FIRE
Kind, gentle, understanding, and full of innocence. Even to the very end, Ruby never ceases to amaze me.
"I wish you the best Ruby, may we meet again. This life or the next."
I watch Ruby through the scope on my OWL helmet, dash through the sky, expertly maneuvering her way down to the ground, and back safely as I glide away towards Beacon. The malware is disposed of, and that part of Cinder's plan is foiled. All that's left now are the grimm, the White Fang, and Cinder herself. Ozpin will most likely be able to hold down the tower alone and defend the fall maiden, while the combined forces of the students, the huntsmen, and what remains of the Atlas military should be able to manage the grimm.
All that's left for me now then is the White Fang. No easy way to do that other than cutting off the head of the beast. Adam Tauros.
I know very little about the man other than the fact that he's cruel, relentless, and has a very twisted outlook on the equality he seeks for the faunus. A far cry from what Sienna Khan, the true leader of the White Fang, really wants. His approach is extremely tactical, as oppose to Torchwick's guns ablazing approach. In my experience, quiet men like that are often the most dangerous. If I challenge him, there's no telling whether or not I'll make it out alive.
Even so, I have to try.
Only issue now then is how I'd look for him, which is nothing short of impossible. Only lead I have of all him is his prior connection to Blake. It's nothing but a hunch, and a long shot, but it's worth a try.
[Calling: Blake Belladonna]
[Line Error]
To think that the com systems would be restored the moment the airship went down was a bit optimistic. I have to find another way till the tech engineers reboot the whole system, if any of them are still alive that is.
"Then how about this?"
[Open data file: Winter Schnee]
The copy of the files in Winter's scroll. If I remember correctly, the only thing that the malware is disrupting on the CCTS tower should just be communications. The scrolls themselves should still be pinging the towers, meaning I can backtrack and locate Blake's scroll if I initiate contact with her. I just need... access.
[Security Level: 7 Access]
Hacking now...
[CROSS CONTINENTAL TRANSMIT SYSTEM]
/data_link: master-code Activated!
[CCTS: USER FILES - ACCESS ... ...]
"C'mon, c'mon!"
[ACCESS GRANTED]
YES! Now to look for Blake... there! The school cafeteria! I tuck my wings in, causing me to freefall at blinding speeds. I dash pass grimm and off shoot debris from the falling airship till I'm back within gliding distance. Out the corner of my eye, I spot Blake, arguing with somebody. I shift my eyes towards the person she's talking to and find myself staring at a man wearing a black suit with red hair. His eyes covered with a White Fang mask.
Seems my hunch was correct, this has to be Adam Tauros.
I curl my knees up to my chest and ducked down, turning myself into a cannonball set to crash against the window and towards Adam.
"WHAT!?"
As soon as I felt my body collide with the window, I extend my legs outward with my feet aimed solely on Adam, but my surprise attack was all for naught. Adam pulled out his blade and blocked my strike. His katana began to smolder, and I can feel myself losing all the momentum I had. He swung his blade vigorously, knocking me backwards towards a flaming pillar, but I was able to break the impact by backflipping and landing squarely on the ground.
"BLAKE! Are you okay?"
I turn myself towards Blake, but the look on her face surprised me. Blake was hyperventilating, her face had panic and anger slobbered all over her face. She held Gambol Shroud tightly with her shaking hand, twitching it back and forth between me and Adam.
"DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!?'
I raise my hand and slowly moved in, folding my OWL helmet back to my hood.
"Blake, it's me, Ezra."
But my advance was cut short by a bullet that landed right in front of me.
"I SAID DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!?"
In the middle of all this, Adam began to cackle.
"AHAHAHA! Quite the fragile friendship you have there, Ezra."
I pointed my finger at Adam and scowled at him.
"CAN IT TAUROS!"
Again I raise my hands up, and walked towards Blake.
"Blake please it's me-"
She tightened her grip on her weapon and snapped back at me.
"I KNOW WHO YOU ARE! TRAITOR! HOW COULD YOU!?"
Adam began to make his way towards the fire while mocking me with his hands.
"Yeah, Ezra, how could you?"
I saw Blake's reaction coming, but this is a bit more extreme compared to everyone else's.
"I know Blake, I know, but please... I'm here to help. The malware is gone, Atlas has control over their army again and Jaune and the gang are taking care of the grimm. All that's left is the White Fang."
