Chapter 11: The More the Merrier
The full moon illuminates the night sky above Haven Academy. On the school grounds, Qrow Branwen takes the lead as the currently present members of Team RWBYC, the members of Team JNRR, and Oscar Pine follow close behind. Ruby Rose, Cinnabar Caliburn, and Ricochet Tiri stops and looks up to admire Haven's CCT tower.
Cin: Oh! So that's what the tower looks like here.
Rico: Not as big as the in Vale, but looks nice enough here.
Ruby: Yeah.
The three of them later caught up, following the rest of the group to a nearby building. They enter the building and are greeted by Leonardo Lionheart, who is standing on a terrace at the top of the stairs that is being held up by a statue of a woman in chains.
Lionheart: Why hello. Thank you for... coming. (nervously) There... seems to be more of you than last time. (nervous chuckle)
Qrow and the rest of the group stop to look up at Lionheart.
Qrow: Eh, you know what they say, "The more the merrier". So what's going on with the council?
Lionheart: Why... did you bring your weapons?
Qrow: What? Leo, we're Huntsmen. You okay?
Lionheart: Of course! Of course, sorry. Just haven't had my evening coffee.
Qrow: Look, it's nice to see you, but we got work to do. Are we getting support from the council or not?
While the two talk, Yang Xiao Long notices from the corner of her eye a black bird perched on a balcony railing.
Yang: Mom?
Cin: What?
Everyone's attention is turned to the bird. It flies away just as Qrow shoots at it, but he misses. The bird flies down behind Lionheart, transforming into Raven Branwen, donning her mask. Everyone glares at her.
Ruby: Raven...
Rico: So that's her...
Nora: They... they really are magic...
Raven: (taking her mask off) If you're going to shoot me, shoot me. That was insulting.
Qrow: What are you doing here?!
Raven: (walking down the stairs) I could ask you the same thing. You've been scheming, little brother. Planning to attack your own sister.
Qrow: Leo... what have you done?!
Lionheart: I...
Raven: Leo did what any sane person would in his position - he looked at all the information he had in front of him, assessed the situation, and made a choice. And it seems you all have too.
Qrow: (angry) You have the Spring Maiden.
Raven: I do.
Qrow: Then hand her over and let's work together! We can beat Salem!
Raven: All that time spent spying for Ozpin and you still have no idea what you're dealing with. There is no beating Salem!
Ruby: You're wrong. We've done things that most people would call impossible, and I know the only reason we were able to do it is because we didn't do it alone! We had people to teach us, people to help us, we had each other. Work with us. At least I know we'll have a better chance if we try together. Please.
Ruby holds her hand out. Raven glares at it.
Raven: (scornfully) You sound just like your mother.
Suddenly, Raven draws Omen and creates a portal with her Semblance. From the portal, a fireball is launched , Cinnabar leaped in front of Ruby, and drawn out the red blade of Sequence, used his semblance to create a red chestplate and hits Cin square in his torso. repelling the blast but pushes Cin into Ruby as they've landed several feet back.
Yang: Ruby!
Weiss: Cinnabar!
While Yang runs to her little sister, and Weiss runs to her boyfriend, Cinder Fall steps out of the portal.
Cinder: Hello boys and girls.
She is then joined by Vernal, Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Black as they too step out from the portal.
Ruby: (glaring) Cinder...
Cin: So... (getting up) that's Cinder...
Cinder and her group line up alongside Raven, while Ruby's group gasp.
Mercury: C'mon guys, is that any way to greet your old friends?
Yang growls at him. Cin grabbed her shoulder, trying to calm her down.
Qrow: Everybody, stay calm.
Suddenly they hear the doors behind them open up.
Ozpin (voice only): Oh no...
Hazel Rainart is seen closing the doors behind him as he enters.
Hazel: The White Fang is prepping demolition with and securing the school grounds. No one's getting in, and no one's getting out. Soon this place will be overrunning with Grimm.
