A/N: Y'all, I feel exhausted after writing this thing. Originally, I thought I would post this whole fight in one fell swoop from beginning to end. Then, for Chapter 24, I realized that it was best to end the chapter after Weiss' attack in order to maintain the correct tone in the two sections of the fight. But then, fleshing out the rest of this godforsaken 'let's-stand-and-talk-and-fight-offscreen-and-pout-dramatically' battle took so many words that it ended up becoming a little behemoth.
So, here's the second part of the fight. It's a three-parter, folks. Hopefully this split works out, but either way, we're almost there!
Let me know what you think :)
What We Call Home
"Weiss!"
Nora barely registered Jaune's blond hair flying past her as the boy bolted towards the fallen heiress, the panic in his face radiating off his body.
It certainly was affecting Nora. Her entire body was shaking. What should she do?
Beacon had never been like this. They had trained and trained and trained, but Beacon had never prepared her for this.
I'll just make it worse- Jaune's crying- um… Ren can help. Her eyes darted over to Cinder, the woman's smirk sickening to see, illuminated by magical fire shining in her eyes due to her Maiden's powers. She's still a threat. She shifted, her gaze falling to the floor- to Ruby, still unconscious. Mercury was still being occupied by Yang, but Emerald… People are after Ruby. We have to protect her.
"Ren," she whispered, reaching out and tugging on his coat, "go to Jaune and Weiss."
His voice was just as terrified as he replied, "Nora, I-"
"Go to Jaune." There was no room for debate.
It couldn't have been more than a second long, but that moment felt like an eternity for Nora until Ren nodded at last, sprinting to join their leader. The moment he left, she hurried over to where Ruby still lay on the floor, unmoving.
To her surprise, Oscar skidded down the stairs and rushed to Ruby's side as well, shaking her shoulders frantically. His green Aura was shimmering around his whole body- he still was a little slow to heal his wounds. He clearly had been in conflict until then. Nora caught sight of Professor Lionheart tumbling down the stairs and crashing into Hazel. Oscar must've been fighting Lionheart. She winced, thinking of the betrayal of it all. I wonder how Ozpin is taking all of this…
As Nora skidded to a halt on her knees beside the unconscious girl, Oscar cried, "Ruby, get up! Get up! We need you!" Unfortunately, the younger girl didn't seem to respond to any amount of shaking or calling for her.
Nora grabbed Ruby's hand, squeezing tight. C'mon, Ruby, she thought fervently, you've got to get up…
Finally, Ruby's eyes fluttered open, mouth twisting into a grimace as she began to stir. Oscar's expression grew plaintive, his voice cracking as he begged, "Ruby! You-"
"Ozpin!" Hazel roared suddenly, his voice booming through the large hall.
Nora shifted around to look at the giant man, concern rising up in her throat. "Um, Oz," she murmured, "do you… know him?"
Oscar didn't reply, simply clambering to his feet and extending his cane, eyes locked on Hazel's approaching form. Nora felt a chill run down her spine as she watched the man approach; he looked completely different than he had just minutes before. It was like watching a domesticated animal turn feral and sick, teeth bared threateningly. Any and all traces of calm were completely gone, his face seething in unrestrained rage as he gnashed his teeth and glared daggers at Oscar's petrified figure.
Hazel cried, "You thought you could hide from me?!" The man's eyes flashed angrily as he ripped his coat off, reached into pouches hanging from his belt, and withdrew four large, uncut lightning-Dust crystals. He rumbled, "You'll pay for what you did! You'll die over and over again!"
What the heck is he-
And then, Hazel stabbed the Dust into his arms, completely ignoring the dripping blood trailing down his arms to stain the wooden floors. His body hunched over, grunts of pain and exertion passing his lips as the crystals began to glow, resonating with his Aura.
Nora watched the scene unfold in horror. You can't just inject Dust into you! I can't even handle lightning-Dust straight!
