A/N: Please note at the end.
The instant the words left Weiss' mouth, a dome of ice formed around Ruby. Gavrilo let out a startled gasp as he felt himself being lifted by the dome. He let out a yell of pain. The frigid surface of the icy barrier was so cold that it felt like he was being burned.
As he was just jumping off, spikes formed around the surface of the barrier and shot out with blinding speed. His eyes widened in surprise. The assassin only had enough time to save himself from fatal injury. He screamed in agony as he was impaled to the wall by his right shoulder and left thigh. The impalement wasn't what cause the worst pain though. Mere seconds after the icy spikes dug into him, he could feel the cells in his body freezing and bursting. His nerve endings flared out as the arctic temperatures began to spread throughout his body.
Gavrilo writhed and cried in pain. He needed to get out before he froze death. Gathering all of his aura in his right arm, he smashed his right hand on the spike of ice that was in his shoulder. Breaking it instantly. He then went for the one in his thigh. Dropping down to the floor, he was grateful that his arteries weren't punctured. Groaning, he lifted his head to see Weiss standing at the other end of the hall.
Those eyes. More specifically, the blue fiery energy that came from them. Never in his entire life had he ever seen something like this. Never had he been so terrified. He didn't know what was going on, but he knew that what the girl was doing was not her semblance. This...this was like magic. Surely such a thing didn't exist. Or did it? Gavrilo wasn't so sure of that anymore. What he was sure of though was that this was not natural.
"Hey guys! Do you know why the power is out" Jaune said as he was just bounding the corner. "Or why it's...so...cold." The blond stared at the scene in front of him. His eyes roaming to Weiss (who looked very scary in his opinion) then to a man who was kneeling on the floor. His gaze finally settled onto Ruby who looked to be unconscious and was covered by a dome made from ice. A second later, his brain finally caught up to what was going on. "Holy shit! Ruby!" He screamed. Jaune turned to Weiss. "Weiss what is- AHHHH!" Jaune screeched as he was knocked to the floor by the sheer force of the wind that came from Weiss flaring out her power. Both Jaune and Gavrilo had bits of frost forming on their clothes.
Weiss let out an angry scream as her powers began to flare out even more. It was obvious that she was not in control. These powers were acting on their own. They were driving her. She pointed her weapon at Gavrilo and zoomed across the corridor so fast that she was merely a blur of white and blue.
It was only thanks to Gavrilo's finely honed instincts that he was able to dodge the deadly tip of Myrtenaster. If he had been even a millisecond late, the weapon would have been impaled through his head. Making it look like some macabre shish kabob. He rolled backwards to avoid another spike of ice. However, before he could even bring up his head to look at his opponent, Weiss was already on top of him as she let out a flurry of thrusts.
Unfortunately for the assassin, he was not fast enough to avoid this attack. He cried out as he felt his opponent's weapon piercing through his aura and digging into him properly. Blood began spraying out, dying the walls and floor with specks of red. When she stopped, he collapsed to the ground. Coughing up his own blood. As strong of an assassin as he was, there was nothing that could have ever prepared him to fight against this. He struggled to lift his head. Once he did, his gaze meet with Weiss'. It was so unnerving that her face held no discernible expression. It was just blank. Her eyes however, told a very different story. That look in her eyes was pure anger and hate. Pure rage.
Gavrilo looked puzzled as Weiss held out her right hand with the palm facing out. For moment, nothing happened, then he felt something. He felt something freezing, tearing right through him. He let out a silent scream as a large, serrated column of ice went straight through his chest and stomach. He instinctively grabbed it, desperately trying to dislodge it. It was a fruitless effort though. Even he knew it wouldn't do him any good. Yet, he still thrashed around as much as he could. Acting like a an animal that was panicking for its life.
Suddenly, he was lifted into the air and his body was speeding through the hallway. The ice that had formed was pushing him away from the group. Reaching the end of the corridor, the ice broke right through the wall and began to curve upwards with Gavrilo still being impaled. Sheets of ice began to form and fold over his body. Soon enough, he was completely encased in ice.
More and more ice formed. Twisting and turning into the shape of a giant white rose that towered over every building. And inside one of the thorns was Gavrilo. The legendary assassin had finally met his match. The horrible excuse of a human being that was Gavrilo Princip was finally dead.
Jaune couldn't believe what he was seeing. No normal person could do this. Then he started thinking. Thinking back to what Qrow said about Maidens and magic. The blond began to slowly put the pieces of the puzzle together. "I-is Weiss a Maiden? No amount of dust or semblance could ever do this. She must be."
Weiss turned her attention to Ruby and held out her hand. The ice that had formed a barrier over the girl began to slowly disappear. After this was done, the energy from her eyes faded and she instantly crumbled to the ground.
"WEISS!" Jaune yelled. His body finally springing into action. Getting onto his feet, he sprinted towards Weiss. He dropped to the ground next to the white-haired girl. After seeing that there was nothing wrong with her, he turned his attention to Ruby. Who, unfortunately, was not looking great.
"Oh shit." He said under his breath. Seeing the stabbing wound where her liver is. This wasn't good. It wasn't good at all.
Qrow grunted as Harbinger slammed into Vandham's shield for the umpteenth time. He leaned back as his opponent swung his axe at him from behind his shield. Disengaging, Qrow jumped back before Vandham could get out another attack. It was really hard to get any opening on him since he only ever did short swipes from behind his shield. This meant that he never exposed himself. He would only ever do a full swing when he was sure he had a good enough opening.
"Oh Qrow. I can't wait to kill you for what you did to me."
The lanky man let out a snort. "You did that to yourself when you decided to kill innocents."
"I was helping!" Vandham yelled. Both men began to circle each other. Looking for any opening to exploit.
"Riiiiiight. Helping by killing helpless people. Sorry if I don't quite believe your crazy ass."
