RWBY: Avenge Me

Chapter 10: Strength comes from the Will!

Screams of fury echoed throughout Haven Academy as Yang charged towards her sister's killer, Cinder Fall, followed by Pyrrah mere inches behind her, gripping Miló so tight blood was starting to draw from her fingernails. Both were seeing red as they noticed the smirk on the witches face, the mere sight with that silver eye she pilfered off Ruby infuriated them to no end, they wanted to crush the head it was attached too and rip it out of that black vein and puss covered socket. Bumping elbows, both girls impatiently tried to strike the first blow, but it was physically muscular Xiao Long that won the initial struggle as she jerked Pyrrah behind her as they got close to Cinder.

"I'M GONNA KILL YOU FOR TAKING RUBY FROM ME!" Yang roared as she delivered a volley of punches rapidly at Cinder, who simply jumped back to provide a short gap between them and draw a flameblade from her cloth via her semblance, effortlessly parrying them, despite the weight she felt in each thrust. Emerald smirked confidently as she saw her master at work. Mercury's training with her had clearly bore fruit, as all Cinder had to do was twirl, backstep, or side-step at each connection to throw the brawler off balance from wasteful exertion. Pyrrha was fairing no better, having to be careful to avoid stabbing Yang while trying to strike Cinder, her frustration with Yang growing ever higher. The two constantly bumping into each other, clearly not in sink as Cinder effortlessly dodged each strike.

"She's mine you meathead!" Pyrrah yelled frustrated as she waved her palm, magnetizing Yang's gauntlet and irking her behind the gladiator, who soon felt relief not having an obstacle in her path.

Sweat dripped off Yang's flushed face as she grinded her teeth in frustration, smacking Jaune's hands off her despite the warmth of his semblance recharging her aura. She was too lost in rage to care for help right now.

"If anyone's gonna kills this bitch for what she did to Ruby, its gonna be me. You don't deserve it after the part you played in it." Yang grumbled angrily at Pyrrah, before Blake caught her in a full nelson. But Pyrrah ignored them both, having enough of this annoying feud getting in her way of her revenge, soon clicking the trigger on Milo to transition it into Thorn Rose, the jagged blades on each end unlatching to everyone but JNPR and Qrow's surprise as the spear scythe hybrid shot a round off from the gun end of the spear, propelling Pyrrah towards Cinder in an instant and delivering a cartwheel slash that actually split the dust blade she was carrying in two to her surprise. WBY's shock was just as great, seeing their leaders weapon combined with Pyrrha's and used in such a similar yet still unique manner. Yang's shock however, was soon replaced with rage as she felt incensed at the creation.

"You got my sis killed….and took apart her weapon too! What the hell-" Yang spat in anger before Blake shoved her back.

"Yang stop! You need to calm down before you get-" Blake tried to warn her, but her warning was cut off as Jaune leapt in front of the trio block with his shield a gunshot from Mercury, who grunted annoyed.

"In case you've forgotten-" Mercury said cooley.

"This isn't just Cinder and the cows fight. Your heads are gonna roll too." Emerald finished as she grabbed her pistols from her hoisters. The sound of her safety being clicked off almost distracted her from the cackling in the air, her red eyes widening as she looked up to see the source.

Ren had thrown Nora into the air as she charged up her lightning semblance to her Hammer.

"AND YOUR'S ARE GETTING SMASHED." She screamed furiously as she clicked the trigger, firing off a grenade from behind to ricochet her towards them faster, catching the duo off-guard. They didn't expect her to have such speed like Little Red.

Before they could try to dodge though, they heard another roar from Hazel behind them, only for a split second though as he bolted right in front of them, crossing his arms in front of his face as it met the hammer's blunt end charged with pink lightning, sending shockwaves through the air that rattled everyone nearby.

Hazel merely got moved a few inches back, but his arms still kept the hammer in place to Nora's shock as she saw how. He had a duo of red and yellow dust crystals imbedded in them, his veins and muscles bulging with energy as he slowly raised his head, grinding his teeth as he grumbled in a feral like anger, drool coming out the corners of his mouth.

