The once desolate streets of Kuroyuri echoed with the sound of Gunfire and the roar of the ancient evil that had made the forest surrounding the once-bustling village it's home. A nightmare that had plagued the mind of one Lie Ren since he was but a boy, a creature he had hoped to never lay eyes on again for as long as he lived.
He'd hoped they'd been quicker, that they'd managed to stay ahead of the Grimm, that they could warn the others and slip away before they were discovered, they'd failed, and now it was as if his life had come full circle, back here in the remnants of his home facing down the very creature that had taken his home, the lives of his parents...a chance at a normal life.
For him and for Nora, not that it mattered anymore that time had come and gone, all that mattered now, was survival.
"Go, go, go, go!" Nora called out to her teammates as she fired off a small barrage of grenades towards the elder Grimm, the rider's body twitched to the side, its left arm stretching out to an almost impossible length, the Knuckleeve lashed out towards the oncoming barrage, swatting the grenades aside and into a nearby building.
The subsequent explosion sent the upper walls and roof of the building crashing down on itself, a thick plume of smoke rising into the darkened sky above. "What about uncle Qrow!?" Twirling Crescent Rose, she angled the barrel of her weapon down and fire launching herself back and away from the jagged hand that lashed out towards her.
"Pyrrha can protect him, focus on the battle." Adam called back to her, slashing at the incoming limb severing two of its fingers with his Power Axe, rolling back from a follow-up swipe the base of the axe hid slid forward shifting the weapon into its cannon variant, taking aim he fired the energy bolt striking the horse in its upper chest, punching through the bone carapace and out its back narrowly missing the rider, the horse stumbled to the left crashing through the remains of a small stale, its rider whipped its head back unleashing an agonized screech.
Taking their chance Ren and Ruby shifted their weapons into their ranged forms and opened fire, their shots peppering the Grimm upper body and the massive arms it brought over its chest in an attempt to shield itself from the oncoming fire, the horse for its part roared in fury and began charging toward them, its head tucked down to its chest in an attempt to minimize the oncoming damage.
"I think we made it mad." Nora called out, shifting her weapon back into its hammer variant in preparation for the melee to come.
"That was the idea." Adam replied earning a startled look from the red-haired bomber, sheathing his power axe across his back. "Now let's put some distance between this thing and the others." Adam turned and sprinted off back down the path towards the gate leading into the outer ring of the city, the remaining members of RRVN following close behind, the quicker they got this thing away from Qrow then the fewer chances there were of him and Pyrrha being caught in the crossfire.
Uncrossing its arms, the Nuckelavee's rider whipped its arms out to the side snatching up debris as it passed before whipping them forward hurling the human-sized boulders towards the retreating group of huntsmen and lone Ranger. The group split down the middle out of the path of a boulder that crashed down between them, while the second skipped off the cobblestone path in front of them crashing through one of the interior gates support beams.
The gate buckled, the rotting support beam splintering under its own weight as the four passed beneath it, the archway toppled in on itself blocking the way behind them, the Grimm paid the crumbling structure no mind never once breaking its stride its prey was still within its grasp and it would not allow them to slip away so easily, crossing its arms over its chest and head once more the Knuckaleev whipped its arms out in an arc smashing through the falling debris and into the narrow streets of the outer village.
Its arrival was accompanied by a fresh barrage of sniper fire from a roof to its right, the riders head snapping toward the silver-eyed girl perched on a crumbling rooftop its arm lashed out towards her, Ruby's body disappeared into a cloud of rose petals that slipped between the Nuckelavee's fingers sailing, through the air the young huntress re-formed on a cross beam of the collapsed roof to her right, pulling back the bolt on Crescent rose she resumed her barrage the rider-raised its left arm once more her rounds bouncing harmlessly off the armored plates coating its forearm.
Her teammates and Adam rushing the grim from below, ren and Nora broke off from the Black Ranger, the green-clad ninja circling around to its left a trail of shell casing left in his wake as he fired several dozen shots from Storm Flower, impacting the horse front shoulder and trailing along in an arc down across its side, the riders head snapped towards him its free arm lashing out at Ren.
Pushing his aura into his legs Ren flipped over the clawed hand that stabbed down into the ground where he once stood, switching his weapon to its bladed variant mid-air, he slashed at the Grimm's forearm, his daggers having little effect on the Grimm's armored plates, narrowing his eyes as he landed he switched his weapon back into its pistol form and took aim at the Riders exposed torso, the Grimm's eyes pulsed, twisting its body back the Rider wrenched its limb free from the cobblestone path and swept it to the side knocking Ren's feet out from under him, before swiftly slapping it's clawed hand down on his chest pinning him to the floor, its claws granting against his aura.
