You're weaker than even Qrow, so killing you would earn me nothing. With my sword forged, you're simply not important anymore."
"Y-You bitch," I gasped.
"But Ozpin? Ozpin, Glynda and all the other Heroes. Hm. In numbers, they might be enough to challenge me, so tell them where they can find me. Tell them to come to the Mirage Isles and deal with me once and for all." Turning away, Raven drew her sword and cut the air before her, tearing a red and black portal into the air. "But remember, delay and I shall take matters into my own hands. Salem shall be summoned, and I shall face her."
The Greycloaks marched into the portal, their work done. Vernal paused to look back and sneer in my direction. Soon, it was just the three of us atop the tower. Myself, Raven and a broken and sobbing Lisa.
Judging from the mass of darkness forming behind her, there was soon to be a fourth.
"Oh, and one last thing, Jaune," Raven said, half through the portal. "Salem has a number of rules she abides by. We've learned that through trial and error. One of them is that she cannot be banished unless a wish is made. Just a little food for thought."
The portal closed behind her, winking out of existence. A second later, an incredible weight pressed down on my shoulders. One I ignored easily, but one I knew would drive most people in Vale to their knees.
"Grief, rage and the familiar tang of guilt. You have a distinctive flavour, Jaune Arc."
Damn it.
"I do believe I've come to enjoy it."
Inevitable sex jokes for the parting comments there. So, Raven's goals are revealed in more detail, including how utterly inconsequential Jaune is in them. Not even worth killing, his Exp value to her would be so low.
And yes, I'm afraid that Qrow has fallen.
Next Chapter: 21st January
P a treon . com (slash) Coeur
