By the time Reed and the rest made it to the first floor from the roof the Guards outside were already facing more pressure than they were equipped to handle. The Guards had set up in defensive positions around a loading dock, the heavy metal doors thrown wide as the expedition truck, all of its ammunition spent, neared the building.
"What are those fools doing?" Huntress Kadir growled. "The truck is worthless at this point, and they have left a massive hole in our defenses!"
"We tried to tell them that," Ivory said. The horned Faunus had run over to them the moment she saw them emerge onto the loading dock, Skittles trailing behind her. "But Captain Gerstein insisted that the truck is a valuable asset and must be protected from the Grimm."
"Maidens save us from fools who think themselves smart," Huntress Kadir groaned.
"Speaking of which," Phaedra said, nodding towards a large figure stomping towards them.
"Huntress!" Captain Gerstein growled, casting a distasteful eye over the group. The image of a lynched bat-Faunus flashed through Reed's mind, and his grip tightened unbidden on Halmvoulge. "Are you all quite done fooling around and ready to lend a hand?"
"You are the fool, Gerstein," Huntress Kadir snarled, walking right up to the bigger man and poking him hard in the chest. Despite her diminutive size, her presence seemed to loom over Gerstein, and he took a startled step backwards. "These six guards and myself just handled the true threat, the enemy agents who were responsible for all of this! I gave you clear instructions: unload all of your artillery into the horde, then abandon the truck and secure the building! And what did you do?"
Gerstein looked at Huntress Kadir in confusion. "Enemy agents? What—"
"You," Huntress Kadir spat, "opened the Hermit-blasted doors wide open! To protect a spent weapon! You are unfit for command, and Maidens as my witness I will see you stripped of your rank on our return. Now do the one thing your meat head is capable of and get out there and kill some damn Grimm!"
The captain spluttered, unable to form a coherent response in the face of Kiwidinek's outrage. The huntress's eyes narrowed, one hand dropping to the weapon at her side, and Gerstein turned and ran for the struggling lines of Guards.
"Hermit, I am glad I got to see that," Phaedra said under her breath, covering a smile with one hand as she looked at Huntress Kadir. "What a woman."
Kiwidinek turned to regard them, her shoulders slumping somewhat from the energy she had spent berating the captain. "Alright you lot. I know we are all tired from that last fight, but you see what we have to work with. Every one of you is needed out there until this blasted truck is clear of the doors. Leave holding the lines to the rank and file, I want you all to focus on any problematic Grimm and plug any holes that may form in our defenses. Understood?"
"Yes ma'am!" They responded in one voice.
Reed edged around the front of the truck that had just started to pass through the large double doors and charged out onto the loading dock. Tamus had left Sergeant Tanners in the care of Abbey, who had set up an impromptu field hospital in the dormitories, and the big Faunus looked ready to take out his frustration on any Grimm fool enough to come within clubbing range. He, Ivory, Skittles and Seraphina were hot on Reed's heels, while Phaedra and Chase hung back to provide them with support.
Captain Argentos and Gerstein's Guards had formed in a half-moon around the loading dock, three ranks deep, but holes were already starting to form in their lines. They'd done well enough against the smaller, faster Grimm that had been the first to charge out of the ravine, but the larger monsters were starting to arrive. Reed saw a massive Beowolf, easily head and shoulders taller than the rest, pluck a Guard from the second rank and throw them, screaming, into the horde behind. The Beowolf raised its arm for another strike, but Reed blew its mask apart with a well-aimed fireball.
"Focus on the big ones!" Reed shouted, dodging through the thinning ranks. A knot of Gerstein's Guards were clustered around a massive Ursai, holding it back with crossed gun-spears and brute strength alone. Reed grabbed one by the shoulder, vaulting over the startled man and spinning to slam Halmvoulge through the creature's head, just behind the mask. He was already moving before the Grimm had even dissipated, strafing the line of struggling Guards and slashing through any Grimm that got in his way.
Behind him, Tamus burst through the ranks of Guards and started laying about with his club, every swing leaving black mist in its wake. Ivory covered his back, gun-spear striking out in textbook strokes that, while lacking ingenuity, were nonetheless effective at thinning the horde of monsters pressing the Guards. Seraphina was running down the line opposite Reed, paw-like gauntlets glowing red with dust and leaving flaming trails in the collapsing Grimm behind her. Soon they met at the head of the half-circle of Guards, facing the next wave of Grimm charging out of the ravine.
"Heads up, Reed!" Phaedra called from behind them, a boulder soaring over his head and crushing a small pack of Creepers. "Griphons incoming!"
