Part 2 is now underway. Enjoy it while it is here!
Beta: CrowSkull
The Blind Huntsman
Chapter 93
Volume 3, Episode 12
The Adjacent
Roman sighed as he listened to the panicked guards on the other side of his cell door. He tongued the spot where one of his teeth used to be before Ironwood punched him with that nice metallic arm of his. It tasted of blood and muscle, and for the life of him, he just couldn't stop doing it even though it hurt every time something agitated the wound. Strangely enough, he couldn't say the taste was bad, although that was probably weird to say out loud.
He wondered why they kept bothering to guard his cell in the first place when Vale was currently being invaded by Grimm and the White Fang. But alas, it seemed that the General thought that he was more of a threat than he actually was. Roman wanted to laugh at the thought, he really wasn't much compared to Cinder and her other allies. The only reason he was working with her was that if he didn't he'd be killed. Even if he got away somehow, he'd just get hunted down. Ever since he found out who exactly was the one person who could control Cinder and make her bow down in submission his whole view on the world changed. Sure, it was still the shit hole that he was born in and then forced to live in despite hating nearly every aspect of it, but then it became just… something else. Something that he really wished he didn't have to take part in.
And now? Heh, now he was just nothing to them. Just an insect. He was nothing the moment Cinder decided to change up their plans and turn it from an attack on Beacon to an attack on the whole damn kingdom. Every day he wondered if he was going to turn a corner and see Emerald or someone there to kill him, or worse, capture him and continue forcing him to work with them but under a tighter leash. At this point, he'd just rather be tortured.
Which was the main reason why he wanted to be captured by Atlas, and the blind kid doing it himself just made it the icing on the cake. Leaving that little breadcrumb trail of hints into the festival in the city worked out wonderfully. It served two purposes, getting him the hell out of Vale and also leaving him in the background to finally bite back on his captors.
One of the two guards in front of his cell was kicked so violently that his helmet came flying off, leading to his unprotected head slamming into the metal door after a simple shove. As a soldier with no aura, he stood little chance against someone who did, especially someone like Neo. Two gunshots rang out, neither hit, and Roman winced when a splash of blood and the sound of gurgling and coughing made him want to plug up his ears. Thankfully, the sound died out almost as quickly as it came.
He flinched as the bright light on the other side of his cell suddenly became a whole lot brighter once his cell opened. Neo stood on the other side with a smug grin on her face and a severed hand in her grip. Roman couldn't be happier to see her.
"Took you long enough," Roman commented as he stood up and finally got out of that damn cell. It hasn't even been that long, but his ass was beginning to hurt. "I thought you'd be here at least twenty minutes earlier."
Neo pouted and stamped her foot indignantly.
"Yeah, yeah, I shouldn't complain. You did have to get out of Amity and then find a way to get onto the ship in the first place." Roman allowed. "In any case, you know the plan Neo. Lead me to their main server room and I'll do my thing. Do you know the way?"
Neo nodded and gestured for him to grab her hand. He did, and he saw the world around him become reflective, almost like a field of mirrors reflecting back at him from every angle. Roman had no idea how Neo knew how to navigate it, but he was thankful that she did. To the outside world, they were invisible to all eyes and technology. That was the strange thing about Neo's semblance, it worked with illusions and yet she had this little pocket dimension around her wherever she went. Roman wouldn't even attempt to try and understand why and how semblances work and why some are so weak and others are so overpowered, but it was a curious thought to wonder about as Neo brought him through the clueless guards.
Not a single drop of blood was spilled by the time they made it to the server room. As expected, of course, it was locked, but that meant little to Neo. She looked up at him and smirked, a silent message that only he could understand being passed.
Roman nodded understandingly. "Just don't get any blood on the control panel, that is the one thing I need in order for this thing to work. Got it?"
Neo nodded her head and disappeared into her semblance once again. Roman stood on the other side of the door and leaned on the wall, crossed his arms, and whistled a nonchalant tune as Neo slaughtered the people on the other side. Well, he says slaughter because he heard screaming, cursing, and the subsequent sound of guns firing afterward. Only for the screaming to become panicked and the cursing into cries of help as Neo killed them quickly. Roman perked up an eyebrow as he watched her clean her sword of blood while bobbing her head side to side as if she was listening to a catchy song.
"Good job," Roman patted her on the head as he stepped over the body that dropped out of the room once the door slid open. "Eugh," He did his best to ignore the smell that bodies made moments after death and made his way to the main server. It was foolish in his opinion for Atlas to have something like this in the first place. A central point for all of their Atlesian Knights, Paladins, and technology. It would have made more sense if there also wasn't a prison on the same ship that the central core of the entire Atlesian network relied on. Surely there was another one in Atlas somewhere that was much more heavily guarded, but a fat lot that did over here when Neo was the one trying to get in there.
Really, if Cinder wanted to take control of all those robots still, Vale really wouldn't stand much of a chance. Thankfully, Roman had other plans and he was mildly sure that Cinder had forgotten that he was a master criminal. As such, he had a certain knowledge when it came to hacking and editing code.
"That Watts asshole made it hard," Roman said as he checked for what had to be the millionth time to make sure that this scroll that Cinder had given to him months ago was successfully edited in his favor. "But I had a lot of free time on my hands. Atlas, Vale, I'm about to give you a bit more time to get everyone the hell outta here. Don't say I never did anything good after this."
