A Cosmic Journey

by Sleepless Elite

One minute asleep in an apartment, the next clearly not. This is no quest with a goal, no adventure voluntarily undertaken. This is a journey without acquiescence, a constant fight for survival, with the creatures of Grimm being just one problem. This is a story, now woven into that of many others, that better not end anytime soon. (SI/OC) (OC/?)

34. Chapter 31: The Mother of Invention

A Cosmic Journey

A/N: And here we are, at the end of Volume 1. This week also marks the two-year anniversary since Infinity War and Endgame hit the screens, so action all around. As mentioned previously, there will be no update next week on May 4th, since this guy has some incredibly soul-crushing final exams to survive. Hopefully this chapter is enough to make up for that. Also, I just came across a RWBY fanfic by the name of SardoniceEffigy, who also signs off as SE. What're the chances of that?

Chapter 31: The Mother of Invention

Chapter Date: 04/30/2020

'Mercury and Emerald, Emerald and Mercury. Trust luck, or Luna, to give me some of the best and some of the worst opponents for this situation.' I hefted Mirror's Edge in my hands, testing out my fatigue level while internally measuring my Aura capacity. All the while, I kept my gaze focused on Mercury, knowing that if Emerald were to try something, she wouldn't be able to get both Vernal and I. 'Just under half. If this were Mercury and Neo again, it probably wouldn't be enough even with Vernal. But if it's Mercury and Emerald though…'

"Seems like you and Mister Hair-Gel have a history. What, did you steal his girl or something?" Vernal cajoled beside me, jolting me out of my thoughts.

"More like I wrecked his shotgun boots, before I realized that he's got prosthetics on," I supplied, noting a smirk from Vernal and a snarl from Mercury.

"Uggh, why is it that the people capable of roasting Mercury are both goody two-shoes?" Emerald complained, though the smile on her face didn't quite reach her eyes.

"You just happened to draw the two best people for mud-slinging," Vernal replied, before gripping her chakrams. "And don't be mistaken. I'm doing a good thing, but nothing good about me here. Same goes for him."

"Thank you for that, Vernal," I sighed, chancing a look behind me. "I'm assuming you came here with some people? Even you wouldn't be ballsy enough to find and raid a warehouse by yourself."

"Look at you, using that peanut you call a brain," Vernal shot back. "Yes, I came here with people, some not-as-young brats who call themselves latte or something."

"You mean team CFVY?"

"Beacon and their damn acronyms… anyways, they got held up by some dark-haired chick in a red dress, and sent me and Zwei on ahead."

'CFVY is facing off against Cinder? That's not good.' I looked down at Zwei growling nearby, then across at Cinder's protégés, both content to wait, which admittedly benefited them more than us. Speed was definitely of the essence here, but not to the detriment of caution. "Alright, we'll have to fight them if we wanna get out without them on our heels. Watch each other's backs, and Zwei? Keep an eye on the girl, her weapons seem to be the most dangerous at the moment."

"Seems like this kid has an eye for tactics, he already knows I'm the more dangerous one between us two." Emerald smiled, and I didn't see fit to correct her with the real reason. Meanwhile, Mercury gnashed his teeth.

"For someone who just got his ass kicked by me, you're awfully mouthy…" Mercury stomped off the ground, breaking the concrete under his feet as he charged towards us. "Let's see how mouthy you are without teeth!"

… … …

"Yatsu, down the front! Fox, from the side! Velvet, the back! And watch out for that arm!"

Coco swung Gianduja as said arm whipped around towards her, and the mechashift briefcase just barely managed to deflect the whip-like appendage, which retracted back to its owner.

"So, Beacon sends its fledglings to combat me? Disappointing…but not unexpected." The woman in the red dress glared into Coco and her teammates as she slowly turned to gaze around the room, with one amber eye almost glowing and a red eye nearly burning with hate. "I suppose Ozpin merely considers sacrificing you four as less of a cost than giving up his precious piece."

"Only if we give up the ghost, lady!" At Coco's words, her team swept into action. Yatsuhashi rushed in with Fulcrum chambered for a strike, but before he could get into swinging range he was forced to defend as the woman's inhuman arm rocketed at him, before running into a solid wall of muscle and steel.

'Hold her there, Yatsu. I'm coming in to-woah!' Fox, weaving left and right towards their opponent's left side, had to duck as the black limb swung around in a semicircle, taking Yatsuhashi with it as its unnatural strength dragged their teammate along for the ride. Taking advantage of the opening, Fox sliced out at the woman's side with Sharp Retribution.

CLANG

'...You've got to be kidding me…' Sharp Retribution tremored as Fox applied more of his body weight into the swing, but met the deadlock of a singular blackened sword held in the woman's right hand. Sensing a void, the blind fighter backed up as the woman's left arm retracted to its normal length and grabbed her sword, slashing up as the woman turned to level her right hand at Velvet as the ground beneath her glowed red. 'Velvet, make a shield!'

Molten slag rose up and hardened into dozens of pointed clumps, shooting towards Velvet's direction as the Faunus activated Anisedora. A glowing copy of Fulcrum appeared in front of her to ward off the projectiles as the woman turned back towards the front, where Coco was warming up Gianduja.