Outside, a White Fang soldier is seen placing a canister with a bomb attached to it on the CCT tower. The camera zooms out to show more bombs all primed set by more White Fang soldiers. Adam Taurus and Mamba Naga looks on.
Adam: Once the charges are set, move back to perimeter watch. Tonight, Haven falls. (he smiles evilly, and looks to Mamba) Hard to believe you've collected so much Grimm liquid.
Mamba: You see Adam, deep down inside a cave within a mountain near that human village of Kuroyuri, lays a great massive pool of Grimm liquid, It was where the Nuckelavee came from. And thanks to Salem's gift, I was able to even have Beowolves and Beringels gather all this amount onto one of our airships, and now... Just imagine what kind of Grimm will be able to summon forth here and soon Haven will be a nothing more than a wasteland of the Grimm pools for them to rise from, and soon... All of Minstrel will be cleanse by the Grimm.
Back inside, everyone watches Hazel slowly approach them. They turn their attention back to Cinder.
Weiss: Grimm?
Ren: What's he talking about?
Oscar: That man. I felt... Who is he?
Ozpin (voice only): Someone from my past. Someone who should not be taken lightly.
Qrow: Raven, tell me... how long have you been with them?
Cinder: (mocking) Aww, don't take it personally, little bird. Your sister was a recent addition. The lion on the other hand... Entrance into the Vytal Festival was a real treat, Leonardo's been sending Salem all sorts of information for a very, very long time. Isn't that right, professor?
Lionheart: (shamefully) Stop it...
Qrow: It was you... you sit on the Mistral Council. You had information on every Huntsman and Huntress in the Kingdom, and you gave it all to her?
Lionheart: I-
Qrow: I couldn't find any of them, because you let her kill them!
Cinnabar and Rico gasped to this, same as the teammates.
Lionheart doesn't say anything, only still having a sad expression on his face.
Cinder: Aw now, don't beat yourself up about it, Lionheart, I'm sure Tyrian and Hazel would've found them on their own eventually.
Jaune: What is wrong with you...? (seething) How can you be so broken inside... to take so many lives, and then come here and rub it in our faces like it's something to be proud of?!
Nora and Rico: Jaune...
Jaune: (enraged) All with that damn smile on your face! (tears stream from his eyes)
The rest of the group draw their weapons.
Qrow: Everybody, stay calm!
Cinder just glares.
Jaune: I'm gonna make you pay for what you did! Do you hear me?!
Qrow: Kid!
Jaune: Well?! SAY SOMETHING!
After a short pause, Cinder says her response.
Cinder: Who are you again?
Rico: (quietly) Oh... no...
At this, Jaune gains a look of shock, and then of anger. He draws out Crocea Mors and advances forward. Cinder summons a glowing scimitar and blocks Jaune's attack.
Ruby and Cin: Jaune!
Ruby leaps into the air, but a chain wraps around her and she is pulled to the ground by Emerald.
Emerald: You're not getting near her.
Jaune is then pushed back by Cinder and the two begin their duel. Yang and Cinnabar runs forward to join the fight, but Mercury lands in front of them
Mercury: Hey there, Blondie. I'm thinking you owe me an apology for my leg, don't ya think?
Yang growls and uses Ember Celica to propel herself forward. Cinnabar placed his red blade back in the scabbard and pressed the trigger on the hilt, switching blades into a light green blade, and followed Yang into into battle.
Raven: (to Vernal) Take out the heiress. Don't bother wasting your power, she's not worth it.
Raven then draws her sword as Qrow uses Harbinger to lock blades with his sister.
Qrow: Running away was one thing, but this... you've crossed the line!
Raven: Sorry, brother. Sometimes family disappoints you like that.
Qrow: We're not family anymore.
Raven: Were we ever?
Qrow: I thought so, but I guess I was wrong.