"NOT ANOTHER WORD! I-I can't trust anything you say, you're nothing but a scoundrel! The people that got hurt- the people that died by the decisions you made!"
All true statements, but she's not in the right frame of mind right now. Tauros is just a few feet away, and if we're going to have any sort of chance of surviving this, I NEED her cooperation, but Adam is keen on making sure that that never happens.
"You see Blake, this is what happens when you run from my protection. The world is full of murderers and liars like Ezra."
Blake stared at me menacingly, then at Adam. It was all a façade, based on her trembling lips, it was easy to see that she was frightened both by Adam... and me. It's becoming evident that I won't be getting her help anytime soon, so I slowly drop my hands towards my katana's hilt, preparing for the worst.
"SHUT UP ADAM!"
Blake quickly nudged her weapon towards Adam and shot at him, which he easily blocked with his sword. Seeing this, I took advantage of the situation and lunged at him with Shirayuki.
"YAAA!"
Adam expertly parried all my strikes, even attacks from blind spot didn't work. I throw everything I have at him, Flawless Duets, cloaked attacks with my mist, and talon swipes, but he either blocked or narrowly dodged all of them. As we continued to exchange blows with our weapons, the red tint in his katana began to glow brighter and brighter till one of his strikes shattered my blade. He pulled out his weapon's sheath and fired a shot straight at my body armor, sending me flying across the room.
As luck would have it for Adam, I landed on top of Blake who was trying to slip away.
"GAHH!"
Blake yelled and bounced back up with a kick to my face, but not before I was able to block it by donning helmet back on and softening the blow, though not by much.
"Blake stop!"
Panic and rage began to consume her, as she wildly swung her weapon at me.
"Blake! PLEASE! AHH! I'm... on... your side!"
She jumped as high as she could and swung her blade downward which I easily blocked by manifesting another blade. Blake leaned forward and pressed all her weight towards her weapon, while she stared at me with her teeth clenched. With out blades grinding against each other, and our faces mere inches apart, I began to plead with her once more.
"I'm trying to help!"
"Then go ahead and die Ezra!"
My grip slowly loosened after hearing what she just said. Blake began to overpower me as shock began to take control of my body, just then Adam swung his sword at me from behind.
"GYAA!"
My vision tumbled upside down, as the strike sent me rolling on the ground.
"Oh gosh that hurt!"
I instinctively reached behind my back to check for any bleeding, only to find that one of Penny's blade save me. The sword shattered cleanly in half while it was mounted on my backpack. I grab the last remaining blade of Penny's I had and jumped back into the fray, where Blake and Adam were now duking it out. With both mine a d Penny's blades in hand, I was able to at least catch Adam off guard to gain momentum, but Blake would constantly jump in and randomly attack either of us, breaking my rhythm.
"Cut it out Blake!"
As soon as I would turn to fight Blake, Adam would take advantage. In theory, Blake's interference should even out this three way brawl, but it was pretty clear who actually had the advantage.
In this unfortunate dance to the death, I was the only one concerned in keeping two people alive. Both Blake and Adam were keen on hurting each other and me, while I had to keep myself and Blake alive. Things could not have been any worse.
"That's good Blake! Keep it up! Let it all out, here stands the man that betrayed everything you loved! Just like how you betrayed me!"
Adam's taunts only worsened Blake's rage. Her swings were clumsier and careless leaving her more openings for Adam to expose.
"You're wide open!"
With her back turned against Adam, he swung his sword towards her leaving me with no choice but to jump in between them as they simultaneously struck me from the front and back.
"GAH!"
Adam knew that I was concerned with Blake and that I would protect her at all cost. And he was right, now I'm left crawling in pain on the ground, desperately trying to recover. With Blake's emotions running amok, her blind swipes and careless swings made it easy for Adam to seize control and knock her down on the ground.
Blake tried to fight back, but Adam easily slapped Gambol Shroud out of her hands. He grabbed her by the hair and began smacking her around like a ragdoll, slapping her in the face every time she squealed. He cruelly laughed at her pain, while he began letting out all his frustrations at her, screaming and yelling.
"You think you can leave. ME!"
The whole thing was painful to watch, even more so than the wounds and bruises I have all over my body. I muster up the strength to stand up and fight, with every inch of my body urging me to help Blake.
"ADAAAAAM!"
