Alright guys, here's Chapter Ten. Sorry for the delay, as with all the other things taking up my time right now I just turned twenty-one Saturday and of course that means I got hammered. The 107 fever I got the next day however was not as much fun. Yikes! Anyway, I managed to finish off this chapter this morning and figured I'd get it out to you guys. Be warned, I haven't looked it over as thoroughly as I usually do so spelling errors will more than likely be more prominent than usual. Hope you guys like it!
Disclaimer: I own nothing!
"Speech"
Thoughts
Chapter Ten: Knowledge
The full moon illuminated the night sky above Haven Academy. On the school grounds, Qrow took the lead as the currently present members of Team RWBY, the remaining members of Team JNPR, and Oscar followed close behind. Ruby stopped and looked up to admire Haven's CCT tower, before following the rest of the group to a nearby building. They entered the building and were greeted by Lionheart, who was standing on a terrace at the top of the stairs that's being held up by a statue.
"Why hello. Thank you for... coming" he greeted nervously "There... seems to be more of you than last time" he added with a nervous chuckle. Qrow and the rest of the group stopped to look up at Lionheart.
"Eh, you know what they say, "The more the merrier" Qrow shrugged "So what's going on with the council?" he asked feigning curiosity.
"Why... did you bring your weapons?" Lionheart asked in surprise.
"What?" Qrow looked back at the group for a second before turning his attention back to Lionheart "Leo, we're Huntsmen" he answered confused "You okay?" he asked concerned.
"Of course! Of course, sorry. Just haven't had my evening coffee" he waved dismissively.
"Look, it's nice to see you, but we got work to do. Are we getting support from the council or not?" Qrow tried to move the conversation along.
While the two talk, Yang noticed from the corner of her eye a black bird perched on a balcony railing "Mom?" she asked surprised. Everyone's attention turned to the bird. It flew away just as Qrow shot at it, but he missed. The bird landed behind Lionheart, transforming into Raven, donning her mask. Everyone glared at her.
"Raven..." Ruby breathed out.
Raven removed her mask "If you're going to shoot me, shoot me. That was insulting"
"What are you doing here?!" Qrow asked displeased to see her there.
Raven made her way down the stairs as she answered "I could ask you the same thing. You've been scheming, little brother. Planning to attack your own sister"
"Leo... what have you done?!" he asked betrayed.
"I-" he tried to answer.
"Leo did what any sane person would in his position; he looked at all the information he had in front of him, assessed the situation, and made a choice. And it seems you all have too" she explained.
"You have the Spring Maiden" he pointed out angrily.
"I do" Raven admitted.
"Then hand her over and let's work together! We can beat Salem!" he tried to convince her.
"All that time spent spying for Ozpin and you still have no idea what you're dealing with. There is no beating Salem!" she argued.
"You're wrong" Ruby proclaimed as she stepped forward "We've done things that most people would call impossible, and I know the only reason we were able to do it is because we didn't do it alone! We had people to teach us, people to help us, we had each other. Work with us. At least I know we'll have a better chance if we try together. Please" Ruby held her hand out, Raven glared at it.
"You sound just like your mother" Raven growled. Suddenly, Raven drew her sword and created a portal with her Semblance. From the portal, a fireball was launched and struck Ruby square in her torso, she landed several feet back with a cry of pain.
"Ruby!" Yang called in concern. While Yang ran to her little sister, Cinder stepped out of the portal.
"Hello boys and girls" She was then joined by Vernal, Emerald and Mercury as they too stepped out from the portal.
"Cinder..." Ruby glared with seething hatred
Cinder and her group lined up alongside Raven, while the rest gasped in shock "C'mon guys, is that any way to greet your old friends?" Mercury asked feigning offense, causing Yang to growl at him
"Everybody, stay calm" Qrow ordered.
Suddenly they heard the doors behind them open up "Oh no..." Oscar gasped.
Hazel closed the doors behind him as he entered "The White Fang is prepping demolition and securing the school grounds. No one's getting in, and no one's getting out"
Just outside the walls of Mistral, Slade could be seen leaving with his hood covering his face and a bottle in his hand as he approached the peak of a nearby hilltop. Stopping as he reached the top he turned to see the city behind him bustling with activity, he sighed with a shake of his head.
