Chapter 35
"So… how are you feeling about all of this?" Weiss asked Yang as they wandered through Beacons Festival grounds. She sighed.
"I don't know." She shrugged. "I'm horrified by what he did, but I believe him! I do… at least I believe that he believes what he says." Yang sighed again. "I don't know what I should be thinking or feeling."
"I'm the same way. It didn't seem like he was lying. But he still…" Weiss trailed off with a sigh.
"Yeah, it seems a little far fetched. Well, we just have to wait until after the Festival. Then he can get help."
"Yes. By the Gods does he need it." Weiss shook her head.
"So, how are we going to deal with your dad?"
"We support Ozpin. Father may have the best legal team on Remnant, but Ozpin will come up with a plan. We just need to help him when the time comes."
"What do you think we'll have to do?"
"Likely act as witnesses and prove that Adam is-"
Weiss was cut off as a loud alarm began to ring out through the fairgrounds.
"Oohh, shortcut!" Ruby whispered to herself as she pushed into the restricted area. The battle was ongoing, but something was off. Emerald was here and she shouldn't have been. The long corridor was empty and there was no sound apart from the dulled sounds of battle in the arena and the cheers of the crowd that could be heard and felt through the walls.
A commotion ahead of her caused her to pause and wish she had her scythe. A trio of Faunus, all dressed in grey technicians overalls, exited a nearby room.
"H-hey! You aren't meant to be back here!" The leading Faunus, a man with a black cat tail, yelled.
"Explain yourself!" The second Faunus, a young-looking man with rabbit ears, asked. His hand fell to the gun holstered on his side.
"Eep!" Ruby's eyes widened. "Uhhh... I was just… lost! Yeah lost!"
The trio looked between each other. The third, a female bear Faunus judging by the ears, spoke up. "Go back that way. This place isn't for kids."
"I'm not a kid! I'm a Huntress! In training, anyway."
"Don't care, you're still not allowed here. Out!" The lead man said.
"What were you doing?" Ruby asked. Something seemed… off about them.
"Nothing you need to worry about." The third said. Ruby's eyes narrowed.
What's going on? They seem to be from Atlas, but don't they have a whole issue around hiring Faunus? And they're armed… Ruby nodded slowly. "Okay. I'll just go back that way then."
She started to back up as the trio glanced between themselves. Ruby turned and ran as they drew their pistols. Gunshots rang out as she raced through the corridor. They couldn't keep up and they didn't seem to be very good shots as every bullet missed its mark.
Ruby burst through the door she had originally entered from. She slammed it shut. As she backed away she turned to run into the crowd.
Instead, she collapsed to the floor in horror.
Ruby watched as Pyrrha threw her hands out, using her Semblance without restraint. The wires that allowed Penny to control her blades wrapped around her. And with an audible rending of metal, the world watched as Penny was torn apart.
Half the crowd was screaming, the other stared in stunned silence. Then came the alarm and then the screens turned red. A single image appeared on them, that of a black queen.
"This is not a tragedy." A voice called from all around them, played through the Colosseums speakers. "This is not an accident. This is what happens when you hand over your trust, your safety, your children, to men who claim to be your guardians. But in truth, they are just men."
Pyrrha stood horrified in the centre of the arena, staring at the broken pieces of Penny. "Our Headmasters wield more power than most militaries, and one even has the audacity to control both. They cling to this power in the name of peace but what do we have here? One nation's attempt at a synthetic army, ruthlessly cut down by the star pupil of another."
The crowd was growing anxious at this point, unsure what was happening. Ruby couldn't help but stare helplessly at Penny, even as the door behind her opened. "And what is Ozpin thinking? Allowing a violent Faunus extremist to join his school, ignoring the hundreds of souls he slaughtered. And look at what he did, he maimed another student in a friendly contest! And now this. Has he affected others? Or is the great Pyrrha Nikos so obsessed with glory that she will kill to claim victory?"
Ruby closed her eyes and waited. But the Faunus behind her left instead. Whatever their mission, they had succeeded. "Perhaps Ozpin put them up to this. Perhaps he wished to make up for his colossal failure to stop the White Fang from breaching the city and allowing Grimm to attack the very citizens he is supposed to protect. Or perhaps he called for this as a statement against the tyrant from another nation, who controls his streets with an iron fist. I truly do not know."
"This peace of ours is fragile, and as someone from Mistral, I can say that the situation there is equally… untenable. Our kingdoms are on the brink of war and yet we, the people, are left in the dark. So I ask you this: when the first shots are fired, who will you trust?"
The screen went black for a moment before an alert took the place of the red screen. "Alert. Incoming Grimm attack. Threat Level: Nine. Please seek shelter immediately in a calm and orderly manner." The message repeated over and over.
The crowd went crazy, pushing and shoving and racing to escape as a Nevermore crashed into the Hardlight shield above them. It scraped and tore its way through, eventually, the shield gave way with a mighty crack and it fell into the arena with a screech.
Ruby pulled herself to her feet and grabbed her scroll. As the Nevermore marched on Pyrrha a rocket-locker slammed into it. Ruby appeared next to it in a burst of speed and petals. A couple dozen other lockers landed, impaling the Nevermore with their weight.
As the students gathered their weapons, Sage and Yatsuhashi finished the Nevermore with their blades and Jaune helped Pyrrha regain herself. Griffons began to make their way into the Colosseum.
"You kids leave this to us!" Professor Port bellowed as he and Doctor Oobleck entered the fray, cutting down the incoming winged-Grimm.
"Let's move!" Ruby yelled, leading the students out of the arena and to the Colosseums docks.
I hope everyone else is safe.
