RWBY: Destiny of Remnant

by UGX7

In the wake of the fall Team RNJR sets out to bring Cinder Fall to justice while the new Fall Maiden overlooks her master's plan in Haven City. Meanwhile Weiss tries to help a friend, Yang struggles with the loss of her arm, and Blake deals with guilt over the White Fang. Meanwhile someone from Cinder's past returns and Salem's newest pawn rises. Arkos, WhiteRose, SunnyBees, Renora

81. Salem Strikes Part X: Fire and Ice

One thing to note, this chapter takes place alongside the other chapters of Salem Strikes Back.

Chapter 80: Salem Strikes Part X: Fire and Ice

Multiple alarms wailed throughout Watchpoint Glacies as Elsa walked into the command center, Kaifin right behind her as always. They approached the gleaming armored forms of Snow Blade, Spirit Dreamer and ten other fellow knights from the Winter Templars Knight Legion.

"Snow Blade!" She called out to the Knight Vanguard, who was currently speaking hurriedly to a couple of sergeants from the Atlesian military forces. They quickly nodded and ran off, shouting orders to the other soldiers moving briskly through the hallways of Watchpoint Glacies.

He turned to face her, bowing to greet her. "I know the Kingdom's under attack, but perhaps you can enlighten me further with an update. What else has happened?" The Winter Maiden demanded to know as she looked carefully at the holographic map of the northern kingdom projected from the table.

From what she saw already numerous Atlesian cities, villages and military bases had reported to come under attack, highlighted in red and glowing with many black symbols indicating the Grimm incursions. However, a new location recently switched from blue to red within seconds, and it was very close to Watchpoint Glacies.

The densely-populated town of Borea and its accompanying village Glacies, which the scientific research outpost took its name from.

"The attacks are still ongoing, Maiden Elsa." Snow Blade gestured for her and Kaifin to follow him over to the holographic table where a couple of technicians were hard at work filtering the sizable streams of information coming from other Atlesian military forces into the projected holographic map, "Along with the Kingdom's army, the Winter Templars have also been deployed. Cold Steel is currently leading a significant number of the legion's knights to fight back against the Grimm invasion besieging Hephaestus City."

Pointing with a finger, Snow Blade directed the Winter Maiden's attention at a large blinking icon hovering over a large mass of Grimm icons outside the aforementioned Atlesian city and added, "The Indomitable Bastion is mobile and providing support through heavy bombardment against the largest concentrations of Grimm, but the resurgence against the Grimm swarms will take some time."

"Perhaps this was what the omen Soul Seer's semblance was warning her of." Spirit Dreamer suggested quietly.

"And what of that?" Elsa asked, pointing to the highlighted red area very close to their position, just about twenty miles away, "That's Glacies village, has it come under attack too?"

"I'm afraid so." Snow Blade confirmed solemnly, "From the security footage we've gotten off the local network, a large pride of Grimm Sabers are currently attacking them."

"Show me." Elsa glared at him and the Knight Vanguard reluctantly nodded at one of the technicians who swiped away a couple of holograms to bring up a live video feed of the Grimm attack on Glacies village, showing what looked to be dozens upon dozens of Sabers attacking the populace of the mountain village, having overwhelmed the few Hunters there in a flurry of claws and fangs.

"Shouldn't you knights be doing something?!" The Winter Maiden thrust a finger at the carnage unfolding on the holographic video, "Those are innocent people down there! And with so many Grimm attacking, not even the Huntsmen and Huntresses who live there can fend them off on their own!"

"I'm well aware of that, Maiden, and I have already dispatched some Winter Templars there. However, I don't want to send down more Knights than necessary." Snow Blade reasoned as he turned his helmet's lenses to look at the platinum-blonde haired Maiden, "Besides, this sudden attack on the village could be a trap meant to lure you away or divert our attention away from you. That is something I cannot allow, I have sworn an oath to protect you."

Elsa met the veteran knight's gaze with an intense one of her own for a few silent moments before she sighed and nodded, "I understand your concerns Snow Blade, but I simply cannot stand by and let those people suffer and die. So either you send more of your knights down there to deal with those Grimm, or I'll go down there personally and you and your detachment may follow me and we'll fight together."

"My Lady, listen to me. I cannot send more knights without compromising the defenses here, and the latter is out of the question!" Snow Blade refused vehemently as he made a sharp cutting motion with a gauntleted hand, "As the commander of the detachment in charge of your safety, neither I nor any of my fellow knights can allow you to expose yourself to the enemy!"

"And if I choose to go out there myself, do you really think you can stop me?" The Winter Maiden snapped back at him.

"I know I can't," Snow Blade answered in a softer tone, "But I still stand by my oath."

It was at this moment that Kaifin spoke up, "Knight Vanguard, I have a suggestion; you can take the bulk of the Winter Templars here and go down to help the village. Given your considerable abilities and skills as a commander, you should be able to make quick work of those beasts, assist in evacuating them to North Point, a more defensible location, and be back here before anything should happen. Also, we have Commander Antos and a substantial number of soldiers to ensure our safety until your return."

"With all due respect, Kaifin…I'm not leaving you and Elsa without any protection from my knights." The Knight Vanguard told him, his gaze turning from the Winter Maiden to her guardian.

"Then leave whatever number of your knights here you deem fit to protect her. I was watching over Elsa for years before you got directly involved, Snow Blade. Like you I've sworn to protect her with my life, so you can rest assured that I won't let anything happen to her." Kaifin promised the Knight Vanguard.

Snow Blade carefully considered his options, before looking directly at Elsa and seeing the pleading look in her crystal blue eyes. The Knight Vanguard glanced at the hologram horrible images of Glacies village on the screen where he saw a screaming woman pounced upon by a pair of Sabers which set upon her with their powerful fanged jaws and sharp claws, killing their victim within a few seconds.

He turned his helmet slightly and looked at the Winter Templars under his command, who all looked back as they awaited whatever orders he would give. The Knight Vanguard's helmet lenses then met those of the mask Spirit Dreamer was wearing for what seemed like a long moment, before he forced himself to relax and maintain calm and level-headed since whatever decision he made now would have its inevitable consequences later.

However, he had a duty to protect the innocent and helpless...And he would not fail his duty.

"Very well." Snow Blade announced, "Prepare the White Sovereign for immediate take-off. Lance Spinner and Blade Storm, you two are to stay here with Spirit Dreamer to protect the Winter Maiden with your lives should anything happen."

"Knight Vanguard, are you sure this a wise course of action?" Spirit Dreamer voiced cautiously as Snow Blade gestured for one of the Winter Templars to leave the command center to get their airship, the White Sovereign, for flight.

"Truthfully? No, but as the Winter Templars we have a duty to protect the people of Atlas. Kaifin is correct, if we strike at the Grimm quickly and forcefully enough we should be able to remove that dangerous threat to Glacies and North Point town before returning here to protect the Winter Maiden." The veteran commander of the Winter Templars detachment explained, earning some nods from the other Remnant Knights.

"Commander Antos, I require two additional squads of Atlesian soldiers to come with us as well to assist in the counterattack and evacuation." Snow Blade told the commander.

Antos nodded and said "Of course, they're already getting on board their Manta gunships. I have also informed them to follow your orders explicitly in battle."

The Knight Vanguard then turned to address Kaifin across the holographic table, "We will be back as soon as possible. In the meantime, please make sure no harm comes to her."

"You won't have to worry about that. Fight well." Kaifin shared a nod with the Knight Vanguard as the other Winter Templars turned and marched out of the opening blast doors except for Spirit Dreamer, Lance Spinner and Blade Storm.

"Orders acknowledged, Knight Vanguard." Spirit Dreamer inclined her masked face a little as she, Lance Spinner and Blade Storm bowed respectfully.

Snow Blade turned back to regard Elsa who told him, "Thank you so much, Snow Blade. I promise I'll be safe here with them protecting me and I can defend myself, but those people need your help."

"And they shall have it. Now, for your own safety please stay inside the compound until our return. Be vigilant, and alert your knight protectors should you notice anything odd. Stay safe, I'll be back shortly." Snow Blade instructed in a respectful but firm voice before he exited the command center with the rest of his knights.

A few moments later, Elsa and Kaifin watched as the huge armored form of the White Sovereign lifted off from Watchpoint Glacies' main landing pad and took to the skies alongside a pair of Manta gunships before swiftly descending to rescue the villagers of Glacies.

The Winter Maiden let out a sigh as she turned to her beloved and said, "Kaifin, I'm going to the Shrine of Krystallo to pray."

"You can pray here, it's safer." Kaifin mentioned to her before he noticed the clear look of distress in her eyes, and knew that his significant other was fearful for the people of their Kingdom.

"I know, but I feel more at peace there." Elsa replied as her blue eyes met his.

"Very well, I will follow you." Kaifin said firmly and glanced at the trio of Winter Templars, "Are you three coming too?"

"Of course." Spirit Dreamer answered calmly.

"I'll monitor things here at the command center and inform you if there's any changes to the situation." Antos looked up from his console of green computer screens, "Do you want me to have my troops escort you?"

"That won't be necessary, Commander." Kaifin answered as he gently shook his head.

Antos nodded before turning his attention back to the moving icons of both Grimm and military units clustering on his console's screen.

Escorted by her protectors, Elsa took Kaifin's hand into hers as they left the main compound of Watchpoint Glacies and made their way towards the shrine located within the Shrine of Krystallo which was a short distance from the repurposed research facility. Elsa had created it out of ice and formed it in the style of many Atlesian shrines for prayer, and although it was not very large but it served its purpose and the constant low temperatures of the mountains assured it wouldn't melt. Blade Storm positioned himself at the Shrine's entrance while Kaifin, Spirit Dreamer, and Lance Spinner took up guard around its sides and rear to ensure that no one could sneak up on Elsa, while she went inside.

She sat down on her knees, not bothered at all by either the frigid air or the cold, frozen ground and once she placed her weapon beside her within easy reach she began to pray to Oum and the Four Gods to protect her homeland from the widespread Grimm siege.

A part of her wanted to go down the mountain and use her abilities to help the people of Atlas, but as one of the remaining three Maidens she was simply too important to risk being isolated or attacked by Salem's agents. With Amber gone, the seasons were already disrupted. Losing another maiden might cause even more severe consequences on the current balance of power.

"Please, oh Gods of Remnant, hear my pleas. I always believed that you're real, since I wouldn't be here right now if you weren't. I beg of you to extend your divine protection to the people of Atlas." She prayed quietly, "I know the past of the Kingdom is a dark one, filled with atrocities and wrongs, and some of which have not yet been made right, but there are innocents here as well. There is also kindness, honor and a duty to protect the world of Remnant and make up for that dark legacy. There are also those who have done whatever they can to wash away the blood of the Faunus people that history have so wrongly persecuted and enslaved, and hopefully seek forgiveness from that race. These people…my people, deserve that chance for redemption and show the rest of the Kingdoms how much more they can be. Please, protect them from Salem and her evil forces, I know they are behind this. I pray to you, almighty gods, do not let so many innocent lives be wiped out…"

The platinum-blonde stopped when she suddenly sensed someone outside, treading across the snow as light as a spider on the surface of a pond. Despite their commendable attempt at stealth, the Winter Maiden could sense the shifting air and the faint sound of breathing, which was further followed by a very minor increase in temperature from the warmth of the said person's breath.

However, there was something familiar about this presence…something about it reminded her of…

Elsa's blue eyes widened as the dreadful realization hit her, she reclaimed her crossbow and slowly, carefully stood up and turned around to look outside. Narrowing her eyes, the Winter Maiden could see nothing but the falling snow, the various stone structures making up the Shrine of Krystallo, the usual snow-capped mountains and the slate-grey sky.

But she could feel something else was here with her and her protectors. Something that felt quite sinister now that she was fully alert. She needed to go and alert Kaifin and her knight protectors…

Wait, where was Blade Storm?

She quickly looked around, trying to spot the armored knight as she walked carefully out of the shrine. She readied her weapon and swept her gaze across the empty snow-covered structures, opening up all of her senses to the world around her and almost instantly sensed that she was not alone.

Something rushed through the air directly at her, and Elsa's hand snapped up quickly as she spun and caught the dark arrow that appeared to be somewhat burning with her Maiden powers, suspending it in mid-air and freezing it solid. She then allowed the projectile to fall into the snow at her feet, the heat from within causing it to steam.

Elsa looked up and laid her eyes upon a hooded figure in a red outfit standing on top of the small building where she and Kaifin had taken up residence in and noticed the collapsed form of Blade Storm who laid there. The figure regarded her for a moment, and removed the hood to reveal the black hair, amber eyes and the scarred face of Amber's killer, the false Maiden.

"Cinder Fall." Elsa seethed with a quiet, but powerful anger.

"And if I'm not mistaken, you must be Elsa Vorst." Cinder asked before she flipped off the building and landed gracefully in the snow, "So, we're both familiar with who we're dealing with."

