Wow. How many weekends in a row is this without any major issues? I'm on a roll. Though one of my stray cats I've been domesticating has an injury in its side now. It won't let me get close to catch it and take it to a vet. The other is coming along well and now lets me stroke it but won't come inside yet. I'm determined to adopt these fuckers. They're called Star and Dinky now, because the injured one is pitch black with a tiny white dot on its face and the other is just downright tiny.
Cover Art: Curbizzle
Chapter 37
Everything was under control, it felt to Jaune. He and Nora weren't the best at working together but they were more than good enough to give Emerald a run for her money. They were both tanks, both had heavy aura pools and all they had to do was keep the pressure up and burn her down. The hardest part was averting his eyes from hers and keeping them locked on her midriff so she couldn't catch him in her Semblance. It was under control, though.
The battle was in their favour – which was crazy given that Cinder had two iterations to their one, and Fate wasn't that much stronger than anyone else. He just knew a lot of stuff. The rest of them were evening the odds and even turning them the other way, proving once and for all that they didn't need these other versions of himself to win this. They just needed one of theirs to be alive at the end of it all.
Things were under control.
Until suddenly, they weren't.
The moment came without warning and for once wasn't his fault. The team facing Cinder, a combination of Pyrrha, Weiss, Blake and Fate, continued to push the powerful woman back. Cinder fought like a demon, all spinning blades and fire and hate, but she couldn't handle four people at once and it seemed inevitable she'd run out of aura sooner or later. Not as quick as Null could take theirs away, however.
"Now!" Cinder screamed, lunging for Pyrrha.
It was the shout that had Jaune looking past Emerald, and from his angle he could see that Pyrrha had been caught flat-footed, pushed back from a parry and left open to a sword appearing as if from magic in Cinder's left hand, lunging for her chest. Behind them, Null's eyes flashed gold, Jaune too far away to feel his aura drop but knowing everyone else's had.
Crescent Rose barked the same time that Null jinked to the left – he wasn't fast enough. Blood erupted from his right arm and splashed the floor behind him. Their plan of keeping him from being able to use his Semblance with Ruby's reactions and sniper rifle had worked, but this time Null chose not to cancel his Semblance. He chose to take the shot and risk his life for his chance at victory, much like he had been since day one.
Jaune saw the panic in Pyrrha's eyes, the desperate attempt to bring her sword down, to jump back and to twist away all at once. Her lips peeled back, teeth bared as the sword came closer and closer. Jaune opened his mouth to scream a warning, even if he knew it would be pointless. He wasn't close enough and Pyrrha didn't have time to react.
Another did.
They shouldered Pyrrha violently aside, throwing her to the floor and gargling as Cinder's blade pierced through their chest instead. Fate twitched on the end of her sword, run through. Jaune froze, shocked, along with everyone else. Everyone except Cinder, who wrenched the sword free, spun and flashed across Fate's throat, spraying blood and sending him spinning to the ground. Null's Semblance cut off a second later, just before Ruby's second shot impacted his face and knocked him off his feet. He'd gotten his aura up in time, however.
"FATE!"
It was Yang who screamed, backhanding the injured Null aside and rushing over to the downed iteration. Jaune cursed and looked to Nora, earned a quick nod that she could handle Emerald, and rushed over himself. Fate was their last iteration aside from Hunter, and if they lost all of them-? It wouldn't matter if they could beat Cinder if she won by default. The Gods would declare Salem's victory and end them. Yang was already on her knees, hands clasped over the hole in Fate's neck and trying to stifle the blood that was spraying out past her fingers and running down her hands. Jaune added his own to the wound in his chest, pressing down as he'd been taught in first aid classes but knowing, knowing deep inside, that it wouldn't change anything.
"F-Fucking Pyrrha…" Fate's voice was a wet, gargling, choking thing. He was crying, tears streaming down his face. "A-Always Pyrrha. M-Moved before I could think."
