Sometimes fighting felt a lot like dancing. There was a flow to it, a natural order, a rhythm, a beat, rehearsed action and reaction. One could even call it beautiful in a way, but it was a savage beauty. It was a fast dance with a chaotic tempo and Jaune was barely keeping up.
Floating Array moved and slashed at the hunter but he ducked easily enough. Jaune thrust Crocea Mors at his back hoping to take advantage of Penny's distraction only to have his heavy rifle knock the sword away. Jaune pulled his dented shield up blocking the heavy butt from clubbing him in the face again.
"I think you're getting slower, Miss Polendina," Vasily taunted.
Jaune snarled wanting nothing more that to knock that smug little smirk off his face. He charged in his shield held in front hoping to strike him off balance but before Jaune could get close enough his double rifle roared once more striking his shield again.
It felt like getting hit with a truck. His arm felt numb but he dug his feet into the snow feeling it push him back almost stumbling him.
Penny didn't waste her opening and shot her blade at him. Vasily rolled and brought the double rifle up and fired his second shot. The blade shattered again and he laughed retreating to reload his beast of a rifle.
"Definitely slower," Vasily taunted pulling two fresh shells from his bandolier and siding them into the weapon and closing it with smooth practiced ease.
Who built that weapon? Jaune was sure Ruby would be gushing over it given the chance. Jaune didn't even want to imagine what it'd do to him if it actually him him instead of his poor shield. He wasn't even sure it could stand many more hits, certainly not at this range.
He moved again, desperate to keep the assassin under pressure. They had him outnumbered now that his drones were gone. Penny moved too staggering her movement to avoid giving him an easy target as they tried flanking him from both sides.
Vasily was ready for that. He drew a revolver from his flap holster and fired at Jaune squeezing off multiple shots that shattered against his shield. Penny reached him first and he parried her blades with his rifle holding it in one hand like a staff knocking away the many swords.
A single blade sprung from between the two barrels and he thrust at Penny catching her shoulder. She screamed as the bayonet sank in and shocked her again with lighting dust.
Jaune finally closed in and swung. The hunter withdrew his bayonet and knocked away Jaune's sword with the rifle as he slammed the barrel of the heavy revolver into his face.
Jaune took the blow, he saw stars blooming in his eyes, but he didn't retreat. He swiped his shield up catching Vasily's wrist with the edge knocking the revolver away.
Vasily snarled as the weapon dropped into the snow. Jaune kept pressing his assault, he brought Crocea Mors back up to return the hunter's pistol whip with a pommel strike. Jaune dropped as he felt the bayonet slash his leg and shock him. His leg muscles contracted and he growled in pain and he fell down to the snow.
The assassins retreated but Penny followed lashing out with two blades to hold whatever pressure they had on him. The assassin rolled backwards onto one knee and fired, both barrels cracked like thunder and both swords shattered.
Again Vasily laughed. "How many swords do you have left now Miss Polendina? Ten? I'm more than willing to keep relieving you of them, though I'd like to keep one intact for my trophy wall."
Jaune growled picking himself up from the snow. He felt Penny step close, he stabbed his blade into the snow and took her hand letting her help him stand. "We need to attack him while he's reloading," he told Penny softly keeping his gaze firmly fixed on Vasily, "I'll distract him."
"Jaune! Wait!" Penny said as he took off sprinting towards the assassin.
"Bastard!" Jaune cried shield held up and sword raised.
"There's no need for vulgarities Mr. Arch." Vasily answered calmly as Jaune charged, "I am a hunter, I-."
"You're not a hunter!" Jaune interrupted giving his first swing. "You're just a psychopath, a serial killer with a paycheck," he snarled blocking a strike from the butt of his rifle and thrusting Crocea Mors at him.
Vasily calm face twisted into a frown, he spun away from the thrust and leveled the rifle at Jaune and fired from the hip.
BOOM! First shot.
It completely knocked Jaune off his feet. He flew backwards and once again found himself falling back first into the snow. Once more the slug had crashed against his shield adding another dent, his shield had gained quite a few recently it seemed.
Jaune looked up moving to stand when the assassin charged him, bayonet raised. Jaune tried raising his battered shield to block the falling blow. But the strike never came. Vasily's arm was yanked violently to the side as if by an unseen force.
Jaune stuck.