Elsa could sense the power of the Fall Maiden within Cinder, the same kind of energy that had been within Amber, but now it was a darker, more ominous energy that carried the feeling of death with it. It made the Winter Maiden sick to think that this woman had killed Amber, a member of the Maidens' sisterhood, and had stolen the gift of the Fall Maiden for some nefarious agenda.

The two glared at each other, sizing one another up as they let the cold biting wind blow around them.

"You don't know how much trouble you've been causing us. You and your sister Maidens have managed to elude us quite well." Cinder spoke evenly, but there was a hidden fury behind her calm voice.

"And you have no idea how I have longed for the moment to finally face you, murderer." Elsa hissed coldly, a tranquil fury in her words and even within her usually kind eyes, which were now surrounded by the pale bluish-white shape of a snowflake, "I will avenge the death of my sister Amber. I will make you pay for what you did to her; to Pyrrha, Jaune, Blade Storm, and everyone else you have tortured and killed! If you think that scar Ruby gave you was painful, I'll personally return the pain you've inflicted on all of them a hundredfold!"

"Quite fierce for Maiden. And you have no right to preach about torturing and killing, dear Elsa. After all, look at who you are working with: Ironwood, Ozpin, the Remnant Knights…if you don't think they were guilty or have blood on their hands, then you're more foolish than I expected." Cinder mused softly, "I mean…those knights stayed hidden in the shadows for many years and didn't openly begin helping you until it's clear to them that we were winning. Ozpin's own actions led to the deaths of countless people over the years, and Ironwood…"

Cinder abruptly leapt backwards as large spikes of ice shot up diagonally out of the snowy ground, cutting through the air where her neck and chest had been a split-second ago.

"Shut up." Elsa spat coldly, "Nobody is perfect, and they all have their faults. But at least they still try to defend this world from Salem's tyranny, not help my monster of a predecessor further speed it towards destruction."

"Ah, so you know of my Master's former status as the Winter Maiden." Cinder observed as they began pacing around each other slowly, watching each other's movements closely and ready to strike at any moment.

"I do, and I'm content to have helped wipe the stigma of her evil away from the title of the Winter Maiden, just as I will be more than happy to end your tenure as the Fall Maiden." Elsa threatened icily.

Cinder raised an eyebrow as she answered her opponent, "You honestly think you can defeat me? Don't deceive yourself, Elsa, you're not like me. Unlike you, I have no compunctions and I'm willing to do things your mind could never even have conceived."

"Obviously. I personally never would have dreamt of murdering my parents over a lust for power and a promise of a witch. Nor would I murder my own brother in cold blood without hesitation just because I was ordered to-"

She was cut off as she dropped down just in time to avoid a powerful wave of fire directed at her, it sailed overhead and slammed into the shrine behind her and reducing it to a melting ruin. Steam billowed and hissed into the air from the scorching heat mixing with the cold air in its surroundings.

"Don't talk about things you know nothing about." Cinder growled fiercely.

"I'd say the same for you, False Maiden." Elsa retorted sharply.

"You can fight all you want Elsa, but know this: at the end of the day I will still kill you and take what rightfully belongs to Salem,." The amber-eyed woman snarled, "And once I'm done with you, I will go after the Spring and Summer Maidens."

"You really don't know anything about Maidens," The Winter Maiden shot back, "Because if you did, you wouldn't be so brazen. As for me…" She curled her fingers and summoned her Maiden powers, preparing herself for battle, "I'm not going down without one hell of a fight."

Cinder's lips curled upwards as she mirrored the Winter Maiden's gestures, "Good. I was hoping you put up more of a fight than Amber."

The two combatants glared at each other for a moment more, when all of a sudden Elsa heard Kaifin's voice calling out to her, "Elsa!" She leapt aside and saw her lover, Spirit Dreamer and Lance Spinner dashing towards Cinder with their weapons drawn.

Cinder attacked there and then, forming a pair of black swords out of flames from the Dust sewn in her clothes into her hands, shooting forward trying to stab Elsa who spun away quickly and fired back at her adversary with her crossbow. The bolts missed as the Fall Maiden leapt up into the air and came down close to the ruined shrine, still glaring at her opponent.

"Take her down!" Kaifin shouted, and was about to leap into battle when a Saber jumped off the nearby cliff overlooking them, crashing into the armored form of Lance Spinner who grunted as she was thrown across the inner courtyard before she could bring up her double-bladed lance.

The Winter Templar cried out in shock as the Saber opened its fanged jaws wide and attempted to bite its way through her armor, its long fangs creating large gashing down the plating before Kaifin blasted it away with his twin heavy machine pistols. It was then forced to quickly lope away when Spirit Dreamer conjured up and sent a number of flaming projectiles shooting in its direction.

Unexpectedly they heard the roars of more Sabers sounding off, alerting Elsa and her knight protectors as half a dozen more of the Tiger Grimm appeared on the cliffs and rooftops of the buildings around them along with the figure of Sheer Kaa.

"My friends, let us leave the Maidens to sort things out on their own." The Grimm Commander of the Sabers remarked before drawing out his large, scissors-like weapon and detaching the two halves and holding one of each in his hands, while also using his powers over the Grimm to direct some of them elsewhere.

"Halt! Don't move!" ame the voice of Commander Antos as he led some of his troops towards the standoff, only to pounced upon by Sabers, leaping down from buildings and sinking their teeth and claws into the soldiers, who began to fight back. Antos screamed in pain as a large Sabers huge fangs sunk into his neck, and with a powerful twist, his head was removed from his body.

Kaifin's eyes were wide with worry as he realized that Snow Blade had been right. The attack on the village was indeed a distraction to draw away the bulk of the Winter Maiden's protection, a trap they had played right into.

"Elsa…" He began, raising his twin pistols to point at Cinder who had backed off for a brief moment.

"Kaifin, take out the Hybrid and his pets. I'll deal with Cinder." Elsa told him in a firm tone of voice.

The Maiden's Guardian sighed, since he knew she wasn't to be argued with whenever she used that tone. "Be careful, please." He told her.

"I will, my love." Elsa assured him before she swiftly attacked Cinder, firing multiple Dust-infused bolts at the scarred woman who managed to use her own Maiden powers to either stop them in thin air or deflect them by sending those projectiles flying into the sky. She then sent a blast of fire at Elsa, who managed to use some kind of Aura-blocking technique to block most of the fireblast and was instead pushed back a few steps. The same cannot be said for Spirit Dreamer, who despite using a protective shield with her force staff in front of her was instead blown into the side of an adjoining temple building for her trouble.

Sheer Kaa let out a menacing growl as he and his Sabers jumped down on Kaifin and Lance Spinner. Elsa's guardian shot away at a pair of Tiger Grimm as they roared and charged him, some even racing on towards the compound to eliminate Antos and his soldiers while the Winter Templar dueled fiercely against the blades of the Tiger Faunus Grimm Commander who found his skills to be not lacking in the slightest as he parried and blocked Lance Spinner's every swing and strike.

Elsa remained on the ground as Cinder approached her and said, "With your defeat, we will have half of the Maiden powers. And maybe more by the end of today."

"That's where you are wrong. Even if Salem's other disciples found them, my sister Maidens aren't going to fail," Elsa snapped back, "And neither will I. Sorry to disappoint you."

"Good." Cinder lifted her chin a little as her fingers twitched, "I was hoping you'd choose the hard way."

Cinder suddenly shot her hand outwards and sent a powerful blast of fire at Elsa, who jumped up into the air just in time, the cold gales helping keep her airborne with her braided hair swinging behind her except for a few loose strands, as the hot flames narrowly missed her and exploded against the side of the temple building.

Elsa landed atop the opposite smaller temple structure and ran as Cinder unleashed a barrage of fire on her, chasing after the running Winter Maiden before she jumped off the building and grabbed a nearby flag pole. She twirled around on it until she let go and flew directly at Cinder, who received a couple of painful kicks to the gut and chest that knocked the Fall Maiden onto the snow-covered ground.

The Winter Maiden landed on her feet and one hand, using it to pick up a handful of snow and use her Maiden powers to instantly transform it into a sharp blade of ice. She came over to Cinder, ready to bring the weapon down on her head. "For Amber, for Pyrrha, for everyone…" Elsa whispered as she brought her ice blade up to deliver the quick blow that would end the murderer's life.

Elsa never took pleasure in killing, but against the murderer who took Amber's life and stole her powers, the Winter Maiden told herself that it was necessary.

She slammed her ice-forged weapon down but was a second too late as Cinder managed to roll around and parry it with her own sword formed from flaming Dust, slightly burning through Elsa's blade before she poured more of her own power into it into keeping the ice blade solid.

Cinder quickly lurched up and the two Maidens began dueling rapidly, each strike sent up a small burst of steam as fire and ice smashed against each other fiercely.

The battle had begun in earnest, and none of the fighting combatants noticed that the fingers of Blade Storm's seemingly lifeless armored form were twitching slightly.

---

Due to the remote location where their military outpost was, the token garrison of soldiers stationed at Glacies village often considered their posting to be among the most boring assignments in the entire Kingdom. Other than the usual guard duties and patrols around the village which consisted of a couple dozen buildings or so, there was little else to do except to stare at the snowy landscape, forests, and mountain for hours and wait for the day itself to end.

Other than the usual supply runs that would arrive via airship; the dozen or so troopers and their commanding officer, a lieutenant by the name of Kristan, often wondered when they'd be reassigned and get out of the dreary place and get placed anywhere else. After all, the chances of anything happening to this simple village could possibly be counted in astronomically huge odds if anyone had bothered to waste their time on it.

That was until the village suddenly came under attack by a pride of Sabers, and everyone hurriedly scrambled to put their hastily-made evacuation plan in place for the dozens of villagers.

In the main avenue that opened out into the village square, a rushed but somewhat orderly evacuation was taking place in front of a white marble statue of a saluting Atlesian soldier who was supposedly a hero who fought in the last Great War. Men, women and children hurriedly climbed onto the cargo areas of the eight military transport trucks that were parked in the square's vicinity with their engines running loudly, while support staff of the small outpost to assist in the evacuation urged them to move faster before the Grimm hordes could break through the barricades holding them back at the far side of the village.

Meanwhile, another intense battle was taking place at the same time. From windows and barricades, Atlesian soldiers were laying down hails of gunfire with assault rifles and shotguns at the incoming Grimm, while making sure that no civilian was left behind. Additional firepower was provided from a few turrets mounted on the lookout towers, which blew up groups of Sabers with every blast but there were so many of them that it didn't help much.

Over the panicked noises of evacuation and the thundering din of weapons fire, Lieutenant Kristan could hear a terrified shout coming from a nearby corporal, "The Grimm are breaking into the main street! We've got to fall back before we were cut off!"

"Belay that order! Stand your ground!" Kristan shouted to cut off any chance that the soldiers under his command would abandon their cover and allow the Grimm to get through. The troopers he was glaring at muttered under their breaths but they kept shooting, and that was enough for the lieutenant to turn his attention to other pressing matters.

"Sergeant Bran, have you made contact with the capital?" He demanded into his helmet's communication unit even as he fired at the huge pack of Sabers rushing down the main avenue.

"Negative, lieutenant!" Bran's reply was hurried and tense, "High Command says that all available military assets are being mobilized everywhere! It's like all of Atlas is under attack! I don't think we'll get any help anytime soon!"

"Damn!" Kirstan swore as he looked back at the barely-holding barricades which were minutes away from being torn open by the Sabers. But he knew his duty as a military officer, and that was buying as much time for the inhabitants of the village to escape before they were overwhelmed.

"Sir, there's too many of them!" A private with a mauled helmet ran up to him breathlessly, "We have to leave while we still can! Sound the retreat!"

"Not until the evacuation is complete!" Kristan grabbed the private's armor and pulled his frightened face close to his own, "We're on our own, but we need to give these people time to get away! If we run and survive and leave them to die, what will you think of yourself tomorrow?! Now get back out there and start killing Grimm!" He shoved the soldier backwards and resumed his shooting, the Atlesian soldiers quickly going back to shooting to avoid his wrath.

"Lieutenant!" He heard a shout coming from another corporal who was firing from his sniper position on the second floor of a building across the street, "Look! Behind you!" The sniper quickly pointed at something behind the lieutenant.

After bringing down another Saber, Kristan looked where the sniper was pointing and was shocked to see a heavily-armed aerial assault craft descending swiftly from the snowing skies amidst maelstroms of air currents. Outwardly, the airship looked like those used by high-ranking officers for transport back at the capital, but it was much bigger and far more advanced than anything the lieutenant had ever seen in his career in the Atlas military.

Thundering blasts were heard as the White Sovereign's armaments and ventral batteries opened fire and ripped into the milling Grimm down the main street, quickly churning up Sabers, large chunks of rubble, and hurling other Grimm into the air with huge waves of enormous firepower. The surviving soldiers under Kristan's command, who were spread out along the barricades amongst the few civilians who had bravely took up weapons to fight, gave a ragged but enthusiastic cheer and then resumed firing their weapons at the disoriented Grimm hordes.