Roman took in a deep breath and implanted the scroll into Atlas' systems. On the screen to his right Roman began to type in the correct codes he needed and rewrote the primary directives that Watts originally set in place. The red-black Queen chess piece blurred and distorted. For a moment Roman was worried that he just made everything worse for everyone, but let out a whoop of excitement when he saw the black Queen piece of a symbol shift and get replaced by a winking emoticon of the man himself, Roman Torchwick.
"Yes!" Roman cheered, throwing his hands up into the air once his version of the reworked virus made its way throughout all of the local Atlesian systems. "Neo, it worked!"
Neo clapped for him, showing that she was so, very impressed.
"Oh shut up," Roman said as he fixed his hat and cleared his throat. "You didn't stay awake for days straight just trying to unlock this stupid thing. You don't understand."
Neo gestured for him to be quiet, Roman obliged and crouched down beside her. He pulled the body that fell out of the room back in and let Neo shut it. On the other side, about a dozen Atlesian soldiers jogged past them, oblivious that they were inside. If there wasn't an invasion currently underway they may have knocked and tried to see how the people were doing in there and found them, so it was a stroke of luck that none of them seemed to even bother checking. Neo signed for him to get closer to her and he entered her world again as she used her semblance.
"Take me to the part of the ship that controls everything," Roman whispered as they moved unseen through the now crowded halls of Ironwood's flagship. Neo looked at him strangely and signed a sentence. "Don't look at me like that, I dropped out of school. I don't know of every little room of a giant ass Atlesian flagship. Just get me there and I'll explain then,"
It was almost pathetic how easy it was for Neo to take him and herself throughout the ship and make their way to the cockpit. Then again that was most likely because of Neo's semblance. It was perfect in stealth missions, and this was one of them. As vicious and dangerous Neo could be, even she had limits and couldn't fight on and on for hours which would be what it would take her to be able to defeat every soldier on the ship that came after her. There had to be at least hundreds of them on this ship, and Neo was just one person.
It was as if he was in an airport or a suburb. He just had to follow the signs, and Neo knew that as well. It felt like a maze that had signs to point you in the right direction at every turn. Once they found the sign that said 'Flight and Weapons Deck' they knew that they were headed the right way.
"Here we are," Roman said as he perceived the real world around him. "Perfect, in here we can activate that little virus of mine. As I expected, Atlas did put some actual effort into rewriting most of their code. Somewhere in there is going to be a screen of my little dancing emoji. You know the one?"
Neo giggled softly.
"I'm guessing that means that you do. Go to that screen and push every damn button you see. Or rather, I'll go do that," Roman reached his side and felt a certain discomfort at knowing that Melodic Cudgel was no longer at his hip. He doubted he'd ever see the weapon again, but oh well. He could always get another. "Just make sure no one gets to me, yeah?"
Neo nodded and slid her thin sword out of her parasol once again. Roman crouched lower and prepared to break into a sprint. Neo, and he glanced at each other one last time before Neo struck the button, forcing the door open. What they saw in there made them hesitate for a fraction of a second. There were no Atlesian guards or pilots within the Flight and Weapon's Deck, at least not any that were alive, anyway. Instead, the Grimm masks of the White Fang stared back at them, shocked just as they were.
They made the mistake of hesitating longer than they did and Neo's sword already opened one of their necks. Roman charged in and activated his aura, deflecting bullets with his body as he rushed to the computers.
"Eugh!" Roman groaned as he pushed aside a dead pilot that took up the seat he was about to take cover behind. "Neo! Deal with these fuckers!"
Neo did as he said, and she worked fast. If she was deadly when she was just screwing around she was downright lethal when she wasn't. In under a minute Roman was able to peek his head out from behind the seat and see what Neo had done in the aftermath. At least a dozen and a half members of the White Fang, dead on the ground, some barely alive but bleeding out. It was a gruesome scene when combined with the Atlesian bodies, but it was unfortunately not the worse of what Roman had witnessed in his life.
"How the hell did the White Fang get up here?" Roman asked as he stepped over the bodies, getting to Neo. "It doesn't make any sense, the ship never landed and Atlas would never let these asshats get this far."
Neo pulled at his sleeve and Roman followed. He wondered why Neo's eyes were so widened with… fear? Surprise? Roman understood why when he saw what she saw, a camera feed of many of the hallways on the ship. Atlesian soldiers, noncombatant and otherwise, slaughtered. As the feeds automatically shifted to other parts of the ship, they both knew by what.
Grimm. There was Grimm on the ship. How the hell they were able to get up here was beyond him, but Beowolves, Ursai, even a King Taijitu, and Beringels were all in the halls tearing through the soldiers like a hot knife through butter. Roman knew a lot of what Cinder was planning, but this… this was too much.
"They're going to bring down this whole damn ship…" Roman realized quickly. No wonder those soldiers from before didn't bother to check one of the most important rooms on the ship, they weren't even concerned with it, they were more concerned about the Grimm destroying them from the inside. "Goddamnit, we need to find that computer fast."