"HIT THE DECK!" Hype and Gianduja combined fired a storm of Dust at their opponent, who slammed her palm into the ground and superheated the area in front of her. With a burst of what looked like magma, the rain of Dust slowed and stopped as Coco paused, watching in disbelief as the curtain of cherry-red fell to reveal their dichromatic, seemingly none the worse for wear. "Report!"

"I am unharmed…mostly." Yatsuhashi pushed off chunks of plaster from his impact with the wall.

'Still up, for now,' Fox replied, keeping Sharp Retribution at the ready.

"I'm alright," Velvet confirmed, hefting Fulcrum as she took a stance similar to Yatsuhashi. "And I'm annoyed."

"That makes probably all four of us, Velvs." Coco gauged the spacious warehouse room they were in, along with their mysterious opponent's condition. "Damn, this is gonna take a while…Vernal better be moving quick…"

… … …

Weapon swings weaker than Weiss. Movement slower than Cardin.

BAM

More fragile than…huh, Weiss again.

Jaune clocked the shield-bashed White Fang grunt opposite him with the flat side of Crocea Mors, sending the Faunus down with a welt on the side of his face. Turning, he surveyed the battlefield with a confused expression. "This seems far too easy…"

Beside him, Nora was slugging White Fang soldiers all around her with precise, compact swings of Magnhild. The decrease in power did nothing to save the soldiers, some of whom didn't even their Aura unlocked. Thankfully, Jaune had caught onto that fact after bashing a soldier who'd come away with a broken nose…and likely a concussion. So far Nora had managed to rein herself in, preventing the potential for broken legs from becoming atomized legs. With the tightness to his teammate's eyes, along with the whites of her knuckles showing, keeping her anger in check was a close thing. Not that he could blame her in the slightest, though.

Looking across to the other end of the docks, Jaune caught sight of Pyrrha and Ren quickly and methodically cutting their way through the rank and file soldiers. With Pyrrha occupying the bulk of the attention from the front, Ren was free to come around and deliver glancing but effective slashes with Stormflower, confirming who did and didn't have Aura before the duo closed in on them.

"Too bad we don't exactly have the luxury of testing the waters like that," Jaune murmured, glancing between Crocea Mors in his hands and Magnhild in Nora's. Shaking his head, he refocused on the objective at hand, and examined the White Fang's tools. "These are way better than the average weapons used by the police. Where are they getting the funding for all this?"

Before he could muse any further, the sound of low whirring caught his ears as he peered up and caught sight of the Bullheads that had dropped the White Fang soldiers returning. Or more importantly, sight of the gun barrels emerging on the underside of the aircraft.

"JNPR, TAKE COVER!" Both pairs took shelter behind some shipping containers, and Jaune knew they only had seconds before the Bullheads came upon their position. "Pyrrha, Ren! Teakettle! Nora, we're doing Smite!"

Magnhild came up and Nora grinned. "Goodie…" Focusing his Aura, Jaune channeled Aura to Nora through Aura Amp as Nora shattered a Lightning Dust crystal in her hand, arcs of electricity coursing through her. "READY!"

"Alright…" The sound of the engines almost on them, Jaune lowered himself, his shield held above his head. With a hop, Nora raised Magnhild and jumped, landing on Crocea Mors and jumping high into the air as Jaune launched her upward. "GO!"

Almost flying through the air, he watched as Nora arced directly towards the Bullhead nearest to them, and with a single swing pulverized one the wings at its thinnest point, before falling onto one of the warehouse roofs. Above them both, the Bullhead emitted a growing keening sound, before its broken wing exploded and destabilized the aircraft, forcing it towards the water ahead. Turning to the side, Jaune caught sight of his other two friends, both covered in the gray layer of Tranquility, with Pyrrha even darker as her arms glowed with the power of Polarity. The sputtering of the Bullhead nearest those two showed the crumpled wing engine openings, sending the second Bullhead down as well. "Alright, three Bullheads left. We can take of this."

"Think again." Jaune whirled around and brought his shield up in time to receive some serrated weapon, whirring as the teeth spun around and grating against Crocea Mors. Its wielder was a powerfully built White Fang the size of Yatsuhashi, his face covered in a unique mask. "You all will have to deal with me."

"No…I don't think we will. Nora! Help Pyrrha and Ren with the Bullheads!" Above him, Jaune nodded as he saw the approaching Nora acknowledge his orders and head off towards the others. Turning back to the White Fang member, he pushed back with his shield, evening the deadlock. "Let's have ourselves a more singular bout."

… … …

"RRRAAGH! STAND STILL!"

Ruby watched as Yang swung her fist at the shorter girl yet again, only for her opponent to acrobatically parry the blow with her parasol and high kick her sister in the face and send her sprawling. Before their opponent could capitalize though, she was beset on both sides by Weiss and Blake. Using her parasol to deflect Gambol Shroud, the girl weaved and bobbed around Myrtenaster before twisting and upending Weiss with another kick. Before she could do the same to Blake though, Ruby fired a shot from Crescent Rose directly at her back, forcing the enforcer to deploy her parasol defensively over her back. The rest of her team took that opportunity to regroup.

