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If you want your name on the lists of my stories and videos, head over to P a t. R e . o n and search for the Temple Walkers. Just let us know you're from Fanfiction, alright? There's a thousand of you, so a dollar a piece would really add up and help me a lot! Once I reach five hundred Supporters of any value over a dollar, I will make a concerted effort to put out a chapter of something once every three days at the very slowest.
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Winter moved in a moment, a flash of white and steel as she lashed out above them with her rapier, Dust hardening and sharpening into ice as it tore through the ceiling and the sprinklers therein. The pipes and sprinklers both burst, water pouring out across the floor and soaking the furniture, the floor and the people in the room. Pyrrha and Cinder, hair and clothes already starting to stick to their bodies, inched away on either side while Jaune held his ground and watched the Schnee carefully. The two women launched at her and Jaune followed behind, slower than either. Pyrrha and Cinder reached her at the same time, Cinder swinging up with a scimitar and Pyrrha lunging for the Schnee's throat with her sword while Jaune charged from behind.
Winter's rapier flicked at her right side, a black glyph spinning up underneath Cinder as the Atlesian Specialist turned to parry Pyrrha's lunged. Cinder staggered, grunting and sinking to a knee, trying to rise amid water drops that pelted her clothing hard enough to leave welts on the skin and rap loudly against the summoned weapon. Pyrrha spun, stabbing at Winter's midsection and then turning back with a slash, the Atlesian struggling to defend against the Mistralian Champion's attacks.
Leaping up, she half-flipped over the Huntress, a black glyph spinning into place where her feet met the ceiling, Pyrrha's surprise echoing through Jaune as she raised her shield to defend against against the stabs from above her, Jaune circling on Pyrrha's right and looking up at the Atlesian as she spun and stabbed, Cinder finally rising as her glyph vanished. He sensed Roman taking aim for a shot, and Winter stepped away and further from their reach, pointing her rapier at the two criminals in the back of the room and flicking her rapier in a small circle, touching it to the ceiling where she stood. Jaune spared a glance for the duo, a trio of armored Beowolves rising, pale white like Winter's own outfit, and Roman swore as he and Neo started fighting them.
"Now." Winter barked, the drones lined up against the wall by the door rising and moving forward, firing indiscriminately at the criminals fighting the summoned Grimm in the back and the two women trying to fight Winter. Cinder turned to deal with them, summoning a second scimitar to deal with them.
Without her fire thanks to the water, it was hard to deal with the armored drones, her weapons chipping away on their armor, and Cinder gave Jaune a look, "I'm not at my best in the water, Master. You need to deal with Winter before she does something else."
"Pyrrha." Jaune snarled, glaring at Winter as she dropped from the roof in front of the door, smiling confidently in spite of the way her clothes plastered to her skin and her messed up hair, stuck around her neck. "We have to deal with her."
Pyrrha nodded, eyes hardening as they lunged in towards Winter, the woman's rapier flicking away Jaune's slash and lunging in for Pyrrha at his side in the same fluid movement, stepping in and drawing a small knife from the pommel, lashing for Jaune's throat with it and then slamming to the side as Pyrrha raised her shield to deflect it. Smiling, Winter leapt away, rapier spinning as she landed.
A small black glyph spun to life on the shield, wrenching upwards and taking a surprised Pyrrha with it. Two of the drones fighting Cinder turned, firing up at the trapped woman, and Pyrrha growled as she released the shield and landed in a crouch behind Jaune, the rounds peppering the wall behind him as Jaune slammed forward into Winter's chest with a roar.
Only a moment later, when her left arm wrapped around his neck and held him against her chest and he sensed her confidence spike, did he realize his mistake. A white glyph spawned under them, yanking them back and through the door. She released him and he stumbled into the wall across the hall, unable to counter her moves as they came even as she thought of them.
She slammed a boot into him to propel him to the side, a door sliding open automatically as he was thrown towards it, black glyphs spawning under him and pulling him down and back, the gravity staggering him backwards faster than her could react until his back hit the window and his eyes widened, winter spinning in a roundhouse that cracked the window behind him and his ribs under the breastplate, the young man fighting to catch his breath.
"Jaune!" Pyrrha called as she slid on the water pooling the floor around the corner, sword flowing into a spear at her side. With the crack of a gunshot, she hurled the spear at Winter's back, and the Atlesian spun, flicking her rapier down and up, the water below them spiking up and freezing, catching the spear and locking it in ice as Pyrrha charged.
Jaune tried to push off the glass and Winter slammed an elbow back and into his nose hard enough to break it even through his Aura, the blonde's head snapping back under the force as blood shot into the air.
Abandoning her weapon, Pyrrha charged Winter, spinning to lash out at Winter's head. The woman ducked under it, lunging up and wrapping her arms around the attacking leg and turning sharply and pushing at the other leg with her back, Pyrrha letting out a scream as the limb was wrenched up and away, the leg spasming and going limp at an unnatural angle as she fell back. Her back hit the ground, foot pointing to the right as Pyrrha rolled over and tried to force herself to her feet, crying out and collapsing.
Jaune lunged, the Atlesian easily batting aside the stab and stepping in to press her body against his shield before he could try and bash with it, the woman panting lightly, "You need to train more, Jaune, you've got talent and little else." She tapped the rapier against the glass, and Jaune felt the gravity shift and then pick up rapidly until the glass fell away and he was hurled from the window.
