Team RNJR was sleeping soundly in their new room, their weapons at their bedsides in case they had another late night visitor. Of course, they weren't exactly expecting four different attackers.
Mercury was clinging to the ledge of the building, the window of room 343 right above him. The Katakan had dug its claws into the stone and clung above the window. Amaterasu and the new Jaeger were standing on the sides of the window, waiting for the signal. The machine had detached the disk on its back and had it unfold several blades. The swords themselves seemed to be a mix of Merlot's additions and someone else's design. The Jaeger looked down to Mercury who nodded. The demon assassin then produced three strange circular devices with runes written on them and placed them on the window in a line. After pressing the big red buttons on them, the devices and runes began to glow and radiate heat. Soon, the glass began to melt and flow down the side of building. The Jaeger then shimmied over to the open window and silently stepped into the room. Amaterasu extend a hand and pulled Mercury up before entering herself with the grey-haired assassin following. The last to enter was the Katakan, turning invisible before entering. The vampire sniffed the air and lumbered over to Nora's bed.
Mercury looked at the vampire as it stood there licking its lips. He rolled his eyes figuring that this would be like those bad vampire stories Emerald read. He then felt his Scroll vibrate and pulled it out to see information about the Katakan sent to him from Amaterasu. Somehow the robot had figured out what he wanted to ask. Apparently, real vampires were less into biting people's necks and more into ripping them apart and slurping up the mess. Unfortunately for Mercury, this info came complete with pictures.
Oooooooookayyyyyyy...that's gross, Mercury thought as he saw the image of a Katakan slurping up the crimson mess of blood that he saw was from about five different corpses. He's seen the mess Grimm could make when they killed someone but this was on a whole new level. He quickly put the device away and walked up to the side of Ruby's bed. The silver haired assassin smirked as he remembered that day in the Amity Colosseum. It was just him and her, no oversized scythe, and once he fired a blast at her scroll, no help. She only managed to survive because he thought it better to let her just sit there after seeing the weird robot girl from Atlas ripped apart by the Invincible Girl. Now he'll get to finally kill this pest.
Amaterasu was about walk up to the same bed but stopped when she saw Mercury walk up to it. She then quickly turned on her heel and walked over to the bed Jaune was sleeping in. Her blades began to silently revolve around the disk, going faster and faster. She drew her arm back and waited for the signal to deliver the killing blow.
The Jaeger took position next to Ren's bed and drew his red blade. He stood there for a moment, his eyes darting about Ren's sleeping form to find the right place to thrust blade down into. Where would his blade cause the most pain, the most blood loss, and would make the most satisfying kill? He decided that he would thrust into Ren's neck so he moved his blade right above the spot, the tip of the sword mere inches away.
Mercury turned his head to his three companions and nodded. He was getting ready to kick at Ruby's head, a shot that probably would've taken the sleeping reaper's head off. It would have...if it was ever fired. Before the assassins could make their kills, the sound of glass breaking could be heard, making Mercury turn to try and find the source of the noise. It came from outside. By the time he turned back, a kick connected to his jaw and sent him stumbling back.
"AH DAMN IT!" Mercury shouted. He rubbed his jaw as he heard the sound of machinery moving and transforming, and the signature click of a clip being loaded into a high caliber sniper.
Amaterasu heard Mercury shout and tried to quickly thrust her sawblade down into Jaune's torso only for a quick move from Jaune to knock the blade aside and imbed it into the wall. Amaterasu quickly dislodged the weapon and took a stance, ready to fight the blonde knight. Jaune quickly drew Coreca Mors and got ready as well.
The Jaeger was caught off guard when he heard the sound of impact from a blow to the jaw and didn't notice Ren quickly reach for StormFlower. Before he could turn back to his target, the demonic assassin found himself being riddled with Dust bullets. The armor was thick enough to protect him from any major harm but that didn't mean the barrage didn't affect him. He staggered back as each shot hit him in a different spot, sparking off of his armor. "So there are more of you…how many exactly?" Ren said as he stopped the barrage and got into a combat-ready stance.
