This chapter was a little too big initially so I split it into two. I didn't want to compromise the pacing, though, so you guys are getting both chapters in one day! Yay, double upload!
"It's Fall. She's here."
A century seemed to pass before Ruby processed those words.
Cinder. Here. Now.
"How much time do we have?" she asked, snapping to attention.
"Minutes," Goodwitch said. "And she's bringing Grimm with her."
Ruby didn't need to be told that. She could already feel the prickling in the back of her neck that foretold their approach.
She looked around the room. The alarm had stopped, and everybody seemed to have mostly recovered from the shock. Ozpin sat statue-like in his chair, an unreadable expression on his face, while Amber looked at Pyrrha with a gentle look of compassion in her eyes. Pyrrha paid no mind to either of them as she re-strapped her shield to her back. Everybody else seemed to be looking at Ruby for what to do.
"Alright, everybody, the stakes are higher, but the plan's still the same. We're making a stand here and protecting Amber from Cinder," Ruby said. "Jaune, you still good to lead things inside?"
"You can count on me, boss," Jaune said, holding his sword by his side. "No one's getting hurt on my watch."
"I'll hold you to that," Ruby said. "Yang, can you take Ozpin and Amber to the safe room and stay with them?"
"What?" Yang looked at her, furrowing her brow. "No, screw that, I'm going to stay and fight with you guys."
"Yang, anything could go wrong," Ruby said. "It's really not safe for you to stay up here."
"So what, I'm supposed to hide underground, twiddling my thumbs?"
Yes, that's kinda exactly what I need you to do, was what Ruby should say, but she couldn't bring herself to. She didn't need to, though - Yang read it on her face, and her shoulders swiftly fell.
"Alright, fine," Yang muttered. She turned away, expression downcast, but Ruby didn't have the luxury to feel bad.
As Yang went to Ozpin, Ruby turned to Goodwitch again. "Can you go with them? I want someone there to protect them in case things go really bad."
"Me, protect them?" A hint of a smirk appeared on Goodwitch's lips. "Thank you for considering my pride, Miss Rose."
"You can monitor things from the safe room and help Jaune run things from there," Ruby said. "It's not justyour pride I'm looking out for."
"I'll do as you say," Goodwitch said, "commander."
A hand fell on Ruby's shoulder, and she nearly jumped out of her own skin.
"Ruby," Amber said. "I apologize, but I cannot go into hiding."
"Amber, this whole thing is about keeping you safe from Cinder. Everybody's risking their lives for you," Ruby said. "I'm sorry, but I don't care if you feel bad about it, you're going with Ozpin and Yang."
"I understand. But this is not about my feelings," Amber said. "If you allow me to accompany you to confront Cinder, I believe I have a chance of reverting the damage she wrought on me. I seek that not just for myself-" she glanced at Pyrrha- "but most importantly, for her. She deserves a fair choice."
Ruby looked at Pyrrha. Seeing her preparing herself for battle, one could almost think she had forgotten about all the life-shattering revelations that had been thrown her way not ten minutes ago. But Ruby knew she was just pushing them aside for the moment, because there were more important things to worry about than herself right now.
Pyrrha was good at that sort of thing.
"That is a dangerous proposition," Goodwitch said, eyeing Amber over the tip of her nose.
"I am aware of the risks, Commander," Amber said. "This is not a suggestion I make lightly. These girls have risked body and soul for me. If I turned my back to them now, I might as well hand myself over to Cinder, for I would no longer be deserving of being called a Maiden."
"You'd think countless lifetimes would teach a person something about sentimentality." Goodwitch shook her head at the ceiling, before she looked at Ruby, deferring the decision to her nonetheless.
"Okay," Ruby said. "Amber, I can't let you come with me-" she raised a hand as Amber deflated- "but you can stay above ground and defend the house with the others. But you only do as Jaune says, and you don't put yourself at risk. Got it?"
"Yes. I can do that," Amber said, but she still appeared unconvinced. "And Cinder?"
"When we get an opening – if we get an opening – then I'll call you and you can do your thing," Ruby said.
"Thank you," Amber said, and before Ruby knew what was happening, she moved closer and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "You are living proof that you need not be a Maiden to leave a mark on this world, Ruby Rose. Your bravery shall live on beyond your years."
