20

The Storm Pt. 2

Raven felt the shuddering of the lift stop as the large plate stopped at the bottom of the vast underground vault. It was, she decided, utterly pretentious and screamed 'Ozpin'. It was just like him to design this place and she almost sneered at it. Why go through so much effort for a place that no one would ever truly see?

The gate in front of them rattled as it receded into the ground and at Cinder's behest Vernal was the first to step the end of the stone pathway was a massive golden door set into an equally impressive tree. The leaves of the tree glowed with magical power as they sprouted from the branches.A sidelong look at the woman next to her shower Cinder's focus solely on Raven's young protege.

The woman's left hand instinctively went to her sword but she stayed it, she needed to bide her time well for this. The power of a Maiden was not something to take chances with and the woman before her was Salem's chosen. They hungry eyes that tracked Vernal told Raven everything she needed to know, everything she had suspected since they had come to her camp to force her to help them.

This woman craved power like a man dying of thirst.

A low ringing sound echoed throughout the chamber as Vernal stepped out onto one of the large circle. Looking down Raven saw that she had stepped off the elevator herself as it happened. A quick look to the third person showed she hadn't noticed, attention still firm on the one she thought was the maiden.

Vernal stopped short of the massive door, head craning to see the top of it. Cinder walked up beside her and whispered something to her. The other woman turned to look back at Raven, seeking permission. The bandit leader only nodded for her to continue but stood a little back, losing her sword in it's sheath.

This was it. The moment her hasty plan came to fruition, The moment they had showed up at her camp Raven knew that they would continue to chase her to the ends of Remnant. However the bandit leader had a third option holed away in a cage in her camp. The young ex-heiress. The prisoner had given her an idea and she had quickly formed a plan using the pieces in play. Cinder wanted to kill Summer's child and so Raven had played a long. She knew Qrow and her daughter were traveling with the young, silver eyed girl.

And so the bandit leader had let them think they bested her, had let them think they had the advantage in their interaction. She had a talk with the white haired girl, revealed long held secrets of Ozpin's, and then sent to to Yang after making her agree to the plan. This was the only way for Raven and the Branwen tribe to survive. Like it or not the leader of the tribe had a target painted on her back. So, it was simple, if she really, truly wanted to secure her survival there was something that needed to happen.

Cinder Fall needed to die.

Slowly, silently, her hand drifted to her sword as she watched the woman's back. Vernal was in front of the door now. Her hand reaching up, hovering above the surface and tracing one of the patterns etched into it.

"You know, Raven, I've heard stories about you." Cinder drawled on and Raven grasped her hilt, "That you're a cunning leader. That you're strong. That you're clever. It's a shame that they're wrong."

Cinder looked back and Raven made to leap forward but a flash of power from the woman's hand had the bandit leader frozen in place. She felt the chill creep around her as her aura protected her from the damage. She felt the rage bubble forth from within her as she heard a Vernal cry out in pain. The ice flaked from her eyes first as she generated heat with her powers and she saw what had happened to her protege.

An inky black limb extended from Cinders left shoulder and had impaled Vernal. Raven stepped up the heat and growled deep in her throat.

Suddenly Cinder cried out in pain, the limb being severed in two by a flash of steel. Vernal sunk to her knees, hands covering her wound as a fourth person stepped in front of the downed bandit. With a twirl of an umbrella a multicolored girl stepped out with a smirk on her face.

"You mute bitch!" Screeched Cinder as she held what was left of her Grimm arm to herself, "I should have had you killed with that mascara wearing clown! I'm going to fix that mistake."

The ice fully cracked and crumbled as Raven stepped free, "Now now Cinder. Don't go forgetting about me. I have a favor I need to repay of you."

She pulled on the power, feeling it ignite within her as she drew it's full might to the surface. It had always been a weird feeling, the flames coming from her eyes. This time she relished it as she shot towards the woman, her sword impacting the hastily made one summoned by Cinder, their bodies colliding with stone that cracked under the pressure.

For Raven, the world fell away and there was only this opponent. How long had it been since she had felt the rush of true combat? She couldn't remember but she knew this.

Only one of them would walk away from this.

The enemy didn't wait for Yang to question her teammate. They didn't wait patiently so she could interrogate Waiss and find out why she was helping the enemy. Though from the way that they attacked her, the enemy didn't know they were working together. It was so confusing and Yang resolved to beat the answers out of the girl later, if they survived this.

The big guy had gone nuts screaming Ozpin over and over again before tearing his shirt off and sticking dust into his arms. Then, with the single minded determination that on a berserk rage can induce, proceeded to try and make Oscar's face one with his fist. That had snapped everyone out of the odd standoff they'd been in and cause Mercury and Emerald to come back at them with a vengeance.

