Is anyone else getting loads of spam reviews from what are clearly bots trying to get people to go to a website and code a trolling bot? It's getting really annoying to delete all those reviews, and also really downhearting that I've had more reviews from bots these last two weeks than from people.

Anyway. Boom, you looking for this?

"All men are afraid in battle. The coward is the one who lets his fear overcome his sense of duty"

General George Patton

Chapter Twenty-Five—Engagement

"Keep moving!" Jaune puffed, dragging his straining body to its absolute limit. "We're not… far… off."

"Damnit Jaune, you can't save me," Bounty grunted, strung between Jaune and Finn, one leg attempted to hop along whilst the other dangled uselessly below him.

Jaune ignored him, refusing to acknowledge the thought that continued to wheedle its way into his mind. The thought that maybe, just maybe, this was a fight he wasn't going to win.

Jaune had dragged Bounty out of the burning wreck of their crashed ship himself, but upon reuniting with the others, Naomi had informed him, half in tears, that the damage to Bounty's leg was too great; he might never be able to walk on it again. That was the first time Bounty had tried to convince Jaune to leave him behind, but Jaune was having none of it. He and his half of Beta section had taken it in turns to haul Bounty's immobile body towards the coordinates where they prayed Cardin would be. But all of them were at the end of their strength. They could barely keep themselves running, let alone drag Bounty along with them. But still Jaune refused to give up on him.

Overhead, a Nevermore screamed into the biting air harrowing the group. Jaune spun and pulled his rifle upright. Three other rifles mimicked his. The air became full of whizzing shots and flashes of light as the Nevermore dived. A lucky shot glanced against its eye, half blinding it. The enormous bird screeched in pain, then seemed to lose control of its flight. It veered off to the side and slammed into the ground, rattling Jaune's bones all the way up to his teeth. Shakily, Jaune and the others lowered their rifles.

But the damage had been done. The Nevermore had given away their position. Now nothing could help the exposed humans.

First a howl pierced the smog-heavy air. Then another. Then a third. Somewhere off to the side came a chorus of squealing Boarbatusks, and to the other Jaune made out the screeching of Creeps. The blood-red sky was alive with the death chants of the Grimm.

Grimly, Jaune pulled Bounty's arm over his shoulder and motioned for Finn to do the same. "It's no good Jaune," Bounty muttered. "You'll never outrun them with me weighing you down." Jaune ignored him. "Jaune. Jaune! Listen to me, damnit!"

"Phil, take the front. Naomi, the back. Shoot anything that gets in our way," Jaune ordered. The group started to run.

"Damnit Jaune, you're not listening to me," Bounty growled.

"No one is being left behind," Jaune insisted.

"Then you'll die."

"Well we're not dead yet."

So the humans kept running. On and on, Jaune and Finn limped as fast as they could whilst Phil and Naomi covered them. The growls came closer and closer, slowly but surely eating up the distance between them and the humans. When they hit, Jaune knew it would be over. The five of them might be able to hold them off for a little while, but they would be overwhelmed eventually.

Yet still he continued to run, because he knew he had no other option. Because he wouldn't allow himself to consider any other option.

Until finally, the group ran out of places to go. The valley they'd been hurrying down ended suddenly with a near vertical cliff face. The surface was pockmarked enough to offer a relatively easy climb, but with Bounty's shattered leg, there was no way they'd been able to get him over.

They were trapped.

Jaune stumbled to a stop and stared at the sheer wall in front of him, terror grasping for his heart. He glanced around, desperately searching for another way out. There had to be another way. There had to be.

"Jaune…" Bounty mumbled.

"What do we do, Jaune?" Phil voiced the question everyone was thinking.

Jaune looked back the way they'd come. "We'll double back. Find another way around."

"The Grimm'll catch us," Finn warned.

"Jaune," Bounty repeated, stronger this time.

"Then we'll have to try climbing. Maybe we can hoist Bounty up between the four of us—"

"Jaune!" Bounty shouted. He turned as best he could to fully face his leader. Jaune tried to look away, but Bounty's gaze burned into the back of his head until he turned back to him. "Listen to me," growled Bounty. "Every single man, woman, and child is relying on you and this mission. My son, somewhere, is relying on you and this mission, even if he doesn't know it. If you die here, we all die. Everyone. Do you really think one life is worth losing all humanity?" Jaune opened his mouth to argue but Bounty interjected before he could. "And don't give me that heroic bullshit now, Jaune." He turned to Naomi. "Nuke, you're smart. Do the maths. One life versus millions. This is the right choice. You know it." Naomi covered her mouth, her eyes brimming with tears. Bounty took that as a yes, turning back to Jaune. "You're a good man, Jaune. Lightning and Nuke are good people. Hell, even you've got a chance at being a half-decent bloke, Flea," he tried to joke. Nobody smiled, not even Bounty. Naomi was silently crying, unnoticed tears staining her cheeks. Phil looked torn, his face a mix of anguish and worry. Finn just stood and stared, his face betraying none of the emotion he felt underneath. "But me? I'm not a good man. I've lived my life, and all I did was screw it up. If my final act can be for something other than me, then it'll be the best damn thing I've ever done. Let me do this, Jaune. Let me help you save the world in the only way I can."