The Jaeger grunted as he leveled his blade at Ren in a stance very reminiscent to Adam's and then responded in a deep voice, "Enough to get the job done...human."
The Katakan was surprised by the sudden attack on the leader of its team. Before it could react though, the vampiric creature suddenly felt something tossed over it. It wasn't something tight and course, like the net used to capture it, rather it was soft and smooth. And...white? Whatever it was, the vampire quickly tore through it and screeched. In front of it, stood Nora with her hammer at the ready and her head tilted to the left. "Soooooo guessing your Semblance is invisibility. Cool as that is...I gotta knock some sense into you pal," the redhead said.
If the vampire hadn't been "encouraged" not to talk, it would've said that this person is annoying. It dropped its invisibility and hissed at the girl, claws at the ready. When the creature decloaked, Nora's teal eyes went wide. "Woooooooooooah...hey Ren! You may have gotten a demonic samurai to play with but I'm PRETTY sure I got a vampire! Oh wait...ohhhhhh I don't have garlic, holy water, or stakes. Ah well, guess I need to improvise!"
Internally, the katakan wanted to just scream at this girl for her lack of knowledge on true vampires. Garlic, stakes? This wasn't some novel, this was real life...and the katakan would remind her of that by taking her life away. The monster roared and pounced at Nora, only for it to be smacked out of the window by a single swing from Magnhild. Nora jumped out of the window after it, followed soon by everyone else.
Now, the eight were gathered in Haven's courtyard, ready to properly fight. Enclosed spaces weren't some of their strong suits. The Jaeger quickly glanced to the sky as if looking for something. He then nodded to himself, seemingly satisfied with his search. "I have seen many a warrior die in places...unbecoming of their status...you four have a luxury most don't," he said, "You get to choose where you die...and I must admit...your choice...is a good one."
"You done?" Mercury butted in on the Jaeger's speech.
"I wouldn't expect an assassin to understand how important that kind of choice is...but yes...I am finished."
"Good. Now let's kill these brats."
The four assassins charged the Huntsmen and Huntresses, each assassin taking their original target.
Amaterasu swung her sawblade at Jaune's neck, aiming for decapitation, but the blonde knight quickly dodged the strike and struck at the robot's own neck. The machine blocked it with one of the swords that made up the teeth of her sawblade. Jaune then tried to use his Semblance to increase the power in his blade and swung again but still the blade held. "What is that thing made of?!" he shouted as he narrowly dodged a swing from the machine soldier.
"Tungsten-carbide alloy with traces of titanium," the machine unexpectedly answered in a monotone yet somehow familiar voice. Jaune couldn't dwell on the thought now though, as Amaterasu bashed the weapon against Jaune's face as if doing a shield bash. Fortunately, she didn't try to impale him with the attack. The knight staggered back a bit with the robot closing the distance easily. He quickly brought his shield up as he heard the revving of the saw and blocked it, sparks flying from the shield as Amaterasu tried to cut her way through his defense. Jaune managed to get a stab in at the machine and tried slicing at its midsection. The attack did manage to get Amaterasu off of him but all it did was seemingly make her angry.
Nora wasn't having an easier time with her opponent. The vampire was fast, faster than she could track. It darted around her, going for cheap attacks with its claws, always using hit-and-run tactics. The redheaded Valkyrie swung Magnhild around her in a circle to try and catch the creature at the end of it but despite its inability to speak, it wasn't mindless. The vampire avoided any and all swings Nora made at the creature. "Will you just stand still already?!" Nora shouted out to the monster. Seeing an opportunity, the vampire rushed in and grabbed Nora from behind.
"Woah! Hey! No touching buddy!" the redhead shouted at the vampire. The creature hissed and was ready to bite down on her neck. Despite Nora's struggling, she couldn't escape the Katakan's grasp.
Ren was currently locking blades with the Jaeger. The demon's massive red sword pressing and sparking against the bayonets of StormFlower. The Jaeger removed his blade and kicked Ren away. He quickly closed the distance and delivered a flurry of strikes at Ren. The young Huntsmen was able to either dodge or parry the blows as they came. "I will admit," the Jaeger said as he continued swinging, "your skill is admirable yet you use it for a cause that will bring you down a path that ends in your death at the hands of Belail!"
