Jaune once believed that 'The Breach' would prepare him for overwhelming combat, and if that hadn't, he believed that fighting Cinder or battling within the Emerald Forest would.
He had been wrong on all accounts.
His fingers ached and his muscles sang a melody of pain. The thick bead of sweat which concentrated at his brow pooled down his face and stung his eyes. The soles of his feet burned, as did his whole body, but he had to keep moving- he couldn't stop moving.
Bestial roars cut through the air, echoed swiftly by countless more like an endless chorus. There were so many- too many.
As soon as the battle had begun, all strategy had been forgotten. Organization turned into chaotic combat, and plans turned into thoughts of only survival.
His breaths were ragged and labored, the initial attack had taken a lot out of him, but he couldn't risk checking his scroll right now, it was too dangerous. He lifted up an arm to wipe away the sweat that collected at his brow, sighing into the cloth of his hoodie as clawed feet hammered away just behind him.
He spun around with wide eyes, without time to dodge as the world behind him exploded into splinters and rubble. A dark mass of pure muscle and bone slammed into his shield like a falling bullhead, causing him to cry out and grit his teeth. His feet slid along muddied ground- desperate to find leverage. He breathed out, sapphire eyes raising to meet bleeding red. The Ursa's gaze bore into his own, its massive paw straining against his shield, pushing him back inch by inch.
It fought kind of like Cardin, and he knew not to match fire with fire in a test of strength against opponents like them…
He moved quickly, twisting his body around as he let the force carry over and past him. With narrowed eyes the blond sliced into the creature's paw, severing the limb just below the wrist more with the creature's own momentum rather than his strength. Taking advantage of the situation quickly; he then twisted his frame and slashed directly below the Ursa's jaw, into its thick neck, severing it in a single slash.
It crumbled at his feet, giving him a blessed moment to recompose himself as he stepped back and analyzed his immediate surroundings.
Several, elongated spikes of ice surrounded the ground around him, as more and more Grimm mindlessly ran directly into the slabs while others ran between them. The floor directly around him was encased in ice as well, causing hordes of Grimm to slip and fall the faster they came. A look up ahead allowed him to spot Ruby, who was positioned above a house, shooting away at the nearest Grimm with constant shots. Weiss… was probably their best asset at the moment, her dust capabilities allowed her to cast out massive attacks that cut down several Grimm at once.
Him?
He cursed under his breath as a Beowolf pounced towards him, with a rasped groan he ducked under the abyssal abomination's claws and swung with a reverse grip, tearing through the beast just in between its ribs, spilling black blood from the wound.
He was a distraction at best.
Another lunged at him from behind, but was quickly interrupted by a burst of red petals. Ruby's small frame formed within the burst, and she hooked her scythe around the beast's neck, tugging with her added momentum to tear through the Beowulf's head with ease.
"Jaune!" She shouted, landing next to him. "Are you okay?"
"Y-Yeah…" He panted and flickered away some of the blood from his sword, rolling his shoulder to relieve some of the building tension. "H-how…" He paused, unable to get out another word from his heaving chest. "How bad is it? You… you had a better view from up top right?"
She nodded her head, though paused as yet another Grimm descended upon them. He pulled back and raised his shield, while Ruby ducked in order to dodge under the Beowolf's claws, spinning to slice directly through its knee before bringing up her scythe to split through the Grimm's skull.
He was glad to be with her.
"The numbers are thinning out." She finally began, uninterrupted. "But, uhm…" She paused, biting onto her lip as clear nervousness formed within her eyes.
Jaune noticed it immediately, and he'd be lying if he said he didn't feel the same sense of nervousness from the expression on her face.
"Most of the Grimm are where Qrow and Pyrrha are… at the front gates. I think they could handle it, but there's more coming in through the sides of the gates, they… they're gunning towards the town hall…"
His heart leaped at his throat.
Cinder.
"T-that's not all though…"
Great. "What is it?"
