Quick note: hey everyone, hope you're doing good! So before I begin, I wanted to talk about your thoughts on the last chapter. First off, there are a lot of unanswered questions that I will be getting into this chapter. I wanted to answer them in the last one, but that would've taken more time and I would have missed uploading on Star Wars Day. So I decided to take what I had and upload it on May 4th. But I promise I will not rush any other chapter like the last one, even if I miss Star Wars Day. And I promise your questions will be answered in this chapter.
Secondly, it's clear some of you liked my plans with the Blair sisters and some of you didn't. This was a plan I had for a long time, and my goal was to make a more unexpected betrayal to the story's protagonists. You see, I never really liked how Cinder, Mercury, and Emerald were already established as villains before the Fall of Beacon. When there is betrayal and a hidden agenda in a story, I think it's so much better to keep the audience in the dark (like Vader revealing himself as Luke's father.) And so, that's where the Blair sisters came in. I can see now that my plan seemed to work a little too good, as pointed out by 54godamora and an unknown guest. I never intended to hurt any feelings or upset anyone, but it's clear that I did. So I'm sorry for doing that and thank you for leaving these thoughts. I hope there are no hard feelings.
So without further ado, here's the next chapter of The Way of the Maiden!
Chapter 39: The Attack
Months ago
The blood-colored lands and skies that laid before the Grimm Queen served as a reminder that soon the rest of the world would follow this example. She was currently meeting with Gar Saxon and Aurora, her loyal subjects who had devoted their lives to her goal; to tear down the world beyond the Land of Darkness and the people inhabiting it.
And now, Salem had just told her minions that the plan was ready to begin.
"Where do we strike?" Saxon crossly asked. "And when?"
"Beacon Academy. Now." Salem smiled wider at the idea as her thoughts turned inward. Soon, everything Ozpin built would all be burned away. And soon, he would burn with it.
*CLICK*
*CLACK*
*CLICK*
*CLACK*
An unnatural sound of something clicking gained the attention of Aurora and Saxon. They turned to see a familiar Grimm float into the meeting room; a domed creature with multiple red tentacles beneath it. A Seer.
The Seer stopped floating in the air when it approached Salem's right side and made several more clicking noises.
"Perfect," Salem said as she turned around. "Aurora, Saxon. Stay where you are, you're needed." Salem turned to the Seer. "Make contact."
The red smoke inside the Seer's dome began to spin and dissipate. Saxon and Aurora moved closer to see that three new faces had taken the place of the smoke. All of the faces appeared to belong to teenaged girls. Their faces were a mixture of pale and caucasian skin, as if they were in the middle of putting an excessive amount of makeup on their faces. A few minutes after, all three girls stepped back to show themselves entirely.
"Ah, there you are," Salem said with a soft smile. "Hello, girls."
All three girls quickly performed a curtsy and briefly lowered their heads. "Hello, Mother," all three said.
Salem noticed that the room the girls were standing in appeared to be a bedroom of sorts. "Are you currently at Beacon Academy?"
"Yes, Mother," said the blonde girl. "As of today, all three of us are students at this 'prestigious' school."
"Are any of you suspected to be more than meets the eye?"
"No, Mother. We have hidden ourselves to the best of our ability."
Salem stopped smiling. "The best of your ability," she repeated. "Are you under duress? Have you revealed your true forms?"
"No, Mother. We still have the... provisions we brought here."
"Ah. So you've been eating." All three girls nodded in response. "Good. Now pay attention." Salem turned to the red Mandalorian. "Surely you remember my daughters, Saxon."
"Yes, Your Grace," Saxon confirmed. He knew of the Grimm-Human hybrids that Salem called her "children." He saw their true forms before, and only heard of Salem's experiments once. "Aurora introduced me when I first came here. We oversaw their training together."
Aurora was also someone who remembered Salem's daughters. Whenever she was at the castle and not training, she served as a guardian and supervisor to the children as they grew and while Salem was preoccupied with other matters. She had her suspicions as to why Salem gave her this task; her main suspicion was that Salem knew that she hated serving and caring for others. And this hatred would help her grow stronger in her training. But Aurora said nothing about this, and obeyed every order Salem gave her.
"Yes," Salem confirmed Saxon's statement. "It was this training that allowed them to pass Ozpin's examinations and infiltrate Beacon Academy. And now, they will be keeping an eye on our dear Fall Maiden. Aurora will help them, once her tasks are complete." Salem turned to the Faunus. "When my daughters befriend young Cinder, you will work with them to sabotage her. Make her vulnerable, and break whatever relationships she has made over the years."
"As you wish, Your Grace," Aurora replied calmly.
Salem turned to the Mandalorian next. "Saxon, my children will assist you as well," she said. "They will use a Chill I have provided them to bring you new recruits to your clan. You will travel to Mountain Glenn and establish a temporary base there. And when the time is right, you will lead my creatures to the heart of Vale."
"Consider it done," Saxon said with a nod.
Salem turned back to the Seer. "Girls, what of that other task I assigned you? Were you able to recruit the Mandalorians I spoke of?"
The brunette stepped forward and quickly glanced around the room. She then opened her palm to let a few Botflies fly freely. "Yes, Mother," she said. "We found their leader imprisoned on an island off the coast of Vale. We've been in contact ever since."
"And?"
"He agrees to our terms, only if we help him and his allies escape."
"Excellent. You will give Saxon all the details of this prison and he will free Death Watch. Only then will we be able to bring Vale to its knees. Now, break contact and destroy your Seer. Aurora will contact you when she arrives in Vale."
All three girls curtsied once again. "Yes, Mother," they said. The blonde moved closer to the Seer.
"One more thing, Merriweather," Salem ordered. "You're in charge of your sisters until you return. And I don't believe I need to remind you how important this is." Salem softly smiled. "Now... make me proud, darling."
Merriweather smiled. "Yes, of course," she replied. "Thank you, Mother."
Present
"Not long after that, we overheard Ozpin planning to make you a student at Beacon. When I had the idea to get us closer to you, my sisters took the offer in a heartbeat. I know what you're thinking, 'Why not just stick with a team of three?' It was tempting, you know. All that makeup and staying human for a while was a real pain in the ass. But it was for Mother, after all. And as long as we kept eating, we could stay like this for days."
