Phew. Man, it's time like this where I really wonder how beneficial some of the classes I have to take for my major are actually necessary. Seriously, I understand the necessity of a well-rounded education, but even then some subjects just seem… pointless. Redundant, basically. If it weren't for classes like these, I'd likely already be done with my damned major…
Ah well. In any case, just had to vent a little. For any of you going through something similar, hope you're pulling through just fine. And in general, hope you guys are doing okay in life.
Now then, about the fic itself.
Firstly, as you might have noticed, I decided to include another character tag in the hopes of getting this fic some more attention. Honestly, I was kind of hesitant to choose this particular one since a part of me is fearful it may somehow be a little spoiler-iffic… though in hindsight, considering the mentions already made of the Ever After, perhaps it won't be. Only time will really tell. In any case, if need be I suppose I can always adjust character tags over time to draw in new readers, but this is something I really don't want to do since it'd just be unfair to people that search specific character tags to always have to hunt it down again or something.
Also, damn, the list of character tags has really grown since I last posted a RWBY fic. Just goes to show how many characters it now has, though it's still pretty short compared to other series/franchises out there, heh.
Now secondly, this chapter will be where shit really starts to go down now that Ozpin is on the move. Hopefully, what will happen in this chapter will be quite the show and help set things up for later down the line, especially since Ozpin is taking the gloves off now.
So… yeah, that's about it.
Now let's get on with the chapter. Enjoy.
Chapter 8 – End of the Beginning
With immense speed, Ozpin dashed throughout the streets in Vale. It's been only a handful of minutes since he'd touched down in the city and already he'd achieved much, using hit and run tactics to incapacitate or otherwise impede the people heading for the VNN station along with the ones who'd been serving as impromptu guards for them.
Of course, by taking down the huntsmen, officers, and soldiers that had been herding the entranced civilians towards their destination, he'd left them helpless before the Grimm that still littered Vale's streets, but he naturally made sure to secure the area as best as he could. Overwhelming speed and precise strikes helped kill the various Beowulves and Creepers that had been hanging around the streets, in addition to the perimeter the unaffected Atlasien soldiers had established steadily boxing in the remainder of the Grimm to sweep up.
Ozpin could only pray that the rest could be handled from here without additional assistance from him. There was, after all, something he needed to focus on, even more than on just stopping the people from moving.
He needed to deal with the source of this new issue.
Upon killing one final Grimm, he girded himself and leapt high into the sky until he landed upon the rooftop of an especially tall building. The VNN station was now well within sight. He'll traverse the rest of the way via the building tops and then-.
"-!" a shot rang out and directly his way just as he'd begun to move again, forcing him to deflect the shot with the Long Memory. Several more rounds were fired in quick succession. They were clearly meant to pin him down, but instead he charged on ahead, avoiding the shots he knew would miss him and deflecting the ones that would have struck him.
In but a mere second, he closed the distance rapidly, dashing and hopping from one building to another. To the shooters' credit, they didn't give up and instead they did their best to keep their fire concentrated on him at all times. When they proved unable to keep up with his speed, more shooters simply appeared to bolster their numbers, opening fire on spots that he was now moving to.
Now that he was closer, he could make out who was firing upon him – White Fang… along with some people that he could clearly recognize as gangsters, what with their spiffy clothes. They were all clearly experienced given the way they held their assault rifles but compared to any huntsmen even fresh out of the academies, their numbers and rate of fire meant little.
Which meant that to him, their offensive meant nothing at all.
A gangster, seeing that gunfire alone wasn't cutting it, pulled out a grenade of all things and lobbed it directly at him after pulling the pin. Ozpin saw this and merely swung his cane with a single hand, slapping the grenade back at the thrower in time for it to go off.
The shooting briefly ceased as the grenade exploded, disorienting them as their auras kicked into overdrive to protect them from what would have otherwise been death.
This allowed the headmaster of Beacon more than ample time to jump from the building and through a window of the VNN station-.
-Only to be faced with workers of said station, all of whom wielded simple and everyday items as weapons. Coffee mugs, random pointer sticks, whiteboards meant for easy carrying, other office supplies in general. This is what these people, clearly civilians, wielded and all with a zoned-out expression among them.
They'd stood there blankly in the hallway he'd touched down in, completely unaffected by all that's been happening so far. But the instant they registered his presence, they immediately went on the attack.
Before Ozpin's very eyes, numerous bodies flooded both ends of the hallway, boxing him in and giving way to some people stumbling and being trampled by the others… not once letting out any sound in the process.
The wary man grimaced and twirled his cane around before slamming it into the floor. As he did so, he let out a pulse of pure aura that acted as a concussive force. It brought all the people to an abrupt halt as their ears now rang quite painfully, enough to make them finally show some expression other than their previously blank expressions.
Ozpin then chose that moment to barrel on ahead, slamming a shoulder directly into a rail thin man with nary a hint of hesitation. He couldn't hesitate anymore, not in a situation like this. His blow knocked the man back hard and in turn made him slam into the people behind him. A domino effect was triggered as the tightly packed group lost their collective balance and began to fall back.