The near-endless sound of gunfire on the ground resumed as the airship yawed to port, bearing away from the village and over the evacuation point at the town square while maintaining the same punishing rate of weapons fire to buy the defenders some breathing space. There was a loud series of clanks, and a ramp lowered from the belly of the ship, revealing a white rectangle of white light which several armored figures stood with a wide variety of powerful weapons clutched in their gauntleted fists in orderly rows.

"Charge! For the Vale King and Remnant!" Came the shout, and rows of Winter Templars ran and leapt from the airship, dropping down into the battlefield below and began to deal swift death to the Sabers that were charging towards them. Soon more than two dozen knights had already formed an armored fighting wedge and were cutting deep into the teeming Sabers and slaughtering any Grimm within reach, while their airship provided much-needed firepower to protect their flanks.

Even as Kristan rallied his remaining soldiers to unleash salvos of gunfire to aid the Winter Templars, he also saw a couple of Bullheads landing on the rooftops of nearby village buildings and disgorging a few squads of Atlesian soldiers who quickly added their fusillades to the raging battle below. They must have come from Watchpoint Glacies, he realized, or else would they have arrived so quickly?

At the front of the wedge of Knights was a large warrior sheathed in white and grey armor who was wielding a huge double-bladed sword which he swung left and right in wide arcs, cutting away multiple Grimm limbs and heads, splattering black ichor everywhere. He fought with precise movements, wasting none of his strength while other Winter Templars flowed around him to protect his flanks and back, fighting off the other Sabers with halberds and swords while he focused on eliminating the more dangerous beasts. Within seconds, the Winter Templars had already carved their way through a sizable number of the Sabers.

"Keep up the pressure! I want every single one of you giving those knights as much cover fire as possible!" Kristan told his soldiers, "Don't stop shooting until every Grimm is dead and gone!"

As his troops quickly obeyed his orders, the lieutenant hoped that with the timely arrival of the Winter Templars, he and the rest of the garrison might just possibly survive this.

---

It had only taken about five minutes for both Maidens to descend into a hellish battle that could only the things of legends but with their lives on the balance. Waves of fire and ice erupted out of Cinder and Elsa's hands respectively, impacted into each other and were thrown aside narrowly missing the other combatants around them. The amount of sheer destructive power being displayed between them only served to drive home how dangerous the Maidens' powers could be.

Elsa could hear the gunfire from deeper in the compound, shouts of pain and cries for help as the soldiers were beset by the snarling feline Grimm. But she couldn't help them right now.

After dodging the latest wave of flames from Cinder, the Winter Maiden summoned a powerful winter gale and used it to forcefully blow the Fall Maiden into the side of one of the two main watchtowers. She then ran forward and leapt, aiming to plunge her ice sword through Cinder's stomach which the Fall Maiden avoided by jumping upwards and quickly climbed up the tower. Elsa swiftly took off after her and the two fighters traded fierce blows as they scaled the tower, damaging it in the process as they got higher and higher.

They soon reached the top and Cinder used her heat powers to melt all of the ice and snow so they wouldn't slip and resumed dueling with Elsa, but the Winter Maiden instead used the melted liquid to form an ice chain to hold Cinder in place. She then charged forward with her sword raised but Cinder easily blasted the cold chains apart and pivoted away from the blow before it connected with her head. The two Maidens began striking at each other remarkably fast in a wild series of slams, parries, chops, stabs, slashes and a plethora of other moves that were far too fast for even the most proficient of warriors to follow.

It seemed that neither Maiden had the upper hand, and that the two powerful women were an equal match for one another.

Their blades slammed together once again, hot gusts of steam rising from the heat embracing the deep cold from the grinding of both weapons. Amber eyes met crystal blue ones as the two Maidens glared at one another, and knew that this match would inevitably end with the death of one of them.

Elsa all of a sudden drew back and spun around, then used another powerful gust of wind to send Cinder flying towards the cliff face, but the Fall Maiden recovered and used her momentum to land roughly on top of a rock formation, her swords firmly gripped in her hands.

Cinder formed her bow again and began launching more arrows at Elsa, the latter Maiden using her powers to either freeze them in mid-flight or force them away to kill Sabers and taken the burden off her beloved guardian and Lance Spinner.

The amber-eyed Maiden decided that a more destructive approach was called for and quickly collapsed her bow away, bringing her hands apart to create several large fireballs that she sent flying at the Winter Maiden on the watchtower. Elsa jumped off as the fireballs collided with the tower and blew up its roof in an explosion of rubble and flames. Elsa created a slope of ice and rode it down to safety and landed on her hands and knees but losing her ice sword in the process. She glanced up at the passive, yet somehow still smug face of Cinder Fall who calmly summoned more fireballs.

Elsa dashed away to avoid being burned by those miniature explosions which flung geysers of snow and dirt into the air wherever they impacted, running in a zig-zagged pattern towards the rock where Cinder was standing.

She skidded to a stop and used her Maiden powers to create a giant spike of ice that shot upwards and nearly impaled Cinder, who leapt off the rock formation just in time as the ice spike raced an inch past her right shoulder and slammed into the hardened rock of the mountain.

Cinder spun around and threw out another fireball which Elsa dodged and punched her in the chin, causing her aura to flare briefly. The Fall Maiden quickly recovered and flipped over Elsa, creating her two swords again and tried to slash the Winter Maiden across the stomach but was blocked by another ice sword before Elsa jumped up and kicked one of Cinder's swords out of her hands.

Snarling, Cinder sent another torrent of fire at Elsa who created a shield of ice to protect herself which just barely managed to hold against the fiery blast. The Fall Maiden then rushed forward, exchanging a rapid series of powerful clashing blows with Elsa before she suddenly slammed a ball of flames into the platinum blonde-haired woman's chest which sent her flying backwards by several meters, where she landed onto the snowy ground with a grunt and her aura flickering.

As the battle of Maidens transpired, Kaifin did his best to blast away the Grimm while Lance Spinner was being outmatched, her skill with the double-bladed lance she wielded being no match for Sheer Kaa's whose many years of combat experience, heightened Faunus senses and Grimm Commander abilities gave him quite the advantage over the Winter Templar. The lance-wielding knight fiercely fought off both Sheer Kaa's attacks and those of the circling Sabers, only to be thrown onto her back when another Saber slashed at her arm, knocking her off balance and allowing the Grimm Commander to slam the grip of his scissor blade into the female knight's chest-plate, knocking her backwards into the snow.

"So these are the fabled skills of the Remnant Knights? I'm unimpressed." Sheer Kaa stated sardonically as his eyes shone red again, taking control of his Sabers. Lance Spinner forced herself to grit her teeth and fight harder as she slashed away at the attacking Grimm which were trying to kill her. Just when she managed to block the latest blow, another Saber leapt at her roaring when a pair of silver longswords erupted through its body and tore the aforementioned Grimm creature in half in a shower of black blood.

The unexpected, yet welcome, reappearance of Blade Storm landed beside Lance Spinner even as the two halves of the recently deceased Saber dissolved away, spinning both of his longswords smoothly in his gauntlets as he shifted into a combat-ready stance.

"Blade Storm! You're alive!" Lance Spinner proclaimed while looking at her comrade who seemed to be a bit sluggish in his movements, and saw that there was blood trickling out of a rent among the torso armor plates in the right side of his Aegis suit.

"For now!" Blade Storm spun on his feet as he blocked an incoming strike from Sheer Kaa and retaliated with a swift riposte and sharp jabs that forced the Grimm Commander to backtrack while snarling, "Keep fighting!"

Kaifin grinned, relieved to know that the Remnant Knight wasn't dead. All they had to do was to hold out until Snow Blade and the others returned, and then the tables would really turn.

Elsa pushed herself up just as Cinder came forward and threw another fireblast at her, but this time the Winter Maiden was prepared for that attack and threw out an open hand, sending out a blast of frost and snow that collided with it head on which created a sharp burst of steam in the air.

She then, with great effort, created a cold blast of powerful freezing wind and snow that sent Cinder flying into the middle of the Watchpoint's compound, where several dead soldiers lay with Sabers devouring their remains. The Fall Maiden scrambled up as Elsa approached her across the length of the compound with the glowing shape of snowflakes clear around her eyes which stared coldly at her adversary, while sending flying icicles to impale the Grimm monsters in her sight.

"Argh!" Cinder grunted as her hands shot forward to let out an equally powerful blast of fire and autumn wind, impacting into Elsa who was thrown backwards towards the dropping slopes of the mountain, just barely protected by her aura which flickered a little.

Elsa recovered and glared at the approaching Fall Maiden, hissing out, "Sorry to disappoint you, but it won't be that easy!" She slammed her hands open-palmed into the snow and suddenly huge spikes of solid ice erupted from the ground and shot quickly towards Cinder, who unleashed another blast of fire to protect herself. The wave of flames impacted onto the Winter Maiden's ice spikes, splitting them apart and forcing them away from her even as they kept forming. Elsa swept her hands left and right as she poured her powers on, making the snow and the shattered ice shards explode into the air around her enemy and causing Cinder to cry out as she used her own Maiden powers to shield herself.

Snarling in anger, Cinder struck back with more blasts of fire that melted the ice spikes down, rendering them harmless before she attacked Elsa with a strong howling gust of autumn wind while throwing out a scattering of dead leaves from her sleeves which she used her powers to sharpen them and then hurled them forward to cut the Winter Maiden.

Elsa brought up another blast of arctic winds, redirecting the sharp leaves away from her harmlessly as her feet dug deep into the snowdrifts to keep herself standing. When the gusts of autumn wind faded away she seized the brief chance and drew her crossbow weapon again, her finger tightening on the trigger as she lined up a shot at Cinder.

The Fall Maiden spun around and formed her bow in an instant, letting loose a trio of flaming arrows which sped towards Elsa. The Winter Maiden countered with three quick shots from her crossbow, the arrows already coated with blue Dust. The arrows all collided with each other and exploded into clouds of steam, leaving the two Maidens glaring at one another.

"I will kill you, Elsa." Cinder snarled, pointing one of her black swords at the Winter Maiden.

"Not if I kill you first, thief." Elsa retorted harshly.

Elsa shot out her left hand, which Cinder quickly leaned to the right as a massive spike of ice broke out from the snowy ground below them and nearly impaling her. She looked back to Elsa who repeated her action, this time throwing out her right hand and bringing up another huge spike from the right which Cinder had to leap away from or be trapped between them.

Elsa slammed her gloved hands together, creating another deadly spike of ice in the middle, which shot upwards with lightning speed and nearly spearing through Cinder who was sent crashing onto the snow-covered ground. With a shout of anger and effort, the Winter Maiden used her powers to bring all three ice pillars down on Cinder to trap her.

Cinder screamed angrily as the trio of ice pillars enclosed around her, trapping her inside. Elsa threw in an extra burst of her power until the ice enclosure was completely sealed up, and caught her breath before she heard a series of loud cracking sound coming from the aforementioned structure. She barely had time to bring up a shield of ice before it exploded like a bomb due to the powerful flaming wind of the Fall Maiden, who flew into the air through the powerful jets of fire coming out of her hands.

Elsa used the arctic winds to propel herself upwards and dodge a few fireballs thrown at her, slamming into Cinder and causing the two of them to fall down into the outer courtyards of the Watchpoint, surprising the surviving soldiers who still battled the Sabers. They wrestled fiercely for control with each other before they hit the cold ground in a tangle of limbs, a small wave of snow and dirt thrown in all directions. Elsa threw a punch with her right arm, only to be blasted backwards by Cinder who managed to throw out a blast of hot flames at the Winter Maiden's torso.

Cinder recovered before glancing over at some soldiers aiming at her, only for them to be attacked by the Sabers.

The Fall Maiden glanced back just in time to see Elsa sprinting towards her, and broke into a sprint as well. They both sent out powerful beams of fire and ice shooting through the air at each other and met in the middle of the compound, exchanging several lightning-quick blows and struggling against each other even as their figures fluctuated in shape while the two Maidens struggled for dominance.

Cinder and Elsa began yelling out furiously as they put channel more power into both their Aura and Semblance, and yet more Maiden power as well as raw energy into their ongoing struggle. Their feet, however, were firmly planted on the cold flagstones with neither one giving in as their power struggle began to affect the surrounding area around them as waves of energy began spreading outwards from both of them. Thick waves of hot and frigid air blasted away and slammed into each other, spurts of hot steam rising rapidly while small spikes of burning ice began to form and wayward beams of fire and ice impacted onto the structures around them and destroying large chunks of the Watchpoint and causing havoc with soldiers and Grimm alike being set ablaze or having parts of their bodies frozen.

The wall of a building behind Cinder rumbled while the light posts near Elsa exploded and sent shards of glass falling around her. The Maidens struggled even harder against each other, even causing several towers of mountain rock to rise from the ground as their energy began to affect the bedrock of the mountain itself. Several pillars of heaped rock emerged from the ground only to crumble just as quickly with even more than a few being shattered by the wayward blasts of fire and ice energy. Huge, deadly ice shards stabbed out into the air and through the various buildings while fires formed out of nowhere around the warring Maidens, further damaging Watchpoint Glacies even further. Rubble from the rock towers and the other temple structures fell around them, and a stray beam of ice impacted onto the mini CCT tower and instantly froze it in a thick cover of ice.

