A/N: Hello all! Yes the story is still active, yes it will be finished. To be honest this chapter was one that was a little harder for me to write as I tried to get everything perfect to where I wanted it to be but could never really find that great spot for it. But I had it to a pretty good spot and needed to wrap up the ending when I got a concussion and whiplash in a boating accident.
Some of you might have seen the update on that from my profile, which if you're ever wondering the status of the story check there as I update there from time to time. I'm still feeling the effects of it however, even now being 3 weeks after the fact but that's probably because of how fast I was going, (30 mph/48kmh) when I hit the water head and neck first. The fact I had to go back to work a week after it all and stare at a computer screen all day so that probably hasn't helped either.
That being said I wanted to get this done sooner than later so I've been writing intermittently after work whenever my headaches weren't really bad to get it finished and I think it's in a good spot. Apologies in advance for any spelling mistakes as my head is still hurting.
CH 20
"For real?" The man said into the microphone with a sigh, before letting out a "I don't get paid enough for this." from under his breath as he grabbed a different microphone and flipped a switch to turn it on.
"Good afternoon boys and girls. It appears our flight to Beacon is being rerouted to the Valean airport due to unforeseen traffic patterns. This is all routine, the bullhead is fine, no need for panic. Just one too many ships trying to go in and not enough space and we're the lucky ones to get rerouted. Anyway this will be a minor delay and we are still on track to arrive at Beacon before dinner is served in the cafeteria, because I know that is what everyone is concerned about, so sit back, relax, and enjoy the rest of our ride." The pilot said before shutting off the microphone and hearing the droning of groans coming from the cab of the bullhead.
"What's the matter?" The co-pilot asked as he closed the door to the cockpit after re-entering. "I leave for the bathroom for 2 minutes and suddenly all the students look like they've gotten their skivvies in a twist." He said after sitting down in his seat and putting his headset back on.
"Apparently some of the students are trying to smuggle in some extracurricular items for some fun times to Beacons."
"They brought condoms? Why not just buy them there? Morons spend more back home than they would in Vale." The co-pilot stated.
"No you old coot, drugs. We're talking about illegal substances. Narcotics, Hallucinogens, Stimulants, etc." The pilot replied.
"They're trying to smuggle in drugs? Why back in my day we didn't smuggle them in, we just made them there. Why I remember one time we made some of the finest drugs those professors had ever seen using nothing but some disposable toothbrushes, a dollar store comb, and some old glass water bottles we found in the cafeteria. You see what we did was…" The older man said as the pilot just focused on flying and blocked him out as he droned on like so many times before.
Meanwhile back in the cab of the bullhead some of the students were getting antsy.
"Dude, I wanted to get to Beacon as quickly as possible. This sucks man."
"Hey dude, cheer up. We still should get there for dinner." The student beside him said.
"Is food all you ever think about?" A reply came from a girl sitting behind them.
"It's not my fault I'm growing huntsmen in training." Came the retort as he gave a childish facial gesture to the girl.
"Will all of you be quiet? I'm trying to get some sleep. Those leadership assignments were brutal."
"Maybe you shouldn't procrastinate then oh leader mine." The girl to the left of said leader teased.
A few other students around them joined in on the conversation after that and they all began talking about plans to do once they got to Beacon.
Several rows back, all the way in the very back to be exact, sat a raven haired woman, and a mint haired woman, along with a gray haired young man.
"Great, an inspection. I expect they're going to make me remove my legs again." Mercury said with a sigh as he leaned back further into his seat.
"Oh is the little tin man upset he's going to have a little inconvenience by having to have his legs inspected?" Emerald teased.
"Don't you have a boot to lick Em?" Mercury shot back.
"Children please." Cinder said with a sigh as she rubbed her temples. "This will be a short inconvenience at most. As long as neither of you have illicit drugs on your person we should be fine. Now sit back and shut up so I can have a little peace." Cinder said as she closed her own eyes and leaned back into her seat.
"Yes ma'am." Emerald responded while Mercury remained quiet but still made the motion of bootlicking while looking at Emerald.
About half an hour later the bullhead began its approach to the Vale airport when the younger pilot radioed in asking for instructions. After being told to go to the furthest runway he angled the bullhead and proceeded to land near the hangar at the end of the runway.
As he did so he spotted what he could tell were some VPD officers already standing by for the inspection. Upon coming to a complete stop, the young pilot pressed the latch for the door release as one of the uniformed officers boarded the aircraft.