"Perhaps...perhaps not," Ren responded as he continued to parry the strikes, "but if I die, knowing that Belail will fall because of such a sacrifice and that sacrifice is remembered...that will be enough."
"Humility," the Jaeger swings his blade at Ren's head but it's blocked, "loyalty," the demon tried throwing a right hook to Ren's jaw to stagger him but was stopped when Ren kicked him in the chest, "the skills you possess…yes...you could pass."
"What are you talking about?" Ren said as he blocked another swing from the Jaeger.
"Thanks to you and your comrades...I now have an open position for a new apprentice. Normally I'd have to search long and hard for a new Jaeger...for they would need to be worthy of Belial's grace...but this time...is different. I think I've already found the new Jaeger Initiate."
Meanwhile, Ruby narrowly dodged one of Mercury's shotgun blasts. The grey haired assassin fired a constant barrage of shots to keep Ruby at a distance and to keep her moving. After all, if he could keep her away and constantly moving, she wouldn't be able to attack him. Soon though, he lost track of her, though there was a suspicious group of rose petals falling to the ground. Mercury looked around for a bit until he got kicked in the back by Ruby and sent flying.
"You little BRAT!" Mercury shouted as he stopped himself. He rushed Ruby and delivered a flurry of kicks at the red-cloaked reaper. She managed to duck under and dodge some of them but others connected and hit hard. Ruby, out of reflex, sliced at Mercury's leg but only managed to cut his pant leg, revealing his prosthetic. Her eyes widened in shock a bit as she saw the metal. "Great...thanks for that kid," Mercury sarcastically remarked as he readied another kick. The attack connected with Ruby's chest and sent her flying.
"Gotcha!" the assassin shouted proudly as Ruby went through a wall with a loud crash. He smirked as he ran over to where she made impact, intent on finishing her off before she could recover. A streak of red was easy to spot in the mounds of grey debris. The assassin closed in on his target and aimed at her head. "Well...it's been fun Red but it looks like you don't get your happy ending."
Ruby was still trying to get her bearings when she saw Mercury aiming at her head. Her eyes widened in fear as she realized that all that kept her from joining her mother was one quick blast from this assassin. But before he could put an end to her, Mercury was suddenly kicked in the side of the head by someone and sent flying. Mercury rubbed the side of his head as he got back up to his feet, ready to continue the fight with whoever just kicked him. Except when he looked for his attacker, he saw her.
"Oh crap…" was all Mercury could muster due to the sheer amount of fear he felt because standing in front of him was none other than Cinder Fall herself. Something interesting about her though was that she was currently wearing the outfit she had used during the Vytal Festival, which consisted of grey pants and boots, a beige leather, sleeveless jacket with light-beige details, brown gloves, a sarashi tied around her chest and another around her hips, and a pauldron on her left shoulder, along with a belt with several brown pouches attached to it.
"Guess the boss man was right about you being here," the assassin mumbled, switching back to his usual snarky attitude.
"He must have lost some of his intelligence if he believes you'll succeed in killing her when even I couldn't," the new Fall Maiden retorted as she summoned her two glass blades, resembling Moorish scimitars.
Ruby was still shocked that Cinder had just saved her life. The woman she and her friends were hunting was standing right in front of her, putting herself in harm's way to save her mortal enemy. Maybe Ruby was thinking too much into it and this was just the Fall Maiden's tactical prowess at work. But if it was, then why let her live when Mercury could've rid her of one more annoyance?
"Go," came Cinder's voice interrupting Ruby's thoughts, "Valkyrie needs help with the vampire. Use its hearing against it. Deafen it."
As much as Ruby wanted to argue, Cinder made a good point. From what she remembered, Nora was in the vampire's vice-like grip and couldn't get free.
"Don't think you're getting away again Cinder," the red-cloaked girl said as she got to her feet and ran out to help Nora.
"I don't plan on running little Rose."
"Well it's about time you stopped and faced the music," Mercury retorted as he got ready.