Reed swore, looking up at the sky. At least a dozen of the winged Grimm were diving towards them, their approach covered by the sun in his eyes. The moment he looked up, a trail of electricity split the air, blasting three of the creatures into mist and clipping the wings of a fourth.
"I'll cover the sky!" Huntress Kadir shouted from her position atop the expedition truck, firing off two more shots of her dust powered rail-gun. "Chase was it? Get up here and help me out!"
Rifle shots accompanied the huntress's barrage, and soon all the Griffons had been either destroyed or grounded. Reed and Seraphina faced off against a pair of those who had survived the fall, working in tandem to hem them in and cut them to pieces before they could press the defensive line.
Unusual movement deep in the mass of Grimm caught Reed's eye. He tried to track it, but a Beowolf took a swipe at him, and he was forced to dispatch the Grimm. Turning back, he was just in time to see a Grimm that looked like a large feline bunch its hindquarters and leap over Reed and the defensive lines behind him.
The Sabyr slammed into the side of the expedition truck, causing the whole thing to lean ponderously before tipping onto its side. The Grimm bounced off the truck, catching a hapless Guard in the rearmost rank and shaking her like a doll before Kiwidinek jumped over the truck, dual curved swords slicing in a scissoring motion that separated the Sabyr's head from its body.
"Fall back!" The huntress roared, leaping onto the overturned truck. "The loading dock is lost, fall back and secure the building!"
There was no semblance of an organized retreat. The Guards broke, turning their backs to the Grimm and running flat out for the building behind them. A dozen of the men and women fell to Grimm pouncing on their backs, pushing them screaming to the ground and laying into them with claws and teeth. Reed and Seraphina did what they could, destroying the Grimm as they made their way back to the building, but most of them were already dead. Only one was still breathing, and Seraphina tossed her over one shoulder while Reed guarded her back.
At the entrance to the building, Huntress Kadir was organizing a line of Guards ten wide in the doorway. Captain Gerstein tried to slip past her deeper into the building, but she caught the man by his collar and deposited him firmly in the front rank. The line parted for Reed and Seraphina, and the huntress caught sight of them and beckoned them over.
"I need you to buy me some time!" she shouted over the din of gun fire and bestial screams. "I have Tamus and Ivory securing the first floor, and Argentos and her troops are upstairs barricading windows. Chase, Skittles and I are the only ones well equipped to handle the flying Grimm, so we are going to go to the roof to seal up that hole!"
Seraphina and Phaedra exchanged a guilty look, having been the ones to make the hole in the first place. Reed just nodded to the huntress. "Yes ma'am."
Kiwidinek returned the nod, reaching up and taking the unconscious Guard from Seraphina and draping them over her shoulders. She turned and charged across the warehouse-like space just inside from the loading dock and disappeared through the door in the far wall, along with Chase and Skittles.
Reed and Seraphina ran over to join the line of Guards defending the warehouse, mostly Gerstein's troops judging from their size. Captain Gerstein himself cast a glance behind him, making note of Huntress Kadir's departure. His eyes narrowed when Phaedra set herself in front of the door, throwing the man an exaggerated wink. She slammed her hammer into the ground, a pillar of stone rising in front of her. Phaedra set to striking the pillar with her weapon, sending chunks of stone arcing over the defensive line and into the Grimm beyond.
"Damn brats," Gerstein muttered, turning back to the Grimm and settling into a ready stance. "You'll regret siding with that bitch once this is all over."
Reed ignored the statement, focusing on the task at hand. Their position wasn't bad: the entrance to the warehouse from the loading dock was wide, but compared to the size of the horde it significantly limited their approach. The Grimm were forced shoulder-to-shoulder by the press of bodies behind them, making it easy to slash through multiple of the monsters with every stroke of Halmvoulge's ax blade.
They held there for what felt like an eternity, blasting Grimm into black mist, only for more of the monsters to take their place. The fight began to wear on the Guards. One of Gerstein's men slipped, missing their strike and taking a Beowolf's claws in the throat. Another fell to a large Ursa, Seraphina barely managing to dispatch the Grimm before it broke through their line.
Reed was just about to go to her aid when a form streaked out of the horde. Only by spiking his semblance was he able to react in time, catching the Sabyr's large fangs on the shaft of his weapon. The force of the blow sent him skidding backwards into the warehouse, the Grimm charging after him.
