Howdy folks, how's it going?
Here we are, with the climax of the Ashenwood arc, which I hope you all will enjoy.
As always, a massive shout out to Chaos Productions for his assistance, and for one of his stories, Strength of an Honest Soul, getting a page on TVtropes. I recommend you check it out if ya haven't already, it's great stuff.
As always, I own neither RWBY nor the Elder Scrolls.
And now, on with the show.
/
"Stand back and do not interfere, Mr. Lenoir." Kron growled, trying to burn a hole through Tristard with an enraged glare. "This will not take too long."
The time for talking was done, apparently.
The Dragonborn made it a point to also ensure that the man's underling never left his sight in case the crook decided to intervene, even as the owl faunus backed up to allow his leader his duelling space, all too glad to obey that particular order and be as far away from the violence as physically possible.
In the ruined plaza at the center of Ashenwood, the Dragonborn and the bandit leader stood facing each other, for a few tense moments, observing each other's stances and looking for any openings the other might have. Then, with a twirl of his black spear, the burly bandit charged forward, stomping into the ground as he did with what Tristard noticed to be oddly wasteful movements.
A consideration that he had little time to contemplate as he twisted his body to the side to avoid the incoming thrust, and then lashed out with Gurahyol, the blazing axe meeting the shaft of the spear as the bandit brought it back for a parry, before disengaging with another twirl of the weapon and attempting a swipe at the Archmage's head which was equally avoided, but allowed him a marvellous close up look at the weapon's barbed edges, clearly intended to cause grievous injuries with even the smallest of strikes. Kron promptly attempted to use the momentum to twirl the spear around and unleash a series of thrusts, specifically aiming at Tristard's limbs, which he promptly blocked or evaded barring the couple of stray hits he let a recently cast dragonhide spell tank, before retaliating with a sweeping strike, a loud metallic clang filling the plaza as the man brought his metallic arm up to parry, the two sides briefly pushing against each other before Kron tried to take advantage of the apparent opening for yet another thrust, this one aimed squarely at the Dragonborn's unprotected right flank. To which he responded by letting go of his weapon.
The bandit barely had the time to shake away the surprise and adjust to the sudden loss of resistance before streams of frost hit him squarely in the torso, forcing a disengage.
"Boss, look out!"
Still staggered and trying to get the rime and frost out of his face, Kron barely had the time to bring his metallic arm to block again as the flaming axe once more struck, aiming squarely at his neck.
"My, my, my…" The man grunted as he pushed the weapon off and took a few steps back. "Going straight for the kill, are we, boy?" He questioned, half surprised and half impressed. "That is quite ruthless for a huntsman. Unbecoming even, one might say."
The Archmage stood in a fighting stance while not deigning to reply, clearly not rising to the bait.
Growling in aggravation at being ignored, Kron stomped forward for another bout.
/
"C'mon, ya hunties!" Connie bellowed, brushing some rubble off her shoulder on account of the punch that had just thrown her into a wall, courtesy of Yang, like she had barely even felt it, a wide manic grin on her face. "Izzat all ya got?! The townsfolk put up more'offa fight than that!"
The blonde growled at the taunt, eyes flaring red. The psychotic bitch's nonchalance was really starting to get on her nerves.
"Yang, calm down." Blake called from besides her partner, even if she was herself glaring at their current opponent. "She's trying to throw us off."
The black-haired girl took a glance around. Yatsuashi and Fox were a bit further away, still dealing with the remaining grunts, which left the two of them to deal with this one, clearly some higher up among the bandits, an obviously insane and unfortunately powerful one at that if the last few minutes of scuffling were anything to go by…
"I know that. It's just…" Yang hissed, even as she forced herself to keep her cool, the red in her eyes bleeding back into lilac. "She's talking about the villagers, about all this destruction, like it was just good fun. It's pissing me off."
"Believe me, I'm angry too." The cat faunus assured. "But we need to play this-Move!"
Amidst their quiet talking, the armored woman had leapt at them, giving the duo brief moments to scramble away at the impact, which was immediately followed by the loud boom of an explosion as what seemed to be her semblance triggered.
"Oi, oi, oi!" The woman barked out, sounding annoyed, a dangerous smirk on her face. "Ya think ya got the time tah chat when yer enemy is standing right in front of ya? This ain't no tea party ladies, it's a fight! So quit yer muttering and entertain me!"
Blake, landing in a new position a bit further away, took a moment to assess the situation. The woman, Connie she thought she heard a few of the goons calling her, was not the fastest opponent they'd ever faced, but that said little when she was built like a shit brickhouse and had Aura reserves large enough to shrug off what Yang had been throwing at her so far with a laugh. Her attacks were not particularly hard to avoid, given the lack of speed, but the faunus couldn't help but feel that getting hit even once would probably not end well for her, specially when the explosions that seemed to follow the woman's every strike, and she assumed that was a semblance because she failed to see any such mechanisms in her crude if scarily effective weapon, made said attacks a fair bit harder to avoid.