Their energy struggled intensified exponentially as the two Maidens were soon encased in twin balls comprised of Maiden energy; one of ice and one of fire .

It was a pure battle of the elements. Winner takes all.

Cinder let out a furious scream as she poured even more power into her attack which Elsa returned with just as much power, causing a huge shockwave to blast outwards all over the large plateau of the mountain they were currently on. The shockwave slammed into the surrounding buildings and also sent lots of dirt and snow flying into the air. The frozen CCT support tower was promptly shattered to pieces by the blast, blowing it over the top of one of the base's buildings with a deafening crash that sent pieces of wrecked metal, blocks of ice and thick severed sparking cables flying everywhere.

Kaifin, the trio of Winter Templars, the soldiers, Sheer Kaa and the Sabers were abruptly interrupted in the midst of their own battle as they noticed the shockwave that was coming rapidly towards them. They braced themselves as much as they could when the impact slammed heavily into them, with some of the soldiers and Sabers even getting themselves flung into the air as well.

The tempestuous ball of fire and ice got bigger and bigger with each passing second, becoming increasingly unstable with more dangerous blasts of elemental energy striking out near-endlessly and obliterating anything they hit. One of the fire blasts licked out and smashed into one of the watchtowers, blowing off its top to bits and even compromising its overall stability. The tower soon began to slant over, sending flaming debris raining down on Blade Storm and the Sabers he had been fighting against. The twin longswords-wielding knight dove aside just in time, but the Sabers weren't so lucky and was crushed under tons of ancient stone and ice in short order. However, a thick, flying chunk of ice manage to hit Lance Spinner's helmet and knocked her unconscious, taking her out of the fight for good.

Blade Storm and Kaifin looked at each other for a single tense moment, both knowing that their fighting strength had been lessened with Lance Spinner out of the picture and Spirit Dreamer lying dazed somewhere. Then the moment was gone and they were back fighting against Sheer Kaa and his Grimm.

"Elsa! Don't let her beat you! You can do it!" kaifin shouted as he lifted up his machine pistol and aimed it at Cinder, "All you need is a little…"

He didn't get to finish whatever he wanted to say as a threatening growl came from somewhere close and a Saber leaped out of the swirling snow drifts and crashed into him, knocking the Maiden's Guardian over. The Tiger Grimm roared at the Huntsman, and was about to bite out his neck when a pair of rune-etched silver blades erupted from its neck.

"No time to be lying around, Guardian!" Blade Storm withdrew his blades in a flourish and kicked the dying Grimm creature aside, which Kaifin jammed one of his guns out and blew off the heads of more charging Sabers, the wounded knight quickly pulled the Maiden's Guardian back up with an open gauntlet before shoving his fellow warrior aside roughly another Saber jumped towards them.

Blade Storm spun around and thrust out his swords in a stunning figure of eight, slicing through the limbs of the Saber even as blood leaked out from the wound in his Aegis armor's torso plates. He then shifted his stance so as not to expose his wounded side and spun his swords to meet another pair of charging Sabers. Kaifin got back up again, only to be attacked by more of the other Grimm creatures.

Kaifin immediately engaged them, emptying the Dust rounds of his machine pistols into the attacking beasts and managed to fend them off when an armored fist from Sheer Kaa slammed into the back of his head and sent him sprawling among the snow. Before Kaifin could even attempt to get up, the Grimm Commander kicked him over and planted both blades of his weapon at the Maiden Guardian's neck in a scissor formation as his piercing red eyes stared directly into Kaifin's own whose neck was pinned in place by the sharp blades. An armor-clad boot had already stamped down on his pistol-wielding arm, preventing Kaifin from bringing it to bear on the Grimm Commander.

"Calm yourself, human. Tell your Maiden to surrender, and all will be well." Sheer Kaa insisted as he kept staring into Kaifin's eyes while activating his hypnotic Semblance.

The Maiden's Guardian struggled fiercely, but Sheer Kaa's greater strength and weapons kept him trapped even as the battle between the two Maidens raged on while Blade Storm and the soldiers were about to be overwhelmed by additional Sabers which the Grimm Commander had kept in reserve earlier.

"Look at me, look into my eyes." Sheer Kaa gently beckoned as his powers slowly began to affect Kaifin whose struggles began to slow.

From Kaifin's point of view, he could see a stunning array of black and white rings appearing in the Grimm Commander's eyes, circling around and down in a mesmerizing fashion, "Calm yourself, nothing but calmness. Listen only to the sound of my voice. Feel your mind and body relax, your urge to fight die down. Feel it fade away and surrender yourself to me."

Kaifin realized what was happening; the Grimm Commander clearly had some sort of hypnotizing Semblance and was using it on him. He quickly forced his eyes shut, only to feel the cold steel of Sheer Kaa's blades press in on both sides of his neck.

"Open your eyes or I'll cut open your throat." Sheer Kaa threatened.

Kaifin growled as he slowly opened his eyes, a plan forming in his mind as he looked back into the enveloping gaze of his opponent. Despite hearing the shouts and grunts coming from the other combatants around him, he might stand a chance of thwarting Sheer Kaa's efforts if he could just keep his focus on what mattered most to him.

The Maiden's Guardian could see the rings of black and white spread out of the red eyes of the Grimm Commander; gradually taking on a multitude of colors which became quite disorientating to look at, as if he were looking at a rapidly shifting kaleidoscope. He could feel himself and his senses going numb as he kept looking into the hypnotic gaze of the Tiger Faunus, but inwardly forced himself to keep his mind on the single thought that meant everything to him..

"Now, release your weapons." Sheer Kaa told his captive.

Kaifin slowly did as he was told, letting his guns drop into the snow and never looking away from the Grimm Commander's enthralling stare.

"Now, will you obey me?" Sheer Kaa asked with a commanding tone in his voice.

"Y-yes…" Kaifin answered as he stared back at the Grimm Commander, his eyes unblinking.

"Good." Sheer Kaa said as he stood off his enemy, "Now, let us give the Fall Maiden a hand an-"

Suddenly Kaifin lifted up his feet and slammed them into Sheer Kaa's thighs in one swift move, knocking him down and forward onto his knees so Kaifin could clobber him right in the face with a powerful punch of his gauntlet. The Grimm Commander spat out some blood and tried to defend himself, but Kaifin followed up with a knee to the gut which sent Sheer Kaa crashing through the snow.

Before his opponent can recover Kaifin quickly scrambled away and reclaimed his twin machine pistols before jumping up to fire at Sheer Kaa, who speedily dashed away on all fours with Dust bullets chasing him across the snowscape and killing a couple of Grimm Sabers as well.

"Ah, it appears you have a strong mind!" Sheer Kaa commented as he leapt back onto his legs and expertly blocked the shots coming his way with his scissor swords, "You must have amazing focus to resist my Semblance."

"I have something worth focusing on." Kaifin returned as he glanced over to the aggressively fighting forms of Cinder and Elsa several meters away, both of whom were still struggling for control as the twin glowing orbs of fire and ice grew yet larger and more destructive with each passing second.

Meanwhile, the war between the Maidens didn't let up as more bolts of elemental energy and debris continued flying everywhere; a Saber was impaled by a shard of ice and the side of a garage was blown open by a particularly powerful blast of fire which caused part of the roof to fall in, while angelic statues Elsa had created out of ice were shattered.

Elsa let out a grunt of effort as she poured even more of her energy into her attack, sending shards of ice flying at Cinder, who used her power over the wind to send them smashing through the window of the main building, where it impaled the main screen and the holo-table, destroying them in showers of sparks.

Screams from both women echoed as they kept channeling more and more power into their blows, causing buildings and additional temple structures to collapse as waves of elemental energy kept spreading. Their faces were somewhat contorted by the overly strenuous effort of sending punishing blows of power at one another in an attempt to overwhelm the other, the shapes around their eyes shining brighter and brighter as their eyeballs were almost lost in the pure colors of their respective seasons.

Kaifin and Blade Storm worked together to fend off both Sheer Kaa and his Sabers, with the Maiden's Guardian ducking under the swing of one of the Grimm Commander's swords when a wayward blast of fire separated them both. He then ran to the side of the barracks and looked up, witnessing the twin orbs of fire and ice energies were beginning to shake and change form rapidly as shards of ice and blobs of fire were spiking out and going back inside as the two powerful women kept giving it their all.

"Elsa!" He cried out as he tried to get close, only to be blown back by the immense waves of elemental energy.

The huge twin orbs of energy kept hammering with each other in an intensely berserk fashion as the two Maidens refused to yield, and kept throwing everything they had into the struggle for dominance.

And then, with a thundering blast, it burst.

A massive explosion of concentrated heat and cold, frost and fire, went all over Watchpoint Glacies, flooring every person and Grimm in the vicinity. Elsa instinctively covered her face to shield herself from the odd and impossible mix of scalding heat and freezing chill as it nearly blew her back, Cinder doing the same thing as she walked back to avoid the wayward elemental energies. Debris made up of frozen fire and burning ice chunks were flying and falling all over as the plateau began to shake and shudder violently, huge ice shards rising from the ground through the ruined buildings, towers of rock which had risen up and immense walls of ice that were formed all around being shattered by the flaming debris that was sent flying into them.

Blade Storm jumped onto one of the Grimm Sabers, stabbing it through the back of its head and neck with his longswords before lashing out with an armored boot to kick another that tried to follow him in the face, sending the Tiger Grimm roaring in pain onto its side. After cleaving his way through another two Sabers, he turned his helmeted head to see the armor plate and robe-clad form of Spirit Dreamer staggering onto her feet using her force staff as an improvised clutch when a series of ice shards ripped through the other watchtower, knocking it over and sending it crashing down onto her kneeling form, before he could even shout a warning.

"NO!" Blade Storm shouted in anguish, while Sheer Kaa quickly directed his remaining Sabers out of the way of the impending chaos. The last sight he saw of the prognosticator was her raising a hand to erect some kind of magical shield to protect herself, but with the huge misshapen blocks of ice blocking his view along with the billowing clouds of icy mist he wasn't sure if she was alive or dead.

Grimly he realized that he didn't have time to worry about Spirit Dreamer's fate since there was still a battle to be fought, and so Blade Storm made a silent promise to himself to find the detachment's prognosticator after the enemy had been driven off. He would personally dig out her body if he had to do it himself.

Kaifin jumped onto the barracks just as a loose piece of a rock tower crumbled and fell down, smashing through the roof, narrowly missing him. He jumped and grabbed onto one of the larger ice spikes and then flung himself onto another rock tower where he looked around and saw that the main building was beginning to shift and sway as the ground it was on sunk slowly and dangerously. Just then, one of the remaining Atlas soldiers threw a grenade at the Sabers, which went sailing overhead, through the shattered window, and explode, which caused the structure to collapse in a deafening roar of crushed stone and accompanied by another fresh powerful explosion of erupting fire.

The mist of steam and smoke soon cleared to reveal a large tower of ice, burning with scattered fires and melting in the middle of the battlefield.

"So…this is what happens when Maidens fight." Kaifin murmured in awe as he spotted Elsa who looked unharmed when the mist cleared enough for him to see plainly.

Kaifin's ears then picked up swift running footsteps just as he saw Cinder running up another diagonal ice spike, forming her bow in her hands and shooting an arrow onto one of the other more solid-looking secondary ice spikes extending from the ice tower and used it to jump up onto a higher position where she looked down on the recovering Elsa whose aura flickered slightly due to her recent exertions.

Despite the bitter cold surrounding the mountaintop, Cinder and Elsa were sweating profusely due to the intensity of the battle. They could both feel the adrenaline rushing through their bodies as they glared hatefully at each other.

"You're quite the fighter! If the previous Fall Maiden had been half as capable as you she might not have lost!" Cinder shouted.

"Amber was twice the person you are, witch!" Elsa yelled back as she switched the Dust chambers in her crossbow weapon and brought it up at her opponent, pulling the trigger and firing arrow bolts infused with Fire Dust at the ice pillar Cinder was standing on.

Cinder jumped off as the arrow bolts exploded, shattering the huge icy tower into many pieces. Some chunks went flying through the air while others just fell off lazily, but Cinder was knocked forward and over by the explosion, going over the edge of the cliff and landing among the snow drifts of the steep mountainside some twelve feet below the edge.

"Kaifin! Blade Storm! Are you all right?" Elsa called, turning to look at them.

"We're fine! Go and finish her!" Kaifin shouted as he dodged a pouncing Saber before whirling round and shooting it to death with his twin machine pistols. Beside him, Blade Storm spared a nod at the Winter Maiden before he was soon fighting valiantly against more Sabers, even as blood seeped out of his damaged armor plates.

Knowing that Cinder was evidently the greater threat, Elsa nodded and then used her own Maiden powers to control the wind and fly down to the slopes below where her adversary was.

