A/N: Fair warning, there are some fight scenes in this chapter. I suck at those but hopefully what I've done is serviceable. Now, on to the chapter.
[~]
His allies all but gone - having sacrificed their lives so that the Demon Queen's reign may end - the battle between the Hero and Salem began, with the fate of Remnant hanging in the balance.
[~]
"So Pyrrha, how's your night going?" Jaune asked, the two of them ducking behind their caravan to avoid one of the many magic attacks that were currently being thrown at them, "Pleasant, I hope."
Pyrrha, meanwhile, turned to Jaune with a deadpan look in her eyes, "Really?"
"Give me a break, I make jokes when I'm stressed out." Jaune argued, "Where are those people the cult brought with them? Safe?"
"Last I saw, Blake and Ruby were taking care of any Cultist who even thought of coming close to them." Pyrrha said before the area suddenly became quiet, "That's odd. They've stopped trying to kill us."
"You think they left?" Jaune asked. When she replied with a shrug, Jaune stuck his head out from behind the caravan only for to pull it back with a yelp, a ball of magma sailing mere inches from his face, "Nope. They're still there. I also think they're mad at us for stopping whatever it was they had planned tonight."
"Is that so?" Pyrrha asked, the sarcasm practically dripping from her voice as the woman placed the arrows she had nocked back into her quiver, "What gave you that idea?"
"So, you got a plan to get us out of this tight spot we're in?" Jaune asked only to receive a glare from Pyrrha, "I'm kidding, I'm kidding."
"You're a lot of things, Jaune, but funny is not one of them." Pyrrha said as she unsheathed a short sword from her side.
"Now that was just uncalled for." Jaune said as Pyrrha rolled her eyes at him.
"Encircle them! We have them outnumbered!" one of the cultists shouted, "Shouldn't be too hard to take care of these heretics. I believe Our Goddess will even be pleased at the quality of our offerings tonight."
"I see three on my side." Jaune said as he turned to Pyrrha, "How about you?"
"Four. Two with swords and two unarmed." Pyrrha said, "Sorcerers, most likely."
"Okay, we can work with that." Jaune said, "Spike up the ground. Once you're done with that, you go right, I go left and then we take them by surprise."
"Seems pretty simple." Pyrrha said as she prepared to chant the necessary spell.
"Sometimes the best plans are the simplest." Jaune said with a shrug, "You ready?"
Placing both of her palms down on the ground with her eyes closed, Pyrrha took a deep breath before the woman began to chant.
"Oh Brothers of the earth, grant me strength to wield thy powers." Pyrrha said, her eyes opening in the next moment as they glowed with a green aura, "Earth Spike!"
As soon as those words left the woman's mouth, the ground they were standing on began to rumble before giant spikes of earth sprouted from the ground as they attempted to impale the cultists that surrounded them.
Without wasting another second, both Pyrrha and Jaune sprinted out of their hiding places.
As Pyrrha came out into the open, the woman saw that one of her spikes had successfully impaled one of the cultists, killing them.
Jumping over one of the spikes, the woman made a dash towards one of the cultists who were busy trying to regain his bearings.
With a quick slide, Pyrrha delivered a heavy slash at one of his ankles, causing the cultist to fall to lose his balance and fall to his knees.
Not willing to let any of the others recover, Pyrrha was on her feet the next moment as she parried one of their attacks before plunging her blade into the cultist's stomach, killing him instantly.
As she pulled her blade free, a ball of ice struck her in the face that made her stagger back a few feet. Glaring at the cultist who had taken her by surprise, Pyrrha dashed towards them as she effortlessly dodged all of their attacks. With their attacks proven ineffective against the red-haired woman, there was nothing they could do as Pyrrha delivered a heavy slash on their body, killing them in an instant.
Letting out a heavy breath, Pyrrha surveyed the scenes of bloodshed she had just left behind before sheathing her blade.
