And I am back with what must have been a well-awaited chapter! Now we get to see how our heroes get out of this big mess. Ozpin is by himself against the likes of Cinder, Adam, and Sienna all at the same time. Kai and co are up against the breach, which in this story, is much more impactful than what we saw in the actual show. I gotta be honest there, in the show they didn't really show us what kind of damage the breach caused, we just had to take Cinder's word for it. At least here in this fanfic, we know what kind of damage the Grimm is causing right now. That was one of the other things I wanted to "Fix" from Monty's RWBY. God bless that man's soul.

Beta: CrowSkull

Coverart: Nova

The Blind Huntsman

Chapter 71, Volume 2, Episode 12

A silver crescent blade slashed through six Grimm at once, decapitating them all and leaving them bleeding a flurry of rose petals as Ruby abused her speed semblance to its fullest potential at that moment in time. Behind her, Blake and Orchid were keeping pace with her. Blake using the shadow clones of her semblance and using them as stepping stones to give herself better mobility and maneuverability along with the ribbon part of Gambol Shroud to both support herself and the others fighting with them as well. Orchid activated her semblance a long time ago, and it cost her have to put the two pieces of her greatsword back together in order to keep her semblance clones up long enough to make an impact. And an impact they were making. The other three clones that she had sent out were a small team of huntresses in training in their own right. All working together in perfect tandem thanks to their like-mindedness and teamwork while the main Orchid stayed behind and was the last line of defense to protect the Atleisian soldiers who lacked aura and the injured huntsmen or huntresses who continued to fight with their ranged abilities or weapons.

Close yet distant behind Ruby was Kai. Going along and accepting Ruby's plan and conserving his energy and mainly only fought when a Grimm attacked him. It was clear that he wanted to do more and rip and tear along with Ruby on the front lines with the strongest and more skilled huntsmen, but he showed a respectable amount of restraint and stayed back. Waiting for the perfect moment. Whatever was left behind by their frontal assault, he and some other huntsmen and students made sure to take care of it. There was too much for the three girls to take out all on their own, and they had help as well in the form of dozens of professional huntsmen, Atlesian soldiers, and their will to drive the Grimm back. But even still, the endless tide of Grimm never ceased. They didn't give way.

To Ruby's annoyance, they simply weren't afraid of her like they were of Kai when he was still using his eyes, and she was going all out. Irrationally she saw the difference in strength between her and her fellow Silver Eyed Warrior as she continued fighting, hacking, slashing, moving, and using her eyes. How was he able to keep this up for so long with barely any help? If it weren't for the awesome professional huntsmen fighting with them they would have all been overwhelmed killed the moment the strain of their eyes finally took them down.

Thankfully, that rare emotion of anger was used to fuel her strength and will even further. It didn't matter how her muscles burn and tore as she moved. She had an aura and she would just end up getting stronger later because of it. Once the breach was plugged up she'd worry about that later. Right now, they needed to stick with the plan. Thankfully, some of the huntsmen overheard them going over the plan earlier and agreed to help with their actions. Jumping into battle with them and making sure none of the Grimm were too strong or plentiful that it would make them all run out of energy and aura. They really were awesome, if Kai hadn't wasted his own energy earlier he'd be right up there with them right now. But after making that mistake, he had to hang back. However irritable, that might have made him. They simply couldn't risk him getting hurt and not being able to plug up the breach.

Dive low… cut off the leg… swirl around… decapitate. Next… Ruby thought as she left behind a headless Beowolf fading away and darted to her next harvest. She needn't do anything to the Ursa after Blake jumped onto it's back and hopped off while leaving behind an explosive fire dust clone to blow a massive hole in the monsters back, killing it instantly. From her peripheral vision which was shrouded in white, almost like a night vision, she saw a shadow of black charging toward Orchid and her clones. She wanted to go help her but stopped herself after watching what she could only describe as Orchid taking care of herself… and mincing that Grimm in seven.

Her red clone dubbed the 'Berserker one', took on three Grimm at once in a contest of strength and held them there by using her forearms and face. Being a clone, she was just made out of raw aura and willpower and therefore didn't have to worry about dying forever as long as the real Orchid didn't die. As the Berserker one held the Grimm back, from two different angles the two other clones, dubbed Samurai Orchid and Nerdy Orchid, impaled two of the Grimm on their swords and then pushed it deeper into the third. The first two Grimm died while the biggest one in the middle simply roared and flailed, throwing the other two personality clones away. The real Orchid put a stop to that immediately and impaled her greatsword up and through the monster's head from the chin up. Killing it instantly and letting it fade all around her.

