Cover Art by CHE3ZY
Hey everyone. Great to be back at it again. I worked hard to bring you this one as a Halloween gift. Nothing spooky here but it's the thought that counts right? Haha. Please like and share this fic and please please please let me know what your thoughts are in the reviews section. I enjoy feedback and seeing how I can improve as a writer. Enjoy!
Beacon Academy:
Weiss was leaning on her rapier as she caught her breath. She and the other students had to stop and rest. They were all exhausted and their auras were either dangerously low or completely depleted. The Paladins didn't pursue them which meant they were safe for now, thanks to team CRDL's sacrifice. To say they all looked worse for wear would have been an understatement.
Weiss, Nora, and Yatsuhashi were the only ones who were still able to stand. Everyone else was on the verge of passing out or unconscious. Neptune was still unresponsive and that had several of the students worried. Neon's usual energetic self was gone and she was on the verge of crying while Flynt held her hand to comfort her. Velvet, who was processing the various traumatic events, had been reduced to tears completely.
To the students, it felt like the world was ending. Everything had devolved into chaos and people everywhere were either dying or on the verge of dying. Beacon always seemed like an impenetrable fortress and now the walls had come crumbling down.
Weiss observed her fellow students for a moment before she stood to full height.
"Come on," she said, "we need to get to a safe zone."
No one protested. She was right. Neptune needed a doctor immediately and they weren't safe here. They got up to keep running to sanctuary.
"OVER THERE!"
The blood drained from many of the students' faces. Across the courtyard, they could see a group of White Fang soldiers running towards them with their weapons drawn. Under normal circumstances, they wouldn't have been intimidated, but in their weakened state they had reason to be afraid.
Weiss put herself between the students and the White Fang soldiers. Her eyes were narrowed at them dangerously. This wasn't just about protecting the other students from these monsters. This was personal.
The Schnee heiress focused her breathing, aiming to clear her thoughts of anything that wasn't helpful to her situation. She remembered what her sister told her.
Think of your fallen foes, the ones that forced you to push yourself past who you were and become who you are now. Think of them and watch as they come to your side.
Weiss thought back to the Arma Gigas that Winter summoned to test her abilities before she took the entrance exam for Beacon. She remembered the pressure that was on her in that moment. Her father would only allow her to attend Beacon if she could defeat it. The battle proved difficult, but Weiss overcame the summon with great effort. She wanted that foe as her ally in this battle, but she wanted it to her liking.
A large glyph materialized underneath Weiss' feet as her hair began to wave back and forth. Weiss had her eyes closed as she continued to concentrate and focus on the little aura she had remaining. A bead of sweat dripped down her forehead as she reached deep within her mind.
Come forth, my Guardian. Protect me here just as you did before.
Both students and White Fang alike stared in awe as Weiss was enveloped by a beautiful, radiant white energy. With a fluid and graceful motion, Weiss struck the glyph she stood on with her rapier. Behind her emerged a large, dark, menacing figure masked in white, translucent energy. It stood over seven feet tall; it carried a large sword that was reminiscent of a Knight's, and it was adorned in armor. The armor, however, was not like a traditional Knight's. This Arma Gigas differed significantly from the one Weiss faced in combat all those months ago. Instead of being adorned in the armor of a Knight of old, it was adorned in advanced, futuristic-looking armor. One would have guessed it resembled a robot of sorts upon initially seeing it. Instead of a Knight's helmet, it wore a bulbous-looking helmet with a nearly fully encompassing visor. What made the summon more menacing was its dark appearance that was surrounded by the white energy.
The students were at a complete loss for words. They looked on in complete amazement at what Weiss had summoned. The sentiment was not shared with the White Fang, however.
The White Fang soldiers had stopped dead in their tracks. They dared not move an inch closer. Some of them began to quiver and shake uncontrollably while others began to mindlessly stammer in fear.
"IT'S THE HARVESTER!" Yelled one of the White Fang members.
Upon the mention of that name, the White Fang members turned and ran for their lives. They did not look back as they disappeared into the night. Weiss and the other students found themselves completely taken by surprise.
"Harvester?" Whispered Weiss to herself.
With the threat of the White Fang momentarily averted, Weiss released her summon, but not before she took a long look at the Arma Gigas. She silently admired her creation before letting a smile etch itself onto her face. Weiss blinked, and for a split second she saw the same figure but only this time it was adorned in orange armor. Her mind had played tricks on her.
"Thank you," she whispered.
She gave a courteous bow and the Arma Gigas kneeled before her before it vanished.
"WEISS!"
