So I guess I left it on a bit of cliff hanger last time. a lot of thing are about to happen and well... I'll talk more about it at the bottom.
Just something I wanted to bring up; I've updated my profile to display the stories I'm working on, but also the ones I have planned in the future, so if you want to know what I'm up to, please take a look.
Now, onto the chapter.
...
When Yang came to, it was to the sound of screaming.
It was a dull, warped sound that fettered through as her ears rang. What… where was she? What happened?
Her vision blurred as she opened her eyes, met with a grey darkness. Something was… on top of her, something heavy. Ugh, solid concrete, great. Where had that even come from?
"Yang?! Yang where are you?"
"I'm here Sun." she called out, coughing as she inhaled dust and whatever else was in the air.
"Oh crap," the Faunus' voice cried out in shock. It was closer now, but still muffled by the solid wall on top of her. "Are you okay? Are you hurt under there at all?"
"I'm fine," she grunted. "just a little stuck," she hissed in annoyance. Her arm was stuck between a literal rock and a hard place. She couldn't move it as she was. "Can you help get this thing offa' me?"
"G-got it, hey Neptune gimme a hand will ya!"
A few moments later Yang could hear the pair of them grunt as the rubble shifted above her, a tiny bit at first but when Yang managed to get her arms free, she got them into a proper position and pushed hard.
The wall – now that she could see it better – was shoved to the side and Yang sat up, cracking her neck as she did so.
"Thank god." Neptune gasped, out of breath from the exertion. "I blacked out when everything came down, I thought it would be a lot worse in here."
"I know what you mean," Sun said, looking around. "Everything just went dark when the… when the Colosseum came down. How is this place even standing?" he glanced at Yang, the question clear in his eyes. "You said something… did something Yang. What was that?"
The blonde sighed, running a hand through her hair and grimacing when she realised the blood that had spilt from her head earlier had run into her hair in red patches.
Just great.
"I hardened the stone and concrete frames of the shop… the walls must have given out, but the frame stayed so we weren't squashed in this."
"And you did that how?"
"…Magic, I… I used magic."
"Magic." He repeated in a slow voice. Neptune stared at her. "Like, magic-magic. Witches and wizards and stuff?"
"Don't be- actually… yes, look it's complicated," she growled. "Ask questions later, we have more important things to think about right now."
"R-right, sorry."
She nodded and made her way to the entrance of the shop, or where the entrance used to be. The wall had been obliterated by something; the impact of the stadium, the shockwave or maybe just some rubble that slammed into it. Either way, it was gone now, and all that was left was a massive hole.
Yang stepped out in an effort to get a look at the situation.
What she saw wasn't good.
"Holy shit."
Yeah, Yang agreed with her fellow blond. Shit.
Vale was… decimated.
All her vision could take in was broken buildings and rubble, most of it razed to the ground, fires spreading from blown up cars and machinery and people dragging themselves out of the wreckages.
In this not-to-far-off distance Amity Colosseum had crash-landed. A massive hulk of metal that blocked out the sky from where she stood. It had hit the ground, crashed and slid across the ground.
A sickening feeling swirled in her gut. How many people had been crushed by that? How many had been killed by its shockwaves? Or their homes coming down on top of them?
Too many. The answer was too many for Yang's liking.
"So what do we do?" Sun asked, looking to her.
She blinked, looking away from the carnage. "Why are you asking me? Aren't you a team leader?"
"Yeah, but I don't know anything about what's going on right now, you do."
She scowled. He was right, even if that didn't fill her with much confidence. She wasn't the leader of her team, she wasn't even a leader, but she'd have to do for now.
"We need to find Blake." She said. "She wasn't there at the plaza and if she's in this mess somewhere we need to find her before something else does."
Sun frowned. "What do you mean something else?"
Yang's gaze turned to the distance, to the outskirts of the city. "Think about it guys; you saw how scared those people were back there. Mortal terror is a strong emotion, and with this it's not going to get much better. How many Grimm do you think a city on fire is going to attract."
Neptune swallowed. "All of them I'm guessing."
"Exactly," she nodded. "Not to mention this was done by someone… if they attack now, things are going to get worse."
"I get it." Sun said, then adding. "I'll make a few calls to the others first, see if they're alright. Maybe Blake will pick up and we can find her without a problem."
Yang doubted that. She didn't know why, but she had a feeling things were about to get even worse. "Thanks Sun," she said anyway. "Get on that and get ready for a fight though. We're still going to have to deal with-"
A shrieking cry cut through her sentence, and the sky was filled with the black wings of Grimm. Nevermore.
"These guys."
…
…
"What… is this?" Weiss whispered to herself, overlooking what had happened to the city of Vale from the cliffside of Beacon.
Ruby swallowed. It was happening. A full-scale attack on Beacon, and it was already worse than she'd imagined.
All because they hadn't prepared properly. What had they been thinking?! Their team had just stopped a terrorist attack in Vale on their last mission, how could they have thought that was the end of it?
They hadn't. At least, Ruby hadn't, but none of the others had been given the information they needed. That they should have had.
Ozpin had decided it was better off kept between them and because of that this had- no, no that wasn't right. This attack was much more than one person could handle.
The question was what would come next.
But that could wait. Right now there were more important things going on.
"M-My god," The heiress stuttered, looking dizzy at the sights before her. "This is… how did this…"
"Weiss," Ruby snapped. "Calm down and focus, we have a job to do now, defending the city from Grimm is our priority."
"R-right." She nodded. "Of course, I was just… I was just…"
"I know," she said in a softer voice. "But we can't stop to think about it now. Come on, we need to get our weapons, and I sure as hel can't fight I these heels."
Her partner nodded, they ran back towards the school and as they did they reached for their scrolls.
Ruby's scroll clicked as they made it to the lockerrooms, and the sound of gunshots erupted from its speakers. "Yang! Yang can you hear me!? Are you alright?"
"Yeah I'm fine Ru," her sister yelled over the noise. Ruby heard a grunt, and the roar of a beowolf cut short before Yang's voice was heard again. "I'm with Sun and Neptune, Blake's missing, I'm going looking for her."
"What? What happened to her?!"
"No idea, she wasn't with the rest of us when the arena came down. Things are a mess down here sis, I, shit, there are a lot of dead bodies… I… I saw Emerald and Mercury too, they attacked me."
Ruby's grip tighter on the scroll, nearly fracturing it. "What happened?"
"Sun and Neptune helped me fight them off… they're in on this, which means that Cinder girl is too. Ruby, what are you going to do?"
The reaper swallowed. "I don't know. Right now we need to defend the city though, everything else comes second. Where's everybody else? Team JNPR, CRDL, CFVY?"
"No clue," her sister spat. "We got separated during the blast. I haven't contacted them yet but listen, Amber's somewhere here too."
Ruby froze. "What?!"
"She said she snuck out of Beacon to join us. She was with Pyrrha last time I saw her. If she's even still alive then she'd probably a target. After I find Blake I'll-"
"No," Ruby cut off. "Don't go after her. If she's in the city they'll send their most dangerous after her, someone who can't beat."
