The first pirate they met took a gauntleted fist to the face. Most of his teeth were on the floor as Hector and Weiss stepped over the moaning man and kept moving forward.
"What's the plan?" Weiss asked as they slowly made their way through the corridors.
"We need to get to the crew and make sure they are safe. We can repel the invaders afterwards."
"Okay but," she quickly moved and froze another group of pirates who had turned the corner, "how are we going to repel them? Their ship is armed, ours isn't."
It was a good question. Hector wished he had an answer. He mulled it over as they made their way to the steering gondola. They encountered a few groups of pirates but none had their aura unlocked so they managed to defeat and disarm them non-lethally. Judging from their clothes and masks the group was a part of the White Fang. Weiss seemed to notice this as well.
"Animals," she snarled, "raiding and pillaging whenever they can."
"They are just people who have made poor life choices, Ms. Schnee." Hector said as he blocked the knife of a pirate who had been hiding with his hand. "No more and no less. The world has given them a bad hand and they have responded the best they can. Unfortunately they're best option appears to have been piracy."
"They've chosen poorly if you ask me." She delivered a few expert blows to some of the raiders. Her rapier flying and piercing but her use of dust left them immobile and groaning.
Hector noticed her aversion to dealing any lethal blows. "You are fighting non-lethally?"
She looked surprised. "Oh, you were doing it so I thought it was the best course of action."
Hector sighed as he grabbed a prone pirate's leg and used him as a club to slam another against the wall. "Ms. Schnee, my actions are the result of intense training and a deep personal choice. Using my abilities on the un-accused could easily kill them, so I have to restrain myself. By no means should you feel obligated to do the same when your life is in danger."
Weiss just frowned as she used ice dust to freeze some pirates and electric dust to knock them out. "You're saying that I should kill these men?" She sounded uneasy.
Hector shook his head. "That shouldn't be your goal, no. Honestly I am very happy you decided to use your skills to fight in a way that preserves life. As an individual with their aura unlocked you have the capability to inflict mortal harm on these men at your leisure." He grabbed two men's heads and knocked them against each other, they slumped to the floor as he blocked four blades at once. "But you are fighting for your life. I would not fault you for taking action in self-defense. You may be enhanced, but you are still a child and these men are not here for sparring, they are here to kill and steal."
She just frowned as she froze the floor and slid down a corridor like an ice skater, delivering blows at lightning speed. Her strikes were quick and coordinated, leaving them bloodied but alive. "This feels…wrong. I thought fighting these monsters would be easier."
"I understand what you mean. They aren't the monsters you are meant to fight. They aren't the spawn of darkness and evil, they're just people." She was just a child. She shouldn't have to worry about whether or not to kill another living person. The Grimm were a different matter completely, they were just evil in different forms. He grabbed Weiss' shoulder and pulled her back as a shotgun blast punctured the wall she had just stood in front of. A heavily armored pirate lumbered around the corner and chuckled.
"Best give up, most of your crew is in our brig and the cap'n wants to 'ave a word wit the Judge. We'll also be takin the Schnee."
Weiss hissed in alarm and Hector tightened his grip on his sword. The crew had been captured, he'd have to go and help them. But first, he needed to deal with the pirate decked head to toe in what looked like military grade body armor. It looked tough enough to handle any slashing or stabbing weapons, so Hector would have to work with blunt force trauma instead.
"Ms. Schnee, stay behind me." Hector said as he charged. The pirate got a shot off but Hector's armor took the bullets and he didn't break his stride. He flipped his longsword and held it by the blade before swinging it and using the pommel like a hammer. It hit the pirate's chest like a cannonball and caved in the breastplate as he collapsed. If Hector had to guess it would seem like he had shattered all the man's ribs. He leaned down and took the man's helmet off. This revealed a scarred, pained face with an eye patch over one eye and two bunny ears coming from the top of his head.
The man gasped for air. "I think ya broke 'alf me bleedin ribs!
Hector nodded. "That seems to be true, yes. Are there anymore of you onboard?"
The pirate shook his head. "Nah, we were he last ta board. Don't matter none anyway, we got the crew, Judge. Ya gon' ta 'ave ta surrender now." He had to gasp for more air.
Hector thought it over before taking a deep breath nodding. "I agree."
Weiss and the pirate just looked at him blankly. "What?" They said in unison.