I rush him with what little strength I have, but the move that I pulled off to crash was the airship was starting to take its toll on me. I have never used this much of my semblance before, other than that time I froze my whole body and it's starting to show. I swing my blades at him, but he parried my attacks. Soon, Adam was able to shatter Shirayuki once more, and my weak and fragile self can't materialize a new one.
"Pathetic!"
He swung at me, but I was able to barely block it with Penny's sword. The force of his strike knocked me off balance, as I struggle to recover.
"I've heard so much about you Ezra. The famous OWL of Vale! If you needed anything, anything at all you go through him!"
Adam began to walk in circles around me. He started to toy with me by slashing his blade, halfheartedly engaging me then disengaging just before he'd get the opening to hit me with a finishing blow.
"Honestly! When we hired Torchwick, I thought Cinder was making a mistake! I said 'this loser? What about that OWL guy? He did a number on Mantle, why not him?' Then I saw you frolicking around with these kids, with Blake... my girl!"
I try my best to control by breathing and raised Penny's sword up to my cheeks.
"You're delusional! Blake ain't yours! Not anymore!"
This made him furious.
"BLAKE IS MINE! AND SHE ALWAYS WILL BE!"
Sensing an opening, I leapt towards him and slashed down, but it was all a trap. Adam never truly let his guard down. He nimbly dodged my strike then acrobatically somersaulted over me. He twirled his body around and used his momentum to kick Penny's sword away from my hand. Adam swung his sword, forcing me to block it with my gauntlet.
My legs began to shake, and I was starting to lose my breath. My semblance drained away most of my strength and the smoke from the fire all around us was absolutely suffocating. I couldn't help but drop down to my knees.
"Really... you... OWL! HAHAHA! No wonder Cinder decided to use you as a focal point for her plan."
"W-what?"
He chuckled.
"Really, not even once, you never thought about it? You didn't think any of what she told you to do was odd?"
I began to look back starting from the beginning, as the dots slowly came together. That didn't stop Adam from blurting it all out to rub in my face.
"Your group, the Nest, was in the way so he targeted you. Then she asked you to infiltrate the school so the people here would become familiar with you, makes it easier for her sneak around while you steal the show! 'Oh look at this new guy, part of Ozpin's goodwill program.' Don't matter what commotion she makes behind the scene, you'll always be more interesting."
Screw it all...
Adam sheathed his blade, seemingly lost interest with me. He began to manically walk towards Blake till his foot stepped on something that caught his attention. It was Penny's blade that he knocked out of my hand. He wore a smirk in his face while he stared looked down and grabbed it firmly in his hand.
He glanced back at me, then at Blake before whimsically marching back towards her.
"AND YOU! YOU. LEFT. ME."
Blake began to squirm away from Adam, but he playfully kicked her around till she stopped.
"Get away from me Adam!"
Her pleas fell on deft ears. Adam placed his foot squarely on her legs then stabbed her straight on the side of her stomach.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
"BLAKE NOOOO!"
Seeing her cry in pain, sent a jolt of electricity in my body. It was like a rush of wind that propelled me to tackle Adam with such force that it knocked him back into the fire.
"Blake, Blake, Blake I'm here! I'm here, don't move..."
Panic start to seep in as my hands began to shake. Should I pull the blade out? What if she bleeds out? But if I don't pull it out, it might rip her intestines! I try my best to calm myself down to try and help Blake but her cries of pain...
"AAAAAAAAH!"
Was too much to bear...
"It's okay Blake, I'm gonna make it go away."
I took three deep and quick breaths and braced myself. I pulled the blade out of her gut, and quickly placed my hand over the wound, using my semblance to freeze her skin so she wouldn't bleed out.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"
Her shriek was almost too much to bear. It was enough to make me wanna pass out. It was horrible.
"You're okay Blake, you're okay!"
But none of that mattered. None of that shook the anger Blake had at me. She desperarely tried to crawl away while she stared at with a disgusted look. Her voice was frail and weak, but she forced it out of her lips anyways.
"Get... away... from me."
I look away, defeated. I was at the point of giving up, knowing that this is what I really deserved anyways, hate as fierce as the fires engulfing this room. Left with no choice but leave Blake alone, I stood up, but just then,a familiar voice echoed in the room.
"Ezra?"
Tears began to flow in my eyes, as horror began to encroach deep within me.
"Yang..."
Yang's eyes began travel down at the bloodied sword in my hand, then to the limping and bloodied Blake on the ground. It doesn't take a genius to understand how bad this look, but before I could explain, Yang exploded into a fit of rage.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!?"
