Ch. 49
A year and a half earlier….
On a dirt road in the middle of nowhere, Amber was traveling alone. She had been alone for quite some time, as there weren't many she could trust. She was told that other people couldn't know about her power, that they aren't ready to know. She was also told that some wished to take her power and use it for their own ends. She stayed out of sight…most of the time, but she never regretted helping someone in need.
As the girl continued to walk, she caught sight of something ahead of her on the road. She drew closer to it and found a bald man sprawled face down on the ground. She rushed over to him and turned him over. His skin was pale, and blood stained the edges of his mouth, his forehead, his nose, and his eyes. She checked his pulse. It was weak.
"Don't worry. I'm going to get you to safety."
She was prepared to prop him up when he suddenly grabbed her shirt. He paused, then pulled her face close to his. He screeched in her face, his eyes and mouth opened unnaturally wide as a blinding light emitted from them. This lasted for a few seconds, but it was enough to temporarily blind and disorientate Amber.
This was the best moment to strike.
Corvus came from above with a downward strike, but Amber felt a sense of danger and jumped back at the last second. The ground cracked under the weight of Corvus' might. Amber tossed her cloak to the side and brandished her staff. Corvus screamed as he rushed towards her with his chainsword revving. Amber used her staff to knock the chainsword away, then spun and pointed the red jewel at its end at the White Fang's stomach and blasted him with fire. Although, this did not deter him and he grabbed her face, then slammed her into the ground headfirst. He held his weapon above the maiden to stab into her. Amber wasn't down for the count yet though. She used her powers to blast Corvus with a strong column of wind. He was sent flying into the air, then landed on his feet with his grip on his weapon still strong. Amber got to her feet with her hands raised and blasted him with a funnel of air once more. Corvus stabbed his chainsword into the ground to keep himself from being blown away again. Then, Adam entered the fray. He ran across the field, jumped into the air, and drop-kicked Amber in her side. She fell onto her back. Adam unsheathed a metal case from his belt and tossed it to his comrade. Corvus dropped his old weapon and caught the case, which then expanded into a war hammer. It had a long shaft and a heavy head with a large blade sitting on the back of the head.
Amber suddenly sat up, her eyes glowing and the wind rising around her. She flew up into the air and created a massive windstorm around the area. With a swipe of her hand, a flurry of wind blades rained down. Both Adam and Corvus jumped back as the blades cut deep into the ground with explosive force. Adam fired his rifle several times, but the bullets bounced off Amber's reinforced aura. She fired several concentrated bullets of air at Adam, and he blocked each with his blade. Meanwhile, Corvus charged toward her once more. Amber caused the ground under him to explode in a geyser of air. This sent him up into the air in her direction. Corvus aimed, then threw his hammer at the girl. She surrounded herself in an orb of air in defense. Although, the hammer ruptured the orb with a kinetic shockwave on impact. Amber was sent flying toward the ground from the attack. She looked up to see the two faunus sprinting towards her. Adam got to her first. He slashed at her, creating afterimages with each strike, but she blocked or dodged each strike. They began trading blows until Amber sent Adam back with a kick to his chest. Corvus came next. Amber flipped over him and aimed a downward axe kick for Adam's head. He stepped to the side and slashed at her. Amber deflected it and jabbed at Adam's face. He ducked, spun around, and elbowed her in the stomach. He then fired his rifle, hitting the maiden in the face with the pommel of his blade. He then jumped back as Corvus appeared behind Amber, holding his hammer like a baseball bat. He let loose and hit her side. The shockwave sent her tumbling across the ground. She lay in the dirt next to her staff as Adam and Corvus drew closer. Amber managed to get into a kneeling position. Her vision was blurry, and her head was pounding but she wasn't ready to give up yet. She swung her arm and emitted a wide air blast. Corvus was knocked away. Adam on the other hand had launched into the air. Right after he landed, he activated his semblance. All the reds on his body began to glow while a part of the area around him darkened. He dashed around Amber, leaving after images to confuse her. She tried to pinpoint where Adam would strike, but he was just too fast. Suddenly, he appeared in front of her, ready to kill her, but with the last of her strength, Amber managed to thrust her right first forward toward Adam's chest. A compressed burst of air pressure punched a hole through Adam's chest. He stood there for a second, as if frozen in time, then disappeared.
SLASH!
