A/N Chapters 7 8 and 9 are all being rewritten, if they aren't done on time I'll get them out as soon as I can manage.
Qrow stared up at the moon and let out a sigh, he was prepared for tonight, looking over to the rest of the team he counted them off, nine; Akame, Ruby, Yang, Weiss, Jaune, Nora, Ren, Oscar, and himself, Neo chose to keep her distance tonight
"So... what's the plan?" Ruby asked jogging up next to him
"Go in... spring the trap... … then wing it." Qrow answered earning a nod from Ruby
"Are we gonna die?" Ruby asked sarcastically
"Probably." Qrow answered causing Ruby to blink a few times "That was a joke." he added earning a chuckle from Ruby
"I know." she giggled "Are you excited too? I cant wait to unveiled Crescent Rose two point oh."
"Not really, Leo is an old friend... if he really did betr... who am I kidding, it's gonna suck either way." he said earning a nod from Ruby
"Fair... so... everyone ready!?" Ruby happily cheered turning towards everyone else, none of them responded causing her to sigh "Fine, but things are starting to get moving, we've been here for months!" she shouted in exasperation
(o)
Akame looked around the room as they entered it was a large main hall with multiple pillars, each one was thick enough to be used as cover, looking over to Jaune she noted that he was shaking with anticipation, placing her hand on his shoulder he seemed to calm down a little, but he was still shaking
"Welcome." Leonardo greeted looking over the nine, he seemed to lose a bit of confidence "There are... more of you than... last time." he said looking at each of them
"Well you know what they say; the more the merrier." Qrow said pulling his hands from his pockets "So... are we getting support from the council or not?"
"Why... did you... bring your weapons?" he asked trying to be careful about it, Qrow scoffed at that question
"What? Leo, we're huntsman. Are you doin' okay?" Qrow answered signaling for Ruby to begin, behind Leonardo spears of ice began to form
"Qrow." Yangs' voice came from his right, looking over to her, she looked him dead in the eyes then her eyes darted up to her right, following the gaze he caught sight of a raven... in an instant he drew harbinger and shot at the bird which quickly dived down dodging the shot before landing in front of them and in a flash of black feathers became a woman who stood and glared at Qrow
"You missed." Raven commented calmly
"You dodged." Qrow answered the instant she finished talking, like he knew that exchange was coming
"Why are you here Raven?" Akame asked drawing her blade and aiming it at her
"I am here to stop you." Raven answered looking at each of them "You all think that Esdeath cant be kill, that she needs to be dealt with in a different way. But you're wrong. She must die, and with you all out of the way it will make killing her so much easier." Raven explained, Yang and Qrow both didn't understand why she would say that, she was scared of Esdeath and they knew it. Ruby was laughing, everyone turned their attention to her
"Are- are you kidding me?! You... kill Esdeath?" Ruby laughed out, placing her hand over her heart she continued to laugh earning a growl from Raven "You couldn't even kill her the first time, what makes you think you could manage her whole army, her beasts, or her airships? Even with Salems' help you would all end up a quivering mess trying to lick her boots clean." Ruby said after she finished laughing
"Hate to agree with Ruby right now but she is right." Qrow said watching as Ruby smiled at him, but unlike her normal childish innocent smile, it was one full of anger and sadism
"Oh please, she is more Esdeath than Summer." Raven said causing Rubys' smile to fade into a scowl
"I hope you have plenty of boxes, because I'm going to pack you into plenty of them." Ruby growled as the blades of ice danced around from the other side of Leonardo and aimed at Raven "Or maybe we'll have to transport a statue to Atlas." Ruby added showing her teeth
"I... think I'm more scared of Ruby than I am of her." Oscars voice came from behind Akame
"You shouldn't fear your allies even if they are temporary." Akame said without her eyes moving from Raven, as she drew her blade
"Look at her, she has been tainted by the blood of that monster." Raven said gesturing at the tower of spears aimed at her
"Perhaps." Ruby said with a shrug then gestured towards Raven sending all the blades at her sending smoke everywhere "But you're dead so... HA!" Ruby said, the sounds of footsteps caught her attention as multiple people spread out around Leonardo. Mercury, Emerald, and Cinder on one side on the other Raven and a young woman with brown hair and blue eyes, Raven smiled at the as a pair of white wings spread from her shoulders
"There are many useful items that can be found in the empire." Raven said gesturing to the wings on her shoulders as they flapped a few times
"What about Mine and Najenda?" Akame asked tightening her grip on Murasame, she hoped that Raven didn't get to them too
"They are fine... for now, but the politics in that place are crumbling." Raven commented "Almost as bad as before, maybe even worse. No Night Raid this time though." Raven snarked as she leapt into the air and glided over to the door and blocked it
"Careful." Akame said turning towards her "She must have killed Run and took his Teigu, the fact that you were able to use it is surprising given how different you are to him."