He spring up from the icy ground and slashed the assassin across his chest. Crocea Mors connected. Vasily's aura pushed against his blade protecting him but the slash seared through the nylon layers of his snow jacked and across the leather sling of his rifle and bandolier.
The bolt action rifle on his back fell to the ground but Jaune ignored it. He dropped his ancestral sword and snatched away the bandolier from the snow. The assassin tried kicking him in retaliation but his boot only slammed against the shield. Jaune turned clutching the heavy belt of ammunition and threw it with all his might. He tossed it right into one of the burning buildings.
The supply of ammunition crackled, exploding as the flames consumed it.
Jaune fell forward as he felt the buttstock of Vasily's double rifle club him in the back of his head. He turned back up ready to fight as Penny charged in. A flash of the bayonet cut whatever was holding Vasily's arm. Jaune spotted a fragment of a sword hilt dangling from the assassin's arm. Penny had used one of her wires to snare him.
Vasily turned to Penny and rolled away from the flurry of blades and fired shattering another blade.
Shot two, empty.
Jaune sprinted across the ice, snatching Crocea Mors from where he dropped it and charged.
Vasily parried away the attacks from Floating Array, down to just nine blades he parried them all, his rifle twirled as he wielded it in both hands, Penny kept her distance extending her swords to attack at a safe range. He ducked a blade thrust directed at him and swiped his bayonet up.
The sword fell out the air and into the snow, the invisible string expertly cut by his blade. Jaune swung at the assassins, adding his own blade to the fray. Steel met steel ringing as they traded blows. Blocks and parries and faints, they pressed their attack keeping the assassin on his toes.
The heavy stock of the rifle bashed away Jaune's shield as Vasily brought the bayonet to him only for the blow to be stopped once more. The rifle was pulled away from the hunter's grasp. He growled and retreated running away from them.
Jaune gave chase. He sprinted after him as he rushed through the icy streets of the burning ghost town. He wasn't about to let Vasily slip away to keep attacking them, not when they had him on the ropes.
The hunter turned rounding a corner of a burning house and Jaune followed only to find the hunter waiting for him. Vasily lunged for Jaune, knife in hand slashing at his face. He blocked it bringing his shield up and stepping back.
Vasily kept the momentum of his attack grinning as he assaulted Jaune with a flurry of slashes and stabs. Jaune blocked his attacks, the Bowie knife sparking against the surface of his shield, he swung Crocea Mors to keep Vasily at bay but he was agile, an open palm blocked Jaune's swings slapping his wrist.
A mechanical click, Jaune felt it beneath his feet. Steel teeth snapped down on his right leg. Another ursai trap buried beneath the snow. The trap shocked him, sparking with lighting dust to deliver a swift but painful shock.
Jaune cried and Vasily pounced. He stepped within Jaune's guard, knocking away his sword with his empty hand and thrust. The blade pierced him, it sank in just below Jaune's breast plate into his abdomen.
Jaune's breath was stolen as the cold steel stabbed him. Crocea Mors dropped from his hands and into the snow, his aura shattered with the blow and dissolved into glittering light.
"JAUNE!" Penny shrieked, her horror stricken voice drowned out the howling winds.
Vasily grinned maliciously. He moved to twist the blade but Jaune grabbed his wrist stopping him as he held on with a vice-like grip. Vasily growled at Jaune defying him, he tried pulling the knife out but Jaune's grip was like iron. He punched Jaune slamming his gloved fist into his face, the first punch connected, the second slammed against Jaune's shield.
The knight brought his shield down on Vasily's arm breaking his grip on the knife only for the hunter to slam his elbow into Jaune's chest knocking him down bleeding.
"JAUNE!" Penny screamed again and Vasily turned to face her drawing a second knife.
"It's just you and me now Miss Polendina." He laughed ducking a flying blade, his knife flashed expertly and her blade fell away to the ground. Floating Array flashed in the fire light, every blade directed at the assassin. Several struck, tearing his jacket but little more as his aura blocked the strikes from damaging him.
He dodge, rolled across the snow and with expert precision he cut the near invisible strings. More blades dropped, and with every lost sword of Floating Array Vasily evaded her attacks with greater ease.
"Get out of my way!" Penny threatened him, fists clenched and shaking. "Do not make me destroy you!"