And yet, here she was watching Hazel's blood vessels begin to glow under his skin. The man's head snapped up, dark eyes now glowing unnaturally-yellow with the new addition of Dust to his Aura. An unholy roar ripped past his lips, the sound aimed straight for Oscar.
Ruby. Nora tucked Magnhild away for a moment, scooping the still-unresponsive Ruby up in her arms. "Oscar," she breathed, "you have to run. Get Oz to help."
Oscar nodded, brandishing his cane feebly as he retreated to the other end of the hall, eyes still locked onto Hazel's hulking form.
Glancing around, she spotted Qrow, who had been watching the whole affair with the same horrified expression as everyone else. "Help Oscar!" she screamed to the Huntsman, running to the side of the room to avoid the man's rampage.
As she lay Ruby back down away from the fray and pulled out her hammer yet again, she heard Cinder cry, "Leo! Open the path to the vault!"
Oh no- we have to stop them! Looking around frantically, she craned her head, desperate to find even one person who could put an end to it all. There wasn't anyone, though- she had to protect Ruby, Ren and Jaune were staunching Weiss' wounds, Qrow had listened and was defending Oscar against Hazel-
Yang!
The sound of creaking gears and shifting stone caught her ear. Looking back to the front of the room, Nora gawped at source of the noise- the statue of the woman between the two staircases was moving downwards into the floor. Standing in front of it was Raven, her subordinate who had fought Weiss, and Cinder.
Nora froze. Was that the entrance? It must be an elevator… but if that's the vault, then that means one of them's the Spring Maiden. Her eyes fell on the woman Weiss had been fighting, heart sinking in disbelief. There was no reason for the subordinate to be going down with them, unless… Did- did we leave Weiss to fight a Maiden alone? What did we- what did we just do?
And now, Weiss was unconscious, having been too exhausted from her fight against a Maiden of all people, only to be stabbed by another one. And they had all been too powerless to stop it.
Someone had to stop them. She clenched her fists in her lap, feeling hot tears well up in her eyes. Gods, how she wanted to fight Cinder- she wanted to run up there and destroy that woman, and just put an end to it all-
But Ruby was vulnerable.
We can't lose anyone else.
She turned back, finding Yang's golden hair amidst the drab hues of the hall. "Yang!" The blonde turned to look at her, expression blank and confused as Yang's gaze fell onto the trio going down to the vaults. Nora scoffed at it for a moment before it all clicked. That's not just a Maiden… nor the person who killed Pyrrha…
That's her mom with them, too.
Nora couldn't even begin to imagine what Yang was feeling, being forced to watch her uncle fight the mother who had abandoned her.
The fight against Raven is Yang's fight, isn't it?
She chewed her lip, sighed, then screamed, "Stop them! We've got your team covered!"
Yang seemed to agree, bracing herself to run after the trio of women heading towards the descending statue. Nora grinned, but before Yang could get anywhere, Mercury and Emerald blocked her off. Dammit!
Ruby began to stir yet again, so Nora had little choice but to turn her attention back to the younger. "Ruby, c'mon," she whispered urgently. "You've got to get up." She could hear Qrow's strained groans of pain as he continued to fight Hazel, the sounds of Yang's prosthetic arms meeting Mercury's metal boots ringing in between her ears. "Our friends need help- c'mon."
She hated this- she felt so helpless. It was like the Fall all over again, when all she could do was watch her friends continue fighting with no way to reach them. It wasn't fair.
The sounds of Hazel screaming in rage as he hunted Oscar raised the hair on the back of her neck like nothing else- it was terrifying. She almost missed the brick wall she had fought earlier as compared to the demon that was chasing the younger boy around. "Run, Oscar- don't fight him!" she screamed, watching the younger boy dart around Hazel's onslaught.
He didn't seem to hear her, too focused on dodging Hazel's attacks and trying to speak with him. Suddenly, Hazel managed to land a clean hit on the boy, knocking him against the wall roughly. Before the next hit could land, Qrow intercepted the attack, but soon both he and Oscar were lying on the floor, wincing in pain. Hazel roared, "Tell him, Ozpin! Tell him how you killed her!"
