Issue #12

"Ambush!"

The word froze everything for a split second as the flaming remains of the bullhead they had been supposed to board crashed through the forest canopy some distance away. Only Jaune reacted in time, grabbing his daughter and throwing them both to the ground and shouting at the others to do the same as dust rounds lit up charred remains of the forest around them

With a clang it was deflected by Jaune's shield, bouncing off of a nearby trunk and ricocheting back towards where it came from. The girls hauled themselves up and stood in a loose circle, weapons drawn, and ready for whatever came next. A woman stepped out from behind a dessicated trunk carrying the weapon that had been thrown at them. The size of a hula-hoop, the ring had a bladed outside and purple dust crystals could be seen lining both the interior and the back of the armored gauntlets adorning the woman's hand. Her eyes were a vivid blue but besides that there were no other discernible traits showing from under the black clothing she was swaddled in. The only thing on them that identified her was Salem's red eye symbol on the black mask over her mouth.

Three others came into the view wearing identical clothing, all adorned with a red eye and wielding various weapons, in a loose encirclement. Jaune kept his shield out and guard up as he looked around at the enemies materializing out of the residual smoke. Vermilian was at his back with a similar stance. Willa had her weapon in trident form, it's forks sparking with electricity and Noel had her spear out and activated, it's unique keening whine accompanying the plasma coating the tip of the weapon, glowing bright orange. They had pushed Silvia into the center of the circle, being the one the most adept with dust usage she could cover them with what she had left, mostly fire and lightning.

A dual hook-sword user and another woman that had a flail and shield combo. The last was a bo staff user twirling his weapon in a vaguely threatening manner.

The woman with the large circular blade was the first to speak, her voice a low purr, "May you find peace in the embrace of the Goddess." She touched her first two fingers to the center of her forehead and then the group of assassins burst into motion, breaking the stalemate. There was another loud clang as Jaune once again deflected the large circular blade but this time into the ground. Like the bell to signal the beginning of a match team BASK leapt into action to meet their attackers, they weren't known for being passive. The lead woman ran at the aging huntsman, her gauntlet held out for her weapon and with a glow of purple the blade leapt from the ground and into her hand as she sprinted to clash with Jaune.

Her attacks were fluid and graceful, like she was dancing instead of fighting. Slashes came and went as the woman moved in concentric circles with her weapon, each one bouncing off of Crocea Mors' shield or being diverted by the sword itself. At the same time the others rushed in, Silvia threw her hands out after yelling at her teammates to duck, red motes danced in the air for a brief moment before she shouted, "Conflagration!" And the dust in the air ignited, shaped by her aura as it raced outwards towards the three approaching enemies.

However it was this moment of distraction the cost her as she felt something clamp down on her ankle, hard enough to draw some blood before her aura prevented further damage from the surprise attack. A flash of light blue surrounding her leg and extending out of their protective circle was all she got as she felt it pull her off her feet. She went down with a yelp and her team shouted in surprises as the glowing blue tether drew taught and yanked the young girl high into the air, flexing like a whip. Silvia let out a wail as she was dragged through the air and out of sight.

"Silvia!" Vermilion screamed as Noel let out a curse, before any of them could make to follow the three others had engaged them, the man with dual hook swords sweeping in and attempting to gouge out Willa's eyes, her weapon came up to block and the hooks snagged it, drawing her out of balance and letting the man drive his knee into her stomach.

Noel separated into two, forming her semblance as the man with the bo staff came in, though now it was no longer just a staff. Bright blue glowed and formed a blade along the haft out of hard light and the man brought his weapon down right where she had been standing just a second ago. The hard light blade bit deep into the burnt soil but the man had to leap back as both Noel's stabbed out at him, one going high and the other low. They worked in perfect sync against the man. One would parry and the other would attack, trading roles back and forth.

Vermilion's own opponent rushed in with her flail, the head of the weapon shining a dull pink with aura. Wary of the weapon the huntress in training elected to dodge it instead of taking it head on and she was proven right as the weapon smashed into the ground, kicking up an inordinate amount of dirt and soot into the air. That's when she saw her chance and the young woman rushed forward, unable to take her eyes off the direction that Silvia had gone. She needed to get to her partner. She felt the air fill with energy and everything seemed to slow down for her. There was a hum in the air and she could clearly see the attacker making to stop her, the buckler on her off hand leaping towards her face. It moved so slowly now and though her body felt stiff, like the air was as thick as water, she moved her head to the side, the attack missing by a few hairbreadths. With that she was through the woman's guard and all out sprinting in her partner's direction.

With a last glance back as her team called her name she saw the flail user reaching out to snag her collar but behind her was another looming shadow, a glint of silver as a blade descended upon the woman like a meteorite falling from the sky. Still caught in the strange phenomenon, she watched as the assassin turned and took the attack from her father on her shield, the blade stopping without sound nor bouncing off of the buckler. A flash and the flail started glowing again, this time much brighter.

Vermilion looked ahead once more, leaving them, and her team, to Jaune as she rushed to her partner.

-SY-

Silvia cried out as the wind whipped at her hair and sent her robes fluttering in every direction, even through the surprise attack she kept hold of her faithful staff, Erwydd O'Morgen, and used it to doge the blackened husks of trees as they flew by her head, she used her semblance to make herself heavier and kept on adding more to it until she slowed. At that point whoever had a hold of her slammed her bodily into the ground, disrupting her concentration and then using the opportunity to fling her into a nearby tree.

