I know it's been awhile since I posted a new chapter but lately I've been spending some time out and about, enjoying the sunshine and getting some exercise in since I've become something of a couch potato. It's done me some good and with the heat going down I've been enjoying myself more on my walks. Not to mention the perks of being more energetic then before. Anyway enough about that and I hope you enjoy my latest chapter.
The biggest problem with spending so much time with someone is that they learn more about you then they really should. Case in point when Neo used her semblance to try and trick the blonde, he all but saw through it and kept her from going after the brunette. Now Jaune was threatening her with more then likely the prospect of death. Was she supposed to nod like a good girl and fold into his demands? Probably, and she might have since this wasn't anything she really wanted but was more forced into doing.
Unfortunately the one holding her leash also happened to involve her in an attack on their kingdom and all its people. Sure she could change her appearance but that took aura and being classified as a terrorist along with a traitor to humanity meant there was no place she could go where she'll be accepted, even by those in the criminal world. So what other choice did she really have in life now? She sure as hell wasn't planning to spend the rest of her young existence behind bars...even if she'd run the place.
Neo's parasol deflected three sword strikes Jaune made before she ended up seeing the inside of the hand gun the blonde had aimed at her face. Instinct kicked in and she leaned back before Jaune could pull the trigger. The bullet nipped the tip of Neo's nose and traveled passed her before she completed her back flip. Lifting her left leg mid flip she hit Jaune's wrist and knocked the gun out his hand and into the air.
Most huntsmen would have retreated to recover their lost weapon but Jaune was different, if only she'd remembered that sooner. Neo crouched low after completing her backflip only for a hand to slam into her throat and yank her off her feet. At first she couldn't breathe thanks to the powerful grip Jaune had on her but a moment later she was choke slammed and any air in her lungs was forced out of her without her consent. The sword in the blondes right hand shifted to it's combat knife form as it spun 180 degrees in his hand.
Although Neo was still reeling from her sudden lack of oxygen the look on Jaunes face told her if she didn't do something quick she wouldn't live to regret it. Jaune hoisted the blade up and brought it down with enough force that even aura wouldn't have be able to withstand it. The small girl in his hand moved quickly and punched the inside of his arm with her left fist causing his elbow to bend. Jaunes grip was still strong but when his elbow bent it allowed Neo just enough leeway to dodge the combat knife. Unfortunately tragedy was still part of her destiny since her hair couldn't avoid taking the hit that was meant for her face.
Her beautiful, flowing brown locks that matched her eye met it gruesome end as Jaunes blade cut through it and into the ships metal. Neo brought her arm back and elbowed the blonde in the face before grabbing him with her right hand and pulling him down while using her legs to roll him off. It was only for a moment that she let go of the weapon in her right hand but it was necessary in order to get the blonde off her. If only she knew what was going to happen next, she'd have definitely found another way to dislodge Jaune from his position atop her.
Once she was free she rolled to her feet and ran her fingers through her hair feeling the loose strands come undone and the missing chunk of hair. Was she angry? Beyond belief if that was possible. Neo's eyes locked on to the blonde that was charging at her again and without her own weapon in hand she decided to use his instead. The blade was ripped out of the metal and spun in the small girls hand. There was barely any time to prepare since Jaune had recovered quickly and was nearly on her already.
Neo went to attack when suddenly there was a flash of bright light that was followed quickly by a loud explosion that shook the heavens. A shockwave slammed into the ship they were on causing the giant airship to lean away from the explosion. The shockwave did more then hit just the ship but also the passenger who were on top of it. All combatants were blown away, and with the ship leaning sideways things became even more dangerous.
Blown off their footing all fighting came to an end quickly enough. Neo slammed into Jaunes chest and the two began rolling down the ship to the edge. It was quick thinking on Jaunes part that prevented them from going overboard when he took the blade out of Neo's hand mid roll and stabbed it into the ship once more. The young Arc didn't know what possessed him to do it but the thought of letting Neo fall to her death was something he couldn't allow. They were enemies not even a few seconds ago but Jaune grabbed onto Neo before she fell passed him.
