Chapter 28: Rubicon

Five minutes seemed to pass more quickly, in the moments before the final leg of the trip to Beacon was scheduled to begin, than it had at any point during the day's journey from Vale. The anticipation and anxiety built as the time to depart drew near. For the younger huntsmen in the group, adrenaline acted as a fuel that would hopefully propel them through the final leg of their trip. They didn't know exactly what to expect. Lectures and sparring had prepared them tactically and fundamentally, but the practical application of their skills within the arena of a life or death situation was an a mostly unknown commodity.

Their participation in the Battle of Beacon was a taste of what life as a huntsman could be. Even then, they had fought alongside several other teams. This was the real thing. Actual field work alongside an actual huntsman. It was unfortunate that the circumstances did not allow them to function as a team. They would have been much more comfortable that way, but the presence of two veterans helped to break the aura of unfamiliarity.

Port had been down this road before, both literally and figuratively speaking. This was Beacon. He had spent many years in and around the campus. When he wasn't teaching, he hunted. These woods were not foreign to him. Presently, he had taken up a place at the edge of the tree line, and scoured the terrain ahead of them for any signs of weakness, any advantage he could make use of. For him, the key to combat efficiency was to remain calm, collected, and two steps ahead of his enemy.

From his perspective, he could see that the heaviest concentration of Grimm activity was within the physical boundaries of Beacon, meaning that once they cleared the geographical obstacles on their approach, the fight would properly begin. There were small packs of beowolves roaming the clearing, mixed with the occasional ursa. By Port's estimation, it was nothing that their group wouldn't be able to handle as long as they were smart about it.

As he took note of the areas that could cause them the most trouble, his two teammates appeared behind him. Sage was a picture of concentration. He had drawn his sword, and seemed prepared to take on any challenger. Port gave him his first piece of advice for the night, "Put that away. If we move quickly and quietly, we will not need weapons until after we make it to Beacon. Even then, I would prefer to choose our fights carefully. If we engage in a melee at the wrong time or place, we will be overwhelmed quickly."

Neptune's physical appearance gave the elder huntsman cause for concern. "Neptune. You do understand that there is almost no proper tactical utilization for your goggles at night, don't you?"

He reluctantly lifted the eyewear to their original position just at the base of his hair line. "I just... if I get near the water… Eye protection!"

"That water is literally three feet deep after a heavy rain," Port informed him. "Now? Probably not even two feet."

Sage decided to take the opportunity to pile on, "The offer still stands. I'll carry you across..."

Neptune sighed, stepped out from the cover of the foliage, and began walking towards the school. "Initiative! I like it!" Port proclaimed. He turned back to the other half of the group, looking specifically at Oobleck. A quick downward nod was all he needed to communicate that it was time to go, but his bravado would not allow such a modest show of emotion. Instead, Port laughed almost maniacally, and yelled back to his fellow teacher, "I'll see you on the other side!"

Oobleck watched the first team of three depart from their camp. In truth, it hardly even warranted being called a camp. There was no campfire, no shelter and little natural protection from a Grimm attack, which Oobleck almost assumed would be coming now that his friend had yelled at the top of his lungs in a fit of excitement. He turned to Zwei, who seemed to understand the unnecessarily dangerous situation that they had been put in. "I'm glad he got the attention of all the Grimm in the woods... " He looked around briefly, then decided, "To the trees, then!"

Sun and Scarlet stood a short distance behind Oobleck, and watched as he expertly scaled a medium sized tree, taking up residence on a branch just strong enough to hold his weight. Scarlet shifted his focus back to the mission, "How d'you reckon they'll get to Beacon?"

"They'll be fine. That Port guy's pretty old. You don't get to be that age in his line of work without picking up a few survival skills along the way. Then again, when you get to be that age… uh, yeah, I think he might be crazy." Sun's carefully constructed thought had crashed and burned, but his point was valid. Port had proven himself to be an experienced huntsman, but the question had to be asked if he saw this as a mission, or a game. "Anyway, I'm gonna rest for a bit. You should too. Once they give us the signal, we're next."

"Right… sleep. In the cold, on the ground. Got it," Scarlet muttered to himself.

Sun took a seat on the ground, crossed his legs and closed his eyes. He allowed his unused senses to rest in the background, becoming more at peace with the world around him. After a few minutes, sounds that weren't audible before suddenly revealed themselves. Leaves rustling in the breeze, a shivering teammate, a huntsman taking another gulp of coffee from his thermos, and small dog that wasn't sure what it had done wrong in its life to have reached this point.

Then, there was something else entirely, coming from the trees far behind them. What do we have here, Sun inquired to himself. He didn't move, or give any indication that he had detected anything. Whatever was out there was trying to be very stealthy. It didn't want to be seen or heard, but it was clumsy or out of practice. Either way, he correctly assumed that he was the only one of their group who had the sensory clarity to recognize such a minor incursion.

