Chapter 30: The Battle of Haven

Even with the increased rate of speed the transports were traveling at, the journey was still too long for Nora's liking. She was impatient, and wanted to be to Haven already. She was ready to fight, and the energy had been building up the entire duration of the trip. Her legs bounced on the ground and her fists clutched her hammer, entirely too eager to take lives.

Ren, as usual, was doing his best to ignore Nora. He meditated where he sat, sitting cross-legged and attempting to regulate his breathing.

"Ugh!" Nora exclaimed, breaking Ren's concentration. "Are we there yet?"

"Soon," Ren sighed.

"But I wanna kill people now!" Nora huffed. She sighed and glanced over to Ren. She felt her heart start beating harder looking at his handsome face. She scooted closer. "Hey, Ren? I know this is a weird question, but… we are going pretty far away from Lord Ozpin…"

Ren opened his eyes and they shifted over to her. "And?" he said.

Nora shrugged. "I know romances aren't really… allowed… but…" She blushed as she spoke. "… did you want to… maybe… go do something while we're away? Like… just hang out, outside of our duties?"

Ren was getting angry. Nora spoke of defying their god. He would have screamed at her, but in the back of his mind he tried to remain calm, partially due to his still-meditative state and partially just to keep tensions low while they carried out this mission.

"Probably not," he said.

"Oh," Nora said, shifting her eyes down sadly. "You're… you're right. We should respect Lord Ozpin's rules. We have duties, after all." She scooted back to her original spot.

Ren sighed. How did he ever end up stuck with her?


"This is ludicrous," Weiss thought to herself, tapping her foot. She had put up with a lot since she arrived in Vale, but this was too far. She was a combatant, but her role was as an executive, not a warrior. For once, she wished she was back in Atlas, sitting on her throne, doing menial tasks like organizing Dust shipments. Instead, she was in this godsforsaken, noisy transport being hauled all the way to Mistral. Fucking Mistral! And to Haven Penitentiary, no less. There was no reason she could think of that a dignified person such as herself would have to ever be at a prison. Lord Ozpin had her wrapped around his little finger. He had already taken so much, and she deserved better than this. She would take care of his little revolt. But afterwards, she was catching the first ship back to Atlas. It was time for her to get away from this mess.

Still, all the complaining in the world would not change where she was now. As fast as the transport was, it was still around twelve hours to reach Haven. It was cross-continental, after all. She wondered if the airships carrying ground vehicles were slower. If they were, she guessed she was thankful she was not on one of those.

Weiss sighed and looked out the window, seeing those useless stars.


Lionheart rubbed his head. Even though they had shut the alarm off some time ago, he still had a headache from the flashing lights and blaring sirens. Additionally, he had to switch them back on every time someone from Lord Ozpin's forces called.

Hazel set down his Scroll. "They're almost here," he said. "About two more hours."

Lionheart huffed. On one hand, he wondered why someone with all the power and resources in the world could not afford faster ships. On the other hand, he was glad they were not faster, because that would have meant more casualties in all the battles they were a part of.

Lionheart kept his eyes on his desk. "Rainart," he said. "Do you think I've done enough?"

Hazel looked at him quizzically. "I don't think I understand."

Lionheart sighed. "I served Lord Ozpin. I was a coward and bowed down to him, blindly accepting him when he took over just so my own skin would be saved. But when he told me to do such horrible things… I knew that I had made the wrong choice. Even after these years, as I kept his prisoners alive, I've still been supplying him. Still been keeping the people in line. There's no doubt that, because of me, he's been able to kill people. Or traffic more poor children to those horrible academies. But after all of it… the lives I've managed to save… the major blow we're about to deal… will it have been enough to offset what wickedness I've caused?"

"You didn't do any of those things," Hazel responded. "He did. And if it weren't for you, hundreds more would be dead now. If Ironwood or Theodore had been in charge of this prison, do you think that would have been the case? No. I assure you, when all of this is over, and when Lord Ozpin is gone and his empire turned to dust, you'll be remembered as a hero."

Lionheart stopped rubbing his head. "A hero, you think?" he said. He left it at that.