"We dealt with a lot of them… a lot were cut off after the first wave, but the ones that are coming from the gates are big enough to be a second wave, with maybe about fifty or so grimm… maybe a hundred, I don't know… they were all traveling together so it was really hard to tell…"
A second wave? Now? They had barely managed to even survive this one, if a second wave came they'd all be goners. A quick look at his aura confirmed as much. He was at the lower ends of yellow, just another hit or two and he'd be firmly placed within the red.
He rasped and firmly balled his fingers around the grip of his sword. Dammit.
Weiss seemed to have come to the same conclusion from her elevated position, for she landed next to them a moment later. Chest heaving with deep breaths and pale cheeks now stained with sweat and redness from over-exertion. Her light blue eyes were tired- kept up only from adrenaline.
"Ruby! Jaune! There's-!"
"We know." He cut her off suddenly, voice gruff and impatient with the situation. He walked around in circles as if that would give them all the answers they needed. It wouldn't.
"We have to do something!" Ruby tried, gripping onto Crescent Rose with obvious haste. "We can't abandon the area and retreat because they'll just go straight after the town hall!"
True. Dammit. He briefly thought about making a break for Qrow and Pyrrha. The five of them together could probably finish the remaining grimm off, but in doing so it would leave the rest of the slack for Cinder and her teammate. He wasn't prepared to do that, ever.
The thought of using himself as bait and drawing them away also crossed his mind, but it wasn't guaranteed to work in the slightest. It was entirely possible that the Grimm would just go straight for the town hall.
Dammit. Dammit. Dammit.
They needed a plan, and fast.
How he wished he had Nora with him in these moments…
"Weiss," He suddenly spoke, grabbing the Schnee heiress' attention.
"Yes?"
He bit his lip, one million thoughts rummaging through his mind. What if this failed? What if he was the reason they all died? Because he couldn't come up with a proper plan on time?
The nerves made his heartbeat race, hammering away at his chest and threatening to burst. His feet were glued to the floor, knees brittle and yet bones like lead.
'There is no time for hesitation, that will cost you your life.'
Her voice reminded him of what was most important. Whatever he decided, it was better than nothing. Hesitation would mean death, and his friends would never forgive him. He'd never forgive himself.
"How much ice dust do you still have?"
"A decent quantity, yet not a sufficient amount in order to repeat my previous use. I… I may have overdone it during our last battle."
Damn. They'd need to find a way to get around that, but even still… it was something. "We'll figure something out. Ruby! Do you have enough juice for another big attack?"
She jumped slightly at being addressed but nodded quickly, a confident smile formed across her lips, and it was one he matched.
"Good," He declared. "Because we'll need it."
/-/
His father had always told him to be confident in the choices he made, so when they came back to him, he wouldn't be afraid and feel like backing out.
He was really starting to wish he had followed that advice…
The blond felt his hands shake as he hefted Crocea Mors up. The shield held firmly in front of him, with the top covering the lower half of his face. His sword was held behind his shield, with his body leaning onto his right side, hips slightly rolled forwards. It was a battle ready stance, yet a brave face at most.
Weiss and Ruby were nowhere to be seen, the great ice spikes left behind by Weiss were the only signs they had even been here at all. The only one left was him alone- with only the aura flaring along his skin as his support. The footsteps of the approaching Grimm seemed to shake the grounds thunderously as they approached. Jaune swallowed the bile at his throat, breathing out the nervousness.
He could do this.
He needed to do this.
If he failed, he endangered all those people in the town hall. He endangered Cinder.
He wasn't prepared to fail her, he wouldn't fail her.
The thought of her caused a sudden clench at his chest. Was she okay? The amount of Grimm headed to the town hall would be lesser than the amount at the gates or where his group was, but even then it was a hefty number.
Would she be able to handle it?
What the hell was he saying? Of course she could, it's Cinder after all… besides, he needed to focus on what he was dealing with right now… Cinder would be okay, he might not be.