"…You know who they are don't you?"
"I do… He hunted us before we made it to Beacon. Listen, just find Blake and regroup with as many people as you can, I can see it from up here at Beacon that the Atlesian Battleships are already on the move."
"Yeah, well I can see them from here too, trust me sis, it doesn't look good. The sky's filled with nevermore and griffon," as if to make her point Ruby heard a griffion's shriek through the scroll, and then a hail of bullets too fast to be Yang's weapons. Gunships. "It's a full out air battle, at best they might be able to deploy their knights and paladins before they become too occupied to help us. Listen I- Shit!"
Ruby's eyes widened as gunshots rang out again, this time accompanied by the sound of Yang running and Sun shouting something out. "Yang? What's happening?"
"It's the fuckin' White Fang!" she snarled. "They're in on this too. Son of a bitch, they've blocked the street. Listen Ruby, do whatever you gotta do and be careful, I need to deal with this okay?"
She nodded, and when she realised Yang couldn't see her she added. "Right, be careful Yang. Please."
The scroll clicked again, Yang having hung up. The young leader looked over to Weiss, who didn't look at all relaxed with the situation.
"I managed to get through to Coco. Her team is with CRDL. They're okay but in the middle of fighting Grimm. Team JNPR's nowhere to be found and they're pinned down at a cross-section."
"We need to get to them then," Ruby said. "If we hurry we can meet up with them and-"
"I'm afraid that will have to wait Miss Rose."
They turned to the new voice, to Ozpin standing in the doorway, both hands resting on his cane.
"W-what do you mean wait? My friends, my sister is out there!"
"And you are just one person. There are dozens of fully trained Huntsman and Huntresses doing their best to thin the numbers as they come into Vale even now…You cannot help them as you are, neither can I, but there is something we can do, something we can use."
Ruby gasped. "You're not serious are you? Do you…"
Ozpin face said it all, in that it said nothing: Blank, cold, logical. He was going to use the relic. How, she didn't know, but that he would there was no doubt.
"Weiss," The reaper said, and the Heiress' head snapped up at the sound of her voice. Hard, like steel. "Go and find the others; help the teams at the cross-section."
Weiss blinked in confusion. "What about you? What are you going to do?"
"I don't know yet," she answered honestly. "Hopefully something that will help, but until then you need to get down there and make sure everybody's alive until it happens."
"But-"
"Weiss!" Ruby snapped, turning to her partner. And what froze the Schnee wasn't her voice, or her anger. It was her eyes: desperate, pleading.
"Please."
Damnit. Damn all of this. Weiss didn't know how this had happened, to go from such a peaceful night to all of this but damn it all!
"Fine." She spat, anger at the situation bleeding into her words. "I'll go, but you better not keep me waiting alright? Come and find me."
She turned and ran out the door, past the headmaster and away from Ruby. She didn't hear her partners words, and if she had, there was no telling whether or not she would have kept going, but either way, they would have filled her with fear — something that could not be allowed at a time like this.
"No promises."
…
…
Pyrrha coughed as she climbed to her feet, Jaune helping her up as she did so. Looking around, Ren and Nora were alright, helping a dizzy but uninjured Amber to her feet.
Thank goodness for her.
If Amber hadn't shielded them with her powers… she didn't think they'd be alive to… to see this carnage.
"Is everybody okay?" Jaune called to them, worry written on his face.
"We're fine." Ren assured him. "A little shaken but thankful to be alive, somehow."
"That was pretty amazing." Nora managed to smile. She was taking in the sights around them, the destruction and bodies, and seeing it as if greeting an old acquaintance. Pyrrha wasn't sure how Nora could act like that, but her cheer, however dimmed it was, was appreciated. "Amber making all that lightning shoot from the sky and knocking all those boulders out of the air was crazy."
"Yeah," Jaune agreed, looking over at the girl. "Yeah it was… more than just crazy. What was-"
"Listen," Pyrrha tried, stepping forward. "The important thing is that we're all okay. We can ask questions later but right now I think we should get back to Beacon. Right?"
The blond shot her a complicated look. It looked like he'd twigged instantly. He knew she was aware of what Amber did, and was keeping it from him. Ren and Nora noticed it to if their faces were anything to go by.
"No," Jaune said at last, shaking his head and looking around at the ruined city block they resided in. "If we try to get to Beacon like this we might get picked off by whatever or whoever did this. We need to meet up with the others first, try and regroup and move as a unit from there-"
Jaune's eyes widened, and Pyrrha blinked as a whirring sound came from behind her.
The next thing she knew, Jaune had dashed past her with his shield raised, taking the brunt of a barrage that would have riddled her with holes. It sent him stumbling back, but gave the champion enough time to spin around and raise her own shield.
"What is this!?" she gasped, as the hail of dust rounds pelted into Akoúo.
"Oh, you survived that did you? How irritating."
Out of the dust a shadow of a man came forward, and behind her Amber gasped.
"Watts." she seethed, reaching for her staff.
"Me," he smirked, and Pyrrha could practically feel the arrogance ooze off him. She was more worried however, by the dozens and dozens of machines surrounding them on all sides. White and red robots, with an 'M' plastered on their chests. He noticed her gaze. "Oh these? The products of Doctor Merlot. The man wasn't very important himself, but his creations were impressive. Now, how about we introduce ourselves formally?"
He bowed theatrically, and she had the sense that he was mocking them. Her skin prickled.
"I am Doctor Arthur Watts, former head of the Atlesian science division, at your service." He smirked. "Now, be good little children and die without a fuss will you?"
That was all the warning they got before the android opened up a rain of deadly hail.
Pyrrha was lifted off her feet by the force as some pinged off her shield or simply passed around it, and crashed onto her back. Behind her, Nora cried out at her own lacking defence, and Jaune, still standing, rushed to block the projectiles that sailed towards her and Ren.
A wall of stone rose from the ground, surrounding them and giving them cover.
Team JNPR and Amber were surrounded.
"Who is this guy!" Nora yelled over the gunfire that pelted against their barrier.
"Watts," Amber hissed. "He hunted me before I made it to Beacon. If he's here then it means he had something to do with the stadium coming down."
Ren readied Storm Flower and listened to the sound of the bullets. He frowned, and Pyrrha realised a moment later; it sounded like they were chipping away at the rock.
Just how much firepower did they have?
"How does he present a threat?" Ren asked the older girl.
"I… I don't know. Not really. Most of the time he sends other people to do his dirty work, but he's smart and he knows how to manipulate people into doing what he wants, even his opponents. All I know is that he uses lightning."
"Oh yeah?" Nora grinned. "Then I think I can take him."
"Alright." Jaune nodded. "Nora, you're in charge of dealing with him. Pyrrha, you and Amber protect her as she moves while me and Ren deal with the bots. Clear?"
They nodded.