The Schnee turned and saw Yang running towards her with Zwei trailing behind her. Weiss breathed a sigh of relief just before she was enveloped in a fierce hug.
"I've been looking everywhere for you all! I've been worried sick! Where's Ruby? Where's Blake? What's happ-"
"Yang!" Weiss yelled. "We don't have time for this. We need to get Neptune and the others to the safe zone immediately. I don't know where Ruby is, and Blake went off to fight the White Fang."
Yang nodded. Weiss was right. This wasn't the time to talk. They needed to act.
"I'll go look for Ruby and Blake. You get everyone here to safety," said Yang as she pulled away. "Take Zwei with you too."
Weiss nodded.
"Be careful Yang," said Weiss with genuine concern as she watched her friend run off. She looked down and noticed Zwei staring up at her, whimpering.
"Everything will be okay," said Weiss to the little dog before she turned her attention to Nora. "We have to move."
Nora nodded.
"You heard the lady! We got to keep moving!"
BOOM!
The students looked up just in time to see a large military airship engulfed in flames as it plummeted to the ground.
"What the hell?!" Yelled Flynt.
Cinder growled in anger before she unleashed a storm of incredibly sharp ice shards in all directions. Pyrrha called upon her semblance, summoning the metal panels from within the walls to her to shield her. Once Pyrrha knew she was safe, she used her semblance to send the metal panels careening toward the Fall Maiden at high speeds.
Cinder wasn't prepared and found herself slammed against the wall from the impact of the metal tiles.
"AHHH!" Cinder yelled in anger before she let a gust of hurricane force winds loose, sending Pyrrha flying across the room and crashing into the wall. Pyrrha didn't have time to shake the stars out of her eyes as Cinder came running at her with blazing hot swords that she materialized. Pyrra managed to dislodge herself and duck out of harm's way just in time to avoid getting her head taken off.
"You've got some serious spine Nikos," said Cinder as she dislodged the blade from the wall. "I'll give you that."
Pyrrha was panting as she backed away to put some distance between them. Cinder casually strode towards her with a confident sway of her hips, having regained her composure.
"What choice did I have?" Asked Pyrrha with narrowed eyes. "Was I supposed to run away?"
Cinder smirked.
"I suspected you might, but I secretly hoped you didn't. I always wanted to see what the Invincible Girl was made of." Cinder ran her fingers on the edge of her blade as her eyes glowed with the power of the Fall Maiden.
Pyrrha rolled her eyes in annoyance before she settled back into her fighting stance, her shield and sword at the ready.
Pyrrha didn't give Cinder the time of day as she rushed forward, ducking underneath a swipe of Cinder's sword. Pyrrha assaulted the Fall Maiden with a series of perfectly delivered strikes from her sword before delivering an uppercut to Cinder's jaw with her shield. The Fall Maiden's aura was extremely resilient, and Pyrrha's attacks, though powerful, weren't strong enough to get through. She needed to think of a new strategy and fast.
Ciel's breathing was becoming ragged. She held her steadily bleeding side as she limped forward. She'd fought her way out of the colosseum and down to Beacon. Her mission parameters had changed the moment Penny died. Internally, she felt shame. She was supposed to keep watch over her. She'd failed her mission. All she could do now was eliminate as many of these threats as she could, but even that was taking its toll on her.
She wasn't sure how much longer she could last without backup. Her aura had long been depleted and now she was battling a significant injury, but to Ciel, it didn't matter. Her life didn't matter. All that mattered was completing the mission.
The Atlas student continued to limp forward, ignoring the pain.
Vale:
James and Glynda stood back-to-back as they were surrounded by Paladins on all sides. They'd decided to split up to cover more ground within Vale. Qrow and Theodore went together while James and Glynda paired up. The two of them naturally made a good team. They'd bulldozed through rogue robots, Grimm, and White Fang soldiers like they were nothing and they didn't show signs of slowing down, being kept fueled by their adrenaline and their drive to protect the people of Vale.
Glynda's usually perfect hair was now disheveled and out of place, a result of her constant fighting. Glynda and James were more than prepared to take the Paladins head-on, especially with Glynda's semblance.
A loud explosion resonated overhead, prompting James to glance upwards to see his flagship on fire and plummeting to the ground.
The Paladins collectively took a step closer to them but suddenly stopped in their tracks as their lights flickered and suddenly died. The Paladins collapsed on the ground.
"What?!" Yelled Glynda in surprise.
James smirked, silently thanking whoever it was that brought down his ship. With his ship destroyed, the robots were effectively dead which meant that they only had Grimm and White Fang to deal with.
