Hi, welcome back to Silver Spectre. Don't really have a long author's note thins time, just a brief but embarassing story. So if you've never written a story, you might not fully understand, but writer's block is a bitch. I personally often struggle with writing the buildup to major scenes. I can describe places and situations, write fights, and write important dialogue pretty quickly. But sometimes, when I'm writing those smaller scenes, my brain just freezes.
A bit of writing advice I try to follow is to just write something. Even if it has nothing to do with what you're writing, even if its just your shopping list, just write. It gets your brain moving. I've found this trick works well for me, and I often use it when I'm stuck on a part in this fic. I usually just write it as a note, or quickly delete it. But sometimes somethings slip through.
So yeah, to the reviewer who asked why I randomly wrote "Big Chungus" at the end of Chapter 3, there's your answer. And no. It's not there anymore. Anyways, here's Silver Spectre:
Weiss adjusted her position on her saddle to let blood flow into her legs, which were beginning to fall asleep after riding for a while. She was currently positioned in the middle of the Oniyuri Rebellion's main convoy, alongside General Daichi and Captain Ren, among others she didn't recognize.
Ruby floated wordlessly beside her, a maddeningly worried expression on her face. Weiss wanted to ask her what was wrong, or even just look at her to let her know she was worried, but it would be suspicious if she kept obviously glancing to her right. Instead, she had to make do with briefly flicking her gaze every minute or so.
All around them, men and women were in high spirits as they headed away from the danger being so close to the capital. Weiss could understand the sentiment. Although she knew they were small enough to slip away, having one's enemy a day's march away was nerve-wracking.
General Daichi looked at peace even with all the clatter and clamor around him, though Weiss could feel his dark eyes carefully observing the entire convoy every minute or so.
Ren, likewise, seemed peaceful, though slightly anxious. On any other person she wouldn't have noticed, but Weiss could easily see it thanks to his usual calm nature, like a drop of ink appearing more vividly on an empty page.
It wasn't hard to guess why he was worried. In the brief time she'd known them, she'd gotten the feeling that Ren and his subordinate Nora were inseparable. And Nora was currently in another convoy, with General Nikos and the Stone Monkey Mercenary Company.
The other convoy was much smaller than the main one, although it still was large enough to fend off any Grimm they might encounter with minimal casualties.
The reason for the separate convoy was, as far as Weiss knew, to meet up with spies. It would be unwise to allow the entire rebellion to know the identity of their spies, so only those who could be trusted were sent. General Nikos would be meeting with the spies in nearby Shion Village before joining back up at the place they'd be setting up their new base of operations.
"Nice weather today, huh?" Weiss heard a nearby captain with a grey beard that reached his navel murmur to a lieutenant that looked to be Ruby's age, if that. That was the sad state of the rebellion. Retired veterans and inexperienced youths were forced to take command due to a lack of manpower.
All around her, the rebels spoke of simple things. Family they wanted to see. Relief at being further away from Mistral. One young woman expressed an interest in practicing her magic. More than a few spoke of herself in hushed whispers.
Through it all, she tried to remain impassive, willing each muscle in her face to avoid wrinkling to avoid seeming weak. She needed to play up her role and give the impression of an unflinching knight from Atlas, as Pyrrha and Yatsuhashi had advised.
Ren rode up beside her, his horse approaching so silently Weiss would've jumped had she not noticed Ruby react first. The raven-haired man gave her a small but kind smile.
"Nervous?"
"How could you tell?"
"It's subtle. You do a good job of hiding it. But you're balling up your fists so tightly I could hear it from back there," He whispered so as not to allow the nearby foot soldiers to pick up on their conversation, an act Weiss was grateful for.
"That loud, huh?"
"No. I just have excellent hearing."
"I'd believe that."
"Why are you so nervous?" He asked curiously. At least Weiss thought it was curiosity. He was hard to read after all.
Weiss simply shrugged. "What's there not to be nervous about? I'm not a great leader, nor am I a noble knight, yet I've been asked to play those roles if I want to achieve my own goals. Not to mention the general terror at the thought of opposing one of the Four Great Kingdoms."
Ren quirked an eyebrow. "You ran away from your father, and it's not much of a stretch to say he has power and influence roughly equal to the Kingdoms. Is that not the same?"
"It isn't," The ex-heiress denied. "I ran from my father. I've slipped past his notice and found ways to protect myself from his search for me by aligning with Vale. I never once tried to usurp him. I simply left him to pursue my own goal."
Ren's expression became unreadable. "And what exactly is your goal?" The pink-eyed man murmured, so silent Weiss barely heard it. The slight twinge of suspicion in his voice made Weiss's blood go cold.
Ruby's dour expression left her face, quickly being replaced by concern as she looked between the two of them as Weiss screamed internally, begging her facial muscles not to reveal her anxiety at his question and inquiring gaze.
"A strange question. My goals are my own, though if you must know I intend to translate my grandfather's book, as I have said."
