Hello, everyone! You may not realize it, but this chapter is coming out a day early (I like to post on Saturdays, for no reason in particular other than that's how I started doing it). The reason for that is that a friend of mine, Recycler—who I've mentioned before—is turning twenty today. So, this is a little bit of a gift for him. Happy Birthday, man!
Enjoy!
Ilex crept through the darkness, trying to make as little noise as possible despite the sounds of gunfire and roaring in the distance. Better safe than sorry. What the hell had come over him, trying to impress Aspen by volunteering to go back for Carmine? As if she'd cared the last dozen times he'd tried to impress her. Stupid…. He and Carmine didn't even like each other, and now he was out looking for him where he could get attacked by Grimm or White Fang at any moment.
Ahead of him, he picked up the faint sound of voices. Why did I have to be right? Ilex cursed silently and lowered himself to reduce his visibility as he continued forward. As he did, the voices became more distinct.
"You think just because you outnumber me that you have the advantage?" Oh, that was Carmine, alright. He was just coming into view, and Ilex could see that he was talking to a group of five White Fang soldiers. They seemed to be focused on Carmine, though, so Ilex began to circle around behind them. Their masks couldn't have offered much in the way of peripheral vision so, hopefully, he'd be able to catch them by surprise and take at least one or two of them out.
"You think thathaving your Aura unlocked makes us equals?" Carmine laughed, a sound that made even Ilex's skin crawl. He paused to cast a look at his partner from the side. For as long as he'd known Carmine, he'd never been like this. Sure, he could be a dick, but this was... "It just means I have to push a little harder to kill you."
Sadistic. Yeah, that was the word.
Carmine's words seemed to be having an effect on the White Fang as well. They looked around at one another nervously until one of them stepped forward, pointing his sword at the teen. "You're bluffing," he said, though the tremor in his voice wasn't entirely convincing. "You wouldn't kill us."
"And why not?" Carmine asked, eyes fixed intently on the man who had spoken. "It wouldn't be the first time I've taken a life."
A shiver ran down Ilex's spine, but he soon realized what his partner was doing. He is bluffing, psyching them out. He smirked, though he wasn't entirely sure of himself. He's keeping them focused on him so I can get behind them. Even if he doesn't know I'm here, it's still keeping them off-balance. Yeah, that must be it.
The tactic was certainly effective. Several of the White Fang stepped back at the claim, looking to the man who had been speaking to Carmine. "What are you idiots doing? He's bluffing!" he said, though it lacked confidence. "Attack him!"
"You know what? I'm going to take you out first," Carmine said with a sneer, pointing at the man. "Then you, and you, and you," he continued, gesturing to each of the faunus in turn before settling on the most frightened-looking terrorist, "and lastly, you."
That's my cue. Having circled all the way around the group, Ilex shot the miniature grappling line in his bracer out toward the final White Fang soldier. As soon as the hook found purchase, he yanked back, dragging the man screaming into the darkness. Ilex had to swat aside his flailing arms, but a swift blow to the head knocked the man out.
In the ensuing confusion, Carmine shot forward with his hammer. True to his word, he focused on the man who had spoken first, jamming the butt of the weapon into his stomach. The man doubled over, the air was knocked from his lungs, but Carmine didn't give him a chance to catch it again as he clotheslined him with the hammer. He was still falling when Carmine hit him again, batting him aside into another terrorist and sending them tumbling into the darkness. A third made to point her pistol at him, but the weapon went skittering across the ground when the hammer made contact with her arm. That single blow was enough to cause her aura to break with a dull purple flash, and from there it was a simple matter of sweeping her legs to take her out of the fight.