The two rolled as their backs hit the grass, Jaune groaning and trying to rise while Winter rolled and rose in one fluid motion, standing over him and pointing her rapier at his throat, "Planning, training, and drilling for alternative situations. This is how a force protects itself, and yet I see no sign of it. I must say, it's quite disappointing." "Especially given how highly Ironwood spoke of your abilities…" "Surrender now, Jaune. Before more people get hurt."
Sensing presences around him, he smiled up at her, "You don't understand, Winter. You were doomed to lose the moment you stepped foot on my ship." She raised an eyebrow at him, suspicion spiking, and he gestured with his head to the side, "See for yourself."
She turned, blinking in surprise and taking a step back towards the hull of the ship as dozens of Beowolves, Ursai and Creeps emerged from the forest around them, close enough in the forest that Jaune could hear their breathing and smell their fur, and Winter swallowed nervously, "Grimm?" "But how? And so many, so close to Ansel? Why aren't they attacking the settlement then?"
"I told you that I wasn't after Atlas, that I had more to worry about." He answered simply, rolling over while she was distracted by the Grimm as they stepped closer slowly. When he rose, it was next to an Ursa that took a moment to sniff him, examining him closely. He grimaced at it, "I'm fine, Salem. Just some bruises." It huffed aggitatedly and he sighed morosely, "And my ribs re-cracked, yes. But I'm fine."
"What is this?" She asked warily, terror coursing through her as the Grimm seemed to - in her mind, at least, he could tell - form ranks around her to protect Jaune from her, entirely ignoring the Human in their midst. "What in the name of the Brothers… They're not attacking you?"
"Nope." He said, sensing Cinder approaching the window and turning to yell up, "Stay where you are, Cinder. I am fine, and you need to tend to Pyrrha." He sensed her aggravation when she shouted down an acquiescence, turning back to Winter. "Let me explain more fully. I have to deal with the kinds of things fables are made of. I have to fight them, including Salem, to protect people. Atlas is so far down the rung of what I care about, that I literally hadn't even considered it as a threat."
"Now," he continued before she could interrupt, "You came here to apprehend me. You attacked and hurt people I care about, damaged my ship, had my robots destroyed… And I bet it's because of James' orders. Isn't it?" She wanted to argue, the disrespectful way of addressing the man annoying her, but simply forced herself to nod. "Typical… And he didn't even tell you anything worth knowing. Like that the Queen of the Grimm existed, or the Maidens' true natures, or Ozpin's true nature. Or the war he had thrown you into, sending you after me."
"Or that Jaune was mine, or soon would be." An eerie voice chimed, Jaune's eyes closing as he sighed in agitation. A tentacled Grimm emerged from the packs around him, glass orb at its top glowing brightly as it approached them and hovered between them, "I am Salem, Queen of the Grimm, and he is under my protection."
"T-The Queen of the Grimm-" "He wasn't lying then… This thing, I've never seen anything like it." Winter swallowed in fright, back pressing against the hull of the ship as she tried to get some distance between herself and the tentacled creature. Her eyes jerked to Jaune, "And you… She is at your back? What on Remnant are you, Jaune?"
"A Huntsman." He answered quietly, sighing at how little he himself believed that now. "Or, well… I'm trying to be, at least. I'm trying to be a good person, to do good things." He stepped forward, towards the small orb Grimm, forcing himself to lay a hand on the warm surface, "Now go back, and tell James that I am not a threat to him at all. That I just want to be left alone."
"And you believe I will simply let her leave after he transgression?" Salem asked, voice amused even through the Grimm.
"Yes." Jaune answered simply, shrugging, "Because you don't want to do anything that will drive me away from you. And killing a woman for trying to do what she thinks is right would definitely do that. No, please, disperse your Grimm away from Ansel before someone notices and a fight starts."
After a moment, the Queen sighed, the Grimm turning and plodding away from Ansel and into the forest, "Very well, Jaune. For you, I will spare the little wench." The orb got closer to Winter, pulling away from Jaune, and she added, "But if you ever attack him again, I will do worse than kill you. I will take you, and I will torture you, violate you for the world to see, and then let my parasites ravage your broken body. Then while you watch, I will burn your precious Kingdom to the ground, and then drag your adorable sister to your side and do the same to her." Her voice lifted, almost cheerily, and Jaune himself swallowed nervously. "I am not a merciful person, Schnee. Don't expect any from me in future. Am I clear, Schnee?"
"Y-Yes, I understand." She answered, sinking to the ground and trembling as images pelted her mind. Images Jaune blocked out as best he could, "I-I swear, I w-won't… I won't do it again."
"Very well." The orb chimed, turning again to Jaune, "Jaune, I am going to keep this Grimmling on your ship so we may communicate." It wasn't an offer, but he nodded anyways, and she added with a happy and almost… excited sound to her voice, "I look forward to speaking with you later, Jaune."
He watched the creature climb up the ship, looking at Winter on the ground and turning to head back towards the ramp of his ship, "Now get out of here, Winter. We're done here, and I don't want to see you back unless you have something to offer me."
She nodded and rose, doing her best to at least look well put together and calm as she hurried off into the forest. Jaune sighed and continued on his way, shaking his head and holding a hand to his side with a grimace.
That was going to sting later.
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Short, I know, apologies but I am exhausted from all these large fight scenes. The next will be feature-length as normal, and this one is without charge from my Supporters.