After confirming that the way ahead was clear for the time being, Ozpin then jumped to the wall and dashed across it. He'd actually been to the VNN station a few times before to give interviews, so he had a passing familiarity with its layout. Thus, he knew that if he headed north in this hallway, made a left, took another left halfway down the other hallway and finally a right, he'd reach the newsroom, where Lisa Lavenders and other news anchors reported from. He could only assume Eva Lambros to be there right now.
Despite how swiftly he'd reached the hallway's end and banked a sharp left, however, the people he'd just knocked down were already getting back up. Looks like whatever little spell they were under was of such strength that not even falling atop each other could keep them down for long.
Furthermore, the shooters from earlier could now be heard retreating back into the station, a veritable stampede being heard as they rushed for him.
It was truly unnatural, the effect they were under.
This… this couldn't be the work of a semblance, he realized. Even with how powerful some semblances can be and how they can evolve, this just didn't feel like such a case.
It felt almost like…
Grunting, he scrambled down the second hallway until halfway through it, at which point he took the first left. Only a right turn to make now.
Alas, things couldn't be that easy.
A huge and very meaty hand covered in a black glove reached for him as soon as he made the left, forcing him to cease his action and instead retreat. Doing a very tight backflip due to how deceptively narrow the station's hallways were, he looked up and grimaced at one Hei Xiong, known as Junior, who pretty much filled the whole hallway.
"…You've chosen poorly, Junior," Ozpin quietly began. He was well aware of the key players in Vale, including even Junior himself. Though aware of the man's criminal background, he simply didn't warrant the same level of concern that the truly dangerous forces out there did.
But now here Ozpin was, reevaluating the man, what with how focused the larger man's gaze was compared to the others. Junior was very much in control of himself, or at least that was the impression he gave off now.
The huge man, cramped as he is in the hallway, did his best to shrug. "It is what it is, Ozpin," Junior grunted out, obviously aware of who he is. "For what it's worth, though, I don't think I chose poorly at all."
"To aid Eva Lambros?" Ozpin asked, more rhetorically than anything else. The various people Eva now had under her control could be heard approaching rapidly now. He'll soon be boxed in again if he didn't barrel through right here and now.
"She's a goddamned star," Junior began. "An existence that shines brighter than anything else I once knew of… would have been a poor choice to not do what I can to support her."
Cracking his knuckles, Junior took one massive stomp forward and threw a straight punch with surprising speed.
Against the average civilian, such a blow would be unavoidable and very likely spell instant death. Against students, it'd be a little on the tough side to dodge and do some damage if it landed, especially in a tight situation like this.
But this was not the case for professionals. And certainly not for the likes of Ozpin.
Outstretching his left hand, Ozpin used it to gently push aside the straight punch while simultaneously using his right to thrust the Long Memory directly into Junior's right armpit. He did this thrust with such force that if not for aura, the cane would've skewered right through the spot. Nonetheless, it still got one hell of a reaction out of Junior, the man letting out a lurch of pain.
But said lurch didn't even fully finish before Ozpin pressed on with his assault.
He proceeded to let go of his cane, the weapon falling. As it did, Ozpin got in close and delivered a left hook to Junior's right knee that brought him low, before landing a small uppercut to his stomach as the man fell. He then followed with a powerful flying knee to Junior's chin that sent him outright cartwheeling several yards back.
By this point, the Long Memory had only fallen perhaps an inch from when he'd let go of it. Ozpin now grabbed the cane out of the air and did a front flip, bringing his weapon down with both hands just in time to smash Junior directly in his face. The two-handed swing proved so strong that it instantly knocked the already dazed Junior out… in addition to smashing him through the floor and even the next floor below. He wouldn't be getting up any time soon and even if he did, he'd have to make his way back up to this level again.
Performing a very light jump to get across the newly formed hole, Ozpin soon reached the notable double-doors that led to the newsroom. He didn't waste even an instant to outright kick the doors down-.
-And walk all but directly into Roman Torchwick himself, who opened fire with his own cane weapon. Ozpin silently leaned to the right, avoiding the large round which blew a hole in the wall behind him.
Taking two quick steps forward, he was now too close for the prominent criminal to risk using the gun function of his weapon any longer. This was something Roman himself realized for he immediately twirled his cane several times before approaching Ozpin, ready to attack.
"Sorry, big O, but-!" Whatever smarmy comment Roman had to make, he didn't get to finish. Hell, the man didn't even get the chance to fully swing his cane either.
Immediately, Ozpin slammed the Long Memory directly into Roman's crotch and then when the man hunched over, the headmaster grabbed him in a modified hold that sent the thief flipping onto his back, right arm held firmly between Ozpin's torso and left arm. Ozpin then delivered a single elbow smash directly into Roman's face, the blow strong enough to smash his nose in despite the protection of aura.
Unceremoniously, he let Roman fall unconscious to the floor and kicked aside the man's weapon as an extra precaution.
