Chp. 28: Catch and Miss

Mistral Home, Mistral

Living Room

The sun was starting to set and Team JNPR, Ruby, Jacob, Britney, Robert, Qrow, Alex, Hayashi and Junichi just got back from capturing Raven.

"I can't believe I let them steal the Dust pouch," Jacob said. "How could I have forgotten I still had the pouch with me?"

"Calm down, Jacob. We have the SDF all over Anima looking for Cinder and the others," Junichi said.

"But still, we need to contact everyone, including Earth," Alex said. "Because if Salem finds out what the new Dust can do and finds out about Earth, then we're all in trouble."

"So what do we do now?" Ruby asked.

"We just received word that our Huntsmen have turned over the audio footage of Professor Lionheart working with Cinder to the Mistral council and now we have permission to take him in," Hayashi said. "Qrow, Junich, and I will go and book him."

"Do you want us to join you guys?" Pyrrha asked.

"No, Leo is not the fighter he used to be like he said," Qrow said.

"He's right. In Volume 5 he couldn't even beat Oscar and he didn't have that much training," Britney said.

"Yeah, to anyone in this room, Professor Lionheart's a push over," Robert said.

"So you guys enjoy yourselves, we got this," Qrow said.

"Alright we'll see you when you get back," Ruby said.

Qrow, Hayashi, and Junichi all walked out. Just as they did, Maria walks in.

"What did I miss?" she asked.


Kuo Kuana, Menagerie

Belladonna Residence

Balcony

Nighttime has just started in Menagerie, and Blake was leaning against the railing on the balcony, looking up into the night sky. She feels a note taped to the wooden railing of the balcony. She grabs it and reads the message written down:

"B

Things going too far.

Not sure what to do.

Find a quiet spot,

I'll find you.

Come alone. Please.

-I"

Blake looked around a bit before walking inside Ghira's office as there was a quiet sound of rustling in the trees behind her. Inside the office, Blake sees Ghira, Sienna, Yang, Sun, Rebecca, Allen, Kali, and Steel making preparations for the arrival of the British Armed Forces.

"Blake, what is it?" Ghira asked.

Blake hands Steel the note as he then reads it while Ghira and Sun look over the soldier's shoulder.

"Looks like your friend is looring you away so the White Fang can freely kill Mr. and Mrs. B," Sun said.

"What do we do?" Rebecca asked.

"I said that the British military would arrive in a few days but I lied," Steel said.

"What? When will they arrive?" Kali asked.

"They are already here. They are all just hiding from the public," Steel said.

"And you never told us this?" Ghira asked.

"We wanted to not have the public panic so we chose to lie about their time of arrival so the people would get a heads up and prepare," Steel explained.

"I guess that makes sense," Ghira said.

"I may have a plan," Blake said. " And Sienna, I may need you for something."


Haven Academy, Mistral

Headmaster's Office

Back at Haven Academy, Professor Lionheart sat behind his desk looking tired, resting his head on his hands. He lifts his head up as he hears a knock at the door.

"Come in," Lionheart said.

The door opens and Qrow, Hayashi, and Junichi walk into his office.

"Qrow. Major. Lieutenant. What brings you here?" Lionheart asked.

"We got some good news and bad news," Junichi said.

"The good news: we raided the Branwen tribe's camp and have the Spring Maiden," Qrow said.

"What? Are you serious?" Lionheart asked in surprise. "This is excellent news! But what's the bad news?"

"The bad news: Professor Leonardo Lionheart, by order of the council and in the name of the Japanese Self Defense Force, you're under arrest," Hayashi said as he, Qrow, and Junichi pull out their weapons.

Lionheart stood up in shock at the unexpected news.

"Wh... why?!" he asked. "On what charges?"

"We knew the whole time that you were working alongside Salem before Beacon was attacked," Junichi said.

"You... you knew?" Lionheart asked.

"Yes." Qrow bitterly said. "I can't believe you would do this to us, Leo. It was lucky we knew beforehand and made plans to protect the Huntsmen all over Mistral and your own students from Salem."

"You knew about that?!" Lionheart asked.

