Chapter 25. Beacon Days 14
"The pieces have been set. The kings are on the board. Let war commence."
"…Yes? That's basically what I've just reported to you, albeit without the chess analogy. Are you alright, Ozpin?"
" *kssssh* The pieces have been set. The kings are on the board. Let war commence."
"Ozpin! If this a recording and you're slacking off, I swear I'll-"
" *kssssh* The pieces have been set. The kings are on the board. Let war commence."
Forever Fall, combat exercise grounds
Jaune leaned out of the tree behind which he hid, scanning the woods on the opposite side of the river. He would have preferred a green forest to better blend with his black suit, though the early morning mist did a fine job to obscure distant figures. It both helped and hindered, for while he likely remained out of view, he could not tell for certain that the far banks was free of enemy combatants.
At least the water was crystal clear. No Deathmaulers here, he checked. Five times.
A wide and deep stream divided the valley, where the combat exercise took place, into halves. At the valley' center, a bridge spanned the gulf to connect the two banks. Measuring twenty yards or so in width and twice that in length, it made for the obvious crossing point, which meant it had been fortified on both sides to become near impenetrable. There, the students of Vale and Vacuo glared into the eyes of those from Atlas and Mistral. Their hands clutched an eclectic mix of melee and ranged training weapons.
It was the Great War all over again, and had Jaune not been there to witness the drawing of lots to determine teams, he would have accused the faculty of tampering. As it was, he still held a mild suspicion of Goodwitch. The woman tended to use her Semblance in more dramatic fashions, but he put good odds on her power being capable of much subtler acts, like manipulating the numbers they pulled. What else could explain this mirror image of history?
No matter the reason, Beacon and Shade found themselves thrusted into an alliance, united in the goal of dethroning the kings across the river whoever they may be. In turn, they have each chosen their own kings, who would wear crowns that must be protected from theft. The loss of a crown meant the elimination of that school's forces from the combat exercise, with the other ally almost sure to follow as they would have to then fight one against two. He could only guess that the first school to be disqualified would also be the last to choose the end-of -semester missions, thus adding another level of suffering to the loss.
All in all, the combat exercise shaped up to be a rendition on Capture the Flag, with win-loss conditions that encouraged the two allies to work together. Otherwise, there were few rules beyond that of basic safety, not even a set territory. The students had free reign to choose their own strategies.
Atlas' king has been identified earlier, the beret-wearing girl replacing her hat with an ornate white circlet. Atlas Academy went a step above in its design and sharp-eyed scouts reported gem-like glass decorations. Or actual gems, some greedy souls hoped. It put Beacon's and Shade's crowns to shame. She had made no efforts to hide herself, standing with her schoolmates on the other side of the bridge, the Haven students assembling nearby.
Barring a protection detail for Weiss and a few lookouts scattered along the stream, most of the Beacon and Shade students were deployed at the bridge under the command of May Zedong, who took on the role of king for Shade and also in command as overall strategist for both their schools on the main front.
Haven's king remained hidden, which led to Jaune's squad gathering at one of the wider stretches of water, which will hopefully be a less-defended area due to the impassability. A few small boulders jutted out of the water, spaced too far apart to help in crossing. Far behind him, Ruby and Blake waited for his cue in runners' starting stances. Of everyone among Beacon, the three of them stood the best chance of making it to the other side without falling in the drink, from which point they would search for the Haven leader behind enemy lines.
*HOOOONK*
The sound of a horn rang through the valley. Down the river, the thunderous roars of hundreds of voices resounded in answer. Jaune waited a beat, and when he confirmed that nobody has emerged from the tree line, he raised a hand to the sky. Sweeping his arm forward, he charged down the riverbanks. In the next instant, Ruby passed him by in a blur. Her foot hit the edge of the water and the girl transformed into a storm of rose petals. Launching herself ahead, she blasted over to the other side. Above her, Blake jumped off a tall branch to gain altitude before activating her Semblance. A copy of the cat Faunus appeared to serve as her mid-air stepping stone. Pushing off her own shoulders the girl cleared the middle of the river, and summoned another clone as the last faded away. This second body placed her almost to the end, and a third allowed her to disappear amongst the red leaves.
After checking the water one last time for giant alligator Grimms (plus alligators in general), Jaune followed them in a burst of Aura, blue wisps trailing in his wake. His momentum carried him most of the way, gravity pulling him lower towards the boulder he had aimed for. Putting his practice to use, he tapped the rock with a foot, just hard enough to regain air time while keeping the forward motion. That second hop put him on the bed of river stones, rolling end over end to crash through the bushes.