Amber stepped back, a smile on her lips.
Ruby cleared her throat. "Okay. Cool. Yep." She scratched the skin between her eyes. "You go check in with Jaune now."
Amber bowed her head and walked away. Goodwitch gave Ruby a swift nod before she too left, and Ruby stood in the middle of the living room, feeling the advancing of the Grimm like an itch on her skin. If she concentrated hard enough, she could almost imagine she felt Cinder coming as well.
"Are we ready?" Pyrrha asked, stopping by her side.
Ruby took out Crescent Rose and unfolded it. "Yeah. Let's go."
The Nevermore swooped down fast, landing on the grass before the house. The rest of the Grimm flew in low circles around the building, casting vast shadows across the grounds and leaving a chill in their wake.
Cinder slipped down the Nevermore's side, and as she made her way towards the house, she saw two figures come out into the open. First, Pyrrha Nikos, standing tall with a rifle in her hands and shield on her back. The sight of her ignited something in Cinder's chest. It made her want to incinerate the girl on the spot.
And beside Nikos, Ruby Rose. Scythe held low behind her, her cape fluttering in the wind. Their eyes met across the distance, and Ruby seemed to beg the impossible of her. Turn back. Please.
Cinder clenched her fists.
"So we meet again," she said. "This is almost nostalgic."
Pyrrha raised her pistol at her. "On your knees, hands on your head. This is all the warning you're getting."
"That's cute. You don't actually expect me to surrender, do you?" Cinder smirked. "Please. Two times makes a cliché."
"Listen to Pyrrha," Ruby said. "We're not going to give up Amber. That means we're going to fight, and you're going to lose. We might not have beaten you before, but that was a long time ago. You think we've just been waiting for you this whole time, doing nothing?"
"I know you haven't," Cinder said. "But I assure you, this won't be like last time."
She gestured, and with auspicious timing, a half-dozen portals opened around the house. Grimm after Grimm stepped through, forcing their way from the beyond. They spread out slowly, surrounding the house but not yet advancing.
"Do you see now?" Cinder said, watching the grimace in Ruby and Pyrrha's faces as they looked around. "The gloves are off, and there won't be a next time. The only choice you have is to cut your losses. Or are you too noble to save yourselves and your friends, heroes?"
Pyrrha recentered her aim and pulled the trigger. The gunshot rang out across the field, the Dust round flying towards Cinder in a blink of an eye. She raised her arm in instinct, deflecting the round with the back of her hand. It exploded on the ground not far behind her, setting a tuft of grass ablaze.
Cinder produced an obsidian blade in each hand and set her eyes on her foes. "So be it, then."
Jaune swore as he struggled to fit the magazine into his Dust rifle.
"You doing okay there, Jauney?" Nora asked, spinning her hammer in her hands.
"I'm good," Jaune said. "Just been a long time since I used one of these. Well, technically I never did. I stuck to pistols before I got my sword. I like my sword."
"I get ya," Nora said.
A loud rumbling shook the whole building as another Grimm crashed against the roof like a ram. Jaune eyed the ceiling, his nerves getting the best of him for a second. He'd never been very claustrophobic, but this was something else.
"The shields will hold," Blake said beside him, quiet as a mouse, but reassuring.
"I know," Jaune said. He rolled his shoulders, casting off the jitters. Ruby – the whole team – was counting on him, and he wasn't going to let them down. "But they won't hold forever. Which is why we gotta do this."
He looked at the double doors at the other end of the training room. He could hear the Grimm banging against it, held off by the shields that protected it and the exterior walls. The doorway made for an excellent chokehold, and the training room had ample space for them to stage a defense.
"Glynda, you all situated? Ready to drop the shields?" Jaune asked.
"Just give the word, Arc," Goodwitch buzzed in his ear.
Jaune looked over his shoulder at Amber. She seemed to be struggling to keep her attention in the present moment, her eyes straying away from the door, towards the other side of the house, where Ruby's team must already have engaged Cinder.
It felt weird to be in her presence after learning what her intentions were for Pyrrha. Jaune didn't get a malicious vibe from her – if anything, he got the contrary – but still, he'd rather Amber stay far away from Pyrrha.
None of that mattered right now. His job was to protect her, so that was what he was going to do.