With a gaze like steel, Ozpin now focused upon the only other person in the room, who'd been watching on with a gleeful smile.
"…Eva Lambros," Ozpin began as he took in the sight of the actress. "Cease whatever it is you're doing to these people now… or be brought down."
As the ancient wizard, known in this day and age as Ozpin, gave his ultimatum, Eva felt her stomach do backflips.
Not in fear or nervousness, but simply out of jubilation.
Ever since she and the others had first learned of this man's existence along with that of Salem's, it was as if something had clicked into place for them. For so long, they'd gone through life almost aimlessly, merely living up to fulfill their purpose of being as best as possible. It hadn't been until Rya had come along to gather them all up and inform them of the truth behind this world that they'd all felt something… more, for lack of a better way to put it.
She and the others… they were beings stuck in between two very different worlds. While none of them had ever claimed to feel as though this fact was a cause of internal strife, it had been agreed upon that merely fulfilling their purposes one little bit at a time wasn't cutting it anymore.
They needed more, so much more. But they'd had no way of how to go about achieving that simple goal, seemingly forever out of reach.
However… the very existence of Ozpin and Salem alike change that considerably. After all, they were the last remnants of an era from long ago, when gods and magic still existed in this world.
Now, the gods were beings that Eva couldn't really care less about, so long as they don't return to interfere in her purpose. The others had similar views save for Rya… but given her state of being, that was to be expected.
But magic on the other hand… that was a different story.
Magic was the key to it all, to elsewhere. Some place where they can perhaps finally feel truly at ease and attain genuine, everlasting fulfillment.
Thus, they need either Ozpin or Salem. Ideally, both would be taken captive, but even just one could hopefully suffice.
"I give you one final warning," Ozpin said as he neared, now no more than a handful of yards away. A distance that he could cross instantly given his capabilities. "Turn the camera back on and tell everyone to stop what they're doing or I will bring you down."
His words got Eva to actually shudder now, delight coursing through her. This was truly happening.
"Now, now," she began, her voice sultry. "Let's not just rush to the final act so quickly, shall we? After all, do you not have many questions for me?"
Although taking Ozpin down was the end goal here, that wasn't something Eva felt the need to rush just yet. No, there was still some monologuing to be done here to spice things up. And from a more pragmatic perspective, going on the offensive first would likely go poorly for her. Even with what little training she has, she knew better than just to blindly attack someone of the wizard's caliber.
"I've many questions indeed," Ozpin replied as he readied his cane. "And I fully intend to get all the answers out of you once this is over with."
He prepared to attack-.
"Taking me down won't stop the effects out there."
-Only for her to coolly make him halt with that simple statement. As the man paused, she continued. "In a conventional fight, I've no chance against you. That's just a basic fact. But my trump card lies not in combat but in other ways. Ways that you have already had a glimpse of."
She motioned to the unconscious Roman and then to the way Ozpin had come from, or rather, she was effectively pointing out all the people Ozpin had knocked down to get to her. The only reason said people hadn't continued to pour into the room just yet was that her presence alone was enough to communicate to her new followers to stay back for the time being.
But they were still there, waiting for her signal.
"So, I will ask again: are you truly so willing to rush to the final act?" she asked with a growing smirk.
"…What precisely did you do?" Ozpin asked in kind, lowering his cane but still clearly ready to move if need be. "How can it be reversed?"
At that, Eva chuckled. "Reverse? Oh, my poor dear wizard. There is no way to reverse it. After all, all I did was just show them all a lovely little glimpse of shining beauty. Once that happened, well, they all became just so eager to follow me."
Ozpin's expression shifted briefly to something unreadable and then went completely blank. The man truly did have plenty of experience acting himself. He could have easily made for an A-list actor in the industry.
"Then you truly are the threat I was warned about…" he murmured.
At that, Eva quirked an eyebrow… and then grimaced so heavily that her otherwise lovely face was mildly affected by the sheer amount of frustration she now felt.
"Ah, Veratyr… just as expected, after all." She uttered out that sentence with all the vitriol she could muster.
"So you do know him," Ozpin commented.
"Unfortunately," Eva responded, her mood slightly ruined by even the thought of that insufferable man.
Although each member of their little unnamed group was quite powerful or at the very least versatile in their abilities, enough so that Eva felt confident they could take Salem and Ozpin captive, actually setting up situations where that could happen was a different story.
Fact of the matter is, is that actually marching into Salem's territory and besting her in combat wasn't something that could be easily done, not with all the Grimm around and however many agents the immortal woman has at her beck and call. There would be plenty of time for Salem to devise a counter and push them back, perhaps even kill them if the battle can turn into one of pure attrition.
Ozpin was a similarly difficult target to actually reach due to his public persona as headmaster of Beacon Academy, where he often stayed. They'd have to launch an attack on Beacon itself in order to reach him and thus they'd face similar challenges in trying to capture him.
