The Random Hand of Fate

by TheMightyTeaRex

"Destiny is not set in stone. It only takes one grain of rice to tip a scale, one pebble falling into the sea to start a tidal wave; Every action, no matter how small has an effect on the future. So, tell me... do you believe in destiny?" Real-world SI. First-time fanfic. Rated M for violence, gore, swearing, smut (later on) and alcohol. Warhammer 40K characters in Remnant.

32. 3:10 To Beacon

Somehow, this is the longest chapter I've yet written and it took me less time than with other chapters... I'm not even sure as to why that is.

On an unrelated note, while school has started and work has been on an off for me, I've been keeping up with the stuff in the show. Wow, was yesterday's episode something or another.

On the one hand, I'm a staunch Eclipse supporter. On the other hand, Bumblebee is cute. Decisions, decisions...

Anyway, on with the chapter.

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Chapter 32: The 3:10 to Beacon

"The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him." ― G.K. Chesterton

---

Night fell quietly and without much commotion, as far as anyone was concerned, and it was also fortuitous that it had gone without incident—outside of Nora almost spilling the stew they had made up for dinner. Even though it had been a simple stew of beans and ground burger meat, after nearly six hours of fighting and searching, it had tasted better than anything else most of them could have thought of at that given moment. The twelve Huntsmen and Huntresses sat in relative quiet, letting their minds focus on their food as they let the night slowly creep in. Someone would pipe up with a quick conversation, only for silence to take over again. The sounds of Grimm and animals filled the air as the night settled in, and the shadows grew long beneath and behind them as the sun left the sky.

Nora had wanted to tell ghost stories as the campfire raged on into the night, letting their imaginations run wild with ideas. Heck, Jacob had been up for the idea as well.

But RWBY, by comparison... seemed off. They seemed internally somber, if not outright externally so, and everyone had noticed it. Oobleck said nothing of it, and several of JNPR's members had wondered if he had even noticed it. Mr. and Mrs. Ultramar seemed to have noticed, but they had said not a single word to anyone about it.

Pyrrha sighed. That image of her godfather staring at Weiss and Blake as they in turn stared into the campfire didn't leave her mind easily, even now as she was trying to sleep.

She turned over in her sleeping bag, letting out an unconscious groan as she struggled against consciousness and the relief of sleep. It didn't help that she was still normally-clothed; as much as she had trained in the past, she was used to falling asleep in pajamas rather than having everything on her body; her corset, her short-shorts, her heeled boots and her greaves. She had thought to kick off her shoes and keep them close by, only to decide against it; it did her no favors if she had to jump up in the middle of the night and help fend off Grimm with her combat heels off her feet.

Only two things gave her some manner of calm as she laid in her sleeping bag, the flames of the campfire still going and dancing across her closed eyes.

Still snugly but comfortably hugging her head was the gold circlet that her father had made for her as a present for both her graduation and her third tournament victory. He had crafted it with her in mind, mirroring the features of her weapon and shield so closely as to feel a part of her. She loved the circlet so much that she even wore it to bed normally, only taking it off for showers and other disrobing actions like it. In all honesty, it was odd how much she wore it, even while it had been hers for nine months since her father had given it to her. Even the emeralds she adored, being both her favorite gem and ironically the color of her eyes; she sometimes worried if that was egotistical or not.

The discomfort remained as an owl hooted in the distance. She grumbled again as she reached for the sash that wrapped its way around her hips. It had been her mother's gift to her, a part of her original Huntsman outfit before she had hung up her own weapons to become a full-time mom. It was a silken thing of cloth, not particularly long or strong or anything really. And yet, it was so soothing, so comforting to feel even through her opera gloves.

A distant howl. A Beowolf. Pyrrha scrunched her brow in frustration. Her fingers mindlessly rubbed the silken scarf as she awaited sleep to claim her.

"Hey, Blake," she heard Yang whisper. "You awake?"

"Yeah," she heard Blake whisper back.

Pyrrha let out a tiny sigh through her nose. I was hoping I was the only one to not be getting sleep.

"Why do you think he asked us about being a Huntress? Like, what was he trying to say?"

Pyrrha's brow furrowed again. Is that what Doctor Oobleck had talked to them for?

"Maybe he was just curious," Blake replied.

"You think?"

"No."

There was a pause for a second. "Weiss, are you awake?"

"Of course I'm awake! You two are talking," she said with a tired tone. "And I think he... When I said I wanted to honor my family's name, I meant it. But, it's not what you think. I'm not stupid."

Pyrrha stifled the urge to break her façade and rise back upright. She decided against it; this was Team RWBY's conversation, not hers.

"I'm fully aware of what my father has done with the Schnee Dust Company," Weiss said. "Since he took control, our business has operated in a... moral gray area."

Pyrrha suppressed a sigh. That's putting it lightly.

"Which is why I feel the need to make things right. If I had taken a job in Atlas, it wouldn't have changed anything. My father was not the start of our name, and I refuse to let him be the end of it."

Pyrrha's brow loosened. She knew that Weiss had a cushy opportunity back in Atlas, but she had turned it down for Huntsmanship in Beacon. It had never occurred to her why that might be the case; she knew Jacques Schnee's efforts with the company had made them rich beyond imagination, but the media was always buzzing with word of their shenanigans for Faunus workers. Was Weiss... hoping to depose her father someday?

Granted, Pyrrha thought, she'll naturally do so when he steps down, but still... Maybe I've been wrong about her.

There was a sigh from Blake. "All my life, I fought for what I thought was right. I had a partner named Adam; more of a mentor, actually."

Pyrrha's curiosity piqued again. The White Fang leader.

"He always assured me that what we were doing would make the world a better place. But of course, his idea of a perfect future turned out to be not perfect for everyone."

"Faunus only, no humans allowed." That was Nora's voice.

"Oh, Nora. I'm sorry," Weiss said, "did we wake you?"

Nora groaned. There was a sound like popping joints. "I wasn't sleeping well anyhow."

"Neither was I," came the voice of Ren. "Apologies. Please, continue."

"Right... yeah, his paradise had humans subject to the Faunus... eye for an eye, honestly. I honestly agreed with him for a time... I felt that the Faunus had been dealt all the cards we needed to get a hand up on humans. But... I started realizing that all I was doing—all we were doing—was only making things worse. So, I left. I left in the middle of a train heist and I never looked back. I joined the Academy because I knew that Huntsmen and Huntresses were regarded as the most noble warriors in the world. Always fighting for good. But I never really thought past that. When I leave the Academy, what will I do—how can I undo so many years of hate?"

Pyrrha felt her heart sink. To have lived in such a world of hatred for so long... Pyrrha found herself wondering how Blake was able to cope with all she had seen and done so far.

"I'm sure you'd figure it out," Yang said. "You're not one to back down from a challenge, Blake."

"But I am! I do it all the time! When you learned I was a Faunus, I didn't know what to do, so I ran! When I realized my oldest partner had become a monster, I ran! Even my Semblance; I was born with the ability to leave behind a shadow of myself, an empty copy that takes the hit while I run away!"

Pyrrha tucked in on herself. She and Jacob are practically peas in a pod, she thought. I hate when they put themselves down like this.

Yang sighed. "At least you two have something that drives you. I've just kinda of always, gone with the flow, y'know? And that's fine, I mean, that's who I am. But how long can I really do that for? I wanna be a Huntress, not really because I want to be a hero, but because I want the adventure. I want a life where I won't know what tomorrow will bring. And that'll be a good thing. Being a Huntress just happens to line up with that."

Pyrrha sadly nodded, a slight motion. I've always seen Yang as the type for it; normal life never seemed to fit her well. But... I think she has more to bring the world than just that...

"I'm not like Ruby, she's always wanted to be a Huntress. It's like she said, ever since she was a kid, she'd dreamt about being the heroes in the books."

Pyrrha's heart beat a happy beat at that, even though she still felt some of that lingering worry for Blake.

Yang continued. "She always wanted to be helping people and saving the day, and never asking for anything else in return. Even when she couldn't fight, she knew that's what she wanted to do. That's why she trained so hard to get where she is today."

"Well, she's still just a kid," Weiss said.

"She's only two years younger," replied Blake.

"We're all kids," continued Ren.

"Well, not anymore," Nora said with a nervous chuckle. "I mean, look where we are! In the middle of a warzone, armed to the teeth. I doubt most kids could imagine that."

"It's the life we chose," said Blake.

"It's a job. We all had this romanticized vision of being a Huntress in our heads! But at the end of the day, it's a job to protect the people! And whatever we want, will have to come second."

"Then I've been a pretty poor Huntsman, I guess."

Pyrrha wasn't able to hold her surprise back when she heard Jaune's voice.

"Jaune," she heard Weiss say, "What are you talking about?"

There was a pause that hung in the air like a heavy blanket. Jaune sighed. "I... I wanted to become a Huntsman because of one thing, and one thing only. And that was that I wanted to be strong."

Another pause. Pyrrha could feel the tension on the air.

"I never attended any of the Primary Schools," he said, his voice a low sigh of self-loathing. "Honestly, I always wanted to be a Huntsman for the longest time; I thought I'd take up the family legacy and be as good a Huntsman as my dad had been and... that'd be that. I mean, I'd been raised on stories of my dad and my grandad, and countless generations of Arc men being warriors, going out and protecting people and earning their own little glories. And... I wanted to be just like them. So, I started trying to learn when I was ten. But... I never was able to get into the Primary Schools."

Pyrrha's brow furrowed in worry. This was a new story to her.

"Why's that," Yang asked.

Jaune hummed. "Well... I was okay in the academic field, C-average student, and I was fit enough to join, no conditions or anything like that. But... when it came time for the practice spars, I didn't know what I was doing. Every other student had the skills to back it up, and I'd been training at best with some basic skills I could even figure out. They'd wax me before the two-minute mark, and there was nothing I could do; I kept failing, time after time after time, getting knocked out or thrown, and I never knew why I couldn't hit, why I couldn't land a good strike or outrun them. Turns out, I didn't even know about Aura until Pyrrha awakened mine."

"How on earth didn't you know about Aura," Weiss asked with a tone of deadpan incredulity.

"My parents never told me! They weren't really concerned if I was successful or not, they said I was fine no matter what happened. I mean, sure, a nice gesture, but I just... I just started feeling worse and worse with each failure. An act of kindness was doing nothing to help me."

Pyrrha felt her heart sink. Her parents had never been so complacent; sure, they cheered her on no matter what, but they always knew just the right words to encourage her, just the right buttons to press in some cases too. They had been almost as heartbroken as most of her classmates and her neighbors in Argus had been when she decided to go to Beacon instead of Haven, but they had still never been prouder of her. It... it was disparaging to hear such a parental style to exist as the Arc's.