Flora was waiting in the broadcast control room with Aurora and a now awakened Cinder. To make sure she wouldn't be trying to escape, and to simply entertain herself, Flora decided to explain how she and her sisters had fooled her for months. Throughout it all, Flora could feel Cinder's heart break and practically smell the salt from her tears. All of this pain was worth staying behind and risking her life to guard the Fall Maiden.
"Oh, and speaking of mothers, I think you'd like to know that we never really found yours," Flora continued. "When we told Aurora here about how you were looking for your parents, she took it upon herself to hit up some of her 'underworld contacts,' and all that crap. Long story short, she found a con-artist who would help for the right price."
Cinder continued to weep as she learned the truth about her "team" and "mother." Her heart was indeed broken, but defiance and a fighting spirit began to fill the void as she looked up at Flora. "I'm going to tell everyone what you did to Winter!" she boldly promised. "How you helped Saxon almost destroy Vale!" Cinder now realized their collaboration was the reason the Blair sisters didn't want to go to Mountain Glenn on their training mission. And she was sure they managed to warn Saxon when they found the underground tunnels.
Flora was disappointed that she had yet to break Cinder's fighting spirit. But that didn't stop her from trying again. "Yeah, that Chill really came in handy," she said as she played with her sickle. "When Mountain Glenn became a bust, we had to use it a different way. It doesn't really matter who you tell, though. Everyone's gonna have bigger problems than one Grimm."
Just as she said this, a loud siren filled the room and an electronic voice rang out. "Alert. Incoming Grimm attack. Threat level: Nine. Please seek shelter in a calm and orderly manner."
The siren continued to sound as Aurora took over for Flora. "C'mon, kid," she said as she grabbed her off the ground and brought her to the multiple screens of the broadcast room. There, Cinder could see both Grimm and Mandalorians in the arena. One large Nevermore was currently striking the the large shield overhead while the Mandalorians were executing both civilians and soldiers. And in the middle of it all was a torn body being picked by the Mandalorians.
"Penny..." Cinder whispered, silently mourning the loss of her friend. Although she didn't know Penny that long, and had only just begun to understand her personally, Cinder had no reason not to call Penny her friend. She was kind, cheerful, and unlike anyone Cinder ever met before.
And they took her away, just to make a statement.
Cinder's eyes began to burn, as did her hands. "You... You monsters!" she screamed as she snapped her head at Aurora and Flora. The wire holding her in place began to break from the power channeled through her hands.
But Aurora grabbed her neck and quickly threw Cinder against a wall. And instead of allowing her to recover, Aurora took a metal hilt off her waist and ignited an orange light right in front of Cinder's face.
The reaction on Cinder's face told Aurora that she had the young girl's attention. More specifically, her attention was on the lightsaber. "Don't move, and don't try to use those powers again," she ordered. "Just listen to us."
Flora moved up to Aurora and looked down at Cinder. "The Grimm and those Mandalorians are ready to kill everyone in this arena," she said. "And then we'll be ready to move to Beacon and kill anyone who stands in our way. Imagine it, Cinder... all the panic and fear Vizsla and Saxon just instilled on the students there." Flora breathed in through her nose and let out a content sigh. "I can feel it all the way up here. And trust me... it's gonna get a lot worse."
Aurora kept the lightsaber blade close to Cinders neck. "But... they can survive with your help," she said, earning a quick glance of confusion from the young girl. "Like I said, when we met all those years ago, I just want one thing from you." Sadistic glee came to reveal itself when the Faunus smiled a crooked smile. "One itty bitty thing; the power of the Fall Maiden."
"..."
Aurora moved her other hand out and showed Cinder her empty palm. Just then, a small black bug emerged from a hole that formed in her palm. The creature stirred and clicked as it looked upon Cinder's face.
"Is that... a beetle?" Cinder asked, disgusted by the sight.
"A generous gift from Her Grace," Aurora explained. "It consumes and gives Aura to anyone or anything in its presence. I've had to give the triplets some Aura from time to time, and the power I save for myself helps light this weapon. Now it's gonna help me get those powers of yours."
Cinder's eyes quickly showed fire as she stared at the beetle. "You think I'm going to give them up without a fight?" she asked. "Tied up or not?"
Aurora stopped smiling. "Bitch, please. We all know you're a fighter. Just like we know all those people are going to die because of you." The smile returned when she heard Cinder softly gasp. "Yeah, that's right. So here's the deal; if you don't fight back, we'll give everyone at Beacon a head start. The academy's gonna burn, but nobody will die. The same can go for Amity."
Cinder looked back at the screens, seeing the Nevermore continue to strike the failing shield and the Mandalorians firing at both soldiers and innocent people. The deaths were more than regrettable to her, but not as scary as Salem having the power of the Fall Maiden. Truly, Cinder was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
But Aurora and Flora were far from ready to give up so easily. "But if you fight, it'll just make this longer," said Flora. "Either way, we'll get the powers just like we got your precious Darksaber. Hell, your dad practically handed it to us when he gave it to you."
"..."
Flora managed to overhear everything Djarin said to Cinder when she was spying on her with a Botfly. And she knew exactly how to twist the offer the Mandalorian gave. "Every Mandalorian knows the burden that comes with the sword," she began. "He carried it for five years and did nothing about it. Don't you get it? He never wanted the responsibility. And when he saw his chance to abandon it, he took it in a heartbeat. Know what I mean?"
"...No," Cinder whispered. She finally turned back to her enemies. "No, he didn't do that. He wouldn't."
"You think?" Flora asked as she titled her head. "When you thought you found your mother, that's all you wanted to talk about, even to him. And then you stopped talking to him when you thought he killed your real dad. You wouldn't even let him talk to you about it."
"No, I didn't-"
"And when he tried to help you again, you stopped talking when you hit a bump in the road. And when a third time came up, he saw his chance." Flora chuckled. "The 'Way of the Maiden' my ass, this was payback. Dumping everything on you just to make himself feel better." She then kneeled down to Cinder. "Lemme tell you something about fathers, Cinder; they let you down. They may say they love you or they'll always protect you, but it's all bullshit."
"Some of them don't even say anything," said Aurora, who mimicked Flora's kneeling. "They don't leave you anything either; they just leave you alone."
