A/N: T-5. Another fairly short one. Bonus content for vol. 3 is at the end, so stay tuned kiddos.
Also, super weird, but for some reason I got a ton of notifications about reviews but they aren't showing up here. So if you reviewed after I posted the last chapter, don't worry, I read them! Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I appreciate hearing from y'all, so keep them coming (even if the site eats them for some reason, I promise I'm reading them on my email haha)
OST: Bombing Mission by Nobuo Uematsu
Let me know what you think!
Laws of Attraction
It was absolute chaos. Civilians ran left and right, ignoring all safety protocols and the pleading directions of the exhausted soldiers attempting to direct the foot traffic. The halls of Amity Colosseum resonated with wailing sirens ringing throughout, the corridors echoing frantic footsteps and the fearful screams of the innocent spectators, all combining in a horrifying dissonant chord.
Pyrrha and the others weaved in and out of the crowd, trying to ignore the terrified cries, the weeping faces, the squalls of little children as parents tried to hold it together. The Grimm had made it into the loading area and the concession stands, it sounded like- their roars and screeches could be heard at the end of the long stairwell and the winding halls up from the waiting rooms. They put all their energy into bolting out into the open, no words shared between one another.
Jaune finally called over the crowd, "We're going to the docks! That's where most people will be!" No one disagreed, their mouths set into grim lines as they ran.
They arrived at the large, open docking station. The frantic energy quadrupled, now that they were in the presence of the majority of civilians. Soldiers and guards ushered the people as calmly as they could into awaiting passenger vessels, which were poised to take off the moment their loading doors closed. The air was heavy and crushing, and along the sides of the wide meeting space, there were countless Ursai, Beowolves, and Griffons advancing upon the innocents.
Pyrrha frowned, cool mind taking in the situation analytically. Watching the ships taking off, it was clear that something was different. Nothing is flying the departure route to Beacon, she understood. It must be overrun. That means the safest landing port would be near the water, on the west coast of Vale. Her eyes widened imperceptibly. But there are Nevermores, and Griffons. Will anyone make it if the skies aren't safe?
Standing in the middle of it all was General Ironwood, a large revolver in his gloved hand, his bare hand clenched in a fist. Although his expression was as calm and stern as ever, Pyrrha could practically see the waves of anger rolling off of his form. He was bitter.
"He'll know what to do," Jaune murmured, and Pyrrha nodded silently. The general would be able to direct them in place of their professors- maybe even more so, considering his hold and tactical viewing advantage thanks to the Atlesian Military. Their crew of students jogged up to him, finally gaggling around the tall Atlesian soldier in a semi-circle, awaiting deployment instructions.
"What's going on!?" Ruby asked as they slowed to a halt.
General Ironwood regarded their arrival with no reaction. "Grimm are crawling all over the city. The White Fang's invaded Beacon, and to make matters worse, some..." He shifted to cast a heated glance over his right shoulder. Pyrrha's eyes followed his, and for the first time, she noticed the distinct lack of military vessels littering the skies. The man sighed, "…vagabond has seized one of my ships. Until we regain command, the skies are out of our control. So I'm..." Suddenly, the man looked behind their group, raising his revolver. Pyrrha turned slightly, just in time to see the stoic man fire a well-placed shot to the skull of a Creep Grimm which had been sprinting viciously towards the group. "…going to take it back." With that, he began a slow, even walk towards a dropship which awaited him at the nearest loading bay.
Jaune halted him in his tracks. "What should we do?"
The man spun around, holding his arms behind his back, at ease. Looking each individual in the eye, he explained, "You have two choices. Defend your Kingdom and your school... or save yourselves." His eyes landed upon Pyrrha, and she instinctively looked away, making eye contact with those around her. It seemed that everyone else was unsettled by this comment, too- they all sought each other out, asking for validation, for direction. Then, his entire demeanor changed, a crack in his armour appearing out of the blue. He slouched over, eyes narrowing, regret emanating off his form as he murmured, "No one will fault you if you leave."
The general then climbed into his ship, steely-eyed once more. "Let's move out!" The door closed, and in a heartbeat, General Ironwood was airborne.
In his wake, Sun groaned, "I mean... come on!" He had a ready grin on his face.
The White Fang has invaded Beacon, Pyrrha repeated General Ironwood's words in her mind. Every full-fledged Huntsmen was probably watching the tournament either from the colosseum, or from Vale. All these ships are heading there, so Vale should be taken care of. But- who's protecting Beacon?
"We can take a ship to Beacon," Jaune said, passing a grin to her as if reading her thoughts.
We'll protect our home.