"It'll be okay!" Yang sobbed and pushed down harder, looking like she was trying to strangle him herself. "Use your aura – it'll help you heal!"
"I think I know more about what kills me than you do, Yang," he wheezed. Despite the pain, he managed a bitter smile. "Y-You think this is the first time I've died in your arms?" He coughed a little blood. "B-Better than you dying in mine."
"Live." Jaune hissed. "We need you."
"Don't need me. No one needs me. Us." Fate stared at him, eyes rimmed red and skin already turning pale. "W-We're a curse, Jaune. Y-You and me. Failures. Can't save anyone. I-I couldn't save Pyrrha, n-now I can't save my team. Everything will repeat. Failure after failure."
"Don't say that!" Yang whispered.
"Won't matter." Fate slurred. "Wake up, won't remember, b-back to wishing I could save you. You, Weiss and Blake are going to die and it'll be my fault. Always my fault. C-Couldn't even beat Cinder here with everyone with me. Ha." His laugh caused flecks of blood to splash over Yang's face, stunning her. "D-Don't mourn me. I won't stay dead. G-Gods won't allow it." His eyes moved to Jaune. "A-And you. Me. Don't… Don't…" He closed his eyes, unable to find the words, then settled on, "Don't become me."
Fate's chest rose one last time and then stilled, air whistling out past his lips and Yang's fingers.
Yang's face scrunched up and she slapped Jaune's hands away, planted hers over Fate's chest and began the compressions, slamming down on his chest with both hands. Once, twice, three times, then her lips to his bloody ones, blowing down hard. Fate's chest hardly even expanded, much of the air lost through the ruinous mess his throat had become. That didn't stop Yang trying, tears running down her face as she fought life and death itself.
"He's dead, Yang." Jaune tried to sound comforting. "He's gone."
Cinder was laughing. That monstrous bitch was laughing, shrill and mad like a hyena as she danced away from Pyrrha, Weiss and Blake. The fight hadn't turned completely in her favour but the three of them had taken such a blow to their morale that it might as well have looked that way. They were glancing back, looking to Fate's body and Yang still trying to bring him back, and Jaune could see the doubt, fear and shame in each and every one of them.
They hesitated – and that gave Cinder the chance she needed to slip by and storm toward Ren, who had no choice but to retreat from Null or be pincered between the two. It was the right move. He came rushing over to Ruby, then around to Jaune and Yang, Ruby looking ashen and perhaps even blaming herself for what happened.
Cinder dragged Null up, grasped his wounded shoulder and used her fires to cauterise it. Not an effective method of healing at all but enough to prevent him bleeding out, and that was theoretically all she needed. She just had to keep Null alive until Hunter was killed now. One more iteration on their side, and it was one without aura or any means of protecting himself. Cinder, on the other hand, had two. Ashari had little difficulty disengaging from Winter. She'd kept him busy and that was all they could ask for, but she couldn't kill him. Nora couldn't deal with Emerald alone either and was forced to let her escape.
"It's over." Cinder told them. "You've lost. Perhaps you should think now about where your allegiance should lay. Ozpin has led you all to ruin even when you had the strongest champions by far. Knight? Gone. Leviathan? Gone. Fate? Gone." There was a vindictive curl to her lips at the last. "You've no one left. Oh wait, there's Hunter, isn't there? A pacifistic coward without aura. That's all that stands between me and victory."
"We stand here!" Ruby shouted bravely.
That was all it was. They could have courage all they wanted but they'd already failed to deal with Cinder and lost Fate as a result. Now they were down a fighter and lower on aura than when they started, and while Null was badly injured and forced to use his gun in his left hand, he was still a deadly threat to anyone who got close.
The elevator was behind them, too. Jaune saw it and shouted "Stop her!" but it was too late. Though Ren, Nora and Pyrrha all opened fire, there was no way to realistically stop Cinder and her group diving into the elevator and riding it up. They didn't need to stay anymore after all – they'd gotten what they'd come for. Not the maiden she wanted so badly, but the last of their fighting iterations. Now she just had to find and kill Hunter.
