Chapter 21: The Battle of Haven
(Evernight Castle)
To tell the truth, Watts had forgotten that he had unfettered access to Beacon's computer systems, he had been so focused on making an artificial tail for Tyrian, and his... other project. The project that would finally put that fat imbecile in this place. Watts couldn't help the smirk that crossed his face.
Anything you can do, I can do better, dear Pietro...
He was just putting the finishing touches on the tail, when his computer console emitted a triple beep. Watts frowned, and pushed away from his workbench, allowing his chair to take him over to it. A triple beep meant that one of his various surveillance bugs had picked up some keywords. Keywords like Salem, or Maidens.
Watts blinked as he realized that those absolute idiots at Beacon hadn't done a sweep of their computer systems yet. Why should they? What sign was there that something was wrong? Watts lazily hit a key on his keyboard and let the tape tell its tale.
"Salem is immortal."
Oh, they knew about that now.
Watts kept listening to the tape as he continued work on the artificial tail, and it painted a lovely picture for him, with some very interesting details. Like how Raven was the Spring Maiden, not her toady. And how Raven was planning to betray them.
The news that they had found Ozpin's next life came as a bit of a shock, but the real news was that this... Oscar claimed that he knew how to make Salem mortal again.
That led to a quickly assembled strategy to hoodwink Salem into believing that Ozpin's band of guardians were making a desperate mad dash for the Lamp, which would demand a response...
He grabbed his Scroll and dialed Salem's number, as it would be stupid to use a Seer while at Castle Evernight, after all.
"Speak." Salem said.
Watts grinned, "I have some information for you, Madam." Watts said, "And you may inform Cinder that she needs to thank me for preventing another of her screw-ups."
(Haven, Team SSSN Dorm)
Normally, Sun wasn't given to conspiracy theories, or believing that there was some shadowy cabal trying to conquer and/or destroy the world. Then the Miracle at Beacon happened. Between Pyrrha being tricked into killing that robot girl, the White Fang moving in, and Atlas's murderbots getting hacked... well that was more than enough to turn anyone into a conspiracy theorist.
It certainly didn't help that after their return to Mistral, more weirdness started happening. First, all of the Hunters affiliated with the Kingdom were relegated to city perimeter defense, which meant that they couldn't protect any of the outlying communities from Grimm or bandits. Then, the Hunters that were just freelancers or wandered from one place to the next started dropping like flies.
On top of that, Professor Lionheart had become increasingly erratic, cancelling all training missions, and rubber stamping any requests for leaves of absence. Sun had tested this by having Sage request to go home to be with his mother, who had fallen ill, and Scarlet requested to go with him for "moral support." Their requests were approved without any fuss, or fact-checking.
After all, Sage's mother had died years ago.
Similarly, Neptune had come to the same conclusion, except he just shrugged his shoulders and got on with his life, such as it was. Sun suspected his whole "only worry about what you can actually control" was him coping with the fact that Jaune and Weiss were dating. Sun smiled ruefully, as much as it sucked for Neptune, it spoke volumes about his emotional resilience that he didn't harbor any ill will towards Jaune, or Weiss for that matter.
Sun's attention was drawn by a knock at the door. That alone was odd, recently all of the other teams at Haven had kept to themselves.
"Come on in!" Sun called out, "Water's fine!"
Neptune looked up from the video game he was playing on his Scroll in disgust, "Really, dude?"
Sun winced, Neptune had recently explained to him why exactly he was afraid of water, and he was still in the process of adjusting his sense of humor. "Oof, sorry." Sun said.
Sun practically fell out of bed when Professor Lionheart walked into the dorm room. "Professor!" Sun said as he scrambled to his feet, "What can we do for you?"
"Before I explain, I need both of you to turn your Scrolls off." Lionheart said.
Sun and Neptune glanced at each other, that wasn't a suspicious request at all. "Uh, why?" Neptune asked, "You're talking like someone's hacked them or something."
Lionheart pinched the bridge of his nose, "Please."
Neptune rolled his eyes before switching his Scroll off, "Fine." He said. Sun had to suppress a cackle, he knew exactly where Neptune had picked up that mannerism. He then held up his Scroll to show that it was off as well. "There you go, Professor. No Atlesians listening."
Lionheart sighed, "Thank you. Now, to business. In approximately two days time, there will be a battle in the main hall of this academy. I'll need you to-"
"Wait, what the hell?" Sun interjected, "What do you mean, a battle?"
"Mr. Wuko-... Sun, please let me finish. In two days time, there will be a battle in the main hall of this academy. I need you two to take me out of it."
"No offense, sir, but why?" Neptune asked, "If you're defending the academy then why would we want to take you out of the fight?"
Lionheart broke out into a laugh, "Well, I never said that was the side of the fight I was going to be on."
It was technically against school rules to keep your weapon in your possession when not actively using it. After Beacon, however, that rule had largely been ignored. Sun pulled out his gunchucks, and Neptune grabbed Tri-Hard from where it leaned against his bed, and trained its pulse rifle mode on Lionheart. "Do you want to try that again?" Sun asked, the implied threat clear in his voice.
