I think one of my favourite things about this being a sequel story is getting a notification saying; "ThisPerson has favourited Ego Homini Lupus" and then like, seventeen hours later getting another one saying "ThisPerson has favourited Ira Lupus".
It means a lot to me that you guys enjoy this story so much you literally binge read it in the space of like a day or two. And I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!
Pyrrha was facing three enemies. Three foes armed to the teeth, while all she had was a shield. She rolled her shoulders as her joints stretched and popped, eager for their first bout in a long time.
Getting into a fighting stance, her opponents readied themselves to attack. The first came in swinging with a massive sword that was about half her size. She raised her shield and caught the sword in the opening before causing it to slam into the ground.
Just in time, as a much smaller sword slashed against her as Pyrrha raised one arm to block it, the blade coming to an abrupt halt against her bronze vambrace. She threw her arm out and brought her shield crashing down on her opponent, ducking at the last second as a bolt of electricity flew past her, reflecting in her eyes.
Focusing on the ranged attacker, she used her larger opponent as a springboard, leaping up and onto his back before pushing down and going skyward. She spun once mid-air, using the momentum to hurl her shield.
The shield whistled through the air as it shot towards the attacker. His weapon was already transforming, turning into a long guandao that deflected the shield back at her. A small adjustment with her Semblance and it was already back in her hands as she brought her leg out and down onto the larger attacker, knocking his head down and forcing him to take a knee.
There was the sound of something being fired, and Pyrrha felt something wrap around her arm. Her eyes briefly caught a glimpse of a hook attached to a string before she was pulled bodily to the side. She raised her other arm, to sever the cord, only to feel something grip onto her shield.
The larger attacker, who was still on the ground, had reached up and stopped her in her tracks. One hand on the curve of her shield, and the other clutching her wrist. She immediately saw the trap as her head swivelled to her front.
The guandao wielder had leapt upward, spinning his weapon round as electricity suddenly sparked around it. Pyrrha was trapped, her breathing quickening as the lance of lightning angled towards her and shot down. Her pupils turned to pinpricks as she let out a gasp.
"NO!" A wave of magnetic force shot out from her, sending each of her opponents flying backwards. They hit the training mats with a grunt each. Pyrrha's eyes widened as she brought her hands back in.
"I'm sorry!"
"It's alright, cuz." Neptune groaned, sitting up from his prone position as the rest of Team SSNN did the same. Sage got to his feet, brushing off some dust while Scarlet walked over to Pyrrha, reeling in the hook of his pistol as he did so.
"I thought you wanted to practice without your Semblance." He said as he approached, Pyrrha unwrapping the cord from around herself.
"I do." She agreed with a sigh. "I just, panicked. That's never happened to me before." She frowned as she handed the hook to Scarlet.
"I suppose nearly dying will do that to you." Sage said softly, making his way over to Pyrrha as Neptune did the same. The blue haired boy immediately glared at his teammate for bringing the subject up.
"He's not wrong." Pyrrha said before Neptune could argue. "Fighting for your life is something you can never truly be prepared for. Even with all my training, I lost." She let out a small scoff. "The Invincible Girl no more."
Her sombre words brought the atmosphere down, as the three men before her frowned. Pyrrha told them about the Maidens, and the power that Cinder Fall had wielded. It was why she was practicing specifically without her Semblance.
Cinder didn't use metal weapons. She used magic. That fact was still something SSN had to get used to. Magic existed. And it was currently in the possession of someone who tried to destroy Beacon. "Speaking of." Scarlet piped up.
"You might wanna put some armour there." He tapped the middle of his chest. "You'd probably be a bit more invincible if there wasn't a huge open spot." Pyrrha glanced downward to her chest, where her brown corset gave way to bare skin.
Scarlet had a point, Pyrrha thought as she poked a finger against her own chest. Considering the last time she fought Cinder she had completely shattered her Aura, some extra armour might not be a bad idea.