"Those people were infected by some strange disease that no one has ever seen before. A disease that drove people insane and had them attacking others. Which then, in turn, attracted the Grimm." Vandham came to a stop. His shield still held out in front of him. "I prevented an outbreak by killing everyone in that village. What I did, I did for the greater good."
"No. The only thing you did was prove how heartless you really are. Proved that you're just some murdering piece of shit that needed to be taken down. We could have helped those people! Just because it was a disease that we have never seen before, doesn't mean that a cure couldn't have been made to help those afflicted by it. You just wanted a reason to slaughter." Qrow spat back snidely.
"Qrow, Qrow, Qrow" Vandham said as he shook his head. "You don't need a heart to make the tough decisions. No. What you need is a stomach and a spine! Both of which you clearly lack. Your sister on the other hand does not."
Qrow chuckled. "Funny you say that. I guess someone like you would see her in any kind of good light. Guess morally bankrupt people have a thing for each other."
Vandham charged. Qrow swung his blade to meet the shield bash from him. A metallic bang echoed. "Morally bankrupt? Who cares about morals when you are faced with something like that!? I did everything for the greater good! I saved lives by sacrificing a few! But of course, you're too damn weak to understand that! It's part of the reason why your sister has always been your better!" He spat.
"So the ends justify the means Vandham? For fuck sake. You even killed the children." Qrow said in between grunts.
"Children who were no longer children and had become monsters. They were just as dangerous as any adult who was infected. But let me ask you this Qrow. Say we did it your way. What if we found a cure, but it was too late? What if it took so long to find, that most of Remnant had become infected? I'll tell you what would have happened. We would all be dead! I prevented that from happening. I stopped things from getting out of hand!" He pushed his shield up and threw Qrow's weapon so that it was above his head. With his abdomen exposed, Vandham threw out a front kick. Qrow grunted as he was thrown back.
Qrow drove his sword into the ground to slow himself down to a stop before he hit a building. He looked up and snarled at the man in front of him.
"So." Vandham continued. "To answer your question. Yes. The ends definitely justify the means when it comes to keeping all of Remnant safe."
Qrow ran at Vandham with blinding speed. He let loose a flurry of swings at his opponent. Who just simply held up his shield and blocked every strike. However, Qrow wasn't trying to find an opening anymore. He had a different strategy. It involved striking his opponent's shield with as many of his hardest hitting attacks as possible to transfer trauma to his arm from the force of his blows. And it was working.
He could see Vandham scrunching his nose from the pain. It was becoming obvious that he would not be able to keep his shield up for much longer. Pulling his sword back, he winded up as much power as he could and let loose his attack. This was the straw that broke the camel's back. Vandham yelped in pain as his shield was pushed away from his body. Qrow immediately took this opportunity to strike.
However, Vandham smirked. He leaned back as the blade of his opponent narrowly missed his neck. He then quickly lifted his axe and slammed it down on the sword. The bottom curve of the axe head hooked onto the dull end of the sword and he pulled it with all of his strength.
Qrow's eyes went wide with surprise as he was spun around by his opponent using his own weapon for leverage. As soon as he came back face to face with Vandham, he was struck in the forehead with edge of the shield. Qrow felt hot pain swell in his head as he saw stars dancing around in his vision. He stumbled around as if he just went out for the night drinking. He swung his sword at what he thought was his enemy, but felt nothing, but air.
Vandham ducked under another sloppy, aimless swing. He grinned when he saw that Qrow had definitely over extended his attack. He took the moment to swing his axe at Qrow's arm.
A fleshy thud along with a scream echoed throughout the empty streets of the neighborhood. Vandham's axe was firmly implanted into the scythe wielder's dominant arm. Right at the elbow. He was slightly disappointed that he wasn't able to hack his enemy's arm off, but sometimes auras made it hard to do that.
Pulling his axe out, he gave Qrow a hard kick. He watched as the Faunus went tumbling across the street.
Qrow groaned in pain as he picked himself up off of the street. He grabbed Harbinger with his left hand and stood on shaky legs. He started panting as he felt how dangerously low his aura was. As evident by the red flickers around his body.
"Is that it Qrow? That's all you've got? You were so much better than this back in the past. Back when you were known as The Reaper. Where is that now?" He laughed as Qrow just stared at him with anger burning in his eyes. "You've grown weak Qrow. You lack the real intent to kill. I swear, after Raven left, you just became a softie. You're just the shell of the once great warrior you use to be. What's wrong? So afraid of being anything like your sister that you got rid of your killing intent?" A hoarse laugh came from his mouth as he mocked Qrow.
"Well, it's time to finish this. Though I would have liked to have bested you when you were at your best, but I guess we can't always get what we want. No. I'll just have to settle for this. Revenge is revenge." Vandham began to rush at Qrow.
The bird Faunus gritted his teeth as he raised Harbinger. Once his opponent came close he swung, but his sword was met with a shield bash that pushed his arm above his head. "Shit!"
"It's over Qrow!" He yelled as he went into a full swing right at the exposed left side of his torso. However, before the axe could connect. A strange white glyph formed and blocked the attack. "What?"
The glyph glowed and spun. A great amount of energy shot forth from the center of it. The force was great enough to blow Vandham right off of his feet and into a wall a couple of dozen feet away from Qrow.
"How did you get yourself into this kind of position Qrow?"
That glyph and that condescending voice could only mean one thing. "Winter." He said as he turned to her.
"Hohoho! Specialist Winter Schnee! I've heard many things about you. Never did I think that you would grace us with your presence." Vandham said as he pushed himself up to his feet. He smirked as his eyes met hers. "So tell me, what happened to the boy?"
"You mean the greenhorn you had attack me? He was easy enough to eliminate." Her voice cold and business-like. A trait that most Schnee's had. What baffled her was how much he was laughing. Surely hearing that your comrade was killed would make someone mad.