Ren seemed to want to say more, but the opportunity was stolen from him as General Yatsuhashi Daichi shouted out from his horse behind them. "Let him through!"
Their hushed conversation had caused them to miss the slight commotion as a man pushed his way through the convoy, trying to shout over the din of the convoy that he had a message. At the giant man's words, the masses parted and allowed the man to approach.
As soon as he approached, Weiss heard Ren intake a sharp breath. It took a moment for her to figure out why. The man wore a plain white tunic with a dark red overcoat that had seen better days. His hair was the same deep red as his coat, and his eyes were a bright green. Weiss recognized him as the second-in-command of the Stone Monkey Mercenary Company
"Scarlet, what's happened? Why are you here?" Ren asked, his voice even. Yet Weiss and the nearby high-ranking rebels could tell he was trying to swallow his fear.
The man gasped for breath, his face flushed and sweat pouring from his brow. He quickly was able to straighten up and respond with a statement directed at Yatsuhashi.
"General Daichi, sir! An unknown number of soldiers has surrounded the village of Shion! By the time we reached it, the village had already been destroyed. As we approached we were encircled. Nora and the boss helped break through the formation and let me escape to give you a warning!"
As soon as he finished what he was saying, he fell to his knees and took a deep shuddering breath. As he did so, panic began to fill the air as the crowds around him began to mutter and gasp among themselves. Weiss glanced at the nearby captains and saw varying states of panic on their faces.
Only the General remained impassive, though given the shadow that fell across his face she could tell he was devastated by the news. But thanks to his role he had to step up, and thus he took a deep breath and let out a loud shout.
"Everyone quiet!" He boomed, and Weiss wouldn't have been surprised if people in the capital could've heard the shout. "I understand your concern, but for now we must continue our march. We'll set up the camp as planned. For now that's all we can do."
Ren lowered his head at his words, as did a number of nearby rebels, yet none spoke out against him. "For now we must simply pray that our allies may hold out until we can be certain that we can rescue them."
Weiss pondered his words as the convoy began to move, a few captains taking charge and going around getting people to resume their march after hearing devastating news. A force of unknown size surrounding one of their best generals, as well as some of the rebellion's finest warriors? It wasn't hard to see why.
"If I had to guess, I'd say I'm one of the most skilled fighters here at the moments. Not a boast, but an unfortunate truth. Perhaps General Daichi or Ren could be better, but other than that all of the rebellion's best fighters are currently ensnared in a trap. This is bad." She thought to herself.
If her joining the rebellion would change the tide of war as Pyrrha believed, then this ambush would set it right back to the start, if not leave them worse off. A loss so soon after their victory against the Nuckelavee would rob them of their momentum and make them look inept.
"But maybe it doesn't have to be that way," She proposed. "You, bring me a map!" She barked an order at a nearby rebel girl, the one Weiss had heard talking about magic earlier. The brunette looked at her meekly before snapping to attention and scurrying off.
As the girl returned with a parchment depicting a topographical map of the region, Ruby, Ren, and General Daichi all sent her curious looks, but hse paid them no heed outside of a brief eye contact with Ruby. Instead, she poured over the map and thought to herself.
"Hmmmm." She muttered. Ruby floated over to her hurriedly, peering over her shoulder. A glance showed her that the ghost was quickly absorbing the information, paying close attention to the large hill to the north that seperated the path they were on and the village of Shion.
"What is it, Lady Schnee?" General Daichi inquired, pulling up his horse alongside her. A few officers turned to face her as he spoke, along with many of the rank-and-file, yet Weiss barely noticed, too engrossed with the map as she responded.
"It makes no sense. If they wanted to ambush General Nikos, there was no need to surround the village. There are large hills to the north and south of Shion, far too big for our allies to be able to flee up effectively. Why didn't they simply place a few archers at the top of the hills and charge from both the east and west? That would accomplish the same effect while being a more efficient use of manpower."
General Daichi pondered this question before offering an explanation. "Perhaps they wanted to ensure no one escapes? A full enclosement makes it much harder to sneak away."
"But it's also easier to break through. That's what Scarlet did, after all. And the fact they didn't send soldiers after him to prevent him from warning us is also suspicious." Weiss continued, her eyes darting across the map as Ruby pointed at something she'd missed.
"Could it be that they are simply more concerned with killing General Nikos?" An officer with a white mustache suggested.
"Perhaps. Or perhaps this isn't a trap at all," Weiss murmured before looking up toward Scarlet. "You said the village was already burnt when you arrived?"
The man, who had been greedily drinking water from a flash someone gave him, nodded. "Yeah. By the time we got there, it was just pretty much just ashes and rubble."
"And which direction did the encirclement come from?"
"We first spotted them moving to surround us from the east."
"I see. So it wasn't a trap then," Weiss declared, mostly to herself.
"How are you sure?" A lieutenant with racoon ears demanded, but Ren held out a hand for him to stop.