The Fall Maiden was standing calmly with her bow already drawn, about to fire another arrow into the slopes below. Elsa landed in front of her, crouching and ready for battle, but Cinder fired and the arrow instead went flying over her by some distance and into the steep, snow-covered slopes behind her. With her hands clasped together Elsa brought them up and charged forward, dodging Cinder's fireballs and slammed them into her face, knocking the Fall Maiden backwards into the cliffside wall. Before Cinder could recover, Elsa quickly used her Maiden powers to freeze her opponent's body and limbs to the hardened rock surface behind her with thick, unyielding chunks of ice.

"It's over Cinder." Elsa told her fiercely, "I'm going to keep you frozen here and once the rest of my knight protectors return we will bring you to justice."

"Knights? Ah yes, those that you have sent to fight the Grimm we sent to attack Glacies village?" Cinder mentioned as her Semblance kept her body warm enough to protect herself from hypothermia or frostbite.

"They're more than a match for the Grimm?" Elsa retorted with a tinge of caution in her voice, while her heart briefly wondered what other unseen tricks Cinder had planned.

"You see, we knew you would either go down to the village to save those people yourself or beg the Remnant Knights to. Once those armored warriors took off on their airship my associates immediately sent out additional upgraded Grimm Knights down there to keep them busy while we take our time to deal with you. At best, they'll delayed." Cinder chuckled darkly before adding, "Then again, maybe they'll all perish in the avalanche."

The Winter Maiden raised an eyebrow, "What are you talking about?"

"This." Cinder answered as the ice chunk freezing her right hand unexpectedly shattered and she snapped her fingers, sending a spark of flame arcing out straight towards the arrow sticking out of the nearest snow drift.

Elsa glanced back to see that Cinder had fired over a dozen arrows before she had flown down, all of them rigged with explosive Fire Dust. The spark then ignited the final arrow and Elsa was abruptly thrown forward by a series of sudden massive explosions behind her, which triggered huge bursts of snow flying into the air and falling down the mountain, the intense vibrations of the blasts causing the drifts of snow to begin their inexorable downward descent. Like a line of falling dominos, the colossal mass of snow gradually gained more and more weight from the accumulated snow drifts and grew to enormous proportions, and soon even large blocks of ice were broken off and knocked over, all of them sent rolling down the mountain in a white wave of thunderous destruction.

Elsa forced herself up and looked on in horror as the avalanche roared down the mountain.

"You might want to hurry and stop that before it gets so out of control that not even your powers can prevent it." Cinder suggested calmly with a passive yet irritatingly smug tone of voice.

The Winter Maiden let out an angry snarl as she spun around and refroze Cinder's outstretched hand while pouring on several more layers of ice to keep the murderous Maiden pinned down, even covering her mouth with a freezing ice to shut her up. Hopefully, what she had done would keep Cinder contained until the Winter Templars arrived to take her into custody.

Until then, to hell with Cinder!

Elsa bounded away, throwing aside her crossbow so it wouldn't weigh her down and using her Maiden powers to generate howling winds which helped to launch herself down the mountain as the avalanche continued downwards like a tidal wave, gathering more and more destructive power as it rocketed down. The front of the avalanche was sending up huge bursts of snow everywhere as it sped down the mountainside, creating a cloud-like spray around it as it approached a large ledge between two slopes on either side. The descending ruinous mass of snowfall promptly exploded over the rocky edge, dropping further down onto the slopes below and covering the entire rock formation with swelling clouds of snow.

The platinum-blonde Maiden came down upon the sliding snowfall, skidding across it like a pebble on a pond as she did her best to get to the front of it while trying not to get herself accidentally crushed by the deadly rain comprising of falling chunks of ice. Using her cryokinesis powers, she quickly transformed large portions of the snow into towering ice barricades that slowed the back regions of the avalanche down, though some of the hastily-made barricades were still not thick enough and so were smashed through as though they were brittle glass while others managed to hold back the avalanche's devastating fury.

"H…have to keep moving!" Elsa whispered to herself as she used every ounce of aura and energy she had left in her body to get down the mountains and outrun the thundering avalanche, flying as fast as she could carried by the cold wind gales she conjured up to speed her own descent, her shoes lightly touching the rapidly falling drifts of ice and leaving white rooster tails in her wake.

She watched with mounting dread as the front of the avalanche, growing taller and taller, overtook the pine forest below, swallowing up trees and also managing to knock several of them over. If the avalanche reached the lower parts of the mountain, it would undoubtedly reduce Glacies village and perhaps even North Point to ruins, and would kill everyone who lived there. That was something she would not, could not allow to ever happen.

With a shout of effort, Elsa threw her body forwards and downwards, enduring the battering snow that tore off her cape as she landed in the very middle of the avalanche on her hands and knees, her Maiden powers keeping her aloft as she rode the roaring wave of snow like a tropical wave surfer. She screamed loudly as she gave it her all and brought up another wall of ice, this one much thicker than the last one and spread it out wide enough to effectively cut the raging snowfall in half. Massive plumes of snow erupted into the air and the ice blockade strained under the harrowing weight, small cracks even appearing in several places across that immense wall, but the Winter Maiden kept pouring more ice onto the wall with more beams of icy energy to strengthen them further and prevent the lower half of the avalanche from moving.

It took a large chunk of her overall strength, but as the seconds ticked passed it seemed to Elsa that she managed to effectively cut the avalanche's power in half since the latest ice wall she had thrown up was finally holding strong. She took in a deep breaths as she brushed the collected snow that now half-covered her body off her dark-blue gown, looking at the frozen tide of ice and snow that she had managed to hold back with several of ice walls which was complete with a number of pine trees which had been caught up in the avalanche sticking out like leftover decorations.

Now all she had to do was deal with the other half which was still making its way down the lower slopes of the mountain. Elsa turned to see the rest of the rolling snowfall, and after gathering the freezing gales around her once more, shot swiftly down the mountain with small waves of snow thrown into the air behind her as she kept going as fast as she could.

She would stop the avalanche or die trying.

"Have to keep going." She told herself grimly, "Have to keep going…I can't let Snow Blade and everyone else die like this…"

Her feet dashed across the cold snow, moving faster than they had in years to catch up with the reduced avalanche as she accelerated onwards; creating an explosion of snow and wind behind her as she rocketed forward, the shapes of snowflakes around her glowing white eyes yet again as she flew forwards to catch up to the avalanche, faster than she had ever gone before.

She was soon right behind the main avalanche, freezing the rolling snow behind it as she moved speedily onward. With a final burst of wind she propelled herself headlong once more through the falling wall of snow, slamming heavily through it from behind and making her way through the snowfall itself, her remaining braids flying off and leaving her long platinum-blonde hair flying free as she exploded through the front of the avalanche.

Racing forward to get ahead of it, Elsa pivoted around and used her Maiden powers to create yet another, even larger and thicker wall of ice. Despite her already feeling the effects of intense exhaustion on her body, the Winter Maiden knew she had to stop the rest of the avalanche or else it would still devastate Glacies village with its power. With another scream of exertion, she threw out her gloved hands and created another large, curved wall of ice that quickly enclosed around the front of the rumbling avalanche.

Yet again, swelling clouds of snow went flying over the newly-created thick ice wall and the powerful weight of the avalanche managed to smash through the very front of it with a loud crack. Elsa let out a pained shout as she used her Maiden powers to freeze the huge plume of snow that was falling rapidly towards her, eventually managing to render it into a spiky shard of ice sticking out of the icy wall just a couple of scant meters away from her.

As the rumbling sounds of the avalanche faded away Elsa allowed her arms to drop to her sides as she breathed in and out raggedly, trying to regain whatever strength she had within her. A few seconds later she looked up the mountainside and saw just how far she had come in such a short amount of time, several miles from the looks of it.

It had been a difficult task, but she had managed to stop Cinder's plan to kill everyone in the village below with an avalanche. Although it had taxed her severely, Elsa wondered for a moment if even her status as the Winter Maiden would be enough to stop the forces of nature itself.

And it looks like the answer was; just barely.

Elsa abruptly lost control of her body and fell backwards into the snow beneath her, where she allowed herself to rest for a moment or two as she breathed in and out to calm her incredibly exhausted body. Her limbs were spread out akimbo and her long hair was allowed to hang out and spread about the snow ground like a fan behind her as the weary Winter Maiden did her best to recover.

Despite the urgency Elsa felt to get back up to Watchpoint Glacies as quickly as possible, she had to rest first. She looked up into the light-blue and cloudy grey sky, blinking her eyes away from a sun that offered little comfort from the cold. To be honest, Elsa couldn't remember the last time she was this worn out, not even from the final year combat exams she had gone through with Kaifin and the rest of their Team back at Atlas Academy all those years ago.

Then the fact that Cinder was a pyromancer smacked her right in the face.

Her blue eyes widened yet again as she forced herself up, snow falling in small drifts from her beautiful long locks of hair, and looked back up towards the top of the mountain. She had saved everyone at the foot of the mountain but had left Kaifin and the others in danger!

Without the slightest bit of hesitation, Elsa jumped up onto the top of the ice wall and then flew forwards, drawing upon the power of the icy gales once more so that she could get back to her love as fast as possible.

---

Snow Blade and his detachment of Winter Templars were deep in battle, bravely holding back the Grimm Sabers while the last transport truck rumbled out of the village with the last group of evacuees in the direction of Borealis Town since there was a substantial amount of military forces already there protecting the town. All they could do now was to make sure the horde's attention was focused solely on them, and hopefully give the inhabitants of Glacies village a chance to reach their destination safely.

Battle choked the main avenue as Remnant Knight and Atlesian soldier fought side by side, bringing down as many of the soulless beasts as they could. While the soldiers constantly blasted and shot into the Sabers, the Winter Templars hacked and slashed into the Grimm with their rune-covered blades, swords, glaives and halberds. Yet even more Sabers were joining in the battle, despite near-constant waves of firepower and a thicket of sharp blades cutting them down.

"By the shattered moon, is there no end to these damn Grimm?" A Winter Templar fighting with a greatsword boomed as he bisected a yowling Saber.

"I guess we have to wait and see..." Snow Blade grunted as he drove his double-edged broadsword Frost Edge directly into the chest of an Alpha Saber and ripped it upwards, spraying black blood into the air.

Due to the Sabers' sheer numbers, the wedge of Winter Templars had gradually slowed to a halt and instead forced backwards, with the outermost knights using their gauntlets' white energy shields to block the incoming Grimm while the other knights drove their lances and blades into the horde of Sabers again and again, killing as much as they can while the Atlesian soldiers not assisting in the evacuation shot down any Saber that tried to flow around the Remnant Knights and exploit any weaknesses in their formation.

Meanwhile, The White Sovereign made repeated flyovers and raked the Grimm masses with its armaments, vaporizing dozens of Sabers with every blast of its cannons. It took the pressure off the fighting knights and soldiers on the ground briefly, but the advantage was soon lost as the Sabers kept on coming towards them now that the civilians were gone.

Minutes ticked past as the Winter Templars fought, while Snow Blade wondered how long the Grimm could maintain the pressure against them. As he carved and chopped apart one Saber after another, he was waiting for the point in time where there would be lesser numbers of the enemy he had to face. He knew the other Knights of his detachment were thinking the same thing, while they continued to diminish the Sabers' numbers.

Then the pressure against the Winter Templars lessened as abruptly as it came. The Grimm swarm finally lost its momentum and was slowing down, the numbers slowly lessening until the final few Sabers died under the gleaming blades of the Remnant Knights. The Atlesian soldiers put bullets into any lingering Grimm corpse that twitched, while those Sabers already dead simply dissolved away within seconds.

"That can't be all, can it?" A halberd-wielding knight asked as she looked around cautiously.

Snow Blade was about to give orders to regroup when someone shouted, "Incoming!"

He quickly brought his weapon into a guard stance just as dozens of upgraded Grimm Knights dropped without warning out of the grey sky and began to attack. While outwardly they looked similar to the Atlesian models, these robotic newcomers were covered in thick black plates of armor and armed with far more deadly weapons that included forearm-mounted chainsaws, mini-missile launchers, machine guns and rotating laser cannons.

"Targets acquired." The red visors of the Grimm Knights swept over the gathered Winter Templars and launched their attack.

The Knight Vanguard leaned back and brought up Frost Edge just in time to parry a huge roaring chainsaw that would have cut his helmet in two if he had just been a second too late. Hot sparks rained down on his Aegis armor from the rapidly clashing weapons as he traded fierce blows with the Grimm Knight, hissing into the churned snow around his boots. Dodging and blocking a series of humming slashes from the robot, the Remnant Knight wove aside from another whirring blow and dropped low. The Grimm Knight then charged forward and the chainsaw arm whirred overhead Snow Blade's helmet. In that split second the darkly-armored robot was over-committed in its attack, and left its guard momentarily open.

It was enough for Snow Blade.