"Amber, you stay behind us. Conserve your energy, let us engage the Grimm first," Jaune said. "You can help if we get overwhelmed." Amber nodded silently, and Jaune looked at Blake and Nora to check if they were ready. "Alright, if we're all good – Glynda, drop the shields."
"Disabling training room shields."
There was no sound from the deactivation of the shields, no fizzle or hiss – just a deafening bang as the doors went flying off their hinges, and five Beowolves came running in, snarling like demons. They didn't get halfway across the room before they got picked off from afar. Jaune grunted as he missed a couple shots, while Blake made it look easy.
They had only a few seconds of reprieve before the Grimm outside detected that an opening had appeared. Then all sorts came pouring in. Jaune let Blake handle the hastier ones, while he focused on the slower types. The Grimm that were too armored to be picked off from range, he let get close for Nora to deal with. She danced back and forth in a trail of sparks, sending them splattering against the walls and ceiling with huge swings of her hammer.
"You," Amber said suddenly, in the middle of the fighting. "You're the one who woke me."
Nora finished smushing a Boarbatusk into Grimm paste and looked back at Amber. "Excuse me?"
"Never mind." Amber raised a finger, forming a razor-sharp icicle from thin air and sending it straight between a Griffon's eyes. "It's of little importance. But thank you, sweet girl."
Jaune shook his head at the strange talk as he exploded an Ursa's head.
"I don't get it," he said, wiping his brow. "Last time, Cinder had to go through all sorts of trouble to open that Breach in Vale. Now she can just summon this many Grimm at the drop of a hat?"
"The barrier between our world and theirs has thinned frighteningly since I was put to sleep, in no small part because of Cinder's actions, I am sure," Amber said. "It's allowed Salem to exert her influence more strongly on this plane."
Jaune shuddered at the name. "Was that Cinder's goal all along, then?"
"I would focus less on that business right now-" Blake stabbed a Beowolf that got too close for comfort- "and more on not getting ripped to shreds."
Amber dropped another Ursa with the flick of a wrist. "A wise suggestion."
Jaune grunted and dropped his rifle in favor of his sword. This was going to get worse before it got better.
Ruby charged at Cinder from her right as Pyrrha came at her from her left. They attacked in unison, but Cinder was ready for them no matter how in sync they were, blocking Ruby's overhead swing while she let herself whirl with the motion of Pyrrha's shield bash.
An elbow strike forced Pyrrha to retreat, and as Ruby took the chance to swing again, Cinder slid backwards and erected a pillar of roaring flames between them. Shielding her face from the fire, Ruby darted to the side. By the time she got clear, Cinder was nowhere to be seen.
A closed fist connected with the back of her neck. Ruby gasped as she went stumbling forward. Feeling a sudden heat on her back, she dove forward and rolled on the grass, just as a massive fireball exploded behind her.
She jumped to her feet and turned to face Cinder again.
"I told you the gloves are off," Cinder said. Embers flew outwards from the corners of her eyes, a mask of fiery wrath. "Are you going to force me to go through you to get what is mine?"
"That's a whole lot of talking for someone who's not holding back!" Ruby aimed Crescent Rose and fired off three quick shots, all of which Cinder easily deflected. In that brief moment of distraction, Ruby burst forward, swinging her scythe around – only for a Griffon to suddenly land between them and force her to divert to the side.
The Griffon charged at her, and Ruby had a split second to jump over it. Spinning, she brought her scythe low and dragged the blade across the Grimm's back as it sped past her, cutting a jagged line through its shadowy hide.
It exploded into smoke by the time Ruby landed back on her feet. She searched for Cinder, but more Grimm were converging on her already, concealing her from view. Grunting, Ruby brought Crescent Rose close and got to work.
When she finished, Ruby saw that Pyrrha had engaged Cinder again, throwing her shield as she closed the distance between them. Cinder deflected it upwards, and without pause, crossed her arms above her head to again block the shield as Pyrrha launched it back down with her Semblance. Cinder flashed her teeth in an arrogant smile, but only for a second before she realized she'd left herself exposed.
It was too late. Pyrrha slid forward in a sweeping kick, and Cinder's legs crumbled under her. Pyrrha rose as Cinder fell, catching her shield as it flew back to her, and thrust it savagely - only for Cinder to push against the face of the shield, igniting a burst of fire from the palms of her hands. She rocketed backwards, and with a spin, landed safely on her feet.