"Alright then, drop the wall!"
A moment later, it came down, and the girls charged forward. Nora yelled out a battle cry as she raised her hammer, and sprinted. Pyrrha and Amber ran beside her, the champion with her shield on her right, and Amber blasting away bullets with miniature firestorms.
Pyrrha clenched her teeth as the gunfire hit her shield and rattled her bones. It took much of her focus and discipline not to stumbled and falter under the barrage.
Around them, the sound of metal being shorn was welcome, as Jaune and Ren sliced through their enemies like paper. Jaune had improved, massively to the point that these foes held no challenge for him, and Ren dealt with each enemy with calm precision.
The issue was their numbers.
She hadn't seen it at first, but there were hundreds of them, coming up from behind the ruined buildings. This Watts had known Amber would be with them and brought the firepower he needed to deal with the maiden. Wait… if he knew about them then-
"Nora wait!"
The girl didn't hear her as she roared, upon the man with her hammer rushing down.
Watts smirked and stepped back, the weapon shaving past as lightning crackled at his fingertips.
Nora grinned and ran in, heedless of the energy at his hands and didn't even bother to dodge or block as the electricity arced towards her. Why would she? Her semblance would deal with it, make her stronger.
Which was why her eyes widened when her body locked up and she dropped to the ground gasping.
"What's the matter, shocked?" the doctor sneered. "Oh I know about you Nora Valkyrie, a rather interesting semblance you have. Unfortunately for you, you don't seem to understand what's really going on with it do you. Let me explain."
Nora cried out as her body spasmed and writhed, voice tinged with agony.
"No!" Pyrrha roared, and dashed forward, only to be launched back as androids with glowing blue spears stabbed at her from all sides. Her Aura flicked and she grunted in pain, but cried out as one caught her under her arm and flipped her away.
"You see," Watts said. "Your semblance lets you take in electricity and makes it flow harmlessly through your muscles, therefore amplifying your strength with that said electricity. But you see, I do not simply launch lightning at you, no, I wield it, mould it and bend it to my will, so when that same energy is roaming within your body, I have control over you and all the pain sensors in your nervous system."
As if to demonstrate his point, he snapped his fingers together and Nora screamed.
Ren heard and gasped at what he saw. "Nora!"
That moment of distraction cost him as a robot slammed into his side, sending him rolling to the floor, and forced to writhe in a desperate attempt not to be impaled on one of their spears as they stabbed at him.
Jaune grit his teeth and ran to help Ren, cleaving through any machine that got in his way, but it meant he wasn't distracting the ranged ones, which unloaded into his back.
Things were going wrong, they went wrong so fast!
"Now then," Watts smiled, for he looked like he was truly enjoying this. "Let's make things a little more interesting shall we?"
And before her eyes, Pyrrha watched as Nora stood up again, Watts' lighting crackling on her skin. The usually smiling girl's face was twisted in agony, as she turned to face Pyrrha. What was-
"Now then, how about you kill your teammates for me?"
That was all the warning she got before a hammer flew towards her head.
…
…
Weiss landed in her glyph and let it propel her over the skyline. Or what was left of the skyline. God, there was barely anything left!
It was all ruin as far as she could see. Only the outskirt of the city stood, and even then it was currently being assaulted by the greatest horde of Grimm Weiss had ever seen. A sea of black from this distance, and every so often it flashed telling her that the professional Huntsmen were still holding on.
Another glyph propelled her further forward as she bypassed streets altogether. She didn't go too high, at risk of being targeted by airborne Grimm. Above her, Nevermore's and Griffon's were locked in battle with the Atlesian airforce. They lit up the sky with bullets and explosion, as hundreds of ships shot by, tearing down each Grimm that was only replaced by ten more. The only thing stemming the onslaught from above was the battleships, which Weiss was sure the general was leading himself. Hopefully, they would be able to help soon, because as Weiss saw the cross-section fast approaching she knew they'd need it.
The cross section was the name given to a road that went in three directions, sort of like a 'Y' shape, that allowed civilians to evacuate to and through the cliffs of Beacon, and right now the only things keeping back the tide of Grimm were team CFVY and CRDL.
Each team held a road, Coco and Velvet with their miniguns mowing down as many as they could from afar while Fox and Yatsuhashi dealt with any that got close.
On the other side Cardin held his ground with his team, ripping apart the landscape as the creatures of Grimm assaulted them.
The only help they had were a few Atlesian soldiers at their side, laying down whatever supporting additional fire they could.
And just like that Weiss was there laying down her own support in the form of a barrage of icicles. They impaled the Grimm to the road before they evaporated moments later, but it pushed them back long enough for her to land beside Coco.
"Weiss, thank fuck you're here, we need someone to plug up our defence, can you do that?"
She nodded, already thrusting Myrtenaster forwards and focusing as walls of ice sprouted from the road and formed obstacles to slow down the Grimm. "What's going on? How bad is it?" she yelled over the racket of Coco's rapid fire.
"Eh, pretty fuckin' bad." The second-year shouted back. "We've got hordes of Grimm coming from both entrances, civilians still evacuating behind us and I'm runnin' out of god damn bullets." As if on cue her gin clicked empty. "Damn, Yats, give me some cover while I reload!"
"On it!" the big man nodded, cleaving through a dozen beowolves who thought they could take him down with greater numbers all at once.
"Oi Cardin," Coco yelled while switching out ammo casing rounds. "How's it with you over there?"
"Like crap." He yelled back as his mace turned a Boaratusks skull into mist. "All I see is Grimm, Grimm and more Grimm. Do we have any backup coming our way?"
"No clue, looks like the rest of Atlas is dealing with the birds up there. Weiss, where are your teammates?"
"Separated," she answered over the din as she shot a fireball at a creep. It burst upon contact and splashed onto the fur of a Beowolf and it's pack. "Yang's gone to look for Blake and Ruby's gone with Ozpin."
"Ozpin?" Cardin barked. "What's he planning?"
Weiss wasn't quite sure what he meant by that, but before she could ask there was a bang, and a building further up came down. The heiress paled as an Ursa Major barrelled through, saw them and roared.
"Shit!" Coco spat. "Damn it, Velvet, Weiss, focus fire on the big guy!"
The Ursa's footsteps rattled Weiss' bones and it blistered towards them, ignoring the hundreds of bullets that pelted into its hide.
Yatsuhashi and Fox rushed it, slicing at its legs as it reared back. Their blades bit into flesh, but stopped at the bone when the Ursa grunted and twisted to the side, lifting them off their feet and slamming them into the wall. Fox rolled and dived in again, under a swipe that would have surely taken his head of and stabbed at its stomach, the beast roared as it was disembowelled, and collapsed to the ground amidst death throes.
There was no time to celebrate, and Velvet yelled out a warning as creep slammed into him, knocking him onto his back and forced to hold the Grimm at bay as it snapped and snarled at his face.
Weiss cursed and readied her rapier to help him when she was stopped in her tracks by a familiar blade shooting past her face and impaling the creep.
