Welcome to chapter 7!
No spoilers in the reviews, please; wouldn't want new readers to know what happens too early, yeah?
With this chapter, the stage will finally be set. I know it took a long time, but here it is:
"It would appear that they have freed Team JNPR."
Adam paid no attention to the speaker as he approached. Instead, he continued to stare at the map on the screen. The four blinking dots had disappeared some time ago, but it did not matter; they would not be able to escape very far with those wounded Defects as burdens anyway.
"I make no guarantees for live captures," he said, as the man stopped at a respectable distance away.
"Naturally," the man replied. "Why would you suggest thus?"
"I'm surprised," Adam said with faint interest in his callous voice. "I thought you were attached to them."
"Those who defy the ruler are inevitably struck down," the man answered. "It's only a natural outcome."
"Well said," Adam said flatly. "I see your intelligence is the real deal; unlike your staff, you know the right sides to take instead of wasting it on pointless rebellion."
"We humans live at your mercy," the main pointed out. "Why would we hasten our death by going against those who let us live?"
"See to it that the other vermin share your sentiments," Adam ordered. "Otherwise, you'll end up as the last surviving specimen of your species."
"Of course," the man said, giving Adam a bow.
"I have high hopes of you," Adam said, even though 'high hopes' for a Defect barely amounted to much. "Don't disappoint me… Ozpin."
Perched on the roof of a small building, the man called Pat took a swig from his bottle as he looked out into the distance. The sun was going to rise in about an hour, but he could not let his guard down just yet.
Before the White Fang attacked, he had been content with relaxing, having retired from his life as a mercenary. When he picked up Cardin, who had been on the verge of death, the kid had been utterly terrified. Now, the boy was a fighter, capable of taking care of himself. It might have been a good thing considering how Pat and the others had no time to be looking after him, but Pat knew that it was nothing to celebrate.
He was a kid. He was but a child, but he had seen far too much nonetheless. There was no need for him to live bathed in bloodshed, but he had been thrust ruthlessly into such a world. How could anyone rejoice in that fact?
He knew that Cardin was not only searching for revenge. He had seen many men go down with eyes flaring for that pointless sentiment. Cardin, for all the losses he had experienced, was also seeking salvation. Pat himself did not know what kind of salvation he sought, or what he wanted to be saved from, but he could only wish the kid luck; after all, the presence of a goal besides revenge gave him hope for redemption once the fighting stopped. If it ever stopped.
As though replying to his uncertainty, the rustling of leaves in the distance sounded. There was no wind, but the trees in the forest were still swaying.
"Guess we miscalculated," he wondered aloud, picking up a small microphone. "Guys, wake up. We've got company."
"Took them long enough," Blake heard Cardin say as he shoved them unceremoniously into a hidden cellar in the corner of the room. It was a tight fit, but all eight of Team JNPR' and RWBY's members managed to stuff themselves inside. "Stay here until I give the signal."
"We can fight-" Yang began.
"We're going to try and bluff them into leaving," Cardin said hurriedly. "If they think we're not harboring humans, we can keep them off our asses for a few days. Fighting won't do any good right now so shut up and wait."
With that he slammed the cellar door shut, and the next few seconds were spent listening to the sound of something heavy being dragged over the entrance.
"Cardin," Pat said, tossing him a pair of fake bear ears as he adjusted his own fake ears. "Tim and Andrew are going to the entrance. We're covering them from buildings B and C."
"Got it," Cardin replied, one hand on his weapon as he sprinted out after him.
"Hello, ma'am," the pseudo-monkey Faunus Tim greeted cheerily. "Isn't it a bit too early to be patrolling around the area?"
"We have prisoners on the loose," Velvet Scarlatina replied flatly. "And according to our intel, they're in this village."
"We don't harbor any prisoners here," Tim denied, looking shocked. "Why would we take after a bunch of lowly Defects or traitors?"
"I wonder," Velvet replied. "Maybe because you still have their stench on you."
Tim froze.
"We're familiar with the compound that some humans use to mask their scent," Velvet went on. "However, humans can't tell the difference since it works on the heightened senses of Faunus, so they wouldn't know that if you come into contact with a human after spraying it, the Dust in the spray reacts to their Aura as well and causes your original stench to return."
Tim and Andrew said nothing, their hands reaching slowly for the weapons hidden on their back, covered by their shirts.
"Raid it," Velvet ordered, closing her eyes.
Tim and Andrew only barely caught the figures emerging from the shadows before their headless bodies collapsed to the ground.
The cacophony of violence, no matter how muffled by the trapdoor, reached Jaune's ears. He tried to shut it out, but the horrifying noises refused to leave him alone.