"Hahahaha! I knew that boy would be no match for you. He was far too green to be fighting you. Tried to dissuade him, but he was adamant on fighting you. That's what happens to idiots that bite off more than they can chew."
After he stopped laughing, he merely gave her a grin. "I have always wanted to see what see how capable you really are. To see the fabled 'Schnee Glyph Semblance' in action."
"Hmph. You should be careful what you wish for you ruffian. An uncivilized dog like yourself may find themselves in their graves early." Winter said as she unsheathed her saber. She held it up and went into a classic dueling stance.
"Well now Qrow, I'd say you got yourself quite a woman here. Too bad I gotta kill her, but hey, at least you'll get to join her soon enough."
Winter was the first to move. She used her glyph to propel her forward. She instantly came to a stop. A new glyph formed beneath her feet and shot her up while another formed in the air and pushed her down behind Vandham. Just as she predicted, her opponent was not fooled. He was able to swing his axe wide around his backside. However, she ducked and kicked out his legs with a low spinning sweep kick.
Vandham let out a grunt as he landed on his back. He immediately rolled to his right to avoid the tip of Winter's dueling saber. He placed his palms on the street and pushed off it. He spun onto his feet. Once upright again, he brought up his shield to block another attack. They stayed locked against each other. Both trying to gain leverage over the other. Vandham pressed a button on the handle of his shield. Winter's eyes widened a bit a she saw the spike of his shield collapse into a hole. It didn't take long to figure out what was happening. Once the barrel of a gun came out, it started firing, but Winter had erected a glyph to block the incoming gunfire right before the first bullet left the barrel.
Vandham scowled in frustration. She had so far been reading him well. He came to the conclusion that this woman was nothing like Qrow. While not as strong or as skilled as Qrow was back in the day, she held something that he didn't have anymore. Killing intent. Thus she was preforming much better than he was. He raised his shield and threw her away from him. She landed gracefully beside Qrow.
Vandham was confident that he could beat her, but it would not be without injury. And it would not be quick. This fight would take time. Time he didn't want to spend. He looked around for anything that he could use to potentially end this fight quickly. It was then that he spotted a large gas tank that was under some steel girders that were suspended by steel rope. He grinned as a sneaky plan formed in his head. All he needed to do was make sure that the Schnee stayed close to the gas tank and chances were, disaster would strike.
"Be careful Winter." Qrow warned.
"Look, Qrow. I appreciate the sentiment, but this not my first time fighting a skilled opponent."
"That's not what I mean. Look, he isn't just skilled. Vandham is cunning. He's a legend in his own right. Besides, he's planning something. I know that look."
Before Winter could respond, Vandham charged at her with alarming speed. She brought up her saber to block the incoming attack. The force from it was enough to send her flying. She used her glyphs to catch her before her back hit the wall of a building. She snarled. Pulling a trigger mechanism on her hilt, a slit opened up from it to reveal a second hilt. She grabbed the second hilt with her left hand and pulled it out to reveal another, shorter sword that strongly resembled a main gauche.
She put her shorter sword in an icepick grip as she watched her opponent rushing towards her once again. She went in with her shorter sword first. Using the gripping technique to put the weapon over the shield and pulled down. While she aimed the tip of her saber at the now exposed head of her opponent. However, Vandham responded by pushing the top of his axe against the bladed edge of Winter's sword so that the thrust would be aimed away from him.
Winter drove her boot right into his gut and pushed off from him. His aura flickered as he skidded back a few feet. However, he was quickly back on the offensive.
Qrow watched as Winter and Vandham fought. The lanky man was actually impressed with the Atlesian Specialist. However, he knew she wouldn't be able to keep up for much longer. Her opponent was built like a tank. Made to last.
Qrow frowned when he had noticed that the axe wielder seemed very intent on keeping Winter near that gas tank for some reason. "What are you up to?" His red eyes scanned the environment around the gas tank. He narrowed his eyes when he saw the steel girders above the tank. "Kinda dangerous to have those above a tank full of explosive gas. The cables are strong. It would take some serious bad l-" His eyes went wide as his thoughts were interrupted by the sudden realization of Vandham's plan.
"WINTER! GET OUT OF THERE!" He yelled at the top of his lungs.
At that point, the steel cable that was holding the girders snapped.
Vandham smirked as he took that as his signal to jump away and completely disengage from his opponent. He knew he didn't have to worry about when he should move. Qrow would tell him.
Winter heard loud metallic banging above her. She looked up to see that steel girders were rapidly falling towards the gas tank. She tried to jump away from the area, but she was too late. The girders slammed into the tank of gas. Causing an explosion that engulfed Winter and sent her flying through the air and eventually crashing through the wall of a building. She landed on her front side. Completely unconscious.
"Ahh. That semblance of yours comes in handy at times doesn't it? Though to be fair, it had an equal chance to work against me." Vandham mocked.
"YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" Qrow spat. He was furious. Not just with Vandham, but also with himself.
"Hahaha. Now don't get so bent out of shape Qrow. I won't kill you just yet. First." He paused as he looked towards Winter's still body. "I'll kill your woman in front of you. Then I'll come back for you."
Qrow squeezed his eyes shut. He hated this. He hated his semblance. It always caused him to end up hurting those he cared about. His niece was nearly killed because of it and now Winter was hurt because of it.
Opening his eyes once again he watched as Vandham stood over Winter. His crimson eyes began to glow. A darker shade of crimson began to wash over his irises. He could feel it. The old Reaper inside was trying to claw it's way out. Usually, he would push that back down, but now. Now he wouldn't. He was too angry. Too scared to lose anyone else because of himself.
Qrow activated the mechanism in his weapon. The gears of Harbinger began to spin. The sword began to segment itself and move upwards to reveal a long, black metal pole. The segmented sword curved inward. A moment later, red blades came out from the bottom of them, completing the transformation. Now Harbinger was in its full, scythe glory.
