Chapter 37

Adam grunted as he hit the floor and rolled to the side, managing to avoid any follow-up attack. The ringing in his ears overpowered any other sound around him. He jumped back into his feet and focused for a moment. His Aura was low, likely close to the red.

He coughed as he prepared for another attack, but none came. As the ringing faded he felt someone bump into his back. He turned, drawing Wilt but stopped once he realised it was Yang. Her hair was singed in several places.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah… no. No, not really. That last hit devastated my Aura. Probably put me in the red. I haven't checked my scroll. You?"

"Still a little above red I think. Haven't checked either."

"How much Burn Dust did she throw into that?"

"A lot. Probably mixed in some Combustion Dust as well."

"Damn it. Where the hell is she?"

"I'm not sure…" He trailed off. His senses had returned to normal by now, the ringing in his ears fading, letting him see just how much the explosion had destroyed. Suffice to say that the cafeteria would need a lot more repairs than before the detonation.

The cafeteria grew quiet. All they could hear was the distant sounds of battle and the roaring of some large Grimm. That was when she struck.

Blake dropped right on top of them, landing with one leg on each of their shoulders and bringing her weapons down onto their backs before she flipped off of them. The pair split, pushing away from each other as they cried out in pain. Adam saw Yang's Aura flicker for a moment.

She's way too low! We need to finish this, but how? I could try using my Semblance… It was a risk. He was so low he'd be killed in one hit. He didn't have a ton of stored energy either so he would need to expend most, if not all, of his remaining Aura. But if he hit with it then victory would be theirs.

Yang yelled and fired her gauntlets, launching herself into the fray once more keeping her distance. "This! Is! For! My! Haaair!" She interspersed each word with a blast of Ember Celica. Blake dodged and moved to try and put Adam between them. He moved out of the way and took a defensive stance to the left of Yang.

"Keep her busy." Adam whispered. Yang didn't respond but judging by how she increased her attacks Adam knew she'd heard him. He took a deep breath and began to focus.

The energy within him felt sluggish, even as he began to pour every last drop into it this final attack. As he stood there his body began to finally register just how much pain he was in. His limbs ached and he was sure he was covered in bruises. The likelihood of something having been broken couldn't be discarded either. Especially now that he was throwing his last Aura into one last moon slice.

Adam tried to suppress the tell-tale glow that accompanied the use of his Semblance to some effect. He managed to delay the light by several seconds. Eventually, it became too much and the crimson glow suffused the area around him. Blake's eyes widened as Yang fired again, pinning her in one spot for fear of taking a shotgun blast if she moved.

For one moment it looked like it would work. But then it all went wrong.

Adam drew Wilt, releasing the energy as it clicked free. However, his Aura was so low that it flickered around him. He hadn't had enough to properly control the attack. Adam's eyes widened in horror as a ribbon appeared from the side, wrapping around Yang's left arm. As it pulled her into the path of his attack he saw Blake flicker and vanish. Nothing more than another clone.

Yang screamed as his blade tore through her flesh. With a meaty slap, her severed arm fell to the ground, accompanied by her blood. Her other arm desperately clutched at her shoulder, trying to staunch the blood that freely flowed. Within a moment she fell to the ground, shocked into unconsciousness.

Wilt fell to the ground, joined instantly by Blush. Adam collapsed to the floor, staring in horror at the girl before him.

"You could have prevented this Adam. All you had to do was join me." He heard her voice but didn't look. He had to act quickly. He gulped and pulled off his jacket, working to tie it around Yang's stump and stop the blood loss. He didn't know if it would even work, but he had to try.

He felt Blake as she touched his shoulder. He shrugged her off and grabbed his weapons, sheathing the blood-covered blade and clipping Blush onto his belt. When he turned he saw she had walked back. He had half expected a smile on her face, but she just looked disappointed. Adam growled and picked Yang up in a princess carry, pushing her left side hard against his body so that her wound wasn't dripping blood onto the ground.

Blake didn't act as he ran.

James cursed as he booted the window of his gunship open. Jumping out he gazed over the destruction his forces had brought onto Vale. With Due Process at his side, James set to work fixing his mistake, by gunning down everything that wasn't human.

Knights and Grimm fell before him, until his Battleship crashed and all the Knights fell silent. "Damn it!" He cursed.

"James!" Glynda called as she rushed over, throwing rubble at several Boarbatusks, crushing them. "You're alright! Thank the Brothers."

"How's it looking?"

"Alright here in Vale. Vales guard, police, Huntsmen and your military have managed to gather up a large number of civilians and keep them safe. The Grimm haven't breached any of the shelters and are being pushed back everywhere except Beacon."