"Remember, Pyrrha, you are a weapon. One to be used against those that burned our home to ashes." said the voice inside her head. Closing her eyes shut, Pyrrha shook away those voices before making her way around the caravan to see Jaune standing over the bodies of two dead cultists with a heavy look in his eyes. A look that instantly disappeared the moment he laid eyes on Pyrrha.
"Pyrrha, hey… You all done with your side, too?" Jaune asked as blood dripped down the blade of his sword, Crocea Mors.
"I am, yes." Pyrrha said, "What about you? Everything went well with yours?"
"No. One of them got away." Jaune said as he looked in the direction Pyrrha assumed the third cultist had run away to.
"Should we be worried about that coming up again in the future?" Pyrrha asked as she followed the blonde's gaze.
"Eh, I'm sure it'll be fine." Jaune said with a shrug, "Besides, we still have to do something about these bodies."
"What do you suggest?" Pyrrha asked.
"That depends. Do you know anything about building a pyre?" Jaune asked in return.
[~]
Standing in front of the pyre his companions had lit, Lie Ren was unsure on how to feel about everything that has happened these past few hours ever since coming across the group of cultists.
On the one hand, the man was glad that they were able to stop whatever it was they had planned for the group of people they had brought along.
"If only we were so lucky." Ren thought to himself, the man watching the fire slowly burn away the bodies of dead cultists in front of him. He spared a glance towards his childhood friend, Nora having woken up not so long ago after hearing the commotion outside.
Ren then turned his gaze towards his blonde-haired companion, Jaune Arc, before letting out a tired sigh.
"Nearly three years of travelling together and yet…." Ren muttered under his breath, the man staring at Jaune as a number of questions passed through his mind. He was soon broken out of his trance with a nudge from Nora.
"Something wrong, Renny?" Nora asked, a worried look on the woman's face as she followed his gaze.
"No, there's…" Ren started to say before hesitating. Looking Nora in the eye, the man asked, "Nora, how did Jaune know about what the cult was going to do?"
"I… don't know." Nora said with a tilt of her head, "But it's a good thing he did, right? Or else the people they brought along would have…"
Nora let her sentence hang in the air, the both of them knowing exactly what would have happened had they not been there tonight.
"It's odd how we barely know anything about him, isn't it?" Ren asked.
"Well, yeah but… It's not like we've told them much about us, too." Nora said with a shrug.
"That's true but…" Ren started to say before shaking his head. The man then turned to face Nora, "What about you? Are you feeling better now?"
"I'm… doing alright. I just… When I saw that symbol, everything just kind of… came rushing back, you know?" Nora said as she cast her gaze to the ground, "All of a sudden, I was that scared and helpless little girl all over again."
"Nora, I-"
"I was afraid for myself, yes, but more than that, I was just…" Nora said, pausing for a moment as she stared at the pyre before them, "I was terrified for all of us. Me, you, Jaune, and Pyrrha. We may not know everything about each other but what I do know is that I don't want to lose any of you."
Ren thought about the woman's words for a few moments before a small smile graced his face.
"Well said, Nora." Ren said as she squeezed the woman's hand once more, "Well said."
[~]
With the people that the Cult had brought now on their way to Argus using their caravan, the party of eight had begun cleaning the place up before resuming their journey.
"You know, I don't remember having as many headaches before meeting you guys." Yang said as she carried crates of supplies into their caravan, "I mean, first we were ambushed by Argus guards and then last night we managed to stop a literal massacre from happening."
"What do you mean "we"? You didn't even step out of the caravan." Jaune shot back as checked the caravan's exterior for any damages it might have suffered last night.
"Yeah, because I had precious cargo to take care of." Yang said with a gesture towards Weiss.
"Hey! I am not an object." the woman in question shouted from the side.
"Hush now, Madam Shionne. The adults are talking." Yang shot back which seemed to infuriate the woman even further before she left the two of them with a huff, "Look, all I'm saying is that all this isn't what we signed up for."
"To be fair, what happened since the start of everything was… unexpected." Jaune said before quickly adding, "Incredibly unexpected."