"I tried a ring before this, but it made me cough up a lot of blood." Raven said "There were quite a few of these useful objects in the Vault under the palace I grabbed a few but my people weren't compatible with them so I left them at camp." Raven explained as the door behind her opened and a large man entered and looked over the huntsman
"The White Fang are finishing up their preparations." he said "All we have to do is get rid of them." he added, looking at Qrow with a scowl
"Oh good... at least we have numbers on them." Qrow said "And experience... and number of Teigu users." he continued to list causing Cinder to roll her eyes
"You're a fool to believe that mere numbers could defeat two maidens." Cinder said with a laugh, Ruby looked up at her and let out a condescending laugh
"Hear that guys? We have to deal with one maiden... and a Cinder." Ruby laughed sending a spear of ice at Cinder who quickly melted it causing Ruby to whistle in amazement "Nicely done. Nicely done." Ruby complimented as she summoned dozens more "Now do it again." she ordered crossing her arms
(o)
Raven watched as Qrow rushed her, taking a step back she leapt into the air avoiding his attack with the flap of her wings she began to hover
"You know I wasn't gonna hurt you... just kill ya." Qrow growled his anger carrying more rage than anything Akame ever heard from him, but it was her time to act, kicking off the ceiling she grabbed onto Raven who began to struggle as the two flew around the room, slamming into a few pillars they fell to the ground, quickly rushing towards her Akame tried to grab her again to prevent her from flying away but was hit with an orange laser sending her into the pillar on the other side of Raven, glaring at the woman who she didn't recognize during the line up as she approached them
Qrow slammed his shoulder into the woman sending her into the wall as Raven stood and looked at the woman
"Vernal, get back. I can handle these two." Raven ordered the newly named Vernal nodded and moved off to help the others "Now then, lets get down to business." Raven said drawing her blade as Qrow and Akame moved in cocking back their weapons to strike
(o)
Ruby ducked under a burning slash and casually stepped to the side, Cinder was attacking her with great fury, Ruby let out a sigh as she dodged the same attack again, in her rage Cinder has begun to throw the same attack again and again, stepping back Cinder let out a wave of fire that engulfed Ruby, concentrating on the creation of a thin layer of ice over her whole body Ruby felt herself grow hotter by the second but her aura didn't decreases, most likely due to the ice, it kept her from taking any actual damage. After a few moments the flames died and Cinders' eyes widened as she saw Ruby smiling at her
"Whats wrong?" Ruby asked as she began towards Cinder who quickly began to backing away "It seems to me that you have lost the will to fight." Ruby added quickly closing in on the woman who dropped to the ground and began to crawl away, her fear quickly became anger when she extended her left hand to Ruby launching a black appendage at Ruby who caught it
"OoOoOoOoh!" Ruby happily voiced looking over the limb "Looks like someone wanted to get stronger through similar means as me." Ruby said causing Cinder to pale by her casual tone
"H... How are you... so... powerful." Cinder questioned all hope fading from her voice, Ruby let out a cold laugh
"Raven was right." Ruby answered grabbing Cinder by the scruff of her neck and pulled her up from the ground "I sold my soul to Esdeath." Ruby said with a sadistic smile her eyes seemed to blacken by her words "I sold my humanity for revenge against you." Ruby whispered "You might have done some research on me. But you seem to have forgotten to do all of your research, and now you will spend the rest of your life beneath me, I'm sure Esdeath would be able to accommodate a home for my new pet." Ruby reasoned causing Cinders' eye to start twitching
"I'm... not... your... TOY!" Cinder growled as she began to breath heavier and blow fire from her nose and mouth
"I cant wait to crush that will of yours." Ruby happily said as the two were engulfed in fire which was quickly encased in ice preventing it from effecting anyone else
(o)
Jaune rushed forward raising his shield, slamming into Hazel he was pushed back
