A/N: The team previously led by Bregan, the racist fourth year student from the first chapter and now Dolan, is named BLND (Blonde).
So, an important question for you all. I've been playing quite a bit of Tales of Berseria lately, and it's made me want to write something crossing that with RWBY. Still set in Remnant mostly, though the idea I had has what would be the first chapter primarily set in the end of Berseria. Unlike this story, it wouldn't crossing the two universes, it would purely be dropping Velvet and some others into Remnant. I'm thinking people along the lines of Velvet, Rokurou, Eleanor, and an OC that would be the unfound Therion that would have replaced the one that was never found, which would also be Velvet's pairing. As a side fact, I actually wrote the character into the Tales of Berseria storyline back when I first played the game when it launched, and have had several friends who loved Berseria read and they liked it.
Scions of Remnant (This story, not the 40k story that I had no idea existed until someone messaged me about the name and what they thought I was referencing it to) will still be my primary story, but it would be nice to take a break from it every now and again now that I don't have classes to use as that excuse. Not to say I don't enjoy writing this, as I absolutely do and as previously stated, would remain my primary focus.
As a fun fact, there are two ToB x RWBY crossovers of note that I have read, and they're both fantastic. While I personally don't care about the ships they have, I do like the one shipping Jaune with Velvet more, even though I absolutely hate that idea. Jaune in my mind shouldn't be shipped with anyone but Pyrrha if he's going to have a ship, but that's my opinion and largely unimportant to most people. The one shipping Ruby with Velvet I actually haven't finished yet, but I do find that the ship between the two feels a little forced? Still a good read though.
I wanna know opinions! Who would be interested, who would read it, who would like me to shut the hell up about writing another story and focus on this one because my posts have been very infrequent as of late due to classes and finals. I'm not a delicate butterfly, I can take honest opinions even if they're ugly, so give them to me!
(Regardless, I do intend on writing it at least for myself.)
Bonus points for finding the Wheel of Time reference again. Face it, the references will continue, because that is my all-time favorite book series.
Thancred frowned to himself as he tended to Urianger and G'raha Tia to the best of his ability. The room they were kept in was dark, thanks to the sun having fallen beneath the horizon.
In his hands, he held a nearly-empty bowl of porridge that Gretchen promised contained more nutrients than anything else he had seen, Archon loaf included. After having tasted it once, he wouldn't doubt it; only someone in a coma would have been able to stomach it.
The reasoning for his frown was threefold. First, the coverage of the Vytal Festival Tournament had been cut, with a rather disturbing message being sent beforehand. Second, neither of the twins had messaged his scroll to update him on events, which meant they either hadn't arrived in Vale yet and thus were unaware as to what happened, or they were otherwise engaged in matters that left no time for an update on the situation. Knowing Aran's penchant for attracting the wrong kinds of attention, it was likely not a good thing.
But those two paled in comparison to the biggest reason for his frown.
G'raha Tia's crystalline body was beginning to shatter. Or at least show cracks that shouldn't have been possible. Without someone more knowledgeable on the subject, and with his being unable to manipulate aether, he couldn't be sure of the exact reason. His best idea came to be that he had simply spent too long away from the Crystal Tower, a problem in more ways than one. For example, knowing that the Crystal Tower likely did not exist on this Shard. That it did so in the First was purely due to the ailing Miqo'te in front of Thancred in the first place.
Across the room, Gretchen tended to her own patient, a somewhat small woman whose frame, while not emaciated thanks to Gretchen's care, certainly would take time to recover even if she should have awoken at that moment. Long black hair transitioned into red, framing a somewhat rounded face. A heavily lidded eye on her right side, partially open to reveal a sliver of silver iris that never seemed to register that it was seeing anything, was met on the other side of her head with a rose-patterned eyepatch. Around the patch were a number of scars that looked to resemble some form of hand, as if it had reached into the orbit to pull the offending thing out. A long scar trailed down towards her neck and across her throat before disappearing beneath a loose collar of white cloth that covered the rest of the woman and preserving her modesty, though it was clear that the opposite side of the fabric was red.
A chair rested nearby, where a folded black décolletage blouse, corset, and blackened leather bracers rested. Leaning against the chair was a white and red double-ended glaive, clearly polished and well taken care of by Gretchen as if its owner would rise at any moment and take it up.
When asked about how long she had cared for the small woman, Gretchen answered with twelve years With the thirteen anniversary approaching quickly.
"You know, frowning will not improve his condition. Keep doing it and you'll have wrinkles before you're thirty."
Thancred gave a rough chuckle as he looked up towards his host as she spooned another portion of the porridge down the small woman's throat.
"Oh, is that so? Well then I must be doing something right, I'm nearing my thirty sixth year."
The Summer Maiden shook her head before putting down the empty bowl on a nearby nightstand.
"And so modest about it too, I see." She paused and glanced towards her bedridden charge. "You know, Summer would have the perfect response. Always did, with her quick wit. I remember times in Beacon where she and her teammate, Raven, would have competitions to try and make the other blush, complain, or otherwise admit defeat. Times were much simpler, then."
Thancred couldn't help but think of his own simpler times as Gretchen reminisced, reminded of when all he had to worry about was feeding himself and Minfilia. Such thoughts were cut short however, when a glint of silver drew his attention to Summer.
Clearly, he wasn't the only one who noticed when he saw Gretchen whirl around in shock before storming back to the bedside. She didn't say anything, waiting for another sign that the woman had finally awoken. She wasn't disappointed.
Another twitch of the woman's remaining eyelid clenched it closed, before opening up fully. This happened several more times, until she tried to move something else. An arm, it seemed, though it had very little strength to do so as it struggled to reach upward. Gretchen latched on to it immediately with both excitement and worry.
Thancred merely watched as he set aside his own empty bowl as he listened to Gretchen make sure that Summer was actually coherent. This went on for several minutes, until the Maiden was sure of Summer's return.
It only took a few moments after she had finished answering Gretchen's questions before Summer's lone eye landed on both Thancred and his friends. It seemed to widen slightly, until her lips quirked upward slightly before she rasped out a question of her own to Gretchen with vocal chords that hadn't been used in over a decade.
"I didn't think you'd be the kind to settle down, Gretch."
The woman shook her head and smacked her shoulder before glancing at the man in question.
"Run out and grab some fresh water from the oasis. And bring me my scroll too. We have a lot to catch her up on."
Thancred nodded and went to do as he was told, his previous worries forgotten for the moment.
Aran's scroll rang, surprising the Viera as she swiftly climbed the elevator shaft. Below her was everyone else that had gone into Beacon's basement and retained their lives, tied up or otherwise. The dead could be collected later.
She pulled out her scroll carefully and answered it and put it on speaker, resuming her climb.
"Aran Vinland speaking."
"We've got a problem, I need you in Vale, now."
King Braylor, then.
"We're climbing out of Beacon. Just hold tight. What's the problem?"
"A very large Grimm burst out of Mount Glenn. You've stated before that dragons are your specialty, Dragonsong, so I think you'll get a kick out of this one."
His words nearly made her pause, then a grin adorned her lips.
"It would be my pleasure. Is there anything else you can add?"
"Airborne Grimm are beginning to thin, but Ironwood's fleet is down to four ships. There's not much it can do at this moment besides keep position if it wants to make a safe return to Atlas."
Aran heard the General grunt below her in affirmation.
"Understood. Keep me updated, I'm going to have Qrow and Torchwick head that way. The… problem at Beacon has been resolved."
"Very well. Get up here Aran, it's getting closer. I'm sending a team with a Bullhead to pick you up and get you to where you need to go. Leave the small fry to the team, they'll be more than capable. Following Beacon's team nomenclature, they're known as Team SKTR. You'll be able to identify them fairly easily, they wear dark green robes that are open in the front. Leader is Saffron Kuvarii. Braylor out."
Her scroll clicked, signaling the end of the call. She stopped just short of their exit and put it away, then clambered over the edge. Pyrrha's hand shot out to help her, then the others.
Once they were all up, the unconscious invaders were tied up and placed along a wall, separated from each other. Winter was carted off by Ironwood to the infirmary, leaving Aran's group to exit the building to see the Grimm for themselves. Fray gave Aran a final nod while depositing Emerald against a wall, the girl still looking lost. Then Fray disappeared back into Aran's shadow.