There were hundreds of screens to search through and only one of them was the one that he needed. Thankfully, luck seemed to be on Roman's side as Neo grabbed him and used her semblance to transport him over to the computer he needed to be after a few short agonizing minutes of time ticking down to their deaths. Roman activated the block box and became the admin with just a few commands. After clicking on the program that he had edited from Watts, he activated every single Atlesian Knight and Paladin that were in range at once.
"Shit…" It didn't feel nearly as triumphant as he thought it would. "I don't even know if this will make a difference anymore. I got all of them to turn on and everything but… will it do anything?"
Neo patted his shoulder, getting him to look at her. When he did, she signed something for him. Asking him if it was time for them to make their escape.
"No… no… dammit! I can't leave everything like this," Roman admitted as he looked over the current state of Vale from the windows available to him. Fires burning out all over the city, the Grimm were climbing buildings and from all the way up there Roman could watch people die. But there was something more… something he couldn't get his eyes off of. The sky in the distance wasn't blue or even dark blue, but a red-purple-black color that reminded him of Grimm. It was a swarm, and through the dark clouds blurring his vision, he could see them. Mountain Glenn, as in the actual mountain itself and not the ruined city, was a wreck. Some kind of giant dragon had burst free from it, but… it wasn't alone.
"I can't leave it like this, as shitty as Vale is, it's still my home," Roman said as he pushed another body out of a seat and cracked his knuckles. "I won't be leaving it without a fight, not after everything I was forced to do. Cinder, Mercury, Emerald, fucking all of them, even that Salem bitch I heard Cinder complaining to. I won't just roll over and let them do what they want anymore. If I left now? Heh…" He shook his head. "I'd just be letting them get the last laugh. Fuck them. How long has it been Neo? Four? Five years since Cinder found and forced us to join her? That's how long we've been slaves,"
"And you know what they say about slaves with nothing else to lose," Roman gripped the control sticks of the ship and activated its weapons. Cinder made a mistake, letting him learn how to fly and use the weapons of this giant as a ship only to throw away those plans. Now he knew exactly how to use that against her. "I say it's time I start up a bit of a revolution, eh Neo?"
Neo huffed and took the other seat beside him.
"You see? This is why I kept you around."
Ruby dashed out of the Bullhead with her semblance the second the shuttle doors opened. She was quickly flanked by Yang, Blake, Weiss, and Orchid before she could get too far away. She had to force herself to stop and not run head-on into danger. Right now, they needed her more than anyone, or rather they needed her eyes. She could drive away the Grimm and try to make them terrified of her. Just like the stories said, she would become a hero of humanity and make the Grimm too afraid to attack a kingdom like this again.
"We need to get to the other students and help them!" Weiss exclaimed over the chaos. "If we all work together surely we can push them back!"
"The White Fang is here as well," Blake pointed out. "They are the ones responsible for getting the Grimm up here in the first place, if we stop the surge of Grimm from the source, we should be able to band together and save the school. The only problem with that is…"
"Adam Taurus is leading it," Orchid finished for her. "If we are to stop the White Fang from bringing the Grimm in, he is going to have to be eliminated. Without their leader, surely the White Fang will lose their morale and retreat."
"We can't beat him on our own," Blake said. "I know him more than anyone else. He's stronger than Sienna ever was and his semblance is so precise and powerful that it can completely ignore aura if applied correctly. If we fought him now, we'd die."
"What if we all fought against him?" Yang asked. "He's good, sure, but there's no way he can fight all of us at once."
"Maybe… I can't say for sure."
"Look! Ironwood's ship is above us!" Ruby shouted, cutting them all off before they could continue and pointing up toward the sky. Ironwood's flagship was indeed there, battling off the Grimm. However, something didn't seem right with it. All at once, every single robotic soldier dropped out of the ship once it's the doors underneath opened. Hundreds of them, all falling toward Beacon. Although most of them missed and fell into the ocean of forest, a good portion of them landed in Beacon. It wasn't perfect, but it was the reinforcements that they needed.
"If they are dropping Atlesian Knights directly into Beacon then things aren't good," Weiss explained as they came to a stop. "My sister once explained to me their emergency protocols if things got as bad as this. Para trooping Atlesian Knights and Paladins into Beacon like this means that we are losing."
"Which means that even if we beat Adam, alone, we wouldn't be able to save Beacon." For one of the first times, Ruby cursed under her breath. "We are going to have to split up. Weiss, is your sister at Beacon?"
"She has to be," Weiss replied. "There would be no one else General Ironwood would trust with the defense of Beacon."
"Good, then we are going to go find her."
"What about Adam?" Blake asked. "With the White Fang still in Beacon, the Grimm won't stop coming."
"That's where the splitting up part of the plan comes into play," Ruby looked at her. "You, Orchid, and Yang go after him. Beat him, and send the White Fang into retreat. Orchid can create clones, you'll have numbers on your side even without her semblance."
"But you two would be going on your own to find Weiss' sister," Yang pointed out. "You're just two people. You can't make that much of a difference on your own, unless…"
"Exactly," Ruby looked up at her sister. "My eyes will be the difference. You saw those Wyverns while we were flying up here in the Bullhead too, Yang, you know that it's going to take a lot of firepower just to take one of them down. And like the White Fang, they are constantly spawning more and more Grimm with each passing second."
"What you're saying is that if we do one thing over the other, it's not going to be enough." Orchid realized. "So it's either this, or we can kiss Beacon and Vale goodbye."