Vandham's instincts screamed at him to move. He jumped away just in time. Watching just as Harbinger came sliding across the bridge of his nose. The one-eyed man kept jumping backwards to put some distance between him and his opponent. That's when he felt something trickling down his face. Bringing up his right hand, he wiped his face and turned his hand over to see splotches of red on it. The attack went straight through his aura.
Looking up, his eyes locked with Qrow's now darker shade of red ones. The look his opponent was giving was the one that someone would give to another that they are about to kill. The look of murder.
Vandham laughed.
Calming himself, he locked his gaze with Qrow. "I know those eyes anywhere. The eyes that promise murder. Oh yes. It seems the Reaper finally returns." Bringing his shield in front of him again, he banged it with his axe. "But it's too late Qrow. You're down an arm. It takes two arms to use a scythe effectively. Also, you pretty low on aura. There's no chance of victory for you."
Qrow kept his eyes squarely trained on his opponent. He leveled his scythe at Vandham. Not even once bothering to engage in any kind of conversation. After all, he was done with words. He'd let his scythe do the talking now.
Vandham raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong Qrow? Don't feel like talking anymore? Cat got-" He was immediately interrupted by Qrow swiping his scythe at his shield. Sparks flew out in every direction as the blade of Harbinger came scrapping along the surface of his shield. Creating a high pitched screeching sound.
The force from the attack was enough to send Vandham skidding back all the way across the street and forcing his back to hit the wall of a building. He gasped as the impact against the wall forced some air out of his lungs. It wasn't long before Qrow was in his face again. Eyes widening as he watched the scythe coming down on top of him at speeds he thought were impossible for one arm to do with such a weapon.
Just barely rolling out of the way, Harbinger went right through the wall. Creating a narrow slit for a hole on it. He couldn't even take another breath before Qrow was already within striking range. Quickly, he activated his shield's gun function as the spike retreated into it and produce a single barrel. The muzzle flashed as he put out sustained, automatic fire on his enemy.
Qrow was forced to zigzag backwards to avoid being riddled with bullets. Vandham's tactic was effective at keeping him from getting any closer, but it wouldn't deter the Reaper for very long and Vandham knew that. He would have to get back up on his feet and square himself properly to defend appropriately against any attack Qrow would throw at him.
Qrow, however, was not so keen on letting his opponent get back to a position where he could defend himself accordingly. He jumped to a light pole and quickly jumped away from it. Landing sideways on a building, he carried his momentum from his initial jump to make another jump onto a closed dumpster. There was no pause in his movement from jump to jump. Each one just built up his momentum. In essence, he became a man sized pin ball that was bouncing from place to place.
Once he was satisfied with the speed he had built up, he landed and immediately shot forth like a bullet from a gun. The force from his last jump caused the entire wall of a house to collapse. He zoomed right past Vandham. Who was buffeted by the wind that came from Qrow as his body rapidly pushed air away from himself. It actually nearly knocked him over.
Qrow slammed the blade of his scythe into the ground. The tip of the scythe twisted and turned in the in the crack of the cobblestone street as his body spun around in a semi-circle. Once he was aimed at his opponent, Qrow lifted his scythe out of the street and went catapulting towards him. His feet brought together and aimed right at Vandham.
Vandham had just gotten up onto his feet properly. Knowing Qrow was coming at him fast, he tried to turn his body to get his shield out in front to guard against the incoming attack, but he was far too slow. The bottoms of Qrow's shoes dug into him. All of the air inside his lungs had been pushed out. He could feel his ribs bending and cracking. He felt a snap in his side. All of this he felt in the moment that Qrow's attack connected to him. Then, in the the blink of an eye, he went sailing through air at such great speeds that everything around him just became a blur.
A loud crash sounded as Vandham went right through the wall of a building. A second later, the entirety of the building came crashing down on top of him. Burying him completely under stone, wood, and plaster.
Qrow drove Harbinger into the street and brought his feet down to try and dig them in to slow himself down. Cobblestone and dirt flew out as the scythe was cutting through the street. Eventually, after about twenty feet of sliding across the neighborhood, he finally came to a stop. He was breathing heavily as he just stood there for a half a minute. Leaning against his weapon to alleviate some of his weight off his legs.
"Been way too damn long since I've done anything like that. I'm seriously out of shape." He thought jokingly.
"AHHHHHH!" An angry shout came out as Vandham broke out from underneath the rubble. Pieces of stone and wood were sent outward.
Qrow snapped his head towards the shout. Honestly, he wasn't surprised. Of course Vandham would be able to stand back up. His damn semblance saw to that. It was always a pain to deal with. The more pain he felt, the more he could bolster his aura. Of course this semblance had its downsides. Since... well... he needed to be injured for it to activate. Despite this, Qrow knew that even with that semblance, having an entire building fall right on top of you would still cause great injury.
Vandham winced. Yup. Just as he had thought. A couple of broken ribs with a LOT of bruises and cuts.
"You surprise me Qrow. I didn't think you would be able to do all of that with just one good arm. Guess that's why you're considered a master of the scythe." The one-eyed man said as he gingerly straightened himself out and brought his shield back up.
Qrow raised Harbinger and pointed it at Vandham. He squinted his eyes as his vision began to swim and become blurry. His legs started to wobble a little. It was getting hard for him to just stand.
"Ah! There it is Qrow. The end." He said as he gave a pained pant. "I can tell by how your eyes look that you're having a hard time seeing and by how your legs are shaking that you've lost quite a bit of blood. It's like I said. It's too late. You can't win."
Qrow growled. He shook his head to get his vision right. Heaving and panting, he looked at his right arm just hanging limply. Vandham was right. Judging by the amount of blood that cover his forearm, he indeed has lost quite a lot of blood. But he knew he still had enough strength to fight. Enough strength for at least one more attack.