As far she could tell, the name of the game was keep giving the bitch the run around until some of the others could come back them up and take her down then.
Blake sighed, seriously hoping the others were having an easier time than this.
/
"Well," Ruby commented as the noise finally died down, casually holding Crescent Rose over her shoulder (blade tip to the ground for support and leverage, of course). "That was easy."
Before her, in what had just a little while ago been a ruined alley, and were now just plain ruins, the crooks that had split up to chase her were all lying about, all in varying degrees of incredible pain and all down for the count, although they were all fortunately also still breathing.
Man, Coco's Hype Semblance really was no joke. Dust ammunition already packed a mean punch by itself. Nobody would enjoy eating a few hundred rounds to the face, but absolutely nobody would enjoy taking exponentially empowered dust rounds to the face…
"Damn right it was." The older team leader concurred, smoke still billowing from the barrels of Gianduja, the massive gatling gun held firmly in her grip. "And also wonderfully cathartic."
"How much ammo do you have left?" The younger team leader asked, half out of her love of all things weaponry, half out of knowing that they were not done here yet.
"I have enough." Was the terse yet eager reply, earning her a nod of acknowledgement. The brunette was obviously rather eager to take her frustrations out on these crooks, and Ruby couldn't really fault her for it.
"Well, I can certainly understand the enthusiasm." Weiss suddenly butted in, having just finished checking her own dust storages. "But if we are done here, we should probably go provide back up to the others."
"Yeah, you're right. Plan was to keep these guys occupied." The girl with the beret agreed, gesturing at her handiwork. " They're not gonna be much more occupied than that. Even if they can get back up they're not gonna be much good in a fight. Any thoughts on where we should go?"
"We should meet up with the other group." Ruby immediately put forward. "They had more bandits headed their way, they probably need the help."
The senior team leader took a moment to glance over at that general direction. Sure enough, sounds of battle could still be heard in the distance.
"Hhhhm, fair enough." She said, agreeing with the red-cloaked girl's assessment. "You sure we shouldn't split up and have someone back Tristard up?"
"Nope." The younger girl immediately answered, the speed and certainty of the reply throwing Coco off.
"She's right." Weiss threw in, an amused smirk on her face at the confused look on the other girl's own. "Tristard's fine. He wouldn't need help taking down scum like that."
/
Something was amiss, Tristard couldn't help but think as he once again dodged a swipe of Kron's spear.
They had been at this for a while now, and a pattern was emerging. The bandit was built for power and strength, and the various aggressive assaults he'd been making spoke of a fighting style that made the best of those attributes. What didn't make sense however, was how he promptly stepped back and kept a distance after each attack, leaving himself wide open and seemingly content to block or simply take any of the Dragonborn's retaliations. It was plain to see that Kron was trying to goad something out of him, but for the life of him Tristard could not figure out what.
Sure enough, as soon as he took to the offensive, the burly man let the blazing strike of his axe slam into his prosthetic arm, now noticeably covered in light dents, as he stomped backwards and stood almost tauntingly.
And that was another thing that made no sense. Kron was clearly an experienced fighter, someone who for better or worse understood battle well. How could someone with the mastery of the spear the man was bringing to bear be so wasteful in his movements?
It quite simply did not add up, and this uncertainty caused the blatant goading to have the opposite effect than the crook intended, as once more Tristard chose to not follow up on his retaliation and stay where he stood, Gurahyol at the ready and a spell at the tip of his tongue.
The Archmage took a moment to make sure that the other bandit present was not trying to get the drop on him, and sure enough, the grey-cloaked man was still content to stand at a distance, observing the fight with nervous tension, and focusing all his attention on his leader, as if waiting for something.
Yet another thing that didn't make sense…
His caution seemed to be fraying at the man's patience however, a frustrated growl rumbling from his throat when he realized he had failed in forcing his golden-masked opponent to press the attack.
Once more, Kron surged forward, this time leading the assault with a punch from his metallic limb, aimed squarely at Tristard's face, a blow that the Dragonborn made to bat away with Gurahyol… until the fist stopped just out of his range and split apart to reveal the alarmingly large barrel underneath.
Only the instincts owned by years of battle allowed the breton to swerve to the side, the thunderous burst of the crook's arm-cannon missing his head by a hair's breadth. However, the surprise of the attack and the loud noise left him disoriented for a brief and vital moment, and Kron took full advantage by bringing his spear to bear, aiming at his gut with the intent to disembowel, a victorious smirk on his face at finally seeing an opening to exploit…
His triumph was short lived on account of the massive tentacle that burst from the Dragonborn's torso and slammed into the bandit, as what had once been the robes of the first of their kind lashed out in defence of their wielder, throwing his opponent almost clean across the plaza.
A precious moment's reprieve that allowed Tristard to regain his bearings, and see the man roll with the blow and recover swiftly, landing on his feet and looking up to see the eldritch appendage receding into the black folds of his clothes.
