Author's Note: New chapter here, along with the results of last time's question which you can read at the bottom.
"We have scattered reports of law enforcement engaging White Fang agents throughout the city!" Winter shouted to be heard over the sound of the engines. Her scroll was held up so that they could see her face, but her focus was out the open door of the aircraft.
"Shit." Qrow muttered softly. "What's the pl-"
"General Ironwood has dispatched Bullheads to your location for pick up and transfer with the blessings of Colonel Aurelian, get on them and patch in! The ones with me are already full, we'll be dropping them off throughout the city! Let the General know when you are operational, and for all of our sakes Qrow, don't go off and do anything stup- !"
The feed cut suddenly, Qrow stashing his scroll away as he looked towards the skies. They were clear however, whatever Bullheads Winter referred to being nowhere to see and the ones from Beacon already having departed.
"I'm going to see if I can get patched-in to Vale's emergency frequency and speak to James," Qrow nodded towards the command vehicle that had previously been the center of activity for the city hall, and was once again bustling with activity. "You all stand by and be ready!" Qrow had to yell the last part as he ran off towards the truck.
Even as the words themselves were heard; the world seemed to grow muted as Pyrrha fully processed them. The breach had been a tragic event, but it had been stopped and was relatively simple in comparison to the attack that came later. This was very different, despite all of her knowledge and preparation, she'd still been caught flatfooted.
"Pyrrha," Coco sent, stepping closer as the area around them became a flurry of activity as police tried to move their cars from the barricade and officers and soldiers ran about. "Is this normally-"
"No." Pyrrha answered quickly, already knowing the question she was going to ask. "The Breach was dealt with quickly, but this seems so much more…" She didn't know why that surprised her. The White Fang were terrorists and, had the Breach gone exactly to plan, she felt confident in saying that it would have been one of the worst days in the history of Vale. As things were going, today wasn't turning up to be any better.
"It's more elaborate," Yatsuhashi sent. "The Breach didn't need a back-up plan because they were sure it would succeed."
It was no doubt Pyrrha's interference that had taken away that certainty. Their enemies had already shown a willingness and capability to change their plans. Or maybe they had simply decided that a more robust attack would lead to better results. She couldn't be everywhere all at once after all, and with the Atlesian withdrawal their forces were spread thin. Pyrrha wanted to curse herself but knew that wouldn't help, she could feel sorry about it all later. For now, they had to act.
The familiar Bullheads of Atlas came rocketing overhead, pulling a harsh turn and slowing down in a manner that caused the craft to visibly shake. The pilots managed to control it of course, before setting them down roughly on the grassy field that had less than thirty minutes ago been a battlefield.
Team CFVY, along with Penny, made it to the nearest one as Pyrrha followed behind. There was a man standing next to the door, watching people board the craft before stepping in front of Pyrrha and holding his arms up.
"My bird's full!" The Man yelled out, gesturing to another Bullhead that had just landed. "That one is going to the same place, they should have room!"
Coco was watching, and stepped forward to deboard the Bullhead only for Pyrrha to shake her head.
"Go on, I'll be right behind you." Pyrrha sent to Team CFVY. Qrow joined her as she ran over to the second Bullhead.
"We'll see you at Beacon!" Coco sent back as their Bullhead finally rose into the sky and departed towards the school.
The second Bullhead was far emptier than the first, with Qrow being the only other passenger. He moved over towards the cockpit to tap the pilot on the shoulder, before gesturing for them to get in the air. The pilot nodded, before presumably passing the message along to the man who had been standing outside of the door as he quickly stepped back into the Bullhead. They were off a moment later, quickly accelerating and forcing Pyrrha to grab hold of one of the many handles above her.
The city passed quickly below them as they climbed above the tops of the buildings. City hall looked like a war zone from the air and, in fairness, it had been. The grass was torn and several vehicles were still smoking, with even a few noticeable chunks missing from the once prestigious building. That normally would have served in stark contrast to the image of Vale normally, but now large columns of smoke could be seen all throughout the city.
Pyrrha counted a dozen before she stopped trying to keep track as the Bullhead was forced to weave in between some of the taller buildings in downtown Vale. They were spread out, that much she could see, with the black smoke seemingly springing up randomly to fill the sky.
Qrow held a hand to his ear and the headset that he had apparently grabbed off of the wall. Turning towards her, his face was set in a dark grimace.
"We've lost contact with Aurelian's Bullhead!" He had to shout in order to be heard over the engines, yet those words sent a coldness through her veins. "Last they heard he was flying over downtown! The pilot is gonna take the same path to get a look!"