Vasily sighed, sparing a glance to the foolish knife he'd left ensnared and bleeding in the snow. "So disappointing," he shook his head, "I was hoping a machine such as you would be logical enough to shed the burdens of simple morals, but all you care about is saving him." Vasily chuckled, a cold amused laugh with a predatory grin on his face. "Even now when he's dying."
Penny charged and tripped his trap. Snow knocked up, a wire net spinning up and over Penny. Black energy from gravity dust glowed from the grid of wires. Floating Array's few remaining blades bounced off its surface repelled by the dust. It enveloped Penny, it wrapped around her and pulled her down to the weighted corners of the bed embedded into the ground and the steel mesh sparked with lighting dust shocking the android as she struggled cutting herself on the razor thin wire, much like the wires of Floating Array.
"Disappointments aside it has been a very memorable hunt," Vasily said stepping close with his hunting knife in hand, raising it for a coup de grâce. "Thank you Miss Polendina, it has been a most enjoyable night."
Blam! Blam blam blam blam!
Rounds impacted Vasily's back shattering against his aura. He ducked and rolled away looking back to see Jaune. The knight stood up on one knee an Atlesian military service pistol smoking in his hand, the slide was locked back showing it to now be empty.
Jaune dropped the empty gun and grabbed Crocea Mors off the ground, swinging the blade at the trap closed around his leg shattering the steel ursai trap in a few swings.
Vasily growled, frustration evident in his voice as he watched him stand and raise his sword. His growl quickly faded into a chuckle and his sneer into a grin. "John, John, John," he said, shaking his head in amusement. "I admire your grit, I really do. But you're not very smart are you?"
"I was going to throw a snowball at you before I remembered I had a gun in my pocket." Jaune confessed actually managing to laugh at himself. "And it's Jaune, not John."
"Your name is irrelevant," Vasily said dismissively looking at him shaking where he stood, "just run along now Mr. Arch, it's over."
"I'm still standing."
"Barely, and on wounded leg," Vasily observed, "and you can barely even hold your blade up."
Jaune glared at him. He was right, he was shaking from the cold and exhaustion and Crocea Mors felt leaden in his hand. He looked down past the hunter, and spotted Penny's green eyes looking at him.
Jaune set his sword down. Stabbing it into the snow and dropping his battered shield next to it. "Mind if I use yours?" He asked grabbing the hilt of the knife buried in his abdomen, he grit his teeth as he pulled it free gasping at the pain feeling blood seeping out from the stab wound.
Penny looked horrified gazing at him raising the bloody knife to Vasily with a steady hand.
Vasily sprung forward and stabbed at the knight, Jaune side stepped and slapped away his wrist before slashing at Vasily's face. Vasily ducked and moved stepped away looking at the red snow beneath Jaune and smirked. He pressed forward stabbing and slashing at the young knight.
Jaune dodged as best he could, blocking some attacks with his open palm or with the knife. Vasily probed with his attacks testing him and his form. Jaune wasn't a knife fighter and it was clear the assassin could see that. A thrust came and Jaune held his left hand out to deflect his wrist only for Vasily to pull back and slash his hand, cutting open his pinky and ring finger. The hunter laughed and pressed his assault.
A rhythm formed, block, slash, counter, stab dodge. Vasily's arm extended as he thrust out. Jaune stepped to the side evading it and bringing his knife down on his unguarded wrist slashing it. The knife fell from the assassin's hand but his left grabbed Jaune's arm knife and wrenched it hard.
Jaune yelled, feeling his elbow twist unnaturally and the knife slipped from his fingers into the snow. A left hook clocked Jaune across the jaw and he tasted blood.
Jaune stumbled back. He spat out his mouthful of blood into the white snow staining it crimson. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand watching Vasily pull off his nylon snow gloves tossing them down and taking a boxers stance.
Jaune put up his own fists to defend himself. As Vasily approached. Jaune dodged an upper cut and punched the hunter with a jab. Pain bloomed in his hand as he made contact with Vasily's face, his fist crashing against his aura. Vasily charged and grabbed him delivering a low bow punching him right in the knife wound.
Jaune cursed trying to retreat but Vasily pressed. Both fists snapped out delivering a sharp one two punch to his face stumbling the knight before smacking his chin with an uppercut. Jaune punched forward only for his weak attack to be caught by Vasily.