Her eyes widened further as green lasers rained down from the sky, pushing back the sea of Grimm long enough for both males to retreat back to safety. And then Penny dropped from above, landing on her knees as the ground cracked beneath her.
Oh, and there were metal wings shooting out from her back.
She stood and saluted the soldiers next to them. "P.E.N.N.Y assault unit reporting for duty sir!"
Assault unit? What on Remnant?
"Penny," one of the soldiers breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness you're here. What's the situation above?"
"Progress is slow but General Ironwoods forces are gaining the advantage bit by bit. I was instructed to aid on the ground with anything I could."
"Then we could use your help," Coco said, stepping forward. "I don't know exactly what you are, but if you can kill Grimm I'm happy. Can you do that?"
"Roger!" she smiled brightly, heedless of the situation around them. "I'm combat ready!"
And before Weiss' eyes the rest of her swords shot out from her back, and fired into the mass of Grimm as they approached again, this time, slower
"Guys, I've got an idea!" Velvet called out. "Cardin, do you think you have enough firepower on your team to take down a building?"
"I don't know, maybe? Depends on what you want us to do with the thing."
"We need to push the Grimm together," the rabbit Faunus explained as she sprayed down more that got too close. "If we can block these roads with enough rubble we might be able to funnel them down a single path. Then all of us can focus on one choke point!"
"Sounds like a good idea." Russel yelled as she stabbed at a Beowolf. "So how we gonna do it then?"
Weiss had the answer to that, tossing each of them a shard of red dust. "Detonate it in the right places," she ordered. "And do it fast!"
Team CRDL nodded, rushing into the fray as team CFVY, Penny and Weiss along with the Atlas soldiers gave them as much cover as they could. What they were aiming for was the Vale central Bank, a big building right in the centre of the two roads that could block both if destroyed.
Each boy made it to one of the corners and planted the dust, then, backed away as Cardin readied his mace and with a mighty slam sent a torrent of fire right at the-
The explosion knocked Weiss, and most of the others off their feet. Yantsuhashi caught her, Velvet and Coco before they could fall down, but the shock still shook her. The bank gave way and became a landslide of mortar and fire, blocking the roads as planned and creating only one way in for the Grimm to funnel.
"Damn Cardin," Coco laughed. "a little bit of overkill don't you think?"
Cardin wasn't smiling. "That wasn't me."
"Guys," Fax said. "the Grimm should have come by now."
Weiss blinked. He as right, they should have. Only, the way was practically empty, no if the Heiress squinted she could make out the black creatures beyond the dust.
They weren't moving.
They were…
Waiting… then, out of the dust two shadows appeared, one, tall and broad, the other was hunched, and with some kind of tail twitching in the background.
And then the maniacal laugh sounded through the street.
The laughing one stepping into view, an insane smile on his face as he bowed to them theatrically. "Why hello children. What a pleasure it is to meet all the fine students aspiring to be Huntsman and Huntresses, and seeing you defend your city like this, ah it brings a tear to my eye."
Cardin's eyes narrowed. "Who are you people?"
The man, who Weiss could see now was a scorpion Faunus laughed again. "Why my boy, my name is Tyrian, Tyrian Callows, and I am but a humble servant of the one true Queen."
Weiss frowned. Queen? What was he-
"Now then," he said, clapping his hands and cutting off her train of thought. "I have been instructed to give you a single opportunity for mercy; should you throw down your arms, we will spare you. The Grimm will not harm you while you flee the city and from there you can run back to your homes. It is a generous offer from our lady, I suggest you take it."
The bigger brute fo a man stepped forward, and spoke in a deep, gravelly voice. "None of you need to die. Take the offer we've given you, it is your only way out of this."
The students shared a look. Did this man honestly think they'd abandon their school? They gave him an answer, in the form of readying their weapons.
The Faunus giggled, quietly at first, then, louder and louder before erupting into insane glee.
"Oh good! I was hoping for some fun. Now, die!"
Weiss' eyes widened as the Faunus blurred and vanished for existence and before her eyes he appeared in front of one of the Atlesian soldiers and struck out with dual daggers on his wrists.
The poor man choked on his own blood as he died, the red liquid spraying from his throat.
He was on them a split second later as Fox, Russel, Sky and Dove rushed to intercept him as he cut down a second solider in just as much time.
He ducked under Sky's halberd and slid in between Russel's daggers kicking out as Dove and knocking him back before bringing up his wrist blades to redirect Fox's own.
Tyrian rammed his knee into the second year's stomach, doubling him over and lunching him into the air. He might have fired at him, if Russel and Sky didn't get in his way, trying to cut at his sides.
The Faunus' tail wrapped around Sky's weapon without even looking and caught Russel's daggers in both hands before lashing out with both feet right into the green haired boy's chest, sending him skidding to the ground painfully.
He didn't stop laughing, even as he bent over backwards to avoid Weiss as she stabbed at the place his head had occupied not a moment before. She growled, and dashed to the side with a glyph and stabbed at him again. He blocked it and counted with his own blade. Her glyphs pulled her out of range and right as he missed she lunged back in.
This time she stabbed high, and Tyrian made a noise of interest as a white blade swept low at his feet.
Weiss' summon cut swiped at him as he ducked low, but instead of being hit by it, he hopped off on foot, twirled in the air and between the two blades. As his feet touched the ground again he reached out and twisted his wrist blades, locking both swords with his own weapons and grinning.
Weiss recoiled as his face came mere hairsbreadths from her own and tried to pull away.
Myrtenaster wouldn't budge.
"Oh~" he giggled. "I like you, you're interesting. There's something about you, something about how you smell. I know you. Yes I do, you're a Schnee aren't you?"
She grit her teeth, trying to ignore him as she yanked at her rapier. He was too strong, far too strong.
"Oh don't worry little one, I hold no ill will for your family. Such plights are meaningless in the face of our goddess. Although, they might care much more than I."
A roar rang out all around them, not Grimm, but People. The Heiress of the SDC felt her mouth run dry as she realised they'd been surrounded.
By the White Fang.
"They seemed to recognise you too," Tyrian said. "They hold back for now, but I wonder what will happen when their patience runs out and their bloodlust for the Schnee line takes over?"
They'd try to kill her, that's what. Weiss knew they'd go right for her, and if these two people weren't beaten by then she stood no chance.
The Faunus saw the look on her face and smiled. "Oh you shouldn't focus on them, I just wanted to let you know, I'll kill you long before they get chance to."
Weiss cried out as she was suddenly kicked back and if it wasn't for her glyphs she would have fallen.
As it was, she had nearly no time to block her opponents plunging attack that caught her off balance and threw her to the ground.
It didn't make Tyrian pause for a second, and before she could even touch the ground he swung a boot into her chest and launched her into the air. She landed, badly and rolled to a stop, coughing a spluttering. It felt like she'd been hit by a car head-on and she could barely breathe. How much of her aura had that taken off?