Beneath the surprise, the curiosity and the wariness in the man's face, however, the Dragonborn did not miss the hints of smug satisfaction. He was getting something he wanted out of this, and it rankled the Dragonborn that he was not seeing what.
A loud explosion on the far side of the village broke the stand off, both combatants taking a moment to glance in the direction of the large smoke cloud now rising in that area.
"My, my." Kron drawled casually. "It would seem that Miss Russet is enjoying herself. I don't think your friends will last much longer, if they're still standing at all."
Once again, Tristard did not rise to the bait, he couldn't afford to be distracted by doubt and concern now. But he did however make his aggravation at the statement known by showering lightning bolts in the bandit's general direction.
/
Yang found herself flung backwards by the shockwave of the explosion, and she barely had the time to regain her footing before Connie was upon her, an unhinged grin spread wide across her face as she brought her chain-axe down.
"GOTCHA-Uh?!"
Before the blow could hit however, the black fabric of Gambol Shroud's ribbon wrapped around the axe's handle, growing taut as it stopped the crude weapon in its tracks and nearly wrestling it out of the woman's hands in the scant few moments before her confusion wore off and she tugged against the pull. Which left her wide open to a punch to the face delivered by Yang, once more sending the redhead flying.
"You alright?" Blake asked in concern as she neared her partner, the blonde looking rather haggard, which made sense considering the last few near misses.
"I've been better." The blonde replied, taking a moment to catch her breath. But said moment was swiftly ended as their opponent quickly recovered and got back up, looking little worse for wear.
"Oi! That's cheatin'!" The rusty redhead screamed petulantly. "What's the point'a fightin' if yer just gun run around like headless chickens and tag team me with cheap shots? Ain't no fun like this!"
Yang grit her teeth to stave off the mounting frustration, the bitch's cockiness was really starting to piss her off. And just what was this woman made off anyway?! They'd been trading blows for a while now, the blonde being the only one of the duo who could even think of going toe to toe with the bandit's strength and dangerous weapon, with Blake running interference and providing any openings she could, but the bitch just kept shrugging off everything that was being thrown at her!
"Gotta give credit wher'its due, tho." The woman continued, cracking her neck casually before flashing them another nasty grin. "Been a while since mah aura got a workout like this, but if my reserves have taken a wee bit offa poundin', I bet yers ain't gun last much longer."
Bitch was more perceptive than she seemed… And much as Yang hated to admit it, she was right too. The last couple of days had taken their toll on her, and the night's tense, fitful rest had done little to help her recover. Her aura reserves were running dangerously low, and that meant she only had one good shot with her semblance, at best, before it gave out.
Considering how their opponent was still raring to go, she did not like those odds…
"So," Those chainsaw blades began revving up menacingly. "Let's keep the party goin', shall we?"
"Am I invited?"
"Wha-? Ooof!"
Connie barely had the time to voice her confusion at the sudden intrusion, and even less to notice Fox having gotten into her guard and slamming an Aura infused strike into her gut, once again sending the woman flying backwards and this time she did react to the attack, gagging hard and spittle flying out of her mouth as she flew.
Yang couldn't help but grin at the sight. Seems like the boys were done cleaning up the other mooks.
"Took ya long enough!" She called out, to which the older boy couldn't help but smirk.
"Sorry about that," He did not turn to address her, but she could feel his telepathic reply in her mind. "The others were a bit more persistent than we expected."
Connie once again rolled with the attack and landed on her feet, her free hand reaching to grasp at her gut.
"Ouch, that smarts, gun be feeling it tomorrow. Ya hunties are real' big on fancy cheap shots…" She commented with a grunt, before her feral green eyes focused on the new arrival. "So this was yer game, uh? Playin' cat and mouse wiff' me 'till back up arrived? Whatever, don't matter, more carving fer me-" The woman suddenly stopped, shaking her head as her face scrunched up in confusion. "Wait… wot was I…?"
Reeling at the sudden lapse in memory, the burly bandit almost did not notice the shadow looming over her, Yatsuashi almost upon her with the edge of Fulcrum bearing down with all the force of a hurricane. Almost.
The woman hastily brought her chain-axe up for the parry, The impact's shockwave sending debris flying everywhere as sparks flew, sharp steel edge clashing against rotating steel teeth. A struggle that lasted a few tense moments as both sides kept pushing, refusing to give.
A standoff the bandit reacted to by promptly kneeing the shorter man in the gut, and trying to follow up with a swipe of her weapon, only to be pushed back by a barrage of shots from Blake, a distraction which Fox took full advantage of by moving in and unleashing a series of jabs and punches, the redhead momentarily helpless against the onslaught as each strike dented and chipped further and further away at her aura defences. Then she grit her teeth through the pain and lashed out with a headbutt, nailing the blind boy in the face and forcing him to stagger backwards.
