Hello to all of you, my dear readers. I hope that you have been keeping well in the time since my last chapter. I have been working hard on this latest installment and hope that you enjoy it as much as I did writing it. I was aiming for a bit of a tone shift away from the light-hearted nature of previous chapters and on towards the darker culmination of the story arc. I would greatly appreciate it if you could let me know what you think in the reviews. However, without any further ado, I present you with the latest chapter. Enjoy.
Pyrrha felt her heart stop as her viridian eyes met with the angry red of Penny's. Fear began to grip her, holding her in place unable to move and unable to run like every fibre of her being begged her to. Even as she looked on, Jaune stepped in front of her, his hand reaching for the hilt of his ancestral sword. Just what was he doing? There was no way that the hapless blonde could possibly repel the girl if she decided to attack. He would be torn to ribbons in a matter of mere seconds without mercy. Once more she heard the desperate screams within the stadium echoing inside her head as she recalled how Penny snuffed their lives out like the fragile flame of a candle.
The ten swords hovered ominously through the air, humming quietly with malice. Out of the corner of her eye, Pyrrha saw Ruby and Weiss sidle closer to one another, their hands hovering over their respective weapons as they readied themselves for what seemed to be an imminent battle. Even Goodwitch, the most powerful huntress that Pyrrha had ever seen, seemed on edge. The professor tightened her grip on her riding crop, the skin on her knuckles turning a bright white in the gloom. Adjusting her stance slightly, Goodwitch locked her intense green eyes onto Penny, the final major hurdle before the main objective.
"Penny, stand aside. If you don't then we shall be forced to resort to viole…" The professor began to speak but was cut off as one of the ten swords whistled through the air directly towards her head. In the space of an instant, Goodwitch twisted her body to the side so as to avoid the attack. Behind them all, the sword slammed into the tunnel wall and shattered into hundreds of tiny metal fragments
"Oh I do hate it when they choose the hard way… There's always so much paperwork." The professor sighed and quickly flicked her riding crop. Behind her, the hundreds of sword fragments glowed an ominous purple and rose back into the air, reforming themselves into a long spear of shattered steel. In a fraction of a second, Goodwitch thrust her arm out and sent the spear flying straight towards their lone opponent. Around her, JSPR gathered together with both Jaune and Pyrrha's shields forming a solid wall in front of them to keep them each safe from flying debris.
Jaune watched the battle as it began to unfold, peeking over the top of his shield. The spear of broken and twisted metal flew straight and true, guided by the sheer force of Goodwitch's willpower. Yet, Penny didn't seem bothered. The psychotic fighter had a smirk upon her face which made Jaune's heart sink and his stomach tie itself in knots. It was the look of someone who had absolute confidence in their abilities. Penny simply stared on as the projectile approached. Just as it was about to strike her, she lazily flicked her hands and all nine of her remaining weapons interlocked in front of her to form a solid wall of steel.
Goodwitch's spear struck the wall with a purple flash and a brilliant burst of sparks. The shredded metal weapon broke against Penny's defences like water upon rock, not leaving so much as a dent. But Glynda never once gave up, every time her attack was broken, she would draw all the shards back and tried again. She tried every available angle but Penny only moved her shield to compensate.
As both he and his team watched on, he heard Ruby whimper behind him. Clearly, the rose was not all too fond of seeing the two unmovable forces fighting one another, and he couldn't blame her. They all knew that the fight before them would end in a death. The only real question was whether it would be Glynda or Penny that would end up biting the bullet. Before Jaune could work out who he expected to win however, he was torn from his thoughts as a strong arm gripped his arm and yanked him down behind his shield. It proved to be just in time as one of Penny's swords lashed out and buzzed through the air, smashing directly into his shield. The shock of the impact jarred his whole arm, turning it numb and driving away all feeling.
Turning to his side, he found that it was Pyrrha's hand clamped firmly around his sleeve. It was she that had saved him from losing his head. He opened his mouth to thank her but before he could utter another syllable, another impact rocked his whole body, knocking him back several inches from the force alone. The upper edge of his shield was driven squarely into his shoulder, sending lances of pain through him as it threatened to pop his shoulder out of its socket. Peeking nervously over the top of his shield again he just had time to survey the battle before being forced to duck again as a sword sailed through where his head had been.
