Metal like Roses
By ReaderWarrior
I do not own Mistborn or RWBY.
Love, Lost, and Losing
Beta'd by: Icarus720
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Aion - Thank you for your kind words! I don't plan on stopping. It just kinda… pauses by itself.
While his sister found their ability to turn into birds a curse, Qrow usually found it freeing. The wind in his feathers, the updraft pushing against his wings, it almost makes me forget…
Qrow's wings flapped sporadically as he dodged another Griffin's talons. Even if the monsters didn't specifically target animals, it still was a hassle for him to fly around them without an accidental clipping. Sucking in his breath, and activating the magic within him, Qrow felt his body morph and extrude. Within a blink of an eye, Qrow, him, not the bird, was in the air. It took a moment for gravity to return and he quickly unsheathed his sword from his back and whipped it to the side.
Harbinger's blade cut into another Griffin's side as he used the momentum to pull the blade from its side down to its stomach. The creature squawked painfully as it lurched to the side, pulling Qrow up as it spun and tried to shake off the huntsman.
Hanging on for support, Qrow gripped his sword's handle tighter as he stood on top of the Grimm as it died. Instantly, the Grimm's body began to crumble to dust and flakes. But there was enough time for him to pull out his flask and take a swig.
Ugh, that's better, he thought as he pocketed the container just as his standing platform disappeared completely. Qrow didn't fall far, however. Just as he reached inside of him to Change, he felt something hard and metallic slam into his feet. His legs buckled and he hit the 'ground' hard. Damn! He cursed as he fell to his knees. I'm too old for this.
The bullhead's pilot looked up in shock through the windshield as Qrow gave him a half-drunken smile before jumping to his feet. Groaning, he turned around to see dozens of other ships heading towards Amity Colosseum. It wasn't a bad plan.
An unnatural scream caught his attention. To the right, about 4 or so ships from the lead, a slow-rising Nevermore flapped its wings. Groaning, Qrow rose to his feet and walked over to the edge of the Bullhead, where Harbinger had landed. He grabbed the handle and spun it around his wrist before sliding it into its sheath behind his cape. Then he jumped once more into the open air.
The Change seemed to come more quickly when he was falling. Perhaps it was the fact his blood was pumping. Or possibly how he was already where avian's dwelled, connecting him to the sky. Raven always seemed to question the magic. But Qrow?
Qrow just flew.
The wind in his wings lifted him as he spread them wide. With nothing more than a flap, he jetted towards the approaching Grimm. Qrow twists in the air as he approaches the creature. The Nevermore ignored him and continued to assault the flying ship.
Just as it grabbed one of the wings, Qrow Changed once more as he flew upward. Quickly wielding Harbinger, Qrow sliced through one of the Nevermore's wings. Then, as gravity claimed him, he sliced the other wing as he fell past it.
The Nevermore let out a loud yell as it became, in a sense, 'armless. Qrow chuckled to himself as the wind whipped through his hair. I'm gonna have to tell Yang about that one later when I find her. As he once again landed atop a Bullhead, he remembered the events that led him here.
After Oz sent him away, Qrow circled around the greater Vale city. As a crow, he was able to get an aerial view of Glynda's plan. As much as he would never admit it to her face, it was a good plan. Ruby and the other hunts-people would defend the bull-head docks while everyone evacuated to the flying stadium. Then, if their luck would hold, James' soldiers and Knights would surround the attackers from the rear and this would all be over.
The Bullhead he was standing on suddenly lurched. Qrow scowled. As if luck would ever be on my side. Glancing to one of the ship's motors, he notices one of the Nevermore's blade-like feathers embedded in the turbine. Qrow groans inwardly as he dashes forward to dislodge the feather. Before he could, however, a bright silver light bursts from behind him.
Qrow turns around, facing the light with his hand raised in front of his eyes. As the light touches the Grimm's feather, it fades into dust.
Summer?
Vin went limp in Yang's arms.
A few yards ahead of them, Blake fired a second shot. Unable to react in time, Vin was knocked out of Yang's grip and fell on her back. Blood began to seep from the wounds Blake had inflicted upon her as her body became increasingly still. The cement and grass started to gush red as Vin's blood pushed itself through her wounds.
Blake…? Yang thought, too shocked to rationalize. "No!" she yelled. Instinctively, she turned to face her attacker and growled. Yang crouched and stepped forward with her fist raised high. It has to be Neo, Yang expected as she rushed forward.