The hunter dropped him, a haymaker knocking him down to the snow. Vasily didn't let up, he dropped down straddling the knight. His bloody fist smashing into the young boy's face again and again. His nose and mouth bleed, his nose crunched being broken. Jaune flailed helpless trying desperately to throw him off, to stop his fist from crashing into his face but Vasily knocked his arms away to continue battering him.
Slapping away an attempt at a block Vasily grabbed his throat and squeezed. He grinned downed maliciously at him as his hands squeezed him blocking his windpipe, icy blue eyes gazed down into Jaune's as he struggled, gasping for breath struggling to break his grip to pick or kick or throw the hunter off him as his vision blurred. He tried everything, he rubbed snow in his face,he clawed at him, he hit it but the hunter's vice-like grip on his windpipe didn't let up.
"You fought well Mr. Arch," Vasily laughed, "for a mere thorn in my side, better than I predicted certainly, but I'm afraid this ends exactly how we knew it would."
Jaune choked and his struggling ceased, his limbs falling limp at his side. His mouth moved, wordlessly like a fish struggling to breathe above water.
"Any parting words Mr. Arch?" He laughed maniacally leaning in close his teeth bared like a predator. "Care to share?"
Vasily was knocked off, something striking his head. The assassin clutched his head, blood poured from a wound to his temple and he snarled looking up to see a blade thrust through his stomach.
"It's Arc!" Jaune hissed holding the sword, one of the swords of Floating Array it from its string by Vasily, one of Penny's swords. "And I'm a hellava thorn." Vasily's eyes widened, he gazed at the blade, his aura dissolving into light. He was speechless clutching at the sword before falling over.
Jaune took a deep breath. Frigid air in his lungs as he coughed and gasped for it filings his lungs. He stared at the limp body on the ground staining the snow with more red.
"Jaune?" Penny called to him gazing at him sitting above the fallen assassin.
He turned to see her. Still trapped within the wire net bend down by the power of the gravity dust. He crawled on all fours towards her through the snow. Penny couldn't take her eyes off him. His face was a bruised and swollen mess, his eyes were already swelling shut and he left a trail of blood as he moved towards her.
He grabbed Crocea Mors and tried standing. He looked at Crocea Mors, still stabbed into the snow. He grabbed the hilt and tried to stand forcing himself up on wobbly legs to limp towards her on one good leg. He fell and stumbled more than once but he kept moving clutching the knife wound at his side.
He didn't speak or answer Penny. He only moved towards her and raised his sword bringing it down on the corner of the steel net. He looked possessed as he gripped his family blade in both hands and brought it down again and again until the steel wires sheared apart. The gravity dust faded as the corner was cut away and Penny pulled the rest of the net away.
Jaune fell and she caught him. "I got you Jaune," she cooed, lowering him down to the snow, "I got you."
Jaune mumbled incoherently as she pulled the sword from his hand and laid it aside. "I need to check your wound." She explained to him receiving no coherent answer as she pulled away his shirt seeing the bloody gash.
Penny applied pressure to the wound and watched hot crimson seep through her fingers staining them red. She looked around trying to think of what to do next. Everything around them was ablaze, the icy winds pushing the burning building down into smouldering piles of charred wood being smothered by falling snow.
Where could they go? The blizzard raged around them and she could feel the raging fires dying under the onslaught of ice losing in their attempts to stay alight.
"Jaune," Penny said looking down at him not completely sure if he could hear her. "I need to close this wound, it's going to hurt, a lot," she warned him.
She pulled her hand away, a gush of blood came out. Floating Array shifted into its laser form and fired.
The low energy beam traced the cut burning it closed. Jaune screamed. Penny felt like she was being stabbed hearing him. "I am sorry!" She screamed helping to restrain him as he thrashed. "I am sorry Jaune, I am so sorry," she said trying to cauterize the knife wound as best she could.
He gripped her arm as tight as he could and tears streamed down his face as he shouted. Sometimes he cursed shouting obscenities that might've made Penny blush if the circumstances had been different. But mostly he just cried out incoherently.
His voice went hoarse and died down as she continued to burn the wound shut. The silence from him felt worse than his screams of agony. As the green laser finished its work she gathered him in her arms feeling for his pulse. It was weak, but she felt it. He was still alive.
She held him close. She rested his head against her shoulder. She held him tightly against her trying to warm him with her heat. He was taller than her and with broader shoulders making her task of shielding him difficult. His breathing was shallow and he shivered.
