Chapter 40 – Breached

Ortega

Their numbers in the sky were dwindling, as one by one an airship was being taken down by Grimm. The Admiral watched from the bridge as a Sphinx collided into a gunship, biting into its hull and tearing the plates of metal apart with its Serpentine Tail. The Gunship belched flames, spinning out of control with a trail of black smoke mixed with glowing gold embers.

As the ship crashed into the Oncoming Shadow, the Sphinx jumped away. The Sphinx screeched before being shot down by a Fighter Jet that roared past and fired another missile into the eye of a Reaper. The heavy plates of amour around its skull shattered like glass, and the beast dropped, but was not slain, not until one of the Dreadnaughts started firing its broadsides into its body, blowing it into huge chunks of black flesh and bone.

Bullheads flew across the sky past them, with soldiers firing their rocket launchers into the fleshy globes of the Tempests that were approaching. Ortega watched as the enormous jellyfish came crashing towards the ground, but the storm of red lightning was merely getting closer and closer to Dragonspire Keep. Once it reached the castle, they would have even more problems with lightning striking the fortress.

Ortega tensed his hands, then he turned to his Operatives aboard the Bridge with him. "How are we looking?" He asked her.

"It's getting bad, sir. We're down half our fighters." She answered.

"Half…" He stammered, pushing one hand through his hair, whilst tapping his other hand's finger against his side, thinking as he watched the Oncoming Shadow continuing to head forward.

"Sir… at the rate we're losing fighters… we'll be destroyed by the Reapers." Another Operative stated.

"We knew how this was gonna end. We just need to buy more time for those Relics to be completely stored." Ortega explained. But then he stared down at the far end of the Oncoming Shadow. "… wait…"

"Sir?" Another Operative responded, the Drift of Wandering Star shaking as a dead Nevermore crashed into its Hardlight Shields.

He walked close to the shielded glass and saw down below… the Oncoming Shadow… the surge was halting. He looked around and saw the storm on the frozen lake, where he could faintly spot the Maidens battling against the Knight of Death. "Those clever ladies…" He chuckled. "They closed the Reality Tears that the Oncoming Shadow were coming through. Their numbers are limited for now." Ortega explained, walking to the head of the Bridge, and contacting the other two Dreadnaughts.

"Admirals, listen up! The Maidens have cut off the Oncoming Shadow of their reinforcements for now. We can make the lives of our people down below a hell of a lot easier. Fighters, keep the Grimm off us for a while. Admirals, use the Broadsides on them. Give them hell." Ortega commanded.

"Yes, sir."

"You got it, Admiral."

All the powerful Broadside Cannons of the Dreadnaughts aimed downwards, and immediately opened fire, spraying highly explosive shells of dust towards the Grimm. Hundreds of enormous explosions erupted in their numbers, killing thousands of Grimm every few seconds. Colossal Grimm amongst the smaller ones in the Horde roared as they were hit as well, including a Megoliath directly hit and blowing it to pieces, and the shrapnel severing the leg of a Theropod Grimm, causing it to topple forward and crushed under the Grimm numbers.

They continued their barrage until they had to turn their attention back to the Grimm in the sky, specifically when a King Wyvern suddenly flew towards the Drift of Wandering Star, casting a cloud of fire upon the shields, making them flicker momentarily.

But thanks to the barrage of cannon fire, the amount of Grimm left coming for Dragonspire Keep had been cut by at the very least half, and they still had to get past their artillery and Colossi.

"Hopefully that takes some of the pressure off them." Ortega said with hope in his voice.

Jaune

Smoke filled the air, and he backed up with some soldiers, watching as they shrieked, being dragged into the hole left behind by the Blind Worm that just launched itself through the wall and the gate. The breach was enormous, and now the Oncoming Shadow would easily get through.

He raised his shield back up, eyes shimmering bright blue. "STAND YOUR GROUND!" Jaune yelled after spotting a couple of soldiers attempting to flee as the Oncoming Shadow barrelled over one another to get inside. Maria walked down the steps towards the courtyard, spinning her scythes through her fingers, with Kaa and Carmine beside her. The White Fang and the Acolytes held their ground, whilst the Silver Eyed Warriors prepared themselves for the incoming surge.