"Ms. Schnee there are people in danger. If surrendering keeps them alive, then I'll do it."
Weiss just sputtered for a moment. "Shouldn't we try and rescue them first? What if they kill you or the hostages after you surrender?"
"A rescue attempt might just get them killed, Ms. Schnee. We need a plan." He looked down at the still struggling pirate. "Plus, there are still diplomatic options to consider." He looked around and found a pouch on the armored pirate. He opened it to find his scroll and quickly made a call.
Soon they were in the blimp cargo hold, in front of them was where the raiders had docked their dropship and broken in through the loading doors. They must have been using it to ferry people between the blimp and their airship. Hector and Weiss set up a line of tied up pirates behind them as the connecting pirate dropship hissed open and the prisoners were marched out. The antler horned pirate leading them seemed nervous, plus it was just him, where was his other crewmates? The whole thing put Hector on edge.
"H-hello Judge, this is it, our guys for yours." Right, this was a trap.
"This is a trap." The pirate's eyes widened as he yelped and tried to run back to the dropship. He was stopped as Weiss froze his feet in place.
"Please don't kill me!" He pleaded as he cringed. "It wasn't my idea!"
"What was the plan? Hector asked as he gestured for Weiss to free the prisoners. While she did so Hector practically loomed over the pirate who looked like he was moments away from fainting.
"We were supposed to make the exchange, and then blow up the blimp. Then look through the wreckage for anything good."
Hector exchanged a look with a horrified Weiss. "You would have killed everyone? Why?"
The pirate just shrugged, terrified. "It's better than tangoing with a Judge mate. Boss bull told the cap'n not to come back empty handed, so this was the best we could do."
"Where is your captain?" Hector asked.
"Back on the ship, boss bull told him he wasn't allowed to fight you. Said that he had a personal score to settle with you and he didn't want the cap'n to kill you before you met again."
"That's…wait, me specifically?" That made no sense. Why would he be so special?
"Yeah, we called boss bull as soon as we got word that a bucket head Judge was onboard. Apparently boss bull has it out for you real bad, something about running off with his little kitty cat."
The train, boss bull must have been that bull Faunus he had fought. He was a leader in the White Fang? Then what was Blake? How much trouble was she in now that the White Fang's leader had a vendetta against them both?
"Would you say he cares more for capturing me than Ms. Schnee?" Hector asked as Weiss finished untying the captives and joining him. The pirate just shrugged.
"Every White Fang member hates the Schnee's," he said, wincing at the angry glare Weiss sent him. "Ain't anyone dumb enough in our crew to have a grudge against a Judge. But for you, apparently boss bull is willing to blow this ship with everything inside just to fish you out of the wreckage."
"I thought you were supposed to comb the wreckage for useful goods?"
The pirate shrugged again. "The main order was to grab you before you sank and deliver you. That don't mean we can't get a few things for ourselves while we're at it. Though I doubt we'd find anything too good, real shame but orders are orders."
Wow, the White Fang was willing to forego capturing a Schnee and her valuable cargo just to appease their leader's vendetta against him. This was perfect.
"What is your name?"
"Raleigh, Mr. Judge, sir."
"Well Raleigh, today is your lucky day. " He broke the man free of the ice. "You have a Judge to deliver."
It actually took far longer than he expected to convince Weiss that this was the best course of action. She adamantly refused to hear him out and said that they could just keep the pirates onboard and use them as bargaining chips. She said it would serve them right, but Hector went over every possible way that could go wrong. The most important of which being that even if the captain was unwilling to sacrifice his men, that by no means meant that their boss wasn't going to order him to do it. The longer they waited the more of a possibility that became. So the plan became that he would trade himself over for the blimps safe passage to Vale. From there they could report in what had happened.
"I will be fine Ms. Schnee," he assured her as he let Raleigh put some heavy steel shackles on him and took his sword. The captain had agreed to the deal pretty quickly, their boss must have really wanted him.
Weiss just shook her head. "It isn't right. If I were stronger or-or-or-"
He placed a hand on her shoulder and she looked up at him with glistening eyes. The scar on her face looked darker than ever. "There is nothing more you could have done. This is the best course of action and you know it." He gave her shoulder a squeeze. "Keep the crew safe and get to Beacon, Ms. Schnee. There are other dangers on the way there, and they'll need you to get there alive."