The man who entered had short brown hair and teal-green eyes. He was dressed in what appeared to be a freshly pressed VPD uniform, which gave off the air that he was someone in charge. After looking towards the pilot and receiving a nod, he grabbed the microphone used to broadcast into the cabin and began talking after clicking the button.
"Greetings students, my name is Officer Ebi with the Vale Police Department. We have received word that some students are trying to smuggle drugs into Beacon Academy and have received instruction from Headmaster Ozpin himself to inspect all incoming flights prior to their arrival to Beacon Academy. So if everyone can remain seated we will be taking people off one at a time for inspection, starting from the front row and making our way towards the back. Once the inspection is over you will be escorted to a bus that is waiting to take you all to a different bullhead which will take you to Beacon. In doing so please grab your bags before disembarking for inspection. Just a fair warning though, it appears there are a few more of you onboard than we expected so the bus might have to make a few trips. We ask that everyone remains calm so we can get this over with as quickly as possible. Thank you."
After hanging up the microphone he looked towards the pilots and gestured with his head for them to disembark as well. The pilots got the messages and promptly got off the vessel as they followed the instructions of the Valean Police Officers on the ground.
Seeing that the two pilots were now safely away from the bullhead, Officer Ebi began taking the first students off the bullhead starting with a woman with dark complexion, platinum blonde hair and olive green eyes. She was wearing a yellow robe with only one wide, loose-fitting sleeve over a black tube top. She also has black pants and shoes and a red sash embroidered with the pattern of a white endless knot on it.
"Alright miss, we'll start with you. Please grab your bags and disembark to where my companions are waiting on the runway outside. Once the inspection is complete we can get you on your way towards Beacon."
"Thank you sir." She said as she stood up and grabbed her things.
As she disembarked everyone with a window seat facing that way, saw her calmly walk towards the uniformed officers who appeared to greet her.
"Hello miss, my name is Officer Ederne. If you could please state your name so we can confirm you are a student of Haven and we can begin the quick inspection so we can get you on your way." The female officer stated.
"My name is Arslan Atlan ma'am." Arslan said as she took in the appearance of the large woman before her. She was a tall young muscular woman with medium brown hair in a short ponytail. Her brown-tan skin was lighter in complexion compared to Arslans' own skin, which paired well with the silver mirrored aviators she wore that covered her eyes.
"Very good, now if you come with me." The muscular female officer said before she led Arslan over to where one of the officers, who also wore a similar if not exact same pair of aviators, had a K9 sniff around her before they moved towards her bags.
After what seemed to be an all clear sign was flashed, Arslan walked back over and picked up her bags before being led to the bus waiting by the hangar.
After getting the all clear radioed to his headset, Officer Ebi motioned for the next student to begin the disembark process as well.
This student had lightly-tanned skin, amber eyes, and black hair. He was wearing two yellow sashes, one around his waist the other over his shoulder alongside a dark blue vest and gray pants with yellow lacing up the sides. He had on black boots and black fingerless gloves, along with a dark gray beaded necklace around his neck similar to the one of the last student.
The process was the same as with the student before him. He grabbed his bags and got off the aircraft before he was standing before Officer Ederne. She asked for his name, which he answered with Bolin Hori, with a nod the officer motioned for him to step away from his bags as the dog went about sniffing around him and then moving on to his luggage.
After the all clear was given Bolin grabbed his bags and moved to join his team leader on the bus that would take them to their other bullhead. As the two students watched this process repeat for the rest of their team along with several others before the bus took off for their connecting flight.
The other students still onboard the original bullhead watched the seemingly mundane process repeat over and over as the bus came and went as it was filled with their fellow students.
As it got down to the last four Mercury, Emerald, and Cinder watched as the boy in front of them was taken away, leaving only the three of them.
"Ugh could this go any slower?" Mercury said with a sigh as sat there waiting for his turn.
"Thankfully this is almost over." Cinder said as she saw the man walking back towards them.
"Alright son, it's your turn. Grab your bags and let's go." The uniformed man said in a casual tone as he approached them.
"Cool, let's get this over with." Mercury said as he grabbed his one bag.
"Just one bag?" The officer asked him with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm a light traveler. Only pack what I need." The boy said with a shrug.
"That's what I like about being a guy." The officer said with a smirk as the two shared a laugh.