Amber slumped to the ground, unconscious. Her left arm had been severed and blood began to pool from the wound. Adam, who had been behind her, walked closer to the fallen maiden. He sheathed his sword and took off his right glove. What should've been a normal hand was now covered in black scales with red claws. He stabbed his claws into Amber's torso. Their auras glowed as he absorbed not only her maiden power but also every ounce of her strength and her aura. When he was done. He withdrew his claws and put his glove back on.
Corvus rejoined his comrade with his hammer sheathed to his side. Adam gave him a reassuring nod, which Corvus returned.
CRACK!
Much to Adam's shock, Amber's body began to contort violently before a dark writhing mass erupted from it. A dark wind enveloped Adam and the mass, cutting them off from Corvus and the outside world. The mass slowly took shape: A woman with deathly white skin and angry red and black eyes. Adam gripped his sword tightly as his heart raced. Salem let out a loud, inhuman screech before she swooped down to take his life.
GAH!
Adam awoke from his nightmare, in the present day, covered in sweat and the sound of his heart beating in his ears. He checked the time. It was five in the morning. He got out of bed and put on a pair of black sweatpants with his symbol on his right thigh. He was still in his room, in the large tent that his comrades had set up. He walked out of his personal space into the main room of the tent: the command center. In the middle was a table with a large map of Remnant on it. On the walls of the tent were maps of various cities on Remnant. Boxes of supplies and several weapons littered the floor. Standing at the table was Desmond. He was wearing a light red shirt with shorts and surveying the map of Remnant with determined eyes.
"Can't sleep, little brother?" Adam asked as he approached.
"Not really," Desmond answered. "I've been thinking about our plans…..and her plans."
"You can say her name, Des. It's not like she can hear you."
"That bitch thinks she has the upper hand here! If she wasn't as powerful as she was-"
"Calm down. We may have an alliance with Salem, but our goal is to create a world where the faunus can truly be respected and thrive."
"But the humans don't fear us. Were just criminals to them."
"They do fear us. Just not all of them."
"Then we're not doing enough! We should double our efforts before the final strike in Vale."
"If we do too much, we will wear our soldiers down. Everyone here is a volunteer. The soldiers you sent out to lure that herd of Grimm, weren't volunteers. You shouldn't force our people into such a position."
"You say that now, but some of our men have had to force people into our ranks to keep numbers up in certain areas of the world. And others have left us because they no longer have faith in our goal anymore."
Adam frowned. "I admit, I'm not the best High Leader. There is always something going on behind my back, and I can be biased when it comes to punishment, but if anyone wishes to leave then that is fine with me if they don't give our plans to the enemy. That's why I didn't stop Tukson when he quit. I mainly care for those who stay. Although, the humans and traitors are fair game. The other Lieutenants, if I can even call some of them that, were going to act independently of my orders from the start. Everyone has their mindset, and when given the power they have room to exploit their roles. I could put them in their place, make them fear me, make them wish they had never crossed me, but then I'd be just like Salem."
"I…understand," Desmond said begrudgingly. "So, what should I do now?"
"You could go back to sleep. Or," Adam handed his weapon to Desmond, "You can come with me for a little exercise."
Desmond smiled. "Bet."
The Taurus brothers got dressed and headed to the surface of Mountain Glenn. There were plenty of Grimm around, but they still managed to travel unnoticed up to the roof of one of the more intact buildings. The night was clear, and the moon was full. The area was bathed in moonlight, which allowed the faunus to see the city.
"So, you're going to let me practice with Wilt and Blush?" Desmond asked as he marveled at the weapon in his hands.
"Of course. If something happens to me, I want you to be able to use it," Adam told him.
Adam then went over to a pile of rocks nearby and kicked at it. The topmost rocks tumbled, revealing a long weapon case that was hidden underneath. Adam laid the case on the ground and opened it. Inside was a katana in a gunmetal grey sheath. Part of the sheath had a rifle mechanism with a loaded magazine and a trigger located under the sword's hilt. Adam picked up the weapon and unsheathed it. The blade was red, just like his former one. Adam then sheathed the blade and placed it on his hip.
"Muramasa, a dust folded katana. It doesn't dull, nor will it break. I made a request a few years back to a supplier I met in Vacuo, and now it has come to fruition," Adam said to his little brother.
"Wow. How much did you spend on that? Putting the White Fang's expenses to good use I see."