There's nothing to be gained back there. Stop second guessing yourself he told himself.
Slade looked down as he pulled out a small silver pocket watch from his coat and opened it up, there was a picture of his family on the inside behind the clock and a picture more recently placed on the opposite side of the watch with a picture of Team SHDW I am doing what's best here... I cannot bear to see what happened to them happen to you and your friends, Yang. I'm sorry he closed the watch placing it back within his jacket before moving forward, he opened the bottle and began drinking from it. Finishing off the contents of the bottle, he stared at it as he continued to walk. Slade's expression changed to one of anger as he smashed the bottle against a nearby tree trunk.
"Pull it together, you idiot" he berated himself "You've been working alone this long, you'll be fine without her and she'll be fine without you... until... she isn't" he stopped in place before turning back toward Mistral one last time "You should've walked away when you had the chance, Yang... you've only brought this on yourself" he turned his back on the city for the last time and continued walking.
Back inside Haven, everyone watched Hazel slowly approach them. They turned their attention back to Cinder.
"This was all just a trap?" Weiss asked.
"It appears so" Ren answered disappointed.
"Raven, tell me... how long have you been with them?" Qrow asked with disappointment clear in his voice.
"Aww, don't take it personally, little bird. Your sister was a recent addition. The lion on the other hand... Entrance into the Vytal Festival was a real treat, Leonardo's been sending Salem all sorts of information for a very, very long time. Isn't that right, professor?" Cinder explained mockingly.
"Stop it" Lionheart pleaded shamefully.
"It was you... you sit on the Mistral Council. You had information on every Huntsman and Huntress in the Kingdom, and you gave it all to her?" Qrow asked in disbelief.
"I-"
"I couldn't find any of them, because you let her kill them!" he continued "Years ago... when we sent Slade after Salem's infiltrators... you told them he was coming didn't you? You're the reason they didn't stand a chance!" he shouted enraged causing Yang's anger to boil just thinking about his betrayal.
Lionheart didn't say anything, maintaining a sad expression on his face "Aw now, don't beat yourself up about it, Lionheart, I'm sure Tyrian and Hazel would've found them on their own eventually" Cinder assured him "Be honest with yourself, there's no way Slade's team would've survived regardless"
"What is wrong with you? How can you be so broken inside... to take so many lives, and then come here and rub it in our faces like it's something to be proud of?! Jaune asked as his anger continued to boil.
"Jaune-" Nora tried
"All with that damn smile on your face!" he yelled enraged as tears streamed from his eyes.
The rest of the group drew their weapons "Everybody, stay calm!" Qrow restated.
Cinder just glared at Jaune "I'm gonna make you pay for what you did! Do you hear me?!" he yelled at her.
"Kid!" Qrow yelled.
"Well?! SAY SOMETHING!" he shouted taking a step forward.
After a short pause, Cinder mockingly replied "Who are you again?"
Jaune transformed Crocea Mors to its two-handed form and advanced forward. Cinder summoned an obsidian scimitar and blocked Jaune's attack.
"Jaune!" Ruby yelled concerned, she leapt into the air, but a chain wrapped around her and she was pulled to the ground by Emerald.
"You're not getting near her" she growled.
Jaune was pushed back by Cinder and the two began their duel. Yang rushed forward to join the fight, but Mercury landed in front of her, blocking her path.
"Hey there, Blondie. I'm thinking you owe me an apology for my leg, don't ya think?" he taunted. Yang growled and used Ember Celica to propel herself toward him.
"Take out the heiress. Don't bother wasting your power, she's not worth it" Raven ordered Vernal, she then drew her sword as Qrow used Harbinger to lock blades with his sister.
"Running away was one thing, but this... you've crossed the line!" Qrow growled.
"Sorry, brother. Sometimes family disappoints you like that"
"We're not family anymore" he spat.
"Were we ever?" she asked solemnly.
"I thought so, but I guess I was wrong" The two then proceeded with their fight, while Vernal confronted Weiss.