"Yep. And Ozpin, despite your treachery, wanted to have your name remembered for your dedication and hard work, but to us, the actions you committed cannot be forgiven," Hayashi explained.

Lionheart stood in silence before speaking.

"I suppose you're right then."

Suddenly the lion faunus grabs his wrist-mounted shield, Stalwart, in its compact mode and jumps on his desk. The three Huntsmen all thrust their weapons at Lionheart, but he jumps on their blades, then jumps over them and runs out the door. Qrow, Hayashi, and Junichi quickly chase after him. As soon as everyone was out of the office, the bookshelf slides open and out came Cinder and the Seer with Salem's image in the Grimm's head.

"Leonardo, is no longer of use to us," Salem said. "When he is disposed of, you and the others here in Mistral are to return. And make sure Adam comes along as well."

Cinder nods as she walks out of the office as the Seer follows her.

Lionheart runs down to the walkway of the grand hall, above a statue of a woman that conceals the Haven Vault. He quickly takes his coat off then straps out Stalwart on his left wrist just as Qrow, Hayashi, and Junichi catch up.

"Give it up, Leo! You've got nowhere to go!" Junichi said.

Lionheart holds out Stalwart which switches to active mode. He rotates his weapon, having a glyph appear above it which then conjures a flaming rock that launches at three Huntsmen. They jumped aside as the rock exploded. As the smoke cleared, Cinder emerged.

"Guys, we got company," Junichi said.

"Cinder!" Lionheat called.

Cinder stood silent for a moment before she summoned one of her Midnight swords in her right hand with a smirk. Lionheart quickly realizes what Cinder was doing and aims his weapon at her. He shot an icy rock at Cinder as she jumped away from the attack and charges at the lion faunus. She slashes at Lionheart, but blocks her attacks as he staggers. She thrusted her sword at the Haven headmaster, but Junichi rushed in and swung his sword down at Cinder's, making her miss her target. Qrow and Hayashi charged in and both tried to slash at Cinder as she blocked and dodged their attacks. Lionheart starts to run down the stairs as Hayashi takes notice.

"Qrow, you and Lieutenant Saito take care of Fall. I'll get Lionheart!" Hayashi said.

Qrow nods before charging towards Cinder while Hayashi jumps off the balcony. Just as Lionheart ran all the way down the stairs, Hayashi landed in front of him.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. I didn't say you could leave," he said.

"Get out of my way!" Lionheat yelled.

Lionheart shot a blast of wind at the Japanese Huntsman, but Hayashi jumped over Lionheart. He slashes at the headmaster with his jitte as he tries to block his attacks. Lionheart tries to knock Hayashi's weapon out of his hands but quickly spins around and whacks him in the face with the blunt end of his jitte. He then gave Lionheart a few jabs in the stomach, making him stagger in pain. Lionheart quickly recovers and readies himself again.

Cinder slashes at Qrow, but her attacks were blocked by the veteran huntsman. Junichi rushes at Cinder with his katana and swings it at her but jumps away from his attack. Junichi grabs his sheath and switches it to hand gun mode and shoots at Cinder as she drops her sword and blocks his shots with her good hand.

Qrow rushes at Cinder for another attack, but she quickly kicks her sword back into her hand and parries away the Huntsman's attack. Cinder swung a series of attacks at Qrow as he blocked and parried her strikes. Junichi charges at Cinder as he and Qrow trade blows and strikes with half Maiden. Cinder kicks Qrow away then knocks Junichi's weapons.

Cinder gave an overhead strike, but Junichi claps his hands onto her obsidian glass sword, halting her attack. Cinder tries to force half of Midnight down upon the Japanese Lieutenant as he struggles to hold her back. Junichi closes his eyes and his aura glows purple as he then grabs the blade of Cinder's sword and with sudden strength and lifts it over his head along with Cinder and hurls her to a wall, cracking it upon impact. Qrow looks on as he gets up.

"Semblance?" Qrow asked.

"Enhancements. I can double my power on physic, dust, and strength of my aura, but I can only use one enhancement at a time," Junichi explained.

"Huh, neat," Qrow said.