Honestly, Eva was confident Rya could pull off the difficult feats of capturing both all on her lonesome… were it not for Veratyr, that is, along with his two allies, Alisa and Valentino. Those three had a knack for showing up sporadically throughout the years to cause them all just enough trouble to keep them occupied, thereby preventing them from properly planning out ways of reaching their targets with as little issue as possible.
Thus, Eva couldn't help but feel genuinely blessed for the wizard himself to come to her like this; it saved her and the others the trouble of having to storm Beacon to get to him.
Alas…
"Who knows what that fucker has planned," she grumbled.
…The fact remains that Veratyr had been the one to tell her of Cinder's presence in Vale in the first place. Granted, he hadn't known the woman's name – Roman was the one to provide her with Cinder's name – but he'd still been aware of the agent's presence and had gone out of his way to approach her at Junior's club despite her obvious hostility towards him.
Could the bastard have foreseen all of this somehow? While Cinder's plan with the train and all that Dust had been kept heavily under wraps, only really known to Roman out of all the underlings she has under her sway now, Eva supposed it was possible to figure out the plan with enough context clues. And Veratyr was quite good when it came to finding those somehow…
…She was almost curious how he did that. Almost.
"Then I suppose he's not on your side," Ozpin surmised and with quite a bit of sarcasm to his otherwise serious tone.
Eva huffed. "He's on no one's side save his own. Certainly not on your side. And he's had his fun with me and my companions over the past several years plenty of times to make it clear he isn't on our side either. I'm sure he's claimed otherwise… but make no mistake. That shithead might be one of us in the most literal sense possible, but he has goals that are too different from everyone else's."
She freely admitted to the existence of her allies, something that she could tell got Ozpin's attention. There was little point in keeping it hidden by now. After all, with how long this man has lived and the various threats he's faced, he likely would've already come to the conclusion that there might be others like her out there.
With a sigh, she turned around and began to pace about. "But I feel we're getting off track, my dear wizard. See, Veratyr, for all his meddling, is not the primary reason I'm doing all this." She looked over her shoulder back at the headmaster. "I'm doing this because of you."
"How so? What have I done to earn your attention?" Ozpin asked, seemingly baffled.
"Weak as it may be now thanks to the creation of those oh so vaunted Maidens of yours," Eva began as she pivoted slowly so that she fully faced him again. "Your magic may still be of great use to us. And with Salem's magical power as well, perhaps my allies and I can fina-."
Ozpin made his move.
He disappeared with nary a sound and with such speed that to Eva's eyes, it was as if his entire form was a meager blur.
But she'd known it was coming. Because as good as his acting may be, she was still in a league all her own, able to see through his tells.
And so, with but a wave of her right hand that she'd already been moving, she responded in kind.
A wave of raw power was unleashed just as he'd been about to thrust the Long Memory into Eva's stomach. While lacking in overall power compared to what Veratyr – now a person of immense interest to him – could do, it was still not something he wished to risk taking the full brunt of. Thus, the headmaster of Beacon had no choice but to leap back.
However, beyond merely the need to avoid damage, he had also retreated out of genuine shock.
After having seen and felt firsthand what Veratyr could do, seeing Eva's attack had finally allowed him to figure out why something had felt so different.
Magic.
The energy attacks they used were comprised of magical power.
The realization caused him to actually freeze up. For so long, he'd thought himself, Salem, and the Relics as the only true sources of the old era left. The Four Maidens, whose magical might came from himself long ago, were more like extensions of his very being in a sense rather than sources.
But now here he was, face to face with someone that possessed magic.
Perhaps not in the truest sense, he now noted – it was more like raw magical power in and of itself, naturally mixed in with aura – but it was nonetheless a genuine impossibility.
Yet here he was, faced with such an impossibility.
"H-How…?" he couldn't help but mutter. "Just what are you?"
It was surreal. Ludicrous. For someone – anyone – to possess magic in any form now couldn't possibly be ordinary humans. Not even the Silver Eyed Warriors were such exceptions, the titular silver eyes being the one final 'blessing' by the God of Light meant to protect humans from Grimm.
This was something entirely new to Ozpin.
Eva's expression was positively gleeful. "It's what you get when beings exist between fantasy and reality," she quipped before pointing a finger at him, from which a beam of power was fired from.
Rattled as he was, Ozpin still instinctively responded, jumping out of the way and then going for a blitz. This revelation changed things a great deal. Holding back was definitely no longer something he could do.
Fully calling upon the power of his semblance, he circled around the whole room, deliberately making it so that everything not pinned down went flying about violently. Getting behind a seemingly flustered Eva, Ozpin went for a swing at the very back of her head.
But just as his cane came within even a foot of Eva, he was suddenly repelled with a blinding flash of light. Whatever just happened, it proved strong enough to force him back, even stumbling as he landed on the floor. Eva immediately whirled around to fire at him with several more blasts, each one as fast or even faster than lightning itself. But he recovered quickly enough to easily deflect the shots, though a direct hit would prove bad for his aura.
As his eyes properly adjusted, he could see a barrier around Eva's entire body, formed from that strange magical/aura hybrid energy. It went without saying that this barrier had been what had deflected him just now.
