Chapter 07: Introducing Cinder the Snake Yaksha!

There were times when Jaune appreciated how time would slow down as his heartrate spiked during battles.

And there were times when Jaune didn't. One of the latter was happening right before him, Ruby's freshly spilt blood sputtering out of her wounds as she fell.

"...Ruby?" Jaune called out in disbelief, then in panic. "Ruby!"

Up above, the woman on the flaming carpet in the sky smirked. "Finish them, Emerald. Their souls will be fine additions to your consumption."

"Understood~" Emerald replied, Mercury(axe) smirking in anticipation.

"Ruby, speak to me!" Jaune fretted as he held up Ruby's limp body, sharing as much Aura as he could into her. For some reason, his Aura didn't seem to be working properly within her as it normally did. "Damnit!"

"Jaune... We gotta go..." Ruby coughed up weakly, her blood beginning to pool to worrying levels beneath them.

"...right!" Slinging Ruby onto his back, Jaune glared at Emerald as she approached. Imbuing his fist with Aura, Jaune backhanded the doors with enough force to shatter them just as something broke through to tear through Emerald's side. "...huh?!"

"Wh-What just happened?" Emerald stared down at the giant sword that was still embedded in her, the massive blade gleaming with familiar amethyst Aura. Then Emerald choked when a boot slammed into her chest and sent her flying, Qrow Branwen stepping into the church.

"P-Professor Branwen?!" Jaune exclaimed, his eyes widening when the greatsword transformed into Aunt Glynda. "Aunt Glynda?!"

Aunt Glynda barely turned to glance at him and Ruby, her eyes narrowing at their states before returning her glare towards Emerald. "I'm going to tear you apart."

"Jeez. And I thought I was supposed to be the violent one between the both of us." Branwen commented. "Arc, what's Rose's condition?"

"Um, severe back injury." Jaune recited, trying to push down his anxiety as he checked his partner over. "Immense blood loss, and the pain's just knocked her out. She needs treatment, really soon."

"But, we still need to deal with this." Aunt Glynda added as Emerald got up from she'd crashed into, not even looking half as injured as she should've.

"I hardened the blood from your wounds and stopped the bleeding." Mercury reported as he manifested over Emerald's shoulder. "Is that good enough?"

"Yeah, it is." Emerald acknowledged.

"Aunt Glynda, Professor Goodwitch, what are they?" Jaune whispered as he stared at the duo. "These two... They're..."

"They are the reason Beacon was established." Goodwitch explained. "You remember why, don't you?"

Jaune's eyes widened in disbelief. "You mean... that girl's an Asura?"

"Nah... Not quite yet, really." Branwen shook his head. "But that's why we're here anyways. Glyn?"

Aunt Glynda merely nodded sharply before transforming back into a greatsword, Branwen easily catching and twirling her one-handed despite it being just as long as he was tall.

"The strongest Meister of Beacon and the Reaper's Deva Regalia herself..." The woman muttered as she stared down from above. "I wonder how far Emerald would last against them, especially with the Deva Regalia's apparent rage. This has been quite the fruitful night... Do it, Emerald."

Branwen hefted up Aunt Glynda(greatsword). "Glyn, you can block that axe, right?"

"I'll do more than block, Branwen." Aunt Glynda(greatsword) growled. "Do you still remember how to wield me?"

"Of course, I do." Branwen smirked, his teeth baring as electricity began sparking off the Weapon while Emerald charged forward.

"Welcome to the sudden bonus round! I'll rip your Aura apart and take your souls now!" Emerald swung with immense force, Mercury(axe) grinding ineffectually upon Aunt Glynda(greatsword)'s blade.

"Are you trying to cut through me?" Aunt Glynda(greatsword) scoffed, the electricity of her form amplifying her own vibrating frequency several times over before she swiftly cleaved through Mercury(axe) and chopped off the limb entirely. "Know your place!"

Not pausing as Emerald screamed in shock and pain, Branwen grabbed her face with his free hand and slammed her down hard enough to break the ground apart.

Then he palm struck her abdomen with a familiar crackle of dark red, causing Emerald to scream even louder while the ground beneath them cratered.

"Wh-What the hell?!" Jaune muttered. Not only was his aunt's weapon different, the clear difference in how she and Branwen were handling the fight felt like a smack to his ego! "Is this... the level of a Deva Regalia and her S-Class Meister?"