As the two were coming out of the bullhead the officer standing by the K9 unit whispered something into the dog's ear and scratched its head, causing the dog to bark in delight.
Following the same protocol as those before him, Mercury set his bag down and then walked over to where the K9 officer stood. He then told the officer he had metal legs and asked if that would be a problem.
The officer appeared to ponder on the question as Mercury looked at him, taking in the man's appearance. He was a young male, a dog faunus judging by the dark gray tail swinging behind him, with long greenish-black hair he had tied in a bun. He also had a name tag that said M. Amin on his left pectoral. The silver aviators he wore covered his eyes from the sun, but as he looked around at the other officers he supposed those were just standard issue.
"Makes me wish I had a pair of those. That sun is bright today." Mercury thought to himself as the Faunus Officer started talking and brought him out of his own thoughts.
"Yeah if you follow me we, the sarge said we can go somewhere a bit more private so we can take off your legs so they don't interfere with the test. Man those are words I never thought I'd say. Come along then."
Mercury followed along as they rounded the corner of the hangar and entered into it. After seeing Officer Amin hold the door for him, Mercury said his thanks and then went inside.
After hearing the door shut behind him, Mercury heard the officer speak. This time though in a much more confident and assertive tone.
"Stay!" The man spoke loudly and clearly.
"Ha he must be telling the mutt to stay and… WHY CAN'T I MOVE?" Mercury thought to himself as he turned to look towards the officer only to see a man swinging the flat of a giant blade at him. The person in question had graying black, spiky hair, faded red eyes, and slight stubble along his jawline. He had a red, tattered cloak on his back, and wore a gray dress shirt with a long tail.
These details along with the smell of whiskey made one thing clear as he was painfully smacked with the flat of the blade.
"Damn alcoholic huntsman." Mercury thought to himself before he proceeded to pass out on the concrete hangar floor.
"Well that's one down. Good job kid." Qrow said as he looked towards the dog faunus.
"It's Marrow, not kid." Marrow said as he placed aura-resistant handcuffs on Mercury.
Meanwhile back in the bullhead Cinder and Emerald were starting to wonder what was happening with Mercury.
"He probably had cigarettes or something on him they found when they were taking off his mechanical legs." Emerald said, having no faith in her "partner."
"Cigarettes aren't illegal though. Frowned upon, sure but illegal they are not. Something is amiss here." Cinder said as they saw the man who had been escorting students off the bullhead nod once towards the hangar and then begin his trek towards the vessel.
"Something doesn't smell right here. This seems awfully fishy." Cinder says as she observed the man casually making his way back to the bullhead.
"What do we do ma'am?" Emerald asked.
"We go along for now. If and only IF something really looks so bleak we block the guy and then hijack the bullhead. We'll just have to leave Mercury as a collateral casualty." Cinder said in a firm voice.
"Yes ma'am." Emerald said as she gave a nod and prepared for the arrival of their escort out of the aircraft.
"Alright you two we're almost done so we're just going to do two at once because quite frankly I think I've gotten enough steps in for the day." Officer Ebi said with a small laugh.
"Alright." Both women responded as they got up and got their bags as Emerald let Cinder go first.
With a small thank you, Cinder gestured for the uniformed man to lead the way.
With a smile he turned around and began walking towards the aircraft exit. As they neared the door Cinder's "something isn't right" sense started going off like crazy as she made a gesture with one of her hands behind her back to emerald, hoping to convey the message.
As they reached the door and the man was making to exit, Cinder dropped her bags and pumped aura into her arms as she shoved him in the back with all her might, pushing him off the aircraft before slamming the door shut and locking it.
"Emerald, guard the door and make sure they can't open it. I'm getting this thing airborne." Cinder exclaimed as she dashed for the cockpit and threw herself into one of the chairs.
As Emerald heard Cinder begin pushing buttons to start up the bullhead she drew her weapon, Thieve's Respite, and began guarding the door and ultimately observing the chaos unfolding outside.
On the outside things were indeed as hectic as Emerald was seeing them to be.
"Shit!" The man shouted as he was pushed to the ground. As he began getting back up he saw his fellow specialists, and Winter, running towards him with weapons drawn. He also saw Qrow running right behind them.
As he looked back towards the bullhead he heard the vessel begin to fire up and quickly regained his composure as he saw Ironwood and Ozpin approaching from the other side.
"Clover, are you okay?" The muscular woman shouted.