Though before it could begin reeling in its prize, an infuriated roar sounded from the Knuckaleeve's left. "Renny!" Nora cried out to her partner as she leapt towards the Grimm's exposed back, Magnhiled reared back and ready to strike "Hands off my m-eugh!" Whipping its left arm back the Rider swatted the Red-Haired bomber into the air, Nora's world flipped and twisted as she sailed through the air a flash of red entered her gaze accompanied by a familiar voice calling her name, before her body crashed down through the roof of a crumbling house and into the remains of what she could assume was a bedroom.
Pushing herself up Nora glanced towards the opening in the roof above gripped the side of her head "Ow~" She groaned her aura flickering around her body, as the sounds of combat grew from outside.
"Nora!" Ruby called down from the opening above.
"I'm good!" The red-haired bomber called back snatching Magnhild up off the ground she stepped towards the decaying wall across from her, peering through one of the openings into the street outside, she caught sight of the Knuckaleev dragging its left arm and her partner with it across the cobblestone street towards the now Morphed Black Ranger weaving in and out of the path of its remaining arm that lashed out towards him like a bullwhip.
Snarling she shifted her weapon into its hammer form, giving the wall a quick slap, she stepped back the grenade cylinder rotated slotting a Dust grenade into the head of her hammer, narrowing her eyes she stepped forward and swung, the impact and combined explosion of the grenade, blew out the wall in its entirety sending shards of wood, fragmented metal and stone towards the eldritch terror.
The horse rose on its back legs as its left side was peppered by the barrage of shrapnel, leaving shards of metal and wooden spelks lodge in its hide, black ichor flowing freely from the wounds. Ren quickly found himself tossed aside, the Nuckelavee's arm retreating once again to shield its rider's head and chest from further harm, while the horse surged forward taking it and its rider out of the line of fire and directly towards the Black Ranger.
Gripping his weapon with both hands the Black Ranger sprinted forward meeting the Grimm's charge head-on, the horse lowered its heading down towards its approaching foe acting as an improvised battering-ram, just as the two were about to clash Adam dropped down onto his knees sliding under the horses head and between its front legs, twisting his hip he spun on his knees the blade of his power axe slashing through its front left calf.
The Horse stumbled its front leg slipping out from under it, sending the horse cartwheeling forward, it's far larger body rolling over its more lilith rider smothering a pained shriek beneath its bulk before finally crashing into the remains of a burned-out townhouse, a cloud of dust rising from the impact to obscure the Grimm from view. Panting lightly The Black Ranger rose back to his feet, his eyes never straying from the cloud in front of him, he was quickly joined by the three Members of RRVN Weapons at the ready.
"Is it over?" Ruby asked narrowing her eyes at the dust cloud between them, even from her position on the rooftops the crunch of bone and tearing of flesh from its fall had been all too clear for her and Nora, and with the house collapsing down on it afterwards it seemed like their job was done, nevertheless, she kept her guard up, her grip tightening around Crescent Rose.
"Doubtful" Ren replied
"Spread out and surround it." The Black Ranger advised he, Nora Ren and Ruby began spreading out around the edge of the crumbling structure their eyes scanning the dust cloud for any signs of movement, a tense silence falling over the group. As the dust began to settle revealing the crumbled remains of the house Nora and Ruby shared a glance, the red-haired bomber slowly lowered her hamm-
A clawed hand burst through the rubble whipping out in an arc towards them, the four leapt back out of the path of the limb, as the second arm burst free from the other side swinging in the opposite direction, the rider burst free from the surface of the rubble its left horn snapped off half and a thick trail of black ichor running down its chest plates a jagged shard of metal punching through the carapace and into its abdomen, whipping its head back into the air the Nuckelavee released an ear-splitting screech into the darkened sky above.
This battle was far from over.
/
Pyrrha ducked back into the doorway as, yet another monstrous screech ripped through the streets of Kuroyuri, raising Milo once more, her eyes scanned over the courtyard outside the house, the disintegrating bodies of six Beowolves drawn in by the sounds of battle dotting the path leading up to the doorway. It seemed that was the last of them for the time being, though the longer her teams battle with that Grimm dragged on the more time there was for just every Grimm in the surrounding area to converge on them.