He wasn't going to last. There was nowhere to go, nowhere to shield him from this unforgiving cold. His clothes were all wet again from snow, and blood.
So much blood.
She could sense his body temperature falling. He was dying in her arms.
"You are going to be alright Jaune," she promised him, hiccuping despite herself. No matter how much she meant the words it was still a lie. Not that the blonde knight could hear her empty assurance.
She looked up at the dark sky. Dawn was nearing them but she wasn't sure if he'd even last that long. She felt helpless trying to think of something, anything to keep him alive. She had nothing, nothing to keep him warm, no blood to give no food or water, the shelter she led them too was destroyed.
Jaune had done everything he could. He pushed himself to beat Vasily and endured every bit of punishment until he found victory and freed her. He risked everything and saved her.
It was her turn now.
She looked back up to the dark sky aiming Floating Array to the heavens and fired. Three rapid blasts of green energy fired pierced the sky. It was a drain on power, it was desperate, but it was the best she could do.
She waited a minute before firing another three shots into the sky with the small hope that someone, anyone would see them and help.
One minute, three shots.
Penny did not know if she believed in gods, or if they'd listen to the prayer of a machine but she silently prayed to whatever could hear her. Save him.
One minute, three shots
A warning flashed across her vision, her power levels were low and would continue to drop. Her laser was always a drain on her power. She dismissed the warning.
One minute, three shots.
"Hold on Jaune," she pleaded, she felt silly knowing he was unconscious but she pleaded nonetheless, "do not give up on me."
One minute, three shots.
More warnings flashed in her vision. Her power levels were critically low and her system threatens to put her into sleep mode. She again dismissed the warnings and engaged her manual override. She wouldn't let herself be pulled into sleep mode to conserve her power so she might be recovered. Not when he needed her, not when Jaune needed her to save him. She would not fail him. She would not give up.
One minute, three shots.
Ruby stared out the side of the bullhead like somehow she could see something this high up and in the dark. The faintest bit of light colored the horizon as they flew above the storm clouds.
True to his word General Ironwood has deployed them the minute the weather was deemed safe enough for them to fly. So far he predicted that the blizzard would break sometime after dawn but for now they scanned the landscape from the air. It was mostly one of the Atlas soldiers looking at thermal imaging equipment to catch any signs of body heat. A radio operator listened to channels despite all kinds of interference from the storm and apparent jamming equipment.
Team RWBY was all exhausted. They'd all tried in vain to sleep when they got back. The anticipation of deploying again mixed with their worry for their friends. No one felt like sleeping and after a couple hours of trying fruitlessly to rest they Weiss made them all coffee. Ren and Nora joined them, they too couldn't sleep so they all stayed up together drinking inordinate amounts of tea and coffee or other caffeinated beverages.
"I shouldn't have drank all that coffee," Weiss sighed, "my bladder feels like it's going to pop."
Yang sighed, rubbing her eyes. "I told you to use the bathroom before we left."
"I did!" Weiss corrected.
Ruby turned to address them. The last thing she wanted was a fight when everybody was exhausted and on edge. Green flashed. It was in the corner of her eye, just in the faint edges of her peripheral vision.
Ruby snapped her attention back to the window looking at the black.
"Ruby?" Blake asked her seeing her staring intently out the window.
"I saw something!" Ruby told them.
"From up here?" Weiss asked, "are you sure?"
"I think so," Ruby said gazing into the darkness outside.
"We're all tired sis," Yang said, putting a hand on her sister's shoulder. "You might've imagined it."
Three lines of green light flashed piercing the clouds below and shooting into the sky.
"There it is again!" Ruby pointed. "I didn't imagine that did it?"
"No." Blake said.
"I think that might be them!" Yang agreed.
"Pilot," Ruby called putting, "I think we found them."
Hey everyone, I hope you're enjoying the story. This is the ending of the first arc and I hope you enjoyed it. Some of you have commented that you fear this adventure would be the end and Jaune and Penny wouldn't get to develop in calmer settings. Well let me assure you this story is far from over and I have a lot more planned. This is just a part of a much bigger story and I hope you stick around for it. As always I would like to thank MidKnightMoonglow99 for helping me so much, he really helped me figure out the final fight between Jaune and Vasily so credit where credit is due. Please review as usual and next chapter should come next week.