"No. I was planning on getting the money by stealing it from the Schnees or selling some of the dust we'd stolen, but I had my stash. The supplier gave me the skeleton of his work and I paid him with my own money for what he had done, then gave it to Verrukter to finish."
"So, this is also a test run?"
"Of course," Adam said with a smile. "And here's our first run."
Down on the street below, the brothers caught sight of a massive pack of Grimm that included five ghouls at the pack's head. It looked as if the Ghouls were herding them together. Both ghouls then began puking black fluid on the ground until it pooled around them. They stepped back from the center as wisps of dark purple energy began to emanate from the pool. The Ghouls howled as four small yellow creatures slowly flew out of the pool. They had mouths filled with jagged teeth, no eyes or limbs besides a long tail, and flew through the air as if swimming through water. They began circling the center of the pool and singing a rather horrible chorus as the pool began to bubble.
Desmond started to get goosebumps. "We need to stop that!"
"Wait!" Adam screamed, but it was too late as Desmond had already reached ground level. The boy began to dodge and slash his way through several Grimm before reaching the Ghouls. The Ghouls fired a wide ray of dark energy at Desmond. He had no time or room to dodge and immediately stabbed his sword into the ground. A large concrete slab shot up in front of him, blocking the wave. Although, the continuous wave began to slowly break away at the concrete. Adam jumped into the fray and slashed the lower jaw off two of the Ghouls. One of the other Ghouls prepared to blast Adam, but a flaming spear pierced its chest. Then, every Grimm nearby and the yellow creatures were pierced by flame spears, either killing them outright or pinning them to the ground. Realizing what this was, Adam ran over to Desmond.
"Des, make a dome. Now!"
"Wha-?"
"NOW!"
Desmond then covered himself and his brother with a large thick dome of concrete. Outside, all the spears lit up before exploding. The Taurus brothers braced themselves as their protection was bombarded by the explosions and the ground shook. This lasted for a moment before Desmond waved his hand and the barrier broke down. All around them the ground was blackened and littered with craters with several fires raging around them. All the Grimm were destroyed, the yellow creatures turned to ash, and the dark pool they rose from dissipated.
"What the hell was that?" Desmond asked.
Adam frowned. "Oh no…"
From above, a ball of fire descended and hit the ground several yards away from them. The area was covered in golden red flame, and in the middle was a tall woman in white knight armor. It was sleek and covered her entire body. It had three diamond-shaped golden jewels decorating it: one on the forehead of her helmet, one on her chest above her breasts, and the last right below her breasts. She held a white shield in her right hand that was half her body length and a white straight sword covered in flame. White wing-like wisps emanated from her back.
"So, my contact was correct. This is where you were hiding," the woman said.
"Who is that?" Desmond asked
"Victoria….the summer maiden," Adam grunted. "She was supposed to be our next target."
"Target? Oh, don't even entertain the thought. You are not worthy enough to defeat someone as righteous as I."
"Three buildings to our right," Adam whispered.
Desmond kept his eyes on Victoria and nodded.
"Do me a favor and don't try escaping. I want to make this quick." Victoria then raised her sword. A large fireball formed at the end of it and flew toward the faunus. Desmond countered by stomping on the ground. He erected a massive mound of concrete in front of them. The fireball hit the mound, creating a huge explosion of dust. Victoria used her 'wings' to swoop toward them. She cleared the smoke with a swing of her sword, but the brothers were already gone.
"This is very unexpected," Desmond stated as he and Adam sat down. "Who the hell told her we were here?!"
Adam sighed. "My first guess would be the Xiong Family. They have ways of gathering information and will sell it to the highest bidder. I wanted more time to prepare for Victoria. She is without a doubt the strongest out of all four maidens in terms of raw power output."
They were sitting against a broken wall on the second floor of a nearby building. They were next to a hole, which had a clear view of the street below. Adam peeked around and saw Victoria walking down the street. A small pack of Beowulves lunged at her from different buildings. An aura of flame burst from her body and the Grimm quickly disintegrated. Adam shivered at the thought of being turned to ash.
"So, what now?" Desmond asked. "Can we take her?"
"Corvus and I tried taking her down once about two years ago. We lost fifty soldiers that day. We've only been observing her ever since."
"I remember that day. You came back carrying Corvus with a cauterized slash on his chest. There were also five other soldiers who he got to safety, each suffering burns of their own. He wanted revenge so badly."