She glanced back up to ask if Scarlet knew anywhere on campus to get some armour, before noticing Sage and Neptune both craning their necks to stare directly at the ceiling. Emerald eyes rolled before meeting Scarlet's, who shared her expression.
"You ever manage to snog John by the way?" Scarlet asked. It took a moment for the words to translate into something Pyrrha could understand. When it finally clicked, her face turned as red as her hair.
"His name is Jaune." She said, with what felt like remarkable composure. The grin Scarlet gained suggested there was no such composure present. Before the man could even take a breath and begin to interrogate, the door to the training room swung open.
Each head swivelled, grabbing their weapons instinctively. They had booked the room for an hour for private training which meant everyone knew the room was closed. But it also meant people would know they were on their own.
A figure appeared in the doorway, with a long brown trench coat that had seen better days, some bullet holes decorating the fabric. Underneath was a faded grey armour with a bandolier going diagonally.
What caught their attention most, however, was the strange headpiece. It seemed to be a cross between an Atlesian soldier's helmet, and a gasmask, with two dark red lenses staring at them. "Pyrrha Nikos?"
Neptune, Sage and Scarlet immediately stepped between the stranger and Pyrrha. "Who wants to know?" Neptune asked, gripping the shaft of his weapon tightly.
In response, the stranger reached into his duster. Try-Hard crackled with electricity, as Scarlet pulled back the hammer on Hook. "Letter for you." The stranger said, holding up a bright blue envelope. The wave of relief that washed over the group nearly caused them to crumple.
"Dude. You could have led with that." Neptune sighed, leaning on his weapon for support. A chuckle came from the stranger as he approached the group.
"Couldn't help myself. Don't get a lot of laughs as a courier." He held the letter out to Pyrrha, who reached out and took it cautiously. The situation was still strange, but there didn't seem to be any immediate danger.
She flipped the envelope over and felt her eyes widen. "To Pyrrha Nikos of Team JNPR." The words were not what caught her attention, however. Below them was a symbol Pyrrha recognised all too well.
The snowflake of the SDC. Pyrrha tore open the letter and quickly began to read.
'Dear Pyrrha.
I hope this letter finds you well. It is with my greatest pleasure that I extend an invitation to you to attend the SDC Charity Concert being held at the beginning of Summer.
This Ball will help give aid to victims of the Fall Of Beacon. I myself will be performing, so I hope you will be able to attend.
Kind Regards
Weiss Schnee.'
Pyrrha blinked in confusion, before looking back at the Courier. "Yeah, she thought you might react like that." He opened a small pack on his wrist, where several more letters could be seen. He flicked through them, searching.
"Here we go." He took out another envelope of the same light blue colour and handed it over. Pyrrha took it and examined it, finding that it only had her name. She opened it and began to read once more.
'Hello Pyrrha.
I hope this letter gets to you, and I hope you're doing well. It's been so long since Beacon, I couldn't think of any way to contact you with the CCT down. It was only recently, thanks to suggesting your name for the charity ball that I was able to find a way.
General Ironwood said he would be able to get a letter to you with the help of a courier-' Pyrrha paused briefly in reading to look up at the man in question. He was currently comparing pistols with Scarlet, and trying to figure out how a single shot pistol was considered viable.
She returned her attention to the letter. '-who will also be able to return your answer. I do hope you say yes. It's been hard not having anyone to talk to about Beacon. Or -.' There was something written there, but Weiss had apparently decided to completely scratch it out.
'There is another reason I want you to attend, however. And I want to tell you now, so you are prepared. General Ironwood wants to talk to you about what happened the night Beacon fell. I know this is probably something you want no part in, but I'm afraid it was the only way I could convince him to ease the travel restrictions should you decide to attend. I myself do not know what happened, as I've been unable to access any information on the situation.'
'There's a lot more I want to say, but hopefully I'll get the chance to do that in person. I hope to see you.
Your Friend
Weiss Schnee.'
Well, Pyrrha thought, that was a lot to take in. There was no doubt in her mind of her attendance, however. She hadn't seen Weiss since Beacon fell, and while Pyrrha was here, surrounded by friends to look out for her, Weiss had no one.