"James look out!" Yelled Glynda.
The general looked up to see a large Nevermore speeding towards him from above. James readied himself to take the beast on, but the Grimm was quickly dispatched as a silver blur plowed through it, killing it instantly.
James' smirk turned into a wide grin.
"What's this?" Asked Glynda as she observed the three newly arrived individuals.
They were tall and the uniforms they wore were of Atlas, but she couldn't make out who they were thanks to the helmets they wore. She couldn't make out any distinguishing features or gear that stood out.
"It's okay Glynda," said James as he rested a hand on her shoulder, "they're friendlies."
"We got the SOS signal sir," said the tallest one. His voice was digitally masked, making it impossible to discern the voice.
Ironwood nodded.
"It's about time you men showed up," replied the general who had his hands clasped behind his back, "but I'm afraid you're needed elsewhere. Get to Beacon immediately; your objectives are waiting for you. Make sure the tower doesn't fall."
"Yes sir," they replied in unison.
"Objectives?" Asked Glynda who looked away from the soldier to look at James in confusion. She turned her head back to look at the three soldiers, intent on questioning them but found that they were gone.
To say they were fast would have been an understatement. She didn't detect a sound or any movement.
"James! What is going on here? Who were they? What are their objectives? What-"
"Glynda!" Yelled James.
The beautiful professor looked a bit taken aback by James' abrupt change in his tone.
"Now is not the time for this. We have a kingdom to save. Rest assured that they're here to help."
Glynda studied James for a moment before she relented.
"Very well," she said, "but you and I are going to talk about this later."
Beacon Academy:
Weiss stood and observed silently as the Atlas medics tended to her friends and comrades. Yang was unconscious, her stump of an arm was wrapped in blood-stained bandages. Blake tenderly held her patched-up stab wound with one hand and held onto Yang's remaining hand with the other. All the while she cried and voiced how sorry she was. Ren and Nora sat together on the ground next to Blake and Yang. Nora looked as if she were going to cry but she was comforted by Ren. Even Zwei was sad, evidenced by his whimpering.
The medics had assured them that Yang would be fine, but it still didn't make any of them rest easy.
Sun tenderly held his ribs in pain as he watched as the medics worked tirelessly to stabilize Neptune. They had requested a transport shuttle, but it was still on its way. The monkey faunus struggled to keep himself from shaking as he anxiously waited on his best friend. He still didn't know where Scarlet or Sage were and that didn't help in the slightest. He silently prayed they were safe.
Team CFVY, Neon, and Flynt were being tended to by a team of medics a few meters away. Velvet was the worse for wear but she would be okay.
The sound of fast-approaching footsteps caught Weiss' attention. She looked up and saw Ruby running towards them. Weiss didn't even think. Her body moved on its own and she ran forward to hug Ruby tightly.
"I'm so glad you're okay," said Weiss.
"I am too," replied Ruby before she pulled away. "What happened?"
Weiss looked sad, as if she were about to cry.
"Weiss?" Asked the young Rose.
Weiss took a moment before she stepped aside to reveal Yang and Blake on the ground. Ruby immediately brought her hands up to cover her mouth.
"Yang.." she whispered, "no…"
"I'm so sorry Ruby," said Blake through tears, "this is all my fault."
Ruby struggled to contain her tears as she was embraced by Weiss.
"They're going to be okay Ruby," said Sun from where he was.
"Yeah," said Nora, "but we don't know where Pyrrha or Jaune are."
"We need to go and find them," said Ren as he struggled to stand on his two feet but quickly collapsed.
"Are you crazy?!" Yelled Sun. "Beacon has been completely overrun and we barely survived. We're in no condition right now."
Ruby's face hardened as she pulled away from Weiss.
"I'm going in to find them. I'll bring them back!"
"No," said Weiss as she placed a comforting hand on Ruby's shoulder, "we will find them."
Ruby smiled at her partner before the two of them took off from the landing pads and back towards the main campus.
"You two better come back!" Sun yelled at the top of his lungs. The monkey faunus was on the verge of breaking down but he was still keeping it together, albeit barely.
Pyrrha performed a graceful back spring to avoid being incinerated by one of Cinder's fire blasts. The prodigy Huntress launched herself off the wall and shot towards the Fall Maiden. Pyrrha grabbed Cinder and body-slammed her into the ground. The redhead immediately got up and put some distance between her and the murderous woman and called upon her semblance once again. Cinder found herself being assaulted by stray pieces of metal from every direction. The pieces were far too numerous to avoid entirely and Cinder had to resort to shielding herself with her powerful aura.