Looking around revealed the form of Reisa flicking around a knife as they stared in the direction Ironwood had gone. Before long they stalked away, but not before giving Aran a small nod of approval. Which left her to think of their next move.
Whatever had happened down there had shattered Emerald's trust in Cinder, which meant there might still be a positive outcome for the girl if sense could be talked into her. Aran had personally asked for her to be held and put into her custody once the crisis was resolved.
The moment the group left the building, they understood exactly the scope of the situation, evidenced by both Qrow and Torchwick pausing in their tracks as they took in the sight of the massive Grimm in the distance despite the clouded evening sky. A Grimm that eclipsed even Nidhogg. Beside Aran, Y'Shtola cocked her head in worry.
"There's more than the Grimm. On its back, there's a massing of aether that isn't dark. A primal, if I had to guess."
A short moment later, Emet-Selch landed next to them panting.
"We have a problem," the Ascian stated between breaths. "King Thordan decided to make a return with his Knights. Unlike before, he has in his possession not just one Eye, but two, and I have a feeling both of these are more powerful than Nidhogg's and Hraesvelgr's. Tiamat spent the majority of her time willingly chained up after all, rather than expending her power."
Aran raised an eyebrow and turned her head back to look at the Grimm, as if hoping to catch a glance at the Primal from this distance. Then she turned towards the twins.
"That is indeed a problem. Alphinaud, Alisaie?"
They nodded in unison, but were stopped before they could move by Aran's hands on their shoulders.
"You don't have to do this if you don't want to."
Both of them smiled until Alphinaud spoke.
"We do what we must. I'm sure Grandfather won't mind, even if this isn't Eorzea. Besides, it's not like that thing will be as powerful as an elder primal. He shouldn't have the same problem that Bahamut caused."
The Warrior nodded and released them. Before they could walk away however, she narrowed her eyes.
"Be careful in summoning Phoenix. Do not bind yourselves to him; that is what Ardbert's crystal is for. Use only the aether he entrusted to you for the initial summoning, then feed unto it the crystal. What remains currently should be enough for his physical husk to form. Most importantly, make sure that the location of your summoning does have anyone present."
Behind her, Emet-Selch cleared his throat to draw their attention.
"All that she said, but I must impress upon you the severity of what you are about to do. Have you no other way? Are you even certain that this primal will willingly give up his aether afterwards, or even maintain control?"
Aran chuckled slightly.
"You were not there when Phoenix gave unto his grandchildren the last of his aether and the knowledge of how to use it to bring him back should they have no other choice. Phoenix, unlike other eikons, does not enthrall. In a sense, I suppose you could say he's not dissimilar to myself in that regard."
The Ascian shook his head with an exasperated sigh.
"That is not how these things work. You are no mere primal or elder primal, whereas Phoenix-"
"Was created purely by the aether-rich environment created by both the Battle of Carteneau and Bahamut's gigaflare, as well as the blessings of the Twelve and hopes of those fleeing Carteneau. The most important piece of this is the Twelve, of whom even we don't know the true nature of. Despite the claims of Ascians past, the Twelve are something different from mere eikons; this is proven by Ilberd's attempt to bring Rhalgr's wrath upon the Garleans occupying Ala Mhigo. I don't know about you, but I am confident that Shinryu is in fact not Rhalgr. Back on track, I believe the intervention of the Twelve has prevented Phoenix from seeking to temper others. A prime example would be when I fought him alongside his grandchildren. He did not enthrall them to his or Bahamut's cause."
Aran paused for a moment as she cocked her head, reminded of something else.
"By the way, were you aware that Nael van Darnus was actually the sister, Eula? You would think I would have noticed the difference, even with her descent into madness. Turns out she even murdered the Darnus patriarch."
Emet-Selch nodded slowly as he listened to Aran, slowly digesting the information she had presented. In truth, he wasn't even aware that Phoenix survived bringing Bahamut to death's door. When she finally brought up the Garlean family, he shook his head.
"No, I didn't know. All we cared about was bringing about the Calamity, and the knowledge hidden within the Darnus line was all we needed. How is this relevant to our current plight?"
A shrug was all he received in response making him roll his eyes. The others around them looked mostly confused as to what they were talking about, leading Aran to motion for them to mind their own business.
As they began talking animatedly with each other, Aran turned to look at the approaching threat with a grin.
"A challenge. I don't think I'll have had one like this since Zenos; I'm looking forward to it."
Torchwick cleared his throat.
"Right… so you're insane. Do you really think you can kill that thing? Or this… Thirdran thing?"
"Thordan." Ryne corrected. "And I believe she can. She's killed him before, before we came here. Though… I don't think he rode a dragon, unless Thancred left that part put of the story?"
Aran shook her head.
"No dragon, that is correct. Archbishop Thordan despised all dragons, seeking to end them all. And truthfully, back then I struggled to fight Thordan and the Heavens' Ward." As she spoke, she saw a look of confusion on Qrow and Torchwick's faces. "The Heavens' Ward were Thordan's most skilled knights. Twelve of the Knights of the Holy See given strength by Thordan's becoming an eikon. By themselves, the KnightsTwelve are not too formidable, but together they are perhaps more deadly than Thordan himself. Thankfully, they had more honor than to attack me all at once. They came at me in pairs when it became clear that I was winning against their King. And this time, I'll have the benefit of both the Architect and another with the Echo, as well as a big flaming chicken."
She paused as she noticed a Bullhead approaching and raised an eyebrow, ignoring the small snicker given by Alisaie as well as her muttered "She's not wrong."
"Would either of you be familiar with this Team SKTR?"
Torchwick gestured towards Qrow to explain.
"Yeah. You've heard of Atlas's Ace Ops, right? Think of them like Vale's version, except they've been a team together since leaving Beacon. That's why they still follow the Academy's naming process. Unlike the Ace Ops, they're… more unique. It's hard to explain, you'll see when you meet them. Their leader, Saffron, is a master strategist though. If she offers advice, you would do well to fully consider her words."
Aran nodded.
"I… see. You two should be getting on with heading towards Braylor."
Qrow nodded, slapping Torchwick's back and vaguely pointing towards Beacon's landing pad.
"Let's go. There should still be a Bullhead somewhere over there."
And then they were gone, leaving Aran with the twins, Y'Shtola, Ryne, Pyrrha, and Emet-Selch. The Bullhead came steadily closer, landing only a few alms away from them. When the door opened, Aran wasn't sure if she should have been impressed or somewhat horrified.
The four figures standing at the doorway were robed, as Braylor had stated. He did not mention that said robes were open in the front to reveal plated armor which lead to prosthetic limbs. It was clear that each of their arms and legs had been replaced with machinery that seemed to try its best to appear as grotesque as possible.
The forward-most figure, as well as the one to its immediate left, were clearly female, while the two on their right could have been either gender. It was the one in the front that spoke with a near-emotionless voice, however.
"Aran Vinland?"
The Viera nodded as she stepped forward and began to embark, followed by Emet-Selch and Pyrrha. The robed half-mechanical team seemed to glance back at the remaining members who did not do so.
"Good. King Braylor has ordered us to end the largest threat. Have you any information that could aid us in this endeavor?"
The Viera glanced back at the rest of her friends who simply nodded.
"I do. The Grimm bears thirteen individuals upon its back, individuals that none but myself and the two who boarded with me can fight. They can corrupt one's mind unless they possess the proper protection, turning them into their thralls."
SKTR remained silent as they processed what she had said until their leader spoke again.
"Very well. King Braylor was clear in his orders; you are to lead this mission. We shall follow your command. What would you have us do instead?"
Instead of Aran answering, Alphinaud spoke from the ground.
"If I may, we would appreciate a protection detail if we are to summon forth Phoenix. I think the risk to be tempered by him is minimal, but I would not dare risk civilians. These men and women are more than prepared for the risk however."
Y'Shtola and Ryne agreed with the male twin before Aran's lover spoke up for herself and Ryne.
"We'll remain with them as well, as a precaution. Ryne may not be able to cast the temperment barrier herself, but she can aid me in holding it if needed."
"Then let us be on our way. We need to keep the Grimm's riders out of Vale."
On board the Bullhead, Aran and Saffron stared each other down. This left Pyrrha and Emet-Selch to swap who they were looking at fairly often, until Saffron finally spoke once more.
"What would you have us do?"