She had to fix that. "I only need one shot!" Pyrrha blinked back to reality, seeing Scarlet angrily waving his pistol about. "Your helmet must be on too tight mate."
"Oh please. I can knock anything out with my V.A.T.S." The Courier gave a dismissive shrug.
"Your what?" Neptune questioned, looking him up and down for any piece of strange technology.
"My Visual Assisting Targeting Semblance." He explained. For some reason, Pyrrha felt her eye twitch at the words. Like she should be annoyed on behalf of someone for it. She didn't know why, some people had strange names for their Semblances. Who was she to judge?
"Um, excuse me. Mr. Courier." Pyrrha spoke up before the situation could devolve once more.
"Lowenthal, please. Mr. Courier was my- well I suppose there's a few generations that could work for." He shook his head slightly to get his train of thought back on track. "Anyway, yes, would you like to send a return letter?"
"Please." Pyrrha nodded, before patting herself down. "Um, I don't suppose you have some spare paper or a pen do you?"
"Wouldn't be much of a courier if I didn't." Pyrrha felt as though Lowenthal smiled beneath his mask, before reaching into one of his many pouches. He pulled out a set of paper and a pen and handed it to Pyrrha.
She took it and immediately looked for somewhere stable to write. Her eyes fell on Sage.
The larger man gave a sigh and turned around, presenting his back to Pyrrha. "Go on." She gave a quick thanks to the giant and pressed the paper against his back and very quickly began to write her acceptance of the invitation.
"Oi, you dropped one mate." She heard Scarlet say. She kept her attention on her words, as the Courier reacted to whatever it was that had dropped.
"Oh fuck! Thanks!" Lowenthal bent down to pick up a rather ancient looking letter. "That one's got a history behind it, and will hopefully win me a bet in a year or two." He carefully put the letter back into his pouch and tightly closing it.
"I'm finished." Pyrrha said, releasing Sage from his job as a hard surface. She quickly handed over her letter, which only really said 'Yes' and 'I look forward to it'. Lowenthal took it and placed it into the satchel on his forearm.
"I'll get right on this, thank you Miss Nikos." He turned to point at Scarlet with one finger. "You, I'm going to have a shooting competition with if I ever meet you again. Teach you a thing or two about proper guns."
Scarlet looked ready to show the Courier a thing or two about proper guns right there and then, if it wasn't for Neptune placing a hand on his shoulder to hold him back. "Don't suppose any of you got any letters you need delivered?" He asked, looking to the rest of SSNN.
When no one gave an affirmative, the Courier nodded and rolled his arms. "Alright, should be some fast travel back to Atlas. Take care now." He tapped his helmet with two fingers and turned to leave, beginning to whistle a tune as he did.
"Soo. What was that about?" Neptune asked his cousin once the Courier had left.
"Weiss invited me to attend a charity concert to give aid to Beacon." She explained. Three sets of eyes widened at her words.
"Oh, well that's nice." Scarlet said, as Neptune gave a nod in agreement.
"There's more to it, isn't there." Sage stated. When Pyrrha gave an awkward smile, the others knew he was right on the Lien.
"General Ironwood wants to talk to me. About what happened on the tower." She explained. She had already told the Team about her experience that night. About how she nearly died. About how Crue did die. Because she wasn't able to protect herself.
Her emerald eyes hardened as she looked to her friends, and readied her shield.
"Again."
…
"Huh. I missed the rain." Crue thought, pausing for a moment and letting the water hit his face. He wasn't too surprised that he missed it. It rained more than it didn't, and at times even the most torrential of rains were barely an inconvenience.
"In the bible, it rained for forty days and forty nights." He muttered, treading carefully along the new path he found. "And they called it a disaster. In Ireland, we called that Summer." He gave a smirk as he continued.
The new path that Crue had found wasn't much of a path at all. In fact, it was a set of train tracks. He was surprised they were the kind he would have seen in his world, and not some advanced Gravity Dust wielding technology.
