Chapter 33: The End of the Beginning

While her brothers and sisters in arms battled down below, a member of the Crown perched on a dead tree on the edge of the fortress' grounds. She happened to be a hawk Faunus, and was tasked with using her powerful eyes to keep watch, making sure reinforcements or any other threats would be spotted and reported. As gunfire and shouting rang out, she saw motion out beyond in the city. She squinted, and was able to identify what was coming: a massive wave of Grimm, traveling as a pack right towards them. Beowolves, Boarbatusks, Creeps, Ursai, Nevemore and even Goliaths pushing forward like a black wave. The woman gasped and fumbled for her walkie-talkie, grabbing it and bringing it to her mouth.

"Sir! Sir!" she called.

"I hear you," her commander Argento Pocoron's voice came from the other side. The static of battle could be heard as well.

"We've got an issue," the woman said. "There's a bunch of Grimm headed right towards us. They must have been drawn by the battle. There are too many for us to fight, especially at the same time as Lord Ozpin's forces."

Argento snorted through his porcine nose. "We've done all we can here anyway. I think it's time for a tactical retreat. Call up Schwein and Green and tell them we're heading out."

"Will do, sir," the woman replied.

"What have you done?" Cinder asked defiantly.

Ruby sneered. "Oh, you'll know soon enough. You thought I was trouble? You don't know what you're in for. You won't be leaving this laboratory alive."

"Neither will you!" Roman shouted, swinging his cane at Ruby. She raised her scythe up to block it, but Roman changed his motion suddenly, catching her off-guard. He hit her in the ribs so hard she fell over, extending her free hand to catch herself. Roman ran over and began hitting her as hard as he could repeatedly. Ruby winced as she raised her scythe up and did her best to block. She growled as she rose up, slashing at Roman. Adam joined the fight, slashing where he could. Ruby jumped back to avoid the barrage of weapons, but then saw Cinder aiming her gun. She gritted her teeth and forced herself back to dueling both Roman and Adam at once. Cinder tried to aim at her again, but with her allies in the fray and all of them moving so quickly, it was impossible to get a lock on her target without risking accidentally shooting one of her friends.

Adam raised his sword and brought it down at Ruby, who just barely blocked it with the blade of her scythe. Roman came charging in, but Ruby quickly kicked, hitting him back. Ruby pushed Adam away, then quickly slashed. She cut the back of Adam's hand, making him exclaim and drop his sword. Ruby's eyes widened as she kicked Adam back as well, forcing him away from his weapon. He gasped as she readied a massive swing and charged.

"No!" Roman yelled, jumping between the two. Ruby slashed, but Adam as not the one who was struck. Roman's shirt and jacket tore as he was gashed deep across his chest and stomach, blood already seeping out.

"Roman!" Cinder cried. She raised the gun back up. Her vision quickly blurred from panic and tears, but she fired a shot.

"Ahh!" Ruby cried out as her scythe was shot from her hands. It clattered to the ground as she turned to glare at Cinder, seething. She growled and began to reach for her weapon. Cinder pulled the trigger again, only to find she was out of ammo. Ruby grinned as she made a break for her scythe. However, she was jumped and tackled to the ground. Roman, fighting through the stinging pain, wrestled Ruby to the floor, gripping his cane. He pressed it against Ruby's throat, holding her to the floor and chocking her. She squirmed and fought, throwing punches into his wound. He winced with each blow, but held her down.

"Go…" he said through gritted teeth.

"No, Roman!" Cinder said, jamming Emerald's gun into her belt and grabbed her swords.

"Go. NOW!" he yelled.

"We're not leaving you!" Adam called.

"Yes, you are," Roman said. As he fought against Ruby, he reached and pulled a lever on the cane. The bottom opened up, and it was only then that Cinder saw that it was aimed right at the pile of Fire Dust crystals next to the firebombs.

"I'm going to see Neo again," he said. "Thank you all."

Cinder and Adam had little time to react, but as soon as they saw him go for the cane's trigger, they made a break for the door. Ruby could be heard screaming in anger as Roman pulled the trigger, shooting a blast of fire from his cane. It flew across the room and into the Dust, immediately igniting it. Cinder and Adam burst through the door as an explosion erupted.