A soldier scampered towards the doors of the castle, banging on it desperately. "LET ME IN! THEY'RE COMING!" He shrieked. Jaune looked away and just hardened his gaze. He turned to see Qrow shaking Ruby, trying to wake her up.

"Ruby!" Qrow yelled at his daughter, but still nothing. He pressed his ear to her chest, and with relief, he could hear her heartbeat, but she took a heavy hit from that impact. Her head was badly cut, and she was bleeding heavily. He looked over to Jaune, as Ozpin appeared and spun his Sceptre around, slamming it down against the floor, standing with Jaune.

"Take her to the Civilian Sector! Let her recover! It's still safe there!" Jaune yelled as the Grimm continued to pile over one another, being shredded by the machine guns of soldiers, but they were still getting closer and closer, black smoke filling the gap in the wall. Qrow nodded and lifted Ruby into his arms. He sprinted as fast as he could, leaving everyone else to hold the line.

Suddenly, a Megoliath tore through, bellowing with fury as it reared on its back legs and crushed a soldier beneath it, splattering his blood across the floor and under its feet. The Megoliath charged towards them and Jaune roared, activating his semblance once more, feeling the hands of his Ancestors help guide his sword. Raw blue energy formed around the blade, extending it and he cleaved the titan in half in a single swing, killing it instantly. He fell to one knee, panting, but Ozpin helped him back up.

The soldiers who were afraid saw that impressive display, and they locked and loaded. Everyone advanced, firing their machine guns at the Grimm, whilst the others prepared their weapons. The Grimm charged inside towards them, some being cut down by the bullets, whilst the rest rushed them. An Alpha Beowulf suddenly clambered over chunks of debris, leaping high in the air and slashing down towards Maria, who spun through the air and cut through the Grimm instantly.

As she soared above the Grimm, her eyes lit up Silver, as did many other Silver Eyed Warriors, who all petrified the Grimm that poured through the opening, forming yet another wall to block it up. But the Grimm continued to clamber over it, and some were still just throwing themselves into the rock to break it apart. Jaune smashed his shield across the face of a Beowulf that swung at him, staggering it and driving Crocea Mors through its side, then as he punched through its body, splattering black blood everywhere, he sheathed his blade and extended it into Greatsword size as an Ursa Major jumped towards him, roaring savagely. He cut straight through its shoulder, severing its left arm, and as it tumbled past him, Kaa threw one of her knives directly into its eye socket.

Nora jumped off the elevated Courtyard with Ren beside her, and she slammed Magnhild down with all her might, shattering the body of a Gargoyle seconds after it appeared behind an unaware soldier and snapped its neck, turning to stone once spotted. The hammer blew its body apart, and Ren swung past, firing Stormflower at a pack of Sabyrs that charged towards him.

Nora ducked down, only narrowly avoiding the claws of another Beowulf, and smashed her hammer down against the roof of its skull. But as she turned, her blood ran cold, and her eyes widened… seeing a Leshen walking towards them. The creature snarled softly, walking past the Grimm that surged through the walls. It raised its arm and pointed at her, but then she spotted both its horns, and a lack of Corvid Birds under its command.

It was not the Lord of the Wood.

Just a normal Leshen…

Glynda suddenly launched chunks of rubble towards the Leshen with the Disciplinarian's Gravity Dust. The Leshen recoiled as the chunks of rock exploded against its shoulder, and barely even pushed it back. "NORA!" Glynda yelled, and she snapped out of it, transforming Magnhild into its hammer form.

"Come on, then you ugly bastard… COME AND GET ME!" she yelled, firing a grenade towards it, only for the walking Leshen to suddenly jump high in the air and slam its fist at her feet. The shockwave knocked Nora into the air, but she flipped backwards and fired Magnhild one handed, sending a grenade exploding against the side of its head. Pink flames roared as it recoiled. Then she transformed her grenade launcher back into hammer form and rushed towards the monster.

The Leshen bellowed with fury, its eyes aflame, and it slashed their claws at her, but she slid underneath its palm and between its legs, smashing the kneecap apart. The Leshen dropped to its broken knee, and as it lifted its head, Nora jumped and buried her Hammer into the skull of the Leshen. Black smoke billowed from within as the antlers split apart before it crumbled into dust.

