We'd been fighting for several minutes on end now. Explosions of aura and more chaotic combat were breaking out, with violent screams and roars, gunfire and melee weapons clashing filling the air. The White Fang and Mistral's defense forces were in a stalemate, as was Adam against me, Sun, and Ghira. Ghira was fast, but not fast enough. Adam was strong, but not strong enough. They were a perfect match in a fight. However, Ghira was preoccupied with dealing with the other numerous Faunus terrorists that were currently attacking the academy.
Adam bounced between me and Sun, blocking each of our hits with ease. It was hard to overwhelm Adam, due to how fast he was, especially since he could absorb blow after blow with his sword. The upside to Sun and I flanking Adam was his inability to counterattack. He was fast, and able to block attacks from two points, but there wasn't much else he could do.
"Nice braid, man!" Sun said as he spun over Adam's low swing, spinning downwards and narrowly missing a dodging Adam with a kick. "Who gave it to you?"
"Weiss's handiwork. How does it look?" I said just as I ducked under a swing from Wilt, before sending a tall wave of Dust threatening to bury Adam, only for it to be carved up in a flurry of slashes by the bull Faunus, with Sun swinging by and landing next to me while I conjured up a pair of spiked katars.
"Pretty good! You look more like a girl every day!" Sun teased all the while, and I quickly kicked Sun aside just as a vertical slash of Moonslice came through between us. "Come on, man, it was just a joke!" he said as I jumped towards Adam. Adam slashed, forcing me back as I blocked with the katars.
"Yeah, well I get it a lot, and it gets real annoying!" I shouted back before kick flipping over a White Fang goon trying to get the drop on me, knocking him down. "I'm very much lean with under these clothes, thank you very much!"
Ghira came barreling in, slamming a fist towards Adam, only for Adam to barely slip under and cut at Ghira' legs. Ghira's aura flared, but not that much. He probably had a lot of aura, maybe more than Jaune's. Adam spun back to his feet and lunged at Sun with a yell.
Sun backflipped high over the ensuing combo of blade strikes and began his own flurry of swings with his gun chucks, firing shot after shot while swinging. Unsurprisingly but still impressively, Adam was able to keep up with the relentless attack of bullets and nunchucks, flicking his wrist to intercept hit after hit with Wilt. But this meant all of his attention was currently focused on Sun.
I didn't hesitate, sending Dust copies of knives careening from Adam's left and right to avoid hitting Sun. Several landed, whittling away at Adam's aura before he roared and pushed forward, stopping Sun's onslaught of attacks and spinning around. He delivered a kick on Sun and went for me, bouncing off the two handed sword I'd just managed to make in time.
Adam lunged forward as I turned the two handed sword into what was basically a large sign post, slamming it down like a flat but wide hammer. Adam leapt back before drawing Wilt again. His hair and mask glowed red, and Wilt spiked. I ducked. Ghira ducked as well, just as a huge arc of red energy erupted from Adam's swing. It missed us, but it tore into the nearest school building, decimating it at once. More dust and smoke joined the billowing clouds above.
"Hey, Ghira!" I shouted, almost like starting a casual conversation in the middle of some loud weather. "How's Blake been doing?"
"Oh, she's been doing well!" the larger Belladonna said, sounding rather casual between grunts and lunges at the enemy. "She's been rather open with us when she came back with her friends. Well, except what she's been doing at school, but-" Adam dodged his fist before he swung, which Ghira blocked at the wrist. "-I suppose that's normal for girls her age!"
I flipped over and ducked when Adam swung yet again, this time at me, only for Ghira to swing his beefy arm and force Adam back. "If you want, I can tell stories about what she's been up to at Beacon!"
"I'd appreciate it-" Ghira said before he punched a grenade from one of the White Fang goons right back to sender. "She's been quiet about that," Ghira finished as the explosion sent four goons in a group flying.
Turning, I saw a Mistralian rifleman in cover behind a pile of stone, nursing a broken arm with his gun lying next to him. "Are there any reinforcements en route?!" I called as Ghira got back up to rush Adam.
The rifleman turned to face me with an incredulous expression before he drew his sidearm and began firing at the White Fang with his good arm. "No, there's Grimm popping up all over the city!" he called. "We're all that's here!"