"So, it's four against one now, eh?" She sneered, in equal parts annoyance and excitement as she considered the four huntsmen bracing all around her. "Fine then, more fun fer me!"
Yatsu charged at her, and the bandit reacted with a bellow as she slammed her weapon on the ground before her and let her semblance through, creating a blast that discouraged the swordsman's approach, the boy halting his charge and cautiously skirting around the large cloud of debris. A caution that proved correct when Connie barrelled through the smoke straight at him, a bellowing war cry on her lips as she swung, only for Yang to get into her guard from the side and launch an uppercut at her flank that pushed the woman back. She immediately tried to retaliate, but the blonde swiftly moved out of the way. The very next second Blake was upon her from behind, lashing with Gambol Shroud's blade, and the bandit responded with a wide sweep of her weapon to force her opponents to back away, the wicked chainsaw edge finding only a clone left behind by the cat faunus' semblance as she once again retreated.
And so it went, Connie suddenly finding herself a victim of the same tactics often employed by the boss' troupe, the huntsmen making full use of numbers advantage and hit and run tactics to keep her from taking advantage of her explosive semblance while tearing away at her monstrous aura reserves. And with each hit that landed, every retaliation of hers that was avoided, every tag in from another brat were finally beginning to take their toll, the woman's attack's becoming slower, wilder, more desperate, the excited grin slowing giving way to a hateful sneer.
"WILL YA HUNTIES STOP SCURRYIN' LIKE RATS AND FIGHT ME PROPER?!" She eventually bellowed, already brittle patience shattering completely under the weight of her rage as she took another swing at the tall swordsman, the less mobile target available of the four. But this time, a blur of gold got in her way, which the redhead barely had the time to register before her chain-axe struck solid matter and her semblance triggered, another explosion ripping through the air. For a moment, silence fell over the battlefield as everyone stopped, waiting to see what had happened, but the quiet was swiftly broken by the keening wail of steel grinding against steel. And as the smoke died down, Yang stood before the burly woman, her arms in a cross guard, Ember Celica stopping the chain-axe in its tracks, a golden sheen covering the girl's body, wisps and licks of faux flames almost seeming to waft out of her golden mane, and crimson eyes set on a very angered face.
"See?!" The redhead barked out with laughing approval, barely even registering this change in demeanour. "Now that's more like-"
"WILL YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP?!"
With all the force of her fully triggered semblance, Yang threw a punch. The noise of the ensuing blast rocked through the whole ruined village, breaking what few windows there still were left untouched, and the dust cloud was visible from the other side of the valley Ashenwood stood in. When this final blast died down, Connie could be seen slumping from a crater in the village's wall, having flown through 4 ruined buildings, the crackling lattice of orange energy briefly flickering through her body signifying the end of her aura.
She fell to the ground, down for the count. When she didn't get back up, Yang finally allowed herself t do the same, slumping down tiredly as the others approached her.
"You ok?" Her partner asked, concerned amber eyes swiftly checking for any sort of injury.
"Uuhg, I'll live." The blonde reassured, before a chagrined grimace fell upon her face as she assessed herself, a quick check of her scroll confirming her suspicion. "That last hit just about cleaned me out, though. My aura's spent."
"That's unfortunate." Yatsuhashi stated as he approached, Fulcrum resting on his shoulder as he looked at the blonde praisingly. "But your actions have sealed our victory here. Well done."
"Remind me to never get on your bad side." Fox snarked from the side, paying more attention to readjusting Ada in his ear, the device having been dislodged by the bandit during the fighting.
"Eh, like you'd forget a show like this, Foxy." Yang replied, big teasing grin on her face. "Now, we should probably go find the others."
"Are you sure you're in any condition to do much else?" Her partner asked somewhat hesitantly, clearly concerned. "You said it yourself, your Aura's out. It'd be dangerous to fight, so perhaps it'd be best for you to meet up with Velvet and Tawny while we wrap things up."
"C'mon, Blake," The blonde responded to that concern, with a rather unlady-like snort. "You know me better than that. Like hell I am going to sit this out. Besides, what part of what we've been doing so far hasn't been dangerous?"
"…Yeah, don't know what I was thinking." The cat faunus replied with a smirk, shaking her head ruefully. " Allright, you made your point. Let's go."
"Guys!"
All four huntsmen briefly jerked, then looked over at the source of the call, to see Ruby, Weiss and Coco running towards them.
"Eh, don't know if the cavalry was supposed to be us or them, but it seems like it's running late either way." Despite the snark, Yang was feeling quite satisfied. Both groups' parts in their plan were done. Now they could all crash down on the boss crook and finish this. If Tristard hadn't done it himself already.