Flipping the green switch on Halmvoulge's staff, Reed braced himself and struck as hard as he could with a horizontal sweep. The attack slammed into the Grimm, causing it to veer into a wall, but the armor plating on its side held against the blow. The monster shook itself, turning towards Reed and roaring a challenge and charging again. Reed changed tactic, side stepping the creature and going for an overhand strike, but again the blow was blocked, this time by the spines on the creature's back. The strike did drive the creature its knees, however, giving Reed the chance to slam the tip of Halmvoulge between the cracks in the creature's armor. It howled, thrashing, but Reed kept pressure on the staff and flipped the red switch. The Grimm convulsed, before a stream of fire tore through its body, leaving black mist in its wake.
"Reed!" Seraphina's desperate voice called.
"Private! Back me up!" Gerstein demanded in a roar.
Reed spun, spiking his semblance to slow his perception of time to a crawl and taking in the scene in front of him. Gerstein's troops had broken, those that remained sprinting for the door into the building. To his left, Seraphina was backpedaling rapidly, desperately blocking blows from half a dozen Beowolves and several Ursai. To his right, Captain Gerstein was up against a wall, surrounded by a pack of Beowolves and Creepers. It was clear that both of them would be overwhelmed in moments.
It was one of the easiest choices of Reed's life.
Halmvoulge spinning in his hands, Reed charged towards Seraphina, setting upon the Grimm. His weapon was a blur as he bisected Beowolves at the waist, decapitated an Ursa, then slammed the end of his staff into the ground, causing a wall of ice to blossom between them and the rest of the Grimm.
"Run!" Reed shouted, grabbing Seraphina by one gauntleted hand and dragging her towards the door.
Phaedra stood in the doorway as the last of Gerstein's men passed her, waving to them frantically. "Hurry! Hurry!"
Reed spared a glance for Gerstein, just in time to see a Beowolf clamp its jaws around his neck, the man go down in a spray of blood. Turning away from the dying murderer, they sprinted through the door, Reed ducking as Phaedra swung her hammer just over his head and into the ground. A pillar of rock sprung from the ground and slammed into the ceiling, sealing the door.
Reed, Seraphina, and Phaedra stood in the dim hallway, panting, as the sounds of frustrated howling and claws scrabbling on stone emanated from the warehouse.
"That," Seraphina said, hands on her knees, "was way too close."
"Agreed," Reed said, leaning against the wall and breathing heavily. He couldn't help his eyes from drifting to the stone slab blocking the doorway. Somewhere on the other side of that was a mess of blood and viscera that used to be Captain Gerstein. Reed held no love for the man, and honestly considered the world a better place with him gone. Still…
"Don't do that," Phaedra said sharply, poking him hard in the side.
"Ow! What was that for?"
"For thinking that you can save everyone," Phaedra growled. "Gerstein was a disgusting, misogynistic, bigoted piece of shit. He got what was coming to him."
"I know, I know. It's just…" Reed sighed. "This isn't the first time someone near me has died. Maidens, I've lost count of how many Guards have died just in the last few hours. But I chose to let him die."
"You chose to save Miss Muscles," Phaedra corrected, her tone softening. "You chose to save a friend, someone who has made significant strides in fixing the mistakes of their past. There's a difference."
Seraphina reached out hesitantly, placing a hand lightly on Reed's upper arm. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to force you to make a difficult decision…"
Reed let out a breath that was almost a laugh, putting his hand over Seraphina's. "There was nothing difficult about that decision. That's what I was worried about, but Phaedra's right. Gerstein was a stain on Guards and the entire human race. I still would have helped him if I'd had the chance, but there was no way I would ever prioritize him over either of you."
He smiled at Phaedra, then at Seraphina. The muscular girl didn't look like she'd heard a word he said, she was just staring red-faced at where Reed's hand overlapped her own. A wicked smile flitted across Phaedra's face, and she gave an exaggerated sigh.
"By the Hermit, you two can't even get through a battle without fawning all over one another. Can you at least wait until we've all made it through this shit show?"
Seraphina's face grew even redder, but Reed just chuckled. Somehow, hearing Phaedra tease them just made him even happier that they were all still alive.
"No need to be jealous, Phaedra," he quipped back. "I'll put in a good word for you with Huntress Kadir."
The joke actually elicited a slight blush from the diminutive girl, and a wide grin forced its way onto his face. "Oh ho ho, does the great romantic cynic Phaedra actually have a crush?"
"I think you're right," Seraphina said, adopting an expression of mock horror. "Clearly she's been replaced with one of those illusionists!"
"Alright, that's enough out of you two!" Phaedra said, punching them both in the arm. The three of them chuckled, enjoying the moment, before the sounds of battle brought them back to the present.
Reed turned and gestured down the hall. "Come on. Let's do a sweep of the building, see where we are needed."