She nodded quickly and with a quick sniff composed herself. "I won't let you down."
"I know you won't." He patted her shoulder before nodding at the crew. They gave him a salute before Raleigh led him unto the dropship. The injured men had already been ferried across, leaving Hector and Raleigh as the last to leave. As the dropship detached he watched as they flew away from the blimp. It flew off further and further as the dropship docked in the airship hanger. He was led outside and saw that the airship must have been stolen from Atlas judging by the poorly painted over symbols. It was a seemed pretty old too, with rusted walkways and peeling paint over every surface.
"Pretty brave of you to just give up like that, pretty dumb too. I wouldn't have done it if I knew what boss bull was gonna do." Raleigh said before clamping down a large steel belt around Hector's waist. With a press it suddenly turned blue. "That's a prisoner belt. It'll give ya one hell of a shock if you try an escape, don't matter what kind of armor you're wearing."
"How does it activate?"
"It turns on soon as you go in your cell, you touch the bars or try and leave, then zap."
Raleigh kept talking as he led him through the halls of the ship. The other members of the crew looked at him warily as they walked past. Many moved to avoid them entirely, none made eye contact. They seemed…ashamed. "Captain was told to stay put on the bridge, boss bull doesn't want him doing anything rash. So you won't be meeting him. For now you'll be rooming with the two thieves we got locked up." Others were held captive here?
"You have others captured here?"
Raleigh led him down deeper into the ship and the man just shrugged. "Sure, we got thieves, mutineers and deserters locked up. Boss bull has had the cap'n working all of us overtime doing the White Fang's dirty work. We were just in Anima and now we've had to haul our sorry backsides across the ocean to get back to Sanus to deliver you sorry lot." Hector was led to a corridor filled with cells. "Here we are, brig sweet brig. Look alive lovelies, ya got a new roommate!"
The people in the cells all perked up at the call and came up to their cell bars to watch Hector walk by. They murmured and spoke excitedly as he passed. He caught some snippets about their worries about a Judge being onboard before he was moved into a cell.
"For what it's worth, which ain't much I grant you, none of the crew feels too good locking you up. It's bad luck to have a Judge locked up, every member of the White Fang worth their salt knows that. The Faunus and the Judges go way back." He shook his head and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Enjoy the accommodations while you can, Judge. They're a lot nicer than boss bull is gonna provide." Raleigh said before heading back upstairs.
"You hear that Ren," an excited voice said behind him, "we got the nice cell!
"I think he was just being sarcastic, Nora."
Hector turned to see that he did have cellmates. One was a male teenager with long black hair tied into a ponytail. There is a magenta streak on the left side of his hair. His eyes matched the streak and his clothing appears to be Mistralian in nature. The other was a teenage girl with short orange hair and turquoise eyes. Her clothing is a mix and match of some sort, with different colors and themes. She gave Hector an excitable smile as she circled him like an excited puppy.
"Wow, you're a Judge. He's a Judge, Ren! Can you believe that? We get to meet a Judge, this is amazing! Look at his helmet, it looks like a bucket! How great is that!" She continued to gush as he friend just sighed and gave Hector an apologetic look.
"Sorry, Nora is…excitable. Plus, she's been bored being stuck in this cell."
Hector just raised his hands placating. "It is fine. I am Minor Judge Hector."
"I am-"
"He's Ren, and I'm Nora." The girl said excitedly. "You can call us Ren and Nora, oh or even Nora and Ren. You know to confuse our enemies-" She continued to ramble on as Ren sighed.
"I am Lie Ren and she is Nora Valkyrie, sir." Ah, Lie must have been his family name then. They were from Anima then, or at least he was.
"Well Mr. Lie, Ms. Valkyrie, are you both alright?"
Nora just blew a raspberry. "You can call us Ren and Nora, silly."
"I don't think he is comfortable with that, Nora." Ren added calmly.
Hector nodded. "He is right. It would not feel right using your names so formally while we barely know each other."
"Is that all?" Nora said waving away the concerns. "That's easy to fix. Just ask us anything you want."
"Would that be alright?" Ren nodded and Nora gave him a thumbs up. "Very well, how did you two end up on a White Fang air ship?"