The Warrior pulled out her scroll and navigated until a map was visible. Before she could react, Saffron invaded her space and pulled a cord from one of her arms and plugged it into Aran's scroll, causing Aran to look at her questioningly.
"I am sharing this information with my team. Speak your plan, and we will all see what you are displaying on your scroll."
Shrugging, Aran decided on her words. After all, that wasn't the strangest thing that she had seen.
"The Grimm dragon is too large to reliably contain through any conventional means. What we'll have to do is piss it off enough to make it ignore Vale. This might well be easier than I think it will be, especially if this Thordan is the same one I fought years ago."
Beside her, Emet-Selch jabbed an elbow into her side. While largely ineffective due to her armor, it served to get his point across. These people did not know of their origin, and the less people that know, the better.
"If he is, then I have no doubt that he'll come for me without a second thought. If he isn't, then we'll need something to get that attention until the others succeed in their task. Without Phoenix, I am currently the only one capable of combating a dragon while airborne. No offense to you Hades, but you're drained."
Even as she spoke, Aran reached into her bag and slowly began to retrieve her Gae Bolg Zenith. It had been a long while since she had used the arms of the Dragoon, but she had not let herself lose her skill. That would be unfitting of the Blood Dragoon.
As she did so, SKTR watched in confusion as the woman before them pulled the lance from seemingly nowhere. Two of them moved as if to ask a question until they just shook their heads and returned to their former postures with soft whirring coming from their scarcely hidden mechanical limbs. Then Aran continued, her Vieran accent becoming more apparant.
"But the biggest problem with you being nearby without the protections afforded to myself, Pyrrha, and Hades, is that Thordan will be able to enthrall you. As such, you'll need to stay away. I won't lie, your presence will be more hindrance than help the closer we get to our target. How capable would your team be at preventing other Grimm from interfering with our fight? Pyrrha would be aiding you until I can bring several of the Knights groundside, if not kill the dragon Grimm altogether."
Saffron nodded and reached for a very long and archaic-looking rifle that rested against the wall of the Bullhead. The length of the barrel alone was as tall as the cyborg woman, earning a raised eyebrow from Aran before she simply shrugged.
"We'll manage." Then she glanced towards the cockpit of the Bullhead for a moment. "Reaching our destination in twenty seconds. Opening loading ramp."
Sure enough, the Bullhead's ramp began to lower, sending air cascading through the ship. Looking outside, Aran could see the Grimm, now staring at the Bullhead as if it were an insect. Compared to its size, she couldn't say the comparison was wrong.
The Warrior glanced back at the ship's occupants, startling herself as she saw Ardbert approaching the edge with her. She hadn't even seen him get on the Bullhead. Nodding to the man and receiving one in response, they jumped.
A sigh came from Emet-Selch as he slowly strode over to the ramp before stepping off.
Glynda had seen many things throughout her life. Good, beautiful, ugly, and vile things. Amazing was on that list as well, especially when it came to the things she had learned from Ozpin all those years ago. She had even seen and taught perhaps some of the foremost Huntsmen and Huntresses out there. But that did not prepare her for what she had seen happen to Amity. Nor did it come close to what she was seeing now.
The Grimm assaulting Vale had stopped in place, turning their heads to look upon the dragon. Not even the desperate attacks of Vale's flagging defenders could make them turn their attention back to the siege, though that was a welcome relief in her eyes as she flicked her riding crop towards a large rock that had been laying in the street. With another flick, it was hurled towards a small King Taijitu, breaking apart into many small sharp shards to act like a shotgun.
Around her, Jaune Arc and Cardin Winchester worked together to keep a number of Beacon's teams operating like a well-oiled machine. Jaune's surprising talent for tactics had been polished by Aran's mental exercises for the leaders of the teams that had participated in her grueling regimen, and it was paying off in astonishing amounts, even if the formerly lacklustre boy did not have his second in command handy. Clearly, Aran had anticipated the possibility of JNPR's most talented member not being present and forced Jaune, Ren, and Nora to be ready for such an occurrence. Even now, the young man swiftly swapped places with Fox of Team CFVY in a maneuver that was too well done to not have been practiced. Glynda vaguely recalled a very similar action during the Grimm Hunt, now that she thought about it.
Cardin, like Jaune, had proven to be a gem hidden in the mud that was found and polished by Aran. All of C(R)DL was, for that matter, which made the loss of Russel sting even more to Beacon's interim Headmistress. Unlike Jaune, whose plans encompassed the entire battlefield, Cardin's mind had been honed to focus on individual enemies and small groups, fitting his personality like a glove. And his protectiveness of his friends had become almost legendary in the hours spent fighting against the Grimm in Vale and in the Forest. Like Jaune, the amount of Aura he had was… substantially larger than most. Unlike Jaune, whose Aura was used to bolster others, Cardin's was used to further enhance his defenses to a rather surprising degree, especially when paired with the tutoring of Aura manipulation that it seemed Aran had given him. There was no other explanation for the purple and red glow that suffused the air around him as he fought and defended his allies.
Russel's loss did not break the young man, for which Glynda was grateful. But now, she was worried that he was taking perhaps too many risks, especially since she knew nothing about the techniques he used.
Regardless, they had a schoolhouse to save. Her worrying could come later, right now she just needed to hope that he knew well enough of what he was doing to not get himself hurt.
Teams JN(P)R, C(R)DL, CFVY, and (B)LND made short work of the distracted Grimm, utilizing the distraction to its fullest. It was only when the last Grimm of this pack fell that they looked to see what had caused the Grimm to stop what they were doing. The moment they did, the clouded night sky had begun to release its contents. The rain started as a faint drizzle, but it was steadily beginning fall heavier and heavier.
And they all gasped slightly, not quite understanding what they were seeing.
The Grimm dragon was no longer intent on Vale, though they could see large drops of black liquid seem to fall from its carapace and wings. Instead, it had begun to veer towards the sea. But what had them all confused and somewhat afraid was the growing black and red orb over its back, where they could count thirteen brightly glowing blue areas that were fairly close together. Twelve in a circle, with a brighter light in the center.
And then a pure white beam seemed to pierce the circle from the side, seeming to have originated where they could barely see a Bullhead flying away from. Then, from the other side of the circle, another pure white beam pierced the circle again.
"Is that beam… Aran?" Velvet asked, mouth dropping. Beside her, Fox nodded in affirmation. Their enhanced vision beat out the humans, but even they were only just able to pick out a silhouette that could have been anything. But there was only one person that was insane enough to even attempt to do what was happening.
"Focus, students!" Glynda called as she took her own advice. There were people to be saved.
Aran quickly repositioned herself in the air before thrusting forward once more, aiming for Ser Grinnaux. The Knight was forced to once more release his hold on the spell they were casting, causing the aether to fluctuate dangerously.
But it still held, much to Aran's annoyance as her lance scraped across the Knight's pauldron.
Unlike her last two passes, she risked halting herself on top of the Grimm and quickly lashed out with a foot to Grinnaux's knee, earning a satisfying grunt of pain from the man-turned-eikon behind his armor.
"Bitch! We've been waiting for this day for millennia, we shall not falter now!" The man growled out in anger.
That confirmed a suspicion in Aran's mind; these were not mindless reconstructions of an eikon with a stange difference, like Dark Ifrit had been. These were the Heaven's Ward and the Archbishop themselves, though she still was not sure how.
Her lance whirled and hooked behind the head of the Elezen's axe, stopping him from swinging at her in retaliation when she lashed her foot out again for his armored side. Unlike when she fought the man before, it seemed he was now willing to learn from his past mistakes.
He released his axe and caught her foot by the ankle, dragging her off balance before his own knee found purchase in the lightly armored portion of her gut. Caught off guard, she was too slow to avoid the armored fist that lashed towards her head.
But she would not take such abuse without giving back what she had taken.
Her lance flipped around and swept the Knight's legs out from under him as Aran steadied herself, though he did not fall completely. Instead, he landed on one knee and grabbed for his axe, unaware of Aran's lance turning once more and thrusting.
Unlike before, her lance pierced the Elezen's armor and plunged through his left bicep, then twisted inside the arm before it retreated from his flesh. A growl sounded from the man as his fingers finally caught the shaft of his axe, though any thought of swinging the weapon was erased as the bloodied tip of Aran's lance made for his neck.
