Chapter 39: Fall of Beacon Part 2
Disclaimer: RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum, I only own my Ocs
Team RXDY
The sounds of clashing swords fill the interior of Beacon Academy's burning cafeteria, Rena deflects a horizontal swing from Adam's Dust sword as the bull faunus unleashes a ruthless barrage of strikes on her, Rena glares at Adam. The bull faunus hurt her little sister figure, cut Yang's dominant arm off, injured Alexia and could've done the same to Emmara and he'll pay for it with his life.
The two run forward swinging their blades with vicious aggression, sparks fly each time their blades make contact. Wilt absorbs the energy from every strike by Scarlet and Rena is all too familiar what those entail. She just needs to somehow disarm Adam of it.
They enter a blade lock with both striving to overpower the other until Rena pushes him back, swinging Scarlet left and right then a powerful downward chop overwhelms Adam's defense, staggering him. The bull faunus quickly recovers when Rena is upon him barely having time to block an uppercut, but the One-Eyed Devil doesn't stop. Rena hammers at her opponent's guard, Adam can feel it in her strikes Rena isn't holding back this time around. She plans on killing him.
The two enter another blade lock, this time Adam grunts in exertion to hold his ground as Rena pushes down with her claymore.
She said, "I should've killed you seven years ago, Adam. I could've saved Blake a lot of physical and emotional abuse. Had I been in charge of the White Fang instead of Sienna Khan, I would have you executed. You're a menace to society, Adam Taurus." They break the lock to parry each other's retaliatory strikes before re-entering the blade lock.
Adam sneered, "Like you're any different. You betrayed the White Fang! You abandoned the cause!"
Rena replied, "Your cause, Adam. I've warned both Sienna Khan and her predecessor the damage your violent tendencies would cause to the White Fang but neither of them listened. So now, I'm going to rectify that error." She jumps back when Adam points the sheath Blush that doubled as a rifle at her, she deflects the bullets allowing Adam to close the distance and looks to stab Rena's other eye out when she tackles him and runs toward a support beam of the cafeteria. She next proceeds to slam his skull against the hard wood. The one-eyed faunus slams her knee into Adam's midsection before switching to punches. Adam grunts with each hit to the gut and feels his head being driven against a raised knee making his head snap back. Rena next grabs the collar of the bull faunus' jacket and twirls the dazed opponent around, cocking one open hand back. A vortex of wind forms and flames appear around Rena's eye.
She exclaimed, "You think I'd stop there?! Not by a long shot, fucker!" She thrusts the open palm forward rocketing Adam backwards, crashing through another support beam. The bull faunus rises from the debris when his danger senses kick in, raising Wilt to absorb a fireball launched at him. However, this is one of a sequence of fireballs sent his way by Rena. He either evades or absorbs them with Wilt. Suddenly, the barrage stops. Adam wonders what Rena is planning now when he gets his answer in the form of a fire spear landing near his feet, the weapon brightens and explodes taking out some of Adam's aura.
Using wind to enhance her speed, Rena enters striking distance and unleashes a barrage of punches. Since Rena is using her maiden powers, she knows whoever's hunting the Four Maidens will target her but that doesn't matter right now. She covers her gauntlets with ice making the physical strikes more painful for Adam who struggles to withstand the assault. She next targets his face with mean hooks. She rips the Grimm mask off, tossing it somewhere and exposing the Schnee Dust Company initials burned onto his face along with his left eye glazed over and red while his good eye is blue. Rena drills holes into Adam's rotten soul with her glare. She wraps her arms around Adam and flies both of them off the ground, crashing through the roof of the cafeteria soaring to the height of Beacon Tower and reverses course, beginning a tight spiral dive back to the ground of the cafeteria. Traveling at 400 miles an hour, Rena switches their positions to make Adam's back line with the floor, holding one of his arms she blasts him with a crimson red beam of magical energy, pushing the bull faunus toward the ground where he crashes with a loud thud. Adam's body bounces off the floor with his mouth open in a silent scream along with a wide-eyed expression, his aura struggling to take the blow. Rena lands gracefully and stares at the dust cloud seething anger coursing through her body.
She barked, "Get up, Adam! I know you aren't dead! Your ass whipping has just begun!" Rage surges through Adam's veins.
He's being embarrassed by his former comrade and isn't given a chance to fight back. No! He won't die here! Not when he still seeks to make the humans feel the same pain they treated his kind with. Slamming his fist on the floor, Adam gets to his feet and readies Wilt again. He's going to make Rena pay for the humiliation she's inflicting on him.
Parts of his clothing begin to glow, charging his semblance. Rena sees it and prepares her counterattack, planting her dominant foot forward and holding Scarlet in both hands at waist height on the left side of her body while the other foot is held back. A lightning rimmed condensed arc of fire magical energy gathers on her claymore. Both challengers launch their attacks at the same time. The attacks collide and cancel each other out generating a large explosion that blasts out the windows. A huge dust cloud obscures Rena's view. Adam bursts through the cloud, his semblance still active.