Guns cocked as Lord Ozpin's soldiers prepared for battle. Nora pulled her hammer out from behind her seat, tapping at its handle with her fingers. They were almost there. She glanced out the window, seeing the lights of Haven Penitentiary in the trees below. Nora had slept well during the long and boring trip, and now was awake and alert, almost trembling with anticipation.

Ren saw the prison in their sights as well, and even felt the airship start dropping in elevation. He cleared his throat and stood up.

"There is a large hostile presence here," Ren informed the crew. "You should consider everyone in there an enemy. I have orders directly from Lord Ozpin himself that he wants them all wiped out, no prisoners. We can refill the cells later."

As Ren sat back down, Nora chuckled.

"No prisoners in the prison, huh?" she mused.

"It would seem not," Ren replied.


The airships set down any place they could: openings in the trees, the large courtyards, and the massive quad in the center. Soldiers marched off transports as tanks and armored vehicles rolled out onto the grass and rock.

Ren placed a Dust explosive on one of the outer walls, a couple hundred feet from the main entrance. The doors were too risky an entryway. It made more sense to surprise any foes that may be waiting to ambush them. At least for them; the low-level soldiers would be the cannon fodder. Nora placed her ear on the wall, her nose carelessly right next to the explosive.

"I can hear the sirens inside," she said.

"Of course you can, you dolt," a voice came. Ren and Nora looked to see Weiss Schnee coming their way.

"Miss Schnee," Ren said. "I did not realize you would be joining us here."

"Neither did I," Weiss grumbled.

"All we do is in service to our god," Ren said. "You should be thankful he's given you another chance."

"Please," Weiss scoffed. "Another chance to push me around."

"Your life is his," Ren said. "You'd best to remember that while we're here."

Nora skipped over. "Enough with the chit-chat!" she said, gripping her hammer. "Let's do this!"

"I agree with your girlfriend," Weiss sneered, never breaking eye contact with Ren.

Ren narrowed his eyes as he lifted his mask over his mouth and nose. He pulled out a walkie-talkie and raised it to his head.

"We're about to breach," he told the soldier on the other end. "The explosion is the signal. As soon as you see it, head inside. Leave none alive."

After a word of confirmation, Ren pocketed the walkie-talkie and lifted a detonator, his eyes having never left Weiss'. Nora realized how close she was to the wall and hurried away just as Ren's thumb pressed down.

There was a deafening explosion of fire and force, one that shook the air and ground. Both Ren and Weiss should have hunched down, but stubbornly stood their ground, ready to outdo the other. As the boom faded, the screech of sirens took its place, followed by shouting.

"They're coming through the wall!" a woman screamed.

"Hell yeah we are!" Nora yelled, charging in with her hammer.

Weiss pulled out her rapier. "After you, Huntsman."

Ren pulled out his pistols. "Don't mind if I do, Schnee." He pointed his pistols towards the hole they had created and ran in, Weiss following behind. Gunfire erupted as Lord Ozpin's forces burst through the door and both sides began attacking each other. The battle of Haven had begun.


The soldiers that came through the door were met with a barrage of gunfire. The ones in the front were immediately downed, blood splattering as bullets tore through their bodies. Lord Ozpin's forces began firing back. As the Haven gunmen began to fall, swordsmen came from the sides and began stabbing and slashing. Blades ripped and tore before guns were turned on them as well. Some tried to duck or even block with their blades, but the sheer amount of soldiers flooding through the doors overwhelmed them. Each were gunned down, collapsing onto the ground.

Haven's gunmen tried to take advantage of Lord Ozpin's guns no longer being pointed at them, but they were interrupted. Nora came charging in wielding her mighty hammer, which she immediately began using against Haven's prisoners. She started by slamming it into a woman's head, causing a loud crack and everything above her lower jaw to separate from the bottom. Her torn skin stopped it from being a full decapitation, snagging as she fell bloody and broken to the ground. Nora laughed as she slammed the hammer upwards into a man's ribcage, his bones snapping and crunching as they impaled his lungs. Guns began turning towards Nora, but their carriers were quickly and suddenly shot in their heads. Ren came by, firing at as many heads as he could. Some ducked down just in time, but most were struck right between their eyes and dropped instantly. A Haven woman with an axe came at Ren, but was caught off-guard by Weiss swooping in and impaling her through her side. The woman grunted in pain as Weiss kicked her, pulling her blade out as she fell.