"If this was an ambush, it's a shoddy one. They struck from the east, where the forest is the least dense, meaning their circle would be slow to form," Weiss mentioned the detail Ruby pointed out. "And why would they burn the village before springing their trap? Wouldn't that run the risk of tipping off General Nikos?"
Yatsuhashi let out a baritone hmmm as he held his chin. "Pyrrha is famed for her honor. Were they betting on her taking a risk to try and save the innocent?"
Ren shook his head. "No, I'm starting to see it. There's too many holes in their plan for that to be the case. This can't have been a trap."
Weiss nodded in agreement. "In all likelihood, this unknown enemy destroyed Shion then spotted the other convoy headed there and decided to try and ensnare them at the last minute. So either bandits or a small battalion of soldiers."
Yatsuhashi pondered that information for a moment before speaking. "I see. That's good news. Hopefully General Nikos will be able to stall until we can make our way in from the east."
Weiss glanced at the map. Approaching from the east would require them to backtrack for around an hour before looping around and traveling another half an hour in order to arrive in the village. The most direct route was from the south, over a densely wooded hill, but that was rarely a good strategy.
"What if we went north to attack from the south side?" Weiss recommended, much to the shock of the rebels who heard her.
"Are you serious? It'd be suicide!" Scarlet called out. "Even if there are only a few soldiers on the hill, they still have the high ground. And the forest is so dense, we'd likely get lost."
"But if we wait then General Nikos might not last long. She only has a handful of allies with her." Another captain countered.
"If we tried to storm over that hill, we'd be slaughtered by even just a dozen archers. It's too risky!"
"We can't just wait while one of the best generals we've had is surrounded and killed!"
"Be reasonable. Better to lose only one general than both."
"What's the point in fighting if we don't take risks? We'll never win if we only fight battles we know we can win."
"There's a risk and then there's suicide. Don't be so reckless!"
"Enough!" Yatsuhashi called out. Silence fell over the convoy as even the soldiers in the edges stopped muttering and paid attention to the gentle giant. General Daichi breathed deeply and shook his head.
"We can't take the risk. We don't know enough to take a risk as big as charging uphill against our enemies. And we still don't know if your theory about it being a small battalion is correct. This could be a trap designed to ensnare all of us. We'll approach from the east."
Weiss sighed deeply and rolled up her map. She was confident in her and Ruby's observations. They were being too cautious, and Pyrrha might pay the price. But it was something she'd have to live with. At least, that's what she tried to tell herself.
But as she glanced at Ruby, she felt her frustration grow. She understood that it was a risk, but it was one worth taking. In her mind, it was simple. If she wanted to save Ruby, she had to get the book. If she wanted to get the book, she had to save Pyrrha.
A memory of her conversation with Pyrrha came to her mind. "Why do I want to save Ruby? It's not just because she's my friend. Why do I fight so hard for her? What is my purpose? My reason for fighting?" As she pondered these things, her fists tightened into balls as she was gripped with realization.
Without Pyrrha she'd likely never find her answers. So it wasn't even a choice.
"General Daichi, sir!" She cried out, dismounting her horse. "By your leave, allow me to lead a small company up the hill to the north through the enemy's blockade!" Weiss drew her sword and thrust it towards the large shadowy mass nearby that separated them and Shion.
Yatsuhashi turned to face her and glanced at the hill. Shaking his head with a sigh, he spoke firmly. "No. We lack the information to commit to a full scale assault. And with the advantage the enemy has, I won't risk my soldiers lives on a suicide mission."
Weiss grit her teeth, refusing to accept his order. She understood the reason behind it, but she knew there was no way this could've been an ambush. It was too rushed and sloppy. She had been in Shion briefly not two weeks ago, and the terrain didn't lend itself well to the attacker's encirclement strategy.
"But how can I get General Daichi to listen to me? If there's even the slightest chance of this being a trap, he won't listen. He's too cautious. But that's all the more reason to save Pyrrha. This rebellion will never win with him refusing to take risks." Weiss thought to herself, biting her lip hard enough to draw blood.
Yatsuhashi stared at her while her thoughts raced, alongside almost the entire company. She had just joined and was already arguing with authority. She wasn't deaf to the whispers of the crowd around her, but one in particular drew her attention.
"Weiss, I've got an idea!" Ruby hissed in her ear. A brief quirk of her eyebrow let the ghost know she'd been heard. "If the General doesn't want to sacrifice his men, how about we use someone else to break their blockade. Or something else."
The Atlesian noble quickly picked up on what she was saying. During their time in Shion, they'd been advised not to stray too far south from the village, for fear of disturbing the large pack of Grimm that made their home in the dense woods.
"General. If you will not lend me your men to break the blockade, I'll accept that. But permit me to go alone and pierce through myself!" Weiss confidently exclaimed, much to the shock of all who heard her.
"All alone? What the hell are you thinking? Even if it's only a dozen like you say, you'll be slaughtered!" A nearby officer shouted loudly. Many more shouts rang out over the crowd, but Yatsuhashi silenced them with a raised hand, allowing Ren to speak.