It felt like an eternity that they hung there but in actuality it was probably a few seconds at most, and while they did Jaune looked around to see how the rest had faired.
Penny stood on top of two of her blades that were impaled into the ships hull while two of her other blades had been sent out to catch Nora and Ren. They for the most part seemed okay all thing considering. As for their supposed enemies they were nowhere to be found, probably fell off without anyway of stopping themselves.
It happened when he least expected it but all of a sudden Neo's weight increased greatly and she slipped from his arm. Neo stretched out her hand just enough for him to catch her a second time. Jaunes attention shot downward to see what the hell was going on all of a sudden only to notice a canes handle tightly fastened on Neo's shoulder. It was pretty apparent who it belonged to cause just a small distance below them was vales most wanted thief.
"Hold on tight"! The thief yelled out, clearly looking out for himself.
Neo wore a pained expression as the canes handle dug into her shoulders. The trio being held up by one blade let out a gasp at once when the small blade began to give way under their combined weight. Luckily for them the float stabilizer on the ship began to do their job as the ship started to lean the to the left and even out. If only the blade could have held on that long. The metal that the sword was stabbed into bent outward from their weight and allowed the blade to slip free causing the three to free fall out into the open sky.
This wasn't how he was going to go out, Jaune thought as he clicked on the small trigger that shot out his blade turning it to it's whip form. The slight fall made the cane handle on Neo's shoulder come loose so when Jaune came to a stop once again the canes handle didn't have anything to grip onto. The tiny mute noticed this problem but when she tried desperately to grab hold of the canes handle with her free hand she just barely missed. Her fingers brushed against the handle before her hand closed and she held nothing.
The only thing heard in that moment was the terrified scream Roman let out while he fell further and further away from them.
Neo remained motionless with her arm outstretched and her hand closed into a fist after her miss. She brought her fist to her face and slowly opened her hand to stare at the nothingness within. Her breath hitched and tear drops fell into the palm of her hand. This isn't fair she thought, after all she sacrificed and everyone she turned her back on this is what she was rewarded with?
Neo's sharp breathing increased as did the pain in her heart, and why wouldn't it when she had given everything she had for Roman. Now he was gone and what did she have left? She didn't have friends because they all became huntsmen and huntresses in training while she turned to a life of crime. She didn't have allies because they all worked for Cinder and by extension saw her as only a means to an end like the raven haired demoness. Neo looked up at the blonde with a sorrow filled expression cause she didn't even have him because she chose to turn her back on what could have been for Roman.
Was this a punishment for all the people she hurt over the years? Was this karma finally catching up to her? She didn't have a clue or any reason to keep living after all that happened. It was with that thought that the small mute reached up with her free hand and tried to unravel it from Jaunes. The blonde noticed her attempt to get free and tightened his grip around Neo's wrist to the point that she winced from it.
Jaune looked up towards his blades handle and clicked the trigger on it causing his blade to retract and pull him and Neo up. Once the blade finished pulling him up to the point where he could see the edge, Jaune tossed the small girl over the top before pulling himself over. He looked over to Neo to make sure she wasn't going to do anything stupid to jeopardize her own life only to see her on her knees with a very hurt if not broken expression.
Jaune could sympathize with the loss of someone dear since he too had lost his master at Cinders hands. Even if they had become enemies in the end, the loss was there along with the pain of knowing they would never meet one last time.
His thoughts turn back to the small girl kneeling helplessly in front of him and decided to do the one thing he knew he could do for her. Jaunes hand reached out towards Neo before bypassing her face and gently grabbing hold of the back of her head. Neo didn't flinch nor put up a fight when he reached out for her which only proved how messed up she had been over what just happened to Roman. Her eyes widened a moment later when she was pulled into a comforting hug by the person who was her enemy only moments ago.
All of this was his fault. It was something she wanted to believe with all her heart but no matter how hard she tried it just wouldn't stick. No excuse could hide the the truth and the truth was that all of this was her fault. She'd chosen to abandon her friends, she chose to turn away from a better life in place of a criminal one and most of all she'd chosen to allow Cinder control over her life.