Cinder recovers and creates shards of glass and hurls them at Qrow and Junichi as they dodged and knocked away the shards. She conjures a fireball and throws it at her feet as it explodes into a puff of smoke. Qrow and Junichi rushed in and swung their swords into the smoke, hoping to hit Cinder. Their blades passed through the smoke as it then cleared revealing Cinder to be nowhere in sight.

Lionheart launches an electrical rock at Hayashi as he rolled away from the projectile. He swung his weapon upwards at Lionheart, snagging onto the chain to his pocket watch and throwing it into the air. He gave three slashes at the cowardly lion faunus and kicked him to the ground, shattering his aura. Hayashi catches the pocket watch in his hand as it comes back down.

"It's over, Leo. You lost," he said.

"Please, just let me go!" Lionheart said as he was getting up.

"Once we lock you up, she won't get you," Hayashi said.

"I-" Lionheart suddenly froze as a stabbing noise was heard from behind him.

The lion Faunus fell to the ground as the Seer was floating behind him with Salem's image on the Grimm's head looking down at him in disappointment. She looked up at Hayashi who stared in shock then narrowed his eyes as he transformed his jitte into a Japanese Type 4 rifle and aimed it at the Seer.

"A soldier of one of the five mysterious militias. How intriguing," Salem said.

Qrow and Junichi ran up to Hayashi's side with their weapons pointed.

"I do question how you are seemingly always one step ahead of my plans," Salem said.

"And why should we answer that question to you?" Junichi asked.

"Because eventually, your plans will dwindle and you will all come to accept the futility of the situation you will all soon find yourselves in," Salem said.

Salem looks down at Lionheart as he struggles to get up as blood was run out of the wound on his back.

"Please... I can... still be..." Lionheart tried to plead.

The Seer lunges one of its tentacles into the headmaster's back, stabbing him once more. Lionheart staggers for a short moment before he lays flat on the floor as he then stops breathing.

"Coward," Salem bluntly said.

Junichi shoots at the Seer's head, shattering it completely. The Seer withdraws its tentacles against itself and drops to the floor. Black smoke pours from what's left of the Grimm, swirling into the air and forming an apparition of Salem.

"As I was saying," Salem spoke. "Your plans and numbers will soon dwindle, your soldiers, your guardians, your Huntsmen and Huntresses will fail, and you will eventually accept your fates in the way I see fit."

"We shall see," Hayashi said.

"Fools," Salem said as her smokey apparition fades away.

The remains of the Seer fades away as Qrow, Hayashi, and Junichi watch out in shock.

"Do you think we should report this?" Junichi asked.

"Might as well. And we'll just tell the council that Cinder killed Leo and then got away," Qrow answered.

Hayashi looks down at Lionheart's pocket watch in his hand.


Kuo Kuana, Menagerie

Alleyway

Meanwhile back at Kuo Kuana, it is night and Blake approaches a darkened alleyway looking for Ilia.

"Ilia?" she called.

"I'm here," a voice called.

Blake draws Gambol Shroud. Walking out from the shadows was Ilia with her hands up and drops her black camouflage.

"Ilia, I know you're scared, but you don't have to be. My family and I, we can keep you safe. Even my friends are offering to help," Blake said.

"I'm sorry," Ilia said.

"Ilia, I know you're scared, but you don't have to be. My family and I, we can keep you safe," Blake said.

"No. I'm sorry," Ilia said in a hostile tone.

Ilia's right hand curls up into a fist. Footsteps can be heard running on the rooftop next to them. Blake looks up and sees a Faunus fly down and land on her back, forcing her to the ground. The man is a tall male bat Faunus with spiky brown hair and a goatee. He wears a black and dark gray uniform with gold buttons and zipper like the rest of his enforcers. He has brown bat wings on his back.