Flora nodded as she continued to stare at Cinder. "And we can't blame Djarin for this one. I mean, after everything you did... how could we?"
"..."
Cinder looked down in shame with every word the disciples of Salem said to her. They were right about everything she did to Djarin, and how ready she was to believe everything some woman she just met was saying. Of course she regretted everything, but she couldn't remember if she apologized or not. Even if she did, this was just like the question she asked herself not long ago; how could she undo so much hate?
And now, in the end... Cinder was all alone. She had no friends, she had no family, and she had no respect. Not even for herself.
"So what do you say, kid?" Aurora asked with an extended palm. "You really wanna hash this out? Or do the right thing?"
"..."
*BOOM*
An explosion from the screens caught everyone's attention. Cinder didn't know what to make of it, but Flora and Aurora were thinking that the Mandalorians were starting to destroy Amity Colosseum.
However, they quickly noticed that something was missing.
"Wasn't there a Nevermore on the ceiling a second ago?" Flora whispered. Just as she asked that, both she and Aurora saw a strange kind of airship fly overhead and begin firing on the Grimm and Mandalorians.
"Get this shield down now!" an electronic voice rang through Aurora's human ear.
The Faunus quickly looked over to Flora and moved her head to the door. The girl's body then transformed in a mass of flies and flew into an air duct above.
"Sorry about that," Aurora said as she turned around with her lightsaber in hand. "Now, where were-Huh?"
Cinder was gone.
Din Djarin was still flying the prototype fighter when he found himself at Amity Colosseum. Before he could land, however, he and Qrow found themselves under fire by Mandalorians who were watching the landing pad. Among them were two female Mandalorians, one in dark red armor and another in gray and blue armor. Djarin had no idea who the red one was, but he recognized the other instantly.
"No, it can't be," he said as he looked out the cockpit window.
*CAW*
*CAW*
Djarin looked at the bird resting on his lap. While he couldn't understand the noises, Djarin's intuition was telling him that Qrow was trying to ask what was wrong.
"Bo-Katan, another Mandalorian I knew," he explained. "She's here, she's helping them." Just as he said that, Djarin was forced to move the ship to the left to avoid Bo-Katan from hitting him.
*CAW*
*CAW*
"I don't know why! It might have to do with the Darksaber! We'll worry about that when we get outta here!"
*BEEP*
*BEEP*
*BEEP*
The radar near the controls began to pick up more than two things flying around the ship. When he heard an inhuman screeching, Djarin looked out the window to see that a swarm of flying Grimm were flying straight towards Amity. A large Nevermore was being followed by what appeared to be a hundred Griffons.
The intimidating sight quickly became unimportant when something hit the side of the airship. Djarin and Qrow quickly looked to see Bo-Katan flying next to him with her hand on the side of the helmet.
"I know you can hear me, Djarin," a voice said in the Mandalorian's helmet. "I still have your frequency from the last time we met."
Djarin quickly remembered that this was true, and saw an opportunity to get much needed information. "What are you doing, Kryze?" he inquired with a growl. "Why are you helping the Saxons?"
"For the same thing, the only thing that binds you and I together; the future of Mandalore and her people."
It didn't take a genius to see that Bo-Katan had finally snapped. "I knew that land was cursed, Bo-Katan. And now you've been cursed along with it."
"That's easy for you to say! You still have your band of zealots to rely on, but I'm the last of my line! And I'm honor-bound to see my ancestors' mission successful. By any means necessary."
"Honor-bound? You don't know the meaning of those words."
"No? Then why am I trying to save your life when I have a Kingdom to punish? Now listen; without you, no one would even believe the Darksaber still existed, let alone back with the Mandalorians. The fact you held it for five years and did nothing with it proves we need a true leader."
"I don't have the sword, Bo-Katan. But you're right. We do need a leader. Someone who's better than both of us, someone who isn't bound to either of our old ways." Djarin pointed to Amity while avoiding Grimm. "She's down there now, and I'm sure she's doing everything in her power to save anyone and everyone she can. Stop this, and we can help her too."
"I'm not talking about the kid, Djarin," Bo-Katan argued. "I met with the Mandalorians you betrayed, a few survivors from Vytal. They told me their leader, Pre Vizsla, was the true Mand'alor. And I knew they were right. Just like I knew I had to help him escape."
"Vizsla's a warlord! He doesn't care about you!"
"I don't care about me either! I care about Mandalore. Which is why I'm giving you a chance. It's time for us to stop fighting each other, Djarin. Help us, fight for us. And not only will we let you live, but you can join us at the court of the Mand'alor."
*CAW*
*CAW*
Djarin wasn't sure if Qrow was telling him not to listen to Bo-Katan or to watch out for the Nevermore that was currently pounding at Amity's ceiling. Either way, Djarin knew what to say and do.
"I think you already know my answer. But here's a hint."
Djarin pressed a button on one of the handles he was using to pilot the ship. A small missile flew towards the large Nevermore and made direct contact, leaving a fiery explosion and a cloud of smoke that both the ship and Bo-Katan flew through.
Bo-Katan, however, didn't have any protection from the cloud of smoke and fire. She landed on the Hard-Light shield and rolled a few times before looking back to Djarin's ship. He was currently firing upon every Griffon and Mandalorian that was in his way. The flying men and women proved to be difficult targets, but the Griffons went down like flies.
"Dammit!" Bo-Katan growled as she put a finger to her helmet. "Get this shield down now!"
Djarin looked down to the arena and saw some of the Griffons begin to fly into the exposed ceiling. He then looked back to the Griffons he was shooting as well as the number of bullets left in his gun.
"Around seven hundred and twenty left," he thought to himself. "Impressive for a fighter this size, but not enough to take out this many Grimm." Once he got an idea as to what to do next, he pressed on his gauntlet and continued to fly the ship. "Ironwood, it's me," he said. "Tell me what's going on down there."
"..."
"Ironwood?"
"..."
"James! James, answer me!"
"..."
Djarin couldn't imagine what was happening in Amity with the Grimm and Mandalorians, but it had to be bad enough for Ironwood not to answer him. Nevertheless, he needed some kind of stronger reinforcement, even if it was the military.
So he made another call.
"Sir, we're receiving a transmission from an unknown source."
"Read it through, but do not establish video contact."