The two then proceed with their fight, Qrow ducks under a slash then jumps back. He dodges two more swings as Raven follows and clashes blades one time before she kicks him away. While the siblings battle Vernal draws her weapons and confronts Weiss.
Vernal: Let's see what the Schnee name really means.
Vernal draws her weapons, while Weiss holds Myrtenaster en garde.
Weiss: I'm more than a name.
Vernal: Hm, prove it.
Weiss activates a glyph below her and projects herself forward to fight the Spring Maiden. Meanwhile, Oscar sneaks up the stairs to Lionheart while Hazel confronts Ren, Rico, and Nora, who hold up their weapons defensively.
Hazel: I don't wish to fight any of you.
Ren: Nor I you.
Nora: But we will if you're with her!
Rico: And we're not going to lose anyone else, again!
Hazel: (cracking his neck and knuckles) Very well, then.
Hazel proceeds forward. As Lionheart nervously watches the fights going on, he then notices Oscar walk up behind him.
Lionheart: Young man, I don't know who you are or what you think you're doing, but for your sake, I suggest you leave. Now.
Oscar defiantly remains stationary before taking a few more steps toward Lionheart.
Lionheart: I'm warning you!
Lionheart holds out Stalwart which switches to active mode, while Oscar prepares to draw something from behind him.
Lionheart: That's enough!
Lionheart rotates his weapon, having a glyph appear above it which then conjures a flaming rock that launches at Oscar, who holds out his arms in front of him defensively as the attack explodes. Oscar is unscathed, though his Aura shimmers. He continues to proceed up the steps and draws The Long Memory.
Lionheart: (eyes widening) Ozpin?
Oscar: Not quite.
Oscar then proceeds forward as his attacks force Lionheart on the defensive. Lionheart blocks or dodges most of them, one drives him against the rail. Oscar hits it as Lionheart avoids another strike, then follows up with a swing that sends Lionheart staggering down the steps. He jumps down to continue attacking and eventually manages to whack Lionheart back a few steps.
Lionheart: This can't be... I knew you would be back, but... you made it here! You found Qrow! How?
Ozpin: (mentally) Leo... what happened to you?
Lionheart: Wait. You can't have had this form for long. You're... not really Ozpin right now. Boy. Child. If I deliver you to Salem, she'll have to be pleased with me, and I can finally get out of all of this! I can finally be free!
Lionheart, now determined, preps his weapon again.
Oscar: What do I do?
Ozpin: (dryly) Fight.
Oscar proceeds forward.
Meanwhile, Weiss leaps around on her glyphs, dodging Vernal's weapons as she throws them like boomerangs. After being kicked into a pillar, Weiss is then forced on the defensive, blocking Vernal's weapon, and used a gravity glyph to make far leap from Vernal charging at her, and creates a large ice wall. Mercury fires several air blasts at Cinnabar, who quickly used Pridwen and went a defensive stance.
Cin: (caught sight of Weiss in trouble) Weiss!
Distracted, Mercury smirked, as he than kicked Pridwen off Cin's hand, landing a few feet away from him, and Mercury raises his leg, at Cin's face for a more closer kick with his shotgun-greaves. Only for Yang to punch his leg more upward, firing a air blast in the air.
Yang: Go on and help Weiss!
Cin quickly nodded, withdrawing his blade again and let Yang continue her fight with Mercury, and hurried to Weiss's aid, as he also picked up Pridwen. Weiss then stabs Myrtenaster into the ground as her Arma Gigas summon crawls out of her glyph. Suddenly, a large beam destroys the ice wall as well as the Arma Gigas before it could be fully summoned. One of Vernal's weapons knocks Weiss back several feet, now standing next to Cinnabar.
Vernal: (catching her weapon) Don't think I'm going to let you take the easy way out.
Elsewhere, Jaune is knocked to the ground.
Cinder: (chuckling) I'm starting to remember you, you're the dense one that can't tell when he's out of his league.