She didn't even stop after that. Simply sending a nod her way and continuing on in the fight. Ruby shook her head and thought herself stupid. It was okay to be worried about her friends, but they could all take care of themselves. She just had to trust in them and focus on herself and what was in front of her. She could see the breach in the distance and a large fire reaching up to the electrical lines up in the air and knew that she couldn't stop there. Even as her leg creaked painfully and her head felt like it was going to implode any second now, Ruby kept moving forward, determined to help bring this to an end.

"I have to use more power…" She whispered to herself as she saw where the huntsmen were being cut off. Being a mere two hundred yards away from the breach itself now, the Grimm were coming in droves. Strong Grimm slipped past the front line of huntsmen, killed soldiers, and innocents and even some huntsmen who were just getting too tired and slow to defend themselves properly.

I have to protect them. The young warrior thought as her eyes shined brighter. I have to put an end to this. At first, it was so difficult to activate the power of her eyes at will. She used to have to sneak out with Kai in order to go hunt down Grimm to practice using them. He had to save and protect her countless times before she was able to finally get it down. But she still remembered what she used as a catalyst to finally awaken the power of her eyes. Her mother. Summer Rose. Standing at the edge of a cliff looking back at her with a wonderful smile. Her friends from Signal, her father, uncle, sister, headmaster Albedo, the funny Violet Twins, Orchid, Shae, Two, Cyan, and of course, Kai. All of them had an impact on her life one way or another, and she wouldn't be where she was today without them.

She felt more power stir up from within her mind, or brain, or wherever the power of the silver eyes came from. And began moving even faster. Crescent Rose became weightless in her hands, dashing across the battlefield that was the streets of Vale leaving behind trails of red roses as she hacked and slashed at anything Grimm. Slicing off limbs, heads, and leaving some alive for the others to take care of. Her eyes shined and she flashed a giant Nevermore out of the sky, turning it to dust and bits of rock and pebbles after it clashed with a building in its descent. The moment she took a few seconds to rest, she felt the drawback of her power begin to hit, so she forced herself to keep moving. Going against her own advice and knowledge that she was being hypocritical after telling Kai time and time again not to charge in by himself or rely on his own power solely. After glancing over her shoulder to see how he was doing, he was right on her tail. Following the trail of red roses and slashing Silver Ebony in quick controlled arcs. His shirt has been ripped away from his semblance and the Grimm, leaving most of his upper body bare and unprotected save for his aura. He was more than capable of taking care of himself, more than she was, so Ruby didn't worry about him and kept moving.

A cycle everlasting. Slicing, dashing, rose petals flying about the street, a second of rest, a flash or two of her eyes, and onward again. It felt like hours, but it only lasted seconds in reality. She knew she was going to fall soon out of exhaustion, but she needed to keep carving a path like she promised she would. Especially since the breach was only a taunting fifty or so yards away now.

She only stopped when she spotted a blindingly blue flash of crackling lighting and a wave of impossible frost flow over her body. It knocked off her concentration and her eyes flickered out like a lightbulb being flicked off. Instantly, the pain hit her, though the numbing cold from the frost that came seemingly out of nowhere ironically helped her stay standing, or at least on one knee. Ruby, curious about where this power came from because it definitely didn't come from her or any of her friends, looked up and to the left.

"Hahahaha!" The girl she remembered seeing every once in a while, Vernal, laughed ecstatically as she released power Ruby didn't know she was capable of. Floating up into the air as an aura of ice and lightning flowed and crackled around her. "It's been a while since I was able to let loose!" The Grimm who dared to attack her found themselves frozen and electrocuted at the same time. Only to explode in a mist of black not a second later.

Behind the amazingly powerful girl looked like an army. All of her friends, huntsmen from Beacon, Uncle Qrow and Professor Goodwitch in hot pursuit of the breach. It was all too much of a relief for her to stay on her feet standing once the pain and exhaustion settled in again. They quickly made their way to them once they realized that an entire other strong front has been fighting this entire time, and Ruby dropped her weapon and went down to her knees. Wincing and groaning the entire time, but with a satisfied grin on her face before allowing herself to fall further.

Before she could hit the pavement, a pair of strong arms caught her and lifted her back up. Forcing herself to open her eyes again despite the pain, she looked to the right and saw her two other teammates, stood in front of her with a challenging and feral scowl toward the direction of the Grimm. Blake was hurt but still standing, her hair was unkempt and wild and her dress was beyond ruined while Orchid was an entirely different variety of filthy. Dress ruined as well, hair sticking up in places and getting in her face and with a nasty smell of Grimm blood and guts on her body. The clones she made were all absorbed back into her, assumingly because she was afraid of running out of aura too quickly.

Then she looked away and up and into Kai's blind eyes as he held her protectively. He probably wouldn't admit it, but there was a fearful look on his face. As if he could actually see what kind of shape she was in. Ruby chuckled weakly at the amusing thought.