"So, when I failed my go at it when I was sixteen, I... I was about ready to give up. I... I just thought I'd never meet that benchmark, that same level of greatness all Arc men could be. So, after I turned 17 this last January, I decided I'd skip the pageantry. I'd... I'd forge my papers and get into Beacon and start my training from there. Gods, I was an absolute asshole, now that I think about it; all I cared about was living up to the family legacy."

Pyrrha's heart ached at hearing Jaune like this. Her arms twitched as she tried to rise up and reveal her slumbering deception.

"You think that's bad, try living in the past."

Pyrrha's arms stopped. That was Jacob's voice.

Yang cried out in a muffled yell of surprise. "I thought you were asleep!"

"With all of you gossiping around the campfire? Like Hell I could anyhow," he replied. "Besides... you all got me thinking about why I'm out here."

"Well, it's not like you had much of a choice," Blake said.

There was a shuffling sound, followed by footsteps. Someone stoked the flames of the campfire, sending fire light dancing across her eyes. "You're right and wrong at the same time," Jacob said to her. "I could have walked away and lived a normal life, or at least tried to since... you know, nothing to my name and all that. There was nothing stopping me, technically. But... ah, Christ, how do I say it right?"

"Hey, we're all bearing ourselves here," Nora replied, "no need to censor it for us."

Jacob sighed. The footsteps moved away, followed by a groan as he clearly tried to sit down. "Well... When I saw Pyrrha for the first time out there in the Emerald Forest... I felt like I was right back in the place I had been back home. And I was worried... it would lead down the same path as before."

Pyrrha's brow furrowed. Before?

Yang echoed her thoughts. "Before?"

"Yeah, before. There was... there was this girl that a lot of people liked—damn-near adored, come to think of it, and I include myself in that—anyway, and she was the best fighter amongst... well, anyone, really. And she wasn't sporting a swollen head over it either; she was kind and helpful and generous and... and just always willing to stick her neck out when people asked for help."

"Geez," Yang said aloud, "Sounds familiar, doesn't it?"

Pyrrha couldn't suppress a blush. This girl really did sound like her.

"You see why I gravitated to Pyrrha so quickly; it was like looking at a living, breathing walk down memory lane," Jacob said. "And she had fallen in love at the time with a good guy, not a lummocks but not a genius either, and I mean that in the best way. But he had a good heart too; they were damn near perfect for one another, at least on paper."

Jacob let out a sigh as Pyrrha felt her breath catch in her throat; the similarities were perhaps a bit terrifying at first listen, but at the same time she found herself glued to this story.

"And then," he began with a big, terrible sigh, "one day, her little corner of the world came under attack. Grimm, some bandits, so on and so forth... there were just so many. And... she saw their ringleader, leading from the front. So... when everyone else was busy elsewhere... she rushed to fight her."

Pyrrha's heart went from sinking to cracking as she caught the tiniest waver in his voice. The conclusion was forgone.

"...They didn't even leave a body to bury... She was just... ashes in the wind. And... so many of us saw what happened and... we couldn't do anything. The only one who could reach her was able to at least drive them off, but th-the damage had been done. And all of us mourned her, and it still wasn't enough; even what mourning we did was nothing to that... that hole. It's silly to think about because, well, most of us didn't converse with her at all, but she was still a part of... of us."

Pyrrha felt an ache in her bosom as she heard a sniffle.

"Jacob... I didn't know," she heard Jaune say.

There was a sound like a choked laugh. "How could you know? Haven't exactly told this story to anyone else."

"So, you joined up with us... because Pyrrha reminded you of this girl," Yang said quietly in contemplation.

No word replied back, but even with her eyes closed Pyrrha could imagine his head nodding. "I know I'm not a good fighter," he said, "and frankly I doubt I'll ever be quite as good as you guys, at least from the perspective of a constant skill-climb; fuck, if my family's history is any indicator, I'm either a quarter of the way through my lifespan or a third of the way, so my time to train is past me and kinda moot at this point. I... I've nothing to lose."

"That's not true," Yang said, "You've got... well... you've got a career ahead of you."

"Smooth, Yang," said Blake.

"Well, you have us," said Nora. "Right?"

There was silence around the campfire. Pyrrha held a breath as she let Nora's comment hang in the air. What... I mean I know what she means, but... is she...

"I mean, you're three years our senior and... and yet you feel as much one of us as any of the rest of us. It sounds absolutely weird on paper, but... I feel like you're as close as any of us. And... hearing that out of you is a little disconcerting."

Jacob groaned. "I know, it sounds sorta suicidal," he said. "In all honesty, I hate the notion of an early death, but... that might just happen, whether I want it to or not; Her death was my wake-up call to that. And if that does happen, I want it to count for something in the long run."

Pyrrha's heart hurt that he would believe that such a fate to be his. What kind of final, ultimate goal was that, to hope that you die for the sake of others? Perhaps that was the endgame, but it wasn't a goal she would see as good or healthy or anything like that.

Her mind flashed to bright blue eyes and stark black hair. The ghost of Celly just wouldn't leave her be, would it?

Somebody shifted near the fire, casting their shadow over her for but a brief moment as they walked over. She heard the thunks of boots against concrete. She dared to peek open an eye.

In the darkness of the night, their shadows were cast long over the wall and ceiling, amplifying their heights. Still, Jacob was leaning against a wall, hunched and self-dejected. But in front of him, standing as if an ember freed from its fire pit, was Yang, staring him down as her hair flickered with light.

For a moment, Pyrrha's stomach lurched in worry.

Then, Yang pulled him into a tight embrace as he yelped in surprise.

"Don't even joke about that," she said in a somber mutter. "We all care about you, no matter what. You may be older than us and less-trained than us... but that doesn't mean you're weaker than us. That just means your stronger to step up to the challenge."

They stood quietly in their hug for a second before Jaune stood up and joined it. "You're one of us, Jacob," he said. "Nothing will change that."

Jacob was silent, and from where Pyrrha was she couldn't see his face. She could only see his hands as they quivered just slightly. She saw an arm wrap around Yang's back, and the fingers of his other hand appear on Jaune's back. He visibly squeezed as she heard his breath become a bit harder. She could just make out his voice as he gave them a response.

"Thanks, guys," he said with a waver to his voice.

Pyrrha smiled as she watched them hug in the campfire light. The feeling of sleep began to wash over her as she watched them embrace closely.

The last thought to drift through Pyrrha's mind was a simple thought. Friends I never... could have dreamed of...

---

…

…

"Arf-arf!"

Jacob's eyelids twitched at the sound of a dog barking.

"...Zwei... what... what are you doing?"

Yang's voice began to stir him from his slumber. He shifted from his spot, a crick in his neck forcing him to try to pop it.

POP!

"Ow..." His eyes bugged open groggily, blinking desperately to shake the sleep from his eyes. He was met with the sight of Zwei, a worried look on the dog's animated face. He barked again, the proximity rattling Jacob's eardrums.

"Jesus H. Fuck, Zwei," he growled as he clutched his ears. "Wait a second till you... wait, where's Rub—"

His mind was immediately beset with memories.

Ruby following after a pair of White Fang.

The earth crumbling beneath her, leading into a darkened, underground city.

Torchwick and the train.

It's go time.

Jacob sprung to his feet, looking over to where he had last seen a sleeping Ruby, cradling Crescent Rose as if it were her own baby as she slept atop her sleeping bag rather than inside of it. Where she had been sitting, now there was nothing but an empty red-and-black sleeping bag.

"Guys," he said, "get up."

Yang was already awake, her eyes scanning the area. Blake and Weiss were still just starting to stir, while Pyrrha and Jaune were already roused and ready to move. Nora was already on her feet with Ren, peering out from the building in a fruitless search. Outside, the world was still in the darkened clutches of night; Jacob looked down at his watch to see that it was 3:20 in the morning. "Where's Ruby," said Yang, a tone of worry to her voice.

"Ruby? Where are you," asked Nora as she peered out over the side of a crumbling wall, backing off just as a brick fell loose. "She's not outside."

Titus, Mira and Oobleck dropped down from the hole in the rooftop. "We haven't seen her," Titus said tensely. He knew just as well as Jacob what was about to happen.

"Check for signs of where she went," Mira said, a focus to her eyes that Jacob could see through the Poser filter. He suddenly felt very, very disconcerted.

Jacob turned and saw Jaune help Pyrrha up onto her feet. "She can't have gone far," Pyrrha said groggily herself. Zwei launched himself at her leg, pawing desperately. "It's okay, Zwei. I'm sure she's alright."

Jacob sighed. "Somehow I doubt it." He looked down at the corgi as it ran in a circle, a look of worry on his face. "Zwei," he said, "can you take us to Ruby?"

Zwei turned and looked at him with beady eyes. "Ruff-ruff!"

At that, the dog bounded for the doorway and out into the street before he turned around and stared back at them. He barked again, his little tail wagging once before it stopped.

"I'd say that's dog for 'follow me'," Jacob said as he started for the door. "Grab your gear, let's go!"

"Indeed," he heard Oobleck say as he followed Zwei out the door. "Your leader might be in trouble!"

Zwei whined as he looked at them, only to turn around and zoom off towards the destroyed city.

Jacob didn't hesitate to follow, only looking back behind him to see if they were following. Yang and Weiss were hot on his tail, with Jaune and Pyrrha right behind them, and Ren, Nora and Blake picking up the rear. As for the other adults—

ZOOM!

The streak of green and khaki heralded Oobleck as he zoomed past them. "Quickly now, children!"

Jacob turned back to be met with the sight of Titus and Mira thundering along with him at the point of the spear. "Come on, come on! Move it up," barked Mira, her lasgun in her arms as she charged forwards with them.

They ran for several minutes before they found the hole in the ground. Beside it lied Crescent Rose, still holstered in its rifle form. Zwei skidded to a stop before the hole and looked down, barking down into the blackened abyss. An echo returned.

"Crescent Rose," Yang said, the panic starting to mount in her voice. "Oh my God, she fell!"

Pyrrha ran up to the hole and peered down, Weiss joining her. "Ruby! Ruby, are you down there," cried Pyrrha into the hole.

"The safehouses," Titus assessed. "She must have landed in the underground passages."

"Oh my. Of course! Of course, OF COURSE, OF COURSE!"

Jacob turned to see Oobleck pacing. Weiss turned as well. "What is it?"

"How could I be so stupid?!"

Yang wheeled as she cradled Crescent Rose. "Dr. Oobleck, what's wrong? Is Ruby in danger?"

"Mountain Glenn! Yes," Oobleck began, darting between each of the young Huntsmen, "an expansion of Vale that was inevitably destroyed by creatures of Grimm! Previously home to thousands of people, working people commuting to the city, the main city! Developed a subway system to the inner city! Grimm attacks increased! Population in danger, now desperately searching for shelter! City evacuates into the metro tunnels and what do they find? The southeast quadrant of Vale is known for wild forests and deep caves!"