Nora told their story, while Ren interceded every once and awhile to clear up some of her exaggerations. Apparently they had been orphans living in the lower city slums in Mistral. They had learned their skills from brawling in the streets and what they could gather from watching combat school lessons in the distance. They had made weapons and ammo from whatever scraps they could find in junkyards. Soon after they fought in open tournaments, wining prize money to keep the orphanage they were staying at open and upgrade their weapons. One day a man came to them with an opportunity. He offered the chance to leave Mistral and attend a combat academy across the sea in Vale. All they would have to do was guard some cargo heading the same way.
It had been a dream come true for them and they agreed. Only it turned out that the cargo they were carrying was actually a dozen containers full of Grimm. The man who had hired them had apparently wanted to release the monsters at the port and use the ensuing chaos as a distraction for something. Ren and Nora realized that they were being set up to take the blame and decided to do something about it. So they dumped every container into the open ocean, stole a bullhead and flew as fast as they could away from men who were trying to kill them. They ran out of fuel halfway back to Anima and that's around when the pirates had picked them up.
"So here we are, being called thieves and being shipped to Vale so that the jerk who hired us can get his revenge." Nora finished. It was quite the story.
"You two are very brave doing what you did," Hector said. "You saved a lot of lives."
"Aw shucks," Nora said blushing, "it was nothing."
Hector shook his head. They didn't realize the cruelty and anger they faced. If a man was willing to release Grimm into a populated area just to push his plans forward then who knows what he would do to the two children who had ruined the plan. It would probably be something horrible, he couldn't let that happen. "We need to get out of here."
"I don't see how." Ren said. "Nora's been trying to break down the cell doors for days. They're built pretty tough, I think they are reinforced."
Hector had to think about it. There had to be something… wait a minute. " Do you two know your semblances?"
They nodded, Nora bounced around excitedly. "Ren can make us invisible to Grimm. It's amazing!"
"That is quite impressive."
Ren smiled as he gestured to Nora. "She can absorb electricity. It makes her stronger."
Nora flexed. "If I had enough I could tear down these bars no problem!"
She absorbed electricity? Hector suddenly had an idea. A horrible, horrible idea that would most definitely result in intense discomfort and pain. He turned and reached for the bars, the belt hummed in warning. As he brushed his fingers against the metal a shock rocked his whole body and nearly made his legs buckle. As he stepped back he felt Nora grab and snap him upright with way more force than he would have expected. .
"Whoa!" She said as he watched her look at the electricity flitting around her fingers. She gave a small giggle. "Tingly." Okay, so that test worked.
"She can absorb the electricity from the belt," Ren said looking at his friend in awe.
"It appears so," Hector agreed. "I think that at this point we should making a plan. Is the bullhead you two stole still here?"
Ren nodded. "It should still be in the hangar."
"Can you fly it?"
Ren shook his head. "No, we used the autopilot to try and fly back to Mistral." That complicated things. Nora suddenly gasped.
"Oh, Denny knows how to fly!"
Hector and Ren exchanged confused looks. "Denny?"
"He's three cells down in between Greggory and Saint Gerome. He's a pilot who deserted before they caught him."
Hector looked at Ren who just shrugged. "She likes talking to our neighbors to pass the time." That made sense, he was going to free the others anyway but this made his plan pan out way easier. He just hoped he would be able to pull the first part off.
"Okay, together we will get Denny and the others to that Bullhead. Afterwards I will head up to the deck and cause enough trouble to distract them. That should give you a window to launch the bullhead from the hangar and escape."
Ren and Nora exchanged worried looks before he spoke. "What about you?"
What about him? "I'm going to try my best to tear this ship from the sky, maybe then I can have these men give a peaceful surrender. Are you two ready?"
They reluctantly nodded and Hector went to the bars. He took a deep breath and felt Nora's palm on the small of his back. He gritted his teeth and braced himself as he reached forward and grabbed the bars with both hands. The pain was simultaneously excruciating and all encompassing. He felt the electricity arc through his hands and tear at his body. His mouth had clenched shut and he couldn't even scream if he tried. It took all of his willpower to wrench his hands free and fall back.
"Judge," Ren ran beside him and help make sure he didn't collapse, "are you alright."
No, absolutely not. "I will be fine," he gasped out. "Is she ready?"
