A/N: So I somehow got this done in time. I really should be studying for exams. Those notes aren't going to memorize themselves, y'know.
Reminder- if y'all want to see bloopers (or have any ideas for funny extras at the end of Volume 2) let me know! We're getting close- chapter 50 should be the ending of this part, and then we'll be off to the races in volume 3. Let me know if you're still enjoying this fic!
Laws of Attraction
The air whipped past her face as she fell through the sky, but she didn't pay it heed. Her eyes were instead trained upon the battlefield below, the writhing bodies of Grimm and civilians filling the air with screams of terror and unholy force.
The airship had brought them fairly low, meaning that landing upon the battlefield was not going to be very dangerous. Unhooking Miló from her back, she extended its javelin form and held the spear before her, ignoring the wind which cut into her eyes, making them water.
A billboard advert was upright upon the roof of a building below her. Keeping her aim steady as she continued her descent, she threw the javelin, hearing the resounding thud as the blade embedded itself into the wooden frame of the giant structure. Sending forth a wave of her Semblance, she oriented the weapon's handle to sit parallel to the ground, holding it steady, awaiting her impact.
Thankfully, as she flipped herself upright midair and landed upon Miló's extended handle, her Semblance was more than enough to keep the weapon reinforced until she alighted down onto the clear rooftop. Summoning Miló back in hand, the redhead immediately spun to look upwards at the rest of her team.
A pink blur streaked across the sky from the airship, a green figure following soon after. And somehow, despite all of the chaos on the ground, Pyrrha could still hear Jaune's terrified screech as the boy took the leap out of the airship.
"Why are we doing this again!?" she could hear him screaming helplessly. Without even missing a beat, she pulled Akoúo down into her hands. Squatting low, she spied another billboard across the way from her, right below where the blond's flailing form would end up. As the boy's trajectory guided him above the wooden display, Pyrrha spun on her heel, building up her momentum. After one, two, three spins, she released her shield, throwing it firmly at the board across the street. With a satisfying crash, the shield embedded itself into the billboard, a horizontal ledge a few feet above the rooftop.
Focusing, she sent her Semblance through the air, watching the dark cloud fly out almost imperceptibly until it reached Jaune's armour. It took barely a second for her polarity to slow the boy's descent as her Semblance resisted the gravity pulling him downwards, allowing him to land almost-gently upon Akoúo.
"Ugh, thank you Pyrrha!" the blond groaned into the air, his voice much quieter now that he was on solid ground. The sound barely reached Pyrrha past the noisy combat from the square below them.
She grinned slightly, cool and collected. "You're welcome!" With a flick of her wrist, Akoúo whipped back to her, dropping the boy onto the rooftop. He'll be fine, she thought firmly, watching him get up out of the corner of her eye while she peered over her own platform, automatically switching Miló back into a sword. Now. Where to start?
She had never seen downtown Vale looking like this before. The carnage was horrifying, sending a disgusted chill up her spine. The formerly-pristine area was ruined, the sidewalks crushed and lampposts broken and bent into oblivion, with smoke pouring out of crashed cars and shattered windows. From this close, she could hear the sirens and security alarms which blared from every corner of the area, covering the screams that undoubtedly would've echoed below otherwise.
The worst part, however, was the sight of the bodies of civilians and disintegrating Grimm alike littering the area. The death had already begun.
She clenched her fists tight, tearing her eyes away from the still figures lying mangled upon the ground around them. She had to keep her cool. Focusing back onto the frenzy of movement within the plaza, she pushed the image of the victims out of her mind. Her job was to prevent more of them from happening, after all.
The sheer amount of Grimm screaming within the central plaza before her was incredible. What looked like an army of Beowolves surrounded the raised stage within the heart of the open grounds, cornering the familiar figures of Team RWBY. For a moment, her heartbeat quickened, her grip tightening on Miló hilt. To Pyrrha's relief, however, the girls were making quick work of the creatures, mowing down wave after wave of the wolf-like demons with ease.
Suddenly, the serpentine King Taijitu coiled upwards towards Ruby from the other side of the plaza. Even from this distance, Pyrrha could see the momentary terror fill the younger girl's face. Instantly, she crouched low, ready to leap off of the rooftop and into the fray.
A familiar voice rose through the din below, catching Pyrrha's attention. From the corner of her vision, she watched in quiet amusement as a pink figure sailed through the sky, standing atop of Magnhild, leaving a trail of rose-coloured sparks behind her. As the newcomer approached the giant Grimm in front of Ruby, the snake hissed and bared its fangs, but it was unable to pull away before the figure flipped in midair and brought down an incredible blow upon the crown of the creature. "Nora, smash!" Nora screamed triumphantly.