The break in defense was enough for more of Lord Ozpin's forces to spill in. They spread out through the halls and made their way towards the central chamber: a multi-story opening lined with cells and corridors. Haven's resistance met them every step of the way. A spear was thrown that impaled a soldier through the heart. As a group of troops passed through a doorway, a tripwire sparked some Fire Dust crystals, which exploded and killed them all. Men and women with weapons of every kind came out to slash, smash, stab, cut, and beat on Lord Ozpin's military. The soldiers responded with equal force. Gunfire mowed down large groups of prisoners. Daggers and swords were brandished and used to stab. A throat was slit. Grenades were thrown that cleared entire hallways of prisoners. Blood poured on the tile floors.

All the while, Nora was fighting alongside her Ren, having the time of her life. A man lunged out, almost hitting her in the head with a small hammer. She laughed.

"That's not a hammer. This is a hammer!" She took her weapon to his knees, hearing them crunch as he was swept off his feet. As he landed face down before her, she raised her hammer and brought it down on his head, smashing it into blood and bone.

A woman fired at Ren. He dove out of the way just in time to let the bullets miss him, then fired back. He struck her shoulder, causing her to cry out as she was spun and fell to the ground. A man with a dagger approached from behind, and Ren whirled around and brought the bladed handle of his gun up through the man's chin before tossing him aside.

Nora smirked as she held her hammer out and began spinning in a circle. Spinning like a saw blade, she maneuvered towards the crowd of prisoners blocking the way to the central chamber. There were fleshy thumps as they were slammed and knocked to the side, as many dying to the impacts as there were collapsing unconscious on the ground.

Weiss fought the remainders of the blockade, stabbing as many rebels as she could lay eyes on. A woman with a sword rushed her, and Weiss blocked her swing. The two began dueling, the woman eagerly and relentlessly slamming and slashing her blade. She was strong, but undisciplined. Weiss took advantage of an opening and ran the woman through. The woman yelped and gasped. Weiss removed her blade and stabbed again that the woman's forehead, piercing it and ending her before she finished collapsing to the ground. She followed Nora into the central chamber, followed swiftly by Ren and the soldiers.

Nora, Ren, and Weiss were seasoned combatants, but they were not prepared for what waited on the other side: the entire chamber, filled with rebels, firing or charging forward. Weiss even thought she saw an archer in the crowd. They ducked down as gunfire came, scooting behind a wall partition. Soldiers flooded in, firing at the prisoners.

"Why are there so many?" Weiss grunted.

"Lord Ozpin's sent a lot of people here," Ren replied,

"Yeah, but aren't most of them supposed to be dead?!" Nora said.


Lionheart threw the doors open. On his left arm was strapped a spiked buckler. Hazel ran out past him, with a pair of long metal claws in his fists. He charged down the nearby stairs, throwing himself at at group of melee-weapon wielding troopers, roaring a war cry as he began slashing at their faces and necks.

Lionheart exhaled deeply, then reached into a pouch on his belt, pulling out an assortment of small throwing knives. He looked out on the carnage before him, then flicked a blade at one of Lord Ozpin's troops. It struck her in the neck, killing her. He hurried to get to a better vantage point before throwing more into the crowd.


Tyrian's wrist blades slashed and sliced. He leapt around acrobatically, dodging and evading everything from shotgun blasts to flying axes. A man with a dagger approached from behind. Tyrian saw his reflection in one of his blades and extended his scorpion-like Faunus tail right into the man's neck. The man dropped the dagger as he clutched his neck, which immediately began to swell and leak puss and blood. He gagged and choked, spitting up blood as he fell lifeless on the ground.

Tyrian had needed this for a long, long time.


Bertilak swung his mace, which struck a man in the head and downed him. Carmine fought beside him, stabbing her sais into a woman's gut and tossing her over the railing to fall down the chamber to the floor below. A soldier with a machine gun rounded a corner and began firing at them. Bertilak grabbed Carmine and yanked her into a cell with him, the bullets just barely missing her.