It was worse than Beacon. At Beacon, he had been listening to the sounds of fighting. He had been listening to the sounds of resistance.
Now, he was listening to the sounds of a slaughter.
The blood-chilling screams were always fleeting, always erased before they could fade back into silence. The bellows, be they of fear or of rage, were silenced just as swiftly.
"Yang…" Ruby whined softly, clinging to her sister's arm. Jaune thought she was afraid, but when she spoke, her words made him feel like a coward. "We can't stay here. We have to help them…"
"I know, Ruby," Yang whispered. In the thick darkness of the cellar, Jaune could not see her expression, but her tone was not one filled with her usual jovial confidence. "Just wait a little more. We can't just bust in and die."
"We'll help," Jaune offered. "We don't have any weapons, but if we use our Aura-"
"No," Weiss shot him down instantly. "Once we do open this door, you guys are running. Weapons aside, you guys are all badly injured. One of us will escort you to our hideout and the rest of us will buy you time."
"You're guiding them, Weiss," Blake said. "You have a broken arm, so it's only logical."
"Fine, I get it," Weiss conceded after a pause. "But you guys are NOT running off without my glyphs with you."
"Understood," Yang replied, the confidence returning to her voice. "Alright gals, and guys," she added, and Jaune could feel it being directed at him and Ren. "Alright, there's someone walking here. Get ready to kick as- I mean, kick butts, fellas."
"Yang," Ruby sighed. "I know what 'ass' means."
"How'd you-?" Yang began, but the sound of something being dragged across the trapdoor stopped her. "We need to talk later, lil' sis."
With that, a loud burst of sound and light lit up the space as Yang let loose a devastating punch to the trapdoor.
As whatever remained of the trapdoor smashed into the White Fang soldier's face and slammed him back, the four girls of Team RWBY jumped out and Weiss summoned a series of glyphs under them.
"Come back safe, you guys," Weiss said, as the last glyph faded away.
"Don't fret, Weiss," Yang replied. "We'll take these guys out with a Yang and be back before you know it!"
Weiss groaned. Beckoning to Jaune and his team, she made for the door after her own teammates.
"Thought I told you to stay hidden," Cardin snarled, smashing his mace across a wolf Faunus's midsection.
"Couldn't be helped," Blake replied, disarming her opponent and slamming the flat end of her blade onto his head, knocking him out.
They were able to fend off most of the attackers, and it looked like they were finally nearing the end. Everyone had bruises and scratches here and there, but it was nothing compared to Cardin's friends who were undoubtedly no longer breathing. Blake could only wish that Ruby was too absorbed in fighting to notice.
"Guess you haven't lost it," a female voice deadpanned. A voice that was very familiar to both Blake and Cardin.
Letting go of Pat, whom she had been grabbing by the shirt, Velvet bent down and picked up his sword. Pat groaned, but he was unable to stop her from doing so.
"You have some skilled allies," Velvet said, looking directly at Cardin. "He was able to break my weapon. Oh well, he still lost in the end."
"Velvet?" Blake asked, unable to believe her eyes.
"Hello, Blake," she said tonelessly.
"Why?" Blake asked in open shock. "Why are you with-"
"Why am I with my own kind?" Velvet finished for her. "You should know why, Blake; it's the same reason why you joined the White Fang in the first place."
"Did Adam convince you?" Blake asked furiously.
"He opened my eyes, yes," Velvet replied. "I'm sorry, Blake, but I can't betray him. I have to eliminate you."
"Velv-" Blake began, but the rest of the sentence died at her throat with Velvet's newly acquired sword inches from her face, narrowly blocked by Gambol Shroud.
"Belladonna!" Cardin called out, but he was stuck dealing with some incoming soldiers.
With a flick of her wrist, Blake spun her blade to the side, pushing Velvet's sword out of the way and causing it to plummet towards the ground. She thrust her sheath towards Velvet's thighs, but the rabbit Faunus used the momentum from being deflected by Blake to leap into the air, performing a front flip axe kick.
Kicking off the ground hard, Blake evaded the kick, firing some bullets at Velvet as she attempted to regain her balance. Velvet deflected them with ease, closing the distance between them with a powerful leap.
Sparks flew again when metal struck metal, albeit briefly before they were withdrawn. In the next instant, they clashed again, sending off a sharp clang. Blake forced Velvet onto the defensive, hitting hard and fast while dual-wielding. Velvet, despite using someone else's weapon, managed to match her blow for blow even though she was slowly retreating.
Blake brought down her blade diagonally, her weapon parried easily by her former schoolmate. Instead of following up with another slash with her sheath, she swung the blade back up. While the move caught Velvet off guard, she was still able to block it. As Velvet tried forcing back her blade with brute strength, Blake brought down her sheath.
