RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late and great Monty Oum.
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RWBY: Destiny of Remnant
Chapter 17: The Battle of Haven Part II: Rescue
Jaune led the group down the hallway, chasing after Emerald and West who were still ahead of them and giving it everything they had to stay ahead too.
"If I'm reading these schematics right we're almost there." Weiss said. All they had to do was get down this incredibly long hallway, make a sharp turn, run down a short hall and then they'd be a Giger's lab. Jaune nodded, he recognized this place from the other day when Mercury marched him down here.
"What if those two get there first? They'll make it harder for us to get to Nikos." Cardin pointed out.
"I'll take care of that." Ruby said. She rocketed ahead with her Semblance, leaving behind a few rose petals.
"Ruby, wait!" Weiss cried but her leader wouldn't stop, she was too eager to save Pyrrha.
Emerald could her them and realized what Ruby was doing so she took advantage of this and spun around to blast Ruby in the chest. Ruby fell to the floor, the impact made worse by how fast she had been going. Emerald quickly turned back around and followed West as Yang, Blake, and Ren opened fire on her.
"You're gonna pay for that!" Yang called to the green-haired thief as she stopped to help her sister up.
Ruby pushed herself up with her arms as Jaune, Ren, Nora, Coco, Yatsuhashi, and Cardin all ran ahead, trying to catch up while Weiss, Blake, Yang, and Velvet stopped to help Ruby.
"You okay, Rubes?" Yang asked as she took Ruby's hand and pulled her up.
"Yeah, a little banged up but nothing my aura can't fix." Ruby said confidently.
"Good." Weiss said before she smacked Ruby upside the head.
"Ow!" Ruby whined like a child.
"That was a foolish thing to do Ruby; they could have seriously hurt you." Weiss said as they started chasing after the others.
"I'm fine!" Ruby assured them.
"Are you sure? That fall looked pretty bad." Blake observed as she could see Ruby's aura healing her knees.
"I'm fine, guys! Geesh I've been able to take care of myself so far, I think I can handle a few Dust shots and a fall." Ruby said, reminding the other three members of Team RWBY just how much their leader must have been through on her journey and how much she deserved to be their leader.
"Just stop making us worry so much, okay?" Weiss said.
"I'll try but no promises." Ruby said with a wink. Weiss simply groaned, which made both Yang and Velvet laugh as they ran after the others.
Up ahead Emerald and West rounded the corner and saw the lab with its door wide open with some guards in front of it. "We got some of the intruders on our tails so shut the door once we're inside!" Emerald called to the guards.
Jaune and the others came around the corner.
"Stop them!" Jaune ordered.
Coco nodded and said "Mow 'em down!" as she began shooting at the retreating criminals with her minigun, aided by Ren blasting off the StormFlowers.
Emerald, West, and the guards made it inside as they began firing, their shots blitzing the areas around and behind them with Coco actually managing to blast one of the guards down as he got in. A large steel door slid down from above, sealing off the room with a thick thud.
"No! NO!" Jaune screamed as he ran into it, banging it with his sword.
"Everyone get back! I'll use my grenades on it!" Nora said as she began to load up Magnhild.
Inside the labs Ante looked to see Emerald, West, and one still active guard standing in front of the door as the other guards in the lab quickly surrounded the door.
"Okay, pickpocket, my amazing secret power of common sense is tellin' me that something went wrong." He said sarcastically as Giger looked up from preparing the cryotube, which was almost ready.
"No duh. Rose, Arc, and a bunch of their friends are here and man are they ticked off." Emerald said.
"You fools led them right to us!" Giger said to Emerald and West.
"Dr. Giger, I think Arc is smart enough to remember where he was taken to be operated on." West pointed out as explosions could be heard outside the door, urging the doctor to get away from it.
Pyrrha smiled within the grip of the Grimm Knights. Her friends had come for her and now all they needed to do was break down the door. She just hoped they could do it, she didn't want to become Fotia Drakos again. The mere thought of being forced to hurt her friends filled her with dread. She hated her body for everything it had done to Jaune not too long ago and she could remember the innocent man she had killed to pledge loyalty to Salem. She'd sooner die than hurt one of her friends again. She had tried to use her Semblance on the Knights but Giger had placed an aura draining binder on her hands, just like they had with Ruby. She was also worn out from the fight with Jaune so she couldn't do much physically to the Knights. The Knights...
She stopped and remembered the man Salem had made her kill, her mind flashbacked to the look of absolute fear and terror in his eyes. She felt horrible, she felt... like a monster. She felt like a Grimm.
Did she even deserve to be saved?
"Can they break that down?" Emerald asked Giger.
"No, we made that door just as thick as the one that holds the Chimera should it escape." Giger said.
Ante smirked and said "Is there a PA? I think I want to talk to those kids..."
Outside Nora moaned as the door seemed to be only a little damaged. Jaune growled in frustration, he needed to get in there to save Pyrrha. He couldn't fail her again.
"That's one thick door, how are gonna open it up?" Cardin asked as Velvet and Team RWBY came around the corner.
"What's up?" Yang asked.
"They made it inside and shut the door. Nora used her grenades to open it but they had little effect." Ren explained.
All of a sudden a familiar voice came from the intercom.
"Sorry kids, but you aren't even gonna dent a door that thick!" Ante said.
Jaune and Ruby both groaned, tired of dealing with this nutcase.
"Who's that?" Blake asked.
"Damien Ante, crime lord working for Salem and Cinder." Ren elaborated.
"Kinda crazy and twisted." Nora added.
"Not 'kinda' crazy and twisted, I am very crazy and twisted! Good luck getting through a door that hard. Now you make be asking 'how hard can a door be?' and I'll answer your question right now! It's nearly as hard as my dick is right now!" Ante said as he began cackling like a madman.
"I've only known this guy for less than a minute and I already want to kick his ass." Yang said.
"Get in line." Jaune said before he looked around. "Anyone have any ideas as to how we're gonna get inside?"
Everyone pondered for a minute before Ruby said "We'll freeze it."
Everyone looked at her. "We'll freeze it and then we'll smash our way through!" Ruby elaborated.
Coco smiled. "Rose, you're brilliant. Schnee, Belladonna, Winchester, you guys all have some ice Dust inside of your weapons, right?" she asked.
Cardin and Blake nodded while a smile grew across Weiss lips.
"I understand. Okay, I'll take the center of the door and freeze it with my glyphs while Blake and Cardin help out on the sides. Come on, we don't have a moment to lose!" Weiss said as she walked ahead and created a glyph, loading up Myrtenaster with an ice crystal while Blake and Cardin did the same with their respective weapons.