Jaune staggered to his feet. "We have to go after her. When it comes back down. We-" He noticed everyone's defeated expressions. "Guys, what are you hanging around for? Come on!"
"What's the point?" Blake asked. "We've lost our iterations. They're all dead."
"Hunter-"
"Is dead the moment Cinder or Null sees him." Weiss snarled. "And we couldn't even prevent her killing Fate in front of us. Null's Semblance is too much. We have to fight for minutes to wear their aura down, but he can get one of us killed in the span of two seconds. Fate was dead before Ruby could load a second shot." None of that was wrong. They had failed, and Ironwood and Ozpin had trusted in them. Things were bad, worse than they'd ever been, but they weren't about to get any better.
"We don't have a choice but to keep trying." Jaune argued. "If we do nothing, she wins and Salem ends this world. If we're going to die anyway then we might as well die fighting. And the others can help us."
"What others!?" Yang snapped. She'd given up on Fate but punched the ground furiously, screaming as her eyes flashed red. "Where are the fucking others? This is Beacon! There are, like, a hundred or more teams here. Why are none of them helping us? Why is it just our teams against the end of the fucking world!? Why didn't Ozpin have an army of students – or fuck, an army of real huntsmen – ready to defend us?"
"Ironwood brought an army." Pyrrha said. "It wasn't enough."
"Then we should have had two. All these transfers, everyone that was here for the Vytal Festival. They can fight. Why aren't they fighting?" Yang pounded the ground again. "Why does it have to be us sweating and bleeding? Why, in a thousand lifetimes, is it all on one idiot's shoulders!?"
She meant Fate, Jaune knew, but it felt like it could apply to their current situation as well. The iterations had been summoned to them but that didn't mean they should have been the only ones active here. Cinder had summoned Null but it had been her to kill Fate. No one mandated that Jaune should face Jaune, or if the Brother Gods had then it had been quickly ignored by Salem's side. Ozpin should have ignored it as well. Even now, it was them risking their lives against Cinder when it should have been an army of students, an army of huntsmen and then Ironwood's army on top. In wanting to keep everything secret and limit the panic, Ozpin may well have doomed the whole world.
"We've lost." Blake said. "This is out our hands now. There's an army out there – a literal army for crying out loud. And Vale has huntsmen. Ozpin, Goodwitch, Port and Oobleck. Let them fight her. We're first years. Why are we the ones stuck doing this?"
"Because-" a voice interrupted, "-you're the ones here in the moment."
The man that stepped out from behind the pillars wore his face and set Jaune's hackles rising. Weapons were drawn and pointed, but the man with Ozpin's cane and a singed blue coat raised his hands in surrender. He wasn't smiling anymore.
"I think we need to have a discussion."
/-/
Emerald was panting for air as they rode the elevator up. Her body was burning from her difficult fight with two of the enemy, but she imagined it was nothing compared to what Cinder felt. Against four people, one of whom was a champion summoned by the gods, she had come out victorious. The woman was leaning back against the elevator wall, eyes closed as she gathered herself, but in Emerald's eyes she looked majestic.
"What now, ma'am?"
"Now we find Hunter and kill him. Then, victory is mine."
"And Salem?"
"Won't have a say in the matter now that Grimm is out the picture."
Emerald nodded. She'd always been loyal to Cinder over Salem, not that she'd even known Salem existed until this business with the Gods. What little she'd seen of the monstrous woman didn't fill her with confidence either. If Salem wanted to destroy the world, then Emerald wasn't sure she wanted that result. Cinder's dreams of power, while selfish to some, would at least leave Emerald alive and on a planet to enjoy her life.
"And Headmaster…?"
"He hasn't been seen since the tower went down. He was likely killed by Ozpin."
"Overconfidence is dangerous." Ashari said. "You should keep an eye on that."