With the exit of Raven, Cinder, and that other woman they had the numbers advantage and it showed. They were tenacious but they were fighting a losing battle. The big man himself was taking on a lot of people and not even slowing down however. Qrow was winded and Oscar was slowing down. Ren, Nora, and Ruby were trying to help but he was tossing them around like toys.

Jaune caught a kick from Mercury on his shield as Weiss started summoning her knight. A great fireball caught the summon in the chest and it disappeared. Yang force Emerald back and leapt over Jaune to kick straight and the silver haired man's head. Even though he rolled back and away the blonde continued to engage him as Jaune turned to attack the green haired woman. The ex-heiress summoned a wall between them and the headmaster who was continuing to fire at them from a distance.

Fireballs immediately started taking chunks out of the wall as Weiss went to support Jaune. He was having a hard time against the illusions Emerald could make him see. The ex-heiress danced around and every time the blond blocked a strike she stabbed out with Myternaster.

A tremendous crash erupted and when Yang turned to look she saw a hole had been blasted out of the atrium and a very displeased Nora breathing heavily. The pause was all Weiss needed and she tried summoning again.

It was finally time for her to face her greatest regret. Blake stared across at Adam, a man she had once loved, as he tried to destroy Haven. This wasn't the Adam she knew, the man who had once held her tenderly as she wept. The man before her was a monster, a cold blooded killer who sought to sow chaos and fear. They had arrived just in time too. She could spy the explosives attached to the school. He was going to do it again, no he would try. Things would be different this time. She had promised herself that.

The cat faunus gripped her hands tight into fists to keep them from shaking, the scene from Beacon replaying in her mind. She could almost see Yang laying in a pool of her own blood. The man before her was responsible for many atrocities and he was her responsibility. But more than that he looked far gone, unstable. The eyes she could see from under his mask looked wide.

This was no longer the man she once knew, Blake reaffirmed her resolve here. Nothing more could be done, she had tried to save him, once, and that had resulted in the deaths of many. Ultimately, on the way here, she had realized she had not come here for him. She came here for the faunus, her people.

"Oh Blake. You came to me yourself. I knew you couldn't stay away."

"I'm not here for you, Adam. I'm here for Haven." Blake turned to address the other members with Adam, "This isn't what the White Fang stands for! By doing this, by harming innocents, we are proving to humanity that the way they see us is right! I made that mistake, once, and now I'm here to fix that. I've seen both sides and I can tell you that this is not the way to achieve equality!"

"Equality? The humans are not our equals!" Adam shouted, "They are beneath us. They should serve the faunus! They should pay for what they have done!"

"Vengeance is not the way!"

"And who's going to stop me, you? What can you do alone?" His voice lowered and nothing could be heard but the sounds of combat from inside the school. Blake looked up at the tower and saw a shadow of movement that meant Ilia was working on the explosives. She prayed that the woman was done, she couldn't keep Adam busy for much longer.

"Nothin, Adam. But then again, I'm not alone." On cue the rest of the faunus with her stepped out of the treelines and into view. Easily a hundred faunus from Menagerie had joined her and it made Blake's heart soar to see her people stand as one for the right reasons. She could even see the light of recognition in a few of Adam's White Fang members as they saw their brothers, sisters, mother, and fathers among the ranks of those trying to stop them.

The cat faunus saw Adam grit his teeth in anger, her heart falling again as she once again knew that there was at least one person who wouldn't be saved. A flash of light caught her eye from the tower, nothing more than a laser pointer but it was enough. It was the signal that Ilia had disabled all of the bombs.

"Surrender A-" A large crash sounded and a portion of the school's wall gave way, a large man came crashing through and skidded to a halt a number of feet away. He clambered to his feet and eyed the situation with a benign calm. To her horror Blake saw massive dust crystals embedded into his arms.

Adam looked back at the man, "Problems, Hazel?"

Hazel's eyes narrowed at the faunus, "Nothing that I cannot handle." He swept his gaze over the gathered people, "Looks like you've run into problems as well."

Adam's face contorted with rage and as he was about to answer a piercing klaxon and a floodlight lit up the area, sweeping over the gathered people. Several air ships belonging to the Mistral Police Force and Kali could be spotted in the bay of one of the ships. An announcement could be heard calling for the surrender of the White Fang.

"It's over Adam. Surrender to us."

The man cast a sidelong look at Blake, eyes full of fury and rage. He lifted his hand, thumb over the button of a device held there, "No. This is only the beginning." His thumb slammed down and everyone flinched, even Hazel in the background but when nothing happened Blake's heart started to slow a little. Ilia had come through all right.