History seems to repeat itself as the memory of what happened the previous time flashes through Rena's mind. This time around, however, Rena evades Moon Slice using wind. Her breastplate still takes the hit, suffering a surface cut in the armor. It matters little to the one-eyed faunus. The two close the distance and clash blades again. They head butt each other, Adam ducks to avoid a decapitation and gets hit by a beam of magic, pushing him away despite his effort to absorb the energy into Wilt. Adam crashes into another support beam, skidding to a halt and locks eyes with Rena who has a look of primal fury in her remaining eye.
He screamed, "RENA!" The bull faunus runs toward her evading arcs of fire sent his way by the Winter Maiden, leaping into the air with Wilt above his head, throwing it at Rena who blocks it with Scarlet and continues to deflect Adam's ruthless onslaught, protecting her vital points. She has learned from her last fight with Adam and this time she isn't letting him get past her staunch defense. She pushes Adam back and counters, swinging her claymore with speeds Adam can barely keep up with and ends the assault with a downward chop that breaks Adam's defense then nails a kick to the chin that knocks the bull faunus onto his back. He gets to his knees when Rena is on him almost within a second and lands a vicious kick to the ribs, his eyes widen as he's sent corkscrewing through the air before skidding to a halt on his side, groaning as pain floods every nerve in his chest.
Rena said, "How does it feel to get a taste of your own medicine, Adam? Bitter, huh? I'm making you feel the same pain you put Blake, Yang, Alexia and Emmara through. Oh, and don't think I haven't forgotten the pain I felt when you sliced my left eye out. I'm going to pay you back for that a thousand-fold!" She heard him groan, "Oh, what's wrong? Your ribs hurt? You ain't receiving an ounce of mercy from me! Your aura must be very close to breaking." Adam fights through the pain and sees through the painful haze Rena giving him the double bird, fueling his rage. Rena stands there with Scarlet held at the dominant side of the body in a single-handed grip.
Out in the eastern part of Vale City, the massive creature comes ashore, a massive wall of water falls down as the creatures rises to its full height. Soon, it appears.
It had a rounded head, jaws filled sharp teeth including prominent fangs, pupil-less red eyes, its muscles bulged against its pitch-black body with bone plating dotting parts of it and spiky bone plating ran from its triceps to its shoulders, very large white claws on its hands and feet, the thumb and index claws were longer than the others and the same colored claws on its feet were larger. The feet and legs were relatively larger compared to the rest of its body, three rows of bone-white maple leaf-shaped dorsal plates with red markings on them ran from the back of the creature's neck down to its long, powerful, segmented tail that had a bladed tip with serrations lining the cutting part. The lateral rows of dorsal plates were almost the same size as the central row. Similar red markings lied on the bone plating that covered its skull and snout.
The creature stood almost 200 feet tall, 278 feet long head to tail and weighed a staggering 80,000 tons.
It roars into the night sky adding more fear to the panic-filled streets. It makes its way onto land, each step producing a thunderous shake. The citizens try to flee as fast as they can, some get crushed underneath the Grimm's massive feet and others get crushed by vehicles kicked into the air. Eyeing the panicking people, the Kaiju Grimm named Grimm Goji swings its tail slicing through buildings ruthlessly killing the humans. It picks up a nearby building and throws it at the fleeing humans, killing more under the structure's immense weight. A sinister growl escapes the monster, its dorsal plates begin to glow red while a slasher grin appears on the beast's face. It opens and inhales deeply, sucking in the surrounding energy. A deep bellow escapes the Kaiju Grimm's throat almost like it's laughing. It then fires the gathered energy in the form of a beam of unknown energy.
The last thing the fleeing citizens see is a bright flash of light before their lives are extinguished forever.
The attack can be felt across the entire city with the ground shaking and a mushroom cloud in the sky. The Kaiju Grimm continues its slow advance, crushing everything before it. A loud roar emanates from its throat further intensifying the dreadful atmosphere. The monster relishes in the slaughter of its poor helpless victims.
Elsewhere within the city, a family runs to the evacuation point at the docks while being chased by Beowolves, a pack of Raptors intercepted the majority of the swarm but a group of four survived and are chasing the family. The humans try everything to evade the predators, but it seems no matter where they go, the Lycanthrope based Grimm are right behind them. One of the Beowolves pounce on the mother.