Pushing against Gambol Shroud, Velvet leapt backwards, narrowly missing the sheath as it tore off some fabric from her clothes. Blake advanced, kicking off towards her before breaking out of her feint and throwing her blade – now in its gun form – towards Velvet, propelled by a loud gunshot.
Velvet reacted an instant too late. Adjusting her stance to counter the thrown weapon instead of the anticipated physical charge, she only ended up feeling a distinct numbness in her hand after her sword was knocked away cleanly. Blake pulled the gun back with her ribbon, switching it back into its blade form as she walked towards an unarmed Velvet.
"This battle's over, Velvet," she declared. "Please, just give up."
"I forgot," Velvet panted. "You've been at this for far longer than I have. As expected from…"
The words that followed made Blake's blood run cold. Those words – the undeniable, horrifying truth that they reflected – clutched painfully at her chest, robbing her of any and all strength that she had possessed.
She knew. Velvet knew of that one shadow in Blake's past – the one thing that she wanted so desperately to forget, to deny. To hear those words from her lips made the world go silent, with nothing but the ghosts of bloodied screams ricocheting across the void.
As Blake collapsed to her knees, Velvet sprung up. Picking up the lance next to her, the bunny Faunus hesitated for only a moment.
"I'm sorry, Blake," she said, her voice a hushed whisper as she realized what she was about to do. Her hands trembling from summoning the strength needed to actually kill someone for the first time, Velvet brought the sharp tip down.
Blood scattered, staining the ground with little splatters. The wound was plugged up by the body of the lance, but the tip had already pierced through his body, breaking off parts of his armor.
Velvet took a few moments to register what had happened, and that gave Blake time to break out of her shock. When they both took in the scene, the Faunus girls' eyes did nothing but go wide in shock as their bodies froze.
"Damn…" Cardin muttered, a thin trail of blood trickling down his mouth. "That friggin' hurts."
"No…" Velvet muttered, letting go of the lance and backing away, falling onto her rear. "No… No…"
"I thought bunny girls were supposed to be docile," Cardin grimaced, walking towards a horrified Velvet as she tried to back away, yanking out the lance with great effort and tossing it aside. "Well, I guess this is payback for… pulling on your ears, huh?"
He chuckled – an action that drew a violent jet of blood from his lips. It did not, however, stop his shaky legs from dragging him forward.
"Run," he said, turning towards Blake as he stopped by Velvet's feet. He was powerless to stop her now, and she was certainly not in the right frame of mind to attack Blake, but his words still carried weight. "Say, Scarlatina. There's something I have to say, as the leader of Team CRDL and as a human:
"I'm sor-" he forced out, before his body finally gave way.
Cardin collapsed onto Velvet, unmoving as he slumped over her. Velvet was shaking terribly, unable to even push him off while his blood began to stain her clothes.
She had killed someone. She had, with her own hands, taken the life of someone else. Of all people, it was someone whom she had once saved.
"Blake!" Yang called out, dragging a dazed Blake with her while carrying Gambol Shroud in her other arm. "We're leaving! Come on!"
The unrelenting fires stretched endlessly towards the skies. The rumbling growl of frolicking flames thundered across the night, filling her eardrums with its jeering laughter.
As the rising sun set fire to the clouds, Velvet Scarlatina shattered the air with her throat-searing scream.
"So you let them all escape," Adam concluded. "You let her escape."
"… Yes," Velvet answered meekly. "I'm truly sorry for my failure."
"I thought you could have been better," Adam spoke his thoughts aloud, standing in front of her and staring into her eyes. "I thought that you could become what she became, except you wouldn't back out like she did."
Velvet buckled, wincing from the sharp pain in her gut. Adam removed his cold, emotionless eyes from her, looking past the rabbit Faunus as though she was not there. As though she had never existed to him.
"But in the end," Adam went on, talking to himself as he pulled out his sword. "You're just like she is."
In one fluid swing, he felt his weapon cut through the air, flinging away all traces of blood that had dirtied its blade. He sheathed it quickly and naturally, not even sparing a glance at Velvet's head as it tumbled across the tiles.
Like I said, this sets the stage proper. Apologies for the short and lackluster battle; it's way below what I know I can do, but I hope the next one will be better. That said, I'm focusing on the emotional parts of the characters more than the actual battles, though I won't compromise the writing there either.
And with Ozpin, I will provide more characterization on him later. Please don't break my legs or set me on fire just over that first part.
Anyway, now Team RWBY and Team JNPR are up in the spotlight, and everything will finally begin proper! Till next chapter, dear readers!