Adam looked down at his scroll. Moments before it had shown the duel, followed by a familiar voice. A voice that knew him and what he had been.
And now chaos reigned.
Someone had let Grimm into the school. It wasn't hard to see who. He was very familiar with the bone-white masks. Adam stared out his window, watching as the three-way battle turned into a four-way battle as the Atlesian Knights turned and opened fire on students.
Adam ducked his head and sighed. He placed his scroll in his pocket, grabbed Wilt and Blush, rolled his shoulder and looked to Zwei. "You wanna come?"
"Woof!"
Adam booted the door down, launched Wilt at one of the robot guards and grabbed another. He threw it into the next, toppling them over and turned, firing Blush and taking down the rest. He retrieved his blade and sheathed it. "I should find the others."
"Woof!"
"Sorry. We should find the others." Adam allowed a smile to come into his face. What better way to feel better than to slay Grimm? There's no moral quandaries there. "Let's move."
Bang.
James lowered his pistol, letting the Beowolf Alpha dissolve. "Men! Secure the civilians!" He barked. The Atlesian Soldiers were quick to react, forming a border between the evacuees and any approaching Grimm.
A dozen or so students basically flew out of a nearby corridor, slaying a few Grimm as they came barreling forward. Ruby Rose led them as they marched towards him. Great.
"General!" Rose called as she approached.
"Students." He said, holstering his gun and placing his arms behind his back. "I won't lie. The situation is dire. We need every hand we have onboard for this. That said, no one will judge you for retreating. If you wish to battle, however, then we have airbuses waiting to transport you to Beacon. The fighting is tough there."
"We're fighting." Rose said.
"Then take that airbus. Good luck." James saluted the students. A couple returned it but most just ran towards the airbus.
James turned and took to a gunship. As it booted up he touched his hand to his earpiece. "Winter. I'm going to retake the capital ship. I need you to reinforce Beacon. Get to Ozpin and assist him in defending the tower."
"Yes sir." Her reply came a moment later.
The gunship lifted off. He flew it out towards his captured ship. And then the Knights glowed red.
James noticed too late as they turned their guns towards him.
"Aaaaaa!" Yang yelled as she picked a robot up by the head with her hands and squished. Metal screeched as the head imploded under the force. She threw the broken machine into another, sending it to the ground. Ember Celica barked as she finished it off.
Weiss zipped around behind her, skewering more bots. They were steadily carving their way through the enemy forces. As the last Knight fell they took a breath.
"There's so many." Weiss panted.
"Yeah." Yang agreed. "Things aren't looking good."
"It seems like trouble is everywhere."
"The Festival grounds and the cafeteria seem to be hotspots." Yang looked to Weiss who sighed.
"Are you thinking we should split up?"
"People need help. We're top of the year. We can do more good apart."
"Alright alright. Just stay safe, alright?"
"You too. I'll take the cafeteria."
"Then I'll take the grounds." They shared a nod before breaking apart and going their separate ways.
"What was that?" Jacques asked of his guards. He had brought a dozen with him to Vale. They had taken an entire floor of the most expensive hotel in Vale for their stay as well as one of the main lounges for his meetings with his lawyers.
"Gunshots sir. It seems the Grimm have entered the city." His captain said. The lawyers behind Jacques whimpered in terror. Jacques sighed.
"Damn it. What is the military doing?"
"I don't know sir. We should get you to one of the shelters." The captain replied, drawing out his scroll. "There's one a few blocks from here. We can make it."
"Fine then. I'm going to have words with the general once this is over! Allowing Grimm into the city! How incompetent can he be!?" He grumbled as his guards gathered and formed a ring around Jacques and his lawyers.
As they reached the foyer they saw a battle raging outside. Huntsmen and Atlesian soldiers battled both Grimm and Atlesian Knights.
"Oh and now his little army isn't even shooting the right people! Perfect!" Jacques growled. The day just kept getting better and better.
The guard seemed to consider for a moment then turned to the woman who ran the front desk, who was currently hiding behind said desk. "Ma'am is there a basement or reinforced location within the hotel?"
"H-huh? O-oh! Yes! T-this way…" She stammered as she led the way to through an employee door.
"This way sir." The captain said.
"Yes, I heard her." Jacques scoffed.
They were led through a few back rooms before reaching an armoured steel door. The woman put the pin into the nearby pad and the door clicked open. They made their way down, finding most of the staff already hiding.
The manager came up to them. "Oh thank the Brothers you are OK Mr Schnee!"
"Yes yes. Captain, please escort anyone else in the building here."
"Sir!" He responded. "You two stay here, the rest with me." The captain turned to the manager. "Can you write down the passcode for me?"
"Oh! Of course!"
The captain soon left with most of his troops in tow. Good. Now I can't be blamed for abandoning people I could have saved. Besides, this is a high-end hotel. Maybe I can make some new friends.
Jacques settled in to wait out the storm.
"Ah, freedom. How explosive." Roman mused, pushing a variety of buttons without a care for what they did.
He slumped back in his chair and took a long drag of his cigar. It had been a while. His scroll beeped.
"Guess who." It said with a picture of Red landing on the hull. Roman sighed.
"Of course. No rest for the wicked, eh?" He stood, put out his cigar and grabbed Melodic Cudgel.
A/N: So this chapter jumps around a little. It's mainly because most of what is skipped is just canon. Would it really be entertaining for me to write out the exact same scenes? I don't think so, but maybe you guys will think different. Jacques was fun to write. I like the idea that he has been dealing with the White Fang for so long that he knows how to keep his cool. That is until he's actually losing or, say, being arrested. The big fight is here and nobody is given the time they need to process previous events. This can only go well, right?
I hope you all enjoyed and I'll see you next time!