/
The blazing edge of Gurahyol came down on the bandit leader in an executioner strike, only to be caught in a parry by the man's black spear, forcing a deadlock as each pushed with all their strength, seeking to throw the other off. It was with some surprised chagrin that Tristard noted that, as it had been more the case since the first clash, where the two had been equal and forced to disengage, this time he was being forced to give way, his feet almost leaving tracts on the ground as he found himself being pushed back, which left the Dragonborn in a state of cautious confusion. Their fight may have been going on for a while now, but he had faced battles and sieges much more dire than this before without faltering. So if it most assuredly was not exhaustion on his part, that meant that his opponent was somehow growing progressively stronger as they fought. This brought the breton to the logical conclusion that the man had a Semblance at work, but still he couldn't quite glimpse at the mechanisms behind it…
A massive explosion rocked the village, causing both combatants to disengage and step back from each other, looking to the side at the massive dust cloud in a momentaneous truce born out of sheer surprise.
"…Well, now." Kron reacted first, in a tone of mild, pleasantly surprised wonder, an irritatingly smug smirk on his face. "I don't believe I have ever seen Miss Russet letting loose quite like that. I can't say there's very good odds of there being much left of whichever of your friends where caught up in that."
Tristard did not for a second believe the scum's words, but all the same he felt his heart drop at the sight. Surreptitiously the archmage waved the fingers of his free hand, casting a simple detect life spell… And what he saw made him briefly sag in relief before standing a little straighter.
"Oh, I would not be so sure about that." He drawled out, the mock politeness in his tone quickly turning the bandit's smug smirk into an angered scowl. "In fact, I dare say it is quite the opposite."
A bit further away, Tristard did not miss how Lenoir seemed to gulp nervously as the implications of his words sunk in. It'd seem that the loss of whoever the others had just taken down would make for quite a heavy blow in their crew's plans. Kron, for his part, merely scoffed at the words.
"I find that hard to believe." The man sneered, voice thick with condescension. "A bunch of brats still wet behind the ears wouldn't be any trouble to my men, and barely a warm-up to Miss Russet."
"And yet, here do the "brats" stand." Tristard replied easily, tone heavily lacking in any sort of concern. If anything, his drawl almost sounded bored, and it was plain to see how much the disrespect was getting on the other man's nerves. "We beat back your man when you had the element of surprise. We beat back your man when you tried to overwhelm us with numbers. We have managed to divide your underlings with frankly mind-boggling ease. And we are still here, still fighting. I am starting to think that you are holding your merry crew and yourself in too high a regard."
If looks could kill, the Dragonborn's remains would have been scattered through Ashenwood like so much ash by now, the bandit leader's calm, collected and glass brittle façade cracking to show the hateful rage underneath.
"Lenoir." Kron growled out, teeth almost literally grinding. "The signal. Now."
Despite the momentaneous flinch at suddenly being addressed, the owl faunus was quick to react, drawing his revolver, pointing it skywards, and letting off a series of three shots, two quickly and the third a bit more spaced.
"Even allowing that you and yours have managed to hold against my men up to now." The man stated, clearly not believing the words. "Did you think those were all of my men? I had groups of them spread around the wall, ready to climb and come reinforce us at the signal Mr. Lenoir just sent. How much more fight do you think your companions have in them?"
Tristard took a moment to throw a side glance at the distance, and sure enough, two different groups of figures were now visible at the top of the village walls. They'd be upon him within the next few minutes.
"If these are anything like the others?" The Dragonborn shrugged, not letting the worry he felt show in the least. "I'd say probably enough."
Loosing what little he had left of his patience, Kron lashed out with his mechanical arm, hand once again splitting apart to reveal the canon underneath, and fired off a shot aimed squarely at Tristard's chest, which once again the archmage avoided by swerving to the side, the bandit leader making use of the miniscule time window to close the distance, spear ready to lash out, but the opportunity was denied to him because his opponent was faster, his free hand moving as he cast, a blast of flames bursting from the bandit's torso, staggering and forcing him backwards, but leaving little damage other than slight singe marks, just like the previous lightning had. The man's aura was still holding, the Dragonborn noted with some annoyance.
He made to press the advantage, but then noticed movement from the corner of his eye. Swiftly he threw his arm up to cast a ward, and but a moment after two bullets slammed into the ethereal shield, the barrel of Lenoir's revolver now trained directly on the Dragonborn. It'd seem that, with his part in his leader's scheme done, the owl was free to enter the fray.
He made to shoot again, only for bullets that came flying from the side to force him to run for cover behind some of the rubble littering the plaza.
"Tristard!"
Underneath the golden mask, a relieved smile bloomed on the Dragonborn's face as he saw his friends, all alive and far as he could tell relatively uninjured, running towards him, Ruby and Blake at the front with their weapons at the ready, firing as they ran.
"Ah, Ruby. Great timing as always." He greeted casually as his team leader reached him, before asking in a much quieter tone. "What's the situation?"
"The plan worked." The red-cloaked girl whispered back, watchful for any surprises from the hiding crook or the crook leader. "We took out all the guys that came for us, but Yang's aura's bust and besides Coco our ammo reserves are low."
The Dragonborn's reply was cut off by a shot flying right over is head, startling the gathered students.