Nora frowned, unsure of what to do. What was Hazel talking about? Why did he hate Ozpin so much?
It doesn't matter. She continued shaking Ruby, pulling the girl's head onto her lap while she tried to awaken her. Her skin was worryingly pale, her Aura slow to spark and knit the wounds she had sustained while fighting Emerald. She's not going to last a ton longer in this fight, Nora realized.
Her eyes flitted back up to Hazel and Oscar. The younger boy looked pensive for a moment while Qrow charged on ahead, attacking Hazel for the nth time. The larger man's eyes were glowing yellow, lightning-Dust crackling through the air around him as he blocked every attack from Harbinger with disturbing ease. Then, Oscar stood, yelling, "Did she know?"
Nora's eyes flew over to Hazel, who had stopped at the brusqueness of Oscar's tone.
Oscar continued, "Did she know the risk of being a Huntress?"
Hazel's eyes bugged out of his head, anger rolling off of him in waves. "She was only a child! She wasn't ready!"
Nora winced.
Surprisingly, Oscar didn't back down, not breaking eye contact with his opponent. "She made a choice! A choice to put others before herself!" Bracing himself for the attack to come, he added loudly, "So do I."
Despite all of the chaos happening around them, a small smile pulled at Nora's lips. His words felt nostalgic, almost unbearably so. He's grown up real fast these past few weeks.
Hazel seemed much less impressed. "Then you've chosen death!"
Nora bit her lip anxiously, surveying the field for a moment. Yang was still fighting Mercury and Emerald, Qrow was fighting Professor Lionheart, and it looked like Ozpin had taken over in the battle against Hazel- the younger boy's movements were suddenly much more precise, powerful, and dangerous.
They can't last forever on their own, she thought nervously, looking back down at Ruby. "Come on, Ruby," she begged, "wake up! We've gotta go help everyone-"
Suddenly, she heard a gasp. Turning to face the sound, she could only blink in awe as she took in the odd scene in front of her. Off in the corner where Jaune and Ren were staunching Weiss' wounds, the girl had begun to glow- but the glow was coming from Jaune's hands. Is that… his Aura?
Finally, the girl laying on her lap began to shift. "Ruby!" she cried, immediately helping the younger to her feet. "How are you feeling?"
"Nora?" Ruby mumbled, hand covering her head, expression twisted in discomfort. "I… what happened?"
"Emerald knocked you out," she explained. "Your eyes began to glow- but are you okay?"
Ruby grimaced, tottering upright. "I guess, but…" The girl's wide silver eyes surveyed the battle quickly, eyes finally falling onto Jaune, Ren, and Weiss in the corner of the hall. Her expression shifted into one of horror immediately, screaming, "Weiss!" The girl rushed over to the trio, falling to her knees beside Weiss' body. Nora hurried after her without hesitation.
Up close, though, the shine of Jaune's Aura was finally properly visible, the radiant white light extending from his hands and ebbing over Weiss' whole body. The most brilliant lights of all concentrated themselves around her wound. The unconscious girl was breathing, her cheeks filling with colour, her own sparks of a light blue Aura beginning to flash and dance around her body.
His Aura is… healing Weiss? Is this his Semblance?
Nora's eyes fell onto a different light glowing around them all, her heart stilling for a moment as the colour sparked a floodgate to open in her mind. It may have been a trick of the light, or perhaps just wishful thinking, but the more she stared at Jaune's sheathed Crocea Mors, the more it looked like there was a different colour there.
A black Aura.
Tears surreptitiously filled Nora's eyes, blurring the scene in front of her for a moment before she blinked them away. The colour was gone, but the memory remained. Pyrrha's still with us.
"What happened?" Ruby nearly sobbed, looking at her teammate. "What's going on?!"