A resounding crash echoed from down the hall, Pyrrha's eyes widening "Qrow" Clenching her fist Akouo unfurled around her bracer, while Milo shifted into its gladius form Pyrrha charged back down the hallway, raising her shield she rammed her shoulder into the door separating her and Ruby incapacitated uncle. The door swung open slamming against the wall behind it with enough force to crack the frame.
Emerald eyes darted around the room in search of the Grimm that had snuck past her, instead, she found Qrow slumped over beside a toppled table panting heavily Harbinger gripped tightly in his left hand. Sheathing her weapon Pyrrha rushed towards him "Mr. Branwe- Gahh." Pyrrha jumped back as Harbinger hilt slashed through the air in front of her, Qrow glaring up at her with a wild, delirious look in his eyes. Stepping back away from the huntsmen Pyrrha raised her hands out in front of her, in what she hoped was a calming gesture.
"It's alright, it's okay." She said in her most soothing tone "Mr. Branwen it's me, it's Pyrrha." Qrow narrowed his eyes in what seemed like recollection before slumping back against the table Harbinger clattering to the ground beside him
"Kid" he wheezed a sharp cough following close behind his words, Pyrrha moved to his side unclipping the canteen off the back of her belt she unscrewing the cap and brought the rim to his lips, tilting it back slightly she watched Qrow as he gulped down what should have only been a sip of water. Taking a few deep breaths his red eyes turned to regard her "...Ruby?" He asked
"There was a Grimm, she's out there with the others now." Qrow made to rise only to collapse back down against the table, when he tried again Pyrrha pushed him back down against the table, the older man tried to struggle against her before breaking out in yet another coughing fit.
"Breath, take deep breaths." Pyrrha advised trying to calm the elder huntsmen down before he made himself worse. "Adam is out there with her and the others, she'll be safe with him." A small explosion shook the house's foundations, an all too familiar war cry echoing through the ongoing battle outside, the Emerald spartan glance back towards the doorway her grip tightening around Milo, she wasn't sure how long they could afford to stay here before another wave showed up.
"Go"
"What" Pyrrha asked snapping her gaze back towards the elder Huntsmen.
"Go help the others." Qrow said taking harbinger back in hand, he shifted the sword into its magnum form "I'll be fine here.".
"N-no!" Pyrrha said taken aback by his words "You can barely stand let alone fight, the fighting's already started drawing in more Grimm if they find you like this..." Pyrrha trailed off, in his condition the result of such an encounter was already a foregone conclusion, the others could handle that Grimm her job right now was to protect Qrow if something happened to him because of her, she could never forgive herself, and despite how much she might try she knew neither would Ruby.
Qrow sighed gritting his teeth slightly as the pain in his gut flared to life once more. "The more time we spend sitting around here arguing... the less time we spend dealing with that... thing, if we don't stop it now a bigger the swarm will get here soon and then none of us-*Wheeze*-are walking out of here." When Pyrrha made to argue Qrow raised his hand silencing her. "Don't argue with me on this, stop wasting time, go kill that thing and come back."
"I..." Qrow's gaze intensified, silencing Pyrrha's retort, biting her lip Pyrrha glanced back towards the doorway and then back towards Qrow, nodding slowly she rose back to her feet. "...I'll be back." Jogging out into the hallway Pyrrha in the doorway, Pyrrha glancing to her right towards the large dresser that sat beneath the decaying stairs and the table to its left.
Raising her hand, a black aura quickly enveloped it, alongside the hinges and nails holding the furniture together, pulling her hand back the cabinet slid across the floor in front of the doorway behind her, the table quickly joining it along with a few boards from the stairs, her makeshift barricade complete, Pyrrha spared one final glance back towards the room before unfurling her shield.
The Emerald spartan charged out the house and towards the growing sounds of conflict in the distance.
/
"Gah" Nora cried out, Magniled skipping off to the side as the Knuckaleev slammed its hand down on top of her, hand clamping shut around her waist its jagged nails digging into her upper-back, gritting her teeth Nora brought her fist down on the back of the Grimm's hand in an attempt to free herself, the Grimm paid her little mind instead using its free hand to swipe at Ruby and The Black Ranger while slowly tightening its hold around her body causing Nora to cry out in pain.
"Nora!" Ren called out peppering the Nuckelavee's upper body with several shots as he sprinted directly towards the Knuckaleev, his eyes wild and filled with rage.
The horse reared back on its back legs using its armored body to shield its rider from the oncoming fire. "Ahhh!" Nora shrieked as the rider whipped its arm into the air, wielding the red-haired huntress as a makeshift club he swung her down into her childhood friend sending the two skipping across the cobblestone path, their auras flickering around them with each impact, Nora instinctively wrapped her arms around her partner pulling him in front of her as they crashed into the side of a house, her aura dissipating around her from the impact.