Despite the fact that the Guards had taken heavy losses securing the building, it looked like they were holding the structure quite well. The warehouse had taken up a significant portion of the first floor, and while its loss had left them with fewer strategic options, it had also been one of the hardest parts of the building to protect. Now, with it out of the picture, the Guards were able to focus their attention on better choke points.
Most of the glass windows on the first floor had been broken, but the heavy bars worked into the stone walls prevented any but the smallest Creatures of Grimm from pushing into the building. Two to three Guards were stationed at each window, using their gun-spears to strike at the horde from the relative safety of the building. Reed spotted Tamus and Ivory piling furniture in front of the door Phaedra had welded shut, and the three of them hurried over.
"Corporal Tamus," Reed said, throwing the Faunus a quick salute. "The warehouse is overrun, but we managed to seal the entryway into the rest of the building."
"Thank the Maidens for small blessings," Ivory said.
Tamus grunted as he dropped a large wooden table in front of the door, propping it so its sides were braced against either wall. "Good work. Where's Captain Gerstein? Huntress Kadir said that if the warehouse was lost she wanted any extra troops up on the roof."
"Gerstein's dead," Phaedra said, tone carefully neutral.
Tamus raised an eyebrow. "Is he? And you lot made it out? That's about the best outcome we could have hoped for."
Ivory rolled her eyes at the corporal. "Really, Henry? Save the gallows humor for when we've slipped the noose."
"I wasn't joking," Tamus muttered. Then, louder, he said, "The huntress left me in charge of holding the first floor, but it looks like we have things well in hand at the moment. You lot head up to the roof."
Saluting, the three of them made there way up the stairs. The dormitories, no longer shrouded in shadows and illusions, were a chaotic mess of milling Guards. Some of them were piling bodies in one room, technicians and Guards alike, to make room for the groaning masses of wounded troops. Reed caught sight of Abbey in one room, hair pulled back in a messy pony tail and eyes wide as she tightened a tourniquet on the stump of a screaming Guard's upper arm. She caught his gaze and threw a hasty salute before turning to another Guard holding a blood soaked cloth to her side.
They pushed on, Reed glancing in rooms to see Guards stationed at windows taking shots at the Grimm milling about below. He was almost surprised to see Captain Argentos defending one window herself. The bars of this window had been ripped out, but the captain stood firmly in front of the breach, a handful of gun-spears floating in the air around her, firing in concert with each flick of her rapier blade.
"That's a neat trick," Phaedra commented as they passed.
"Must be her semblance," Seraphina agreed.
As they neared the stairs to the roof they found a trio of Guards, Argentos's troops from the faint smell of alcohol, holding construction equipment and staring up at the gaping hole in the roof.
"They look a little lost," Reed said, glancing at Phaedra.
The forge apprentice nodded in agreement. "I'll help them patch the hole, you guys go see if the huntress needs any backup."
Reed jogged through the door and out onto the roof, Seraphina just behind him. The roof was lined with Guards, standing at the edges and aiming gun-spears down the face of the building. As he watched a Creeper managed to crest the edge of the roof, only for a trio of Guards to run over and skewer it with their weapons.
Huntress Kadir crouched on a metal support beam several dozen feet in the air, stock of her rail-gun against her shoulder as she scanned the sky. Chase perched on a beam above her, looking the other direction through the sights of his rifle. For the time being, it looked like the skies were clear.
Upon catching sight of Reed and Seraphina, the huntress stepped out into open air. The edges of her scarf let out a short blast of wind just before she hit the ground, cushioning her landing, and she strode over to the pair.
"Glad to see you two in one piece. What's the status of the first floor and the warehouse?"
Reed gave her a quick report. The woman didn't seem surprised that Gerstein hadn't survived the fight, saying only "Well, that's one less soldier now, but one fewer problems later."
When Reed was done with his report, he asked, "How long until the reinforcements from Beacon get here? I lost track of time when we were defending the warehouse."
"Any time now," the woman responded. She gestured towards the ravine with one hand, then winced, pressing the opposite hand over her bandaged arrow wound. "They should be coming straight up the ravine, but even flying in a Bullhead they will have a difficult time of it. We should operate on the assumption that they will be delayed."
Reed glanced over the edge of the roof, his mouth growing dry. The sudden barrage of artillery earlier had almost entirely cleared the caldera of Grimm, but now sufficient reinforcements had once again succeeded in covering every inch of the ground below in writhing black bodies. The sturdy construction of the building was holding against them, for now, but without something significant to tip the scales even that wouldn't last.
"Guess there's nothing to do but hold," Seraphina said, stepping up next to him. She slammed a gauntleted fist into her palm, cracking her knuckles as she eyed the Grimm attempting to climb the building below them. Many of them were unseated, either by the Guards on the roof or those stationed in the windows, but their sheer numbers were starting to push through the defenders.
