After a few minutes of flying our pilot called out from the cockpit that we were running low on fuel.
" Did you think this through ? "
I looked at Veronica burned her slightly with regular flames, but the result I got was different from what I expected.
Instead of either screaming, or even flinching in pain, she gave a slight moan that sound like she was enjoying it. I quickly lurched my hand back and looked her, she was blushing embarrassed and fiddling her hair.
" Did-Did you just..."
" I...have a kink."
That was all I needed to hear as I quickly walked away from her and into the cockpit where the pilot was. I handed her a parachute before stabbing the control console of the airship.
" Are you insane ?! "
" Do you want to live ? "
That was all she required to exit the cockpit and put on her parachute. I followed her out and retrieved Veronica, who I gave another parachute.
I wasted no time kicking them both out the airship and into the forest below. I laughed at Veronica's terrified scream as she descended to the forest below.
" How you feeling ? " Jaune asked Ren who shrugged as he tested his arm.
" The pain is still there but it's not terribly bad. I just have to focus on others things while my aura fights the after effects of the flames," Ren told Jaune before looking at Nora, who was writhing pain in her sleep.
" She'll be alright, she's the toughest of us all."
" But also the most fragile. How is Pyrrha doing ? "
" She's...alright. She's alive at least.."
Elsewhere, the same was happening with Ruby, but unlike Jaune, all of her team was awake. Sun was sitting next to Blake and talking with her.
" So how are you two feeling ? "
Blake and Weiss looked at each other before answering. " We've been better. The pain is subsiding at least but the burns are there, then theirs the stitches."
" Well things are getting better, Orion is off at Atlas and with that, what Roman was planning, it's taken a huge leap back with what I guess was his best henchman gone."
" Hey where's Team JNPR ? "
Sun stopped and looked at the waiting Neptune, who shrugged in response. " Jaune's with them. Ren feeling the best out of them all, Nora is getting better but she's asleep most the time. Pyrhaa...is alive at least."
Sun ended, not knowing what was the best way to elaborate but Weiss waved it away. " Well that's good, she's a big girl. She'll be alright."
Unlike Veronica, who was flailing wildly while I falling, our pilot was panicked but controlled as she pulled her parachute and landed in the trees nearby.
Veronica landed in trees as well and I used the branches to slow my descent to the ground, only suffering a few tree cuts but nothing major.
I looked around and found Veronica, stuck in the trees and I sighed in annoyance as I had to used Muramasa and cut her down, as well as catch her.
I dropped a second later, as I heard a terrified scream and a swore as I was 90% sure that I knew who it was our pilot.
I ran to the source of the noise to see her in the trees to find our pilot hanging above a group of three Beowulfs. I broke Muramasa into it's chain and wasted no time using it to sever one's head from it's body as the other two took notice as me.
I blocked a blow from one with my new bracer and pushed it back as the second one took note of Veronica. I swung Muramasa and managed to entangle it's head and rip off it's head as well.
The last one charged at me and I side-stepped it's pounce, causing it to crash into a tree head-first. I stabbed it in it's neck, it emitted a dying wine as I pulled Muramasa free.
" Alright, just so this goes easier, what's your name ? "
" A-Ashley..."
" Well Ashley, cut yourself down."
She looked at me nervously before untangling herself from her parachute and I watched as she skillfully rolled onto the ground. I opened my scroll and sent a quick message to Cinder and the others.
" We'll be here for a while."
" Ozpin we have a problem." Glynda stated urgently as she entered Ozpin's office. Ironwood followed suit, looking rather disturbed.
" What might that problem be ? "
Glynda set her scroll down in front of Ozpin, on the screen was that of a video feed from a security camera.
It was a recording which showed four guards entering an airship and only Orion exiting, carrying a sword covered in blood. Orion took notice of the camera and threw a fireball at it moments later.
" The airship he was on, sent out a distress signal. We've found the source and a recovery team is already inbound to the crash site."
" Though I say we take solace in one thing." Ironwood said suddenly, earning looks from Goodwitch and Ozpin.