In one smooth motion, he lunged forward and drove the point of his broadsword up into the Grimm Knight's chest. The huge blade parted the robot's armor like paper, severed wires and destroyed the electronic components within the machine. Coolant fluid and fuel spilled out of the Grimm Knight's ruptured armor plating, splashing down the Knight Vanguard's vambrace-covered arms as he ripped Frost Edge upwards and nearly severing the robot's head.

The Grimm Knight staggered, spitting sparks and hydraulic fuel from its mangled chest plate before giving an eerie electronic screech and toppled backwards onto the snowy ground with a crash. Sparing a quick glance around him, Snow Blade could see the other Winter Templars were also engaged by other Grimm Knights, each knight fighting hard to stay alive despite having faced a fierce horde of Sabers just minutes before. The Atlesian soldiers lent what support they could, their weapons fire even managing to bring down a couple of Grimm Knights, but there were still others with heavier weapons that kept the troopers ducking down behind their barricades or suffering severe wounds.

"Knight Vanguard, we have received an alpha priority message from Watchpoint Glacies." The sound of White Sovereign's pilot echoed through his helmet's communication unit.

Chopping through the weapon arms of another Grimm Knight, Snow Blade managed to speak, "Open message!" What he heard a second later sent a dangerous chill throughout his body that had nothing to do with the cold.

"Priority recall, Alpha Level: Knight Vanguard Snow Blade. Watchpoint Glacies security compromised by significant enemy forces. Repeat: Watchpoint Glacies security compromised by significant enemy forces, Priority recall, Alpha Level."

His worst fears had been confirmed: the current attack on Glacies village was a diversion! And he had led almost all of his detachment right into it, leaving the Winter Maiden open to attack! The Grimm Knights were probably sent to further delay them further.

Mentally praying that he wouldn't be too late to save Elsa, Snow Blade slashed his greatsword outwards and destroyed a trio of Grimm Knights. He then stepped behind the barricades and hurriedly gave orders, "White Sovereign, we require an emergency pickup at Glacies village's main square! All Winter Templars, disengage from battle and rendezvous at my location immediately! We are leaving!"

Almost immediately across the main avenue, the Winter Templars brought down whatever enemies they could and finished off the Grimm Knights. They brought up their energy shields together and withdrew, bullets and laser blasts ricocheting off the shimmering white shields as they covered the withdrawing knights.

As the Winter Templar's airship launched another barrage of firepower to kill off the remaining Sabers and eliminate any other Grimm Knights, its ramp lowered again for the detachment to get aboard.

"Hey!" Snow Blade turned to see past the ascending ramp Lieutenant Kristan running towards him, "You can't leave us like this! What about my men?"

"There's nothing left for you to defend here, lieutenant!" The Knight Vanguard shouted over the roar of White Sovereign's engines, "I suggest you get your troops on board the other Bullheads right away!"

As the ramp closed and he felt the assault airship began its rapid ascent.

---

With Sheer Kaa's pride of Sabers decimated by the fallout of the Maiden battle as well as the efforts of Kaifin, Blade Storm and what was left of the soldiers, the Grimm Commander was left with but a handful Sabers at his command, fighting Kaifin and Blade Storm fiercely.

Sheer Kaa blocked and parried all of Blade Storm's weaving strikes, cuts and stabs while also going his best to avoid Kaifin's shots in his direction. After kicking the Winter Templar in his wounded torso, he jumped up and kicked one of Kaifin's guns away and then backhanding him into the damaged side of the barracks, whereupon the Sabers he had directed there quickly charged in to finish him off.

The Grimm Commander knew it wouldn't finish off the guardian, but that would give him enough time to eliminate the remaining knight from the fight. Striking back with greater fervor, Sheer Kaa began lashing out at Blade Storm with a wide array of rapid sword strikes that the Winter Templar struggled to defend against due to his wounds, which resulted in him taking more than a few hits which weakened his defenses severely.

As they continued fighting brutally against each other both Grimm Commander and Remnant Knight could hear the loud gunshots and roars coming from the barracks, which meant that Kaifin was holding his own against the Sabers, but that wasn't the only sound that caught his attention.

Suddenly there was a huge blast of fire coming from below the Watchpoint, just underneath the cliff edge, and within seconds the glowing orange form of Cinder Fall flew up into the air, the shape of amber leaves blazing around her eyes.

Blade Storm looked up in shock, and that crucial moment of distraction was enough for Sheer Kaa. The Grimm Commander slammed his blades through the Winter Templar's hurried block, ripping them harshly across his armor-plated chest with a horrible ripping sound, knocking the knight backwards and forcing him to drop one of his longswords. Cinder helped by flinging a ball of fire at the Remnant Knight, which smashed directly into him and sent Blade Storm flying into the rock wall of the mountain with a thunderous impact that was accompanied by clouds of grey coughing smoke. The knight's burning armor was doused by drifts of snow falling from the cliffs above, half burying him and taking the warrior out of the battle.

"Where's the Maiden?" Sheer Kaa asked as he shook his weapon a little, droplets of Blade Storm's blood splattering the snow at his feet.

"I sent her away with a useful distraction, but she'll be back soon." Cinder explained as she touched down on the ground and looked at the ruined form of Blade Storm, "Hmm…commendable work. They giving you any trouble?"

"Out of those knights I faced, the one with the twin longswords, did put up quite a bit of defiance." Sheer Kaa mused for a moment, "Even though he had been wounded by you, he still fights with everything he had. I can respect that kind of tenacity."

"And the rest?" Cinder watched the Grimm Commander wipe a droplet of red blood away from his weapon's sharp blade, grimacing as he did so.

Sheer Kaa snorted before answering, "Barely worth my time. I hope they send better next time."

The sound of a dying Saber with its side stabbed with multiple sharpened pieces of debris being thrown out of the ruined barracks made them both look up, just in time to see the figure of a severely battered and scratched up, but still battle-ready Kaifin emerging victorious as he stomped on the moaning Saber's head and fired a three-round burst from his smoking gun, the Tiger Grimm evaporating into nothingness.

The Maiden's Guardian glared at Cinder before he realized Blade Storm had been defeated by Sheer Kaa, his eyes widening as he saw the Winter Templar just about half-buried by the snow pile which had fallen down over him, blood seeping out onto the packed snow beneath him.

"I don't suppose you'd surrender peacefully?" Cinder inquired, a little smugly, "I can grant you a quick and painless death."

"I may be outnumbered, but for the sake of my Kingdom and my love I will not allow you to win!" He declared fiercely, bringing up his guns to point at the Grimm Commander and Fall Maiden.

"Heroes." Cinder muttered to herself, shaking her head as she formed her bow and arrow once more.

"Wait." Sheer Kaa held up a gauntleted hand and pushed Cinder's bow firmly downwards, "This battle is mine. I take it that's not a problem with you?"

"Do whatever you want," Cinder scoffed as she nodded her head before turning and walked away to collect herself, "I could use a few moments of rest anyway."

Kaifin, seeing that Sheer Kaa wasn't looking at him, immediately tried to shoot the Grimm Commander in the back, but the Tiger Faunus pivoted away speedily and slammed his foot into the Maiden Guardian's side.

The Atlesian Huntsman fell but scrambled away from Sheer Kaa's rapid stabs to claim Blade Storm's weapon, a rune-engraved longsword. He sprung up and held his borrowed sword at the Grimm Commander, "You're Sheer Kaa, aren't you? Pyrrha mentioned you in a classified report she wrote about the Grimm Hybrids."

"I am." Sheer Kaa admitted, "What of it?"

"I read about you years ago during my studies. You were once a great Faunus leader, one of the renowned commanders in the Faunus Rebellion that kicked off the Third Great War. Before the war ended you vanished, considered MIA or secretly assassinated," Kaifin said as he kept the knight's longsword pointed at the Grimm Commander, "What happened to you?"

"My elite detachment was ambushed by a Valean strike force, only Steppenwolffe and I managed to survive and escaped into the jungles of Vacuo and hide while the rest of my followers gave their lives to protect us. We were both moments away from death's door when Salem found us and offered us a second chance." Sheer Kaa elaborated softly.

"But that was decades ago! You don't appear much older than you did in the old pictures!" Kaifin pointed out before he leapt forward and attacked, only for Sheer Kaa to effortlessly block him and retaliate with a sweeping riposte which the Maiden's Guardian barely avoided.

"Cryogenics. Salem's agents froze us and kept us alive so we could be healed and serve her when the time came for us to do so. Then she awoke us four years ago and eventually I became what I am today after going through the Grimm Hybridization process." Sheer Kaa snarled as he blocked Kaifin's next blows before attacking sharply with a series of swift cuts and thrusts, driving the human warrior back.

"So you became a minion of Salem and turned his back on Faunus-kind to help destroy the world!" Kaifin spat with clear disgust in his voice as he tried to avoid Sheer Kaa's blows, but the Grimm Commander twisted around and slammed the hilts of his swords into the Atlesian Huntsman's chest, knocking him into the show.

"You don't understand. I don't think anyone could unless they become like…me, and even then, my fellow hybrids also don't seem to understand what I have come to grasp." Sheer Kaa continued as he slashed his swords down to stab Kaifin, who rolled away and jumped up to kick the Grimm Commander in the knee.

"And what's that?!" Kaifin hissed.

"The Grimm aren't like humans, Faunus, animals or any other living creature. Besides the obvious differences, they have something else over the rest of us." Sheer Kaa explained as he leapt up and elbowed Kaifin in the face, then kicking him painfully in the gut, "They don't kill one another."

Kaifin spat out a wad of blood while watching out for Sheer Kaa's next blow, glancing up at the Grimm Commander just as a lone Saber prowled over to them while growling softly, "It sounds like you admire those beasts." He observed carefully.

Sheer Kaa stabbed one scissor-blade into the ground and used his now free hand to gently pet the Saber's head, "I admire their purity. They don't kill each other or have petty squabbles. The most they will do is have brief disagreements over food or attempt to stand up to an Alpha Grimm should they grow old and powerful enough. I have seen enough to learn that, despite what I thought years ago, humans and Faunus are not that different."

Kaifin nodded as he got up, revolver in one hand and Blade Storm's longsword in the other, "Surely you understand that both are capable of both great good and great evil?"

Sheer Kaa sighed and replied, "Yes. Like Adam Taurus. From what I understand, the things he did were just as bad as the worst work camps my people were enslaved in centuries ago. Cutting off the animal features of Faunus members within the White Fang…he was truly barbaric, and I would have killed him myself had I known."

"He answered to Salem. She had to have known." Kaifin argued as he suddenly swing out his sword in a quick thrust, only for Sheer Kaa to parry it with another of his swords while yanking his other blade out of the icy ground.

"She knew he had a prison for turncoats, but she didn't know how far his cruelty would go." Sheer Kaa told his opponent as he duelled against the Maiden's Guardian, blocking the Huntsman's blows and swiftly dodged the bullets fired at him.

"Just keep telling yourself that!" Kaifin snarled angrily, "You must be damn good at lying to yourself to think that Grimm are better than people!"

"Oh but they are." Sheer Kaa retorted as he threw out blow after blow at Kaifin, "As you have just said, Faunus are just as flawed as humans are, yet the worst sin a Grimm will commit is kill for food. It's something that comes naturally to any species, even our kind."

Kaifin cried out as his adversary scored a cut across his right leg, falling against some debris but quickly pushed himself up to avoid the next few blows from the Grimm Commander. He feinted left, and when the Grimm Commander briefly over-extended himself with an overhead slash, managed to land a retaliatory cut on Sheer Kaa's arm.

"Argh!" The Grimm Commander roared out and forcefully slammed his left sword down at Kaifin who just managed to block it with his borrowed longsword in a shower of sparks as the blades clanged against each other. They pushed against each other for a few tense moments before Sheer Kaa unexpectedly jumped and flipped forward, hooking one leg under Kaifin's arm and the other around his neck, and then tossed him several meters into the inner courtyard of the ravaged base.

Kaifin groaned as he got up, reloading his gun even as snowflakes frizzled from his outfit. He glanced up to see Cinder who was sitting a short distance away on a piece of debris and watching the battle passively. Growling, he lifted up his gun and fired at the Fall Maiden, who simply sighed and blocked the bullets easily with a somewhat lazy display of her Maiden powers, reducing the bullets to molten metal which dropped hissing into the snow at her feet.

The guardian turned back just in time to block a few more blows from Sheer Kaa, then fought back as much as he could with whatever skills he had learned during his time back in Atlas Academy. While he had considerable skill fighting with a blade, Kaifin had already exhausted himself considerably fighting the Sabers before he fought the Grimm Commander and was at a distinct disadvantage. To make matters worse his accumulated injuries inflicted by Sheer Kaa was slowly bleeding him of strength, making him slightly slower than usual in terms of his parries and shots which his opponent could easily block or sidestep.

Ducking under another overhead swing, Kaifin brought the knight's longsword up only for Sheer Kaa to bat it aside and slammed a fist into his face, making the guardian spit out blood as he crashed into the blood-specked snow for the umpteenth time. Coughing blood, spit and snow from his mouth, Kaifin pushed himself back up to his feet, only to be knocked back down as the Grimm Commander delivered another kick and then stomped his foot on the Atlesian Huntsman's back.