"All over the city? We're on top of a mountain though, right?" I asked, confused and clearly worried. How could Grimm swarm the city so quickly? Were there secret entrances or Grimm spawn points in the forests and fields around the city?
"Dispatch said they're spawning out of control, coming out of the neighborhoods and public districts!" the rifleman explained as a White Fang bullhead came crashing down.
The ship crashed into the wrecked building Adam had hit with his semblance, and I got up, ready to rejoin the battle against the terrorist. The moment I managed to get to my feet, I saw Sun flying towards me, having been slammed aside by Adam swinging his rifle/sword scabbard like a club while he fought Ghira.
Acting quickly, I wrapped his waist with a tendril of Dust before spinning, sending Sun right back at Adam with newfound momentum, not unlike how ships used planetary gravity to do a slingshot maneuver. Sun yelled "Thanks!" as he slammed into Adam's side with a bullet, the both of them skidding a dozen meters as they locked themselves in violent close quarters combat. I dashed for them, as did Ghira.
Soon, all four of us were wrestling on the ground, Adam kicking and punching violently like a feral animal, rolling around as the fighting continued on around us. Several other White Fang soldiers saw their leader in deep trouble, and moved to come over and pry us from Adam, only for me to sweep them aside with more of my Dust.
"Get his legs!" Sun yelped as a fist slammed into his shoulder. "No, that's my legs! Ow!"
"I'll eviscerate all of you!" Adam roared, and he sent Sun flying with a knee to the chin, making me stumble aside and leaving Ghira to handle Adam alone. While Ghira was no doubt strong, Adam was strong as well, and the two were evenly matched as Sun and I got back up to our feet.
A loud screech filled the air, and we both looked up. It wasn't fully dark yet, the skies still visible thanks to the sun still in the process of setting. Smoke from the mountainside was filling up the air quickly. The city below was in chaos, buildings on fire and airships still flying everywhere.
"Uhh, what was that?" Sun said.
"What the fuck?" I muttered before the screech came back, louder than before. Through the closest pillar of smoke, a smoking Mistral airship roared through and uncontrollably smashed into the ground, flattening friend and foe alike.
The wyvern that came out of the smoke screamed, flying over us as we all covered our ears. It flew low enough that we were all sent flying. Ghira and Adam slammed separately into a nearby building, while everyone else nearby toppled over from the sheer air force that the Grimm wings exerted. I managed to lock myself in place with Dust hooked from my belt to the closest piece of cover, with Sun grabbing my arm to stay on his feet.
"It survived?! You're kidding me!" Sun yelled as the wyvern began dropping pool after pool of Grimm liquid, all on the buildings and the ground.
Suddenly, all of the Grimm appearing in thin air throughout the city made more sense, especially since Kevin wasn't destroyed at Beacon. "Son of a bitch," I grumbled before my aura shattered. Adam had recovered, and managed to get a hit on me with Moonslice, sending me crashing forward. "Markus!" Sun yelled before he spun around with Riyu Bang and Jingu Bang, swinging at a charging Adam.
"Ow," I groaned, getting up. "That really fuckin' hurt!" My aura was gone, meaning I was exposed. There was Grimm, Mistral forces, and White Fang in a chaotic three way fight throughout Haven Academy. I felt tired, but I couldn't afford to find a place to rest. As I impaled a Creep, I ducked under a swing from a White Fang soldier's sword. Knocking her out with a well placed high kick, I rushed for the Great Hall.
"I have to get to the others," I coughed to myself, before a Beowolf bashed into me from the side. I tumbled down a set of stairs and hit a tree that had miraculously survived the chaos of the devastated academy. As I got up, clutching my aching ribs, I heard the growl of the Beowolf as it stalked forward, ready to finish me off.
It collapsed as a bullet pierced its head and exited through the bottom of its jaw. As the Grimm corpse collapsed and began to turn into black mist, I sighed in relief and closed my eyes. Looks like the Mistral defense forces were still putting up enough of a fight. A thud in front of me signified the sound of someone landing in front of me.
"You alright?"
I opened my eyes to see Nadir Shiko with his weapon in front of me. "Whu?" I coughed. "When did you get here?"
"Just now. Reese told us our school's under attack, so we got here as soon as possible. The rest of team SSSN too," Nadir explained. A hand gripped my right arm, and I turned to see Arslan to my right. Hauling me to my feet, she dusted off my sleeve and grinned.