"Plant your feet before slamming into your target." Hazel said pushing him away, taking a step back he avoided the hammer of the girl
"Don't shout when you attack." he advised shoving her away too, turning around he caught both of Rens' arms spun around then tossed him over by his teammates "Don't hesitate when you go for an attack." he said as Ren rolled to a standing position
"He's just toying with us!" Jaune commented panting a little heavily
"No, I am showing you your flaws. Fix them. You may have chosen a foolish path but you should still learn how to survive." he corrected causing, Jaune to growl and rush in to attack again followed by Nora and Ren, this time they used the advice that he gave them
(o)
after the ice shattered Ruby leapt back and cracked her neck as she summoned a blade and and rested it on her shoulder
"Come now Cinder, I know there are more abilities than just fire in your arsenal." Ruby said twirling her blade, Cinder slowly stood and summoned a pair of blades
"I will gut you." Cinder growled as she rushed Ruby
"I'm sure you will-" Ruby was cut off by Cinders' attacks, they were extremely fast, faster than before, leaping back Ruby barely avoided a slash at her neck, quickly leaping into the air and twirled avoiding a second slash, placing her foot on Cinders' chest and kicked off
"Alright, lets try that again." Ruby growled as she landed, a few seconds later she and Cinder locked blades, using her height to her advantage she pressured Ruby to her knee, placing her hand on Cinders stomach she launched her away, standing up Ruby threw a few spears of ice at Cinder who melted them and threw a fireball at Ruby who split it with a spear of ice which was parried by Cinder who ran towards Ruby attempting to stab Ruby, who sidestepped the attack and swung at her neck but Cinder blocked it with her second blade then hooked both her blades around Rubys' arm and yanked away, causing her Aura to shutter
"I guess you have more skill with using your abilities offensively than defensively." Ruby said summoning a large ball of ice in her hand "But you should know that I have the ultimate offensive ability, maybe if you push me hard enough I'll use it." Ruby said confidently, she knew that she could stop time and end this fight when she needed to, but right now she was having some fun.
(o)
Blocking the strike with her metallic arm she then slammed her head into Mercurys' nose causing him to stumble away with a groan
"Nice try, but Raven is a far better sparing partner than you." Yang said walking towards him
"What the hell?!" Mercury said, Yang had brushed off his attacks like they were nothing, taking a step forward she cocked her arm back then slammed it into his jaw sending him sprawled
"See, that is how you throw a punch." Yang said as she twisted her wrist letting the bones pop, Mercury quickly stood and dropped back into a fighting stance
"Don't think one good hit will end this fight." he growled as he rushed her
(o)
Grabbing onto one of Ravens' wings Akame dragged her down far enough for Qrow to land a strike on her snapping the blade she was welding sending her and Akame apart, both quickly recovered, Raven again leapt into the air avoiding another attack from Qrow while Akame reached behind her back, drawing a gun she fired it at the ground and was sent flying into Raven like a bullet the two flipped through the air before landing on the upstairs platform, aiming the gun at Ravens' head Akame pulled the trigger but the weapon was knocked off target by Ravens' hand causing it to blow a massive hole in the ground next to them, grabbing Akame Raven rolled over and fell through the hole as they were about to hit the ground Akame fired again this time she fired the bullet in a way that caused them to spin around causing the two to separate, just as Raven hit the ground she was forced to dodge a stab from Qrow, after rolling out of the way she kicked his knee in sending him down but he took cover behind his blade avoiding any follow up she had planned long enough for Akame to recover
(o)