"Weiss. What are you planning?" He asked with an unreadable expression on his face, his pink eyes filled with a strange mix of hesitation and hope. Glancing at the General, who nodded at her to speak, she explained.
"There's a pack of Ursai nesting just at the western base of the hill. When I was traveling through Shion, they warned me about it." Many of the surrounding soldiers caught on to what she was saying, but a large portion of them looked frightened. "I plan to lure them into fighting the blockade and using the chaos to break through."
Yatsuhashi pondered her words, glancing around. He let out a long hmmm as he stroked his chin, but paused when Ren placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Please."
At his captain's request, he let out a loud sigh. "Very well. Ren, accompany Schnee on her task. Anyone who wants to go with them, you're welcome to leave. But know that if you get in over your heads, we won't be able to bail you out in time. Let's move!"
At that, Yatsuhashi spurred his horse and turned eastward, with most of the company following suit. Eventually, only Weiss, Ren, and around a dozen others remained. With a deep sigh, Weiss turned to face them.
"So. You are the ones willing to risk your lives on what they see as a suicide mission?" If she had to give her honest assessment of the soldiers before her, it wasn't' great. Mostly older men and women, with a few reckless looking youths around Ruby's age among them.
"It's a risk we agreed to when we joined. Here, three months from now, it doesn't matter. We'll be dead all the same." An older man shrugged.
Ren shook his head. "No one will die today. I promise. We won't lead you astray!" Despite his quiet tone and placid expression, his words carried an energy that encouraged the soldiers. Facing Weiss, he asked. "How do we want to do this?"
Weiss stared out at the handful of soldiers temporarily under her command. Straining to remember every lesson on tactics she'd received, she knew she'd have to have some idea of their capabilities. "Who here can use magic?"
Two soldiers stepped forward. An older man with reddish hair that was fading to grey, and the young brunette who had brought her the map.
"I'm a novice, but I can cast a handful of spells. Mostly just Inherent magic though. I don't know any glyphs." The brunette spoke up.
"I've picked up a few things in my time with the rebels. I can make some glyphs, but don't expect me to be quick about it. I'm not young anymore." The man explained.
Weiss nodded. That was more than she was expecting. "Good. Now, who are the fastest runners?" Three youths raised their hands. "You're with Ren. You'll draw the Grimm's attention. Form a relay; one of you will accompany Ren before climbing a tree and allowing the next to draw them away in order to conserve your energy. Pass off your equipment so you aren't weighed down."
"And the rest?" Ren asked.
"Sheath your weapons. Grab something big to shield yourselves with. Tower shields would be best, but fallen logs or spare pieces of armor work too. Our job will be to keep the soldiers on the hill distracted. The mages and I will draw their attention downhill on us, allowing Ren to lead the Grimm to them safely.
"Will this really work?" The young mage asked. Weiss shared a glance with Ren and a brief one with Ruby before answering.
"That's up to you. Now, let's move!"
"Can you form a shield glyph?" She asked the older mage, who gave a hesitant nod. The three of them were traveling through the thick underbrush slightly ahead of the rest of their group in order to better sneak up. The steep incline of the hill and the numerous thorns made it difficult, however.
"Not a big one, but yeah. It won't be very strong though."
"Can it survive a volley of arrows?"
"Yeah. A few volleys. I'd say about three or four. But by the time we got in range we'd be filled with arrows before I had a chance to draw it."
"That's fine. I'll draw their attention first from the left while you and her sneak up from the right. We need to look convincing, like we've got a strategy to break through. Understood?"
They both nodded, but the brunette girl raised her hand meekly. When Weiss turned to face her, she spoke up. "What kind of spells should I use?"
"Well, we should avoid fire. It's slow and runs the risk of lighting the forest ablaze. Magic fire tends to burn out quicker than the natural kind, but it's still a risk I'd rather not take. If you know any lightning spells, I'd recommend them. Otherwise, use simpler magic."
The two nodded at her words, paying close attention to her words. Weiss could tell that they were nervous. The brunette's hands were pale from how tightly she gripped her staff, while the old man had a slight tremble in his step.
"What are your names?" Weiss spoke up as they headed further up the hill.
"Amber, ma'am. Amber Autumn."
"The name's Brunswick. Bartleby Brunswick."
"Good. Thank you for joining me, Amber, Bartleby. I know it's frightening, but I promise we can win." As Weiss tried to encourage them, a silver blur shot out of the forest.
"Weiss, you're almost in range. There were about twenty of them from what I could see, but there may be more hiding in the woods." Ruby reported with a nervous look on her face. Weiss nodded subtly to her. That was about what she expected.
"Are we sure this is a good idea?" Ruby questioned with a concerned look in her silver eyes. Weiss glanced back to see that Amber and Bartleby were distracted looking around the forest before shooting back.
"This was mostly your idea!" She hissed. Ruby's face just fell.