The wait would have to be awhile as Cinder had to get an airship out of the area of Vale under the cover of midnight, as not to draw attention.
So Ashley, Veronica and I had found a secluded area in the forest by a near by stream to wait until night time. I was lying against a tree in the shade while Veronica was nearby reading one of the books she had brought with.
" Exactly how long are we going to wait ? " Ashley asked.
" You don't need to know."
" This is very undignified. " Veronica complained, pointing at the rope that I bound to her neck and attached to a tree.
" It's to make sure you don't get any ideas. Just be quiet and wait."
Veronica ducked behind her book in terror and left me alone at that. Now I was awake so I decided to look over the buckler I had looted. I brushed it aside as I put it on my left wrist and it retracted into a silver bracelet.
" Veronica, exactly how would you enhance my semblance or even give me a new one ? " I asked her I got up and sat across from her.
" Well...I'm still working out all the methods but one way I've found is too, in a way, enhance your soul."
" Enhance your soul ? " I questioned her. Science was no where near my area of knowledge so I had to take her words with a grain of salt.
" Well I know it sounds...strange but it's possible from what I've researched to enhance your aura exactly, to a point where your semblance becomes an upgraded version of what it was before. For example, fire could become hotter and-"
" That's all I need to here."
" B-But there are possible things tha-"
" Don't care."
" J-Jaune..."
Pyrrha stirred slightly, feeling a piercing pain in her chest that spread an intense burning feeling through out her body.
Where was she ? She looked around the room, seeing the medical equipment in her arm and the heart-rate monitor on at the side of her bed.
The hospital. How did she get here ? She closed her eyes and tried to remember how.
The dance, she wanted to confess to Jaune how she felt, but then an explosion. Flames as dark as night entered the ballroom and danced wildly, followed someone wearing a Grimm mask and carrying a blood red blade. She escaped with her friends and returned to their dorms to change and fight this new threat.
Next she remembered heading onto the roof, luckily finding her target and shooting him over the edge of the building.
Next was a battle, one like she had never seen. The black flames were the first thing that came to her mind, the flames that she watched brutal her friends, her extended family.
First was Weiss, who was run through and shot in the same process. Pyrrha remained throwing her shield and remembering the weapon that had caused Weiss harm.
A gun-blade belonging to a student that she fought before, but what was his name ?
She remembered Blake's pained scream, that chilled Pyrrha to the bone. Next was Ruby, who played into the opponents had, being shaken and angered at what he had done to her team-mates. As a result, she too was taken out of the battle.
Pyrrha remembered the fear, that dread of someone who could do some atrocious things and not bat an eye. She remembered hearing Nora scream out in agony and the battle continue, Jaune and Ren both charge before Ren was struck by flames and the attacker use Jaune as a human-shield to block Pyrrha's shield.
It was just them and then...a sun ? No, Sun that blonde haired goof ball had arrived and aided her, while Oobleck quickly saved the others, out of sight, out of mind.
What happened next was that she and Sun fought their attacker, and succeeded in beating him back until her failed. What she remembered next...was darkness.
Then pain, an intense pain that came to quick and left her feeling...cold.
Then a name, she remembered a name that chilled her to the core and burned her very soul.
Orion, and he was leaning on the wall next to her, smirking evilly with his blood red eyes that felt like they belonged to a Grimm, not a human.
Pyrrha shot out of her bed, in pain and fear and quickly looked around her room. She was alone.
She was dreaming but the memories of what had happened were all too real.
The airship had finally arrived and I wasted no time boarding along with a tied Ashley and Veronica.
I blind-fooled them both as so they didn't know where we going.
I was just anxious to see if Veronica's whole theory about a more powerful or even second semblance was possible.
" Welcome back Orion." Cinder said as she saw our ship land and I disembarked with my two prisoners, still blindfolded.
" Looks like he's got some new friends." Mercury joked, seeing the captive Ashley and Veronica.
" One's a pilot, and the other is a scientist, I think. I picked them up during my trip to Atlas, which I had to cut short. Black haired one is Ashley, the other is Veronica. I need Veronica alive, keep Ashley alive as well, just in case."