Reeling in his grappling wire, Ilex charged toward the final terrorist. To his credit, the man decided to go down fighting, running to meet the seemingly-unarmed teen with his sword. Just before they met, Ilex dipped to the side, using his Semblance to leave a cloud of yellow, Dust-infused gas in his wake. The man's expression was one of confusion as his sword cut through the space where Ilex should have been. With a smirk, Ilex snapped out the flint ignitor in his bracer and lit the gas. The man was knocked clean off his feet by the resulting explosion, convulsing as the residue from the Lightning Dust arced across his body.
Satisfied, Ilex straightened to face his partner who was leaning on his weapon with a scowl on his face. "Well, that went well," he said to Carmine's clear annoyance. He chuckled. "You know, you almost had me convinced that you were going to—"
"Shut up," Carmine growled.
Ilex rolled his eyes at the expected behavior. Of course Carmine wouldn't appreciate having his ass pulled out of the fire, especially when he was injured. From the strained look on his face, he must have been hurting pretty badly. "Come on, man…"
Then he heard it, something shuffling in the shadows behind him. He spun around, ears twitching reflexively to better locate the sound. As he backed toward Carmine, he couldn't help feeling a little foolish. There were still Grimm out there, and even Carmine wouldn't be so petty as to hold onto a grudge in the middle of a situation like this. Thinking about it, whatever was stalking them had probably been attracted to the White Fang, as terrified as he and Carmine had made them.
"Can you see it?" Carmine asked, shifting his weapon to a ready stance.
Ilex strained, trying to pick anything out of the darkness. "No, I can't." The distant sound of something collapsing caused his ear to twitch, but he couldn't hear anything nearby. "What about your goggles?" he asked, keeping his voice low. "Maybe with the extra night vision I could see it?"
Carmine let out a frustrated sigh. "That's not how they work. Besides, don't you think I'd be using them now if I could?"
Translation: They're broken. You could have just said that.
Something cracked behind them and Ilex whirled around to see an enormous set of jaws coming straight for him. In a panic, he threw himself to the side to get out of the way. Carmine, however, hadn't had nearly as much warning as Ilex had and was clipped by the Grimm's bulky frame. Fortunately, the beast seemed more interested in adopting a hit-and-run tactic than finishing them off quickly, giving Carmine a chance to get back on his feet.
While the Grimm retreated back into the darkness, Ilex moved back next to Carmine. By the looks of him, his aura had stopped any real damage, but it hadn't done anything for his temper. "Next time, maybe give me a little warning?" he growled.
Ilex nodded, feeling a little sheepish. "Yeah. Sorry."
"Did you at least see what it was?" Carmine asked, resuming his watch for another attack.
"Beowolf, big one." It was the same type Aspen had killed so easily back on the colosseum. It was enough to make him genuinely wish she was there. "Alpha, I think."
Carmine let off a string of curses under his breath before adjusting his grip on his weapon. He tapped it a couple of times and the shape of the end shifted to become a spearhead. Aside from that, however, Ilex couldn't hear anything. How can a Beowolf that big be this quiet? He jumped as Carmine turned and the end of his spear bumped his leg, but neither addressed it as they focused on locating the Grimm. For that matter, since when do they use strategy? This thing is smart, way smarter than it has any right to be.
There's no way we can kill it.
We have to.
One of the shadows moved off to his right. "There!" he shouted, pointing just as the Beowolf leapt out at them again. This time, they were both able to get out of the way, and Carmine was even able to get a hit in with his spear. A jubilant laugh escaped Ilex's throat as the Grimm vanished back into the shadows. "Haha! Yeah! I can't believe that worked!"
"Keep it down," Carmine growled, predictably killing the mood. "I only nicked it. It'll take a lot more than that to kill it, and we don't need you attracting anything else to our position." Ilex grumbled, but grudgingly admitted to himself that his partner was right. Still, he was feeling more confident than he had been. They returned to their attentive position, subconsciously placing their backs to one another. "Be more specific when you call out its position," Carmine said quietly, though it was clear he wasn't chastising Ilex for his previous strategy. "In front of you is twelve o'clock, and behind you is six."