"Let's see what the Schnee name really means" Vernal drew her weapons, while Weiss held Myrtenaster en garde.
"I'm more than a name"
"Hm, prove it"
Weiss activated a glyph below her and launched herself forward to fight the Spring Maiden. Meanwhile, Oscar snuck up the stairs to Lionheart while Hazel was confronted by Ren and Nora, who held up their weapons defensively.
"I don't wish to fight either of you" Hazel claimed in a bored tone.
"Nor I you" Ren replied.
"But we will if you're with her!" Nora shouted.
Hazel cracked his neck and knuckles "Very well, then" He proceeded forward. As Lionheart nervously watched the fights go on, he then noticed Oscar walk up behind him.
"Young man, I don't know who you are or what you think you're doing, but for your sake, I suggest you leave. Now" Oscar defiantly remained stationary before taking a few more steps toward Lionheart "I'm warning you!" Lionheart held out his wrist-mounted weapon, while Oscar prepared to draw something from behind him "That's enough!" Lionheart rotated his weapon, having a glyph appear above it which then conjured a flaming rock that launched at Oscar, who held out his arms in front of him defensively as the attack exploded.
Oscar was unscathed, though his Aura shimmered. He continued to proceed up the steps and drew his cane. Lionheart's eyes widened in shock "Ozpin?"
"Not quite" Oscar smirked, he advanced forward as his attacks forced Lionheart on the defensive. He managed to whack Lionheart back a few steps.
"This can't be... I knew you would be back, but... you made it here! You found Qrow! How?"
Leo... what happened to you? Ozpin wondered in disappointment.
"Wait. You can't have had this form for long. You're... not really Ozpin right now. Boy. Child. If I deliver you to Salem, she'll have to be pleased with me, and I can finally get out of all of this! I can finally be free!" Lionheart, now determined, prepared his weapon again.
"What do I do?" Oscar asked Ozpin.
Fight he answered dryly, Oscar leapt forward.
Meanwhile, Weiss leapt around on her glyphs, dodging Vernal's weapons as she threw them like boomerangs. Weiss was forced on the defensive and created a large ice wall. She then stabbed Myrtenaster into the ground as her Arma Gigas summon crawled out of her glyph. Suddenly, a large beam destroyed the ice wall as well as the Arma Gigas before it could be fully summoned. One of Vernal's weapons knocked Weiss back several feet.
Vernal spoke while catching her weapon "Don't think I'm going to let you take the easy way out" Elsewhere, Jaune was knocked to the ground.
Cinder chuckled "I'm starting to remember you, you're the dense one that can't tell when he's out of his league"
Jaune got to his feet and clashed blades with Cinder again. Ruby watched them fight but was snapped out of her distraction by Emerald. She transformed her weapons into their revolver forms and fired at Ruby, who twirled around Crescent Rose blocking Emerald's shots.
"Why are you doing this?! Salem's-" Ruby tried to ask.
"I don't care about Salem! But I owe Cinder everything. You want to fight her that bad? Be my guest" she answered.
Emerald then activated her Semblance, creating a wall of fire which Cinder emerged from and charged at Ruby. Suddenly, Cinder's form disappeared, while Emerald tripped her. Ruby fired a bullet that narrowly misses Weiss, who was blocking Vernal's shots with Myrtenaster. Weiss attempts to summon, but Vernal was too quick and prevented her from doing so. Eventually, Weiss managed to launch Vernal out of the way and prepared to summon again. Suddenly, Vernal appeared in front of her and landed an attack that depleted Weiss' Aura. Weiss let out a pained scream. Jaune heard this and looked in her direction as tears welled up in his eyes.
"Are you going to let her die too?" Cinder asked mockingly.
"Stop messing with me!" he shouted back enraged.
"If that's what you want"
Cinder then ignites her scimitar, fully coating it in flames. Cinder and Jaune proceed forward to clash. Ruby looked behind her and noticed this. She briefly thought back to the moment when Pyrrha died, and her eyes started to shine bright again.