A shadow appeared above her but Weiss gasped when she realised it as an overeager White Fang member rushing to finish her on the ground.
"Weiss!" Penny shouted as her fist smashed into the grunts face, sending him flying back. The heiress winced, she'd hear the sound of bones splintering and she was sure it wasn't from Penny.
The ginger-haired girl helped her up and steadied her blades in front of her, towards the scorpion Faunus as he grinned at them.
From over the mans shoulder, Weiss could see the other man locked in combat with the others, and she meant all of the others; Coco, Fox, Yatsuhashi, Velvet, Cardin, Russel, Sky and Dove surrounded him on all sided, attacking relentlessly, and yet, he swatted them away like they were nothing, and worst, he didn't even flinch at the blows that landed.
Just who were these people? How were they so strong?
There was a screech as the Faunus dived in again, swatting away Penny's flying swords and getting up close to her.
He aimed right at her stomach and his wrist blades clicked.
The next thing Weiss saw was the other girl being shot back as bullets slammed into her Aura.
She moved, right for Tyrian, it must have surprised him a little, the sudden offensive, because instead of chasing Penny down he turned to defend himself as Weiss lunged at his throat, her summon glaring behind her.
She stabbed low, her summon cut high.
Thrust at centre mass, swing from the left.
Head, arm, chest, legs over and ever again, as fast as she could, every kind of attack, every technique she could know with the sword she used. She was two people, working, thinking, acting as one.
And it still wasn't good enough.
Tyrians tail lashed out at her head, and though she just managed to dodge it, the same couldn't be said for her summon. It burst, popped like a bubble. The tail arced back, wrapping around her arm and yanking her forward. The next thing she knew, the Faunus grabbed her and flipped her over his shoulder. She slammed into the gr-
"Hrk!"
Tyrians knee came up before she could land, rocketing into her back, into her spine in a blow that sent pain wretching through her body.
She was hit so hard in fact, that she was thrown in the direction of the other man.
The Faunus laughed. "Oh Hazel~ I'm sending this one your way!"
That was all the warning she got before he spun on his heel and launched her into the air via dropkick.
Penny rushed back to meet him the next second.
Weiss coughed up bile and spit as she pushed herself to her hands and knees. A hand was on her shoulder, helping her up the next moment. "Are you alright Weiss?" Coco asked.
"I-I'm fine." She lied, and she knew it was a bad one. She felt like she could barely stand, and a rib or two were definitely broken.
The older girl knew that too, judging by how her lips thinned into a grim line. "Shit, don't pass out on me, we need as much help as we can get, this guy's too much."
On cue, Velvet was clipped by Hazel's fist and sent cartwheeling back. She cried out as she came to a painful stop, but pushed herself to her feet as soon as her momentum lessened enough. She wielded a longsword now rather than a minigun, for all the good it did her, even with eight huntsmen-in-training against him, he barely looked fazed.
Was a ninth really going to make a difference? The heiress didn't think so. But…
This was her school, these were her friends. And like hel she was just going to roll over and die!
Her summon reformed behind her, and she nodded wearily at Coco.
The girl nodded back. "Alright then, lets-" she stopped.
Because Hazel had stopped.
There was a pause, a long, tense pause as he took them all in again, eyes scanning over each of them.
Weiss swallowed, and she saw the other's raise their weapons, each of them battered, bruised and exhausted, but unwilling to fall.
Coco spat to the side.
And pulled the trigger.
Once again the violence erupted as they rushed him, Yatsuhashi and Cardin both using their massive weapons to attack head-on, while the rest flanked him from the sides.
He regarded them calmy even as their weapons sped to meet him.
And then he moved before Weiss' eyes.
Whereas Tyrian vanished from sight, faster than a bullet, this man tore up the landscape. He wasn't as fast, but he was still so much faster than them that the difference was insignificant.
He swatted Cardin away with contemptuous ease and caught Fax by his leg, using him as a weapon to slam into Russel and send them both crashing to the ground. Yatsuhashi's sword struck his arm, but got no further than that as his Aura stopped the giant slab of sharpened metal dead.
Hazel answered the attack by punching the male in the chest and knocking him away.
Weiss was in his face a moment later, while he was extended she stabbed at centre mass consecutively as her Summon managed to block his other arm from reaching out at her.
Mytnaster bit into his Aura, and like her senior student stopped as it did.
Except unlike Yatsuhashi the Schnee wasn't finished, and with a snarl, ignited the fire dust in the rapiers chamber.
It shot from the blade, and from the pinprick opening Wiess had crated, washed over and through her enemy's defence.
He grunted, not in pain, but in the moment the fire blocked his vision. Weiss took the chance, lashing out with a foot that crunched against his nose, further stunning him as she jumped back to a safe distance right as the flames vanished.
The exchange had been less than five seconds, and yet she knew it was the most damage they'd managed to do to him. It was a start.
And then suddenly his eyes fell to Weiss, and she froze like a deer in headlights.
"You're a Schnee." He said, not asked. It was a statement, he was telling her. "You have experience with dust, perhaps you are even skilled at it… from that attack, it seems like it… but…"
He reached into his pockets, and from them, pulled out two shards of Lightning Dust, on in each hand.
"You aren't ready for someone like me girl."
And he plunged them into his arms.
Weiss recoiled at the sight as blood spurted from the entrance of the gems and from the reality of what she'd just witnessed.
This man had just injected himself with Dust.
He was insane!
Electricity crackled over his body, his Aura and sparked from his eyes.
He roared, like an animal, like a monster.
And charged right at her.
Instincts took charge and her summon appeared before her, and for a split second it held before Hazel smashed through it like it was as fragile as glass. She dived to the side, propelling herself out of the way with glyphs just fast enough to avoid being trampled as he passed her.
He turned on a dime, and rushed at her again.
Too fast, he was too fast! Not only that, but he's somehow gotten even stronger, heavier. Each step he took shattered the ground beneath him, rattling her bones. He swiped at her so fast she couldn't get away and it skimmed her side. Even that was enough to knock her onto her back as lightning zapped her.
From the contact
They couldn't beat him, they couldn't-
A shadow passed her, and Wiess' eyes widened.
"No don't-"
Hazel reached out, catching Yatsuhashi in one hand,
His teammates yelled out, moving to save him and-
Hazel's big hand closed around his head as he struggled, raising his sword to try and-
Snap.
They froze, everything froze as Yatsuhashi body went limp, and Hazel dropped him to the ground.
He was dead.
Velvet screamed.
"We gave you a choice." Hazel sighed, and to Weiss disbelief, he sounded upset.
Rage and disgust swept through her. This murderer had the audacity, the disrespect to feel remorse for what he'd just done!?
A scream erupted from Coco as she leapt onto his back, weapon discarded in rage she surprised him for a brief second as she clawed at his face, intent of gouging out his eyes.
"YOU BASTARD!"
Miraculously she managed to draw a line of blood across his cheek, but he didn't even flinch, reaching up and grabbing at her collar before slamming her into the ground. Blood flew from her lips as her Aura vanished.