"NO!" Ruby shouted, kicking Roman off of her. She lunged for the door. Roman extended the cable in his cane and threw it around her neck, pulling her back. Ruby choked and grabbed the cable, throwing one of her elbows into his face. She freed herself, but the blast had grown too large already. She threw her cape around herself as the only shield she could manage as the flames engulfed her, Yang, and Roman. Roman shut his eyes as the blast filled the room.

Cinder and Adam charged down the hallway and towards the stairs as the blast echoed behind them. Fire filled the rooms behind them, reducing J.I.N.N. and the freezer of bodies to charred heaps. They practically jumped down the stairs to get to the bottom, the heat growing stronger on their backs. They had just reached the exit door when a wall of fire hit them both in the back, launching them forward. They both grunted loudly as their backs were burned and they collapsed to the ground, rolling onto the dirt. Cinder sat up, wincing, as she looked at the tower shake. Fire burst from windows and doors. The walls cracks and parts crumbled. The chain reaction began, with even more powerful blasts crashing and crumbling the building they had just been in. Though seeing Beacon Laboratory fall was what this whole operation had been for, Cinder took no joy from it, knowing Roman was still inside.

A presence was felt next to her, and Cinder looked up to see Emerald reaching down and picking her up, with Mercury, his leg now reattached, lifting Adam up.

"We have to go!" Emerald was saying. "There's a ton of Grimm coming here, and Lord Ozpin's forces are heading over here too. The Crown have already left."

Cinder did not fight. She got up and, ignoring the pain in her body, ran as fast as she could alongside her allies.

"Where's Roman?" she heard Mercury yell. She did not answer.

The fire and heat faded as they ran further from the destruction. Cinder could hear yelling behind them, but was not sure if the soldiers were after them. She just kept running. She ran, Emerald, Mercury, and Adam alongside her, past the twisted trees and broken buildings. They fled into the waste, barely taking in their surroundings, just trying to get as far away as possible. They turned down a street, then skidded to a halt. There was someone blocking their path.

It was a dirty, disheveled looking man with a messy beard and dressed almost entirely in grey. Even from a distance he stunk of booze. Most concerning, however, was the large scythe he had in his hand.

"Hey there," he slurred. "I'm gonna make this quick, okay? Lord Ozpin wants me to kill you, and I'm gonna. The sooner I do that, the sooner I can go kill the Reaper and then have a stiff drink. So just, like, hold still, will ya?"

He rocketed forward at them. His speed was unlike anything Cinder had seen before. She shoved Emerald out of the way and dove, his scythe blade slashing right between two two of them and planting into the ground. Cinder readied her swords.

"Just what we needed," Mercury growled. "Another scythe-wielding nutcase trying to kill us!"

"It's not personal," Qrow said. "I have a job to do. And don't compare me to the Reaper. That little bitch will get what's coming to her."

"She's already dead!" Adam said. He pointed his sword.

Qrow squinted in the direction he was pointing and saw smoke rising from the Fortress. He huffed.

"You blew something up? Shit. That's gonna piss Lord Ozpin off. But if Ruby was killed in the process, I guess I can't complain." He licked his lips. "I still gotta kill all of you, though. It'll keep Lord Ozpin from killing me. Still, I'm grateful." He swung his scythe at Adam, who raised his sword to block it. When the scythe hit, Adam winced as he skidded back. The blow has an almost superhumanly strong swing behind it.

Cinder reached to Emerald's gun and threw it to her. Emerald reached to her belt and pulled out an ammunition clip, ejecting the old one and loading the weapon. Qrow swing again at Adam, who dove out of the way. Mercury ran up to kick at him, but Qrow quickly swing around and blocked the kicks with his blade. He slashed at Mercury, who jumped back. However, Qrow adjusted his position with blinding speed, holding his scythe horizontally and catching Mercury's foot midair. He pulled, yanking Mercury down and making him fall painfully onto his back.