"Thanks," Carmine said.

Bertilak nodded and peeked his head around the corner of the cell door. He pulled it immediately back as gunfire sounded out and bullets chipped the wall and clanged against the metal bars.

"What's the plan?" Carmine asked.

"I think we should-" Bertilak started, but was cut off by a gunshot so loud it was heard over the chaos. Bertilak heard a body thump, then looked out to see the gunman dead on the ground. He looked the other way and saw Doctor Watts, a smoking pistol in hand.

"Might I be of some assistance?" he asked.


Ren sprung up from behind his cover and shot at the prisoner across the chamber. She was struck in the neck, and grabbed at her wound. In doing so, she lost her balance and tumbled forward over the railing, plummeting down to her doom. Ren ducked back down and huffed.

"You're right," he said to both Weiss and Nora. "There are way more than we were expecting. Lord Ozpin needs to know about this. Cover me!" He pulled out his Scroll.

A prisoner with a mace rushed their cover. Weiss sprung up, slashing at her legs as she approached. The prisoner screamed as she fell to her knees, and Weiss grabbed her and stabbed through her chest. She let the body fall.

"Something's wrong!" Ren said, smacking the side of his Scroll. "Our communications are being jammed! We can't get anything out!"

Weiss narrowed her eyes. "It's a trap," she growled.

Ren threw his Scroll to the ground, allowing it to break. He yanked the walkie-talkie out of his pocket. "We need vehicles, now!" he shouted.

"But none of them are outside-" the voice on the other end began.

"Do whatever you can!" Ren ordered. "Bring the tanks through the walls!"

As he finished speaking, a gunshot rang out. Ren grunted in pain as the walkie-talkie shattered in his hand. He glanced up to see a young man with a pistol having made his way around and fired at him, only missing by a matter of inches but destroying Ren's last form of communication.

Nora rushed forward, clobbering the man in the chest with her hammer. He flew back into a wall, his head hitting and skull cracking upon impact. Blood smeared on the wall as he streaked down it.

"Let's get higher," Ren said, readying his guns. He jumped up and began running towards the stairs shooting at any prisoners along the way. Nora followed.

Weiss watched them run, then looked back towards the epicenter of the battle. Just how much danger was she in right now?


Doctor Merlot had little combat experience, but he did what he could. He fired his pistol, aiming at the crowds of Lord Ozpin's soldiers coming in on his level. They screamed as they fell to the ground, but they all kept their guns pointed at the larger crowds in front of and above them. It shocked Merlot just how many there were. He felt the ground shake and knew a larger group must be incoming.

The last thing he expected was the wall beside him to smash and crash. Merlot covered his head as he looked and saw an armored, tank like vehicle roll through the wall - without stopping. Merlot yelled as the vehicle rammed into him, the tank-like tread rolling over his feet and legs. He yelled out, but was not in pain for long as the tread crushed the rest of him next, ending with his head.


Lionheart gripped the railing as he looked down. Vehicles were bursting through the walls on the ground floor. Tanks aimed their cannons and fired, blasting away entire pieces of staircases and killing everyone who stood there. Most harrowing of all, however, were the cracks running up and down the walls, across the stories and spreading like wildfire.

"They'll bring down the whole building," Merlot thought.

Though he panicked for a moment, he realized the opportunity. "Hazel!" he shouted.

Hazel grabbed a man and snapped his neck before rushing back up the stairs to Lionheart.

"What is it?" he asked.

Lionheart pointed at the vehicles. "The mad sons of bitches are driving right through the walls. They'll be crashing down the longer this battle goes on."

"What do you suggest?" Hazel asked.

"Get our people to the back exit," Lionheart said. "Lead Lord Ozpin's troops as far into the building as you can. We can retreat out of here, and let Haven Penitentiary take care of the rest for us."

Hazel nodded and, without another word, charged down the opposite stairs. Lionheart threw another knife.