Cinder motioned Mercury with her head. He nodded in understanding and took the blindfolds off them both and escorted them to somewhere.
" Well now that you're back, it's best to lay low for a while. I'm sure you left a mess when you escaped.
At the crashed Airship
A recovery team of Atlas soldiers, troops trained retrieve any thing of importance from salvage.
A small team of five soldiers spread out through the crash-site, night making it more difficult to avoid excess debris. They switched to the night-vision in their helmets and scoured the wreckage.
Finding only the bodies of their fellow soldiers, but at a closer they were all killed by blade and gun wounds, indicating a battle on board before the crash.
The captain ordered his troops to retrieve the bodies of their brothers and retrieve their holo-tags for their families.
With Orion and others.
" I might have left a little mess, but it's the host's job to clean it up."
Cinder chuckled slightly at the quip and waved me off. " You've done enough, go rest up while I have a chat with our new guest."
" Veronica might surprise you."
I entered my sleeping quarters and set all of gear on a nearby table, including my new buckler that I needed to fix. I had a few grunts bring me some tools to fix it and I got to work quickly.
After a few minutes, I had repaired it to better condition than it probably was before.
Instead of the rail-gun from before, it was now a darkened blade that collapsed back into the bracer which turned back into a bracelet for concealment.
I looked it over, wholly impressed with my work and that's when I heard a knock at my door. I got up and answered it too see a White Fang grunt nervously standing there nervously.
" What do you want ? "
" I was told to bring this too you."
He held out a folded note, which I knew belonged to Cinder, the only person who was so old-fashioned. I took it and shooed him but he stayed.
" So the new hostage you brought is a looker-"
I grabbed him by his throat and slammed him into the wall.
" I give one warning, NO ONE touches them. If I hear anything, nothing will stop me from making the person responsible a screaming effigy as the others watch. AM I CLEAR !?"
" YES ! "
I tossed him aside as he quickly retreated with his life. I shook my head and decided enough was enough for one night.
The next day held more interest to me. Veronica was with the nurse who were both exchanging notes and talking science things that I couldn't understand.
Veronica noticed me and stopped abruptly.
" Get to work. You said it was possible to enhance a semblance, do it."
" W-Well it takes prepar-"
" Then get to it."
Within an hour Veronica was working on modifying the rejuvenating to be used to differently. It was a prototype but none the less, she was getting it to serve a different purpose. I had to give credit where credit was due, she was my age and was more than likely considered a genius.
When she was done, it was now a moderate sized device that allowed the water to seep through and water she did, the waters looked and radiated differently.
Next she was busy going through her books and notes on her scroll while the doctors of the White Fang were busy setting up medical machines.
" I don't think this is a good idea...This is just a prototype I mean it's never been tested ! "
" Don't care."
Veronica looked at me in shock as she flipped to a certain page in her book.
" Well...First you'll need to be at your absolute best. So you'll have to go into the machine and-"
I was already ahead of her as I removed the upper layer of my clothing and entered a chamber like pod that I was familiar with, seeing as how it was where the rejuvenating water from Atlas was kept, until Veronica took the device apparently and refitted for something.
I felt needles enter my arms but I ignored them as Veronica give hurried instructions.
After a minutes, the water subsided as the pod chamber door opened but the needles stayed in my arms.
" Ok...Phase 1 done. Now the hard part."
She took several vials of crushed dust and a vial of something that I didn't know. The needles retracted from my arms and Veronica motioned for me to follow her.
We returned to my room and on the ground she drew a series of glyphs and runic sigils.
" Well sit."
I sat down in the center and Veronica poured a blue vial onto the glyph, causing it and the other sigils to glow blue violently. The lining of glyph emitted a faint blue flame and began to ignite the other lines.
" This may sting...a lot."
She had not idea. The blue flames trailed up my arms and spread out through the rest of my body. It felt like my hellfire so many times worse to point were I clenching my own fist and trying to ignore the pain.
Then the flames grew more intense and the pain virtually tripled.