He stood there, seething, "Kill them." He growled and leapt forward at Blake. The blood red blade flashed out at her but she was ready. She wasn't the same scared girl she had been when Beacon had fallen. She wasn't running anymore.

Leaving a clone in her wake the black haired girl dodged to the side, the blade sailing through the heart of the clone. Adam's feral eyes turned to her but it was too late as she lashed out with a vicious kick to his side, sending him sprawling to the ground. The other White Fang members had been engaged by both the Peace faction and the Mistral Police Force. Sun jumped into a group a whirl of gold and red as he laid out several members. It looked like he was being careful to not kill anyone and it brought the briefest hint of a smile to her face until she looked back at the man sprawled before her.

He was crazed, feral, and more like the animal the racists claimed all faunus were than he ever had been before. There was no finesse anymore, no skill. He had always been far and above her in talent but that was gone, replaced with a single minded rage directed at the humans and those that would seek peace. He was a shadow of the man she once knew and one she would gladly put behind bars, even kill, to bring peace and equality to her people.

"What do we do?" Adam looked to the burly man with dust in his veins who cracked his knuckles. Blake started dreading this man getting involved, all of her instincts screamed not to fight him.

"This is your business. Fix it." The feeling of relieve Blake had was almost palpable but she forced herself to stay on guard. She still had Adam to deal with.

With a snarl he charged back at her and she snapped Gambol Shroud into position while a whirl of gold and red flashed into Adam's side and he moved to block Sun's sudden attack. There was a lull in the melee as Blake and the blond faunus stood shoulder to shoulder facing him. A wet thud sounded and they looked towards the origin of it. Something white pierced the large man named Hazel and it extended all the way back into the school.

Blake almost cursed herself for forgetting that fact, she'd been so focused on stopping the White Fang that she'd failed to remember that someone was fighting inside the build and that Hazel and whoever his cohorts were allies of Adam. That meant their enemies were potentially friends and whatever had pierced the large man was done by someone that could be a friend.

The bearded man looked down, eyes wide, and made no move to cry out but the surprise was there on his face. It had caught him unaware and suddenly the long object twitch and contracted pulling the man backwards at incredible speed until he was out of sight.

Sun rushed at Adam while everyone was still staring at where Hazel had disappeared. His shotguns roared in a complex pattern as the bull faunus deflected every shot. Blake rushed in to try and flank him but he saw through that and backed off, sheathing his blade. The blond made to rush but the cat faunus grabbed his collar and forced him against the floor as a red wave of energy flashed in the space where they had just been standing. By the time they stood they could see the figure of Adam retreating into the treeline.

Sun scrambled to his feet but was held back again by Blake, "Stop. He wants us to follow so he can deal with us one by one. Leave him. Stopping the rest of the White Fang is more important."

The blond nodded at her, "Alright. Be careful Blake." He squeezed her shoulder with one hand and she gripped his hand briefly before they went their separate ways.

She jogged through the chaos towards the hole in what looked like the school atrium. She had a burning question, if Adam had more allies like that Hazel guy then she needed to know if the people defending the school needed help.

Her breath caught in her chest when she saw what awaited her, something she never would have guessed. It was too soon, she wasn't ready for this. Her team was here, why? No the why didn't matter as they caught sight of her. Ruby was the first, her silver eyes widening in suprise. Weiss was next and seemingly the least surprised or maybe she just hid it well. It seems the thing that had impaled Hazel was done by her, a massive Queen Lancer floated protectively near her. Yang was the last, turning away only after seeing the other two's reactions. It was a naked reaction, one that bespoke how she really felt. It was a small affair. Her scarlet eyes widened in surprise and Blake could almost see her stamping down on her emotions as her expression stiffened and became guarded.

The cat faunus forced herself to look over the battle. Mercury and Emerald were there, panting heavily. The large man was facing off against at least four people and some other, older gentleman was being cornered by Jaune of all people.

Silver and amber met across the battlefield and her young leader nodded to her and she felt herself returning the gesture. They were here and they were doing fine, she needed to go and make sure the White Fang were under control.

That was her responsibility.

Cinder felt the wind leave her lungs as she was slammed into another pillar and her anger spiked again. Yet another loose end that wasn't tied up. It irked her but in the end she knew nothing would stand in the way of her destiny. She looked into the grinning eyes of her adversary, Raven Branwen. Amber eyes narrowed in on pale red as a bolt of lightning blasted through where she had been merely moments earlier.

She charged the power through her one good hand, and didn't that thought bring her rage to a new level, and felt the heat blast out in a jet towards her opponent who smoothly dodged it midair with a blast of her own, nudging herself to the side. Raven landed hard, her heels cracking rock as she landed on the pillar next to Cinder, her blade driving down into the stone beside her head.