Tyrian jumped at a soldier, grabbing at her face. She yelped as she tried to throw him off, but with a swift and powerful strike he cut her head clean off and watched as her body collapsed to the ground. He felt the presence of someone behind him and extended his stinger. To his surprise, it did not hit anything, and was instead grabbed. He whirled around ready to strike, only to see Hazel gripping his tail.

"Hazel!" he yelled. "Godsdamn it, what do you want?!"

"We have to start making for the exits," Hazel explained loudly. "Get as many as you can to follow."

Tyrian sneered. "What's the hurry? We've got them on their toes."

Hazel pointed up. Tyrian groaned and glared at the floor a few stories above him. He saw tanks crashed through the walls, debris crackling down from the holes and cracks running across the walls.

He huffed. "That'll do it."

Someone began firing a gun at them. Hazel released Tyrain's tail as they both dove out of the way. Hazel grabbed a piece of debris and hurled it down the hall at the attacker, striking him in the head and making him collapse.

Suddenly a crowd of soldiers with swords and axes rushed them. Hazel gripped his metal claws and began fighting several at once, blocking their swings and grabbing at their wrists and necks. He grabbed one around the neck and lifted him off the ground, hurling him over the railing. He dug his claws into several of their guts, slashing at another's face and making him fall to the ground, clawing at where his eyes used to be.

Tyrian blocked a mace swing and retaliated, grabbing the mace handle and yanking the weapon out of the wielder's hands. He bashed the trooper in the head, killing him. He jumped forward and slashed open the stomach of another man. Another with a sword attacked, and Tyrian blocked his slash with his blades. He saw a man with an axe approach from behind, and once again stabbed his stinger into the man's gut.

As the stinger injected its venom, a woman came running from the hallway with a sword. She screamed as she brought the blade down right onto Tyrian's tail, cutting it in two. Tyrian screamed and staggered back. The two sword wielders rushed forward, but Tyrian grabbed one and threw him over the railing before pouncing on the one who had severed his tail, knocking her to the ground.

"You bitch!" he screamed with agony between clenched teeth. He began stabbing his blades into her chest, then continued. He stabbed again and again and again, his victim screaming out as blood splattered from her chest. She finally gurgled and fell silent, but Tyrian kept on stabbing. Hazel killed his last attacker, then hurried over to Tyrian and grabbed his shoulders, pulling him off the corpse.

Tyrian's curved his tail around to inspect the bleeding wound and lack of stinger. He swiftly removed his belt and wrapped it around the shortened tip of the tail, pulling it tight as a tourniquet to slow the bleeding. He glared at Hazel.

"Let's get the fuck out of here," he growled in pain and humiliation.


Watts glanced down at the tanks firing indoors. With each shot, they were weakening the structural integrity of the building more and more. He thought they had to realize this, but was not so sure they cared anymore.

"We need to start making our way out," Watts said.

Bertilak barely heard him over the man he was fighting, but Carmine did. She pulled her sai out of a woman's eye and waved Bertilak along. He snapped the man's neck and ran in the direction she was motioning.

"We need to get out of here," Carmine said. "The building's about to fall."

"Big shock there," Bertilak said. He saw Watts, gripping on the railing for support, making his way as fast as he could towards the back exits. He began to follow.

"Bertilak, we-" Carmine was cut off by a squelchy thud and metallic clang. She yelped and gasped.

Bertilak spun around and saw his partner, a spear having gone through her back and out her stomach directly below her ribcage. Blood poured like a waterfall from the wound. She looked up from the spear at Bertilak with fear in her eyes, then collapsed to her side and fell dead on the floor.

"Carmine! No!" Bertilak shouted, rushing to her side. As soon as he grabbed at her and saw blood cover his hands, he knew it was too late. He gripped his mace tighter and growled, leading to roaring with rage. He rose back to hi feet and began running towards the soldiers filing towards them.

"Celadon!" Watts shouted back. "Celadon!" But his words landed on deaf ears. Bertilak roared into battle, swinging his mace into each and every one of Lord Ozpin's soldiers as they tried to fight or flee. His weapon fell six soldiers before one ran up and grabbed it, wrenching it from his hand. Bertilak grabbed his head and yanked it over to a cell, throwing him onto the ground and then grabbing the cell door, slamming it repeatedly until the man's head was little more than bloody mulch. He turned and grabbed another, twisting her neck. Another soldier ran up, machine gun in hand, and fired. Bullets racked Bertilak's head, blasting through his skull until his face was entirely blown away. His body fell backwards, blood splattering as it impacted the ground.