"There she is. Ozpin's golden girl," Cinder said, a mocking smile on her lips. "You know, I had you pegged as my replacement from the moment I first laid eyes on you. But I suppose you've been none the wiser all this time."
Ruby closed in fast, circling around to pincer Cinder. Seeing her coming, Cinder kicked off the ground and hovered beyond reach, pouring flames from her hands and feet.
"Your replacement?" Pyrrha looked up, a scowl on her face. "Don't make me laugh."
"You're right. I wasn't worthy enough to be replaced," Cinder said. "I pity you, Nikos. I knew from the start that I was to be nothing more than a tool to Ozpin, and that should I be found wanting, I'd be thrown away like trash. You, on the other hand – well, it seems he was very good to you, all things considered." She smiled. "I think it's obvious what proved crueler in the end."
Ruby looked at Pyrrha warily. "Don't listen to her," she said. "She's just trying to get in your head."
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Ruby darling," Cinder said. "Did I get in your head, is that what I'm getting from this?"
"Get over yourself," Ruby said. "I liked you way better when you were in a cell."
"What can I say-" Cinder lit a fireball in each hand- "freedom is intoxicating."
Ruby split from Pyrrha as fire rained down on their position. Great bonfires burned in her trail as she ran in a circle around Cinder, taking turns with Pyrrha to shoot back, to no avail. Cinder deflected every round with minimal effort, and she seemed to not be tiring at all from her relentless barrage.
Cinder was too high above the ground, but with a burst of her Semblance, Ruby knew she could reach her and maybe land a good strike with her scythe. But if Cinder somehow countered her – and she was certainly expecting Ruby to do something like that – then she'd be put in a terrible position. She needed to get Cinder back on the ground before she could make any real headway.
Looking past Cinder's shoulder, Ruby realized she wasn't the only one to arrive at that conclusion. A speck of black descended from the skies, diving fast towards Cinder. Ruby stopped running, and Cinder stared at her from up high, a growing fireball between her hands.
"Overconfident much, Rose?" Cinder said. Behind her, Qrow shifted into his human form, aiming a devastating punch at her head – which Cinder easily dodged, darting to the left with a burst from the soles of her feet.
Qrow soared past her, and Cinder threw her held fireball after him, hitting him square in the back. Ruby flinched as he hit the ground, holding her breath for a second as he lay splayed out in the grass, before he rolled onto his feet and put out the flames on his shirt.
"I'm good," Qrow grumbled Ruby's way, before he scowled up at Cinder. "Traitorous brat."
"How nice to meet you again, agent Branwen." Cinder hovered closer. "Congratulations on the promotion, by the way. It's very deserved. So many years spent licking Ozpin's boots. Imagine how insulting it would have been if he'd chosen anyone else!"
"Why don't you come down and say that to my face?" Qrow cracked his neck. "Or what, afraid you can't hold your own without the Maiden's power? The power you stole?"
Cinder rolled her eyes. "I'm not falling for your bait. And I could not care less what you think." She looked at Ruby and scoffed. "Did you really think I wouldn't see that coming? Just you and Nikos, facing me alone? Even I know you're not that full of yourselves."
Ruby pursed her lips. "It was worth a try."
"You are desperate, so yes, I suppose it was." Cinder dropped a couple meters, closer to Ruby but still out of reach. "Why don't you just stop this futile struggling? Look around. How long do you think you can put up a fight?"
Ruby gripped Crescent Rose tightly. The house was at her back, but she could feel the vibrations of the Grimm battering against the shields, using their own bodies as weapons. A part of her wanted to turn around and come to Jaune and the others' aid, but she trusted them to do their job, just as they were trusting her to do hers.
She looked past Cinder's shoulder again, checking that the shimmer she'd seen before was still there. She didn't let her gaze linger for more than a second, quickly shifting back to Cinder and locking eyes with her.
"You know we're not giving up," Ruby said.
"Of course you aren't," Cinder said, sounding as bitter as she was implacable. "I will get what I want, Ruby. There's no question about that. But believe it or not, I don't want to harm you or your pathetic little friends. You're nothing but obstacles in my path, and if you'd kindly remove yourselves, that would be oh so much easier on everyone."