"Yeah, but still. What if you get them hurt? What if you get hurt? What if you have to..." She trailed off. Weiss wanted to speak more, but she reached the point of no return. Past this next bush, and she'd be visible. Stopping, she turned to face her subordinates.
"Are you ready?" Receiving two frightened yet determined nods in response, she grinned weakly. "I know you're scarred, but trust me. Follow my lead and we'll come out ok. Now, wait for the signal, then move." At that she turned around and drew her sword. Channeling gravity dust into her blade, she charged out through the bush.
The top of the hill was more open, with the underbush replaced by a tangle of thick tree roots just waiting to trip her up. About a hundred feet ahead stood a line of archers who let out loud shouts upon seeing her charge out of the bush. Any attempt at closing the distance would be forced to deal with both the roots and the archers, and fleeing would leave her exposed.
But she wasn't charging straight ahead. Rather, she curved left, paying close attention to the roots to avoid tripping and dying pathetically. Ducking behind a tree thick enough to cover her, she heard the tell-tale thunk of four arrows colliding with the woods. With a sigh to calm her nerves, she darted out.
As soon as she did, several arrows whizzed straight towards her, their senders having waited for her to reveal herself. But Weiss simply smirked and plunged her sword into the ground, creating a large pulse powered by dust.
She quickly removed her sword from the ground and constructed a shield glyph to block the next volley of arrows, which bounced off as though hitting a boulder. She was about seventy feet away now, limiting the glyphs she could use. There were only so many that matched the range and speed she needed.
A glowing yellow one made with the dust from Myrtenaster shot a bolt of lightning into the chest of an archer who collapsed. A blast of white light scored a hit on the arm of an archer who screamed in pain. Several pebbles shot out of the ground before being launched with enough force to break the ribs of two archers.
As she drew the attention of the soldiers, she caught sight of a magical barrier appearing to her right. A streak of blue light shot from the tip of Amber's staff, nailing an archer who hadn't noticed them. Weiss's lips quirked upwards as she drew two more glyphs to continue her assault.
The archers were a disorganized mess, panicking and firing shots that sailed past both groups as spells rapidly shot from Weiss's rapier and Amber's staff. But there was a slight problem.
They were injuring them, but not doing any lethal damage. More often than not, soldiers struck by Amber's missiles got back up after a few seconds before continuing their assault. Weiss had better luck leaving lasting injuries, but even she wasn't doing great at this range.
Eventually, a figure appeared and began to shout loudly from the top of the hill, reorganizing the archers into a line and restoring order to the panicked soldiers. "That must be their captain." Weiss thought to herself. She briefly considered trying to take him out, but decided against it.
Turning around to flee, she noticed Ruby flash towards her as a mass of silver flames. Reforming quickly, the silver spectre had a worried look in her eyes.
"It's Bartleby! He's about to give out! They're not going to make it!" Weiss cursed to herself before changing direction to charge towards her subordinates. Arrows slammed into the roots around her, but she ducked and weaved past them, using trees to provide brief windows of cover.
As she approached them, however, she made a mistake. Her desperate rush only brought more attention to the duo, and it was obvious even from a distance how much Bartleby was struggling with maintaining his glyph. His heaving breaths as he pressed his hand into the ground drew the archers' attention.
Over a dozen arrows whistled towards him, shattering his barrier glyph and leaving them exposed. Fortunately, the glyph's failure knocked the arrows off course, giving them a brief window that Weiss immediately took.
Withdrawing a green dust crystal from her puch, she crushed it with her hand before dragging it across her blade, coating it in a powder that began to swirl violently. Thrusting forward, the wind dust created a miniature cyclone that shot from Myrternaster's tip into the ground between them.
The small explosion of force sent Amber and Bartleby flying in different directions, allowing them to avoid being skewered by the arrows that struck where they'd just been.
Bartleby scrambled to his feet and managed to throw himself behind a tree for cover, but Amber struggled to rise on the uneven ground. With a gasp of fear, she turned in time to see the dozen arrows flying towards her.
Weiss and Ruby both shouted out, reaching a hand out towards the young woman who sat paralyzed with fear. Feeling a familiar pull, Weiss began to draw Ruby's aura into her, wreathing herself in the familiar silver flames. Pouring as much of their shared aura as she could into her legs, she dashed forwards.
She made it just in time to throw herself in front of Amber, allowing the arrows to strike her armored back. The enchanted silver mail was able to absorb much of the impact, with most of the arrows bouncing off harmlessly. But a few managed to clip parts with lighter armor and drew thin lines of blood. A few even managed to graze Amber, who cowered in front of her with an expression of wonder and fear.
"Can you move?" Weiss barked out at Amber, who nodded mutely. "Then move!" The youthful mage nodded and darted behind a tree, making room for Weiss to take cover next to her.
The ex-heiress hissed in pain as she pressed her back against the bark. Her enchanted armor may have prevented them from piercing her and absorbed much of the shock, but it didn't stop all of it, and she could feel multiple bruises forming.