He was saved from the fatal blow by Ser Adelphel's shield, knocking Aran's lance to the side and forcing her to retreat from the Gladiator's blade.
With a bloodthirsty smirk, Aran Jumped into the air once more, knowing her task to interrupt their spell had been accomplished. Above them, the orb of aether wavered dangerously as she heard a growl from King Thordan, cursing Aran's interruption. Her smile grew even more as she witnessed Emet-Selch attacking another Knight with a curved single-edged crystalline blade that seemed to glow spectacularly to her eyes, the same glow she saw whenever she looked at herself. Some memory from long ago, before the splitting of the Planet, reminded her of its name. Callandor.
She reoriented herself in the air and dashed her way in front of the Grimm. Just in time it seemed, as the orb if aether dissipated. A quick glance downward showed that they should be far enough away from Vale to fight safely, which meant it was time for the dragon to die.
Easier said than done. Even as she looked, the back ranks of Grimm that sought to invade Vale had begun to break off in her direction. She only hoped that SKTR would be up to their task, and that Pyrrha would be ready when the time came to fight Thordan properly.
She quickly began to weave the aether around herself once more, Jumping again with her lance at the ready. Even to her eyes, she began to glow brightly as the Light within her finally had a partial outlet that she wasn't attempting to restrain. Once more, she was wreathed in enough Light-aspected aether to make her seem a beam of light when she struck at the Grimm dragon.
Unlike the eikons, the Grimm was not as resilient. She plunged into the creature's left shoulder and exited on the other side, cutting through the membrane which clung to its side. The massive creature faltered as it roared in defiance, though it kept itself in the air with only a faint wobble to indicate its injury. Her attention was forced away from the Grimm as she instinctively moved her head to the side, avoiding a lance of aether thrown by one of the Knights.
They were starting to piss her off. She went to dive onto another Knight when she felt the Light within her act up once more, shattering her careful control. Then, to her horror, she began to fall uncontrollably as the sound of shattering glass followed her down.
Alphinaud and Alisaie looked down from the top of Beacon's tower. At some point, a Grimm or a piece of a ship had entered through one window and flown out the other side of the room through another, shattering both in the process. Beside them, Y'Shtola and Ryne glanced out with frowns as they saw the tide of Grimm that besieged Vale's walls.
Then the twins turned from the window they were looking out of and moved to the center of the room, where the Headmaster's desk had previously been. Now, it rested near the edge of a shattered window, along with a piece of the cog mechanism that now sat silently above them. Alphinaud brought out the crystal and set it on the ground before they backed up.
"We're ready. Y'Shtola? Aran said something about a barrier?"
The sorceress nodded as she drew her staff.
"Quite. Perform your ritual, and I shall protect us long enough for Phoenix to be on his way."
The twins nodded, before they brought forth the grimoire that had been gifted to them by their grandfather. As one, they thrust their hands forward and concentrated as the room became saturated in aether and blinding light. For several seconds this happened, until at last it died down. When it did, the occupants of the room were surprised to find not the bird they had seen before, but Louisoix Leveilluer himself standing before them.
"Grandfather!" Alphinaud exclaimed. Beside him, Alisaie held her tongue.
The older Elezen smiled and nodded to them, before glancing behind them to see Y'Shtola and Ryne.
"Ah, Y'Shtola. I've felt your presence in the Lifestream a number of times. I'm glad to see that it was not from death."
The female Archon nodded sagely.
"Not for want of others trying to claim the deed of silencing me. I have been brought back by the successors of the Archons every time, though one of these times was from a very unlikely individual."
"You mean the Architect? Yes, he is quite the enigma, though his loyalties are not for us to doubt. Aran and I discussed this particular Ascian before the events at Carteneau. But, I believe there are more important things we must attend to."
Louisoix took several steps back from them, before erupting into flames. When they died down, the form of the elderly Elezen had been replaced by that of a large bird burning with blue flames.
"We must rid this city of these creatures. And the first to go will be the wyvern that our friend fights. Attend to those down below."
King Braylor poured over the map of Vale that lay on a table in the inn, along with Arget. Small models had been placed on the map to represent his own active forces, as well as those of Grimm, secure zones within Vale for civilians, and Huntsmen - both graduated and students. At this point, the number of soldiers he had at his disposal was growing thin, though reinforcements from military outposts were on their way. As such, he had to make more use of the students than he wished to, though even Beacon's deputy Headmistress had agreed before deploying them in this way that it was the best chance they had. Coincidentally, he had even begun to make use of Vale's criminal element. Only moments ago, he had sent Qrow Branwen out towards the main breach with two of Vale's most wanted criminals.
Thankfully, a large number of the Atlesian troops that had been stationed in Vale proper had refused to obey General Ironwood's orders to abandon Vale in order to prepare defenses in and around Beacon.
"General Ironwood just landed." Arget broke into the King's thoughts. He nodded and glanced up towards the entrance to the inn, just in time to see the semi-familiar face of Clover Ebi enter the door. Following him was Marrow Amin, a determined look upon the faunus' face. When none of the other Ace Ops followed, Braylor frowned.
"What is it? I thought James pulled you back to Beacon. The main breach certainly seems to think so too, considering your abdication of the people you left to die there." He asked, leading to Clover approaching.
"And you have my apologies. They were good men, and it's actually the reason Marrow and I are here. I didn't approve of Ironwood's orders, and now he's planning to pull everyone out of this Kingdom. The only problem is that he needs Weiss and Winter Schnee, but he doesn't know where they are. Winter isn't answering her scroll."
"Then get the hell out of my Kingdom. The Schnee Heiress is not under your command, and I'm not giving you her location."
Marrow stopped Clover from speaking by patting his shoulder as he stepped forward nervously, seeming not to have heard the opening of the same door they just entered. Nor did they seem to hear the calculated footsteps of Ironwood as he entered the inn.
"I-I'm sorry, I think you got the wrong idea for why Clover and I are here. We're not leaving Vale, no matter what the General says. The other Ace Ops don't really agree either, but there was no sense in having all of them be charged with dereliction of duty. Clover and I will take the blame, while they can stay and keep providing Atlas with the security it needs to protect our own Kingdom."
Behind them, Ironwood cleared his throat. Marrow jumped slightly, while Clover merely sighed and turned to look at the General.
"Sir."
"Clover. I seem to have misheard what Marrow just said, never mind that you're supposed to be with the rest of your team back at Beacon. Care to explain?"
It was Braylor who answered for the well-built leader of the Ace Ops.
"You heard them loud and clear, James. And no, you're not getting Weiss's location. I have no clue as to where your Specialist Schnee is either. Now get out."
The General didn't move except to furrow his brow.
"Jacques Schnee is recalling his daughter from Beacon, effective immediately. As such, she is no longer a Huntress-in-training. You have no authority to hold her location from me."
Braylor's left eyebrow rose.
"Arget? Can you pull up Miss Schnee's Huntress registration please?"
Beside his king, the scarred Kingsguard gave an eager smile as he pulled up his scroll and turned it around for Ironwood's viewing. His damaged voice rang surprisingly clear through the room despite the background of gunfire, deathrattles, and roars.
"As you can see here, Miss Schnee's team has been brought under the direct apprenticeship of one Aran Vinland, a veteran Huntress who has been using Beacon's facilities to teach a number of teams, including but not exclusively teams JNPR, MOAT, CRDL, and CFVY. An independent apprenticeship is subject to no Kingdom, so long as it has been registered, and the usage of the facilities of Beacon had been approved by Headmaster Ozpin and his deputy Headmistress, Glynda Goodwitch. We have papers signed by Veteran Huntsmen Peter Port, Bartholomew Oobleck, Harold Mulberry, and Veteran Huntresses Thumbelina Peach, and Ann Greene for the consent to teach the subjects they would normally teach to students of Beacon in Ms. Vinland's place."
Ironwood's eyes narrowed dangerously as he stared at the man. Arget turned his scroll back around and began typing.
"Bullshit. I know for a fact that Ozpin brought Aran and her allies into Beacon as students themselves. I even spoke to her and confirmed that she was a student when I first arrived in Vale. I trust you remember her… lightshow, near the cliffs. By her own admission, she is a student."
"Ah, then can you produce the paperwork stating as such? We must have proof, and hearsay is not acceptable evidence." Arget asked smugly. Kingsguard or no, Braylor was certain the man would have made for a most terrifying administrator. Though, his proclivity to falsifying documents to suit their needs would certainly have been looked down upon except for the fact that he had never been proven to have done so.