Jaune stared at Bounty. Stared and stared at his friend, hoping, praying for something to happen, anything to take this impossible decision out of his hands. But Bounty only stared back equally hard, and in his eyes was nothing but resolve.

Gently, almost reverently, Jaune lowered Bounty to the ground and unslung his arm from his shoulder. It took an impossible amount of strength from Jaune, strength that wasn't measured in muscles, but eventually he stood up.

Bounty took off the belt of grenades he'd taken from the stores in Vale and tossed it to Naomi. "You'll need that more than me. Just leave me a rifle. I'll take as many of these fuckers with me as I can."

Jaune obliged, giving Bounty his own rifle and all the ammo he carried. Bounty's had been left on the ship. A howl echoed through the canyon, reminding Jaune and the others of the need for haste. Jaune took one step back. Then another. Then a third. And by the forth he had built up the strength to look away for the last time.

Jaune knew that if he looked back, he might never leave. So he didn't, not even to make sure his section were following him. He simply began scaling the cliff, and once he'd gotten to the top, he pulled himself over the lip and kept going.

Jaune Arc had left a friend, yet again.

Bounty watched Jaune and the others begin the ascent, one after another. Last to go was Finn. The man Bounty had thought he'd hated. Bounty turned to him. "One day, I hope you can understand why I left you behind." Finn's face was unreadable. "I know I can't ask for forgiveness."

"You're right," Finn said. "You went behind my back and betrayed my trust. I can't forgive that." Bounty hung his head. He'd expected no less. But still some part of him had hoped for more somehow. "But it doesn't matter. You're my friend. That hasn't changed because you did something stupid."

Bounty glanced up. Tear lined his eyes, but he blinked them away. He didn't want to appear weak in his final moments. "A woman forgives, but never forgets," he said tightly.

"A man forgets, but never forgives," Finn finished.

The two men, who had started as enemies, then become allies, then somehow become friends, looked at each other one, final time. Still Finn looked hesitant to leave. Bounty knew he needed to give him one more push. "Go on then, get out of here," he grunted. "Meet your son. You're gonna be a better father than I ever was."

Finnegan gave him one, last, long look, before Finn did what Finn did best.

Finnegan Fletch fled.

Bounty let out the shuddering breath he'd been holding the whole conversation. Now that no one was around, the bravado he'd been faking peeled off his face like wet plaster. His mouth was ash-dry. His tongue a fat wad of sandpaper. His heart thudded against his chest, impossibly fast, as if it wanted to burst out of his torso and flee its predicament. He didn't blame it.

He turned away from the cliff to face the oncoming monsters. Bearing down on him was every single nightmare he'd had as a kid rolled into one. These were the creatures of hell. The definition of evil. Every sane human had an instinctive fear of them. A sixth sense which told them that these things weren't natural, weren't right, and that they should be avoided at all costs. Bounty wasn't insane. He just acted like it sometimes. But the terror he felt at that moment was real, alright. As real and tangible as the pain in his mangled leg.

And now here he was. Sitting on his arse while the monsters of the night bore down on him, waiting for them to tear him apart.

And there wasn't a god damned thing he could do about it.

He gripped his rifle until his knuckles went white and dragged himself onto his one remaining foot, using the butt of the rifle like a crutch. If he was going to die, then he'd die standing, damnit!

"Come on then," he went to say, but it barely came out as a strangled breath. He tried again, licking his lips with a bone-dry tongue. "Come on then," he managed to hoarsely whisper. "Come… come at… come at me you… you… you…"

"You bastards," finished Finnegan Fletch, his hand resting on Bounty's arm.

"What are you doing here?" Bounty whispered, even as his eyes glistened with tears. "You have a family. You're going to be a father. You can't—"

"I'm done running away from friends" Finn stated firmly. "Jasmine will understand. When she hears I died fighting with a friend, she'll understand. And one day, so will my son."

Bounty found his throat too clogged with emotion to reply, so he just nodded. Both men leaned against each other, holding each other up in more than the physical way.

Above them, a Nevermore shrieked. A Beowolf howled. Boarbatusks grunted and Creeps hissed.

"We're not getting out of this, are we Bounty?" asked Finn.

Bounty silently watched the canyon. Then he said quietly, "Magnus."

"What?"

"My first name. It's Magnus."

"Magnus, as in… great?"

Bounty grunted in affirmation. He'd never liked the meaning of his name. It made him sound noble, or heroic. He was neither of those things.

Finn didn't reply for a while, looking Bounty up and down. Then his eyes came to settle on Bounty's, and his eyebrow twisted upwards. "Disappointing, much?"