"You're crazy, and a hypocrite," Kai said as he brought one hand and brushed her hair out of the way of her face. "I was worried about you for a second there…"

"I knew you'd be there to save me," Ruby chuckled again after throwing his earlier line right back at him. Cutting off her laughter quickly, Ruby winced as she was gently let onto the surprisingly hard ground. Blake called for a medic and thankfully one was available and nearby. A new front was made in seconds just a few meters from them, and a protective circle formed by other huntsmen that they fought with defended them from any stray Grimm that may have still lurked behind their lines. She looked around and watched as all the huntsmen they'd fought and bled with all nodded at her and her team as a sign of deep respect. Some of them they saved, some of them were fighting the entire time ever since the breach was made. Using her eyes as she did just now would raise questions, but as Ozpin said, it's better for people to ask questions than be dead. He'd understand, either way.

"I got you here like I said I would," she said, putting a hand on Kai's chest and made herself sit up a little bit. "The rest is up to you… please, Kai… stop this."

"She's going to lose consciousness." The Atlesian medic said as he injected a medical dust serum into her arm. "She's beyond exhausted and went far past her limits. Man, just how strong are the new kids nowadays?"

"Stronger than you think," A new voice said as a strong pair of legs landed beside him. It was Qrow, and Kai let him take his niece into his arms. "And they surprise you everyday… damn it, Ruby. I'm sorry I was too late to help you."

"I'd advise her to be taken to a hospital, but it's not like we can call in a Bullhead right now. You too," The medic pointed to Kai. "You look like you're about to pass out, let me-"

"No," Kai waved the man off. "My semblance can help plug the breach, I can stop this." He quickly explained before the medic could argue with him. "I can't let this opportunity that Ruby provided go to waste."

"Kai, you're bleeding." Qrow pointed out.

Kai felt it, and he knew. Aura protected the body, but that didn't mean that someone could fight completely bare of armour like he was. Besides his gauntlets, there was nothing else protecting the rest of his body. He wasn't a perfect fighter when pissed off, and had been fighting people for the past few months. It was a piss poor excuse for a huntsman in training to even think of, but he hadn't fought any Grimm since initiation. For the beginning of the battle, he forgot just how mindlessly aggressive they were. Some of them knicked him a few times, and if he was still wearing his blindfold he was sure it'd be ripped. He felt his hot blood leak down his face from the middle of his forehead and down into his mouth. If he had to gauge his aura, he'd say he had around half or a little less than left.

"I'll be fine," Kai wiped sweat and blood off of his face and flicked that arm to the side. "Get Ruby to safety or let them take her. I need to get to the breach and with Miss Goodwitch."

"Damn it, I'm not even going to try and convince you," Qrow said as he handed Ruby to the medic right as another came along with a stretcher. "Take her to one of the buildings and ask a few huntsmen to defend that position. Make it a defense point for the injured and rally them up there."

"Sounds like a plan." The first medic said as he took Ruby away on the stretcher. Qrow had to remind himself that Ruby wasn't seriously injured, just exhausted. He turned with an angry sigh and looked to Kai.

"Sorry I was late," He said again. "Your family is safe, I made sure they got back to their room and I have Oobleck standing by just in case of anything. His style ain't fit for mass combat like this anyway."

"Thank you," Kai said with a grateful nod. "How are you two doing?" He asked Blake and Orchid.

"Hurt, but alive," Blake said honestly.

"Same, but I might be a little less alive," Orchid added. "Little bit in between, I dunno. But I do see colors that I probably shouldn't be seeing."

"That'd be the exhaustion…" Blake said with a deep sigh as she allowed herself to lower to one knee. "We need to hang back and defend. I'm nearly out of aura and it's safe to assume Orchid is as well."

Orchid growled but didn't make a move to argue. Kai was thankful for that. They were smart. They weren't full of bravado and swallowed their pride and knew when enough was enough. They'd just fought harder than they ever have before just now, and no one was going to blame them for needing to take it easy. Kai stepped forward and between them and placed a hand on each of their shoulders. Giving them a silent reassurance that he didn't blame them whatsoever. They got the message and stepped back and away from the battle before them.

Qrow stepped forward with him and opened his mouth to speak.

"Mister Matsuoka!" Glynda Goodwitch's voice was louder than anything Qrow was about to say at that moment. Despite being across the block and with sounds from semblances, rifles, and Grimm roaring all at the same time she still managed to catch the blind boys' attention. "Get to me and we shall end this!"