Yang's eyes were wide with worry. Her big sibling instinct was in overdrive. "Doc, what are you saying?!"

"My dear, we're not just looking for an underground crime network... we're looking for an UNDERGROUND crime network!"

Nora looked confused. "They've been working in caves?"

Oobleck shook his head as he turned and peered down into the crumbled sidewalk. "No, no, Mountain Glenn was Vale's first serious attempt at expansion. It worked for a short period of time, thanks to an aggressive perimeter defense, and unique transportation; the city developed an elaborate subway system to carry citizens safely from the new territory into the main Kingdom! Sadly, without the many natural barriers Vale had to protect its borders, Mountain Glenn was doomed from the start!"

Titus sighed. "As the end drew near, the citizens of the territory made one last attempt at survival: They took up shelter beneath the city, in massive caves that they had cleared out for the subway. And they cut themselves off from the surface to stop the Grimm's advances."

"An underground city," Blake asked. "That's what's down there?"

"In a matter of speaking, yes. A safe haven. Until..."

Mira cut in. "An explosion of unknown origin opened the mouth of another cavern, filled with subterranean Grimm. In desperation, the Kingdom officially sealed off the tunnels... and created the world's largest tomb."

Jacob grimaced. And it's still not the biggest tomb, he thought as his mind flashed to the images of a Blackstone Fortress slamming into a planet, followed by the image of a battleship blasting Typhon Primaris.

"If Ruby is down there," Oobleck said as his thermos extended outwards into the world's most technological baseball bat, "we must find her."

Yang didn't hesitate, jumping down into the hole the second he finished. Blake and Weiss were not long after her, followed by Oobleck.

Jacob turned to look back at JNPR and the Ultramars. "Let's move," he said, only to turn and pear back down... into the inky abyss. "Ah, fuck," he said, stepping back a few steps. He didn't fear heights like most, but not knowing what was at the bottom was more disconcerting than anything else.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. He lifted his head and was met with Titus staring at him, a fire in his eyes. "Wanting to go home already, Huntsman?"

Jacob didn't say anything as he saw all four members of JNPR hook ands and walk to the edge, Jaune looking very nervous even while he held Pyrrha's hand. Jacob watched them as they stared down, a mixture of worry and determination and confidence awash over them. "We jump down together, on the count of three" Ren said. "Ready?"

Jacob sighed as he let the flame conjure in his mind. His Aura filled him quickly, no more than ten seconds later. "Wait up for us," he said as he and the Ultramars joined in. He took Jaune's hand before Mira took his as she slung Crescent Rose on her back, with Titus ending the chain. Zwei, ever the cute dog, hopped onto Nora's back and barked.

"Ready."

"One," Pyrrha said.

"Two," said Nora.

Jacob shouted "Three," and they all jumped.

Darkness overtook light as Jacob felt negative Gs on his stomach. "Holy fuck," he screamed out as they continued falling, both he and Jaune screaming in terror as Nora giggled with a 'Wheee!' all the way down.

The darkness gave way to dim light. They were approaching a concrete rooftop, and fast.

"Hit the ground and roll," Pyrrha said as she seemed to ease up, Ren and Nora doing the same. Jaune, on the other hand, was flailing about in panic, not unlike Jacob now that he realized that he was spinning his arms about like he was doing a breaststroke.

All seven of them hit the ground, the five trained Huntsmen and Huntresses rolling to disspell their momentum. Jacob tried, only for his vision to swim as he rolled and smacked his head on the concrete. Through his pain, he heard Jaune let out a pained yell of 'ow!' as he landed.

Jacob righted himself and was met with the sight of Yang's hand. He took it in earnest as she gave him a nod. "Alright, who's not dead," he said, "sound off."

There was a clatter from behind them, inciting Jacob to spin and bring Cadia to bear. The massive hellpistol glowed angrily with Fire Dust as he threatened to squeeze the trigger. He found himself facing the doorway that the White Fang goons had been when they found Ruby in the show.

This time was no different as another pair of White Fang stormed through the door. "Hold it right there," barked the man, a pair of Labrador retriever ears flopping past his cowl.

"Drop your weapons, human scum," added the woman, a fox's tail twitching behind her. "You're gonna pay for your crimes against the Faun—"

She flew backwards as a charge of Energy Dust slammed into her, sending her headfirst into the stone wall behind them. The man balked in surprise at the sudden disabling of his partner. Jacob could hardly react as a blur of blue and khaki slammed into the Fang soldier, crashing against the wall with a thud that would have indicated a concussion. Titus stood against the retriever Faunus, his arm over the man's neck as he stood there, a knife the size of Jacob's forearm gleaming out of a hold smashed into the rock. The Faunus struggled against Titus, reaching for a gun that now laid on the ground some 10 feet away after flying out of his hands and skidding over the concrete.

Jacob turned for a second to see who had shot. A trail of barrel smoke was exiting from the gun end of Gambol Shroud, Blake having raised it from its holster. Jacob nodded to her before he turned his attention back to Titus and his prisoner.

"You'll hold your tongue from calling for help, or I will make you regret joining the Fang." Titus said quietly, calmly even. For a brief second, Jacob wondered if Titus' mind had snapped back to the psycho-conditioning of most Space Marines.

The man seemed to cower at the domineering presence of the former Space Marine, his build and his height making him a towering presence around them all. No coherent word left his mouth, only vague blurbs and veiled threats shattered by cold, hard reality crashing down on the retriever Faunus.

He saw Yang jump forwards past him, one of her fists slamming into the rock wall just aside the Faunus with enough force to send a massive crack ten feet up its face. Her hair was glowing gold. "Where is my sister," she said with a dangerous edge to her voice. "Talk!"

"I-I-I don't know anything," he said with a worried but defiant tone. He turned his head to look past Yang at his partner. Jacob saw no stir from her.

"I sincerely doubt that," Titus said. "Tell us, and we'll let you walk free."

"Look," the Fang goon returned, "even if I did know anything, I both wouldn't tell you, and I'd tell you to turn around and forget her; she's probably dead by now, or worse—"

His head snapped back as Yang slammed her fist against it, only for his head to bounce back against the stone wall. Jacob saw a shimmer of orange Aura over his body.

Yang's hair was a firestorm. "You shut your damn mouth! Now tell us where she is!"

"Yang," shouted Professor Oobleck, "That's enough! We won't get any information out of him if we give him a concussion!"

Jacob strode forwards, Blake joining him as he approached Yang. Both reached out to grab her shoulder, Jacob noticing full well the outright campfire levels of heat radiating from her hair.

As their hands made contact with her shoulder, she turned, her eyes blood red at this point to complement the bloodthirsty sneer on her face.

"Yang," Blake said with some force to her voice, "please. Let me try."

"You," barked the Faunus, "You traitorous whore! Adam should have killed you when he had the chance!"

Jacob's brow furrowed as he stared the man in the eyes. "You don't get to talk to them like that," he said as he aimed Titan down at the man's foot. Before anyone could react, he squeezed the trigger—once, twice, thrice, four times, five times he squeezed. The retort of the pistol bounced off the walls, now a deafening ring in his ears. Titus and Yang both flinched at the sound as well.

The man screamed in pain as his Aura flared to life and flickered out of existence, destroyed by Jacob's volley. No physical damage appeared, but he was now without any protection from any more attacks. Jacob thumbed the safety on Titan as he looked back up at the man, a panicked look in his eyes.

"Now," Jacob said cooly, almost serenely, "are you going to cooperate?"

There was a slap across the back of his head as Weiss walked into view. "Not helping!"

"Okay, okay," shouted the terrified Fang goon, "I'll tell you!"

Jacob didn't need to say a word after that, only glancing at her.

Blake stepped closer to Titus. "Professor Ultramar, please," she said, "put him down."

Titus looked back at her at the same time as Yang. The blood red eyes had given way to her soft lilac eyes again, and the fiery glow to her hair, while still present, was now a faint glow rather than a blazing inferno. She and Titus looked at one another for a brief second before they backed off. The Faunus stood terrified against the wall.

Blake took a breath and walked up to him. "It's alright," she said in her calmest voice, "we don't want to hurt you. We just want to find our friend."

The Fang goon hesitated as he cradled his hurting foot. "...She got taken back to central command," he said after a few seconds. "Torchwick has her bound up. He's planning to put her on the train with the bombs."

Yang's hair glowed brighter again. "Bombs!?"

Jacob turned to look over at Mira and JNPR. There was a collective look of worry on the young Huntsmen, though Mira wore a determined look of focus in her eyes.

"Y-yeah," he said. "Torchwick added a ram to the front of one of the old trains on... some woman's orders. He's gonna plow it through the debris and set off bombs in the train cars when she gives him the signal."

Jacob grimaced. "The train cars... All the Dust robberies around town... bring it down here to load it onto trains set to explode... beneath the city."

The revelation, while manufactured by Jacob, quickly spread to the rest of those present who weren't in-the-know. Titus and Mira grimaced, while Oobleck scratched his chin in worry.

Pyrrha stepped forwards. "They're going to set the Grimm in the tunnels loose on the city," she realized, her face settling into a determined scowl. "We have to stop them!"

Jacob nodded, only for the Fang soldier to laugh bitterly. "You'll never get past my brothers and the Eightfold Path," he said shakily. "They'll probably kill you and the girl before you can even try to stop it. I'd say turn around and prep the city for the invasion."

Yang's brow furrowed angrily. "We aren't leaving without my baby sister," she warned.

The Faunus grimaced. "Then be prepared to fight like hell," he said. "'cause if those Eightfold Path guys get you, death's gonna be a sweet release; especially if those guys with that weird gender tattoo have a say in things."

Jacob's stomach lurched in a desire to dry heave. The Mark of Slaanesh. "If they touch Ruby in any way like that," he said, "I'll kill them all myself."

Yang and Blake were quick to realize what he meant. Blake stepped back in shock. "They... they wouldn't... she's just a girl."

The Faunus man cringed in obvious horror from flashbacks. "That hasn't stopped them; kids younger than her have already suffered. And even death might be a horror too if that big guy in the red armor has anything to say about it."

Jacob and Titus shared a look. "Eliphas," Titus said with a hiss of anger.

The Fang goon shook his head. "No, not him," he said, "he went into town. No, this guy's different. Tall helmet, no armor on his left arm, a big chainsaw-axe, a bandolier of skulls, you won't miss him."

Jacob's stomach flipped again. He stepped closer in urgency. "This man," he asked, "what's on his shoulderpad? What's his badge?"

"What does it matter," asked Yang.

"It matters a lot," answered Titus, a flash of worry in his eyes. "Answer his question... what is his badge?"