Weiss moved as fast as she was able, if she didn't help Coco would-
"And where are you going~?"
She didn't even have time to turn as agonising pain erupted through her body, blinding her senses as steel cleaved through her right shoulder and dug into bone.
She screamed as Tyrian laughed, driving her to the ground and twisted the blade deeper into her flesh.
"Get away from her!" Penny shouted, launching her swords at Tyrian's back.
The Faunus grinned.
"You fell for it~"
Out of the corner of her eye, Weiss could only watch as Tyrian tore his weapons out of her and flipped backwards, over Penny's swords and kicking down. They caught on something, string, and Penny stumbled forward, eyes wide.
"Wha-"
Right into Tyrian.
Who severed her head from her shoulders.
"NOOOOO!" Weiss screeched, as she watched another one of her friend's bodies fall to the floor dead.
Coco appeared above her a second later, even as Velvet cried out for her to stop. But she was lost, enraged. She was her team's leader, and she's just lost one of her best friends, and these people had taken him.
It would have been enough for anyone.
It was certainly enough for Tyrian, as he snickered, and ducked under Coco's assault.
He sliced at her left leg, tearing a chunk out of it, and the next instant his tail snapped out, and stabbed right into her other leg. She went down hard, and screaming in torment all the way.
"That was fun!" Tyrian said, finishing in a type of humour sigh. "It was definitely a show, but now I think it's time to finish up here."
They were going to die. They were going to die They were going to die They were going to die They were going to die They were going to die They were going to die They were going to die They were going to die They were going to die They were going to die They were going to die They were going to die They were going to die They were going to die They were going to die They were going to die They were going to die They were going to die They were going to die They were going to die.
Weiss was going to watch as all her friends died!
And then Tyrian cried out, and a ball of fire exploded on his back.
"Agh! Son of a-"
He didn't get to finish as a fist engulfed in flames crashed into his face, sending him flying back and crashing next to Hazel.
A boot came down next to Weiss, and her eyes shot up to a woman dressed in black with fire covering her arms and a look of steel on her face.
Cardin gasped. "Elder Mirark!"
The woman, Mirark, glared at the two attackers. "I think that's enough from you two. You overstepped your bounds by attacking this city, and killed the innocents here."
Weiss could only stare up as she spoke. Who was this woman?
"You slew those under my protection, and for that, you're going to die."
Her next words, were a signal.
"Knights, repel the invaders!"
And from where she'd just appeared, so did a legion of men and women dressed in the same attire as her, each armed with silver weaponry.
The White Fang cried out as many appeared behind them, cutting some down before they could react.
Tyrian was no longer smiling. He bared his teeth.
"You, you vile witch! How dare you, how dare you!"
The woman's face hardened. "I know not of who you are, madman, but Vale was under our protection and for what you've done I'll kill you myself." She glanced to the side. "Cardin, lead these children out of here, quickly."
"Y-yes ma'am."
"No! No no no!" Tyrian snarled, raising a hand. "Kill them, kill them now!"
There was a roar from behind him. The Grimm, which had until that moment been docile, swarmed through in a mass of black. The so-called knights roared in return and charged, as White Fang was caught in the middle.
Silver glinted in the light as blood both red and black spurted into the sky.
It was carnage, a landslide of confusion so bad Weiss couldn't tell friend from foe in the chaos. All the same, she cried out, when something, someone, hooked their arm under hers roughly.
Her vision blurred from the pain and what she was sure was blood loss. She managed to see Cardin leading the others away, including an unconscious Coco bleeding from her legs.
Her eyes closed, then opened, and suddenly she was in an alley.
She fell back against a wall, even as the sound of fighting could be heard. Farther way now.
She felt a hand lift her chin and a girls voice. "Get it together Schnee, you can't die on me now."
"W-wha?" she slurred, and through the haze, she saw a mask, a White Fang mask with horns sprouting from the top. "You're-"
"Can you even focus right now?" Ilia snarled. "Damn it… to hel with this."
The heiress watched addled as the chameleon Faunus ducked, turned around and hoisted her onto her back.
Weiss whimpered as the movement shifted her shoulder, and though bewildered was thankful she was losing consciousness if only so that the pain would not follow her.
"W-why… why are you h-helping me?"
"Don't think about it Schnee," Ilia spat as she hurried down the alleyway, away from the fighting. "I owed you for back at Mountain Glenn, that's all."
The Faunus looked ahead, growling under her breath. "I never agreed to this. They've gone too far."
That was the last thing Weiss heard, as darkness swan in her vision, and she fell into the black sea.
…
…
Pyrrha rolled as Nora's hammer struck her shield, sending her hurtling back. She barely managed to stay on her feet and had to duck under the second swing at her head.
Nora cried out too, tears in her eyes, though whether it was from the pain of Watts' lightning arcing through her body, or what it was she was being forced to do she wasn't sure.
Either way, it filled Pyrrha with a feeling she'd never felt before, not in her entire life.
Rage. White hot, murderous rage.
She couldn't even exact vengeance on the monster, who stood with a single hand out, fingers twitching as if Nora was a puppet on a string. He watched it all with a smile, a leer on his face and Pyrrha couldn't even touch him.
Nora was in the way, and though she was being controlled, though she was protesting with all her might, it did nothing to slow her down, nor make her weaker. In fact, with the energy reacting to her semblance the way it was, she was practically supercharged.
The champion gasped as she was forced to roll out of the way of an overhead swing and cried out when Nora used the momentum of the attack to pivot and strike her like a golf ball, launching her back.
She landed meters back, landing right atop a dozen androids that thread to stab at her as she did.
Her swords clicked, transforming into a spear and sheering them in two, but she'd taken damage all the same. Her Aura flickered, holding on by a thread. Pyrrha growled, looking back at the fight.
Just in time to see Jaune block Nora's swing with his shield and pay even for that by being thrown at and through a wall.
Amber came from behind, eye blazing and summoned a stone block that landed on top of the younger girl. It didn't even hold her down for a second and she tore through it like paper.
Amber leapt back, and was forced into a melee with Nora as she followed. It was only her super enhanced strength that let her hold the girl back.
What could they do? They couldn't – wouldn't – hurt Nora. She couldn't control herself, and she could feel all the pain inflicted on her, but worse, Watts obviously didn't care for her well-being, throwing her at her teammates destructively and brutally.
They needed something, anything to even things. If they were to have any chance of winning they-
The ground shook, quaked under her feet and sent her stumbling onto her hands and knees. The others fell too, the machines, and even Watts had to take a step to steady himself. He looked around, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh? Well, that's certainly something, looks like the big one is about to wake up. That will be a sight to-"
He cut himself off as Pyrrha appeared before him in his moment of self-distraction. The champion thrust with Milo, straight at his head. The doctor whipped his head to the side, Aura skimming the polearm and grabbing it with the hand not controlling Nora.