Despite how tired she was from summoning the Armor, Weiss poured what was left of her strength to freeze the door so she created a glyph on the door, tapped her rapier against a small area where one of Nora's grenades had managed to damage it and used that as a starting point as she channeling the ice into the steel, giving it everything she had to freeze it quickly. Blake and Cardin helped out as they placed their weapons on the sides of the door and began to pour ice onto it.
Meanwhile inside the labs one of Giger's assistants called "Dr. Giger, the cryotube is ready!"
Giger looked to the Grimm Knights and said "Put her in."
Pyrrha screamed as she struggled, trying as hard as she could to get out. "No! NO! You can't do this to me! I won't be Salem's pawn again! Never again!" she screamed as she desperately tried to free herself.
"My dear, we are all her pawns. We have accepted our destiny so why don't you?" Giger asked as West joined him.
"I believed in destiny once and all it gave me was pain and the knowledge that I had hurt the people I love. I will never believe in destiny again!" Pyrrha yelled.
"Too bad." Giger said as the Knights threw Pyrrha into the cryotube and strapped her inside. Pyrrha's screams of anger were drowned out by the thick glass of the tube, but Giger got a chill up his spin when he heard the Chimera growling from behind its door. Everything that was going on was making it excited.
"Get those Knights up here! They're trying to freeze the door, will that work?" Emerald asked.
Giger thought about it and decided that it may work to their enemies' advantage. He nodded and instructed the two remaining Grimm Knights to join Ante, Emerald, and the guards.
Back outside Weiss stopped pouring on the ice as she saw the door had been frozen, the small hole Nora had created allowed her to channel ice inside of the door, making the metal groan as it strained, the ice expanding within the door.
"Okay, ready to bust it down?" Cardin asked.
"Everyone, give everything you have and smash that door open. Once it is we'll need a cover so Blake load up a water crystal into Gambol Shroud and Cardin load up a fire one into your mace." Ruby said.
Blake nodded as she did so. "Steam will be a pretty good cover and they'll waste their ammunition trying to hit us." She said before she looked to Cardin and added "But we'll have to hit each other hard enough to make it thick."
"I'll do my best." Cardin said as he loaded up a fire crystal into his mace.
"Okay, everyone with guns start shooting!" Ruby ordered as she fired Crescent Rose at the frozen door, aided by Yang, Blake, Ren, Nora, Coco, and Velvet who had used her camera to copy Ashe's shotgun. After ten seconds of shooting they could see that while they had done a lot of damage the door was still holding.
"Let's smash it open!" Yang yelled as she ran forward, her Semblance powering her with her hair shining and her eyes red as Nora chased after her with Magnhild with Yatsuhashi helping out with his greatsword and Jaune armed with the Crocea Mors. all three smashed into the door, smashing more bits of steel off but it still withstood them.
"We have to open it! We have to!" Jaune cried as he used his Semblance to power his attacks, obviously driven by rage and desperation.
"Keep at it! The door is weakening! We're almost through!" Yatsuhashi said.
"You think a few grenades will be able to blast it open now?" Nora asked.
Yatsuhashi considered it and nodded "I think so."
"Okay, everyone get back, I'll get it open this time!" Nora said as she began to unload some of the grenades from her war-hammer and place them within the deepest point they had managed to blast open so far.
"How many grenades have you got?" Yang asked.
"About twenty-two but I'm only using five." Nora said as everyone retreated down the hall, half of them on the left and half on the right.
"I hope this works Nora, because if it doesn't we could lose Pyrrha again." Jaune said anxiously.
"We won't lose her again, Jaune." Velvet promised as Nora joined them.
"Okay Ruby, shoot it!" Nora said as she covered her ears.
Ruby transformed Crescent Rose into its sniper mode and saw the small pile of grenades in her sights. She grinned as she took the shot, she hit a grenade dead on it caused a chain reaction; all of the grenades went off and the door exploded wide open in a burst of metal and flame. The pressure of the cold ice and the hot fire was too much so the door naturally didn't stand a chance.
"Now!" Blake said to Cardin across the hall. She sent an arc of water at him and he sent an arc of fire from his mace. The two elements collided and created a thick cloud of steam within the hallway as Dust fire began shooting into the hall. Everyone prepared their weapons and Velvet exchanged a copy of Ashe's gun for a copy of Nebula's crossbow.
Within the lab Emerald and Damien led the two Grimm Knights as well as the twenty-four human guards in blasting away into the empty hall, hoping to hit something in the steam.
Emerald noticed that they weren't hitting anything so she stopped shooting and she began to wonder what they were up to.
"Hold fire! Save your ammo, they're trying to trick us." Emerald said.
Ante nodded as he stopped firing the gun he was armed with. He looked into the fog and smirked.
"Okay kids, stop hiding. Come on out everybody, it's time to play!" he called.
Out from the fog a holographic copy of an arrow came flying out and slammed into the head of the Grimm Knight that had been standing right next to Ante.
"Holy shit!" Ante cried as he jumped back.
Yang ran out of the steamy mist and slammed her metal hand into a guard who had been holding a sword, the punch sent him flying and he crashed on the table next to Ante, who quickly grabbed the sword, just in case. He knew he had to get away from this fight before it got too crazy so he made his way to the ladder and climbed up to the platform above the Chimera's pen.
Yang grinned, her eyes shining red as she did so "Okay, who's in the mood for some hurt?"
One of the guards tried to shoot her but Ruby appeared in a flash of red and black and deflected the blast with the blade of Crescent Rose.
"Sis, I think he just volunteered." Ruby said.
Yang grabbed the unlucky guard, slammed him into the wall, and finished him off with a blast from her gauntlet.
"Attack!" yelled Jaune as he led the rest of the group inside.
The only Grimm Knight left opened fire and managed to score a hit on Velvet which only enticed her large partner's wrath. Yatsuhashi ran forward with his large sword held high and he slammed it down, cutting the Grimm Knight in half vertically.
"Are you alright?" he asked Velvet as she got up, her camera creating a copy of Ruyi and Jingu Bang in their combined form so she could slam it into a guard.
"I'm okay." She said as a she sidestepped one of Ante's daggers that had been thrown at her.
"Get away from it! They explode!" Nora cried as she remembered how Ante used his weapons at the construction site. Luckily she had acted quickly and the two got away before Ante could detonate the dagger.
Jaune slashed a guard's gun in half then slammed him down with his shield. He grimaced in pain as he felt a blast hitting his left upper leg and another graze his hips. It hurt like hell but he ignored the pain as he raced forward. He could see Pyrrha in the cryotube. They had already begun the freezing process and the redheaded amazon was banging on the glass as hard as she could to get out.
Jaune tried to get closer but a dagger landed right in front of him and it exploded, blowing him back. Jaune moaned in pain as he looked up to see Ante on the platform.
"You and me, Arc! Let's settle this!" the crazed crime lord demanded as he pointed his sword at Jaune.