Ruby sadly nodded her head. "Yes."
"Damnit,' Yang suddenly lurched forward and scooped her sister up into her arms. "Then I guess we are going to have to split up, huh? Just do something for me Sis, don't die, please. You may have those special eyes, but you're still just one person."
"I know, Yang," the way Ruby's voice cracked made her sister want to reconsider the plan entirely. "But I have to. We couldn't rely on Kai forever anyway, right?"
"Hah… I guess not."
"Now do me a favor," Ruby pulled away and flourished Crescent Rose. "And go kick that guy's ass. All of you."
"After that, I wouldn't have it any other way," Yang slammed her fists together and winked. After sharing a glance toward Blake and Orchid, they nodded back and ran off together toward a different part of the school. Once they were gone, Ruby let out the breath that she was holding and looked back to Weiss.
"Ready to go?"
"Hmph, am I?"
"Are you?"
"Of course I am!" Ruby chuckled despite everything and followed Weiss as she started making her way to the spot where the most Atlesian Knights and Paladins landed. There, they would surely find Winter.
"C'mon, this way," Qrow urged as he pulled Marron by the forearm as she carried Malienna. "There's a Bullhead just behind this building that will take you two to Patch, from there you can find Taiyang. He's well known on the island, and he'll take care of you both. Don't worry about the pilot, he's someone who owes me a favor."
"What about you!?" Marron asked.
"Did you forget that I can turn into a bird?" Qrow asked as he crouched down, gesturing for Marron to follow his lead. "The Bullhead is a tight fit anyway, I'll be right behind you, I promise."
"Don't lie to me, Qrow." Marron yanked away from her arm and glared at him. "I know how you huntsmen are. I married one, mothered one, and dated one more. You aren't going to be right behind me, you are going to keep fighting."
"What do you want me to say, Marron?" Qrow asked, scrunching his eyebrows down at her as he resisted the temptation to swear at her. "I'm a huntsman, and right now Ozpin needs me. I am at least going to get you two out of here before that. What could I tell Kai if he finds out that his mother and sister were killed while I could have done something about it, huh?"
"You tell him anything but that because you are coming with us!" Marron exclaimed. "Please, Qrow, I've already lost one man to your career, don't let me lose another."
Qrow felt his heart sink as he listened to those words. "I'm sorry, Marron, but I have to do this."
"At least let me help you."
"Out of the question. You're not ready to fight against what's coming."
"I'm not talking about fighting close quarters! I helped my son fight Cinder Fall with just my semblance, now I have better control over it and I am stronger overall."
"Do you really think that Cinder is still at the same strength as back then?" Qrow asked, laughing out of spite. "Marron, I am sorry, I really am, but you will die if you come with me. Don't let Malienna lose another parent, definitely not one that she was actually alive to see."
"Don't bring her into this!" Marron exclaimed, holding Malienna tighter to her body when the little girl whined and sobbed.
"It's the truth, Marron! Fuck!" Qrow cursed and kicked at the wall, chipping a piece of concrete off of it. "I should have never let you get this close to me. This thing we have Marron? It isn't real. You were depressed and lonely after losing Malikai, and I was the shoulder you leaned on, you don't really care about me, you just don't want to be alone again."
"How dare you!?" Qrow had a feeling that if Marron had access to both hands, she would have slapped him. "My feelings for you are no accident! They are no lie. They are real! I know what you are trying to do Qrow and it is not working."
"If you really care about me then please, please. I hardly beg for anything in my life but for fucks sake I am begging you." Qrow placed both of his hands on Marron's shoulders and pulled her closer. "Don't make me have to force you into that Bullhead. Don't make me have to get physical with you, please."
Marron stared into his eyes for what felt like minutes. She realized that if Qrow had to, his hands were already close to her neck. He could choke her until she lost consciousness and put her on the Bullhead. She didn't want to fight him either, not only would she surely lose but she'd be making Qrow waste precious aura and stamina to defeat her when he would make better use of that for fighting the ones that mattered. Qrow shut his eyes and his hands started moving up to her neck, but before he could grab her, Marron finally conceded.
"Okay," Marron said, swallowing a depressed lump in her throat. "Okay, I'll go."
Qrow pulled his hands away and let out a massive sigh of relief. "Thank you." He said, taking her arm again and pulling her along once more. "I'll see you off to the Bullhead, that much I can promise."
"Okay," Marron let him lead her. It was strangely quiet around this part of Beacon. There was no Grimm, no White Fang, and nothing to fear for the most part. The fact that Vale was currently being invaded made the thought itself almost impossible, but for once it seemed that luck was on their side.
"There," Qrow pointed toward the Bullhead that would take her and her daughter away. It was parked on the edge of the cliff. The pilot beckoned them over in a panic, starting up the engine and opening the side shuttle door. Qrow was right, it really was a tight fit. And it didn't seem that this was a Bullhead of the legal kind either. There were no straps to keep her seated but only handles for her to hold on to.
"Wait," Before Qrow could leave her and shut the door behind him, she set Malienna down beside her and reached out to grab his shoulder. He turned and she smashed her lips into his, kissing him deeply and savoring his taste, just in case. "I'm sorry," She said, the tears finally breaking through and getting the better of her. "I don't want this to be goodbye, but just in case… I'd rather we leave things off on a good note."