Adam nodded. "I'm glad he doesn't know she's here. Knowing Corvus for so long, if he saw her he'd lose his call. I won't allow that to happen. We'll try to incapacitate her at least."
"Are we going all out?"
"Yes. Outmaneuver her as best we can."
Adam jumped down, and as he landed, he slashed at the ground and let loose a warped, violent, unstable burst of energy that traveled across the ground. Victoria turned as the attack struck. A great deal of dust was kicked up from the blast, but when it was settled Victoria still stood strong with her shield in front of her.
"Finally, you have come out of hiding. But what hope do you have against me, the Holy Flame Saint-"
Before she even finished talking, Adam was upon her. Victoria had moved her shield out of the way in favor of monologuing, giving the faunus the opening he wanted. He used Moonslice to perform an upward slash. Victoria was hit by a wide burst of energy that sent her crashing into the third floor of a nearby building.
"Victoria Armstrong. Regarded as one of the most powerful huntresses to have walked Remnant. But you're also a self-entitled bitch with a bone to pick with our kind. Holy Flame Saint? That title doesn't suit you."
There was an explosion of fire as the maiden burst from the building. She aimed to stab Adam, but he dashed to his right and kicked Victoria's shield. She stood her ground as she skidded back from the force of the blow. She blasted Adam with a fireball, which he blocked with his blade. He then flipped over Victoria, dodging a shield bash. He fired his rifle several times. The first two bullets bounced off her armor, but the last one stuck on her back and exploded. The explosion threw Victoria forward into a waiting Desmond. He smiled at the maiden before he struck her in the chin with an aura-enhanced kick. Victoria flipped backward and landed on her stomach. After a few seconds of silence, her head shot up and she glared at Desmond. The right side of her helmet had shattered, revealing her golden eyes, pink hair, and fair skin. She flicked her hand in Desmond's direction. The ground under his feet lit up and erupted in fire and molten stone. Desmond managed to create a shield of orange energy in front of him but was thrown through a concrete wall. She then blasted Adam with a narrow beam of fire. He unsheathed his blade in time to block.
Victoria slowly got to her feet. "I refuse to be tossed around by these animals like this. I'm sorry Ozpin, but I wish to give this battle everything I have."
She was quickly consumed in a pillar of flame. Adam sheathed his blade and ran over to his brother's location. He dashed through a hole in the wall and found Desmond on his knees. A dark aura surrounded his arms and legs. He grunted, then shouted as the aura solidified. His arms and legs were now covered in violet-black scaly flesh. Desmond stood up and gazed at his body in wonder. He felt stronger.
"Brother, what is this?"
"It's the fruits of your training with Bantus. It seems all you needed was a good push," Adam explained. "It's only a moderate boost in power, but it will make this battle much easier."
Adam's aura fluctuated and soon he too had the same scaly skin on his arm and legs, but it also covered his neck and part of his cheeks. Desmond smiled as he felt as if he had somewhat closed the power gap between them. But their moment was cut short when the wall they were standing near disintegrated. Before them stood Victoria at full strength, her aura now forming a flaming crown over her head.
"Die."
Both Desmond and Adam dashed away as the area where they previously stood exploded in a geyser of flame. It breached several floors, and the building began to collapse on itself. Desmond sprinted towards another building and ran up the side but was caught short when a javelin made of fire hit the concrete in front of him. Desmond jumped from the building and shielded himself as the javelin exploded. Meanwhile, Victoria dashed out of the rubble toward Adam. She made multiple quick stabs at him. He parried most but was cut several times, he then managed to kick her in the head. The rest of her helmet was broken, but she quickly regained her posture. On the other hand, most of Adam's right shoe had been burned off and he had a gash on his right shoulder and the left side of his abdomen. He ripped off both of his shoes, revealing his feet were partially covered in scales and had black claws. Desmond rejoined the battle.
The Taurus brothers nodded.
Adam unleashed a wave of Moonslice, which Victoria countered with a flame wave. Desmond attacked Victoria from her left. He swung his sword at her, but she blocked his attack and blasted him with a heat flare. Adam then slid behind the maiden and swept her off her feet with a low kick. She stuck her hand into the ground and brought one leg down to crush Adam's head. The faunus sidestepped the attack and slashed at Victoria. She parried his blade with her sword and blocked another slash attack from Desmond at the same time using her arm. The brothers began pushing against her and she barely budged, but her armaments weren't as resilient. Adam's sword began cutting into her blade and Desmond's sword, empowered by his aura, cut into her armor and drew blood. The blood dissolved immediately as it touched the surface of her armor. Noticing this, Victoria pushed her opponents away with a pulse of fire and covered herself in a dome. Adam hit the dome with two slashes of his semblance. Both attacks cut openings in the dome where he could briefly see Victoria trying to heal the wound Desmond made on her arm before the dome sealed itself.