Jaune looked to Pyrrha who looked right back at him. She nodded and mouthed something but he couldn't understand her. "Ren! Nora! Get Pyrrha out of that cryotube! I'll take care of Ante." Jaune said.
"Good luck." Ren said as he blasted down one of the lab assistants.
One of them tried to jump Ren with a taser but she was slammed away by Cardin's mace. "Mind if I join you?" he asked.
"Be our guest." Ren invited.
Jaune climbed up the ladder and stood across from Ante, both of them ready to fight.
"I have to admit kid; you got guts. Too bad I'm gonna rip 'em out!" Damien said.
"Bring it on." Jaune said, looking forward to paying this asshole back for the torture session he had suffered through the other day. Jaune swung Corcea Mors but Ante blocked it and opened up with his own volley of wild swing and strikes that Jaune just barely blocked and dodged each time.
"Your girl might have failed to kill you, but I won't!" Ante said as he kicked Jaune in the stomach. Jaune recovered, spun around and struck at Ante, who blocked the attack but the force of it was enough to make him stumble back.
The swords met each other head on once more, both fighters leaned in.
"I'm gonna gut you like a fish and then make that freaky half Grimm bitch mine." Ante said.
One of Jaune's hands let go of the sword and slammed right into Ante's face. "Never talk about Pyrrha like that!" Jaune screamed as he thrusted the sword out, scoring a hit across Ante's cheek.
Ante felt the blood pour down his face as he snarled. "Arc, I'm gonna mount your head on the wall."
As the two went at it again Coco attacked Emerald with her bag, slamming the green haired girl in the stomach.
"I've been waiting for this." Coco said as she kicked the thief in the gut, making her jerk up.
Emerald fired both of her guns at Coco but the leader of Team CFVY dodged her blasts and got behind her. She smashed Emerald in the back of the head with her purse but as the thief fell to the floor she kicked Coco's legs out from under her.
"Ah!" Coco cried as she landed on her hands and knees, dropping her purse. Emerald bashed Coco across the face with her guns, making her roll over and cover her wounded face as she cried out in pain.
Coco could feel her aura healing her as Emerald got up. "Just like last time. I wonder how the hell Ozpin ever stayed in charge of Beacon when he kept picking such pathetic team leaders." Emerald mocked.
Coco surprised the thief back back-flipping back up and attacking her with a barrage of punches to her gut, chest, and face. Emerald tried to get away but Coco wasn't having it as the fashionista grabbed the thief's head and smashed it into her boot.
"Yo Emerald, a tip from a professional; showing off your body as if you were a damn belly dancer is a good way to attract the attention of boys and girls alike but it does jack all for defense." Coco said as she jumped up and kicked Emerald in the gut which knocked her into a table.
She reclaimed her purse and it turned into its minigun form as Emerald aimed her pistols at Coco. The two began firing on each other as Team RWBY, Velvet, and Yatsuhashi fought the bulk of the guards.
Yang and Blake worked together to take down guards with their firearms, helped out by Ruby and Weiss who were using their blades to cut the guards' armor down to make shooting them easier for their teammates.
Ruby swung Crescent Rose wildly at a guard's chest but she made sure to keep it far away from him so as not to really injure him, as Blake took care of that with a blast to the abdomen. Ruby mentally thanked Oum she had placed her swing correctly and didn't kill the guard.
"Nice job girls." Yang said as she grabbed a guard, tossed him into the air, and blasted him as he came down. She glanced up to see Jaune and Ante trade blows with their swords. "Hope he'll be okay."
"Jaune will be fine, if this mess has taught me anything it's that he's far more competent than I ever thought he'd be." Weiss said as she created some ice to freeze a guard to the wall.
Yang nodded and looked over to Yatsuhashi and Velvet who were taking down the guards armed with swords, who were no match for the former's giant blade as he sent a guard flying with one mighty hit.
Giger, West, and the assistants used rifles and pistols to keep Ren, Nora, and Cardin back but it was no use as they got closer and closer every second.
Giger glanced at Pyrrha whose movement had slowed down in the cold. Just a small total of one minutes and twenty-eight seconds and they'd have her. But then again it was unlikely they'd defeat these attackers, so regardless it Nikos was frozen they'd likely thaw her out.
"Keep them back! It's almost done!" Giger yelled to his underlings.
"Nora, up!" Ren ordered.
"Right!" the energetic redhead said as she launched herself into the air via a grenade. Nora landed behind them and sent West flying across the room with a swing of her hammer.
"Oh dear..." Giger said as Cardin smashed three of his assistants down quite easily.
Ren rushed forward and slammed Giger in the side with the blades of a StormFlower, smashing him into a control console. The green clad ninja grabbed Giger's shoulders and brought him face to face. "Let her out."
"Not on your life!" Giger hissed as he took out a scalpel from his pocket and slashed Ren across the chest.
"Ah!" Ren cried in pain.
Giger kicked Ren in the gut and was about to stab him in the chest when Nora smashed Magnhild into him, sending him flying into the wall.
"Nobody hurts my Renny!" she yelled furiously.
Giger simply moaned in response as he slumped to the ground.
"Are you okay?" Nora asked as she looked Ren over.
"I'm fine, my aura will take care of it. Right now we have to get her out of there." Ren said as Cardin made it over to the console.
"Okay, I've seen this tech before, my dad had a business meeting with a cryogenics company a few years back and I had to go with him. It's been a while but I think I remember the layout of these things." Cardin said as he began pressing buttons.
On the screen the words "Are you sure you would like to abort? Yes. No" came up.
Cardin pressed on yes and a loud beep sounded off from the cryotube as the locks on the hatches came undone and it slowly began to lift up, allowing an icy mist to seep out. Nora ran over to it once she was sure Ren was alright and she pried the tube open, nearly ripping the glass off as Pyrrha rose up.
"Pyrrha!" Nora cheered as the Invincible Girl leapt forward out of the tube and wrapped her arms around her friend.
"Nora!" she said as Nora hauled her out of the freezing hibernation tube and spun the tired girl around in a strong hug.
"We got you back! We got you back! We can be Team JNPR again!" Nora cheered, happy tears coming out of her eyes.
"I know Nora, but can you please stop spinning? I'm rather dizzy." Pyrrha said, laughing a bit.
Nora stopped and said "Sorry, it's just really good to have you back."
"It's good to be back." Pyrrha said as Ren approached her and hugged her.
"I thought we lost you." He said, sounding like he was about to cry, something that shocked Pyrrha to her core as Ren never cried. Never!
"I'm okay, Ren. I'm not doing something as foolish as that ever again." Pyrrha said as she hugged him back.
Ren smiled and said "Good."
It was then that Pyrrha noticed her other rescuer was Cardin Winchester, of all people.
"Cardin? What are you doing here?" she asked, not angry or hostile, just confused.