Nodding, Pyrrha turned to look out the side door once more. She couldn't see much from their height, or maybe she could see too much and it was all becoming an incoherent blur. Buildings and streets passed by quickly, not to mention the people and cars that she hoped were moving to local incursion shelters. More than a few times she spotted red and blue flashing lights, but they too were swallowed up due to the speed that they flew at.
Then the towering skyscrapers gave way to an open area filled with four squat gray buildings. Car parks if the dozens of cars located several stories up were any clue. Smashed into the top level of one was a flaming Bullhead that stole Pyrrha's breath away.
"Shit…" Was all she managed to hear Qrow say, not usually one for swearing, she couldn't help but think that sentiment encapsulated exactly how she felt. "I'm going to scout out the crash site, see if I can hunt down Taurus!" Qrow removed his headset and handed it to one of the Atlesian airmen. "Get to Beacon, link up with Oz when you land. He'll know where you're needed!" Without another word, Qrow leapt out of the Bullhead, vanishing into the city below.
The Atlesians didn't look surprised, clearly accustomed to working with Huntsmen and their unique landing strategies. Swallowing, Pyrrha tore her eyes away from the crash site as she moved closer to the cockpit. One of the flight crew held out Qrow's headset, forcing it into her hand and gesturing towards his ear. Putting it on, she heard the distinct voice of General Ironwood.
"-direct forces as needed, the Vanguard is in position outside the city to provide rearmament and direction of flight squadrons, over." There was a break in his words, as a number of others came over the channel to confirm his orders. "You have your orders, Vanguard Actual out." There was another pause, before the headset beeped softly. "Raptor Seven-Eight, can you confirm presence of Hunter passengers? Over."
The pilot gestured towards her from the cockpit.
"I'm here General," Pyrrha answered. "Qrow split off to investigate the crash site."
"Good, Branwen will know when he has to pull out. Mistral has already dispatched a squad to help secure the crash site. For now we have confirmed reports of attacks all over the city, I am directing what forces I can to deal with those. Your objective is Beacon." His words were rushed as he explained, his attention clearly given to something else. The fact he made the time to personally direct her was a sign of either great trust, or desperation. "No White fang have been spotted there yet, but we have reports of odd Grimm activity. Given what we know, I suspect that to be a likely target. I am deploying Raptor squad to escort and provide air cover. Once you are on ground, direct them as needed. Team CFVY and Penny are already on ground and will be waiting for your arrival."
"Understood sir." Pyrrha nodded hesitantly, even if she knew he couldn't see her.
"Good luck, Vanguard Actual out." The line cut out and the crew member gestured for her to follow him towards the cockpit.
"Air zone is restricted at the moment," One of the crew said over the radio, she couldn't tell which because of the helmets covering their mouths until the crew member beside her looked back towards her. "Pilots are working on verifying our presence before we approach so they don't mistake us as hostile. I'll patch you in, but unless it's an emergency, keep off the frequency."
Pyrrha nodded before the crewmen reached over to a control panel on the wall and started tapping away at the pad. Before long, Pyrrha's headset was abuzz with callsigns and chatter that she didn't understand. One code name stood out however, from her discussion with the General, and she focused on that.
"-nguard, this is Raptor seven-eight, requesting an approach vector for Beac-" The pilot's voice cut off suddenly. "Standby Vanguard." The pilot's hands slid over the console swiftly, flicking controls faster than Pyrrha could even register what they did. An alarm began to blare, and both of the pilots' hands shifted back to the control stick. "Missile lock!"
Pyrrha barely had the time to register what the pilot said before the crew member was shoving her back into a seat, handing her the harness she would need to buckle into.
"Evasive maneuvers!" The Bullhead lurched suddenly, just as Pyrrha clicked the harness into place; she was pulled taught against it, the leather snapping against her chest.
The crew member who had pushed her into her harness hadn't quite buckled in yet and was nearly thrown out of his seat. He managed to hold on to the harness itself however, and he pulled himself back down as the Bullhead turned sharply, clicking the harness into place just as something struck the left side of the Bullhead.
"We're hit!" The pilot's voice rang out through her headset. "Port side engine is damaged, we're going dow-" A loud explosion cut off the rest as their controlled flight turned into a chaotic spin as the engine that had been hit gave out entirely.
Gritting her teeth, Pyrrha closed her eyes and attempted to ignore the sudden force pushing her back into her seat.
"Brace for impact!" The pilot's voice was barely audible as it rang out once more, just as the Bullhead crashed into the city below.
