Chapter 12 Sacrifice
The sun was just above the western horizon when Edda handed the scroll to the headmaster.
" My report, as you wished." Ozpin murmured his thanks as he opened the scroll and began to read.
Turning, Edda gazed fondly at the two teachers who had accompanied him. " Glynda, Batholomew. We're lucky to have such grand students with us, you should be proud of them."
Oobleck smiled and took a sip of his coffee, obviously pleased that his friend thought well of his old teammate's efforts.
Glynda laid a hand on her partners arm, her concern evident in the look she gave him. " I'm glad you decided to stay with us for a while. You've been driving yourself too hard."
He smiled bleakly at her. " If I slow down, then I begin to think too much. When that happens..." he shrugged.
" You fall into a funk and expect me to get you out of it!" She patted the arm. " It's not like that's something new to me, so.."
Her words were cut off by the buzzing coming from the screen on Ozpins desk.
The headmaster seemed annoyed at the interruption. Touching the screen accepted the call, silencing the buzz. A man in uniform appeared on the screen, fists balled on the table in front of him.
" General Ironwood? To what do I owe the pleasure.."
" Ozpin, this is an emergency!"
Pleasantries forgotten, Ozpin leaned closer. " What's happened?"
The General sat back in his chair and scrubbed his hands over his face. " The White Fang! My Intelligence section had information that they would make a major attack on a Dust processing plant in Vacuo today, so I sent almost all of my troops to protect it. Then, this was just broadcast!" His hand touched his own screen.
The scene changed to the masked face of a White Fang, a transport aircraft in the background.
" Tonight the humans will learn the price of enslaving faunas! We will destroy your cities, starting with Vale, until you free our people!"
Ozpin's hand touched the screen, freezing the image. He studied it for a moment before expanding the view of the aircraft. Turning the screen towards the others, he asked " Do any of you recognize this?"
Oobleck paled. "That is a bomb! It's the same design they used to bring Grim into the city!"
Edda stepped closer, hoping he was wrong. Touching the screen he expanded the view of the boxes stacked around the device. " Those are the explosives used by Dust miners, the one they use in very small amounts, as a last resort on the toughest of rock. Four cases of it will level half the city!"
Ironwood's face reappeared. " That was our conclusion also, but I don't have enough troops left to deal with it!"
Ozpin looked across the desk to the teachers. " Professor, Doctor! Gather the available teams and proceed to the docks. Mister Odson, I would greatly appreciate it if you would go with them." He turned back to the screen. " General! Send what troops you have to assist the police in evacuating the areas closest to the docks. We must try to save as many as we can!"
The dock was filled with White Fang when the heavily loaded transport arrived overhead. Oobleck had chosen the largest available in order to get all three teams inside, but it was far from comfortable.
Jaune, Ruby, and Coco leaned out of one open door while the adults used the other, each studying the situation on the ground.
Jaune's shout reached them from the far side. " There's no room to land, even if we jump!"
Edda straightened and lifted the Dust Hammer. Aligning a particular crystal with the head, he looked over at Nora. The orange haired girl's smile matched his as he tapped his hammer to hers.
" For luck!" Stepping to the edge of the door next to the team leaders, he looked to his youngest niece. " Follow when there is room!" he commanded. When she nodded assent, he leapt out of the aircraft.
Jaune looked on in amazement as Yang stepped to the vacant spot, watching the old Hunter descend rapidly. " Is he always like this!?"
The blonde girl smiled at him. " Yep! That's my Uncle for ya! And he calls ~me~ the adrenaline addict!"
Goodwitch's exasperated voice came from behind them. " He's ~always~ been a show off!"
Ruby ignored the comments, watching until the blast of his landing had blown the unsuspecting White Fang off their feet, and in some cases completely off the dock. Unlimbering Crescent Rose, she turned to the others. " Let's go gang!"
Edda was moving towards the idling aircraft sitting at the end of the dock when the rest of his group landed behind him. The others could clean up the remaining opposition, he had bigger problems.
He paused in surprise when Jaune showed up at his side. The boy was staring intently at the flying bomb, totally focused on the craft.
" Mister Odson, we gotta get over there. Time's running out!" A large hand landing on his shoulder broke his concentration.
" Find Oobleck and Goodwitch! I'll deal with this, you bring them to me!"
When the boy had run off , he looked around for the best person to help get him through the mass of White Fang between himself and his goal.