Pyrrha's face was drenched in sweat as she found herself pushing beyond her limits. With a great deal of effort, she summoned the large gears from up above in the clock tower and brought them down on Cinder.
"AHHH!" Yelled the pawn of Salem.
Pyrrha's hand clenched into a fist as she crushed the gears around Cinder closer and closer, aiming to turn the woman into dust.
Cinder found her anger growing as she felt the metal objects closing in around her. She was running out of breathing room fast.
With a forceful yell, Cinder's fiery aura exploded, instantly melting the gears and destroying the top of the tower in a fiery explosion. Pyrrha was quick to summon what little metal she could to shield herself from the explosion, saving her life at the last possible moment. It didn't prevent her from being sent flying towards the opposite side of the tower like a ragdoll, her aura shattering completely.
"I'm done playing with you bitch," growled Cinder.
Pyrrha groaned in pain as she slowly forced herself to her feet, ready to keep fighting.
Ruby and Weiss had just finished eliminating a pack of Ursas that stood in their way. The two partners were hellbent on finding Jaune and Pyrrha and they wouldn't let anything stop them.
"Come on Ruby! We have to keep moving!"
Ruby nodded as she followed after Weiss. As they ran, Ruby's scroll began to ring. The young Huntress glanced at her scroll and stopped in her tracks.
"Weiss! Wait, it's Jaune!"
The heiress ceased her running upon the mention of that. Ruby answered the scroll with haste.
"Jaune! Where are you? Where's-"
"RUBY! You have to stop her!"
"What? Who?" Ruby's voice trembled.
"PYRRHA! She went after that woman at the top of the tower!" Jaune's voice was filled with desperation. "She doesn't stand a chance! You need to save her! Please!"
Weiss and Ruby shared a look of worry before Ruby answered.
"We will Jaune! We promise! Where are you?"
"I'm fine. Don't worry about me. Just save Pyrrha!"
The two partners didn't need to be told twice. They instantly made a beeline for the tower. They had to get there before it was too late. Luckily for them, the tower was close by.
It didn't take them even a minute to reach the base of the tower, but unfortunately for them, there was a horde of Grimm standing between them and their objective. Up top, they could see that the roof of the tower had been blown off and they could also see signs of fighting judging from the fire blasts being shot everywhere.
The Grimm took notice of them and charged them.
"Let's go partner!" Yelled Ruby as she held her scythe at the ready and charged forward.
Weiss followed close behind. The two partners worked in near-perfect sync with each other, covering each other's blind spots as they attacked as one. In a normal situation, the two girls wouldn't have been able to keep up their current performance. Both Ruby and Weiss were running on almost pure adrenaline at this point. Ruby had barely survived her fight with Torchwick and Neo and Weiss barely made it out from her battle with the Paladins.
It was actually quite impressive how they managed to make their way through the pack of Grimm, a testament to their sheer will and resolve.
Ruby had just finished beheading a Nevermore just as Weiss struck a Beowulf through the top of the cranium with her rapier. The Grimm, however, just kept coming.
"We don't have time for this!" Yelled Ruby in frustration.
Weiss looked up at the tower before she looked at Ruby and nodded.
"You're right," said the heiress as she materialized glyphs up along the tower from the base to the top. "I'll handle the Grimm. You go."
"But-"
"Don't argue with me, Ruby. Just go!"
Ruby reluctantly nodded before she took off past the Grimm and ran up the tower, leaving Weiss to deal with the Grimm.
Ciel had propped herself up against a wall as she continued to hold her bleeding wound. Before her were the bodies of three White Fang soldiers. The girl had given everything and more to neutralize them and now she was struggling to stay conscious. Ciel was always a realist and right now she could tell it was only a matter of time before she passed out from the lack of blood.
Her body was in tremendous pain, she didn't have the strength to stand anymore, and her breathing had become even more ragged than before.
"Hey! Check it out! She's still alive boys haha," said a male voice.
Ciel's weary eyes looked up to see a band of White Fang soldiers approaching from across the courtyard. The battered girl didn't have the energy to even glare at them as they neared her position.
The young girl quickly found herself surrounded by a group of what she figured was maybe five White Fang soldiers. She couldn't be sure. She was too busy trying not to pass out.
"Damn," said one of the soldiers, "you know, she's not bad for a human, and she's from Atlas from the looks of it."
"Oh yeah?" Asked another with a sinister smirk. "Looks like we hit the jackpot then. Not sure about you guys, but that skirt looks a bit much doesn't it?"