He grimaced, genuinely annoyed at himself. In just the span of seconds, he'd allowed himself to become so rattled that every new little thing was taking him aback as though he were a complete amateur.
He had to calm down, focus. Processing this shock and the implications behind it all can wait until after, along with the dozens of other questions he now had for Eva.
"Just stand down, oh great wizard," Eva said, that strange energy pulsing around her. "Just surrender… and come with me."
Ozpin suppressed a hiss as a vague sensation akin to a migraine assaulted him. She was clearly trying to do something to him – very likely the same thing she'd done to all those other people, Roman Torchwick and Junior included.
He could feel it now – a small reluctance to continue fighting, to just do as she says and stop this struggle of his…
…Except he refused to listen to such a feeling. He may not exactly be the sort of person he was long ago, but he was still hardly what one would call a quitter.
With a slight grunt, he fully stood up and readied himself to continue the fight.
Eva hummed. "Barely even affected you at all, even with my fullest concentration… well, it was expected, but still rather saddening. In fact…" Her lime green eyes glowed brilliantly. "…It won't do at all. I must 'shine,' Ozpin. All that doesn't allow me to do so must be dealt with in one way or another… isn't that right, my dear Roman?"
Ozpin, detecting movement, spun around in time to see Roman Torchwick not only up but charging directly at him. He looked just barely awake, however, an oddly serene expression on his face. It was as if he was having the most beautiful of dreams, beckoning him to stay in it forever… except his body was still carrying out the motions.
The Beacon headmaster moved to the side, avoiding the sloppy charge and responding with a kick to Roman's exposed back that sent him tumbling across the whole room. Alas, Eva's charms had entranced him so fully now that his body was moving entirely on autopilot, bereft of any conscious thought. That meant he was able to ultimately push his body to the limit, utterly unmindful of any harm that could befall it.
Case in point, Roman got up off the floor so quickly that Ozpin could swear he heard some tendons pop, not that this did much to slow the thief down as he whirled around, picking up a nearby computer monitor to chuck at Ozpin. At the same time, Eva made a finger gun motion and fired off three beams as rapidly as she could.
Ozpin retreated, leaning back so that the first beam missed his head by mere inches before then outright doing a backflip, twisting in midair as to avoid the remaining two beams. He landed near where he'd kicked Roman's cane aside and he wasted no time in picking it up.
Taking aim with it, he fired a single shot at the computer monitor coming his way. Immediately after firing, he took aim at Eva herself and pulled the trigger rapidly, exhausting the cane's Dust supply.
The large blasts impacted against Eva – rather, against her barrier – one after another, rocking the whole room and filling it with smoke and debris as parts of the nearby walls and floor were blown away. Unaffected by all the newfound smoke, however, Ozpin hurled the now useless cane directly at Roman, impacting against his face with audible force.
As Roman staggered from the hit, Ozpin focused on where Eva was. Would those blasts have been enough to overcome the barrier or at least weaken it? He needed to confirm.
He scarcely got to glance for even a whole second before the smoke cleared, moved aside as Eva batted a hand through it all. The barrier had some cracks in it, as though it were glass. Good to know.
What wasn't good to know was that he could hear a stampede throughout the whole building now. He supposed Eva could communicate with her thralls through a non-verbal method, perhaps even outright telepathy. Now they were all coming to her aid… coming to combat him.
That can't be allowed. Even with his level of strength, going up against that many people at once, even if they ranged from average civilians to somewhat trained combatants, he'd eventually falter.
He needed to break this stalemate right now. As things stood, Eva wasn't fast enough to hit him or even keep up with him in general while in his case, he needed either a strong enough blow to destroy that barrier in one go or otherwise ensure a steady stream of attacks. This wasn't feasible given the barrier's strength and all the havoc Eva can clearly cause just by existing.
In which case…
He gripped the Long Memory tightly.
Ozpin promptly lunged at Eva, his speed taking her aback. She clearly tried to repair her barrier, the cracks fading rapidly now. But not fast enough.
He smashed his cane into it with a downwards swing that appeared to rattle the barrier and even the whole room. The cracks that had been disappearing just now ended up resurfacing.
"-!" Eva made an indecipherable sound and then looked to the side.
As if waiting on a cue, Roman chose that very second to appear just before Ozpin could follow up with another attack. This time, Roman succeeded in tackling the headmaster and prepared to pivot in order to throw him to the floor. But just as the entranced man did so, Ozpin rolled with the momentum while holding onto Roman, causing them both to go rolling along the floor. The Beacon headmaster was the first to recover, taking holding of Roman's left arm and then bringing a knee down on the elbow joint.
A sickening crack filled the room as the combination of his strength and body weight caused the thief's elbow to utterly shatter, badly enough to split the skin and even the sleeve of his outfit. Blood seeped out immediately.