Lionheart held his hands in front of him, "Please, put your weapons down."
"No, I don't think we will." Neptune said, "Not until you explain yourself."
"Alright then," Lionheart said, "Cinder Fall and her allies are coming here to take something that the school is protecting. One of her... other allies has convinced me to correct my mistakes, and join her in betraying Cinder."
That was apparently enough for Neptune, as he returned his weapon to its place on his back. "Who's going to be fighting Cinder and her merry band of terrorists?" Sun asked.
"Team RWBY and team JNPR, along with Professor Goodwitch and Qrow Branwen."
Sun sighed as he returned his weapons to his belt, "If there's ever a next time, you should just lead with that, Professor. How can we help?"
"I'll need you to, as you kids say, kick my ass."
There were still questions unanswered. Still mysteries to solve. What was the school protecting? Why had Professor Lionheart, until recently, been aiding literal terrorists? Sun could ignore that for now, because for whatever reason, his friends were in the thick of it.
What kind of friend would he be if he didn't lend a hand?
(Patch, Summer's Grave)
For all of the negative emotions that had been felt at this cliffside, it was peaceful. A layer of fresh snow on the ground, and a calm, clear morning. Near the lonely gravestone, flowers, handpicked by Taiyang Xiao Long for their resilience, poked through the snow. The only noise to speak of was the four sets of footsteps crunching their way towards the grave.
"You know these flowers probably aren't going to survive the winter, right Tai?" Qrow asked.
"I know." Tai said softly, "I knew back when I made my choice to rejoin the fight."
The Rose/Xiao Long family lapsed back into silence, preferring to reminisce their favorite memories of Summer within the privacy of their own minds.
After a time, Yang spoke. "Knowing how she died doesn't make it easier." Her voice cracked, but she continued, "It makes it harder."
"Yang..." Tai said.
Ruby walked up to the gravestone, gingerly stepping around the flowers, knelt down, and brushed the snow off. There in stark relief, was all that remained of Summer Rose, except for memories.
Summer Rose
Don't worry, Mom's got this
"It's better that we know." Ruby said, "Even if it makes it harder. Because now we know why Salem wants me captured so badly."
Qrow jerked his head at the others. He knew how Ruby needed to grieve, and it didn't involve them.
Tai looked back at Ruby, then at Qrow. "Are you sure it's safe?" Tai whispered, "To leave her alone?"
"Tai, we're Hunters." Qrow said, "Since when is anything we do safe?"
Yang turned back to Ruby, "You gonna be alright?"
"Yeah." Ruby said. "I just need to talk to mom for a bit, and if any Grimm come..."
Yang smiled, "You'll do what you do best."
After the crunch of her family's footsteps had faded into the distance, Ruby began. She knew she had to be quick, since she was going to be letting out a good chunk of trauma, and that would make the Grimm come running.
"Hey, Mom. It's been a while. Sorry, things got really crazy at school. We... uh... me and my friends know about Salem. Her forces attacked during the Vytal Festival. Not all of us made it out."
She could feel the tears starting. Ruby gritted her teeth, she had to make it through this.
"Two of my friends died during what people have been calling the Miracle at Beacon. Pyrrha Nikos and... Penny Polendina."
Despite the grief that was crashing down on her, she smiled, "Pyrrha was a friend, a good one. Penny... was my girlfriend." Ruby laughed, even with all the pain, it still felt good to say that. "You would've loved her, I think. Oh, right I should mention that Penny's a robot. Dad would've probably made some corny joke about me taking my love of weapons to its natural extreme."
She shook her head, Tai absolutely would've made that joke, and if he hadn't, Yang would. "I think I finally get why my friend Jaune hates it when people call the Miracle at Beacon a miracle. For us, it wasn't a miracle... for us it was a fall."
Ruby sighed. She felt so much lighter now, maybe there was something to this whole confronting your trauma thing. There was still pain, but it was so much more manageable. Her head snapped to the right. Was that growling? Coming from the trees? Time to go.
"I won't die like you did, Mom." Ruby said, her voice cracking, "I won't waste my life in vain." She raised her fingers to her lips, then placed them on the grave. "Bye, Mom."
She stood and turned, and was met by several Beowolves. With a single motion, she unfurled Crescent Rose to its full size.
"Not again." Ruby growled, albeit adorably, "Never again."
She charged.
(Evernight Castle)
Cinder was angry and confused. Mainly angry. Even with Watts's revelation that Raven had lied about the identity of the Spring Maiden, and the fact that she was working with Ozpin's fools, Salem had not deigned to give her any new orders.
It was almost like Salem expected them to stick their heads into the trap, and hope to come out of it unscathed.
Cinder was about to internally rage some more, but was interrupted by her Grimm arm seizing up, before she heard Salem's voice in her mind.
Cinder, please report to my Throne Room. I have... amended your orders.
Well, that was something. A shame it had to come from that accursed sensation every time. She quickly made her way through the labyrinthine halls of Evernight Castle angling towards the throne room. Salem did not readily forgive tardiness. In time, Cinder approached the double doors, which swung open on their own to admit her. That was a good sign, typically Salem made you open the doors yourself only if she was displeased with you.