Her blood red eyes began well up tears. Yang clenched her first and pointed her body towards me with an unbelievable intent to kill.
"Yang, no! It's not what it looks like!"
Her chest began to rise, as her breathing began to rapidly increase. In a split second, Yang flicked her arms, launching herself my way with reckless abandon.
"YANG STOP!"
Out of the smoke appeared Adam. With one smooth stroke, he swung his katana upwards, severing Yang's arm.
"YAAAAAAAAAAAANG!"
I jump up to catch her flailing body, as we both fell down on the ground.
"No no no no no! Yang!"
Her once fiery eyes are now sealed shut. Her intense and heavy breaths were starting to slow down, and her head begin to sweat profusely. The shock from the pain must have knocked her out mid jump. I quickly clenched her open wound with both my hands, forcing myself to seal it with my semblance, but the only thing that gushed out of my hands were Yang's blood.
"Get away from her!"
Just then, a resurgent Blake pounced on me, pushing me away from Yang.
"Yang please, I'm so sorry... this is all my fault."
Blake began to rip a part of her clothing to use as a tourniquet, and quickly stopped the bleeding. I crawl towards them, crying and pleading, but Blake snarled at me.
"LEAVE US ALONE!"
Before I can reason with her, the sound of increasingly loud footsteps took my attention away from the two. I pick up Penny's sword and blindly swung it backwards, blocking Adam's attack. With no strength left to fight back, Adam pinned me down with nothing but our blades in between us.
"You're in too deep now aren't you, Ezra!? Now even your girl is on the verge of death."
"AND WHO'S FAULT DO YOU THINK IT IS!?"
Adam grinned as he slowly began to increase the pressure he's putting on me.
"HAHA! Who else! YOURS! Had you never have gotten involved, Yang would have been fine! If she had just met a normal young man, she probably would have been happier."
He's... right.
"Can't imagine it would have been hard for her, I mean have you looked at her! Wow, what a bombshell of a beauty she is..."
He disgustingly rolled his tongue over his lips.
"Even if she only has one arm."
"SCREW YOU ADAM!"
Adam laughed at my anger, knowing full well that I could not nothing at all.
Well...
"Seems our intel on you were right after all OWL! You can't use your semblance for very long. For a power to be so magnificent only for it to be useless in drawn out fights... useless against ME! Such a waste."
I can tell Adam was done screwing with me as he begins to pour all his strength on his blade. The balance between our grinding swords began to slowly shift, as the back of mine began to creep closer and closer to my face. I only have one trick left, and I was really hoping I didn't have to use it since I was saving it for Cinder, but it's looking like I have no other choice.
"See, Adam... funny thing... about... my semblance... I doubt your intel on me... is complete."
My feet began to slid backwards as Adam continued to pressure me.
"My semblance... heat manipulation... I only ever use it to... drop temperature and create mist and ice... but heat manipulation... goes- AHHH! Both ways!"
His grin began to fade as he began to slowly connect the dots in his mind, but his realization was far too late. With all this fire surrounding us, this technique should be easy to pull off.
"Sing, Amaterasu!"
Penny's sword began simmer and slowly transform into a bright red color, as the temperature climbed higher and higher. Suddenly, flames instantly burst out and engulfed the whole sword, catching Adam off guard and ruining his balance. I use that opportunity to quickly overpower him and push him down on the ground.
"HA... HA... HA... I haven't perfected this move yet, but this should be enough to beat you."
I have to make this quick, by my estimates, I only have three swings with this blade before it gives out along with my body. I have to make each strike count.
"WAY TO MAKE THINGS MORE INTERESTING, EZRA!"
The two of us stood perfectly still as he stared at me with a grin. I raise my burning blade up to my chin, zoning everything out, giving Adam all of my attention. It was as if time stood still. The roaring flames, Blake's cries, the rushing smoke all slowed down, and Adam's silhouette became the only thing that was perfectly clear.
A small falling piece of burning wood, no bigger than my hand, crashing on the ground was all it took to jolt both of us into action. Adam rushed at me, eager to test this mysteriously ability that I unveiled.
"First Movement: Rising Sun!"
I draw a circle right in front of me, with small embers tracing its path, creating a trail of sparks that Adam foolishly ignored. He ran right pass the circle, but as soon as his foot crossed the line, the tiny embers began to set off a chain of explosions till a gust of flames formed the shape and look of the sun.