She screamed, "Help me!" Her cries fill their ears as the Beowolf grabs her with its forepaws to lift her up to its face, opening its jaws and crushes her skull with a sickening crack of bone. In sheer panic, the father grabs his son and runs. The Beowolf howls then gives chase, swiftly catching up to them when the duo takes a detour evading the monster's jaws. The boy smiles at his father but seconds later it vanishes when he felt terror envelop him, another Beowolf from the pack chasing them comes from out of nowhere. The father rushes to save his son but it's too late as the beast's jaws clamp down on the kid's rib cage, cracking the bones like they were twigs. He screams/gurgles on his own blood as the Beowolf mutilates him, racking its claws down his face and chest right in front of the father. His own terror doesn't last when he feels the second Beowolf rips his spine out. The Grimm don't have time to savor their meals because the Raptors attack them, their appetite not satiated.
Sin races to the entrance when he sees one of the lockers crash landing in front of him and door opens for Jaune to fall out.
Sin helped the blonde to his feet, "How did you end up in that locker?"
Jaune gasped, "Pyrrha! She's heading for Cinder!"
Sin replied, "Where she's currently at?"
Jaune shook his head, "I don't know! She kissed me and shoved me into that locker! Go and save Pyrrha, Sin!" The black-haired Shade Academy student runs into Beacon Academy while the dragon Grimm reaches Beacon Tower that housed the remains of Ozpin's office.
Standing in the office Cinder stands there basking in her triumph of acquiring the remaining half of the previous Fall Maiden's power marking her as the new one. A series of footsteps grab the young woman's attention, turning her head to look over her shoulder, Cinder sees Pyrrha and Sin. A brief look of surprise appears in Cinder's visible eye before it vanishes as quick as it came.
A dark smirk appeared on Cinder's face, "You made a mistake coming here. You're too late, the Fall Maiden's power is mine now and Ozpin's no more."
Sin said, "It's not too late to turn away from this path, Cinder. Face up to what you've done, I can help you."
Cinder replied, "You shouldn't have come, Sin." Her eyes lit up, "Because you two have walked to your doom." Pyrrha and Sin prepare for battle against the new Fall Maiden.
Back with Rena, she deflects Adam's counterattacks until she spots an opening in the bull faunus' fighting style, rapidly twirling around his flank and slashes his back. Adam turns to retaliate but Rena quickly moves to his left side, leaping up and landing the spinning heel kick, stunning the bull faunus. Regaining his bearings, Adam grits his teeth in frustration. Rena cocks her fist with wind magic enveloping it. With a yell, she thrusts it forward into Adam's cheek, launching him away. His body bounces off the floor numerous times and crashing spine-first into the lunch table, his aura breaking.
Opening one eye, Adam glares at his opponent with contempt. He forces his body to move when he sees a fire spear landing millimeters from his face and exploding. Adam runs toward Rena, leaping into the air and throwing Wilt at her. Rena uses Scarlet to defend herself against the spinning fire Dust blade before Adam fires Blush point-blank at Rena's breastplate, the armor and her aura takes the hit, but she still feels the impact. He looks to fire again when Rena throws him overhead and away from her. Rena sprints toward Adam, lifting Scarlet above her head and slams it down onto Wilt. Adam is driven onto his back foot due to Rena's brutal offense, sparks flying upon contact. Rena pushes Adam back all the bull faunus can do is block and yet his opponent is relentless hammering away at his guard, each violent strike testing the structural integrity of their blades. The final strike breaks Scarlet. The brief look of surprise that appeared on Rena's face is discarded. Discarding the hilt, she quickly forms a sword of the same length as Scarlet out of her maiden powers. Rena continues the offense until she blasts Adam with a beam of red magical energy. Adam rolls on the floor numerous before coming to a stop. The bull faunus sits up using his arms, eyes widening when he spots a ball of energy rapidly approaching his location, he rolls out of the trajectory and the energy ball strikes the wall behind him, obliterating it and ripping a massive hole in the cafeteria. Adam bares his teeth in a snarl of anger at his former comrade. Behind Rena manifests a demonic dragon with fierce glowing red eyes, two sharp horns protrude behind its bony brows and twin sets of spikes extended backwards on both sides of its lower jaw, a mouth full of sharp teeth, black scales with a red underbelly covered its massive, powerful body, ivory yellow claws tipped its four limbs and a long tail with a serrated-shaped tip can be seen swaying behind its partially transparent body.
The dragon roars at Adam while Rena glares at him with her blazing eye.
She said, "You sealed your fate when you stabbed Blake, cut off Yang's arm, stabbed Alexia and bruised Emmara." She pointed her fire blade at Adam, "Your war with humanity would fail from the start. You underestimate mankind's ingenuity and resolve when facing hard times, that is when they truly shine. I understand the mockery and discrimination our kind faces daily but what you're doing only makes things worse. The other members of the White Fang see you as this charismatic revolutionist passionately fighting for the cause. But once they see you for the psychopath you truly are, they'll abandon you. My goal of making Ghira's dream of peace between humans and faunus a reality remains strong. Ending your vile existence brings me one step closer to achieving that goal. Get your ass up, Adam. Your suffering is far from over." She formed a fist with her free hand, encasing it with fire, "This devil has sentenced you to eternal damnation!" Hissing through clenched teeth, Adam charges. The two clash blades, glaring disdainfully at each other. Adam points Blush at him, Rena grabs hold of it and aims it at the ceiling so that it fires at that instead of her. She next makes punches in the sternum followed by an uppercut with her fire blade again, flames cover the weapon with a hiss as Rena twirls it. She stabs it into the floor as a sphere of fire erupts around Rena then arches her back causing the sphere to explode outward just as Adam comes down, burning him. Rena makes sure the flames stay at a non-lethal level so that it causes pain not outright burn Adam to a crisp.