She panted, then shook off the fear she felt when she saw it, knowing… that soon her fate would come for her here.

Ren, on the other hand, was too busy battling against the Grimm to help, firing his Grappling Hooks into the chest of a Beringel and yanking himself towards it. The Beringel raised its muscular arm to slam him to the ground, only for him to corkscrew his body through the air, and slash his Father's Dagger straight through the Ape's throat. Black blood jettisoned from the jugular and it held its throat, staring at Ren as he suddenly shot forward and rammed both blades of Stormflower directly into its eye sockets.

He yanked it backwards and slammed the hulking body into the ground with all his might. Ren jumped away, rolling across the snow and ash covered ground, spinning on the spot as he sprayed green bullets into Sabyrs that sprinted towards him, filling them with bullet holes. He looked around, ducking as a Whiplash Trooper suddenly sprinted towards the Grimm, extending the glowing gold whips and slashing through five Beowulves in one swing, then ducking and wrapping the other around the throat of an Ursa Major, tightening the searing noose around its neck, burning through the flesh and cutting the head from its shoulders.

Seeing Acolytes of Lien soldiers now fighting with them was still a jarring sight, but a welcoming one.

Carmine rushed past, launching her Sai forward, puncturing through seven Thralls in one shot, before using her semblance to fling it through the heads of two more Knights' Bannermen. Their bodies broke apart instantly, and she rolled aside as a Mandrill leapt at her, snapping its powerful jaws at where she was just stood, only for her to call her Sai back, sending it through the back of the Monkey Grimm's head, killing it instantly.

Jaune continued to hold the Grimm back with everyone, thankfully the wall of petrified Grimm was keeping the number of Grimm within the walls to a manageable number. Jaune swung diagonally, cleaving a Beowulf down the middle with Crocea Mors combined with his shield into Greatsword Form. Black blood oozed down his white and gold armour, then he withdrew his shield from the blade of his sword, and raised it above his head to block a swooping Griffin from snatching him, and redirecting it to crash into the floor behind him, where Ozpin impaled it through the skull with his sceptre.

Ozpin charged the raw energy of the Relic of Knowledge into the tip of his Sceptre, and suddenly blasted a powerful Beam, slicing through the heads of roughly fifteen Grimm which tried to climb over the frozen Grimm. Black smoke filled the air as he held them back, then he slowed time, sprinting to Jaune and smashing through the head of a Gargoyle that was about to snap his neck from behind, but smashed through its body with his cane. The Gargoyle broke apart from the sudden strike, and Jaune turned, nodding with relief to Ozpin.

Apathy moved through the breaks in the wall, screeching as they got inside, making soldiers fall to their knees, nearly dropping their weapons. A soldier shrieked in agony as a group of Apathy started tearing him open with their long claws, one plunging its claws into his eye sockets as he screamed, scrambling his brain.

Maria suddenly launched herself towards the Apathy, spinning through the air and yelling with fury, splattering herself in the black blood as she carved through them. The Apathy broke apart like they were mere twigs, and then she threw Life into the body of a Lesser Wyvern flying above, and she activated the Gravitational Link between it and Death. Life yanked the Wyvern towards the ground, sending it crashing into the already destroyed wall, and the Scythe spun through the creature's throat.

Black blood poured from the opening, and she panted. "Their numbers are thinning!" Kragen yelled from the wall.

"What?" Jaune asked with wide eyes, flinching as a Paladin fired a missile into a Manticore above them, killing it instantly.

"The Maidens! They've closed the Reality Tear! I can see the end of the horde!" Kragen yelled.

"Good work Pyrrha." Jaune said with a smile.

"It should buy us a little more time before Umbra opens another one." Ozpin stated with hope, and Glynda walked over to them.

"How long, though? What's stopping him from just opening another one right now?" Glynda inquired.

"I don't know…" Ozpin agreed.

Umbra was up to something, that much was certain. He always had a plan for any occasion, meaning even this was a possibility he was prepared for.