Emerald coughed up a dangerous amount of silver blood, choking as Branwen took his hand off her face.

"Now for the neck!" Branwen's hand crackled ominously, before he suddenly flinched when some of the spilt mercury around morphed into a spike that stabbed into his side. His Aura held firm, but it was still enough to distract him. "What?! The blood she spilt earlier?"

Coming to realize what Jaune himself could see happening, Branwen regarded the many floating droplets that had gathered around him. A second later, Branwen leapt out of the way when they all morphed into thin spikes that pincushioned his former position three milliseconds ago.

"Professor!" Jaune called out in worry.

"Even the drops of her spilt blood can still be used as her Weapon?!" Aunt Glynda(greatsword) exclaimed. "Okay! I know it's filthy rich coming from me, but that's bullshit!"

"You're absolutely right. That really is bullshit coming from the Weapon who can actually change into different forms for every separate Wielder." Branwen nodded as more of the droplets surrounded them. "Still, this Weapon was created from excessive harvesting of souls. An Asura will definitely be born if we don't put an end to this now. Not to mention, these two's Auras..."

Jaune fully understood Branwen's trepidation. Despite her demeanor, Emerald's soul looked like it was being suppressed twice over. First by the amorphous blob of sickly Mercury that kept twisting about to engulf even the tiniest hint of Mint that surfaced, then there was the large ashen cobra that had them entrapped within it's coils.

That last one had to somehow belong to the third person Emerald and Mercury had been referring to all night. "Ah, right. Aunt Glynda, Professor Branwen, these two have been taking orders from somebody all night. I don't know who, but they've been watching over the fight."

"Well, that explains a fair bit." Aunt Glynda(greatsword) replied as the mercury leaking out of Emerald's severed arm manipulated it to be flung back to her, swiftly reuniting her stump with the lost limb and immediately healing- No, it would be wrong to label it as 'healing'. If anything, it could be called 'reforging', especially with how the thin line of mercury stood out upon Emerald's dark skin. Either way, Emerald now possessed her arm again. "Let's quickly put an end to this and then find the interloper."

Branwen didn't say anymore, his Aura sparking as he charged forward faster than Emerald could react as Aunt Glynda(greatsword) was swung with great force against Mercury(axe), the following electrical blast causing Emerald to stagger and then be unprepared for the follow-up of Branwen's Aura attack.

"[Shocking Dragon Thrust]!"

Emerald screamed as she was launched towards the chapel entrance, Jaune dodging aside as she crashed down onto the ground painfully.

Noting how the floating mercury droplets were beginning to delay in their attacks, Branwen out rushed after her only to be caught off-guard when Mercury emerged to attack with a whip that struck him in the gut with enough force to smash him into the chapel above it's doors.

"Professor!" Jaune shouted when Branwen fell down painfully, bits of rubble crumbling down with him.

"So on top of vibrating slashes and remote blood control, that little bastard can act that independent of you despite your conjoined states?!" Branwen's grin grew unsettling wide. "Way to raise the bar, Quicksilver!"

Mercury's answer was to raise up several more droplets while Emerald shakily stood back up. "I'll appreciate it more if you just died!"

"Glyn!" Branwen called out.

"Right." Aunt Glynda(greatsword) replied as Branwen began to twirl her around, her electricity increasing in intensity. The mercury droplets rapidly revolved around Branwen, each of them growing spikes to skewer him from all possible angles.

But it was a tad too late.

""[Aura Resonance: Qilin]!""

Qrow raised his sword up just as his entire body lit up with enough crimson lightning to nearly blind Jaune, obliterating all of the mercury as it took the form of the Vermillion Beast and charged forward at Emerald and Mercury.

"Ah-" That was all Emerald had to say before the lightning construct bit down upon her, electrocuting her and discharging with enough power to leave a huge crater with her smoking body limp within.

"Are they...?" Jaune muttered.

"Freakishly enough, they're still alive." Branwen rebutted as he approached the unconscious Emerald, Aunt Glynda(greatsword) staying silent as she was hefted onto his shoulder. "It's pretty pitiful, but someone this far gone can't be spared."

Emerald's hand twitched, causing them all to freeze in shock. "▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅!"