Message received, Kai was already on his way. Qrow shook his head and quickly followed. Normally, he'd be a little put off my Kai's aggressiveness and warn him to slow down and take a deep breath, but now was not the time for subtleness. For just as aggressive as he was, Qrow followed up on that with equal anger. Tonight was supposed to be a fun night spent with friends, and instead, it turned into a bloody battle. He understood Kai's anger more than he knew, and he'd show him just how much as they fought their way toward Glynda. Who was just a few meters behind Vernal as she began using her telekinesis semblance. Her entire body glowed a dark purple and her hair stood a little more freely and upright as she pushed it to its maximum. Slowly, all the little bits and pieces of rubble and debris along with the massive chunks of rock and concrete started to shake and rumble. She was beginning, and while she could put it back together. It would all be cracked and disjointed. The Grimm would still be able to break through it in time.

That was where he came in. Kai rushed by and ignored his friend's greetings to him as he did so. He didn't even know who it was that called his name. He only knew that it was a boy. Probably Rick or Brick. Thanks to the swarm of huntsmen and aerial support that they got from Atlas they had a nearly straight path to where the combat professor was using her semblance. From up ahead and above them, Vernal was letting out so much of her power it became easy for him to sense where she was, even as she was off the ground and in the air. Her constant screaming and booming explosions of ice and lightning all correlated and were shot from her position up in the air. It was still difficult to pinpoint where she was exactly, but he had a general direction.

A hand clasped onto him and at first, Kai was ready to cut it off, thinking it belonged to the Grimm. But after sensing the hand to be human, he recognized it to be Ren.

"I can hide you from Grimm," Ren quickly explained as a strange cold yet still lukewarm sensation washed through his mind and body. "Keep going." He said as he let go of him. "I'll keep it up as long as I can!"

Kai nodded his head and made a mental note to thank Ren for that later. With the help of Qrow and being rendered practically invisible to the Grimm for the time being, Kai continued making his way to Glynda. Who was now straining as she began to force the pieces exploded out from the Breach back together. Some of the material was destroyed outright, so that made it difficult for her to actually close up some holes. It wasn't perfect, but it was a start in slowing down the flow of Grimm into the city itself.

"Kid!" Vernal spotted him finally and stretched a hand out his way. "About time you show up. Gonna help the blondie over here?"

"We have a plan to plug up the breach!" Kai exclaimed. "Help me!"

"Get over here then," Vernal waved that same hand across and a cold wind picked Kai right off of his feet. Qrow as well, though he turned into a bird mid-flight and started gliding with the wind that Vernal was controlling. Blind in mid-air, Kai flailed wildly and didn't know how close the ground was until his back hit it hard. Flaring his aura as he coughed up the air that was knocked out of his lungs. Beside him, Qrow reformed back into a human and helped him back up. "C'mon kid," He said as he pulled him and helped him toward Glynda. "Do your thing. We're so close."

Glynda looked down to the side of her right as Kai fell down to his knees beside her. Still recovering from his fall but alive and still with aura. "Very soon I'll be done." She said as she continued to concentrate on putting the pieces back together. "We only have one chance at this. The White Fang on the rooftops are being handled by Miss Nikos and others, we are being defended and the Grimm are pushed back directly to the breach. I will be out of aura when I am finished. Kai," For the first time she called him by his first name. "Be ready."

"I will." Kai placed his hands down on the ground and sensed the rock and stone around him. The pavement was easily malleable, and he knew he could easily manipulate it after spending enough time creating masks and weapons from it. With a few deep breaths, he recovered fully from the fall and grit his teeth. He never moved anything so large before with his semblance, this was going to take a lot of strength and energy.

Qrow stood back and prepared to defend them from anything that might have tried to jump out of nowhere and put a stop to their semblances at work. Each of them needed total concentration and he didn't want to think about what would happen if Glynda was knocked unconscious suddenly while all of the rubble and debris, some as big as cars, were being transported back. However damaging it would be to the Grimm, people would undoubtedly die.

The Grimm was being pushed back and kept away because of a damn maiden. So Qrow needn't worry about the creatures of darkness. Instead, he kept his eyes up top to the rooftops. Pyrrha Nikos and other huntsmen and students were on top most of them clearing them out. But it was clear the fighting up there wasn't done just yet. It was nothing for him to worry about just yet though, not when they were this close and the terrorists had their hands full with huntsmen. With Raven's little secret project slaughtering Grimm just by being present, if there wasn't a breach they would have won a long time ago already.

It was actually an awesome sight to behold. It was like the planet itself was taking back the material that was blown away from the explosion and putting itself back together. Albeit imperfectly. After glancing at Glynda, he could see her beet-red face and the veins popping out as the concentration really began to take a toll on her. But she kept going nonetheless. He'd offer her a drink after this, however slight of a chance it may be and her obvious animosity toward him, it was the least he could do to offer one of his favorite brandy.

She was nearly done, the big pieces were back together and were being held down by her semblance and the other pieces were starting to settle into place. There were still holes in and there, but Vernal, huntsmen, and soldiers were making it very difficult for the Grimm to get through into Vale. Kai was still getting ready, his hands on the ground and just waiting for Glynda's signal for him to use his semblance and totally seal the Grimm away back underground and away from Vale where they belong.