Qrow kissed her back and rested his forehead against hers. "It's okay, I'd probably do the same thing."
"Please come back to me, when this is all over?" Marron pleaded. "You were right when I said I leaned on you, but I still love you. I know I do. I know we moved… very fast," Laughing sadly, Marron forced her brown eyes back open. Qrow felt her tail brush against his wrist. "But I still want to see you again."
"I know, and I promise," Qrow said gently. "This ain't gonna be the last time you see me. I swear it."
"Good, now go before I try to drag you with me," Marron said, pulling away and taking the seat beside her daughter. "Be safe."
"I will," Qrow stepped back and shut the doors and locked them before he actually took her up on that offer. He stepped back and waved to the pilot, signaling that he was good to go. Once the Bullhead got into the air and took off, Qrow once again felt a sigh of relief escape his lungs. That was a lot harder than he thought it would be, but now Marron and Malienna would be safe. He trusted the pilot, he was hardly a good person but damn did he know how to fly.
Just in case, he wanted to watch the Bullhead until it got over the walls surrounding Vale. It went and went, soaring above all the chaos going on in Vale and underneath the noses of all the Grimm attacking the ships that Ironwood brought with him from Atlas.
It didn't get over the walls before it got attacked.
"NO!" Qrow wanted to turn into a bird but he knew that it was too late. Once the first Nevermore latched onto its side he knew that it was over. Once the Griffon followed suit he could only wish that the Bullhead exploded when it crashed. Killing the ones inside instantly.
Raven reacted on instinct once she felt her semblance spike up. One moment she was in her tent tensed up and the next she created a portal without the use of her sword. It was a small one, not even big enough for her to step through. That wasn't required, however. She felt her, the sibling of Kai that she never really got around to meeting. She grabbed her by the hair and pulled.
The ship she was in must have not been in a good state since it was so hot. She was more than strong enough to pull the girl through the tiny portal that she had created. Her red eyes widened when a small girl landed in her lap, crying and grabbing onto her. A brown tail wrapped around her arm, and Raven didn't know what to make of it.
"Ah!" Malienna screamed once she opened her eyes. "W-Where am I? What happened? Where's my mom!?"
Raven sensed through her semblance to check the state of the mother, only to wince and feel a lurch in her chest.
"Child," Raven patted the girl on the head, getting her to look at her. "Don't cry. You are safe now."
Dammit, the way the girl trusted her immediately made her want to throw something. But she let the girl hug her when she did. Her mother was no more, she must have just been able to save the girl at the only time when she could. Marron… Raven swallowed a lump and shook her head. Now wasn't the time to think about such things, right now she had bigger matters to tend to.
Blake led the way as Yang and Orchid followed her lead. She knew the White Fang best, and as such knew where they would most likely strike with their leader. It was hard getting there, and they did their best to refrain from killing when they didn't have to. But they knew what happened to the ones that they knocked out while in the middle of a battle with Grimm around. They just didn't want to think about it. It made it easier that way.
Pushing such thoughts to the back of their minds, Blake flicked the blood off of Gambol Shroud. It wasn't a lot, but she was a huntress, and fighting people with no aura without killing them was more difficult than one would believe. She thought about Adam and what he'd be thinking right now. She left the White Fang because she believed that it was getting too violent and desperate and had lost their way. Now here she was, violent and desperate, killing her own kind to get to him. It was such a turn around on what she believed would have happened between the two of them. Adam was always the more spiteful one, the more hateful one.
"You okay?" Orchid asked her as she shifted her swords back into one greatsword.
Blake snapped out of her morbid thoughts and looked at her. "I am, sorry, I was just thinking…"
"Don't think too much," Yang piped up. "That would make this harder than it needs to be. Just keep moving until we find him. C'mon Blake, you know him right? Where would he be at a time like this?"
Blake thought for a moment before replying. "He's the strongest of the White Fang and its current leader, so he'd be expected on the front lines or fighting the huntsmen or huntresses. But since Winter Schnee is on the other side of Beacon… He'd probably be the one to fight most of the other students."
"Shit," Yang knew what she meant by that without her even needing to say it. "Then he's probably near the lounges or cafeteria."
"Probably the cafeteria," Orchid explained. "Besides Amity, most of the other students would be in the cafeteria to watch the tournament on TV from there. And right now, the lounges should be empty."
"I think we know where we have to go then," Yang said. "Great…"
"Be ready to see something brutal," Blake muttered as they slightly shifted their path. "We're already late getting here. We might see friends who are…"
"I get it," Yang claimed.
"It'll be fine, I'll just switch to a personality who can handle that kind of pain."
"I would say too soon, but fuck it, it's never gonna be late enough."
They all shut up once they heard the sounds of fighting just around the corner where the entrance to the cafeteria would be. Dark smoke spilled out of the broken glass windows that shattered during the ensuing battles, muffling their vision to the inside. Blake crouched down and gestured for the others to do the same. Getting the ambush on Adam was important, it could mean a brutal battle to drain his aura or taking him out instantly. Though it seemed that an ambush would do little as he was already fighting at this moment.
With her faunus eyes, Blake looked through the smoke and at the glowing red that she knew belonged to her partner. She gasped and dove to the side when a wave of red energy crashed into the wall just in front of her. Did he see her!? No, he couldn't have. She knew that wasn't the case when she heard a body fall to the floor, dead.