Mercury spurted off Emerald's body in jagged spikes, the girl screaming even in her unconscious state as the silver blood in her body started to rip her apart and put her back together repeatedly.

"What's happening to them?!" Aunt Glynda(greatsword) gasped.

"...it looks like some kind of rejection." Branwen mused as both he and Jaune regarded Emerald's discordant Aura in shock. "It was bad enough that their Aura's weren't properly in sync while sharing the same body..."

"But with all of Branwen's attacks attacking their souls directly, their flimsy bond's already ripped down to almost nothing." Jaune morbidly mused. "Now they're trying to separate from each other, but can't naturally do so because one resides in the other's body..."

But why was it drawing out like this? Why would Mercury leave partially, only to return into Emerald's body and heal the damage on his way in, then repeat it all over again as he tore his way out?

("I suppose this is their limit for now." The woman sighed. "[Soul Bulwark: Release].")

Jaune flinched a terrible malevolence filled the air. Heavy waves of heat suddenly blanketed the area, as if the evening had suddenly made way for Akagashima's noon sun, except the sky was still dark as ever-

Wait, there was something up there. Jaune trembled as he focused his gaze at the figure. Seated upon a flying carpet with it's edges aflame was a woman with long wavy locks and was adorned in a crimson dress upon her slender frame, alight with special runes that glowed as amber as her eyes.

But for some reason, Jaune couldn't see her face despite how much Aura he used to enhance his sight. Even so... "That's..."

"Yeah, that's a Yaksha. And judging the sheer scale of it, she's a Zodiac-class." Branwen confirmed. Slowly, the Yaksha's True Self manifested over her, first appearing like a midnight sun with ashy spots all over before it unraveled it's coils to hiss down at them all with it's massive fangs bared.

"That massive Lore matches the 'snake' that was binding this child and her Weapon together." Aunt Glynda(greatsword) muttered as she regarded the now limp Emerald. "Is she the cause of her existence... or did she acquire them from other parties?"

"That's the Lore of a Yaksha?" Jaune muttered, being reminded that compared to Meisters and Weapons who used the power of their soul to enhance their bodies while dubbing it 'Aura', Yaksha had their own separate system. Compared to Blake, they mostly matched in power, but... But... "She feels so... horrible... And how didn't I notice her until now?!"

"{Soul Bulwark}." Aunt Glynda(greatsword) answered as Branwen took a warning stance. "An advanced spell capable by Zodiac-class Yaksha. Unlike Meisters and Weapons who use the positive energy of our souls to bolster our physicality, Yaksha use the negative energy of our souls to utilize their magic and utilize various spells. One of those is {Soul Bulwark}, which blocks in the usual leakage of magic her soul would give off and lets her pass of as an ordinary human."

"...so that's a real Yaksha?" Jaune gulped, suddenly a lot sweatier. "That's what Aunt Glynda took down to become a Deva Regalia?"

"No, Jaune." Aunt Glynda(greatsword) rebutted. "That's the Snake of the Zodiac 12. This is someone you run away from."

"I suppose letting Emerald fight enemies of your class was too much for her at this stage." The Snake Yaksha raised up her hand, flames amassing over her palm until it became a gigantic fireball. "But I'd be a more fitting opponent, wouldn't I?"

Jaune choked as the Snake Yaksha flung the fireball at them, the attack akin to a falling meteor.

"Let her rip, Glyn!" Branwen swung Aunt Glynda(greatsword) and unleashed a powerful blast of electricity, the two attacks cancelling each other out violently. Then without even waiting for the smoke to clear, Branwen swung again, the lightning blast piercing through the smoke towards the Snake Yaksha.

"Not bad." The Snake Yaksha commented as she made a backhanding motion, conjuring a fireball that dispersed the attack before it could reach her. "But I'm not confident in being able to kill you without accidentally doing the same to my pet project."

An ashen snake shot forward from her sleeve, the construct increasing in size until it was able to pluck up Emerald and return to her side. "So until the next time we can meet again."

"Wait, damnit!" Branwen called out.

"No, leave her." Aunt Glynda(greatsword) stated before transforming back and heading towards Jaune. "Our students are the greater priority, Qrow. Especially regarding Miss Rose's state."

Reminded of her, Jaune looked back at the unconscious girl he'd been carrying on his back. "Ruby..."

Feeling Aunt Glynda's hand on his shoulder, Jaune turned to see a rare kind look on her face. "Don't worry, Jaune. We will save her."