"I'm making up for old sins, Nikos. Nice to see you're okay, now maybe things can get back to normal once we're out of here." He said.
Pyrrha smiled and nodded as she leaned against Nora for support. "I hope so... Jaune!" she said as she remembered Jaune was currently facing off against Ante.
She watched as Jaune slammed Crocea Mors into Ante's sword but the crime lord pressed back and kicked Jaune in the knee, forcing Jaune to fall but the young Huntsman fell back so he could avoid a slash across the chest. Jaune got back up just in time to parry a strike from Ante and then press forward to strike back, slamming his sword hard against Ante three times before Ante jumped over Jaune and landed behind him. Jaune spun around to block a move that would have impaled him.
Jaune struck twice and forced Ante to the consoles, he swung his sword aiming to slash Ante across the chest but the crime lord of Haven jumped up onto the computer banks and kicked Jaune in the face. He jumped down with sword ready to slam into Jaune's stomach but Jaune blocked him and forced Ante to the other side of the platform.
Damien threw down a dagger and detonated it, throwing Jaune onto the consoles. He lunged forward but Jaune slammed Crocea Mors into Ante's sword so hard he lost his grip and dropped it. Jaune followed it up with a kick to Ante's stomach, knocking him down.
Damien looked up to see a very angry Jaune standing above him with the Corcea Mors aimed for him. "It's over, Ante." Jaune said. Damien rolled over and attempted to push himself up on his hands and knees, taking out something as he did so.
Damien smirked and responded "Not yet."
He flung himself around and threw a dagger into the right side of Jaune's stomach. Jaune dropped his weapon and screamed out in pain as Ante got up.
"Jaune!" Pyrrha, Ren, Nora, Ruby, and the other all cried.
Ante quickly smashed Jaune in the face three times to weaken him further before he took out another dagger and placed it at Jaune's throat while he used his other arm to twist the blade deeper into Jaune's lower torso, making him scream more.
"Give up now or he dies!" Ante demanded as Jaune grabbed Ante's left forearm which held him close.
Coco dropped her purse and allowed Emerald to aim her guns at her. Velvet deactivated her camera while Yatsuhashi sheathed his sword and even Cardin dropped his mace but Teams RWBY and JNPR wouldn't give up.
"You won't hurt him, Salem has plans for him!" Blake said.
"Old plans, he's expendable. Don't even try using that Semblance of yours, Nikos, get your ass back into that cryotube and if you don't you get to see the insides of Arc's throat and guts!" Ante threatened.
Pyrrha glared at him, but she appeared to be giving up. She could use her Semblance but the risk was too great. She couldn't lose Jaune now.
"We'll beat you Ante." Ruby said.
"Not freaking likely! I'm holding all the cards; I'm in charge here!" Damien said.
"Hey Ante, remember the other day I said I'd stab you with your own dagger?" Jaune asked.
"Yeah, a hollow threat." Damien said.
"It wasn't, I keep my promises!" Jaune yelled as he grabbed Ante's arm that was around his throat and threw him over to the side with surprising sudden strength as his eyes began to glow blue again. Jaune ripped the dagger out of his body and slammed it down on Ante's left hand, pinning it to the console.
Ante screamed out in pain as he struggled to free himself, blood pouring out of the new hole in his hand.
Coco smirked as she kicked her leg backwards into Emerald's knee, making the mocha-skinned girl cry out in pain and stagger back which allowed Coco to spin around and being punching Emerald.
Velvet reactivated her camera and the holographic duplicate of Sun's staff reappeared in her arms and she used it to disarm several guards with some well placed and well timed hits. Cardin and Yatsuhashi reclaimed both of their weapons, with Cardin whacking his mace into West and Yatsuhashi slicing some guns apart.
"I'm gonna kill you for this, you little fucker!" Damien said as he managed to rip his hand away from the console, the dagger still embedded in his hand.
Jaune smirked and said "I don't think so. Shoot his hand!" He jumped down over the railing only to be caught by Nora who had jumped up to catch him.
"Nice thinking, fearless leader." She said.
"Honestly, not one of my better plans." Jaune admitted as he pressed his hand on his wound to keep pressure on the bleeding.
Yang aimed her gauntlet at Ante's hand and smirked. Ante braced himself as he reached out as Yang fired a round of Dust slammed head on into the dagger and Ante's arm exploded in a brilliant shower of fire and body parts.
Ante screamed out in pain, blood dripping from the socket where his arm used to be.
"Whoa! That's pretty nasty." Ruby said with a shudder as a finger landed near her.
"I agree, it's really gross." Weiss said as she looked away from the bleeding Ante.
"Looks like he's been..." Yang began before Blake stopped her.
"Yang, I swear to god if you say 'disarmed' I'm going to kick you in the head." The cat Faunus said irritably.
Yang remained silent in defeat, but she couldn't help but smirk as she slammed her fist into a lab assistant.
"Jaune!" Pyrrha cried as she and Ren made their way to him.
"Pyrrha are you AH!" Jaune cried as he felt pain surge through his body from the wound.
"Keep still and keep pressure on the wound, your aura will help but we'll need to get you to Dr. Chloris." Ren said as he grabbed a first-aid kit from the wall. He took out medical gauze as Pyrrha and Jaune were reunited once again.
"I was so afraid I'd lose you." He said to her as he leaned into a hug.
"I... I'm sorry." Pyrrha said as she kissed his forehead, she helped to pull up his hoodie which allowed Ren to wrap him up.
The eight guards and three lab assistants that were still conscious lowered their weapons as Team RWBY, Cardin, and most of Team CFVY were obviously victorious. Coco had Emerald as a prisoner, both of her guns had been knocked away and Coco firmly kept her hands behind her back while Team RWBY, Velvet, Yatsuhashi, Nora, and Cardin kept their weapons aimed at the servants and minions of Salem.
Cardin grabbed Giger and made sure he wasn't going to put up a fight. "Nice lab you got here, doc. Half expected to see a fetus in a jar." He joked.
Giger glared at the leader of Team CRDL as he swiped the remote of his arm. "Something tells me this is important; don't want you messing with it." Cardin added as Ante screamed out in pain again.
Jaune smiled at that sound as he looked to Giger.
"We're taking you with us. You made us like this so you can find a way to reverse it." He said, gesturing to the Grimm attributes he and Pyrrha now had.
"What makes you think I'll do it?" Giger asked.
"You have no choice, you've lost everything. Salem will not win this night. Besides, if you don't help cure of us of our... condition, our friends he will persuade you to." Pyrrha said with a small, dark smile.
Giger glared at them as Jaune got a little curious, "One thing I don't get..."
"Only one?" Cardin snarked.
Jaune smiled back and continued, "Why were you guys so keen on making me submit to the Grimm surgery? I mean you could have just forced it on me."