Ruby was still reeling, but the smile which split Nora's face was contagious amongst the rest of the group, everyone's eyes lighting up as Weiss' breathing began to grow more regular, more even. "I think she's going to be okay! She seems to be stabilizing," Ren soothed.
Despite not getting the full story, hearing that caused a large, relieved smile to grow across Ruby's face. However, the sounds of battle still raged on in the center of the main hall where Yang, Qrow and Ozpin still fought. Just a quick look was all that was needed to see that they were quickly losing strength, taking more hits than they were able to dish out. Ruby took all of this info in sagely, brow knitted in thought, until finally, she lifted Jaune's hands from where they had been covering Weiss' wounds.
Nora's cheeks hurt when she saw that the girl's injuries, so dire just minutes before, were completely healed over.
Ruby ordered, "Whatever you're doing, don't stop!"
Jaune nodded. "I won't."
"Good," Ruby replied. "Oscar needs help."
Ren stood, pulling out StormFlower from their holsters and glaring at Hazel, who was still attacking Oscar relentlessly. "I'm on it," he said quietly.
Ruby nodded, glancing back at the blond kneeling in front of her. "Jaune and Weiss still need cover!"
Nora extended Magnhild and stood, taking post beside Ren. "No one's gonna touch 'em," she smiled determinedly.
Ruby's eyes flitted over to Yang, who was struggling against Mercury and Emerald still. She announced, "Okay, make it happen, RNJR!" With that order and a soft, hopeful smile in her eyes, she leapt forward, cutting smoothly in front of the duo battling against Yang in order to protect her sister.
Nora rolled her eyes. It's Team JNRR, Ruby, she thought to herself, but she sent Ruby and Ren off with a smile to help their friends as she took her position, guarding Jaune and Weiss from the battle.
At that point, Raven, Cinder, and the Spring Maiden still weren't back yet. And Hazel and Lionheart are still threats, she realized somberly. No matter how much damage they caused to Hazel, the man was still completely unaffected. He seemed fueled by nothing more than Dust and rage. It was unnatural, and watching Qrow and Ren and Oscar fight him couldn't be good for her heart- every blow from Hazel looked strong enough to kill.
Professor Lionheart, on the other hand, was hiding as much as possible, taking every cheap shot he could whilst remaining hidden from the main fight. The man's desperation was honestly pathetic.
Still, if either of them turned their eyes to Jaune and Weiss, it was her job to defend them. "You guys doing okay?" Nora asked, tense.
"I- I think so. She's coming to. I just wish this would go faster," Jaune groaned, shame and frustration oozing from every pore.
Nora scoffed, trying to squash down the heartbreak that wanted to rise up in her chest. Jaune's guilt, and the shame in his voice when he had first engaged Cinder- it was still fresh in her mind. But it wasn't the time to address that now. "How about you don't complain and just be thankful you unlocked your Semblance when you did," she scolded lightly, trying to maintain some humour in her tone.
"My Semblance?" the boy parroted behind her.
Oh my god, Weiss was right all this time, he really is kind of a dunce- "How else do you think you're healing her, dummy?"
Jaune simply stared back in disbelief, mouth agape as he looked back down at Weiss. The girl's body was glowing a breathtaking mix between Jaune's white Aura and Weiss' pale blue. "No. I don't think I'm healing her," he murmured. "Our Aura heals our bodies. It feels... it feels more like I'm using my Aura to amplify hers!"
Wait… using your Aura? "Wait, aren't you worried about running out?"
To her surprise, Jaune simply smiled, a flash of grief and nostalgia painting his eyes in a memory that Nora couldn't even begin to imagine. Sucking in a deep breath, Jaune finally chuckled, "Pyrrha once told me I've got a lot of it. I still believe her."
The faith in his voice was reaffirmed instantly when Weiss suddenly stirred, her eyes opening slowly. "Jaune?" she rasped.
Nora smiled. See, Jaune? Whatever it is, you've got your Semblance.