"This girl…is by far…the most annoying person I've ever faced," Yang panted, fatigue catching on for her quicker than the rest of them due to her overcommitting for her attacks.

"If she wasn't our opponent, and a downright sadist judging by her expression, I might actually compliment her on her agility and flexibility," Weiss huffed, and Ruby had to agree. A look at Blake revealed that the Faunus was extremely tense and wary around the trichromatic fighter, likely due to the danger she posed.

Said fighter took a moment to smirk at Blake, before turning to Yang and letting her expression drop to one of sheer disappointment, accompanied by sighs and head shakes.

Weiss appeared incredulous. "Yang, if I'm not mistaken, that girl appears-"

"Yeah, I got it," Yang growled, taking a stance. "Ruby, call 'em out so I can slam her smug face into the ground."

Yang and her temper…"Ladybug!" From opposite ends, Ruby and Blake sped towards girl, swinging out with both their blades, only for the girl to leap high into the air. Undeterred, the pair pushed off again, slicing out toward the girl as she came down, only for the parasol to open and slow her descent. With that opening, their opponent's heels kicked Ruby in the back and sent her forward, before backflipping over and parrying Gambol Shroud to land behind her team once more. As Ruby hit the ground, she called out, "Freezerburn!"

Yang leapt into the air as Weiss coated the ground in a layer of ice. Slamming the ice with Ember Celica, the gauntlet discharged and the area became filled with fog. Ruby caught sight of a petite figure in the fog and readied her rifle. "At two-o-clock!"

As Weiss and Yang rushed forward, Yang went high as Weiss went low, both weapons coming in from opposite sides towards the unprepared girl. With a sound like shattering glass, Myrtenaster and Ember Celica impacted against nothing, and both girls stumbled from nearly slamming into one another.

"Ruby, behind you!" Heeding Blake's warning, Ruby turned just in time to intercept the parasol with Crescent Rose. However, with a hook of the parasol handle, Crescent Rose was wrenched upwards as the girl did a full turn to launch a side kick into Ruby's torso, sending her skidding back before Crescent Rose dug into the ground.

"Thanks for the save Blake." Ruby kept her focus on the girl as Blake mumbled some reply. "Ok, she has some sort of illusion semblance, and she's so quick it's almost like she knows our moves."

"How on Remnant are we supposed to beat her then?"

Ruby readied Crescent Rose. "We'll just have to show her moves she hasn't seen before."

… … …

CLANG CLANG-CLANG

BANG

Taiyang and Adam Taurus stood apart from one another, their section of the open space significantly more unmarred by their battle compared to the fights between the students. However, a look around confirmed to Tai that all the students were still up and accounted for.

"Hmph, aren't you so proud of your daughters, Taiyang Xiao Long?" Adam chuckled, smirking at the father. "What a shame it would be if they came to harm because of Neo, or if any of the humans came to harm for that matter."

Taiyang smiled back. "Trying to appeal to my protectiveness as a parent? Nice try. I know you're trying to get past me to get to Blake Belladona. I remember the two of you appearing at that battle together…and now, one of you is fighting alongside the likes of Roman Torchwick, and the other has huntsmen supporting her."

Adam's smirk dropped away, and he levelled Wilt. "Don't spout off inane chatter on subjects you know nothing about. That is a conversation for Blake and I alone. Now move."

Now Tai was the one chuckling. "I'm afraid I can't do that. I'm here to hold people like you in check. Though for the record, it appears you have a bit of a history of those acquainted with you defecting, Blake and Ilia among them for starters."

"YOU…WILL FALL!" Adam charged forward, slicing Wilt towards Taiyang and raising Blush to fire a shot. As the red blade cleaved down, Taiyang batted Wilt aside with his gauntlet, before pushing his other arm upwards and forcing Blush to fire off-course. Before Adam could react, Taiyang grasped Wilt's handle and kicked Adam in his side, sending him flying ten yards before he landed on his feet, and without his blade.

Taiyang examined the blade in his hands. "I got the rundown on your fighting style from my wife, along with your weaknesses. Turns out, your styles are both similar, and your weapons of choice as well. Though…her blades were brittle, and easily replaced. Yours appears to be rigid and unbreakable. I wonder if that's indicative…" He seemed to pull out of his musings, and stabbed the blade into the ground behind him. "Well, I suppose things can always change. Now, I wonder how you'll fare without your blade."

Taiyang dashed forward this time, and as Adam came forward he fired off a series of jabs. To his surprise, however, Adam nimbly ducked between the strikes before letting loose a straight of his own. Taiyang ducked under the fist, but narrowly scraped past the knee that followed after, twirling out of the way.

"An encounter with that accursed entity known as the Specter, revealed to me some of the flaws in my combat form." Adam took a stance, now a few steps closer to his weapon. "In preparation to cut him down, I have since improved my abilities."

"So that's what your relationship with him with them is…guess I'll have to ask you more about that later…" Taiyang readied himself in response.

… … …

"Hey, come on girls, can't we all just get along?"

"NOT A CHANCE!" Miltia and Melanie rushed in towards Torchwick, who was doing a masterful job of fending them both off with Melodic Cudgel. "You kidnapped our friend and team leader!"