Blake drops Gambol Shroud which lands at Ilia's feet. Blake gasps, regaining her breath and struggles to get up as Yuma presses his foot against her back. He gets off her as two more Faunus join him. Blake gets back up on her feet. Suddenly, Blake gets wrapped in spider web silk. One of the Faunus grabs the silk strand holding Blake from her hand. The Faunus that shot the webbing is a young female spider Faunus with blue eyes and medium length blue hair covering her right eye. She has pale skin and gray veins on her chest and arms. These lead to her gray hands, where her spinnerets are located. She wears a black and dark gray uniform with gold buttons and zipper like the rest of her enforcers, but unlike her male teammates, her front zipper is left open, revealing her upper chest.

"I've got her, Yuma," the spider Faunus said to the bat Faunus known as Yuma.

"Well done, Sister Trifa," Yuma said to the Spider faunus known as Trifa. "And to you, Ilia."

Yuma tosses Ilia Lightning Lash.

"Now!" Blake shouted.

Suddenly, a chain wraps around Yuma and is forced to the ground. Allen jumps behind the Faunus next to Trifa and electrocutes him with Daburushokkā, making her fall to the ground unconscious. Trifa pulls out a knife and is about to attack Allen, but Sun jumps out of nowhere and blocks her attacks with the staff form of Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang before disarming her. Sun then whacks Trifa in the side of the head, knocking her to the ground unconscious.

Ilia was about to run but Rebecca jumps up behind her and kicks Lightning Lash out of her hand and tackles her to the ground. Rebecca pulls out a zip tie and ties Ilia's wrists behind her back with it before lifting her back up to the ground, still gripping her. Walking out of the shadows was Sienna as she held her chain whip, Cerberus Whip as the other end was still wrapped around Yuma.

"Sienna?" Ilia said, looking up in shock.

"Hello, Ilia," Sienna said.

"Corsac and Fennec said that you were kidnapped and killed by a group of humans," Ilia said.

"Adam tried to kill me so he could become the leader of the White Fang," Sienna explained. "And I would have been dead if those humans hadn't attacked and then taken me here."

"But I was told that the sacrifices we were making were for the greater good for the Faunus, no matter how much it hurts," Ilia said.

"Trust us, Ilia. Adam doesn't care about the Faunus, only if it benefits himself and his needs," Rebecca said.

"But... but..." Ilia struggled to speak but was then cut off by Blake.

"Let me ask you something, Ilia," Blake spoke. "Why do you feel like we have to hurt people to get our way? Do you really think that this would gain equality and respect from the humans?"

"Stop it," Ilia muttered.

"Is this what you really want?" Blake asked.

"Shut up!" Ilia shouted as her eyes started to well up.

"Is this really what your parents would've wanted?!" Blake shouted.

"I don't know what else to do!" Ilia shouted as her voice broke.

She drops to her knees and starts sobbing. Rebecca knelt down and soothingly rubs Ilia's back.

"I don't know what else to do..." Ilia sobbed.

"You're a good person, Ilia but you're making all the wrong decisions," Rebecca said.

"She's right. Even I have to admit, the White Fang under Adam's control wishes to start a war with the humans. A war we clearly can't win with the White Fang now more of a target than ever before," Sienna said.

"We can help you, Ilia. We just want you to join us," Blake said.

"She won't be joining you, traitor," Yuma spoke, getting everyone's attention. "The White Fang went out to eliminate your family."

"We're not worried about that," Allen said.

"Yeah, because we have a surprise of our own waiting for them," Sun said.


Belladonna Residence

Meanwhile at the Belladonna household, Corsac and Fennec are currently invading the home with the rest of the White Fang to kill Blake's parents. They've searched the entire house and nobody seemed to be home.

"I don't get it, brother. The chieftain should be here," Fennec said.

"Yes. Something doesn't feel right," Corsac said.

Suddenly, the lights throughout the house went out. The White Fang readied their weapons as Corsac and Fennec pulled out their daggers, Cyclone and Inferno. Three flash grenades landed right at the White Fang soldiers' feet and detonated, blinding everyone inside. Breaking through the windows and crashing through the doors were several armed British soldiers and Menagerie guards. They surround the White Fang soldiers, forcing them to the floor.

Corsac and Fennec, along with a few White Fang grunts recovered from the flash grenades and watched as most of their men were quickly getting pinned down.

"What shall we do now, brother?" Fennec asked.

"You could take the easy route and surrender," a voice spoke from behind them.