"I'm afraid things are about to get more complicated." He stated seriously as he retaliated with a ball of exploding flames. "There's more of them coming."
"Shit," Coco said what all of them were thinking as they saw two different groups of thugs weaving threw the ruins as they closed in on their position. "Any ideas?"
"Yeah." Ruby said as she stood by Tristard's side, a steely gaze on the incoming opponents as she clicked her last ammo pack into Crescent Rose's chamber and cocked the rifle. "We take them all down."
The short, blunt, uncharacteristically aggressive reply drew surprised looks from most of the others, and the Dragonborn was quick to jump in.
"Aye, I agree. We can't retreat and run without leaving our backs exposed, and I don't fancy our chances against the Grimm even if we do escape. Considering how we've handled the last batch, we should have a decent chance." He summarized his reasoning. "Not much for it but to make our stand here, I'd say."
The others took the words in, briefly glancing at each other uncertainly, as the truth behind them began to sink in. Then, one by one, the huntsmen-in-training nodded resolutely, and they took up a formation, Blake, Fox and Yatsuhashi joining Tristard at the front while Coco, Weiss and (grudgingly) Yang, opted to stay back.
Meanwhile, Kron and Lenoir had been backing away, intending to meet up with their reinforcements, which, the bandit leader noticed with great displeasure, were not as numerous as they should have been.
"Were is the third squad?" He barked out soon as the first of his men came into range. "They were supposed to come in from the gates."
"W-we don't know, Boss." The closest crook answered with understandable nervousness. "We haven't heard from them in a while-"
"No matter." The burly man growled. "Go, you idiots. Attack, Crush these brats!"
"Hheermm…" Strix didn't know how he managed to gather the guts to address the clearly incensed man, yet here he was and if he was being honest he damn near pissed himself when that grey-eyed glare focused on him. "What about those three, Boss-?"
"I don't care, Lenoir!" Kron snapped, grabbing the closest bandit and roughly pushing him forward. "I want their heads! All of them! NOW GO! But leave the masked one to me!"
Not willing to be the targets of their leader's fury, the bandits present proceeded to do just that, charging into the plaza towards the now awaiting huntsmen-in-training.
"Alright then, I suppose it's time to let the chips fall where they may." The older team leader commented as she saw the incoming enemies, doing an admirable job of hiding her nervousness at their less than ideal situation beneath a mask of her usual glibness, even as she addressed the Dragonborn. "But still, I don't suppose you got a trick up your sleeve for a situation like this?"
"As a matter of fact, I do believe I have something to even the odds." The Dragonborn replied, taking a deep breath. And then he bellowed.
"MID VUR SHAAN!"
The teams briefly flinched as an ethereal blue glowing manifested from their chests, travelling the whole body in a wave until it reached their weapons, where it flashed brightly before fading away. Intrigued, Yatsuhashi took a slow practice swing with Fulcrum, only to be surprised as the blade lashed with a blur, leaving in its wake the shrill wail of cut air, and the usually stoic boy couldn't help but grin.
"Oh yes." He said. "That'll do."
"That'll do indeed." His team leader said, the corner of her lip turning upwards in a dangerous smirk. "Clear out of the way, please."
Those at the frontline obliged, allowing the brunette to take aim and let loose. As it turned out, the effects of her Hype upon the dust rounds combined with the Battle Fury shout's effects on the entire gatling gun turned Gianduja from a dangerous if somewhat impractical weapon into a veritable engine of destruction, the barrage of ammunition carving a sizeable trench upon the ground as it moved towards the incoming bandits, who quite understandably lost their nerve upon noticing the swiftly approaching wave of flying debris, halting their charge in their tracks and hastily jumping to whatever cover they could find.
All except for Kron, who simply advanced unafraid, standing right in front of the advancing onslaught.
"Coco, wait, don't hit-" Tristard tried to warn her, but he was too late. The deluge slammed into the bandit leader, blue glowing bullets pinging against his entire body, and to the huntsmen's alarm, all it did was push the giant of a man into taking a step back, not so much as a scratch on the crook. He just stood there, a smug, satisfied smirk on his face, completely unruffled, before taking a step forward.
Realizing how ineffective her attack was being, Coco stopped firing, looking on with growing concern as the man calmly took a glance at his mechanical hand.
"My semblance is not really flashy, nor a particularly quick one." Kron said calmly. "But it is a rather powerful one, in the right circumstances. You see, I absorb kinetic energy to empower myself." Black metallic fingers clenched into a fist, as the man grinned in a way that was just short of unhinged. "Can you imagine the amount you just gave me?"
And then he rushed forward in a mighty leap, spear poised to smite Coco, who stood transfixed, caught by surprise at the sudden speed. She was saved when twin streams of frost slammed into the bandit from the side, stopping his attack mid-leap and forcing him back to the ground. Tristard moved forward, arms up and steadily unleashing the frost spell, trapping the man under layers over heavy layers of ice.