"To be fair, he kind of made himself a prime target thanks to botching one of my heists. Professional courtesy, you know." With a twirl, Melodic Cudgel slammed into Miltia's guarded claws, sending her skidding back as Melanie jumped back to avoid a fist to the face. "More importantly, he, and you two, are training to be huntsmen. I mean, come on, doesn't that just hurt your very soul? 'Cause it sure as hell hurts mine, and just think of how upset Neo is."

The twins balked slightly, but Ilia had no such reservations, raising Lightning Lash at the thief. "Enough games Torchwick! You know where my partner is, so spit it out and we might leave you alone."

"Y'see, that's a prime example of how to negotiate badly. Why would I give up your friend's location on the off-chance you'll let me off the hook? Plus, you abandon the fight now and who's to say I won't turn around and help do one of you other brats in? Maybe Little Red, considering how she played a part that night as well." KMMI tensed, but Torchwick lowered Melodic Cudgel's barrel away from RWBY's fight and chuckled. "For the love of…you're all so wound up. Like I'd risk grazing Neo with one of my shots. You know how much ice cream I'd have to buy her? Plus, my heart's not really in the fight anyways."

"Then just tell us-"

"But," Torchwick continued, "orders are orders. And let me tell you, they are coming from one hell of a scary lady. So maybe I'm keeping you here to save my own hide. Maybe it's to save yours. Maybe it's 'cause I'm wating for something unexpected to happen…who knows?"

"Oh my god, you talk too much." Melanie readied her heels, looking over at her twin and Ilia's flat stares. "What? He does."

"That wasn't the point we were making." Miltia sighed, then raised her arms again and glared at Torchwick. "You have to know, Junior won't take too kindly to this."

"Yeah, there goes another drinking buddy. And the place where I drink too, now that I think about it." Torchwick twirled Melodic Cudgel around as he looked saddened for a moment. "The price of doing business, I suppose."

Ilia lunged forward, activating Lightning Lash as the whip and cane clashed. Torchwick flinched as electricity sparked down his weapon, and the twins took that moment to close the distance. "We'll decide for ourselves if we're heading into danger."

… … …

"Vernal, to the left!"

"Wha-? But she's-"

"JUST DO IT!"

CLANG

Vernal's Chakrams collided with Thief's Respite in the air, the chakram spinning back around to Vernal as the kusarigama retracted back to Emerald. Vernal turned towards me, a question on her lips, before raising her weapons and firing a hail of bullets. "LOOK OUT!"

I twisted around as Mercury weaved through the projectiles, and I cleaved Mirror's Edge at the martial artist as he flipped and axe kicked towards my head. Both our weapons slammed into one another, and I gritted my teeth and held my sword up despite the advantage in gravity, before slashing outwards and throwing Mercury off my blade.

It turned out that, while beneficial, fighting two-on-two wasn't as helpful as I anticipated. While Vernal and I had fought each other recently, and knew each other's moves, Mercury and Emerald had been traveling and serving Cinder together for gods knows how long. Not only that, they actually worked well together when they weren't sniping at one another, and compensated for each other's weaknesses. While Vernal and I…

"OI, DIPSHIT! WHERE WAS THE ADVANCE WARNING!"

"I stopped you from getting hit!"

"You call that stopping? I had to throw my own damn weapon! Firing at Mister Sweatpants is stopping someone from getting hit!"

"But you didn't stop him! He dodged all your bullets!"

…Were not the best pair. Which meant some revision of plans was required. 'I can see through Emerald's illusions, but I'm not sure if Vernal can take Mercury. But if I face him, then who watches out for Vernal?'

"Arf!" I looked down to see Zwei wagging his tail excitedly, somehow unscathed despite the blades and bullets that must've been flying all over the place.

'Oh you have gotta be…' I sighed, before pointing over to Vernal. "Zwei, would you please watch out for Vernal while she fights Emerald? And please be careful, I don't think I'd be able to survive Yang's wrath and Ruby's grief if you end up getting so much as a scratch on you."

The corgi nodded resolutely, trotting over to Vernal as she gaped at me. "Are you kidding me? You're shackling me to the damn-"

"I'm trusting you, both of you, to handle Emerald while I take on Mercury. She's an illusionist, which means unless you've got another pair of eyes hidden somewhere, Zwei is your best bet at beating her." I looked over at Mercury, who seemed quite pleased at the prospect of a one-on-one. "You're definitely getting the better end of the deal right now."

"Tch!...Fuck it, I'll take the stripper, you get the breakdancer. If you go losing to someone else though before we get our rematch…" Vernal turned to face a reddening Emerald.

"Who, are you calling a stripper?" Emerald hissed, Thief's respite raised threateningly while Mercury was laughing off to the side.

"What do you know Em, this is pretty good entertainment after all!" The kicker straightened as I approached, Mirror's Edge split into longswords. "Come to get stomped in style?"

"Nope. Just about time I prove I'm actually capable of winning." That shut Mercury up quickly, and he took his stance as well. "So, we're both worse off, you without your guns and me without some Aura. Shall we try that match you so desperately wanted?"