…

Have to get out of here, have to get out of here!

She was pushing her Semblance to its extreme, thundering through the streets at breakneck speeds as Dust shells zoomed past her. She ducked low, desperately hoping to avoid getting shot in the back by the amassed firepower in the area.

A massive crater appeared in the ground beside her. She was quick to note it was significantly bigger than any of the other bullets. A trail of them followed shortly, Ruby counting ten in the span of a few seconds.

Oh my God, I have to get out of here!

She hung a sharp turn as she saw one of his shots blast a hole in a wall of concrete. She let her Semblance cut loose, turning her into a blur of black and red and rose petals. She zoomed forwards in panic, ducking and weaving through the ruins. After three minutes, she finally stopped, heaving deep and frantic breaths in panic as she tried to recover.

She didn't know how she had managed to escape Roman and those two big guys. They had been so fast for their size, she had freaked out just by their very approach; they towered over even Yatsuhashi by comparison! It had to be their armor, that was the only way they could have been that huge. And there were so many of the White Fang and those freak gang guys, all wearing that eight-pointed star, and... that poor woman.

Ruby couldn't get that scream out of her head. She began to breathe faster and faster. I have to get out of here, get to the guys, get out of here, I wanna go back to Beacon, I wanna go home I wanna go home I WANNA—

She reached out with her left hand and slapped herself across the cheek. The sharp sting of the assaulted cheek snapped her from her stupor. "Knock it off," she whispered harshly to herself. "You're a Huntress! You're supposed to charge into the danger to save lives, not run away from danger. I should just... I should find a way back up and get the guys, and then we can take them."

There was a tremendous crashing sound from the direction she had run from. Her heart clenched in worry at the massive voice that echoed through the cavern she was now in.

"You cannot run from me, little girl! I am tireless, and endless is my fury! Come, so that you may aid my sacrifice to the Gods of Chaos!"

His voice was tremendous and echoing, like the rumblings of some gigantic serpent. Ruby looked down at the ground as she started to panic on what to do, only to spot a flutter of red out of the corner of her eye.

A rose petal fell to the earth, the lead of a train of petals that she realized had led a breadcrumb trail right to her.

She groaned as she slapped herself on the forehead. "Stupid," she muttered to herself. I've led them right to me.

The wall behind her exploded, sending chunks everywhere, including into her back. Her Aura flared as it took the hit, sparing her damage but hitting her back with enough force that she could still feel pain as she sailed forwards and screamed in surprise. She landed and skidded to a halt, only to right herself to see what it was.

She immediately wanted to turn and run.

He was easily nine feet tall in his colossal armor, a dark grey that was almost black in the dim light of the cave. It was offset with blindingly bright gold adorning it, cast in faces she could recognize as horns, monsters and other things that were from a horror movie. Tusks and spikes jutted out from his armor, his right arm's shoulder pad sporting a massive monster's head as its design, and the left cast in a bright red the color of a lunar eclipse. Another set of giant tusks framed his... his deformed face, sporting an evil grin that could also be mistaken for a snarl.

"There you are, Girl," he said, his massive, clawed gauntlets flexing as the cannons in his hand glowed with the heat of his firepower.

Ruby scrambled backwards from the towering monster, more panic in her heart than she ever had with Grimm of this size. All things considered, she wasn't surprised; no weapon, an enemy that was equally. "S-stay back," she said.

The giant chuckled darkly. "Running is a pointless gesture here. There are very few places to run to in Mountain Glenn where we aren't present. And even then... you will not last without a weapon." He leveled his hand at her, the gun barrel inside the palm glowing with some kind of blue Dust that she couldn't recognize.

Ruby yelped as she saw the barrel light up. With a burst of her Semblance, she ducked out of the way as a ball of some kind of energy Dust slammed into the spot where she had been sitting. She smelled burning ozone and heard the crackle of electricity. She didn't look back as she raced off, desperately trying to find somewhere to hide.

After a few minutes, she dropped out of her Semblance and turned perpendicular to her original path. She stumbled as she felt the rest of her strength sap from her. Even with her Aura still at nearly-full strength, she needed a breather, or she couldn't keep going.

She stopped a few meters away, bent over herself as she panted. She'd never run from anything so fast and so hard in her life, and it scared her that she had run that fast. Sure, she'd run from scary Grimm when she was younger, but this...

What was this?

There was another explosion. This one was too close now for her taste. How is he tracking me!?

Another one. Even closer this time. The sound of running feet. "Run," she heard a woman shout, "Huntsmen coming!"

"You fools," the giant roared in the distance, "Turn back and fight!"

A retort of some massive gun. Ruby jumped at that, followed by a distant scream of pain reaching her ears.

"Oh my gods, Uncle!"

Ruby looked up in surprise. That was Pyrrha!

"I'm fine," grunted the voice of Professor Ultramar. "Aura's still good, keep pushing forwards!"

"No... It can't be," rumbled the giant, his voice now nerve-rackingly close. "All units, fall back to the train, prepare to launch! We honor The Gods today! Cultists, attend our guests!"

There was a resounding call of "Yes, sir! Glory to the Gods of Chaos!" A thunderous cacophony of footfalls and ringing weapons being removed from scabbards passed by her little cranny. She couldn't see them, but from their hooting and hollering, their babbling in some tongue she couldn't make heads or tails of, even the madness-induced screams and trills she heard, they had to be... those psychopaths.

Ruby wanted to fight, to engage and take action, but without her weapon...

Well, she could 'borrow' a weapon from one of them.

She peaked out from the crevice beside her, watching them rush past her. Meanwhile, the sounds of gunfire and combat began to ring closer and closer.

She heard the sound of shotguns and swords and the sounds of Glyphs being summoned, and the panic began to lessen.

---

"Glory to Khorne!"

Jacob saw him just before it was too late. "Yang, look out!"

He dove at Yang as a rusted axe began to come down from a heap of concrete behind her, aiming to cut deep into her head. He dove and pushed her out of the way, the axe coming down in the patch of Aura over the small of his back. The blade bounced off his Aura as he and Yang rolled, Jacob crying out in surprise as he felt a dull thud against the attacked point. He landed on the ground and rolled to see what it was. He was met with the sight of a man dressed in dark brown, dingy robes and wielding an axe made of rusted metal. A fetish hung from his neck, the vague shape of a skull's face and cast in bronze.

The man brought his axe up high as he charged and screamed, "Blood for the Blood God, Skulls for the Skull Th—"

BLAM!

The man's torso and head exploded in a squalor of gore and fire. Jacob blocked his eyes as he felt a spray of hot liquid over himself, and by Yang's scream she had been hit too.

Somewhere off to the side, he heard Weiss let out a bloodcurdling scream.

He looked up as the remaining legs and lower torso slumped backwards. He looked down at himself; his arms were covered in a spray of blood, and he presumed his face had been hit too. He looked over at Yang, who wore a face of shock and confusion, her hair now streaked with blood and her face splattered with it too as her eyes were wide with that shock. She looked over, and Jacob followed her vision.

Titus' bolter was smoking from its barrel as he wiped the blood from his brow.

Jacob's stomach roiled in disgust as he noticed a smell that only Satan could conjure up. He felt the urge to void his stomach as he realized that it was the smell of the corpse.

He turned to check on the rest, only to realize a stomach-clenching moment; No one in the show had seen anything quite like this.

The first thing he saw was Weiss' red jacket and skirt speckled with blood splatter, represented only by dark red spots of color. Even some of her hair was polka-dotted with blood specks. She was staring away from the corpse, her chest hitching desperately in panicked gasps of breath, mingled with dry heaves. Blake stood next to her, shakily wiping the flood from her arms and her pants. "I think we'll... we'll need to run to the laundromat after this mission," she said calmly, though a shake of worry was in her voice; she wasn't as much of a stranger to blood and gore as he thought. "Oh god, I never thought I'd smell that again..."

"Oh my gods..."

Pyrrha's voice snatched the breath out of Jacob's throat. He turned to see the four members of JNPR standing in shock, Pyrrha leaning into Jaune no doubt unconsciously by now, as Ren and Nora stood back in horror; Nora and Jaune both looked greener than a bell pepper as they struggled to cover their noses. Beside them, Zwei growled worriedly as he shook some blood specks out of his fur.

Weiss, Blake and JNPR stood in their stupor for what felt like an eternity. Oobleck looked on from the sideline with a grim look on his face, having avoided the spray altogether.

Mira, however, walked up to the remains of the torso and pulled something from the pinkish-red blob that ha been most likely his sternum. She produced the necklace and brought it closer to her, studying it as her hand was covered in blood. "This one was an Eightfold Path member," she said as she stood up. "Khornate. Probably not alone." She turned her hand over to let Jacob see.

The mark of Khorne stared angrily back at him with promises of bloodshed and damnation.

"Cultists never work alone," Titus said.

"Rabblerous squads of ten or more," Jacob added with his memory from the Chaos Marine Codex. "More than likely far more than that."

"Oh my god," Yang said in a groan, "I think I'm gonna barf..."

"It's... it's okay—oh Christ Alive, that smell," Jacob said as he offered Yang a hand up. "I-I'm sorry. Yang, focus on... focus on Professor Oobleck, okay? Don't think about that guy or me, just focus on the good Doctor."

Jacob saw something round the corner, and he felt his spine crawl in terror.

They were a squad of easily three or four dozen men and women, all of various sizes and shapes and skin colors. Some were hunchbacked and deformed, others still were perfectly normal, some far taller than him and others shorter than him by a few inches, and some sitting in the margin between. Some sported very visible features of Faunus, and others still were human, but self-mutilated in horrific ways. They wore rags and makeshift armor, sporting rusted weapons and farming equipment. Across their collective count of cacophonic sounds and colorful bodies, he could make out scribbles in foreign scripts and marks painted across their robes. Skulls, fetishes, body parts and other things dangled from frayed ropes on their bodies, some still fresh with blood if the color was any indicator. Some looked pale with illness, others snarled with blood in their teeth, and some of the women had their chests bare to the world if he was seeing things right; He didn't want to know if he was right or not.

There was a sharp gasp from his side. Nora recoiled back in shock. "What are they!?"

Mira grunted angrily as she leveled her lasgun. "Chaos Cultists," she answered. "You kids run and find Ruby, we'll catch up with you."

'Wh-what? No," Pyrrha said, "We'll stand and fight with you!"

Titus stepped forwards, firing into the crowd of people. One person's body exploded in a deluge of gore, showering the others in the crowd. "Pyrrha," Titus barked over the retort of his bolter, "This is not your fight, this is ours. Find Ruby and get out of here! Go!"

Oobleck walked between them. "Miss Nikos," he said over the rising staccato of gunfire, "now is not the time to argue! Quickly, let's go!"