Grabbing Kaifin by the collar, Sheer Kaa smashed him into one of the ice spikes and said, "Allow me to continue. With both humanity and Faunus, our kinds will naturally fight and kill each other for virtually anything; be it for land, money, power, weapons, resources, sex, territory, freedom, food…or simply because an individual likes fighting and killing."

"Don't you ever…shut up?" Kaifin groaned before he ripped out a sharp combat knife from his winter coat and stabbed it into the Grimm Commander's shoulder, making Sheer Kaa drop him with a snarl of pain.

The Tiger Faunus snarled as he dropped one blade as black blood oozed from the deep cut by Kaifin's knife, before he brought up the hilt of his other sword and bashed the Maiden's guardian in the side of his face which made the Huntsman lose a tooth, and then brutally kicked him in the chest that sent Kaifin sprawling onto his back.

The Grimm Commander growled menacingly as he yanked the knife out, feeling the burning cold for a few seconds even as his Grimm hybrid constitution began to heal his latest wound. "You're a good fighter Kaifin, it's unfortunate that we find ourselves enemies." He lamented with something like sadness in his voice.

"Then don't do this. If you have any true moral standards left in you, you should be aware of the fact that you're working for the worst kind of people imaginable." Kaifin argued as he brought up his gun.

"Maybe, but at least their goal is a noble one; remaking this world into a pure one free of conflict." Sheer Kaa replied before rushing forward just as Kaifin fired his pistol, which the Grimm Commander dodged and then pounced forward as the Maiden's guardian pulled the trigger again. The Tiger Faunus cut the gun in half with a downward stroke of his sword just as the bullet shot out, ruining the weapon as the bullet ricocheted off the blade and went off target, then exploding elsewhere a second later.

"Yah!" Kaifin shouted as he headbutted Sheer Kaa in the face and parried his return blows, "A world of pure death and emptiness!"

Sheer Kaa pulled back and snapped, "It will not be like that. They shall evolve!"

"You're delusional if you truly believed that!" Kaifin spat heatedly.

The two kept dueling as Sheer Kaa went on, "The Grimm shall evolve beyond us, beyond animals! Not even animals are free from evil!" He ranted as he began striking at Kaifin at an even faster pace, and the Huntsman was hard-pressed to keep up with his forceful blows, "Animals will kill their own kind over territory! Ant colonies subjugate others and enslave them! Birds will abduct and devour the hatchlings from the nests of other birds! A rogue lion will challenge the leader of a pride in combat and should it win, it will mercilessly kill all the cubs fathered by that leader, even newborns! We shall end all of that savagery with a world reborn!"

Kaifin parried and defended himself as much as he could just as before, but with mighty slams from both sides Sheer Kaa eventually shattered Blade Storm's weapon, leaving the Atlesian Huntsman nearly defenseless. He backed up to stay out of reach of the Grimm Commander's swords, drawing his other machine pistol to point at his opponent as Sheer Kaa held the tips of his blades at him.

He tried to pull the trigger, but a useless click told him his remaining weapon was empty.

"Once this world is reborn nature will truly, for the first time in eons, be at peace and perfectly balanced. This world shall be finally made perfect. There will be no slaughter, no lies, no crime…no need for Hunters." Sheer Kaa continued, before he knocked Kaifin's empty pistol out of his hands and punched him in the face, finishing off his aura reserves and knocking the Atlesian Huntsman onto his back, "That is all I want, brave guardian; a world that is truly good and free. A world that is finished…complete. A world where every single individual of every nation is family…and everyone is truly equal."

Kaifin looked up at the Grimm Commander in disbelief, not knowing whether he was wise or completely mad. Maybe a little of both.

Sheer Kaa let out a weary sigh, one that hinted at a massive weight his soul carried, "I will probably not live to see it, but I can dream. And if Salem can make that happen, then I would lend my sword to her efforts."

"Those Grimm, even if they were evolved, will not be the key to a perfect world." Kaifin argued back, "They kill-"

"Yes, for food. Our species have killed and done far worse things for less. They hunt us and we hunt them. It is a vicious cycle. Two sides of the same coin." Sheer Kaa looked over as his remaining Sabers, half a dozen in all, approached them while growling softly, "You see them as savage beasts…but in their eyes; you are the savage."

Kaifin kept looking at the Grimm Commander before he glanced at the Sabers around the latter, which were calmer than any Grimm he had seen before, and wondered how much truth there was in Sheer Kaa's madness. However, the shocking thing he realized was that the Tiger Faunus genuinely believed that working with Salem would help create a new world free from all those shackles he had mentioned.

Unless Sheer Kaa was also trying to convince himself with that aforementioned speech and those were not the ranting words of a madman.

"You have fought well, but you're defeated," The Grimm Commander spoke softly, "Now accept your death like a warrior."

Before Kaifin could reply, a huge gust of freezing wind accompanied by snowflakes blew over the mostly destroyed courtyard, which was shortly followed by the distressed voice of Elsa shouting, "Kaifin!"

"Elsa!" He cried out as he rolled onto his front and forced himself up, limping forward to her weakly.

Cinder looked on as she spread her fingers open, her amber eyes glowing again as the distant form of Elsa flew up the mountain and landed a short distance away from them. Now was the time.

Elsa looked at Kaifin and was relieved to see that her love was still alive, even if he was severely battered and injured.

Elsa shot down quickly to reunite with him, and Kaifin opened his mouth to shout a warning even as his arms reached out to her…only for Sheer Kaa to drive both of his blades through Kaifin's back and out of his stomach from behind, impaling him.

Elsa suddenly stopped in mid-air, her blue eyes widening in pure horror and shock as she gently landed onto the ground as the world seemed to stop around her and her dying lover.

Shuddering from both the biting cold and the excruciating pain, Kaifin looked down to the fatal wound to see blood pouring out of him. He then slowly looked up at his one true love and rasped out, "Elsa…run."

Sheer Kaa withdrew his blades from Kaifin's body and said, "I'm sorry, noble warrior, but it is what it must be."

Kaifin fell to the snow-covered flagstones, decorating the grey and white surface with his red blood. For the Winter Maiden, time seemed frozen as she watched the man who stayed by her side no matter what, the love of her life…fall and was gone forever.

Kaifin was gone, and she felt the same crushing pain that all the other Maidens did; the pain of being utterly alone. Elsa fell to her knees in the snow, her gloved fists clenched tightly, and let loose a scream of absolute despair that echoed all around the mountain.

Her tears fell unending from her blue eyes, landing in the snow beneath her as Cinder slowly approached the weeping Maiden.

"And now, you understand the true meaning of pain." She told Elsa as she approached her, along with the Sabers who circled her due to the Winter Maiden's misery making them hungry. However, those soulless beasts were held back by Sheer Kaa's mental commands as she continued speaking, "Had you surrendered yourself, your love would have been spared. Now he lies dead in the snow because of you."

Elsa said nothing.

"You're tired. I can tell." Cinder noted as she formed her obsidian sword and swung it down on Elsa, who just barely managed to form a blade of thick ice and turn it aside. Nevertheless it still made contact with her full-body gown, ripping off the sleeve of her right arm completely. Elsa cried out in pain as blood seeped from the thin, stinging wound which glowed with healing aura.

"So why don't you give in?!" Cinder demanded as her eyes shone with amber light, the shape of autumn leaves forming around them as she took control of the wind and used it to grab hold of the other Maiden, throwing her up into the air. Elsa struggled to escape from the grasp of Cinder's powers, but found her energy sorely lacking as she had expended most of it to stop the avalanche.

Cinder spread her arms out akimbo, sharpened leaves flying out of her sleeves and sailing into the air around her. The wind currents controlled by the Fall Maiden reached out and took hold of light pieces of debris and even thin bits of ice, using her stolen Maiden powers to sharpen and freeze anything she took control of. The amber-eyed Maiden then swept her arms forward and sent the hail of knife-edge leaves, ice shards and small frozen debris all flying at Elsa.

Elsa cried out in pain as the deadly hail of sharp projectiles flew at and past her, and even though she managed to throw up a wall of ice at the very last moment some of those improvised bullets flew close enough to slice through her dress and sleeves as well as cutting some parts of her exposed skin, while the debris even managed to bruise her further. Cinder subsequently followed up with another powerful gust of wind which caught Elsa in its embrace and was flown into the ruins of the main building.

Cinder and Sheer Kaa both approached the seemingly subdued Maiden, who was no longer struggling. She laid among the debris on her back, with her bloodied skin exposed in various places of her torn dress.

"Is she defeated?" The Grimm Commander asked carefully.

"It would appear so..." Cinder said as she used her powers to generate another series of powerful wind currents to grip onto Elsa and hoist her seemingly unconscious form into the air. If she was being honest with herself, Cinder actually expected Elsa to put up much more of a decent fight. But then again, the Winter Maiden fell into the trap she had set and had expended quite a lot of energy to contain the artificially-created avalanche she had created, so she wasn't at her best at the moment which worked to Cinder's advantage.

"Very well. We will bring her back to Mistress Salem and-" Sheer Kaa mentioned to Cinder when his heightened Faunus senses detected a slight change in the air currents and the wintry surroundings around them, "Wait, something's wrong. Did the temperature just suddenly drop a few degrees?"

"What are you talking about? I am only making use of the wind currents…" Cinder's voice trailed off when she felt something very, very powerful welling within the seemingly captured Winter Maiden.

All of a sudden, an intense wave of energy exploded out from Elsa as the Winter Maiden let out a furious battle cry. Sheer Kaa hurriedly braced himself, but the Grimm Commander and his Sabers were instantly sent flying towards the edge of the mountain while Cinder flipped herself around and slammed her obsidian blades into the ground to keep herself anchored.

The Fall Maiden looked up to see Elsa floating in the air, her blue eyes glowing a pure white light with the shape of snowflakes shining around those eyes. Howling gales of freezing wind and snow flew all around her as she turned her head down to look at Cinder herself.

Before Cinder could do anything else, Elsa flew forwards and punched her right in the face. The Fall Maiden grunted and staggered back from the blow, but fought back with her swords which the Winter Maiden dodged and grabbed her by the neck. Tightening her grip on Cinder, she then tossed the Fall Maiden into the damaged building, where more debris from the ruined walls and roof immediately fell onto Salem's agent after she impacted into it.

A second later Cinder burst through the pile of debris, only to be sent flying through the wall of the structure by a powerful long chunk of thick ice. She fell into a bank of packed snow, which Elsa quickly froze around her to create another giant misshapen pile of ice that was soon shattered as Elsa flew straight into it fist first. The Winter Maiden dodged the fireballs Cinder threw her way, grabbing the false Maiden's foot and tossed her back into the middle of the compound.

Elsa jumped into the air and came down hard on top of Cinder, slamming her foot into the Fall Maiden's back first and then grabbed a fistful of her black hair, smashing the other Maiden's face into the courtyard's cold flagstones. Cinder cried out in pain despite her aura protecting her, and the Winter Maiden knelt down and turned her opponent's face to meet hers as she shouted, "What would you know of suffering?! All you have done for years is to act on your own selfish desires for power and control! Threatening and murdering anyone you think is in your way! Manipulating and using others until you finally cast them aside! Murdering innocent people who never did anything to you! Murdering your own family members for your own selfish interests!"

She continued mercilessly punching Cinder in the face and chest as she went on, screaming like a madwoman, "I had to cut off all ties to my family, lose all of my friends, and one I made afterwards was murdered by you! I have refused myself the joys of ultimate love to keep these powers, and now the man I love is dead!"

Each word spat out by the Winter Maiden was like a knife-thrust to Cinder's heart, and she felt a trickle of blood flowing own her face with each physical blow. Deciding that enough was enough, Cinder marshaled her powers and let out a defiant yell, combining her fire abilities with the Fall Maiden's wind powers to blow Elsa away but the platinum blonde instead steadied herself in the air once more, floating as the Fall Maiden rose up herself with the two combatants facing each other as they both levitated off the ground.

Elsa brought up both of her hands together, forming another sword of ice in her frost-covered hands. With a shout of exertion, she charged straight towards Cinder with her ice sword in a downward blow. The Fall Maiden barely had time to create an obsidian sword of her own to block Elsa's blade which sang through the air and slammed down on hers, the blue and white sword getting very close to her scarred face before Salem's student managed to use the Fall Maiden's wind powers to blow back her opponent.

The two struggled against each other yet again, fierce winds blowing in every direction as they clashed again and again with their elemental swords while throwing out waves of snow and flames. After deflecting another vicious blow from Elsa, Cinder threw out her free hand to use her flames once more, snapping out at Elsa and breaking through her hastily-created shield, catching her off guard.

Before Elsa could recover, Cinder drew back her arm and hurled her black sword at her adversary. The Winter Maiden quickly brought both of her hands out to catch it, crying out in pain as Cinder's weapon managed to stab her in the upper-stomach, but only the tip had gotten into her body before she stopped it from harming her further.