The landing may be a bit rough, but he'll take it. Success!
Meanwhile, at the center of the bridge
Some may question the strategic acumen of a general whose plan was simply to park the biggest, toughest, strongest person on a chokepoint and telling them to hold. His teammate Coco certainly complained, though Yatsuhashi believed her protests against May Zedong stemmed from the fact that Coco was not the one chosen to stand here. It amused the rest of the team to no end as they fought by his side.
Having traded in their regular weapons for training arms, the team lost their most devastating combo of Coco using her minigun and Velvet using a copy of Coco's minigun. It was their go-to field clearing maneuver, one which would have devastated the army before them. Oftentimes, he and Fox would be relegated to guard duties, and a part of him enjoyed this chance to show the underclassmen what he was capable of. Just as they lacked the supreme firepower that marked their team, so too did their foes went without their heaviest hitters. The attacks he faced today chipped his Aura away at a snail's pace, allowing his strength and resilience to come to the fore.
Bracing himself, Yatsuhashi swept the greatsword in his hand from one side to the other, sending four bodies off the bridge into the water. As he watched them sputter and swim for the shore, he regarded the sword with a new respect.
It was no mighty blade. The weight was wrong, the length too short, the material inferior. But it'd do just fine.
He slammed the sword into the bridge, and dared a mocking smirk he learned from Coco (who else?). Staring down the suddenly unsure students from Atlas and Mistral, he shouted for all to hear.
"None shall pass."
Oh, how he had longed to say that line.
Yatsuhashi felt invincible.
-o-
A cool pose? Flanked by pretty girls? Not an ounce of fear as he stood over the most terrifying thing on Remnant, the water?
Some people have it all.
Sure, Neptune was striking a pretty cool pose too at the moment. A lean just so, a foot crossed over the other, papers in hand like the intellectual he was, and a debonair smile with a glint to his teeth. He was every inch 'cool'.
He failed to show the same spontaneous flair, though, not to mention the proper vibe for this scene. The big guy exuded a pressure that sent people stumbling back, like some kind of last boss in games. A tad overboard if this was the school campus, but perfect for a battle.
And pretty girls? The ones on this side of the stream were scattered all over the place and focused on the battle. The only female student nearby, Ciel Soleil, stood on the next hill over and outside of talking range. He wouldn't say it was a great loss. She might have qualified as a pretty girl, if not for the deadpan expression with which she looked at him. Were people from Atlas always so cold?
Heh. They were, because Atlas is literally below freezing. He should tell Sun that joke.
Focus, Neptune. Focus.
As for the last thing? It might be cool to stand so close to death but Neptune thought this spot high on the hill, i.e. the complete opposite direction of water, was even cooler. So, he'll let that one go.
Besides, the guy will be singing a different tune soon.
Abandoning his pose, Neptune rolled up the papers in his hands and used it as a megaphone to call out orders. Haven moved upon his words.
-o-
May Zedong adjusted the iron crown on her head, confirming again that it was still in place. The thick fabric of her beanie made it hard to tell sometimes.
They might call her ridiculous for wearing her favorite headgear under the crown, but at least she did not have to suffer the metal pinching her scalp. How Vale can be so cold in the daytime she'll never know, but the low temperature this morning has made the crown freezing to the touch.
Besides, she was used to people complaining about her. Like right now. Not everyone liked her way of doing things. Some objected wholeheartedly, in fact.
Strangely enough, the Valeans were happy. They seemed to have taken one of their own standing at the forefront as a sign that May had recognized the superiority of their school. Hah! If they only knew what laid in store, they would not be so happy with her.
Not that she cared. Of the two people she held any respect for from that lot, one can be soothed by giving her a target to punch while the other was not even here. The fool has gone gallivanting into the forest on another of his mad ideas while leaving her to direct his countrymen. A shame, because none of them displayed the right mindset to help in this situation. She did, however, appreciate the wider range of options they brought to her battle plans.
No, as always those who decried her actions came from Shade, her home.
Oh, her team gave her no troubles on that front, although their teasing about 'Little May' getting to play princess grated on her nerves. There will be a reckoning, she swore on it.