From what he had seen, Goodwitch was beginning to tire. Her attacks grew slower and slower, Sweat beaded her forehead and her brow was furrowed deeply in concentration as she parried attacks from Penny with her spear of broken steel. From where the blonde knight was sitting, it looked as though the Professor had lost the initiative and been pressed onto the back foot again as she frantically tried to recover while still avoiding a hail of attacks from her foe. It was then that Jaune understood what he had to do. He realised that if he and his team were to stay out of the fight entirely then Goodwitch may well have been overwhelmed and killed and after that he and his team would likely follow in short order.
Knowing that he simply couldn't allow that to occur, he readied himself behind his shield and prepared to make his move. He shifted his weight so that it rested on his front foot. He would need to be fast, if he took too long then Penny would be able to pick him apart with very little trouble. Just as he made ready to run, he felt a tug on the back of his hoodie. Steadying himself, he turned around to face Ruby once again. She was looking at him imploringly, seemingly having worked out his plan. Her eyes held an expression of desperation and seemed to be begging him not to try what he had in mind. It was good to know that he wasn't the only one utterly terrified by the prospect of his poorly formed and crazy plan. He gave her a slight smile and caressed the side of her cheek with his free hand.
"Ruby… We can't just sit here like this. Professor Goodwitch needs us, I know you're scared and I am too but I need you to be strong here. I'm counting on you to cover my back okay?" he spoke softly and in a warm tone. She seemed to take a few moments to consider his words before donning her 'war face' with a mischievous grin. Beside her, both Weiss and Pyrrha seemed to draw courage from the words of their leader as they too began to prepare to attack.
"Well… I can't let an Arc outdo a Schnee now can I?" Jaune chuckled as he heard Weiss' defiant statement. Even now as they stared what seemed like certain death in the face, the heiress maintained her icy exterior.
Once more, he prepared to move. Waiting until the next sword slammed into his shield, Jaune leapt to his feet and set off at a dead sprint with a yell. Behind him he heard the footsteps of his teammates. With every step he took, he grew ever more certain that one of Penny's swords would cut him short at the legs, yet they did not, and so he kept running. Another war cry tore from his lips as he dropped his shoulder and slammed his shield into her with all of his might. To his surprise she didn't shift at all. With a loud clang, the blonde bounced straight off of her and flew into his teammates behind him, knocking them all to the ground. Just who was this girl? It had felt as though the blonde had run into a solid brick wall.
Turning to face them all on the ground, Penny advanced on them with a look of malice spreading across her face. Jaune felt fear rise up within him. His last brave effort had ended in total failure and now both he and his team would be paying the ultimate sacrifice. He could feel the three girls trembling behind him as they lay there, a pile of tangled and bruised limbs. With surprise, he found that he too was shaking with fear.
As she strode confidently towards them, the orange haired terror raised her hands. Instantly, all of her swords zipped towards her, hovering in a circle around her with all of their points angled at the teens. Just as Jaune thought that this would be the end of them all in a hail of steel, a glint caught his eye. Out of nowhere flew Goodwitch's improvised spear. It caught Penny squarely in the right side of her chest, tearing a substantial hole in her. For the first time since the battle began, Penny was knocked down and there she lay still. Climbing delicately to his feet again, Jaune made his way over to Penny to inspect the damage and check that she would no longer pose them a problem. Yet to his surprise as he looked upon the downed girl, there was no sign of blood or viscera.
She lay there with her eyes closed and a large hole torn in her chest. Through that hole, Jaune saw several wires and destroyed circuit boards. Sparks flew from the severed cables, illuminating the girl with brief flashes of light. For a long time Jaune stood in shock, trying to comprehend what he was seeing. Penny… was a robot? It explained everything and yet still he felt as though he understood nothing. Why had she killed all those people? What had gone wrong? Yet even as he looked on, the robotic girl stirred and began to climb back to her feet. The fight was still on…
The interior of the CCT was darkened and silent as a crypt. There was no sign of life anymore, the lights were all shut out and the shutters drawn. The four teenagers edged their way further into the tower, making for the upper floors. Every step crunched on pieces of broken glass and shattered technology which only seemed to grow worse with each pace they took. Deciding that the elevator was likely not the safest choice, Blake opted for the stairs. Readjusting her grip on her weapon, she began up the first flight with the utmost in caution. She knew that they would need to move quickly to save as many of their comrades across the city but she simply couldn't throw caution to the wind. There was after all, no telling just what lay in store for them on the upper floors.