She had little time to appreciate the quiet victory before Ren let out a piercing scream, and her eyes snapped back to him. He was pushed against the front door of the hall, lighting crackling through his body, eyes bugged out in agony as his voice cracked. Then, he screamed, falling face-first onto the ground.
He wasn't moving.
"Ren!" she cried fearfully. He didn't respond, didn't get up.
"Go!" Jaune commanded. She glanced back, unsure, but his expression was confident. "I've got her!"
She nodded stiffly before sprinting towards Ren without a second though. You've gotta be okay, Ren. Get up!
Qrow quickly joined Ren by the door after being thrown back by Hazel, the man struggling to climb back to his feet. Meanwhile, Hazel was cornering Oscar. "Hiding behind the face of a child? A monster like you must be stopped!"
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ren beginning to stir. Relief immediately washed over her. Okay. He'll be okay. I just need to distract the big guy. Hazel's hand reached out to grab Oscar, but Nora leapt into the air, bringing Magnhild back down onto his arm. While it didn't seem to hurt it, it certainly served as a decent distraction- the man glanced up at her, his rage chilling as he focused on her as his next target.
Nora sneered back, not to be intimidated. Don't you dare hurt Ren! She propelled herself up into the air, shifting her hammer into its grenade launcher and firing off multiple rounds at the man. Explosions of dust and flooring and smoke filled the air, leaving Oscar coughing as he backed away, trying to catch his breath- but when the air cleared, Hazel still seemed unaffected.
She frowned, running around the man with Magnhild at the ready. What will it take for this guy to just fall?! She jumped back in a few times, testing out swings against his sturdy frame. Every single time, however, he simply batted her away.
Finally, she had had enough. She wasn't making progress like this. Fine. Let's play. She opened up the switch on Magnhild's handle and pressed it, feeling electricity course through her veins as she ran towards him and leapt up into the air, ready to slam her hammer onto his skull once and for all.
She didn't get to. The world spun as she felt him reach up and, as if there wasn't any electricity conducting through the hammer at all, grab the handle of her weapon, flinging her down to the ground. She crashed onto the floor with a thud, the wind knocked clean from her lungs as Magnhild flew out of her reach. Dizzy, she tried to push herself off of the ground-
And then, a large hand grabbed the back of her head and slammed her face onto the floor. She heard the crunch of her nose before she felt it, screaming soundlessly as her mouth filled with blood. Her Aura began running in overdrive, quickly repairing the damage, but her brain was already flooded with pain and fear.
She couldn't move. She was so strong, easily able to take down any Grimm- but the weight on the back of her head could not be pushed off, no matter how much she gasped and struggled through the tears blinding her.
She felt helpless.
It's just like back then.
In her mind, Hazel's hand transformed into one of her old captors. His golden eyes flashed in her mind, his rumbling laugh and earth-shaking Semblance rippling through the floor in her memories. Nick, you bastard, she thought, screaming internally.
How many times had that beast held her down in that bandit camp, screaming in her ear, cackling away while Sotz and the rest just laughed?
Suddenly, she was snapped back to reality as Hazel yelled, "How many more children must die for you?!" and Nora's whole world went white with electricity, her voice back only just to scream again, the jolts of lightning frying her body from the inside out. Her nerves endings were firing like wildfire, her body twitching and jerking around with each wave of electricity.
He was trying to kill her with the lightning-Dust embedded into his arms.
Finally, her Aura and Semblance kicked in, the power speeding up the healing of her nose and renewing her strength. Not today.
With her newfound strength, she clambered to her knees and grabbed Hazel's wrist. She heard him grunt in confusion, a sick sense of satisfaction rushing through her as she stood upright, positioned herself, and channeled everything she had into throwing the giant man clean over her shoulder. He didn't respond in time, allowing himself to be tossed across the room like a ragdoll before rolling over on the floor.