Driven by anger, Adam refuses to let himself be humiliated. He gets to his feet, sheathing Wilt to charge his Semblance. Rena glares at her opponent, a tornado-like vortex forming around the one-eyed faunus. Adam uses Moon Slice with the intent on beheaded Rena when she uses the vortex to spin out of the way and with a snarl on her face, slices both Wilt and Blush in half, disarming the bull faunus. Taken advantage of the stunned opponent, Rena aims her blade and drives it into the same spot that he did with Blake. A yell of pain escapes Adam.
Rena said, "That was for Blake." She next stabbed him in the thigh, "That's for Alexia." The sword arm was the next to go with a squelching sound, "That's for Yang." She punched him afterward, "That was for Emmara." She aggressively kicks him a few feet away from her.
The Winter Maiden isn't done yet. She lifts into the air as storm clouds form above her, lightning flashes inside the clouds. The lightning bolts scream toward Adam flooding his body with thousands of volts of electricity.
A dark grin formed on her beautiful face, "Yes, scream like the little bitch you are, Adam." Rena forms a pair of spikes and launches them at Adam.
One impales what remains of his sword arm, another one digs into his left hand and another pair stabs into his thighs, crucifying him to the floor. Rena hovers over to him and lands. A dagger forms in her free hand as she kneels.
She said, "And this is for me." The vengeful faunus stabs Adam in his bad eye, intentionally targeting that one instead of his good eye. Adam screams in agony.
Rena stands up with her main sword poised to stab him in the chest where Adam's black heart is.
The flames around Rena's eyes brightened as she declared, "Enjoy your new home in hell." She lifts her primary weapon up and drives it downward when her dominant arm is encased in ice, Rena turns around to see Emmara stepping through the hole Rena made her open tome glowing blue.
Rena narrowed her eye, "I told you to leave."
Emmara said, "This doesn't have to be the only way, Rena. There are other ways to resolve this. Let me talk to Adam, maybe I can convince him to change."
Rena shook her head, "He's too dangerous to be left alive. He'll only cause more trouble if I don't kill him here."
Emmara begged as she came closer to Rena, "No, let me try."
Rena growled, "Get out of here, now!" She melts the ice covering her arm with fire and looks to resume dealing the killing blow when nearly her entire body is frozen.
Emmara pleaded, "Rena, please."
The one-eyed faunus glared at the girl, "Quit interfering, Emmara! I'm ending this once and for all!" A random member of the White Fang arrives on the scene as the two argue and throws a flash bang at them, temporarily blinding them to rescue Adam.
When the blinding light stops and their ears quit ringing, Rena sees her prey is gone. Unadulterated anger burns in her veins. 7 years of searching and waiting for this chance at revenge stolen from her. Stolen!
The ice covering Rena's body hisses when she uses fire to weaken it and uses an aura burst to break free. She silently turns around, grabbing Emmara's arm and pulling her out of the cafeteria seconds before parts of the ceiling collapse. The flames around Rena's eye vanish. She releases Emmara's arm.
Emmara started, "Rena, I…"
The one-eyed faunus grasped the collar of the girl's green hooded robe, sheer anger blazing in her eye, "I waited seven years to get even with Adam and I had him where I wanted him. But in a moment of sheer stupidity, you stopped me from doing Remnant a favor by ending his life! DO YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT OUTCOME OF YOUR INTERFERENCE WILL CAUSE?" The timid girl is scared by Rena's anger.
Tears rimmed Emmara's eyes, "Rena…"
Rena said, "I don't want your excuses, fucking brat!"
Whether by pure coincidence or luck, Klawdia arrives.
She explained, "I've been looking for any stragglers. Are either of you okay?"
Rena released her hold on Emmara's hooded robe, "Klawdia, take Emmara to the evacuation point. I don't want her anywhere near me." Klawdia can feel the rage threatening to boil over from Rena.
Not wanting to risk facing Rena's wrath, Klawdia leads Emmara away but not before Rena takes Compendium from Emmara.
With both girls away, Rena searches for her adopted father again.