Dropping onto his knees a weight fell against Ren's back accompanied by a pained groan "Nora" Ren Gasped catching his partner as she slid off his back to the side.
"Ah-ha-ha-haaowwwww~" Nora groaned, gripping her side in clear pain.
Gritting his teeth Ren's gaze snapped up to the Knuckaleev, eyes filled with fury. He could feel his aura running on embers, but he couldn't stop now not when the creature that haunted him for most of his life stood right before him, snatching up his fallen weapons off the ground Ren turned to rush the monster once more, only to be tackled to the side a pair of arms latching around his waist and pulling him back under the cover of the house as a small explosion rocked the city.
Pushing himself up onto his knees Ren turned towards the perpetrator, Nora latched onto his arm burying her head deeper into his shoulder. "Nora, what are you doing?" He tried to pull away from her, but her hold on him remained strong. "Nora stop!" Ren argued "If we don't do something the others could be-" Pulling back from her partner Nora delivered a swift slap across the green-haired ninjas face, shocking him into silence.
"Enough!" Nora shouted back. "I'm not going to sit by and watch you kill yourself." Her grip on his arm tightening "We've come too far; we've got too many people counting on us so I'm not going let it end like this." Raising her head, she locked eyes with her long-time friend tears welling up at the edges of her eyes, she watched the anger and fear in his eyes slowly fade "Please, you have to get control or that thing is going to kill you."
"Nora I..." Rent railed off, the fear and pain in Nora's eyes, not for herself but for him struck at his heart, swallowing thickly he slowly nodded back to his part-
"Hugh!" As one, their eyes snapped back towards the battle just in time to see a black and white figure being knocked into the air, Mighty Morphing black ranger crashed through the roof and into the second story hallway, skidding back across the floor The Black Ranger came to a halt at the foot of a bookcase. "Ow~" He wheezed shaking his head slightly as he sat up.
*Urrrk~*
His eyes widened behind his helmet's visor and before he knew it the floor beneath him gave way sending him crashing down onto the remnants of the kitchen table below.
He lay there for a few seconds before it too gave out under his weight, spilling him out onto the floor. Reaching up he grabbed onto the kitchen counter and pulled himself up onto one knee, the Black Ranger then glanced up at the hole in the ceiling above growing wider by the second as the upper levels began to collapse in on themselves.
"...Should've listened to the kid." He muttered to himself.
From outside Ruby stared up at the house caving in on itself in alarm "Adam!" Ruby called out to him, ducking between a swipe from the Nuckelavee's rider her body disappearing into a flurry of rose petals.
The red-clad reaper dashed under the horse, slashing at its abdomen as she went before materializing behind it once again. The Rider shrieked in fury bending itself backwards it glared down at the young huntress before shooting its arms out towards Ruby. Twirling Crescent Rose, the young huntress swung her scythe forward managing to deflect the first arm, though as twirled around the offending limb and raised her scythe to strike down at the other a chunk of rock beneath her foot gave way causing her to stumble, Ruby barely had time to widen her eyes before the Nuckelavee's hand crashed into her body its clawed fingers closing around her upper chest and neck.
Ruby gasped as her back crashed down onto the road, Crescent Rose clattering down beside her. Ruby lunged for her scythe though just as her fingers brushed against its red finish, the red reaper found herself hurled into the air and smashed down into the path in front of the Horse, dragging the young girl back across the path, the Horse rose up on its back legs, its front pulled back into its chest ready to stomp down on the young girl beneath it.
Ruby crossed her arms over her face clenching her eyes shut instinctively as she waited for the blow to slam down onto her. Suddenly a jagged metal spike shot through the air impaling the horse through the chest, Ruby eyes snapped open at the sound of tearing flesh and the pain roar that tore through the air, the horses front legs stomped down on either side of her they shook slightly before the Grimm fell to its knees.
The young Rose found herself face to face with the horse and pulsing red eyes glaring hatefully into her own as it hacked black ichor onto her chest. "Ruby!" An all too familiar bronze shield coated in a black aura glanced off the side of the riders head followed swiftly by two bullets sinking into its abdomen. Tilting her head back in the direction of her savior Ruby spotted Pyrrha rushing down the street Milo in hand "Move" The Emerald spartan called out to her,
Without a second thought the red-clad reaper disappeared in a flurry of rose petals, snatching her scythe up off the ground Ruby skidded to a halt beside her Teammate "Pyrrha?" She glanced back towards her teammate "What about uncle Qrow?" She demanded desperately.