"Don't go counting your chickens just yet you ugly bastard. It ain't over till one of us is dead."
"Very true little birdie. You've got what? One? Maybe two attacks left in ya? You had best make them count. Otherwise, you're dead." Vandham mocked. All he had to do was keep his shield up and make it look like he was going to block his attack. Then, at the last moment, he would dodge out of the way and allow Qrow to go face first into the pile of rubble behind him. With him dazed, he would bring his axe down on the back of his neck. It was full proof since it was Qrow that had to be on the offensive.
Just as he had predicted. Qrow was running straight at him with his scythe at his side. The blade aimed horizontally. Once he came close enough, Vandham made a move to jump to his left. However, try as he might, it felt like his feet were cemented into the ground and would not budge. He looked down to see two glyphs spinning around his ankles. "What?"
He looked over to his right to find that Winter Schnee was propped up with her left arm while her right was extending out with the palm of her hand facing him. Remembering Qrow, he quickly brought up his shield to guard against a horizontal slash, but he lifted his scythe so the blade of it was pointing down vertically at him. Qrow had fooled him with a faint.
Qrow brought down Harbinger onto the shield. Thanks to its curve, it was able to hook onto the shield. He pulled it towards him as hard as he could. Vandham was unable to resist the pull and his arm came forward as his body bent over awkwardly. His head completely exposed, Qrow then thrusted his weapon into it. The blunt top of Harbinger smashing into his face and effectively dazing him. The force from the blow caused his body to recoil back slightly.
Spinning Harbinger so that the bladed portion of it was aimed outward to his left. He quickly put the blade over Vandham's head and rested it on the back of his neck. Then, in one smooth motion, he twisted his body left and yanked back his arm. Harbinger went right through Vandham's neck like a hot knife through butter.
A thud was heard as his head fell to the ground. From the last impulses of the brain, his mouth opened up slightly as his eye opened up a bit. A second later that very same eye rolled back. A small puddle of blood formed around the severed head.
The sound of metal clanging rang out as the axe fell on the street. The body followed. Landing an inch away from its head. Blood started squirting out from the pressure that was still inside the veins.
It was over. He was finally dead. Qrow looked over to Winter to see her breathing out a sigh of relief. Changing Harbinger back into its sword form, he placed on his back and began to slowly make his way over to her on shaky legs.
"You alright?" He asked.
Winter looked up to see Qrow holding his arm, Breathing heavily as sweet dripped down his tired looking face. "Yes. I'm fine for the most part. My aura blocked most of the explosion and me crashing into the wall. Perhaps a few bruises, but nothing more."
Standing up, she wiped of the dust and dirt from her clothes. Looking into Qrow's eyes, she couldn't help but detect some sense of guilt. Also, sadness? Why? They won. Shouldn't he be happy?
"What's wrong?" She asked bluntly. In a way that only Winter Schnee could ask.
"I'm sorry." Qrow said with his head hanging down in shame.
"Why?"She asked with a raised brow.
"You got hurt because of me."
"That doesn't make any sense Qrow. I'm certain I got hurt because of that ruffian."
"No. You don't understand. It was my semblance that hurt you."
"Beg your pardon?"
Qrow sighed as he shook his head. "My semblance is Misfortune. Basically, I'm walking, talking bad luck charm. Worst part is I can't control it. It can affect me, whomever I'm fighting, or anyone else around me. That's why you got caught in that explosion." He eyed the broken steel cables. Winter's gaze followed.
"It's very rare for those things to snap. It would be really unlucky for them to do that." Qrow said solemnly.
She had the distinct feeling that this wasn't the first time his semblance has negatively affected an ally. Looking at him now, he looked so sad. It was strange really. Winter was not used to seeing him so dejected. So...vulnerable. It was clear he was destroying himself on the inside about it. Winter frowned.
"This is unacceptable."
"Huh?" Qrow said with a confused look on his face.
The white-haired woman straightened out her back and folded her arms behind her. "You blaming yourself for something you cannot control. What happened wasn't your fault. It was merely the laws of statistical probability at play."
"But-" He began but was swiftly cut off.
"No buts. Did your team back in your days at Beacon blame you for any misfortune? I think not. At least considering the character of Tai. Besides, bad luck can always be dealt with by planning accordingly and keeping an eye on our surroundings at all times." She spoke to him as she would speak to a cadet who had screwed up on a mission.
"Listen. Alright, it's-" Once again he was cut off by Winter.
This time she actually got into his face and glared into his eyes. "No. You listen. Stop. Blaming. Yourself. For. Things. That. Are. Beyond. Your. Control." She said as she poked him in the chest with each word that came out.
Qrow felt something stir inside his chest. Something warm and fuzzy. It was heartwarming to hear someone be so adamant that he wasn't some bad luck charm that needed to be thrown away like many others would do. He had to admit it though. Winter looked kinda...cute when she was being so determined.
Then he did something that neither of them thought he would do. He started to laugh.
Winter frowned. "What exactly is so funny?"
Calming down, he gave her a gentle smile. "Nothin. Just...find it kinda funny that I would be getting cheered up by you of all people. Especially since I always thought you hated my guts."
She was alarmed when she felt that smile disarm her. Winter coughed into her hand and turned away from Qrow. "Well, seeing that we have to work together. I thought it would be professional of me to help you. That's all."
"Yeah. I'm sure that's what it is." He said with a smirk on his face.
Just as she turned around to give a retort, she felt Qrow wrap his good arm around her and pull her into a hug. She couldn't help, but feel her face heating up a bit. Displays like this were not things she was accustom to.
"Seriously. Thanks." He whispered into her ear.
"U-uh...You're welcome?" She really was not use to this at all. It didn't help that she enjoyed the tingling sensation that she felt when his hot breath brushed against her ear.