"Because the four survivors we had at that point all went through it willingly. Kaa and Steppenwolffe wanted revenge on humans, Ziz wanted justice for being abandoned, Nikos thought she wanted to help purify the world. Those we forced to undergo the surgery rarely survived, and if they did it was... most unpleasant. I thought for a while the only reason you survived was because your will had been broken, but now I am not so sure." Giger admitted.
"Just call me determined." Jaune said as he leaned into Pyrrha, who smiled proudly at him.
Up above Ante roared in both anger and pain as he rose up, glaring down at everyone as he seethed with rage.
Ruby smirked. "How's payback feel, Ante? You deserve this! For everything you've done!" she yelled.
"Kid... when my arm grows back I am gonna fucking kill you!" Ante roared as a thin aura duplicate of his arm appeared out of its socket.
Everyone either widened their eyes or gasped in shock as Damien laughed weakly.
"That's right kids, my Semblance is regeneration! Trust me; I had to find this out the hard way!" Damien said.
"Oh you have got to be freaking kidding me." Jaune moaned.
"Arc, I am going to fucking kill you and make Nikos watch! Do you have any idea how long it takes to regrow an arm?! Even with my aura at full strength it'll take all damn night! That's it! You die, here and now!" Ante ranted as he fell onto the console and began pressing buttons.
Giger realized what Ante was doing and he frantically cried "No! Stop him before it's too late!"
"What...?" Cardin tried to say before a roar from behind the large metal door interrupted him.
Pyrrha's eyes widened as she realized what was happening. Everything had happened so fast that she had forgotten the Chimera.
"No!" she yelled as she used her Semblance to grab Ante's bandoliers and yank him down from the platform, slamming him onto the floor, but it was too late.
The door came up and the Chimera dashed out, roaring.
"Get out of the way!" Pyrrha cried as her friends managed to avoid the beast as it smashed into one of the guards, killing him instantly with its body weight and slamming its claws into his chest. Its speed and weight flung its body across the room, smashing into the tables on the other side.
The Chimera roared as it rose up, it was free.
"What the hell is that thing?!" Cardin cried as he gripped his mace tightly.
"The Chimera! Ante, you idiot, you've killed us all!" Giger yelled as the Chimera slowly scanned the room, seizing up its prey.
Ante moaned as he crawled towards Team RWBY. "Okay, gotta admit this was insane, even by my standards." He said as the Chimera surveyed the room, glaring at everyone.
"Jaune, Pyrrha, Ruby, any suggestions?" Weiss asked nervously as the Chimera eyed them.
"I've never even seen this thing before!" Ruby cried.
"Get together, it's a predator and predators hesitate to attack large groups." Pyrrha said as she Jaune, Ren, and Nora quickly gathered up with Team RWBY, their movement making the Chimera moved towards them but it backed down when Nora, Yang, and Ruby pointed their weapons at it.
On of the assistants tried to make for the door but she tripped over a piece of wood from a destroyed table, the sound of her fall made the Chimera jerk up and look towards her, growling as it did so. No one dared to make a move. Coco and Emerald stayed still, as did Velvet, Yatsuhashi, West and the guards.
Ante noticed the Chimera had been attracted to the noise of the assistant tripping, so maybe a louder noise would lure it away.
"Let's make some noise!" Ante said as he threw a dagger towards Giger and Cardin. It detonated and both were knocked back, this loud burst made the Chimera spring into action. It ran towards one of the recovering assistants and slashed him across the chest, digging in deep with its strong claws. The man died with a shocked, pained scream, dropping to the ground as he did so.
"Okay, hands up, who else thinks that's to disturbing to live?" Coco asked as she reclaimed her purse, transformed it into minigun mode and aimed it at the creature.
Yang, Blake, Ruby and Ren all aimed their firearms at it with Velvet creating a holographic copy of Milo and even Emerald and the remaining guard who had recovered their weapons were all aiming for the creature.
"Put it on the extinct species list!" Coco ordered as she began to fire her minigun. Everyone with a gun followed her example and began shooting at the beast as it ran around the lab, managing to avoid being blasted. A few shots did hit it, but unlike all the other Grimm the Chimera's wounds seemed to heal somehow.
Coco, Emerald, Velvet, Yatsuhashi, West and several of the guards all moved towards Teams RWBY and JNPR for safety as they blasted the creature which had already killed two of the unconscious guards by trampling over them with its claws and body weight. Giger simply hid along the computer consoles while Cardin jumped up on a large piece of equipment.
"Okay Emerald, any ideas on how to kill that thing?" Ruby asked.
"No way, I've only seen that thing in action once; I have no idea how to stop it!" Emerald admitted as she blasted away, but when she glanced at Jaune and Pyrrha she got an idea. "You two!" she cried, "I know Nikos can control the Grimm but I don't know about Arc, maybe you two can do something!"
One of the guards outside of the group tried to make a break for the door but the Chimera saw him and charged at him, grabbing him by the legs with its pincers crushing down hard. The guard screamed as his legs were torn off by the mouth-mounted claws. The Chimera laid the man down, it crawled above him and then it feasted.
Velvet covered her ears to try and block out the man's dying screams but it was no use. Ruby's eyes were wide as they could go as the guard's blood splattered on the walls.
"Shoot it!" cried West, cowering in fear. The Chimera lifted its head up and looked at the group; it then left its newest kill and began to stalk its way towards them.
Yatsuhashi held his sword forward. "Get ready." He said to the others as they reloaded their weapons.
"Pyrrha, can you control that thing?" Ruby asked.
"No, I tried once before you came to save me. That thing is more feral and savage than any Grimm in Remnant." Pyrrha said as her hand tightened its grip on Jaune's. She looked to Cardin and noticed he still had Giger's remote.
"Cardin has Giger's remote; it can open and close the Chimera's chamber. We need to find away to get it back into the chamber so we can seal it off." Pyrrha said.
"Okay, any ideas on how we do that? Maybe with one of Blake's shadows?" Velvet suggested.
"I know but it's worth a shot." Blake said.
"Screw that! Let's just shoot it!" said Ante as he stumbled back a bit, delirious from the pain of his lost arm that was slowly regenerating.
One of the dumber guards blindly followed Damien's advice and shot at the Chimera, only annoying it and making it roar at them. It looked directly at Ruby and then it stopped.
Ruby was confused at first until she realized that her silver eyes must have had an effect on it. She tried to think about Cinder and Salem, she tried to think about anything that made her eyes shine but nothing happened.
She saw into the Chimera's eyes and saw a mixture of black and red, constantly changing between the two colors.
Jaune saw this distraction and decided to take advantage of it. "Nora, blast it!" he ordered.