Emerald readied her gun and fired at Qrow. However, he blocked it. Emerald blinked a few times to make sure she had seen correctly. The man had moved so quickly that he blocked her bullet with his blade. She opened fire, breathing heavily. Qrow spun his weapon around in a circle, blocking all of the shots.

Cinder could not believe this man's speed and agility. It was superhuman. She lunged with her swords at him, but he dodged and rammed his scythe forward, bashing her chin and making her stagger back. Adam stabbed at him, but Qrow dodged his blade and grabbed it. Adam looked at Qrow with confusion and fear as the grey man wrenched the sword from Adam's hands and tossed it aside, kicking Adam in the chest so hard that he fell to the ground gasping for air.

Emerald tried to reload her gun, but in a blur Qrow was in front of her. He slashed with his scythe, cutting her across both her arms. Emerald cried out as he used the handle of his scythe to hit her over the head, making her collapse.

Cinder tightened her grip on her swords and ran at Qrow, desperate not to lose another friend. She swing at him and he blocked. When he swung, she blocked as well, but could feel the force behind his swing. They dueled, their weapons clashing together. Cinder found an opening and stabbed forward. Qrow moved out of the way, but was clipped by the blade. His jacket tore and a small cut could be seen on the skin underneath. He huffed, as if more annoyed than hurt, then cocked his scythe back and slammed it forward. Cinder blocked, but the blow was so powerful her swords were knocked from her hands and she was sent stumbling back. She gasped as she watched her swords clatter to the ground several feet away. She began to move towards them, but Qrow stepped between her and her weapons. She staggered back, tripping on a raised stone and falling backwards. She caught herself, but was left looking up helplessly at her attacker. Emerald, Mercury, and Adam were all getting up, but they would not be able to reach her in time. She felt fear overwhelm her senses. She looked up for what she felt would be the last time at her friends as Qrow brought his weapon down.

Just before the blade reached her body, Cinder heard a loud noise. It was a crackling, zapping noise. An instant later, what looked like a small bolt of lightning came arcing over her head and into Qrow's exposed chest. He grunted as was thrown back, sliding on his heels before hitting a building wall.

Cinder looked away from Qrow and over towards where the lightning had come from. For a moment, she thought she was imagining. She thought she saw Salem, standing strong and upright, her arm outstretched and her black garments billowing in the night air. Cinder told herself this could not be the case.

It was only when she heard Emerald nearby say, "Salem?" that cinder realized she was not hallucinating. This was Salem, the way Cinder had always remembered her, standing before her.

"Back away," she heard Salem say to Qrow in her authoritative, coherent voice.

"Salem? It it… you?" Cinder said aloud, echoing her allies' thoughts as well.

Salem did not answer, but walked forward. As she passed Cinder, she gave her a knowing glance.

Qrow huffed as he dusted himself off. "Oh, geez," he muttered. "I thought you were all brain-dead. You were supposed to be the easiest part of this assignment."

"Not anymore," Salem replied. "Qrow Branwen. You were there, the night of the bombing. The night I lost myself."

"Yeah, yeah," Qrow said. "You sere supposed to die in matter of days. You really made things difficult for me. Well, all of us. But mostly me."

"You will find I have a tendency to do that," Salem said.

Qrow sighed. "Let's just get this over with." He readied his weapon, then charged at Salem with his extreme speed. Cinder exclaimed, only to see Salem move equally fast to intercept his blow with energy pulsing from her hands. Her hands glowed a deep purple, and the tow began to fight at ridiculous speeds. Qrow slashed and swung his scythe, with Salem's otherworldly power blocking each attack. He backed off briefly, then came spinning at her through the air like a saw blade. Salem dodged out of the way, his blade clipping the edge of her sleeve. Sparks arced between her fingers, and blasts of purple energy shit from her hands and into him. He was knocked back with a loud grunt before rightening himself and going back on the offensive. He slashed at her legs, with Salem reaching down and blocking. Qrow pivoted his scythe to slam the handle into her face, making her stagger back. He took the opportunity to slash upwards. Salem jumped back as the blade cut up one of her arms, leaving a long but shallow gash in her pale skin and tearing the sleeve. She huffed upon seeing the damage, then snapped her fingers. A flame sparked between her digits, and suddenly a plume of fire erupted from her hand. Qrow yelped as the fire moved on him, holding up his scythe blade to defend. His sleeves caught fire, and he jumped away to put them out, also noting his singed beard and jacket.