Were Roman still in control of himself, he'd likely be screaming his lungs out from the sudden pain. But as he is now, he barely even reacted to this at all, instead trying to shove Ozpin off with his other arm. It proved to be an awkward and futile movement, however, allowing Ozpin ample time to let go of the ruined arm and then swing the Long Memory like a golf club against the side of Roman's skull.
The sound that the impact produced would understandably make people think he'd just outright killed the man. In reality, he only gave Roman a fractured skull and one hell of a concussion… though if the man's failing aura didn't recover soon, then it could prove fatal.
…Ozpin couldn't bring himself to care too much in that moment if the thief actually pulled through. He simply didn't have the time, not when the hallways throughout the whole floor were literally shaking under the tidal wave of people incoming.
He needed to hurry.
Fortunately, his rather callous dispatch of Roman appeared to take Eva aback, the actress freezing up as Roman's unconscious form unceremoniously skidded and spun along the floor.
Good, that gave him an opening.
Calling upon just the most minor fraction of power built up within the Long Memory, he took a knee and slammed it into the floor.
Over the course of many lifetimes, he's taken to storing up a combination of both magical and kinetic energy within the cane, just a little bit at time. By now, however, he's stored so much that were he to unleash even a solid portion of it, the entirety of the capital city would be wiped clean off the map.
Thus, even with just the most meager amount of power unleashed, it still proved enough to devastate the whole building.
The VNN station was shaken down to its very foundation. Support pillars broke like weak pieces of wood exposed to even the slightest bit of force. Walls and ceilings/floors gave way like glass before a sledgehammer. Even some of the nearby buildings were rattled as a mere side effect.
And of course, the floor he was on was not spared from this attack.
He and Eva both fell through the now annihilated floor… along with the other floors below. Ozpin's fall was controlled, however, while the latter's was not. The actress known as the hottest and most talented in Vale outright flailed about as she fell. By the time she tried to employ some stunt work training that she must have gotten a while back, it was already too late and they ended up crashing into the VNN station's lobby area.
Chunks of debris could be heard falling even after he landed and stood up, the VNN collapsing, perhaps not completely, but it would certainly take a long while to fix this whole place up. And though it was silent due to all of Eva's slaves not being a vocal bunch, Ozpin could only assume that they were caught up in all the rubble as well.
…He knew that there was likely no chance of recovery from Eva's grasp, but he still hoped that most of them had survived what he'd just done.
But this can't be allowed to continue. There was just no telling how much more harm Eva could do if allowed to work her charms further.
With cane in hand, Ozpin stomped across the lobby area towards where Eva fell. Due to the fall leaving her dazed, her barrier had presumably fallen. This was a suspicion Ozpin assumed to be truth due to how dirtied and torn the actress' clothes now were.
…Admittedly, even while covered in dirt, small shards of glass and who knows what else, Eva still really did look good. Ozpin supposed, quite clinically, that Eva was known as Vale's hottest actress for good reason.
He prepared to attack-.
-Only for Eva to make the first move.
"Off," she said. No, more like commanded.
In response to her single word, the lights that had surprisingly still been working in the lobby immediately turned off just as Ozpin prepared to move. The sudden absence of light momentarily took him aback… and his vision was further obscured by several sudden flash of light – Eva's beams.
He twirled his cane defensively, managing to deflect the first two beams that would've struck his chest and throat respectively, but the three beams afterwards struck him dead on. Upper right thigh, the left side of his torso and his left shoulder were hit in rapid succession, causing him to stagger back and almost even tumble back over a particularly large piece of rubble.
He grunted. As expected, these beams hurt a great deal, causing his aura to dip noticeably. While he could still take at least several more before having to truly worry about running out of aura, the fact remained that these strange beams could still do more damage than most other things he's been hit with in this lifetime.
…This had to end, as soon as possible.
Eva suppressed one hell of a grunt as she got up. Unmindful of how torn up her clothes had gotten – though she did idly note that a lot of people would salivate over her dirtied and exposed form if they could see her right now – she considered the situation.
To be perfectly blunt, she'd gotten too confident. Playful. She'd been convinced that just keeping Ozpin at bay with her energy beams and barrier while allowing Roman to do the real grunt work would've been enough. Obviously, that hadn't been the case.
Combined with how many beams she'd fired so far and the power she'd put into them, she was now facing a bit of a predicament: how best now to use her remaining power.
Although using her barrier would render his assault meaningless unless he did used that strange move from moments ago again, it would also leave her with less power to use since the barrier took energy to both create and maintain.
Given that the goal here was to knock him out and bring him to the others, offense would be her best bet here. Alas, she'd have to be more conservative with her beams, either firing less often or at least with considerably less power.
Thankfully, she still had the people under her sway to come help. Even if only a small portion of the mob had survived the collapse of the building, there was always strength in numbers. Especially now that she was choosing to be a bit more liberal in how she used her charm.
…That's right. Her charm…
"I'm the shining one here," she murmured as she watched Ozpin prevent himself from stumbling over a piece of rubble. "I'm the one that gets the attention – the apple of everyone's eyes."
She'd been using her charm off and on throughout today, never to full capacity. Not even earlier when she'd tried to talk the ancient wizard down did she go all in with her true power – her Principle.