Ciel involuntarily flinched at the tone of his voice. She felt a pair of hands on her ankles and immediately she flailed about.
"GET OFF ME!" She yelled.
"It's cute to try and resist. Hold her down."
"HELP!" She cried out.
Her screams were drowned out by the laughs of the terrorists. She closed her eyes, waiting for the unspeakable to happen to her. A single tear streamed down Ciel's face.
The laughs suddenly stopped, replaced by the sounds of gargled groans of pain followed by the sounds of thuds. She didn't feel foreign hands on her anymore.
Ciel opened her eyes and saw that the White Fang soldiers had been reduced to headless and limbless stumps.
"What?" She whispered.
She looked up and saw three of the tallest Atlas soldiers she'd ever seen in her life standing there. One of them quickly knelt beside her and began to treat her wounds.
"Stay with me Soleil," he said.
She couldn't discern his voice, but she was grateful to see them. She felt a needle prick her vein and she looked down to see that he'd given her a shot of morphine for the pain, which began to immediately subside.
"Alpha, you stay with her," said another one of the soldiers. "We'll go on ahead."
He nodded.
"Copy, but before you go, she could use some aura if you can spare any."
Ciel watched as one of the soldiers quickly approached her and grabbed hold of her hand. It was an instant feeling, but Ciel could sense much-needed aura flowing through her. It wasn't enough to fully heal her, but it was definitely enough to help her get back on her feet.
Once he was done, he gave the one treating her a nod before he and the other soldier took off in the direction of the tower with speed she didn't think was possible. The medic turned his attention to her.
"Where is Penny Polendina? What's her status?" He asked as he went to work treating her wound.
Ciel averted his gaze, too shame-ridden to make eye contact.
"Soleil," he said, "answer the question."
Ciel had exhaled before meeting his gaze once again.
"I…I failed my mission. She's dead."
Dead silence.
"Can you walk?" He asked with zero emotion.
Ciel nodded.
"I think so."
The soldier, Alpha, who had been treating her wounds finally stood up and stepped back.
"You are to make your way to the landing pads and evacuate immediately. Understood?"
"Y-Yes sir," she saluted.
The soldier awkwardly returned the salute, not being used to being the one saluted first.
"Go now."
Ciel got up and moved as quickly as she could towards the landing pads. He watched her leave before he turned and made his way after his brothers. On his helmet's HUD he could see a green and a grey dot moving to east towards two red dots and a white dot. He would have to wait to break the news to them. They still had a job to do and the time for mourning was not now.
I'm sorry Penny.
Pyrrha let out a pained scream as she was sent tumbling across the floor.
Cinder had kicked her in the ribs while she was on the ground, not giving her the chance to fight back. Pyrrha's aura had long since been depleted and she now she was running on sheer willpower.
The Fall Maiden fired a concentrated beam of fire at the Invincible Girl, aiming to burn her alive, but Pyrrha managed to raise her shield just in time to protect herself. Pyrrha struggled to keep her shield up against the force of the fire, her strength was fading quickly.
After what seemed like an eternity, the force of Cinder's blast relented. Pyrrha almost collapsed from the exhaustion, but she refrained. The redhead barely had time to put her arms up to block an incoming punch from the raven-haired woman. Cinder growled in frustration before she followed up with a knee strike into Pyrrha's stomach, earning a gasp of pain from Pyrrha.
Cinder materialized another sword and sent a downward slash aimed at Pyrrha's neck, but Pyrrha trapped Cinder's arm and twisted, before she brought both her hands full force onto Cinder's ears.
"FUCK! You little bitch!" Cinder cried out as she held her head in pain, feeling the disorientation and the ringing in her ears.
Cinder's eyes burned with literal fury as she sent a vicious right hook into Pyrrha's jaw, sending her back a few feet. The Fall Maiden retrieved a bow and aimed an arrow at the Invincible Girl.
Pyrrha stood ready. She threw her shield with all her might just as Cinder sent the arrow towards her. Pyrrha smirked as the shield careened on a direct collision course with the arrow, but her smirk quickly faded once she saw the arrow dematerialize around the shield before reforming.
The redhead didn't have time to defend herself as the arrow struck her in the ankle.
"AHH!"
Pyrrha tried to stand but quickly collapsed as she could very much feel her ankle was broken. The Invincible Girl let out a pained whimper as she gingerly held her ankle.
All the while, Cinder laughed mockingly.
"That's not right," she said, taking note of Pyrrha's condition, "allow me to even things out."
Cinder materialized another arrow before quickly firing it into Pyrrha's other ankle.