Ruby's going to be okay, Pyrrha smiled internally. With that taken care of, her gaze caught Jaune's blond head hopping gingerly off a window ledge and into a hedge on the other side of the street. While he pulled himself out of the bushes, Nora pushed herself back from the snake and landed gracefully into the side of the clearing closest to the redhead. Pyrrha could see Ren jogging into the clearing from the direction which Nora had flown in from, and with Jaune joining the trio on the ground, their team was assembled.
Pyrrha hopped off of the rooftop and into the courtyard, grinning as Jaune stumbled to her side just in time. He looked disoriented, but as his bright blue eyes met her gaze- wide and unsure, yet ready for what was to come- she couldn't help but feel a surge of overprotectiveness flood her chest. Time to see if he's improved, she silently sighed, flashing a wan smile his way. With Ren, she shared a curt nod, and Nora's already feral smile proved the smaller girl was more than ready for the onslaught of Grimm coming their way. The monsters had noticed their presence, and a new rank was making its way to attack them.
Raising Miló into the air confidently, she commanded, "Let's move!" She tensed her legs, took a deep breath- in, out, 1, 2- and leapt forwards, swinging Miló with all the grace in the world.
In only a few swings, three Boarbatusks lay motionless upon the ground, masks cracked and bodies already fading. She sprinted to the side, peeling away from the central flood of Grimm. Once she had built enough distance between her and the main force, she turned to face those who had followed her.
A swarm of Beowolves surrounded her, snarling and clawing. Pyrrha quickly pulled the trigger upon Miló, extending it back into a javelin. One beast ran towards her, but was quickly dispatched by a jab straight into its skull through a crack in its mask. As it collapsed, she wrenched the blade free from its flesh and spun the polearm around her body, leaping into the air and slicing through the soft underbelly of another Beowolf. The creature screamed in pain, joining its brethren upon the ground. Yet another Grimm lunged in front of her as she spun, leaving her no time to move away; grabbing the shaft of the javelin with her other hand, she drove the blade's point right into the heart of the Beowolf, lodging the large monster's body upon the hooked curve of the blade. With a quick flip over her shoulder, she swung the Grimm's body clean off her weapon, sending it spiraling through the air. The previous beast lying upon the ground snapped at her legs as she landed, but with a quick stab into its mouth, it lay limp and unmoving at last.
Her immediate proximity was clear of Grimm after a few more were taken down. She let out a quiet sigh, dislodging Miló from lifeless, gaping jaws, calming her breath. Not too difficult, she realized steadily, glancing over at the others still fighting away throughout the clearing. Unlike her, everyone else was still in a deadlock with their Grimm opponents- they would need a helping hand in order to clear their quadrants. That's why I'm here.
As the last body crumbled into ash, her gaze finally settled upon the blond figure on the adjacent side of the plaza. Nervousness radiated off of Jaune's body as he slowly stepped backwards. To Pyrrha's utter horror, his opponent was no mere Beowolf or Boarbatusk; instead, it was a menacing Ursa, the hulking giant lurching towards the boy uncannily. Her brows drew together tight, heartrate suddenly through the roof despite having been so calm throughout her earlier struggles.
"Jaune," she breathed, biting her lip, "you've done this before. You can fight that thing."
Before she could say another word, an angry battle cry tore through Jaune, the boy raising his sword and shield clumsily. His voice caught the Grimm by surprise, and while it was confused the blond quickly unleashed a flurry of strikes, stabs and swings upon the giant beast. Satisfaction burst through her as she watched his movements. Even from the distance, Pyrrha could tell- he was using the footwork she had taught him.
At last, his voice died in his throat, and the boy hid slightly behind his shield as he waited for the Grimm to react. Thankfully, the creature simply fell backwards and began to dissolve into shadow. With a fulfilled grin, Pyrrha relaxed. You did it, she swooned silently, battle mask melting as Jaune cheered to his victory.
Movement in her vision drew her eyes up to see Sun and Neptune standing triumphantly atop the steps behind the dead Ursa. With a cocky grin, Sun flashed a shining object and called loudly into the square, "Nobody move! Junior detectives!" His voice somehow carried across the entire battlefield.
Neptune was just a beat behind with his own shining badge. "We have badges, so you know it's official!" The two boys fist-bumped lightly, but their eyes lifted upwards when a deep rumbling filled the air. Everyone in the combat area felt it, the battle suddenly stilling between both Huntsmen and Grimm alike in order to figure out what was going on.
Pyrrha jumped onto a fallen column, climbing higher upon it to get a better view. The tremor had entered the ground, debris rattling beneath her feet. Steeling herself, she looked up only to see a giant airship entering the airspace above their battleground. The bottom of the ship was emblazoned with a familiar logo- the logo of the Atlesian Military.