"What do we do?" Bartleby shouted from his hiding place, yelping as an arrow whizzed past his nose. Amber turned to look at her with a hopeful expression, but Weiss just gritted her teeth. Her plan had hinged on her being able to give the remaining soldiers a signal.
"Damn it. Cover me!" She ordered before darting out, still cloaked in Ruby's flames. She could feel their shared strength beginning to fail, but Weiss pushed through. As Amber launched a bolt of lightning from her staff and Bartleby shot a mass of mud and weeds towards the soldiers, Weiss made her move.
Quickly drawing a glyph in the air, she slammed a palm upwards, pouring her mixed aura into the glyph that began to spin and emit a high pitched shriek. The men at the top of the hill begin to clutch their ears to block out the noise while Amber and Bartleby writhed in pain.
At her signal, the remaining members of their company charged out of the brush, clutching split logs and loose planks tied together. One even had a chainmail vest with two spears poking through it to pull it taut.
The newcomers drew the attention of the soldiers, who quickly recovered and began to pelt the approaching rebels. Fortunately, however, their makeshift shields were able to withstand a volley, allowing them the time to duck behind trees.
With the introduction of the newcomers, the odds were looking much more favorable. With all of the archers they'd managed to incapacitate, there were only two archers for each rebel. Much better odds.
Ducking behind a moss-covered boulder, Weiss let out a sigh as she felt Ruby's aura fail. The soldiers starred in confusion as the silver flames covering her faded. A few hushed whispers reached her ear, but she paid them no heed, instead focusing on the ghostly girl who collapsed to her knees.
Weiss felt a twinge of remorse as she stared at Ruby, but buried it. She could feel bad later. Right now she had to make sure they all made it out of this situation. Nodding at the soldiers, she darted out of cover, rushing towards a nearby tree.
As soon as she did so, several others followed suit, darting out of cover and using their makeshift shields to protect themselves from arrows. They needed to give the appearance of approaching while Ren made his way towards the top of the hill.
Drawing the soldiers slightly eastward meant their backs would be exposed to the Grimm, so Weiss ordered her soldiers to try and make their way to the right.
From the archers' perspective, they surely looked desperate. Darting around, trying to inch forwards but gaining next to no ground. But as Weiss noticed two of the three young men she'd sent with Ren, she knew her plan was working.
Diving to cover next to one of the runners, she rolled to her feet and brushed the twigs and leaves out of her hair. "Report."
The young man gave a sloppy salute. "Miss! Mister Ren and our friend Jay are on their way, with about half a dozen Grimm on their tails. Mostly the bear-looking ones, but one of them was bigger and... spiky."
"An Ursa Major? It must be the leader of the pack. It might be best if the enemy manages to take that one out for us. I'm not sure anyone but Ren or I would be a match for it." Weiss mused. "Good job soldier. Rest here a minute. It looks like we'll be winning after all."
The young man gave a nod and a relieved smile. Weiss nodded back and darted out of cover. It was best to be seen in order to prevent the soldiers from getting suspicious. As she did so, she caught sight of two figures behind the archers.
Jerking her body to the side to dodge an arrow, she smiled as she watched Ren and his companion sprint past the archers, who whirled around in shock. She heard panicked shouts as they did so, and almost immediately they whirled around to face the pack of Grimm behind them.
Sliding to a stop next to her, Ren gave her a nod before drawing his bow and knocking an arrow. His companion was much less graceful, tripping on a root and rolling halfway down the hill.
"Any injuries on your end?" Weiss asked, to which Ren shook his head.
"Aside from his bruised pride?" He joked with a jerk of his head towards the fallen youth. Weiss took a moment to be surprised that Ren of all people made a joke before chuckling. "And on your end?"
"A few scrapes and bruises. Mostly on me." She added, to which Ren gave her an appraising look. He seemed... impressed wasn't the right word for it. It was a strange look, and far from the first one she'd received from him.
They turned their attention towards the top of the hill, where the archers had cast aside their bows and were trying to fight the Grimm with spears and swords, to little success. Only two of the six Grimm had been slain, and only six soldiers remained.
"Scratch that. There are four fleeing," Weiss corrected the assessment. The quartet had abandoned their comrades, much to their apparent displeasure if the screams of "Cowards!" were anything to go by. Unfortunately, Weiss recognized one of the fleeing soldiers as the leader.
"Ren! Have the soldiers help kill the Grimm. I'm going after them!" Weiss barked out, pointing towards the retreating captain before taking off. Ren wasn't given a chance to respond, but Weiss saw the confusion in his eyes give way to understanding.
"Be careful!" He called out before ordering the rebels to toss aside their makeshift shields and charge up the hill with him. Losing three arrows in quick succession, he slew one Ursa and blinded the Ursa Major. The third Weiss saw curled around and pin its paw to the ground, but she saw no more as she entered the underbrush on the northern side of the hill.