"It was unavoidable...no one can run forever."
"Well you got that right bitch!" the assassin shouted as he rushed his one-time partner. The Fall Maiden rushed towards her one-time subordinate and swung her blades in a sideways arc at his head. Mercury brought his right leg to block the attack and moved the blades to the side. He jumped up and opened fire, launching a barrage of shots at Cinder. The black haired woman swung her blades in multiple directions, slashing the blasts in half. She then deconstructed her swords and used the glass to reform into her bow and three arrows already notched. She pulled back and fired the three at Mercury, the arrows homing in on him as if they were guided, probably by her Aura. Mercury blasted himself further into the air and tried firing at the arrows, ready to shatter them. However, the arrows deconstructed, the shards moving around the blasts, then reforming and striking Mercury. Two of the arrows went right into his prosthetic, shredding the metal and wires and causing sparks and even Dust to spark and leak out of the wound. The third arrow impacts right into Mercury's shoulder. The assassin shouted in pain as he fell to the ground, gripping his shoulder, blood now coating his hand. He grabbed the arrow's shaft and ripped it out of his shoulder, then removed the two arrows in his leg. He slowly got back up on his feet, ready to continue.
Hearing Cinder and Mercury fight, Ruby launched herself at the vampire holding Nora and kicked it in the side of the head. The creature let the girl free, its ears ringing from the impact.
"Thanks for the assist Rubes!" Nora called out, putting a hand to her neck to make sure she wasn't bitten. The redhead sighed in relief as she saw that her hand was clear of any crimson liquid.
"Nora, we need to deafen this thing," the red reaper explained to Nora.
"Cause he's a bat?"
"Yeah."
"Hmmm….I think I got an idea. We need to get that thing to chase us!"
"Ok how?"
"Ha! Let me!"
The Katakan shook its head, finally overcoming the sudden shock when it heard someone call out to it.
"Yoo-hoo! Batman! Over here!" Nora shouted, "Come on, you call yourself a vampire? You're just like any other Grimm I've killed! Only thing special about you is that you can go invisible! And even then people can still do that with Semblances! If you're really a vampire you'da killed us by now!" Nora was just taunting the vampire at this point, trying to get it angry. The taunting was complete when she turned around and slapped her rear while shouting, "An ACTUAL bat is scarier than you!"
That was it. The Katakan snapped and roared in outrage and as it rushed Nora and Ruby.
"Awesome! Step one worked! Now for step two: run like hell!"
"Already on it!" Ruby said as she grabbed Nora and pulled her after her, activating her Semblance.
"Wheeeeeeee!" the redhead shouts as the two Huntresses speed off, the Katakan right behind them.
The two of them had managed to get ahead of the Katakan, though they were certain it had still followed them. "Ok stop!" Nora shouted and Ruby came to sudden stop, letting a torrent of rose petals blow past them. The redhead looks around and then smiles, running over to something. The red-cloaked reaper followed her in curiosity because she wasn't informed of the rest of the plan.
"Ok so!" Nora started excitedly, "you said we need to deafen it right?"
"Yeah."
"Welllll how about we use this?" the redhead smirked as she gestured to the giant bronze bell behind her. It was actually a gift from Vacuo at the end of the Great War and was actually very well preserved. "I lure that thing over here, you're hiding behind the bell and once that thing's in range, ring it. Oh and I'm gonna do something I haven't really done here. You get to use Magnhild!" Nora smiled. Ruby's jaw dropped at that. Nora didn't really let anyone use Magnhild in a fight that wasn't herself. Sure she'd get help from Ren or Pyrrha for maintenance but never actually let them use it. The young reaper's shocked expression then formed into a smile and her eyes shined.
"This is going to be awesome," Ruby said gleefully.
About five minutes pass, and the Katakan has reached the area where the bell is located. Almost instantly, it picks up Nora's scent and turns its head to see her just standing there, her hands on her hips and smirking as if she's already won. The monster lowered itself, quickly slicing its claws against the stone walkway, sharpening them and sending sparks flying.
"That's right," Nora mumbled, "I'm right here so come and get me."