"He's gonna overload on dust. Is he crazy!" Weiss yelled in shock, knowing full well from being a former dust heiress the dangers of what was basically a drug overdose. It raised your power ten fold, but would almost certainly kill you from rupturing your organs from the energy.

Her shocked declaration was seemingly proven true as Hazel couldn't even make a retort, merely roaring and grumbling incoherently as he unfolded his arms, unbalancing Nora in midair as he gripped her left shoulder with his massive hand, his free right one arching back as he quickly moved to strike her, making her wince in anticipation before her aura could even be raised for the inevitable pain to come.

"This is gonna hurt real-." She thought as a massive weight and pain washed over her face, almost blacking out.

Nora wasn't the only one in pain right now.

Cinder soon felt the cold sharp end of a curve blade slash into the corner of her eye, one black vein that covered her prized silver eye from Ruby spurting a black gunk as pain throbbed from it, feeling like it was coming lose from its socket.

"Cinder!" Emerald cried out in worry, but Mercury held her back.

"Let her have her fun, we have work to do remember?" He urged her as she pointed to the other huntresses and Qrow, brandishing their weapons, ready to battle despite the distraction of Pyrrha's assault on Cinder. Raven stepped forward towards them, or rather the her brother, the only one amongst them she even entertained the thought of being a threat.

Qrow bitterly glared at her, the air around them almost freezing as all noise seemed to be muted despite the chaos of the fights going around them as the teens began clashing alongside the rumbling titan of Hazel. Qrow bit his lip in fury at the sight of his, now in his view, former sister. Both Branwen's fingers itched towards their swords, neither daring to blink despite the urge too and avoid looking at each other with all the animosity lurking from them.

It was Qrow who made the first move, dashing at her at near-Ruby speed as he drew Harbringer in blade form, his sister equally as fast as she effortlessly drew her red blade in an instant to blade-lock it in place, both grunting as they struggled to break the clash and cut down the other.

"Running away was one thing." Qrow spat at her as she spared a glance at Yang tearfully pile-driving Vernal out of her sight and charging at Raven, only to be smacked by a few kicks from Mercury in her haste. He couldn't blame her, wanting to throw a fit and smack her mom around for abandoning her, but his anger at her was greater right now as she gave her his full attention, pressing his blade harder to hers. "But you crossed the line completely. We're not family anymore." He bitterly said.

She just gave him a cold glare in response.

"We never were." Raven retorted as she turned into a corvid to fly above Qrow, ending the lock and throwing him off balance for a moments, allowing her to avoid unlike Qrow a nasty punch from Hazel charged with lightning that actually electrocuted the branwen's skull, staggering him painfully as he struggled to fight blacking out.

"Bitch." He thought bitterly.

Meanwhile….

As Pyrrah's assault continued, instinctively, Cinder raised her aura to her human arm and covered her face as the pain surged, though this left her open for a scissor kick from Pyrrah, who then used the end of her scythe to tap into her left arms gauntlet, activating a switch that triggered her knee gun that soon fired a round into Cinder's gut, making her gag from the pain, pain that soon made her smirk as she realized something as the burn surged her waist.

"You actually believed you could kill me?" She sang a taunt as her own eye began to leak a small orange flame, and her Grimm arm began to exude a foul black mist that stung the gladiator's nostrils. It smelled just as foul as the blood on the rooftop at Beacon, Ruby's blood she caught whiff of before this demon incinerated her.

Feeling a shiver down her spine from the horrific memory, Pyrrah reflexively jumped back as she felt danger approaching. Sure enough, Cinder hunched forward, cackling softly as she licked her lips in amusement and slowly placed her Grimm hand's palm on the floor, which soon began to form a black puddle of ooze.

"What the hell is she doing!?" Sun exclaimed in worry.

"I don't know, but lets not find out." Blake retorted, firing off a few round from her katanna's pistol form.