"NEXT WAVE INCOMING!" Mazen roared from atop the wall.

Suddenly though, the wall of Petrified Grimm exploded into a thousand pieces, throwing chunks of their stone corpses towards the soldiers, killing a few of them in the process as the debris sliced through their bodies. An enormous Geist was at the front, tearing the Petrified Grimm apart and using their bodies to form its armour. The Geist roared as it stood tall, and swung its arm into the side of a Paladin, smashing it against the wall, before driving the other arm down the top of the M.E.C.H's cockpit, destroying it instantly.

More Grimm poured inside the walls around the Geist as it walked forward. Ozpin flew into the air with his clockwork wings, and he transformed Mihi Vindicta into Mace Form, and launched himself towards the Geist, smashing through one of its arms. He crashed into the ground, sliding across the floor, and preparing to attack once again, but the Geist spun around and slingshot one chunk of rock that formed its arm into Ozpin, sending him flying into one of the civilian buildings near where Qrow was taking Ruby to safety.

Jaune raised his shield as a Spiker sprinted forward, and it launched quills in his direction. The spikes broke the second they hit his shield, but the impact forced him back, then he charged towards the Ant-Eater like Grimm. It screeched at him, a long tongue extending from its long snout and raising its thick spiny tail up. It jumped and swung the tail towards him, but he parried the tail away with a hard outward swing with his shield, then spun Crocea Mors through his fingers and drove it through the creature's chest after kicking it in the head.

The Spiker screeched in pain before dying and crumbling away.

Jaune looked ahead and gasped as he saw a swarm of Sulfur Fish pouring through the opening, and flooding over screaming soldiers, devouring them alive as they wailed, leaving only bloody bones behind in their wake. They all combined into a singular monster with a cavernous mouth, and it crashed down on top of one of the Catapults, tearing it to shreds.

Carmine jumped into the air and landed atop a floating chunk of rubble levitated by Glynda, and she slashed the Grimm apart with her Sai, whilst a couple of Seekers dashed across the battlefield, eliminating Grimm as swiftly as they could. Leaving trails of orange energy in their wake, they tore the Grimm apart with their Sub-Machine Guns and Shortswords, and a squadron of Gliders flew in, with the Jockeys on top using their assault rifles. They flew towards the towering swarm of Sulfur Fish that devoured their defences and fired rockets from the Gliders, destroying the structure they formed into, and then soldiers with flamethrowers cooked the rest, blasting flames across the smaller arthropods.

Kaa watched as she jumped and drove her daggers into the chest of a Beringel, but the huge ape grabbed her by her hair and threw the Viper Faunus into the wall so hard that her aura shattered. The Beringel bellowed, smashing its fists down on her chest, breaking a few ribs and making her cough up blood. She rolled aside and threw her knife into the face of the Beringel, slaying the monster instantly.

Only to turn as the Geist stared at her, roaring and charging towards her. With blood pouring from her mouth, she screamed with fury and limped towards the giant spectre. Suddenly it sprouted a long skeletal black arm from a red glyph where an arm used to be, and it grabbed her and smashed her against the wall, driving its sharp nails into her chest. She gasped for air as it punctured a lung, slowly crushing her bones.

Mazen turned, his eyes widening from behind his mask. "KAA!" He roared.

With her life draining, the Geist pushed closer to her broken body, snarling as it stared directly into her eyes. Unaware that Kaa still had one knife left, and with her last breath she yelled, and drove the knife directly into the Geist's mask, killing the creature. The Geist recoiled, pulling its claws from her corpse and letting her body fall to the floor, flailing around and throwing chunks of Petrified Grimm everywhere, before disintegrating to dust and crashing down on top of Kaa's corpse.

Pyrrha

The Knight of Death jumped into the air, forming an Obsidian Bow and fired it immediately at Pyrrha who raised Akoúo, tanking the hit but still being pushed across the ice. Cinder blasted off the ice's surface towards the Knight of Fury, who slashed his axes at her relentlessly, roaring with rage, before she tackled him into the ice, driving her Obsidian Spear into his leg.