He was so focused on the breach itself he didn't notice the rocket-propelled grenade striking Vernal in the back.

Vernal screamed in agony as her aura dropped immediately as the direct hit from the rocket blasted her out of the air. If she wasn't a maiden and didn't have a powerful aura, she would have been killed immediately. She fell to the ground unconscious, and if it weren't for Yang, Jaune, and Nora, she'd have been torn apart by Grimm right away.

That wasn't the main concern however deadly it may be. But the fact that the force of the explosions knocked Glynda off of her feet and throwing off her concentration had her telekinesis fading away as well. What made it worse was that her purple aura flickered and went out as well. And along with it went her consciousness. Qrow didn't realize he was on the ground dazed until he saw Kai land beside him. They were both right next to the blast, and they all felt the direct effects of it.

From his position on the ground, he could watch as huntsmen rushed their way up the building and slaughtered the White Fang terrorists that somehow managed to sneak under the radar. However, that didn't seem to be too easy. Some of them were even being beaten back.

Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Black were visible for just a few moments, but he saw them. And watched as Emerald dropped the rocket launcher and the two of them ran off into the night. Some huntsmen made to chase them, but they made the right decision in letting them go and went back to help fight against the sudden new influx of Grimm forcing themselves out and digging through the debris and rubble that Glynda put back in place. The plan failed, they were thwarted, and now the Grimm were swarming Vale again.

Kai shook his head and the stars out of his dark vision and stood back up on shaky legs. "No…" He whispered agonizingly painfully as he sensed the breach opening up wider and wider a few inches at a time. "No… No more… I..." Qrow started to feel the air around him grow much hotter. As in actually hotter. And understood why when he saw Kai and his arms burst into flames.

"Kai," Qrow called out to the boy as he made his way back up to his feet. He saw the boy turn to him with a complicated expression on his face. As if he was wondering what he should do now. He couldn't make more stone appear out of thin air, he had to stretch it out and connect it end to end and make it work that way. Now that Glynda was unconscious and the stone couldn't be put together, the stone would be too weak and would be broken through anyway even if he melded it back together right there and now.

Which leads to one other option. It was a hot take, but Qrow could guess that Kai has been storing up flames for a long time now.

"Whatever you're holding back, now's not the time to hide it." The old huntsman told him. "Let it all out, and don't hold back. Not even for a second."

Kai stood there facing him and contemplated his decisions for a few moments. But ultimately decided what it was time for him to do. He nodded his head. "Tell the others to back away from the breach," He said as he started moving forward on his tired legs again. "And to let out all of their fire dust next to me to fuel my semblance." With a silver flash of his eyes, Kai started drawing power from them and absorbed it into his semblance. His usual black flames turned white in color as he drew from a source much tamer and controllable. Yet immensely more powerful than regular normal flames he'd usually transmute from.

His eyes wouldn't be enough here. He could flash the Grimm on the surface right now. But give it a minute and they'd all be replenished immediately. He couldn't rely on them here, instead, he needed to use his own power that is much less mythical than that of the silver-eyed warriors. Qrow flew off and he assumed correctly that he was going to pass on the message.

Vernal could have done this herself, but after taking a rocket to the back while she was off guard, she was in no position to do it. The next best thing was him.

Ever since he heard the tale of the maidens from his father. He always wondered. How is it that they have the magical power to control the elements of the world around them, fire, water, ice, lightning, wind, etc. And he, his mother and father, who both have an elemental semblance revolving around those very same elements respectively also become strong enough to rival even that? And for both of them to meet, fall in love, and have a child who was capable of combining those powers? It all seemed like too much of a coincidence. it's like they were meant to get together and have him. As if it was a ploy by fate for him to be born to manifest such a powerful semblance that controlled nearly all nature around him and be born with silver eyes on top of that.

It all seemed like it was just... meant to be from the very start. Kai thought as he stretched his arms out to his sides and screamed as he felt his flames burn so hot they burned even his own body. From his elevated position, he could still sense the large breach in the hole on the ground and had a very decent general direction to aim his power.

Just as he told Qrow, flame dust weapons were fired at him and some other sources of flames were absorbed into his semblance. Bolstering his now white flames even further.

He clasped the bottoms of his palms together side by side horizontally and aimed at the breach as his blames burned hotter and scarred his arms. If the power of the silver eyes wanted to evolve with him and if he was meant to be born the way he was, then he'd use that power to the gain of his own, his friends, and his family.

Ruby helped him this far with all of their hours of training, Yang was one of his first friends and has always been someone he could rely on, Orchid was his best friend, Blake was his partner and redeemed because of his actions, Rick and Brick were always there to make him smile, Cyan was someone he missed dearly, Two was quiet but soon opened up to him, Qrow and Raven were there to train him and nurture him in times of need. His father… passed on the torch, and he had his sister and mother left to protect, and every friend he's ever made were relying on him right now to put a stop to this senseless carnage and murder.