Pyrrah could almost see the ammo rounds pass her in slow motion as time seemed to falter as she felt a familiar presence begin emerging from the black pool. A shadowy hand with jagged claws soon spurt out, followed by the mangled head of what looked like a rotting wolf skull if Grimm could even rot. Pyrrah gagged into her mouth as it's head spasm, its jaw dislocating as it was shot and disintegrated, only to be replaced by a one-winged nevermore with a broken beak and a few human-like creeps with needle-like fingernails that made her blood chill. The demons turned towards their creator, drawing slowly towards her, uncaring if she formed them. Cinder clicked her teeth annoyed. She wasn't as strong with this as Salem, but how dare they not obey her, their better?! Taking a deep breath, she remembered her training and slowly opened her silver eye, it flicker a small flash of light that made the grimm screech in pain, their skin forming patches of burns that sizzled as they withdrew from her, soon turning their attention back to the shocked hunters, bewildered at the display of not one, but two unknown powers before them. Cinder fought the feeling of acid sizzling in her blood as her Grimm arm spasm a bit. Salem warned her the powers of light and shadow together was chaotic and near suicidal if she was reckless with its output. She didn't dare use too much for fear of disintegrating herself, but she refused to these people or anyone weakness again and eyed them menacingly, feeling especially powerful using Ruby's eye to do it, knowing it would torment them so.

"Say hi to my little pets. Little warning, they bite." Cinder cooed as she relished in her enemies shock, and soon waved her hand towards them, causing the Grimm to charge on command.

Weiss jabbed her saber into the ground to form her own summons, pure white glyphs that drew a bourbalisk and some wasps that pinned down and stabbed the crippled nevermore as the others were soon flying towards her, the former heiress twirling to deliver a wide slash that parried the needle claws as Sun stabbed the eye of the mutated Beowulf with his staff to keep it off her as she fended off the creeps. But soon they felt a sharp pain rush to their legs as a metal chain wrapped around 1 of theirs each, electrocuting them and allowing the grimm to slash at them, damaging their aura's.

"Hurting your weak friends felt good Xiao Long. Now were even." Vernal, the source of the two's misery, smirked infuriating Yang, who proceeded to fire off some grenades from her gauntlet at the maiden bandit. She didn't care if she was as strong as Cinder, she wasn't her target or going to get in her way of making Cinder and her mom pay for what they did. Vernal quickly wrapped her chain around the lobby's chandelier, swinging herself around to avoid the blasts, though this dodge gave Yang the opening she desired all along as no one was in her way this time. She charged for Cinder, who drew her hand out of the pool as she summoned a wall of ice Yang charged through, igniting her hair to melt the ice so that it wouldn't damage her aura. As she came out of the other end, Cinder laughed as she jumped back to avoid Yang's attempt to piledrive her, merely falling flat on her face before pushing herself up and smacking a dust blade away from her face Cinder tried to stab her with.

Yang's hair continued flickering flames as she continued to fail to strike Cinder, each strike exhausting and frustrating her as the maiden kept either parrying them or ducking and side stepping to deliver a stab with either her dust blade, or a jab from her Grimm arms sharp nails imbedded with jagged ice she nonchalantly stabbed into her gut or arms, lowering her aura.

""You have muscle, I'll grant you that, too bad none of it went to your brain just your bust and arms….pff! What's left at least." Cinder mocked as she smacked away Yang's robot arm, her eyes widening as her human one trembled.

The mere mention made her blood chill as she soon it, in place of cinder's face. It was his.

"No." She whispered as Adam appeared in front of her. But as she closed her eyes in fright from this, they were soon forced open as a sharp heel dug into her chin as Cinder's heel stab into them from an uppercut kick, staggering hand. Cinder then pocked Yang's left breast, making her wince as her nipple burned from the stab. Cinder took the opportunity to plunge her grimm hand into the ground, forming a black gun portal from behind Yang to have a Beowulf claw erupt out to hold her hair back, exposing her stomach that Cinder aimed to stab with her remaining hands dust blade. Cinder licked her lips as she could almost taste it, the blood of another rose filling the air. She hated Ruby for maiming her, and she actually wished the little hero could still be here to see it beyond the stolen silver eye, her big sisters bloodied corpse, nothing thrilled her more as her cheeks flushed from the thought. But as she aimed for the killing blow, her bloodlust made her forget something crucial she learned in Beacon. Never, touch Xiao Long's hair.