"But...it's chaos," I said. Bolin wasn't too far behind, fighting off several White Fang goons with his own staff. "You probably shouldn't be here."
"Maybe not, but I'd rather fight here than do nothing back home. Plus, Reese is here, and so are you," Arslan said. "Where is she?"
"Grand Hall," I said, pointing to the building, just in time to see flames erupting out of the building with the sound of smashing and fighting coming from inside. "Be careful."
"What about you?" Nadir asked.
"I'll be fine," I quickly said, all three of us ducking as the wyvern came around for another bombing run. "I'm heading there too, and I'll catch up. I'll only slow you down here."
Arslan and Nadir nodded. "Be careful," Arslan said before she and Nadir quickly made their way to the Grand Hall, Bolin following as well. Leaning against the tree, I took the time to quickly assess the situation.
Sage, Scarlet, and Neptune had arrived at Haven as well, no doubt via airship. All of team SSSN was fighting off Adam, and Ghira was locked in combat with several White Fang goons. The wyvern was circling the academy - fortunately having stopped dropping Grimm on the school grounds. Still, the Grimm was slowly overwhelming everyone else.
I could go to the Grand Hall, help in fighting off Cinder and focus on keeping the Relic of Knowledge out of Cinder's hands. But I'd leave everyone out here to be overrun by the Grimm and the White Fang, potentially trapping us all in Haven. The CCT was down in Mistral, meaning calling for help was not an option.
My aura was still depleted, but I was still capable of fighting. I would do much better against the Grimm, but a single stray gunshot would be enough to take me out of action, or worse, kill me. I wanted to fight, but I was hesitating. Why was I hesitating? I always thought I'd be willing to fight, to get into the thick of the chaos and work to save as many people as I can.
Even in Beacon, I was fighting nonstop during the attack, but now I was frozen. I couldn't decide what to do. What's happening to me?
I was interrupted by a yell, two White Fang grunts rushing me from the left. I jumped back and slammed them into the tree with my Dust before dodging an incoming boarbatusk, which barreled over the tree and continued to roll.
I couldn't decide. I was at a disadvantage of being in an extremely crowded battlefield. I honestly wonder if CRWBY would've been able to animate something as large and chaotic as this. I doubt I could describe everything in sight, it would've still been not enough given just how much was going on right about now.
The wyvern was screeching while perched atop one of the downed CCT towers across campus while Grimm continued to devastate everything and everyone in sight. There were much fewer airships fighting above, likely with many already being shot down.
Adam had downed Sage and Neptune already, leaving them injured while Sun and Scarlet struggled to keep Adam off their defeated teammates. Ghira had just beaten a Beowolf to death before rushing to rejoin the fight against Adam.
I looked to see the Grand Hall, which was getting more and more torn up every minute. Fuck it. I turned and bolted for the Grand Hall, forcing my way through any Grimm and White Fang grunt in my way. There weren't too many, and I reached the building with relative ease, even with no aura. Glad to see all of that training being put to good use.
When I reached the hall doors, the first thing I saw was utter chaos. The walls of the Grand Hall that were usually lined with paintings, banners, trophies, and more were torn up. Said decorations were scattered in many pieces all over the floor. The statue of Jinn at the end of the Grand Hall was gone, telling me that the path to the vault had been opened.
Much of the interior of the Grand Hall was on fire. It wasn't close to collapsing in on itself by any means, but it was still crumbling bit by bit, with ashes and sparks falling occasionally from the ceiling. Cinder must've lost her temper at some point and started throwing fire out like a temper tantrum.
There were way more people than I remembered here. I saw RWBY, JNPR, ABRN, Liya, Oscar, and Qrow in plain sight. Hazel, Mercury and Lionheart were here too, as well as dozens of bandits from Raven's tribe. Surprisingly, Tyrian Callows was here as well. I could only imagine Cinder having to ask a maniacal serial killer for assistance. As funny as the thought was, it more or less proved to be a smart move on Cinder's part.
Ruby and Yang were engaged in combat with Mercury, with Weiss holding off several bandits on her own with a summoned Arma Gigas, which was relatively normal human sized. Pyrrha and Liya were fighting off Tyrian, who was easily keeping up with their teamwork and already more than sufficient combat skill. Even with Pyrrha's semblance affecting his weapons and Liya's semblance affecting his movement, Tyrian bounced back from everything they had to throw at him, parrying blows and adapting to anything they tried. All while cackling like a maniac.