His eyebrows twitched as the realization hit him. It can't' be… No... she's not that dumb. At least, I hope she isn't… His thoughts immediately retraced his steps all the way back to the night she left. Sun recounted the petty arguing about how ridiculous it was for her to leave. He remembered the time they shared at dinner in the hospital cafeteria, and he remembered the last thing he'd done before she left. He argued with himself internally for several minutes before Scarlet's incessant nagging broke his concentration.

Did Scarlet hear it too? There's no way. Even in her condition, she's better than that. Scar's just being a baby. Whether he actually heard something or not, Sun assured his teammate that there was nothing out there, even though he knew his words were untrue. Alright, Blake. What's your game?

A few hundred yards away, the less saucy of the two groups trudged meticulously across the field's unkept, knee high grass. In the time since leaving their cover, Port had gone over basic strategy in the event of an encounter. He recommended the use of non-ballistic weaponry only, in a confrontation with the Grimm. The commotion created by a melee would be much less likely to attract more combatants than the sound of gunfire. As a result, Port was prepared to use his battleaxe, Neptune would deploy his trident, and Sage, his enormous sword.

Despite this preparation, they still made every effort to avoid drawing unnecessary attention to themselves, which turned out to be quite tricky in an open field. A single ursa or small pack of beowolves were not much of a problem, and as far as anyone could tell, there was nothing that posed a greater threat than those.

Or rather, there hadn't been anything that posed a greater threat. Port threw a hand signal into the air, then let it fall to his side, realizing that his young companions were not likely to understand it. He turned around to directly address them, but by the time he completed his pivot, Neptune and Sage had already seen it. His orders were simple, "Get down. Now!"

The grass was long enough that when prone, each member of the team was sufficiently hidden from most hostile targets. From the perceived safety of their concealment, Port was able to vocalize his disbelief. "I've never seen anything quite like that…"

He observed what appeared to be a huge flock of griffons forming a black vortex in the sky out of their sheer numbers. It was impossible to discern where they had come from, but they seemed to be circling what remained of Beacon Tower. The sight of so many Grimm in one place had stunned the eldest of the group. The younger members just watched in awe. The only thing that interrupted their exercise in observation was the large shadow cast over them by a Nevermore. As it passed overhead, it temporarily blocked the eerie moonlight that had provided enough illumination to reveal most of the threats on the ground throughout the course of their final approach.

"Uh, guys… That's not normal, right?" Neptune asked with a distinct tremble in his voice.

"I'm afraid not," Port began. "Whatever happened on that campus has obviously created an enormous amount of negative energy to draw such a large Grimm presence." He assumed that the fear created in the wake of the tournament broadcast compounded with the malevolent intentions of the White Fang would do the trick. But, even with his years of experience, Port was not privy to the information shared between Ozpin's closest allies.

Sage tried to introduce reason into the conversation, "I don't mean to be that guy, but this… seems suicidal."

The ever eager Professor Port shook his head before looking back at his two teammates. "This is not a fight. This… is a hunt!" Neptune and Sage exchanged confused expressions. "We're not here to engage overwhelming forces. We're going to make it to that campus, sweep the buildings, one at a time, and move on to the next. Have you ever seen a griffon or a nevermore fight in close quarters? Rest assured, it isn't pretty. And it certainly isn't effective."

"Now, come on! We only have a little more ground to cross before the rivers. After that, the real mission begins." Port stood up abruptly. His comrades tried to will him back down, but it was no use. His resolve was too great.

Neptune groaned, but summoned enough courage to get himself up as well. He marched behind Port across the rest of the clearing. Sage followed suit. The nevermore continued to circle overhead, but never made an attempt to engage them. Neptune was sure that it had seen them, or perhaps it was just his fear of the monster that forced his brain to think he had been spotted. In any case, each time the great bird passed over them, both he and Sage were quick to drop to a crouch. After a few seconds, they returned to an upright position, and resumed their pursuit of their seemingly insane leader. This pattern repeated for nearly half an hour, at which point they had neared the bank of the first river.

As they caught up to Port, this time he had chosen to employ a low crouch. Neptune deduced that it could not have been a comfortable position for him. He didn't look like the most flexible of warriors. His voice seemed to reflect his level of relaxation, as it was strained and at a slightly higher pitch than normal. "It's not far now, boys. We've just got to wade across two rivers… more like streams really… and then we're in."

A completely unsolicited Neptune sprung into action "I told you, I got this. No problem." Before anyone could even make a comment about why he was being so forthright about a situation he was clearly not comfortable being in, he stood up and ran directly towards the river. Neither Port nor Sage had time to argue with him. As he reached the edge of the water, he extended his trident, planted the forked end of it in the ground, and made an attempt to pole vault his way across. His form was quite good, but the soft soil on the near bank of the river gave way has he shifted his weight onto his weapon, sinking it into the ground, and causing Neptune to flail helplessly into the water, halfway across the river.