"Hands off!" Yang yelled with a furry as her hair ignited in full force, unleashing a torrent of fire that melted the Grimm arm to ash, her stomach forming a yellow aura and flame induced veil that parried the dust blade off effortlessly staggering Cinder.

Yang took the chance to head-butt cinder as her body straightened itself again, sending her crashing into the statue behind her.

Emerald turned around after hearing Cinder's cries of pain, her red eyes widening as she saw a massive hole in the wall behind what remained of the statue once their, Cinder groaning on the floor of a clear blue bridge behind the wall.

She wasn't the only one who noticed Cinder's crash. Vernal and Raven gasped as they saw it, the vault that housed the relic.

"Lets go! We need that lamp!" Raven ordered her right hand who looked back at Weiss and the others fighting Hazel and the Grimm.

"What about-" Vernal questioned but Raven cut her off.

"We don't need to worry about some Grimm or that beast going crazy, as long as we get what we came for and get out fast. Then were safe from….her." Raven bitterly spat as she rushed into the vault after Cinder, whom she saw begin running deeper into the hidden area as well. Vernal gulped as she nodded in agreement and ran, knowing better than to argue further with her chief or possibly fail when it came to the matter of Cinder's master. Those red and black eyes were just starring daggers in her mind right now.

Pyrrah huffed as she also charged after them, waving her hand as she used her semblance to force Mercury and Emerald away, allowing her to lunged into the hole and follow.

"Your not getting away this time Fall." Pyrrah bitterly thought, her leg burning around the prosthetic from phantom pain. She wasn't going to let a leg injury stop her from killing this witch a second time.

Emerald gasped as she saw them all heading after Cinder, knowing it would be impossible for her to face them all alone and win.

"NO! She needs me I-" her cry of concern was cut off as something sharp struck the back of her head, everything soon going black as she collapsed on the floor unconscious.

"That's for tricking my partner back in Vytal." Blake coldly said as she returned her blade into gun form. It felt extremely satisfying hitting the girl who ruined Yang's reputation, but she soon drew her focus back on the battle as she heard Yang cries of pain, she was struggling to hold Hazel back in a handlock as he was trying to pummel Oscar, who was behind Yang.

"I'm coming Yang!" Blake yelled before she felt a hard metal strike her hip, staggering her as her aura wained.

"You gonna make the same mistake green bitch made?" Mercury asked her annoyed. He soon kicked her stomach with intense force, sending her crashing out the door and towards the forest outside to Sun's shock.

"KITTY!" He cried as he ran after her.

Yang grinded her teeth in pain as she felt the larger mans weight begin to crash down upon her, but what irked her more was how she saw Blake get sent flying, how Pyrrah go off alone after her mom and Cinder, and how helpless she was to help either of them.

"D-Damn it! This was my right, my burden to bare. Why can't I do anything right!?" Yang cried in her mind.

"Oz….pay!" Hazel was just grumbling as he drooled, not caring in the slightest of Yang as he eyed the boy behind her he was desperate to crush, Oscar, or rather Ozpin in his eyes. The boy felt the sheer bloodlust aimed at him and the person he shared a body with. It shocked him to his core, but also filled him with a sense of curiosity, pausing him from trying to strike Hazel with his cane.

"Who is that guy? Why does he want me dead?" Oscar whispered.

"This is Hazel. He and his sister were once students at my school. But one day on a mission his sister was killed by Grimm. He's blamed me ever since." Ozpin explained to him mentally.

"Gretchan!" Hazel roared in a raspy mangled voice. Oscar noticed Yang start to lose footing and rushed to place his hands behind her, adding his weight to hers to try and even the odds to little success, he wasn't the muscular build and it showed as they were getting pushed back.

"But…it sounds like it was those monsters fault. Why blame you?" Oscar continued. He wanted answers still.

"Why did Miss Xiao Long blame Pyrrah Nikos for losing her sister?" Ozpin's question shocking the boy into silence. "Exactly. When one suffers a great personal loss, they try to blame others to avoid feeling the a bitter guilt they feel for not stopping it. Hazel blamed me for setting Gretchan on the path of a huntress, despite it always being her choice, just as Yang blamed me and Pyrrah for Ruby's sacrifice. Those are a lot alike in that regard…sadly." Ozpin finished explaining, before Oscar mentally silenced him as his body rattled upon Hazel applying more force, the ground beneath him and Yang crumbling into a small crater.