"I'm fine Elm, but we have to stop that bullhead before they get away." Clover responded as they heard the noise of the engines coming to life and all turned to see an excited looking Cinder at the helm of the bullhead.
"Quickly! Stop it!." Clover shouted as he sprung to his feet and pulled out his weapon only to somewhat pause as he looked down… "A fishing pole, yeah this won't help. Maybe I should consider getting an actual firearm." Clover thought to himself as his companions began to take aim.
As they were taking aim, Qrow caught up to them and the bullhead began taking off.
"Dammit we need to stop that." Qrow said as a chorus of "we know" was shouted back at him, but it was quickly drowned out by the roar of the bullhead's engine trying to make the aircraft take flight.
As the bullhead began to move the first few feet of its ascension before it was stopped as a white glow that had thin black streaks running through it. As this was happening a voice came over their intercoms everyone had in their ears.
"Hurry! My semblance can only hold for so long. Take out those engines! Mag dump them!" Brendan yelled over the comms as he began to feel his aura drain as he held down the aircraft with his semblance.
"You heard the man!" Elm shouted as she shifted her massive hammer into its rocket launcher form and targeted the nearest engine, before firing off a rocket at it. Due to the fact the bullhead was currently being held in place by the dog faunus' semblance it was unable to take any evasive actions and the rocket struck true taking out the left engine as a scream of frustration was heard from the cockpit.
On the other side of the bullhead the headmaster duo heard the callout as well as Ironwood pulled out his two revolvers and began shooting at the engine on their side. Dumping all the dust bullets in both into the engine caused it to begin smoking as it slowly began dying causing another irritable scream to originate from the cockpit as the vehicle was pushed back onto the ground by the gravity based semblance.
The few feet the bullhead managed to get off the ground was not much but with no engines fighting back against the gravity based semblance of the hunter assisting the crew assembled to take down Cinder and her group, the bullhead came crashing down with a heavy thud. The impact and the added pressure from the gravity semblance caused the fuselage to buckle some under the force.
This impact undoubtedly threw around any unsecured items that happened to remain inside the bullhead. Whether that be luggage, books or magazines not properly put back in the pocket behind the seats, or an unsuspecting passenger who hadn't been buckled into a seat.
After the grounding of the bullhead the white glow around it began to dissipate as a voice was heard over the comms. "Go get 'em, I've done what I can do."
As the specialists and Qrow heard the voice of the huntsman speak they all looked towards each other before giving a nod as they began to close in on the bullhead.
Meanwhile in the cockpit Cinder was rapidly trying to think of emergency plans. Quickly undoing the one strap she used on the seat, she stood up and turned around only to find Emerald on the ground in between the aisles of seats with some blood by her head and luggage scattered around her body.
"No, no no. Dammit this was a perfect plan. Dammit dammit dammit." Cinder said as she looked towards the door, only to find it inaccessible due to the pressure the slight crumpling had put on the body of the aircraft.
"Alright maiden power time. I'll blow an exit and use whatever advantage I can to get as much space between me and them. I'll drain whatever reserves I have of the maiden powers to get some distance, but first." Cinder said aloud as she began focusing her power to try and create a blast but couldn't get her powers to materialize.
"Dammit." Cinder screamed before looking around quickly and seeing the cockpit and racing back into it as an idea formed in her head.
Quickly putting her hands on the glass of the windshield she began to use her semblance and superheated the glass allowing her to create an opening and begin her escape as her enemies closed in on the bullhead from the sides.
Deciding the best thing to do might just be to make a break for it by going straight, as she had enemies to her left and right and a bullhead behind her, Cinder took off in a sprint, going as fast as she could.
"It wasn't supposed to go like this. We were going to infiltrate Beacon, learn where they hid the maiden, and then I kill her to gain full powers. Why did nothing workout like it was supposed to. AND WHY CAN'T I SUMMON ANY OF THE POWERS. I'M STILL HALF A MAIDEN DAMMIT!" Cinder thought letting out an internal scream as she heard the footsteps of those chasing her and heard/saw the bullets being fired past her.
Meanwhile back at Beacon a certain bunny faunus had finally come out of her coma and was immediately swarmed by her concerned teammates.
"Velvet you're awake!" Coco said as she hugged her teammate and tears of joy began to well in her eyes.
"Huh, w-what happened?" Velvet asked drearily as she began to take in the sights around her, realizing this wasn't her dorm room but the infirmary.