"After YOU!" Mercury kicked off the ground, and I met his kick with a slash from the right, before closing in with my left.

… … …

"This woman is insane!" Coco fired off another flurry of bullets from Gianduja, trying to stem off the wall of razor-sharp slag coming her way. The two storms of projectiles met and exploded into flecks of dust and molten concrete, but both parties were already in action.

They were winning. They had to be. This woman, while huntress-level, was still just one person, albeit one person with a Grimm arm and a frankly broken semblance. With Yatsu providing the defense, Fox dialing up the speed, and herself to pour on the dakka, Velvet was free to keep catching the woman off-guard with the photos saved in Anisedora. But it was far closer than it had any right to be. That arm was as strong as Yatsu, the woman herself could react nearly as fast as Fox, and all of Gianduja's shots were getting blocked by molten return fire. Not to mention, whatever that semblance was allowed the woman to nearly match Velvet with glass copies of her own.

"Fox, how're we looking?" Coco called out, trying to put up a better battle plan. They had the edge, but each of them had taken some hits and it was frankly only a matter of time before that arm caught someone head-on.

'Not as much as we'd like, but more than we need," Fox supplied, flexing his fingers. 'If we can continue this pace for another five, maybe ten minutes, we-'

'The issue being that we do not have ten minutes, do we Coco?' Yatsu was the one to think the elephant in the room. 'We may be among the best in our year, but our opponent remains one of the most skilled we have ever met, even notwithstanding her Grimm appendage.'

'Basically, luck runs out,' Coco continued. 'If we can, we should pull back and head off to where-'

CFVY paused and stared as the woman nonchalantly pulled her scroll out, dialed something and began waiting, before idly glancing at her opponents. "If you would like to attack me, we can resume our fight, but I promise I can make that unpleasant for at least one of you. So, why don't you let me have this?"

"Lady, I don't give a f-"

"Emerald. It's me…so they found the boy…cut our losses, and gather the rest…you are indispensable. You know where to go." The woman ended the call and pocketed her scroll, turning to those around her. "I take it you are not amenable to my departing from this place?"

Two Giandujas deployed, and four pairs of heels dug into place. "Something like that."

"A pity. You all might have been useful later. Nonetheless, I suppose I will see how you fare." The woman raised her arm, and Fox's mental scream was all the warning they had.

'DUCK!' All four members of CFVY dropped flat to the ground as the Grimm arm came tearing around in a circle, nearly taking Coco's head off from her position by the wall. After a few seconds, the arm returned to its regular size.

"You'll need to try a lot harder than that if you wanna put us-"

CRRRRAACK

"…down?" Coco turned, and eyed the support pillar behind her, or rather what was left of it. Whirling back, she looked out towards the rest of the room, and her eyes widened as low rumblings began to echo. "Damnit, everyone out now!"

Fox made double time for the doorway, but Yatsu was lagging behind before Velvet game him a spartan kick in the back to propel him forward, before the Faunus sprinted through the doorway not a second too soon.

KRRAAAKOOOOOOM

The walls and roof of the room tumbled inward with a deafening sound, and Yatsu braced himself against the doors of the room to hold back any wind pressure or stray debris. After about a minute, the quakes subsided, and Yatsu tentatively opened the door after confirming there was nothing built up against it.

"Crap, it's a mess in there. Fox, can you get a read on anything?" Coco instinctively already knew the answer.

'There's no Aura in the room. If she didn't make it our, she's certainly not now. Something tells me-'

"She escaped." Velvet clenched her fist, and her ears drooped slightly. "We nearly had her, and-"

"And that's not what the mission was about. Getting answers out of the kidnapper is good, but we're here to find Kouzai." Coco finished, before peering into the room again. "Though, considering the path Vernal took is definitely closed off now, we'll have to find a way around."

… … …

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

The chainsaw blade slammed into the ground, its teeth grinding into the concrete of the docks. Jaune took his stance again and reviewed the situation.

The White Fang solider was strong, possibly even moreso than him. He had the edge in speed though, and potentially endurance if he used Aura Amp. His technique was also far better, given that the masked Faunus's style essentially amounted to "swing until they drop."

"Who on Remnant would ever be stupid enough to think that would work?" Jaune murmured , before readying himself. "Hey, big guy! You probably can't see too well through that mask, but I'm actually over here."

"Irritating bug!" The chainsaw tore out of the ground in a spray of rubble, and the White Fang soldier charged forward, chainsaw already in motion. Stepping forward, Jaune angled his shield as the chainsaw came down, deflecting it to the side as he slashed out with Crocea Mors like he'd done no less than half a dozen times already. Pivoting to the fighter's side, he slashed again at his back, then leapt over the chainsaw as the White Fang member twisted all the way around in a full swing. Hopping back away from a front kick, Jaune stepped back in to plant Crocea Mors in the ground and let loose a side kick, knocking his opponent off his feet. Grabbing his sword, Jaune turned as he swung Crocea Mors around, knocking the man's chainsaw aside, before rotating and bringing the point of his shield down onto the White Fang member's mask, cracking the ground underneath his head. The masked Faunus' body twitched for a moment, before it fell still.