"H-Hang in there! You're a huntress, you can do this!" Oscar pleaded as he pressed his knees to the floor and applied pressure from his back to hers.

Yang screamed in pain and frustration as she heard her friends cry, trying to exert more aura to her arms, well….her human one that is, to avoid being crushed. As Yang saw the robotic one fail to glow due to no aura connection from her veins, she felt the dread of helplessness grow within her once more. She'd be sick to her stomach if she wasn't so used it. She felt it for over a year locked up in that room, since her loss at Beacon.

"I…I'm no huntress, I'm just a failure." Yang whimpered, tears strolling down her eyes as she felt her strength failing, Hazel pushing her down further in the lock.

"No Yang! Just keep it up! We can't fail here!" Oscar pleaded. His words touched a nerve in her as she groaned in anger.

"I fail all the time! Why!? Why can't I be strong! Penny, Blake, Ruby! Why couldn't I help them!? Why couldn't I have been strong enough for them!?" Yang cried in fury.

Hazel's eyes widened as he heard her self-deprecating words. This was just how he felt when he lost Gretchan all those years ago.

"She's…just like me. She lost someone too." He thought to himself, sensing a kindred spirit.

His pressure slightly faltered as he pondered this, allowing Yang to catch her breath. Something within her cried out to her then, an echo sort of speak that rang in her head.

"Might doesn't always mean right. You have to fight smart Yang, and SEE clearly."

Yang smirked as she allowed herself a brief chuckle from remembering that lecture.

"Thanks dad." She whispered as soon jerked her left hand out of Hazel's grip, staggering him and making him tighten his grip on her remaining hand. She used her free one not to punch him, but instead reach behind her to grab Oscar by the waist and grip him tightly. She then detached her arms socket from the robot prosthetic and lunged back out the door, allowing her and Oscar to escape Hazel as he crashed down to the floor from the momentum, his head striking the shattered concrete and Yang's now destroyed arm, flickering his already drained aura from the dust overload and struggle, shattering it and knocking him out.

As Yang and Oscar crashed outside, Yang cradling the boy so he wouldn't get hurt as they landed, both soon huffed as they felt the blood rushing to their heads, their heart beating rapidly as they bolted upright prepared to fight, only to slouch and sigh in relief as they saw Hazel's unconscious body.

"You…you did it." Oscar whispered in shock.

"Yeah, I'm surprised too. Thanks for…."backing" me up." Yang chuckled as she tapped his shoulder playfully, though a bit hard still for the boy as he groaned in pain and annoyance at the bad pun.

Suddenly they heard gunshots coming from the woods behind them. Yang's eyes widening in terror as she remembered something.

"Blake…Adam!" Yang cried out, remembering she was knocked back there. She must have gotten spotted by the White Fang. Yang was about to rush after her partner, before her legs froze in place. She felt her arm shaking, the stump on the other one burning with phantom pain, almost feeling that hot red blade on it again as she clutched it.

Oscar noticed her trembling, knowing from experience she was scared, and knew how to push her past it, like Pyhrra did for him.

"I'll go then." He declared, making her cock an eyebrow confused.

"You?"

"We're huntsmen. It's our duty. We can't let those who fell do so in vain just because we're scared." Oscar declared.

Yang sighed as she heard his words. She hated how true they were, despite her soul screaming her to just run back inside and face the other villain's instead of that horned demon again. But as more gunshots and Blake's cries soon filled the air, Yang grinded her teeth as she pressed her forehead into the ground, dirt rubbing into her cuts, making the pain she was feeling worse as she cried out in frustration.

Oscar knelt beside her, trying to support her, but Yang gripped his collar to his surprise, eyeing him with bloodshot eyes.

"Get back in there and tell Sun to come help me and the Kitty cat. It's all our fight, and we're not doing it alone again." She bitterly commanded.