Eventually the din of battle faded as she ducked and weaved under branches and over roots, Ruby flickering through the bush ahead of her and telling her which way to go. She hadn't even had to ask the ghost to do that.
"They're banking right!" She exclaimed from ahead. Weiss nodded and took a sharper turn to try and shorten the distance. The four could only move as fast as their slowest member, but she still wasn't willing to give them the chance to widen the distance.
Eventually, she peeked her head out of a bush into a clearing. From here she could see the stacks of smoke that came from the nearby ruins of Shion. Ahead the woods were at their thickest, meaning that if the enemy made it there first she wasn't likely to catch them.
Deciding to wait for their arrival, she crouched down and began to slowly draw a glyph while catching her breath. She was rewarded for her patience when the four men she was pursuing emerged from the bush in a jog, panting heavily.
"Captain Hori, please. Let us take a rest!" One begged their leader, who whirled around. He was a tall, brunette man with tan skin. He wore a gray vest with two yellow sashes, and was carrying a bo staff slung over his shoulder. His lips were curled into a grimace.
"There's no time! We need to report to Nadir!"
"But sir! The Grimm are likely fighting the rebels and not pursuing us! So can we rest before reporting to Captain Shiko?"
"It's not the Grimm I'm worried about." the man, identified as Captain Hori, muttered. Turning to face the dense underbrush, he began to walk forwards. Weiss took that as her cue, raising her rapier with a glyph drawn at the tip, firing a shard of dense ice towards him.
With almost supernatural instincts, the captain twisted to the side, causing the icicle to fly past him and strike one of his men across the throat, causing him to choke on his blood. Weiss winced. She didn't mind having to kill him, but she didn't want to do so in such a painful way. Ruby simply gasped in shock and let out a whimper.
"Smart. Unfortunately, you're too late." We declared, stepping out of the underbrush with her sword held loosely in front of her.
"Shit! It's the mage!" One of the men cried, drawing his naginata and twirling it in front of him. His comrade drew a curved sword with a broad blade known as a dao. Captain Hori adopted a fighting stance with one foot forward while his Bo staff rested against his chest.
"So. I assume this was your doing? The Grimm?" He asked, to which Weiss simply nodded. "I see. What a heartless and dishonorable trick. Tell me, villain, what is your name?"
The ex-heiress scoffed. "You're calling me dishonorable, when you were the one who left your men to die?"
The captain spat on the ground and grit his teeth. "That's... that's different! There's is an honorable sacrifice!"
"Seems to me like honor only matters to you when it's convenient," Weiss countered. She couldn't stand this type of person; while she personally didn't care much for honor, she understood its uses and importance. To see someone throw it around when it suited them but toss it aside otherwise was an insult to her friends Jaune and Ruby.
"You bitch! I am Bollin Hori, scion of House Hori! Know your place, rebel! You aren't fit to lick the boots of my lowliest servant!"
Weiss smirked and held her sword out. "I am Weiss Schnee, former scion of House Schnee, one of the Four Great Houses of Atlas. Now, prepare yourself!"
As soon as he heard her name, Bollin's expression wavered. What he had believed to be an untrained peasant turned out to be a prodigidous mage and well-trained swordswoman. But his mouth curled upwards as he realized his number advantage.
"Let's go, boys! Turning her in won't just net us a bounty from her father, it might impress Lady Cinder enough to give us all promotions! We've got the advantage!"
Weiss felt a cocky smirk crawl on her face. He was predictable. Although the information about a "Cinder" offering them promotions was stored away in her head. It might be important. "True. How about I make things more fair!"
Thrusting her hand out, a dark and shadowy smoke crawled forwards towards Bollin, who leapt to the side. Crossing the distance between them quickly, he performed a few quick swipes with the end of his staff that Weiss dodged before twisting to strike her with the butt of the hilt, forcing her backwards slightly.
"Did you really think that'd work? I thought you were supposed to be a genius, Schnee!" His expression morphed into a cruel grin as he raised his staff to strike her across the skull. Weiss simply lifted her leg and gave a devastating kick to his groin. "Shit. Kill this bitch!"
The other two soldiers rushed forwards, attacking one after the other. Dodging a swipe from a naginata, she parried the other man's dao before lunging forwards, drawing a line of blood across his cheek. Pressing a crystal on her hilt, she imbued her rapier with electric dust before countering another swipe from a naginata.
The man writhed as electricity coursed through him, giving Weiss an opportunity to turn and deal with the dao wielder. Combining the electric dust with a fire crystal, she slashed outwards, striking him in his sword arm, causing him to scream in pain. Weiss was suddenly aware of Ruby giving her a frightened stare.
She spun around and drew a protection glyph to block a series of jabs from Bollin's staff before drawing one on the ground that caused it to become muddy. The captain tried to gain his footing, but slipped and was forced to leap back to avoid being skewered by a downwards thrust.
The naginata wielder took a step forwards to attack, but was cut off when a sharp blade pierced him from behind. His eyes widened in fear as he gave a strangled cry, struggling to dislodge himself from the blade. Bollin and the other soldier turned to gape in shock.