At the evacuation point, Draco watches Grimm Goji turn Vale City into a sea of fire. He freezes, not responding to his teammates. His eyes widen when the demonic beast sets its sights on the evacuation point when the warships that Ironwood brought to Vale open fire on the Kaiju Grimm. The barrage has no effect on its armored hide, in fact it just pisses it off. Directing its malevolent gaze at the warships the dorsal plates on its back glow red and fires. The beam punches through the armored hull with ease, the Kaiju Grimm turning its head to shoot down the other warships.
Xavier ordered the pilots of the evacuation ships, "Take off! Hurry!" With the warships out of the way, Grimm Goji turns its attention back to the docks seeing the airships beginning take-off.
It begins its march to the dock, cracking the ground and crushing anyone underfoot. Reaching a proper striking distance, the Kaiju Grimm charges its beam and opens its mouth sucking in the surrounding air and fires, blasting a hole in one of the airships that reached a certain altitude before getting hit. It starts falling to the ground.
Yumi shouted, "Run! Get out of the way!" The panicked civilians run but unfortunately some of them don't escape in time and get caught in the fiery crash. Without missing a beat, it shoots down the second airship, enveloping parts of the dock in a blazing inferno.
Draco is rooted to the spot as he looks at the Kaiju Grimm who stared back with its red pupil-less eyes. The beast roars at Draco who's still frozen in place.
'Salem sent that monster for this specific reason. Just what kind of Grimm can she make?' The dragon faunus thought with horror.
Perses falls out of his hands his vision becomes blurry and falls unconscious due to the fear-induced glare the Kaiju Grimm sent his way. Thankfully, Xavier is nearby and catches his teammate before Draco's head hit the ground.
Rena runs through the districts looking for her adopted father, mutilated corpses littering the streets with Grimm feasting on some of them. She takes detours to avoid attention, soon discovering a blood trail. Fear gripping her heart, the one-eyed faunus follows it seeing damaged or broken weaponry her father made until she comes across a broken sword along with dual pistols that use Dust bullets, the guns themselves are covered in blood. Unsteady breaths escape Rena not wanting to believe her adopted father is dead. She looks next to them to spot a book. Examining it the one-eyed faunus sees it being an instructions book on how to forge a weapon, the tools needed and the steps taken to build the weapon.
The title of the book is "Forging Weaponry 101". Hugging the book close, tears threaten to spill out but doing so would bring Grimm to her. Shaking her head, Rena departs the area and heads for the evacuation point. As she gets closer, Rena sees the Kaiju Grimm about to fire its beam. Activating her maiden powers again, Rena takes to the sky and speeds toward the monster. Grimm Goji senses her approaching and whips around to shoot at her. Eye widening Rena moves to evade the attack. The beam suddenly disappears confusing Rena when she sees the Kaiju Grimm swinging its massive tail at her. She only has seconds to raise her arms when the tail collides with her, rocketing Rena through multiple buildings and coming to a halt on the pavement, her aura breaking. Cracks appear in her armor and gauntlets. Dazed she struggles to get up while her fractured armor falls off. It felt like a building came down on her. The fragments hit the pavement with a collective dull clank. She's grateful the armor and aura took the hit because her body would've been turned into paste from the sheer impact force of the tail strike. Rena's equilibrium is shot from crashing through multiple buildings. Through blurry vision the one-eyed faunus witnesses the Kaiju Grimm's dorsal plates lighting up again. She glares at the monster with defiance.
All of a sudden, a blinding flash of light fills her vision. The last thing she hears is the Kaiju Grimm roaring in pain before Rena passes out.
Beeping noises awaken Rena from her unconscious state, opening her eye she sees the ceiling of what she immediately confirms to be a hospital. Her eye widens and the one-eyed faunus sits up.
A voice said, "Glad you're awake." Rena turns to the direction of the voice and sees the Queen of the True Grimm sitting there with her hands on her lap. Standing next to her is Boris, who's true form is the Anklyosaurus
Rena replied, "Venus. What happened? How did I get here? The last thing I remember is that blinding flash of light."
Venus explained, "After my brave warriors fought off the Grimm swarming in from the section we were stationed at, I asked Boris here to look for anyone who have been left behind until he saw you being flung through buildings before coming to a halt on the ground. He carried you here. Whatever that blinding flash was it came from the top of Beacon Tower. It froze that dragon Grimm. That Kaiju Grimm left the city afterwards."
Rena said, "I see. The attack on Beacon still happened despite our and Ashton's efforts." She gasped, remembering, "The books!"
Boris showed them, "Don't worry, I retrieved them when I came to get you."
Venus stood up with a set of clothes and walked over to the hospital bed, setting them down, "I brought you some new attire since your old one's shot."
Rena nodded, "How generous of you, Venus." They trio hear the door open and see the doctor walking with the clipboard in hand. The doctor was a young male deer faunus in his early 30s and from what the trio can tell, he'd been recently assigned to the hospital.