"I see." Ozpin replied after hearing the report. "So how is Miss Rose doing, then?"

"Nurse Fall is still operating, but I have hopes for her recovery." Glynda replied, a little still worried at how she had physically drag Jaune away from the operating room and take him home with her for the night. "But that enemy Meister... Now that my anger isn't blinding me as much, their existence worries me a lot."

"I agree." Ozpin looked down at the written report. "A Mystic Axe and it's Meister, formed into one body... The Snake Yaksha was behind this, as you state?"

"She confirmed as such." Glynda crossed her arms.

The Reaper sighed. "Quite troublesome... So how was having Jaune sleep over for the first time in years like?"

"What's with that subject change?!"

"How did you do on the extra-curriculars?"

"I think I did pretty well."

"Are you kidding me? I've got maintenance again tomorrow..."

"At least you aren't in the E.A.T. class yet. It's like things have been getting pretty crazy for those guys recently."

Pyrrha sighed as she finished, stepping out of the shower stall while wrapping her towel while she ignored the gossiping girls nearby. While she may have liked to socialize, gossiping just for the sake of it wasn't really her-

"Speaking of which, did you hear? Ruby Rose, a B-Class Weapon, got hurt really bad last night."

"Wait, so I didn't imagine that stuff? When I was clocking out last night, I saw her partner rushing towards the infirmary while carrying somebody on his back... and his white jacket had so much red on it..."

"Tell me more on that." Pyrrha paid no mind to their surprised shrieks at her sudden inclusion, gripping the girl close so that she wouldn't run away. "What happened to Jaune and Ruby?"

"I-I only saw th-them when th-they rushed past with P-Professor Goodwitch." The girl stammered, either from fear of Pyrrha's intense stare or the fact that the redhead's towel had fallen off to totally reveal her statuesque figure. Wait, she was blushing, so it was most likely the latter. "I don't know anything about what caused it, I swear!"

"...I see. Thanks for telling me that." Releasing her, Pyrrha picked up her towel and headed out. From there, it was a simple matter to dress up and call Yang about it.

Then it became less simple when Yang led the charge towards the infirmary and even kicked the door off without trying to even knock or open it normally. She didn't want to go to detention again!

"Ruby! Are you alright?!" Yang roared at the unconscious girl, Pyrrha sending a comforting nod at the surprised Jaune. Then her partner got the idea to leap onto the bed and try to shake Ruby awake. "Snap out of it! I've come to see you! You're not as great as me, but you should still be too great to be held back by this-"

"KNOCK IT OFF, YANG!"

Pyrrha had no sympathy for Yang as Jaune's glowing fist smashed into the blonde's head, instantly knocking her out. "S-Sorry about that, Jaune... Jaune?"

Jaune still didn't respond, his eyes ridden with bags. Then he shook his head and tried to smile at her. "It's okay. Everybody has their own ways of showing their worry."

Pyrrha blinked at his words before smiling softly. "I suppose so..."

"Oh, dear... what happened to the door?"

Pyrrha and Jaune looked up to regard the person that had just walked in. Bearing luscious black locks that was tied into a low ponytail, she had soft amber eyes and was dressed in a turtleneck sweater and a tight black miniskirt that really meshed well to convey an aura of sexiness and comfort despite her signature white labcoat slightly obstructing Nurse Ella Fall's lithe figure.

"Good afternoon, Nurse Fall." Pyrrha greeted.

"I know that you kids have Auras, but you should really work on channelling all of that energy better." Nurse Fall commented. "Still, it looks like Ruby did have it quite rough last night."

"Once again, I'm grateful for you performing surgery on her last night." Jaune bowed his head. "If only she hadn't been forced to protect me..."

"Cheer up, Jaune." Nurse Fall approached him and placed her hands on his shoulders. "I have no doubt you'll grow stronger due to this experience. So chin up, and be prepared for Ruby when she wakes up, okay?"

Pyrrha smiled when Jaune cheered up significantly from the nurse's words, the boy walking over to Ruby's side again.

(Hidden from their attention, Cinder Fall the Ashen Serpent smirked at her surprising newest project.

Unbidden, a wisp of smoke escaped her grin and briefly morphed into a hissing snake.)

KingVessel: Done! Gimme your reviews!