She is Eva Lambros… and she shall be the greatest shining existence, the one that all else will look to in reverence.
Not even the likes of Ozpin and Salem shall be excluded from this.
By now, Ozpin had recovered from the three beams she'd managed to hit him with. He was yet again readying himself to attack. And if that was allowed to happen here and now, then she'd fall, simple as that. Against someone so much stronger and faster than her and far more experienced in battle, trying to fight conventionally was literally impossible.
But even someone as inexperienced as her knew that it was simply a matter of making the first move.
And now was no different.
"Submit," she declared as she used her Principle to its fullest.
Pure and unfiltered energy was released from her very being as her charm took effect. Though it was primarily directed at the headmaster of Beacon, all else around her was equally affected.
The lights, regardless if they worked or not still, dimmed as energy flowed out from her – making her quite literally the most shining existence right now.
The various bits of debris that still fell almost continued to do so, but with far less noise and impact. It was as though not even the debris wished to make any noise that could draw attention away from her.
Through the connection she had with the others under her sway, they ceased their swarming down to the lobby and fell onto their knees, heads bowed in her direction. Even when this put them in danger of falling over due to where they may have stopped at, not a single one hesitated to do so.
Color itself seemed to gradually fade away, leaving only her form as the sole source of light and beauty for as far as tens of yards. Had she bothered to spread this influence outwards rather than concentrate all on Ozpin, this range would have been significantly greater.
And then… there was Ozpin himself.
At once, the man had been ready to attack… only to outright freeze in place. His eyes went wide and his gaze turned glassy. His breathing, which had remained so steady despite all the combat thus far, now picked up erratically. Even from this distance, Eva could practically hear his heartbeat quicken.
And she relished in this as she fully stood up and spread out her arms, like some kind of holy figure revealing herself to a believer.
Ozpin and everything else here within range of her charm were bearing witness to her, the one who shines the most – the pinnacle of beauty.
Her every breath would cause theirs to hitch.
The way her large chest heaved and her other curves swayed would steadily crush their minds.
Her very gaze, when centered directly upon them, would make them realize how unworthy they were to even be near her… in addition to feeling infinite gratitude for being shown any attention nonetheless.
Each and every little movement she made, learned and refined throughout her years of being an actress, were only further accentuated by her Principle.
…Yes, it would seem that at her full power, not even the likes of Ozpin were immune indeed. In the end, she supposed it was simply of matter of power and simply wanting it more, much like how Rya would occasionally say.
Why, Eva had even used Rya's favorite little word to net the win here.
And it was surely her win. How else could this situation now be described? Why, just look at how Ozpin now staggered and swayed as a result of the revelation he was receiving? The revelation that she was indeed an existence like no oth-.
"-!"
Ozpin's swaying ceased just as a little bit of focus came back into his previously glassy eyes. A look of pure determination now filled those weary brown eyes of his… and then he moved.
It was over in an instant.
Eva could only let out a quiet lurch as the man was now directly before her, Ozpin's cane imbedded in her body. Directly through her heart, to be more precise.
Then just as she reached up to try and grab the cane, he suddenly withdrew it and delivered yet another thrust directly to her throat, attacking with just enough force to make a hole that she couldn't possibly recover from.
Eva staggered as fresh blood now poured freely out of each wound. Losing balance after just a few seconds, she finally fell.
And all the while… she had continued to look directly into the eyes of her killer.
Ozpin breathed in and out heavily. His entire body shook. It was as though he was an addict going through withdrawal, only on a level far deeper than anything biological.
Although hunched over from the exertion, he still towered over Eva Lambros, oh dear and sweet Eva… just why had he-?
He shook his head violently, his glasses threatening to go flying off.
No, he told himself in silence, there was nothing sweet about Eva at all. This lingering feeling in his mind and soul… it was the result of Eva's strange ability, which appeared to revolve entirely around being able to charm anyone and even anything that she used the ability on.
A power that had the capacity to shave clean the hearts of all those that she came across…
…What a frightening ability, even with how infrequently the woman had used it.
Even with him having proven seemingly resistant to it at first, Eva had still nearly overwritten his will entirely just a moment ago. It was only thanks to his numerous lifetimes of experience that had honed his will that he'd been able to pull through.
But only barely.
And now… this was the end result.
Eva lied gently on the ruined floor of the lobby. Despite all the debris around and her own state, she still managed to look almost graceful, enticing even. Whether this was natural or a conscious effort on her part, it was impressive almost.
But this didn't change the fact that she was dying; the holes made by the Long Memory in both her heart and throat weren't so small that covering the wounds and putting pressure on them would help, not even with the aid of whatever strange energy she possessed being substituted as aura.
…It couldn't be helped, Ozpin thought. Had this continued, then even he would have been…
He sighed. Now wasn't the time to dwell on what-ifs.
"…Ha… Well, wasn't that something," Eva suddenly spoke up. Despite the hole in her throat, she was able to speak with remarkable clarity. "Congratulations, dear wizard. You've proven why you're so valuable."