The white-haired teen nodded. "Like a clock. Got it." After a moment he added, "That's a pretty clever system." Behind him, he sensed Carmine glance over his shoulder. "Joking, sorry. Clearly not the time for it." The other teen just made a disgusted noise and turned back.
Ilex returned his attention to the predator lurking in the shadows, no doubt circling them as it looked for an opening. If the two previous attacks were anything to go by, that would be the direction he was facing. That thought brought an odd sense of calm with it, given the situation. He was the weak link, handicapped by his choice of weapon, but that was the point, wasn't it? At a glance, he was unarmed, completely defenseless, and anyone who looked at him as such would already be at a disadvantage. If this Grimm was smart enough to pick him out as the weak side, it was smart enough to underestimate him. He just needed to figure out a way to use that information.
"Two o'clock!"
The Beowolf leapt out at him, jaws wide and claws ready to tear. Ilex rolled aside, and the beast howled as it passed over them. Jumping back to his feet, the teen turned in time to see the shadowy creature hit the ground clumsily, Carmine's spear tearing free from its leg as it rolled. Turning to snarl at them, it fled back into the darkness.
As they once again returned to their defensive position, Ilex's ear twitched as he picked up a new sound. It was almost rhythmic, like something dragged through the dirt every other second. He turned toward it, focusing intently on the source. There was another sound with it, a low popping noise. The sound of a Beowolf struggling to control its growl. It's mad. Carmine hurt it and now it's limping and it's mad. Tapping his partner on the shoulder, Ilex pointed out toward the Beowolf. "There."
When Carmine turned his spear toward the sounds, however, they stopped altogether. The pair waited for almost a minute, staring out into the emptiness. They couldn't see it, but Ilex knew it was still there. Sure enough, the dragging started again, circling around to Ilex's side. He turned to follow it, keeping his eyes on the spot where it should have been. The sound stopped again.
"This isn't working," Carmine hissed. "As long as it thinks we know where it is, it's not going to attack."
Ilex bit his lip, once again having to agree with his partner's assessment. This Beowolf was relying on surprise to launch its attacks. If they kept looking at it, it would just keep circling them. It might be patient enough to wait all night if it had to, and that wasn't really a test of endurance Ilex wanted to take part in. They needed to draw it to them, end it quick, but how?
"Carmine," Ilex said, voice shaking, "you've got my back, right?"
"If it gets us out of here alive."
Oh, "us." That's nice. "Okay, I'm going to do something really dumb. Next time it attacks, get out of the way." The other teen was silent for a moment, but eventually grunted in assent. The Beowolf began to limp again, but this time Ilex didn't follow it. By now, his heart was racing, and he almost missed the tell-tale scratching of claws on dirt as the Grimm pounced. "Eleven!"
As the beast filled his vision, Ilex felt Carmine fall away like he'd been instructed. The faunus teen bent his knees and braced for the impact, just in time to be knocked off his feet. Air exploded from his lungs as the Beowolf landed on top of him, howling in pain. In its chest were both of Ilex's blades, buried deep under the creature's own weight. As the Grimm seethed and snapped at him, the teen pushed back. Time seemed to slow, and he found that he wasn't as afraid as he thought he would have been. There was too much adrenaline running through his system to be afraid.
Suddenly, the beast's head wrenched to the side with a gurgling hiss. Against the flame-lit clouds above, Ilex could just make out the shape of Carmine's spear, protruding through the Beowolf's neck. The Grimm began to evaporate, shedding enough mass that Ilex was able to shove its body off of himself and climb back to his feet. The two teens stood there, waving away the smoke as they caught their breath. Holy shit. We just did that.
Rolling his shoulders, Carmine planted his weapon into the dirt to lean against it. Ilex met his eyes and, for once, he didn't see hostility or scorn in them. Just… respect. Carmine quickly hardened his expression, though, and looked away. "We never speak of this."