A young Atlesian officer did as his superior, Admiral Thrawn, commanded and pressed a button on his console. "Incoming craft, identify yourself," he ordered to the ship that flew by and made contact.
"This is Din Djarin of Beacon Academy, requesting immediate assistance! Tell your commanding officer we need any kind of support out here!"
The officer turned to Thrawn, who quickly looked at the center of the bridge he was standing on. "Establish video contact," he ordered.
"Belay that."
Thrawn and the communications officer quickly turned to Captain Pellaeon. "With all due respect, Admiral, but we can't trust him of all people. Even if he's helping Beacon, how could he not know of this attack?"
"You could ask the same of myself, Captain," Thrawn confessed. "Whoever these Mandalorians are, their allies have been hiding in our midst for weeks on end. They have been scheming and conducting whatever plan they have right under our noses, and I have to correct this error." Thrawn clenched his fists as he looked at Pellaeon. "And I refuse to make another when someone who has helped me before is asking for assistance. Now unless you wish to take command of this ship, I suggest you remember your place and allow me to contact whatever allies we have remaining!"
"..."
Captain Pellaeon had rarely seen Admiral Thrawn angry. It was clear that he refused to play second best when it came to being outwitted, and it was even more clearer that he needed Djarin's help. So he stepped back and allowed Thrawn to take command.
"This is Din Djarin of Beacon Academy!" Djarin shouted again. "Can anyone hear me?!"
Thrawn turned to the communications officer and nodded. The young man obeyed once again and changed a video map of Remnant to a gray Mandalorian. Many of the officers were caught off guard, but Thrawn had calmed down and showed no more emotion. "We read you, Din Djarin, and are currently marking your ship as friendly," he said. "What is your current status?"
"Holding off as many Grimm and Man... and Mandalorians as possible," Djarin replied.
"I trust these are the same Mandalorians we captured at Mountain Glenn?"
"Them and then some. Their main target is the academy, Amity was just an announcement of their intentions." Thrawn was aware of this, but continued to let Djarin speak. "I've been trying to contact Ironwood, but I haven't heard anything."
"General Ironwood was shot and presumably killed before the situation escalated. Until we know otherwise, I am in command of the fleet and its people."
"What's the status of them all?"
"All of our smaller fighters have deployed and our airships are engaging the Grimm... except one."
"What's wrong with it?"
"We lost contact shortly after the Grimm came. It was holding prisoners from Mountain Glenn, we believe a breakout has occurred there."
"If I were to help that ship, could it help control the Grimm?"
"Their fighters must be deployed if we are to take air control from the Nevermores and Griffons."
"What about the ground, and Vale?"
"We have ground troopers on high alert already. They're converging on the city and the Vytal Festival fairgrounds as we speak."
"And reinforcements for Amity?"
"Out of the question for now. I recently finished a strategy to divert the Grimm from the civilians below Beacon and Amity. Until a safe zone is established in the city, I cannot permit my soldiers to leave."
Before Djarin could ask anything else, the communications officer spoke again. "Sir, we have another incoming transmission," he said as Thrawn turned to him. "It's from Rukh."
Thrawn nodded and looked back to the Mandalorian. "The best you can do for now is reestablish order on our third ship. Is that understood?"
"...Understood."
Thrawn looked over to the communications officer once more. "Establish contact with Rukh," he ordered. The officer obeyed and the screen changed from a Mandalorian to a distinct Faunus. "Report, Rukh."
"We're at the coordinates you gave us," the Faunus replied as he struck a staff he was carrying at a Beowolf. It was killed instantly, as well as an Ursa that Rukh struck with a back swing.
"Are you with the ground troopers? Are the Atlesian Knights performing their role?"
"Yes. Like you said, they make perfect bait. We're taking down the stragglers while-" Rukh stopped talking when a Grimm turned to ash next to him. He was then forced to fight a Beowolf with his staff once more. And when the staff was stuck in its stomach, Rukh relied on his bare hands to break its neck. He then jumped on another to break its neck with his legs. The danger passed quickly and Rukh was able to finish his sentence. "The droids are luring the packs away from the perimeter."
"Excellent," Thrawn acknowledged the report. "How long until the safe zone is secure?"
"Can't say now. We have a perimeter, we just need to clear out the strays."
"You have ten minutes, Rukh. Relay this to the squad's commanding officer."
"He's right here. Has something to say."
The screen changed from a unique Faunus to an armored Atlesian soldier. "Admiral Thrawn, this is Captain Rogers," the soldier said with a brief salute. "I heard your orders, the safe zone will be ready in ten minutes."
"Excellent," Thrawn said calmly.
"There's just one problem."
Thrawn slightly frowned when he heard this, but he easily passed it off when he raised a fist to his chin. "Continue," he ordered.
"We've been keeping an eye on the Knights. They've been keeping the Grimm out of our way, drawing them away from the safe zone. But they're doing their job too good."
"Explain."
"The Grimm are doing one of two things. If they're not trying to climb buildings to get civilians on the roofs, they're all making their way towards... it looks like they're going straight for Beacon Academy when they tear the Knights apart and forget about us."
"I see..."
Thrawn easily saw the soldier's predicament. However, the phrase "working too well" wasn't something he would apply here. He knew the Grimm would be attracted to something once the Knights drew them away; Thrawn just wasn't expecting this place to be Beacon Academy. Nevertheless, he was already prepared to deal with wherever the Grimm would end up.
"Worry about the safe zone, Captain," Thrawn ordered. "Leave Beacon to me."
"Yes, sir."
Djarin was currently en route to the third airship Thrawn had told him about. It was easy to identify, given that it was remaining stationary with no weapons firing while the other two were doing the opposite.
Landing inside the ship was difficult, given that multiple Nevermores were on the ship and the hanger doors weren't open. But neither were enough to stop the Mandalorian, who fired his only remaining missile into the hanger door after shooting a Nevermore out of his path.
The hole was large enough for the airship to fly inside and land. When it did, multiple Atlesian pilots began to surround the airship. They just as quickly readied their weapons when they saw Djarin jump down. Fortunately for him, Qrow had transformed back into a human and put a stop to the panic.
"Hold it!" he ordered. "I'm a licensed Huntsman, and Mando's with me!"