Roman was nowhere to be seen, but considering Neo wasn't here, it was likely that she never showed up and Roman bailed immediately, or she and Roman reunited and left the chaos of the battle. I hoped it was the latter, otherwise dealing with Neo was going to be an utter mess of things in the future. That was assuming I can make it to the future with the shitty situation I was in.
Cinder, Raven, and Vernal were gone. Lionheart was fighting Qrow on the second floor. Hazel was fighting off Oscar, Nora, and Ren simultaneously near the elevator to the vault. Emerald lay unconscious, buried by a few planks of wood that fell from the ceiling - thankfully, none of which were burning. Next to Emerald was the White Fang lieutenant, lying dead with both sickle blades of Thief's Respite buried in his back. His chainsaw lay on the floor next to him, smoking with the large number f small blades scattered around nearby.
All of ABRN was fighting off bandits with relative ease, and Jaune...I saw Jaune kneeling over Blake, who had a massive gash cut from her top to her waist. There was a lot of red staining her coat, and Jaune had his hands pressed against her stomach. Ilia was there as well, clutching Blake's hand as she cried. Blood was pooled around Blake, a lot of blood, and she was looking pale.
Running over in panic, I slid to a stop alongside Blake, who was unconscious. Thankfully, Jaune's hands were glowing with aura, the bright golden light transferring into Blake's purple aura - which seemed to seep into Blake's very long wound. "Jaune, what happened?" I asked quickly, being careful not to disrupt him in fear of him being unable to keep up his semblance.
"That...that maniac got to her!" Jaune croaked, shoulders quaking from the sobs breaking out. "He did something, he broke her aura somehow. Then...he took my sword arm and cut her with it!"
"H-he's healing her somehow," Ilia said, her voice shaky with emotion as well, a mix of fear and relief. "J-just keep it up." Ilia must've said it to Jaune about a dozen times now, but I couldn't blame her. Blake's condition looked bad, even with Jaune boosting her healing.
I turned to see the sword of Crocea Mors lying on the floor, blood staining its tip. "Fucking scorpion asshole," I muttered before I turned to face Jaune. "Jaune, don't stop for anything. Got it?" I turned towards Ilia. "Let Jaune work. You need to protect them while Blake heals."
"I, how did you...no, you're right," Ilia said, reluctantly letting go of Blake's hands before drawing Lightning Lash. "What about you?"
I didn't answer, only drawing out several circular Dust shields and going straight for the bandits. As I jumped in the air, I hurled all of them at the enemies, knocking down several before swinging back and bringing back some of the shields to protect ABRN and me from gunfire, while the ones still out continued striking bandit after bandit, lowering their available numbers.
"Markus, you alright?" Reese called from behind me. Her hoverboard was in pistol form, and she was firing at the bandits from behind the shield I'd formed in front of her. "Where were you?"
"I'm alright, but my aura is gone. I can't get into the thick of it, so I can only support you guys. I was stuck fighting the White Fang outside," I explained before jumping back from a burning plank falling from the ceiling. Turning, I saw Emerald still knocked out. "Arslan, can you get Emerald out from under there?" I asked. "Get her to a safe place somewhere."
"And where's safe?" Arslan asked as a few shots ricocheted off the Dust shield in front of her.
"Near Jaune and Blake," I said, pointing to their general direction. "I'll cover you!"
"Go, team leader," Nadir said as he took a few pot shots at the few remaining charging bandits from his location. "We can handle these guys."
Arslan nodded and ran for Emerald while I kept the shield formed between her and the gunfire. Safe behind cover, I saw as she lifted the splintered plank with no issue before carefully dragging Emerald to safety with Jaune, Ilia, and Blake.
One bandit rushed around the shield in front of me before Bolin slid in and swept the enemy aside with his staff. "You good?" he said. Upon my nod, he went for another charging bandit. I pulled back most of my shields and sent them out towards the bandits. Catching one off guard, I stole her machetes and pulled them towards me.
Grabbing the crude weapons, I backflipped from another bandit with a sword before swinging towards him. One cleaver was blocked by his sword, before I spun around with the momentum and slammed the handle into the side of his head, knocking him out just as several shots from a bandit rifle missed me. Jumping back towards Nadir, I managed to avoid the shots and join him in his cover.