Neo's body trembled in Jaunes arm's and near silent sobs were even more muffled as she buried her face into his shoulder. Her hands grabbed hold of Jaunes shirt as she began to cry like the small child she definitely wasn't. So much pain and so much sorrow poured out of her that the world around Neo was forgotten completely.
The sound of footsteps drew Jaunes attention and he looked up to see Penny, Ren and Nora running up to him. The robo girl looked a tad bit uncertain at first before asking "should I place her under arrest"? Penny motion to the tiny mute in his arm's but Jaune shook his head in return, "she won't be a problem anymore" he assured her. It didn't seem to be enough to convince the red head though.
"I do not know on which grounds has brought you to that idea but I must follow my orders and the generals orders were the capture of all criminal elements on board". Penny held her arm's out and allowed her blades to aim at him, "please hand the criminal over" she ordered.
Jaune didn't like being ordered around at sword point and judging by how quickly Ren and Nora suddenly lowered themselves in preparation for a fight, neither did they. Two of Penny's blades turned in the air and pointed at Ren and Nora when the robo girl suddenly felt like she was surrounded on all sides. The stand off barely lasted a few minutes when the airship began to shake violently after a loud explosion went off on the left side of the ship.
"W-what's happening"! cried Nora.
Ren dropped to one knee so he wouldn't fall over. "Guys I think now would be a good time to start working together instead of bickering like cats and dogs" he yelled loud enough to be heard over the raging wind.
Jaune and Penny exchanged looks with one another and without a word they agreed to put off whatever differences they had to deal with this knew development. "We need to get inside the ship first and help Vernal, there's a good chance she could be in trouble" the blonde said. Penny nodded and watched as Jaune stood up with Neo and started to walk over to the ships entrance. She then turned her head towards where the explosion came from and magnified her vision to she what the damage was without getting any closer.
After seeing the damage that had taken place Penny ran after the others. The ships halls were mostly clear of life but not of the uncountable number of corpses left behind with burn marks all over there body. Jaune tried his best to ignore the smell of burnt flesh but gave up holding his breath after a good few seconds of running. Finding the control room was fairly easy when Penny had the blue prints to the ship uploaded to her memory and the fact that Neo knew which way to go. The group took cover by the doors edge and peered inside quietly so as to not draw attention.
Cinder was leaning over a terminal angrily talking to someone they couldn't see so Jaune chose to ignore her for the time being to look for Vernal. There on the other side of the room laying motionless was the brunette he'd been searching for. Jaune looked over to Ren and Nora and tapped just under his left eye before pointing into the room. The two followed where his finger was pointing to and saw their leader on the ground. Surprisingly it was Ren that tried to jump out of cover first before Nora forcefully pulled him back and pushed him down.
Jaune let out a silent sigh, they'd almost lost the element of surprise there for a moment. He'd thought Ren the more rational one of the group but after thinking about it a little longer Ren had acted very protective of Vernal once before. Back when they had rescued her from Cinder and Adam, he'd been so worried that he practically waited on Vernal until she was well enough to move around without help. Then there were the few times he'd be talking to the brunette only to get a glare from the stoic huntsmen when Ren thought he wasn't looking.
The pieces started to fit together a lot better when he thought of the possibility that Ren might have romantic feeling for his mistress. A small smile formed on Jaunes lips at the thought. It actual sounded like something Blake might be interested if it got as hot and steamy as her ninjas of love. Jaune shook his head of those thoughts of Vernal and Ren reenacting the scenes in that book.
Unfortunately Ren's little mistake hadn't gone unnoticed and that was made clear when a fireball flew straight at Jaunes face when he tried to look into the room again. The young Arc leaned back and barely dodge the attack luckily only losing a few locks of hair in the process. With their cover blown sky high they all rushed in with Jaune remaining behind to collect himself.
A tug on his left drew the blondes attention to his tiny mute companion who didn't bother to go with the others. She tugged his arm once more and looked up at him with a worried expression. It was easy to figure out what she was asking, especially after what had taken place only moments before. The tears Neo had shed left red trails down her face but despite how it made her look she watched him without care for her appearance.