"Do what he says," one pilot said as he pushed two of his allies' guns down. "That's Qrow Branwen, he checks out." The rest of the pilots did as they were told and watched their squad leader approach the Huntsman. "About time someone got here. We've been locked up in here since shit hit the fan."
"You couldn't call your captain to let you out?"
"We couldn't contact anyone! The bridge went dead same time the doors locked from the other side."
Qrow looked over to Djarin, who nodded before disappearing. After a few seconds of the soldiers being dazed and confused from the unique Semblance, the doors behind them opened.
"You can get around the ship," the Mandalorian said as he stepped aside. "But I can't open the hanger doors from here."
"We need to do that from the bridge," the leader said as he moved past Djarin and looked back to his other pilots. "Let's move it!" The pilots quickly moved down the hall, but not before a few gave Djarin a dirty look. Once they all disappeared, the leader gave the Mandalorian a dirty look of his own. "Care to explain what the hell's going on out there?"
Qrow groaned as he pushed the soldier out of Djarin's face. "How many times we gotta tell you that he's on our side?!" he asked.
"That doesn't answer my question!"
"Forget your fucking questions! You got a ship to get back, or do you wanna waste any more of our time?!"
The squad leader grumbled as he looked back to Djarin. "This isn't over," he said as he joined his team down the hall. Djarin and Qrow joined him and saw the halls littered with dead officers and soldiers.
"Thrawn was right about the prisoners," the Mandalorian said. "Nobody else could have done this."
Qrow picked up a gun from the ground and looked it over. He needed a weapon after losing Harbinger in Vale. "Think this'll do some good against Beskar?" he asked.
"It's better than nothing. But I'm not sure if these prisoners have their armor."
Qrow smiled as he moved his hand on the trigger. "Lucky me." He then made his way down the hall, passing by more dead soldiers. But after a few seconds, he noticed that Djarin wasn't following him.
"I have to get to Amity," he said. "I'll call Ozpin about Beacon, but I have to find Cinder."
Qrow quickly understood how important going back to the arena was for the Mandalorian. He quickly forgot about taking the ship and focused on going with his friend. "Then I'm coming too," he said.
"No, not without Harbinger. Fighting with that gun may be harder against the Grimm."
"...Good point. What about you?"
Djarin pulled out his sidearm. "I'll be fine with this for now. I can get my rifle from Cinder when I find her."
"Alright then. Good luck."
"Yes, I can see them now. Focus on the arena, and then you and Cinder get to the city. I'll begin the evacuation here."
Professor Ozpin ended the call that Djarin made to him. He was currently staring out his window, staring at the Mandalorians and Grimm that began to fly down to the academy grounds. At first, he watched the brutal announcement the Mandalorians had made and then waited for the best time to reveal himself. Now that time had come, and Ozpin was more than ready and willing to defend Beacon and its people from harm.
As he rode down the elevator, Ozpin took out his Scroll once again and pressed a few buttons before putting the device to his ear.
"To anyone on the academy grounds, pay close attention," he said. His voice was echoing through every loudspeaker in Beacon, a feature he only used for emergencies. And this was certainly an emergency. "The Grimm and a group of Mandalorians are making their way to the school, and I am sure you are aware of their intentions. For your safety, it is advised you gather your weapons, friends, and evacuate immediately. Should anything or anyone cross your path, I implore you not to hesitate to defend yourselves. Whether this is your first year here or your last, you have all trained for this. Be ready... for anything." Ozpin began to move the Scroll from his ear, but had one last thing to say. "May the Gods be with you all."
The doors of the elevator immediately opened, revealing two gray and blue Mandalorians pointing rifles at the Headmaster's face.
"Nice speech, old man," one of them said. "Now get out."
Ozpin obeyed and was immediately grabbed by the one who threatened him. He still had his cane, but was using it to walk on the ground beneath him. The Mandalorians didn't seem to care, however, as they began to argue with each other.
"What are you doing?" the second one asked his partner. "He's here, let's just kill him."
"Not yet," the first one argued. "If the world didn't believe us at Amity, they'll believe us when they see Ozpin's brains all over the ground."
"...Alright. I think that one over there can record us."
The first Mandalorian saw his partner pointing to another gray Mandalorian, who had just mercilessly executed two students that unfortunately crossed paths with her. The students' fear caused them to choose flight over fight, but they weren't fast enough to escape the blasts or even engage their Auras before they died.
Ozpin silently mourned the loss of the students who heeded his warning too late. But he was far from ready to let anyone join them. So as he was led by the Mandalorians, Ozpin closed his eyes and whispered a prayer each time his cane struck the ground.
"I am one with the Force. And the Force is with me. I am one with the Force. And the Force is with me. I am one with the Force. And the Force is with me. I am one with the Force..."
The first Mandalorian finally picked up on Ozpin's whispers before his cane struck the ground. "What are you rambling-?"
*BAM*
All three Mandalorians were literally swept off their feet when Ozpin struck the ground and an invisible force blew his enemies away.
"And the Force is with me," the Headmaster finished as he moved his cane in a fighting stance and prepared for battle.
The fight began when one of the Mandalorians rushed at Ozpin without picking up his gun. But when he swung a fist, his arm went numb as Ozpin struck his exposed flesh and quickly struck the back of his neck.
As soon as he heard the second Mandalorian pick up his gun and fire, Ozpin leapt a tremendous leap overhead and practically glided behind the Mandalorian and swung his cane at his legs. When the Mandalorian flew in the air, Ozpin moved forward and struck the man's chest. The power of the strike was enough to break the chest plate, which was not made of Beskar, and knock the wind out of the Mandalorian's chest.
The third Mandalorian decided to wait for his chance when three Griffons flew at Ozpin. The Headmaster was able to dodge the first Grimm and strike the second. When it turned to ash, Ozpin was forced to engage his Aura when a claw struck his chest. The attack wasn't enough to faze him, it instead diverted all of Ozpin's focus on the more feral Grimm. Three strikes to its neck was enough to make it dust, and two was enough for the other Griffon.
The activity and his use of the Force was enough to make Ozpin lose his breath. His use of the Force wasn't like Obi-Wan's, who used it to acquire objects out of his reach. Instead, Ozpin bended the Force around his immediate environment and his joints to move faster and reach unexpected heights. A wise Jedi Master was able to discover and teach this technique, and he used it to compensate for his short stature.