"Cinder." Salem said, "Thank you for responding so quickly. It's almost like you're beginning to learn your place."
Cinder swallowed her pride and knelt, "Without you, I am nothing."
"Good. You will make a slight change to your plan for Haven. Instead of allowing Raven's second in command to come, you will take Tyrian."
"That's it?" Cinder asked, "We know exactly what they're planning with their little trap, so why-"
Salem held up her hand, and Cinder silenced immediately, as she was not about to give her Queen an excuse to punish her. "You will spring their trap, Cinder. Ever since their miracle, what remains of the guardians of Ozpin's ivory tower have gotten far too confident. Cut them down to size."
"As you command, Salem." Cinder said. She then rose, and began to leave.
"One more thing, Cinder." Salem said, causing her to halt, "They believe that they have outsmarted us. Make them pay for every inch of ground with blood."
Cinder nodded, then left, glad that she was facing away from Salem, which kept her eye roll out of her view. She had been planning to do that anyways.
(Haven Academy)
By the time their Bullhead touched down at Haven Academy, everyone was on edge. In some ways, this would be their first battle against Salem's inner circle. Sure, they had fought Adam and the White Fang not too long ago, but that had just been Adam.
Jaune glanced around, taking in what would momentarily become a battlefield. They were in a wide open courtyard, with Haven's main building in front of them, and the CCTS tower off to the side.
"It's quiet." Glynda said. "Too quiet. Where are all of the students?"
That was a fair question, as it was only early in the evening. At Beacon there would still be a few students milling about. "I know it feels like we're supposed to be walking into a trap, but this feels wrong." Oscar said.
"Hold up, kid." Qrow said, "I've got something I was supposed to give you." He took the wedding ring that Olivia Pine had given him and tossed it at Oscar, "Notice anything odd about it? I sure did."
Oscar caught the ring with little effort, and was happy to see that his hand-eye coordination was improving, "Hey, this is my dad's wedding ring!"
Weiss raised an eyebrow, "Wait, why does it have a gem, then? Typically men's rings don't..." She trailed off as she recognized the green gem for what it was.
"Oscar, that's Plant Dust!" Weiss said. She then launched into a quick and dirty explanation of how to use it without endangering himself.
Oscar slipped it on, and was happy to see that it fit perfectly.
"Is everyone ready?" Glynda asked, she took note of the grim expressions on everyone's faces as they nodded. If they failed today, they were dead in the water, "Very well." She turned and pushed open the double doors.
As they entered, they all took note of the architecture, just in case they needed to use it to their advantage. A statue directly in front of them, which was built to seem as if it was holding up the balcony above it, staircases on either side led up to said balcony, pillars adorned the left and right of the entrance hall.
Oh, and Professor Lionheart was waiting for them.
"Well, this is a surprise!" Lionheart said, "What do I owe this visit to?"
Glynda narrowed her eyes, something wasn't right here. "You saw my message, did you not? You know exactly why we're here."
Lionheart nodded, "Yes. I saw it. Unfortunately there's nothing that can be done without the Spring Maiden, and I have no idea where she is. So, please leave before it's too late."
"Before it's too late for what?" Qrow asked, his tone accusatory.
Lionheart looked off to the side, his eyes screwed shut. "I'm sorry. She has me over a barrel."
A crimson portal sprang to life in front of the group. "Ah, hell." Qrow said, "Never pegged you as the betraying type, Leo."
Ruby shot her Uncle a glance, why was he pretending like they didn't know exactly what was happening? Oh, right, that was the whole point of this trap.
A fireball arced through the portal, catching Ruby in the chest. "Ruby!" Yang called out.
"Hello, boys and girls."
Everyone turned their attention back to the portal, where Cinder, Raven, Emerald, Mercury, Hazel, and Tyrian had materialized. Jaune's hand immediately went to his sword.
"Cinder." He growled under his breath.
"Raven?" Qrow said in mock surprise, "What are you doing with them?"
"I'm doing the same thing I did when I left." Raven said, "The same thing I've always done. I'm choosing the winning side." With a quick hand movement, she tapped the side of her head twice, trusting that Qrow would remember the old hand signals that Summer had come up with for their team.
"What about you, Leo?" Glynda asked, "How long have you been feeding Salem information?"
"Oh, entrance into the Vytal Festival was... less wonderful than intended, but dear Leonardo has been very forthcoming with all sorts of information."
"Stop, please!" Lionheart pleaded.
Tyrian cackled, "What's the matter, cowardly lion? Don't want your former allies to know how far you've fallen?" With a flourish, he deployed his blades, "Maybe I shouldn't mention how you told me where to find all of the Hunters in the kingdom!"
"That's why it took us so long to... uh..." Yang mentally kicked herself, as far as they knew, their enemies didn't know about Oscar.
"Don't bother trying to hide it, girl." Hazel said, "We know exactly where that parasite has made his home."