"NOOOOOOOOOO!" she yelled, a bright light engulfing the area but died down when Ruby is knocked unconscious by Emerald.
"Ruby!" Yang called from her fight with Mercury.
Suddenly, Cinder fell to her knees, holding her arm in pain. She looked up, and barely missed Jaune's attack as it chipped her mask concealing the left side of her face. As Cinder moved out of the way, Jaune trips and falls. Cinder got back up enraged, activating her Maiden power while doing so. She then stepped on top of Jaune to hold him down.
"Did you think you actually had a chance against me?! You?!" Jaune struggled to reach for his weapon while Cinder calmed herself and deactivated her Maiden power "You're just a failure with a death wish"
Jaune continued to struggle "If I die buying them time, then it's worth it. They're the ones that matter"
Cinder looked to Jaune's comrades as they fought against their respective foes, before smiling wickedly back down to him "You think so?" She then noticed Weiss get knocked back several feet away, and began to slowly advance toward her while she conjured an obsidian spear.
"No" he watched helplessly while Cinder continues to advance towards Weiss "NOOOOOOO!" he shouted forcing himself to his feet.
Cinder threw the spear and it impaled Weiss through her abdomen. She gasped in shock as everyone stopped their fighting and stared in shock as well. The spear then disintegrated as Weiss slumped forward "WEISS!" he screams.
Cinder smirked triumphantly. Jaune quickly rushed past Cinder. Oscar watched Jaune approach and pick up the unconscious Weiss from his position. He then looked over to the unconscious Ruby. Angered, he smacked Leonardo with his cane, causing him to fall down the stairs and into Hazel, who remains unfazed as Lionheart rolled to the ground. Oscar quickly rushed over to Ruby, with Nora joining him.
"Ruby, get up! Get up! We need you!" he pleaded.
Hazel picked up Lionheart by his collar, lifting him off the floor "You're lettin' that boy make a fool of you"
"That's not just a boy! It's Ozpin" Hazel's eyes widened at his words "He's already reincarnated!"
Hazel dropped Lionheart and looked over to Oscar, who was still trying to nudge Ruby to wake her. He then noticed Ozpin's cane being held in the young farm boy's hand "Ozpin?" he asked in disbelief. Suddenly, his calm demeanor slowly turned infuriated. Ruby stirred for a bit.
"Ruby! You-" Oscar tried.
"Ozpin!" Hazel shouted enraged.
Oscar looks up Oh no Ozpin gasped.
"You thought you could hide from ME?!" Hazel ripped his coat off, and then grabs a pair of lightning Dust crystals from a couple of pouches on his legs "You'll pay for what you did! You'll die over and over again!" He embedded the lightning Dust into his arms, with his blood vessels turning yellow and popping out from his skin as well as having some lightning coat them. His eyes were aglow, and he let out an intimidating roar. Oscar slowly backed away, holding his cane up cautiously.
"Do- do we fight?" Oscar asked No, run! Ozpin answered fearfully.
Hazel leapt forward to charge into Oscar, but Qrow got him out of the way in time. Qrow transformed Harbinger into its scythe form while Cinder looked on. Raven and Vernal approached from each side "Ozpin is here?!" she asked angrily.
"Is that a problem?" Raven asked.
"I'm not sure, but right now we got the upper hand. Let's not waste it" she answered.
"You're afraid of little old Ozpin?" Raven smirked "He's in the body of a small boy" she chuckled.
"I'm not afraid of him" she growled "I'm the one who killed him last time"
Jaune used his hands to apply pressure on Weiss' wound, while Ren held her wrist, checking her pulse "Ren, talk to me!" he ordered.
Ren sadly shook his head "This is bad"
Jaune's eyes widened in horror "No, no, no, no, not again! Weiss, c'mon, please!" Oscar dodged out of the way as Hazel slams his fist into the ground.
Oscar Ozpin pleaded.
"No!" Oscar dodged another attack from Hazel.
Oscar! he pleaded more urgently.
"I told you, no!" Oscar got punched back by Hazel several feet into a column.
Please, let me take over! I can handle him! he begged.
"You told me I needed to fight for myself!" Oscar stood back up "So I will"
This is not your fight! Ozpin tried to explain.