"He sent me ahead." Pyrrha replied pulling her shield back into her free hand, her rifle shifting back into its spear variant as the two Huntresses faced down the enraged Grimm. "Just in time, it seems" She muttered to herself as the horse managed to clamber back to its feet. Before Ruby could pry any further the Rider reeled its arms back into the air and struck down at the two huntresses, Ruby and Pyrrha lept out of its path then rushed it from both sides.
"Ren!" Ruby called out to her teammates "Pyrrha and I can take out its arms."
"Kids!" The front door of the collapsed house behind the Grimm was kicked open, The Black Ranger marched out of the destroyed building and into the street, a scowl resting beneath his helmet. Glancing towards Pyrrha and Ruby, it didn't take long for him to catch onto their plan. Calling out to the red-clad reaper racing past him he said, "I'll deal with the horse." Summoning his Power Axe into his waiting hand, Adam disappeared into a beam of black light that shot off towards the rooftops.
Ren glanced between his injured partner and the battle between his team and the Grimm, reaching down to his boot he drew the dagger his father had given him the night he died, the night this monster had invaded his home and robbed him of everything. His grip tightened around the hilt, if Ruby and Pyrrha could handle its arms and Adam the horse, lifting his head he glared up at the rider, then the rest was his.
Looking to his partner he rested a hand on her shoulder "Stay here." Ren instructed. Nora looked as if she was going to argue, yet the throbbing pain that shot through her side as she attempted to rise up beside him put a stop to that. "Hey" Ruby called out to the Grimm, the Nuckelavee's head snapped towards her its left arm slashing down towards her its claws poised to tear the young huntress to shreds, Ruby stood unfazed leaving herself open for the fatal blow, but just as the hand was about to slam down on top of her, her body split into two clouds of rose petals, that swirled around the Grimm's hand and up its forearm, it hand crashing down harmlessly onto the cobblestone path.
Landing on the Grimm's outstretched arm, the red-clad huntress springboard off the limb backwards, twisting her body midair Ruby aimed the head of recent rose down on the Grimm's hand and twisted the grip activating one of the newest features of her weapon, gears whirred along the Scythes head causing it to fold back vertically, the telescopic shaft retracting halfway, with a cry Ruby gripped tightened around her newly formed Glaive, pushing her aura into her arms she thrust down, Crescent rose stabbing through the Nuckelavee's wrist, pinning it to the ground.
The Grimm roared in agony tugging at its trapped limb in an attempt to free itself with little success, the Grimm attempted to lash out at the cause of its newfound pain with its free arm, the jagged shard of warped steel embedded in the horse's chest suddenly glowed black and tore itself free from the Grimm and with a metallic whine bent in on itself before latching around the wrist of the riders free arm, dragging it down to the ground. Pyrrha pulled her hand back towards her bringing the limb closer, the rider fighting her every step of the way.
Whipping her left arm out to the side toward one of the collapsed houses, thrusting her hand upwards several jagged shards of roofing rose from the rubble, nails were pulled from boards, and the plumbing was ripped from the walls, clenching her fist they all rotated towards the Knuckeleeve, then shot forward, the jagged edge of the warped metal punched through the Grimm's flesh travelling up from its wrist to the elbow, staking it into the ground below.
The horse rose up on its hind legs and whipped its body from left to right in what would be its last desperate attempt to free itself. Seeing his moment, The Black ranger leapt from the rooftop above his power axe raised high a white aura enveloping the edge of the blade "HNRAGH!" He bellowed bringing the axe down in a vertical slash sending an arc of white energy sailing towards the Grimm, the horse had only enough time to widen its eyes before the arc made contact with the Grimm carving a deep tough through its flesh stretching down from the base of its neck, through the armored plating covering its chest and ending at its abdomen, the horse let out one final strangled whine before its eyes dimmed and its body crashed back down to the ground.
Landing in front of the Grimm in a crouch, the Black Ranger stared up at the immobilized rider that continued to thrash and screech into the air in one last desperate attempt to break free, shaking his head the Black ranger gripped his axe in both hands and repaired to finish it, a clean-cut to the neck and the battle of Kuroyuri would finally be over.
"No" Ren spoke up from behind, the Black ranger paused, glancing back over his shoulder towards the green-clad ninja, his father's dagger clasped in his hand his knuckles turning white from how tightly he gripped the hilt, at that moment all the rage and sorrow he'd battled up over the years was flowing through him freely.