"Just an obstacle, huh?" Ruby said. "Even me?"
Cinder threw her head back in laughter. "Don't tell me you've convinced yourself we have some kind of connection because I indulged you in conversation when they had me locked up like an animal. You were nothing more than a distraction."
"If that were true, you'd not be trying so hard to convince me to step aside," Ruby said. "You said it yourself, right? The gloves are off. So what's going on here?"
"I'm trying to save myself the trouble of killing each and every one of you. You are annoyingly resilient, you realize that?" Cinder said. "You're seeing what you want to see, Ruby, because you need to see it. There must be a little good in everyone, or else what's the point in this miserable existence of yours where you fight and fight and fight."
Weiss popped into view far behind Cinder, standing atop a glyph high above the Grimm, drawing Dust from her belt with one hand while she held a glyph before her with the other. Ren stood behind her, a hand on her shoulder.
"You really think you've got me all figured out, don't you?" Ruby said, not breaking eye contact with Cinder, not for a second.
"Yes. And really, it wasn't such a difficult task," Cinder said. "There's hardly much of anything to figure out."
"That's okay," Ruby said. "You were easy to figure out too, in the end."
Cinder chuckled. "Was I, now? Do tell."
"You're scared. You've been scared all your life." Ruby shrugged. "That's why you're so desperate to be the Maiden."
Weiss begun charging her glyph, sparks flying off it as the Dust was absorbed into it and turned it yellow. Ruby looked her way, before forcing her gaze back to Cinder. It was less than a second, but enough for Cinder to notice, and Ruby felt her blood run cold.
Cinder started to turn her head-
"But taking Amber's power isn't going to save you from getting hurt again-" Ruby raised her voice- "and neither will Salem."
Cinder reeled back in mid-air, her face frozen in shock and fury – and then Weiss released the Dust. Like a thunderbolt it crashed onto Cinder's back, and sent her plummeting down, down, down, until she struck the ground in a cloud of dirt and grass.
As the air settled, Cinder reappeared, convulsing on her hands and knees. Ruby sprinted towards her, shedding petals in her wake. She swung Crescent Rose in a wide arc, turning the blade at the last second, and slammed the blunt end on Cinder's forehead.
Ruby kept running for a few seconds before she stopped. When she turned, she saw Cinder slowly pushing herself to her knees again. Blood streamed down from her scalp, curving around the bridge of her nose and turning into vapor as it fell over her blazing left eye.
"Huh." Ruby smirked. "I really thought you'd see that coming."
Cinder glared at her, breathing hard as the last sparks danced around her skin and fizzled out.
"So," Ruby said, "you ready to give up now?"
"I'll kill you," Cinder said hoarsely. "I'll kill you, like I fucking promised."
Ruby looked at Pyrrha, Qrow, Weiss and Ren as they moved into position to surround Cinder.
"Okay, well," Ruby said. "Good luck with that, then!"
She skipped backwards, and brought a hand to her ear as Weiss moved to block Cinder from pouncing at her.
"Jaune, you can send out Amber now!" Ruby said. "We've got Cinder under control."
A moment later, Jaune replied. "Alright! We're gonna-"
His voice cut out, substituted by harsh static. Ruby winced and tapped her earpiece repeatedly.
"Jaune? Hello? What's going on?"
She looked back at the house and swore.
Jaune pulled his sword out of a dying Beowolf and wiped his brow.
"Jeez, this is a lot," he muttered. "Everybody okay?!"
"Fine," Blake replied shortly.
"I think I may be running out of juice soon," Nora said, rolling her hammer feebly between her hands. "Should we be worried?"
"We just need to stand our ground a little longer," Jaune said. "She can't keep sending Grimm at us forever."
Just as he finished speaking, Ruby's voice buzzed in his ear. "Jaune, you can send out Amber now! We've got Cinder under control."
"Alright!" Jaune looked back at Amber to check if she'd gotten the message as well. She nodded. "We're gonna-"
The lights in the training room went out, and static suddenly filled the team comms. A moment later Jaune heard a deafening crash as the entire house seemed to shake from its very foundations.
"Okay, what the fuck was that?" Nora asked, wide-eyed.
"Don't know." Jaune tapped his earpiece. "Ruby? Glynda? Anyone?"