Nora nodded and fired a grenade at the beast but its Death Stalker tail slammed the explosive away and into a machine to the side of the room where it exploded. The blast caused the machine to burst as well and it spread to the row of machines and computers next to it, creating a domino effect of explosions.
The Chimera roared as it got closer to the group, undeterred by how much they shot at it.
"No way in hell this thing is a Grimm!" Yang cried as she shot at it.
"But it is my dear! It is the ultimate Grimm! The perfect killing machine!" Giger called, his voice sounding faded and overwhelmed by what he was witnessing.
The Chimera got ready to pounce only for a series of shots from above to hit it. It looked up to see a guard who had snuck onto the upper platform trying to kill it from the catwalks overhead.
The Chimera roared furiously as it began to ignore the main group. It used it sharp claws to crawl up the wall, moving like some horrific combination of a spider and a cat as it did so. It jumped over to the catwalks and pounced upon the guard.
Screams could be heard from above as blood began to rain down on them as fires from the machines spread across the room. West looked up to see the Chimera biting into the guard's head long enough to get his face drenched with blood.
"Shoot up!" Coco yelled as she and the others began blasting upwards.
"Why won't this thing just die like a normal Grimm?" Yang asked.
"It's obviously not normal." Said Weiss.
"It's not just a combination of Grimm; there are parts of humans and Faunus in there too. With them came aura, ergo a healing factor." West explained.
The Chimera roared in pain as Coco and Yang managed to score some hard hits on its underbelly. It leapt backwards and used it forelegs to grip the catwalks while its tail swung down and impaled a guard as it used the sharp claws on its hind legs to slash an assistant's neck open.
Most of the group screamed in horror as the Chimera jumped to the platform above its pen, the screaming guard still impaled. The Chimera slammed its tail down, freeing the man, before it finished him off by tearing off his head and crushing it in its powerful jaws.
"Now's our chance, run for it!" Emerald yelled as she, West, Ante, and several of the guard and assistants ran for the door. The young Hunters in training followed them, seeing no other way out.
"Should we take our chance with them?" Yatsuhashi asked.
"We don't have a choice, Cardin come on!" Velvet cried to Cardin who had gotten off of the machine and was now following them. Giger was also following after them, looking dazed and nervous as he did so.
Just then the Chimera jumped down from the platform behind one of the retreating guards and it snapped it pincers around his waist, effectively cutting him in half. The scream from the guard was deafening as the Chimera threw him down to the side and began to devour him.
Ante glared back at the young Hunters who could not follow as they were cut off by the Chimera's lower body.
"Around it, come on." Blake said.
"I don't think so!" Ante said as he whipped out one more dagger and expertly threw it into one of Giger's machines the stood between them and the Chimera. He quickly detonated it and the machine exploded, scorching the Chimera and sending the group retreating.
"So long assholes!" Damien called.
"What about Giger?" West asked as he wiped the blood off of his face.
"Fuck 'im." Was all Damien said in response.
"Ante, everything Salem can do to you will be nothing compared to what I will do to you if we make it out of this!" Emerald yelled as the servants of Salem retreated.
The Chimera roared in pain as it rolled around to put out the fire that had engulfed its lower body. The blast had created a wall of fire that prevented the young Hunters from using the direct route to escape while they could.
Blake's ears picked up a loud cracking sound so she looked up and could see that the fires had spread to the ceiling, engulfing the rafters and weakening them. A large piece of metal and wood collapsed and fell towards them.
"Scatter!" she yelled as she grabbed Ruby and Cardin who were directly under it. She managed to pull them out of the way just in time as the rafter fell on the spot where they had been standing.
"Whoa! Thanks Blake, we would've been dead for sure." Ruby said, rather startled by what just happened. Team JNPR, Yang, Weiss, and the three present members of Team CFVY backed away from the flaming debris as the Chimera recovered and roared. Blake, Ruby and Cardin walked backwards to get out of the Chimera's path but Giger, who had been standing behind them, stayed put as a look of realization spread across his face.
"It looks angry." Yang observed.
"Pyrrha, are sure you can't control it?" Weiss asked.
"I told you I tried! I could control a Wyvern and yet that thing... the hatred within it is too much." Pyrrha said as she grabbed one of the guns that been left behind so she'd have something to defend herself.
"Whoa, you can control a Wyvern?! Epic!" Nora said.
"Nora, now is not the time!" Ren said aimed the StormFlowers for the beast.
"Maybe if we do it together..." Jaune said.
"No Jaune! It's too dangerous! We don't even know if you can control Grimm." Pyrrha said.
"He can... oh he can." Said Giger as he walked calmly towards the Chimera, no longer looking like he was afraid of it. "I put the essence of an Alpha Grimm within each of the Grimm Commanders; hence their ability to control the Grimm. He will come to do it in time. You will never get rid of it, my children." He said, acting like he was possessed.
"What are you nuts?!" cried Nora.
"Get away from that thing!" yelled Weiss.
"It'll kill you!" Yang shouted.
"Come on!" Velvet beckoned.
Giger looked at them and then back to the Chimera. He stared right into its blood red eyes and it just stared right back.
"I dreamed of creating the most ferocious, deadly Grimm in the world and I have succeeded!" Giger shouted.
The Chimera pounced towards its creator.
Its pincers snapped on his throat, decapitating him as its body slammed into his.
Giger's severed head fell to the ground, eyes and mouth wide open. Everyone looked away in horror and disgust but Jaune and Pyrrha both got a quick glimpse of what appeared to be the head's eyes darting around and mouth moving.
Giger was now forever screaming, yet forever silent.
Velvet couldn't help but scream at the gruesome sight, which got the Chimera's attention as it ceased mutilating Giger's headless corpse. It looked at the larger group and began to stalk towards them. It took one look at the other group; Ruby, Blake, and Cardin, and looked away as soon as it saw Ruby. Instead it looked to the larger group and approached them, hissing as it moved.
"Alright ugly, you wanna go? Come on then." Coco said as she got her minigun ready.
Pyrrha sighed and reached out to the beast, trying to make a connection again.
"Pyrrha, are you sure about this?" Ren asked.
"No, but I have to try." She said as she attempted to mentally communicate to the beast.
It roared as her as she began to feel its primitive mind once more, feeling the rage and hatred inside. She could feel the darkness within it and it terrified her but she didn't give up.
Suddenly she felt another presence with her. She opened her eyes and looked to see Jaune was trying to control the creature as well.
"Jaune..."
"No, we can survive this only if we work together." Jaune said with a small smile.
Pyrrha returned the smiled and returned to focusing on the creature.
Jaune felt the darkness of the Grimm Chimera, the utterly, horrible evil that this creature embodied. He remembered his rant against Salem back in the throne room and realized that this beast was just like Salem; it was the embodiment of all terrible things in the world. He looked at Pyrrha who bravely tried to reach out to the creature.