Ren met the Black Rangers questioning gaze "Let me." he said a sense of finality in his tone that piqued the gave the power ranger pause.
He looked back towards the still struggling Grimm and then the young man behind him, before lowering his power axe, stepping aside The Black Ranger flicked his head back towards the Grimm. "Do what you have to do." Normally he would have just finished it off without a second thought, but the look in that kid's eyes, the pain, the anger and the destruction surrounding them made the reason behind his request all too clear.
He needed this.
Nora limped over towards them watching as her partner stalked towards the monster.
Both of them.
Sighing to himself the black ranger stepped aside allowing the young man to pass, allowing Ren to come face to face with the monster that had haunted his dreams since he was a child. The Nuckelavee whipped its head forward unleashing an ear-piercing shriek into his face as it struggled and thrashed against its bindings.
He paid the Grimm's anguish no mind instead he closed his eyes taking a deep breath in preparation of what was to come, his mother attempting to comfort him in what had turned out to be her last moments flashed through his mind.
'For my mother' He slashed down at the Grimm let arm severing it at the shoulder.
He thought of his father, injured, dying, yet standing strong against the Grimm that closed in on him, firing one arrow after the other into the creatures ashen hide, in one last vain attempt to protect his family and home.
'For my father.' Slashing upwards the Nuckelavee's remaining arm joined the other.
He thought of the trials he and Nora had faced in the years since then, moving from village to village, scrounging through the trash, begging in the streets, sleeping in a darkened alley as the rain pelted down on them, yet through all that, she never left his side nor he hers, bound together by fate or by their shared tragedy they forged ahead together, training together and growing into the young man and women they were today.
"For us" His eyes snapped open, and with one final horizontal slash beheaded the Nuckelavee a pillar of black smoke billowing out of its wound and into the sky its body slumping back on the horse, his father's dagger slipped from his grip clattering down onto the path below, a shuddering breath leaving him.
It was done, it was... it was over.
The green-clad ninja froze as a hand slid into his own, blinking once he turned to find Nora stood by his side, the red-haired bomber looked up at him and smiled leaning into his side she rested her head on his shoulder, Ren hesitated for a moment before slowly leaning his head against hers his fingers closing around her hand.
"Guys!" Ruby called out to them; her words accompanied by a large gust of wind courtesy of the two airships coming into the land the Kingdom of Mistral's emblem proudly displayed along the side of its hull.
"I'll be." MMBR muttered a dim light developing his body revealing the man beneath the suit. Adam rested his power axe against his shoulder as the first vessel passed by overhead gliding over the buildings towards the courtyard at the center of the village, for the first time in weeks it looked like their luck was beginning to turn.
"What are we standing around for!" Ruby perked up a large smile spreading across her face as she raced off down the cobblestone path after the airships a small blizzard of rose petals left in her wake, the others were quick to follow, by the time they arrived Ruby was already leading her uncle out of the dilapidated house and towards two of the crew members, a man and a woman dressed in dark brown flight suits.
The male pilot broke away from his partner moving to greet the four arrivals while his partner saw to Qrow, Pyrrha recognized the uniform of the mistral police force almost immediately "How did you find us?" she asked
"We were on patrol when we saw the smoke." He said gesturing towards the column climbing into the sky behind them "No one's been out this way in years, so we thought something might be up."
"I'm just glad someone saw us." Adam muttered, glancing past the officer towards his partner and Qrow, she talked with ruby for a few moments the young girl looking between her uncle and the airship in relief, the female pilot nodded back to her before tilting her head back towards them
"Tailor!" She called out to them, hooking her arm under Qrow's, Ruby mimicking her action helped pull her uncle back onto his feet "This guy is in pretty rough shape we need to get him back to Mistral, now." The now identified tailor nodded back to his partner, before turning back towards the others.
"Get aboard and strap in, once your friends secure we can lift off."
"Don't have to tell us twice." Nora replied, she and the other quickly moving to take their places aboard the aircraft.
Stepping aboard Pyrrha immediately set her sights on her partner, kneeling down beside Ruby she helped the younger girl shift Qrow into a more comfortable position, pulling her bedroll from her pack Ruby hastily slid the bundle under her uncles head as a makeshift pillow while Pyrrha settled down beside her partner and draped an emergency blanket over him.
Taking her uncles hand Ruby felt him squeeze back gently, Ruby sighed in relief and squeezed back. The airship shuddered to life and was airborne once again leaving the desolate remains of Kuroyuri behind, after so many weeks on the road it seemed their journey to Mistral was final over.