Oscar gulped. Why was Hazel looking at him? With such... hatred? Oz, you want to fill me in here?
"No time."
Ren and Nora stepped in front of him, "You won't touch him." Ren said, drawing Stormflower.
"I don't wish to fight you, boy." Hazel said.
"Too bad." Nora said, "Because we're not losing another teammate."
"Emerald's mine." Ruby hissed.
"I don't think so, Little Rose, my Queen still wants an audience with you." Tyrian said.
"Over my dead body!" Yang yelled, deploying Ember Celica. Blake moved to stand beside her, drawing Gambol Shroud. "I've got your back, Yang."
Qrow and Raven drew their weapons, and charged at each other. Mercury glanced between the remaining combatants, eventually shrugging. "Guess I'll fight the walking librarian fantasy, no big deal."
A vein pulsed in Glynda's forehead. "Don't underestimate me, Mr. Black. You'll regret it."
Cinder grinned, "Well, this will be simple. You two don't have the power to defeat me."
Jaune drew Crocea Mors, and Weiss drew Myrtenaster. "Funny." Weiss said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "That's just what Adam said."
A blade made of molten glass appeared in Cinder's right hand, accompanied by the telltale eye glow of a Maiden. "Adam wasn't a Maiden, girl. You have no idea what I'm capable of."
"It doesn't matter what you're capable of, Cinder." Jaune said, "Because when we fight side by side..."
"We will show our enemies the meaning of strength." Weiss finished.
"Poetic." Cinder said, "I'll make sure to mark your gravestones with it."
(Lionheart)
Lionheart allowed himself a sigh of relief. Everything was going according to plan, more or less. Tyrian's presence was a wrinkle that he hadn't anticipated, but it seemed like Glynda's students had prepared for that eventuality.
He turned his head when he heard a door behind him kicked down. "Sorry we're late!" Sun said.
Lionheart smiled sadly when he saw Sun and Neptune, with their weapons trained on him. Just as planned. "To the contrary, Mr. Wukong. You're right on time, for once." He deployed his weapon, and aimed it as his students. "Now, if you would, teach your teacher a lesson."
Sun grinned, "Don't have to tell me twice. Let's go." Lionheart launched a fireball at Sun, interrupting his charge. His follow up attack was in turn disrupted by blasts from Neptune's weapon. He had gone wide to clear his field of fire, giving Sun room to maneuver.
Sun moved back into the fray, deflecting further projectiles from Lionheart with twirls of his gunchucks. He rolled to the side, and called out for their team attack. "Seamonkeys!"
Sun then summoned two of his clones, which he directed to hold Lionheart in place. Since he was distracted by repelling another barrage of shots from Neptune, Lionheart didn't see them coming. "Now, Nep!" Sun called out, "I can't hold him for long!"
Neptune didn't need any encouragement, however, as he had already changed his weapon to its polearm mode, and charged at Lionheart. The electrified blade made contact, and Lionheart was knocked back into the railing behind him, breaking his aura.
"Well... done..." He said, "I surrender, but if you pull out those infernal badges, I'm giving you detention."
Neptune hurriedly put his Junior Detective badge back in his pocket.
(Ren, Nora, and Oscar)
Hazel was proving to be an extraordinarily tough nut to crack.
It certainly didn't help matters that he almost exclusively was gunning for Oscar. Sure, he'd knock around Ren or Nora if they got in his way, but it was like he was out for revenge for something Ozpin had done in the past.
Ozpin, I don't care if you think there's no time, I need to know what you know. Now!
Oscar had managed to lead Hazel outside, to give them more room to maneuver, but even then, it just wasn't enough. He shrugged off Ren's bullets and palm strikes like they were feathers, even Nora's attacks weren't fazing him.
And all of the techniques that Qrow taught him specificity to cause pain? They were having no effect! It was like Hazel just didn't feel pain!
Damn it, Oz! If you don't tell me what I need to know, we're all going to die!
"I'm sorry, Oscar, I should have told them. I just-"
Oscar winced as Hazel punted Nora across the courtyard, unfortunately the pint-sized berserker would only see it as a challenge. Save the apologies for after we get out of this! Tell me what I need to know to beat this guy!
"Did you tell him my tale, Ozpin?" Hazel asked. "How you killed her?"
"Hazel Rainart, older brother to Gretchen Rainart. Years ago, she was a student at Beacon Academy, who enrolled against her brother's wishes. Her team was sent on a village defense mission, the village elder vastly misrepresented the threat posed by the nearby Grimm. Gretchen and her team were overrun, and slaughtered. Tactically speaking, his aura pool rivals Mr. Arc's, and his regeneration is unprecedented. In addition, his Semblance nullifies physical pain."
"Well, boy?" Hazel said, "Still willing to fight now that you know that you're sheltering a murderer?"
Ozpin knew exactly what Oscar was thinking. He had thought it himself, once upon a time. "Oscar, he's too far gone. Don't try it."
I have to.
"Did she know the risks of being a Huntress?" Oscar asked, keeping a tight grip on the Long Memory to keep his fear in check.
