The Deathstalker scuttled towards me, deceptively quick for its size. I followed suit.
I launched forward with Crocea Mors at the ready and leapt once it thrust one of its pincers at me. My leg lashed out to kick off the claw, and I landed smoothly on the back of the Grimm. The arachnid bucked but it didn't manage to break my balance, and instead it shifted strategy to rocking back and forth. A stinger equipped tail predictably jabbed towards me and I reacted without pause. The stinger banged harshly against the face of my shield, and the second it let up I retracted and swung my blade precisely. The shell cracked against the edge of Crocea Mors and the meat swiftly parted around my weapon. The golden segment of the scorpion tail separated neatly from the rest of it and the monster paused to screech in agony. I took full advantage of the now steady surface and sliced the tail following each segment it had to the base. The sound each segment made plopping to the ground was unique.
With the tail out of the picture and the Grimm in too much pain to prevent it, I took my weapon towards the side of the beast. A wide arcing slash freed the four legs on that side from the body, and the Deathstalker immediately slumped to the ground with smoke pouring from the twitching severed legs. It scrambled, skittered and screeched to no avail as I regained my footing and turned towards the head of the beast. Steadily I raised my sword high above myself, and brought it down with the force of every muscle in my body. The tip penetrated the bone plating between its many eyes like butter, driving to the hilt in the blink of an eye.
It went still unceremoniously, and I ripped Crocea Mors out of the giant scorpion. As smoke spilled from the wounds, I dismounted the beast and looked back the way I came. The disintegrating bodies of Ursa and Creeps littered the path, and behind them Glynda Goodwitch walked nonchalantly towards me.
"Impressive work." She announced when we neared each other, gesturing towards the carnage with her crop. "Even compared to your most recent demonstration in class, you've improved tremendously. Almost impossibly so."
"Things change, or so I've been told." I responded noncommittally.
"If you don't mind, what exactly is our intention here? I'm certain you don't intend to use my favor to simply cruise around Beacon's grounds."
Her words were true enough. We'd departed from the Green Zone and cut a path through what little resistance was left back to Beacon Academy. Unfortunately the automated defenses either don't extend to the school or are somehow separate from the network, so we've been fighting through pockets of Grimm since we'd arrived. I'd led her all this way without explaining my purpose in coming here, so it probably needs to be done. Without words, I turned and pointed to the roofless tip of Beacon tower.
The reaction was instant.
"Mr. Arc! I hope I'm misunderstanding something here. I'm not sure if I can support something so-!" She started, incredulity dripping from her words as she worked herself up.
"I have to see." The words tasted like ash.
"Jaune." Ms. Goodwitch hedged, a somber tone quietly taking root in her voice. "Are you absolutely sure you want to?"
I gazed up at the tower. In all honesty my blood felt like ice as I looked, and the memories played back in my head. My eyes locked onto the stone-like Wyvern that had been glued to the tower ever since that day.
"I tried so hard to get to her. The Nevermore, White Fang, even the Commander were just in my way. After all of those victories, I failed where it mattered." My voice carried the explanation blankly. They made me feel hollow. "I need to see what happened. I need to see what it cost."
A soft embrace from behind me brought me out of my spiral. It was something I would have never expected. It was warm.
"It's okay, Jaune. You went miles above what anyone and everyone expected. Because of you, those White Fang are properly in custody." Ms. Goodwitch said to me, her voice slightly muffled by my armor. "The Headmaster once told me of the failures that he felt defined him, but look at all the victories he accomplished. He would be proud of you today, as would your friends and your family."
She let go and walked to my side, straightening the cuffs of her outfit.
"And as your Professor, Mr. Arc, I am too." She flashed a put-together smile at me, and I simply sighed as stress left me.
"Thank you. I'll need your help, Ms. Goodwitch. I doubt the elevators are working, so we'll need a way up the tower." I explained, playing with the pommel of Crocea Mors as I mulled over her words. A smirk played across her lips at my words.
"Very well, Mr. Arc. Shall we?"
The journey went by quickly with the Professors help. We passed by many portions of the route I had taken originally, and I was pleased to see no sign of the White Fang I faced. Before long we reached the courtyard of the main building, the very same one that I battled the Commander in. Rubble from the torn off roof of the tower littered the yard, and with the shattered concrete and previous damage from my fight it almost looked like a different place entirely.
I yanked my shield from the caved-in rib cage of the last Beowolf just in time to sidestep a Creep that leapt at me. As it flew by helplessly I slashed, and the legs of the creature were chopped off cleanly. The Grimm landed on the ground hard, and with a screech it tumbled across the landing at the top of the stairs. It sat there writhing on the concrete as I approached, and without a second thought I crunched its skull under my foot and walked through the ruined doors of the main building. Glynda walked beside me as we made our way through the building. I kept my eyes open, but was surprised at the lack of Grimm throughout the floor. In a matter of minutes we reached the elevators.
"Well…" Ms. Goodwitch started as we eyed the chamber. "Looks like your intuition was correct."
I hummed as we eyed the empty elevator shaft. The sliding doors meant to cover it were seemingly opened with great force, as the frame was warped and dented. I stuck my head into the empty shaft and gazed down first, and balked at the dark depths beneath me. Upwards was slightly better, as I could make out some form of light at the top. A shower of sparks sprayed from a frayed cable at me in the shaft, and I simply stepped back out of range. There were snapped wires and cables that hung from the walls from whatever happened that I noted, watching the occasional spark that jumped from a few.