Every sound, no matter how slight made the faunus' ears twitch and flick irritably. Straining her hearing she kept her head on a swivel, looking for any signs of trouble. One by one they made their way up the flights of stairs. From across Vale came the sounds of combat. They were faint and nigh on impossible for the others to hear, yet with her enhanced hearing it sounded as clear as day. The battle had begun in earnest and that meant they had run out of time. Increasing the speed of her movements, the faunus renewed her efforts. Her legs were burning fiercely from the flights they had already climbed but she refused to acknowledge the ache. Instead she pushed it to the back of her mind where it couldn't bother her.
At last, their team reached the top of the tower unhindered. Pausing only for a moment to catch her breath, Blake jammed her blade into the crack between the doors and forced them open. Ignoring the sign labelled 'Authorised Personnel only' she pushed forward into the central communications room. Various desks were laid out in a circle around a central technological pillar. The pillar represented the core of the communications array. It drew in all of the communications into this central hub before running up to the transmitter at the very point of the building. This was it, their final goal. Turning to face her partner, the faunus gave a small smile.
"Yang… Would you be so kind as to do what you do best?" She asked. The brawler nodded emphatically and cracked her knuckles. Yet before she could move so much as an inch towards the array, a voice as soft and smooth as pure velvet rang out throughout the room. It was a voice which Blake had only heard once before.
"I'm sorry to break up your little party but I can't allow you to do that." Out of the depths of the room came a lone figure, dressed all in black. It was one whom Blake recognised all too well. It was the burglar from the night of the dance… It was the lone woman who had been only inches away from killing Blake herself. The faunus grit her teeth angrily.
'No! Not now. Not when we're so close!' Her mind begged the powers that were for any help. She knew all too well the danger that this black clad woman posed. But thankfully there were five of them and only one of her.
Adopting her fighting stance, her teammates followed her example, readying themselves for battle. Even Oobleck locked his thermos into place and prepared to fend off this new threat. Yet in the gloom, Blake could see the confident smirk on their opponent's face.
"My, my, my… Did the little kitten not learn her lesson the last time we danced?" She asked menacingly. With a fierce orange glow, two long and wicked blades formed in her hands, bathing her face in a fiery light.
Across the city, the grounds of Beacon campus came to life. Each and every one of the remaining students moved into position as cautiously as they could. Not a single one of them felt at ease. After all, they were out in the open and completely open to attack from all around. They shuffled slowly towards their first goal, the residential blocks in which they had all lived prior to the crisis beginning. Therein were imprisoned the hunters whom Ironwood had managed to capture… at least that was what the intelligence had suggested.
At the front of their pack, Ozpin led the way. To many of the students it was surprising to see their headmaster leading them anywhere. Most had assumed that his cane was used for practical purposes in aiding his mobility, and yet he seemingly had no real need for it. He ran along, low to the ground, ducking behind hedges and fences as he went. Behind him followed the free student body, their weapons drawn and their eyes scanning all around them for any signs of their enemy.
However as time went on, and they advanced deeper and deeper into the campus they saw no signs of the enemy. With every step, their wizened old headmaster seemed to grow more and more suspicious. At last, he signalled the halt and stopped stock still. His eyes narrowed and scanned across the buildings around them, peering at every window and shadow for what he was convinced would be a hidden enemy. Behind him, Cardin Winchester approached with his colossal mace in hand. Despite his past actions, the hulking teenager had proven himself to be every bit as much of a leader as his peers. He had rallied the uncertain students and strengthened their resolve time and time again throughout the night and the approach to Beacon itself. Far from the fear that many had felt for him over their time at Beacon, the students were beginning to hold him in high esteem. Even the teenager seemed to be happier in his new self, appreciating the manner in which the other students seemed to be viewing him. Ozpin himself had seen the boy's new attitude and felt a measure of pride, having judged him to be a good leader long before the proof came through.
"Professor… What's wrong? Why have we stopped?" He whispered as he approached the old headmaster. Yet before he had the opportunity to reply and explain his concerns, a sharp crack rang out, followed almost immediately by a dull thud. Before anyone knew quite what had happened, Cardin dropped to his knees and fell forward with blood trickling down his face from a new hole torn through his head. No sooner had team CRDL's leader hit the deck than a hailstorm of bullets opened up. The moment it flew over, the students scattered and dashed behind walls, hedges and statues, literally anything that offered even the slightest protection from their foes. Ozpin soon found himself ducking behind the large statue of former hunters and huntresses even as dust rounds bit into the stone sending dust and debris flying.