"You passed out when we were walking towards the cafeteria to get food. You said something along the lines of you didn't feel good and then proceeded to fall over and pass out on the hallway floor." Yatsuhashi said, answering his teammate's question.
"H-how long have I been out?" Velvet asked as she looked from face to face of her teammates.
"You've been out for 6 months Vel. We missed the Vytal festival." Coco said with a sad face.
"What but that means-" Velvet said but didn't get to finish as she watched Fox give Coco a smack to the back of the head before correcting her.
"You haven't been out that long Velvet, don't worry. Not even a full week has passed. Doesn't mean Coco wasn't crying her eyes out though." Fox said with a smirk before he was similarly smacked in the back of his head by Coco.
"Shut up, can't a girl be concerned about her only fellow female teammate. After all, if something happened to Bun, who would I tease? You and Yats aren't as fun." Coco said with a smirk similar to the one that had moments ago adorned Fox's face.
"I believe the phrase is no horsing around in the infirmary? Let's try to stay serious, you two." Yatsuhashi said before he looked towards Velvet. "We are all glad you are okay though. You had us all quite worried."
"Well thankfully it appears I'm fine, I'm sorry to worry you- ahhhhhh" Velvet said before her words gave way to a pained scream as she fell backwards into her bed clutching her chest.
"Velvet!" Her three teammates shouted at once as Tsune came bursting through the door after thankfully being nearby when Velvet started screaming.
"What happened?" Tsune asked as she rushed over to Velvet's bed and began looking from monitor to monitor as she checked vitals.
"We don't know. She woke up and was acting a little dazed but that is normal because she's been out for a while and then she grabbed her chest and started screaming." Coco hurriedly explained.
"Shit shit shit. Her aura is dropping." Tsune said as she noticed the aura level beginning to decrease. "It's not falling like a rock but this is still bad. You three are third years right? Have you been taught about aura transfers yet?"
"Yes ma'am we were taught it recently." Yatsuhashi said as he approached the doctor.
"Good it should be fresh then. Which of you has the biggest aura here? You know what it doesn't matter." Tsune said before pointing at Yatsuhashi. "You watch her aura meter, and you girl, begin giving her some aura after the big guy here says Velvet's aura falls past 70%. And red hair, take over for the lady when she starts to run out of aura. I need to make a call." Tsune said quickly before pulling her scroll from her pocket and moving to stand by the door.
"What is it Tsune? We're a little busy right now." Ozpin said as he kept chasing Cinder but began falling towards the rear of the pack as he tried to hold a scroll call and run at the same time.
"It's the girl. She woke up but then started clutching her chest and her aura is falling. It's not rapid but something is draining it. I presume you understand the terms here."
"Understood Tsune. We'll try to wrap this up quickly." Ozpin said as he closed the scroll and began to run with all his might back towards the front of the group as he began to see the signs of the maiden powers activating in Cinder as fire danced around her eyes and began to pool around her hands.
"Shit." Ozpin said before raising his voice louder for all to hear. "WE NEED TO TAKE HER DOWN NOW!" Ozpin shouted as Cinder began to rise up off the ground little by little. Trying desperately to create some distance between herself and her pursuers.
"There it is! They can't stop me now." Cinder thought to herself and she began to feel the maiden powers course through her and she began unleashing the power through her hands in an attempt to fly away.
Meanwhile while Cinder was being chased down the runway, Emerald regained consciousness in the fuselage and shakily got up and began walking to the cockpit to see what had happened.
Glancing outward she saw her boss running down the runway as fire began to coalesce around her palms before Cinder started to gain air as she attempted to fly away.
"She left me." Emerald said quietly to herself as a thud sound came from above her, drawing out a quiet gasp from her as she slowly moved back towards the interior of the bullhead.
As Emerald did this the sound of footsteps on the roof of the bullhead grew closer to the cockpit before someone jumped down into the cockpit from the roof.
"Damn the impact really did a number on this place, or maybe it was that girl." Qrow said as he looked around the cockpit at all the shorting out systems.
"Guess I better go find the green one." Qrow said to himself as he began walking towards the cabin area, Harbinger staying strapped on his back as the narrow cabin area made swinging the blade an uncomfortable task.
Qrow moved down the aisle checking each row of seats for the green haired criminal before he got about halfway down the aisle when he saw the dust stirrup at one of the rows he was passing. Turning around, Qrow dove down the aisle trying to tackle the escaping criminal, only he didn't see anyone, he certainly felt them though as the man landed atop what was definitely not the floor. As Emerald broke the man's fall her existence began to fade back into reality as her illusion dropped.