The sound of steel twisting terrain brought their attention to the new hole in the cell door. Nora on the other side looking absolutely charged, with a manic grin and electricity sparking around her body. "I feel amazing!"
"I think she's ready."
Hector could just nod as Ren helped him out of the cell. As soon as he walked out though the belt started up again, delivering more pain before he leapt back into the cell. "Ms. Valkyrie, a little help please."
"Oh, right, my bad." She tore the belt off, absorbing the last its of electricity before going to work on the other cells Soon everyone was free and in on the plan.
The guards at the top of the stairs didn't see the fists that knocked them out coming. Neither did the patrols leading up to the hangar. Soon every escapee was armed and as they entered the hangar the unsuspecting pirates were soon driven off by the sheer amount of opponents they faced. Ren and Nora quickly found the bullhead and Dennis got to work on the computer system while the others began to refuel the vehicle. Hector went to the two as they seemed to find their weapons inside a lock box in the hangars corner. Ren's weapons were dual bladed pistols while Nora had a massive hammer. They seemed like fitting weapons. He pulled the two aside as the others fortified their position.
"You two remember the plan?" They nodded and Hector reached for his tome and began to write. He tore out a page and folded it before handing it to Ren.
"What is this?"
"It's your way into Beacon Academy."
The two exchanged incredulous looks before Ren read the note. "You…you're recommending us entry? Into the most prestigious academy in Vale?"
"It says what happened here, describes you two, and has my signature at the bottom. That's a page straight out of a Judge's tome. It can't be faked." Every page was dust infused as to never fade or decay. That page was worth way more than its weight in gold. His master would kill him if he saw what he had just done. Although judging from the way that this day was going, Hector was pretty sure that there would actually be a que for his head by the end of it. "I have met the headmaster. I honestly have no idea what he's thinking when dealing with admissions but from what I've seen you two should be fine." Two more 'home-schooled' applicants wouldn't be a problem. Especially compared to the literal terrorist he had let into his school.
"Why?" Nora was wide eyed and unusually still. Her eyes brimmed with tears and a faint glimmer of hope.
Hector grabbed their shoulders and squeezed. "You two have displayed courage and integrity that any academy would be completely foolish to ignore. One mistake should not derail your entire lives." Not if he could help it. Plus, they would be much safer at Beacon than anywhere else. Maybe they could even help the police catch the madman who had tricked them. "Go to Vale and get these people to the proper authorities for protection. From there you can head to Beacon and start again."
"This…I don't..." Ren could only look between Hector and the note. Nora came in close and hugged her friend gently as she focused on the note as if willing it to stay real. Hector backed away and gave them a nod.
"Sometimes bad things happen to good people. That often makes people forget that good things can happen to them too. I wish you both luck." He was suddenly knocked back and saw that Nora had him in an electricity fueled bear hug. It was incredibly painful. "Ms. Valkyrie…pain…"
"Thank you," she said in a soft voice that didn't match the pressure of her hug at all. She let go and stepped back to stand beside Ren who exchanged a handshake with Hector.
"We'll get them all to safety."
"Good, now if you excuse me, there are many here in need of judgement." Hector walked away, and then broke into a heavy sprint as he split off from the group to complete his part of the plan. The guards along the way fought anyway they could but his armor was too tough and his attacks were too strong. Even after being weakened by the electric shocks he ahd endured they were little match for him. Soon he left behind a trail of moaning prone opponents behind him as he soon reached the door leading to the bridge. Sadly he hadn't encountered Raleigh, meaning he was still without a sword. He could only hope that he could still accomplish what he set out to do.
As he approached the door flew open and a burst of wind caused him to fly back and crash unto the ground. "Well, well, well." A voice called out just as another rush of wind slammed him into the wall. "Look who decided to show up." Suddenly the wind started him pulling him forward like a vacuum and he was sent flying before landing in the bridge.
He groaned as tried to rise and as Hector looked up to see that the bridge was empty save for someone standing over him. He wore a strange featureless White Fang mask, with two dog ears poking up from his head, an officer uniform and wielded some kind of massive steel war fan in one hand while the other was encased in a clawed gauntlet. "Who-?"
His attacker brought his hands up in faux surprise before quickly dipping into a mock bow. "My apologies, Judge. I am Fidelis, captain of the Pale Claw." Hector lounged in an attempt to grab him but he just sidestepped and used his fan to blow Hector across the room. He was rammed into a wall and fell to the floor with a pained grunt. "My, my aren't we excitable. You didn't even let me finish my bit."