Everything would be alright. They'd return home, and maybe… just maybe, he'd receive a kiss for a job well done.
The footsteps picked up haste, maybe due to realizing his position, or maybe they had just gotten fired up, who was to say? He clenched his teeth and readied himself as the abyssal bodies of dozens upon dozens of Grimm would appear, tumbling through the houses a couple of dozen meters away. They were like a line of troops, but in the place of guns and swords there were claws and jaws filled with serrated, bone crushing teeth. They seemed to pant and salivate at the sight of him, snorting and yapping at the air, hungry for him, for his blood.
He stood there with his piercing eyes cutting into their lines. For a moment, a single moment. He felt like the warrior heroes of legend, standing strong against an invading force, unwavering, strong, ceaseless. When humanity was faced against an impossible threat, it did not roll over- it fought on. So just like his ancestors, just like the stories he was told as a kid… he'd fight on.
The Grimm would advance, clawed feet meeting ground as they quickly gained distance.
Jaune turned around and ran.
Not the bravest strategy maybe, but the best one he could come up with in that exact moment.
The Grimm howled behind him with newly-lit fury, their rage burning and churning into passionate hatred at the sight of their prey daring to run away. He knew there was some distance between them, but they were reducing that distance- and fast. He could've sworn he could feel their rotten breaths brush against his neck.
His feet continued to hammer away at the floor, desperate to gain distance, but their own clawed feet weren't far behind, not at all. He ran around a massive ice spike and dodged behind another as a couple of nevermores crashed into it, causing the structure to vibrate.
He pushed off and ran harder and harder, panting wildly. They were persistent, and normally a single person causing an entire horde of Grimm to give chase was rare, but it was hardly a distraction— merely a slight diversion.
A Beowolf leaped at him, massive jaws wide open and arms spread out, it could reach him, it would reach him.
A massive path of ice burst from the ground around him, forming a wall in between him and the Grimm.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
Explosions would rocket through the air, causing the giant spikes of ice left behind by Weiss to collapse onto the massive horde of Grimm, squashing dozens under its intense weight. The Grimm howled in fury, their bodies exploding and dispersing into clouds of abyssal smoke.
Before the Grimm could run around the wall or simply turn away, more ice would be used to connect the ice spikes together, trapping the Grimm within what looked to be an oddly shaped cage without a roof. His blue eyes shot up towards one of the many houses in the distance. Weiss didn't have enough dust to create even more ice, but she did have enough ice to enlarge her previous ice walls and connect the leftovers from the previous fight.
Now, for the final stage.
Jaune grinned wildly at the sight of Ruby's vibrating figure above the black glyph that Weiss had created. She looked like she was about to explode into energy.
A time dilation glyph.
Ruby erupted forwards.
It was difficult to see everything from that point onwards. One moment Ruby was on the roof from before, and the next she had turned into a red blur not unlike a burst of light. He couldn't even see the rose petals, it was more like a single red streak. The Grimm all around them roared and screamed as their bodies were severed and ripped apart under the heavy barrage of Ruby's continuous strikes. With that Weiss raised Myrtenaster as several glyphs would form within the air, which Ruby used to jump off of and cut away at the Grimm like the Remnants deadliest ping pong ball.
Not one to let the girls do all the work, he looked up towards Weiss and cupped his hands over his mouth. "Weiss!" He shouted. "Form a glyph for me too!"
Even from their distance he could tell that her concentration was beginning to waver, and yet the heiress still managed to form a platform in front of the ice wall that had been used to protect him.
Grinning, the blond charged forward and jumped off of it, using it as a makeshift trampoline as he threw himself above the wall and into the awaiting horde. For a moment, he could see all of the Grimm around him- they looked confused and dazed, lazily swinging through the air in an attempt to strike what they could not see.
He took advantage of that.
Jaune landed in the middle of the carnage and swung like a madman, cutting through Grimm with vicious slashes and reckless abandonment. He tried to mimic Cinder in a way- attacking his enemies before they could register just what was going on. Beowolves fell at his feet, and the remaining Ursa had already been cut down by Ruby.