But her opponent's eyes seemed to focus as she lowered her weapon. "Yang?" The fact that she spoke meant nothing to her at this point as her fist sailed into her teammate's surprised expression.
Even though Blake's aura was strong enough to absorb the bow, she still fell back on her butt. Yang snarled at her before running back over to Vin and trying to press her hands against her wounds. Blood seeped through her shirt as Yang pushed down.
"Damn," Yang mumbled. "Vin, c'mon, wake up." The blonde continued to whisper to Vin as she did her best to both keep the blood from flowing and attempting to pull out her scroll from her pocket. The ichor made it difficult to hold; the scroll quickly fell out of her hands and onto the ground. She frantically tried to call someone - anyone - who could bring help.
But Yang froze when she heard Blake move behind her.
"Get the HELL away!" Yang yelled, not bothering to look back.
"I… I don't know what- There was Adam and-"
"What does it look like? You shot her! We were finally out and you shot her!" Tiny droplets of water began to fall from her eyes as she pushed down harder on Vin's wounds with one hand. Why? Why does this keep happening? To her, to me, to Ruby…
To Mom.
Yang squeezed a piece of Vin's shirt and growled. "Go."
"But…"
"I said go!" Yang roared. "Haven't you caused enough trouble? Everything that has happened has been your fault! The docks, the White Fang, and now this! If you had never come here, everyone would be safe!" The blonde couldn't even look at her frie- teamma- ally.
Former ally.
"Just go."
For a few moments, nothing happened. Yang continued to try and stop the bleeding, but at this moment she could no longer remember the lessons she was taught about wounds and how to take care of them. All she could do was to try and keep the blood in.
"Yang?" a soft voice whispered.
Snapping her head around, Yang's eyes sparked crimson for a moment. However, when she looked behind, she didn't see Blake anywhere. Instead, a very disheveled Pyrrha Nikos clutched her sword in one hand, and a robot limb in the other. Flecks of dust were visible all over the woman's body. It almost made it look as if she were glowing.
The redhead's eyes were wild as she knelt down and picked something up. Vin's mistcloak, Yang realized.
"What's going on?" Pyrrha asked, grabbing the cloth. "Where is everyone? And why are you-" she gasped, just now noticing Vin's body. Quicker than she'd seen Pyrrha move outside of battle, the redhead was across from Yang. With trembling fingers, she held her hands over Vin's chest and let out a guttural groan. "Oh no. No, no, no."
Pyrrha looked up at Yang. "What happened?"
"I can't believe that worked!" Mercury laughed, carrying Emerald around his shoulders. "At first, I thought Cinder was crazy, but watching that bitch's look of betrayal in her eyes when her own teammate shot her was worth it!"
Emerald groans, "for you, maybe. But I was the one projecting images into multiple people's minds. My semblance hasn't been pushed this far in a while."
They turn the corner, once more returning to their underground getaway. They would have to bug out soon, since part of their plan was to bring Vin down here. It was simple, at first. Emerald would help Vin escape while Mercury would bring Blake to her. It was almost too easy. Thanks to Emerald's semblance (Hallucinations), she projected a key into Vin's mind and made her think she was escaping.
Up top, Mercury had easily found Blake who was already looking for her captured teammate. All he had to do was stall until Vin, and Emerald, made their way to him.
What they didn't expect, however, was Yang.
Somehow the blonde bitch had snuck her way into their base. Emerald had to stay behind and keep herself invisible from Yang's gaze while also keeping her from finding anything other than Vin. Then she had to conjure up Adam's figure when they reached the surface in front of Blake.
Then she shot 'him'!
Oh, Gods, I wish we could have stayed longer and recorded that. Her reaction was priceless! And I bet blondy is going to kill Blake too!
Mercury giggled to himself once more, causing Emerald to shake her head.
"Ugh," she groaned, "if you're just going to fantasize the whole way, let me down."
Without a second thought, Mercury let go and felt Emerald fall to the ground. Much to his dismay, however, she somehow fell into a crouch and was back on her feet before he could even turn around.
Rubbing her head, she continued walking down the path. "If I didn't have this throbbing migraine, I'd be flooding your mind with so many visions, you'd be talking to a Cinder puppet for comfort."
"Aww, that's a shame. And here I thought we were all friends." Mercury jumped slightly at the voice of their 'leader' and looked back to see Cinder's familiar form.
Emerald yelped and ran forward, teacher's pet. "Cinder! Are you okay? Did you deal with the Maiden?"