"Damn, fighting without aura sucks," I said, out of breath. I hadn't realized just how much I relied on aura to fight for long periods of time. Now I felt way more tired after fighting off just a bandit.
"Well, you should probably stay on the sidelines then," Nadir said as he reloaded his weapon. Upon seeing a bandit get close, his submachine gun switched from a submachine gun to a sword, with the trigger folding in whilst the stock extended to become the handle. Grabbing it by the handle, he swung and knocked down the Branwen outlaw before locking himself in combat against another who managed to get within gun range.
The bandit was later knocked from combat by a kick from me, before Nadir and I leapt from a spray of gunfire behind a piece of collapsed stairway. Turning, I saw we were already pretty close to the stairs behind the vault elevator, where Ren and Oscar were tag teaming Hazel. Nora had been thrown from the second story and was now trying to fight her way past the other bandits to get back up there.
"Get up there!" Nadir shouted. "We can hold them off down here!"
"But the enemy-" I tried to say.
"Just do it!" the pink haired student yelled before firing at the other Branwen bandits. Growling, I leapt up and dashed for the stairs, where Qrow and Lionheart fought. Qrow dodged a wind and fire blast from Lionheart and was about to jump to cover when I jumped up and kicked Lionheart across the back of the head, damaging his aura and sending the cowardly lion headmaster tumbling down the stairs. Qrow dashed past me to get to Lionheart as I grabbed the second story railing.
Hauling myself up, I saw Hazel pound Oscar into the floor before Ren jumped up and backflip kicked off of the bulkier man. Hazel didn't have his coat, and several crystals of electric Dust were embedded in his upper arms with a few crystals of fire Dust in his forearms. Parts of the floor were destroyed and burnt, no doubt from Hazel. But the most damage was done to the walls.
Oscar rolled back to his feet ready to fight, but it was clear that he was tired. Upon seeing me, however, he smiled. "Mister Onissa. Glad to see you join us," he said as the ground rumbled, barely making us topple over before it stopped again. Cinder and Raven must have started their fight. Does that mean Vernal died?
Oh, so it was Ozpin who was fighting. Good to know. "Is Cinder in the vault? And Raven?" I asked, just to confirm my hunch. I was beginning to regret staying outside fighting Adam for so long.
"Cinder, Raven, and Vernal are down there. But not before she took Roman as hostage. Neo appears to be only complying to make sure Cinder doesn't kill him," Ozpin said. "It's not looking like an ideal situation, but there's little we can do about it."
"By the way, did you know that the dragon from Beacon is here?" I asked. "Kevin."
"Kevin? I'll ask about that later, but-" Ozpin said before a loud screech filled the air, making us both wince from the violent headache that came after hearing something so loud. I hated my Faunus ears sometimes. "-yes, I have heard. You said the last time around, it was petrified?"
"Yeah. I don't think it'll happen here either, especially since-" I said before Hazel roared in indiscriminate anger, dropping my subject about Ruby's silver eyes. "And Hazel?" I asked as the whole ground under Haven rumbled once again, no doubt from the fight going on in the vault below.
"He's blinded with rage. And he isn't holding back either," Ozpin said sadly. "I fear we may have to end him here and now." Ren smashed into the wall alongside me, and Hazel jumped up, ready to smash the floor Ozpin and I stood on. Oscar dashed back while I leapt forward. The floor behind me exploded, no doubt from the fire Dust Hazel had.
"Markus, you need to get to the vault!" Ozpin said. "We can hold out here, but with a fight breaking out in the vault, Cinder's only succeeding in delaying us. If one of us makes it down there, we have a chance of grabbing the relic, maybe assisting Raven in defeating Cinder."
"I dunno," I said. "What about you?"
Ozpin turned to face Hazel, who was approaching them with an angered look. He was furious, looking even more so than before. "I have to deal with the consequences of my actions," Ozpin said as he spun Long Memory in his hand. "Now go!"
As Hazel and Ozpin struck, I leapt over the railing, right down into the abyss leading down to the vault. One second, I was in midair in front of the entire battle, having a clear view of the entire battlefield, seeing all the bandits, all the huntsmen in training, and even the White Fang outside the open doors.