"That should keep him occupied for the moment." He stated, all traces of glib humour gone from his voice. "But we need to handle the others, now."
The remaining bandits, seeing their leader entering the fray, regained some of what passed for courage, and resumed their attack, this time advancing undeterred even under fire from the students, only parting to give their trapped leader the appropriate space. Within moments battle was joined, and gone was the time for strategies and plans. Tired, outnumbered and low on ammunitions, the beleaguered students of Beacon were simply fighting for their lives with all the ferocity of a cornered animal, the power of the Thu'um and a strength born of desperation allowing them to hold their own…
"Yang, look out!" Fox shouted, head suddenly suddenly shooting in the blonde brawler's general direction.
"GOTCHA NOW, HUNTY!"
The entire battlefield almost seemed to freeze as the girl turned around, to see Connie, armor dented and bleeding, at this point standing and moving on little more than anger and feral instinct, leaping in the air towards her, that wicked chain-axe roaring loudly and a wide demented grin on her face, the savage woman getting so close that she could see her own reflection on her target's wide, shocked eyes…
Then a massive ball of flames struck the bandit woman from the side, throwing her out of her trajectory with a loud burst and making crash into a ruined building at the edge of the plaza, which promptly collapsed upon the woman.
After taking a few seconds to process what just happened, Yang couldn't help the sigh of relief that escaped her lips.
"Thanks for the save, Tristard, I owe-"
She stopped when she noticed how her teammate stood frozen, his weapon held slackly at his side, staring at the direction where her sneak attacker at just been blown into.
"It can't be…" He all but whispered, his voice thick with shock, disbelief, incomprehension. "That… that was not me…"
He would recognize that fire anywhere.
A loud, bestial roar broke out throughout the battlefield as a figure, clad in archaic looking steel armor, leaped into the fray, slashing at the nearest bandit with a black, sinuous blade in one hand, crackling with electricity, while letting loose a larger gout of flames from the other, forcing some of the furthest thugs back.
"Guys!"
Surprised at the sudden unknown appearance, the teams stared in the direction of the call, seeing Velvet running their way, Tawny clinging to her back, and running ahead of her was another figure, her features hidden under a black, hooded cloak, which weaved into action like a shadow, their short, single-edged blade leaving collapsed bandits in the wake of their passing.
"…What the hell?!" Coco couldn't help but voice for all of them as they saw the new arrivals drawing the surprised attention of the bandits, getting the teams some much needed breathing room. "Who are these guys?"
"I… Don't really know," The rabbit faunus saw fit to answer as she finally closed the distance. "There were bandits waiting in ambush in the woods, but…"
"They were already beating them up when we got there!" Tawny exclaimed excitedly, clearly really pleased at seeing the men and women that had ruined her home getting some form of comeuppance. "They said they were looking for Tristard 'cause they were friends, so we brought them here to help!"
The members of CFVY blinked in confusion, while the eyes of RWBYS' widened in shock. Friends of Tristard? That meant…
"…Serana?" The Dragonborn asked, finally snapping out of his shock, parrying an incoming blow with Gurahyol while voicing out in an utterly bewildered tone. "J'Zargo?!"
"Ah, by the Twin Moons, I knew it!" The armored figure gleefully shouted as he approached, stabbing his electrified ebony blade into another thug as he approached, leaving the students shocked as they noticed the grey, furry, feline features underneath the helmet. "J'zargo knew we'd find you knee deep in trouble! It simply could not be otherwise, but bandits, really? You most be loosing your touch, Old friend."
"Oh, knock it off, you. Anyone with half a brain could have seen this coming." The other new arrival admonished as she approached while cutting down another thug, the shadows of her hood fading to reveal a beautiful young woman, hair as black as night and orange eyes that almost seemed to glow in the shadow as she smiled at the Dragonborn. "What matters is that we've finally found you. Glad you're well, Tristard."
"But… this… how?!" The flabbergasted breton blurted out intelligently, his mind failing to process the turn of events before him.
"It's a long story." The woman, Serana, commented.
"Yes, and J'zargo thinks it'd perhaps be best if we dealt with the formalities before getting into introductions and long-winded explanations, no?"
…
…
Tristard's shoulders began trembling, as a soft chuckle escaped his lips, and swiftly became a full-blown bout of laughter, amused and shocked and overjoyed at the whole situation.
"Tristard?" Blake questioned hesitantly, voicing the thoughts of the students present as they stared confusedly at the cackling man, which drew the attention of the Khajiit present, who eyed her with keen interest.
"Well, well, well, what do we have-?"
"Don't you dare, you mangy furball." The Dragonborn cut the cat man off with a growl. A literal one, reverberating from the back of his throat, surprising everyone present with the sudden aggressive vehemence. The khajiit wisely took the hint and backed away, hands raised defensively, although he looked more amusedly surprised than threatened.