But Ozpin decided not to use the Force when the final Mandalorian fired at him. Instead, he relied on his Semblance; green specks of light quickly moved in front of him as Ozpin moved his cane at the speed of light to deflect all the blasts that came at him. Once his unnatural speed saved his life, Ozpin flew towards the Mandalorian and dealt an uncountable amount of fast strikes at his chest. At the final strike, the Mandalorian flew backwards and struck his jetpack on the stone ground, causing an explosion that instantly killed him.
While this method of combat was indeed successful, it drew too much attention to Ozpin. The explosion caused multiple Grimm to approach from the left and Mandalorian reinforcements to come from the right. Ozpin began to feel weak from using the Force on his body, which had caused his limbs to feel strained and hardened. Nevertheless, he prepared himself to defend the school with his life.
Or die trying.
*BANG*
*BANG*
*BANG*
The sound of gunfire caused Ozpin to look at the Mandalorians, but the weren't firing at him. Confused, Ozpin turned to the left and saw nothing but clouds of smoke. And then the gunfire began to fire upon the Mandalorians.
"Professor Ozpin!"
The sound of his name made Ozpin turn to the source of the noise; multiple students, from every academy, were running with their weapons towards him and the Mandalorians. Those who had guns fired upon their enemies and the ones with close-combat weapons charged and prepared for a duel.
While both factions engaged each other, Ozpin got two people help him off the ground. When he turned around, he recognized the two as Max Bolt and Andrea Sky, students at Beacon and part of the same team. They were quickly joined by Lilith Gelb, who was also a member of the same team.
"Students..." Ozpin addressed the children as he finally caught his breath. "I thought I gave you specific instructions to evacuate the school grounds. And only fight if you had to."
"And we're following those orders," said Max. "But we're following another one we just made; nobody gets left behind."
"Especially someone who can fight three Mandalorians and live," said Andrea.
The students who joined Ozpin had witnessed his duel with the Mandalorians after acquiring their weapons. Their instincts told them to flee while Ozpin was distracting them, but a majority of them were enticed by the sight of someone who refused to run away.
And despite not being the leader of her team, it was Lilith who convinced the students that they couldn't run while people were still fighting. Max and Andrea quickly joined her as they became inspired by Ozpin's selfless act. And truthfully, Lilith was originally inspired by Cinder helping stop the attack from Mountain Glenn, which was why she was the first to fire on the Mandalorians.
Everyone quickly became inspired from both Ozpin and Lilith as they joined the fight. They knew survival against people who trained to fight their whole lives were very slim, but nobody was ready to leave until they made sure everyone could leave.
And so began the titanic defense of Beacon Academy. Ozpin continued to discreetly use the Force against the Mandalorians and Grimm while the students fought whatever was in their path. Everyone tried to stick with their teams, and the fighting went in two ways; the first year students would mainly hunt the Grimm while the more advanced students held their own against Death Watch and the Saxons.
The fight was not without sacrifice, however. For every one Mandalorian, three students needed to fight together to stand a chance. Wires and hidden blades in their gauntlets gave the warriors a means to defend themselves, and they were able to break the students' Auras in no time at all. But despite the lethal attacks that were inflicted on them, some of the students were able to fight back. This was special in the case of Lilith's team, who relied on their hand-to-hand combat when their weapons were either broken or out of bullets.
And they had successfully taken down two members of the Saxon clan.
"Oh, man," said Andrea, who was catching her breath. Her recovery from the Chill was progressive, but she still had her limits when it came to physical stamina. "I think... I need a minute, guys."
Max and Lilith quickly came to their teammate's aid. They too were out of Aura, but they were able to remain standing and ready for the next fight.
"We got you covered," Lilith said with natural confidence. "How you doing, Max?"
"Firm," he said with a smile. "Like I can take on the world." A strange thought came to mind when he made this declaration. "I thought I'd be giving in by now, but my body's saying the opposite. You think Professor Djarin knew something like this was gonna happen?"
Lilith considered the idea for a moment. "Whether he knew or not, I wouldn't be standing here if I relied solely on my Aura. His lessons really paid off."
Max easily found himself agreeing with his teammate. "Yeah, that's right. And there's no way he'd be involved... right?"
"If he's anything like Cinder, that's a hard pass. Hope they're both okay."
Din Djarin was indeed involved in the attack, but he was still fighting for Beacon. True to his word, the Mandalorian used his Semblance to travel to Amity and hoped the situation wasn't as dire as the trouble with the airships.
When he arrived, it was easy to see things were even worse.
The stands had become littered with bodies and missing limbs, and the Griffons continued to feed on the unfortunate civilians. Even Glynda and Doctor Oobleck were losing the fight against the countless Grimm. And all that remained of Penny was a clutter of wires and computer chips. Every part of her body had been taken to mold the Beskar into future armor.
However, two of her swords had been left behind. They had fallen stuck into the floor when they fell with the rest of Penny's body. Djarin quickly took them when a Griffon had laid its blood-red eyes on him. The weapons felt naturally to Djarin as he swung them at the Grimm and killed it in an instant. Once he saw the weapons would work for close-range combat, Djarin looked back to the professors and took out his blaster.
*BANG*
*BANG*
Both of his blasts hit another Griffon in the back, causing it to disappear and simultaneously causing both the professors to turn around.
"Am I glad to see you," said Glynda, who hunched over and began to catch her breath.
"As am I!" said Oobleck, who moved a large staff he was holding upright, making the end face the sky. "We could use all the help we can get!"
"Cinder!" was the first thing Djarin could say when he met the teachers. "Where's Cinder?!"
Oobleck looked around the arena, failing to see any sign of the Mandalorian's daughter. "I don't know," he replied honestly.
Glynda looked up as she continued to catch her breath. "We haven't... seen her since... you left," she said.
Djarin's spirit was instantly crushed when he heard this news. There was no possible way that she would do nothing to stop this brazen attack, even if it meant exposing herself as the Fall Maiden. The only logical explanation was exactly what he feared; the Blair sisters had gotten to her before he could. And it was up to him to save his daughter.
But there was nothing he could do while all the chaos was going on.
"Why are there still people here?" the Mandalorian asked. "Ozpin told me he was going to start evacuating the school, we need to get everyone out of here!"