"Bastard."

"Pig."

And in that moment, Bounty found the noose of dread around his throat had loosened slightly. Not by much, but enough for a small, fledging smile to slip out. Finn returned one of his own, equally fleeting. But they were there nonetheless. "Let's give these bitches something to remember us by."

Both men locked eyes. Both men nodded. The first Grimm came into view.

"COME AT US, YOU BASTARDS!" roared Bounty and Finn as both depressed their triggers.

Bea parried Winter's strike, then thrust her sword at her gut, but Winter was too quick. She sidestepped Bea's attack, forcing her to yank her arm back or be left exposed. A rush of blows ensured, before Bea was able to knock Winter's blade aside and back up. Winter followed her step for step down the narrow corridor.

Bea rapidly assessed her options. She needed to get to Watts, and soon. But to do that she'd have to go through Winter. That path looked increasingly unattractive. Winter was exceptional with her weapon, and although Bea was manging to match her blow for blow so far, there was no guarantee that she would win this fight. And even if she did, her aura would be too low to take on Watts afterwards. She needed to end this fight quickly. But how?

"Damnit Winter, open your eyes. Watts is using you. He started this war to destroy Vale and you're helping him achieve that."

"I will not fall for your lies, traitor," Winter hissed back.

"You don't need to listen to me; just look outside. There's all the evidence you need."

"I am loyal to Atlas."

"So am I. But I'm more loyal to humanity."

Winter attacked again, but Bea was ready for it. Bea had never been the strongest Huntress. She'd also never been the quickest, or the most agile, or the most durable. She was self-aware enough to realise that. But she did have one advantage that had allowed her to not only survive as a Huntress, but also rise to one of the most prominent positions in the Atlesian military. She was the most observant. And that gave her the only edge she'd ever needed.

Bea studied her opponent, noting every time a muscle tensed or her balance shifted. She noticed Winter's knees bend by a fraction. Spotted her sword arm reach back ever so slightly. Marked her eyes focusing on their target; her left side.

Winter lunged, an acceleration glyph making her impossibly fast, but Bea was already moving, twisting her body to parry the attack. Winter's eyes flared. A feint. Bea yanked her sword back across her body and slammed it into Winter's sabre. Electricity arced up the blade from Bea's electrified weapon, but Winter was protected from the shock by her leather grip.

"I never thought a Schnee would be so glad to be someone else's lapdog," Bea sneered.

"Silence!" Winter growled.

"Make me."

Winter's face contorted into a snarl. Her weapon clicked, just as Bea knew it would. Winter's dagger came swinging for her head, aiming for her temple. Bea was already ducking. She slammed her elbow into Winter's chin, then disengaged and swiped for her midriff. But even in a dazed state, Winter was too experienced to go down that easily. She backflipped away, then rose to face Bea again, now with two blades angled towards her heart.

An idea came to Bea. Winter was an exceptional fighter; well-trained, disciplined, and searingly fast. But she was also hot-headed and incredibly easy to anger. That temper had gotten her in trouble with General Ironwood on numerous occasions. Perhaps Bea could use that. After all, if she couldn't beat Winter with swords, maybe she could do so with words. "I thought you were trained to be a Huntress," she mocked. "You went to Atlas Academy, didn't you? I wasn't aware they taught mass genocide as a lesson."

Winter's only reply was to attack, whipping towards Bea in a flurry in steel. Bea blocked and parried as fast as she could, barely keeping up with the blur that had become Winter's twin blades. The ring of their weapons became the only conversation as Bea focused everything she had on keeping with up Winter. She was forced to back up, losing ground as Winter forced her further and further down the corridor, though that at least bought her time to speak.

"Or maybe it was at the Schnee manor that they taught you to disregard human life," Bea continued to taunt. "After all, with your family's track record for the Faunus, maybe it wasn't such a huge jump from there to murder."

"How dare you speak of my family's name like that," Winter spat. "I'll have your tongue for that!"

"But of course it's the Schnee mentality that they are entitled to take whatever they please. After all, what has your father ever produced for the betterment of mankind?" A sword swung for her neck. Bea barely managed to duck in time.

"Shut up," Winter gritted out, refusing to cease her barrage for even a moment. "Just shut up!"

"You know, I may be a traitor, Winter, but at least I can call that as my own. What are you, special operative Schnee? A name and a rank. Take that away and you're nothing. Maybe that's why you're so terrified to disobey orders to do what's right: you might actually get demoted."

Winter roared in Bea's face. Bea could barely contain the grin that wanted to blossom. She'd broken the fighter's calm. Winter was already losing discipline in favour of simply slamming her weapons at Bea. She had her right where she wanted he—

Bea's back slammed against a wall at the end of the corridor and Bea's elation turned to ash in her mouth.

Winter's eyes lit up. Bea's own widened. She was trapped. Winter brought her sabre down in an overhead strike for Bea's head. Bea threw her weapon up and halted its counter-part's progress.