Parrying the strike from Cinders' first blade Ruby blocked the second blade and stepped into Cinders guard, attempting to headbutt the woman she found that to be a bit of a bad choice as she exhaled flames on her, using Demon's extract to block the flames she let out a growl, last time she didn't even fight Cinder, all she did was something with her eyes and it stopped Cinder from using her magic, and it seemed to do something to her insides that destroyed her Aura, but now that she was actually fighting her she found that Cinder was a very capable swordsman
"That was a close one!" Ruby said jovially as she tried to put pressure on Cinder but due to their statures Cinder had the clear advantage here, tilting her blade downward she let Cinders' slide right off and hit the ground snapping it, with a smirk Cinder formed a shield as the blade exploded sending shrapnel in all directions, Ruby had managed to block most of them but quite a few got through her guard
leaping back Ruby let out a growl
"Fine, I guess the kiddie gloves are coming off." she said in a cold tone "Try this one on for size." Ruby added then took a deep breath "Mahapadma!" Ruby called out causing the world to freeze around her, unlike the first time she had done so without Esdeath as a crutch her body felt pleasant, looking Cinder up and down she let out a laugh
"No matter how strong you get frozen time will always win out." Ruby gloated "So fighting me will always be pointless, and any form of resistance is useless! Useless! Useless! Useless!" Ruby continued to gloat summoning a large number of spears of ice with the snap of her fingers but something happened that caught her attention, to her right there was movement, she watched Raven drop to the ground and begin to pant heavily, on either side of her were Qrow and Akame, Qrow was bring Harbinger downward and Akame was swinging Murasame upward
"How... are you moving?" Ruby slowly asked the blades now aiming at Raven who looked up at her
"I... don't know..." she answered earning a nod from Ruby who sent a few blades at her, which were quickly slashed to pieces as both of them watched the world slowly start to move again until- Cursing herself Ruby leapt back avoiding a burning slash from Cinder she attempted to stab at her throat ducked under the strike and slashed at her gut, diving over the slash Cinder send a burning arc of fire at Rubys' legs, diving over the attack Cinder fired a wave of fire at Ruby sending her flying through a pillar and caused the platform above collapse on her
(o)
Qrow kicked Raven into the wall barely blocking Akames' strike she let out a growl
"NOW!" Raven shouted as Qrow ran in and slashed at her, just as Qrow prepared to strike something slammed into Akame knocking her out of the way and freeing Raven to dodge, looking over to Akame Qrow paled as he watched as Kurome, the enemy that he thought was gone from their lives, and the ending that he had hoped that Akame could have avoided, but here she was...
he watched as Akame recognized the girl in front of her and her eyes hardened as she went on the offensive, quickly rushing over to then he kicked Akame away from Kurome and locked blades with her before slamming his foot into her gut sending her flying but left himself open for Ravens' strike, rolling up next to Akame, he looked over to her
"Get in the way again and I will treat you like an enemy." Akame growled at him, she then dashed in and locked blades with Kurome, Quickly standing Qrow tried to interrupt again but Raven interrupted him by tackling him
"Lets let the kids play together... we have... unsettled matters to attend to." Raven said a smirk growing on her face
"You know what'll happen!" Qrow reasoned pressing down on her
"I do." Raven confirmed as she slammed her foot into his knee knocking him off balance again, landing on his knees he spun away from her and slashed at her waist forcing her to retreat
(o)
Oscar ducked under a blast from Leonardo, using his cane to knock his weapon upward leaving him open Oscar began to assault him brutally, he didn't even feel betrayed... he just felt disappointment, Ozpin told him that their emotions would mix early on, but this seemed wrong, he thought he should be furious, but he wasn't just... annoyed
"Oz... pin?" Leonardo barely got out, it must have been that training matches they had a few decades back "How... how did you manage this? How did you manage to find Qrow so quickly after reincarnation?!" Oscar didn't respond he just redirected himself to attack again and began to assault his opponents guard