"Whew, definitely better than the average solider, that's for sure." Jaune kept his weapons at the ready as he returned to the main area of the docks. "Now, where are-"

BOOM BOOM

"WHEEEEEE!" Jaune caught sight of Nora firing a whole canister of grenades at a Bullhead wing, before hopping off the shipping container she was on as its other wing crumpled, sending the flightless aircraft into the ocean. The grenadier landed on the ground, then spotted Jaune across the way. "Fearless Leader! We took another one out just now!"

"Great, so that should just leave-" Before Jaune could continue, the loud whirring of engines approached as the other two Bullheads flew overhead, and headed further into the docks. Jaune began sprinting over to his team. "Nora, Pyrrha! Can you guys ground those two?"

"Sorry, Jaune-Jaune, I'm all out of grenades. Just Lightning Dust and a mean swing for me." Nora looked apologetic, despite having fulfilled her leg-breaking quota.

"I'm sorry, Jaune. Grasping that last Bullhead with Polarity was more taxing than I anticipated." Pyrrha had a light sheen of sweat across her body, but remained strong on her legs. "I can attempt to reach out to the remaining two if you can amplify me with your semblance."

Jaune thought for a moment, before shaking his head. "With Nora out of explosives and your Aura getting low, it'd be too much of a risk to draw the Bullheads back to us. We've confirmed that neither of them seem to have gotten the Dust shipment, and we've taken out three, so that's good enough." The leader of JNPR looked at deeper into the docks where the others were at currently. "We should make our way over just in case the rest need backup though."

"Agreed."

"On it."

"Already goiiiinnnngg…"

… … …

"HAHA! Sunflower worked! In your face, midget!"

Ruby watched as the acrobatic girl flipped back upright, surrounded by rose petals and stray concrete torn up by Ember Celica's shots. Despite having taken a solid hit from Yang of all people though, the girl didn't look too worse for wear, merely rubbing the cheek from where Yang had managed to land her punch.

"Well, while the airhead is celebrating, we need a new strategy. Because something tells me that this girl likely isn't going to fall for that move again." Weiss turned towards Ruby and smiled. "It was a brilliant move though."

"Aww, thanks Weiss, I-"

"Shh." Both partners turned towards Blake, who was looking towards the sky. "Do you hear that? It sounds like…Bullheads!"

Everyone turned as Blake pointed, with two Bullheads approaching from the ocean. Before anyone else could react, their opponent dashed forward, flipped onto Yang, then sprang into the air by using Yang's face as a platform. Sailing upwards, the girl landed on the rooftop above them, looking down and smirking, before sticking her tongue out at Yang and boarding the Bullhead.

"Blehh! GRRR…YOU!" Ember Celica fired rapidly as Yang shot all her ammo towards the Bullhead. The shotgun spray fell short however as the Bullheads rose up, and Yang lowered her arms and panted from the exertion. "Dangit… I swear, that midget is mine next time…"

"Then you had best train like your life depended on it Xiao Long, because I'd say that the girl was looking rather disappointed towards the end there. Gods knows I've seen that look enough times…" Weiss stared off at the containers of Dust around them for a moment.

"Don't worry Weiss, you did great today!" Ruby wrapped her arms around her partner and squeeze-hugged her.

"Get off me, you dolt! Do you realize how dirty our outfits are at the moment?" Strangely though, Weiss' struggles seemed half-hearted at best.

… … …

"Hmm. It appears that your ride has come to bail you out." Taiyang regarded the White Fang commander kneeling and panting. "I hope they don't think that taking you away will be that simple."

As the second of the two Bullheads approached their area, Taiyang readied himself to rush in, but before he could, a whining sound under his feet had him glancing down to see the ground heating up cherry-red. Dodging out of the way, the ground erupted into a fiery explosion, and the huntsman brushed off the debris and ashes off his outfit as the Bullhead took the opportunity to land, and a familiar face stepped out and faced him.

"Taiyang Xiao Long. How…interesting, that you're here, working with Ozpin." Cinder's eyebrow rose, drawing attention to her red eye. "I wonder what your wife would think of such a thing."

"Well, I think her exact words were, 'Make sure you get some favors out of it. Oh, and get a recording of the kid agreeing to owe us for life.' So, I'm not too concerned for what she thinks."

"Is that so? We'll have to make note of that then. Now, it seems like you're opposed to me gathering my acquaintances and departing." Cinder gestured to Adam as he rose to his feet. "Consider your priorities, if you would. Is attempting to stop us here worth the time you might be missing in checking if Kouzai Higure is alright, or any of the students sent to find him? Would you really wish to endanger those on the docks right now from all this volatile Dust that we're unable to take? Any injuries or casualties to these students would be most…tragic."

Taiyang took a deep breath, before releasing the accumulated energy he gathered, and with it the waves of heat. Nodding, Cinder waved Adam towards the Bullhead. "Don't think this means that I'll stand by and let you fulfill whatever plans for Vale She has."

Cinder chuckled, raising her Grimm arm to cover her mouth. "How brave of you, to believe that you have what it takes to stop Her plans. After all, you and yours have been noticed by her now."