Panic spread through the ranks as Cardin's teammates ran up through a wall of bullets to retrieve their leader. Their fellow students opened fire upon their hidden enemies in the vain hope that they might get off a lucky shot and vanquish one of them. Russel and Dove dashed forward and grabbed their leader's arms, trying to pull him behind cover. The rest of the students watched on helplessly from whatever cover that they had managed to scramble behind. Even as they looked on a hail of rounds hit the two teens, biting into their flesh like a collection of angry mosquitoes and before long the two of them hit the ground alongside their leader, desperately clutching at their wounds in an effort to save themselves.
Ozpin watched on in utter turmoil, his stomach tying itself in knots as the consequences of his decision became clear. The forms of both the dead and dying lay out in the open, some still wailing for help, too naive to see that they were already dead. Shaking those thoughts from his head, the veteran huntsman focused on what needed to be done. Sliding his hand to the concealed trigger of his cane, the headmaster peered over the top of his cover to locate his enemies. It wasn't a difficult task. A couple of hundred yards ahead from the first floor of one of the campus' lecture buildings, he saw a line of muzzle flashes. In a single smooth motion, Ozpin took one step out and dusted off his suit. Raising his cane towards the building raining death upon them, he pulled the trigger on his cane. The pommel of it was ejected at high velocity, right towards its target.
It faded from view and for a brief moment it seemed as though it did nothing until, in a brilliant green flash, there came a titanic explosion that shook the very earth beneath them. The sheer concussive wave from the blast near enough knocked Ozpin off of his feet but the old headmaster easily weathered the storm, bowing like a slender branch in the breeze. When the smoke faded and the dust settled, there was a large pile of smoking rubble where a building had been mere moments before. It was insane to thin that for all this time, that Ozpin had been pacing such a level of firepower in his walking stick; an incredibly powerful explosive device just walking around their school. It didn't do to think what might have happened if it had gone off accidentally.
Looking over his students, he watched as they began to mill around the fallen forms of the unfortunate few. One girl was running around between them with a bag of medical supplies dong what she could to help the wounded and ease the passing of the doomed. To the headmaster it was the greatest of shames to see so many have their lives cut so painfully short in an instant, yet they had a job to do and it needed to be done. Walking slowly towards the students, he stood in the middle of them by the side of the deceased Cardin Winchester. Reaching into his pocket he took out a spare head for his cane and silently screwed it into place. Clearing his throat, the students all looked towards him.
"We cannot stop now. We have been dealt losses of a most tragic nature, but we still have a job to do and hundreds more may die if we don't complete that mission. Do not be afraid to show your sorrow, but I implore you not to let it control you. We must keep moving forward. It is not safe out in the open and I do not wish to offer our enemies the opportunity to catch us by surprise again." He spoke with an element of confidence and certainty that left the students with little option but to comply. Around him they tightened their grip on their weapons and looked to their headmaster with steely glares which burned with anger untamed. They may not have been soldiers but at that moment even the most hardened of veterans would likely have felt a little intimidated by them.
"Right, move onwards towards the dormitories and let's take back our home." He spoke again and they all nodded their assent before moving off once more, albeit with a great deal more caution than before.
Ducking, an arrow whistled through the space which Blake's head had occupied only a moment before, exploding in a searing fireball behind her as it hit one of the computer desks. It hadn't taken long for the room around them to fill with smoke from various small fires which had taken hold around the room as a result of Cinder's attacks; the smoke clung to them as they fought, burning their eyes and attacking their throats. But Cinder didn't seem to notice and continued to fight with an unflinching resolve and searing ferocity.
Deflecting another explosive arrow, Blake left a clone behind and leapt to safety even as another fireball threatened to engulf her. The faunus growled in frustration as the fight waged around her. They had been locked in battle with Cinder for near ten minutes and in that time they had struggled to lay even a finger on her. Even Oobleck with his coffee induced speed hadn't been able to so much as scratch their foe. Something needed to change and fast, or else the others would be in some serious trouble.
Frantically, her eyes scanned around the room for any solution to their current dilemma yet none presented themselves. Angrily, Blake glared at the central column; they were so close and yet so far from their objective. Fighting Cinder wasn't even a requirement so long as they could damage the main relay of the tower. But just how were they supposed to do that when they couldn't get within ten feet of it without being beaten back by arrows and explosions.