Myrtenmaster had just been pulled out of the latest opponent when he called to her.
" Weiss!" He waved the hammer to attract her attention, then pointed it towards the airship.
" I need a Glyph here!"
She nodded her understanding before stretching out her right hand. A black Glyph appeared behind him, while a white one stood just to his front. With no time to ask what she had planned, he leapt back onto the darker one and waited to see what would happen.
The fingers performed a complicated dance before swinging around in a throwing motion. Edda exploded off the rear glyph, the forward one moving ahead like a plow to throw White Fang aside like so much snow. Rolling to a stop just short of his goal, he applied the hammer to the bodies of any remaining foes until there were no more.
The others arrived as he was considering and rejecting options. Nothing viable had presented itself yet, everything seemed to end with the possibility of harm to everyone around him.
The only plan that had a chance of working was the one he'd been trying to avoid thinking of.
' Knowing what needs doing doesn't make it any easier!'
Oobleck was staring at the illuminated face of the timer as his mind raced. Less than three minutes remained and he had no idea how to stop the countdown. He was cursing his shortcomings when a large hand landed on his shoulder, jerking his attention away from the device.
" Oobleck! Gather everyone together at the other end of the dock!"
The hand shoved him in the direction of the scattered students, nearly throwing him off his feet in the process. Recovering his balance, he raced to obey the order.
Goodwitch's first instinct was to strike out when he grabbed her arm, but the kiss on the cheek stopped her. " Glynda! I'm going to take it as high as possible and try to direct the blast upwards. Shield them all from whatever comes down! Remember...watch over them for me."
" But.."
" Go! There's no time to argue, girl! I'm depending on you to protect them!"
He pushed her roughly towards the group of students before climbing into the waiting aircraft.
A glance at the timer as he moved towards the pilots seat confirmed his fears.
'Two minutes to get to a safe altitude, I hope the engines can take the strain!'
The engines behind her were screaming at full power as the craft lifted vertically.
She was about to raise the riding crop when a hand stopped her. Violet eyes looked into hers.
" Where's my Uncle!?"
Yang and Ruby watched as she raised her face to the sky. "He's doing what he must to protect us. Now, please let go of my arm. There are things I have to do also." She was amazed at how normal her voice sounded. Hysterics would have to wait until she had some privacy.
Turning her head, she sought out the familiar white hair. " Miss Schnee! I need your help here."
Weiss listened carefully as the instructor quickly explained her part in the effort. Raising her right hand, palm up, she created the largest defense Glyph she could. Her face tightened with the effort to cover the whole group under the glowing circle. The tip of the raised riding crop made a small circular motion as a curtain of force surrounded them, descending from the edges of the Glyph to the ground.
Weiss stiffened slightly as the older woman's free hand came to rest on her shoulder, squeezing it slightly. Closing her eyes, she shut out the sight of the rapidly ascending aircraft, resolving not to cry until it was all over.
" Nononono!" Ruby's arm almost touched the wall. Yang held on tight as her sister tried to escape the glowing bubble. " Ruby! It's too late. There's nothing we can do!"
Tears filled the silver eyes that looked up at her. " But..he's gonna..!"
Yang pulled the younger girl closer, laying her head on top of the red hair as tears ran down her own cheeks. " I know sis..I know." she whispered.
Setting the autopilot, he left the control cabin for the cargo area. Lifting the heavy boxes of explosives onto the top of the bomb took more time than he wanted, but it was a necessary to get the results his plan required.
Taking the shield from its place on his back, he inverted it, forming a bowl. The hammer's control rod came out easily enough from the shaft. Placing the impromptu grenade into the shield, he glanced at the timer.
30...29...28...27...
"'I really hope this works!"
Holding the shaft in one hand, he used the other to shove the device under the bomb before releasing his Aura. All of the crystals in the hammer activated at the same time. Reflected by the bowl of the shield the combined forces drove upwards through the bottom of the bomb's case.
The explosion lit up the city for an instant.
A maelstrom of fire vomited from the top of the disintegrating aircraft, climbing into the sky before expanding into a mushroom of destruction. The base of it touched the ground below. Windows across the business district nearest the docks were blown out, those farther away cracked and splintered. In the middle of the raging inferno, a dome of energy swayed from the force but held.
Ruby's anguished shriek of loss was drowned in the noise.