She was his inspiration, like she always had been.
He pressed on, trying to control the creature as it roared at them. It looked like it was about to pounce but it just kept moving back and forth.
Coco didn't like this and looked to the others. "Get ready; if they can't control it we're gonna have to fight that thing to the death."
Everyone nodded and made sure their weapons were ready.
Velvet felt more scared and nervous than she ever had, but she felt a large hand rest upon her shoulder. She looked up to see Yatsuhashi who nodded to her and she nodded back.
As Jaune and Pyrrha tried to control the beast the other three watched on. Ruby watched as her older sister, her partner, and the rest of her friends stood off against the beast.
"We gotta do something." Cardin said.
Blake nodded and said "I'll try luring it away with a shadow."
"We don't even know if that'll work on that thing." Ruby said.
"Why wouldn't it? We have no other option Ruby." Blake said.
Ruby sighed in defeat, it did seem hopeless but then an idea popped up in her head.
"Wait, we test it first. Blake will use her Semblance to lure it away and if it doesn't work I'll just use mine to outrun it and lure it into the chamber and once I'm out Cardin can use the remote to trap it!" she said.
Blake and Cardin nodded. "That might work. Shall we?" Blake asked.
"Don't see any other options. Let's get that son of a bitch." Cardin said confidently as he strapped the remote to his arm. All of a sudden the sounds of explosions could be heard elsewhere in the factory.
"What was that?" Blake asked.
"Doesn't matter." Ruby said as they prepared to put her plan into action.
As this was happening something else transpired in the escape ship down below. Matilda, the head of the Grimm Keepers was overseeing the transportation of all the Grimm and they had finally gotten the Wyvern on board the ship. The ship, an old Atlesian Battle Cruiser that had been updated and refitted with contemporary technology and reinforced to contain the Grimm, even the Wyvern and the Chimera.
She watched as one of the last cages of Creeps was wheeled in by the Grimm Knights as she got a call on her scroll.
"Yes Callabreese, what is it?" she asked.
"Head Keeper, it's the Wyvern! It woke up!" her underling said.
"What?! How the hell is that possible?" she asked.
"I don't know, but it's waking up and it doesn't look happy. The electric Dust binders are keeping it pacified but we're afraid that it may kill itself if it continues to struggle, permission to tranquilize it again?" he asked.
"Granted, of course. Give it enough to put it into a damn coma for all I care, but just knock it out!" she barked.
"Yes, Head Keeper." He said obediently.
Matilda sighed and tried to calm her shaking hands. She had worked for Mistress Salem for years, but even so the Wyverns made her very nervous. What the hell could be happening to Drakos to make the Wyvern act like this?
Jaune and Pyrrha both kept trying to control to Chimera or at least calm it down but it seemed to be useless as it just kept roaring and glaring at them.
"So is it gonna do anything or what?" Yang asked.
"Yang, don't you dare tempt fate!" Weiss scolded as she held her rapier up.
"Pyrrha, I don't think we're doing anything." Jaune said, wincing in pain from the fresh stab wound. He could feel his aura heal him but with all that had been happening it would take a while for it to fully heal up.
"It was worth a try." Pyrrha said as she looked into the creatures eyes and seeing nothing but rage and hatred. It looked right back at her then to Jaune and it could sense the fear coming from not just them but the ones around them.
It roared as it stood up on its hind legs, revealing its full height.
"Holy crap." Muttered Weiss in terror.
The Chimera roared with its tail whipping around behind it, its claws ready to attack and bore its teeth. Yatsuhashi shoved Jaune and Pyrrha behind him and swung his greatsword and managed to slash one of its claws off.
The Chimera roared in pain as it recoiled but Yatsuhashi did not let up and he slashed his giant blade up towards its face, cutting one of its pincers off.
The Chimera slashed its claws out and Yatsuhashi's blade clanged against them. The Chimera roared at the large teenager, ignoring the pain it felt as Yang shot at its ribcage, but it couldn't ignore the pain it felt from Gambol Shroud's Kusaigama form stabbing into its back.
It whipped around and glared at the cat Faunus who began to run away from it. It returned to running on all four legs to give chase.
"Blake don't!" Yang cried as she began to shoot at the Chimera, aided by Ren and Coco.
Blake dropped and rolled under a table and came out, dashing towards the exit. The Chimera pounced and smashed into her only for her body to flicker out of existence.
"Why that clever little cat." Weiss muttered as Yang let out a heavy sigh of relief. She looked to see Blake crouching under the table she had ducked under, waiting to make another move. Jaune looked to see Cardin standing near the chamber, waiting to spring the trap.
"Hey ugly!" yelled Ruby. The Chimera turned to look at the young girl and growled at her. "Come on, come get me!" she beckoned, but it didn't seem to take the bait. It looked at her and it did not move towards her.
"What are you, scared?! Come on!" Ruby called.
"Ruby what are you doing?!" Weiss yelled.
"I'm trying to get this sucker back into its pen!" Ruby said as she took a shot at it with Crescent Rose, hitting it in the shoulder area and that seemed to get it angry. It roared at her as its dark aura began healing its fresh wound.
It stalked towards Ruby slowly, but seemed hesitant.
"Ruby, whatever your ding it's not working!" Yang called.
"I have to keep trying!" Ruby shot back as she swiped at the beast with her weapon
"Ruby, I think it's afraid of your silver eyes! I don't think it'll follow you!" Jaune called.
Ruby groaned in frustration as she knew Jaune was right. She began to formulate a plan to corral the Chimera into the chamber, maybe if she used her Semblance she could force it towards it...
Just then Cardin's voice interrupted her train of thought. "I'll lure it in! Rose, use your speed to get me out of there!" he yelled.
Velvet realized what he was going to do, her eyes widened in shock, surprised that Cardin Winchester would ever do something so selfless and heroic.
"Cardin, no!" she called to him. Cardin looked to the rabbit Faunus and gave her an apologetic look as he grabbed a pistol from an unconscious guard. "Don't Cardin!" she yelled.
Cardin ignored her and shouter "Rose, get down!" Ruby dropped to the ground and Cardin shot at the Chimera, grazing its cheek. It roared in anger and bounded towards Cardin who ran towards the open chamber, mace in hand.
"Come on, motherfucker! Let's dance!" Cardin shouted as he ran into the chamber with the beast hot on his heels.
"Blake, come on!" Ruby cried. Blake nodded and ran towards the chamber with her leader, followed by everyone else.
"What the hell is he doing?!" cried Coco.
"Something I never thought Cardin Winchester would do." Weiss said sadly, realizing what he was doing.
Cardin ran far into the dark chamber with the Chimera right behind him. He whipped around and began to swing his mace at the creature to drive it away. He managed to get a good hit, slamming it across the face.