"AHHHHHH!"
Pyrrha's eyes began to water. The pain she felt was unbearable, but what was even more unbearable was the fact that Pyrrha would die having failed in her mission.
She failed to claim her destiny.
She failed the world.
She failed her team.
She failed her friends.
She failed Penny.
She failed Jai.
The sound of Cinder's heels clicking on the floor garnered Pyrrha's attention.
"It's unfortunate that you were promised a power that was never truly yours," Cinder brought her hand to Pyrrha's chin and lifted it up, making sure the Invincible Girl was looking at her. "But take comfort in knowing that I will use it in ways you could have never imagined."
Pyrrha shrugged Cinder's hand away before she looked at her again.
"Do you believe in destiny?"
Cinder nodded.
"Yes."
Cinder stood to full height and readied her bow, aiming for Pyrrha's heart.
Pyrrha closed her eyes. She had accepted her fate. She gave it everything she had, but it wasn't enough. She was going to die now, and she was at peace with it.
Cinder moved to release the arrow.
"PYRRHA!"
Cinder was caught off guard by the third voice. Her hand released the arrow prematurely, sending it on a different trajectory.
"AHHH!" Pyrrha cried out in excruciating pain.
Ruby looked on in horror as she saw a red-hot arrow lodged into Pyrrha's ribs. She wasn't a doctor by any means, but it looked like it missed her heart. The young leader of team RWBY felt her anger rise to dangerous levels.
Ruby rushed forward with Crescent Rose at the ready, fully intent on cleaving Cinder in two. The Fall Maiden smirked, not intimidated in the slightest. The Fall Maiden was faster than the Huntress in training. Cinder brought her hand up and caught the scythe by the handle, stopping Ruby's slash in its tracks cold. The energetic girl was surprised by the strength displayed by the raven-haired woman.
Cinder's grip on the scythe tightened into a fist before she threw her fist forward, catching Ruby in the jaw. Ruby was sent flipping across the ground, finally coming to a stop next to Pyrrha. Ruby rubbed her jaw tenderly, doing her best to ease the pain. However, in comparison to Pyrrha, Ruby's pain was nothing.
Ruby instinctively grabbed hold of her friend, pulling her closer to her.
"Pyrrha! It's okay, I'm here!"
The Invincible Girl was too distracted by her screams of anguish and the pain she felt to answer Ruby.
Cinder observed the little exchange with mild amusement before she tossed Crescent Rose away like a piece of rubbish. Little Rose's untimely arrival made her miss her killing shot, but it didn't matter. She would kill both of them here and now. The Fall Maiden materialized a pair of swords as she casually approached.
"How touching," she mocked, "but you've only delayed the inevitable."
Ruby's grip on Pyrrha's shoulder tightened. Her eyes began to tear up as a dangerous scowl formed on her face.
"I won't let you hurt anyone!"
Cinder laughed.
"Well little Rose," Cinder mocked, "you've done a great job so far. First your little robot friend and now the Invincible Girl here."
Ruby felt something within her, something she couldn't explain. She was the one responsible for Penny's death. Cinder's mockery of her friends was the last straw.
Cinder readied her blades. She was going to enjoy this. She prepared to strike just as Ruby looked up at her with anger-filled eyes.
"I WON'T LET YOU!"
A radiant white light, as bright as the sun, emanated from Ruby's eyes. The light consumed everything, including Cinder.
"WHAT?!" Yelled Cinder.
Weiss was on her last legs. She'd run out of aura, and she was running dangerously low on Dust. It was only a matter of time before she was overrun. Weiss pulled her rapier from the heart of an Ursa, disintegrating it. The Schnee heiress let out an exhausted exhale before she turned her attention to the incoming Grimm.
Weiss took an involuntary step back just before a blinding light emanated from the top of the tower. Weiss had to cover her eyes lest she risk blindness. When the light died down, she opened her eyes. She looked shocked at what she saw. The Nevermores flying overhead had turned to stone.
What's happening?
The Grimm on the ground were still approaching her, however. Weiss mentally prepared for the onslaught that was to come.
"Ms. Schnee!"
Weiss turned around and saw three Atlas soldiers running towards her at inhuman speeds. Two of them sped past her, plowing through the Grimm as if they were nothing.
"Alpha! Get her out of here!" Yelled one of the two soldiers as they went about scaling the tower.
"You got it boss!" Replied the one who'd stayed behind with her.
Before Weiss could say anything, she abruptly found herself picked up bridal style.
"Hey! What are you doing?!"