Everyone turned tail and bolted. With their weapons in hand and distinct lack of uniforms, combined with the recognition from the tournament, it was clear to the soldiers and civilians alike that they were fledgling Huntsmen and Huntresses. So, when Jaune ran up to one anxious pilot preparing his ship and begged, "We need you to take us to Beacon, please!" the man didn't question it. Soon, they were aboard an emptied-out passenger vessel, breaking every air traffic code and regulation in order to beeline to Beacon's docks as quickly as possible.
Pyrrha took a seat in the corner, closing her eyes. With the speed of the airship, and if they weren't intercepted by the Grimm, then they'd arrive in a scant five minutes. She had five minutes before the battle would begin.
She felt a warmth on one side, a blur of pink on the other. Looking up, she saw Jaune sitting to her right, a gentle smile shining her way. Nora and Ren were leaned against the other wall, nodding determinedly at her. The redhead let out a long, slow breath, before a small smile quirked up her own lips. We'll deal with the rest later, she thought to herself. For now, we have to do what we must.
That simple admission set her heart at ease in the purest way possible. She was a Huntress. She would do what was right. She had her friends standing by her. At the end of the day, she knew she could win.
She pulled out her Scroll, opening up her Aura gauge. It had recovered slightly, but it was nowhere near where she would like it to be. Unfortunately, there was no time for respite- it was time to make use of the few minutes she had on the ship. She closed her eyes, leaning back against the wall, letting herself zone out and relax.
Out of nowhere, she heard the automated door to their room open up, and Sun crying, "Ruby! What are you doing?!"
Pyrrha only saw a blur of red bolting out of the door, but no one had a chance to stop her. Everyone jumped to their feet- but soon, they all saw a dark red cape leaping into the sky, landing on the docking port back on Amity Colosseum. "Was that Ruby?" she breathed.
Sun ran shaking fingers through his hair, trying to maintain his sense of bravado, trying to hide the shock. "General Ironwood's ship just went down," he mumbled. "She went after it, I think."
Everyone who had been seated since boarding stilled, absolutely stunned. General Ironwood is…?
No, Pyrrha shook her head, taking a seat. "Ruby and General Ironwood are capable," she said quietly. "We need to do our part."
"You're right." Jaune nodded resolutely by her side, taking a seat as well. "We can't go to get them. We need to help Beacon." He paused, a tiny smile creeping onto his face as he looked at the side of her face. She raised a brow, but he just shook his head. Reaching up a tentative hand, she realized where his gaze had fallen- the earring. The meaning that smile carried came to her at last, and she grinned back, closing her eyes once more in meditation.
Those few minutes before pulling up to Beacon's docks felt like an eternity. But, when Pyrrha heard the ship's thrusters quiet momentarily and opened her eyes at last, she felt refreshed. Glancing down, the Aura bar had barely refilled- there was no way such a short amount of time would change anything, really- but it didn't matter. She felt calmer, steadier. Her battle mask was ready.
Coco called to the pilot as they all jumped off the craft, "Pick up any civilians you can before leaving! We need to evacuate Beacon completely!"
That sentiment was more than accurate. Nearly a hundred creatures of Grimm littered the courtyard surrounding Main Avenue. The colonnades lining the walkway were shattered, crumbling pillars blocking the paths of egress for the civilian staff left on campus. A few innocents were cornered by the demons, faces painted in terror, and the monsters seemed to relish in it, approaching their victims with the stalking stances of hunters chasing prey rather than mindless killing machines. The air hung heavy with the scent of blood and death and rotting flesh- whether that scent was from the victims, or from the Grimm's presence, they didn't know.
"Ready?" Jaune yelled.
"Ready!" everyone cheered, splitting up. They all scattered, the whirring of transforming weaponry and grunts of exertion filling the air. Immediately, the students engaged with the Grimm, using every last ounce of training they had absorbed over the last eight months. As Pyrrha spun and danced around a slew of Beowolf claws and gnashing Boarbatusk fangs, she could see Jaune holding his own against an Ursa bravely. Coco was attacking a Griffon with her machine gun, the creature pelted back by the force of the bullets. An Ursa Major leapt at Nora, but the orange-haired girl simply braced herself and fired her grenades, stopping it in its tracks. Ren gunned down a Beowolf until it dissipated into black ash. Pyrrha even recognized some of Team RWBY's previous opponents in the tournament mowing down the Grimm proudly, standing strong alongside their new allies.
Screams erupted from a rooftop. Pyrrha glanced upwards, heart plummeting. A group of civilians was stuck on top of the roof of the dining hall, waving their hands desperately, begging for help. An entire squad of Atlesian soldiers were nearby- but they were occupied by beating back a fearsome Death Stalker, the scorpion-like Grimm's claws painted in fresh blood. Before anyone could move to help either party, another giant Nevermore swooped in, picking up two of the innocents in its claws.
Pyrrha didn't watch their mangled bodies fall to the courtyard.