Once the burning became too much for him to bear, he let it out.

"INCINERATE!" Kai screamed as a torrent of white and silver flames exploded out of his hands. He hoped people got out of the way because if not they would have been killed. The Grimm however, was almost immediately turned to ash. It didn't matter how big they were. No matter the Deathstalker, Beringel, Ursa or Beowolf, they were all destroyed under the might of his flames.

The flames went further and entered down into the tunnels itself underground. Burning away the Grimm that were funneling in from Mountain Glenn. The flame continued further into the tunnels and it was so vast no one knew where it could have ended. Only that it did end a few seconds after it started as Kai finally ran out of power. His position remained standing for a few moments. Steam rising off of his arms and face as he stood there with wide blind eyes and permanently scarred arms and eye sockets. The scar marks reached across his eyes, and on his arms the burn scars traveled up and down, leaving hardly any purely healthy skin left save for the back of his hands.

The pain was unlike anything he felt before. Worse than Cinder when she burned him with her flames back in Mistral. Kai dropped down to his knees but caught himself with his hands. Still conscious, he still had one more thing to do.

Now that there was the molten rock in the breach, Kai could control and manipulate that and make it rise. The liquid rock stretched across every hole and filled the breach entirely. Once Kai was satisfied with what he had, he clenched his fists together. Hardening the cover on the breach and creating a street that looked like nothing ever exploded from within it.

"I… did it… dad…" Kai said as he fell onto the ground, silver light winking out from his eyes. He rolled himself onto his back, and suddenly his eyes felt much heavier. "I saved them…"

His eyes fluttered shut and his consciousness faded. Only when Blake and Orchid and the rest of his friends started rushing their way to him did people realize that suddenly, it was time to begin the recovery process and rebuild.

Ozpin flipped away from a blast of flames and in a flash of green aura and speed beyond human ability weaved through the chained whip of Sienna Khan. With his explosive strength, he kicked off his feet and fired toward Adam Taurus, who had just begun charging his semblance. He couldn't be allowed too, he's seen the recordings of such a semblance cutting straight through an Atlesian battle walker in a single strike. Given time, that power could very well be fatal against him. Adam had to cut off his concentration and raise his sword in defense. He was fast, very fast. Faster than most huntsmen. But Ozpin was faster. His cane jabbed into his knee, hip, solar plexus, and collarbone in the span of less than a second before the final jab pushed Adam away into the wall further behind.

He then whipped his cane back around and blocked Cinder's strike before she could slash into his back with her glass weapons. His muscles creaked in an unfamiliar way as he held back the edged weapon with his back still turned to the attacker, but he quickly deflected the strike and turned, counter-attack meeting another sword before it could strike Cinder right on her already Grimmified eye.

He got a full look on Cinder's true face as he did that. Half of her face was normal, beautiful even, with the usual skin, orange eye, black hair. But the other side of her face was all black. Her entire left eye socket was black and in the center was glowing red. The white eyebrow was raised in fury as she stared into his soul, yearning to destroy him and that life he has built for himself. It traveled even further down her neck and down into her arm. Which was one of the most hideous things he's ever seen. It was like the arm of an Apathy, but more to human proportions and with razor-sharp white claws.

Cinder snarled and tried to push him back. But in that life, he made sure that he kept up his strength for a situation like this. Over the years multiple attacks both by Grimm and by terrorists were enacted all over the globe. Atlas was in a war against the White Fang, Signal was infiltrated by Cinder and her underlings, one of the most powerful silver-eyed warriors he knew of was murdered, and the previous Vytal Festival was destroyed by the White Fang and countless innocents were killed. It would have been a stupid mistake to not strengthen up his current body once again. He overpowered Cinder and pushed her back, Cinder staggered away but recovered just in time to block the powerful sidekick that would have crushed her lungs.

However psychotic she may be Cinder was still a skilled fighter. Flipping with the force of his kick and landing on her feet. Her human eye flamed orange and she threw balls of fire at him with her Grimm arm. Ozpin ducked and dodged, and when the last one came he jabbed his cane to the ground and activated the one thing that has stuck with him ever since he unlocked it. His semblance.

The green shield of energy formed all around him and Cinder's fire couldn't penetrate it. It washed over the shield harmlessly and he noted the sound of the metallic clink that also bounced off the shield. Turning, he switched his target to Sienna Khan, who was in the short process of reeling back her weapon in order to strike at him again. Before he could get to her however, Adam jumped in his way and his vibrant red blade clashed against his metal relic of a cane. They struggled in a battle of strength for a moment, but Ozpin couldn't waste time with such a contest and twirled on his right foot, rotating his body, sweeping with his left foot and throwing Adam off focus and leaving him to fall forward.