The soldier ignored her protests as he took off in a full sprint back towards the landing pads.
"Put me down!" She yelled. "My friends need me! I need to-"
"Ms. Schnee," he said in an unrecognizable voice, silencing her, "my comrades will ensure your friends' protection. My job is to get you to safety. You are in no condition to keep fighting."
Weiss held her tongue. He was right. She would have been overrun in her current condition had he and his comrades not arrived. All she could do now was trust that Pyrrha and Ruby were okay.
It didn't take long for them to reach the landing pads. The speed at which this soldier ran was nothing short of unnatural and if the way he bulldozed through any Grimm that stood in his way was to be judged then she could ascertain his strength was equally unnatural. Something about this felt eerily familiar to her.
Rahm slowed his pace down as soon as he was within eyesight of the students and regs. Both students and soldiers alike turned their attention to the giant carrying the heiress in his arms. Zero-One-One stopped in front of a pair of Atlas medics who were tending to Yang, Ren, and Ciel. Ren was conscious while Yang and Ciel were not. Zwei let out a happy bark, happy to see Weiss. Nora was watching them tend to Ren with a frown on her face, but her frown quickly morphed into a relieved smile upon seeing Weiss.
"WEISS!" Yelled Nora. "Are you okay?"
Rahm set Weiss down, the super soldier took note of the state that Yang was in. Penny was dead, Beacon and Vale were under siege, and Yang was severely injured. Things had truly taken a turn for the worse.
"I'm fine," she said. "Where's Blake? Where's Sun and Neptune?"
Nora and Ren looked disappointed. Both Weiss and Rahm took notice.
Ren answered.
"Sun went with Neptune to accompany him to the hospital, but Blake…"
"Blake disappeared," answered Nora. "We have no idea where she went."
Weiss frowned. Blake swore she was done running away and it seemed she couldn't keep that promise. Rahm took note of that. General Ironwood would want to hear about Belladonna's absence. While Weiss was fuming, Rahm turned his attention to the soldiers present.
"Keep Ms. Schnee safe," he said, "General Ironwood's orders." His statement carried an unspoken weight behind it.
The soldiers nodded.
Rahm made to leave but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.
"Wait," Weiss said, "where are you going?"
"The job isn't finished," replied Rahm. "There are still those unaccounted for. I have to go back."
"Very well, but before you go, I need to ask something. Do you know where Rahm Tangerin and his team are?"
"I'm afraid I don't know Ms. Schnee," he lied, "we will search for them."
Weiss nodded.
"Thank you," she said, "be careful."
"I will," he replied as he took off back towards the tower.
Cinder howled in pain as she used her right hand to clench her left eye, or at least what remained of her left eye. Whatever Rose had done had left her crippled. Her left arm had been mangled and the Fall Maiden was reduced to a screaming mess.
Cinder took a moment to calm herself and regain her composure. Her blurred vision focused until she could see the unconscious forms of Nikos and Rose. The Fall Maiden forced herself to her feet while the rage in her eye burned brightly. She was going to incinerate them.
Cinder summoned every ounce of magic she could muster, letting it build within her. She'd been training her abilities keenly since her fight with that mysterious being, that Harvester. The fiery magical energy began to swirl around her in an unstable fashion. The energy pulsed brightly as she continued to charge her impending attack. Last time she unleashed this attack she only had half of the Maiden's powers, but now she had all of it. She was going to lay the entire tower to waste, and Nikos and Rose along with it.
As Cinder prepared to unleash the literal bomb of magical energy, her remaining eye caught movement in the corner. There emerged two men of great height garbed in the uniforms of the Atlas military. She couldn't discern their faces thanks to the helmets.
In the half second of time that Jai had to analyze the situation, he immediately acted. He wasted no time in running towards Cinder at full speed. She was about to unleash the same attack she had hit him with before and he needed to move quickly.
"DELTA! GET THEM OUT OF HERE!"
In her current state, Cinder was unable to prepare herself for the kick that struck her with the force of a freight train, sending her flying off the tower. Jai immediately turned on his heel and ran after Terre, who had Ruby and Pyrrha under each of his arms.
"Jump!" Yelled Jai.
The two jumped off the tower just as a massive explosion of powerful fire was set loose. The two fell down the length of the tower, narrowly avoiding the explosion that incinerated everything in its path. The two super soldiers landed with grace as they continued to run.
Up ahead, they spotted Rahm running in their direction. It didn't take more than a few seconds before they stopped in their tracks and faced each other.
"Sitrep?" Inquired Rahm.