A Creeper's claw latched onto the lip of the roof below Reed, and he struck the monster's head from its body before it could crest the roof. He glanced at Seraphina, a tired smile touching his lips. "Watch my back?"
"You know it," she said, returning the smile.
Minutes crept by like hours as the Guards set to their task. Reed and Seraphina ran back and forth across the roof, obliterating Grimm that slipped through the other Guards. Reed spent any spare second leaning over the edge of the roof, launching fireballs from Halvmoulge's tip into the horde below, while Seraphina hauled injured Guards back into the building whenever possible.
Reed had just shot a Beowolf attempting to rip the bars from a first floor window when he heard Chase call down from the beams of the support tower.
"Look out! Death Stalker on the northern wall!"
Reed and Seraphina spun, just in time to see a pair of massive pincers emerge onto the roof. They were followed by eight arachnid legs, a heavily armored scorpion-like body, and a barbed tail that hovered fifteen feet over their heads. They sprinted towards the Grimm, Huntress Kadir hard on their heels, already too late to save the first pair of Guards from being battered off the roof by the Grimm's pincers.
"Manticores coming fast from the west!"
Huntress Kadir swore, eyes flicking between the Death Stalker and a trio of giant, winged, lion-shaped Grimm that came hurtling out of the ravine.
"Go!" Reed shouted, "Seraphina and I can handle the Death Stalker!"
Huntress Kadir's eyes narrowed in concern, but she gave them a curt nod, changing course and jumping from the roof, a burst of wind from the tassels of her scarf launching her towards the Manticores.
"You sure about this?" Seraphina asked.
"No," Reed responded, gritting his teeth, "but we don't have much of a choice. That armored body is gonna be a problem in our state. Focus on disabling the stinger and the pincers."
"You got it," Seraphina said, and then they were upon the Grimm. It scuttled on its many legs to orient on them, massive pincers sweeping in from either side. Seraphina roared, and though the sound was tinged with exhaustion, her semblance flickered into place.
The glowing bear leaned over Reed, slamming its paws into each of the pincers and driving them into the concrete of the roof below them. The Grimm snapped its head forward, but Reed was already jumping, just barely clearing the mandibles snatching at the air below his feet. He landed in a low crouch on the Death Stalker's back, flipping the green switch on Halmvoulge's staff and slamming the ax head through an unarmored joint just behind one pincer. Seraphina pushed forward and latched her jaws into the black flesh behind the other pincer, closing her mouth with a snap.
Both limbs separated with a burst of black mist. The Death Stalker reeled backwards, thrashing, and its barbed tail suddenly rocketed towards Reed, still clinging to the creature's back. He spiked his semblance, shifting into a defensive stance and pushing the green switch to max power in order to position a block.
The wind bursting from Halmvoulge sputtered, and died.
Even with his perception of time slowed as it was, he only had a few seconds to stare in horror at the spiked tail. Then it was through his guard, deflecting only slightly off of his partial block, and slamming into his side, just above his hip.
Reed's aura, already strained by more than a dozen minor hits over the last few hours, shattered under the blow. He gasped as he felt the needle-sharp stinger pierce his skin and muscle, scraping painfully against bone, before the force of the blow flung him backwards.
He flew through the air, the breath driven from his lungs as he crashed into Seraphina's chest. The bear made from her aura flickered under the blow, disappearing as both of them rolled across the roof in a tangled heap, coming to a stop near the edge.
Reed's ears were ringing, his vision blurred with pain and exhaustion. He was vaguely aware of Seraphina shouting something, her pink hair swirling in a nauseating way as she leaned over him, one hand pressed to his cheek, the other to his side. Behind her, he could just make out Chase distracting the wounded Death Stalker, taking shots at the creature and jumping between the beams of the Support Tower to avoid the strikes of its tail.
Turning to the side, Reed vomited over the edge of the roof, the pain of the action almost causing him to black out. Below, he could see the door they had entered mere hours earlier, although it felt like a lifetime ago. A massive Ursa was beating at the metal door, and as he watched one of the welded hinges gave way. The Grimm let loose a victorious roar, grabbing the bent edges of the door with its paws and beginning to pull the door out of the wall.
"-ed! Reed, stay with me!"
Groaning, Reed pushed himself into a sitting position, gasping at the pain in his side. The roof was in utter chaos: Guards were being pushed back from the edges of the roof by waves of Grimm, more than a few of them turning and making a break for the door. Reed noted blearily that the hole appeared to have been successfully patched, although he had no idea how long it would hold. And he was fairly certain he had a concussion, because there was a sound echoing across the caldera that he couldn't place.