Adam jogged around the dome to check on Desmond, only to find him crouched on the ground. His aura glowed as he focused his energy into his left arm. He had his hand pointed straight at the dome. An aura blade formed around his hand.
HAH!
Desmond thrust his arm forward as fast and strongly as he could. He briefly created an elongated, spear-shaped, aura construct that shot through Victoria's dome. They heard her scream as the dome began to light up, forcing Adam and Desmond to shield their eyes. A moment later, all that was left in front of them was a smoldering crater.
Desmond looked confused. "Suicide?"
"She escaped," Adam concluded. "She has a strong drive to survive. No way would she just off herself."
"So, what now?"
"We accelerate our plans. With Victoria knowing where we are and how close she came to defeat; she'll resort to calling upon other huntsmen. We can't afford to let them stop us."
XXXXXXX
DING!
Ozpin walked out of the elevator of Beacon Tower. It was sunset, and he wanted to retire to his private quarters. He trekked across campus to the teacher's quarters, a part of campus where each professor lives in a two-bedroom townhome. As Ozpin headed towards his home, he spotted Oobleck playing with a black-headed tricolor Corgi with gray eyes. The dog had a red collar with a gold pendant.
"Good evening, Bartholomew."
"Greetings Professor Ozpin! Having a nice day I see?" Oobleck replied in his usual hyperactive tone.
"Indeed," Ozpin replied. "And who is this fine fellow?"
Ozpin kneeled, allowing Zwei to run up to him and happily bark. Ozpin rubbed his head and checked the pendant on his collar.
"It is a pleasure to meet you Zwei."
"He is a very intelligent specimen. He even knows how to open his own canned food. Extraordinary! I wonder how Ms. Rose and Ms. Xiao Long managed to teach their dog such things."
"Maybe they have the magic touch, or at least Taiyang does," Ozpin said. "Well, I'm due for a long nap. Have a good day Bartholomew."
"Same to you sir!"
Ozpin soon made it to his abode and opened the door with his scroll. He went upstairs to his room. It was a white bed with a light green blanket and a dark brown wooden backboard. He undressed, and then put on a dark green pajama shirt and black pajama pants. He folded his clothes and went downstairs into the living area. The living room was plain but nicely furnished. There was an L-shaped grey couch and grey chairs with black wooden frames. The walls were green with a flat-screen television hanging on the wall across the room from the couch. There was also a sliding door with light gray curtains leading to a small back porch. In the middle of the room was a small table with an ornate tea set. Ozpin was about to reach for the teapot when there was a knock on the sliding door. Ozpin stopped and slowly pulled the curtains open. Standing on the back porch was Abaddon with Victoria. She was nude and covered in bruises, cuts, and blood. She had a chunk missing from her right torso and her right arm was gone somewhat below her shoulder. Both wounds had been cauterized, but not completely treated. Abaddon held her in his arms, his clothes stained with some of her blood.
"Abaddon, what are you-?"
"I've been keeping her stable Ozpin, and I healed what I could, but we need to bring her inside. I would bring her to my dorm, but I don't want to risk her condition. Hurry up and open the door!"
Ozpin opened the sliding door for Abaddon to walk in. Ozpin quickly rushed down the hall. He went upstairs and opened his linen closet to grab a green blanket and a few white hand towels. Then he went back downstairs and placed the blanket on the couch. Abaddon laid Victoria down. Ozpin went down the hall into the kitchen and came back with a folded wet towel. He placed it on Victoria's forehead. She was breathing quickly, and her eyes were half open.
"Oz…" she muttered.
Ozpin took her remaining hand in his. He closed his eyes and began using his magic. His aura glowed and connected with Victoria's. He connected to her magic to accelerate her healing. Abaddon watched as her wounds quickly healed back to normal, but her missing arm stayed the same. Victoria's breathing settled, and she fully closed her eyes as she fell asunder.
The headmaster sighed. "Abaddon….we should talk over tea."