Ozpin glared at the woman. Not in anger or hate, but in pure inquisitiveness. "Just what are you? What was your purpose for all this?"
Eva let out a choked laugh. "Like I said… I'm a being in between fantasy and reality… those like me have taken to calling ourselves Liminals." She paused to let out a cough, a noticeable amount of blood being released in the process. "As to my purpose… ha… my purpose… was to 'shine.'"
"What does that even…?"
Eva's gaze turned away from him and instead upwards, almost lost in thought. "What does it even mean…? Honestly, I never figured that out… never even tried to figure it out. I just… acted accordingly. Instinct, essentially."
Ozpin outright growled. "…What of this particular situation? You said earlier you wished to make use of my remaining magic. Salem's as well. To what end?"
Eva redirected her gaze back to him, but didn't reply. She merely stared. Then after a few terribly long seconds…
"Ha, sorry," she replied quietly. "But to tell would be spoiling… and no one likes having sequels ruined for them so far in advance."
For the first time in a very long time, Ozpin bristled. "You-."
Eva raised a single hand and gave a dainty wave. "You'll have plenty of chances to ask those questions again… and get answers. Just not from me." Her hand fell as the last of her strength left her. "…Be a good man and tell the others I did the very best I could at the end."
He didn't even get a chance to respond to that before Eva closed her eyes and took one final breath… and ceased moving entirely.
…
Ozpin stood there for a moment, just trying to process everything that had happened in this short time frame. His mind was a mess, it felt like, chaotic.
…Looks like the path ahead for him and the others was going to be fraught with numerous unknown threats. And if they were anything like Eva was, then…
His grip on his cane tightened at the very thought. But just as quickly as his grip had tightened from anxiety, so too did it go lax as he dismissed such thoughts for the time being.
This could all wait until after the crisis in Vale is fully brought to a close.
Out on the streets, the suppression of the crowd had gone well, almost unnervingly so to most of the huntsmen and soldiers gathered.
Preventing the entranced civilians from continuing their suicidal march through the Grimm infested streets had been somewhat difficult due to other huntsmen and soldiers that had been seemingly hypnotized doing their best to prevent interference… but then just a moment ago, they all just went… limp.
Like puppets with their strings cut.
That wasn't to say that this had been a quiet time, however, for many of these people had begun to inexplicably wail. It was as though they all had just experienced a great loss, like a loved one passing away suddenly.
It certainly made it easy for the people to be rounded up and halted from continuing towards the VNN station, which had partly collapsed moments ago, but the collective crying, tears and all, had made it all unnervingly surreal.
Except to Veratyr, who silently drank in the whole situation with a small smile upon his face.
It would appear that Ozma had triumphed over Eva. That was good to know – he'd actually been a bit concerned earlier that Eva might have been able to pull one over the man thanks to her charms. This minor concern had been why he'd opted to join Glynda Goodwitch and the others in heading towards to the VNN station, to see for himself how things would go and if need be, interfere.
And now even without actually being at the scene itself, this current sight made it clear what the outcome had been. It put him at ease, really.
…Well, not that Ozma was truly needed for the plan, to be honest. But his involvement was nonetheless something Veratyr had dearly hoped for, both for Ozma's own sake and also for Veratyr's own curiosity.
Now with Eva dead, surely Ozma and his inner circle will be looking into what else lurked in the shadows out there… in the realm between fantasy and reality.
And Rya and the others will undoubtedly be making their own moves as well now, eager to carry out their own goals.
All he'd have to do now was observe and act accordingly. And have Valentino and Alisa both continue sowing discord in their respective areas.
With a minor amount of effort, the mercenary suppressed a chuckle.
This is now where things will truly begin.
Whew, all done.
Perhaps not the most action-packed chapter due to how hands off Eva's battle style is… but do keep in mind that she isn't a combatant like others are. That said, I do hope it was entertaining nonetheless in addition to giving you all a glimpse into what else will be awaiting the RWBY characters in the future. You can definitely expect the abilities of my OCs to be quite esoteric in comparison to the abilities from the RWBYverse and will have some interesting interactions with canon abilities too.
And as for how easily Ozpin dispatched Junior and Roman alike, do remember that he is a top tier in the verse while the latter two very much are not. And as for how callous he approached the whole situation, what with bringing down the VNN station and whatnot, I'm trying to make it clear just how weary the man is after all that he's been through. He may still ultimately be a good man deep down, but numerous lifetimes of mistakes and the new circumstances he found himself faced with had naturally worn him down. Just want to make that clear.
On a final note, do let me know what you think of the term 'Liminals.' It's really the only word I could think of that best describes what my OCs are without (hopefully) being too spoiler-y just yet. And as for the term of 'Principle,' it's something I straight up took from the Tsukihime remake since it does suit my OCs very well. Will, of course, be elaborating on it later down the line as I reveal more of the backstory I've crafted for this fic. Please look forward to it.
Until next time, everyone. Take care.