His plan was to walk along until he hopefully got to Mistral. Or, until a train came along and he could hop on with his Semblance. "Huh. That's another thing I'll be stowing away on." He shrugged as he walked, remembering a certain movie he watched long ago.
"~When the night, has come. And the land is dark. And the moon, is the only, light we'll see.~" He sang his song as he marched on, the rain beginning to pick up fairly quickly. He jogged on, careful not to get his foot stuck between any of the planks.
It was still on mostly solid ground, so Crue had next to no trouble keeping on track. "Heheh. On track." He chuckled to himself. He walked along, unbothered by the heavy rain. "Good thing my bag's waterproof."
The rain was picking up, and Crue's hair was beginning to stick to his face as he tried to increase his speed. He was beginning to wish that his cloak had a hood on it, instead of the open collar and distinct lack of sleeves.
"Maybe I should turn it into a cape." He already had Ruby's present, but maybe he'd make it a double and show up in matching capes. Red and Green. "The Christmas Cr- This place doesn't have Christmas. Fuck."
He wondered how many holidays there were in Remnant that may be similar to his own. He vaguely remembered Qrow mentioning something along the lines of 'Winter's Heart Eve'. Or 'Winter Hearts Eve'. Or something.
"At least that's one Winter with a heart." He gave a roll of his eye, before pausing and quickly looking around. When the Schnee in question didn't suddenly appear out of nowhere and fight him, he relaxed.
His relaxation was cut short when his ears picked up the sound of roaring. He paused in the middle of the railroad, quickly checking behind him to make sure the roaring wasn't a train about to run him over.
When he saw he was in the clear, he let Freedom and Sorrow bare their claws as he continued slowly forward. The roaring grew louder and louder, but it didn't sound like any Grimm Crue had ever encountered.
The fact it was continuous aided his theory it wasn't a Grimm. Unless it was one with such a huge lung capacity it didn't need to stop to breathe. "Do they even need to breathe in the first place?" Crue wondered.
A bit further on, he finally found the source of the roaring. And it was decidedly worse than any Grimm he could have fought. The train tracks continued on, over a raging river. The rushing rapids were overflowing thanks to the rain, and looking tremendously treacherous.
"Ok, two options." Crue murmured, stopping on the tracks just before they began to cross. The bridge was made out of a series of interlocking metallic supports, which made sense to Crue as it would probably be too dangerous to bring a whole construction company out into the wilds.
"One, I wait here for a train and hop on when it comes. Two, I cross and hope to God it doesn't come." He hesitated, tapping a foot at the last slat. "Unless I can get out of the way of a speeding train- Oh. Wait. Semblance."
He gave a small smirk as he walked confidently across the bridge. With his Semblance, if a train did come along, he could just walk down the side of one of the supports and then back up. "One of the perks of essentially being fuckin' Spider-man I guess."
Crue walked across the trestle bridge without a care, noting the small gaps between the slats. He craned his neck over the side, seeing the rushing waters. He swallowed once and returned his attention to the bridge in front of him.
Just in time to bring his claws up and into a shining white Nevermore that nearly took his head off. Crue felt his adrenaline spike at the sight of the bird, as it gave out a single squawk before dissipating into a white mist.
Behind the fading white was the only person on Mistral who could summon such a creature. Winter Schnee pointed her sabre towards Crue, her white hair slick from the rain. Crue's face fell into a familiar scowl.
"Really?" He asked, staring at the Schnee. "Not a 'hi how're you doing'? Straight into the bullshit?" His claws were already out, which he was grateful for.
"Every time we try to bring you in quietly, you resist. You evade us." Her sabre spat out another, as she took a careful step backward as she pointed both her swords towards him. "You don't get any more chances to surrender."
Behind her, where the tracks finally reached the other side of the gorge, Crue could vaguely make out the shapes of Clover and Harriet. He wondered how they got lucky enough to find him this time. In any other circumstances, Crue would go with his tried and true hit and run tactics to get away from them.