She had trained long and hard back at Salem's tower in order to master the new arm she had been granted and yet that midget had severed it. Not only that but she had been tricked by Raven into believing the Vernal girl was the Spring Maiden when it was the bandit leader herself. Cinder had to admit the woman was clever though the subterfuge would undoubtedly prove futile in the end. Now, though, she would need to kill this maiden. She couldn't very well keep her alive all the way back to Salem.

No, she would beat her to near death, open the vault, and then kill her. Then she would kill that small woman too.

It wouldn't bring back her arm but it would be satisfying.

She lashed out with a blast of energy that caught the Branwen in the side, sending her flying where she dug her sword into the ground to steady herself. Cinder felt her feet leave the ground as she gathered more and more power to herself. Flames orbited her and heat radiated out from her. Small bursts of fire shot out from her corona towards the woman in red and black. A wall of ice formed between them and the projectiles hissed as them exploded against the thick ice.

The wall exploded outwards and Cinder burnt the shards down as they flew towards her but something else smashed against her heat barrier. It was a sword of ice held in the hands of her enemy, forming just as fast as it was melting and the tip approaching her steadily. All of her power went to that one point and exploded outwards melting the sword and sending the woman to crack against the opposite wall her head snapping back.

Cinder grinned in satisfaction and that smile was returned by the infuriating woman. All the information she had pointed to the woman being strong but this was ridiculous. Her mastery of the Maiden's power rivaled her own and had they not had their powers Cinder could not imagine walking away unscathed from crossing swords with the woman. This woman preached strength and it was obvious that she embodied that aspect as well.

The Fall Maiden summoned her flaming sword at hand but it felt like and empty gesture. Her style was two handed and missing one, while not crippling, was a disadvantage for which Raven was punishing her. The woman constantly attacked from her wounded side though was careful as to not be predictable. Cinder summoned a short sword to her hand and pushed off the ground once again, aliting to the air as she soared towards her target.

A tremendous crack resounded throughout the cavern as the two forces collided. Sparks showered around them as their blades ground together. Cinder was propelled back with a kick from the bandit leader, heel digging into her but her aura stopping any real damage. Grunting she gained some distance from Raven, eyes narrowing at the woman as she pointed her sword at her.

The red eyed woman cracked her neck, a smile on her face. The bitch was enjoying this.

"You've put up quite a fight, Cinder. It's too bad you weren't as strong or as clever as you thought you were."

Of course she would throw those words back at her, Cinder bit down on a retort, refusing to take her eyes off of the other woman. She no longer had any illusions as to what would happen here. She had failed. Now she needed to get away. As long as she still held the Fall Maiden powers she could still be of use to Salem. Now she burned with hatred towards this woman.

"If you were, you'd have maybe remembered to watch your back."

Cinder's blood went ice cold in an instant as a realization struck her. She hadn't seen the diminutive woman since the fight had begun, she had all but forgotten her existence in the struggle to fight off Raven. She had made a critical error.

She whirled around to see a brown and pink eyed smirk as a blade point skittered off her aura right across her chest. Then she felt it, her aura failing her a strange cold emptiness in her stomach. Cinder realized she'd made a second critical error as a vicious visage filled her view. Her hand felt sluggish as she tried to bring her weapon to bear, she knew she wouldn't make it in time and panic started to mount within her.

Raven's palm impacted her black mask and then her vision flashed white. Before she knew it her body was in free fall, her muscles spasming from the electric shock she had just received.

Cinder was falling.

Even as her body dipped over the edge of the stone pier she fought for control, the electricity finally fading as she saw Raven step up to the edge. Adrenaline spike through her nerves and she tried to draw the dregs of her power out to defend herself. A glimmer from the outsretched hand and suddenly she felt cold, too cold. It spread out across her body making her limbs stiff.

She couldn't move anymore as the seconds stretched into eternity. Her eyes locked with the vacant pale red orbs of Raven Branwen. The smirk that had been ever present was gone, replace with plain disinterest. Never had she hated anyone more than that woman right then. A second figure appeared and this one did have a smirk. A vicious, almost feral, smile plastered across her face all but saying I've won.

No, they wouldn't have the satisfaction. As her eyes froze over and she felt nothing but weightlessness her thoughts drifted to someone else.

A different person with red eyes and green hair.

A/N: Gosh guys I'm really about being so late lately. This one took longer than usual to write and to be honest I don't know if I'm satisfied with it. I know a lot of you were hoping for a bigger divergence from cannon with the battle of Haven but I can honestly say that it wasn't really feasible to do unless I have some Deus Ex Machina stuff happen.

I CAN say, however, that what comes next will GREATLY diverge from cannon even though, yes, this is the end of Volume 5. However the greatest difference you will notice first is Raven.

But that's all I'll say about that.