Blake looked at him and shook her head. "I'm not getting anything from them either," she said, and raised her pistol again as more Grimm charged inside the room.
Jaune moved to help her, but stopped when he caught Amber looking over her shoulder. She noticed, and met his eyes gravely.
"There are more coming from behind us," she said.
"What?" Jaune said. "From inside-"
The doors behind them slammed open, and a pair of Beowolves broke in from the hallway. They charged at Amber, and everyone moved to defend her. Nora got the honors, wiping out both Grimm in one hammer swipe.
"How did those get inside the house?" Jaune asked, running through all the worst-case scenarios. "Did we lose the shields?"
"I don't think the house would still be standing if that were the case," Blake said. Her ears sprung up and tilted this way and that atop her head. "Whatever that crash was, I think it happened in the east hallway."
"Okay. We can't stay here. There's more Grimm where those came from, and we don't wanna get trapped between two fronts," Jaune said. "I'm gonna lead the way inside the house. Blake, you protect Amber. Nora, you watch the rear."
"Great, I'm very good at that," Nora said nervously.
"Alright, move out!"
Jaune sprinted past the doorway, swinging his sword as he met with another Beowolf on the way. He pushed further down the hallway, flexing his Aura to eliminate the rest of the Grimm in front of him. He heard the others' hurried footsteps behind them, and then he could just barely see as Nora closed the doors and they lost the light from the outside.
"Barricade that!" Jaune said, pointing at the door.
Nora looked around helplessly for something she could use. After a few seconds, she nodded and jammed her hammer across the two handles. Something slammed at the doors from the other side, but they held strong.
"Ahah!" Nora exclaimed, and then looked at her hammer again. "Wait. That sucks for me."
"It'll have to do," Jaune said.
Blake turned to Nora and offered her pistol. "Take this. You know how to use it?"
"Sure!" Nora took the weapon and spun in place, waving it around like a superspy from a movie. "Just point and shoot, right?"
"Point at the monsters trying to kill you," Blake said, gently pushing the pistol away from her nose. "Aside from that important distinction, you've got the gist of it."
"We've gotta move out. Come on," Jaune said, and started leading the way down the hallway. Several Grimm rushed at them, like moths drawn to the flame that was Amber, but they made short work of them.
It didn't take long for them to come to an intersection in the hallways. Jaune hadn't spent much time in the house yet, and it was hard to see in the dark – plus there was a lot of dust in the air irritating his eyes – but he was fairly sure the living room was right ahead.
"Blake, you said east hallway, right?" he asked, looking that way. He couldn't see a thing, but his skin itched from the Grimm.
"That's right." Blake stopped by his side. "Are you sure we should be going that way?"
"We could hole up in some room and wait things out, I guess, but that's doesn't seem like a good option to me," Jaune said. "We've gotta figure out what the hell went wrong before things get even worse. And we've gotta get Amber to Ruby before it's too late."
"What about the lights?" Blake said. "The breaker's in the security room. I can check it out and hopefully bring the power back online."
"That's in the opposite direction we're going," Jaune said, "and I don't like the thought of sending you off alone."
"Would you rather I take Amber with me, or go with Nora and leave you to protect her on your own?" Blake asked, lips pursed. "I'm fast, and I can see better in the dark than any of you. I'll be fine. Plus, I'll be heading away from the Grimm."
Jaune rubbed his forehead. "Alright, you're making sense. Go. But be careful!"
Blake nodded and ran into the darkness. Amber whispered something after her, then turned her eyes to the ceiling.
"They can't hold Cinder off much longer," she muttered.
"We'll get you there, but we needed Goodwitch to open the shields for you to get out. It's gonna be more complicated now," Jaune said. "Follow me. Nora, stay close to her."
He turned and slowly advanced up the east hallway, holding his sword at the ready in front of him. The thumping of bodies hitting the floor echoed throughout the hallway, and before long he started to see light up ahead.
A few more steps and he saw a huge hole in the ceiling, sunlight pouring in through it. Piles of rubble lay beneath it, and atop them stood snarling Grimm. More dropped through the hole as Jaune watched, and one by one they turned to face him.
"Well, this is bad," he managed to say, before they all charged at once.