"Come on, come on! Is this it? I've literally seen a fifteen year old girl fight better than you!" Cardin shouted as the creature lunged forward. Cardin managed to get out of the way but not without injury as the Chimera scored a slash across his shoulder.
Cardin cried out in pain as he fell to the ground. The Chimera approached him and glared down. Cardin clenched his hand around his mace and said "Take your best shot!"
The Chimera roared and reared up to slam down on Cardin, only for a fire-charged shadow of Blake to slam into it and explode. The Chimera was knocked down on its side, screaming in pain.
Cardin saw Ruby appear in a flash of red. "Let's go!" she said as she helped him up. She put his bloodied arm around her shoulders and neck so she could support him and began to use her Semblance to run out of the chamber.
The Chimera roared in hatred and charged after them, going as fast as it could.
"Come on! You can make it!" Velvet called.
"Don't look back guys! Run as fast as you freaking can!" Jaune yelled.
Ruby grinned; she was only a few feet away from the exit. Cardin got ready to place his free hand on the remote to close the chamber behind them only for the Chimera to slam into him from behind, knocking them both down.
"Ah!" both Ruby and Cardin screamed as they fell.
"No!" Yang, Weiss, and Blake all cried.
Cardin felt extreme pain all over his body, his aura trying to heal him. He saw that his legs were both clawed up and could feel a bad injury on his back, how bad he couldn't tell but he could feel the blood pouring down so it probably wasn't good.
He looked up to see Ruby right under the heavy door, in between everyone else and the Chimera.
"Stay away from us!" Ruby yelled at the beast, which simply snarled in response. Ruby crawled backwards and felt someone grab her. She looked up to see Blake, Weiss, and Yang standing above her, ready to fight.
Cardin looked at the remote on his wrist. He knew what he had to do. He removed the remote and placed it on the floor as he took up his mace.
"Rose, get clear! Get out now!" he called to them, getting the beast's attention.
"No! Cardin, you can still make it!" Velvet cried, tears coming out.
"No! I can't! Velvet, Jaune! Tell my teammates and my folks I'm sorry... and I'm sorry for everything I did to both of you!" he called as Ruby reluctantly crawled away towards the others.
Cardin held up the remote and pushed the button.
"No!" Jaune and Velvet both screamed as the door slammed down, sealing both Cardin and the Chimera inside.
"Cardin! NO!" Jaune cried as he banged on the metal door with his sword.
Inside of the chamber the Chimera approached Cardin, growling and hissing all the way. Its red and black eyes looked right into his. Cardin used his mace to smash the remote, trapping both of them.
"Fuck you." Cardin said.
The Chimera charged towards him.
Ruby's jaw had dropped. Her plan failed and Cardin sacrificed himself to save them all. Everyone remained silent but from inside they could hear Cardin's screams of pain and horror, the sickening sounds of flesh ripping, bones snapping, and the roars of the Chimera.
Jaune pressed his head against the door, tears falling from his eyes. "I forgive you." He whispered.
Pyrrha grabbed Jaune, turned him around and hugged him to her. "I'm so sorry, I'm sorry." She said as Jaune returned the hug and pressed into her as hard as he could. He lost Cardin, but he reclaimed Pyrrha.
Velvet hugged Yatsuhashi, sobbing as she did so. She had been more than willing to give Cardin a chance to redeem himself for his past sins and he had done so, but at the cost of his life. Yatsuhashi said nothing, he simply hugged his partner and rubbed her back comfortingly. While he didn't really like Winchester and had been skeptical of his change of heart, he knew Winchester had died redeeming himself. In the end, Cardin had proved his worth.
Coco said nothing. She hid her sad eyes behind her sunglasses and walked over to a level on the wall marked "Sprinkler System. Pull for Fire Emergencies Only." She yanked down the lever and water began falling from above, putting out the fires.
Team RWBY stood silent as Ruby got up and hugged her sister, sobbing as she did so. She couldn't help but feel responsible for Cardin's death, after all it was her plan that failed and Cardin died because of it. Yang held her sister and whispered "It's okay Ruby, it's not your fault. It's okay."
Blake remained silent, not believing that someone like Cardin Winchester would do something like that. She glanced and Velvet and though 'If someone like Cardin can change if given the chance... maybe everyone can.'
Weiss stood silent and she hugged Ruby, trying to console her partner. While she never liked Cardin at all, she wouldn't have wished his fate upon anyone, save Cinder.
Nora hugged Ren, she now felt bad about all those times she wanted to break Cardin's legs and Ren just hugged her back.
Pyrrha looked Jaune in the eyes and said "I'm sorry, I'm not worth all this."
Jaune leaned in and said "Yes you are. It should've been me, not him."
Pyrrha hugged him tighter and said "Don't say that, Jaune."
"It's true. This is all my fault. My plan got us captured, I let Cinder get the Maiden's powers, I called Weiss instead of Glynda... all of this is my fault." he said miserably.
Before he could say another word Pyrrha kissed him as hard as she could. She looked him in the eyes as she drew back and said "None of this is your fault. The only ones to blame are Salem and her minions. Please don't put yourself down, Jaune. It hurts me when you do that." Her now red eyes briefly flashed green as they began to tear up so Jaune wiped them from her face.
"Let's get the hell out of here." Coco said solemnly.
Pyrrha nodded and said "I know a shortcut to one of the smaller entrances, but first we need to make sure that thing can never get out again. Destroy those computer banks, they're the only other way to open the chamber."
Nora nodded and fired a grenade towards the upper platform. It went off and the row of computer consoles exploded, destroying any easy way of releasing the Chimera again.
Coco sighed and said "Okay; me, Yatsu, and Yang will lead the way out. Ruby and Weiss will help Jaune and Pyrrha out while Pyrrha tells us where to go. Velvet, Blake, Ren, and Nora, you guys bring up the rear and watch our backs. Let's move people."
Pyrrha leaned against Ruby while Weiss supported Jaune. "By the staircase you came up, there's a small and narrow passage way that leads to one of the supplementary loading doors. We can get out through there." she said.
"Sounds good to me." Yang said. Just then there was a loud sound that could only be described as a boom. "Oh what now?" the blonde brawler moaned.
"Something tells me we'll find out soon. We have to move, now." Yatsuhashi said.
They left the labs behind, and with it a monster and a man who had redeemed himself.
To Be Continued...
Next time: Qrow and Raven vs. Cinder
Ante's Semblance of regeneration was foreshadowed back in chapter 9, the reason his hand grew back so quickly is because he used aura boosting drugs.
Originally I had Sun and Sky Lark on the rescue team as well and Sky would have been the one to get pulled up to the rafters and his blood would rain down on them, but I decided not to do that and assign that horrible fate to some unnamed guard.
So we have two characters dead so far, who else will bite the dust in the coming chapters?