"And I get that but we had a chance to leave yesterday but you didn't take it. It was like you knew what they were going to do last night." Yang said, "Which brings me to my next question: How did you know they were going to kill all those people?"
With his back turned towards her, Jaune was silent for a few seconds before turning around to face his fellow blonde.
"Ren was right, you're not the most subtle of people, are you?" Jaune said before Yang abruptly grabbed him by his shirt's collar.
"Don't mess with me, Jaune Arc - if that even is your real name." Yang said as their faces were mere inches apart, "You pull another crazy stunt that puts me and my party in danger again, we're going to have words. Are we clear?"
"Well, for starters, that "crazy stunt" I pulled last night saved innocent lives and I'm not apologizing for that." Jaune said as he gripped Yang by her wrist, "However, I do regret the fact that I didn't consult any of you before making that decision. For that, you have sincerest apologies. It won't happen again."
Yang stared deep into the man's eyes for a few seconds trying to see if there was any sort of deceit in there before letting him go.
"As long as you understand that my priority is my party, not yours." Yang said, hauling the crate of supplies into the caravan but not before saying, "Which means I will not hesitate to leave any of you for dead if it means Ruby, Blake, and Shionne stays out of harms way."
"Message received." Jaune said as the blonde massaged his neck.
[~]
It had been four days since they had resumed their travel. It was when the capital of Mistral came within sight that Blake, with her book in hand, noticing Yang trying to get her attention. Looking up from the book, her blonde travelling companion gestured with her head towards a deeper part of the caravan.
Looking to the side, the Faunus-in-hiding saw Pyrrha busy performing some maintenance on the caravan's inner workings while also taking the time to teach Ruby about them. On the other side of the caravan, Nora and Weiss were busy playing some of the board games they had found lying around the caravan. With Ren and Jaune at the front of the caravan for today, Blake took this chance to follow after Yang.
"Yang? Something wrong?" Blake asked in a whisper after confirming they weren't within earshot of anyone.
"After we get to Mistral, we're ditching these guys." Yang said as she leaned against the wall behind her.
"That's pretty sudden." Blake said as she quirked her eyebrow up, "Mind telling me how you came to that decision?"
"Come on, you saw it. Experienced it firsthand, even. Trouble follows these guys everywhere." Yang said as she stared Blake in the eye, "First there was Argus and then there was that business with the cult. Who knows what's next?"
"I'll admit, this journey has been… a bit more rocky than expected." Blake said with a nod.
"So you see my point." Yang said, "Besides, if this was just a normal trip, I'd be fine with it but you're the one who told me how important it is we get to Vale."
"Why did you pay them to bring us to Vale?" Blake asked as she quired an eyebrow at the blonde, "You could have paid for a trip to Mistral and then we'd find a ship that would bring us to Vale."
"It seemed like a lot of work at the time." Yang admitted with a sheepish look, "That and I wanted these guys to help us find a ship that would take us to Vale."
"Idiot." Blake said with a tired sigh, "But you're right. What we're doing is too important to fail."
"So you agree with me?" Yang asked.
"I do. Once we reach Mistral, we'll pay them what they're owed and then I find us a ship that will take us to Vale." Blake said.
"I'm never going to hear the end of this, am I?" Yang asked, sighing as she hung her head.
"Probably not." Blake said with a shrug, "Ruby will probably be disappointed, though. She seems to have taken a liking to them."
"I'll… talk to Ruby." Yang said, "Even she has to understand what's at stake."
[~]
"Well, I can't say it's been a pleasure, Mr Arc, but it has been… a trip." Yang said as she and her party stepped off the caravan soon after the party of eight had reached the outskirts of Mistral.
"I'm sorry to hear that." Jaune said with a nod, "Unfortunately, due to my party's past with Mistral-"
"Not the party's past, yours and Nora's!" came Pyrrha's voice from within the caravan.
"Thank you, Pyrrha." Jaune said as he and Yang shared a smile, "Due to my as well as Nora's past actions in Mistral's capital, it would probably be best that we part ways here, outside the town of Kuchon."