He slid forward and planted his feet firmly, cleaving through the Grimm with wide swipes of his sword. Nora got to shooting with Blake's pistol, and though her aim was wildly off, most of her rounds still found a home with the sheer quantity of targets clogging the hallway.
"If you can clear a way forward, I can fly out through that opening and lure them away from you," Amber said behind him.
"You won't last a second out there," Jaune panted, cutting a Beowolf from head to waist. "Forget it!"
He eyed the hole in the ceiling as the Beowolf fell into two halves in front of him. He could hear the heavy footsteps of the Grimm on the roof before they inevitably dropped through it and joined the others. The corridor was narrow enough that they couldn't get at Amber through him, and their numbers weren't so large to be overwhelming, but he knew all it would take was one mistake and he'd go down. And that was if something else didn't go wrong first.
Suddenly a ray of bright blue light shot through the hole, hitting an Ursa as it dropped down and freezing it instantly. It hit the rubble and shattered into pieces, and a second later Weiss landed amidst its remains. She met eyes with Jaune for a split second before she raised an open hand above her head, blocking the hole with a broad glyph.
Jaune took care of the last Grimm inside and jogged up to her.
"Care to explain-" A Griffon crashed against the glyph from above and bounced off, and Weiss grunted with the strain of maintaining it. "Care to explain how this utter disaster came to pass?"
"I don't know! The shields are clearly out here, but the rest of the house is fine," Jaune said. "You probably have a better idea than any of us."
"All I know is I saw a Nevermore crash through the roof before it turned to smoke," Weiss said. "Ruby sent me to help."
"Good! You showed up just in time to save our asses, princess!" Nora said, pumping her fist.
Weiss gave a vaguely displeased hmm to that, before she looked around and frowned. "Where's Blake?"
"She's alright," Jaune said. "She went to check on the lights."
"And nothing's happened with the safe room?"
"I don't know for sure, but it should be fine." Jaune gestured over his shoulder. "Can you cover for Amber and get her safely to Cinder?"
"Cover for her, you say?" Weiss looked up at the sky through her glyph and pursed her lips. "Why yes, of course. That is no big ask at all." She nodded and offered a hand to Amber. "I shall do it."
Amber took her hand, and Weiss summoned another glyph under their feet.
"I'll come back to help you as soon as I get her where she needs to be," Weiss said as she began to float up with Amber. "In the meantime, try not to die."
"Thanks, guardian angel," Jaune said. "I'll owe you one."
Weiss glared at him briefly. "You can repay me by never calling me that again," she said, but he couldn't miss the tiny smile tugging at her lips.
She dismissed the glyph above her, and she and Amber flew swiftly into the open. Jaune caught glimpses of Griffons and Nevermores flying after them before they disappeared, but he had little time to worry about that before Grimm started to drop down into the hallway again.
"So, what do we do now?" Nora asked, sucking on her teeth.
"You heard the lady." Jaune spun his sword. "We try not to die."
"Can you tell what's going on? I mean, everyone's okay up there, right?"
Yang stared at the monitors on the wall, the gray static sinking her stomach into a pool of dread and anxiety. They had been that way for minutes. Sometimes one of the camera feeds would clear up a bit, and she could swear that for a moment she could see a glimpse of what was happening above ground, but then it would scramble again and she had to admit she was just imagining things.
"There's gotta be a way to fix this," Yang said, biting her knuckles. "Have you tried turning it off and on again?"
"Miss Xiao Long, with all due respect-" Goodwitch stopped working the console and fixed her with a scalding glare- "I am trying to solve the issue. Your blabbering over my shoulder is not helping. In fact, it's doing quite the contrary."
Yang got the message well and clear. She stepped away from the console and paced a swift circle around the room, which did nothing to soothe her nerves. Eventually she settled in the middle of the room and sat on the cold floor, trying to breathe evenly, and failing.
She hated this safe room. Nothing about it made her feel safe. It was more sterile than a hospital room, and it did nothing to curb the sensation of the Grimm rampaging overhead. She hated the Grimm. She hated not knowing what was going on. It all made her want to curl into a ball and hug herself until she passed out, but she couldn't even do that properly anymore.
And she hated Ozpin. Sitting by the corner, silent as a mute. He'd barely reacted when the power went out and the emergency generator kicked in, but other than that he might as well not be in the room with them. Was he scared, Yang wondered? Was he worried the Grimm might break into the room and set his plans back a couple decades? Or did he just not care?