Huntsmen training was meant to be the best money could buy, taught by the best, and given the very best equipment, it prepared you for many things. Grimm, other Huntsmen that went rogue, Huntsmen and Huntresses in training had classes on how to handle loss and defeat in the field. They even tried to prepare you for the noise of combat and a crisis. Even with all that preparation, not to mention her own experience, Pyrrha hadn't been prepared for the sheer level of noise as their Bullhead crashed into the ground.
She'd managed to keep conscious, no small miracle considering the hit the landing had taken on her Aura, but even that added protection hadn't saved her totally. Her ears rang louder than anything she could compare it to, and the world was distorted and hidden behind it. The sheer ringing forced her to close her eyes and grit her teeth as it washed over her. Then, almost without warning, it all came crashing back to her.
She could hear the blaring of alarms, and the shouting over the radio that clung to her head. Louder still she heard the cries of pain around her. It was that sound that forced her to try and sit up, only for nothing to move. Opening her eyes, she could see that the Bullhead had landed on its side, with Pyrrha hanging from the ceiling, which had only a few minutes previously been the wall she was buckled into.
Below her sat the crew member that had forced her into her harness. As the Bullhead had landed the durable metal fuselage had buckled and been torn away. The wall hadn't been ground away entirely, but the door had snapped and swung back around to impale the man's leg clean through. He was unconscious, at least she hoped, and laid limply back against the wall that was currently acting as the floor.
Reaching for her harness, Pyrrha released the clasp without thinking, realizing the error of that action only as she quickly crashed into the ground. Thankfully she still had her Aura, and the fall did little more than sting even as the headset was ripped from her head, a pain that helped her to focus as she quickly moved over to the wounded crew member.
Though it took her a moment to find, he still had a pulse, and Pyrrha sighed in relief before quickly moving to the cockpit where she could hear someone shouting. The pilots were similarly roughed up, but both at least seemed better off then the crew member. The front of the Bullhead had caved in. The pilot on the right side of the aircraft was still dangling from his chair, while his fellow tried to undo the harness.
"The latch won't give, we'll have to cut it!" The pilot turned to look for something, stepping back as Pyrrha pushed her way forward.
Allos had slipped from her belt without her shield to sheath the blade in during the crash, she just hoped it hadn't gone far in the chaos. Stepping up, she called forth a small flame to burn through the straps holding the pilot up. He seemed to be more aware of his surroundings, reaching out to grab hold of the various handles strapped around so that he didn't fall immediately after she finished cutting.
"Where's Sergeant-" The first pilot looked back to see the wounded crew member. "Shit! Stone, grab the med kit!" The pilot she had just cut quickly moved to grab something from the wall, a metal box with a red cross on it, before rushing into the back. "Huntress, get the door open!"
Moving into the main body of the craft, Pyrrha looked up towards the side of the Bullhead that wasn't currently buried into the ground. The door didn't look damaged, but opening it from her angle didn't look easy either, despite that, she climbed up to try. It didn't move at first, but whatever system was in place to help her kicked in and slowly it groaned open. Poking her head out, Pyrrha took in the landscape of where they landed.
They had initially hit the ground at the beginning of an intersection, if the clear line of torn up asphalt and concrete were any sign. They had gone straight through and were now nearly half a block away from the intersection. The pilots had done well to put it down in a clearing, as either side of the street was lined with buildings. There were several cars that they had nicked as they crashed, but no people seemed to be in them or even around them. The city block, one in downtown Vale, was entirely abandoned as people fled to the nearest shelter.
Looking back down into the Bullhead, the pilots were working to slow the bleeding without removing the metal from the wounded man's leg. The open kit was filled with a few needles and gauze and the two clearly knew what they were doing. Looking around the wreckage, she spotted Allos towards the back of the craft under some boxes. Dropping back in, it was the work of only a few seconds to grab it. Clicking the button to turn it into her rifle, she was met with a painful whine as the carefully calibrated gears and internal mechanism struggled to meet her request. It took four full seconds for it to finish transforming, nearly ten times longer than it should have. She dreaded to think of the time that would take to fix, but she quickly moved out towards the top of the craft again.
It was hard to guess how long it would take someone to notice they had crashed, let alone get a rescue team together with the chaos currently infecting the city. A quick check of her pocket revealed a shattered scroll, meaning there was little she could do to reach out for help. Those thoughts were pushed aside as she spotted something moving along the rooftops. Jumping from the aircraft to the street, she shouldered Allos and kept it in a low ready position as she prepared for a gun fight. If she made herself an obvious enough target, they might not think to go after the crew in the Bullhead. It was also possible that it wasn't a threat, a civilian that had been unwilling or unable to follow the standard procedure and make a run for the shelters.