"He's there," Blake said, feeling the fear that she'd been pushing down come back with a vengeance. "He's there…"
"Sky, no!" A voice they recognized had them all widening their eyes. They peered through the smoke again and gasped at what they saw. It wasn't just any team that was up against Adam, it was Team CRDL. And Cardin was the only one standing still, the only one breathing. His aura appeared to be on the verge of breaking and he could barely still lift the heavy two-handed mace he'd decided to make his primary weapon.
"I told you this would happen," Adam's deep voice made the hair on the back of their necks stick up in alarm. "And yet you attacked me anyway. Though, I must commend you for staying alive for this long. You certainly were someone strong enough to lead a team. A shame that today is the day you die."
"You bastard!" Cardin exclaimed, and for his credit, refused to back down despite the bodies of his own teammates littering the floors around him. "I won't let you get away with this."
"Oh, you will," Adam sounded bored while saying it. He sheathed his sword and his hair glowed a bright red. But instead of aiming his next attack at Cardin, he turned around and slashed at the blonde that had jumped out from behind the wall that she was hiding behind. Yang blocked and absorbed the attack with her semblance, but was blown back nevertheless.
"Tch," Adam sheathed his sword once again and stared down the other two girls that came out to support their teammate. "Figures it'd be you that I run into today."
"What are you doing, Adam?" Blake asked him. "Is this the vision that you wanted me to see? Destroying an entire kingdom, of all the inhumane and asinine ideals I never did believe that you would do this."
"This isn't," Adam said. "It isn't the vision I wanted you to see. We are only playing a part, Blake. None of this is about our revolution."
"It sure as hell looks like a senseless massacre to me," Yang said as she slowly circled around Adam, with Orchid doing the same on the other side. "That makes you the enemy."
"I won't waste my breath explaining something that you should already know," Adam went on. As he spoke, Yang got closer to Cardin and warned him to leave, and for once, the boy seemed willing to listen. Using his weapon as support, he staggered away from them and gave them the room they needed. "But you should know that this isn't enough to defeat me, Blake. Do you really think I had gotten weaker since the last time you saw me?"
"No, but the same could be said for us," Blake replied, breaking Gambol Shroud apart and holding both of her blades in each hand.
"And I have a score to settle with you," Orchid spat to the side, earning Adam's attention for the moment as she stabbed her weapon into the floor. "You may have defeated me at those docks, but I won't be beaten so easily a second time." Three clones came out from behind Orchid as her semblance activated. On Adam's other flank, Yang took a fighting stance and started bouncing on her feet. He took a stance himself and placed a hand on the hilt of his sword, sucking in a deep breath as his aura activated once again. Then, he looked toward the girl it all started with, someone he used to love. Blake crouched low and prepared to lunge in any direction. He wasn't totally sure he'd be able to win against all of them at once, but he was very sure that blood would have to be spilled either way.
"We shall see."
Red flashed, and Yang was blown into the wall and stunned. Blake and Orchid rushed in.
Ozpin had never fought someone so powerful before. There was a saying about experience beating over skill, and he was the one man in the world who could actually say he was the most experienced of all. But that saying wasn't always true. He may have been more experienced, had better control over his magic and aura and knowledge of so many fighting styles, but Cinder was not a normal person. She didn't care about control, she didn't care about needing experience. She was truly a prodigy, and despite having Salem's power within her for at most a month or two since the breach, she was proving to be almost just as dangerous.
It reminded him of his first-ever battle with Salem. But she was nowhere near as powerful and sadly, neither was he. He was at a fifth of his full strength, and Cinder was in the prime of her life while he had an aging body. It didn't help that Hazel was assisting her as well. Any time he stood still for a moment, the muscular man was on him in seconds. If Tyrian was helping as well, he feared he would have been beaten already. Though thankfully, Albedo seemed to be handling the lunatic quite well for the most part.
His aura glowed around his hand and left a trail of green energy as his cane destroyed every bit of glass that was fired his way. He turned and flipped over himself, onto Hazel's shoulder, and slammed the bottom of his cane into the top of his skull. Hazel's eyes rolled to the back of his head, but he wasn't knocked out. Ozpin flipped off of him and kicked him in the back, sending him staggering forward. Ozpin didn't have a chance to breathe as his cane clashed with Cinder's glass swords the instant he left a flank open. The ensuing shockwave cracked the floors and walls themselves. Cinder stared at him with one orange eye and one red eye, smirking confidently at him as their pushed against each other.
"No turrets this time Oz?" She asked when she pushed him back slightly.
"They wouldn't work against you this time," Ozpin replied simply, editing his stance to brace against the ground more reliably.
"Hm, it seems you are smart when you need to be." Cinder's teeth smashed into each other as Ozpin shoved his shoulder into her neck and pushed her chin up. He grabbed one of her wrists and twisted it, forcing her to drop one of her swords. Her Grimm around grabbed the back of his shirt but he didn't allow her to do anything with it. He twisted out of the grip and slammed his cane into the back of Cinder's left leg. Only to cry out in pain when the leg barely moved an inch.