Jacob and her locked eyes for a second. He nodded. "We'll be fine," he said as he helped Yang onto her feet, pushing the blonde forwards as he met her eyes too. "I'll stay here and help them, now go!"

"No," Jaune said.

His Aura screamed at him to turn around. He did so as he drew Cadia and fired, a female Cultist with the Mark of Slaanesh branded on her forehead slumping forwards as a spurt of blood appeared in the center of her brand. She had been lurking behind a concrete wall, waiting to strike; she had been only seven feet from him, her head now resting near his foot.

His stomach clenched in terror; he'd claimed another life.

But Chaos Cultists cannot be forgiven for their heresy, a part of his mind said.

"This isn't the time or place to argue, Jaune! Go! Get Ruby and stop that train! It cannot be allowed to get into the city!"

He squeezed again. Another dropped.

Again he squeezed as he drew Titan and fired. Two fell over. He clenched his jaw tighter and tighter with each bullet fired.

Again, two shots from each flew together. Four stumbled, but three of them continued on.

They were forty yards out and closing fast. Jacob turned his head and saw them running off to the side, Pyrrha and Yang looking back at him one last time before they rounded a corner and disappeared from sight.

Jacob grimaced and furrowed his brow. He pulled the trigger with abandon. More dropped dead beside those who exploded under Titus' shooting and Mira's volleys.

So, he thought, this is what it's like to be an Imperial.

How ...grim.

Twenty yards out, Jacob transformed Cadia into its chainsword form. Titus and Mira drew weapons too, Titus' massive knife—more akin to a shortsword at that size—and Mira drawing a smaller Kabar-like knife as well.

Jacob stepped forwards as he fired, another two dropping dead as the Cultists surged forwards.

"No mercy, no respite!" he roared at the Cultists. "For The Emperor!"

"For The Emperor," Titus and Mira both roared beside him as they began to meet the charge head-on, guns still blazing. A few pistols rang out from the Cultists, zipping by them. Jacob flinched as one zoomed past his ear, only to notice Titus and Mira's Auras flair to life as they each took a shot. Still, their momentum remained as they charged onwards.

Five more went down to their combined fire before the two lines smashed together. Jacob slashed with Cadia as they converged, cleaving two in half and spraying himself with blood. His Aura didn't protect him from tasting some of it in his open, screaming mouth; his stomach curdled at that, only held at bay by sheer adrenal rage. He spat angrily in another's eye as he fired off a shot, mingling the last two's blood with the now-dead Cultist's blood.

He looked over to see he was not alone in the carnage. Titus and Mira were an acrobatic flurry of steel and flesh and faith, their Huntsman training mingling with their Imperial combat history. Titus brandished his shortsword in an icepick grip, slashing wide and catching a few that couldn't jump back across the throat, only to spin the blade in his grip and stab forwards as he blasted another off to his side with his bolter. Mira, by contrast, was grappling people in one-on-one fights that lasted for but a brief second as she slashed throats and bled innards with quick stabs and throws to move on to the next. Adding in a couple of acrobatic flips and kicks and Jacob almost mistook her style for a mixture of Blake and Pyrrha's styles, tinged with the intent to kill.

His Aura screamed as an axe came down on his shoulder. Jacob turned and roared, bringing Cadia around. The cultist that attacked him—a hunched over frog Faunus if his long tongue was any indicator—tried to block the chainsword's teeth with the haft of his axe, only to find that wood didn't match well against mithril teeth. Jacob saw the teeth approach the man's head and he looked away in a flash, only to feel the sensation of flesh and bone ripping and fracturing against metal. The man let out a gurgling scream. Jacob almost lost his lunch as he saw blood fly everywhere, instead opting to shoot with Titan, catching another cultist square in the chest.

He started losing track of cultists killed and how long they had been fighting; had it been a few minutes or well past ten, he didn't know, he was too busy trying not to die. These cultists sported untrained Auras or no Aura at all, his chainsword tearing through them like wet paper as Titus and Mira threw them about like sacks of potatoes.

The last few began to turn tail and run, panic overwhelming their suicidal charge. Jacob reloaded his pistols and began to fire back into the half-dozen remaining, bloodlust running hot in his veins. We can't let them get away, his mind roared, they'll bring more to Chaos' side! Kill them all!

He and Titus were quick to fire on the breaking rabble, mowing them down as they retreated. Most were dropped by the amassed volley of Dust, bodies smoldering with Dust and burning flesh.

There was a click from both his guns as one managed to duck under the volley, another click retorting from Titus too. "Damnit," the Ultramarine hissed through tired breaths, "He's getting—"

ZAP!

A beam zipped past between them, striking the cultist dead in his shoulders. A flash of green Aura bounced the shot off, only stumbling the Cultist as their Aura broke.

Jacob turned back to look at Mira, whom was now kneeling as the end of her lasgun sizzled. "Fuck," she cursed through her teeth, "My shot didn't penetrate."

Jacob sighed as the guy rounded the corner and disappeared out of sight.

His nose recoiled in horror of the smell that the fresh corpses now gave off. His adrenaline continued to flow, but his brain began to snap out of its battle mode

He took a step and was met with the feeling of splashing something wet. He felt his blood run cold as dread began to fill his bones.

He didn't look down, knowing full well that even in Volume 2 animation it would be a sight that would haunt his nightmares.

"We're not out of this yet," Mira said as she wiped off her khaki cargo pants. A smear of blood was on the kneepad and the sheen of liquid shone on her boots. "Jacob," she said, "are you okay?"

Jacob's mind began to form an answer, only for it to die before his throat could even try to say it. His vision was starting to swim in the heat and smell and the nausea roiling in his stomach. He could feel an urge to gag between ragged breaths. He bent over and squeezed his eyes shut in desperation.

"It's alright," he heard Titus say, grabbing one of Jacob's shaking hands as he almost dropped Titan.

Jacob felt the bile rise, burning in his throat before he let the floodgate loose. He held his breath in desparation to avoid the smell, all the while taking a solid few seconds to empty his stomach in disgust.

He had probably killed well over a dozen men. All those lives taken by his hand.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he wondered why now he was throwing up when he had already seen bloodshed.

"That's it," Mira said as he felt her hand on his back, "get it all out of your system."

The bile finished a second later as he cried out in terror and pain. "Oh god," he roared. "Is this... is this... is this—gah—normal?!"

"To throw up after your first battle," Mira asked.

"That's a hard yes," Titus answered, "Even for Astartes."

There was a scream of surprise. Another one rang out; one that he recognized too well as the cutest war cry in existence.

Even though his throat burned, his head shot up. The scream had been close, in the direction of the Cultist. "Ruby!"

He stumbled forwards into a run, worry gripping him as if it were his own little brother. There was a sound like a scuffle, a grunt from a male and the grunting of a girl far younger.

He heard the footfalls of Titus and Mira behind him as he rounded the corner. He saw the cultist on the ground, a dagger glinting viciously in his hand as he tried to bring it down on top of someone.

He saw the flash of a red cape. His stomach clenched. "Get off of her, you bastard," he roared as he charged the cultist, snapping the button to change his chainsword into its saber form. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed it faintly begin to glow blue, only or a crackle of electricity to spark off of it.

He slashed wide with the newly-forged power sword just as the Cultist leader reacted to his cry. His swing was too high as the Cultist ducked under and drove the knife into the patch of Aura over his Achilles' tendon. His Aura must have dropped low, as the pain radiated up his leg, sending him to the ground with a yell. He rolled as the cultist pounced on him, driving the dagger into his Aura again with a strong-armed attack into his chest Jacob felt his Aura flare in agony; he was dropping past 50%, and it was showing.

The cultist raised his knife again in the blink of an eye, looking to strike again and again and again until Jacob's Aura finally broke, and the angle he was sitting on Jacob's arm meant he couldn't draw Cadia to block it.

There was a gunshot, and the cultist's head snapped to the side like it had been struck, a splash of blood springing from his temple, only for him to collapse on top of Jacob's chest. Jacob shouted in surprise as he desperately tried to scramble out from beneath the man. A few seconds later, he had managed to scramble out from beneath the fresh corpse, desperately trying to catch his breath as Titus and Mira ran up to him.

"You alright," asked the Guardswoman as she offered a hand up.

"Uh... I-I think so," Jacob replied as he took the hand and returned Cadia to its pistol form. "Good shot, by the way."

Mira grimaced. "That wasn't me," she said as she gestured off to the side.

Jacob turned and saw Titus starting to hug Ruby closely, the girl appearing tiny in the massive man's embrace.

He saw Titan sitting at her feet, a Dust shell casing right next to it. His stomach dropped.

He could hear Ruby's breath, a panicky strangle as Titus shushed her. "It's alright," Jacob could hear Titus say quietly, in a voice he would not have expected from a Space Marine.

"I-I thought h-he had an Aura," she squeaked out, less of a cry and more a shocked scream. "I-I didn't mean to..."

"Sshh, it's alright," he said back to her. "You made the right call."

There were more footfalls, followed up by the sound of Ember Celica roaring. From the direction that the Cultist had probably been running towards, Yang and Weiss came running, their eyes wide with panic.

"Ruby!" Yang charged forwards, taking Titus' place as he backed away. "Oh my God, Ruby, are you okay?!"

"No I'm not okay," Ruby said as she clung to her big sister like a baby to a mother, "I-I-I just... I just shot—oh God!"

Yang hugged her tightly, smothering her as she said, "It's alright, Ruby... it's okay, Big sis is here..."

More gunshots rang out in the distance. Shouts and cries followed up with the clashing of blades.

"We're not done yet," hissed Jacob angrily as he picked up and reloaded both of his pistols. "We have a train to catch."

Then came another voice, a booming voice that rang many bells in Jacob's head as he heard every syllable that it conjured.

"I shall offer your skulls to the Blood God for your interference!"

His mind conjured the image of a Lord in Terminator Armor, clad in grey and gold and a single red shoulder pauldron. He turned back to the others.

Titus' face was caught deep in a thousand-yard stare. "It can't be..."

---

Ren went flying backwards into a wall, letting out a cry of pain. Nora followed suit, both sliding back to the ground in a groaning heap. Pyrrha could hear her Scroll buzzing that their Auras were in the yellow, already having taken some damage from a handful of hits.

She grimaced angrily. "He just... he won't go down," she panted tiredly, keeping her shield up as she saw his hand cannons light up with another round of Dust. Pyrrha dove out of the way, feeling the heat radiate past her as she tucked and rolled back onto her feet, tossing Akouo at him with a surge of her Semblance for speed.