Cinder roared and charged at him as he slid away after Sienna swung at him with her blades. Ozpin grit his teeth and blocked Cinder's blade with the flat of his hand, focusing an expert amount of aura so her weapon didn't just cut right through his limb and kill him. While at the same time, he swung his cane across his body and knocked away the fired arrow-tip shaped projectile that Sienna attempted to fire at him. However, the last line of defense from Adam Taurus was weak at best. He couldn't move since Cinder was forcing him down onto one knee and slowly burning away at his aura, so instead of trying to dodge or deflect Adam's coming strike, he raised his cane to block it and relaxed his joints.

Adam was powerful and so was his strike. His red hair glowed even brighter and his sword shined red as well. Thankfully it wasn't a very charged use of his semblance, and it only cut away a small chunk of his already vast aura as he let it strike him across the chest and knock him back. Cinder obviously wasn't expecting that as she fell forward and even traveled with him for a few meters before falling flat on her face.

Ozpin felt the air in his lungs rush out in a gasp as his back crashed against the wall of the secret basement of Beacon. He fell down to his hands and knees and shook his head to rid himself of the stars invading his vision. The glasses he had resting on his nose were now shattered, which annoyed him.

Cinder roared and threw herself back onto her feet. But with the space that they had between each other, Ozpin had more than enough time to reach into his pocket and press a button he'd kept hidden.

"Get back!" Adam screamed and pulled Sienna with him. As part of the design of the basement, there was no real cover besides Amber's pod. But since Cinder had no way of guaranteeing the power would go to her if she died, she couldn't be allowed to die. Adam threw Sienna on the ground and covered her with his body while Cinder looked around in shock as about a dozen turrets loaded with powerful dust rounds came out of the walls, ceiling, and floor.

With another push of a button, the turrets started firing and Cinder rushed to move out of the way and try to dodge the bullets. With so many coming at her at once she had no hope of dodging them all. No matter the maiden or person, you were going to get hurt and likely killed by these last resort defenses.

Cinder finally got shot in the heel and cried out in pain as the electric dust within the shell casing sent shocks up and down her leg and spine. Once that happened, all the other bullets from all the other shots exploded against her maiden aura. She had a lot of it, more than even he after he split his magic into fifths, him having the final fifth. Cinder was getting hurt, and call him cruel, but he enjoyed her cries of suffering as a cloud of dust began to form around her from all the gunpowder and dust elements striking her all at the same time.

With a roar Cinder burst into an aura of flames. Stretching her arms out around her sent a spherical-shaped ball of fire to explode straight from her body and out throughout the room. The nearest turrets were melted and destroyed while all the others were damaged. Ozpin might have seen his life flash before his eyes if he didn't have many, many lives to work through in his mind. No, instead he pushed forward his shield and charged into the flames. The explosion was just that, an explosion, and after the wave of heat left behind the only fire, and a tired Cinder.

At the last moment, his shield fell and he jabbed his cane forward. Cinder caught it with her Grimm arm to his surprise, and before she could push a ball of fire into his stomach, he let go and jumped away.

Cinder stood back up and let out a deep breath as she threw his cane behind her all the way to the other side of the room. Ozpin narrowed his eyes and cracked his knuckles. Being unarmed was no hindrance to him. His first life was spent being a warrior, and the countless others that followed were mostly the same with him constantly fighting against Salem and her past underlings. If he couldn't fight without a weapon, he would have died many more times than he already did.

He needn't have to, Sienna and Adam's auras were weak and Cinder was tiring. His stamina was draining as well to be fair, but he had enough aura reserves to outlast the half maiden. Had she been a full-powered maiden, he would have had much more trouble. But an imperfect maiden who barely has a grasp on how to use his power would never prove to be a danger against him.

"Continue fighting and you will die," Ozpin stated as he got into an ancient battle stance. "At the very least, Salem will know that you tried your hardest."

"Hah! I'm insulted that you think I can't beat a single unarmed old man," Cinder arrogantly remarked as she summoned two more swords, preparing herself for round two. "I don't need those two to kill you, they were dead weight anyway."

From over her shoulder, Ozpin saw how Adam scowled at her for that as he made his way back up to his feet, leaving Sienna on her back behind him. She must have been knocked unconscious from the blast and the fact that half of Adam's mask was destroyed didn't suggest that Cinder held back for their sake.

"Come on, do it." Ozpin thought in his mind as he watched Adam consider his options. "You know you want to, kill her while her back was turned."