Black swirls of magic surrounded Cinder's leg and Ozpin knew that attacking there again was not an option. He summoned his dome shield to protect against the flaming fist that Cinder had thrown at him, and while it protected him, it didn't stop him from flying backward. He stopped himself mid-air and hovered for a moment, thinking about what he could do to fatally injure her.
Albedo struggled against Tyrian's wrist blades as he pinned the crazed man against the wall. Tyrian's stringer tried, again and again, to stab and pump venom into his system, but he didn't allow it. Strangely enough, Tyrian decided that this was time for conversation.
"So strange! You are fighting so very differently from how I thought you'd fight! You are weaker than I am, I can tell, but yet you pin me against this wall all the same. How is it that you do that?"
Albedo refused to reply and jumped back from the bullets that Tyrian had fired from his wrists. His knives slashed through the air as he flipped the grip back to a normal one, assuming a new stance.
"Right there! I see it, I see it now!" Tyrian giggled madly, holding his stomach as he did so. "Your semblance! It's more than just reading minds, isn't it? No, you experience every bit of a person's life once you look into their eyes. Ah, it makes so much sense now!"
"Do not rant about which you do not understand," Albedo warned, throwing one of his knives at the faunus.
Tyrian caught the knife with his teeth and threw it back. Albedo caught it in turn and slashed at the man. Tyrian ducked and dodged away from Albedo's attacks, and Albedo did the same to his counters. They were evenly matched it seemed, though that just made Tyrian all the more excited. He laughed maniacally even as Albedo managed to cut his aura protecting his face. When Tyrian reached out to try and forcibly deactivate his aura, Albedo ducked low and tackled the man to the ground.
"Oof!" Tyrian exclaimed as the back of his head hit the ground. Even stunned, however, his arms still raised to grab the knife that Albedo attempted to stab into his chest. "So experienced, have you ever attempted such a takedown before? Strange, so strange, your records said nothing about this kind of fighting style when I first read them."
"Must you keep wasting Remnants air with you constant chattering?" Albedo asked as he tried to thrust his knife into Tyrian's heart.
"Oh ho, but I must! You see Oz, I think I understand why Salem wants you captured alive now."
Albedo gagged as Tyrian's tail grabbed him around his neck and wrenched him off of the faunus. Albedo cut at the tail and Tyrian flinched, letting him go lest he gets his stinger cut off.
"You don't only read the minds of the people whose eyes you look into, you experience it as if you are living through it themselves. Though it doesn't seem to be tied to just a single person, but the very soul itself."
Albedo narrowed his eyes. "For a lunatic, you are a lot smarter than you ought to be."
"Ah, thank you, Oz!" Tyrian shouted, calling him again by a name that didn't belong to him. "I finally see it in your eyes! It is the same look that the real Oz's eyes gave me in his last life. You are a collection of memories, and once you looked into that Oz's eyes, you also became him. To a certain extent, at least. How does it feel? I wonder if the true Albedo even exists anymore."
"Oh, he does," Albedo said, cracking his neck and moving toward the man with a much different demeanor. "As I said, do not pretend to understand what you cannot hope to ever understand. I may have many of Ozpin's memories, but you will be disappointed if you think I've become him because of that. I have lived many lives because of my semblance, having a few dozen more doesn't make me anyone other than Albedo, Headmaster of the Huntsmen Training Academy, Signal."
"Oh, we shall see if that is true~" Tyrian sang, crouched down low and flourishing his weapons. Albedo sprinted at him and Tyrian pounced, the two men meeting in the middle for yet another clash.
Ozpin jabbed his cane into Hazel's chest, stomach, diaphragm, and privates in the span of a second then kicked him aside. Cinder slashed at his shoulder, cutting through his suit and very nearly cutting into him. Ozpin smashed his cane into the good side of Cinder's face, though that did little to slow her down. He jumped back, but not quickly enough, as Cinder's blade slashed at his stomach.
Ozpin crouched down and held his stomach when he took his hand away, it came back with a small trace of blood. His aura was beginning to fail him, it seemed. He wondered why he was hardly struck at all.
"Have you realized what's happening?" Cinder asked as she summoned her bow with a flaming arrow. "No, it doesn't matter. You will soon enough."
Ozpin jumped to the side and away from the fiery explosion that came from the spot he was just standing in. He threw off his suit coat as he ran, letting it burn behind him as the next arrow missed. He tried to get closer to Cinder, but Hazel cut him off. Grabbing him and holding him close. He didn't bother pointing out that Hazel would get caught in the ensuing blast since he likely wouldn't care, so all he could do was try and tank it with his shield.
Instead of the arrow, a constant flow of flames blasted into the shield. Slowly burning it and cracking it. Ozpin knew that it wouldn't last, and so he needed to get away from Hazel.
"Ah!" Hazel didn't expect Ozpin to headbutt him in the jaw, dislocating it entirely. The crack weakened his grip and Ozpin slithered out. He jumped to the side and out of the torrent of flames right as his shield broke. Why he felt so tired doing so, he had no idea. He clenched his chest where his heart was beating violently and watched as the flames washed over Hazel almost harmlessly.
"She's draining my aura and magic," Ozpin realized at that moment. "It must only be able to work on beings with magic within them… Damn, I can't win." He mumbled to himself.
"Hazel dear, you can have your fun with him now, he's beaten." Cinder said as she knotted another arrow and aimed it at Amber's original tank. "Make sure he dies."