Watts winced and turned back, minding his bad leg as he hurried towards the rear of the building.


This was madness. Weiss had never been in more of a clusterfuck than she was now. She stabbed another rebel as she made her way across the floor, minding every hallway and cell. Ren was an idiot having the vehicles barge in. They were doing little good and damaging the walls… the walls!

Weiss looked around and realized how much damage had been done, and how much damage each shot from the tanks' cannons or mounted machine guns were doing to the structure of the building. Were they trying to bury everyone alive?

Weiss spun on her heel and whirled back the way she came, eyeing the cracks. She had to get out of there, if for no other reason than her own sake. A rebel sprung from behind a partition. Weiss ducked into a hall as she fired a shotgun, the shot chipping the corner Weiss hid behind. She scanned the ground and saw a pistol in the hand of a corpse. She reluctantly reached down and picked up the uncivilized device, then arced around the corner and fired. The rebel was hit in the head and collapsed. Weiss huffed and tossed the gun aside, then began running back towards the entrance.

She hoped she would be able to get out in time.


Lionheart raised his buckler as shots rung out overhead. Something hit the shield, but it was not a was a piece of the ceiling above him. He huffed as he hurried towards the large corridor leading from the central chamber to the rear exits in the woods. As he approached, he saw a large crowd there and prepared to fight. However, he was relieved seeing it was all made up of his people, making their way to the exits.

Hazel and Tyrian were waving people along. Others stopped to fire at the soldiers behind them, protecting the others. Lionheart's heart dropped as he watched one fall.

"What's the status?" Lioheart asked.

Hazel turned to reply. "Our people are on their way out, and Lord Ozpin's forces are coming further in. But they're starting to get overwhelming. We don't know how long we can protect the outgoing crowd. And there are still many on the lower floors who can't get out because of increased enemy numbers or even the stairs having been destroyed."

Before Lionheart could respond, Watts hurried over, limping slightly.

"Where are Bertilak and Carmine?" Lionheart asked. "Where's Merlot?"

"Dead," Watts explained. "There were too many."

Lionheart lowered his head. "We have to survive this…" he said. He raised his head back up. He reached down and pulled a gun off of one of Lord Ozpin's dead soldiers and began walking towards the group of gunmen who were firing out at the enemy.

"Hold on, Leo," Hazel said, holding his hand in front of Lionheart.

Lipnheart did not let him finish. "Get as many as you possibly can out. I'll help buy you all some time."

"There are too many," Watts explained. "You'll be killed."

"If that's what it takes," Lionheart said. The faintest smile appeared on his face. "I was going to fake my death anyway, right?"

"You're too important," Tyrian said, wincing from the pain of his injury.

"No I'm not," Lionheart said. "Not anymore. I'm not important to Lord Ozpin anymore, seeing as how I failed him. As such, I'm not important to the Resistance anymore either."

"You're important to all of us," Hazel said.

"I appreciate that, friend," Lionheart said. "Hopefully we'll see each other again in another life. Just promise to do one thing for me?"

"What?" Hazel inquired.

"Tell people what I did here tonight," Lionheart said. "Maybe then I can begin to atone for what I've done."

"We'll tell everybody," Tyrian said. "There won't be a person in the fucking world who won't know about you."

Lionheart nodded. "For freedom," he said.

Hazel, Tyrian, and Watts nodded back, and Lionheart hurried to fight. He pointed the gun as soon as he arrived and fired at the crowds on the walkways and stairs, standing alongside the people he had helped save, his true people.

"Let's go," Hazel said, waving more prisoners down the corridor. Watts and Tyrian joined with the stream, moving alongside the others towards the exit.


Ren and Nora charged higher and higher, slaughtering any rebels they came across. As they stopped to fight, Ren looked out and saw a large crowd of what looked like all prisoners running down the stairs towards the ground floor. They would be running right into them in a matter of seconds.