Pyrrha smirked just a smidge as her shield slammed into his exposed face, a pulse of blood red Aura shimmering from his face and radiating outwards. The behemoth man roared and stumbled backwards a few feet as she rushed in closer, transforming Milo from sword to spear as she vaulted up and over him, narrowly missing the huge tusks around his chest as she landed behind him and swept at his legs. As her Aura reached to her weapon and amplified its strike with her Semblance, she felt the raw force of her attack meet a tremendous obstacle in the form of his legs. Still, the attack hit home and forced him to the earth as she reached out with her Semblance to help drag him down. Granted, pulling him down was like trying to yank a car into a full stop—something she had once done at Sanctum despite it putting her in the hospital—but this time it didn't stop her thanks to gravity's help.

The behemoth roared angrily as he hit the earth with a thud that shook the ground beneath her feet. She stepped back as his clawed hands lashed out angrily in desperation.

"You shall die whimpering and cowering beneath my boot, you whelpling whore!"

Pyrrha sighed as she ran back to her teammates. Off in the distance, she heard the distinct sounds of Gambol Shroud firing, followed swiftly by the sounds of swords clashing and Jaune's angry battle roars.

Nora and Ren limped up to her, both looking tired already. "Well," Nora panted as she reloaded Magnhild, "he took too long to knock down."

"I doubt he'll stay down," Ren added as he nodded. "We need to move."

Pyrrha shook her head at them. "Not without Ruby and the rest of them."

There was a scream and the sound of Ember Celica behind her. She turned just in time to see a White Fang operative fly several dozen feet in the air towards them, landing as a tumbling, screaming mass of limbs just a few feet in front of them. He tried to rise off the ground, only to fall limp with a pained groan just as a group entered the corner of her vision.

Yang's gold hair and Weiss' staunch-white hair was a dead giveaway. She smiled in relief as she and her two teammates ran up to the group, spotting Ruby running with them; that smile faded as she noticed the look of worry and horror on Ruby's face. Jacob and her two godparents were speckled with even more blood than when she had last seen them, and the haunting look in Jacob's eyes was also unnerving.

She walked up to them as she heard the giant cry out, the massive thud of Magnhild's hammer form telling her everything she needed. She embraced Ruby in a close hug as Yang joined in swiftly. "Thank the gods you're safe, Ruby," she said as she hugged them. "Are you alright?"

Ruby didn't answer at first, making Pyrrha's stomach clench in worry. "I... I'm fine," she said, looking up at Pyrrha with a smile that felt genuine and yet still... off.

She looked up to Jacob, noticing the blood splatters across his jacket, pants and shirt. "What about you," she said as she broke the hug with Ruby to walk over to him, the sounds of Magnhild striking still ringing out behind her. She placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "Are you okay?"

He looked at her and grimaced. "No," he said, "I'm not; but now isn't the time... especially with... him nearby."

She saw his hand point back behind her. She turned just as her godfather walked up to the giant, still pinned by blow after blow from Magnhild.

"Impossible," whispered Uncle Titus.

The Giant stopped thrashing, blocking a swing with his arm. There was a terrifying chuckle. "Well, well," the Giant said with a groan, desperately trying to right himself. Pyrrha saw his hand glow and ducked out of the way just in time to see his hand cannon fire off again.

Her godfather only stepped a smidge to the side, his eyes still wide in a terror and fury she had never seen on his face before. It was unnerving. "Nemeroth..."

"Captain Titus," the armored giant said in a low growl. "It's been far too long since Graia, hasn't it? And you outside of your Power Armor..." the giant laughed a deep growl as he sent Nora backwards as he tossed her hammer-first back some twenty feet. "The benevolence of the Gods knows no limits."

"You want to talk to your gods," Jacob growled as he stepped in front of Pyrrha. "We'll be happy to send you to them."

The back of Pyrrha's mind bristled with questions. Captain Titus? Graia? Power Armor? Her godfather knew this monster?

The monster of a man laughed as he rolled on his stomach and rose with a speed Pyrrha had just previously thought impossible for such armor. "Let us end this," he growled as he charged them.

Uncle Titus opened fire with his gigantic gun, Pyrrha expecting it to shatter his Aura and destroy his torso like that cloaked lunatic. Her shock was only increased as she saw the rounds slam into his armor, only to break apart in an explosion. Only a scar and a dent appeared in the suit.

What kind of armor is that!?

She ducked out of the way as the giant's clawed hands swung wide, threatening to take her head off. Her godfather drew his shortsword and backed off as he continued firing with one hand, the recoil looking to be bone-breaking, but she knew full well that he could fire it safely. "All of you, stop the train, I've got Nemeroth!"

Pyrrha stepped forwards, drawing her shield. "But— "

"Don't argue with me, young lady! Go!" And with that, he continued to back off, drawing the giant named 'Nemeroth' deeper into the ruined city.

Pyrrha recoiled at the sudden outburst; she'd never seen him like that. She turned to look towards her godmother.

Aunt Mira looked back as she drew Vigilant Eye and reloaded the rifle, a stare of worry and determination on her face. "Go, we'll handle this. Make sure the city is safe."

Pyrrha grimaced. "We can't leave you guys down here."

"We're not giving you a choice." With that, Aunt Mira sprinted off after her husband, disappearing behind a wall.

Pyrrha sat there, knots in her stomach twisting and writhing. For the briefest moment, she worried that...

There was a train whistle that sounded off.

"Guys," Nora shouted as they turned around. "Train's leaving!"

"Jacob took off towards the train. "Everyone on to the train, now! All aboard!"

Pyrrha stood and watched as the rest of the group took off, turning back to watch the dust cloud of her godparents' fight with that monstrosity.

She grimaced as she turned her back on the fight.

We can't let the city be breached.

The group soon saw the train, just slightly starting to move as they approached it. Littered around the area were a few dozen unconscious White Fang operatives and some of those Eightfold Path cultists as well. A few of them she could see sported clean holes and cuts across their bodies that matched the strike patterns of Blake and Gambol Shroud.

Pyrrha's mind wheeled with concern and bafflement. Why weren't their Auras awakened? Even the White Fang had theirs...

"Come on," came the voice of Oobleck as he peaked out from the caboose. "Get on the caboose, hurry!"

Jaune peaked out beside him, offering his hand. "Come on, guys! You're almost there!"

Pyrrha saw Yang and Ruby launch towards the open door in their respective ways, with Weiss and Nora following right behind them. The train lurched forwards a tad, leaving herself, Oobleck, Ren and Jacob with an even longer sprint to make. Oobleck was on with no worries, and neither was Ren, only leaving her and Jacob to pick up the slack.

Pyrrha caught up beside Jacob. "Come on," she urged, worry tinging her words. Behind her, there was the distinctive growls of Beowolves, followed by... some ear-piercing shriek that she had never heard before. She looked back behind her, unsure of what she'd find.

Grimm, easily her same height, vaguely reptilian but bipedal, snaked towards the two at terrifying speeds; just from watching them she could see they were running faster than horses at full gallop. There were five of them in total, black bodies with white back stripes and bellies, with rectangular, long and snarling faces. Their eyes were scarlet irises set in black sclera, the usual boney plate over its head with a pattern of scarlet dots running down towards its snout. Their teeth were sharp and gleamed in the darkness, nagging Pyrrha's mind with a hint of worry. She looked down at their feet as they closed in, spotting the wicked sickle claws on their feet.

Her mind shot back to one of Professor Port's lectures. Lectures about... Saurian Grimm.

"Raptors," she shouted, "Get on board, now!"

Beside her, Jacob looked back. "Holy fuck!"

There was a scream again from the Raptors. Jacob's run became a breath-stealing sprint at the same time as hers did.

Both leapt up and reached to grab hold of something. Pyrrha found Jaune's hand as Jacob's found Nora's, both hands yanking them into the caboose. Pyrrha felt and saw nothing but Jaune's breastplate for a few seconds. Were they not very close to dying, she would have blushed at being so close to Jaune.

As she stood up, she heard Ember Celica roar in tandem with Yang, followed by a Raptor's screech and a Beowolf's howl. She rounded on the spot and pulled Milo free in its rifle form, snapping off a shot as a Raptor came into view, poised to jump on Yang. It's head snapped back and the beast fell to the earth as the caboose rushed past it.

Yang turned and looked back at her, flashing a smile. "Thanks, Pyr."

"What the fuck... who the hell let the Grimm get ahold of the Velociraptors from Jurassic Park," Jacob cried out, panting heavily.

Pyrrha grimaced in agreement despite her confusion what this 'Jurassic Park' was, only to drop the smile as she noticed a ticking sound in the caboose.

She located the offending item a second later; it was a small, metal structure of some kind, sporting separate cylinders of Fire Dust and another two that were a glowing, light-blue Dust of some kind. Weiss sat beside it, looking at it closely, and yet still poised as if to jump back at any second.

"Err... Professor?"

Oobleck approached and growled, "Doctor..."

"What's that?"

Oobleck kneeled down as Jacob approached his side, crouched over it with squinted eyes. "That my dear," said Oobleck, "appears to be a bomb."

Jacob grimaced as he looked up. "Yep," he said, "and it looks like a pretty powerful bomb at that. Bigger than any of these." He pulled out a makeshift IED from his jacket pocket, only to visibly blanch. "Oh my God, I completely fucking forgot..."

Weiss reached out and pulled loose the light blue Dust canisters. "Wait a minute; this is Plasma Dust," she said in surprise. "So this is where our first shipments disappeared to! We can't let them use this stuff, it's too volatile even for the strongest weapons!"

"What do you mean," asked Jaune nervously.

Pyrrha watched as Weiss carefully walked towards the doorway to the caboose and tossed it back behind them. There was a pregnant pause for a few seconds as they waited for a reaction.

Pyrrha splayed her legs out as a massive shockwave rocked the ground and the caboose, heralded by a massive 'Krakoom!'

"Well," Yang said, "That answers that."

"Uh, guys," Said Ruby as she peaked down from the top of the caboose, "We've got baddies on the rooftop!"

"We weren't expecting them to go easy on us anyhow," Jaune said as he drew Crocea Mors. "We cut beneath them and get to the engine before it hits the end of the line, or the whole thing goes up like a volcano. Blake, we're gonna need you and Ren to cut the cars as we pass, it'll disperse the bombs and potentially stop the final one from breaking the surface into the city."

Ren and Blake both nodded. "You can count on us," said Blake. The two ran to the doorway, prepared to breach and follow behind them."

Jaune turned to his fellow blonde. "Yang, you and I are our spearhead, we need to clear the path for everyone else should something get in the way."

Yang only nodded with a smile as she slammed her left fist into her open hand.

"Nora, you're on the roof with Ruby, deal with anyone who tries to get on the rooftop."

"You got it," she said as she skipped to the edge and leapt up to grab the top of the caboose, pulling herself up and out of sight."

Pyrrha watched on in stunned surprise at how quickly he was forming a plan. She hadn't seen this side of him in some time, and it was without a doubt one of the things she loved seeing from Jaune; those moments when he stepped up.