"Oh, I will," Hazel said as he cracked his knuckles.
Ozpin sighed, he'd give it to Salem. Being smart enough to come up with some kind of spell to cast on Cinder and give her this passive ability. He whispered a silent apology to Albedo, who he assumed would be killed as well. He wouldn't go down without a fight, however, even if he was being drained of his strength. He took a stance and deactivated his aura and withdrew his magical powers. Already, he felt some of his strength come back. So it seemed that Cinder's new ability only worked when he was actually using his powers, that was important information to remember for his next life.
He heard the thunk of an arrow strike Amber's tank and he felt the grin stretch across his face when Cinder realized that Amber was already dead. No power came to her, and right as Hazel was about to attack and likely kill him, she stopped him.
"Where is the fall maiden!?" She screamed, losing the composure she'd been keeping up for so long.
"Transferred to a new host," Ozpin replied smugly. "What, you think I would have kept the power there after the last time you came? Foolish of you to think so- Gah!" Ozpin fell to his knees when an arrow pierced through one of his lungs. Foolish on Cinder's part as it was a fatal blow, but she didn't seem to care at the moment.
"Where. Is. She!?" Cinder demanded, gripping Ozpin by his hair and forcing him to look up at her.
"Hey, you said that I'd get to kill him." Hazel pointed out.
"You'll get your turn, this man will reincarnate," Cinder said as she ripped the arrow out of his chest.
"Ozpin!" Albedo cried out as he pushed Tyrian back. After a brief scuffle, he kicked the lunatic away and ran in their direction. Only to stop when Hazel stepped in his way. Tyrian he could handle, Hazel on his own was a possibility as well. Both at the same time was suicide. He cursed and took a step back, he saw Ozpin's state anyhow, even if he somehow saved him, there would be no stopping the blood loss from taking him later.
"Where is the maiden, Ozma?" Cinder asked, gripping his hair so tightly he wondered how long it would take for his hair to get ripped out.
"You'll find her, I'm sure," Ozpin said, grinning despite the pain. "Or she'll find you."
Cinder cried out like a spear of ice lanced through her left shoulder, causing a splatter of blood to splash against Ozpin's face. Cinder screamed because of the pain and melted the spear of ice so that her Grimm powers could begin to heal her body. She turned to look at the culprit, and Amber took a special pleasure in seeing them widen out of shock.
"You," Cinder spat to the side, her lips peeled open to reveal a set of sharp teeth on one side and normal ones on the other. "I should have killed you instead of leaving you behind, to think that they'd transfer the power to you of all people."
"I think you have it wrong," The woman with Sienna's face spat back, her left eye burning with flames as she glared down at Cinder. "I'm not Sienna, I am the one you ambushed all that time ago. To think that because I failed to kill you led to all of this," When Cinder's eyes widened again out of shock, Amber felt a smile stretch across her lips. "I won't fail again, monster."
"You… it is you," Cinder wouldn't have believed it if she wasn't right there in front of her. "To think that I'd have to kill you again… is this Destiny?"
"No, this is fate giving me another chance," Amber replied. A staff made out of solid ice formed in her hands.
Ozpin crawled around Hazel and rolled onto his side, facing Albedo. His fellow headmaster looked him in the eyes, and a silent message passed between the two. Without hesitation, Albedo nodded and activated his semblance on the dying man. The information that got passed to him made him gasp.
"Amber, no!" Albedo exclaimed. "Don't fight her, she'll drain your- MMPH!"
"No, no, no," Tyrian said as he pressed his hand into Albedo's mouth. "Let them fight, it's like she said is it not? It is Fate wanting them to fight again. Don't fight against fate, you'll never win."
Albedo could only watch as the two maidens charged at each other.
Phew, sorry this was delayed by a day. I should have gotten this done yesterday but I got distracted and played video games. This new cyber ninja parkour game called GhostRunner came out and I beat it already. So that should give you an idea about what I was doing this week Lol.
As for the chapter, I will confirm it here, Marron is indeed dead. Originally, I did have some other plans for her, but as I was writing that scene, I realized it didn't make any real sense for her to leave Malienna on the ship going to Patch and fight with Qrow. She was just going to die then anyway, and I thought that it was pointless dragging it out like that. I do feel kinda bad for the character, but in all honesty, she sorta needed to die in this arc. I feel like I could have made it more dramatic, but the suddenness of what happened to the Bullhead felt more touching to me. Not everyone gets a glorified death and dies on their feet, sometimes life just decides to take a different turn.
Now, I will admit that Raven saving Malienna at the end there was a bit of an asspull, but it was the only way for me to save her as I do have plans for her later down the line. I also didn't really have the heart to let her die there anyway, so that definitely played a big factor.
I thought about writing a Kai scene in this chapter but thought against it, as cool as it sounds to have him fight through an army of Grimm, that already happened once in the Breach, doing it again just seems redundant, you guys know he's strong and most Grimm don't stand a chance against him anyway, and I have bigger plans for him later down the line.
I also decided that I will most likely be doing 4 parts for this finale instead of three. I was thinking about it, and unless I do a giant mega chapter I am not going to be able to fit everything I need to fit in the next chapter. So, get ready for that one.
That was a longer AN than planned, whelp, it isn't unlike me to write more than I need too anyway.
See ya in the next one.