The reanimated corpse of the soldier who Weiss first killed tossed his blade aside before staring vacantly at Bollin. The necromancy spell Weiss had flung at his corpse at the beginning of their fight had taken a while to take effect, but now things were looking more even.
The zombie lunged forwards with supernatural strength, arms swinging desperately. Weiss hadn't bothered to give it fine motor skills. It was only a distraction, after all. As Bollin gave a swift swing to its skull, Weiss drew a glyph and shot four streaks of blue light at him, striking his chest and leaving singe marks.
It seems his vest's were enchanted to protect from magic. Facing the sword wielder, she pirouetted and struck him in his side, just below his ribs. The man gave a hiss of pain before he clutched his sword in his non-dominant hand and swung wildly.
Nearby, she heard the zombie's howls become less and less loud as Bollin delivered blow after blow to his former soldier's corpse. If she wanted to maintain her numerical stalemate, she needed to finish this fast. With a grimace, she spoke to her foe.
"I'm sorry. I take no pleasure in this." Raising her right hand, she focused her magic and began to distort her aura. She was better at glyphs than Inherent magic, but necromancy almost always required the latter. This particular necromancy spell was something she'd come up with herself.
Forming her aura into shape, she ignited it with necromancy, creating a black flame that burned without heat. Rearing back, she hurled the black flame towards the man who was desperately swinging his sword. The effect was immediate.
Unlike Ruby's silver flames, which naturally fused her aura with the redhead's, this necrotic black flame unnaturally warped its victims aura, using as fuel for the black flames to consume. A spell she'd thought up during her exploration of Mistral, this was her first time testing it.
The result was sickening. The man's flailing stilled and his screaming ceased. He collapsed suddenly, like a puppet with its strings cut. She'd burnt out every last drop of aura in his body, rapidly causing the symptoms of aura deficiency in his body.
Bollin, finally dispatching the zombie with a powerful swing to the skull, turned around to stare in horror at his friend. "W-what the hell did you just do to him?" He asked, eyes wide and white. "Y-you're a... a necromancer, aren't you?"
Weiss frowned. She hadn't expected that result. She'd thought the flames would've died down as he ran out of aura, leaving him drained but not empty. While she certainly didn't mind killing, this was... a bit far.
Worse, she could feel Ruby's terror without even looking. That black flame had been designed to be a reverse of Ruby's, but it was clear that the young spectre saw it a bit differently.
"Dammit! I knew we shouldn't have attacked! I told Nadir this was a bad idea! We didn't have the men for it! But he had to have his glory! Well how's glory gonna get us out of this mess!" Bollin raved, his staff trembling in his hands as he stared at his comrades' corpses.
One disfigured from dying twice. One with eyes formed in an expression of terror. And one that was so empty it felt unnatural even to someone with no magical training. Weiss heard his staff strain from how tight he was gripping it. "The only way I'm surviving this mess is if you die!"
He let out a snarl and leapt forwards, staff poised to split open her skull. Weiss snapped out of her stupor and lifted her sword to strike him, but there was no need.
A jade arrow flew from the woods and struck Bollin in the chest, halting his momentum and throwing him to the ground. A rustle in the bushes alerted Weiss to Ren's presence as he made his way down the hill. She felt a cold wave of fear overtake her. Had he seen?
She turned to ask Ruby if she knew, but stopped when she saw the look of sheer horror on Ruby's face. She stared blankly at the ground, looking so lost and frightened that Weiss felt pained. She had caused that.
Before she could try and comfort her, or even apologize, Ren emerged from the bushes with a concerned look. Hesitating just briefly enough that she wouldn't worry Ren, she turned away from Ruby to talk.
"Are you okay?" Ren asked, pink eyes peering at her, scanning her body for wounds.
"No. Just a few bruises."
Ren nodded. "That's a relief. How'd he manage to get so close? That captain didn't seem like he was skilled enough to best you."
Weiss bit her lip and choked out a half-truth. "I was distracted."
Ren nodded understandingly. "Killing is hard. It always has been for me. Even though it's been years, I still am haunted by my first time sometimes," The raven-haired man tried to console her. She appreciated the effort, but he misunderstood the problem.
"Yeah. Let's go help General Nikos. Has the enemy been routed?"
"We tied up the soldiers we saved from the Grimm. For now, we'll leave them behind with a few of our more injured soldiers. No casualties on our end."
Weiss sighed. At least that was good news. "I see. Shall we reconvene with the others?" Ren nodded, and the two set out through the underbrush. But as Weiss got further and further from the scene, the image in her mind only got clearer and clearer.
Four men, each killed far more brutally then she'd intended. Forced to fight their former comrades. Burned and electrocuted, cut and kicked, and even consumed by pitch black flames. And the center of each of these images was a pair of silver eyes, staring at her with nothing but disgust and horror.
I love cliffhangers. See you next time.