"How could she?" Hazel roared, "How could any of you? You're just children, brainwashed by tales of heroism!"
"Did you even bother asking her why she was willing to fight?" Ren said, his voice cold, "Or us, for that matter?"
"Don't waste your breath, Ren." Nora said, "He wouldn't understand."
Hazel whirled around to face the two of them, "What wouldn't I understand? That you've decided to waste your lives in pursuit of half baked dreams of heroism and glory? You should just go home to your families before you cause them pain."
"My parents are dead." Ren hissed. "Killed by Grimm. They sacrificed their lives so that I, and by extension, Nora had a chance to survive!"
"So, you're dead wrong, Hazel." Nora said. "We're not chasing dreams of heroism or glory or any crap like that. We're just making sure that no other kids have to live through the hell we went through!"
"So, you've chosen death." Hazel turned around, and made a grab for Oscar. Fortunately, Oscar had been trained by Qrow Branwen, and as a result, could read Hazel's simplistic fighting style from a mile away. He slid through Hazel's legs, and whacked him the back of the knee with his cane.
Hazel went down, momentarily, sinking to his knees as his support was knocked out from under him. Wait a second... that's it!
"Guys, I've got it!" Oscar said as he rejoined Ren and Nora, "His Semblance makes it so he doesn't feel pain, right? So if we just cause him enough pain to overwhelm his aura, we can take him down!"
"How exactly are we supposed to do that, Oscar?" Ren asked, eying Hazel as he prepared another attack.
Oscar looked at Nora, "Aura's all well and good, but bones can only bend so much."
Nora grinned, "Break his legs."
"If you think that I'm going to make that easy for you, you've already dug your own graves." Hazel ripped his sleeves off, and plunged Lightning Dust crystals into his arms.
Nora chuckled as she activated Maghnild's electrification attack, "Alright, this is going to be one hundred ways to break an asshole's legs. Number seventeen might be a shock!"
(Ruby)
Ruby knew that it was incredibly dangerous for her to pick Emerald as her opponent. One illusion of Penny and she was done. So, why? She thought that she had gotten all of this anger out at Summer's grave, but all it took was Emerald walking through that portal, and it all came rushing back.
Emerald laughed, dancing around Ruby's wild swings with ease, "What's the matter, Ruby? Am I too quick for you?"
Little did Emerald know that Ruby was holding a certain something back. She had worked on her Semblance to the point where she could control her pose when she reformed. This meant that Ruby could flow between attacks without having to worry about being off balance. The only downside was that it ate a lot of aura doing so many short bursts so quickly.
It would be a small price to pay to bring Penny's actual killer to justice.
Emerald cocked her head, time to find out why Ruby had basically thrown herself at her. A small illusion of the Nikos girl, maybe?
You let me die.
Ruby gasped as she saw Pyrrha appear behind Emerald with an accusatory glare on her face. Emerald was close to the truth, too close. With a shot from Crescent Rose, she launched forward intending to dunk Emerald into the ground with the blunt end of her scythe.
Emerald sidestepped, laughing all the while. "Oh, did I touch a ner-" Her eyes went wide as she saw Ruby morph into a cloud of rose petals, and immediately reform in the middle of a strike, the blade of the scythe making contact with her midsection.
It was at that moment, that Emerald realized that she had drastically underestimated her opponent. Without Aura, that strike would've cut her in two.
Ruby heaved her scythe around, smashing Emerald into the ground. She scrambled to her feet, and dashed at Ruby, her chain sickles eager to tear the reaper a new one.
Ruby responded with a spin attack that would've torn most Grimm to shreds, after sidestepping, Emerald brought her weapons up in pistol mode, only to feel a tug at her legs. Once again, Ruby used her scythe to scoop up Emerald and take her for a ride.
"Give it up, Emerald!" Ruby said, trying to sound more authoritative than she felt, "Surrender!"
"Never." Emerald said, "I still owe Cinder, I can't fail her."
"Fine. You'll pay for what you did, one way or the other!" Once again, Ruby blitzed Emerald, but this time her strike was blocked.
"And what exactly did I do, Ruby?" Emerald asked, "Why do you want to bring me to justice so badly?" Ruby paled as she realized her mistake. Emerald had figured out why Ruby wanted to take her down so badly.
Emerald took a step forward, pushing Ruby back. If it wasn't that insufferably polite champion... well, there was only one other notable death at Beacon...
Ruby... it hurts...
Emerald switched one of her blades to gun mode, and shot Ruby in the face, causing her to stumble back. "You're mine now, pipsqueak. I'd say you'd see that glorified paperweight after you die, but we all know that she didn't have a soul."
With that, Ruby reached the point of anger where one was perfectly calm, but still absolutely livid. She lunged, only for Emerald to disappear before her eyes. She felt a sharp crack at the base of her skull, resulting in her Aura breaking.
Ruby whirled around, trying to find her target, but it was all for naught, as she was immobilized by a pair of bolas, which knocked her to the ground.
Ruby's mind was racing, Emerald had her at her mercy so why not just kill her? Why... oh no.