Taiyang managed to avoid flinching, instead opting to clench his fists. "If She, you, or anyone else thinks they can take away what I have now…they can fight me for it."

Cinder nodded, as if satisfied with the answer. "Very well. I won't keep you any longer then. Roman! It is time to leave."

… … …

Torchwick pushed off from the deadlock that he was in, rubbing his shoulders as he readjusted his bowler hat. "Yeesh! From one battlefield to another, I suppose. Three on one is harsh on poor old me, but I still think I'd rather take you lot than the alternative."

As Torchwick turned to begin walking, he was cut off as Melanie blocked his way. "C'mon Mel. You know how this works. If the big bad Taiyang Xiao Long is stepping back, don'tcha think it's time to lay off the revenge juice?"

"He's right. No point in prolonging the fight. They're already leaving without having gotten any Dust." Torchwick's surprised look soured at the latter part of Ilia's statement. "The fight is over for now."

Melanie was still for a moment, before slowly stepping to the side, letting Torchwick pass as she glared at him every step of the way.

"Talk about rolling up the red carpet…hah, shoulda known, some gigs you just don't take." Torchwick twirled his cane as he drew close to the Bullhead. "Oh, and let Junior know it might be time to close up shop if he doesn't want any part of this. Then again, it might already be too late."

Stepping onto the Bullhead, Ilia saw the figures of Roman Torchwick, Adam Taurus and the woman called Cinder slowly disappear as the Bullhead shut, and began lifting off the ground, with the two heading out towards the open water.

"Alright everyone, gather around." Taiyang's voice called out across the docks, and RWBY, JNPR and KMMI gathered together. I got CFVY to send us the location of the warehouse before they went in, so you all should head over there to confirm how things look."

"And what're you doing, dad?" Yang asked brusquely, before Taiyang gestured out towards the various furrows, craters and melted scenery around them, along with the mass of unconscious White Fang members.

"Someone will need to explain exactly what happened here. Would one of you rather have a nice, lengthy conversation with the police, instead of checking in with your friends?" All responses were of shaking heads. "Thought so. Now get going, who knows how things look over there at the moment."

… … …

CRACK

'Sonofagrimm!' I wheeled back around and slashed out with Mirror's Edge, but Mercury ducked under the blade and launched another side kick, sending me skidding to the side as I just managed to block. Even then, my head was still throbbing from the blow he'd landed to my head. 'Having no ranged function for Talaria is helping, but Mercury's first and foremost a close-combat fighter, and a pretty strategic one at that. I don't have time to-' Mercury dashed in again, and I gritted my teeth and weaved a pattern of steel with my longswords. However, Mercury was dodging them handily.

"Seen, it, al-rea-dy." Mercury punctuated the last syllable with a heel kick to my side, making my ribs creak even through the guard I'd put up. "Like I said, take out my guns, bring all the weapons you want. It doesn't make up for skill, and you don't have a chance against me."

"Well, the scorecards aren't in just yet, and I've still got another round in me." I grinned despite myself, pushing the kicker back with Mirror's Edge. A glance behind me showed Vernal locked in heated battle with Emerald, with Zwei running interference whenever Vernal was caught in one of Emerald's illusions. Curiously, Emerald seemed to have her scroll out. A quick review of my Aura put me at about a third, after the passive enhancement and healing needed to keep my ribs from screaming. I'd landed some hits on Mercury, but he gave much better than he got.

"Heh, you're grimmshit crazy, you know that?" Mercury cracked his neck. "I'm gonna enjoy putting you down!"

Concentrating, I focused my Aura into Chronometry and Burst, pouring my energy into dishing out what I could. Rocketing forward, I watched Mercury's eyes widen slowly as I came in with Mirror's Edge, slashing across the cybernetic prosthetic as he managed to kick in time. Not done yet, I let go the longsword in my left hand and slashed in with my right. Mercury went to block, but jerked back as the two halves of Mirror's Edge slammed back together from a lack of Aura reinforcement. Firing Mirror's Edge, I accelerated the swing of the greatsword to crash into Mercury's side, sending him bouncing over one of the crates scattered around the room. Recovering and flipping onto his feet, Mercury stumbled back as I fired three shots with Corona in my left hand. One hit his torso, but he ducked under the second and blocked the third with his leg. Ignoring the growing strain in my body, I hurtled a longsword from Mirror's Edge forward, before leaping towards Mercury and throwing the other half. As Mercury kicked the first away, he weaved away from the second and kicked again to avoid the halves from slicing into him. By that point, I was on him, with Luna and Corona in my hands as I fired at point blank range, hitting him twice before slashing down with Luna…and having my wrist be caught.

"Bastard…looks like…you're all tuckered out, huh?" Mercury kneed my injured side, then kicked me into some crates as I doubled over. "Good, 'cause I feel like paying you back two-fold!"

I knew my Aura was under the danger zone, and only about a hit or two from fading. 'Do I have it in me to keep Burst up? No, he'll have caught on…Mirror's Edge is over there…c'mon what're my options, I need to cut him down to size!...Wait…cut...that'll work.'

As Mercury advanced, I dragged myself off my back, coming to rest on one knee. With Chronometry, I saw each slow step he took. Keeping Corona trained on him, I focused Aura into Luna as I fired, the bullets missing their mark as Mercury drew closer.