"Miss Schnee's paperwork for Beacon say that she is a student." Ironwood tried, though Arget raised a finger to refute the General's statement. Even as he did so, he somehow kept typing in his scroll.
"Ah, but Ozpin then transferred Weiss into the apprenticeship of Aran Vinland, with consent from Willow Schnee. See, while Jacques may be her father, the Schnee family follows a Matriarchal tradition. The consent of the mother outweighs the wishes of the father, and thus even if Weiss Schnee were to be a student of Beacon, she would still need the consent of Willow to withdraw, not Jacques. Good luck getting that permission General, I hear that the Schnee Matriarch is rather hard to get a hold of while sober these days."
Arget made a shooing gesture towards Ironwood while training his attention on Clover and Marrow, both of whom stared at the Kingsguard with wide eyes.
"As for you two, I have drawn up the documents requested by you as licensed Huntsmen to transfer your area of operation to Vale. By doing so, you admit to abdication of duty in the Atlesian Military, which will prohibit your job prospects within Vale. I can assure you that at this present moment, we are in need of licensed Huntsmen and will not hesitate to hire you on the spot. All I ask is you review this contract and sign."
He flipped his scroll around again, placing it on the table in front of Clover and Marrow, who immediately started reading the scroll.
Ironwood's eyes darkened even more, but he turned and marched out instead of saying anything.
"Brilliant as always, Arget. You could easily run this Kingdom without me." Braylor complimented.
"I strive for perfection, Braylor. But no, I shall settle for serving the throne as my family always has."
Clover and Marrow reached for the scroll and began to sign, looking up at Braylor when they were finished.
"That was… absolutely insane." Clover stated. "You know that Ironwood will want your head once he's found a way to prove your documents are false."
"Perhaps. But there isn't much he can do, at least in regards to the Schnee Heiress. I was not lying when I said that the family follows Matriarchal tradition; Willow has simply chosen to not make use of the power it gives her. Between you and me, Willow and I go back a long way. I will have little trouble getting a sober signature from her if it's for the betterment of her daughter and sticking it to Jacques."
Braylor cleared his throat.
"All well and good, but I need boots on the ground. You remember where you were previously stationed, I trust?"
Clover and Marrow nodded.
"Then get going. You'll find Belsin and Ivy of the Kingsguard in command there, along with several student Huntress teams. I believe the Nikos parents are there as well."
Clover saluted, giving a crisp "Sir!" before he and Marrow turned to leave. As they did so, a raised voice from one of the posted soldiers posted outside drew their attention.
"King Braylor, sir! You need to come out and see this!"
The King and his Captain exchanged a glance before bolting out alongside the former Ace Ops members, seeing a soldier of Vale and several others pointing towards the sky. Looking up, Braylor sucked in a breath as a giant blue flaming bird shot through the sky much faster than a Bullhead could go.
"What is that?" The king heard Clover ask. As it shot towards the conflict between Aran and the Wyvern, Braylor's lips twitched upwards into a smile for a brief moment.
"That would be an ally to aid in Aran's fight against the Wyvern, and those that ride upon it."
Both Clover and Marrow glanced at the King with wide eyes.
"Wait, Aran Vinland is the one out there fighting that thing alone?" Marrow asked.
"Not alone. Get moving, the Wyvern is hers to deal with. You have your own orders."
Blake ducked beneath the paw of an Ursa, panting heavily as she attempted to raise Gambol Shroud to retaliate. She was interrupted as the Beowolf Alpha she had been fighting before the Ursa's swing tackled her to the ground. She grunted as she felt one of its paws dig painfully into her chest before the sound of Nebula's crossbow shifting caught her ears. A moment later saw its blade be shoved down the Alpha Beowolf's throat and a hand grab Blake by the collar. A few moments accompanied by a grunt found Blake being taken behind the line they had established, her spot being taken over by a semi-familiar Huntsman wearing a long green duster coat and black wide brimmed hat. In his hands was a long pole with a curved shortsword attached to it. As he moved, Blake could have sworn he was speaking in a foreign tongue.
"Gods dammit, you're heavier than you look!" Nebula stated, drawing a growl from Blake's throat. The cat faunus slapped Nebula's hand away as she tried to stand waveringly. It was then that she began to feel something warm and wet begin to trickle down her front, causing her to glance down. Her eyes widened as she saw crimson spreading from a gash in her breast, staining her top while she quickly moved to cover herself up.
Beside her, Nebula frowned as she recognized the bleeding.
"You're supposed to switch out when your Aura's low. What happened?"
The cat faunus tried to wave the question off weakly, but the glare stopped her from being able to so in her current state.
"Aran's pushed us harder than this. If you can't fight without an Aura, then you shouldn't be fighting with one."
The Vacuoan student rolled her eyes and shook her head before gesturing behind her.
"Your team's somewhere back there. They've… been hit rather hard."
At that, Blake's eyes widened.
"And you didn't think to pull me back before now? Are they okay?"
"You need to find out for yourself. Get that wound looked at too, who knows where that Alpha's paws have been. And erm… if you see Octavia, can you please let her know that the rest of our team is okay?"
The slight shift in Nebula's posture keyed Blake into something not being okay, but she withheld her questions and nodded before turning to go to the triage center in the middle of the street.
Upon arrival, she was quickly ushered to an area secluded only by hastily erected curtains and rubble, before the battered looking Huntress wearing a soiled white coat quickly swiped Blake's hands away from her torn shirt and went to work, starting with cutting the rest of the top off, as well as the bra beneath.
"Name and team occupation?" The woman asked.
"Blake Belladonna, Team RWBY."
An eyebrow rose, if only just.
"Good. I believe your teammate Yang has been stabilized. It was a close one, her sister said that their father arrived just in time."
The woman's eyes narrowed as she concentrated on Blake's wound. Her right hand rose and began to glow green, before she set it into Blake's wound. A moment later, she retracted her hand and pulled out a roll of gauze. She swiftly began wrapping the gauze around Blake's breasts and torso, before tearing the roll off separately and replacing it in her pocket.
"It's going to be tight, but it'll need to be if you want to heal properly. The rest of your team is with Xiao-Long, in the Carsten Offices building just down the street."
Blake nodded and stood up slowly, taking a glance at the ruins of her shirt and bra. Then she shrugged and crossed her arms before continuing on towards the building she had been directed to.
When she entered, she nodded in approval of the choice of upholstery before looking around.
The bottom floor of the building was clearly a reception area, though it had been overtaken by medical personnel and wounded. She quickly spotted the form of Taiyang Xiao-Long making his way towards her, until she realized that he was probably leaving to return to the front. He only stopped when he nearly walked into her, lost in thought as he was.
"Oh! You must be Blake, the girls told me quite a bit about their team, even showed me a picture of you all together. I can take you back to Yang's room if you'd like? Ruby and Weiss are already there, though I'm not sure if they're awake." He offered.
Blake nodded slowly.
"That would be nice. What happened to her?"
The man blinked in surprise.
"Wow, you must have been quite a ways away from them if you didn't see. She tried to take on an adult Goliath, and she succeeded thanks to her Semblance, but it fell on her afterwards when she was mobbed by several Ursai. She survived, but…" the man looked down as his face flooded with guilt. "I had to get her out from underneath the Goliath before more Ursa came. Her Aura shattered when it fell on her and trapped an arm and a leg, and there were too many for me to be able to hold off in time for the Goliath to finish disintegrating. Even when Ruby arrived, we knew we wouldn't be able to do it. So, we did what had to."
As he spoke, she noticed a tear roll down his face until he wiped it away. Some part of her mind still hadn't comprehended exactly what the man was saying, however.
"I'm so proud of her though. She was awake through it all, endured it until she passed out from the shock. Even agreed that it had to be done, though I could tell she was scared."
Finally, something in her mind connected what Tai had been saying to what had happened to Yang. Right in time for them to reach the door to Yang's "room" which turned out to be a cubicle with a curtain fkr a door.
"Gotta be quiet though. She's resting."
Blake nodded as she held in the gasp she wanted to release. Then Tai pushed aside the curtain and entered, followed by Blake.