"There's a whole bunch coming this way," Ren yelled. "More than even we can handle. We need to turn back."

Nora raised her hammer back up after crushing a man with it. "Let me at 'em!" she said.

"No-" Ren started to scold her, but before he could continue, the crowd had reached them. Rebels saw them and ran forward, readying swords and axes. Ren raised his weapons, ready to fight.

Then something else caught his eye. Just out of the corner of his vision, several stories below, one of the tanks raised its cannon upwards. It aimed directly at the group; the same place he was. Ren's eyes widened and he dove out of the way as the tank fired.

All Ren and Nora saw for a moment was dust and debris, and all they heard was booming and crashing. Ren flailed and spun in the air before thudding down onto the collapsing floor. Nora screamed. The crowd of rebels were either blown apart or fell to their deaths. The metal railing groaned and squeaked as it pulled away from the ground, bending and twisting, barely horizontal over the open drop of the chamber. Nora's hammer flew from her grip and fell down onto another story, as she gripped with all her might onto the railing, dangling over the drop. Ren dug his foot into the ground while stabbing his one of his blades into the floor, catching himself. He had gotten far enough out of the way that he just barely avoided sliding off the collapsing floor down below. As he looked around for an escape, he heard a scream.

Nora was hanging on with both hands onto the railing, still dangling over the drop. A large chunk of ceiling crashed down onto her left hand, causing it to fly open. She screamed again as she jolted downward, hanging on with only her right hand and gripping so tightly her fingers were turning red.

"Ren!" Nora cried. "Ren, help me!"

Ren observed Nora holding on, suspended over a drop hundreds of feet high. All the chaos and madness of the battle seemed to fade into the background. He forgot about the crumbling walls and rebel fighters. All he saw now was an opportunity. An opportunity that would never come again.

Slowly and carefully, Ren scooted over towards the hanging railing. He extended his body over the drop, finding that he could reach Nora's hand.

"Ren!" Nora screamed. "Ren, please save me!"

She glanced down, immediately nauseated by the height. She looked back at Ren leaning over towards her hand. She was about to try and reach with her free hand before she stopped, her blood running cold.

Instead of an open hand reaching to grab her, Ren's hand brandished one of his blades. It hovered over Nora's grip as his eyes looked intensely at her.

"Ren!" Nora yelled. Her heart sunk as she realized the look in his eyes, the eyes she had loved for so long. Suddenly her danger was an afterthought. Time seemed to slow and the very world seemed to grow darker. Nora felt tears well up in her eyes as her already strained arm quivered and her hear pounded.

"Ren?" she squeaked, her lower jaw trembling as she spoke, the word choking in her throat. A tear rolled down her cheek.

Ren steadied his blade right above her fingers. With a look in his eyes only described as hatred, he sliced.

Nora's fingers were all cut off below the knuckle. She gasped once. She did not feel the pain in her hand. She did not feel herself as she went into free fall. She could only feel pain in her heart and tears in her eyes. Time stayed slowed as she saw Ren grow smaller and smaller, the light fading darker and darker. Tears consumed Nora's eyes as she wept, all while falling down far below.

Ren kicked back up to his feet. He took a few steps back, breathing heavily. Then he took a running leap across the gap the tank had created. His feet skidded on the other side, and he began sprinting as fast as he can back the way he had came.


Hazel threw the door open. The nighttime air was cold but calm. He scanned ahead, but saw none of Lord Ozpin's forces stationed here. He waved the others forward, directing them past him and into the tree line a short distance away. As he stood there holding open the exit, he was shocked to see how many of Haven's prisoners made it out. Perhaps Lord Ozpin's forces were so dead set on killing them all they failed to notice the danger they were in. Either way, it did not matter.

Hundreds of people poured out into the woods, each one careful not to give away their location to the military surrounding the front and sides of the penitentiary. After the last person had passed him, Hazel hurried after them into the woods. As he approached, he saw the ones who had been evacuated earlier, the children, sick, and elderly, waiting for them, hunkered down in the bushes and foliage.

"What's the word, Hazel?" an older man asked.

"Where's Mister Lionheart?" a little girl asked.