The doctor greeted with a friendly smile, "Ah, hello, Ms. Schwartz. My name's Doctor Clyde. You must be wondering where you're at. You're in a hospital in a town on the southeastern tip of Sanus. I'm surprised you healed up so quickly considering what hit you."
Rena replied, "Yes. My armor and aura took the hit but at the cost of my armor. I'll be needing a new set. There weren't any fragments of my armor embedded in me, were there?"
The doctor shook his head, "Surprisingly no." The nurse comes in and removes the IV, allowing Rena to leave the bed, grab the clothing Venus gave her and steps foot inside the bathroom her hospital room has. She uses this chance to relieve herself. When that is done, she washes her hands.
Rena sees the new set of clothes comprised of a short-sleeve black tunic with a blue trim, black pants, a red sash holding the tunic closed, socks and a pair of charcoal gray boots. She slips into the new clothing and places eye patch over her left eye and exits the bathroom.
She queried, "Excuse me, doctor, but have you seen my teammates Draco, Yumi and Xavier? Are they okay?"
The doctor said, "Yumi has no injuries on her besides a few cuts, Xavier is fine, and Draco is in room 204. From what I read, he had to be sedated because he was having a PTSD attack."
Rena looked to her right, "Considering the hell we saw at Beacon Academy, I don't blame him." She next looked at the deer faunus, "Doctor Clyde, was a man named Smith Schwartz brought to this hospital? He's 6'5" tall, sports a muscular build, tanned skin, short brown hair with matching brown eyes."
Clyde queried, "What's your relation to him?"
The one-eyed faunus replied, "I'm his adopted daughter. Is he here?"
Clyde said, "None of the nurses or me have seen him at this medical facility." A feeling of dread forms in the pit of Rena's stomach.
She next asked, "What about Sin Saber? Where is he? Is he safe? Is he all right?"
Venus informed, "One of my reconnaissance units saw a boy falling from Beacon Tower while locating you. I suppose he's this Sin Saber you're talking about?" Rena feels something shatter inside her heart at the news. She clenches her fist.
No, the Queen of the True Grimm has to be lying. There's no way Sin would go down that easily, he may be a flirt but he's stubborn. She shuts her eye, not letting the others see her break down.
Alexia appears using crutches to support herself after having surgery on her stab wound in her thigh and the abuse she endured in her battle with Adam.
Rena asked, "Where's Cassandra? Or Tira?"
The half-dog faunus said, "Tira's fine, she is getting herself something to eat. I'm guessing Emmara is with her. As for Cassandra...from what Tira told me, her and Cassandra were facing a Minotaur and she sacrificed herself to let Tira escape. Shocking, right?"
Rena lowered her head, "I see. Am I cleared to be discharged from the hospital, Doctor Clyde?"
The deer faunus said, "Yes, but I recommend having Draco stay here for one more night."
Rena nodded, "I understand." She puts her new boots on and retrieves the books from Boris then exits her hospital room to explore the place.
She heads for room 204 without saying anything, still processing what she heard. Standing in front of the door, Rena puts on a stoic face and knocks on the door. Yumi opens the door to see her team leader. The wolf faunus runs into Rena, wrapping her arms around the older faunus. Rena returns the embrace, gently rubbing Yumi's back.
The wolf faunus sobbed, "You're alive. I thought you died." Her team leader tightened the embrace making Yumi ask, "Rena?" The one-eyed faunus sinks to her knees, pressing Yumi flush against her. Rena mumbles something quietly.
She said, "Thank gods you and the others are safe. If any of you died, I..."
Yumi gently rubbed her team leader's back, "It's okay. Ssh, it's okay." Tears want to escape Rena's eye but she fights back, keeping them at bay.
The two enter Draco's room just in time to see him waking up, he sits up and stretches before looking to his left spotting Yumi and Rena.
Rena greeted, "Hey there, sleepy head."
Draco smiled, "Hey, Boss." They spend the next half hour talking.
Rena asked, "Where's RWBY? Or JNPR?"
Yumi replied, "Ruby and Yang left for their home on an island called Patch, Weiss was taken back to Atlas by her father and Blake...we don't know where she went."
Rena said, "I have an idea where she went. And JNPR?"
Yumi's ears lowered, "We don't know. However, Pyrrha was killed by Cinder according to Ruby. She saw Cinder kill Pyrrha. Plus, two of the airships at the evacuation point were shot down by that massive Grimm, so there were casualties." Rena looks at the floor to her left.
Rena looked at the dragon faunus, "Doctor Clyde says he wants you to stay here for another night just in case you have PTSD episode."
A bitter smile formed on Draco's lips, "I honestly don't blame him. The question is where will we go now? The plan to thwart the attack on Beacon was a failure. Grimm fill Beacon grounds from what I heard among the hospital staff."
Rena said, "Tomorrow we'll go look for Blake. There's only one place she'd go to."
Yumi asked, "Where?"