Oscar, despite the sheer pressure of her tone and eyes, couldn't help but nod proudly, feeling Ozpin's pride as well surge within him, as he heard this.

"With pleasure Yang!" He declared and ran off to do just that after she let him go, soon seeing a golden glow erupt from the Academy a minute later, the Monkey Faunus somersaulting over to here, flashing a toothy grin and thumbs up.

"Farm boy said you ordered the gold package?" He quipped. Yang rolled her eyes in annoyance. She thought her puns were bad. She then brushed is off as she heard a tree get chopped down, knowing time was off the essence. Sun shivered as he knew the danger ahead, remembering "who" was there. But a fierce glare from Yang snapped him out of his trance. He knew she was more dangerous when in these moods, and he also knew his friends needed him. Gripping his pole, Sun grabbed Yang's waist and wasted no time in polevaulting them to Blake's location.

"Hang on Kitty, we're coming." Yang whispered.

Bitter Reunions

"Oh kitty." A masked man's voice sang in a dangerous tone as a tree was felled by his red blade glowed.

Blake's panted heavily as she kept leaping from tree to tree, desperate to draw distance between her and her ex-lover. But she was awarded no reprieve as a torrent of bullets and dust rounds always followed her from the White Fang grunts below her. It was just her luck she got sent flying straight towards their encampment.

"At least this is keeping them focused on me, not Haven Academy and my friends right now." That thought being her one consultation, before her heart began burning as she heard his voice roar again.

"Get down here love!" Adam spat as he slashed the tree she was in.

Blake gave her own yell as she dive bombed out of the falling tree, Gambrol Shrouds black blade aimed straight at his head. Adam merely snickered as he saw this move coming, slashing the body in two with his semblance powered blade, only for it to crumble to dust as the blade connected.

"Figures you'd hide behind a clone. Once a coward always a coward." Adam sneered.

But Blake refused to give into his provocations as she hid in the shadows behind the fallen tree trunk. She had to fight smart or she'd lose her head. Yang's lost arm was proof of such folly. She was a huntress, mentally trained to avoid such tricks. She saw about 2 dozen grunts behind him, rightfully cautious of him as she was. She sensed his bloodlust and wouldn't put it past him to slaughter his own men to kill her.

"Just a little closer…"love"'. She mockingly thought as Adam looked around slowly for her, Blake gripped her Katana's handle tightly, just waiting for the chance to strike his jugular for a quick kill then bolt. She was low on aura, but had enough for a couple more clones for a diversion to escape the White Fang Army and go cut off the explosives wires nearby. She knew she couldn't let another tower fall, lest Mistral fall into the same chaos as Vale. She and her friends were the last hunters in this kingdom, they couldn't fail the people, her pride and principles couldn't let that happen.

As Adam turned his back, Blake's eyes widened as she saw her chance. But before she could so much as crouch to spring herself forward, she felt something tight tug around her neck and jerk her back. She'd scream in pain if not for being choked out of air as a slender pair of spotted arms pulled the a rope back and wrapped around her neck in a side lock. Blake was allowed a side glance of her captor, her pupils slanting as she eyed the familiar blue eyes starring daggers at her.

"Ill-Illia!?" she choked, scratching the arms around her neck fighting for air.

Adam turned around hearing her, smiling as he saw his target captured by his lieutenant.

"Nice work. Just keep her still for a moment." He ordered as he began charging his sword with his aura. Blake winced as she saw her nod. She was agreeing to this!?

"W-Why?" She gasped.

Illia grinded her teeth in anger as she heard this question. Her blood boiled as she hated how it wasn't obvious to Blake, because she never noticed anything around her. As much as she treasured her, she always hated that part of the cat faunus and was going to let it know.

"You broke my heart." She spat, Blake's jaw dropping slightly as she heard this shocking confession.

"You spent so much time falling in love with Adam you never noticed my love for you." Illia explained her motive.

"S-So…you helped him kill my M-Mom and *cough* Dad. Because…Jealous." She gasped and choked.

Illia bit her lip hearing that bitter question in frustration, pain clearly on her face.

"H-He slit their throats. I just let him, they were traitors just like you!" Illia spat her excuse. She then glared at Adam, having enough of talking.