"Did you really think I couldn't handle one old man and a simple trainee?" Cinder scoffed but Mercury still saw the disdain in her eyes, that rage which drew him to join her in the first place. "Pyrrha Nikos was able to escape thanks to that withered fool, with Amber's half of the power. But no matter, she is still too young to reach her full potential."
"And Ozpin?" Mercury asked, crossing his arms.
Cinder smirked and her eye flickered aflame as she held up her hand. On her palm, were the familiar, yet cracked, glasses of Beacon's headmaster. A moment later and a flame encompassed the spectacles, turning them to a molten goo. Cinder shook her hand, tossing the puddle of molten metal onto the ground.
"Dead."
-Hostile software detected- her HUD warned as Penny slowly lifted herself to her feet. She shivered and held her arms close to her chest as she did so, unable to shake that feeling of dread running through her circuits.
Ignoring the implications of her feeling something other than a physical sense, she turned towards where the last of the Bullheads was heading. By now, it was almost a speck in the sky as it passed under the shadow of Amity.
Penny smiled. Their plan had worked. All of the civilians had safely evacuated to the skies, leaving only the huntsmen, huntresses, and military. All they had to deal with was the White Fang, the Grimm, and -Hostile software detected-.
Closing her eyes, she reaches inside of herself and inspects her code. Her self, or what digital attributes exist within her, are safe. However, all around 'her', like a storm outside of a shelter, exist harsh lines of code. Almost similarly to tendrils, they smash against the firewalls surrounding her. Luckily, it seemed as if whatever virus was attempting to access her systems was not prepared for her level of defense. She easily added an extra layer of defenses, just to be sure, before 'peering' over the firewall.
It only took her a few moments to look over the code and study it. Whoever designed this is almost as smart as Father, Penny thought as she analyzed the code. Time flew by as she studied it. Yoctoseconds turned into zeptoseconds. Then to attoseconds. By the time she had fully understood what this software was attempting to do, almost three entire seconds had passed!
That took longer than expected, she thought.
Eyes wide with realization, Penny opened her eyes, jumped down from her perch, and ran as fast as she could towards where she last saw Ruby go. She instinctively unsheathed two of her blades and connected to their strings. Every so often, a lone Grimm Ursai would run at her and end up sliced into three pieces as her blades swung through it with ease.
Penny tried hard to ignore the increasingly large amount of red puddles she ran through as she grew closer and closer to the entrance of the dockyard.
I have to warn them, she thought. The virus- I can see its code. It's not for me, it's for-
She stops suddenly as she sees her friends standing in a line behind a wall of ice and earth, or whatever remained of it. Like a forest after a day of work, all that remained were the stumps. From here, she could see Jaune and Nora crouching behind the wall with Ironwood huddled above them.
"General!" she yelled, running up to them.
Ironwood's head snapped around. "Polledina! Get down!" Above them, a group of Atlesian Knights stepped forward. Faceplates red, and guns raised, they prepared to fire upon Penny. However, she was still leagues more advanced than them and easily swiped her blades before they could fire.
"Rescue has arrived!" smiled as jagged pieces of metal, wires, and circuits fell to the ground.
Before they could celebrate, a white light obscured everything from their view. It was so bright, Penny's sensors were flooded and blinded from all data within her HUD. A loud scream accompanied the light, one that Penny barely recognized as Ruby's, as well as a soft tone.
The light died a few moments after it began. As soon as she could see, Penny leaped over the remnants of the wall and froze.
Oh, my.
Ruby was safely unconscious and crouched over, holding Weiss in her arms. Her cape was wrapped around her, comforting the Schnee heiress. Penny moves forward slowly towards the unmoving duo, only to stop as her foot hits something metallic. She looks down in confusion and gasps.
Weiss' blade lay on the ground beneath her. However, Penny's eyes focus on the larger limb gripping its handle. That's Weiss'... The artificial girl shudders in horror as she stares at Weiss' bloodied and amputated arm.
Her head snaps back up to study her friends and gasps. What she thought was Ruby's cape, was actually a pool of blood. Weiss' blood, she realizes. Penny falls to her knees, too shocked to stand. Her digital mind just couldn't understand. How? What? When?
Who?
Across from her, a man in all black rises from behind an overt-turned van. Clutching the side of his face, he stumbles forward and holds out his sword in a wide swing recklessly.
"Schnee!" He roars.