In a panic, Adam jumped back, half his clothes burned to a crisp.
"Second Movement: Hell Fire"
Not wanting to waste my chance, I run towards him and stabbed my blade on the ground, summoning three flaming pillars underneath Adam.
"GYAAAAH!"
Adam narrowly avoided a fatal hit, but part of his pants and shoes were completely incinerated. With my final strike, I rush the reeling faunus one final time.
"Third Movement: Inferno!"
With a flick of my blade, I summon a gushing torrent of flame in his direction. With no way to escape, Adam was left with no choice, but to cross his arms and brace for impact. The sheer force of the incoming flame sent Adam's burning body across the room, knocking a couple of the building's roof and pillars down on him.
Scattered debris and flames prevented me from seeing whether or not Adam was actually dead, but even if he survived, he wouldn't have the strength to harm anyone any further. This should be the end of the White Fang's terror in Beacon.
Even as my body began to give out and drop to the ground, I was still able to force myself to crawl towards Blake and Yang.
"Is... is she okay?"
Blake looked at me with contempt, a step down from her blind rage earlier, but still not the reaction I was hoping for. Still, at least I can talk to her calmly, and check on Yang. I ran my hand and began caressing Yang's head, but Blake slapped my hand away.
"Is this what you wanted Ezra?"
"What! No! Of course not! I never wanted any of this."
She tightened the bandaged around Yang's severed arm and scowled at me.
"Lies." She whispered, but loud enough for me to hear. "You took that the job right? How could you have not known that it would end like this?"
I raise my hands and began to plead with her.
"Blake, I signed up for robberies and faking documents on school grounds so Cinder can enter. I had nothing to do with all this carnage."
"EVEN SO! Even so... Look me in the eye Ezra. Look at me."
At her request, I did albeit hesitantly.
"When all this began, you knew didn't you, that whatever it is that you got yourself into would end up harming people right?"
My jaw began to drop. There was absolutely no way to deny the truth she was asking for.
"Yeah."
"And you did it anyways?"
"Yes..."
Blake bit her lip, tears uncontrollably fell out of her eyes.
"Then this is what your decision got you." Blake hugged Yang close to her. "The person you 'love' on the verge of death, because of you."
I close my eyes and tilted my head away, tears too, now flowing in my eyes.
"You used us. You befriended us, gave us hope, happiness, comfort. You offered us salvation, made us- made me believe that I can be safe with you, only for you to take all that away... do you realize how cruel that is, Ezra? DO YOU!?"
My hands shook and my heart crumbled with each word she uttered.
"I hate you. Hate is a strong word, and it goes against everything I stand for and believe in, but Ezra if anyone deserves my hate, it's you. I hate you, Ezra."
Blake wrapped Yang's arm around her neck and stood up. She took one last look at me with her face filled with disgust and began to walk away. I can do nothing but sit there in the face of all the truth she just told me.
I watch Blake and Yang disappear into the fire, as the building around me began to crumble. At this point, with the Atlesian robots and com systems taken care of, the grimm being handled by the others, and the White Fang left without a leader, I'm sure I have no more role to play.
Ozpin can take care of Cinder.
The flames can do with me whatever they see fit. At this point, death is probably what I deserve anyways. Death has always been what everyone wanted out of me now that my secret's out. Maybe it's time they got what they wanted.
The flames began to roar louder and more and more of the building's foundations slowly collapsed. I close my eyes for what I know will be my final slumber, till a voice on my scroll knocked me back to my senses.
[Somebody, anybody! Help!]
It's Jaune.
"Jaune...?"
[EZRA!]
He sounds terrified, everybody is, but this is different from the kind of fear he had when we were at the airship.
"What's going... AHHH... on?"
[Ezra! Please, you have to stop her!]
"What!? What's happening? Are you okay!?"
[DON'T WORRY ABOUT ME! Please! Pyrrha! She's going after Cinder at the top of the tower! She doesn't stand a chance!]
No! Ozpin lost!
[Please]
Jaune began to profusely cry on the other end of the line, as he continued to beg.
[You have to save Pyrrha...]
"Okay... o-okay. I will"
I force my self to stand despite the pain and began to limp out of the burning building.
"I will... I will."
The last words I heard from my scroll were the pleas of a desperate and hopeless Jaune.
[Please, please save her.]