"Damn. Ozpin?"

"I… I don't know."

"I see. We clear Vale, then secure Beacon!" Glynda nodded and, for the first time in a while, the pair fought together.

The Grimm didn't stand a chance.

Blood stained his shirt. He doubted it would ever come out. He could feel it start to dry and stick to his skin. He felt sick. She looked sick, pale and weak. His legs burned as he ran through the broken and empty courtyard at the front of Beacon. As he passed the statue at the centre, he heard the howling of Grimm.

Large feet slammed against the ground as they came. Beowolves. Three. No. Four. Have to protect her. But how? Drop her and draw his blade? Could he even take four Grimm with his Aura one hit away from breaking? His mind raced but no answer came. He hesitated. He shut his eyes and hoped his body would shield her as one of the lupine-Grimm lept at him.

He heard a gunshot and then it crashed into the ground behind him. He looked over his shoulder and saw another Beowolf have its head caved in by a massive mace. The mace was torn from its skull and then was slammed into the ground, the Dust crystal in the centre burst with energy and unleashed a line of flame. The other two Beowolves skidded to a stop to avoid it, only for their heads to be cleaved from their shoulders by another Huntsman.

"Taurus! Shit! Russ, Dove, get him to the docks! Flyboy, get back up there and look for anyone else in trouble!" Cardin yelled out. Russel and Dove hurried over and helped guide Adam away. Scarlet, a member of Sun's team, jumped up the statue and lept from it, gliding around the area.

Adam idly wondered how that team-up had occurred but focused on getting Yang to safety.

Atlas Soldiers had formed a blockade around the docks, by stacking up the deactivated Paladins and using them as cover. Bullheads and Airbuses transported the injured away while boats got the tired and civilians from the lower docks.

Weiss looked out over the destruction. It was hard to see individuals from where she stood, most appeared as little more than vague blurs in the distance. She could see Scarlet take flight from the statue in the main courtyard. The teams had shaken up a little. People had been pulled into new groups as the situation developed.

"Weiss!" A voice called. She turned to see Ruby arriving with a smile on her face.

"Ruby! Sun said you went up to take care of the Battleship!"

"Yup! I had to fight Torchwick and his friend but I managed to win! Sorta."

"Really? Well, at least you made it back."

"Where's Adam and Yang?"

"Yang was headed to the cafeteria. I have no idea where-"

"Coming through! Medic!" Russel Thrush shouted, causing Weiss and Ruby to turn. Their blood went cold as Adam carried Yang through the line of soldiers. Medics quickly came over and took her off of him.

Weiss' hand leapt to her mouth in shock as she saw the jacket wrapped around her shoulder. Her stomach felt like it was launching into her throat as she realized what had happened.

"Y-yang?" Ruby asked quietly, almost whimpering. Adam seemed to be frozen in place. Russel and Dove quickly rushed back out into the fray.

Ruby reached out her hand, her eyes watering. The tune of her scroll shocked her out of her stupor, however. Ruby quickly pulled it free and accepted the call.

"You have to stop her!"

"Jaune?"

"Pyrrha! She's gone to the tower! She's going to die! Please save her!"

The call cut out. Ruby and Weiss looked to each other desperately and desperately charged their way towards the tower.

Just as the Wyvern smashed the top to pieces.

I'm sorry, Jaune.

Pyrrha took in a deep breath as she stepped into the damaged elevator. She felt out the metal around her with her Semblance and then gripped it tight before forcing it upwards. It was easier than it might have been thanks to Adam's advice. Training to manipulate larger objects would serve her well here.

When the door opened with a ding Pyrrha launched into action. Cinder hadn't expected her to launch her shield as a weapon, nor did she expect for Pyrrha to manipulate it mid-flight, weaving past her block and smashing into her side. The golden shield returned to Pyrrha's arm as she drew her blade.

Her final battle had begun.

Pyrrha popped off a few shots from her rifle. Cinder lazily blocked them, superheating the bullets and turning them to slag which dripped onto the floor.

Cinder's eyes widened as Pyrrha ripped the gears from the walls and threw them at her. They slammed into the raven-haired woman and then Pyrrha forced them to the ground, crushing her foe under their weight.

It taxed Pyrrha, she struggled to control them without her hand movements. If she made it out of here, that was the first thing she was training. Her strain eased when Cinder blew the clock gears apart. The Fall Maiden flew into the air and threw out lances of fire. Pyrrha rolled to the side, taking a few potshots. As she neared Ozpin's desk she ducked under it before launching it with her Semblance.