The fox Faunus brothers and the other White Fang soldiers turn around to see a man in a White tunic with a red cross on his chest. He wore two belts over his tunic and a chainmail shirt under his tunic along with a pair of gauntlets. He also wore a pair of black pants and brown boots. He has a white cape white the same red cross on it and wore a crusader helmet over his head.

"Make thy choice," the knight said.

Corsac shot a fireball at the knight, but the knight blocked the attack with his shield. He then draws his sword.

"Help our brothers!" Fennec ordered as the rest of the White Fang grunts began to charge the British soldiers and Menagerie guards.

"So you have chosen death," the knight said.

Fennec charges at the knight and tries to slash at him but the knight bashes the Faunus to the ground. The Knight tries to strike at Fennec, but Corsac blocks his attack with Inferno. The knight kicks Corsac away and tries to strike at him with his sword but Fennec shoots a blast of wind at the knight, sending him a few feet away.

The Albain brothers prepared to attack again, but jumping out of nowhere was Yang as she punched the ground, creating a shockwave and sending both the brothers flying several feet away.

"Good surprise, fair maiden," the knight said.

"Thanks, but seriously whoever talks like that anymore?" Yang asked.

"Come on. I'm trying to get into character here," the knight said. "And I was hoping to meet Jaune. We could have been knight buddies."

"I'm sure you will, Mister..." Yang trailed off.

"Wilfred Bennett," The knight known as Wilfred introduced with a bow.

Corsac and Fennec got up from the floor and prepared to launch a combination attack with their weapons. A stream of wind and fire whirls towards Wilfred and Yang. The Huntsman and Huntress jumped aside from the attack then charged at the brothers. Yang tries punching Fennec but the fox Faunus dodges her attacks. Fennec tried slashing at Yang, but she blocked and dodged his attacks. He shoots a blast of wind from Cyclone at Yang, pushing her back a few feet.

Corsac shoots a blast of fire at Wilfred, but the knight blocks the attack with his shield. Wilfred charges at the Faunus and bashes him with his shield. Wilfred swung his sword at Corsac, but managed to duck. Corsac thrusted his dagger at the British Huntsman, but quickly parried away the attack. Wilfred quickly bashes Corsac, pushing him into his brother.

Yang and Wilfred approached the Albain brothers as they readied themselves. Corsac shot a blast of fire in front of Yang and Wilfred. The fire spread across the floor, preventing Yang and Wilfred from getting to the two brothers.

"Brothers! Retreat!" Corsac yelled.

Corsac, Fennec, and the remaining White Fang soldiers ran to the front door. As they exit through the door, they see Blake, Allen, Sun, Rebecca, and Sienna approaching the house as they were escorting Ilia, Yuma, Trifa, and the other White Fang assassin who had their hands tied behind their backs. Corsac and Fennec were shocked to see that Sienna was here and working alongside Blake and her friends.

"Kill them!" Fennec yelled.

"What about Sienna?" one of the grunts asked.

"Her too!" Corsac shouted.

The White Fang soldiers started shooting at Blake, Sun, Allen, Rebecca, and Sienna as they ran for cover while Ilia and her fellow Faunus assassins doved to the ground. Ilia was shocked that Blake, her friends, and Sienna were telling the truth and Adam, and the Albains were lying. As both sides were shooting at each other, several more White Fang soldiers ran out of nowhere as half of them ran towards Ilia and her fellow assassins to cut them free while the other half ran towards the Albains.

"Brothers! Our facility is under attack!" a grunt shouted.

Corsac and Fennec were beyond shocked to hear the news that the British were attacking their facility. Yuma, Trifa, Ilia and the fourth assassin ran up to the brothers.

"What do we do now?!" Yuma asked.

"We must leave immediately!" Corsac said.

"Everyone retreat!" Fennec exclaimed.

As the White Fang starts to retreat, Lightning Lash wraps around the White Fang assassin following Yuma and Trifa, electrocuting him and knocking him unconscious. The Albains, Yuma, and Trifa turned around and saw Ilia with her weapon ready and had an angered expression as her eye watered.