/
Stepping through the automatic doors into the private hanger Weiss stared up at the Atlassian shuttle it was similar to her sister's own personal craft though lacking the obvious grace, a small smile spread across her features her thoughts drifting back to her team, her family 'Just a little longer now' She was still surprised Cam had been able to requisition one for her so quickly, then again given how he and Cassie had been able to infiltrate Atlas higher-ups she shouldn't have been so surprised.
"I take it your friend won't be joining us." Weiss turned to find Cassandra making her way down the hallway towards her, the Pink Ranger having donned an Atlesian military flight suit, her helmet held under her left arm.
"He stayed to cover for me." Weiss replied her thought drifting back to Klein what had become of him, for all she knew her father could have had him arrested for helping her escape, given what he'd gone through to keep her locked away it was certainly within his power to do so. Cassie's hand rested on her shoulder giving it a small comforting squeeze.
"I'll ask Cam to check on the situation once we've taken off." Cassie offered "If your fathers tried to do anything to him we might be able to help."
Weiss smiled "Thank you, Cassandra."
"Don't worry about it." Cassie replied, strapping on her helmet she flicked her head back towards the ramp leading up to the cargo ship "Shall we."
Weiss nodded and picked up her bag "Let's."
/
Yang clutched her stomach as the ship bobbed up and down across the waves, her face steadily growing a deep shade of green. 'Is this what Jaune had to go through every time we went down int vale?' she couldn't help but wonder, digging into her travel bag she pulled out a small box of motion sickness pills and a bottle of water, popping two into her mouth she took a swig of water and lay back on her cot focusing as best she could on the ceiling above to calm her stomach.
Turned out the ship Lilly had been talking about hitching a ride on had been an old fishing trawler, she'd and the other rangers had apparently saved the village they'd been docked at from some aquatic Grimm that had gotten too close to shore shortly after they'd first arrived on Remnant, the captain and crew seemed pretty friendly and they'd even given them a spare room for the journey, not the stereotypical storage closet-sized one she'd been expecting to find but an actual cabin the crew had mostly been using as spare storage on long trips.
Rolling onto her side she stared out the port window into the dark skies and choppy sea outside, about a week into the trip and they'd run into one of Mistral's famous coastal storms, at least she knew they were getting closer. The door to the cabin opened drawing Yang's eyes to the blond shapeshifter that had just entered.
"Got some good news," He said brushing a hand through his soaked hair "The storms going to be passing soon just in time for us to make port."
"How's Bumblebee?" Yang asked, they'd strapped her bike down pretty good, but she was still nervous given all the shaking and bobbing going on right now.
"Checked on her on my way down." Koan reassured her, taking a seat beside Yang he ran his hand in small circles across her back in an attempt to comfort her "I'm a little more worried about you, you sure you've never been seasick before?"
"I've never been on a ship going through this before." Yang shot back throwing an arm helplessly towards the port-hole, the ship suddenly dipped forwards Yang curled in on herself as the contents of her stomach sloshed around dangerously. 'God... now I know how Jaune felt on the flight up to Beacon.'
Koan winced "Think you can make it for a few more hours?" He asked
"I'll try" Yang moaned, the sooner she set foot on dry land the better, her stomach agreed if the low gurgle it gave of was any indication, the ship suddenly jerked upwards and Yang's face turned green "...Oh god" Yang gagged slapping a hand over her mouth, she jumped up off her cot shoving past Koan and out into the hallway passing by a startled Lilly and making a b-line for the bathroom.
The yellow ranger winced at the retching sound coming down the hall a few moments later, glancing towards koan she shrugged "My bad."
/
Blake leaned back on the couch staring up at the ceiling of her father's office, digging through her father's old records from the last few months had brought up little they could work with, the fang had covered their tracks well anything they might be able to use to implicate them was circumstantial at best, Sun was still out interviewing anyone to see if they had information on the White Fang, her mother and father were in the middle of a meeting with the captain of the Menagerie guard.
If things went well any White Fang member caught wearing a mask would be arrested and taken in for questioning, it was probably the best progress they'd make so far, but as the saying goes, Mistral wasn't built in a day.
Tilting her head to the side she stared down at the small trunk she'd dug out of one of the closets, momentous of her parent's time in the white fang, including its original banner.
Standing up she walked over to the trunk, picking up the old flag she stared down at the white panther emblem proudly displayed on the front, once upon a time this had been a symbol of hope and unity for her people, a sign that if they stood together they could change the world for the better. Now the organization that bore this emblem embodied everything they once stood again, something she had helped to create.