Ripping Cinder's sword out of her torso, Elsa threw out her free hand and used her powers to vehemently slam Cinder back down to the flagstones beneath them and swiftly transformed the snow around the Fall Maiden into hardened ice to ensnare her arms and legs, trapping the Cinder once more.

The Winter Maiden then came down and landed atop Cinder, throwing the blood-spattered black sword aside. The ice sword touched the Fall Maiden's exposed chest and Elsa lifted it up once more, her gloved hands tightening on her weapon as she prepared to end Cinder's life.

"Amber…Kaifin…this is for you." Elsa prayed aloud as she braced herself to land the killing blow.

Cinder's eyes were wide with terror as the white tip of Elsa's ice sword came closer, but relaxed at the last moment when a shadow appeared over both of them. Before the Winter Maiden could stab the ice dagger down, a pair of pale hands as white as the snow around them with black veins underneath the skin grabbed hold of Elsa's combined hands rigidly.

Elsa was stunned for a moment, before she looked up slowly and found herself facing Salem, the Mistress of Grimm.

The dark witch was giving her a faux-kind smile, one with an obviously sinister and predatory nature, "Hello, Miss Vorst."

"Y-y-you…" Elsa said, voice stuttering in horror. She never thought she would see Salem in the flesh.

"Allow me to introduce myself; I am Salem, the Mistress of Grimm, one of your predecessors." Salem then grinned evilly as one hand tightened her grip on Elsa's hands and her other limb came down on Elsa's bare left arm, which was the sleeve cut off by Cinder earlier, with a black portal opening up in her hand to reveal an insectoid-looking Grimm parasite, "And your successor."

With incredible speed that could barely be conceived of, Salem jerked Elsa's arm so fast it was broken with an audible snap of bones and the Winter Maiden let out a scream of horrific pain as the Grimm Mistress permitted the Grimm parasite to leap forward from her palm and land on Elsa's forehead, its mandibles biting deep into her flesh and exuding a black and sticky web-like substance which began to forcefully drain the Maiden powers out of her.

Using her own powers, Cinder freed herself from the ice and scrambled away as she watched the screaming Elsa writhe helplessly before her, the piercing blue light of the Maiden powers draining from her eyes as they were forcibly sucked out. Elsa and Salem screamed together as the raw power of both women shone brightly, lighting up the entire mountaintop like a beacon.

Cinder then understood why Salem hadn't selected a candidate for stealing the Winter Maiden's powers; she had wanted her old powers back. Sheer Kaa, who had made it back to the place of conflict, watched from behind as his face displayed both amazement and shock at what he was witnessing.

Unseen by Salem and her agents, the wounded figure of Spirit Dreamer crawled out from the debris and used her own force staff as a clutch to pull herself upright. Her own eyes behind her snow-patterned mask widened as she also saw what was happening to Elsa. No matter how much she wanted to, she knew she was powerless to stop the Mistress of Grimm. She glanced around and saw that Lance Spinner was more or less completely buried by the debris of the collapsed stone watchtower and was likely dead, limping as quickly and quietly as she could over to Blade Storm's wounded and unconscious form while slowly gathering her remaining strength in preparation for one last magical spell.

It might be a long shot, but if someone survived this battle the other Remnant Knights must know what she had just seen.

Eddies of snow swirled around both Elsa and Salem, throwing out clouds of white snowflakes and dust as the stealing of Maiden powers continued along with their screams. Soon, it was all over. The power of the Winter Maiden had been totally drained from Elsa and was returned to Salem.

Elsa fell over and landed on her back among the rocky snow, groaning in pain as her Maiden powers, and all of her aura and strength, were taken by the Mistress of Grimm.

"Ah yes…" Salem spoke with a beatific smile on her ghastly looking face, "That's…ah!" She stopped and cried out in pain as she began to shudder and spasm about, her eyes changing between blood red and crystal blue while her skin took on an even whiter hue if such a thing was even possible.

"What's happening?" Sheer Kaa asked as he walked over to join up with Cinder.

"There's a…a slight bit of discomfort when one forcefully takes the Maiden powers…" Cinder elaborated quietly as they both watched Salem struggle painfully with the seasonal powers. Despite stealing her own Maiden powers from Amber, Cinder felt a shudder pass through her body as she saw what happened to her dark mistress. There was something very wrong about this secular transition of power.

Something unnatural. Unholy.

Salem kept letting out screams while cold wind blew out of her mouth and her skin began to freeze over, rapidly covering her entire form in hardened ice.

"Master!" Cinder cried out.

"Mistress!" Sheer Kaa shouted just as the freezing ice enveloped Salem's entire body, her clothing, and finally her entire head. The screaming finally died down and silence reigned as Salem's body was turned completely into a frozen statue.

Cinder and Sheer Kaa stood still, not sure of what was happening to their Grimm Mistress as Elsa feebly crawled towards Kaifin's body. Meanwhile at some distance away, Spirit Dreamer managed to reach the prone form of Blade Storm and reached down to grip tightly on his armor-clad arm while gathering the last of her strength in preparation for the spell she was about to use as taught to her by the senior prognosticators of the Order.

Suddenly there were several cracking sounds as the ice statue began to break apart, eventually shattering off of Salem as she stretched out, her eyes now shining red with hints of snowy white as she sighed in victory and flew up into the air with the chilly wind currents swirling around her.

"Yes!" Salem shouted as she slowly came back down and looked to her associates, "The true Winter Maiden has at long last reclaimed her title!"

Both Cinder and Sheer Kaa simply gazed at Salem, awed by the raw strength that was emanating from her.

Elsa looked up at Salem, fresh tears forming in her blue eyes as she moved closer to the body of her lover despite her broken arm.

"N-no…no no no…" She pulled herself inch after inch and crawled over to him, grabbing hold of his dead body and weeping loudly, "P-please Kaifin…my love…forgive me…I-I've failed…"

"Yes you have, dear child." Salem said as she knelt down to look at Elsa, "And I thank you for holding onto my gift for me, but I'm afraid the time has come for your part in this story is nearing its end."

Elsa glared at her and shouted, "You coward! You didn't even have the courage or the honor to reclaim these powers yourself! You sent your errand girl to do it instead!"

Salem sighed and replied, "Spare me your petulant whining, girl. Honor is simply a cowardly ideal created by the weak to control the strong. What matters most is who has power." The Grimm Mistress either did not notice Sheer Kaa's surprised expression at her words, or she purposefully ignored him, "Besides, I don't underestimate the usefulness of others; Cinder needed to redeem herself and she has done exemplary. As for courage...you wouldn't have lasted nearly as long had I done this myself. You see? I had the honor to give you a fighting chance."

The former maiden moaned and spat, "You've won this battle…but you won't even live to see the end of the war, witch. The world will endure. The Guardians of Remnant and their allies will continue to oppose you and you will eventually fail and suffer whatever horrible death life sees fit for you!"

Salem glared coldly as she suddenly grabbed Elsa's chin and said, "I doubt it."

Just then a longsword went flying at Salem from above, which the Grimm Queen dropped Elsa quickly to avoid it, allowing the wounded woman to fall onto Kaifin's body. She threw out a hand and caught the longsword with ease, freezing it in a split-second.

She turned along with Cinder and Sheer Kaa to see Blade Storm standing with the help of Spirit Dreamer and a few surviving Atlas soldiers, assault rifles in their shaking hands aimed and ready to fire at the Mistress of Grimm. They all looked at Salem, who thrust out her arm and a wave of ice shot towards them which instantly trapped the soldiers in a giant cocoon of ice.

Blade Storm grunted as he was shoved aside by Spirit Dreamer who threw up her force staff just in time to erect a shield to protect them both as Salem flicked her fingers again and another sudden upsurge of ice shot towards them both. Knowing that she couldn't possibly fight against Salem, the prognosticator marshalled her remaining strength and shouted out a spell which caused the diamond-shaped piece of white crystal on her force staff to glow brightly.

Before Salem could stop her with more waves of deadly ice, Spirit Dreamer pulled Blade Storm upright as multiple crackling bolts of lightning built around them along with swirling waves of snow and air currents. The churning white mist enveloped them both just as Cinder threw out a few fireballs in their direction, and when the dense mist cleared both the Winter Templars had vanished.

Cinder shook her head, "The cowards flee."

"No." Sheer Kaa spoke and the Fall Maiden looked at him, "They escaped to fight another day."

"Let them." Salem remarked as she waved a hand dismissively, "All who oppose me will be destroyed."

Elsa watched on helplessly as she laid herself on Kaifin's body, while Cinder slowly approached her. While the former Winter Maiden was no threat, she wasn't taking any chances.

"Master, what should we do with the Ma-former Maiden?" Cinder asked the Dark Queen.

"Miss Vorst is none of our concern now. Leave her here to suffer the consequences of her actions and slowly freeze to death. If luck favors her, she can tell the Winter Templars what happened when they return, although I doubt they'll be able to save her." Salem told her student as she opened up a portal.

Sheer Kaa shared a look with Cinder before he directed his remaining Sabers to go through the portal. Before he stepped through the portal himself the Grimm Commander turned his head to look back at Kaifin's body which was wept over by the injured Elsa, "May you find peace in the next life." He whispered softly before leaving through the portal.

Cinder, however, felt the urge to be merciful. She walked over and formed her obsidian sword with her Maiden powers again, just as she heard the sound of an assault craft's engines in the distance.

"Cinder, it's time for us to leave." Salem informed her disciple.

"I know, Master, but you said no mercy. I intend to finish off this Maiden like I did her friend." Cinder explained to her master, her eyes shining amber briefly.

Salem smirked and gave a nod, "Very well. Do as you wish then."

The Fall Maiden strode forward as the weakened form of Elsa used her remaining strength to turn Kaifin's bloodstained body over. She wept at the sight of his dead yet strangely peaceful face, and leaned in to give him a final goodbye kiss on his lips before looking up at Cinder with a scathing glare.

"My sister Maidens will come for you." She spoke so softly that only Cinder could hear her, "…and I hope Oum damns you and your master for all eternity."

The Fall Maiden knelt down and placed her left gloved hand behind Elsa's platinum-blonde head and turned the weeping woman to face her. She leaned forward until her mouth was right beside Elsa's ear, bringing the other huntress very close to her as though to disclose a conspiratorial secret between them.

"You're right about one thing; Salem won't survive to see the end. Farewell." Cinder whispered to her, quietly enough for Salem not to hear them over the cold gales moving around the mountaintop.

Elsa's eyes widened at this revelation before the air was instantly forced out of her lungs as Cinder's black blade stabbed through her chest and tore apart her heart, mercy-killing her. She coughed up blood as she stared at Cinder who looked back at her with what looked like regret in her amber eyes as she held the other woman until she stopped twitching in her death-throes.

Cinder released Elsa's body which flopped limply onto the bloodstained snow, reaching down to close her wide blue eyes with her fingertips. She then gently guided the former Maiden's body to lay next to Kaifin's before she stood up and walked towards Salem who was waiting beside the portal. The Fall Maiden glanced back over one shoulder to see the shape of the White Sovereign roaring up over the edge along with a trio of armored Bullheads just as she reached the portal's edge.

Cinder stepped through the portal together with Salem, the portal closing up neatly behind them just as the Winter Templar's assault airship opened fire on them with its armaments. The aforementioned portal blinked out of sight before the energy blasts and expended ammunition could hit them, leaving behind an utterly devastated Watchpoint Glacies, and dead bodies.

The White Sovereign swiftly landed and its main passenger bay opened, disgorging Snow Blade along with the rest of the Winter Templars knight detachment.

"NO! We're too late!" He shouted as he saw the carnage and death all around him. A shout of warning from a squad of Atlesian troopers to his right drew the Knight Vanguard's attention and he saw the familiar figures of Spirit Dreamer and Blade Storm emerging from a dense white mist at the far end of the courtyard.

"Hold your fire! They're our fellow knights!" Snow Blade waved off the Atlesian troopers who lowered their rifles and energy blasters as the other Winter Templars and army medics rushed forward to help the prognosticator and the severely wounded sword-wielder.

Spirit Dreamer lifted her head to look at the Knight Vanguard in the eyes, before giving a single shake of her head. Having seen the bodies of Elsa and Kaifin personally, Snow Blade did not need to say anything as the darkening mood swept over all of them.

Atlas had won the battle, but they had lost the Winter Maiden.

Unbeknownst to any of the Winter Templars there, two doves flew together away from the mountain.

---

Watts spun about just as Salem, Cinder, and Sheer Kaa exited the portal behind him. "Mistress?"

"Dr. Watts, issue an order to withdraw to all our forces." Salem ordered as she grinned triumphantly.

"Of course, your grace." The disheveled doctor said respectfully.

"What happened to you?" Sheer Kaa questioned as he crossed his arms, while Cinder simply raised a curious eyebrow.

"Let's just say there were…complications obtaining the information regarding the relics. Now if you excuse me…" Watts grunted out through gritted teeth as he turned and hobbled away.

This chapter was co-written by Relentless Crusader

Check out art of Heliosia by GigaMessy on DeviantArt!

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