Looking over her team through the thick smoke, she could see the look of fatigue on their faces. They were at their very limits but still continued to fight doggedly against their fiery foe. Her eyes scanned over Nora and her infamous hammer Magnhild. It certainly had the destructive capabilities required to utterly destroy the tower in its entirety but they had already tried using it and failed as Cinder had kept the Valkyrie outside of its effective range. Even their attempts at using the grenade launcher had failed since Cinder had somehow managed to shoot the grenades mid-flight. If only they could put more than one into the air at once. Wait a minute…. That was it! Cursing herself for not remembering sooner, Blake turned towards the Valkyrie and bellowed one final order.
"Nora! Purple heart!"
Nora immediately turned to face her leader with a grin and nodded emphatically. Her weapon shifted into its grenade launcher form and Cinder once again prepared her bow. A look of surprised crossed her face however when the front of the grenade launcher folded down to reveal all six grenades at once. With one final maniacal laugh, Nora pulled the trigger and sent all six on their way at once. In flight they formed into a heart formation and began to branch out. Frantically Cinder began to loose arrow after arrow into the formation but her accuracy was greatly diminished in the frenzy. Even shooting three arrows at a time was a fruitless endeavour. The grenades struck the central pillar in a thunderous explosion. The shockwave alone knocked all five of them to the floor… all except Nora who stood solidly and seemingly unaffected.
Behind where Cinder had been previously stood was the pillar, only now it was far from being in a good state of repair. Rather, it had a huge blackened hole torn out of it with sparking cables hanging down like lifeless snakes. They had finally done it. But it didn't end there; Cinder took one look at the shattered column and began to climb back to her feet. Her eyes flared up angrily as she took one step towards Blake with her lip curled in a feral snarl. She didn't manage to get any further than that single step however as Yang stepped in defensively with her fist already swinging and landed a powerful right hook square in the centre of her chest. Cinder flew back with such force that she smashed through what remained of the room's central column, completely severing any remaining power to the uplink array above.
"No-one touches the kitty except me…" The brawler growled.
Failing to dodge a flying sword in time, Jaune found himself with yet another scratch upon him; this time just above his eye. Thankfully, his aura had managed to turn away the majority of the attack so the cut wasn't too deep, yet it bled profusely and stung like hell. Even as the blood worked its way into his eye and he hissed in pain, the blonde frantically raised his shield in anticipation for the next attack.
Ever since she had somehow managed to climb back to her feet again, Penny had been hounding them relentlessly with a barrage of flying steel. Not a single one of them had escaped unscathed from the onslaught and they all bore the injuries to tell the tale. Pyrrha had a series of shallow cuts criss-crossing their way across her back from a number of sneak attacks that she simply hadn't been able to dodge. Ruby's combat skirt was torn and tattered in places and she had a long and crooked cut running along her cheek. Weiss had managed to escape the majority of the attacks but had finally caught one along her side. It was a reasonably deep wound and had stained the surrounding fabric of her attire crimson with her blood.
Yet, as more and more time passed without the familiar jarring sensation of Penny's weapons slamming into his shield, Jaune began to grow suspicious. Lowering his shield ever so slightly, he peaked over the rim only to see Penny stood stock still with her head lolling forward idly. What had happened? Had she finally succumbed to the damage they had dealt to her? Or was this merely a ploy to sucker them in? Their questions were answered however when an electronic voice rang out in the tunnel, emanating from the girl.
"Connection to server lost. Rebooting unit, designation Penny."
Hearing those words, Jaune lowered his shield and approached cautiously, with his team following behind just in case things should escalate again. Penny raised her head again and opened her eyes slowly, as though adjusting to the gloom around them. The moment she laid eyes upon Ruby however, fear left Jaune's mind. All it took was a few simple words.
"Ruby my friend! It has been too long!"
There it was. I hope that you all enjoyed reading that and are looking forward to the next chapter. Due to my pressing schedule at university, I cannot provide you with an estimate of when the next chapter will be ready but I can assure you that I shall work on it as best I can and aim to have it written and posted within the next month. Once more, I am drawing to the end of my latest work and this leaves me with the pressing question; What next?
That question I have decided to leave to you, the readers. You shall all decide what it is that I will write, and no I dont just man in terms of shipping. If any of you have any ideas that you would like to see become a reality then by all means throw them at me. I shall choose one of the suggestions (if I actually receive any) and that shall be the work that I write next time round.
As for now, please do follow and favourite the story if you liked it. Please leave your thoughts on the chapter in the reviews along with any ideas for the next fic I write.
Take care everyone, and I shall see you all in the next chapter.