Something silver flashed between them, and Bea's hand lunged forward, snatching Winter's wrist. The dagger it held angled towards Bea's stomach as Winter began to push. Bea grunted and heaved back against the slowly advancing blade, her other hand tied up with holding Winter's sabre back.

Ok, new plan.

If Winter were able to reach her gut, Bea's aura would kick in and prevent the blade from cutting her. But it would drain for however long Winter applied pressure to it. Winter could simply press her dagger against her until her aura ran out. If that happened, she lost.

Bea's mind whirled, plans forming and dissolving in her mind in a flurry of ideas, none of them useful to her situation. She scoured her brain for anything that might save her now, perhaps something related to Winter: a weakness, or something like that. A thought tickled the back of her mind, but she couldn't quite grasp at it.

Winter leaned in to their locked blades, her face furious as she hissed, "I am more than just my title."

"Then prove it," Bea growled. "Watts is controlling you. It's his semblance. If you're really more than his puppet, then snap out of it. Do the right thing here. Save Vale."

"And how do I know everything you've said to me hasn't been a lie?" Winter demanded. The thought itched at the back of her mind again, toying her with its proximity, but for the life of her she couldn't reach it.

The dagger came within an inch of Bea's torso. Her arm shook, threatening to buckle at any moment. "You don't," Bea grunted. Winter's eyes narrowed. "And I've got no way to prove it to you. But Watts is flying one of the most destructive fleets on Remnant towards Vale. Are you willing to risk me being right?"

The dagger grazed Bea's stomach. She sucked in a breath, feeling her strength about to fail. She gritted her teeth, tears welling in her eyes. She was going to die. She was never going to be able to meet her brother again, never make right all that had gone wrong between them.

A pressure seemed to build within Bea's skull, pounding for release; a fact right on the verge of remembrance.

Her sibling meant everything to her and she'd never get to see him agai—

Sibling.

The memory exploded through Bea's mind. "Your sister's in Vale," she hissed.

The knife's motion stopped.

"You didn't think of that, did you," Bea continued, eyeing the blade still held mere centimetres from impaling her. "Because Watts wouldn't let you. He told you everything would be fine, didn't he? He told you not to worry, so you didn't. Every time you'd have come close to thinking about her, his semblance would have steered your mind away from it. You've barely thought about her this entire invasion, haven't you? And if you have at all, it's only been for a few moments before your mind's moved on. If I'm wrong about any of this, then go ahead and finish me." Bea wasn't sure if she was right about any of that, but it was her best guess. And she was very good at guessing.

And judging by the sudden lack of pressure on either of her arms, this time she'd guessed right.

Winter stumbled back, her weapons falling to her side. Cautiously, Bea lowered her weapons as well. "What was her name again?" Bea asked gently. "Wish? West?"

"Weiss," answered Winter, her eyes a mix between shock and horror. Bea didn't say anything more. She knew she didn't need to. "I didn't realise she would be in this war until it had already begun," Winter blurted. "I had no time to warn her. No time to get her out of harm's way. I would have still tried to contact her, except…"

"Watts told you not to," Naomi figured. Winter nodded. "I know the feeling. My twin brother is in Vale's army. I don't even know if he's alive or not. But if we allow Vale to be destroyed, I know they'll never forgive us."

Winter looked at Bea, then down at her uniform. "I don't know what the right thing to do is anymore," she admitted. "The military is the only thing I have. I was brought up to inherit the Schnee dust company, but since joining the army my father has all but disowned me. If I disgrace myself here, then what do I have left?"

"You have your sister. Isn't that enough?"

Winter paused, uncertain. "Yes," she realised. "It is." Winter blinked, as if waking from a long dream. Bea smiled. It had worked. Then Winter looked at Bea and her eyes hardened. "Where is Watts?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hang on a minute. I'm taking down Watts."

"You? On your own?" scoffed Winter. "Don't be ridiculous. And don't let pride blind you."

"I'm not—"

"Have you noticed that Gen—I mean, Watts is always followed by his bodyguard. Hazel, I think his name is. How do you intend on engaging them both?" Bea paused. She didn't have an answer for that. "Then it is settled," decided Winter. "You and I will bring them both to justice together."

Bea opened her mouth to object, then shut it like a goldfish. Winter hadn't been back two minutes, and she was already giving orders.

The thought, strangely, made Bea want to smile. Some things never changed.

"Let's go get them then," she said.

Pyrrha didn't know Cinder. She didn't know her semblance, wasn't aware of her weapon, and had never seen her fight before. Cinder, on the other hand, was fighting against one of the most televised warriors in all of Remnant. Every time she attacked, Cinder blocked. When she feinted, Cinder saw it coming. And when she tried to break her guard up close, Cinder would simply fly further away, keeping Pyrrha at a range where she could hurl ranged attacks at her. She had clearly been watching Pyrrha for some time, perhaps anticipating this confrontation. She had the upper hand on every level.