Qrow groaned as he pulled a lever on his scythe's handle. Cinder watched as his scythe blade collapsed in on itself, becoming straight. The handle slid up into a chamber on the side, turning into a large sword. He spun it in his hand, then charged at Salem.

Cinder was unsure of what she was seeing. Her mentor, who she long thought to be gone, was here again, both in body and mind, performing strange actions against a man who was superhumanly strong and fast. She was not entirely sure she had not been killed and that this was a dying fantasy, but she knew she had to help in whatever way she could. She stood up and ran to her swords, picking them both up. She adjusted her grip, then ran forward. If she could just distract him long enough, maybe Salem would have an easier time.

Orbs of purple energy materialized in Salem's hands, and she threw them at Qrow. He dodged them, allowing them to detonate on the street behind him. Salem snapped her fingers again, releasing walls of fire. Qrow spun his sword quickly and dispersed the flame, then began charging Salem with his blade still whirling like a fan. Just as he was about to bash her, Cinder threw one of her swords at his, interrupting the spin. Her sword was flung further away as Cinder charged with her other one, slashing at Qrow's midsection. He quickly turned to block, then swung at her neck. Cinder ducked down and out of the way before she stabbed forward, piercing on of Qrow's thighs. He groaned loudly, then kicked with his other leg. It his Cinder right in the face, and she could feel her jaw rattle and her skin pull as the boot made contact with her head. She stumbled back, feeling blood running down her cheek. Qrow raised his sword and stabbed down, but Salem suddenly appeared between the two and caught the blade in her glowing hands. She pushed Qrow back.

"Get back!" Salem ordered.

"This is my fight too!" Cinder said, gripping her sword tighter. Qrow moved forward, and Salem shot beams of energy from her hands at him. He dodged, slashing upwards and knocking her hands away. He slashed down at her chest, but Cinder rose up and blocked his attack. They pressed their respective blades together, but Qrow overpowered her, forcing Cinder to break the hold and jump out of the way.

Salem rushed in, taking advantage of Qrow's injured leg to punch and chop at him with her glowing hands quickly. Qrow blocked some of her blows, but was struck multiple times by others, leaving singes, bruises, and cuts with each blow. He jumped backwards, but Salem readied two explosive orbs and threw them after him. They made contact with him and exploded, knocking Qrow backwards and skidding across the concrete. He winced and grabbed his arm as he stood back up, groaning. He pulled his hand away to see blood running down his arms, and the rest of his body aching. Salem inhaled deeply and began blasting more beams of purple energy at him. Qrow dodged each one with his blinding reflexes, but Salem just shot them faster and faster. Qrow began to run, just barely outpacing the beams shot at him. Salem got faster, with an occasional beam striking Qrow and forcing him off-balance. Qrow growled angrily, then, as cinder watched, he seemed to vanish. His clothes fell to the ground, and in his place was a crow carrying his sword. It flew faster than any bird Cinder had ever seen, and Salem was continuing to shoot at it. Had Qrow just transformed himself… into a bird?

Qrow dipped and weaved through the barrage of energy blasts, cawing angrily. Salem was beginning to pant heavily, and Cinder noticed sweat running down her face, but she snapped her fingers and made a wall of fire in the crow's path. The bird squawked in pain as he flew through the flames, dropping the sword and emerging from the other side singed and burnt. He began to rise up, flapping his wings hard and trying to escape.

"Not this time," Salem muttered as she waved her arm. A small bolt of lightning erupted from the palm of her hand, shooting forward and striking Qrow. There was a painful shriek that sounded like the mix between a crow's call and a man's yell as it plummeted to the ground. Just before hitting, the bird transformed back into Qrow, naked and covered in wounds and burns. He struck the pavement so hard it cracked, blood running from his body as he lay motionless, save for labored breathing.