"Ready already!?" She yelled, before her eyes widened in shock as she saw a wave of red aura slash towards them. THE BOTH OF THEM!? She thought as she instinctively she let go of Blake and use back to shield them both with all her aura, which shattered upon impact and slashed open her shirt, leaving a gaping slash shaped bruise across her back as she cried out in pain and collapsed onto a shocked Blake.

"I-Illia!?" She cried out.

"Tch! She just couldn't go down with her huh? Had to safe her little crush." Adam grunted as he saw he had missed. Blake stared daggers at him as she heard him say this while cradling an unconscious Illia's head.

"You bastard! Why do you keep stooping to such lows!" Blake sneered.

"She got in my way." He retorted.

"EVERYONE gets in your way. You don't care about the cause, you don't care about your men, you only care about yourself and your petty hate." Blake spat back.

Adam grinded his teeth as he heard this, delivering a kick to her nose which bled as she heard bones crunching, feeling it break as she winced and covered it with her palm, yet she could still see the red blade he unsheaved from its scabbard aimed straight at her, or rather above her.

"Before I cut your head off, its time we took off the ears. Your not one of us, you were always one of those filthy humans instead, since you kissed their asses so much and preach like them." Adam spat as he raised his blade.

As Blake could close her eyes and gritted her teeth to brace herself for the mountain of pain she was sure would crash down upon her, she heard a real crash behind the Bull faunus and opened her eyes to see him turned around. The source was a fiery Yang and a few golden Sun clones fighting alongside one another sending many grunts flying and crashing into the trees or the dirt nearby unconscious.

"Calvary's arrived huh?" Adam merely snickered sarcastically as he looked on unimpressed as he came eye to eye with the duo, who soon paused their assault as their eyes began to pulse seeing him again. Adam smiled as he saw it, the fear in their eyes.

"Got to say, not much for reinforcements. Your not much better than you were in Beacon." He sneered, Yang gulping as her arm shook, the red blade flashing before her eyes again. "Or Menagerie." Sun recoiling as he saw the Belladonna's and his teams corpses before the burning manor again, his scars he swore were bleeding fresh again. He shivered as he saw Illia their too, made no better by here being near Blake right now, especially unconscious with a slash to her back he knew Adam did.

"If he did that to her, what chance do I have!?" Sun fearfully thought as he stood frozen with Yang.

Blake saw their trembling and felt the weight of their fears. But hers was greater, it wasn't the loss of her parents that frightened her right now, or the memory of losing Yang's arm. She was scared of losing these two right here, right now to this bull demon. She wouldn't let this fear consume her though, it was going to strengthen her to do this. She mustered all the strength her aching throat would let her and let out a ferocious scream.

"YANG! SUN! SAVE ME!" She pleaded.

Her cry made them gasp as they blinked, the memory's fading as they recollected the scenario before them. Blake was cradling Illia, both completely helpless before Adam, mere few feet from her sword drawn. It soon made them see red as they felt their bloods boil.

"No…never again. Your not hurting her anymore!" Yang roared and Sun nodded, smacking his hands together to form a trio of clones with aura spears, nunchuku, and poles aimed at Adam, whom merely smirked as he saw their defiance.

"Good, never liked a hunt to be too easy." He coldly said as they charged at him.

Meanwhile…

Pyrrah ran down the halls of the vault, desperate to catch up to the trio ahead of her.

"Can't let her get the relic, I can't let this school fall too!" Pyrrah said to herself as she gripped Thorn Rose. She felt a surge of power as she did so, feeling comfortable even despite her leg burning from soreness and phantom pain mixed right now at the thought to facing Cinder again. She felt as if Ruby was right beside her, lending her strength. She remembered Ren and Nora's warning, but felt the scythe spear proved she was heading it. With Ruby's memory by her side she wasn't alone. She was going to stop this monster and keep Raven from getting that relic to give to Salem.

But as she was filled with these confident thoughts, a wave of heat blasted her face as she came near an opened safe door near the end of the hallway. It made every cell in her body scream in pain and fear as she felt the familiar sensation. It was the same power Cinder used against her, when she incinerated Ruby too. But why was she using this power right now? Weren't she and Raven on the same side?