"Judging by the look on your face, you just figured it out." Emerald said, "Don't worry, all Salem wants is a talk. Well, and to make you go for a swim in some Grimm goo."
"NO!" Ruby screamed, "YANG, I NEED-"
Emerald kicked her in the head, silencing her. "She can't hear you, she's off fighting Tyrian. I wonder how much it'll hurt when-" Emerald's taunts were rapidly cut off by a flying Mercury.
"Get away from my student." Glynda seethed, "Ruby, are you hurt?" With a swipe of her riding crop and touch of her Semblance the bolas binding Ruby disengaged.
"My Aura's broken, but other than that, I'm fine." Ruby sighed, "I really screwed up, Professor, I'm sorry."
Glynda raised an eyebrow, "Yes, you did. Remember, Miss Rose: Nerves cold blue, and blade blood red. You must keep your cool at all times, even when you're furious."
Glynda did a quick survey of the room. Qrow and Raven were still embroiled in their faux duel, and Jaune and Weiss were still holding their own against Cinder. It seemed like Tyrian had led Yang and Blake deeper into the academy, while Oscar had managed to lead Hazel outside.
And judging by what she could hear, needed help.
"Now let's go show them what happens when you mess with proper Huntresses." Glynda finished.
Ruby followed her teacher's gaze to the door leading outside, then spared a moment to check her aura level. It was back in the red, and slowly regenerating.
"Let's go." Ruby said.
(Yang and Blake)
In retrospect. Yang had decided that chasing Tyrian through the halls of an Academy that she didn't know was a very stupid idea.
That wasn't to say that she was stupid, she was a solid B student without really trying, after all. In fact, everything was going according to plan, since Tyrian wasn't actually trying to get away, just lead them on a merry chase through the halls of Haven.
Tyrian turned around and fired another volley of shots at them, expecting Yang to tank them with her Semblance. Not one to disappoint, Yang obliged. Tyrian cackled, "It's almost like you want me to cut you open again!"
Yang grinned, "Try it, psycho."
Tyrian lunged at Yang, his hands glowing purple. "Now!" Yang yelled.
Blake jumped off of Yang's shoulders and threw herself at Tyrian, Gambol Shroud poised to strike. Tyrian was gleeful, the blonde would be a sobbing mess by the time he was done with her partner, if their last encounter was any indication.
His smile vanished as the cat Faunus split in two. He decided to continue with his original target, and ignore the copy. His blade made contact and...
Nothing. It vanished like a shadow in the sun.
Yang smashed her fist into Tyrian's face, sending him through a wall. "Surprise." Yang said.
Tyrian practically exploded out of the aftermath of the remains of the wall, and started in on Yang, his blades just as hungry for blood as him.
Every attack missed, although it was more a matter of luck than Yang's skill. She went into the bob and weave, because it was about all she could do, with her hands shaking like they were now. Tyrian coming at her had started to trigger a panic attack.
But that was why Blake was there. Swinging her weapons in a downward arc, she sent a aura slash careening at Tyrian, who never saw it coming.
"Do you think you can protect her forever?" Tyrian taunted after he bounced back.
Yang glanced at Blake, her eyes wide with panic, "Blake, I-"
"It's okay, Yang. Catch your breath for a second." Blake said. "I can hold him off."
With that, Blake ran after Tyrian, only to find him crouched at the end of the hall. "You can't beat me, Tyrian." Blake said, "Surrender."
"I'm afraid I can't do that... Blake, was it?" Tyrian said, "My track record with the authorities is less than stellar, you see."
Blake switched Gambol Shroud to pistol mode, "I won't ask again."
Tyrian shrugged off his coat, and unfurled his new tail, courtesy of one Arthur Watts. "No, I don't think I will." Tyrian sprang up from his crouch, his Semblance active. Blake spawned a clone, then realized her mistake.
Tyrian had a tail again, that meant venom. Blake's new trick of being able to choose which version of her was real was about of backfire, since Tyrian would be able to attack both clones at once.
She gritted her teeth, and took the hit from Tyrian's weapon, but not before charging the other clone with Earth Dust. The blade cut through her side, ripping through her Aura, and Tyrian's tail got stuck in a suddenly materialized statue form of Blake.
She attempted to take the opportunity to follow Ruby's example and cut off the tail, but Tyrian interrupted her with a kick to her injured side. "I don't think so, I'm not going through that again." Tyrian growled. He flexed his tail, breaking through the Earth Dust clone.
Tyrian swiped at her again, his Semblance promising nothing but pain and death. Blake had other ideas though, as she jumped back, leaving a Fire Dust clone in her wake. The explosion blew Tyrian back, but the madman was just as tenacious as ever, jumping though the smoke and landing hits on Blake's arms and legs, finally knocking her back with a roundhouse kick.
As Blake hit the wall behind her, her Aura gave out, leaving her completely vulnerable to whatever Tyrian had in mind. "What was that about me not being able to defeat you?" Tyrian taunted, "I suppose it doesn't matter, since you won't be around long enough to regret it!" Tyrian sent his stinger hurtling towards her, its deadly payload dripping from the tip.