Fireballs rained across the battlefield like a meteor shower, likely from Weiss. While a red streak blitzed through Grimm like a bullet.
Oddly enough, he began to grin.
A Beowolf lunged towards him, and Jaune lowered his body quickly, raising his shield to ram it against the underside of the beast's body before letting the momentum carry over. He twisted his frame and threw the Grimm behind him, all the while his sword would raise to slash across its body as it fell.
It had all been done in one fluid motion, a mixture of the round attacks Pyrrha had taught him with his shield, and the savage slashes he had acquired from Cinder.
Three more beasts howled from his right and charged in with bloodlusted intent.
A red blur tore through the air and cut through two of them in an instant.
He smiled at Ruby's attack but kept himself concentrated on the remaining Grimm. It charged in like the last but kept itself lower to the ground. With narrowed eyes Jaune pulled back his shield and railed it against its jaw like an uppercut. Taking advantage of the beast's exposed lower head, he stabbed forwards and cut straight through Grimm's jaw and the roof of its mouth.
With a grunt, he tore his blade free, causing a splash of abyssal blood to stain the ground around him, already beginning to disperse into dark clouds of smoke. He spun around quickly, blue eyes darting around in an attempt to see if there were any Grimm ready to take advantage of his blind spot.
None did.
The only Grimm remaining were a few loose nevermores here and there, but not a single Beowolf or Ursa was left alive. The only sign that they were even there being the ripped apart ground and flaming or smoking carcasses.
A happy, almost giddy laugh left him as he sought out Ruby- who was leaning against her scythe with a hunched form. He practically skipped towards her, lips spread broadly and eyes wide with relief.
"W-we did it, Crater-Face! We-"
He paused as the redhead suddenly fell forward. Panic would set within him as he caught her carefully with both arms, setting her down upon the ground like one would a child.
A quick check of her pulse caused his nerves to lessen. Her quivering aura told him she wasn't actually taken out- simply… exhausted.
He decided not to try and wake her, she deserved a chance to rest.
"Jaune!" The worried voice of Weiss shouted to him. She leaped from the rooftop and landed a few meters away, nearly falling apart herself. She was clearly as exhausted as he felt. "Is she-"
"She's okay!" He called back, giving her a reassuring smile for all it was worth. "Just… tired."
The words had a visible effect on the white haired girl, who immediately exhaled and leaned against a rather beaten up home, relief clear on her features.
For all the problems they encountered, things had gone… okay. Somehow. He knew that as soon as this whole thing was over he'd have Pyrrha immediately running towards him and asking if he was okay.
Maybe… just maybe he'd have Cinder doing the same.
They had survived.
/-/
Molten amber eyes moved passively across the huddled civilians that stood at the far end of the town hall. Mothers stroked the backs of crying children, fathers watched the windows with worried gazes, and the children held tightly onto their parents or stuffed animals. It was all for naught of course, children believed that their parents could do anything- protect them from anything. Yet the truth was these children would die here today if their only form of protection was their parents, they didn't have the strength to protect them, the power to stop the inevitable.
She did.
Now she was tasked with completing such a task, with watching over civilians like a genuine huntsman. The idea was irritating in itself, she couldn't help but feel indifferent to the whole thing bar the fact that it took up more of her time.
Jaune would absolutely chastise her for such a thought process. He'd go on and on about what the right thing to do was. The fool, still so idealistic at the worst of times. It surprised her that she wouldn't quite classify him as naïve. He seemed to understand what the horrors of the Grimm implied, much unlike his little friends. He believed that if you had power, you should use it to protect those who didn't.
So simple, yet so complicated.
She had finally attained power, and here she was… using it to protect insignificant souls. She had collected all this strength and now had to use it for an experience she had never quite gone through in the past. Why did these people deserve to be saved?
She closed her eyes and mentally exhaled. Such pointless thoughts… she knew deep down that she was only occupying her mind in order to push away thoughts of what had transpired.