"What does that mean? Why is he so upset with us?" he asked confused.
"He didn't tell you my tale, did he, boy?" Hazel asked as he approached Oscar menacingly "I thought you looked familiar, to think that evil was inside you when our paths first crossed" he holds his fists in the air "Your blood won't be on my hands, it'll be on his"
Qrow jumped in the way to block Hazel's attack, but he slammed his fist into the ground, the shockwave knocking both him and Oscar back. They both got back up as Qrow engaged Hazel.
"What was he talking about?" Oscar asked.
"Tell him, Ozpin! Tell him how you KILLED HER!" Hazel demanded.
"Her?"
Gretchen Rainart was Hazel's sister. Despite her brother's wishes, she enrolled at Beacon Academy to become a Huntress and tragically lost her life on a training mission. Hazel... holds me responsible. Please, let me fight. I know Hazel. He's wounded in a way that cannot be healed he explained.
"You know now!" he tossed Qrow aside easily "You can forgive me for what I'm about to do" he approached Oscar.
"Did she know?" Oscar asked stopping Hazel in place at his inquiry "Did she know the risk of being a Huntress?"
"She was only a child! She wasn't ready!" he answered.
"She made a choice! A choice to put others before herself!" holding his cane up defensively "So do I"
Hazel just glared at him "Then you've chosen death!" Oscar glared back, determined.
I'm sorry
"What?" Oscar asked confused before his eyes suddenly glowed and his body falls to the ground as Ozpin takes over him. Ozpin looks up, and Hazel looked back at him, enraged.
"OZZZZPIIIIIIIIN!" he screeched in anger.
Meanwhile, Jaune and Ren continued tending to Weiss "She's hardly breathing. I... I don't know what we can do" Ren claimed horrified, The both of them looked down to Weiss as she struggled to breathe, before suddenly stopping.
"No, it wasn't supposed to be like this! Please!" his voice broke as he spoke "We can't lose anyone else" Jaune sadly closed his eyes. Suddenly, a faint shimmering sound caught his ears and a white Aura started to coat over Weiss' body. Weiss suddenly gasped for breath.
Hazel and Ozpin fought each other intensely. Lionheart tried to intervene by launching another attack from his weapon, but was stopped by Qrow. The two of them began to engage each other, with Qrow blocking Lionheart's projectiles. Hazel tried to smash him with his fists, but Ozpin was too fast for him. Eventually, Ozpin managed to knock Hazel down on all fours. Ozpin then twirled his cane and prepared to deliver the finishing blow, but Hazel roared and smashed his fists into the ground, creating another lightning shockwave. Meanwhile, Weiss started to gasp and breathe normally again as the white Aura coating her continued to glow.
"Huh? Wha- what's happening?" Jaune asked.
"Weiss!" Ruby called as Nora helped Ruby up on her feet, who then quickly ran over to her teammate's side "What happened? What's going on?!" Ruby asked concerned.
"I think she's going to be okay! She seems to be stabilizing" he claimed with a smile.
With Weiss breathing again, Ruby smiled, relieved that her friend's life was not endangered. Ruby then heard her sister struggling, she looked over her shoulder to see Yang getting knocked back by Mercury. Yang charged forward, but Mercury's form disappeared as a result of another one of Emerald's Semblance hallucinations. Emerald then created an image of Raven, which Yang hesitated to attack. Yang then blocked another attack from Mercury, but she was then knocked down again. Ruby then looked over to Oscar fighting Hazel, with the latter's attack becoming too wild and unpredictable for the young boy. Oscar was then hit by one of Lionheart's projectiles and held his shoulder in pain. Hazel was about to punch at Oscar again, but Qrow pushes Oscar out of the way and took the blow in his back, launching him upwards. Ruby lifted Jaune's hands up to see that Weiss' wound had closed.
"Whatever you're doing, don't stop!" She ordered.
"I won't" he spoke with determination.
"Good. Oscar needs help"
"I'm on it" Ren prepared to fight.
"Jaune and Weiss still need cover! Ruby yelled.