"Sera," he said groggily, "do you hear music?"
The pounding of blood in Reed's ears was fading, but the new sound was getting stronger with every second. It was unmistakably the thudding, rhythmic beat of a drum, and as it grew louder Reed was able to pick out an accompanying bass and guitar. He was still half convinced he was imagining things, but then a flying object rounded a corner in the ravine, the music redoubling in volume.
The Bullhead was flying at full throttle, just high enough that the Grimm swarming the ravine couldn't reach it. A girl in sunglasses leaned out one of the sliding doors, a strong arm in pale green armor holding her in place. She was wielding a Gatling gun and wearing an outfit that looked like it cost more than the house Reed had grown up in. She swept the gun side-to-side as the bullhead hurtled towards them, obliterating scores of the Creatures of Grimm in moments.
A subdued cheer went up from the tired Guards stationed in the windows below. Reed struggled to his feet, gasping in pain and leaning heavily on Halmvoulge for support.
"Thank the Maidens," he said, eyes wide, "they made it in time."
The Bullhead pulled up next to the support tower, its four occupants leaping from the ship. A massive boy in green armor dropped directly onto the back of the wounded Death Stalker, driving the creature flat against the roof and cracking its thick body armor. He pulled a sword as long as he was tall from his back, slamming its hooked tip through one of the cracks and deep into the Grimm's body.
A small boy with medium-length red hair and bladed bracers landed in a roll, coming to his feet and sprinting along the edge of the roof. His arms flashed out, bracers reinforcing punches that crumpled Grimm with every blow.
The girl with the Gatling gun landed a few paces from Reed, along with the fourth and final member of the team, a bunny-Faunus in light armor with a small box strapped to her belt. She looked over the edge of her sunglasses at Reed and Seraphina, taking in their haggard appearance in a moment.
"Hey there kiddos, you the Town Guard from Adigiar?"
"Yeah," Reed said, holding his side and watching with awe as the two boys cleared the roof of Grimm in a matter of moments. He noticed idly that other than Seraphina, Chase, and himself, there were no other Guards left on the roof. "Thanks for the help, I'm not sure how much longer we would have lasted."
"Thank you for holding out long enough for us to make an entrance," the girl said, winking at them. "What's the situation?"
"There's a door just below us on the first floor that's been breached," Reed said, teeth clenched against the pain in his side as he gestured behind him.
"Yatsuhashi! Fox!" The girl called to the two boys, pointing in the direction that Reed had indicated. "Over the edge, contain the breach!"
The two boys sprinted over without a second's hesitation, throwing themselves from the roof. Yatsuhashi, the large boy in pale green armor, landed sword first, a shock wave scattering Grimm and driving them away from the open door. Fox landed just behind him, charging into the building without a backwards glance.
"Are they going to be alright on their own?" Seraphina asked, tone worried.
The girl in glasses chuckled. "Honey, we are Team CFVY, top of our year at Beacon. It'll take more than a measly horde of Grimm to take us down. Velvet!"
"Yeah Coco?" The bunny-Faunus responded.
"We've got Grimm to cut down to size," Coco said, "and I want no further casualties. We're gonna need you on this one."
The Faunus's face lit up with excitement. "Really?!"
"Yeah, really," Coco said, smiling at the girl, "Just don't waste anything rare. In fact, I think just Gianduja will do."
"You got it!" Velvet walked towards the edge of the roof, holding one hand out to the side. Blue light burst from the box strapped to the small of her back, scanning across the air until a pale replica of Coco's Gatling gun settled into her hands. The Faunus leaned over the edge, the gun spinning to life in her hands and tearing through the Creatures of Grimm surrounding the building.
Coco turned toward the opposite edge of the roof, looking over one shoulder. "Why don't you two fall back, we can handle it from here."
Reed glanced at Seraphina, then down at his side. The bleeding was slowing, a sign that his aura was starting to recover. It still hurt, but the thought of cowering indoors while others risked their lives didn't sit well with him.
"I've still got ranged dust," he said.
"And I've still got my claws," Seraphina said, slamming her fists together.
"Oh, I like you two," Coco said, smiling at them. "Alright, you cover the wall above Yatsuhashi. Velvet and I will split the rest." She turned away from them, pulling out her scroll. "Pilot? Play my song. We've got Grimm to kill."
Shortly after Team CFVY had cleared the roof Guards started sheepishly filing back out, taking up places along the edge and firing gun-spears into the Grimm below. Reed eventually ran out of dust and was forced to retreat into the building below, leaning heavily on Seraphina for support, allowing a fresh group of Guards to take their place.