Maybe he would try and squeeze some info out of Winter about how Weiss was in exchange for his own knowledge. He could go quietly, if he wanted to.
But, the shining white Nevermore hadn't exactly helped. "Careful." A challenging smirk appeared on his face. "No handcuffs this time." Crue said, bringing both his hands up in a boxing stance. The rain splashed against his claws, and Crue wondered if Harriet or Clover would join in on the fight, or if this was something Winter thought she had to do alone.
His question was answered when Winter shot forward with a piercing strike from one of her blades. Crue both his hands up, catching the blade between his claws and jerking his hand away, before kicking up his leg to strike at her abdomen.
Winter let her sword veer off, before switching to a reverse handed grip as she struck out with her other hand. The blade skittered off Crue's Aura, as he leapt back a few paces and brought his claws in an upward swing, flexing his fingers as he did so.
Three lines of flame shot out from the tips of his claws as he swung, heading directly towards Winter, where Crue could see the fire reflecting in her widening blue eyes. He had kept this little trick of his close to the chest, only really using it when he had to.
The last time he remembered using it was against the Spinomaw, but he knew why his claws had this ability in the first place. They were planted in his locker by Cinder, by Solaris. When Solaris fought The Wolf, he wielded claws and Fire Dust.
So she found weapons that did the same. Crue sent another few lines of flame towards Winter, going onto the offensive as he pushed her back towards the other side of the tracks. He had to be careful not to get too close, otherwise the other Ace-Ops would probably be able to jump in.
Winter suddenly surged forward, ducking under his last attack and swinging her blades in tandem onto his side. The force of it was so great it sent Crue flying from the bridge. The sudden weightlessness came to a screeching halt as he concentrated on the tracks themselves.
He fell into an orbit, the weight of him falling and swinging under the tracks giving him enough momentum to come up the other side and strike at Winter's back. She let out a cry of surprise, her Aura shimmering against the blow.
She immediately turned on her heel, swinging her sabre and striking Crue as he landed on the tracks once more, now on the side closer to the Ace-Ops. Winter swung, and Crue caught the arm that nearly took his own off.
"WHY CAN'T YOU JUST FUCKING TALK TO ME LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!?" Crue exclaimed, ducking his head as Winter broke out of his grip. He took a few steps back, and felt himself bump into something.
He reacted violently, expecting it to be either Harriet or Clover joining the fray. Instead, a glowing white Beowulf caught his claws and snarled at him. He cursed outwardly, dragging his arm back and bringing the Beowulf with him. His claws pierced the furred torso, but apparently Winter's summons were made of sterner stuff than actual Grimm.
He could hear Winter running towards him, the clack of her heels on the slats spelling out his impending doom. With a roar, Crue's steely blue eye hardened and he heaved with as much strength as he could muster.
The Beowulf's paws left the ground, as he swung the creature into the one who summoned it. Winter hit the deck, rolling horizontally along the tracks as Crue sheathed the claws that were inside the Beowulf.
Without the extra traction, the Summon went flying from the bridge, the shining glow allowing Crue to see it crash down into the rapids below. It flickered out of existence almost immediately. Crue didn't have time to think of how dangerous the waters below were, as Winter was already back in his guard.
Her swords were a blur, and Crue wasn't able to take a moment to bring Sorrow's claws back out. Instead, he was fighting with one set of claws and one fist. He couldn't worry about that, it was enough. It had to be, because otherwise, he would lose here and lose his progress to Mistral.
"Ask me something!" Crue instructed Winter, giving her a solid punch in the kidney. She let out a grunt, as her swords swung downward. Crue caught one with his gauntlet, but the other scored a serious slash across his arm.
His Aura flared angrily, a dark blue that could barely be seen in the rain. Crue stepped into Winter's guard with a growl, and caught her arm between his own, trapping it under his armpit. He brought his head back and slammed it into Winter's.