Then, I was in free fall. I was plummeting through the long vertical tube leading down to the vault. I wasn't sure what I'd do upon reaching the vault, but I knew there wouldn't be anything pretty going on. Raven and Cinder were still fighting - I thought this just as another tremor violently rumbled throughout the academy - and Roman, Vernal, and Neo were likely down there with them.
Hopefully, Roman wasn't dead, and I wasn't sure if Vernal was either. Neo definitely wasn't dead - she was just too dangerous to be killed off so easily. I wasn't sure how the elevator worked either, specifically how it was meant to come back up. I'd worry about it once the battle was over.
Assuming Cinder won. There was no guarantee at this point, given that so many events had been changed from this battle that I wasn't sure if Raven's maiden training and experience could get the drop on Cinder. But given that Cinder still had the same appearance from the first three volumes, she was likely still cocky as ever, never having learned defeat at Ruby's hands or eyes.
Come to think of it, it was likely Cinder's idea to start the attack early, hell bent on causing as much chaos as possible while slipping away with the relic. This was remarkably similar to the plan for the fall of Beacon, after all - minus Amity or the Atlesian army and navy being present, which probably made things easier for Cinder to pull off. I originally thought it was Adam's idea to destroy Haven by surprise, but given Cinder's immaturity up to this point-
My thoughts fell short when I saw the floor coming up. Utilizing my neural Dust, I dug several pikes of Dust from my belt into the wall, slowing my descent just enough to not damage my belt or me. When I was a few meters from the ground, I stopped my deceleration process and let go, withdrawing my Dust into my belt and quickly landing on my feet. "Nailed it," I muttered to myself before looking at the scene before me.
Roman and Neo were near the vault elevator where I landed, Neo injured and Roman in relatively good shape. Neo was using Melodic Cudgel as a makeshift crutch, and Roman was helping her stay up. Neo had some burns on her body, clothing singed, but she looked fine nonetheless. She had Hush in one hand as well, looking in one piece. Turning to see me, Roman grinned. "Hey, brat," he said. "Nice of you to drop by."
"What happened?" I asked, coming over to them and checking them over. Looking around, I noticed Vernal missing as well. "Are you both alright?"
"That Cinder bitch thought she'd be able to use me as a bargaining chip," Roman said. "You shoulda seen the stupid look on her face when that Branwen revealed her powers and went full 'fuck you' on her."
Neo giggled silently, before coughing. It was a raspy sound, and it sounded pretty bad, but not life threatening by any means. I wasn't sure why I thought her cough would be silent for a moment. Sighing and shaking my head, I just grinned at Neo. "You alright?" I asked.
Neo leaned up, tippy toeing on her good foot and kissed me right on the lips. I blinked for a split second, as Neo kept her lips pressed against mine for a good five or six seconds. Then she backed up and winked innocently at me. Roman laughed when I went "Bwuh", before patting me harshly on the shoulder.
"Yeah, she's been happy to see me, and I told her about you cutting me loose from Atlas to make it happen. She's grateful," Roman said. "She still says she beat you on the train, though."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say," I said before Neo whacked me on the head with Hush. "Ow!"
"Anyways, Cinder's dealt with for now, meaning we are in the clear," Roman said. "We're gonna leave if that's alright with you."
I turned and saw the open vault. Cinder was nowhere to be seen, and Raven was inside. I let out a sigh of relief. "Cinder was beaten," I sighed. "That's good. You mind waiting for me down here before we both get back up there? I can make sure no one stops you two from slipping away for good."
"Appreciate it. But Neo's aura is almost back up, and I'm feeling pretty dandy myself," Roman said, grinning. "Thanks. For everything, kid."
I smiled. "No problem," I said. "Look after yourselves, alright?"
Roman threw off a lazy two fingered salute in response, and Neo bowed, standing wobbly while leaning on Roman's cane. As they made their way towards the elevator, I turned and made my way towards the vault, where Raven was exiting with the Relic of Knowledge.
"So, you defeated my people up on the surface and made it to the vault. I'm sorry to say you missed a good fight," Raven said.
"Where's Vernal?" I asked as the elevator went up. "I hadn't seen her anywhere when I came down."
"She's dead. Cinder tried to steal 'her' power and threw her over the edge when she couldn't find it," Raven said dismissively. As nonchalant as she may seem, she did seem to look a little bit saddened by it. Only a little.