Suddenly, a tremor rocked the earth, shaking everyone's balance. "What is that?" Nora squealed, angrily spinning in place. The girl transformed Magnhild into a hammer and smashed it down into the back of a Griffon with such force that the demon practically snapped in two, crumbling into haze a moment later.
Pyrrha stabbed Milo's javelin head into the dirt, holding herself upright through the shaking. Her breaths were ragged, her heart racing, bangs sticking to her forehead with the sweat sliding down her temples under her circlet. Around her, it was difficult to see- she had been carefully aiming each strike of her blade to kill, and the trail of disintegrating carcasses never ended in her wake. Even the Grimm seemed out-of-sorts due to rumbling, and she took advantage of the general confusion when the earth's shaking subsided by slicing another Ursa's head clean off its shoulders, then slamming a small, jittery Griffon into the ground with Miló's shaft and stabbing it through the mask, pinning it head-first to the ground.
A bone-chilling screech echoed from off in the distance. Pyrrha leapt on top of a shattered column, using the height to look out towards Vale, to the south. Silhouetted by light of the moon, she could faintly see a shape in the distance- That's Mountain Glenn, isn't it? she realized faintly, squinting at the foggy outline of the southernmost border to downtown Vale- begin to crumble, until a giant creature of shadow shot up into the sky, blurring the moon for a moment. The screams intensified as the shape drew closer and closer to Beacon.
"Regroup!" Jaune screamed, alerting everyone in their vicinity. Immediately, Pyrrha dispatched the final small King Taijitsu which had been slithering away in the confusion with an easy slice straight through its neck. To her immense satisfaction, the entirety of Main Avenue up until the front doors of the amphitheatre were cleared. The outlines of terrified civilians sprinting to the few passenger vessels daring to stay behind and save people were proof of their victory. They had managed to take back a huge portion of the main campus, leaving a safety margin for those trapped individuals to escape.
Team CFVY had already bolted towards the dormitories, while the other teams had sprinted down towards Beacon Cliffs and the fairgrounds. That left Team JNPR and SSSN to meet up and race as a unit down the road, bolting towards the CCTS tower. There were so many civilian workers in that facility that it seemed like the next logical destination.
They finally ended up in front of the courtyard surrounding the tower. Here, there were still a plethora of Grimm assaulting humans and Faunus alike. "We'll start here," Sun announced, spinning his nunchucks.
Pyrrha heard a plaintiff cry in the corner. Pivoting on her heel, she saw a tiny, very humanoid foot poking out of a nearby bush. Racing to it, she parted the leaves, wincing as a small, blotchy red face sobbed at the intrusion, the little girl's cheeks marred with scratches and burns.
"Ssh, sweetheart, you'll be okay," Pyrrha murmured, ignoring how her stomach tensed up in an iron ball when she saw the child's injuries extend across her body. She tucked her weapons away momentarily. "We'll get you out."
The girl squirmed as Pyrrha removed her from her hiding place, squalling, "Mom! I want my Mom! Let me go!" A few seconds later, however, the girl took a good look at Pyrrha's face, and her eyes widened. "You- you're on my ceweal," she whispered thickly, sniffling, wide-eyed and shell-shocked.
A tight smile spread across Pyrrha's face. Keeping her voice as friendly as possible, she replied, "That's right." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a few other civilians hiding behind a nearby ring of pillars. "I'm going to protect you, okay?" Holding the little girl flush against her chest, she ran to the people hiding, trying to keep the girl from jostling as much as possible in her arms. When she finally approached the closest two, she hid behind the pillars as well, setting the girl down on the ground in front of what looked to be a terrified couple. Staring deep into their eyes, she nodded. "Take her with you. We've cleared Main Avenue."
The man gulped blankly as he stared at Pyrrha's sudden appearance, but the woman nodded, immediately picking the little girl up in her arms. "We're gonna find your mom, alright? She's going to be on a ship. We'll meet her there," she whispered quietly.
The little girl craned her neck back to stare at Pyrrha, asking for permission from the one authority figure she recognized. "Stay with these nice people, okay?" The redhead smiled as gently as she could, muttering to the adults, "Keep her safe."
The man snapped out of his daze. Nodding shakily, he said, "We'll try our best."
Another screech from the distance reminded her of the task at hand. With that, Pyrrha stood up and returned to the battlefield once more. Her friends had already cleared the first line of Grimm and were regrouping, ready to tackle the next wave. When she returned to Jaune's side, however, she felt a hand grip hers, squeezing with a force that would've crushed a weaker person. "Jaune, what-?" The boy didn't respond, however, his eyes locked onto the rapidly-approaching airborne shape. Now, they could see visibly massive wings beating, slowly, powerfully. The creature was now above southern Vale- and even from this distance, they could see glowing red eyes staring at Beacon.