"Hey! Sorry. I got here as fast as I-" He paused as he saw the sight of Qrow embracing Winter. A sly grin came across his face. He crossed him arms and said with a teasing tone. "Am I interrupting something between you two love birds?"
Winter's face couldn't get more red with embarrassment. She immediately stepped away from Qrow and turned away from Taiyang so as to conceal her blush. "I...I think you have the wrong impression. It was merely a gesture of thanks. After all, I did, at least in some way, save his life. B-besides. Having such relationships between allies is highly unprofessional."
"Riiiiiight, but I didn't hear you say that you wouldn't BE in a relationship with him." Taiyang was very much so enjoying this. If there was one thing he loved, it was teasing others. As evident of his teasing of Qrow when he wore a skirt.
Winter quickly whipped around to face the blond man. Looking none to happy about all the teasing he was giving her. "If I were to be in a relationship, it would not be with...with him. He is dirty, foul mouthed, devoid of manners, and an alcoholic. No. If I were to partake in any amount of romance it would be with someone his who is clean and proper." She sputter out indignantly.
"Hey! I'm not dirty! Won't disagree with everything else though." He said in that very 'Qrow' sarcastic way. He pulled out his flask with his left hand and bit down on the cap and began to turn it. Once open, he brought his hand up and placed the cap in between his index finger and middle finger. Bringing up the flask to his mouth, he pulled his head back to allow the alcohol to wash down his throat.
"Ahhhh! That hit the spot." He said wiping his mouth with his sleeve. Qrow let out a burp when the brown liquid settled in his stomach.
Winter's face was contorted with disgust. "You see. This is what I'm talking about. Not a civilized bone in his body!"
Qrow smirked. "Ah c'mon. You know you can't resist my roguish good looks!"
Before Winter could respond, a snow flake fell on her nose. She crinkled the bridge of her nose as she felt the snowflake melt back into water. Looking up, she saw even more snowflakes beginning to fall. The sight reminded her of her home in Atlas.
Taiyang rubbed his arms together. "Geez. Is it me or did it just get like, really damn cold all of a sudden?"
Putting his flask away, he held out his hand and caught one of the snowflakes. "The hell is going on? We're still in fucking spring."
All three jumped when they heard a loud crash come from behind them. They all looked back to see a giant white rose protruding from the hotel they were staying at. Both Taiyang and Winter looked in awe at the giant structure.
However, Qrow did not share in their sentiments. He knew no semblance or amount of dust could ever create such a thing. "Could it be..."
His line of thought was interrupted by Taiyang shouting "Oh shit! The kids!"
At the sound of that, all three adults started sprinting as fast as they could towards the hotel. They hoped they weren't too late.
Making it onto to the scene, the three of them stopped to see paramedics tending to Ruby, Weiss, Ren, and Nora. Jaune was standing off to the side biting his nails.
"RUBY!" Taiyang shouted as he ran down the hall.
One of the medics stood up and put his arms out. "Excuse me, sir. I need yo-" He couldn't finish on account of Taiyang knocking him over.
"My baby girl! What happened to you?" Taiyang cried as he cradled his youngest's head in his arms. Flashes of finding Yang in the sorry state that she was in that night came back in full force. The image of her bloodied and broken form began haunting his mind.
The paramedic that got ran over moaned in pain. The man that had blown right through him had hit him like one of those speedy trains that go to Argus.
The others just looked at each other with confused looks, but shrugged. They knew their friend would be okay. For now, they needed to focus on their job.
"Sir, we kinda need you to let go of your daughter. She has a serious wound and we need to take her to the ER immediately." He said to Taiyang. Hoping the man would listen to reason.
Taiyang ceased his kisses on the top of Ruby's head and looked to the emergency responder. He then looked down to see the stabbing wound that left a hole where her liver is. Gulping, the father gave his daughter over to them in quivering arms. Tears still threatening to fall from his eyes.
The paramedics gently took Ruby from her father's arms and placed her on a stretcher. The scared, desperate look he was giving them made them feel for him. They all understood this was hard on him. They had children themselves. They very much understood what a father's love and worry does to a man. The pang of hurt they felt for Taiyang only encouraged them to make sure this girl would live to see another day.
Once Ruby was secured, they lifted the stretcher up and began to walk out as quickly and as carefully as possible. Taiyang followed closely behind. Right now, he just wanted to be by his daughter's side.
"It's just as I said Miss. Your sister is fine. She's just unconscious. Looks like she just passed out from exhaustion. She's really just about the same as them kids over there." The medic said while pointing his thumb towards Nora and Ren.
Winter closed her eyes and took a deep breath then exhaled in relief. It was good to know that her sister was fine. She looked towards Taiyang to see him walking with the medics. Her normally stoic face broke into a sad one. After hearing what had happened with his eldest, she can assume this was all very hard on him. Hell, that was a bloody understatement. There was absolutely no way for her to even begin to comprehend what he was going through right now.
These series of events started to make her worry for the poor father. Winter could only hope that he would cope well. She wrinkled her nose. Just where was Qrow? Shouldn't he be with Ruby too? She is his niece after all.
Looking around for a couple of seconds, she found him staring out the giant hole that was at the end of the hall. She began to walk towards him. Coming up a few feet behind him, she was about to scold him, but he spoke before she could utter a single word.
"You should take a look at this."
An eyebrow raised, she moved beside him. She looked up to see the giant rose made of ice.
"Right there. In that thorn." Qrow said while pointing to what he wanted her to see. "Tell me if he looks familiar."
Winter squinted her eyes to the person he was pointing at. Letting out a 'tch' she reached in her pocket and pulled out a small, rectangular device. Pressing a button, it increased in length and a small door slid up to form a pair of binoculars. Now she could see who it was that Qrow was pointing at. She gasped at the sight of Gavrilo's corpse. His face twisted in pain and fear. Winter pressed another button that allowed her to take a picture. This would surely help in getting her father convicted. The counsel and the courts would not be able to dismiss this no matter how much money her father threw at them. She would have to show Ironwood this picture when she returns to Atlas.