Gasping still, she wiped the blood from her nose away on the back of her glove, retrieved Magnhild, and waited for the man to stand up. Thanks, you bastard, she thought bitterly. I needed that lightning. Little sparks danced across her fingertips, and she had to shake them out, preparing herself for the man to get back on his feet.
Oscar began to move again, pulling himself upright enough to look at her. Ozpin's low, weary voice was the one who spoke, however, as he muttered weakly, "His Semblance... he can block out pain. It's how he is able to handle injecting so much Dust into his body."
Her eyes fell back onto Hazel, who was already climbing back onto his feet.
That's not fair, but fine. She looked over at Ruby and Yang, who were still fighting against Mercury and Emerald, the pairs constantly clashing against one another. No one is in the vaults. If Yang doesn't go, then I will. I have a date with Cinder, and this guy is standing. In. My. Way. "I don't need him to hurt," she glowered, stepping towards her opponent.
Hazel turned, looking back at her. Pure hatred flared up in his eyes as he glanced between her and Ozpin. Starting slow, the man began to charge towards her, picking up speed with an intent to kill plain across his face.
She didn't hesitate, picking up speed as well. "I just need him to go down!"
The man was just a few feet away from her. She stopped short, planting her feet on the ground and bringing Magnhild up behind her. With both hands, she pressed the trigger on Magnhild, felt the electricity course through her yet again, swung the hammerhead back, pivoted her body, and put her entire weight into a swing going straight into Hazel's stomach.
Hazel didn't stand a chance.
With her renewed strength thanks to his lightning, the sheer power of her blow sent him flying. It didn't matter whether he was a monster or not, whether he could feel pain or not- nothing could stand against the intensity of her strike, lightning arcing off her hammerhead and his chest where they had come in contact before he crashed straight through the wall and into Haven's quad. The entire front wall of the building began to crumble, puffs of sawdust and drywall and caving stone filling the air, obscuring Hazel's landing outside.
Amidst the cloud of debris, Nora bolted towards Ren, placing her hand on his shoulder. He was on his hands and knees, gasping for breath. "Ren, are you okay?" she asked, brushing his hair out of his face.
The boy turned his face up to look at her, a weak smile on his lips. "Just… give me a minute," he breathed before looking down again.
Nora nodded, happy to sit when him while he caught his breath and centered himself. While she waited, she glanced around, watching the others carefully. Oddly enough, the fighting on the other side of the room seemed to have ceased. Ruby was staring somberly at the hole in the wall, while Emerald and Mercury watched Hazel stagger to his feet outside. The pair seemed absolutely dumbfounded, giving Yang a much needed reprieve while she paused for a moment, clearly exhausted. Qrow and Oscar were on their hands and knees as well, slowly staggering to their feet with little success.
She searched for Hazel's hulking form outside the school. It was easy enough to spot- the crystals in his arms glowed ominously in the evening light. Soon, however, two red crystals joined the mix, and the man's beastly cry rang through the air as he stabbed what could only be fire-Dust into his arms as well. He's a monster, she thought, eyes shifting to the strange figures behind him.
Her breath caught in her throat. Standing behind Hazel was a line of soldiers in familiar Grimm masks and white robes. She knew those robes- they had covered the grounds of Beacon the day of the Fall. She had fought against countless of those soldiers.
It was the White Fang.
"I forgot they were even here," she whispered, prompting Ren to look outside. Concern flooded his expression as well, the boy's lips pressing tightly together while he tried to ready himself for the battle ahead.
The one good piece of news, however, was that Weiss was finally sitting up beside Jaune, the girl slowly moving, finding her strength once more. You did it, Jaune.
Suddenly, she heard yelling outside, accompanied by the loud beeping of police force airship sirens from above the school. Spotlights and landings markers could be seen outside the high windows in the main hall, the whirring of rotary blades and the crackling of gravity-Dust filling the air. "Adam Taurus," an authoritative voice called over loud speakers, "this is the Mistral Police Force. Lower your weapons and surrender peacefully."