But as much as Pyrrha debated the possibilities before her for this, one absolute thing came to mind as the energy she sensed surged higher from the room ahead. She was outmatched.

"Again….again?!" She pondered to herself, the painful memory of that night in Beacon making her head ache in pain. It was then she also realized the reality before her. She would be facing not one person with this level of power, but two?

"Wha…what can I even do? I know I should….but can I even hope to do." She stuttered. This was the first time she ever felt this way, so utterly hopeless. She always fought her hardest out in the wilds since that night Beacon fell, it was always to avoid feeling this despair again. She hated her nickname "Invincible Girl" because she knew since her first ever loss the reality, that she was just a human girl with weaknesses and fear like anyone else. She hated her limits, because right now she knew it would only cost her and the others victory. As the last hunters in Haven they needed to win this at all costs, but what could she even do?

"It's hopeless. I can't win. I can't do-" She thought bitterly to herself before she felt a pair of warm hands rest upon her shoulders. She gasped as she looked beside her, seeing Ruby's face smiling at her with one silver eye looking warmly at her.

"R-Ruby?" She whispered as she reached for her, only to have her hand meet empty air. Her expression grew somber as she realized this was just a memory, or just some ghost.

The spectre, as if sensing her thoughts, simply shrugged.

"I'm your memory, your will Pyrrha." She whispered.

"I can't do this Ruby. I can't be like you. I can't hope blindly everything will be okay." Pyrrha cried softly. The image soon pushed her, her eyes widening as it felt so real as she felt her legs move forward slowly.

"Then make it okay. You have to try. I tried didn't I?" Ruby said.

"B-But you died!" Pyrrha yelled tearfully at that.

"But you lived because I tried. Your friends are still here. They need you to try for them now." Ruby protested, but Pyhrra sighed.

"I'm…not a leader like you were Ruby." She sighed.

"Then be Pyrrha Nikos. Live or die, be the huntress you were meant to be." The memory urged.

Pyrrha gripped her hands tightly, almost drawing blood as she heard those words, that same hope giving tone she heard so much back at Beacon. It annoyed her just as much as it fueled her, because she couldn't argue with it at all anymore. She knew Ruby was right, or at least she was finally ready to accept what she already knew deep down. It didn't matter if she'd win or lose sometimes, as long as she fought for what was right just as Ruby did, fought for her friends still alive. She didn't want to let them down even as she stared at the door to what could have her final fight ever behind it.

"Okay." Ruby smiled as heard that firm reply. She sensed her friend's drive, proud to give one more push before she saw her running off.

"You can do this my friend." Ruby's image whispered as she soon faded with a smile.

Pyrrha smacked open the vault door with all her might as she whipped her spear scythe in place with a twirl, ready to face her demon once and for all. To her surprise, Cinder was trembling in shock as she was shaking her Grimm arm stabbed into Vernal, the spring maiden's back right now.

"I…IT'S NOT THERE?! WHY?!" Cinder screamed in confusion.

Pyrrha realized Cinder didn't get the maiden powers, because Vernal wasn't the maiden. But as both were pondering the same question, Raven groaned as she slowly got up from nearby the Lamp relics altar.

"Because." The air around them chilling as they heard her begin to speak, their eyes widening as they realized the truth before them. "Vernal isn't the Spring Maiden…..I AM!" Raven screamed, her eyes shooting a red fire from beside the pupils.

Author Notes

Was that really Pyrrha's memories playing tricks or did Ruby really come from heaven to urge her doubtful friend? I'll leave it up to you the viewers to guess. Anyhow, sorry this took so long. I have been swamped with work lately. Still, we are nearing the final chapter as our heroes face off against their adversaries. Mercury and the Grimm Cinder summoned via Salem's gift are holding our heroes back as Blake, Yang and Sun face Adam while Raven and Pyrrha face off against Cinder in Part 1 of the final battle chapter FACE YOUR DEMONS Part 1.

However, someone amongst our heroes sadly, will fall next chapter. Find out who next time on RWBY Avenge Me.