"Get everything you need?" Qrow asked.
"Yes." Winter removed the binoculars from her face and folded it back into it's smaller, more portable form. "He will pay dearly for this."
"I'm sure he will. However, we have more pressing concerns right now."
Winter folded her arms. "Meaning?"
Qrow turned to walk out of the hotel to go and be with Taiyang and his niece. "Meaning we got to talk, but first. Let's make sure everyone's okay."
"Very well." Winter eyed his wounded arm. She rolled her eyes. "Let's also make sure you're okay too. You need to get that checked out and fixed."
He threw his one good hand up in defeat. "Fine. Fine." Qrow knew that trying to argue would prove to be fruitless. Better to just do as she says and save himself a headache...as well as the arm ache.
Qrow hated hospitals. Not only did the smells offend his sensitive nose, but he found them incredibly depressing. His Faunus hearing constantly picking up the hacking and coughing of people. Even the cries of others losing their loved ones to a disease or some injury. Also, he hated how white ALL of the walls were. If it wasn't for the fact that the doctors wanted him to stay for at least one night to keep an eye on his arm, he would've left hours ago. Not just because he hated the place, but more so to avoid his semblance from affecting the other patients.
His ears registered the clicking of heels coming ever closer to the door. Those measured, disciplined steps he recognized to be Winter. "Guess it's time to have that talk." He thought somberly. Already hating that this had to happen. She would not like what he had to tell her.
The door clicked as it opened. Winter stepped through and closed the door gently behind her to be as quiet as she could be. She didn't want to be disrespectful to those who were resting or to anyone who was mourning.
She took a seat in a chair across from the Huntsman. Crossing her left leg over her right and clasping her hands together on her lap, she asked. "How is your arm Qrow?"
"It's fine." He said as lifted his right arm that was now in a sling. "Doc said it should make a full recovery. He just wants me to stay the night to make sure there are no complications."
"Well, that's...pleasing to know." Winter said in her normally measured voice. "So." She cleared her throat before continuing. "I'm sure there was something you wanted to tell me."
"Yeah." He said. Now turning to look her in the eyes. "It's about Weiss."
"What about her?"
Qrow let out a sigh. He really didn't want to do this, but it was best to be honest. "Look. I'll be blunt. Your sister is the Winter Maiden."
"I...I see. Yes. From what you told me about them, it would certainly make sense as to what had transpired. No amount of dust could ever make that structure and there is no semblance that can just change the weather." Winter frowned. "Though you make this sound like it's a bad thing."
"That's because it is. Well, it's good and bad. On one hand, we know who the Winter Maiden is and we can help protect her."
"And what about the other hand?" Winter asked with raised brow.
"Aaaaaand on the other hand. She has literally inherited a terrible mcguffin. There's a target painted on her back now. Salem is sure to know that the Winter Maiden is up and about in Mistral. You can't hide what happened yesterday."
"So. What do we do then?"
"Well, I got a couple of things in mind."
Before the conversation could continue, Taiyang entered the room. The blond man was looking worse for wear. Everything he has gone through has clearly taken its toll on him. He walked over to a seat close to his peers and plopped down.
Qrow was first to speak. "How's Ruby?"
"She's fine. They said she's out of the worst of it. They expect her to make swift recovery." His voice muffled from his face in his hands.
"Are you...going to be okay Tai?" Winter asked gently.
"Yeah. I'll be fine." He said as he waved his left hand. Removing his hands from his face, he sat all the way back in the chair. "I'm just very tired."
"If you're sure you are fine then I guess I'll take your word for it, but if you're tired, then you should rest." Winter then turned to Qrow to continue their conversation. "You said you had a few things in mind."
"Yeah. I did." Qrow responded while keeping his eyes on his ex-partner. "I think it's about time we start training those kids. They're talented, but they are clearly falling behind." Bringing his attention back to Winter. He sat forward. His left arm resting on the table. "They need to be better. They got lucky today."
"I agree." Taiyang said. Surprising both Winter and Qrow. Especially Qrow.
"Really? You agree with me?" Qrow was flabbergasted. Taiyang almost never agreed with him on anything in recent years.
"Yes. I'm agreeing with you. Look." Taiyang paused as he shifted in his seat to look at his companions. "I have no home anymore and neither does Ruby. There's no going back to anywhere. The only thing to do is move forward. However, that's incredibly difficult to do when our younger counterparts are struggling so much. It's obvious that no matter how talented they are, they're still just students."
Winter hummed in agreement. All of this made sense. They could stand to be toughened up a bit.
"Right. I guess we all agree then. The only thing left to do is to decide to who trains who." Qrow said as he went to reach for his flask. He spent a second searching for it before mentally cursing himself for forgetting that he wasn't allowed to drink yet.
"I will take Weiss. We share the same semblance. So it stands to reason that I will be responsible for her."
"That's fine." Taiyang looked at Qrow. "You can take Ruby. Both of you use the same type of weapon. I'm sure you haven't taught her any of the more complicated techniques."
"Of course not. She wasn't ready. Though I think she is now. She's got the basics mastered. So I guess it's time for her to evolve her game."
Taiyang nodded. "I'll take the rest. Especially that Jaune kid. He is so far behind that it's ridiculous. The boy doesn't even know how to use his semblance. Which makes me wonder why Ozpin thought it was a good idea to let him into Beacon in the first place."
"He might not have a semblance." Qrow said.
"Is that even possible?" Winter questioned. "I thought everybody has a semblance. It's just a matter of unlocking it."