This central flagship had been docked within Beacon's port ever since the arrival of the Atlesian students, as it was commanded by General Ironwood, the Headmaster of Atlas Academy. She frowned as a fleet of craft and dropships filled the air, flying closer and closer to the central plaza. It felt wrong, seeing that many military crafts in the air above Vale. Vale was a kingdom protected by Huntsmen, not military tech.
That many battleships makes it look like we're at war, she thought numbly, squinting against the choppy winds stirring upon the grounds from the many airships. As the ships approached, the air buzzed with energy and the pulsing of the hovercraft engines, radiating electricity and Dust fumes.
Suddenly, one of the ships began utilizing its machine guns, striking down an Ursa near Ruby. Pyrrha stood tall, watching with narrowed eyes as more and more ships began firing mercilessly upon the remaining Grimm within the plaza.
A hand on her shoulder caught her attention. She had heard the steps creeping up to her, but the cadence had been familiar, so she hadn't turned to look. Ren murmured, "They're dropping Atlesian Knights. The newest model."
Mutely, Pyrrha nodded. Out of the back of the dropships came tens of mechanical soldiers, ones which mechanized the fighting process. The very sight of them sent a wave of unease through Pyrrha. She had heard of these warriors in the past, of how Ironwood was seeking to completely automate fighting the Grimm in order to save Huntsmen and Huntresses. While she could appreciate the sentiment, a part of her stomach continued to twist as she watched the robotic soldiers, featureless and mechanical, approach and gun down the remaining hordes of Grimm without hesitation.
Nora joined the two of them, discomfort filling her own expression as she watched the Atlesian Knights get to work. "What if they attack us?" Nora muttered. "They're shooting those things too casually."
Just then, another wave of Grimm rushed into the clearing, and the sounds of combat resumed once more. "Time to go, Nora," Pyrrha stated, ignoring her comment. Worrying about the ethics behind mechanized soldiers could come another day.
Ren had already jumped back into combat. With a quick salute, Nora stepped onto Magnhild's hammerhead and launched herself into the air with a burst from her grenade launcher. As she flew off, Pyrrha ran back into the central clearing from her cleared side and continued her assault upon this new wave of Grimm in earnest.
Her body moved on autopilot as she kept her eyes on everyone else. Team RWBY was accounted for, taking control of the south side of the clearing. Jaune, Sun and Neptune were fighting off rows of Boarbatusks, the pig-like creatures unable to pinpoint any of them thanks to Sun's cloning Semblance.
Suddenly, she was forced to leap backwards as a giant Nevermore- or, what was left of a giant Nevermore- crashed into the ground by her side. The creature had been split clean in two, shadowy blood oozing out of its body before everything began to disappear. Snapping her head to the west side of the plaza, all she could see was a mass of vanishing shadows and an unconventionally-huge gatling gun, glinting gold and shining onyx in the amber twilight. It was smoking, filling the air with the acrid scent of burnt gunpowder.
She blinked owlishly at the wielder standing in the distance. Clearly, Team CFVY had joined the battle when she had been preoccupied. Coco Adel, with all the nonchalance in the world, spat on a nearby Grimm and pressed a button upon the handle of her weapon. The gears within the gun whirred, folding and compressing the weapon into the very same handbag the older girl always held.
Well. That was… not what I was expecting to be within that bag. She watched silently as CFVY's leader swung the bag into an attacking Beowolf's face, the masked creature nearly imploding from the impact. …That's impressive.
Pyrrha had only a few moments to ponder the image before a small Death Stalker skittered up to her, the menacing beast screeching demonically. She settled back into a battle stance, and began the fight once more.
It felt like only a few heartbeats before the fighting finally died away, and the last of the Grimm faded into shadow. The Atlesian Knights all froze at once around them as they received their new order- to locate the civilians caught up in the struggle and evacuate them.
Sometime during the battle, Professor Goodwitch had arrived. Now that all was still, she quickly began using her own Semblance to reconstruct all of the broken pathways and buildings around them. The woman seemed to seethe as she worked, anger flaring from her dangerously. As soon as she was done reconstructing the central plaza, however, she stomped away to the side streets which had also suffered damage. In her place landed the giant Atlesian flagship, the vessel taking up the entirety of the clearing.
At last, the redhead sheathed Miló and Akoúo and strode towards the rest of Team JNPR, RWBY, CFVY, and Sun and Neptune, who had all collected underneath the mighty airship. "Is everyone alright?" she asked, her heart settling down and mask slipping off. To her relief, a chorus of agreement and cheer came back to her. Before she could ask for more, however, a haughty voice by the loading dock of the ship caught her attention. Turning towards it, a stab of unease jolted through her stomach as she saw Mercury and Emerald escorting the speaker, an orange-haired man in a black bowler hat and a white coat, towards some Atlesian Knights.