Jaune gets back up and clashes blades with Cinder again. Ruby watches them fight but is snapped out of her distraction by Emerald. She then transforms Thief's Respite into its revolver forms and fires at Ruby, who twirls around Crescent Rose blocking Emerald's shots.
Ruby: Why are you doing this?! Salem's-
Emerald: I don't care about Salem! But I owe Cinder everything. You want to fight her that bad? Be my guest.
Emerald then activates her hallucination Semblance, creating a wall of fire which Cinder emerges from and charges at Ruby. Suddenly, Cinder's form disappears, while Emerald trips Ruby. Ruby fires a bullet that narrowly misses Weiss, who is blocking Vernal's shots with Myrtenaster. Weiss attempts to summon, but as Vernal seemed too quick and tried to prevents her from doing so with a shot to the back... Cinnabar draws the red blade of Sequence again, and used his semblance on Pridwen to sent the blast back at Vernal, only to than dodge it, and made a heavy kick onto Cin's head, knocking him down hard. Weiss than lost focus of her summoning, after she heard Cin's cry and turned to see him, on the floor.
Weiss: Cin!
Weiss than charges at Vernal, using several white glyphs as platforms for dodging Vernal's attacks, quite gracefully, and manages to launch Vernal out of the way using another gravity glyph and prepares to summon again. Suddenly, Vernal appears in front of her and lands a point blank attack that depletes Weiss' aura. Weiss lets out a pained scream. Jaune and Cin hears this and looks in her direction as tears well up in Jaune's eyes.
Cinder: Are you going to let her die too?
Jaune: Stop messing with me!
Cinder: If that's what you want...
Cinder then ignites her scimitar, which is now fully coated in flames. Cinder and Jaune proceed forward to clash. Ruby looks behind her and notices this. She briefly thinks back to the moment when Pyrrha Nikos died, and her eyes start to shine bright again.
Ruby: NOOOOOOOOOO!
A bright light engulfs the area but dies down when Ruby is knocked unconscious by Emerald. Suddenly, Cinder falls to her knees, holding her arm in pain. She looks up, and barely misses Jaune's attack as it chips her mask that conceals the left side of her face. As Cinder moves out of the way, Jaune trips and falls. Cinder gets back up enraged, activating her Maiden power while doing so. She then steps on top of Jaune to hold him down.
Cinder: Did you think you actually had a chance against me?! You?!
Jaune struggles to reach for his weapon while Cinder calms herself and deactivates her Maiden power.
Cinder: You're just a failure with a death wish.
Jaune: (struggling) If I die buying them time, then it's worth it. They're the ones that matter.
Cinder looks to Jaune's comrades as they fight against their respective foes. Nora jumps up attempting to bring Magnhild down on Hazel who grabs it. He tosses her aside then uses his arms to block Ren and Rico slashing with Stormflower and Thick Hide. Mercury blocks Yang's attack then ducks under a shot and leaps back. He launches himself up but only hits the floor as she moves. Before smiling evilly as she looks back down to him.
Cinder: You think so?
She then notices Weiss get knocked back several feet away, Cinnabar run next to Weiss, and and saw Cinder begins to slowly proceed toward her while she conjures an obsidian spear.
Jaune: No... (watches helplessly while Cinder continues to advance towards Weiss) NOOOOOOO!
Cinder throws the spear... Only for Weiss to suddenly be pushed away from the spear, and fall to the floor. Weiss looked up, her face become pale as she gasped with shock. As the spear impales Cinnabar through his abdomen. He gasps in shock as everyone stops their fighting and stare in shock as well. The spear then disintegrates as Cinnabar goes motionless and slumps forwards.
Weiss: (watching with horror, before she soon screams) CINNABAR!
the scene cuts to black.
End of Chapter 11
Author Notes
RWBY, its owned by Rooster Teeth.
Major thanks to the Transcripts and Battle Pages written on RWBY Wiki