She gasped and coughed, thankful for her aura saving her life. She hadn't taken any damage in the previous fight against the Tyrants and a quick check to her scroll told her her aura was above seventy. Lucky for her, the attack could have taken much more. Staff held out defensively, she took stock of her surroundings, she'd been pulled a fair distance from her group, a good six or seven hundred feet. Far enough she couldn't see them through the dead trees and now whoever had grabbed her had her alone. A sound from her left had her whirling around in time to deflect a vibrant blue claw as a figure in black passed by her, a fifth assassin, and as he did so, his leg lashed out cover in the same glowing aura taking the form of a thick, trunk-like leg, and kicked her back.

Silvia used her semblance to let the force propel her a good distance away, lowering and increasing her own mass to gently set herself on the ground. As her assailant charged across the distance she had gained, she reached into her robes and produced her last lightning vial and popped the stopper on it. The yellow dust floated out in front if her as the man stopped short, "Lightning bolt!"

Hands held out in front of her the electricity surged towards the man and made contact with a mighty crack as the bolt rent the air. When the eyes she'd closed to protect her vision from the attack opened she noticed him almost upon her, arms crossed like an x in front of him and a blue aura solidly blocking in front of him.

A red and black object blurred past her vision, impacting the would be assassin in the side of the head and cracking it to the side, causing him to stumble. With a furious yell, Vermilion came charging up, catching her thrown shield on the rebound, and punched the man with the metal edge of the shield, sending him sprawling. With a flip the man got to his feet, apparently only barely affected by the attack.

"You okay?" Vermilion asked as she took a stance next to her partner.

"Somehow. What about you guys?" She was running low on dust. That had been her last lightning and her ice and rock dust were spent as well. That left her fire, lucky for her there was nothing left after they set fire to the forest earlier so she could use as much as she wanted. Hopefully ten vials would be enough, she'd used a couple already.

"Jaune's taking on two of them. Noel and Willa one each. We need to hurry up and get back." Neither of the girls took their eyes off their opponent who seemed content to wait. His aura pooled around his hands, the blue claws making a reappearance.

"I doubt he's just going to let us-" Silvia didn't get to finish as blue aura erupted from the ground beneath their feet, the aura tentacles slamming into both of them and launching the pair back. The witch landed on the ground, rolling to a stop as Vermilion was propelled through a burnt tree, shattering it. With no time to react the limb wrapped around her ankle and she panicked. Pulling out four fire vials she emptied all of them into the air as the tentacle tightened, ripping up the ground between them and revealing tunnel it had dug from their opponent to them.

It let go as the dust was set ablaze, "Pyroblast!" The massive sphere of fire hurtled towards the man where it exploded like a miniature sun.

-SY-

Vermilion struggled to regain her breath. She'd been caught unprepared and the blow had reduced her aura a fair bit. From the battle with the Tyrant to this she'd hardly had the chance to recover and it was decidedly low, sitting in the orange levels, close to red as it was. She felt the heat wash over her and saw Silvia's attack go off, and for a moment she was hopeful until that light blue limb speared out of the billowing smoke, the tip forming the shape of claws, and shearing through Silvia's robes, her dust vials scattering.

Vermilion's heart stopped as the second appendage shot out and split into a half a dozen smaller tentacles, each one contacting and breaking the vials as they tumbled about in mid air. The resulting explosion engulfed her partner. Screaming, she was running before she had a chance to think about it. Silvia's white aura flexed and then shattered right before the clawed limb moved back in to finish the job. The world slowed down in Vermilion's eyes, her muscles burned and struggled against the viscous air and she felt the resistance lessen gradually until she made it to her partner's side.

Rosa Mors glinted in an imitation of her father's blade, a meteorite speeding through the air. She begged it to move faster, to be sharper. She felt her aura pour into the weapon and watched as it sliced clean through the limb reaching for the down Silvia. The severed portion dissolved instantly and the world came crashing back to full speed as her sword dug into the ground, leaving a furrow where it impacted.

It wasn't over yet though as the assassin leapt into the air with the aid of his aura manipulation, both hands forming massive claws the his aura limbs splayed out behind his back, prepared to strike. Vermilion lifted her shield, ready to give her life for her friend.

The man never made it to her. A powerful gust of wind tore through the air, slamming the man into the ground like he'd been swatted from the sky. The force of the impact bounced him a foot off the ground until the gust pinned him down into the dirt, a constant stream pouring from above. Vermilion felt something stir behind her and she looked at her partner who was no longer collapsed on the ground.

No longer was she on the ground at all, Silvia hovered above head height, wind, dust, and soot whipped up around her but the most notable thing was her eye. Burning there out of the corner of her eyes were dark green flames that flickering with fury. The young woman raised her hand and dozens, no hundreds of icicles formed in the air. Like a queen issuing an execution she let her hand fall and with it the spears made of ice descended at once on the man pinned by wind.

When the dust settled all that remained of him was a tomb of ice, all was still except for the wind surrounding her friend. It died down as she grew closer with the ground, cutting off completely a foot from the ground and the girl stumbled into her partner's arms. The flames in her eyes lowered to a bare flicker, Silvia's hand found her cheek.

"Good. You're… okay." It took the last of her strength and she fell slack into Vermilion's arms.

"I should be the one saying that to you." She muttered to her unconscious partner before her worried eyes roved over her, "What on Remnant are you?"

A/N: Oof, sorry for leaving this on a cliffhanger so long... and for another cliffhanger. Really this is just part one of the fight because it really would be twice as long if I included the others' fights and this was really important. Also as you can see I'm trying out a new line break.

The reveal of Silvia being a Maiden, I think someone in the comments actually called something close to it but yeah. She's actually capable of magic and not insane. You'll have to wait on her backstory and what happened when she obtained them. For now it's fight for your lives time. Some may be confused about why Silvia said that last bit and that's because, plainly, Vermilion couldn't move. If she did the assassin would have killed her partner and she was low on aura herself.