Pyrrha's eyes widened as she was stopped dead in her tracks.
"Surprised?" he sneered. "believe me when I say I am far stronger than I-"
He was cut off again, not by choice this time, but by Ren's foot rocketing at his jaw snapping it up with a painful click and nearly guillotining his tongue.
He yelled out in surprise and a fair amount of pain, reeling back, but Pyrrha didn't let him. She let go of Milo and barrelled into him with her shoulder, knocking him back, unbalanced before spinning on her heel and bashing Akoúo against his face as hard as she physically could. Had his Aura not protected him, his head would have flown from his shoulders. Instead it pushed him back, and gave Ren the chance to flip over him and slice his back with Stormflower.
Jaune appeared in Ren's shadow a second later, and cleaved down with Crocea Mors. It bit into Watt's leg and smoked as it scrapped along his Aura.
Pyrrha pulled Milo back with her semblance and raised it to stab the man eye out.
Only for a wave of energy to shoot out from Watts, knocking them all back. His hand came up a moment later, and beams of electricity sprang from his fingertips, striking them all in the chest.
Pyrrha cried out, landing on her side. She opened her eyes and gasped as Nora appeared above her, face twisted in agony as she raised Magnhild.
And then Amber appeared behind her, wrapping both arms around her back and placing a hand over Nora's heart.
"Sorry about this."
Pyrrha was blinded by a bright flash of light.
The next, she saw Amber fly back, and Nora fall to the ground, groaning, but alive, and without Watt's strings attached.
Amber gasped, dragged herself up onto her hands and knees, and shooting Pyrrha a weary smile.
That morphed into pain when Watts kicked her in the face.
The Maiden howled as she fell backwards, clutching her bloodied nose. Pyrrha's eyes widened. Ambers Aura was gone.
"Impressive," Watts groused, standing over the girl. "You managed to match my readings and cancel out my lighting with your own. I'll admit, I didn't expect it from you. You are certainly clever."
Amber twisted on the ground, desperately reaching for her staff.
Watt's heel came down on her hand, crushing it, and she screamed in pain.
"But that is all you managed!" he snarled viciously. "You, a pathetic little girl unaware of the true power you hold. What are you now after Cinder took your power? You only have half of it don't you? But what's more, you are a wretched husk, half a soul housed in a weak little body."
He ground his heel deeper and Amber writhed.
"You are a pathetic wretch," he extended his arm, energy cracking dangerously between his fingers. "and you will die a pathetic wretch."
"No!"
Watts stepped back as Pyrrha swiped at him, but was unprepared by the metal beam that sailed overhead right for him.
Pyrrha yelled out as she launched everything she could from the rubble of the fallen city around her, enough to crush anyone into a pulp. She readied herself to finish him if it didn't, or if he somehow managed to avoid it.
Instead, Watts raised a single hand.
And obliterated it.
The shockwave sent her back, her Aura shattered as she hit a wall and slumped.
"N-no," she gasped. "N-not yet!"
Watts sneered. "You are irritating aren't you? Fine, if you want to be the first to die, I'll oblige."
Pyrrha's eyes widened as he pointed at her, and a beam of energy shot towards her chest. She couldn't block it, couldn't move!
Her teammates called out her name
A shadow appeared before her.
And her face was soaked in Amber's blood.
…
…
Blake dragged herself away from the body of a White Fang grunt. He was missing half of his body, his legs had been ripped off.
How had that happened? She didn't know, couldn't remember where she'd been, what she'd been doing. Her vision, her mind, dipped in and out consciousness continuously.
Where… where was she now?
The Faunus looked around. All she could see where ruined buildings and corpses of White Fang.
What had happened to the city? Why was it so damaged?
She looked behind her.
Why were there so many dead White Fang? Had they been like that when she'd gotten here? Had they even been there a minute ago?
Why… why were her hands red?
Blake spasmed suddenly as pain shot through her body. She cried out, falling to the ground and clutching the left side of her face. Her eye, her eye! It hurt, it hurt so much! Everything did!
It felt like thousands of daggers were peeling away at her skin.
"So, this is what you've become."
The girls head snapped to the side in the direction of the voice, and through burred, blackened vision she saw a man, dressed in black, and hair the colour of blood.
"A-a-adam." Blake groaned.
He stood above her, face covered by a white mask and a disgusted frown on his face.
"This is what you are now Blake? You left us, left me, sided with these humans and became a monster? An abomination?"
"A-a-ah… ar-r-r-rgh…" she couldn't speak, the pain was too much, robbing her of even breath.
"Tch," he spat. "it really is pathetic, to see you reduced to this… but, perhaps it is your punishment, for abandoning the cause, and me." The air hissed as he drew his blade, Wilt and Blush was already stained with blood as it sung free.
"Your punishment is not over however," he continued. "For what you've done, for your betrayal, I'll strike you down here."
Blake moved. Her body twisted and contorted to avoid the blade without her will. She hadn't thought, the pain hadn't allowed her, and yet she scrambled away from a blade that would kill her.
She didn't want to die. Not like this.
She clawed at the ground, dragging herself away as fast as she could. To Adam, it was pityingly slow. It disgusted him even more, that weakness. He spat to the side and raised the red blade before arcing it down.
It hit, bitting into Blake's blackened side. Blood as dark as the night sky above splashed across the pavement and Blake screamed from this new pain. It was cold, slicing through the fire that burned away inside her. It shattered her mind and will, ripping an agonising noise from her throat that was neither human nor Faunus but something else, something dark.
The red blade came up again, this time, to take her head.
"RRAAAGH"
A comet came between them.
Adam raised his sword in time to block the shotgun enhanced punch, but even so it sent him back a dozen paces. He glared through his mask at the newcomer.
Yang Xiao-Long met it with her own.
"So," she said. "You're the other one… huh… guess parallels don't share looks, that's for sure."
"Get out of my way human." Adam growled. "If you do, I may make your death quick. You have no part in this."
Yang smiled. It was not a friendly one. It was dark, and angry.
"Yeah, you see, thing is, I do. Blake is my partner, after she left you, me and her became a pair." She looked back at Blake, who now looked so different to what she was used to, small, hurt and scared. When Yang looked back, her eyes were the colour of blood.
And she smiled.
"You hurt Blake. And for that, it's my business. For that, I'm going to kill you."
…
…
Ruby ran as soon as the elevator opened up, Ozpin beside her, no longer using his cane as a walking stick, but holding it as a weapon. They ran, to the end of the chamber. Ruby didn't know what was going on upstairs, but no one was here yet, no one to slow them down.
The headmaster tapped his cane on the ground, once, twice, a third and fourth time as a bright light swept across the floor.
Before them, the door to the vault appeared.
"Come on," Ruby hurried. "Open it up and let's go already!"
Ozpin paused, looking back the way they'd come before inspecting the door.