"It's not overconfidence if victory is firmly within my grasp, is it?" Cinder stepped out the elevator as she said that. "But you're right, Ashari, it wouldn't do for me to take any undue risks so close to my victory." Cinder snapped her fingers. "Null."
Emerald both felt the drop of their aura and heard the beep of her scroll warning her. That was all, however, as Null's eyes flashed and his gun snapped up aimed directly at her face. Emerald's eyes widened, her mouth opening in a confused little o as he pulled the trigger.
/-/
"Please," Headmaster said. "I come in peace."
"You're anything but an ally!" Winter snapped. "You set this up, robbed us of power, started this running battle and have cost us everything. Give me one good reason not to kill you right here and now."
"I'll give you two. Firstly, you would let Cinder escape. Secondly, you would hand victory in this war to her."
"We've heard this one before." Ren said. He sounded as angry as the rest of them felt. "Fate pulled it – the give me the wish trick. It didn't go well for him."
"Is that what you want?" Yang demanded. "You orchestrate this, let our allies die and then put yourself forward as the last one remaining? At least Fate had the guts to do his dirty work himself. How long were you watching and waiting?"
"Long enough."
"You son of a-"
Blake held Yang back. "Don't. He's goading you."
"I'm really not," the older man said, "And I don't enjoy anything I've had to do. I could give you my reasons, my motives, but you wouldn't understand them and they'd take too long. All I can say is that I don't want Cinder to win this thing."
That might have been enough at the start of everything when trust was high and everyone wanted to fight the good fight, but they were so defeated and spent. Exhaustion had set in alongside helplessness and Fate's death hadn't helped matters. Cinder had always been dangerous, but she'd never seemed so overwhelming as when she had both Null and Ashari on her side, and when they had no one. Not an iteration, not Ironwood, not Ozpin or Glynda – just Winter Schnee tyring her best to even the odds.
"Where were you?" Ruby asked him.
"I was always close by."
"Then why didn't you help?"
"I'm not of this world." Headmaster said slowly. "None of us are. I don't think any of us should be interfering in what is supposed to be your battle. Cinder and Salem would be a threat without the Gods intervening and they'll probably remain one after. If we solve all your problems then you won't be ready to face them when this is all over. Those were my thoughts anyway."
"Whose side are you on?" Ren asked.
"Yours."
"Then why didn't you join our side from the start?"
"Because that would be playing into the Brother Gods' plans. That's what they want, and that's why I refused to." Headmaster sighed. "Look, this war won't end as long as I'm still here and alive. Cinder is going to come for me once she realises I didn't die in the tower."
Blake's eyes narrowed. "You faked your death."
"Guilty as charged. I know Cinder. I know how she thinks. I know all of you as well, and I know you're all more than good enough to beat her. This…" He indicated Fate. "This isn't your fault. There's little you can do against Null."
"There's even less they can do now." Winter said. The proud woman looked back at her sister and their teams and sighed. "But I will go with you."
"Winter!" Weiss protested. "No. He can't be trusted."
"No one we have left can, Weiss, and I am a soldier. General Ironwood's last orders to me were to fight and prevent Salem claiming victory in this war. It matters not his motives or what he has done. If he can provide another chance to deny Salem, I must take it. That said…" She looked back to them. "You do not need to come."
"They do." Headmaster said.
"No!" Winter glared at him. "They are right in their complaints. This should not be their responsibility. I am a solider – I have training and experience. They are first year students. Remnant plays host to hundreds of huntsmen and huntresses who should be here doing this. They have tried their hardest, worn themselves down and lost many of their own. Asking more of them at this point is-"
"More will be asked of them in times to come." Headmaster looked to the teams as he said it. He looked to his younger self especially. "You've heard the stories of the various other versions of your friend there. None of us have had what can be called easy lives. That goes the same for the alternate versions of yourselves living in those worlds. I'm not sure if there's such a thing as an easy way out for Team RWBY, JNPR, RVNN or whatever you call yourselves across the multiverse. Call it destiny, bad luck or a pair of interfering gods if you want, but this…?" He looked to them and Fate. "This is par for the course."