She kissed him, again.
She was thankful that Neopolitan hadn't seen, but his friends surely had. Once again it had been done as an action she wasn't quite sure of yet. It was… an impulse, done without a second thought, just like at the dance.
It was annoyingly troubling.
When the situation became clear, when she allowed her emotions to take control of her… she made irrational judgments. She did things she would have never done in the past, never even thought of doing. Even now she could feel her heart beating powerfully within her chest, as hard as led. She was nervous, but not for her life, she was conscious enough to realize that it was for his life. She knew she cared, that much was obvious due to the attack within the Emerald Forest. Yet now she wasn't there, she wouldn't protect him, she couldn't. He'd be on his own.
She knew she should have more confidence in him. He became skilled in his own right, and he was intelligent, deceptively so. Yet his foolish heroic antics seemed to overshadow any sense of self preservation that he had. If he were to die, she knew it within her heart it would be from sacrifice.
She bit her lip and cleansed her mind.
Her eyes swept towards her short companion. The two toned girl looked bored at best, disinterested even. The situation wasn't dangerous to her, and spending her time protecting civilians was more bothersome than not. That along with the fact that she needed to hide her appearance more than likely annoyed her.
"Neopolitan," She began, causing the short girl to flicker her green eyes towards her. "Leave the town hall. While it is true that many Grimm will be gunning for it, it's also true that many Grimm will kill the stubborn civilians that remained in their homes. Go. Kill any in your vicinity that do so. Branwen shall be pleased if none die."
Her assailant looked curious for a moment, judging by the coy smirk that formed across her lips. In the end, she simply nodded her head, and erupted into shards of glass which clattered to the wooden floorboards.
She could handle this alone if need be. Grimm were of no consequence to her, and protecting civilians within a mission could be stomached, even if it was more irritating than anything else.
A piercing howl cut through the air, silencing her thoughts. Roars and growls soon followed, as the footsteps of dozens of Grimm shook the floors of the town hall. Children seemed to whimper from behind her, and even their parents had a hard time keeping their composure in check. Her hands moved towards her hips, gripping onto and removing twin daggers from their sheaths. They were both smaller than Midnight in length, but after months of battling with them, she grew accustomed to their use.
The front of the town hall suddenly exploded outwards, erupting wood and splinters in all directions as the grey light from outside shined outwards, projecting the shadows of dozens of robust beasts.
Cinder immediately lowered her body, standing low to the ground with her weapons held horizontally in front of her. Her amber gaze moved along the line of her opponents- studying them.
The Grimm weren't diverse. In fact they seemed rather basic. Mostly Beowolves, with two or three Ursa, and several Nevermores hovering near the ceilings. They watched her under blood red eyes- lacking in intelligence yet with the instincts to know that she was the greatest threat, what they needed to be wary of.
For several moments, they stared one another down.
Until they both moved.
She couldn't waste too much time on one Grimm at a time, If she did then that would allow the other Grimm the opportunity to directly attack the civilians. As of right now, speed was her greatest ally. Cinder jumped over the clawed slash of an Ursa and dug her blades into its eyes, before pushing off of its body in order to tear the beast's head off in one clean slash. With the momentum of her jump, the amber eyed woman leaped into the middle of the Grimm horde.
She was like a rotating mass of blades and blood, cutting down and through Grimm like a molten blade through butter. Beowolves had their hands sliced off and heads cut down before they even knew what was happening, nevermores had their wings clipped and necks slashed. All cut down by her rotating blades.
She paused at the dozens of nevermores that suddenly ignored her, and instead dove directly for the civilians within the corner of the room. Cursing, she rammed her foot onto the weak wooden floorboards, causing splinters, dust and dirt to erupt up at her feet. With radiating eyes, she superheated all of it into sharpened pieces of glass and cast them out towards the Nevermore like a volley of miniature arrows, cutting them down and turning them into abyssal smoke within the air.