Hector tried for another lunge but Fidelis dodged again sending him scrambling unto the floor. The captain just clicked his tongue in disappointment as he looked at the struggling Judge. "C'mon I wanted a fight. You don't even have your sword!" Another wave of the fan sent Hector sailing across the room. "Adam told me about you and your little fight on the train. Man is he pissed at you, not as much as he is at his wayward kitty, but still…mad pissed."
Hector tried to change up his tactics and went for a series of punches and kicks. Fidelis just sighed as he dodged, ducking and weaving through the strikes while being careful not to be touched. He leapt back and another burst of wind knocked Hectors legs from under him.
"You know, I planned for meeting you after I heard his story. I figured out why you beat him so easy too. It really wasn't that that hard, really." He knelt down next to Hector and he could almost hear the smug smile on his face as he spoke. "That Sable Energy you Judges use? It's like electricity, at least for a newbie Judge like you it is." Hector froze as he realized that Fidelis hadn't been dodging for the sake of it. This was all a part of his strategy. "See I figured out that, like electricity, you can affect people by touching them and spreading like a charge."
Hector rolled and made to sweep Fidelis' legs but the faunus just back flipped and landed on a console. He let out a small cackle as he swung a leg back and forth. "Looks like you need a conduit too, I'm guessing that it was your sword?" Hector moved to stand only to be sent flying again into the front window cracking it. "Yeah, it was the sword. You owe me a new window by the way."
Hector struggled to stand and grit his teeth when all he could manage was to barely get on a knee. "Your observation skills are superb. I can see why you were made a captain."
"Oh well, I mean obviously your right, but it's nice to hear." Fidelis leaned against the window and ran his fingers along the spider web of cracks. "You know what, for being such a good sport how about I just take your head off here?" Great, he was gearing up for the kill. Hector needed to get the upper hand, quickly. There was one option but it required time.
"Your boss wouldn't be angry with you?" He had to keep him talking. He started taking deep breaths, hoping that Fidelis would think that they were due to his exhaustion.
Fidelis just shrugged. "I have a reputation for being…intense in my fights. I'd get chewed out but it wouldn't surprise anyone. This fight's been a real letdown, so how about we get this over with so I can get back to rounding up my prisoners."
"No," Hector grit out painfully as he focused on mingling his breath with sable energy. Fidelis Knelt down next him and cupped an ear as if to hear him better.
"What was that?"
"I said no!" Hector suddenly released the energy. Letting it create a dome that bubbled outwards. Fidelis had been right, without his sword his energy was harder to access. It was harder to use, but not impossible. He could still use the sable dome for a close range burst, and luckily Fidelis' taunting had brought him just close enough to be in range.
Fidelis roared as he stumbled back into the window, the sable energy stunning him as he cringed. "What did you just do you fu-"
He didn't get to finish before Hector lunged at him and sent them both crashing through the window and out into the open air. They fell and slammed unto the deck, denting the metal and were quickly sent rolling as the wind roared around them and the freezing air cut through Hector's armor.
"Crazy son of a-" Fidelis wheezed as Hector slammed a fist into his gut. "Would it kill you to let me finish one swear?" He gasped out.
Hector responded by delivering another punch to his face sending him reeling back. His movements were less graceful and his posture more feral as the sable energy coursed through him and sapped at his aura. He stomped his feet and shook his head wildly. "Yes, yes, yes, that's what I'm talking about! Show some fire in that belly before I tear it out!"
He roared as he lunged, he looked like he was attempting to use his wind abilities but it seemed that he was too weak to overcome the winds that raged around them in the open sky. So he opted instead to send his fan out, sweeping it outward so that it scythed through the air whilst almost taking Hector's head off. It was connected by a wire to his arm so he could bring it back easily for his next attack making Hector's only options as dodge where could and block when he couldn't.
It was looking pretty one sided. Especially when one blow caused Hector to stumble and slide several feet, he could hear Fidelis laugh over the wind. "Come on Judge where's that fight in you I just saw?"
Hector could only grimace as he took in the situation, it didn't look good. The grimace turned into a smile as he saw something behind Fidelis. "It's just arrived."