Fear spread his wings that were wrapped around his body and flew into the air, firing his crossbow down at Coco, who sprinted alongside Pyrrha, who fired Milo at Death. Starla stayed close to them, fighting against the curse controlling her body as much as she could. Yenna stood beside Pyrrha and nodded at her, and they both blasted off the ice towards Death. Yenna formed an enormous sword of ice and swung it downwards towards Death, but he spun around with Ferrum Arctus and collided with his back at her, red eyes staring back at her violet ones.

Pyrrha flew alongside Yenna, throwing Akoúo into the back of Death's head, until an arrow knocked her out of the sky. She crashed into the ice and looked ahead to see a tearful Starla, desperately fighting against it. "I… I'm sorry… I can't…" She strained.

"You can… you're so close." Pyrrha said to her, seeing how hard she was fighting it. Her arms were shaking. But the curse was still winning, forcing her arms up to aim the bow at her.

"… and yet so far." Starla sighed.

"Not for long." Pyrrha stated, readying herself to fight against the Unwilling Knight.

Starla fired, and then the curse took control once more, and the Knight of Loss sprinted towards her. She split Arcus Autem Trisitia in two, transforming her Bow into its Tonfa Form. She skated across the ice with Schnee Glyphs formed across it, and launched herself towards Pyrrha, and slashed at her, only for Pyrrha to blast away, and throw Akoúo at Loss' head. She recoiled away, then Pyrrha launched back, and threw Milo in its spear form into her shoulder, and once impaled, Pyrrha called it back, yanking the Knight towards her, and roundhouse kicking her in the face.

The Knight of Loss punched her fist into the ground, then connected her Tonfas together once again, the bowstring forming from thin air to fire the arrows at Pyrrha. Pyrrha ducked and dodged the incoming arrows, whilst transforming Milo into rifle form and firing back at her. Starla suddenly sprouted white wings and flew high in the air, shooting three icy arrows towards her, before coming crashing down, sending huge spikes of ice shooting towards Pyrrha.

The Summer Maiden flew into the air, her eyes burning green and she flew back towards Starla and their blades collided.

On the other side of the battle, Cinder formed her dual Obsidian Swords, blasting towards Fury who launched one of his explosive axes towards her, and blasted a cloud of fire from his jaw like grill. The flames burned across the ice, and Cinder spun through the air, landing and ducking beneath the flames, before slashing straight through Fury's side.

The armour cut open, but the lava filled the wound, reconstructing the damage within a few seconds. Fury jumped into the air, his burning wyvern wings erupting from his back as he tossed lava onto the frozen lake. The sheer heat of the lava formed cracks, bubbling the ice as it melted and evaporated in seconds. But even then, the ice was so thick that the lava was turning to pumice and obsidian before it would even melt to the point of reaching the water beneath. Fury dove towards her, slashing his axes at her, and smashing them both into the ice with substantial force.

Cinder caught a bolt of golden lightning in her hand and threw it like a javelin into Fury's chest. He grunted, thrown across the lake, and driving his axe into the ground. Cinder flew forward, only for Fury to sprout the long fiery tail of his Wyvern form and smack her out of the air. Cinder tumbled across the ice, turning to see Fury jumping towards her, burying the axe into the ice narrowly close to where her head just was.

She crawled back as Fury bellowed, savagely smashing the ice apart with every single berserk strike he made into the ground with Insanus tristis Erinys. She blasted across the ice, then slid her hand across it as she turned, forming her Obsidian Bow and firing an explosive arrow towards him. It detonated in his chest, throwing gallons of lava high in the air and across the lake.

Fury roared as he stared back at her, flames raging off his body.

Cinder sprinted across the ice towards him, and deflected his incoming axe, then formed a huge spike of ice and buried it in his chest, quelling the flames inside. Fury snarled, then batted her aside with his arm, channelling more fire into his jaws, vomiting lava across the floor, before unleashing a blast furnace of flames towards the Fall Maiden.

She shot up into the air, then formed a massive hammer, and came careening down, shattering ice and blasting him away from her.