Despite being able to stop the attack, the momentary lapse of speed did cost her the chance to fully understand her surroundings. An Ursa galloped towards her from behind with a deafening roar of victory. She barely had a moment to raise her arm over her head as it's powerful paw rammed into her forearm. Pain roared within her arm and caused her bones to scream. She was tossed to the side and sent skidding along the ground like a pebble tossed across a river. She crashed into wooden barrels placed at the end of the room, wood splitting upon contact.
Victorious howls erupted.
Cinder pushed herself off the ground upon shaky legs, mind disoriented and eyes unfocused. Her brain felt like it had been put through a blender.
Just like the civilians were about to be.
She hissed and pushed herself up, her footing unsteady and body hunched- and yet she could feel a drive push her forward. A sense of desperation.
She burst forward like a comet. Erupting past the Ursa that had killed her and towards the Beowolves that had engaged the civilians directly. They would all die at this rate, die due to her failure.
What would she tell Jaune?
A childish scream of terror cut through the air.
Before she even knew what she was doing, she landed in between a leaping Beowolf and a rather small girl, catching the beast's upper jaws within the reversed grip of her blades as her feet skidded across unstable flooring. Sweat and dirt ran down her normally perfect face. Her dark locks were damp across her cheek, with the black blood of her enemies oozing down her fingers and body.
She chanced a look over her shoulder, towards the girl she had saved.
Her eyes widened.
It was Amber, the little girl Jaune had aided towards the bakery.
Her knees were bruised and raw from striking the ground, dark hair slick with sweat and with thick, fat tears rolling down her face. She weeped silently, too afraid to make even the slightest bit of voice. Yet despite the change in appearance, Cinder knew who she was, she could easily recognize her. Along with her name that threatened to cause a sick feeling in her stomach.
Despite the girl she was staring at, she couldn't help but see the other Amber, the one she attempted to kill. The one she was now saving.
The irony was not lost on her, and it threatened to make her feel dizzy. She wasn't supposed to be doing this, this wasn't who she was, and yet it felt…. right. A feeling which she cursed with burning hatred from the deepest part of her soul.
She considered stepping back, and allowing the Grimm to feast upon them all. The men, the women, the children. They shouldn't matter of course, they didn't help her in any way, they didn't bring her any closer to her goal.
Yet she couldn't.
She didn't know what it was, what caused her to stay planted within her position like a tree to the ground, but she couldn't stop, she couldn't stop fighting.
Despite not knowing the reason, she knew what caused this,who caused this.
Damn him.
She released her weapons and allowed her hand to shoot out, and directly into Grimm's mouth and into its throat. Despite her aura, the monster bit down upon her arm, and it hurt. Like countless sharpened hammers clamping down upon her muscles at once, and yet this pain was far from her worst, it wasn't even close to it.
Besides, the pain lasted for the briefest of moments.
The Beowolf would glow red, as its body suddenly exploded outwards like an imploding fireball. The only thing that was left was the briefest hints of burned ash on her arms, and smoke oozing from her burning hand.
The booming sound temporarily silenced the frightened cries of the civilians, and the frenzied, hungered shorts and barks of the Grimm.
For a moment all were still, as her placid expression formed into a sadistic curl along her lips. The maiden powers hummed beneath her fingertips. Excited,desperate, eager to be used.
The Grimm burst forward.
Her eyes would glow like twin sun's.
The town hall erupted.
/-/
Rain crashed against her body, moving against her frame like countless tiny hands which cleansed her of sweat, grime, dirt, and blood which was not her own. The rain was cold against her skin, causing her hair to flatten into wet tuffs against her face and back. For once- she enjoyed the coldness. It seemed to redirect her mind, causing her to focus, to clear away the thick fog which clung to her mind like glue. She breathed out, and shut her eyes.
Behind her, the front of the town hall was somewhat blown out, with the floorboards blackened into the shade of charcoal. The windows were blown out, and the Grimm were… gone.