"What are you doing?!" Fennec yelled.

"You lied to me. Adam wanted Sienna dead to further his own goals, didn't he? I didn't want this!" Ilia shouted.

"TRAITOR!" Corsac screamed.

He shoots a fireball at Ilia, but Rebecca jumps in front of her and blocks the attack by twirling Hailstorm. She then transformed her scythe to machine gun mode and shot at the White Fang assilents. They ran into the city as the British came out of the house and started to chase after them. Rebecca stopped firing as Ilia looked at her in surprise.

"You saved me?" Ilia asked.

"Yes. Your welcome," Rebecca replied.

Blake, Allen, and Sun walk up to the two girls as Yang and Wilfred walk out of the house. Wilfred took his helmet off, revealing a young man with green eyes and brown combed hair. A large crowd of Faunus starts gathering around the Belladonna's home, wondering what was going on. Steel walks out into the open, escorting Ghira and Kali with him.

"Mom! Dad!" Blake exclaimed as she ran up to her parents and hugged them.

Several British soldiers and Menagerie guards walk out with a few restrained White Fang soldiers. As the commotion continues, Blake shares brief looks with Yang, Allen, Rebecca, Sun, and Ilia. Blake takes a deep sigh as she then approaches the Faunus crowd and begins to address the crowd.

"Adam has sent his men to kill my family and my friends. The humans had nothing to do with this. This proves that we are just as capable of hate and violence as the humans, but I don't think any of us would jump at the chance to point that out. So why are we letting Adam do it for us?! By doing nothing and staying silent, we let others speak and act in our place. And if we're not proud of the choices they make, then we have no one to blame but ourselves. This is the message that Adam Taurus will bring to the world if no one stops him. But we can stop him! You have to understand that all of you are looking for simple answers to a very complicated problem. And I can't give that to you. I don't know how to make hate go away, I don't. But I know that this kind of violence is not the solution. I understand that you all just wish to be left alone, but Adam's ideals will one day have us all killed. This military that is here right now wants to help gain the respect and equality that the Faunus needs. And I'm willing to give them a chance."

The crowd cheered as they and the British soldiers walked up to each other and greeted each other. Ghira smiled knowing that there is hope for humans and Faunus to one day live as equals. Blake walks up to Ilia and places a hand on her shoulder and smiles.


City of Mistral

Mistral Home

Meanwhile back at Mistral, Ruby was learning about her silver eyes from Maria, Team JNPR were playing a board game, Jacob, Britney, and Robert were playing a card game, and Alex was listening on his radio. Qrow, Hayashi, and Junichi walk into the living room as everyone takes notice.

"Hey, Uncle Qrow. How'd it go?" Ruby asked.

"Leo's dead. We went to apprehend him until Cinder showed up and attacked us and Salem's Seer killed him right in front of us," Qrow answered.

"We got his pocket watch that can lead us to the vault," Hayashi said.

"So what's going to happen to Haven now?" Jaune asked.

"The counsel is already finding a replacement for the academy," Qrow answered.

"Although I did like it when they said and I quote; 'Someone who isn't a cowardly animal,' end quote," Junichi added.

"Well, Mistral is the most aggressively racist towards the Faunus out of the other four kingdoms," Britney said.

"What about Atlas?" Robert asked.

"I said aggressively," Britney replied.

"So what is the plan now?" Ren asked.

"For now our work in Mistral is done. Captain Gordon said to get Team ABRN and the rest of Team SSSN," Alex said. "Tomorrow, he'll arrive here and give them a couple of days to decide and pack. Plus, he said he has a big surprise for us."

"Surprise?" Nora asked with a happy look.

"I guess we'll have to wait to see it until tomorrow," Qrow said.

"Captain Gordon said that it made General Ironwood envious," Alex said. "When we leave, we'll then pick up others at Menagerie who just got done on their mission, then we'll check on the others in Vacuo, since they're still trying to deal with the Crown."

Unbeknownst to everyone, Cinder was outside the house listening to the entire conversation. She then ran away from the house and escaped with this information.


Author's Note: The RWBY and Earth series within and Wattpad is now in sink with each other.