"Well, here's hoping our next meeting is a bit more pleasant." Yang said as she extended her hand towards the man.
"I certainly hope so." Jaune said as the two blondes shook hands, "And best of luck to you and your party on whatever it is you're trying to accomplish. It certainly sounds important."
"More than you know." Yang said as Jaune went back to the front of the caravan. Not long after, the caravan went on its way as Yang and her party started trekking towards the capital.
"So, what's the plan now?" Weiss asked, the woman still not risking pulling her hood down.
"There's a White Fang safe house near here." Blake said as the four of them weaved through the crowd around them, "It should be abandoned but just to be safe, I'll check it out first."
"In the meantime, we'll check out this nice inn that's nearby." Yang said as she, Weiss, and Ruby started making their way towards a nearby building with a sign that simply said 'Inn'.
"Just be careful." Blake said, "And Ruby, make sure Yang doesn't get drunk."
"You can count on me, Blake." Ruby said much to the blonde's protest. Her piece said, Blake then made her way to just outside the town and towards a dilapidated building. Pushing open the weathered door with a creak, Blake poked her head inside as her eyes scanned for any immediate threats.
When she didn't find any, Blake took a step into the house and immediately made her way towards the back where a destroyed bookshelf stood against the wall. Pressing her back against the side of the shelf, Blake pushed it with all her might to reveal a hidden staircase that led deeper underground.
"Good, looks like nobody's-" Blake started to say before her keen hearing picked up the sounds of footsteps quickly approaching her. Turning around, the Faunus instinctively dodged under the swing of a blade but was wholly unprepared for the kick to her nose.
Dazed from the impact, Blake jumped back to gain some distance from her hooded attacker only for back to meet resistance in the form a wall. Her attacker immediately took advantage as they went in for an attack.
Clicking her tongue in frustration, Blake hastily ducked under the attack that missed her head by a hair's breadth.
"Look, whoever you are, I don't want any trouble." Blake said as she rolled to the side before pulling out a dagger from her back, "I'm just here to pick up some stuff and then leave."
Her attacker, however, seemed to not be interested in listening to whatever it was she had to say. Turning around to face her, they brought their blade up before charging towards Blake once more.
"Fine, be that way." Blake said as she pulled another dagger from her back before engaging her mystery opponent. As her attacker slashed at her head, Blake ducked down low while also blocking the kick that she expected to come. Grabbing her attacker's legs, Blake flung them over her shoulder and threw them to the other side of the room, "Look, I don't want to fight you. Let's just stop this before you die, alright?"
Blake's pleas fell on deaf ears once more as her attacker stood up, sword still in hand and pointed at Blake who promptly let out a frustrated sigh at their actions. As the two of them clashed once more, Blake's mystery attacker's way of fighting began to seem familiar to the Faunus.
It wasn't until they performed a series of slashes and stabs combined with tactics that seemed outright dirty and foul that Blake's eyes widened with realization.
"Only one person - or rather, Faunus - fights that rough and dirty in this world." Blake thought to herself, a semblance of a smirk on her face as she rushed her opponent. Dodging her opponent's attack, Blake then went low before pulling her attacker's legs and dropping them to the ground. Acting quickly, Blake was on top of them within an instant before pressing one of her daggers to their throat.
"I think this is the first time an old friend has greeted me by trying to kill me," Blake said as she pulled back the hood from her attacker to reveal a tan-skinned woman with gray eyes that were currently glaring at her with barely-contained anger, "Illia."
[Chapter END]
A/N: So, that's a wrap for Chapter 4. As you can see, not all is smooth sailing after the encounter with the cult. Yang is obviously not happy and as a result, has chosen to take her money elsewhere. Will we see these two groups get together again? I sure hope so or there will be no story.
I meant to make this chapter longer but I think I'll save the rest of it for Chapter 5. Stay tuned for that one.
As always, faves, follows, and reviews are always appreciated.
NoXIV signing off.