The first thing she noticed was Yang laying on the desk in the room, padded with a foam mat, blankets, and pillows. Then came her unnaturally pale complexion, followed by white bandages wrapped around her right arm. Or where it should have been, for all that remained was a stump that ended two thirds of the way down her humerus. From there, her eyes caught on to where her right leg had been elevated, revealing another stump ending at where Blake would guess the distal epiphyseal plate would have been on her femur, just above where her knee should have been. The woman herself had her eyes closed as she breathed softly.
Blake glanced around to find Weiss sitting in an office chair, eyes closed with her arms crossed. In her lap was her scroll, which was apparently turned to the Vale News Network feed. On the ground leaning against the desk was Ruby, who was currently hard at work reassembling Crescent Rose. Apparently, she was cleaning the parts and making sure they were all still serviceable, judging by the things scattered around her. She had glanced up briefly to see who had entered before returning back to what she was doing.
"Hey Blake. Forget something Dad?" The reaper asked, subdued.
"Nah, just bringing Blake here. You sure you're holding up okay, sweetheart?"
That was apparently the wrong thing to say to Ruby at the moment, as her eyes narrowed when she looked back up at her dad.
"I get that you're just looking out for me Dad, but please stop asking. I'll be fine after I've had time to process it. Everything, actually."
Tai simply nodded, recognizing that he had pushed a little too far. As he turned to leave, he stopped for a brief moment.
"Alright. I understand. Team RWBY has been pulled from active duty and placed on medical leave, just keep an eye on how the lines are faring out there. If they're getting pushed back then they should evacuate you, but mistakes happen."
Blake glanced at a clock on the wall a minute or so after Tai left, surprised to find that it was nearly two in the morning. No wonder they were so tired; they had all been stressed, scared, and enraged for the last fourteen hours. And most of it had been spent fighting or otherwise performing things that drained them mentally. The main thing that came to mind was Ruby's mercy killing of that trapped man.
"It was Yang's idea, you know." Ruby stated, seemingly reading Blake's mind. "She was trapped, and Dad and I kept fighting, but the Goliath was taking too long to go away. We were slowly getting overwhelmed, and Yang could tell. So, she told me and Dad to cut off anything that was pinned. Dad fights like Yang, even has a similar Semblance, so he didn't have anything to free her. But I had Crescent Rose. So, I did it. I freed her, and Dad hauled her back here as fast as he could. Weiss saw and dragged me back with her, but you had been separated from us by that wave of Creeps. For all we knew, you were gone until someone from NDGO told us that you were over near them."
"Octavia?" Blake asked softly, earning a nod from Ruby.
"I think that was her name. Anyhow, I'm glad you're okay Blake. Today feels like it's lasted weeks."
The faunus nodded slowly. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Weiss lean forward slightly as her eyes opened, staring at her scroll.
"What is it, Weiss?" Blake asked.
The woman didn't answer immediately, opting instead to turn her scroll's volume up slightly so they could hear without waking Yang.
"- and the result, is a stalemate between the forces of Vale and the Grimm threat. But there are several important things to note as well. Aran Vinland, the Vytal Festival Tournament finalist who has been accused of being a murderer and the woman who saved the lives of the people on board the Amity Colosseum, is currently fighting the massive Wyvern that came from beneath the Mountain Glen. Aiding her in this task is Vale's very own Team SKTR, a unit of veteran Huntsmen and Huntresses, and the other finalist Pyrrha Nikos.
"Along with this, General Ironwood of Atlas has issued a statement in regards to what is going on and Headmaster Ozpin of Beacon Academy's silence."
The scroll cut to Ironwood's face, the background looking like he was on board the Bullhead.
"People of Remnant. Vale is under attack. King Braylor believes that it can be saved by one person. A singular woman that by now you all are familiar with. Headmaster Ozpin of Beacon Academy placed his trust in her, and lost his life because of it. Aran Vinland is not a savior, she is an opportunist. Do not fall under the same sense of security that the King of Vale has mistakenly trapped himself into. If anyone in Vale is listening to this, then please, make your way to Beacon Academy where my forces have secured a base of operations and can provide you safety and a way out of the kingdom when the front lines fall. Your lives are in your hands. Don't waste them. Any students or Huntsmen of Atlas are hereby ordered to fall back to this base. Weiss Schnee, your father expects to see you soon."
The video of Ironwood cut away to Lisa Lavender once more, but Weiss closed her scroll with a huff. Both Ruby and Blake looked at her questioningly.
"What? I'm not leaving, if that's what you're wondering. General Ironwood doesn't control me."
Ruby tilted her head slightly in confusion.
"But Weiss, your dad wants you back home. Don't you think you should go?"
"Not in the slightest. My dad made his position clear when he cut off my access to Schnee family funds. I had a talk with Aran about it actually, and she raised some very thought-provoking questions and concerns. After some thinking, I've decided I'm never going back to that place. At least, not as a Schnee. My name is nothing but a hindrance until I've come far enough to attain my goals of reforming the family name into something to be proud of again. I even talked to my mother about it, and she was in support of it."
Ruby let a smile touch her lips, happy to hear that her partner wasn't leaving and had settled on a course of action. Blake on the other hand, frowned after giving her an encouraging nod.
"Ironwood said that the Headmaster is dead, and apparently because of Aran. What do you think he meant by that? Do you think he's actually gone?" The faunus asked, leading to a frown from Weiss.
"Unfortunately, I think he's right that Ozpin is gone. General Ironwood isn't the kind of person to lie about something as important as that, but I'm not sure about Aran's place in his announcement. Frankly, I'm still amazed that she saved everyone on Amity." Weiss replied. They were silent fot a few more moments until Blake spoke up again.
"Ironwood doesn't seem like the kind of person to bend the truth, but he does seem to stick to an idea once he gets it in his head. It's like once he forms an opinion on something, he's blind to anything that tries to change it. And we do know that he never liked Aran. Maybe, from his point of view, the loss of the Headmaster is Aran's fault somehow. There wasn't really any information on how he died, so the best we can do right now is speculate."
Ruby slowly stood up and collapsed Crescent Rose, now fully cleaned and put back together.
"Whatever it is, we need to go help defend Vale. They need every able hand. Weiss, how's your Aura?"
The Schnee sighed and stood as well, before motioning for Blake to take her seat.
"It's replenished enough, but I can't claim my muscles aren't sore. Can you stay here with Yang, Blake?"
The faunus nodded and fell into the chair with an uncomfortable sounding thud. Then she motioned them out the door.
Aran's mental cursing halted as her vision was obscured by blue flames, just before she felt herself land on something much softer than the ground that was now only roughly twenty yalms away. Then, she felt herself touch the ground gently in the middle of a field. A few alms away stood Phoenix, wings folded and looking amusingly like a very large, prideful chicken.
"Having some troubles, are we?" Phoenix stated almost smugly. His tone became serious when he spoke again. "Take a moment to regain your control. The Asian and I shall keep your enemy honest."
The Warrior watched Phoenix take flight with a frown. If she couldn't even perform the duties of a Dragoon, then how would she fight Thordan himself? She was confident in defeating his Knights with her martial prowess, but he would require something more. Especially if he has not just one, but two Eyes containing unimaginable amounts of aether. As she began the process of restraining the Light once more, she heard Ardbert speak behind her.
"Hold on there for a moment, sinner. I think we need to have a talk before you do that."
Glancing behind her, she found Ardbert staring into her eyes with pure resolve. As she turned to face him fully, the man stepped forward until he was an arm's length away from her. Idly, she placed her lance on her back.
"You're… aware that we are the same soul. I am a fragment, while you're the greater whole."
Aran nodded slowly.
"Good. Great. And you're also acutely aware by now that you have no way of truly containing the Light. Even with your vast reserves of aether, your soul- no, our soul just cannot contain it. It's like trying to stick more water into a jug that's already filled to the brim."
"Quite so." Aran muttered. "But what else can I do? There is no way to contain the Light any more than I have, and there are no others who could even attempt it without becoming a Lightwarden."
Ardbert gave a brief smile as he shook his head.
"Well… there is one way we can fix this. A way to increase the size of the container, if you will. And it would be a large enough increase to allow you to return to a somewhat normal combat routine without fear of breaking."
The Warrior blinked.
"And why haven't you mentioned this before?" She asked.
Ardbert glanced up into the night sky, ignoring the sounds of combat raging not too far away.