"Sure. Normally, that's how it is. However, there are very rare cases where a person simply does not have a semblance. Like, at all. There are a few Huntsmen in history that didn't have a semblance and so trained themselves accordingly to compensate for that. But, like I said. It's very rare." Qrow stated matter-of-factually. "As for why Ozpin let him in, I have no idea. I know I wouldn't have let him in. Too dangerous for a rookie like that."
"Well, regardless, we should start training them as soon as they are healed up and ready to go. The sooner we start the better." Taiyang said.
All three adults nodded and began to prepare for sleep. They would need the rest for the road ahead of them. Training a bunch of kids was sure to be exhausting work. Though Weiss was on Qrow's mind. Training her would prove to difficult because of her Winter Maiden powers. It just reminded him of how much he needed to find Ozpin. He was the only one that could really help her.
Eyelids began to slowly open to reveal silver eyes. To Ruby, everything was so blurry. Soon enough, the auditory centers of her brain began to come online. The constant beeping of a heart monitor invaded her ears. A few minutes later, her vision cleared and everything came into view. The room was dark. Was it night time? She didn't know. The concept of time was lost onto her while she was unconscious.
Ruby figured she was in a hospital judging from the heart monitor and all the wires that were attached to her. Shifting in her bed, she wondered how she got here. The dark-haired girl strained her brain to remember what had happened. Ruby grunted in pain. It was then that she recalled what had happened. Gavrilo had come for Weiss and she was fighting him and then...and then he stabbed her. He had thoroughly beaten her. She couldn't even land a hit on him.
Tears swelled up in her eyes. She had failed. She had failed to protect Weiss. Failed to up hold her promise. Fists clenching the sheets tightly as she squeezed her eyes shut. The pain of her failure hurt more than her wound. No longer able to hold it back, she started crying. Water flowing down out of her eyes.
"You probably thought you would be the hero to save the day. Well, you were wrong. This isn't some fairy tale, brat. This is the real world. And in the real world, all the heroes that I know are either dead or in prison. There is no happily ever after."
"You got spirit, Red. But this is the real world! The real world is COLD! The real world doesn't care about spirit!"
"You want to be a hero? Then play the part and die like every other Huntsman in history!"
These words played over and over in her mind. Torturing her to no end. Haunting her very soul.
"They were right. I'm so stupid." She cried. Putting her arm over her eyes as she silently sobbed into it. "How could I have ever been so stupid to think I could ever be a hero? Stupid enough to think heroes could exist in a world like this?"
Moving her arm away from eyes, she let out a congested sniffle. "I can't do this. I'm just a stupid failure."
Jaune opened the door to the bathroom. It was hard for him to sleep. He couldn't believe that his friends were almost killed. What made things worse was that, yet again, he was powerless to stop it. He wasn't there to help. Just like Pyrrha.
He shook his head. Jaune slapped his face a few times. It was best not to think about her. It would only make him depressed.
Walking over to the sink. He turned the faucet on and cold water came out. Cupping a handful of water, he lowered himself and splashed the liquid onto his face. Rubbing his face a few times, he turned the water off and grabbed a few ply of paper towels.
After drying his face, he looked up at the mirror. Instead of seeing his own reflection, he saw a silver-haired man with shaded glass spectacles staring at him. The sight made him jump. He immediately turned around to see behind him, but no one was there. Jaune looked back at the mirror and this time he saw his own face. "Weird. I thought I just saw Professor Ozpin." He stared at the mirror to see if his reflection would change. A few minutes later, nothing happened.
Jaune sighed. "Man. I'm just seeing things. Guess this is what happens when you can't sleep very well." Throwing the clump of paper towels into the trash, he opened the door and exited the bathroom. He really need to get some sleep.
A/N: I want to say a few things for sake of transparency. Originally, I had planned for this chapter to come out on the same day Volume 6 premiered. However, these past few months have been rather hard on me. First, I had a close friend of the family commit suicide. Then, not too long after that, I had to put my dog down because she got cancer. While I would never say I was depressed. I was also not in a mood to write either. One last thing to say about this whole thing. Please. If you have thoughts of suicide. Please tell someone. Talk to people. Don't kill yourself. Don't make the people who love you miserable.
Now that we have that depressing stuff out of the way. Lets get into something that is hopefully happier. I have been playing a lot of Dragon Quest 11 and I have two things two say about that game. One. Jade is clearly best girl. Not only is she waifu material, but she is also step on me material. She's got the double whammy. Pretty hard to beat that. Second. Slyvando is best boi! Is pure boi! I am thoroughly convinced that he is the best character DQ has ever had. I love him so much.
LastOrder: I'm glad you love my story so much. Thank you. Also, don't worry about Robin. She'll get better.
Ultimatrix bearer: Just to let you know. I do like Weiss with Yang too. Also, no. YOU KEEP BEING AWESOME!
Nostromol: There are a couple of ways she can be the Winter Maiden. Either someone knew her and died with Weiss as the their last thoughts or she just got it by pure chance. I'll leave it up to you to speculate exactly how she got them. I know how, but what exactly tell. Just have to wait until it becomes relevant.
Before I go. I want to ask you guys something. How would you feel about a fic that more closely resembles DMC, but in the rwbyverse? A fic where Yang takes the place of the very much beloved Dante? This fic won't have DMC characters in it or the weapons or the same demons. It will merely just be the concepts of devils and what not. Not sure if that would mean it would have to be in the crossover section. I would think not since none of the characters are being used from DMC. Just RWBY characters with devils in it with Grimm still being a thing. Also,say I do this and make Yang as the Legendary Devil Huntress. Should I gave twin guns that are similar to Dante's M1911 style guns or should I give pistol shotguns like what Reaper has in Overwatch? Should Yang have a dragon demon form or a bird demon form. I think I'm leaning more towards dragon since the whole bird thing is being done here. Let me know what you guys think! See ya next update y'all!