Suddenly, Yang was there, interposing herself between Blake and Tyrian. Blake could only watch in horror as the stinger, aided by Tyrian's Semblance, sank into Yang's arm.
Blake knew better than most what that meant. Being in the White Fang had taught her many things, some that she wasn't proud of. One of them was about the abilities of different Faunus. Since she took the stinger full on, she probably only had a few minutes before... before...
Tyrian had to die, now. Otherwise, Yang would die.
"Well, that was unexpected." Tyrian said, "No matter, I have plen-"
Blake fired her pistol, hitting Tyrian in the shoulder. Then she fired again. And again. And again. Finally, she saw his Aura break. She shifted Gambol Shroud back to sword mode, and plunged it into Tyrian's chest.
She removed her weapon from Tyrian and sheathed it, then ran to Yang. "Yang! Can you get up?"
Yang weakly shook her head, "No... it hurts too much... Blake, I-"
"Don't. I'm going to get you to the infirmary, then you're be fine, we just need a lot of antivenom."
Blake bent over, and picked up Yang in a fireman carry. "Oh, sure... now you let me be on top." Yang quipped.
Blake rolled her eyes, any other time she would've laughed, but the stakes were to high for that much levity. It was fine, though. As long as Yang kept talking, there was still hope.
Then Blake took a step, and cried out when pain lanced through her leg. "What's wrong?" Yang asked.
"Tyrian got me in the leg." Blake said, "It's fine, my aura should come back any time now."
Yang knew from personal experience that was a lie. She also knew that she would probably be dead before Blake's leg healed.
Blake knew that too. So there was no other option, everyone else had their own battles to fight, so she had to make it in time. She started down the hallway towards the infirmary.
"You know where you're going, right? Yang asked, "It would be shame to end up in the mess hall instead of the infirmary."
Blake laughed, despite herself, "Yes, I know where I'm going, unlike someone who couldn't be bothered to study the map of Haven on the trip here."
Yang grinned, "Hey, that's what I have you for." Yang paused for a moment, then continued, "You're my conscience. I know we joke around about how Weiss is the Voice of Reason, but honestly you're that for me."
Blake winced as her leg protested again, "And you're my light. When I thought I was irredeemable, you showed me that I was wrong."
Yang sighed, "I'm not gonna make it, am I?"
Blake was about to reassure her, tell her not to worry, that the infirmary was around the corner, but that would be a lie. "I'm not losing you. I refuse to."
"Ha, you sound like Jaune." Yang said.
Blake raised her hand to her ear, and activated her comms, "This is Blake, If anyone is available, i need assistance, I'm injured, and Tyrian poisoned Yang. She doesn't have long before..." Her voice broke off, unable to finish, not wanting to say it.
Her comm popped, and Sun's voice filled her ears. "Don't worry, Blake! I'm on the way! Where are you?"
"Sun?" Blake asked, "Why the hell are you-"
Sun cut her off, "It doesn't matter! Where are you?"
"East wing, nearest room number is 1138."
"Got it! On the way!" Sun responded.
"See, just like I said, Yang." Blake said, "You're gonna be fine."
"It's really gonna sting if I'm not, isn't it?" Yang punned.
"I'll drop you."
Yang scoffed, "No, you won't."
Blake smiled as she continued in the direction of the infirmary and saw Sun booking it towards her.
"You're right, I won't."
(Jaune and Weiss)
Jaune Arc and Weiss Schnee had independently come to the same conclusion.
Maiden powers were bullshit.
Who needed Aura when you could just spam fireballs forever? Plus, Jaune could swear that Cinder was making the air thinner.
"Enough of this." Cinder said, lazily lobbing a blast of fire at Weiss, "Time to die, boy."
She rushed at Jaune and swung, which he caught on his shield, barely. Even without the Maiden powers she was just a little too fast, and a little too strong for him. Cinder pressed her advantage, pushing Jaune back.
"Oh, look at that, your girlfriend already accepted that you're going to die here." Cinder taunted, "She's even on her knees, ready to mourn you."
Through a supreme act of will, Jaune was able to keep a straight face. There was only one reason that Weiss would be on her knees in the middle of a fight. It had nothing to do with mourning, and everything to do with Summoning. His suspicion was confirmed when he saw the glyph begin to form behind Cinder.
I need to keep her attention on me, otherwise... but how do I...
Then it hit him, figuratively. It was rather fitting too, as it meant that Pyrrha would have a hand in fighting Cinder, if only slight.
Shield up...
Jaune clenched his fist and dug in his feet, preparing to counter Cinder.
Keep your grip tight...
Jaune flicked his sword over to its new dual dust mode, allowing use of Wind and Lightning at the same time.
Don't forget to keep your front foot forward...
Jaune stepped forward, then shield bashed Cinder, recklessly using Aura to increase his strength.
Ready... Go!
Jaune swung, causing a wave of wind and lightning to accompany his strike. Cinder flinched, having underestimated Jaune, and not expecting an attack of this magnitude from him.
Again!