"If I bring you to Salem she have to appreciate me! She have to let me go from this life!" he spoke in delusion parrying Oscars final strike and summoned a blade of stone on Stalwart stabbing it at Oscar knocking the boy down, quickly standing he dropped back down and rolled out of the way of Leonardos' next attack which shattered the blade on the ground, rolling back Oscar swung his cane into the side of Leonardo sending him rolling down the stairs, quickly standing he chased him down the stairs, leaping into the air he brought his cane down at Leonardo but before his strike landed a ball of fire sent him flying into the wall
"Open the vault. NOW!" Cinder roared as she grabbed Leonardo and threw him at the statue, quickly standing he pulled a watch from his pocket and stuck it into the statues' lamp causing its hands to twist to pointing at twelve it then began to tick down causing the statue to lower with each tick
"Raven! Lets go." Cinder shouted looking over to the collapsed pillar and platform which had spikes of ice sticking out of it, Raven landed next to her as Vernal joined them on the platform as it began to lower itself faster
(o)
"This is a mess." Hazel grumbled as he shoved Jaune away but suffered a strike from Nora, stumbling forward Ren slid between his legs then leapt onto his back and began to slash him, reaching behind him he grabbed Rens' leg and threw him into Jaune
"You've all gotten better." he added as he caught Noras' hammer then slammed his fist into her gut sending her flying through the front doors causing them to shatter into splinters
"NORA!" Ren shouted in fear, he then rushed to her aid leaving Jaune alone
"Just because I'm alone doesn't mean I am afraid." he commented as he rushed Hazel who cocked his arm back, bringing his blade towards Hazels' throat who caught the blade and slammed this fist into Jaunes' shield sending him flying, rolling to a stop Jaune felt his arm vibrate due to the strike, standing he watched as Hazel tossed Jaunes' blade over his shoulder and began to walk towards him cracking his knuckle
(o)
Reaching Nora, Ren helped her sit up while she groaned
"Nora, are you okay?" Ren asked looking her over, slowly nodding she tried to stand
"Ow... he hits hard... really hard." she groaned out as she placed her hands on either side of her head
"Take it easy. Don't stress yourself." Ren advised causing Nora to look around
"Where is Jaune?" Nora asked causing Ren to gesture over his shoulder "You left him alone!?" she questioned as she slowly stood and grabbed Magnhild "Lets get back in there!" she said shaking off the concussion and running back towards the building
(o)
Ruby forced the rubble off of her and looked around Jaune was struggling to defend against Hazel. Qrow, Akame, and Raven were gone, so was Cinder and Vernal, Yang was casually defending herself against Mercurys' assault, Weiss was doing the same with Emerald, looking over to Oscar she watched as he struggled to avoid a wave of ice from Leonardos' gauntlet
"Excuse me!" Ruby called out "I'm looking for Cinder, do any of you know where she went?" Ruby asked, Yang was the first to respond
"She, Raven, and that one chick went into the vault." Yang called out catching Mercurys' leg in her mechanical arm, she then spun and threw him into the wall
"OoOoOoOoh, two maidens at once! That seems like fun. And a fun way to make Esdeath jealous." Ruby commented as she ran towards the hole in the ground, dodging Hazel as he grabbed at her, standing from her roll she suffered a blast of fire that knocked her into the hole, as she fell she encased herself in ice which shattered on impact, standing she looked around a bit, it was a platform suspended over pure darkness it had glowing circles leading to a large golden door, looking into the air she watched as to bursts of blue and red light flew around, each time the balls of light touched it caused an explosion
with a smile she found a place to hide for now so she could fight who ever won, and take the relic should they open the vault
A/N I will admit, I had this chapter entirely written... then I rewrote it, I am far happier than before with this chapter, leading up to it I feel like the chapters were uninspired and bland, I doubt there are many who would disagree, so this rewrite has made me far happier.