"Ozpin!" the reaper hissed. "What are you doing?! Open it up and let's-"
The door glowed, pulsated and shook as a golden light leaked from its edges. It burned, brighter and brighter until Ruby had to cover her eyes. There was a groan, like the sound of a giant door being opened and shut. From behind her arm she could just back out the corner of the Vault door, opening in front of her, and yet the sound lingered, longer and longer, louder and louder so much so that her ears popped. It reached a crescendo.
And then it stopped.
Completely.
Without even an echo.
Ozpin sighed. "Come now Miss Rose. The relic is before you. Take it and let us move."
No response. Ruby stared at the relic, and through it, as a shadow crossed her face.
"Miss Rose?"
"Why did you hesitate?" she asked. Her voice, unlike the sound of the vault, echoed through the chamber. She turned to the headmaster. "Why did you stop? What were you checking on?"
A pause. Then…
"The power of the Fall maiden has passed on to Miss Nikos… Amber is dead."
Ruby's mouth ran dry. "W… what?"
That… that couldn't be true. Amber was… she was Amber! Even with half the maiden's powers she was good enough to handle herself in a fight. How could she be-
Wait… no… no that couldn't…
"We will have time to grief later Miss Rose," Ozpin told her, kindly even. "I am sorry but we must-"
"How did you know it was Pyrrha?"
"I'm… sorry?"
How did you know the power had passed on to Pyrrha? It could have gone to her attacker, maybe just someone random. Why did you say Pyrrha?"
"Because… because she is Amber's body-"
"Why is she Amber's bodyguard?"
Ozpin stilled. "Miss Rose-"
"You could have chosen anyone. A professional Huntsman or Huntress, one of General Ironwoods Specialists, even an older student from one of the schools, someone like Coco even… but instead you picked Pyrrha. Even if she's strong, she's only a first year. You… you picked her, because she was a first year… didn't you."
Ruby stared at him, eyes wide and filled with horror, disgust… and realisation.
"You knew you'd have plenty of time to manipulate her, turn her into whatever you wanted; loyal to you and only you!" she took a step back. "You put her right next to Amber, because you knew Amber was going to die! You planned for it! How could you!"
"Because Amber did not have the potential!" Ozpin retorted, slamming his cane down angrily. "No matter the training she progressed at a crawl. She was not a fighter, she was not a guardian and she was not someone who should have been a maiden in the first place! Nikos is. She is the perfect vessel for that power."
"Since when did you get the right to decide-"
"I have always had the right!" he roared. "Since the day I bestowed my powered to humanity I have had the rightly to decree of those who are deserving of the power. It is my power, my authority my relics!"
"…I wonder about that."
Ozpin tensed.
"I wondered why you needed me here," she said, turning away from him, gazing at the relic as it glowed in that dark, empty room that was the vault. "I wondered why you always brought someone else down here with you. You could have just taken the relic yourself. I wouldn't even need to be here."
Those silver eyes turned, and pierced through the Wizards soul.
"I wondered why you haven't use the relics before to defeat Salem. All this time you've seemingly had possession of them and yet you haven't used them. I haven't even seen you touch them. Just now, I realised something..."
"You can't touch them."
The Wizards grip tightened on his cane, but he did not move. Perhaps he couldn't. perhaps there was something he was not willing to risk.
Ruby felt something, something that clawed at her heart, at the knowledge, at the pain that Amber was gone. That she was dead. It was something that unlocked something inside her, for the third time in her life. Something wracked with grief and sorrow, it in her hand. Cold, powerful. What she needed for this task.
It was almost in a trance-like state that she spoke next.
"I won't let the relic fall into anyone's hands, not even yours."
Ozpin took a step forward. "What are you doing Miss Rose?!"
"…I'm going to destroy it."
And then the room was engulfed in silver.
Ozpin was blasted back, and he did not rise, unable to, as the power of Ruby's eyes pushed him down. That light poured from her sockets, filling the room, it did not stop. More and more it shot up, like great wings sprouting from her eyes, and Ruby wept, and those tears became threads of silver that intertwined with her arm, running down into her hand.
And from them, came a hammer.
It was small, angular, delicate and beautiful. Like an artefact of an ancient age, a blacksmiths hammer. For forging.
And breaking.
It would do.
Ruby stepped into the Vault, filling the void with her light, and, step by step, made her way closer to the relic.
Ozpin yelled out something she didn't hear, couldn't here. Ruby, in her state, couldn't even tell if she was the one moving.
The Relic did not move, did not recoil, even though she knew now, it was alive. It was magic, and with that, was conscious.
And yet in the face of its destruction did not move.
It was as if it was watching, waiting for her.
Ruby raised the silver hammer.
And brought it down.
It struck the orb, and a great quake shook the void itself.
A crack formed, a single, tiny crack along its surface.
Ruby raised the hammer.
And brought it down.
The void shook again, crying out in rage. This was not the Relics power; calm and waiting. It was Ozpin's. Angry. Dark.
The crack spread, branching out like spiderwebs. And yet it was beautiful, Ruby thought to herself.
Or were these even her thoughts?.
She raised the hammer.
And brought it down.
Raised the hammer.
And brought it down.
Raised the hammer.
And brought it down.
Raised the hammer.
And brought it down.
Again, and again, and again and with each strike the world around her rattled and light pure and bright erupted as if like the sparks of a forge.
And then, with one final strike, the Relic, shattered, and energy burst free. It washed over Ruby, around her, without touching or harming her. It flooded out of the vault, which cried out in agony, expelling her from its depths. There was a flash, so blinding, so bright it eclipsed even the silver of Ruby's eyes.
The door collapsed into ruin.
And all was silent.
All that could be heard was the heavy breathing of the only two people in the chamber.
Ozpin looked around, eyes wide, standing, staggering to his feet, turning away from Ruby as she did the same, a deadly look in her eyes now that the light within her had receded. she picked up Cresent Rose.
"What… what have you done!?"
And then a curved blade burst through his chest.
...
So... yeah, we just went through a lot I think. THing is, we're not quite done yet, still plenty of people to kill- I mean get to.
Ahem*
Anyway, this was the longest chapter I've written in... a well a while. which actually surprised me a little when I finished it. I didn't expect it to be this long, but I also didn't want to cut it in half, which I very well could, but I feel like that would have messed with the pacing, and the build up.
In all honestly, if the next chapter is the same length, it might be the last of the Beacon arc,, rather than being five parts, it's three, though all the content is there all the same obviously, so I suppose it's just my preference to make this chapter bigger than usual.
A lot of stuff happened, and I'd love to know what you liked the most, and who you're most expecting up next.
At the end of the next chapter I'll probably have a lot more to write here, but I want to get onto the next one right away.
All the same, let me know what you think, and if you liked it, please let me know by Following, Favouriting and especially reviewing. I take on all the feedback as I can, and talk with as many of you as I can (Even if sometimes the webside frustratingly doesn't let me)
So, until then!
Lastly, a reminder again, if you'd like to check out more on upcoming stories, such as their titles and summaries you should check out my profile page. Hopefully they'll interest you too.