Then there were the Grimm to contend with.

Pyrrha leapt back as flames washed over the spot she'd just been standing on. Hot breath slithered down her neck. She dropped to the floor and spun, cutting down the Beowolf at the knee, but that left her back exposed. She dove to the side as a fireball collided with what remained of the Beowolf, igniting its fur. The wolf went down wailing in agony.

Pyrrha whirled back and went for Cinder again, her sword striking for her heart. In an instant Cinder had summoned two, obsidian-black blades, knocking Pyrrha's attack aside easily. Pyrrha didn't stop, allowing her momentum to drive her shield into Cinder's face. Cinder's head snapped backwards as she stumbled from the blow. Pyrrha saw her chance and sliced for Cinder's neck. In response, Cinder merely ignited a fireball between them.

Pyrrha's eyes widened. She yanked her shield between herself and Cinder's glowing hands just as the explosion erupted between them. She flew backwards, spinning in the air and just about managing to get her feet underneath her as she slid to a stop. Whatever Cinder was using—dust, semblance or something else entirely—it was powerful.

She'd landed in the street, a department store behind her. A growl from her right had her shifting her sword to a rifle as she blasted at a group of Grimm rushing her.

It was as her attention was focused elsewhere that a fireball slammed into her chest, tossing her aside. She slammed into the shopfront window behind and kept going, landing heavily behind the store's counter. Glass showering her aching body as she lay crumpled on the floor.

Pyrrha growled a reprimand at herself. She should have been more aware of her surroundings. It wouldn't have happened on a normal day. But after a sleepless night evacuating civilians and an endless morning of fighting Grimm, this was far from a normal day.

A fireball collided with the wall above the counter, igniting the interior of the building. Flames licked down the smoking wall, reaching for Pyrrha. Time to go. She leapt over the counter and hurled her shield at where the attack had come from, hoping to buy herself some time. As she went, she snatched up a packet of nails she found off a shelf, ripping the bag open. A pang of guilt lanced through her at the thought that she'd just trashed and robbed a store, but that was soon pushed from her mind as she saw her enemy again.

Cinder rocketed towards Pyrrha, her arms outstretched to grab her throat. Pyrrha hurled her gloved hands in front of her, pushing the nails at Cinder. The tiny bullets whizzed at the glowing woman, catching her by surprise in the face.

She cursed and threw out her hand, creating a cone of fire that incinerated any pellets still coming from her front. But Pyrrha didn't want them to come from the front anymore. Still sensing the ricocheting bits metal flying outwards, Pyrrha now pulled them back to her. Cinder shrieked as the returning nails slammed into her from behind. She twisted in mid-air to try to see what was attacking her. Pyrrha saw her opening. She leapt for the woman still racing towards her and swung her sword, landing a solid blow across her torso. Cinder cried out, then careened into the very building she herself had set on fire.

Pyrrha took the time to call her shield back to her hand. She was too experienced to believe the fight was over. She checked her aura reserves on her scroll. Still in the green, though verging on yellow. Although neither Cinder nor the Grimm had landed too many solid hits on her, the use of her semblance was draining it faster than she'd like. She had to keep an eye on that.

Cinder finally made her move, though it wasn't what Pyrrha had expected. She'd been waiting for the woman to pounce at her through the inferno, or perhaps to hurl a few fireballs from within the shop. What she hadn't expected was for the ground to attack her.

It had started as a whispering, something Pyrrha hadn't even noticed. Then it had risen, evolving to sound like a boiling kettle. The ground began to heat from beneath Pyrrha's shoes, burning her soles. She glanced down and gasped. Beneath her spun a blazing pattern, like a whirling vortex. She didn't have time to think. She flipped to the side just as the ground exploded, showering her with debris.

Before she'd even properly regained her footing, a second swirling pattern appeared. Then a third. Then a fourth. Pyrrha dodged them all but felt her stomach clenching. These attacks were pushing her closer towards the destroyed store. She was being herded.

Pyrrha launched her shield into the fiery shop, using her polarity to send it careening around inside. She felt it clang to a halt on something. Cinder.

Pyrrha wound back her arm and propelled her spear to the spot she knew her opponent was occupying. A flash of orange burst from within, and Pyrrha felt her spear drop uselessly to the ground, also blocked. Pyrrha reached out with both arms and pulled her weapons back to her, but both were wacked aside as a fiery tornado erupted from within the shop. Pyrrha gasped as the entire building shuddered, then paused, then slowly, ever so slowly, began to tilt forward, its shadow blotting out the morning sun as it teetered over her.

Pyrrha didn't wait to see what would happen. She ran. Turned and raced as fast as she could. The four-story building tipped forward, gaining speed at a gut-wrenching rate. It sped towards the ground, a mousetrap snapping down on its helpless victim. Never before had anything incited such speed from her.

It was all for nothing.