Hazel looked back towards Haven Penitentiary.


Debris came down from the ceiling and down on top of Lord Ozpin's troops. As a wall collapsed, they finally realized the danger they were in. Troops began trying to make their way towards the ways they came in from. A tank tried to back out, only for the entire wall to collapse and pin it down. A few of the armored cars managed to back out, one striking a soldier as it reversed. Another tank tried to pull out, only for the floor to give way beneath it and cause it to topple down onto the floor below.

On the lowest, basement floor, a group of prisoners made their way out of the crumbling corridor and into the central chamber, littered with splattered bodies.

"Let's get out of here!" a woman shouted.

They ran a little further, then stopped. A man at the front of the group sighed.

"The stairs are taken out," he said. "Even if we managed to get past that gap, we'd never make it to the ground floor in time."

There was a saddened silence across the group.

"It has been an honor fighting alongside you all," the man said.

They all went silent again, then heard a faint sound. Heads turned to face it. Nearby, laying on the floor in a puddle of blood, was someone still alive.

Nora could only use what remained of her energy to weep. The realization that she had survived the fall had not even entered her mind. She was paralyzed anyway, leaking blood from her hand and the back of her head. Even with her bones broken and her skin torn, she could not feel any of it, only agony in her soul. Her eyes were blurred with tears as she sobbed and cried on her back, unable and unwilling to move. As far as she was concerned, she had died when she saw that look in his eyes.

"That's one of Lord Ozpin's Huntresses!" another man shouted.

"She's still alive!" a woman called.

"Not for long she's not!" another woman yelled. "Get her!"

Footsteps thundered towards Nora, and soon she was surrounded. Kicks came to her face and torso. Punches and blows fell on her stomach and chest. They stomped on her arms and legs. She felt none of it. She just kept sobbing, her eyes never moving from the spot where she had fallen. Where he had been.

Finally, a boot rose up and slammed down on her face. Blood splattered across the ground as the ceiling gave way.


Lionheart stood his ground, with a man firing from his left and a woman firing from his right. Lord Ozpin's forces were panicking now. They would be unable to get out in time. There would be some that escaped for sure, but not enough to claim victory. It was not without losses, but it was a day of victory for the Resistance.

Gunfire continued from Lord Ozpin's side, and bullets struck the man and killed him. Lionheart and the woman kept firing, killing as many of the soldiers trying to escape as they could. Every troop they killed today was one less to terrorize the world later on Lord Ozpin's behalf. A spear was thrown, and it impaled the woman through her shoulder. She cried out as she fell to the ground, gripping the weapon.

Lionheart pulled the trigger one more time, killing a soldier. When he squeezed the trigger again, the gun clicked and rattled, freshly out of ammunition. That was when a soldier from the opposite railing fired at him. Lionheart yelled out as he felt the pain travel across his chest and up his shoulder. He dropped the gun as he fell backwards, landing on his back. He glanced side to side. The woman had fallen unconscious from the pain. As he lay there, Lionheart heard the last of shouting soldiers and the deafening cracking and crumbling of the ceilings and floors. Voices cried out in fear and alarm before being drowned out by the din. Lionheart closed his eyes as Haven Penitentiary collapsed around and on top of not only him, but hundreds of Lord Ozpin's henchmen.


Hazel, Tyrian, Watts, and the survivors of Haven watched the building collapse, burying the majority of Lord Ozpin's forces within. As they watched their enemy crushed, all of them were thinking about the brave souls that were lost inside.


The soldiers that had remained outside hurried to the rubble, attempting to pull any survivors out from the wreckage. Cries for help and of pain emanated from under rock and metal. Ren watched as a corpse was drug out from under a heap of stone.

Suddenly, a large pile of rubble near him shifted. Ren readied his weapons as a stone was pushed aside. He lowered his guard upon seeing who it was.

Weiss gripped her bleeding, gashed arm as she kicked and pushed stone and debris off of her. She coughed from the dust, then staggered her way out where it was clearer. She could feel Ren's dark gaze on her. Somehow, it felt darker than usual. She looked out at the destruction, panting heavily.

This was going to be a problem.