The building beneath the Support Tower had settled into a rhythm, wounded huddling in the center of the building while Guards stationed at each window assisted in thinning the diminishing horde outside. Not in critical enough condition to take up the time of the few medics they had, Reed settled onto the floor of the hallway with a groan, Seraphina sliding to the ground next to him with a sigh.
"Reed! Miss Muscles!"
They looked up just in time to see a blur of blue hair before Phaedra was kneeling on the ground between them, an arm thrown around each of their shoulders. "By the Maiden's unmentionables, I'm glad you're alright."
"That's a relative term," Reed said with a grimace, but he returned the embrace. "What happened to you after the roof was patched?"
"A big-ass Ursa broke into the building, that's what," Phaedra said, releasing the two of them and sitting against the opposite wall. "I ran downstairs to seal the door again. Tamus and Ivory were holding the thing back, but in these confined spaces it was a force of nature. Then this little twig of a boy showed up, punched it dead center in the chest, and the thing just—" she flung her hands wide and made a pop noise.
Reed chuckled, leaning his head against the wall and closing his eyes. "Yeah, Team CVFY is really something, huh? Guess that's the difference between Beacon students and just some grunts in the Town Guard."
"Actually, I'd say you're easily on the level of a first year student at Beacon."
Reed blinked, opening his eyes. Velvet walked down the hall, smiling as she stopped to lean against the wall next to Phaedra. "The best teacher is experience, after all. To survive your first horde is impressive, you all should be proud."
"Thanks," Reed said, looking down. "Still, we never would have survived without your support."
"We're all in this together," Velvet said, smiling down at them. "At least, that's what Professor Ozpin always says. From the greatest Huntsman to the smallest child, we all do what we can to help each other survive. There's more to fighting the creatures of Grimm than a Huntsman license."
Through his exhaustion, Reed felt the words touch him deep in his chest, kindling an ember that had almost burned out when he lost his chance to take the Beacon entrance exam. It wasn't the same blazing inferno of desire to attend the academy he'd once had. It was something smaller, but denser. Tempered, and strong.
"That's a nice halberd, by the way. Do you mind if I get a picture of it?"
"Picture?" Reed asked, confused. Velvet pulled the box from her belt, and to Reed's surprise it shifted into a camera. "Oh, is that how that works? Yeah go ahead. Phaedra there is the one who made it, along with Sera's gauntlets."
"Oooo a dedicated weapons forger?" Velvet said, snapping a few pictures of Halmvoulge and the knives at Sera's waist. "That's so cool!"
Phaedra beamed at the girl. "Oh, you know, I do what I do," she said with modesty so false it prompted Seraphina to roll her eyes. "Stop by Edmund Blau's Forge if you're ever in Adigiar. Although," she said thoughtfully, pressing one finger to her chin, "It might be Phaedra Blau's Forge by the time you get around to it."
Despite Team CVFY's reinforcement, it still took the better part of the day to purge the rest of the Grimm from the caldera and ravine. Coco, the leader of Team CVFY, remained on the roof the entire time, directing Guards and team members alike with her natural air of authority and confidence, showing deference only to Huntress Kadir. It was well after nightfall before the sound of her Gatling gun ceased to crack through the air.
Shortly after the Grimm had been cleared a pair of lights appeared in the night sky, another Bullhead from Beacon pulling up to the Support Tower and disgorging a team of technicians and engineers. They immediately set to work repairing the Support Tower and the building beneath it, and by the time the horizon started to lighten communication had been restored to Adigiar.
Team CVFY departed shortly after, once they were sure communications were stable. Despite their skill, it had been a long fight, and even they looked exhausted as they dropped into the seats in the back of their Bullhead. Velvet gave Reed and his friends a tired wave as the ship rose into the air, jetting off towards Beacon to the north.
After days of hard marching and fighting an entire horde of Grimm, all Reed wanted to do was curl up in a cot and sleep for a week. That being said, the Support Tower didn't have nearly the beds to garrison the Town Guard, even after they'd lost fully a third of their number on the expedition. So it was that he joined the grumbling Guards as they began the long trek back to Adigiar.
The first day Reed sat in the back of the expedition truck, which had been converted to a troop transport for the more grievously wounded. The Guards that sat near him nodded to him, and more than one personally approached him to tell him that his actions had saved their lives, or those of one of their friends. Reed smiled and made polite conversation, but now that the battle had passed he felt more solemn than victorious. The number of Guards that walked the road now were so much fewer than those who had set out less than one week ago.