Just as she judged she would make it out of the way, a fiery whip snagged her ankle, dragging her down. Pyrrha spun onto her back, watching the brick sky come crashing towards her. If the whole building fell on her, she'd die, aura or not.

She flung out her polarity, grasping at the very end of its reach. She sensed something large and metallic in the building opposite, perhaps a lift shaft. She reached out with all her strength and pulled the lift towards her…

…sending Pyrrha flying towards the lift.

If she were the magnet, her targets were the pieces of iron. Small items: Miló and Akoúo̱, would be pulled towards her. But if she attracted a larger item, or something tethered to something larger, then what was holding her back from being pulled towards it?

She always had to be aware of this fact, constantly adjusting her balance to keep herself from flying off her feet when she used her semblance. But now this quirk of her semblance was saving her life.

The building collided with the ground, sending a seismic wave shuddering through the earth. Pyrrha's pull saved her life, but it couldn't yank her away quite fast enough. A falling piece of masonry slammed into the floor and cracked. Half of it fell one way, but the other half toppled over Pyrrha. She screamed as the pillar of stone slammed into her chest, blasting the air out her lungs. Her aura just about saved her from being crushed, but it couldn't save her completely.

Pain exploded through her chest. Pyrrha gasped in agony. Tears burned her eyes. At least a few ribs were broken for sure, not to mention the internal bleeding she must have had. She wheezed in a breath, feeling for sure that her lungs were about to collapse under the weight. She struggled against the rubble pinning her down, but it was no good. She was trapped. She felt like a drowning rat caught in a cage, unable to breath, unable to escape. She fought back the acrid taste in her mouth and the urge to brawl her eyes out like a baby. She was Pyrrha Nikos. The invincible girl. She could escape this. She had to. Because if her adversary found her like this now—

Heels clicked on tarmac. Pyrrha's blood turned to ice in her veins. Slowly, she turned her head to see Cinder sauntering towards her, her eyes filled with cruel delight.

No. No, no, no, no, no. It couldn't end this way. Not like this. Not now.

Cinder strode closer. "Did you honestly believe you'd achieve anything?" she mocked, scorn oozing from her voice. "You're a fool, invincible girl. All you've done is delayed the inevitable. Vale will still fall. Man will still crumble. And there is nothing you can do about it."

Pyrrha shoved uselessly against the crushing weight atop her. Cinder now stood directly above Pyrrha, delighting in her helpless prey. Then she slowly, deliberately, put a heel on top of the rubble holding her down and pushed.

Pyrrha screamed, her shrill voice echoing across the square. Cinder grinned in pure, psychotic elation and pushed again, earning another cry of pain from Pyrrha. Pyrrha's vision blurred as she fought to stay awake against the agony. Tears bled from her eyes, mixing with the dust and grime on her face to leave clear tracks for Cinder to relish.

Pyrrha threw her gaze around, searching for anything that would help. Her teammates were out of the picture, too close to being overwhelmed by the Grimm to save her. No help was coming. She was alone.

Cinder smirked at Pyrrha, sadistic glee lighting up her eyes as she whispered, "I guess you're not so invincible after all."

Cinder stepped back at last. Pyrrha gasped in relief. But then Cinder held out her hand. The ground underneath Pyrrha began to rise in temperature, first to a cosy warm, then to an uncomfortable hot, and then to an unbearable boil. Pyrrha panicked. Aura could protect against physical attacks but could do nothing to prevent heat transfer.

And Cinder knew it.

Pyrrha felt herself frying from the outside in. Her skin began to burn and hiss. Pain lanced up from every contact point with the ground. She screamed. Cinder smiled.

Pyrrha couldn't take it anymore. She threw out her polarity, searching for something, anything to save her from baking alive. She felt spent bullet casings and shards of broken metal from the collapsed building. She summoned them all, using them to create a maelstrom of tiny projectiles that swirled around Cinder, biting and cutting into her bit by bit.

"Pathetic," Cinder scorned, before blasting the metal away with a single wave of her hand. Pyrrha desperately searched for more, but it had all be cremated or blasted out of range by Cinder's attack.

The heat intensified another level, and Pyrrha almost blacked out from the pain. She desperately clung onto consciousness, even though every waking moment was agony, and the soothing balm of unconsciousness beckoned. She began weeping. She didn't want to go into the darkness. Oh god she didn't want to go into the endless night.

Cinder began laughing. She thought she'd won. Pyrrha kept searching, hoping, praying, crying to find something—

There! Pyrrha didn't waste even a second identifying what it was. Using the very weight crushing her as a tether, she focused her entire mind on a large piece of discarded metal and hurled it at Cinder.

Something big blurred past her vision and slammed into Cinder. It was the remnants of the blast doors that had previously covered the Breach. The two went flying out of sight. Immediately the rising heat abated. Pyrrha wept in relief, not even caring about the death weight still crushing her chest, only that for now she was alive.