She had been wise to keep the Grimm directly in front of her at all times. In doing so, the use of the maiden power did not harm any civilians, and the power itself had not been used to its greatest extent. In reality… the power felt like an infinite river flowing at the palm of her hands, constantly begging to be released, constantly brimming- ready to explode at the slightest touch. She had not accepted the temptation of truly using all of its power, and instead used what was necessary. Any more and she would have brought suspicion upon her.
Yet despite the satisfaction at the powers use, she couldn't spit away the sour feeling within her mouth.
It was one thing to do what she needed to, and it was another thing to desire it.
The desire to save them.
A second presence joined her soon after, Qrow Branwen landed next to her. He looked far worse for wear than when she had last seen him. His hair was a wet mess, clothing torn apart in multiple areas, and with mud and dirt stubbornly clinging to him despite the rain that descended upon them both. She wouldn't expect him to allow the weakest of Grimm to even graze him, he more than likely had to work harder for Nikos' sake.
"What… happened here?" He asked, red eyes immediately taking in the sight of the erupted town hall and the huddled civilians.
"The Grimm were difficult, I wasn't certain if I would be able to protect both myself and the civilians. I feared that we would both die." A half lie, they were of no threat to her. "My semblance allows me to superheat my fists. I used my semblance on unstable combustion dust and directed it forwards… killing a majority of the Grimm and wounding the rest. I made quick work of those remaining."
A good explanation, one that wouldn't cause any suspicion to fall upon her. Should he check with Ozpin, he would find that Lionheart had indeed written her semblance as such.
"Your partner?"
"Left to check on the civilians who didn't leave their homes."
"Right… and the civi-"
"-No deaths, a few dozen wounded. Some likely with first degree burns. I managed to direct most of the blast forward, but some were standing close enough to be burned."
Qrow nodded his head in acceptance. "That's fine. I should probably be getting on your ass for being so reckless but… if you thought that was your best option for survival, then I can't find any reason to."
She nodded and stepped away, eager to put distance between them.
"Oh, and one more thing."
She paused, forcing away the rare nervousness that emerged. Seconds ticked away, with only the rain that rhythmically beat into muddied ground as a substitute for the silence.
"I'm sorry for putting you in this situation. You likely had it worse than the others." He sighed, and she could hear the twisting of what she assumed to be his flask. "Everything went fine this time, but this was a rare occurrence, it shouldn't happen again.
"I hold no ill regard, Mr. Branwen."
He did not respond, and she was more than alright with that. Stepping away from him and towards the front of the gates with a slow gate.
For a few minutes, her movements and footsteps were robotic at best. Measured, without much thought until the front gates were clearly visible. She could see several ruined and destroyed houses, as well as massive slabs and walls of melting ice all over the village.
She then saw him.
Jaune sat under the flap of what seemed to be a makeshift tent, with a barely conscious Nikos and a fully unconscious Ruby Rose. His armor and sleeves had been torn off, replaced by bandages which ran down both of his arms. He was also dirty of course, with muddied hair and exhausted eyes.
Eyes which soon landed on her.
His tired sapphire gaze soon lit up like a brimming light. His lips which had been pulled back into a frown wound raised into a bright, overjoyed smile.
Her breath would hitch.
She wanted to step towards him. To approach him and demand how he was so pathetic that a few measly Grimm did this to him. She wanted to ask him if he was alright, she wanted to touch him.
She wanted…
The maiden powers hummed within her. Silencing the burning need which coiled into a firm knot within her stomach, burning it into a crisp instantaneously.
Her mind reeled. She thought back to the town hall. To the civilians she saved, the civilians she saved because of him. Because he placed these thoughts within her.
She knew he had her compromised, but this was far beyond what she expected.
The attack on Beacon would happen no matter what, and when it did he would die, and she did not know how she would feel about that.
In an instant, the burning amber eyes which looked at him with a conflicted longing would soon sharpen into pure anger. She stepped away and spun around on her heel, stalking down the muddied rain which beat down upon her.