Sighing she slowly folded the flag and set it down beside the documents, sitting down she picked up the next sheet from the pile another shipping manifest from last week, she kept her eyes peeled for any inconsistencies. If the White Fang was as dug in on Menagerie as they believed them to be they must have had people at the ports to cover their tracks, fortunately, her time in the new White Fang hadn't all been for naught.
She'd picked up a few things regarding how they managed to transport equipment overseas, and already found a few inconsistencies she planned to take to her father and Saber, she just had to keep working, the more evidence she found the stronger their case would be.
*Thump!*
Blake's ears twitched, the sound of heavy boots meeting wood pulling her from her thoughts, glancing up from the pages her eyes settled on the sliding door to the balcony, she could just make out the outline of what looked like a cloaked figure on the other side illuminated by the porchlight, the figure knelt down and placed something in front of the door.
Blake was up on her feet in an instant Gambol shroud shifting it to its pistol form she took aim at the door "Hey!" she called out the figure, their head snapped up towards her, rising to their feet the figure looked side to side before slowly backing away. "Stop!" Blake vaulted over the coffee table and sprinted towards the intruder, tearing the door open she raised her pistol towards where the offender once stood only to find the spot empty.
*Creak*
Blake's ears perked up, turning she aimed up at the roof above, but like before there was no one in sight, taking a step back out of the doorway she felt something crumple beneath her boot, looking down she found a stack of papers resting under her heel, kneeling down she picked up the papers her eyes running across the first one, it was an outgoing shipment from Mistral to Menagerie, weapons, dust and a worrying amount of explosives... wait.
Dashing back over to the coffee table and after a few seconds of digging through the pile of 'duds' she pulled up one of the documents and held it side to side with one of the papers her visitor had dropped off, the dates and shipping numbers were a match, this was it, this was the breakthrough they'd been looking for.
Turning away from the papers she staired back towards the open door behind her, it seems her family weren't the only ones looking into the White Fang on the island, glancing down at GambolShroud resting on the table beside her. Blake cursed her recklessness if she hadn't jumped to conclusions and rushed in she might have been able to talk with their visitor and find out more of what they knew.
Sighing to herself she turned her gaze back toward the stacks of papers in front of her, it might not be much, but now that she had something they could correlate the fake deliveries between she could actually start working in earnest, while silently hoping this wasn't the figures only visit.
/
The hum of the machinery and steady rhythm of the heart monitor echoed through the infirmary, the large capsule in the center of the room illuminated by the dull blue light overhead, displaying the outline of the figure floating inside, his body once a patchwork of lacerations and first to third-degree burns had slowly been restored over the long months since he'd had been placed inside, the only signs of harm being the faint scar resting over their heart a reminder of the injury that had almost cost them their life.
His chest rose and fell with each breath, just then his finger twitched and with it, the heart monitor began rising in tempo, the section above it displaying the patient's brain activity beginning to flux and rise out of its previous levels.
Green eyes slowly flickered open, their owner glancing around the dark medical ward in confusion, he reached out pressing his hand against the glass, his body felt numb, his thoughts one big jumble, as the second ticked by he slowly became more and more aware of his surroundings and everything started to come back to him, Amity Colosseum, the Grimm dragon, Ruby racing off up the side of Beacon towards what would have been certain death, him arriving to save her From Psycho red, their fight... being stabbed, then a blinding white light.
The heart monitor began flashing sending out a signal to the doctors on the ward who'd probably be coming through that door any minute, despite that, despite the fact he'd survived the fight on top of Beacon tower, there was only one thought running through his mind
'How long have I been gone' Alex thought as the doors to the infirmary slid open.
And this concludes the events of Volume 4, I'll be one of the first o admit this Volume didn't do so well I feel like if they pushed it back a few more months and flushed out some of the fights and dialogue it could have been an excellent continuation from the events of Volume 3, though after what happened to Monty Oum at the time I can't really blame the show for taking a bit of a dip in quality after losing its creator and one of the lead writers and directors.
Speaking of the show I am very excited for Volume 9 they've had a year and a half to iron out the kinks, and we'll finally get to have a look at how the battle in Vacuo went and maybe catch up with the members of CFVY, all I can say from the teasers and artwork we've seen for Volume 9 it looks like its going to be interesting.
Now moving on from that, the time has come for our dear friend Alex to re-enter the story after almost a year-long absence from the event on Remnant, how will he react to learn what became of his friends, what will he do moving forward... how will Blake react to this revelation? Only time will tell, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter of Psycho remnant, and I will see you all in the next one.