Cinder batted it to the side with a gust of wind, however, it had done its job as Pyrrha came in behind it and leapt, slashing Cinder's leg. The damage put the woman off-balance, causing her to tumble to the ground. She managed to recover smoothly however as she rolled to her feet.

Blades of glass formed in her hands as Pyrrha charged again. Pyrrha refused to go on the defensive, striking hard and fast to penetrate Cinder's defences.

Their battle was one of fast-paced blows. Cinder used her magic to create blasts of flame, some were used to evade Pyrrha's attacks while others were small jets that struck at Pyrrha's sides, lightly singeing her. Pyrrha made full use of her Semblance. She pulled on her sword to correct attacks, her shield to block Cinder's strikes and her armour to pull herself out of the way.

The battle was quickly taxing the red-head however. She'd only begun to train for this level recently, and her lack of experience showed. It didn't take long before she had to ease up on her semblance lest her aura be drained too quickly. Pyrrha pulled herself back across the room and fell into a defensive stance, shield up and spear at the ready. Her head pounded from the exertion.

A quick glance at her shield-mounted scroll showed her below fifty percent already. Cinder looked slightly ruffled but little more than that.

Pyrrha would need to figure something out, and quickly.

As she glanced around the room her eyes caught sight of the massive Wyvern as it flew straight for the tower. She waited. Cinder stood by, analyzing her form for weaknesses.

She was caught off guard as the Wyvern slammed into the tower, destroying the office and sending rubble flying everywhere. Pyrrha, having seen it coming, managed to dodge most of the debris and charged before Cinder could recover.

She got in two quick swipes before Cinder recovered and threw Pyrrha back with a gust of wind. Pyrrha flipped in the air and landed on her feet, turning Miló into its rifle form and firing as Cinder pulled herself to her feet. A wall of flame rose from the floor, obliterating the bullets before they struck their target. The wall collapsed into a ball and it was flung at Pyrrha.

She jumped to the side and raised her shield as the ball exploded, sending a wave of fire over half of the office. Pyrrha hit the ground and rolled to her feet, only to cry out as Cinder rammed into her and raked her blades across Pyrrha's chest. The blades scrapped off of her breastplate and cut into her shoulders, causing the girl to cry out in pain.

The glass blades shattered a moment later and Cinder placed her hands on Pyrrha's shoulders. Pyrrha screamed as Cinder's hands became burning hot and she unleashed jets of flame from her palms, bathing Pyrrha's upper body in fire. A cog slammed into Cinder's back, breaking her attack. Pyrrha backed up and threw all that remained of the metal on the roof. Cinder let out a roar and a blast of fire, melting them all.

Her Aura was low and she was out of options, so she threw her shield. Cinder ducked under it, a bow formed in her hands and she fired. A crystalline glass arrow pierced Pyrrha's achilles heel. Pyrrha grunted and collapsed to the floor, watching as her Aura shattered. The clicking of heels had Pyrrha turning to face her opponent, and her death.

"Do… Do you believe in destiny?" She asked the raven-haired woman.

"Yes." She said simply, knocking another arrow. Pyrrha closed her eyes and waited for her death. As she sucked in her last breath she heard a strange sound. Like a high-pitched screeching, barely audible. What was audible was Cinder's cry of pain. Pyrrha opened her eyes to see her foe swarmed by tiny glowing white-blue Nevermores. Cinder stepped back and blew them away with more of her flames. She took a deep breath, only to release it as a similar coloured Manticore crashed into her, ripping into her with its sharp claws.

Winter Schnee landed in front of Pyrrha, sabre drawn. "Are you alright?" She asked without turning her gaze from Cinder, who was busy blasting the Manticore back into motes of light.

"I… My Aura is broken… I'm done…" Pyrrha said, dejected.

"Then I shall finish this. Once you have an opening, escape. It will be easier not having to protect you."

"I understand." Pyrrha said, pulling herself to her feet as the Manticore faded Miló in hand. As she stood there on her one good leg Cinder summoned her blades once again, panting lightly.

Maybe… Maybe I'll make it through this.

A/N: RIP Yang's arm. This is what happens when you can't decide how to deal with the crazy terrorist Adam! Meanwhile, Cardin continues to grow into a much better man. Pyrrha's battle was both fun and difficult to write. She has fewer openings thanks to Adam and has begun working on larger efforts with her Semblance, but Cinder is more experienced and is a Maiden, however new. But Winter is to the rescue! We'll just have to hope it ends well, won't we?

I hope you all enjoyed and I'll see you next time!

UPDATE: I'm sorry guys! Christmas preparations were more hectic than I expected. My beta won't be able to go over the next chapter until next week and I want to get you guys the best chapter I can. So no chapter this week. I hope you all have a great Christmas!