A scuffle ensued as the two began fighting and rolling around on the floor. "Just give it up." Qrow said as the two traded blows, "Your boss already abandoned you."
"It's a tactical retreat. She wouldn't leave me." Emerald managed to get out as the two continued to roll around the floor, battering the other with punches.
"She's currently trying to outrun and gain liftoff to escape. She abandoned you. Deserted you. Dropped you like a hot potato. She will run and escape for herself and only think about you in passing after this. She will run back to Salem and never come back now that her face is known." Qrow said as he finally managed to pin Emerald's arms to stop her from attacking.
"S-she'll come back. I know she will, she has too." Emerald said as her voice started to crack.
"Ah great you're one of those." Qrow said with a sigh.
"One of those?" Emerald asked with a raised eyebrow as she looked up at the man pinning her down.
"Kid if you've done your research you'd know I grew up in the Branwen tribe. We had quite a few people there who hung on for weeks, months and sometimes even years who held onto that hope. It never turned out and unfortunately for you as well, it probably never will."
"You're lying!" Emerald shouted back at the huntsman above her.
"I wish I was kid, I wish I was." Qrow said in a somber voice as tears began to well up in the eyes of the girl below him.
"Now look, just come quietly and we'll see about getting all of this sorted out for you. I'm sure Salem and that Cinder chick tricke-" Qrow said before a left hook caught him off guard and sent him stumbling backwards.
"Damn semblance." Qrow said as he finally drew Harbinger, deciding that a little cosmetic damage to the bullhead's interior was fine. After all this was an official Beacon mission, Ozpin could pay for it later.
Keeping the sword in its shorter form he began taking swipes at Emerald, slicing through the seats as the mint haired criminal kept dodging.
After about half a minute of this, Emerald saw an opening and drew her own weapons, shifting them into their kama form, and began to strike back.
The two began trading blows, as blades met blade. Steel striking steel as sparks flew from in between them. Emerald, using her kama guns, tried to angle the blades in such a way that she might be able to throw Qrow's grip off.
Unfortunately for her, her opponent wasn't as simple as some of her previous opponents as he was a full blown huntsman and after a bit longer it became clear that she was losing the advantage and the panic began to set in.
As Emerald began looking for an escape route she committed the one main rule of combat. Never take your eyes off the opponent. Something she learned hard as the blade of Harbinger came around smacking into her, taking a huge chunk of her aura out as her aura began to visibly fluctuate.
As Emerald was recovering from the blow, Qrow took advantage of her seemingly dazed state as he whirled around and planted a kick right in the center of her torso, sending her flying into the bullhead wall as her aura shattered and she fell unconscious.
"Well that wasn't so bad." Qrow said, tempting his semblance to activate as one of the metal bars in the cabin gave way and knocked him in his head.
"Dammit. Stupid semblance." Qrow said as he rubbed the back of his head before moving to handcuff Emerald.
"I wonder how everyone else is doing with the other one." Qrow said to himself after standing up from Emerald and moving towards one of the windows to get a look outside at the action.
"Oh shit." Qrow said as he raced to the front of the bullhead to climb out and go assist the others in capturing Cinder.
Meanwhile back outside what Qrow had seen was Cinder beginning to gain some air, not much as of yet but it was still something that caused him to worry.
Meanwhile outside on the actual tarmac that worry was just as present in Cinder's pursuer's.
"Do not let her escape." Ironwood yelled over the steady pounding of feet as the group ran down the tarmac.
"She's gaining air. We got to ground her." Elm shouted back.
"CLOVER!" Ironwood shouted loudly to make sure the specialist heard him.
"On it." Ironwood heard him shout back before a whizz and a whoosh of Clover's fishing line going by Ironwood's head sounded as the general watched the hook get lodged deep into Cinder's outfit.
"Take her down! NOW!" General Ironwood shouted as he pulled out his dual revolvers and began to unload their contents into Cinder, trying to break her aura.
The other specialists for their part did just that, all of them firing whatever ranged weapon they had at the black haired villainess.
Those that didn't have a ranged option currently on them or who had used all of/ran out of ammo shooting Cinder already, moved to help Clover and tried to anchor him as he fought to keep his catch on the line.