"I… well, I suppose it's because it's my choice to make. Have made, I suppose since I'm telling you of it. Hydaelyn's timely gift of aether within my crystal was not the only thing she imparted. She also awakened a memory in me, which you shall have in short order. You'll understand in a minute. Care to shake my hand, sinner?"
The Warrior stared at Ardbert in confusion as he extended a hand, though she tried to conceal it. He couldn't interact with anything, not even her. What made him think he could now? Shrugging, she decided to humor him. When her hand met his however, her eyes widened as she felt his warm hand.
"What-" she tried to say, before gasping. Ardbert gave her one last smile before he turned pure white and burst into black and white particles that began to flood into her. As they did, she began seeing flashes into Ardbert's life, his feelings, remembering things that she ought not have any knowledge of. Then came the words of Hydaelyn, spoken to Ardbert though clearly meant for her.
"A broken vessel is of no use to anyone."
She gasped once more, feeling multitudes lighter than she had before. Without thinking, she began to laugh joyfully as she extended her arms. The world began to spin, until she realized that it was her that was spinning when her own laughter made her sound as if she had lost her mind. She wasn't sure how long she had been there by the time she was able to reign in the maniacal howling, but she knew that she was closer to being whole than before. She glanced down at her hands and smiled when she saw her gauntlets.
No more was that accursed Light threatening her body. No longer did she feel the need to constantly keep her own aether flooding through herself in an attempt to balance out the Light that pooled on the surface of her shattered soul.
"Aran! Are you alright?" Came Pyrrha's voice from behind the Warrior. She glanced at the Mistrali champion and nodded with a small smile, before Pyrrha gasped and pointed up towards the dragon Grimm.
Aran pulled the lance off her back and gave it a hard look, before placing it into her bag. Then she withdrew her staff and readied herself as she finally began to see the state of the battlefield.
The dragon Grimm was dissolving, while the last few blue sparks of flame died down behind it. Nine bubbles of aether fell to the ground roughly two hundred alms away, dispersing once they hit the ground. She smiled with bloodlust as she recognized Thordan and his Knights, though she was unsure where the other four went.
Pyrrha strode up next to her, readying her spear and shield. A soft crunch signaled the arrival of Emet-Selch, landing next to her from his own fall from the sky. In his hands was Callandor, hanging loosely as the man's back straightened up. Idly, she also noted that the faint signs of dawn were beginning to reflect off of the surface of the weapon.
"Well then, I suppose now is what people would call the final fight?" Emet-Selch seemed to drawl.
A few minutes before, the Wyvern roared in defiance as it was struck by another ball of blue flame, creating another crater alongside four others in its torso that refused to heal. Even the thick black substance that would normally fill whatever wound was created went around the craters as it dripped to the ground far below.
It was an observation that Phoenix made note of as he avoided the Wyvern's tail whipping out at him.
It has yet to use any form of ranged attack, Phoenix continued to note. Perhaps, it simply doesn't have any. The beast would be quite the challenge for someone that couldn't best its high-speed regeneration, but without it, the creature is little more than an inconvenience. A shame that Aran's talents have been wasted on such a lacklustre creature, when the primal upon its back is of much more import.
The primal form of Louisoix Leveilleur dove beneath the Grimm to avoid its head, gathering his aether for another blast. The creature had begun to falter, showing signs of tiring. Even with Thordan upon its back, the creature had come to its breaking point. All he needed to do was circle it one more time and unleash his blast into its torso.
Such thoughts were the reason that Phoenix did not see the dark beam extend from Thordan's sword and strike him directly.
Growling in pain, Phoenix attempted to save himself only to be blasted by the dark beam once more, pushing him into the ground. He felt his left wing snap just as he erected a barrier, saving him from a third beam which would have likely ended his life.
He struggled to regain his footing as he fought through the pain of his wing and the hole he now realized permeated his body in its entirety. Glancing down as he noticed a glow, he understood why his wing hurt so much: it had been sheared off completely in his crash, likely aided by the first beam. The was now dissolving into aether, permeating the area around him. Idly, his kind returned to what he had done to fight Bahamut. Would it work here?
He couldn't see a reason why it wouldn't. If he could pierce through a teraflare that would have devastated the Source, then he should be able to do the same with Thordan's attack. Or at least survive it long enough to remove the Wyvern from the equation entirely.
Looking through his barrier, he could see Thordan gathering his aether for another attack. Which meant the time was now. His body began to shrink until he had taken the form of an elderly Elezen, albeit missing his left arm and possessing a hole through his chest. He raised his right hand just as the dark beam came at him once more, slamming through his barrier and into the point of his palm where he had gathered his own aether, stealing as much from Thordan's attack as he could before the area erupted in an explosion of aether. Much like before, he felt himself propelled upwards, straight through the Wyvern's heart and out the other side. And, much like before, he felt himself beginning to disperse, and towards a specific destination.
Unlike before, he did not feel the influence of an outside being taking control of his mind. Instead, he felt the reassuring safety of his grandchildren. The sources of aether from which Phoenix would always rise again.
Even in the darkness he now found himself in, Louisoix smiled. He had performed his role in this conflict, short as it was. And while he had not slain the greatest of foes this time, he knew it to be just enough to tip the scales in the favor of the Scions.
Emet-Selch sidestepped a Knight's sword before raising his own crystalline blade to deflect a lance, sending the offending weapon into the torso of another Knight on the back of the dragon Grimm.
He gave a slow chuckle as he backed up quickly, readying his weapon once more. Taking the Knight with the lance by surprise, he dashed forward and slipped the weapon in between a small gap in his armor caused by the extended lance, between his breastplate and pauldron. A gurgle followed as the blade passed through a lung and into his heart.
The crystalline blade dispersed into aether as he withdrew once more and created it again with a snap. The Knight he had attacked fell limply, causing several others around him to growl in anger. He grinned as he felt the aether which had sustained the Knight transfer into him instead, courtesy of Callandor's unique property which harvested the aether of the beings it killed.
"Truly, your chivalry is beyond understanding when it's leading to your deaths." Emet-Selch stated. He was forced to duck beneath the axe of Ser Grinnaux, though he took advantage of the Knight's loss of poise and vaulted over him to strike at the most annoying member of these Knights, one with a staff which kept healing most of the wounds Emet-Selch was causing. He was thankful that he didn't seem to be able to resurrect the two Knights he had slain before this third one, though he suspected that he was actually unable to do so without an abundance of aether. They were all minor eikons, after all.
His plan was foiled by the intervention of Ser Adelphel leaping between the two.
"I will not be denied!" Emet-Selch growled, raising his hand and snapping. What he created was nothing complex. It wasn't even anything elemental or living. But it was always amusing when people underestimated the most mundane of objects, like an anvil. In this case, an upscaled anvil, which came crashing down on Ser Adelphel. Much to his displeasure, but to his surprise, it did little beyond forcing the Knight to struggle beneath the heavy object, but it provided the gap the Ascian needed.
He slipped beneath the anvil, slashing at the back of the Knight's knees where he was mostly unarmored. Though he heard the growl of pain, Emet-Selch didn't stop to look back, keeping his attention instead upon the Knight with the staff which now began to back up. The meager space he had created mattered little when the Ascian's blade struck his unarmored neck, removing his head.
When the aether reinforced his own, Emet-Selch quickly used a portion of it to leap off of Wyvern as he felt something familiar far below.
A moment later, he would realize how close he had come to death as Phoenix pierced through the Grimm only a yalm away from where he had been. As the Grimm's torso shattered into quickly dissolving pieces, Emet-Selch growled when he noticed a bubble surrounding each of the surviving Knights as they began to fall.
"So it seems." Aran answered Emet-Selch. The Ascian glanced at the staff in her hands as she spoke.
"And I take it that the Light aether within you will trouble you no longer?"
Aran simply nodded as she thrust her staff into the air. In moments, anyone capable of seeing or feeling aether would be astonished to perceive the amount of aether that had begun to saturate the area. Then she lowered her staff and quickly began weaving her magicks.
"Leave Thordan to me. Hades, do you remember how I taught Eoma to fight a partner?"
The Ascian nodded, glancing at Pyrrha as he did so.
"Good. Treat Pyrrha as you would our daughter, and leave the real fighting to the adults."