She heard his tired footsteps hammering across the clearing a mere moment before his large hand would grab onto her wrist. His grip was far weaker than normal, like a ghost's hands gracing across her flesh, and yet he held on. His hand was still warm despite the cold air which embraced them. She wanted to embrace his heat, she wanted to ask how he was still standing, if he needed help getting back.
"Let go." She spat, turning her head to look over her shoulder. His eyes were… a mixture of emotions, a storm of several blues, shades of confusion, conflict, and dread.
"C-cinder?" He asked her, voice weak yet shaky with emotion more than anything else. "What happened? Why… Why are you mad at me?"
In response she snatched her hand away from his grip, and spun around to face him with venom laced eyes. "This was a mistake." She stated, drawing back her hand before swinging it across her body as to demonstrate a point, like she was slamming away any notions within her mind. "It shouldn't have happened. I shouldn't have agreed to any of this."
His expression matched the atmosphere. Rain moved down his muted blond locks, and down the curve of his nose. His eyes were wet with moisture, but she couldn't tell if it was due to the rain or due to tears ready to slip down his eyes.
"I… I don't understand what you mean…"
"Of course you don't, you're an idiot." Her conflict, her frustration and confusion would be pushed into anger, turned into anger. It was all she could really do. "Training you- all of this… it was a mistake. It should have never allowed it to happen! Why… Did I allow it to happen?"
If he noticed how small her voice became, he didn't comment on it. Likely as lost mentally as she was. "C-cinder...if something happened at the town hall… you could tell me, I… I don't understand!"
She had learned in life that the only person looking out for her was herself, and then she met him.
"There is nothing to understand!" She yelled back, chest heaving with barely contained wrath, frustration laced within her words like a heat around a torch. He was like water, he could douse her flame, her determination to take what she wanted, what she needed.
She couldn't let him, nor could she let herself.
"Goodbye, Jaune."
She turned away, though not before she saw his features crack like shattering glass. She saw the pain laced within his eyes, within his features. She ignored the sharp pain that echoed from within her at the sight.
She walked through the destroyed village, nails digging into her palms, rain crashing down her face.
The rain felt far colder than it had before.
A bit of a battle chapter, didn't expect to be writing one honestly.
Well well- the moment the two split has finally arrived- erm. Sort of. No spoilers. I hope it felt natural and real. Above all else I try to make sure my characterizations are concise and proper. I want them to feel real, and like the actual characters themselves. I hope that the confrontation itself felt real and natural, if anyone thinks I dropped the ball on it feel free to explain why!
A lot of people had a few theories as to how Jaune and the gang would survive. Ranging from him using his semblance, to them getting outside help. In the end I decided that Jaune and Ruby making a super reckless and dangerous plan fit the characters the most, and seemed like the best way to display their tactical prowess. I know one reviewer in particular will be particularly disappointed I didn't utilize his semblance this time around. ((Don't worry, it's a plan for later))
I was supposed to update last week but I got sick and missed the update window unfortunately. Not sure how to feel about this chapter but overall I think it was alright. Probably going to read it over a thousand times to make sure though.
One of you guys brought up the fact that Cinder actually only had one sword and not two, that's my bad, messed up there. Speaking of, I went back and reread my first three chapters and had to suppress the desire to gag. God I was so much worse before, it was physically painful to read all those typos and constant dots that littered over the entire first three chapters. I mean I still do that— but at least it's far from as bad. Going to edit those first three soon, Hopefully cleaning it up will mean some new readers aren't put off by it too badly.
Regardless I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, please tell me your thoughts as each and every one means the world to me, be it constructive criticism, support, or anything in between.
Ah… and I almost forgot, the winner of my comment poll is officially…. ((Beats drums))
"Mend"
Not the one I expected at all honestly, but I suppose it definitely works well with the story, and I'll be sure to use it when the fic is ready to be put out there for all to see.
Well, that's all folks.