How… how big is that thing?
Jaune's fingers clenched even tighter on her hand as Nora and Ren ran to their side, having taken out their own opponents. His face was pale and clammy, expression determined but eyes growing frantic. With a surprisingly high-pitched voice, he laughed, "You see that thing, right?"
She saw a blur of movement out of the corner of her eye. Summoning Miló to her free hand, she threw its javelin form straight through two Beowolves which had tried to get a sneak attack on the duo. The demons collapsed as she pulled Miló back with her polarity, ripping it free of their flesh with a sickening squelch. "Yes, I do," she murmured.
On his side, Jaune stabbed his sword straight into the underbelly of a knocked-back Boarbatusk. His blue eyes grew even wider. With a manic smile, he muttered, "Wow, I seriously miss when being called 'Vomit Boy' was the worst thing to happen to me."
The comment was so out of the blue that a laugh barked its way up from her belly, her eyes tearing off of the figure in the distant sky. She didn't know where the guile appeared in her to loftily quip, "Well, if you need me to pull you out of harm's way," she said, yanking his hand to drag him away from a Nevermore's descending claws, "I can always grab your armour."
The words leaving her lips stunned her momentarily. What she was talking about wasn't a laughing matter- yet, Jaune twisted in two, laughing maniacally. When he straightened up at last, kicking away a small Creep's mask, he squeezed her hand one more time before letting go. "C'mon, Pyrrha. Smile more. You smiling means that we can fight. We can get through this- even that thing, if we're together. Can't we?"
The redhead smiled and nodded, a sense of security that she had never truly felt before growing in her chest. She finally brought Akoúo back to her hands as everyone lined up in a row, facing the remaining Grimm. The monsters had mostly been shooed away from the base of the tower, meaning that anyone inside could run straight towards Main Avenue cleanly. However, more were still present on either side of it, so that was their next target.
If you're here with me, I know I'll be fine. You're the reason I'll fight. I'll always protect you.
She readied herself alongside her comrades, trading secret grins with Jaune as Sun commanded, "Break!" As Team SSSN sprinted off to the left, however, Pyrrha stopped in her tracks, eyes landing upon a figure standing in the large, arched doorway of Beacon Tower. Although she couldn't see his face clearly from so far away, she could easily see his hunched shoulders, his tightly-gripped knuckles resting upon his cane. He stood by the ajar door, watching her.
…it's time, then.
Lowering her weapons, Pyrrha closed her eyes, then stepped forwards towards Professor Ozpin's blank expression. She heard Nora cry out in confusion, but she didn't turn around, didn't look at her teammates again. The reality had yet to catch up with her brain, the ramifications of what was about to happen not fully setting in.
I'm sorry, Nora. Ren. Jaune. I have to go.
***BONUS CONTENT FOR (nearing) THE END OF VOLUME 3!
Here are some choice lines from the Vytal Festival Tournament. I didn't think this little section really suited the tone for later chapters, so here it is now. Hope you enjoy the silliness (which honestly has no place to be here in such a tense time).
[52]
[watching sssn's fight, Pyrrha hopes they'll win cuz she likes sun and she supports Neptune cuz if Neptune gets Weiss then jaune has to accept her
jaune is seething that Neptune is flirting and Weiss is watching
jaune looks at Pyrrha and suddenly stops being so salty about it and she just kinda trades looks with nora like DID YOU SEE THAT HOLY GUACAMOLE UM UMUM
[53]
Tumtum tells her that her mom left early back to mistral and now she's like wow fam left me hanging wtf
[55]
Terra pulls out his rifle again starts firing lightning dust into the swamp and she's like fuck fuck abort
…
but she heads off to ozpin's office which is above the ccts tower anyways it's only been like what 48 hours since they spoke and she's nervous as balls
[58]
Pyrrha just goes and hugs her, makes sure that she's okay because ruby's a small bean we must protect
…
She insists that it wasn't his fault, she went against his wishes to back off and let him handle it, but she tries to console him saying that he really has grown and she's so proud
He at the beginning brushes it off then realizes that she's serious and he's like shit I'm so lucky to have you Pyrrha I wouldn't have made it here without you, huh? and she's like well dude same tbh and he doesn't believe her but she's like THE POWER OF LOVE KEPT ME GOINGGGG
[59]
Neptune and sun walk in, immediately neptune's like hey dude are you ready for us to destroy you in the finals and noras like bitch please
[62]
In the midst of battle, jaune reaches out for her hand, she's super surprised
He's cold and sweaty and scared but he just murmurs in a high-pitched voice WOW I MISS THE DAYS WHEN VOMIT-BOY WAS THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN TO ME
She pulls out the biggest brass balls and quips back what a legend