Something guttural rises to Penny's throat. Him! Rising to her feet, she rolls her shoulder blades and unless the full total of her blades. She swings them outward and folds the blades back, revealing the Floating Array's ray guns. Before her target could see her, she spreads her arms wide and claps her hand, firing the green, magnetic energy.
It hits him square in the chest and blasts him backward. His sword goes flying out of his hand as he is knocked free. Penny loses sight of him as he crashes into another White Fang van. She breathes hard and drops her hands as her blades sheath themselves within her pack.
"Penny?" Jaune asks, placing a hand on her shoulder. "What's wro- Oh my gods!" He frantically scrambles forward and grabs Ruby's shoulders and rests her on her back before pressing his hand on Weiss' bloodied limb. "Help!" he cries, "somebody get help!" Nora runs forward to do so, only to freeze at the sight of her friends.
Panting softly, Penny almost collapses from energy deprivation. Before she could fall, however, General Ironwood grabbed her by the shoulders and helped hold her up.
"It wasn't supposed to be like this," he whispers.
Penny frowns and looks up, "sir?"
He shakes his head. "I could have prevented this… If only Oz-"
Before he could continue, Penny's scroll begins to vibrate. She slowly pulls it out and frowns at the unknown number. "Hello?" she asks after accepting the call. Maybe it's one of the Amity survivors.
"This is Pyrrha Nikos. We need immediate medical evac now."
Ironwood nods and pulls out his own scroll before barking orders. "On the way."
Then, with no cause, Ruby's eyes flicker open for a brief moment, a light shining within them. "Vin," she whispers, before collapsing once more.
"Her pulse is slowing, I need to do this now," Pyrrha explains, holding one hand over Vin's chest while the other is wrapped around her wrist.
Yang shudders and nods. "Okay. You've done this before, right?"
Instead of responding, Pyrrha closes her eyes and activates her semblance. Thanks to the last few weeks, she's gotten better at sensing the polarity of an object. Thanks to her help, she thought, focusing. Then, when she believed she had grabbed ahold of it, Pyrrha used her semblance to lift the bullets inside of Vin out through her wounds.
Vin's chest lifted up slightly as the shrapnel was pulled from her body, and she let out a soft, almost inaudible, breath. When the fragments were fully extracted, Pyrrha tossed them away with a dismissive wave of her hand.
"What now?" Yang asked worriedly.
Pyrrha shook her head. "I… I do not know. I'm sorry."
Eye twitching, Yang grabbed Vin's mistcloak and clutched it tightly. "You're… sorry? Vin is bleeding and almost dead and you are sorry?!"
With eyes brimming with tears, Pyrrha nods slowly. "There's- there is nothing I can do. It'll take Atlas a few minutes to arrive and by then it'll probably be too late. Unless we can slow down her blood rate, Vin will probably be dead within moments."
"Damn it!" In a fit of rage, Yang tosses the mistcloak to the side, where it lands with a clink.
Wait… a 'clink'?
Yang crawls over to the tossed cloth and ruffles through it. A moment later she pulls out a small vial. Cracked slightly, all of its metallic shavings and contents were clearly visible inside.
"Open her mouth!" Yang orders, rushing the vial back over.
Pyrrha doesn't question it and opens Vin's mouth slightly as Yang leans the uncorked container down. The contents quickly pour down her throat and Vin sputters slightly.
"How is this going to work?" Pyrrha asks, confused.
"One of the newer metals," Yang explains. "We only just found out this morning. It creates a bubble of time."
A what now? Pyrrha shakes her head. Sometimes this girl's powers are too much.
Yang leans down and pushes on Vin's chest. "C'mon! Use your powers! Make a time bubble and-"
Vin's breathing hitches as the sound of a Bullhead's rotors burst from behind the building. The airship passes over them for a moment before circling around. Pyrrha and Yang squint and raise their hand as a beam of light shines down onto them. After a few moments, it lands and a side door opens, revealing Jaune, Nora, Penny, and General Ironwood.
Penny and Jaune jump out and run up to Pyrrha and Yang. Even in this time of turmoil and confusion, Pyrrha's heart cannot help but skip a beat as Jaune grabs her shoulders and pulls her close to his chest.
"Are you okay?" he asks. "I couldn't get in touch with you. I was so worried!"
Blushing, she nods. "I'm sorry. I'm fine. But Vin-"
Penny grabs the Mistborn and lifts her in a bridal carry. "She appears to be stable. I'm detecting life signs, but they are incredibly slow."