As for the rest of her cohorts, they objected every step of the way so far. Vacuo had certain views on what a leader should be like. Its greatest generals in past eras were the ones leading from the front, shouting orders and swinging a sword while the commanders of other Kingdoms cowered in fear (according to historical accounts, she had doubts). Her decision to stay far in the back of the battlefield spat in the face of that image. Nevermind that one wrong move could see a deft hand snatching away the crown she wore. Nevermind that she needed to survey the field in whole. Mutters of 'Cowardly May' reached her ears, anyways.
They bristled at the things she made them do, too. She gave the order to stay in formation and play defensively. It was another strike in the 'coward' column because everyone in Shade knew that the other Academies were full of soft, pampered children. A true Vacuan would not hesitate in the face of such weak foes. The accusatory glares suggested that she was therefore not a true Vacuan at all.
Her next order to have one team hold the chokepoint nearly broke the camel's back. One man, really, because the ploy hinged on Yatsuhashi Daichi. May had managed to do worse than their expectations by relying on a foreigner, an outsider, to take on such a task.
The desert have taught them to know better. The only person they can trust is themselves, so always look out for number one. Give not a sip from the oasis to an outsider. In a week's time, the last of the water might run out, and that sip could have saved someone they cared for. Those from elsewhere cannot be relied on, and here was May doing exactly that.
She gave her fellow students from Shade some credit. They clamored to go reinforce Team CFVY, to fight side by side. Then, she'd taken that credit right back. They advocated for that route not out of true camaraderie, but because they resented someone other than themselves taking the glory.
It had also been pointed out to her that if the older boy must be the one at the forefront, then he should push forward to the far side of the bridge and seize it all. She'd slapped her forehead at the smug look given by the supposed genius who recommended that.
Putting any of their troops on the far banks at this time opened those fighters up to an encirclement of enemy forces. The chokepoint would then prevent sending any sort of meaningful reinforcements to their beleaguered vanguard. As strong as they may be, Team CFVY would be chewed up and spat out under the onslaught.
The point of this current formation was to sap the numbers of the other team. The more fighters CFVY eliminated, the fewer people Atlas and Haven will have on hand to commit on one big push. The sooner that possibility was taken out, the easier it'd be to employ the same maneuver, where her fresh troops can overrun the defenses.
From her vantage point on a hill, May spotted movement on the far banks. Atlas moved first in disciplined ranks, then dozens of Haven fighters came together in an uncoordinated lot. They each were making a countermove to shift the tides of battle. By what she was seeing, May had a guess as to what Haven's plan entailed, and she could tell it will play out as she predicted. Her allies won't be singing her praises after this.
Because above all else, this tactic struck home for the students from Shade Academy. For all that they venerated such heroes, they understood better than most the futility of the gambit where a warrior stood at the gates. Time and time again, throughout Vacuo's history, this scene has played out. There may be variations to the story. It was a man at times, a woman in others. Some were resolute, some were scared. Some had Aura, some went without. Some had help, a few people who would stand with them, and some fought by their lonesome. But inevitably, for that brave soul there could only be one fate. The stories of Vacuo's heroes all had the same ending.
They fall.
-o-
Ciel had to admit that Shade's leader surprised her. She marked the girl down weeks ago as the callmaker for her team, but dismissed her for the unassertive and quiet demeanor. Zedong seemed too soft to make the necessary decisions. Compassionate people thrusted into the role of leader tended to shy away from choices that may harm those who follow them. Her teammates proved headstrong and prone to tunnel-vision, too, so they will likely face a series of mistakes and miscommunications in the tournament. In conclusion, Team BRNZ did not impress.
Today's event showed that her analysis fell somewhat short. Zedong came right out of the gates with a favorite tactic from the war manuals of the Atlas military, setting up a favorable trade of numbers by taking advantage of the terrain.
Still, for all that May Zedong's strategy was sound, Ciel has learned directly from General Ironwood in his leadership course on the best responses for such a move, as evidenced by the vast majority of students defeated by Team CFVY being from Haven. While Ciel's nominal ally had been beating their heads against a wall and keeping the enemy's strongest combatants in one place, she had launched probing attacks along the stream to identify ways of bypassing the bridge in a classic counter to this situation.
Notebook Number 002, General James Ironwood Lesson Number 204:
Against a well-fortified yet static position, be as a river around a rock.
The attacks confirmed the viability of river crossings. At two shallow points in the stream, a person's feet can touch the bottom…if they stood taller than her, but as the commander of this operation she had little to no reason to join the landing parties anyway. The provided firearms came from Atlas wargames and has been adjusted to fire weaker rounds. They lacked the stopping power of weaponry specifically designed to combat Grimm. The training shields, flimsy as they were, granted enough protection for her vanguard to cross and retain the Aura required to fight, buying time for the main invasion force.