Behind them, Coco fired up at Fear, who flew above, firing his crossbow with Fear Laced Bolts at her, until he rested Formido Falcem on his shoulder and flew towards her. He swung the scythe towards her head, only narrowly missing her as she rolled underneath it, collapsing Gianduja down into handbag form and struck him across the back of his head. His rotten wings swung out, pushing Coco away, and he flew into the air and immediately crashed down again, using his fast hit-and-run attacks to his advantage.

He suddenly sprayed his Fear Toxin from his wrist at her, but she covered her mouth and nose, flying away from him. She suddenly launched a storm of razor sharp spears of ice from the sky, and they pinned his rotten wings to the ground to prevent him from escaping. She then clasped her hands together, forming a spear of ice and lightning, and she slammed it into the ground where he was standing. The explosion fragmented chunks of flesh from his body and made him slide across the ground.

He scraped Formido Falcem's curved blade through the ice, throwing sparks and shards of ice bouncing across it, then as Coco flew towards him with another spear of lightning, he suddenly hooked his Scythe around her neck and slammed her into the ice with great force.

He stamped on her back, chuckling sinisterly. "'Twas a valiant effort, but it was all for naught." He stated.

"Nothing's over, not unless we're still breathing." Coco snarled, and she blasted a cold mist from her hands, and Fear felt the ice eat away at his leg on her back. He recoiled and jumped into the air, transforming into his Undead Bat form, flying in the dark clouds above, his glowing gold eyes a chilling sight from down below. But as he flew above her, she held her hands together, combining ice and lightning together once more, waiting for Fear to make his move.

Suddenly the Bat emerged, screeching so loud it made her ears ring, and ruined her plan. He suddenly grabbed onto her with the talons of the beast, carrying her high in the air. She formed a blade of ice and she started stabbing at his leg, but then he released her. She flew after the Knight of Fear and he slashed his huge wing at her, then screeched again. The shriek was so loud it made her feel like her ears were bleeding.

Fear flew high above once again, then dove into Coco, biting down with dominant force as he carried her down, but she drove her blade of ice into the beast's eye and it screeched in pain. He transformed back into his Knight form and they fell together, but Coco turned the tide, flipping him over and kicking him into the ice.

He crashed into the ice with significant force, but still got back up, resting his Scythe across his shoulders. His eyes glowed bright gold as she landed, and he created that unforgettable growling howl. Suddenly, he darted towards her in a swift zigzag motion, before striking with Formido Falcem, knocking her away. As she tumbled away, he aimed his crossbow in one hand at her and fired, but she rolled aside, then picked up Gianduja, which was knocked away from her earlier.

She transformed the handbag into Minigun form and opened fire on Fear. The bullets exploded against his wings as he folded them over to block the attack, but she kept firing to hold him there, yelling with fury.

Up above, Death battled against Yenna in the dark sky.

Yenna tossed bolts of lightning and fireballs at Death, before she formed a pair of dual swords, one made of fire and the other forged from ice. She launched herself forward, spinning through the air and slicing across his Isomacium Armour relentlessly. Death flew backwards, spinning through the air as he launched another volley of red energy towards her. The red arc collided against her chest, making her fall a few feet before regaining her balance.

Death descended, and he slashed Ferrum Arctus at her, then swung his razor sharp wings at her, until Yenna drove both blades into his chest and detonated them. Fire and ice exploded against his chest and Death grunted, flying backwards into the dark storm. The rain was bitterly cold, turning to ice in seconds in this climate.

Yenna looked around as the rain hammered against her body, drenching her black hair. Lightning flashed, and Death's Nevermore form was revealed as he flew towards her, screeching as he grabbed her with his talons, and slammed her against the nearby mountain peak. The rocks exploded as he slammed her there, screeching down at her, only for her to call a lightning bolt to impact the beast in the spine.

The Nevermore collapsed into Death's Knight Form, and he jumped away from her, then swung his wings to launch himself at her, driving the sword into the rocks where she was just stood. She shot flames from her hand, and he raised his sword, blocking the flames as he stared her down, his wings stretched out.

Death flew high above her once more, charging his sword up and firing a powerful beam of black and red energy down upon her. The beam exploded the rocks, and she flew up towards him, punching him in his Isomacium helmet. As they flew through the tempest, Death's helmet opened and the burning skull inside roared at her, but she punched him in his skull, kicking him away.