"Right then, it's quite alright, Blake." The breton replied like the previous moment hadn't happened, his tone light and cheerful. "Everyone, these are Serana Volkihar and J'zargo, old friends of mine. And I'm afraid they're right, proper introductions and explanations will have to wait. We still have bandits to clear up."
The students once again glanced at each other uncertainly. It ended up being Ruby who recovered first.
"Well, friends of Tristard's are our friends." The young girl declared cheerily, and deployed Crescent Rose into scythe form, surprising the newcomers. "Let's wrap this up!"
"Eh, I like this one." The cat man, J'zargo, commented.
The declaration from the young team leader seemed to bring everyone into agreement, both the teams and the newly arrived duo agreeing to leave further conversation for later and focus on their opponents.
The arrival of the surprising reinforcements proved to have a rather beneficial effect on the beleaguered students morale, while the sneak attack and ruthless cutting down of their numbers had the exact opposite effect on the bandits'. The tide turned, and now it was the later who found themselves being pushed back, loosing their nerve as the numbers advantage was very quickly becoming a non-issue.
Suddenly, another roar was heard over the ruined village, one that confused the duo from another world, filled the huntsmen with hope, and the bandits with dread.
"Look, over there!" Tawny pointed to the edge of the valley, where up in the sky a formation of six bullheads had just become visible.
"Hell yeah!" Coco cheered. "The cavalry has arrived, about damn time!"
"What in the-?" J'zargo breathed out in bewilderment.
"I know," The Dragonborn nodded in sympathetic agreement. "It surprised me too the first time I saw it. I'll explain-"
A loud, shattering noise cut him off.
"TRISTARD, LOOK OUT!"
At Blake's alarmed yell, the Dragonborn turned, to see Kron looming over him, covered in cracked pieces of frost, eyes mad with rage, black fist raised high above his head.
"DDDIIEE!"
"F-!"
The metallic arm swung down, the bandit unleashing all the energy he had stored into this one attack, wanting nothing more than to obliterate this brat who had dared to stand against him. A massive shockwave burst out from the impact, a cloud of debris briefly obscuring the man and his target from sight.
Silence fell upon the battlefield, as the students, the travellers and the remaining bandits all stopped, turning as one to watch the unfolding scene. Slowly, the smoke cleared out, to reveal the panting, frazzled-looking man, a dark grey lattice of energy fading around him, standing before a deep, alarmingly sizeable crater.
Of Tristard, the teams noted with alarm, there was no sign.
"I refuse…" Kron snarled, glaring out at those assembled before him with undisguised vitriol. "…To be stopped by a bunch of snot-nosed little brats that don't know how this world is supposed to work. I will not be made a mockery of again. Not by her, not by brats and freaks, not by anyone!"
J'zargo and Serana, the ones closest to the seething man, blinked at the heated words, glancing at each other.
"Uuuuuh…" The Khajiit ventured in hesitant confusion. "And you are…?"
"Probably the leader of this sorry bunch." Serana replied critically, shrugging in indifference. "You know how the leader tends to always be the loudest of the bunch."
"RRRAAAARRRGH-!" The utterly infuriated man raged, his prosthetic arm moving forward… only for a blazing blur to flash from behind him. "Wha-"
The bandit leader halted in his tracks, staring uncomprehendingly at the steel appendage. Which was now on the ground at his side, glowing hot at the stump. Then a hand clamped shut around his scalp as a very much alive and uninjured Tristard took hold of it and unleashed a shock spell. Alexander Kron was out like a light before he could even realize what had happened.
The ensuing shocked, confused silence was broken as the man glared at his old and rediscovered friends.
"Some assistance would have been appreciated!" He exclaimed in annoyance.
"What are you talking about?" The cat man replied in a sarcastic drawl. "We distracted him, you finished him up from the back. That sounds like assistance to J'Zargo."
"Oh sod off, you Elsweyr reject." Tristard grunted, before turning his attention towards the remaining bandits. "And you? Care to continue?"
The thugs still standing in condition to fight, of which there weren't too many, hesitated, turning their attention to Lenoir, the one with the most authority now that Connie and the Boss were out.
"No thanks." The owl faunus replied immediately, dropping his revolver and raising his hands up in surrender. "I like living."
The other crooks swiftly followed his example, and only when the last weapon hit the ground did the Dragonborn and the others allow themselves a sigh of relief.
This whole mess was over.
/
And that is that.
Bandits were cleaned up, friends were reunited, and this whole original arc reached its conclusion, only some fallout left to show in the next update.
Did you like it? Not so much? Are you eager to see how Serana and J'zargo will acclimate to this strange new world? Let me know what ya thought.
Now, a little bit of a head's up. Some of you may be aware that I promised an update for 'Ere we go, Pluz Ultra, this month, (And I hope, eagerly anticipating said update). Rest assured, I still plan to work on it and will do anything in my power to get it out in time, but unfortunately, I have been having some issues with my computer lately, so I cannot make any promises.
Cya all on the next one.