The vampire didn't waste any more time and pounced at Nora, its claws extended and its fangs bared. The redhead smirked as she rolled under the leaping creature. "NOW!"
Ruby smiled as she took Magnhild and struck the bell. The ringing was loud enough to have awoken every single Huntsman and Huntress on the campus grounds. If the red reaper didn't know any better, she'd say the ringing reached all the way to the city. The Katakan was also being affected, just as planned. The creature's claws were clasped around its head, specifically the ears, trying to block out the sound but it didn't work. The vampire's skull felt like it was being smashed by a hundred hammers at once, or worse a hundred jackhammers. Ruby hit the bell again, making the vampire's condition worse. It's vision began to blur and its ears even began to bleed. Seeing the chance, Ruby gripped Crescent Rose with her other hand and fired two shots into the legs of the Katakan, blowing them clean off. The blood of the creature splattered on the stone path as it fell over with a loud crash.
"Nora! Catch!" Ruby shouted as she threw Magnhild back to its rightful owner. The redhead catches her weapon and grins. She moves closer to the Katakan and before it can react, she brings the hammer down on its head, killing it.
"Well I guess we got rid of the bat infestation in Haven's belfry!" Nora said with a smile as she saw lights flicker on in pretty much every room's window. "And look! We even get some back-up to deal with the others!"
Back with Jaune and Ren, both of their opponents look around as the bell tolls, looking confused; the two Huntsmen looking just as confused.
"What is…," the Jaeger began before he saw all the lights turning on.
"Our backup," Ren said confidently.
"You understand that this isn't over."
"I know...but in the end only one of us is going to be left because I know for a fact that I will NEVER join Belail's ranks."
The Jaeger remained silent for a while before letting out a deep grunt and responded, "We will see if that holds true when it matters most." The assassin then kicked Ren away and jumped back, making his way over to where Mercury was.
Amaterasu quickly did the same thing after headbutting Jaune.
Cinder was ready to charge at Mercury one last time with the intention of taking his head but before she could, the mechanical and demonic assassins rejoined their leader.
"Commander Black, we need to go," the Jaeger said, sheathing his blade.
"What? Why? I got this bitch right where I want her!" the silver-haired assassin retorted with fake confidence.
"Now is not the time for false bravado. In minutes, this area will be crawling with Huntsmen. She has us outmatched and outnumbered. We must escape while we have time."
Mercury looked back and forth between Cinder and the Jaeger until finally he cursed under his breath but nodded. "Alright...let's go." The demonic assassin nodded and opened a portal after unsheathing his sword and slicing the air in a downwards arc. Amaterasu jumped through first, followed by the Jaeger. Mercury gave one last glare to Cinder before he jumped through too.
Soon, Nora and Ruby rejoined Jaune and Ren, who were currently talking to Azzuro about what had happened.
"We're not done yet," Ruby interjected as she readied her sniper, "Jaune...she's here. Cinder's here."
Jaune's eyes widened in shock at those words and that name. The look of shock turned into one of determination and said, "Where?"
Ruby motioned to the where she was kicked through a wall by Mercury.
"Cinder?" Haven's combat instructor asked.
"The one behind the death of Pyrrha Nikos...and the one who brought down Beacon."
Azzuro didn't need to hear anything else. He drew his sword and readied and his shield, leading the other four to face Cinder. However, when they got there, they were greeted with the oddest sight. Cinder was just...sitting there, her arms crossed over her chest.
"Like I said before," the Fall Maiden spoke up, "I don't plan on running anymore." The dark haired woman got to her feet, and put her arms out in front of her. Ruby had to do a double take on this. Everyone else was just as confused though Jaune and Azzuro didn't let it show.
The Fall Maiden sighed, "Must I actually say it? Oh very well. Ruby Rose, I surrender to you."
(A/N: I'm back everyone! About 3 months have passed between chapters due to lack of motivation, busy life, exams, and just...everything that could get in the way of a story did...except for writer's block. BUT! I managed to get it done! Chapter 20! Now hopefully this doesn't happen again...key word being hopefully. Well anyway! As always, read, review, and enjoy!)