"They're okay. Pyrrha needs medical attention immediately. We'll head back to the landing pads. You need to pursue Cinder; she's the target of interest we've been searching for. Keep your distance and do not engage." Terre took this chance to pass Pyrrha over into Jai's arms.
Jai immediately went about giving the unconscious girl all the aura he could give her. Her wounds subsided but she was in urgent need of proper medical care.
Rahm nodded.
"Any word on Penny's status?" Asked Terre.
Rahm frowned from behind his helmet.
"She's dead."
Jai and Terre said nothing. There was nothing to say. There was nothing they could do. They'd failed her, but right now they needed to keep moving. They couldn't fail Ruby and Pyrrha now. They still had a job to do.
"Understood," said Terre, "keep moving."
"Good luck," said Jai before he and Terre resumed running back towards the landing pads.
Rahm watched them for a moment before taking off in pursuit of Cinder.
It wasn't long at all before Jai and Terre arrived at the landing pads. Ruby was still out cold while Pyrrha had begun to flicker in and out of consciousness. In the near distance, they saw Weiss waving to them. Once they reached her, they saw Atlas military medics loading Yang onto a stretcher, preparing to load her into a medical transport. The boys took note of her missing arm and the fact that Belladonna was also missing. Unfortunately, they had more important matters to deal with at the moment and they would have to inquire about Belladonna's absence later.
Ciel was still unconscious, likely a result of whatever treatment the medics had given her. Ren sported bandages and was helped propped up by Nora. Lastly, Jaune stood next to Weiss and both of them didn't look too easy upon seeing Ruby and Pyrrha.
Terre took note of their concern and spoke.
"Relax," he said in an unrecognizable voice, "Ms. Rose and Ms. Nikos are going to be fine." His words seemed to put Weiss and Jaune at rest.
Jai spotted a pair of medics not too far away.
"Over here," he said loudly.
The medics rushed over. Terre gently passed Ruby into the arms of one of the medics.
"Take care of her," he said firmly, "protect her."
The medic nodded.
Terre stole one last look at Ruby before he shot a nod at Jai and took off in a full sprint to go back up Rahm.
Jai moved to pass Pyrrha to the medic, but he was stopped as he felt a hand firmly grab his forearm. Pyrrha was looking up at him with weary, green eyes. The girl had been through a physical gauntlet, and she still refused to give up. The super soldier couldn't help but admire her tenacity.
"Wait," Pyrrha said weakly, "thank you."
Jai observed her from behind his helmet and nodded.
"Your thanks aren't necessary Ms. Nikos. I was doing my job."
Pyrrha offered a weak smile before her eyes darted over to her teammates. She felt an overwhelming sense of happiness knowing that Ren, Nora, and Jaune were all okay. She closed her eyes momentarily as a few stray tears began to flow. She looked up at Jai again.
"Do you know where team PGRT is? Where is Jai Gris?"
At this point, Weiss was keenly listening in on the conversation, eager to know where the boys were.
"I'm afraid I don't know, Ms. Nikos," he lied.
Pyrrha grimaced, worry had taken over her and Jai noticed.
"Ms. Nikos," he said, "please let the medics do their job. Your wounds need attention."
She had an arrow in each ankle and an arrow lodged in her ribs. It was only thanks to Jai's aura that the bleeding stopped.
Pyrrha's grip on Jai's forearm tightened as her watery eyes narrowed at him.
"Promise me you'll find him and his team. Promise me you'll bring them back to us; bring him back to me."
A moment of uncomfortable silence passed before Jai nodded.
"I promise," he said, "I will bring him back to you."
That wasn't a total lie. Part of Jai wanted to tell her that he would always be there to watch over her as Guardian Zero-Three-Seven, not Jai Gris, but he couldn't. He had a cover to maintain, and he was sworn to uphold his duties.
Pyrrha gave a sad smile as she let go of him and allowed the medic to tend to her wounds. Jai watched her for a moment before taking one last look at the students that he and his brothers had interacted with over the many months. Jai turned and took off after Terre and Rahm. They had a fight to finish.
Well that certainly was a lot to unpack eh? The boys failed Penny, but at least the girls are safe. Pyrrha survives! If you're wondering why Terre ordered Rahm to pursue Cinder but not engage, don't worry. He has a good reason for doing so. If you remember the beach chapter, Weiss had a drawing of a certain Guardian, and here she has summoned an Arma Gigas according to her liking. In any case, you all can see how the story has changed from the original series and there will be more changes to come. As for what's next for the boys, well let's just say that they're going hunting haha. Let me know what you all thought of this one. Until next time.
-Dude64