He turned to her, his blue eyes lacking any of that panic in them, only the true determination of a Huntsman. "Pyrrha, you, Weiss and Jacob are right behind me and Yang, cover the flanks in case any break through Ruby and Nora."

Pyrrha smiled. "No one will even get the chance."

"Damn right," Jacob said as he reloaded Cadia. She noticed the grimace on his face as he checked the magazine. He must've been running low.

"Professor," Jaune said as he turned to Oobleck, "can you help out Nora and Ruby?"

Oobleck smirked and nodded. "Of course, Mr. Arc. Come along, Zwei!"

There was a bark as Ruby and Yang's corgi sprung onto Oobleck's back as he followed Nora onto the roof, leaving the seven of them waiting for Jaune.

Jaune nodded as he turned to the doorway. "Let's move!"

---

Damnit, damnit, damnit!

Yang threw another punch, knocking a White Fang goon out of the car as they breezed through the train car. Ahead, she heard the massive click of the car uncoupling as the floor beneath her lurched back.

"Step on it," she shouted. "They're uncoupling the car!"

"At this point," cried Jacob as Cadia roared and set another one of them flying into a wall, "it's pointless! We won't get to the engine in time!"

She burst through the door and leapt forwards, smashing through the opposite door.

"Eleven," Yang muttered under her breath as she heard the footfalls of the others behind her, the grunt of pain she was getting used to hearing from Jacob and the footfalls of Nora, Ruby and Oobleck on the rooftop.

"How many cars long is this train," Jaune cried out as he brought his shield up and smashed into a deer Faunus, sending the Fang operative into a wall.

"Just keep running," Weiss called out. "I'm sure we're almost there!"

Jacob kicked one of the bombs out the side door as he passed it, Yang hearing the bomb shatter and explode a few seconds later. "The Fang are getting more concentrated, we must be getting closer!"

Yang burst through the door just as she heard gunshots go off overhead. She shot through the next with ease. "Twelve..."

The next room was emptier than she had expected, no soldiers or cultists present. She could feel the hairs on her back bristle in worry. Something was off.

The seven of them heard a massive thud above them, squared imprints appearing in the roof of the car.

"Atlesian Paladins," Jacob noted as they kept moving.

Yang's stomach clenched in worry as it charged in the direction of Ruby.

There was a massive roar like a bonfire, followed by a crashing sound as something sent the train car up and over something. All seven of them braced or hit the deck as it passed just as soon as it had come. A small bark sounded off, muffled through the steel ceiling.

Yang smiled as she looked back at it. They continued to charge forwards, Yang looking back behind her.

She felt her Aura scream to life as the sound of an angry engine roared to life.

"Yang," Jacob screamed, "LOOK OUT!"

She turned just as the sight of spinning metal teeth came into view.

Her stomach churned as her neck erupted with pain, her Aura sparing her a grizzly death as she flew backwards. She didn't feel the ground for a full second before she tumbled over with a pained grunt, smacking into someone's legs.

A booming voice echoed through the car, deep and strong like she imagined a mountain would speak if it were sentient. "Children... they send children to best us?"

Yang felt her rage begin to build as she righted herself, realizing that she had landed at Ren's feet. "Alright, pal," she said, "who's the wise... ass..."

Her sentence died in her throat as she saw the man who had attacked her. Oh my God, another one of these guys!?

He wasn't as tall as the goliath of a man that had attacked Pyrrha, Ren and Nora, but he was still taller than even Yatsuhashi; this wasn't helped by the giant hatchet-like features on his scowling helmet, lined with what looked like bones made of red-painted bronze. Great chains hung from several parts of him, clinking as he strode towards them, a massive axe with spinning chainsaw teeth in his hand; what was even scarier was how huge it was—it was nearly as big as he was, beareded and bearing a screaming skull of polished bronze that still sported flecks of... something Yang didn't want to think about. He wore a chestplate of bright red with some kind of vent on the front, a bandolier of... of real skulls over top of it. He wore only one arm plate, but one of his shoulders sported a pauldron not unlike that Eliphas guy did, only this one had that same mark the White Fang guy had described when they had arrived below.

A maw full of fangs, chomping down on a globe of blue and green, cracks and breaks shattering the globe.

A world being eaten.

"You are a long way from Beacon Academy, children," said this new giant, feathering his chainsaw-axe's trigger. Yang heard the engine roar, and a feeling of dread crawled over her mind. The very engine sounded like a rabid animal, hungry for flesh. "You have made a mistake interfering with us. Forgive me that I must make you pay with your lives."

Yang felt someone push past her. She saw Jacob's brown hair cut in front of her vision as he stepped between her and the giant. Cadia rose in his hand. She noticed the faintest shake in it. "I will kill you if you touch them, Betrayer."

The giant stopped, twenty feet away from him. There was a visible look of curiosity from beneath his armor, the slightest tilt of his head. "Betrayer... That is a name I have not been called in many an age..."

Yang shivered at the age to his voice, something beyond her understanding in that low growl. "We'll fight you together," she said as she stepped up beside Jacob, brandishing Ember Celica.

"I have killed more warriors than there are Huntsmen alive now," he growled as he feathered his trigger again. His other hand produced a bulbous, glowing pistol that made Yang uncomfortable. "Gorechild will not discriminate between the blood of warriors and the blood of children."

The sound of Crescent Rose firing overhead caught their attention. Yang spotted Jacob glancing at her, a look in his eyes. She met his look for a brief second, but knowing full well what he wanted to say.

"Jaune, Pyrrha," he said cautiously, "circle back around. Go with Ruby. We've... I've got this guy."

Yang glanced at him in surprise. Did he... was he really going to... take this guy on by himself? "You must have hit your head," she said.

"I can buy you guys time," he said in a hiss. "Go, I'll hold his attention."

Yang's stomach clenched. She was not about to let him fight this guy alone. "Not a chance, Jacob. You guys go... we've got this guy."

Yang saw something float past the corner of her vision. She turned her head just in time to see something in a white coat fly over her shoulder and land in front of the others.

She turned and was met with the sight of that tiny girl with brown and strawberry-pink hair, wearing a terrifyingly innocent smile as she twirled her parasol; Torchwick's little aide. Yang snarled as the rest of their group backed towards the two. They were trapped.

Jacob reached into the pocket of his jacket as he eyed the giant in front of him. The wild look in Jacob's eyes as he focused on the behemoth was starting to scare Yang; it was like he already knew what was in store for them just by looking at this guy.

Jacob's hand flew up into the air, letting an IED of water and fire Dust sail into the air.

Yang caught on without a second's hesitation as she fired up at it. The IED detonated, sending a thick steam cloud up around the room. Behind her, there was the sounds of a scuffle before several large thuds on the rooftop. They had made it onto the roof.

Now, however, that only left two-on-two. The two villains circled them in the clearing fog like starving dogs circling a wounded cat. Yang was facing the behemoth, and out of the corner of her eye she saw Jacob staring down the little ice-cream girl.

"Alright," Jacob said. "You get Neo, I'll take him."

Yang felt her blood pressure rise. He didn't think she could take on this guy? "No," she said, "I'll take this guy!"

She heard Jacob call her name before she rocketed forwards on the recoil of Ember Celica, yelling as she looked to give him a superman punch to the face.

The giant ducked out of the way, spinning his 'Gorechild' in his hand as he tried to catch her off guard. She went to ground and rolled into a crouch, now having switched places with the giant. Behind him, she could see Jacob desperately duel with Ice Cream Girl, the tiny chick merely dodging his every attack, spinning her parasol like it were a Sunday stroll.

The giant lunged forwards at her, a kill box formed on her from the various crates and the very walls of the car. She had no choice but to meet his lunge with a charge, only to see the chainsaw-axe—chainaxe, that's a much better name—again swing at her, hoping to bisect her the long way. She ducked low as she felt the whirring teeth breeze past her legs, rolling before springing up and catching him in the jaw with her left fist.

She bit back a cry of pain. Her hand was shooting with agony, like she'd punched a mountain full force. The big guy stumbled back, clutching his armored chin in surprise. She jumped back onto a crate, holding her hand closely as it pulsed with pain.

Yang found herself utterly confused. But... My Aura's still more than eighty percent strength. Who the hell is... no, what the hell is this guy!?

"A clean blow, girl," the giant rumbled. "I commend your battle prowess. My old friend Lotarra would have liked you."

"No offense, big guy," she said as she took a step back, "I don't know who that is."

The giant went silent. Something about him began to exhume rage. He slammed into the crates that she had been standing on, sending her back into a wall. She heard the ungodly screech of metal rending to metal as his chainaxe slashed them open. Yang backpedaled and fired off a Fire Dust shell, the shot making a direct hit. He only slowed a smidge as she fired off another, and then another and three more in rapid succession. He continued to charge forwards as he fired his glowing pistol.

Yang had no time to react as the ball of... something slammed into her. She felt heat and incredible pain, enough to stumble her and make her body scream with pain as it slammed into her shoulder. She lunged forwards and punched, managing a good strike again in the crook of his throat. The giant roared in pain as he spun out of the way, swinging around in a twirl and catching her knee with his chainaxe.

Yang winced as she landed and rolled back to a knee. She grabbed her shoulder where it had struck as she stood her ground. The area was hot, ridiculously hot at that. Worse still, her knee was throbbing from that glancing blow; these weapons, or more likely he himself, were stupidly strong.

The good news to that was that Yang thrived against tougher opponents.

She felt the heat in her chest absorb the heat of the impacted spot. Her heart was thundering in her chest, that rising bloodlust growing again. She knew full-well that her eyes were glowing red now as she felt her blood pressure spike. The pain resonated before her focus went to the giant, now kneeled and wheezing as he clutched his throat.

"Had enough, big guy," she spat cockily as the edges of her vision began to ignite with gold light.

The giant groaned as he stood up, coughing as he rubbed his throat. "That—*cough*—that was a good shot."

"Plenty more where that came from," she said as she slammed her fists together, a roar of an inferno emanating from her as she ran towards him.

The giant growled as he returned the charge, his chainaxe roaring to life as he fired his pistol again. Yang sidestepped this one, and kept charging, leaping high as he swung his axe. She hopped high enough to vault over his head, a mere few inches from the massive blades on his helmet as she squeezed and blasted into his skull. She went flying into the air as the giant wheeled and fired, missing again as she spun in the air and landed. She landed, turning her arms and firing back behind her to surge forwards again, her fists blazing with fire. The giant caught her fist with the axe, knocking them away. She fell into her rhythm again as they began a dance of blades and fists, the giant keeping up with her attacks as fast as she could make them. A punch would be met with a redirect into the strongest parts of his armor, a kick to disarm him would lead to him rounding the momentum on her and landing glancing blows against her. The fight lasted less than a minute, but to Yang it felt like every second was a minute of readjusting and deciding on a spot to strike, fighting her anger as she realized that she couldn't strongarm him into submission; not yet at least.