"Well," Nora said, climbing up to her feet to guard Ren while he recovered, "that takes care of that, I guess? The White Fang ain't gonna be doing this again." She watched as everyone else got ready to do the same-
Except for Yang.
The girl's eyes were wide, fixated upon the row of White Fang members outside. Despite the flush that had covered her skin earlier due to the exertion of battle, Yang was now as pale as a sheet, trembling, lilac eyes wide as she peered into the darkness outside.
"Yang, look out!" Ruby cried, blocking an attack from Emerald before the green-haired woman could cut into Yang.
The blonde turned around, snapping out of her fearful stupor and joining the fray once again, charging towards Mercury relentlessly.
Nora pulled out her grenade launcher and began to fire at Mercury and Emerald, distracting them to give Ruby and Yang the upper hand in the fight. As she did so, however, she saw Jaune's face break out into a wide smile as Weiss stood at last, the girl standing tall and proud.
She was alright. Jaune had saved her.
With long, graceful steps, Weiss walked to the center of the hall in front of where the statue had been initially, her rapier held out in front of her. With a flourish and a spin, the girl danced in place, took a knee, and stabbed her blade into the floor, a giant, intricate glyph appearing behind her. This glyph was bigger than anything she had ever seen- bigger than what she had used the Boarbatusk.
What in the world is this?
Emerald and Mercury seemed to take notice of her actions, the duo simultaneously rushing forward to put an end to Weiss' summon. Before they could get anywhere near her, however, the two sisters stepped forward and defended their teammate, knocking their foes back and away from Weiss while she concentrated.
The entire front of the room around the staircases seemed to glow in pale blue light centered on Weiss, her hair whipping around at the force of it all as the Dust particles from Weiss' Myrtenaster blade danced and fused with her Aura, seemingly more powerful than ever. Jaune was right- he did amplify her Aura. It's like it fully restored her!
"Oh my god," Ren breathed, watching the summon take shape. "How is she…"
"Can't she only fight things that she's defeated before?" Nora breathed, eyes wide in awe.
And, as Weiss stood upright, the form in the Dust began to harden, shining with power and life and Aura. Giant wings formed, flapping gusts of wind at the rest of them who could only watch, dumbfounded. A segmented body the size of multiple men solidified, thorny, spindly legs extending from its body with tapered, knife-like claws at the tip of each appendage. Fangs snapping and gnashing out of a Grimm mask began to spray spittle into the air, and a stinger extending from the abdomen seemed to glisten in the lantern light.
Weiss had summoned a Queen Lancer- a type of giant, wasp-like Grimm which Nora had only fought a few times before, and never alone, at that. When the heck did she fight that thing? Nora wondered, absolutely taken by the surreal scene before her.
The heiress had an annoyed expression on her face. "Can you handle these two?" she called to Ruby and Yang, gesturing to Emerald and Mercury, who were watching the beast solidify in quiet horror.
Ruby grinned wickedly. "Take out the big guy!"
Weiss frowned, and Nora could feel the anger rolling off of her body as she stared out into the courtyard of Haven, where Hazel was speaking to a few of the cloaked White Fang members. And then, the pale girl raised her blade and pointed it towards the man's back.
At her command, the Queen Lancer extended its stinger like a hook-shot through the hole in the wall. And, with the most satisfying impact, it speared its long, rope-like stinger straight through Hazel's back, the glowing, serrated point coming out through his stomach, glowing in the darkness outside.
"Payback," Nora muttered, confidence rising through her as she extended Magnhild into a hammer once more. She could see the grisly colour of Hazel's blood dripping onto the Queen Lancer's stinger, and for once, the man wasn't immediately pulling away, his trembling and shock evident even at a distance. It was hurting him.
We can do this. We can win.
She glanced over to Ren, the boy looking hopeful despite his obvious exhaustion. She saw Jaune's face across the room- the pride in his expression was breathtaking. We're going to make it out.
She wasn't going to lose anyone else.