He vanished beneath the clouds for a moment, then suddenly sent many fast strikes of red energy towards her. She dodged them as best she could, only to be shot out of the sky by his bow. She fell and Death grabbed onto her, and they both fell together, and he smashed her against the rocks of the cliff face, dragging her down it, before throwing her into the ice once again.

Her aura flickered but did not break, groaning in pain as she tried to get back up. Death walked around her, waiting for the Spring Maiden to get back on her feet. "Relent." Death commanded.

"Still haven't got the full picture yet, have you, Blackridge?" She asked, suddenly rolling onto her back and launching a bolt of lightning into his helmet. Death barked as it broke a chunk of Isomacium off, and he stared back at her, smoke trailing from the black metal. "We're stubborn… and we never give up. Kragen and I didn't give up when Arkhonex fell… and we sure as shit will not give up now."

Qrow

Her head was in so much pain…

The last thing she remembered was the Blind Worm erupting from the Oncoming Shadow and into the wall. Something hit her head? It was all fuzzy, but she was slowly coming to. The darkness started to flood with light, seeing embers and smoke in the air, and feeling safe. Safe in the arms of her father…

Qrow continued to carry her to safety, then he looked down at her. "Ruby!" He panted as he ran, turning a corner and crouching to the floor, turning as he heard the dying scream of Kaa nearby. He flinched, then looked at her, wiping the strands of hair from her eye.

"… ow…" she groaned.

"You took a heavy hit. You need to stay here where it's safest for now. Get your strength back." Qrow said to her.

Ruby touched the wound on her head and groaned, seeing the blood on her fingers. "Crap…" she panted.

Qrow looked around as he continued to hear the battle nearby. "Can you do that for me?" He asked her.

"Yeah… yeah…" she assured, nodding her head. She leans the back of her head against the wall, and as Qrow was about to return to the wall, he stopped and looked back at the wall that protected the Civilian Sector. The small village was hardly a defendable position. Once the Grimm got through, the people had to escape through the tunnel that was made for them years ago.

But that wasn't what concerned him.

It was a mysterious hooded figure walking to the wall. He crouched to Ruby's side, picking up Crescent Rose. "Just gonna borrow this." He said, looking through the scope at the person, hoping his suspicion had no basis.

… but his fear was right.

The man turned, revealing his face for a moment.

There was no mistaking it.

It was Kannix.

Qrow looked at the wall, then noticed the tarp, and saw the detonator in his hand. "Fuck!" Qrow yelled, dropping Crescent Rose and transforming into his Corvid form.

"Qrow!" Ruby called out.

Qrow flew as fast as he could, and just as Kannix was about to strike the detonator, Qrow launched himself forward. Kannix turned, his silver eyes widening, and Qrow tackled him up the side of the wall, crashing through the top. Kannix tumbled onto the wall, and Qrow slid back, resting Harbinger in its Scythe form across his back, just as he taught his daughter. He stared ahead at Kannix, who laughed as he stood tall.

"I thought it'd be too easy." Kannix chuckled, extending his blade from his arm and igniting it, setting his cloak ablaze, burning it to ash as he cast it aside, staring Qrow down.

"To think you couldn't fall any further… you're here… helping that monster destroy our entire universe…" Qrow scoffed. "And for what? Revenge against Kragen?" He questioned.

"You wouldn't even begin to understand." Kannix stated.

"No, I guess I wouldn't… because nothing would ever convince me to help Vir Nominis Umbra." Qrow stated, standing his ground.

Kannix grinned, his eyes glowing bright silver, and he cocked his cannon, charging it with dust as it hummed.

The two stood face to face on the wall as the Oncoming Shadow continued to battle at the front of Dragonspire Keep.

This was the reason Qrow knew it in his bones.

This was what Umbra was waiting for.

Once this wall is destroyed?

Dragonspire Keep would be wiped out.

Author Note - Fucking Kannix, man loves his bombs

Writing this chapter with a nasty cold brewing was pretty brutal, honestly surprised I managed it XD. Hopefully you all enjoy it!

RIP Kaa

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please review, follow and favourite!

Stay tuned for the next chapter!

- Matt