It was quite a spectacle, and under less dangerous circumstances, might have warranted a near endless stream of laughter. For a moment Neptune sat in the water, allowing his mind to absorb the horror of the situation he had put himself in. His weapon was lodged in the mud a couple dozen feet behind him, and he was surrounded by the thing he feared most, which, all things considered, was not as bad as he remembered it. Until all of the sudden, it was.

His aggressive attempt to ford the river had caught the attention of the Nevermore that had been circling for the last half hour. For the first time since appearing, it screeched loudly at the intruders below, before circling downward, seemingly intent on engaging its new target.

Neptune picked himself up from the seated position he had assumed after haphazardly attempting, and failing, to cross the river. The enormous bird landed on the opposite bank, and screeched at him once more. There was no place for him to hide and his weapon was still several yards behind him, so he began to slowly take strides back towards it trying not to make an abrupt motion that would startle it. The monster matched him step for step. It did not even seem to notice, or care that it was entering the water.

From behind him, he could hear Sage spring into action. His friend's low grunt before leaping high into the air was unmistakable. As Neptune continued his slow retreat, he could feel the artificial breeze generated by Sage's ascent. It was a move he'd used before, at Amity Coliseum… against a Nevermore, ironically. This time was different though. An attempt at decapitation would be foolish. The beast had not been worn down or disoriented by a barrage of attacks from other teams.

When he landed, it was near the base of the tail feathers, sword first. For the time being, he had pinned the Nevermore to the ground, stopping its advance. It let out another screech, this time in some form of irritation or pain, before cocking its head back towards this new foe. Recognizing this, Neptune quickly finished his retreat, and pulled his trident from the mud. In the meantime, Sage realized that he was not of much use without a weapon to defend himself, and quickly moved to increase the distance between himself and the great bird such that he would be out of its reach if it lunged at him.

In all of the chaos, Neptune noticed that Port had taken up a position next to him, apparently intent on engaging in battle with the Nevermore. Seeing this, he melodramatically lowered his goggles and prepared to attack with him. With Sage acting as a distraction, the first strike would be easy, but doing enough damage would prove difficult with just two armed huntsmen. Either way, this was going to happen, so Neptune resigned himself to it.

Then out of nowhere, the Nevermore turned its head back to Vale, becoming disinterested in the three inconveniences it had been preparing to face off against moments prior. It let out a short squawk as it began to flap its great wings. The sword that had stapled it to the ground remained in place, as did a few dozen tail feathers, but the bird itself didn't seem to notice. It gained altitude and circled back toward Beacon, screeching all along the way. For several moments it remained low and out of sight, which was time that the first group used to complete their crossing of the first waterway, and take refuge in the reeds that had grown quite tall in the delta between the two rivers.

Before they could take inventory of what had just happened, the Nevermore flew back over them, this time leading a massive black cloud of griffons toward Vale. Port seemed to understand the situation perfectly, so he stood up again, and called out to the others, "Come on! They're focused on something happening in the city, let's get the hell out of here before they change their mind!" He proceeded to charge off in the direction of the second river.

Being in agreement with Port's assessment, Neptune and Sage moved in pursuit of their leader. The second river was much less daunting to cross, and Neptune's trial by fire experience from attempting to vault the first one had done wonders to help overcome his fear. He was by no means comfortable, but in a life or death situation, he could stomach it.

Without incident or outside interference, they reached the outer edge of the campus within minutes. The angle at which they had approached Beacon meant that their arrival left them standing behind the lecture halls, near a rear door that Neptune assumed was used by faculty. It was locked, as discovered when he tried to turn the handle to open it. This minor inconvenience did not phase him. He was cold, wet and tired, and no lousy door was going to get between him and shelter. With his trident, he speared through the handle, piercing the lock, then kicked the door open.

Neptune turned back to his two companions smugly, only to see Port staring irritably at him, with a key in his hand. "What if you… oh I don't know… consult the rest of your team before making decisions from now on."

Sage took his turn to voice his displeasure with Neptune's sudden rash behavior, "You were almost bird food back there. What you did was brave, considering your issues with water, but stupid. It would have helped if you'd told us what you were planning to do."

"But… did it look cool?" Neptune's query seemed almost desperate, as if it was the only thing he could salvage from his antics over the last hour. Failing to elicit a response, he answered his own question, "It felt cool. Right before it felt really cold. And wet."

Port threw both of his hands in the air in disgust, and stepped past Neptune inside the lecture hall building. Sage just wanted to get to safety before having a conversation about how cool any of them looked. In short order, everyone made it inside the door, and they pulled it closed behind them. Now it was dark, not especially warm, and almost completely quiet.

There was one sound that seemed out of place. From their position it was difficult to pinpoint its origin, but something akin to a faint whimper was coming from somewhere down the hallway. Sage whispered to the others, "It sounds like someone… crying…"