By the dawn of the second day Reed's recovering aura had fully closed the wound in his side. He chose to march from there on, feeling the stiffness from the freshly healed wound fade with each passing mile. He was just starting to feel better when a group of scouts returned, and Huntress Kadir waved for him to join her.
His squad followed him to the head of the column of Guards, Abbey peeling away from her position next to the expedition truck. She'd taken to field medicine with a passion, and now she spent every spare moment monitoring the condition of the wounded riding in the back of the truck and listening with rapt attention to the medics as they explained their craft. That being said, any time Reed's squad had an assignment, she was there, standing at attention and ready.
"I don't mean to put more on your shoulders," Huntress Kadir said, eyes sad as they came to a halt next to her, "But I thought you should know."
Reed gave her a quizzical look, but then he saw what the scouts were holding. The body looked like someone had used it as a pincushion, then rolled it down a cliff, but the grizzled face and scarred eye were still recognizable.
"Delphin," Reed sighed, tears springing to his eyes. Beside him Abbey gasped, holding a hand to her mouth, while Chase and Seraphina just stared sadly down at the corpse.
"I guess this answers the question of how long Neo was hiding among our ranks," Phaedra said, walking over from where the forge apprentices marched behind the expedition truck.
"Looks like he gave her quite a fight, though," Seraphina said.
Reed nodded. It made his heart ache to see the mute veteran reduced to a beaten and bloody corpse, but a small part of him was happy. Happy that the man who had fought with them against the Heroes of Humanity was exactly who Reed thought he had been, and not a villain in disguise.
Huntress Kadir gave their squad leave to break off from the column. They had reentered the forest surrounding Adigiar earlier in the day, and it didn't take them long to find a peaceful clearing to lay the older man to rest. Phaedra used her hammer to dig a grave, scooping the earth out with a clever bit of dust manipulation and using a chisel that she pulled from her pack to carve a simple gravestone. They then each took turns pushing earth into the hole with their bare hands, until only a small mound remained in the center of the clearing.
"I don't know much about Delphin," Reed said, mostly to himself, "But first thing when we get back to Adigiar I am going to see if he has any family or friends, and let them know where we laid him to rest."
Seraphina put an arm around his shoulder, and together the squad observed a moment of silence, disturbed only by the rustling of the leaves in the trees around the clearing. One by one they turned and made their way back to the column, Seraphina hesitating before Reed waved her on.
"Give me just a moment alone, I'll join you all in a minute."
When the clearing was empty apart from himself, he raised his eyes to stare at one of the trees surrounding the clearing. A slight gleam had caught his attention, and sure enough a figure in a mottled cloak dropped from the branches a moment later.
"I'm impressed you noticed my presence," Argrom said, straightening and staring at Reed from the deep shadows of his hood.
Reed snorted. "Somehow I doubt it was an accident that the light glinted off your equipment just enough for me to see."
A thin smile spread across the man's face. "You'd be surprised how many people would just assume that a trick of the light."
Argrom prowled in a circle around the clearing, eyes always on Reed, but hood twitching in a way that made Reed think that his pointed ears were scanning the woods for company. At another time, the prowling would have made Reed nervous, but he found he was too tired to be intimidated by Argrom's animalistic nature. The man came to a stop in front of Reed, crossing his arms.
"Originally, I told Kiwi and the Tanners brat that I wouldn't assist them beyond the boundaries of my forest."
Reed raised an eyebrow at that. Somehow, the statement didn't surprise him. Argrom struck him as a man who cared little for the lives of other people. "I saw you collapse a cliff side in the ravine. What changed your mind?"
A squirming movement in the folds of Argrom's cloak drew Reed's gaze. The Faunus stuck a hand in one pocket, pulling out a wriggling fox cub. The tiny creature saw Reed and started yapping excitedly, struggling to get out of Argrom's grip.
"Easy, little one, easy," Argrom said, his soft tone surprising Reed. He looked up at Reed, and while Reed wouldn't call the expression kind, it was not the cold granite he was accustomed to. "Very little happens between these trees without my knowledge."
The mewling of the tiny little fox brought a smile to Reed's face. "I didn't even know you existed when I stopped that Ursa from crushing their den."
"No," Argrom said, "You didn't. That's the point."
He walked up to Reed, holding out his hand. "On behalf of the plants and animals of the forest, I recognize you, Reed Aoki, as a defender of the innocent. If you ever require the assistance of the forest, this little one will know where to find me."
Surprised at the emotion behind the words, Reed held his hand out. The fox cub jumped into his palm, clawing its way up his sleeve and draping itself over his shoulder. He smiled down at the little creature, opening his mouth to say something, but by the time he looked up Argrom had disappeared.