Gunshots rang out, explosive shockwaves rocked the area, and combined with the shouting and the sound of Cinder trying to take off, the volume of it all was deafening.
From behind them, Qrow had gotten onto the roof of the bullhead and was now emptying Harbinger's ammo towards Cinder before switching over to the green pistols he had taken from Emerald after he had defeated her.
As the volley of bullets and grenades rained down on her, Cinder tried focusing more and more to draw upon more of her maiden power.
"If I don't get out of this I'm screwed." Cinder thought to herself as she tried desperately to draw upon the power to escape as her chances began looking slimmer and slimmer as she felt her aura begin to reach its end.
Finally with one last burst of energy, the line on Clover's fishing pole snapped. Throwing Clover and the group of specialists helping him back and sending Cinder flying back a few feet as well before she righted herself and began to take off.
As she did this she Ozpin ran charging ahead. His eyes set solely on the woman in front of them all now as he squeezed the handle of his cane activating the mechanism inside.
Twisting his body as he ran, he brought his left arm back before throwing his cane like one might see a professional athlete throw a javelin. The cane headed straight for its target who as of this moment still had her back to her pursuers as she attempted to escape.
As the cane struck the back of Cinder the sound of the impact dwarfed the sounds of gunfire from before as with a mighty crack the cane released all its stored energy, shattering the aura of black haired villainess. Sending her falling towards the ground where she landed with a thud.
Back at Beacon Velvet stopped losing aura, to the joy of her teammates who now were sitting at lower levels than they thought they'd be today when they initially came to visit their team.
Coco was exhausted and was currently slouched over in one of the bedside chairs nursing a sports drink, her aura having reached the red a while ago before she handed off the duty to Fox, who's aura thankfully hadn't dropped as low as hers but was definitely in the yellow now.
Yatsuhashi as the one tasked with monitoring the aura giver's aura was fine, and he knew full well what that meant. He'd be carrying Coco and Fox back to their dorms now that this emergency had seemingly come to a close.
With a glance towards Tsune both Yatsuhashi and Fox received a nod as they both visibly relaxed and backed away as Tsune began to check over everything with Velvet now that the issue had come to an end.
As a nurse brought in a few more drinks to give to Fox and Yatsuhashi, there were only two thoughts that passed through Tsune's mind. One was "How am I going to explain this to them?" The other was "I'm not, I'll just tell them to ask Ozpin." Tsune thought to herself as she smiled and began making sure Velvet was still okay and all the instruments around her were still okay.
Back at the airport the pursuing group of Atlesian specialists and the Headmasters had finally caught up to the now unconscious body of Cinder who was splayed out on the tarmac like a downed bird.
"So is it over now?" Harriet said as they all stared at the woman who had caused them so much trouble.
"Not yet." Headmaster Ozpin said as he bent down and picked up his cane, giving the end a few taps on the tarmac asphalt for good measure as the sound of thud drew his attention back to Cinder and the mint haired girl now beside her.
"Now it's over." Qrow says with a grin as he dusted his hand off and faced the group.
Ozpin gave a slight sigh as his head dropped but let out a little chuckle at Qrow's antics as he looked up to see Cinder conscious once more beginning to try and throw a fireball at Qrow's back.
"Qrow behind you!" Ozpin shouted, causing Qrow to turn around, drawing his sword in the process.
As the orb of fire shot from Cinder's hand, Qrow's head dodged to the right, and he brought the flat of his sword around smacking Cinder in the head, sending her off to dreamworld once again.
As Qrow watched the villainess to make sure she was completely out this time he decided to ask the question on quite a few people's minds.
"Think I should do that again just to be safe?" Qrow asked seriously as he looked up to the group.
"Why not just kill her?" Winter asked, raising her own sword.
Because we need her alive. There's no guaranteeing the power transfer will go off without a hitch without the transfer device and besides, we'll need to question her after the transfer anyway." Ozpin said as he began handcuffing the unconscious woman.
Hearing this Winter looked to General Ironwood who let out a sigh before he answered.
"He means he wants to gloat."
A/N: Well there it is the end of an era. Everything is resolved. Nothing can go wrong now, right? The evil villainess foiled, the day is saved and the students of Beacon can rest peacefully now… Yeah that's not happening. There are still other issues to deal with so stay tuned for those. Until next time! :)
(I don't know when the next date will be as all I have is a little for an outline for chapter 21 but look for in October sometime...hopefully)