If only he could. If he had enough aura to charge his semblance he might have been able to. Assuming that Ozpin was correct in his mind, of course. He was simply too tired and drained in order to effectively use his semblance. A shame. Maybe after he was captured he'd convince him to join his side. A semblance like his couldn't go to waste, and he could make a deal with James to make it happen. With any luck, he'd be too busy commanding military Bullheads and organizing recovery and trade routes for the events of the breach to care enough about a single misguided young man.

"You fail to understand, Cinder," Ozpin said as he relaxed his stance by a slight amount. "This single old man might not be able to beat you, even though I personally think he can. I always have contingency plans, and you committed this attack right as an old friend of mine was visiting for the Vytal Festival."

Cinder's eyes narrowed. Her maiden powers were still flaring, showing him that she was still willing to fight. At least with Adam by her side, she wouldn't be outnumbered. Amber was behind her as well and still in her pod, but she knew that the moment she turned around Ozpin would be on her. She was trapped for the most part.

Ozpin took pleasure in the sight of her taking a step back in response to the sound of the elevator dinging behind Ozpin. The doors opened and Cinder expected to see Ironwood coming in guns blazing with squads of Specialist. But no, somehow it was much worse.

"Ah," A pair of light blue eyes and a head of graying black hair stared into hers as a man she hadn't planned for made his reappearance. "I come to visit for the holidays and I come to what, a half maiden threatening yet another school and Vale being invaded by Grimm." Albedo, the headmaster of Signal and one of the most recent members of Ozpin's inner circle right behind Kai Matsuoka stepped into the basement of Beacon. "Ozpin, you surely know how to handle things on your own."

It was too late, she looked into his eyes and he stared right back into hers. She could feel her mind get invaded by his semblance as everything in her life was played out like a movie in his head. All of her plans, her drives, motivation!

"And just like that," Ozpin gave her a smug smile. "I put you in check."

"RAH!" Cinder turned and fired a blast of fire toward Amber's pod, but before it could hit Ozpin flashed in front of it and used his semblance to block it. In her moment of frustrated anger, she didn't see the other headmaster come up behind her and acrobatically kick her in the back of the head. Cinder bit the ground and felt a tooth chip as she was launched toward Adam.

Adam looked down at her with a shocked and angered expression of his own. Sienna was unconscious and out of the fight and he was tired himself. They would all be defeated in time if they kept fighting and they both knew that.

Cinder pushed herself back onto her hands and knees and snarled. "Damn it!" She screamed as she grabbed Adam by the collar of his shirt.

"No!" Adam cried out as he figured out what Cinder was going to do right away. Run. He didn't want to leave Sienna behind and struggled, but it was no use.

Ozpin and Albedo let her go as the screaming Adam who cursed her to let him go so he could get Sienna, she flew up into the ceiling and crashed through it. There was a layer of rock and some tech in the way before she could actually get to the surface, but nothing that couldn't be explained as an attack on Beacon while Vale was beseeched by Grimm. Instead, Ozpin ran over to make sure Amber was okay, which he was relieved to see indeed was.

"Are you sure that was wise?" Albedo asked him as he went over to subdue Sienna who was just then stirring awake. "Letting her go like that, we could have had Ironwood waiting on top for her."

"One victory at a time, old friend," Ozpin said as he turned to look at his fellow headmaster. "You now know all of her plans up to this point in time, which is going to set her back possibly months."

"Do you want to know what they are?" Albedo asked with a shrug of his shoulders. "Because really, you should have been able to figure it out yourself."

"Later," Ozpin replied. "Let us focus on the recovery of Vale and Beacon first and foremost."

"Yes sir old man," Albedo teased as he finished binding Sienna Khan. "And what of this one?"

"Give her to James, I'm sure he'd be happy for the gift of the leader of the White Fang being delivered right to his doorstep."

"I couldn't agree more."

Ozpin nodded his head and laid his hands against the monitor. They'd won, right? Vale was defended, and Cinder was beaten back from Beacon and failed to recover the maiden's powers. But at what cost? He stayed behind instead of helping in the defense of Vale and this was bound to cause a scandal because of that. Hundreds, if not thousands of innocents dead. Killed by Grimm and terrorists.

Sure, he had Cinder in check, but at the cost of half of his pawns.

And more if he didn't choose his words correctly...

And there we go, another chapter to wrap up this little surprise arc. Now, I am sure that you guys have a question in mind. "What about the train and the Mountain Glenn arc?" And well I did plan that arc, but after going through in my head everything that has happened throughout the story and everything that is going to happen in the story, that train fight, and the mountain Glenn arc while it would have included some cool scenes, there just wasn't much I could work with there. Not that there was a lack of source material. I have too many characters to leave out 2/3rds of them for a single arc and it would have just served to further a plot. That's it. Now, some of the scenes I planned for the Train and Glenn fight will still be used but adapted to fit the new scenerio I have planned for it. Trust me, skipping that arc will be worth it in the end, or at least I hope it does.

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