Jaune smiled warmly and placed one hand over hers "I'm okay, seriously. Short of nearly taking a fireball to the face I think I'll be alright". Neo tugged his arm like she was trying to lead him away from the room but Jaune remained rooted in his position. The tiny mute looked at him with pleading eyes but Jaune refused to budge, "you know I can't leave when those who entrusted me with their lives are still fighting".
Neo let go of him and took a few steps back towards the empty hall. Jaune let out a sigh and shook his head slightly, "if you want to go I won't stop you". The tiny girl stomped her foot and threw her arm's out motioning to everything around them before pointing to him and then herself. It was true that whenever it was a choice between her and something else like going to Beacon he'd always choose the latter rather then the former. Then again the latter was always something Jaune believed was right for him despite how he felt about Neo.
"I can't change who I am nor will I try for you or anyone else" Jaune said as he turned away. "You should know that better then anyone".
Neo watched Jaune turn on his heel and rush into the room to help the team he had brought with him. Again he had chosen to leave her behind and just like the first time she felt a surge of anger for the blonde. The feeling of being left behind by him again hurt just as much as the first time and she really didn't want to go through that again. Neo turned away from the room Jaune had entered and took off down the empty hall.
/
Jaune had barely a second to take in the scene before him as soon as he entered the room. Ren was on his knees next to an unconscious Vernal while Penny had just got blasted back by Cinder via fireball. Nora swung her hammer with the intent to shatter Cinders ribs but the raven haired woman ducked under her hammer with the grace of a ballerina while slashing Nora's thigh mid dodge. Cinder then brought the sword in her right hand up and was about to slice into the pink bombers back when a bullet hit the side of her glass blade, throwing it off it's mark.
From his position on the floor Ren fired the shot that deflected the blade. He kept his stormflower aimed at Cinder just in case she tried to attack him while he was protecting Vernal. Ren needn't have bothered because Nora took the chance to swing her hammer back around in the hopes of nailing Cinder one good time earning the raven haired woman's attention once more. Cinder back flipped away from the pink bombers hammer and barely dodged it by a mere inch.
The moment Cinder left her back open to him, Jaune was on her driving a knee into her spine. Cinder let out a pained grunt before a loud "argh"! as Nora final landed the blow she wanted with her hammer. The force behind Nora's strike sent Cinder flying into the nearest wall where she dented the reinforced steel with her body. Jaunes eye's were drawn to Penny as she rushed over to Ren and whispered something urgently to the pink eye'd boy. Her words went unheard because at that moment the alarms started to go crazy with red blinking lights and everything.
So distracted the blonde was that he didn't even notice Cinder lunging at him with her glass sword. Nora tried to intercept but Cinder increased her speed with fire bursting out of her feet. The blade swung down but stopped short of carving through Jaunes shoulder and just remained there hanging in the air. Judging by the confused look on Cinders face, she obviously didn't stop her attack on purpose which left the question of who did? The space between Jaune and Cinder cracked and shattered revealing Neo standing there with her hand wrapped around Cinder wrist.
"You"! Cinder cried before Neo bodily tossed her into the terminals nearby.
Neo looked back at Jaune with one eye brow raised as if to ask "why'd you drop your guard"? Jaune chuckled "sorry about that". The tiny mute shook her head and looked back to Cinder as she stood back up. The raven haired woman looked over the myriad of fighters stood in her way, defeat would be inevitable but so long as her main adversary was defeated she really couldn't have cared less. After all she had gone through, this was all she wanted now. Cinder focused her flames on the bottom of her feet and launched into a new attack only to be tackled out of the air by Penny and wrestled to the floor.
The rest of the group tried to help the red head but the robo girl shouted not to. "Strap yourself into the seats the -ugh- ship is going down" Penny yelled over Cinder attempted to break free with an elbow to the face.
Asking how Penny knew what she did was irrelevant because shortly after, the airship shook violently once more and they didn't need to know what had exploded to know they had to listen to the red heads order. Everyone strapped in as best they could leaving Penny to deal with Cinder alone. Whatever happened to Cinder and Penny after that moment didn't matter because amidst the terrified screams for when the airship started to spin out of control everything went black the moment they hit the ground.
I believe the next chapter might just be the last or the one after that. Who knows what I'll get too in the end.