Qrow rolled over onto his back, his breathing strained and blood running from the side of his mouth. "Fuck," he muttered, spitting blood out. "I guess I lost." He panted and looked over towards Cinder. "Hey. You mind throwing me the pair of pants I dropped? I might as well die with some of my dignity intact."

Cinder did nothing but glare. However, to her surprise, Salem walked over to the pile of clothes and picked up the torn, dirty pants. She tossed them over to him.

"Thanks, Salem," Qrow wheezed. He groaned as he reached over and picked the clothes up, straining to bend as he pulled them over his legs and fastened the button. As soon as the latch was secure, he fell on his back again, panting and looking up at the night sky.

"You know," he huffed, "I've done a lot of bad things. Things I'm not proud of. Things that, even to a guy like me, were crossing the line. And I can't blame all of it on the booze. I guess working for Lord Ozpin so long… it just made me feel like I could do anything. I always thought of Lord Ozpin as a god. Hell of a lot of good that did me, though."

He turned to look at Cinder and Salem. Emerald, Adam, and Mercury stood behind them. "I guess I always had bad luck," he wheezed. "But I gotta thank you for roughing up Ruby. Hate to say it, but I don't think she's actually dead. Not yet, anyway. I know I'm not really in a position to ask favors, but if she is in fact still alive, will you kill her for me?"

There was silence, but in Qrow's eyes Cinder saw a broken man. A man she could not bring herself to forgive, but a broken man nonetheless. She nodded quietly.

"Thanks," Qrow muttered, turning his head back towards the sky. He wheezed a few more times before closing his eyes. His breathing slowed to a stop.

Cinder and her allies watched as Qrow took his final breath, then Cinder turned away and over to Salem standing next to her. She blinked her eye.

"Salem?" she asked again.

Salem smiled a familiar meek smile, and nodded. "I've missed you, Cinder."

For the first time in as long as she could remember, Cinder began to cry not of sadness and pain, but of joy. She lunged forward and threw her arms around Salem's neck, hugging her tightly. Salem's eyes widened for a moment, then she smiled as she put her arms delicately around Cinder's back and returned the hug.

"Salem!" Emerald cheered, jumping into the hug and holding both her and Cinder tight. The two other women grunted from the pressure, then all broke apart.

"I don't believe it," Mercury said, shaking his head, but grinning slightly.

Salem smiled at them all, but her smile faded as she looked at Cinder. "My dear girl," she said, placing her hand on Cinder's face, "What happened to your eye?"

Cinder sighed and felt Salem's hand with hers. "I lost it."

"Oh no," Salem said. "I am so sorry, Cinder. I should have…" She trailed off. She then looked around. "Where are Roman and Neopolitan? Are they alright?"

All smiles faded as Cinder took a step back. "They're… gone," she said. As she did, she thought about Roman's sacrifice earlier than night, and her tears once again were of grief. Emerald hung her head, and Mercury gritted his teeth and stomped his foot. There was quiet for several minutes.

Cinder was the first to break the silence. "Salem," she said, "what happened to you? What is going on? What was all that stuff you and that man were doing?"

Salem opened her mouth as if to speak, but said nothing. He closed her moth and glanced away, hesitant. She fidgeted in place, then inhaled deeply and looked back at Cinder.

"That…" she said as if straining to make the words, "was magic."

Cinder stared at her inquisitively. "Magic?" she repeated. If she had not just seen it in action, she would have assumed she was being lied to. "Real, actual magic? How long have you been magic?"

Salem sighed. "All my life," she said. "I'm sorry, but… there's a lot I haven't said."

Cinder frowned. "Like what? That you're magic? That you've got amazing powers that could have saved us? That you've been fighting against Lord Ozpin for decades?"

Salem looked into Cinder's eyes with shame in her own. "I'm sorry, Cinder. But there are more important things we have to do. That I have to do. So please…" she placed her hand on Cinder's shoulder. "…tell me everything."

There was a long pause. Emerald, Mercury, and Adam all watched as Cinder stood still, her head down. Suddenly, all of their eyes widened in shock as Cinder reached up with her right hand and brushed Salem's hand off of her shoulder. Cinder looked up with tears in her eye and an angry expression.

"You first."

END OF VOLUME 2