Yang wanted to get up and punch him in the face. She had strength enough to pull that off, at least, though she might collapse afterwards. It would be worth it.
Zwei pattered over to her, rubbing his cold snout against her leg, but even that did nothing to make her feel better.
Goodwitch exhaled loudly. "I don't know. Comms are shot, so are the cameras, and I can restore neither from here. Yet the shields are still up, for the most part." She nodded towards the shield generator at the back of the room, still active in all its glowy gloriousness.
"How come there are Grimm inside the house, then?" Yang asked.
"We don't know that there are Grimm inside the house, Miss Xiao Long," Goodwitch said.
"Yes, we do. I can feel them in here-" Yang curled her fingers like a claw over her throat and sternum. "I'm losing my mind down here, but I'm not fucking crazy."
Goodwitch gave a look to the generator, then fixed her gaze on the static feed again. "The shields might have malfunctioned when the power went out, just for a few seconds before they stabilized again, but long enough that the Grimm broke through somewhere."
"That sounds like some shoddy fucking engineering," Yang muttered.
"Don't blame me," Goodwitch said. "Take it up with your contractors."
Yang pushed herself up to her feet, swaying clumsily as she found her balance. She looked up at the ceiling and shuddered. Things were bad. A little voice inside her urged her to sit back down and wait for it all to pass, and it scared her how close she came to listening to it.
"If we can't do anything down here," Yang said, clenching her hand into a fist, "then we need to go up there and help."
Goodwitch turned to look at her. "Help how, Xiao Long?"
"I don't know. Maybe someone's hurt, maybe they need back-up," Yang said. "We're not gonna find out by sitting around, that's for sure."
"You step outside this room, and you'll be nothing more than a target and a burden. You couldn't put up a fight if your life depended on it, and it will." Goodwitch scanned her from head to toe. "You can barely stand on your own two feet."
Yang set her jaw. "You're wrong."
"I'm not, and you know it," Goodwitch said. "I don't give a damn about your pride. Your sister charged me with keeping you safe. I'm not going to tell her I let you kill yourself because you needed to play the hero."
"Oh, how fucking noble of you," Yang spat. "You care so much."
Goodwitch turned around and started working on the console again. "Throw a fit if you must. It doesn't affect me."
Yang glared at the back of her neck, tears coming stinging at her eyes. In an instant, all the fight drained out of her, and she fell back on the ground, her legs folded under her. What was the point? Goodwitch was right. Everyone was right, when they looked at her that way. Like she was useless.
What was the point of pretending when she couldn't even convince herself?
"Miss Xiao Long is right," Ozpin spoke up suddenly. "If our allies need us, then it is our duty to come to their aid."
Goodwitch gawked at him. "Director, you cannot seriously be suggesting we leave this room. I understand the sentiment, but that is wildly irresponsible."
"It is." Ozpin stood up and threw his cane into the air. He caught it as it fell back towards him, upside-down. "Which is why I shall be going alone and you shall remain here with Miss Xiao Long."
"Absolutely not," Goodwitch said. "You haven't fully recovered yet."
"I've been living at half-capacity for decades, Commander. It's nothing I'm unaccustomed to," Ozpin said, "and it was no excuse for such prolonged inaction."
"You've hardly been inactive, Ozpin," Goodwitch said.
"Perhaps," Ozpin said. "Regardless, I believe it's long past time I stopped maneuvering pieces, and made a move on the board myself. Now, Glynda, if you would kindly unlock the door for me."
Goodwitch looked at the console, then at him, and shook her head. "You're far too important to be risking your life like this."
Ozpin smiled. "Glynda, my dear. You've been such a grace all these years," he said. "Need I remind you I'm still Director?"
Goodwitch pursed her lips. After a long moment of silence, she bowed her head and pressed a button on the console, and the heavy titanium door of the safe room unlocked with a hiss. Ozpin gave a nod to his subordinate, smiled at Yang, and pulled open the door. He stepped through, cane in hand.
The door closed behind him, locking again with another hiss. Yang stared at it, numb. Zwei climbed on her lap and softly whined.
"Bastard," Goodwitch muttered, and they went back to waiting in silence.