"Shame," I said, a bit disturbed. I wondered if Vernal's death really was unavoiadable. "I was hoping she'd live through it. Anyways, I see you have the lamp. Do you plan on keeping it?"
Raven let out a quiet huff of breath. "Of course. I don't plan on walking away without the one chance at survival against Salem," Raven said. "I don't suppose you think I'll let you take it?"
"One, relics attract Grimm. Like, a lot. The moment you reach the surface with it, all the Grimm attacking the city and the academy outside will come after you," I said.
"Grimm in the city?" Raven asked.
"You didn't notice?" I asked, a bit confused. How soon had they gone down here? "Cinder sent a Grimm wyvern - his name is Kevin, thanks for asking - to bomb Mistral with Grimm. The same wyvern that attacked the city of Vale months ago."
"What?!" Raven growled. I grinned a little - there was no doubt now that Cinder had kept this from Raven. Nonetheless, I had an advantage, knowing exactly what would get Raven to back down. All I had to do was think on what knowledge I had about the relics, as well as what Yang said.
"And Ozpin himself said that the relics are attracted to the Grimm, more than negative emotion itself," I said as I walked forward. "Probably a safeguard by Salem in case someone was stupid enough to leave the vaults with the relic in hand."
Things were silent, and I knew for a fact Raven was debating this. On one finger, she had a weapon, the chance at gaining plenty of intel on beating Salem. On the other hand, she had multiple points working against her. She didn't know the password to activating the Relic of Knowledge. She didn't know if the knowledge she'd get would even be helpful in the fight against Salem. And she didn't know if my claim on the relics attracting Grimm would even be true.
"Why should I believe you?" Raven asked. There was doubt in her voice, and I knew she could see what I said about the Grimm being drawn towards the relics being something Salem would indeed do.
"Salem wants the relics. Do you honestly think she wouldn't have a way to track them? She was cursed to walk on this world for eternity. She's wanted the relics for generations, longer than Ozpin's been alive," I said. "I hope you know just how much of a target you're putting on your back."
"Nonsense," Raven said. "I can handle it. I'm strong enough to-"
"You can't beat a world of Grimm. You have maiden powers, that alone makes Salem want you in her grasp. And if she has a maiden and a relic together?" I asked. The term "killing two birds with one stone" came to mind. And I could tell it came to Raven's mind as well.
Raven looked down at the lamp in her hands, a conflicted expression on her face. "How do I know you aren't trying to lie to me?" she asked.
"You know I wouldn't. Plus, Cinder did tell you how much I really knew, right?" I said as I walked forward. "Your tribe is gone. I don't know how Cinder managed to get you to sacrifice themselves for her-"
"They aren't gone! The Branwen Tribe is powerful, much more capable than you puny students, better than-" Raven shouted.
"Tyrian?" I asked, immediately cutting her off from what she was about to say next. "Hazel? What about the White Fang? What about the forces Mistral sent to fight the White Fang? What about the Grimm? There may be several dozen of your bandits here, but they're all vastly outnumbered by everyone else. The Grand Hall is falling. And they'll die. Because you threw them into the fire for Cinder. Just so you can get the chance to snag the relic."
I stepped forward, closer to her now - about two meters from in front of her now. "And now you're alone. Even with the relic, even with the maiden powers, you can't do a thing. Not on your own."
Raven growled and drew Omen with her free hand. I noticed she barely had any blades left, only a few. And they were all red. "You underestimate me!" Raven yelled. But she didn't sound angry, she sounded panicked. She sounded scared, and that was saying something. "You don't understand just how strong I've become!"
"No. I don't," I said. "No one does. Because even with everything I have, everything I know, you were never around for me to learn about you. Because you run. Maybe you're misunderstood. Maybe there isn't enough for me to know about. But there is one thing I know for sure."
I stepped closer, Raven's sword pressed against my neck. "You're a coward," I said slowly, as if speaking to a child. Raven growled and swung, before we both heard a click from behind me, on the other side of the area. I turned to see the elevator having come back down without Roman and Neo.
Yang Xiao Long stood at the base of the elevator, eyes wide as she looked between me and her mother.
(AN: Next chapter is the end of Volume 5, will include much needed talks, recovery, and the final showdown between Markus and Adam)