Every so often, she would steal a glance over at Jacob. He was struggling against the tiny girl, every strike of his being dodged only for her to strike him with her parasol or a backhanded kick. Jacob's Aura was surging with energy now, so close to failing as he was wreathed in blue shimmers. Cadia was making minimal impact, and any time he backed away and shot at her, she would bounce towards him like a psychotic preschooler, still wearing an uncannily pleasant smile on her face, only just tinged with malice.

Yang's stomach churned with anger and worried thought as the giant's axe and her fist made contact again. This was a losing battle they were in... and there was no escape they could make.

Her strength was immense now, nearly the largest she had ever felt before. Maybe, just maybe, she could overpower him.

She pulled an uppercut and caught him in the jaw. Her fists were starting to get numb with pain as she kept striking, though by now her best swings were in the obvious chinks in the armor. The giant's head snapped up as he wheeled back a step, only to retaliate and slam his scowling helmet into her forehead. She squeezed her eyes shut in pain as she staggered back, only to feel an iron grip take her throat. The breath in her lungs stopped as the grip tightened.

She felt her feet leave the ground. Terror started to grip her heart as she began to thrash wildly.

"You cannot hope to best me, child. I am your superior in every way."

She desperately struggled against his grip. She kicked her feet and threw a punch with Ember Celica, but it flew wide, chipping off a piece of his helmet's hatchet blades. Her fiery hair began to roar in desperation. Her head was starting to swim. "L...l... let me... g... go," she hissed out through her squeezed windpipe.

"Squirm all you wish. You will not break my grip." he drew the chainaxe, the weapon suddenly seeming far more intimidating as its teeth began to spin. "Another offering to Khorne, the blood and soul of a worthy warrior."

She couldn't think straight. She felt her legs go limp and her arms became too heavy to swing with. Her sight was filled with stars. She looked over through crying eyes and saw Jacob go down, desperately trying to rise from his stomach, the ice cream girl pulling a blade from her parasol. She poised to run him through, the thin blade gleaming terribly in the dim light of the train car.

She could barely make out what he was saying now, but some part of her swimming brain still worried that these would be the last words she heard. "When you arrive... Khorne's domain, tell him that... Khârn of the World Eaters who sent you..."

Her eyes began to close as she distantly heard the sound of a revving chain. No... I don't... I don't wanna... wanna... die...

The grip slackened all of a sudden... Or had she fallen... Or was this was dying felt like? No, no, she felt pain on her ass as she hit something, a distant sound like thunder roaring in her ears. The air rushed into her lungs with such force that she found herself coughing, coughing like she would hack up a lung. Everything felt fuzzy, her vision was blurry, every sound was muffled as if she were hearing it through a wall of pillows. Panic desperately roared to life in her veins, her mind struggling to stay conscious. Air, the animal part of her brain screamed, need air!

She coughed and coughed, finally managing a strangled breath after a brief second before the coughing started again. Her stomach roiled angrily. The sounds of a fight echoed around her, the same roar of the giant now tinged by another blade. Had Jacob gotten his second wind?

She looked up with what strength she could manage. Her vision was met with Jacob on the ground, struggling to get up. The ice cream girl—Neo, her name was Neo—was backpedaling, only to disappear in a flash.

Her strangled mind was confused. "Wha... how..." she wheezed out, only to feel her head get heavy again. SHe heard a colossal thud and felt a tremor.

"You won't best me, Branwen," she heard the giant say before there was a sound of clashing blades.

Her heart leapt in hope. Uncle Qrow?

She dared to look up, but the sight she saw still threatened to catch her breath in her throat.

It was a woman, clad in a miniskirt, some kind of tied top and a set of thigh-high boots. She had a mask of bone-white and red markings on, like she was a Grimm, and behind that was a mass of wild, black hair. She was wielding a massive katana of red metal, raised as if poised to strike, an air of primal power behind her.

Beneath the mask, Yang could see blood red eyes that seemed to glow with an angry fire.

The giant was just climbing back to his feet as he revved the axe. He leapt forwards and swung down, only for the woman to sidestep and catch him in the jaw, throwing him into the air. She sheathed her sword, leapt after him and spun into a thunderous kick, throwing him back twenty feet against the back door. The whole thing dented and began to tear away as the giant groaned on impact. He started to rise to his feet. "I am the Champion of Khorne, Slayer of Angels. You will not best me so—"

The woman made no comment as she landed with her blade in the ground and shot forwards, a blaze of fire following behind her as she carved through the ground. She stopped ten feet from him and swung her blade up, sending a wave of fire roaring towards the monster.

The back of the train rent from the strike, revealing that the previous car had been detached for a while. 'Khârn' went sailing backwards, roaring angrily as he hit the dirt and train tracks, becoming lost in a sea of Grimm following the speeding train.

The woman stared back at the crowd of Grimm, a visible sigh sagging her shoulders as she drew the flat edge of the blade over her arm and sheathed it.

Yang's heart beat with shock and awe as her breathing just began to level out. She tried to stand up, only to feel the world go sideways again. She planted a knee on the floor, grunting as she realized her Aura had mostly been destroyed by that Khârn guy.

Without even needing to think about it, she grasped her neck, that feeling of his fingers around her throat still tickling the back of her mind.

The woman rounded on the spot, drawing her sword. She stopped as she tilted her head.

Yang felt the words want to escape her mouth, only help back by fear. Finally, it came out as a squeak.

"M... m... Mom?"

The silence was palpable, a blanket of steel that muffled even the sound of the Grimm charging behind him. Was it really her, after all this time?

There was a groan from behind her mom. "Raven," came Jacob's voice in a groan of exhaustion. "Couldn't have timed that better..."

Yang's thoughts lasered in on Jacob's comment. He... He knew her mom? Did he know this whole time?

From the first syllable, she had reacted just slightly, but tensely enough for Yang to start worrying. She reached for her sword and drew it, a scar of black and red appearing in the air. But rather than like Blake and Weiss' wind pulses when they attacked, it stayed in the air and only widened, becoming a gigantic hole in an invisible curtain. She stepped towards it, sheathing her sword again.

"W... wait," Yang said as the fear of her mom disappearing overwrote everything. "Mom... P-please, wait..." She tried to rise to her feet, only to stumble again. She saw Jacob rush over to her and bend down to grab her hand and pull her up. She took it without ever taking her eyes away. "Mom... stop!"

Raven stopped. For a moment, Yang's elated heart thought she would turn around.

"Good luck."

She stepped through the scar. It caved in on itself, leaving nothing.

Her mother was gone, just like that.

Yang's heart felt like she could roar in anger and cry in agony all at once, the pained breaths in her lungs mirroring the fresh heartache. The desperate smile dropped off her face as a coldness and the pain of the fight took over.

She felt arms encircle her. "I'm sorry, Yang," she heard Jacob say. "But... we have to go."

Yang felt like her whole body was made of lead. Leaving sounded like a herculean task all of a sudden.

"Y... yeah," she said solemnly as she took a step on a wobbly leg. She could feel her Aura slowly returning already, though she could feel a hum in her body.

The smell of bromine-shocked water and screams of delight as bouncy orchestral music rang out. A mountain beside a river, set to red-pink sunsets shining over it all. The tapping of a keyboard, the smell of cinnamon rolls, a roar of make-believe battle, the rolling of dice.

It dawned on her that she'd had this feeling before, when her dad had first been training her. These weren't her sensory memories, no, this only happened when someone... was sharing their Aura.

"Jacob," she said quietly. "you don't need to do an Aura share."

Jacob looked at her in confusion. "Huh? I don't know how to do that."

Yang stared at him for a good long second. "Well, you're doing it right now," she said as she pulled out her Scroll and showed him. His Aura—down to 37%— was draining fast as hers slowly crept back into the yellow; 20% and growing.

Jacob stared closely at it, shaking his head. "How the... I swear, I'm not doing that consciously."

Yang was starting to feel the wind catch in her sails again, so to speak. "It can accidentally trigger," she said as she stepped away, severing the connection. She looked down; 25% each. She grimaced. "You need to get your Aura trained."

Jacob sighed sarcastically. "Funny that everyone keeps telling me that. Come on."

She had no time to rebuke as he began to make for the next door. She was right on his tail, though her mind was now stuck at that exact spot where her mom had disappeared. She followed him up onto the rooftop, where they saw the others standing, staring forwards.

Ruby, Blake and Yang turned to them, followed by Pyrrha and Ren. The former looked worse for wear, sweat glistening off of their brows. Weiss' Aura had looked almost as bad as theirs when Yang had checked. "Guys," Ruby said worriedly, "you're okay! We saw your Auras drop, and yours was flickering in and out and I thought—"

Yang's heart tightened as she brought her sister into a hug through the whipping winds of the train's back. "I'm alright," she sighed, her mind still remembering that panic she had felt as the lights had begun dimming. "But... Let's just say I have a new appreciation for breathing."

"Uh, guys," she heard Jaune say, "there's a wall coming up!"

Yang looked ahead. Sure enough, a massive metal wall painted with caution tape patterns was coming up on them pretty quickly.

"Fifteen seconds to impact," cried out Oobleck.

"What now," asked Blake as the winds whipped around them.

Yang turned to look at Ruby, only to see her give a nod to Weiss. "Everybody, cluster up," she shouted, "and hold on to something!"

Yang's eyes went wide with understanding.

Great.

Still, she did so as she and Jacob embraced the nearest two to them—Jaune and Pyrrha—looking around at the others as they braced. Ahead of them, Weiss was summoning a glyph before she stabbed into the train's roof, a great wall of ice encircling them and rising into a cone shape overhead of them. They were plunged into anxious darkness, just slightly illuminated by the light in the tunnel.

Yang braced up.

For a brief moment, the world was terrified tension as she heard the staccato of four heartbeats thundering with exhaustion and the tiniest bit of fear.

And then it all exploded.

---

Cliffhanger-but-not-really-because-we-know-what-happened-in-the-show!

Maybe it's because this chapter was easier to write because some of it was basically copied from the show with some additional bits and details of movement thrown in, but somehow I reached 18000 words on this chapter and completed it in a far quicker span than I am used to. Granted, this will probably be a rare case, not counting for what's to happen next chapter and during the Battle of Beacon.

Speaking of the former, next chapter, The Breach is opened, new Grimm appear in the invasion, lives are on the line, and The Angel descends...

As always, reviews, likes, favorites, all that you want to do or not do, any feedback from you guys who read this is helpful for keeping the steam going on this project of mine, and I hope you will join me next time. Until then, I will see you all in the next chapter... Bye~!