Too easy.
Ciel watched on with satisfaction as the other students carried out her orders, falling into their squads and marching in lockstep. She found something beautiful in this sight, a rhythm which stemmed from her and enveloped every soul under her command. As the Huntsmen and Huntresses of Atlas made their way forth, the song cascaded beyond her troops to permeate the entire field, seizing the flow of battle. No longer was the bridge the center of attention. She saw May Zedong bite her lips in worry, before the girl started calling out orders. A countermove for the countermove, this battle was beginning in earnest.
Then, a discordant note slashed through her symphony. Her left charge halted in their tracks, cut off by men and women from Haven rushing blindly by. Ciel sent a signal to stop the right advance, and observed as the Mistralian students formed up into a mob heading straight for the bridge.
It could only be called a mess, because everyone seemed out of position. A spearman ran behind a boy holding two daggers. The girl bringing up the rear carried a shield and sword. If there was a person located in an optimal spot, it must be by luck alone. Tried as she might, Ciel saw neither coherence nor strategy in their offensive.
No, she saw one possible tactic.
Flipping through her mental notes, she confirmed her suspicions. Many of those in the group were underperformers. The green-haired girl's presence did not make much sense, until Ciel realized that student did not have the hoverboard with which she constantly rode around Beacon. There were a few among the mob with similar circumstances. They were the so-called chaff of this battle.
The mob stomped onto the bridge, throwing themselves at Yatsuhashi Daichi with reckless abandon. A swing of his greatsword knocked the first attacker back, and his teammate Velvet Scarlatina blocked another while Fox Alistair carved away their Aura. The third met the fist of Coco Adel, and a reverse slash by Daichi sent the fourth and fifth into the stream.
The sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth piled on nevertheless. Behind them, the rest of the forty-strong platoon pushed forward in a seething mass, unable to reach their target but forced ahead by the people behind.
Team CFVY held their ground for the first minute, until Alistair and Scarlatina fell beneath the sheer weight of bodies. They grappled with their opponents as other Havenites trampled over ally and enemy alike to move ahead. Daichi tottered under the weight of the half-dozen people clinging onto his body, blindly laying into the crowd with his sword. For a moment, Adel turned to look at Zedong. What she found there must be poor news, for she whirled back to the fight with fury in her eyes. Her svelte figure belied a frankly ludicrous strength as her punch launched another girl a good twenty feet over the battlefield. She did lug around a minigun in a handbag, after all.
Ciel noted that Team CFVY's allies have not supported them beyond a negligible increase in covering fire, choosing instead to take advantage of the disruption to the Atlesian squads to fortify their half of the bridge with barricades. Then, they spread their forces out along the banks. Zedong has spotted her plan, and used the unexpected development to rearrange her formations. In doing so, the Shade student appeared to have given up Team CFVY as a loss.
Or, that was part of the plan from the start. May Zedong may be more formidable than anticipated.
However, she was not as much a surprise as…him.
Ciel turned her eyes towards the Haven boy giving commands. Neptune Vasilias, from what she recalled of her notes, was a self-declared intellectual with a penchant for flirting with any women in sight. A decent fighter on a decent team (by her admittedly exacting standards), though Team SSSN scored better in individual matches than as a cohesive unit.
She had not expected someone like him to employ human-wave tactics. General Ironwood mentioned its use during the Great War. In modern times, people considered it the hallmark of a poor general, one uncaring of his troops and arrogant of his numerical superiority. However, he admitted that even the best of generals back then has had to make use of the maneuver in the worst of times. The inexperienced, the old, the leftovers from gutted platoons, or even the injured would be sent forth to open a path for the main fighting force. They were not expected to survive. The tactic fell out of favor after the war as the military shifted to combatting Grimm instead of humans. Against a darkness unending, today's military cannot waste lives.
He had gone on to mention that the maneuver may face a resurgence in the days to come as Atlesian Knights and Paladins became the de facto anti-Grimm forces. Wave tactics will return to viability because the soldiers of the future can be scrapped en masse to attain an objective.
That was the key to this play, the ability to regard one's forces and not just consider them expendable, but discard them like trash.
She met the dull gaze of Neptune Vasilias. To her everlasting shame, Ciel shivered in fear.
-o-
Coco looked at her at the last, the question clear.
What happens now?