Ilex grimaced. While his act of stupidity had ironically been out of self-preservation, it could easily be misconstrued as self-sacrifice, and that would really hurt the image he was going for. Keeping things quiet sounded good. "I can live with that."
(- -)
Rhys was in absolute heaven. Gunfire, explosions, and lumbering mechs shook the air around him, impacting the very core of his being. He could only imagine what the sensation of their sounds would have been like. He grinned. Surely, it would have been marvelous. None of the other students around him had any idea what it was like to live in a world of no sound. They usually complained when things were too "loud." He doubted any of them would complain if they were like him.
Weapon raised, Rhys charged headlong into a group of Creeps. He could feel the concussive force of one of the foreign students' weapons pass over him—if a trumpet could even be called a weapon—but it only served to push him into the fray that much faster. One of the Creeps, flinching against the powerful soundwave, turned to paste beneath Rhys's attack. Another was sent flying limply by his weapon while another was knocked aside by his fist. Moving through a break in the trumpet-student's cover, two more Creeps leapt at him. Rhys giggled to himself as he activated his Semblance and fired a rocket directly into the ground in front of him.
The blast sent him flying, but it also killed all three of the Grimm. Rhys rolled back up to his feet as he deactivated his Semblance, looking for where he could go next. Spotting a line of Knights, he hoisted his weapon up and charged forward. They were so focused on trading fire with some other students that they didn't even notice him as he plowed into them. One, two, three, four were turned into scrap as he ran through them, the last of which he sent flying as he came to a stop. The remainder of the mechs turned to point their weapons at him, only to be cut to pieces as Aspen dashed through them. Grinning, Rhys gave her a wave, to which she responded with a cock of her head. Rhys laughed. Good enough.
Aspen's attention was drawn to an Ursa harassing another group of students, and she ran off toward it. Not about to let his partner have all the fun, Rhys followed after her, only to be surprised when she came to a complete stop just before the Ursa, allowing him to pass in front. He soon figured out why as the Grimm swung a massive paw down on him. Whatever bones an Ursa had in its front leg were all fractured as it met the rising metal of Rhys's weapon. The beast reeled back as it roared in pain, and then Aspen was there, cutting deep into its hind legs with her sword. The Ursa fell forward onto its one uninjured leg. With a wide smile, Rhys slung his weapon onto his back and approached the fallen Grimm. Always wanted to do this. Grabbing it on either side of its head, Rhys activated his Semblance again and smashed it into his own. Semblance or no Semblance, he still felt the impact reverberate through his body. It hurt, but it also felt awesome.
Cackling, Rhys turned away from the fallen Grimm, uncaring if it was still alive. There was no more challenge in killing it, so he'd let someone else deal with in. Now, he wanted to find something else to kill. His wish came true in the form of a Griffon landing on the stone walkway not far from him. Charging straight in hadn't failed him yet, so Rhys ran toward the Grimm with the intent to crush whatever part of it he could.
Unfortunately, the Griffon had a strong instinct for not getting crushed. With a flap of its wings, it moved itself just out of his reach, leaving him stumbling as he threw himself off-balance. His eyes widened in panic as it lunged forward, and only by activating his Semblance on instinct was he able to stop from being completely crushed as its beak closed down on him. The protection could only last as long as the drain on his Aura allowed, however, and with how much he'd been using it that evening, that wasn't long.
A strangled yell escaped his throat as his Aura failed and the sharp edges of the Griffon's beak dug into his skin. No! Not now! There's still more fighting! Flailing about, he struck the Grimm in the face several times but, at the angle he was being held and without his Aura, it wasn't nearly enough to make it release him. The ground beneath him disappeared as the Griffon picked him up—
—and then was suddenly underneath him again as he was released. Wait, no. He hadn't been released. He'd fallen, along with the Griffon's head. He briefly opened his eyes only to flinch as two pairs of hands pried the beak open and pulled it off of him. Everything stung and hurt and ached, but he didn't think he was seriously injured. Then again, he hadn't fully opened his eyes yet.