Those hopes were dashed quickly however, as a figure wearing a white mask stepped up towards the ledge of a nearby building. Firing a shot into that ledge, she drove them back. It would serve as a warning if nothing else, in the event it somehow wasn't a terrorist and just a trick of the light, they would stay back. It wasn't a civilian of course, and a gun was quickly aimed down in her direction before letting off a burst of automatic fire. The shots were erratic, made in haste with little effort given to aiming, landing a few dozen feet away from her and giving her the chance to return accurate fire.
A few more weapons made themselves clear above, their shots landing far closer. Sadly, her options for cover were limited, and instead she focused on trying to keep them pinned. That was until a large weapon peaked over the ledge.
Pyrrha's eyes widened as she shouted a warning to the pilots inside, "Rocket launcher!" The shot was fired before she could do anything more, taking a deep breath, Pyrrha threw her hand up and called on her Maiden powers as a large ice wall formed in front of her. The rocket impacted in a great ball of fire, shattering the ice and washing heat over her as dust, smoke and fog poured out into the street.
From that fog came an all too familiar glow. Pyrrha dropped, just as a red light lashed out above her and crashed into the Bullhead a dozen feet behind her. Thankfully the force had dissipated somewhat and wasn't able to cut through the metal, but the craft still shook.
"You survived the crash, I'm impressed." Adam said smugly as he stepped out of the smoke. "No matter. It gives me the pleasure of killing you myself."
Breathing heavily, Pyrrha glared at him as she forced herself back up onto one knee.
"I suppose I should almost thank you," Adam continued, though he looked far from grateful. His face, the little she could see, was bruised and stuck in what looked to be a snarl. "Cinder's original plan was slow, it targeted the wrong enemy. Beacon would show the White Fang's strength, but it's Vale that would give our cause the most glory. Her new plan is far better." He chuckled, a cruel and grinding sound that felt tinged with hate. "I suppose I may be biased, since she has offered you to me on a silver plate. Your actions brought nothing but shame to the White Fang, and for that you will pay with your life!"
Pyrrha stood quickly flicking the catch to transform Allos. The gears cried out once more, but slowly it shifted back into its sword form. Shifting her stance, Pyrrha knew she would be unable to shift her weapon during their fight, the time it would take simply being too great.
"Cinder warned me that you had power, but that you were too weak to use it." Adam shook his head. "But it doesn't matter how strong you are. The chance to kill Atlas' favorite pet is something I could never turn down."
Adam sheathed his blade and shifted his foot forward as he lowered his shoulders, adopting a familiar style that she had seen in Mistral. Raising her sword, she bent her knees and set her stance. Her Aura was low, even without her scroll, she felt confident in saying that it would be in the low yellow and she was obviously tired. Her only solace came from the fact that Adam couldn't have been much better. While short, she had bested Adam before, and he had also been forced into a crash landing. Not to mention that covering the distance between the two crash sites without being spotted by Qrow would've no doubt exhausted him further.
She had bested him once, and though the circumstances were different, she still had her Maiden powers, let alone her Magic, and she was confident she could defeat him again.
Authors note: Though wounded, neither is out of the fight just yet. Round two between Adam Taurus and Pyrrha Nikos… sort of.
Last week I asked if people wanted me to go back and rewrite the dance and the way things have gone with Jaune. I have read all of the reviews, and had correspondence with a few justifiably concerned readers. With that feedback, the opinion of my editor, and my own feelings all being factored in, I have come to the decision that I will not be going back. Were this a book or novel that I planned to publish, I know what I would change and how I would do things differently, but with fanfiction there is always the risk of losing motivation and not finishing the story. This close to the finish line I would rather not allow that.
For those of you that were disappointed by the outcome and hoping for a rewrite, I apologize for any disappointment felt and hope that this won't turn you off from finishing the story nor reading future works. Writing fanfiction has always been about improving my abilities so that I can one day write my own stories and that mission is made all the more successful with people willing to voice their displeasure with whatever I am writing. I never take negative criticism as an insult, and I try my best to make that clear.
Thank you all for taking the time to write reviews and the story will continue to move forward.
Lastly, moving forward I won't commit to any timetable for uploads as I am working on a few different projects and motivation is, as always, a cruel mistress. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and be sure to let me know what you think in the reviews.
Sincerely, SE