What happened was that Team CFVY fought on to buy time for May to prepare for the next phase. Her side has taken the lead in terms of numbers and resources, and rescuing the upperclassmen meant expending Aura and ammunition that could go towards fighting off the Atlesians who were about to open up at least two more fronts. She estimated their team's Aura to be deep in the Orange, and even with an hour's rest those reserves would not recover enough to let them take part in any major engagement.
On the other hand, the dying throes of a lion can still lay its enemy low. She thought it more effective to leave the team there on the bridge, their desperation spurring them on to fight to the last. All told, they defeated another two dozen combatants before succumbing to Red Aura. A good trade.
For their bravery, Team CFVY earned the respect of Shade's students. She, however, earned those same students' silence. Their glare radiated disapproval of her positively Atlesian conduct.
The Valeans glared at her, too, their eyes showing pure disgust at her decision. They wanted to help their friends, victory be damned.
Idly, she wondered if this idea of battlefield honor was the reason why the two Kingdoms had so few of those with a more tactical bent. Life was good and simple when one fought as a warrior. That was, until a strategist told them to die for a cause.
To her, these methods made more sense than simply hacking away at enemies without a care. Against the Grimm, one's strength may fail, one's bravery may falter. It was why so many famous names were dead. It was why the tribes of Vacuo stayed on the move, adjusting their course to avoid powerful Grimm. Deep in their hearts, they knew that Vacuo's way will spell their end. The warrior ethos cannot save her people. Strategy can.
In a land that sang of the strength and valor of its individuals, May Zedong must admit that she was an anomaly, a leader-in-the-making who would never stand on the frontlines. The other teams tolerated her because she had Headmaster Theodore's favor. It rankled the first- and second-years that he told them to heed her command.
She accepted it. In time, they'll learn the same lesson she had, and understand her Way.
All were precious yet all can be spent in the pursuit of victory. Leave honor by the wayside, and fight instead with low cunning and ruthlessness. Sacrifice the pieces when needed, no matter their name. Accept their loss, mourn when the battle's over. Survive when others do not, because a general had to fight all the battles to come. This was how one led a war.
Vacuo will be protected by a coward's mind. Not by a hero's hand.
Because there were no heroes in Vacuo. Not anymore.
-o-
Enemy or ally, they looked at him in a new light, one of disbelief and trepidation. He did not blame them.
Neptune liked people, and he liked when people liked him back. All of Team SSSN shared that vibe, and it was one of the biggest reason why they were so popular back home. Little wonder then, that they never thought he could do this. The cruelty needed to send out people he knew, people he liked, to be beaten down?
Nope, that wasn't Neptune. He must have another trick up his sleeves, they thought.
That three people were still standing after fighting the big guy and his team said it all. Near the end, some had turned in his direction, expecting to see Neptune sending in the cavalry. He did, of a sort, and the cavalry went riiiiight up to the edge of the battle, where they waited and conserved their Aura. He'd tasked them to charge the barricades once Team Coffee(?) were removed from the event, and only to assist the first wave if necessary. Those guys looked just as unhappy as their predecessors, since they now suspected that he's sending them off to get eliminated.
They were right. The plan considered them all to be, and he hated to even think it, mere fodder. Eminently expendable.
Was this what being an intellectual meant, seeing everyone else as lesser? If so, he'd honestly preferred losing the game rather than becoming a man without friends. From the way Ciel Soleil was looking at him, the scary lady from Atlas thought he was a monster. Any chance of a date with her just went down the drain.
Too bad really, but it could not be helped. While her stern disapproval shamed him, he was not about to act any different. The last thing on his mind was disobeying the words scrawled on the papers in his hand. His instinct told him he'd regret it.
Cold and intimidating she may be, but Soleil was not the scariest person here. That title went to Haven's king, who probably did not even bat an eye when she wrote down these orders and sent it off to him. There's a gal who would happily refer to other people as fodder aloud.
He always took it as a joke when people said to avoid the crazies. Today, he understood that they had been dead serious. If she wasn't the hottest woman he had ever seen, he'd be running for the hills by now. Or in this case, towards the water down there.
Y'know, the complete opposite direction of Cinder Fall.
Author's Notes: This is Yakuza Arc. Even if Jaune's running around somewhere in the woods and we barely saw him.
The idea for this and the next few chapters came, in part, thanks to School Rumble Volume 8, where high school students took a paintball game very, very seriously. Which made it all the sillier. It's the kind of trope I enjoy.