Eyes wide, Yang catches Pyrrha's glance and mouths 'slowed'. Pyrrha nods and follows Penny, while remaining in Jaune's arms, with the blonde behind them. As they enter the Bullhead, Pyrrha freezes and gasps.
On two cots, lie the unmoving forms of Ruby and Weiss. Blankets covered them both. However, Weiss had a respiratory mask over her face and an IV drip. For a moment, Pyrrha ponders turning around to stop Yang. Maybe they could catch a secondary Bullhead.
No, she realizes. She needs to know.
"Ruby?" the blonde cries as she notices her sister's unconscious body. Yang runs forward and falls to the ground at Ruby's side, grabbing her hand and wiping her forehead. "What happened?"
"The White Fang," Ironwood answered. "They surrounded the evacuation with Grimm and guns. Many of the school's huntsmen and huntresses stayed behind to provide cover. But someone with actual training showed up and attacked Ms. Schnee. Rose was quick to help her, but it was too late. We doubt we can save her arm, but Atlas technologies, and I am sure with Schnee support, will be able to provide a cybernetic replacement."
Tears began to fall down Yang's face as she looked back at Weiss, almost as if just noticing she was there.
Pyrrha frowned and placed a hand on Yang's shoulder. "And Ruby?"
"She appears to have passed out from everything that happened. The trauma of seeing her friend almost dead, as well as psychological issues involving the Grimm, and even the worry about her teammates was probably too much for her to handle."
Jaune frowns. "But what about the light?"
"What light?" Pyrrha asks.
"Possibly someone's semblance. Or one of Ms. Schnee's glyphs acting up," the Atlesian general offers.
Frowning, Yang turns to Ironwood and states, "but Ruby doesn't have any psychological problems."
"This is a war with monsters, Xiao-Long," Ironwood sighed. "We all have problems."
As the Bullhead rose into the sky, Pyrrha couldn't help but look at her fallen friends and agree.
"We need to fall back and regroup!"
"What just happened?"
"Get him in the car, NOW!"
Adam felt someone grab him by the legs and arms and lift him up. A moment later, he thudded into the interior of a van. Seconds after that, the van was speeding away.
Like habit, Adam's hand went to his waist and he felt for his blade. No. NononononoNO! He sat upward and reached for support. "We need to go back!" he growled. However, as he spoke, he could feel his tongue struggling to form the words. Every word he spoke took difficulty to say.
"Sir," someone responded, "with all due respect, we lost. Everyone escaped and all of our captured Grimm were destroyed. And I believe you have a concussion."
"We need to go back!" he yelled, stumbling forward and grabbing a headrest. His mouth felt numb and slick as he held himself steady against the moving interior. "Schnee needs to pay! Schnee needs to pay!" he slurred.
"Please sit back, sir," another voice interrupted. "The Schnee heiress was gravely wounded anyways. That bitch never even knew what was happening."
Adam banged his hand on his head. "Not Schnee. She! That red-hooded girl! She needs to pay!"
"Why her?"
"She took it! She took my gods-damned-"
"Your sword is already being recovered," the first person explained. "I'm sure you'll have it back soon enough."
Shaking his head, Adam let out a roar. "Not my sword! She took my sight!
"I'm blind!"
On this Halloween night, the gods brought me back from the brink of death to curse you all with another chapter.
I am so, so, so, so, sorry everyone. I never meant to put this on hiatus for so long. The months flew by so fast, I lost track of time. Once I saw how long it was since I updated, I did my best to get this out ASAP.
A lot happened in this chapter. Basically just seeing the repercussions of the events of the last chapter. Do not worry, this arc is just about over. Maybe a chapter or 2 to wrap it all up.
I really do feel a lot of regret for how long I left you hanging. This has been something I've been looking forward to doing (story-wise) for a while and I hope you all enjoyed, even if it is a little short.
Editor's note: N/A
I PM'd a few of you regarding your own reviews. Be sure to check your accounts if you haven't as I love to continue conversations.
We have still been unable to meet our goal of being the number 1 Mistborn Fanfic. First is still being held by Slavok's Beautiful Destroyer with a difference of 132 Favorites (we are in fourth) and 232 Follows (fifth). C'mon guys! We can do it! Spread the word! Spam the 17th shard! It is possible!
(I mean this to be a fun competition, not to slander Slavok. His stories are really good and what got me into writing a Mistborn FanFic.)
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