Jaune slammed the pommel of his sword into the side of Cinder's head, causing her to take another surge of Lightning Dust.
And again!
Jaune resheathed Crocea Mors, transformed it to Greatsword mode, and let Cinder have it, unleashing an overhand strike that knocked her back, into the waiting arms of the Arma Gigas.
"What?" Cinder exclaimed, "How?"
"You committed one of the classic blunders, Cinder." Weiss said, "You underestimated Jaune Arc." She then directed the Arma Gigas to put the squeeze on Cinder.
"You Atlas elites make me sick." Cinder seethed as she struggled against the Arma Gigas, "You think you're so superior, so perfect, but you have no idea what sins make your shining city function!"
Weiss directed the Arma Gigas to slam Cinder into the ground, then kick her, sending her skittering across the floor. "I know exactly what you mean, Cinder." Weiss said, "I hate them too. They act like they care about everyone else, but it's so easy to see through that veneer of prim and proper to see how they really feel. It makes me sick. That's why I chose to become a Huntress, so I could right those wrongs, show them a better way, and I can't do that if I die here."
Cinder threw a blast of flame that took the Arma Gigas's head off, then began to approach the couple. "You know what? At first I thought this would be simple, kill the idiot, then the Atlas bitch. But, no, you two are just so determined to live that I actually have to try for the first time since I killed that girl on the tower... what was her name again?"
Weiss knew exactly what was going to happen next, but she tried to stop it anyways. "Jaune, don't..."
Weiss's plea went unheeded. "Her name? You don't even remember her name?" Jaune asked, his anger building, "Her name was PYRRHA NIKOS!" With a howl, he sent a lightning bolt at Cinder, only to have it blocked by a wave of fire.
When she came back into view, Cinder ripped the left sleeve of her dress away, revealing her left arm for what it was.
Grimm.
"Were the Fall Maiden powers not enough?" Jaune asked, "Had to throw away your humanity while you were at it?"
Cinder laughed, "It will never be enough! Not until I have all of the Maiden powers in my grasp!"
"Power corrupts, without exception." Weiss said, "I've seen it first hand."
Cinder started walking towards them, what need did she have to hurry? They were nothing to her, a Semblanceless idiot, and an Atlas princess playing Huntress.
"Weiss, Glyph me. Velocity and Time Dilation." Jaune requested as he reloaded the Dust vials in his sword. He wasn't empty, but running out now could very well be lethal.
"I'll be right behind you, my darling knight. Just like before." Weiss raised her right hand, and caused Jaune's requested glyphs to appear.
"I know you will, Snow Angel." Jaune said as he switched Crocea Mors back to a sword and shield.
It occurred to both of them that this could very well be the last time they would ever say those pet names to each other, but they shoved it down.
Jaune launched from the glyph, shield up, and blade charged with all the fury of a raging storm.
Cinder focused the Maiden power in her sword, causing it to go from molten glass to a sword made of pure fire, and flew at Jaune.
Weiss moved, switching to Gravity Dust so she could immobilize Cinder for Jaune to deliver what would no doubt be a cathartic beatdown.
As Jaune reared back to strike, Cinder lashed out with with her Grimm arm, grabbing him by the head, and slamming him into the ground.
Cinder reoriented, and started bearing down on Weiss. All Jaune could do was look on in horror as the after-effects of the Time Dilation glyph took hold. "Weiss, get out of there!" He pleaded.
But there was nowhere to go, so Weiss Schnee stood her ground, a Barrier Glyph forming on her right arm, approximating the shield of Crocea Mors.
Cinder swung. Weiss parried, or rather, tried to. Cinder's flame blade seemingly passed through the blade of Myrtenaster without issue.
Weiss screamed.
Cinder struck again, this time Weiss tried to block with her Barrier glyph, but it was just as fruitless. The hellish weapon made its mark once again, breaking Weiss's Aura. Cinder kicked her away, but Weiss, ever defiant, began to rise to her feet.
If she was going to die, Weiss resolved to face it head on.
Like an Arc.
"You know, I've finally figured out what I'm going to do with you two." Cinder said, her fire sword morphing into a javelin of molten glass. "I'm going to leave one of you alive! Only to watch as the other dies a slow, painful death, unable to save them."
"NO!" Jaune screamed, he scrambled to his feet, and ran, hoping beyond hope that he would make it in time.
Cinder threw the javelin, and it struck home. She walked away, satisfied that she had ended their threat to her, as small as it was.
Jaune came to a stop, and his sword clattered to the ground.
Weiss looked down at the javelin, her eyes wide with horror, then at Jaune, whose face was a textbook example of despair.
Weiss tried to speak, but she had to hope that Jaune could read her lips, as the sound didn't come.
He could.
I love you.
The javelin dissolved, and Weiss Schnee fell.
For Jaune Arc, the rest of the world ceased to matter.
A/N: I'm sorry. I had to split this chapter in two due to length, and this was the most logical place to split it.
Yes, Glynda's advice to Ruby was a Dragonheart reference, props to Eliad91 for suggesting it.
Next Chapter: The Battle of Haven, Part Two.