After what might have been a second or an hour or a year, Ren appeared in her view, worry contorting his face. He called her name, but Pyrrha could only whimper in reply. He heaved against the slab of stone holding Pyrrha down, and even though her blistering shoulders screamed at the pressure on them, Pyrrha helped as best she could. Ren finally managed to drag the debris off Pyrrha. He rushed to her side, helping her sit up. Pyrrha gritted her teeth as her broken ribs flared in pain, but she blinked the tears back. Cinder had made her cry too much already. Ren examined her burnt back, gently prodding her in places, but Pyrrha hissed anytime his fingers touched her charred flesh, so Ren dutifully abated.

Pyrrha wished it could all be over right then, but she hadn't forgotten their primary goal. She looked back at the Breach, only to realise with horror that the hoard had swollen to a monstrous sea of black bodies and white masks. She turned to Ren. "We have to get back in there."

"There's too many of them," Ren told her sadly. "We have to fall back. We're all too drained to stop them here."

Pyrrha went to argue, but then looked back, biting her lip. It was true. Qrow was trying to organise a retreat, Weiss and Blake were already withdrawing, and even Nora was slowly backing up. Ruby and Yang were still occupied with the strangers, and she herself was wise enough to know she was in no state for combat.

But even as she watched the Breach with growing dismay, a group of Beowolves broke off from the group and raced down a side street, growling their bloody-intent. There was no one to stop them. Tears filled her eyes as Pyrrha realised people were going to die. Innocents. They'd failed. Even if they regrouped and pushed back the Grimm, in the time it took to do so countless civilians would die.

The Beowolves made it to the end of the street, spotting a group of humans further down. They howled in victory. Pyrrha could barely watch as the humans turned and fled, so slow compared to the Grimm bearing down on them. Pyrrha saw the Grimm leap at them…

And watched as they turned into a bloody splatter on the street.

Pyrrha blinked. The humans kept running, not even realising they weren't being chased anymore. The humans hadn't been killed. The Grimm had.

Pyrrha looked up to the sky, and what she saw took her breath away.

Bullheads. Dozens of them, soaring through the air, a great armada swarming towards the battlefield. But they weren't Atlesian. They were from Vale. No.

They were from Beacon.

Tears filled Pyrrha's eyes again, but this time for a completely different reason. "They came," breathed Ren.

"They came," agreed Pyrrha, smiling.

The closest airship, its Gatling gun still smoking, came in to hover above the square. The bay doors flew open, and out jumped team CFVY. Fox, Yatsuhashi and Velvet immediately went for the Grimm, cleaving a path through them directly to the other entrenched Huntsmen. Coco, meanwhile, spotted Ren and Pyrrha sitting there and waltzed over.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the cavalry!" Coco quipped, grinning from ear to ear. "I thought I heard that you lot decided to take on the Grimm hoard by yourselves." She winked. "Thanks for leaving a few for us."

"I feel it should be us thanking you," Ren said. "You have impeccable timing."

"How?" breathed Pyrrha.

Coco shrugged. "You've got Oz to thank for that."

"Professor Ozpin?" gasped Pyrrha.

"The one and only. He called an emergency assembly in the morning and gave us this big, rousing speech about the world needing us today and standing up for what was right, blah, blah, blah. You know how it is with him. Anyway, long story short, he asked us all to pay you lot a visit. Thanks to you guys, I get to miss Grimm studies with Port. How could I resist his plea?"

"But… but Professor Ozpin wouldn't help us. He said Beacon was too important to leave undefended," said Pyrrha.

Coco shrugged. "Well something you said must have changed his mind. He's even got the teachers involved. Look." Just as Coco said that, four more bullheads opened their doors and emptied their cargo onto the battlefield. True to Coco's word, one of the Bullheads emptied the entire Beacon faculty onto the ground. The other three carried student teams, and Pyrrha even spotted Cardin's old team: Sky, Russel and Dove, diving out of one and falling upon the Grimm in a frenzy.

Pyrrha could barely believe what her own eyes and ears were telling her. Professor Ozpin had changed his mind. He was helping. But then another thought flashed through her mind. "Wait, who's defending Beacon then?"

Coco shrugged again. "Just about all the students are either fighting here or helping to evacuate civies. I guess I never saw Oz getting on a Bullhead though."

Pyrrha's mind began to whirl. Professor Ozpin had said there was an object of incredible power hidden within Beacon. But if no one was left to defend it but him…

As if answering her worst nightmare, a blaze of fire suddenly lit up the square. Pyrrha turned to see the blast door flying off to the side, and Cinder rising above the battle.

"Who's that chick?" asked Coco.

"Cinder," growled Pyrrha.

Cinder drank in the sight, her eyes awash with delight as she saw the entirety of the Beacon residence dropping in to contain the Breach. Then she turned and flew away from the battlefield.

Straight towards Beacon.

Pyrrha pulled herself to her feet, ignoring the stab of pain as she did so. Ren looked at her worriedly. "I need to get back to Beacon," she stated.