It was not the inspiring speech it could have been and Team RWBY and JNPR only looked more worn down than they had been before. He was asking too much, he knew. They'd given their all and tried their hardest and been beaten, and now they'd accepted that they just weren't ready for this. And in all fairness, they weren't. They were first years who hadn't even had their chance to compete and learn in the Vytal Festival.
Headmaster waited, but none of them volunteered, and it was with a grimace that he turned away and walked to the elevator with Winter hurrying to catch up. "You expect too much from them," she said. He knew they weren't friends and simply allies of convenience, much like they and Fate had been, but now the stakes were greater still. "They're first years."
"That won't stop Ozpin and Salem dragging them into their war. It would have happened even without this battle royale." They couldn't afford to waste more time convincing them, however. If his plan really had failed… well, all he could do now was try to see it through. "Leave Null to me. I have a surprise waiting for him."
"I'm to deal with Ashari, Emerald and Cinder, then?"
The elevator doors opened on the ground floor and Headmaster Arc breathed out suddenly. "No. It doesn't look like you are."
Emerald was on her knees, shocked and silent with Ashari draped over her, his arms around her shoulders and his body covering hers as if shielding her. There were four large red holes in his back and his long hair fell over Emerald's shoulder. The girl looked too shocked to move, too shocked to even react as they stepped out the elevator and past her. Her own smaller hands were holding Ashari, though she continued to stare into the distance.
"Is he-?"
"Cinder doesn't accept competition." Headmaster said. "It's probably the same reason she sent Grimm to his death against Knight. She and Fate were of similar minds, if not similar willingness to kill those who hold you dear." He tugged Winter away from Emerald. "Leave her. The poor girl isn't going to be a problem."
"He saved me…" Emerald whispered. He didn't think it was aimed at them, more to herself. "He… He said he loved me…"
It was as uncomfortable a sigh as any Winter had seen. Ashari had claimed… well, whatever he had claimed didn't matter now with his death, but such an ignoble end felt less than righteous. He hadn't harmed her and had even attempted to give them a way to recruit him to their side in his own way. Though Headmaster was trying to draw her away, she shook his arm off and knelt by the girl, touching her shoulder. The girl's eyes met hers.
"He told me he was your father in his world." Winter watched the girl's eyes widen. "He adopted you, loved you, and decided from the moment he was summoned here that he would give up the wish to try and protect you." Winter's smile was fragile. In a way, in a sense, she supposed this girl was her adopted daughter in another world as well. It was difficult to imagine. "Looking at him now, I think he would have been happy he accomplished that goal. Live. Survive for him, live a good life, and I'm sure he'll be proud of you."
"Winter!"
"I'm coming." Winter let the girl go with a sad expression. Enemy or not, it was never good seeing someone reduced to this, and Cinder had so easily thrown her away. The worst part was that this was objectively a good thing for them. Now it was the two of them against Null and Cinder, which was a far more manageable fight. "The girl was loyal to her. I don't understand why Cinder would risk defeat to be rid of her."
"It's Cinder," he said as if that explained everything. Perhaps it did for him. "Calling it a risk implies she considers it such. From her point of view, victory is hers. Even if I'm alive, it'll only take Null one second to kill me."
"Are you sure you can win?"
Headmaster stared ahead. "I'm confident I can complete my objective."
Right. I'm off outside with a cat box and some treats to try and lure Star inside. I think it's just a cut in its side, not a broken leg or anything, but given it lives in the nearby barn it could get infected. They no longer fight anymore since I've been feeding and playing with them together so I doubt it was caused by Dinky or any of my cats, and my dog literally lays down between them waiting for food so I know she wouldn't hurt them. Dinky rubs against Kali all the time.
Next Chapter: 13th August
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