"We can't!" Glynda yelled as she sprung up and used her Semblance to kill a Griffon. "When everyone tried to get to the landing pads, all they found were more Mandalorians." She grit her teeth as she killed another Grimm. "And they just shot everyone! Not just the men, but women and children too! The survivors had no choice but run back inside, just to be food for the Grimm!"
"Peter tried to fend them off, but they got him too!" Oobleck added after he silently mourned the innocent people who died. "He's with General Ironwood, up there. I... don't know if he's going to make it."
Djarin followed Oobleck's finger to see a relatively isolated area of the arena, where a Griffon was approaching closer. He quickly used his Semblance to move closer and kill the Grimm.
Professor Port was currently sitting on the ground with his weapon in his hand. He was using his other hand to apply pressure to a wound on his side. But when he saw the Mandalorian approaching him, he pointed the end of his blunderbuss at the warrior and fired. The shot missed but he was ready to fire again. "Stay back, fiend!" he ordered.
"No, wait!" Djarin said as he planted both of Penny's swords into the ground. "Peter, it's me. Djarin."
"Djarin!" Port exclaimed as he struggled to stand. "Forgive me, I thought you were-"
"Don't move," Djarin said as he kneeled down to the teacher. "Let me see." Port moved his hand to reveal both blood and a bad burn on his side.
"Grazed by one of those special bullets." Despite the pain he was in, Port knew there was someone who needed more help than him. "It's just a scratch. Help Ironwood."
Djarin looked over to the General and saw that he was in a situation worse than Port. A light on his body kept flashing between blue and red, obviously signaling distress. Despite this, the Mandalorian could tell that Ironwood was still alive and in critical condition.
Fortunately, Djarin had an idea as to who could best help him. He quickly pressed on his gauntlet and made another call to Admiral Thrawn. "Admiral, it's Djarin," he said. "Come in, Admiral."
"This is Admiral Thrawn," a voice replied. "We read you. What's going on?"
"I'm at Amity Colosseum, with General Ironwood. He's alive, but he's hurt. He needs to get back to your ship."
"I will send a squad to retrieve him. If you're at the arena, the evacuations must begin. Airships from Atlas and Vale will be there in two minutes."
"Understood. Have you heard from your third airship? Qrow Branwen is there, he's helping retake it."
"Not yet. But we can begin the evacuations without that ship. The rest depends on you, Djarin."
"Understood." Djarin ended the call and picked up the swords. "Peter, hold on. We're getting help."
"But the ships can't land!" Port protested. "The Mandalorians will-"
"They're long gone. Don't worry."
When he heard what the Mandalorians had done and noticed that they were nowhere to be seen, Djarin easily recognized the situation; it was an old tactic used by Mandalorians in the Great War. If there was a chance that Grimm became involved with the fight, the Mandalorians would put them in one place. And after luring and keeping their enemies in the same place as the Grimm, they would leave those enemies to fend for themselves while they believed themselves to be stuck between a rock and a hard place. There were bound to be survivors when the situation applied to people with Aura. But with civilians... it would be a bloodbath.
All Djarin had to do was convince everyone that the only thing they were stuck with was the Grimm. The first thing he did was look at his Aura levels. The two teleportations he made slightly reduced it to a light green, close to the yellow zone. Nevertheless, Djarin prepared to conduct the next part of his plan.
Whenever he laid eyes on a Grimm, Djarin teleported himself there and struck it with his blades.
*SWISH*
And then he did it again, saving two people in the process.
*SWISH*
And again.
*SWISH*
And again.
*SWISH*
And again.
*SWISH*
And again.
*SWISH*
On his seventh attack, Djarin's Aura finally shattered. But most of the arena's eyes fell on to him, specifically Glynda and Oobleck. When they saw his Aura break, they quickly believed he was done fighting. But then, everyone saw him take to the air and turn the next Grimm he saw into ash. His jetpack helped him kill Grimm in the air or on the ground, and the teachers began to help him.
When Djarin saw that all eyes were on him instead of the Grimm, he raised his sword and gestured towards one of the exits. He quickly ran to it and found himself at the landing pad, which was exactly as he predicted; empty.
And soon enough, it was filled with people coming out of the arena. They all began to wonder what happened to the Mandalorians, some of them were afraid that they were hiding somewhere. But once they realized the only Mandalorian with them was Djarin, they began to feel an overwhelming sense of relief.
Except for one student, who was pointing a loaded rifle he took from a dead Atlesian soldier at the Mandalorian.
Glynda saw what was happening and quickly ran over to stop the situation from getting worse. "Put that down, young man!" she ordered. "You don't want to do that!"
"He's been at Beacon for years," the student said with a quivering voice. "How do we know he's not one of them?!" It was obvious that the student was scared out of his mind, and not even Djarin could blame him. All he could do was lower the swords to his side and try to be rational.
"You don't have to do this," he said without fearing for his life. "I can help you. I can help everyone here."
"You think killing a few Grimm makes all this okay?!" the student yelled as he tried to keep a firm grip on the weapon. He then began to walk away from the Mandalorian, moving closer to the edge of the landing pad. "Give me one good reason why I should trust you!"
Djarin realized that actions would need to speak louder than words to calm this student down. And he needed to choose his next action very carefully if he was going to save the young man's life. So after he lowered one sword to the ground, he threw the other one directly at the student.
But instead of hitting him, the sword flew right past his head and into the jaw of a Griffon that almost swallowed the student whole.
When it died, Glynda used her Semblance to remove the gun away from the student. The shock of almost being eaten fell onto him quickly and caused him to fall on his knees crying. Another student rushed over and did her best to comfort him.
And more comfort was on its way; three airships were flying to the arena and prepared to take everyone away. The first airship was Atlesian, and a medical team quickly ran off the airship. Djarin told them where to find Ironwood, and they took off once again. The other two airships were from Vale and opened their doors to everyone.
With people finally being taken away from the devastated arena, Djarin left the responsibility to Glynda and Oobleck. All that mattered now was finding Cinder and helping her with whatever she needed.
*SLAM*
The sound of a metal door opening behind him allowed Djarin to see that finding Cinder wasn't going to be as hard as he thought.
She was leaning against the door that led to the maintenance area.