"What, now?" Coco asked. "You're missing all the fun here."

"Now," Pyrrha stated.

Coco's grin slid off her face as she realised this was serious. "You can take a Bullhead back to Beacon. We'll hold them off here." Coco pulled out her weapon, transforming the handbag into a mini gun. "These fuckers just crushed my favourite shoe shop. It's time I got some accessory revenge."

Ren held out a hand to her before she could leave. "Pyrrha, you are in no state to fight, let alone go after Cinder on your own."

"I'm not on my own," corrected Pyrrha. "I've got my team."

Ren's eyebrows raised in surprise, but then a small smile split his face. "I'll go get Nora."

As Ren went to drag Nora back from the battlefield, Pyrrha glanced at her aura on her scroll. Red. Not even enough to heal her of her current injuries. But still there, even if it was just a sliver. Still enough to make a difference.

This was her destiny. She knew it. To stop Cinder. To save the world. Besides, their fight had been cut short; neither had technically won it. And Pyrrha, the invincible girl, was not about to let Cinder get away with thinking she had.

Professor Ozpin stood on the Beacon launchpad at the end of the school lawn and watched the city he claimed to protect down below. From all the way up here, one could almost fool themselves into thinking it was an ordinary day, like any other. Throughout all his lives, it had never failed to astound him how much a little perspective could do for oneself. Vale might have been about to fall and the world about to be plunged into an age of darkness, but from all the way up in space, he doubted anyone would even notice. The cosmos went on. Even if humanity did not.

Finally, his wait came to an end as a raven-haired figure landed a little way away. "Cinder, I presume," he greeted. His posture didn't change an inch.

"Where is the maiden, Ozpin," Cinder demanded.

"The maiden? I had assumed your mistress would have been more interested in the relic of choice."

Cinder growled at 'mistress'. Interesting. "Salem wants the relic, but she has promised me that I may take the power that is rightfully mine."

"You mean the power you stole," Ozpin corrected.

A fireball ignited in Cinder's hand. "If you will not tell me where she is, then I will find her once you're dead and your school is in ruins."

Ozpin sighed. Why did it always have to come to violence? "Very well then." Ozpin repositioned his grip on his cane and crouched into a battle stance.

"Just one more question," Cinder purred as she levitated above Ozpin. "What could have possibly made you decide to leave Beacon undefended? Were you so arrogant as to think you alone would be enough to stop the power of Salem?"

Ozpin considered the question. "It was something one of my students reminded me of. I have lived for so long, fought against Salem for so long, that sometimes I have found myself forgetting why I do it all. She reminded me why."

"And why is that?" sneered Cinder.

"To protect the people of my city. Not the buildings, and certainly not its antics."

Cinder snorted her derision. "Then you will die protecting your precious people."

Ozpin nodded. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Dun dun dun! Finally got the Cinder vs Pyrrha match, except it looks like it might not be over just yet. And if you guys think Pyrrha shouldn't have been beaten by Cinder with only half the maiden powers when she barely lost to full-maiden powered Cinder, I would remind you that Pyrrha is shattered in this story by the time of their fight. She's almost out of energy, her reaction time is going to be slower after getting no sleep the night before, and she's already lost some aura from fighting against the Grimm. She's clearly not going to be at her peak, and Cinder is without doubt going to have the edge over her.

Fortunately, Beacon to the rescue. Now this is where I might get some flak; going back on Ozpin's decision apparently for the sake of plot. Now I do see how you might view it this way, but I promise you it's not. I always intended Ozpin to change his mind about saving Vale, and in this chapter Ozpin fully says that what Pyrrha said to him before she left their last conversation was what changed his mind. In my eyes, Ozpin isn't a shady manipulator who uses people for his own ends like some people theorise; he's a human. A human who's been living for thousands of years, slowly watching everyone he loves die around him one by one, only for him to be reincarnated, forced to steal the soul of a hapless victim, and repeat the process endlessly. And the only way he can stop this is to beat Salem. I can very easily see Ozpin becoming apathetic and distant from others after all the emotional strain he's undoubtedly gone through dozens of times. In his mind, he's been so focused on the end goal - killing Salem - that he's slowly forgotten why he even fought in the first place. For him, all that mattered was stopping Salem, and anything and everything was allowed to achieve this goal, even sacrificing thousands of lives for the 'greater good'. For Ozpin, the end always justifies the means. But then Pyrrha reminds him that the whole reason he fights Salem is to save humanity, which he sees as his 'city' (it's a metonym for the human race which he has to protect/watch over). Pyrrha made him realise that by sacrificing Vale (and therefore humanity) to save humanity, Salem has already won, and he's failed as a Huntsman. That's why he changed his mind and sent the Beacon students to fight.

That's just how I see canon Ozpin. Feel free to tell me how you view him, and whether you agree with my interpretation or not in a review. Until next time.