"Unbelievable. You don't know when to quit, do you?" Mercury stopped a couple feet from me, sneering down.

"I'm told…it's one of my endearing qualities…" I steeled myself, then gripped Corona and swung outwards to pistol whip him. As expected, he kicked out towards my face to know Corona from my hands.

Unexpectedly, it was with the wrong leg, which blocked my path to stab with Luna.

Even more unexpectedly, his foot stopped a foot from my head as it ran into a wall of silver. The words popped into my head.

"Barrier…" I dropped Corona and grabbed Mercury's outstretched leg with my right hand, drawing back my left. Before I could slash, I caught sight of Mercury's gloved fist heading for my face, and I gritted my teeth.

THUD

"Two for Flinching…" The blow felt distant, and I maintained my focus as I stared down Mercury, his very battered cybernetic leg grasped in my hand. For the first time this fight, as I slashed down, the hint of fear entered his eyes.

Far too late.

WHOOOOM

CLANK

Mercury and I both hit the ground, with me panting out of exhaustion as the Aura slash from Luna dispersed into the air. As for Mercury, he looked in disbelief at the leg that'd been sheared off just below the knee. Gathering himself, he snarled and shouted, "EMERALD!"

I pulled myself up and looked for Vernal, catching sight of her deadlocked with the illusionist. As Emerald looked over, she saw Mercury sprawled on the ground, and her red eyes hardened. Slashing out with Thief's Respite, she aimed for Zwei.

"NOO!" Vernal dived in front and took the blow, sending both her and Zwei rolling into some crates. Stepping back, Emerald looked over at Mercury and I…before turning and dashing away.

"Emerald? EMERALD! GET BACK HERE, YOU-"

WHAM

Mercury's head hit the ground, and I dropped his leg before sitting down on one of the intact crates, just in time to see Zwei and Vernal pick themselves off the ground.

"Where did that bitch go?" Vernal growled groggily, something her and Zwei seemed to be in agreement with.

I shook my head. "Gone. She abandoned Mercury here, and you and I are in no shape to chase after her." Vernal looked like she was about to argue, before thinking better of it and plopping down on one of the crates next to me.

"Fuck it, it's over then. Time to head home then."

'Where did those moves come from?' I shook my head as I heard shouts approaching, before CFVY rushed into the room at one doorway, followed by RWBY, JNPR, Ilia and twins pouring into another doorway after. A smile crept onto my face. 'The present, huh Prim?'

"Yeah. Home."

A/N: By the gods, it's done. It's the little things, like imagining matchups and writing them, that really bring joy. Needless to say, this volume wrapped up far different than the canon show did, so we'll see what happens moving forward into Volume 2, which will start two weeks from today on May 11th. Now for reviews.

R26: Well, on Remnant, roughing someone up after their Aura's been broken is probably considered as taking liberties with the capture, or it would be if the abducted didn't fight back. As for timelines, I'm moving the narrative along, so we'll see whether or not it catches up in due time. And the last I remember, I think I was thirty or so chapters into it.

Wytaele: Coloring his locker black would be taking the theme a bit too far, in actuality I was more referencing the natural color of the lockers and that it's dark with low light. And thanks for the well wishes.

Bignub243: When the objective is either holding out or escaping with your life, having weapons on you is a must when the pursuers are two very competent killers. Something like backup would either already be on its way, or take far too long to get there without a fight. And Vernal has been accompanying Tai for a bit, and was present for the search and raid on Cinder's warehouse.

Raidentensho: In terms of semblance evolution, who knows how a semblance can change and why. Funnily enough, Mercury is actually based on the roman god, known for his swiftness and winged footwear.

Bow Down and Beg: It's unfortunate to hear that those chapters didn't gel with you, but your criticism is noted. While Raven may be around now, that doesn't necessarily mean that's always the case, and someone as impatient as Yang may find it easier to do some searching anyways. And while Prim's addition may be seen as needless, it is a necessary one in my writing. As for the fights, part and parcel of a universe such as this one is that the main characters themselves are portrayed as having a decade or decades less experience than their enemies, which naturally makes the fights harder. Matching up to the main cast alone with a few years of training is considered challenging, and when you throw in the villains that's when things start looking bad.

Angeles22: Thanks for the compliment, and I hope your anticipation was well met. As you can see, it was indeed a bit of a monster to get through.

Carsonforgeel: There will indeed be asskicking, and much of it. The main question is by who.

Blueassassin996: Well, who knows if the ensuing fights could be classified as a smackdown, but Cinder usually appears to be unhappy of failure in any capacity, except when perpetrated by herself.

Kuriboh1233: There could be worse things to listen to. If you throw the 'What's New, Scooby Doo?' theme, now you've really got something on your hands.

The Keeper of Worlds: Tai does seem to be the easygoing and polite one. Even when the easygoing quality is set aside for a fight, there's no reason politeness can't continue though. And rest assured, the fight is sure to attract attention merely for how big it is.

Gizmo Gear: Yup, we're back to the point of explosive fights, before things cool off for a bit.

-SE

Next Chapter Date: 05/11/2020