"Cinder!" Djarin exclaimed in joy as he ran over to his daughter. His arms quickly wrapped themselves around the young girl as his fears began to slowly dissipate. Her disappearance was partially his fault, and he wanted to tell her how sorry he was for leaving her with the Grimm and Mandalorians. He knew he had a lot to tell her, about her "mother" and "team," unless she knew about them beforehand. But now was the time to seek safety.
So Djarin moved his arms off of Cinder and took her hand. "We can get the next airship!" he said as he began to rush over to the landing pad. "Come on!"
"..."
When he took two steps forward, the Mandalorian realized something was wrong. Instead of following him like he expected, Cinder was motionlessly kneeling on the ground. She even refused to move when Djarin gently pulled on her arm. Fear and panic began to return to Djarin's mind as he kneeled down with her.
"Cinder?" he asked as he looked at her face. The child's expression was blank and empty, giving no sign of any emotion. "Cinder, say something!"
The young Maiden finally blinked and moved the rest of her face to see her reflection in the Mandalorian's helmet. "Dad... I don't feel so good," she said as she collapsed against his body.
When the shock of Cinder passing out went away, Djarin looked to see what the source of her distress was. Just like earlier, it was easy to find; a small black bug, attached to a black string, was on the back of her neck and causing her to bleed.
"Hey!" Djarin yelled as he grabbed the insect. "Stop it!" He quickly pulled the beetle off and threw it away before he checked Cinder's neck. The blood continued to seep out of her body, but the wound didn't seem fatal. And given that she still had a pulse, the bug hadn't done anything to kill Cinder.
"It burns."
A new voice came to Djarin's ears and made him look away from Cinder, even though he continued to hold her against him. He couldn't see in the darkness of the maintenance area, but there was a small fire burning in the middle of the air. Underneath that fire was a hand that came closer to the light. And when it came into the light the arena was providing, the hand revealed itself to belong to Aurora; who did nothing but stare at the fire she was creating.
"It's... an emptiness," she said as Djarin reached for his blaster. "It burns. Like hunger." A smile came to her face as she reveled in the flame. "I like it." She finally turned to the Mandalorian and the girl in her arms. Cinder almost escaped her, but Aurora managed to latch the beetle on her just as she reached the metal door. She had only gained a small fraction of the Maiden powers, thanks to Djarin severing the connection. This interruption left the deranged Faunus with one objective in mind.
"I need more."
Djarin quickly understood what that beetle had done to Cinder. And he would be damned before he let Aurora take any more of the Maiden powers if it meant hurting his daughter. And if he needed to kill her to get it back, that was certainly a chance the Mandalorian was willing to take.
"That's not going to happen," he promised as he took out his blaster.
*THOOM*
A large vibration rumbled across the arena, almost knocking Aurora over. Djarin was dazed as well, but not enough to stop him from pointing his weapon at Aurora's face. Despite the threat, Aurora continued to smile and look straight down at the Mandalorian.
"I think you have bigger fish to fry," she said confidently.
*THOOM*
The vibration returned, and it was felt all across the area as well. From the city of Vale to Beacon Academy, everyone who was still standing felt a low rumbling at their feet.
"What was that?" asked a Mistralian student.
"Earthquake?" an Atlesian randomly guessed.
"There're no fault lines around here," Lilith pointed out.
While the students were trying to figure out what was causing the rumbling, Professor Ozpin was staring out in the distance. Unbeknownst to the majority of the Kingdom, he knew exactly what was causing the ground to shake. And where it was happening.
"Oh, no," he whispered.
Out in the distance, a mountain began to break until it was nothing but boulders and dust. In its place stood one of the largest Grimm known to man; a Wyvern.
And it was heading straight for the school.
Author's notes: hello again. Sorry if this chapter was shorter than usual, I feel it would be better to continue in the final chapter of this arc. Also, I'm actually going to start working soon, but I won't let that stop me from continuing the story. There should be at least two more arcs left before the end, and I fully intend to see them through. So don't worry, this story is far from dead.
To The Avenging Titan, I actually did get that line from Batman Year One. Glad you liked my Resident Evil references and the ideas I had for the Botflies. As for the Beetle, "recharge" isn't the word I would use. I wanted to expand on it from canon and make it take Aura as well as Maiden powers, but taking too much would cause it to die. So Aurora has to wait until its strong enough to take more. Hope you liked the chapter, thanks for reading.
To stevenpiskunov2, you're absolutely right about the Darksaber and its bad luck curse. But you'll see more of that later. Thanks for reading, hope you liked the chapter.
To hirshja, you have very valid criticism here. Like I said, I kinda rushed last chapter for Star Wars Day, but that won't happen again. I also changed a couple of things to make it more logical (shout out to you and Servos New Head). As for Ozpin not recognizing his daughters, I always thought the age difference and the new hair colors for Flora and Fauna would contribute to this. If you have any other criticisms or don't like this way of thinking, feel free to write another comment. Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
To CT7567Rules, I hope I was able to explain a few things about the Botflies and the Blair sisters. If you have any other questions, please let me know. I'm glad you liked the Tigershark here, and I was able to do the ammo count you were talking about. I don't have plans for the clones yet, but Djarin will be getting a new gun very soon. And I will have to watch Visions, thanks for the suggestion. Thank you for your ideas and for reading, hope you enjoyed this chapter.
To joeyginise, good to see you again. I have some plans for another Jedi in the next arc, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed the chapter (and the other chapters you've caught up on).
To Servos New Head, nice little rhyming there. Looks like someone figured out the origin of that little line last chapter. Glad you liked the return of Death Watch and the origins of the Blair sisters. Cool betting game you have here, seems like you put a lotta thought into it. People have died in this chapter, you're right. All I can say is the chances of Cinder dying are just as low as you made them (she's not dying in this story, no way). Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed the chapter. And thanks for your help/ ideas for the last chapter.
To GojiraFan455516, I see someone else saw where I got that line, hats off to you. And a lot when down like you said. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed the chapter.
To an unknown guest, thank you for voicing these thoughts. I tried explaining a few things, but I can see why you don't really like them. Once again, I have to apologize for upsetting you. Hope there are no hard feelings. I'm glad you like everything else though, thank you for reading. And I hope you enjoyed this chapter too.
That's all I have for now. But don't worry, I promise to come back with more for you all. Until then, may the Force be with you, and I'll see you next time.