His headbutts usually worked to send his opponent back a pace. Unfortunately, Winter had not gotten that memo. Instead, she seemed to tighten her grip on Crue. "NOW!" She exclaimed.
Crue tensed, his head spinning to see Harriet and Clover about to rush him.
Only, they weren't.
They were at the very edge of where the track hit the gorge, and waving their arms madly to try and get their attention. Crue's one eye widened as his head spun back around, now looking back at Winter. And past her.
Where he could see a train about to cross the bridge.
"TRAIN!" He exclaimed, immediately releasing Winter's trapped arm. Whether or not Winter would have believed his words for a distraction, the fact he released her at all proved there was something wrong.
Still, she needed to check, even as Crue turned his back to her and began to run. Her head turned an inch, saw the shining light of the train, and immediately followed after Crue.
Her knees hit the tracks a second later.
Blue eyes widened as she pushed herself up and checked behind her. Her heel had been caught between the gaps between the wooden slats. Despite her training, Winter's breathing began to quicken.
She tried her best to stand to her feet, but the top piece of her heel was wedged tight. Did she have enough time to slip her foot out? As the light from the train illuminated the growing horror on her face, she realised the answer was no.
"WINTER!" A voice screamed, as she turned her head to look back at her allies. The world seemed to be in slow motion, as Harriet was sparking with electricity, already stepping out onto the track. Despite the fact she was almost certainly about to die, she couldn't help but wonder where Crue had gone.
Her eyes flickered upward.
Crue was in the air, fist pulled back and a single eye of blue steel staring right at her. Was Crue about to kill her? Put her out of her misery before the train could hit, or was this his plan all along, to lure her and the Ace-Ops into a false sense of security so he could take them out.
Crue fell towards her and slammed his clawed gauntlet down. Onto the wooden beam that trapped her foot. Winter lurched forward unwillingly, having been already trying to free herself now found herself with too much momentum.
She hit the ground, and heard a whistle from the train that was less than ten feet away. There was no time. Harriet wasn't fast enough, she didn't have enough of a headstart and there was no way she could pick her and Crue up and run back with them all in one piece.
Her thoughts suddenly came to a grinding halt as she felt Crue pick her up and wrap his arms around her. She was left facing Harriet, still too far away, as his arms tightened. The realisation of what Crue was doing hit her a split second before the train did.
Winter felt the impact through Crue, and cried out in shock and pain. She was immediately airborne, and only had a brief glimpse of a sparking hand leaping from the tracks in order to both dodge the train and try and catch her.
She reached out, still within Crue's iron grasp to grab Harriet's hand.
Their fingers barely brushed each other.
And then she was falling. Winter and Crue were falling. Harriet was falling, only to be yanked back at the last second. She numbly realised Clover must have saved her. And then, she hit the water.
The freezing shock caused her muscles to spasm and freeze, leaving her breathless. Water quickly found her open mouth and filled her lungs as her vision almost immediately began to fade. Her head slammed back into Crue's chest, and only briefly was able to recognise that he was still with her.
Their bodies crashed against the rocks within the river, each blow draining Aura and one particularly unlucky rock smacked Winter in the side of her head. Curiously, the last thing Winter's mind seemed to register before falling unconscious, was that Crue's chest was a lot hairier than it should be.
I like how I make reference to how terrible Ireland's weather is when we're currently experiencing a god damn heatwave. Anyway, this fight between Crue and Winter has been something I've had planned for a while.
And while Crue was right in that he wasn't handcuffed anymore and lacked a handicap, he hasn't been exactly stagnant in his training since Beacon fell. And it's not like he had a whole group of special operatives to practice fighting against or anything.
Oh, wait.
Also I feel like I have to say, this isn't becoming a crossover fic with Fallout lol. I referenced the Courier's existence in EHL and realised he was actually pretty useful for getting information between characters.
He might make a return in a future chapter, but he's not going to become a secondary character or anything. Very much a cameo type deal.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter, let me know if you did, and as always…
Until Next Time
-Friday