Rena replied, "You'll see. I'm going to visit Xavier. I'll be back later." Rena's teammates watch her exit, sharing a look wondering what is up with the one-eyed faunus.
In the cafeteria, Xavier finishes the last of his sandwich and is eating an apple. He's been reading the article regarding the attack on Beacon Academy on his scroll. The article was written by the Great White shark faunus journalist Sebastian Shaw. One section of the article he read is how the dragon Grimm is frozen at Beacon Tower.
Footsteps bring Xavier out of his reading to see his team leader approaching.
He greeted, "Glad to see you up and about. What brings you here?"
Rena said, "I wanted to check up on you, seeing how you were doing."
Xavier took a bite of his apple and swallowed, "I'm processing what has transpired and hearing Cassandra sacrificed herself to let Tira escape. Hm, after 10 years I finally got to see my childhood friend again only to have her ripped away from me." Rena gets something to eat and joins Xavier at the table. The two sit in silence with nothing else to say. Once Rena has eaten her fill, she tells Xavier to get some rest soon.
She wanders around the hallway and exits to the roof. It's eerily quiet as if the heavens themselves are sharing the same grief the survivors of Vale City are feeling. She looks at the Forging Weaponry 101 book, opening it to read a page. Since her claymore is destroyed, Rena knows she'll be needing a new weapon and thus decides to read the book to get more familiar with weapon forging. With every turn of the page, Rena feeds her brain with information. She'll ask for Xavier's help drawing the blueprint for her new weapon once she thinks up what it'll look like. She's about to read the next chapter of the information book when the one-eyed faunus hears footsteps approaching her location. Closing the book, she turns to the door leading to the roof and waits to see who it is. The door opens.
Rena glares at who decided to pay her a visit.
Emmara walks forward, obviously intimidated by Rena's menacing glare.
She said, "You have a lot of nerve showing your face after what you did."
Emmara replied, "I was doing what I thought was right." Rena's glare only intensified but Emmara continued, "I wanted to show Adam that not all humans are bad. There are humans who wish to help the faunus obtain equal rights and respect. There has to be some good in him."
Rena said, "That's got to be the dumbest thing I ever heard in my life. There isn't any humanity in Adam Taurus, Emmara. He poses a serious threat to the world, no amount of talk will convince him to abandon his deep hatred for humans."
Emmara countered, "But...everyone has the capacity to change for the better. If I can-"
Rena grabbed the collar of Emmara's green hooded robe again, "And what?! Hold hands and sing Kumbaya?! Don't give me that shit! There's no such thing as a utopia, girl! Perfection doesn't exist! There are vile people in this world, human and faunus who'll stop at nothing to obtain power and domination over others, using whatever means to do so. That includes enslavement! You know nothing of the real world, living a sheltered life. The real world is cruel and unforgiving! It's not rainbows and sunshine you were read to as a kid! Reality is pain! Life is pain! Hard times create strong people, good times create weak people and weak people create hard times! You haven't stared death in the face countless times nor have it as your dance partner. Did you really think you'd be safe behind Beacon Academy's walls forever? Did you?! Your sister and Alexia won't always be there to save your ass. The Grimm are merciless, bloodthirsty monsters who only want to rip you apart! You're too soft, Emmara. You don't have the courage to finish your opponent if it ensures your survival. Adam can't be reasoned with. He doesn't feel pity or remorse over killing humans because of what they do to my kind! Would you just stand there and let him torture your teammates? Or would you grow a damn spine and fight back?"
Emmara said, "But Rena if you give me a chance to talk to him, I can persuade him to give up this path of hatred."
Rena removed her eye patch, exposing her old injury, "WHAT DO YOU CALL THIS?! I got this from Adam when I left the White Fang! This is a permanent reminder that I'm not invincible. I waited seven years to get my revenge and put an end to Adam's vindictive existence and you robbed me of opportunity! He stabbed my little sister Blake, sliced Yang's arm off, stabbed Alexia and bruised you! He would've likely killed all four of you had I not intervened! And yet you claim the asshole can be reasoned with?! Don't be naive! If you were on my team, I would've kicked you off due to that stunt you pulled. Welcome to reality, Emmara. Beacon Academy is destroyed, Headmaster Ozpin is more than likely dead, Vale City lies in ruins and you really think whoever thought up this attack will be satisfied with just Beacon Academy laying in shambles?! No, the other academies will certainly be next! The enemy won't stop until the remaining academies are destroyed! Are you going to use that Talk no Jutsu shit on the enemy? There will come a time where your life is on the line during battle with an enemy who wants to kill you without a second thought. Are you going to stand and let them drive their blade through you or blow your brains out? Or are you going to fight back because it's justified? Which one is it, Emmara?!" Tears fill the timid girl's eyes at being on the receiving end of Rena's anger.
The one-eyed puts her eye patch back on and roughly lets go of Emmara making the girl stumble backward until she falls onto her butt now visibly shaking in fear.