When he did, he saw the Trumpet Guy kneeling beside him, looking over his wounds, none of which were, in fact, serious. Behind him, Aspen and Ruby were standing next to each other, Aspen holding the smoking Griffon head and Ruby looking down at him nervously. "You okay?" she carefully signed.
Rhys grimaced as he lifted his hands to respond. "I'll be alright." He'd had worse physical injuries, though his ego had taken a bigger blow. I can't believe I almost got eaten. And it had to be in front of everyone, too. Stupid of him… Now he couldn't fight anymore.
The Griffon head fell to the ground in a rapidly decaying pile of smoke as Aspen crouched down beside Trumpet Guy. She looked Rhys over curiously, scanning his face and the injuries on his body. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Nothing at all. I'm fine."
Aspen narrowed her eyes. "You are… embarrassed."
Rhys frowned. Figures she wouldn't miss something like that. Behind him, he could feel the rumbling of combat continuing without them, and he looked over his shoulder anxiously. Velvet, one of the older students, was fighting two of the giant Atlesian mechs. Rhys had never seen her weapon before, but it turned out she had all the weapons! Frustrated, the teen slapped his hands on the ground. "I'm out of Aura. I can't fight anymore."
Aspen furrowed her brow. "I don't understand."
Rhys huffed in frustration. What was so hard to understand? "I used it all up," he explained, shameful tears welling in his eyes, made only worse by the embarrassment of crying in public, like he was a child. "I need my Aura to fight. Without it, I can't… fight. I can't…" He twisted around again to the twin mechs, expecting to see Velvet still fighting them. Instead, one was already destroyed and the other was being held at bay by a giant white sword floating in the air above Ruby's partner, making everything that much worse. "I can't do that!"
At that, Aspen actually scowled. Grabbing him by the front of his robe, she dragged him to his feet despite his hisses of pain. |If you want to fight, then fight.| Startled by her choice to speak rather than sign, Rhys only stared dumbly as she lifted Bullrush with one hand and transformed it. The rocket launcher was then shoved into his arms, freeing Aspen to sign again. "Don't make excuses." As she stepped past him to join the others, Rhys gingerly lifted his weapon to his shoulder. He hated the way it felt when he was low on Aura like this, like it was twice as heavy as it normally was. It made him feel weak. Aspen didn't know him well enough to call it an excuse, but… maybe she was right.
A hand clapped him on the arm, and he lowered Bullrush again to see Trumpet Guy giving him a approving look. To his surprise, he tucked his trumpet under his arm and lifted his hands to sign. "Can't say I've ever seen anyone use 'blow themselves up' as a strategy before, but you made it work. I dig it." With a wink, he followed after Aspen, leaving Rhys with a confused smile on his face. Ruby was the only one still with him at that point, and she gave him a small smile when he looked at her. She tilted her head toward the others, and he nodded. He still felt terrible, but it wasn't like this night could get any worse, right?
(- -)
Weiss had never felt so drained before. Instinct born from a strict upbringing told her to hide it and show strength, but she didn't have the energy to waste. Her exhaustion went beyond just the effects of low Aura. Summoning even just a part of that knight had drained so much from her and left her feeling weak. It was all she could do to not fall over, even placing all of her weight on Myrtenaster.
Underneath her exhaustion, however, she felt ecstatic. She had finally summoned! It hadn't been intentional and she hadn't exactly had control over it or even destroyed the Paladin, but that did nothing to diminish the pride she felt. Even the Paladin shutting down mid-battle didn't concern her, since it meant that Atlas had retaken control of their battleship. She would have expected nothing less.
"Weiss!" The heiress didn't think she could ever be so happy to hear the sound of Yang's voice. She tried to straighten up to address her teammate, but ultimately settled with just turning her head. "You're okay!" the blonde exclaimed as she ran up. "Have you seen Ruby?"