Any retort the Acian would have given was cut off when Pyrrha bounded forward, firing Milo towards the nearest Knight. He followed her immediately, trusting in Aran's plan.
After all, she had never led him astray so far.
Qrow, Torchwick, and Neo watched the death of the Wyvern with raised eyebrows on top of a portion of Vale's wall, having rotated out from the main front to let their Auras regenerate. They weren't totally in shock like some others were, but it was damned impressive.
"Well, I'll be damned. The flaming chicken actually killed a Wyvern. Where the hell does Aran find her allies?" Torchwick asked. "I mean, I know they're not from here. But a flaming bird killing a near-mythical type of Grimm?"
Beside him, Qrow shook his head.
"Really. That's what you're going to complain about?"
Torchwick sighed, looking back to the Grimm below. Beside him, Neo did the same. A minute later led to Neo's eyes widening as she quickly took out her scroll. Whatever she was messaging went to Torchwick alone, who glanced down at his own device. His eyes narrowed before he looked back to the Grimm below.
"So… is it just me and Neo, or are the Grimm starting to act strange?"
Qrow glanced down, trying to see what Torchwick meant.
"I don't see it."
The criminal pointed towards the back of the seemingly endless horde.
"Look there. See how the Alphas keep hesitating to advance? It's like they're being pushed to do something they don't want to do. And they keep looking behind them towards where Aran's at, looking as if they want to be going in that direction."
The Huntsman leaned forward, trying to get a better look. Sure enough, Roman was correct. Qrow began to verify where they would occasionally look before he realized that Torchwick wasn't completely right.
"They're not looking towards Aran… they're looking towards her opponents." Qrow's eyes widened as he thought of something. "They're probably full of negative emotions. And if there's enough there to cause the Grimm to challenge even Salem's orders and all the negativity in Vale…"
Qrow's hand went up to the linkpearl in his ear, but he didn't say anything immediately. The reason for his hesitation was understandable, as he watched a wall of flame scour the earth near where he saw the Warrior. He could barely make out two figures engaging several others, though he was unsure of their numbers. Judging by the bronze glint he was able to see from the fire, Pyrrha was one of the two. Which meant the other was likely Hades.
"Aran! The negativity that Thirdass or whatever you called him is giving off is challenging Salem's control over the Grimm assaulting Vale! Is there anything you can do to piss him off even more?"
A moment later, a distinctly playful voice with a Vieran accent that sent chills down his back responded.
"Of course I can."
Qrow's request made sense. Base desires would always win out over orders if the desires were strong enough, Aran knew.
Her swathe of flame had succeeded in erasing two more Knights of the Round from existence, leaving Emet-Selch and Pyrrha to deal with six of them. One of those six, Ser Adelphel, she could see was limping heavily, only just surviving her flames due to the last caster among them Rescuing him.
More importantly, Thordan's own actions were slightly jerky, guided partially by rage as he closed in on her.
With her free hand, she drew Spite even as she raised her staff once more. More flames began to gather and condense into an orb behind her. By the time Thordan reached her, the orb looked more akin to lava than fire. His shield slammed forward in an attempt to bash her, though she leapt to the side and shot her foot out into his leg. It did little more than cause an unpleasant screech of metal meeting metal.
"Come, Thordan. Surely that's not all you're capable of with Tiamat's Eyes? Controlling a Grimm through subjugation? Is that all you've learned to do in however long you've been beneath that mountain?"
The eikon swung his sword, making Aran sidestep as the downward swing passed only a hair's width away from her. No words came from him, though she could tell that her own words were heard.
"Or mayhaps you simply don't know what to do with that much power. After all, it's not as if you really knew what to do with it before." A backhanded swing was avoided, followed by her batting a stab to the side with Spite. "A pathetic showing. But then of course, I shouldn't be surprised. You spread your power through your Knights as well, and we know how that went."
Thordan growled as he raised his sword. It its tip, Dark aether began to build up.
"Tut-tut, that's cheating." The Viera mocked. Despite that, she took a couple steps back and thrust her staff upward, drawing her Ley Lines.
Behind her, Pyrrha noticed what Thordan was preparing to do. She blocked Ser Adelphel's sword with her shield and stabbed forward with Milo, still in its spear form. She would have to be careful and time everything right if her plan was to succeed. The problem, she knew, was that she was exhausted. Her graceful actions that seemed akin to dancing were now jerky, her muscles protesting with every movement. And her Aura had broken a short time ago, leaving her without the use of her Semblance.
She glanced at her other two opponents, both of whom now advanced carefully in spite of their injuries. One she had rendered the sword arm of useless, forcing Knight to use their off hand and ditch their shield. The other was, like Ser Adelphel, injured at the leg.
They moved to confront her at three directions. Not the first time they had done so, but this time Pyrrha didn't have the energy to escape them. So she slowly backed away, luring them to where she had been. Then, Thordan released his attack, causing Aran to turn just enough to avoid it and leaving the beam to pierce through two of the three Knights Pyrrha had been fighting. Ser Adelphel was out of line, which saved him from the beam.
Even as the Knights fell to ground in death, Aran had begun her onslaught. In record time, she began casting Fire after Fire, drawing upon her Ley Lines until she felt Astral Fire make itself known, followed by Enochian and Despair. Foul followed, sending the eikon stumbling. (Yes, I'm fully aware that's not quite how Black Mage works.)
Aran was taken off-guard when Emet-Selch crashed into her, her ears catching the sound of an axe swinging where had just previously been.
Growling, Aran shoved the Ascian off of her with a grumbled thanks as Ser Grinnaux readied another strike. She rose to her knees, bringing Spite forward as his ace descended. Even with her enhanced strength, the small gunblade buckled beneath the strike, forcing her to drop her staff in order to reinforce her defence.
"I don't think so," Emet-Selch muttered as he regained his own feet. He dove around the Knight, seeing Aran lock the axe in her grip, then plunged Callandor into Ser Grinnaux's throat.
Then, Aran noticed another beam being charged by Thordan. Too late, she realized, would she be if she tried to dodge it, when she was saved by the most unlikely of things.
"Sir, the Grimm are letting up! The rear of the horde has begun to take off after Aran!"
King Braylor nodded grimly to the soldier next to him as his sword split a Beowolf in twain. In his other hand, his axe shoved back a large Creep.
"Good. Spread the word; once they begin to break off in earnest, everyone is to remain in Vale."
The soldier glanced at the horde, swiping his saber towards the endless tide.
"But sir-"
"Do as I command. She's a big girl, she'll handle it."
Even as the soldier left to do as he said, he could practically feel the hope begin to return to the people as more and more Grimm left. By the time the front was mostly cleared, he had pulled out another scroll and dialed someone.
"My King?" Saffron's voice answered.
"Saffron. I need you to get your Bullhead in the air and near Aran's location."
"We're nearby. We've been keeping the Grimm from interfering."
"Let them through. Grab Aran and her allies, and tell her to burn any and all Grimm."
An Alpha Ursa bowled into the eikon, causing him to lose his footing. The beam split the air in the sky above, just before more Grimm began to swarm the eikon.
The Warrior watched in disbelief as King Thordan, battered as he was from her spells, began to fight the horde of Grimm.
Thinking quickly, she grabbed her staff and stood up when she saw Ser Adelphel was sprawled on the ground, with Milo sticking out of his neck. Pyrrha stood next to him, panting.
"Pyrrha, let's go!"
The girl looked up and nodded, trotting off after Aran and Emet-Selch. Moments later, SKTR's Bullhead landed near them.
They boarded without comment, before Aran told them to take off but to leave the ramp open. Glancing at Pyrrha and Emet-Selch, she turned away and moved to the ramp. Looking down, she saw the Grimm horde surrounding Thordan. Even now, the wounded eikon was creating massive holes in the Grimm lines with swipes of his sword and shield. She could not have that.
"Hades?" Aran asked, glancing behind her towards the Ascian. He nodded and stepped forward.
"Bring what you wish to create to the forefront of your mind. Channel your aether, and then allow me to make it into reality." Hades stated, raising a hand. Aran nodded beside him.
"Even an eikon cannot withstand nature's fury. Burn him away, and I shall cleanse these lands myself."
Emet-Selch snapped, bringing molten lava down upon Thordan. Even as he did so, Aran's staff rose into the air. Fire-aspected aether swirled, before being guided to the ground.
And then the lands outside Vale, erupted in fire.