Rena held Compendium up, "You get involved in my battles again, you stick your nose in my business, I'll burn this damn book." She threw it at Emmara's feet and pointed her finger, "Go home, Emmara. You don't have the spine to be a Huntress. Work on your stamina because you get tired too easily. As a matter of fact, both you and Tira should go home. Maybe during that time you'll reflect on your stupid decision and realize some individuals are better off being under six feet of dirt instead of walking among the innocent." She heads for door that leads to the roof when she feels Emmara grab her arm in one final bid.
The human girl said, "But Rena, you don't have to go through life alone. You're not some monster. Please, Rena, let me help you."
The one-eyed faunus flung Emmara's grip off of her arm, turning around to glare at her with her eye blazing of her maiden powers, "Fuck off! You know nothing about my life nor the shit I've been through! The choices I had to make! There is no future for me! I'm beyond redemption! I'm not kidding either, Emmara. Stay out of my way! GO HOME WITH TIRA!" She resumes heading to the door, opening to step foot inside and slams it shut behind her, almost damaging the doorway from the sheer force of the slam. Emmara sits on the roof on her own crying. Her actions costed her the friendship she wanted to form with Rena and tell the faunus there is a future for her to look forward to.
Rena ventures through the hallway until she finds a secluded area. Leaning against the wall, she rests her head against it. Rena clenches her fist as the emotions she held back return and she fights back hard. She can't be seen vulnerable to anyone. She has to be strong. But at the same time she wants someone to help her. Her thoughts next drift to her mentor, the 10 years she spent under his tutelage, bonding with him, only to be the one who killed him. She can barely imagine how disappointed he must be in her. The stoic expression on her face changes to one of guilt and self-resentment.
She said, "I'm sorry, Gale. I failed you. I'm a monster. Someone who doesn't belong in this world. I'm not the person you feel I could've been. I hate myself, I'm a monster. Always will be. I'm ashamed to call myself team leader. Maybe this world would be better off without me." Rena hugs the book to her chest when the dam that hold her emotions back fractures and cracks. She squeezes her remaining eye shut doing her damn hardest not to cry as she drowns in her self-resentment. A series of footsteps go by unnoticed until a pair of strong arms wrap around her waist and torso. She looks up to see Xavier holding her and caressing her soft black hair.
He told his team leader, "Let it out, Boss. You don't need to act all tough around me." The weapon forging book falls out of Rena's slack grip followed by her arms locking themselves around his strong back. The dam within finally breaks. Tears flow unabated down her face. She keeps saying "I'm sorry, Gale" or "I'm a failure" over and over.
Xavier gently rubbed his team leader's back, "Ssh, it's going to be okay, Boss. It's going to be okay. Don't blame yourself for something you had no control over." Another set of footsteps reach Xavier's ears. Looking ahead, the ox faunus sees a furious Tira searching for Rena, obviously she found out about the incident between Rena and Emmara. Tira sees the crying faunus and is about to march over when Xavier lifts his hand, quietly shaking his head to tell Tira now isn't the time for a verbal shouting. He next meets Tira's defiant glare, even though it wasn't right for Rena to say those mean things to Emmara, Tira shouting at the one-eyed faunus will only make Rena feel worse about herself. With a growl of barely restrained anger, Tira turns around to walk away. Xavier's free arm returns to its previous position.
Rena sobbed, "I hate myself. I'm a terrible example for you, Draco and Yumi. This world would be better without me."
Xavier shook his head, "Don't say those things. You are not a burden, Boss. You don't have to be perfect." He felt Rena grip his red tank top tighter, "We'll find your adopted father, I promise you." The tears increase as Xavier comforts his team leader. That night he sleeps with Rena, holding her protectively in his arms.
The next day, the team departs the hospital and head for an armor shop in search of new attire. The team splits up to find what suits them. Eventually, they find attire they like and head for the cashier to pay the total with Xavier using his scroll for the payment.
The team head for the docks to board a passenger ship that'll take them to the one place Blake would be: Menagerie.
Draco sends a text to both Yang and Weiss hoping they're both all right and hope to see them again.
Once all the passengers are aboard, the ship sets sail. The team watches the town become smaller the further away the ship gets from port. It's not long before the town is no longer visible and all that's left is the endless span of ocean.
The question now is what they'll do now to support themselves financially. Since Beacon Academy was attacked, that means jobs will be less frequent and that means the team will have to be more careful with their spending.
Xavier places a hand on his team leader's shoulder in a comforting gesture and the others mirror the action, silently telling each other it's going to be okay. Somehow.
Y/N: Chapter 39.
Well, my readers, after 6 years, the first installment of Team RXDY is complete.
Shout-out to the Emerald's Edge and 1st Lieutenant Fae for helping with this story, I appreciate it.
Read and review.
Be on the lookout for a sequel.
Vader 23A