"I'm here, Yang!" Ruby called out. Weiss tilted her head the other way to see her partner approaching, alongside a familiar looking faunus. She knew his name was similar to Ruby's but, at the moment, she was too tired to remember it.
Predictably, Yang rushed over to her sister, scooping her into a hug that the younger girl returned. "I'm so glad you're alright!" After a moment, the two pulled away and Yang's face turned solemn. "I saw what happened to Penny. I'm sorry."
Ruby's expression fell. "Yeah. me too."
Biting her lip, Yang began to look around. "What about Blake? Where is she?"
Wearily, Weiss lifted her arm and pointed in the direction the fourth member of their team had headed. "She went after an Alpha," she informed them, "and some members of the White Fang."
"White Fang." The words hadn't been a question or a simple reiteration of Weiss's words. They had been a statement of fact. The group's collective attention turned toward Aspen. She had been standing in silence a few feet away from the other students, eyes closed as she seemed to be trying to listen for something. At the mention of the terrorist group, however, she had taken an interest in the conversation. "They are still out there," she said, walking over to them. "They… are dangerous." Weiss would have scoffed if she hadn't been so tired. She didn't think anyone there needed to be told how dangerous those criminals were, certainly not by Aspen of all people.
Yang shook her head. "I'm not leaving Blake out there on her own." She looked toward their group. "You guys stay here. I'll go look for her." That wasn't something Weiss was going to argue with.
"No." Aspen, on the other hand… "You don't understand. If you go out there, the White Fang will kill you."
"No, you don't understand!" Yang turned on Aspen, eyes turning red and hair glowing with anger. She pointed her arm out toward Beacon. "My partner is out there! If she needs my help, I'm not going to abandon her just because I'm afraid I might get hurt!"
The two glared at one another, blood-red eyes mirrored between them. For a moment, Weiss feared it might come to blows, but then Aspen grimaced. It wasn't because of Yang, though. Rather, it seemed as if she'd suddenly been struck by a great, debilitating pain. Whatever it was, when she recovered, her will appeared to have only strengthened, yet she attempted to compromise nonetheless. "I will come with you."
Despite herself, Weiss couldn't help but let out a derisive laugh. "Do you really think we trust you enough to let you go alone with her?" she asked, finding the strength to straighten herself up. "In case you forgot, you tried to kill us the first time we met." A half-hearted apology wasn't going to wipe that away.
Aspen glared at her, then looked down in shame. "I did not want to hurt you. I… lost control, and I am trying not to—" She cut herself off with a shake of her head, then looked up at Yang. "You will have a better chance of finding your partner if I am with you."
Yang narrowed her eyes, but acquiesced. "Fine. If you want to come, come, but I'm not going to waste any more time standing around here arguing about it." Casting one last look at her sister, the blonde turned and ran off in search of Blake.
As Aspen followed her, Ruby called out, "Stay safe!"
Yang continued unabated, but the black-haired girl stopped and looked back at them. There was a grim look on her face, one that gave Weiss pause. "It is not my safety you should be worried about," she said. Despite everything she'd done, it didn't sound like a threat. To Weiss, it sounded like she was saying, "If something happens, I tried to warn you."
And then they were gone.
There's darkness on the horizon, and it's coming quick.
On a lighter note, Ilex and Carmine finally got their act at least somewhat together. I bounced around on how I wanted certain parts of that scene to go, such as when to bring in the Beowolf and whether or not Ilex putting himself in danger and taking the hit took away from Carmine putting aside his prejudices. I think the final product works well.
As for the rest of the chapter, I initially planned on doing it from one character's perspective, but I couldn't figure out whose it would be. Obviously, I wound up splitting it between Rhys and Weiss. I think it fleshes them out, and helps better establish what their relationships with Aspen will be like.
That's all I've got for now. I'll see you in the next chapter! Au revoir!