Fidelis tilted his head in confusion before a bullhead roared behind him. "What?!"
The side hatch opened and Nora leaned out. She waved happily at Hector and taunted at Fidelis by sticking out her tongue and pulling at her eye. He couldn't make out what she was saying over the wind from that distance but it seemed to be good news. She reached back into the bullhead before giving Hector a thumbs up and tossing something his way.
His eyes widened as his longsword embedded itself into the deck in front of him. He gave Nora a thumbs up back as the bullhead veered away and started flying away before pulling his sword free and standing in a battle stance. He gestured for Fidelis to come get his fight.
Sword met fan and the battle raged as the tempest winds tore at the two. They had to stop after every strike to steady themselves as the ship continued to move. Fidelis kept swinging his fan by the wire which meant that Hector couldn't sap at his strength by blocking or attacking it. Hector's defensive technique was too refined though and he managed to block every blow. It seem like the two were at a stalemate until Fidelis tilted his head to hear some kind of message coming through his helmet.
Hector was confused until he saw him turn to look at the escaping bullhead. Hector could feel the hum of the cannons powering up and looked over to see that the bridge was now full. He realized that he had failed. They were taking aim and going to blow up the bullhead. With grim recognition he looked at his sword and considered one option he still had. He breathed, in and out. He drew the energy into the blade as quickly as he could, as much as he could. Fidelis was yelling something, a taunt most likely but he ignored it. He instead focused on the blade and the energy, pouring all his willpower into the act of creating more and more sable energy.
When he had enough he took one last breath, this time just savor the feeling. And then he screamed, so loud and with so much fury that those on the bullhead could have heard it. He roared In defiance and with all his power he stabbed his blade down and expanded the sable dome outwards. It spread, and it spread, and it spread until he was sure that it encompassed the whole ship. The energy left his body and he saw Fidelis stumble. He had to use the claws on his gauntlet to keep from flying off the deck. The sound of the cannons powering up had stopped. For a moment it was actually quite peaceful. The sky was blue, and the sun brought pleasant warmth that mad the winds whipping around him the tiniest bit more bearable.
And then the ship started to list.
Sable energy was the anti-aura. Poison to those who had unlocked their soul's full potential and a power defiant of life itself. Dust was not aura. But whatever it was, it was equally capable of being affected by sable energy if it came into contact with enough of it in the right way. The electric dust powering the ship and the gravity dust keeping it afloat were not exceptions to this rule. Hector had said he was going to try and tear the ship from the sky, and he had succeeded.
They began to fall faster than he had expected. So were soon in free fall, the open air rushing around them as the ship kept turning onto its side. Fidelis managed to keep his grip with his gauntlet. He seemed to be speaking into his helmet trying to give orders but Hector was too tired to care. He was just trying to keep a grip on his sword. He gripped it hard before he began to dangle as the ship completely turned sideways. He could see the ground far below them, it was forest as far as he could see. It seemed like they had reached the continent of Sanus. That was good. Ren and Nora wouldn't have to fly too far to reach Vale. He hoped that they were safe.
He suddenly felt the ship begin to reorient itself. It seemed like they had managed to reactivate some of the engines, though at the speed they were going it wouldn't be enough to prevent a crash. Those were the last thoughts he had before his sword slid free from the deck and he slid down the still inclined surface.
He blacked out just as he fell into the open air.
Hello again everybody, I hope you enjoyed this chapter cause it was a blast to write. This was a busy chapter, with a lot of rewrites on how it was going to go down. Ren and Nora being included was always apart of the plan, but they were supposed to come in after the crash and have a different segment of the story to themselves. That changed and I liked their inclusion here more, though I do hope it comes across as a smooth intro, and I am still excited about my plans for the next chapter. Fidelis is actually a great guest OC generously loaned to me by The Baz, I hope I did the character justice and you can see more of him in the fic The White Mask. In general I don't really plan on using OC's too much because the cast of RWBY has so much potential to fill so many roles as is. But when an opportunity like this one comes up sometimes an original character is perfect for the job. I'll weave them in as smoothly as I can and hopefully you guys enjoyed his fight with Hector as much as I enjoyed writing it.
For now we're still on the road to Beacon but I promise it isn't that far away and its coming up fast.
As always the favorites, follows, and reviews are appreciated. Thank you all again.