"Oh, I can't believe that you caught me, you've really taught me the error of my ways," the man in the hat preached half-heartedly. When an Atlesian Knight grabbed him by the arm to drag him into the ship, the man finally showed some real emotion. Frantically, he screeched, "He-hey, watch the hat!"
Emerald and Mercury turned away from the man and wandered towards their group. Who is that man they're taking away? And when did they get here? she wondered. The very sight of Mercury made her feel a little bit ill- she had almost forgotten how uncomfortable she had been in his presence during the dance. His eyes landed upon hers, and Pyrrha had to slip on a neutral expression and fight to keep it there in order to avoid flinching as he sent her a sly smile.
She did not want to spend any more time with him than she had to.
A nudge to her shoulder pulled her eyes away from them, however- to her surprise, Jaune had wandered to her side. "We did it, huh?" His eyes were alight, and it warmed the girl up from head to toe.
She tried to shrug nonchalantly, but she couldn't keep the proud smile from slipping onto her face. "Yeah, we did," she affirmed. "I think you might even ace your exams at this rate." The boy rolled his eyes, but shared a sweet smile with her anyways.
The quietly tender, victorious moment was broken by an exhausted Professor Goodwitch. She approached their group sharply, massaging her temple. Behind her was Professor Oobleck and Professor Port, the two men quietly awaiting the blonde's orders.
Furious, the Huntress pointed her riding crop towards the open port of a nearby transport ship. "All of you in there, now," she commanded.
Everyone complied without a word of complaint underneath the blonde's sharp gaze. Jaune cast Pyrrha a concerned look, but other than that, they filed into the cabin of the smaller ship. Once everyone was settled inside, Professor Goodwitch pulled out her Scroll, flipping open various documents.
"We will debrief here, then dismiss you back at the Academy. You will go do what you must in order to rest and recuperate after arrival." When they all nodded silently, she let out a weary sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. Taking a moment to breathe deeply, the woman finally continued, "You all did an excellent job. Without your aid and quick thinking, the entirety of this sector may have been lost. It seems that once you all arrived, the remaining citizens were able to find appropriate shelter. Thanks to your efforts, we have managed to minimize both casualties and damage to the city. We appreciate your efforts today.
"For those of you who were not able to attend your assigned missions-" she cast a meaningful look at the corner where JNPR sat, and Pyrrha shifted in her seat at the sudden eyes drawn towards them, "-your mission will be cancelled. There is no time to complete your assignments anymore, since your travel time was delayed. Take the next few days to rest instead with your peers- you have done important work today as future Huntsmen and Huntresses. Thank you for noticing your comrades in distress, and doing your best for the citizens."
Those words lit a fire within Pyrrha's heart. They had saved people. Although they had abandoned their assignment, they had still managed to protect the innocents.
It was Coco who finally raised a hand. To Pyrrha's surprise, the older girl lacked all of her usual cockiness, instead asking blandly, "When will we know an estimate of the damages and casualties?"
Professor Goodwitch's eyes narrowed, but the woman let out another heavy sigh after a moment. Professor Port opened his mouth to protest, but the Huntress held up a hand to stop him. "You deserve to know, I suppose," she murmured bitterly. Navigating through the info flashing upon her Scroll's screen, she finally found the report which she was looking for. "The damages to infrastructure are still being assessed. We have managed to transport all 278 injured civilians thus far to Vale Central Hospital. As for casualties…" A flash of pain streaked across her face. Grimly, she pressed her lips into a thin line, then looked back up at the students. "We've found 52 victims. We'll let you know what the final body count is later."
And just like that, the fire in Pyrrha's heart, the fire in the room itself, was out.
Glancing around the cabin, everyone's eyes had settled upon their hands, their shoes, creases in the cabin seating- but everyone avoided the blonde's eyes. They hadn't been able to save everyone.
"The White Fang…" Blake whispered, staring dully at her limp, open palms. "Why would they…?"
"We tried to stop the train," Ruby whispered.
"We couldn't," Weiss chided, but her voice was empty.
Yang stayed silent.
"You are dismissed." The blonde exited the cabin silently, her clicking heels echoing in her wake.
Emerald and Mercury excused themselves from the cabin. Team CFVY followed Professor Port out of the ship to help with damage control. After they left, the door closed, and the ship lifted off to return them all to Beacon's campus.
They were silent. She had already known the number would be high- even as she had first entered the battlefield, the carnage had already been too much to bear. Hearing the number of lives lost brought all of the images back to the forefront of her mind, all the bodies smeared across the pavement…
If I had been there from the very beginning, maybe this wouldn't have happened…
Pyrrha swore to herself in that moment that she would never let an attack like this happen again.