I jumped slightly when an odd force came over me. Looking down at my hands, I saw sparkles of royal purple that glittered and popped over the surface of my gloves. A sensation I've never felt before appeared, and it took me a second to properly label it. My feet left the ground without a sound, and I finally realized what I was feeling was weightlessness. My gaze flicked over to my Professor, and I quickly put together what was happening.
"You can fly?"
"Of course, though not very fast." She answered, covered in the same sparkling purple aura that had coated me. I watched as Glynda adjusted the grip on her crop and slowly lifted from the ground with a look of concentration on her face. "Top Floor?"
I just smirked and nodded.
The both of us were maneuvered into the vacant elevator shaft smoothly and began to rise. I silently reveled in the experience even though I wasn't in control. The shower of sparks passed us by and was left behind as we rose to the top in silence. Now in the shaft I could make out the odd damage done to the inside. Deep gouges were carved into the interior from something scraping against the walls, and many important looking pieces of metal and plastic looked to be melted to slag.
'What really happened here?'
I was unable to dwell on the thought for long, as the top had been reached… so to speak. It was the bottom of the missing elevator, and it had a massive hole shot straight through it like a cannon. I reached a hand out to scrape at the burned and frayed edges of the metal puncture wound, but the moment I touched it the elevator screeched against the walls and dropped. Before it got close it was covered in the same purple sparkling aura as me and launched like a bullet. It broke free from the walls that sandwiched it and careened into the empty sky above, soon falling beyond the scope of my vision. We touched down on the floor at the top of the tower and in the blink of an eye the semblance of the Professor deactivated.
"Good call." I complimented, looking beside me only to raise an eyebrow. "Professor?"
"Hah, controlling other things is easy, but manipulating myself has always been taxing." Glynda huffed out, having fallen to her knees in a sitting position. "Do what you must. I will rest here."
I simply grunted and left her.
As I toed forward I was buffeted by the winds. They blew harshly at my hair and caught on the small holes in my armor. I gazed across what once was Ozpin's office with my hand rested on the handle of Crocea Mors. Not only had the roof been ripped from the building, but the walls went with it. With the glass shattered, the only remnants of structure left were the stubborn bases of columns lining the circular room and various bits of rubble I could only attribute to the clock that once rested above the office. The gust felt cool against my skin, but the only thing I got chills from was the enormous ashen head of the Grimm that peeked over the side. My eyes were locked on it for a minute, but soon I broke away to find what I came here for.
Deep gouges and furrows littered the floor. As I walked I noticed the deformed areas of the stone and metal flooring where it had been melted down and slagged from the heat. I dragged my shoe against a large row of soot that marred the stone beneath me, a scowl forming on my face in distaste.
"All of this destruction…" I muttered, trailing off as I struggled to pin down the wave of emotions I felt. They were a mix of many; regret, dissatisfaction, anger, and a growing feeling of dread. I kept all of it under the surface, so as to feel them and deal with them silently. "I should have been here."
A glint of bronze caught my eye from under a bit of metal rubble from the clock. I raced over and snatched it from the ground. I turned the piece over in my hand for a few seconds before realization hit my mind. In an instant I picked the metal framing up and tossed it over the side of the tower, the weight of it not registering to my muscles in my frenzy. I quickly scanned the uncovered floor where it was and grabbed two more pieces.
"Damnit." I cursed. The three pieces of Pyrrha's javelin Miló rested, clenched by my fingers. I scrapped against the blackened edges from where it had been melted into three segments.
A scowl grew on my face and I swept my eyes back around the impromptu arena. I didn't have to look long. My feet raced to the second bit of bronze that I saw shining from the scarred tower, and I grabbed it with urgency. I fell to my ass with Miló clattering to the ground next to me. I looked darkly at the bronze headdress I held between both hands. There was a buzzing in the back of my head, like a broken tone being played as I stared. Every heartbeat rocked my body, and I struggled to look away.
"Pyrrha." I choked out, caressing the curves of the headdress between my gloved hands. The chains hung from the bronze neatly, with one of the jade decorations shattered and half missing.
A few moments passed silently with me sitting on the cool stone before I was able to rip my eyes away from the bronze. Full of apprehension I slid my gaze across the ruined office, hoping to find nothing else as I held myself together. Unfortunately, they landed on something that looked vaguely familiar. I got to my feet, taking the time to collect Miló before shuffling over to what caught my interest. My feet moved across the stone like bricks, the effort needed to pick them up nearly causing me to topple. Seconds passed like days by the time I made it over, and all the pieces I collected clattered again to the floor as I dropped to my knees.
Shaking gloved hands inched towards the blackened, soot covered metal. The flanges, the curves, the interlocking connection all looked familiar to me in an odd way. My hands landed on the hollow tube, and I went to work scraping the black away with my gloves. The shaking made it hard, but eventually I succeeded.
The shaking worsened when the bright bronze shined through the black.
"No!" I finally hit my limit as I snatched her leg armor and clutched it close. Tears ran down my cheeks silently, and my chest vibrated with held-back cries. I sat there for minutes that felt like hours, holding what Pyrrha had left behind until the odd discomfort in my neck became too much. Head slightly clearer than before, I held the armor away from me only to notice the odd rod that protruded from the thigh. I set the armor down, noting the light clink that came from the rod as I did so. I grabbed it gently, only now realizing how the metal seemed to have melted around the protrusion in its side. It was extracted without issue thanks to the slagged hole.
In the end, I held a glass arrow in my hand.
[AN- Great reception last chapter, lots of comments and new followers and favorites! The comments were great, glad you like the twists I'm using. We're almost passed the 200 follow border, keep it going. Enjoy some heartbreak... what could possibly happen next?]