Nora approaches his side holding Magnhild "No one's gonna touch 'em" she smiled confidently.
Ruby smiled back "Okay, make it happen, RNJR!"
Ruby transformed Crescent Rose into its scythe form and flips over. She landed to her sister's side, knocking Emerald back. Emerald's Semblance copies of Mercury then disappeared, reforming back into a single Mercury.
"Thanks, sis" she stood back up "You okay?" she asked concerned.
"No, I'm angry" she answered before launching herself forward with a shot from her weapon.
Ruby and Yang faced off against Emerald and Mercury. The sisters switched positions and leapt forward to take on their opponents. Yang knocked into Emerald while Ruby took on Mercury. He used his left heel to kick Crescent Rose out of her hands.
"Uh oh, what're you gonna do now?" he asked sarcastically.
Mercury tried to throw a left cross, but Ruby ducked and headbutted him upwards. Mercury stumbled a few feet backwards, holding his nose in pain before growling at Ruby.
Ruby picked up Crescent Rose "Whatever it takes to shut you up"
Meanwhile, Nora held Magnhild up defensively protecting Jaune, who was still healing Weiss "You guys doing okay?" Nora asked.
"I- I think so. She's coming to. I just wish this would go faster" he said impatiently.
"How about you don't complain and just be thankful you unlocked your Semblance when you did" Nora pointed out.
"My Semblance?" Jaune asked confused.
"How else do you think you're healing her, dummy?" she asked like as if it was obvious.
Jaune stared back at her in disbelief before looking back down at Weiss "No. I don't think I'm healing her. Our Aura heals our bodies. It feels... it feels more like I'm using my Aura to amplify hers!"
"Wait, aren't you worried about running out?" Nora asked concerned.
"Pyrrha once told me I've got a lot of it. I still believe her" he explained confidently.
Suddenly, Weiss opened her eyes, stirring "Jaune?" she asked surprised.
Nora smiled before standing guard again. Meanwhile, Ren was taking on Hazel, who punched the former back into the wall. Hazel then launched an electrical charge from his lightning-Dust enhanced arm, electrocuting Ren, causing him to scream in pain before falling to the ground.
"Ren!" Nora called concerned.
"Go! I've got her!" Jaune ordered, Nora nodded at him before proceeding forward
"Jaune... what's happening?" Weiss asked confused.
"You took a heavy hit, you need to stay with me while the others fight" Jaune explained.
"That's..." she sighed "Annoying"
"Heh, good to have you back, Weiss" he smiled down at her.
Meanwhile, Qrow was knocked back into the wall and then fell to the ground next to the downed Ren, who struggled to get back up as well. Oscar used his cane to block flaming rocks being fired from Leonardo's weapon. Hazel charged forward and punched Oscar several feet back "Hiding behind the face of a child? A monster like you must be stopped!" Hazel shouted.
Nora charged at Hazel with a loud battle cry. She leapt into the air, but Hazel caught Magnhild and slammed Nora into the ground. Hazel then grabbed Nora's head, electrocuting her with his lightning Dust-enhanced arms. She screams out in pain "How many more children must die for you?!" he asked angrily. Suddenly, Nora grabs Hazel's wrist "Huh?"
Nora, inadvertently enhanced by Hazel's electricity thanks to her Semblance, stood back up and flipped him over her shoulder. He rolls back several feet away. Nora then held Magnhild up defensively, before Ozpin called to her "His Semblance... he can block out pain. It's how he is able to handle injecting so much Dust into his body" Ozpin explained.
Nora stared back at Hazel as he got to his feet "I don't need him to hurt..." she said darkly as Hazel screamed and charged forward again "I just need him to GO DOWN!" she yelled.
As Hazel neared her, Nora wound up to swing Magnhild. She slammed her hammer right into Hazel's chest, her counterattack launching him into the closed doors, he slammed into them and fell forward onto his knees as he struggled to catch his breath "Gotcha!" Nora yelled triumphantly.
"Not quite" Hazel growled as he stood back up "It's gonna take more than that to take me down" he embedded red dust shards into his arms "Now the real fight begins" he charged forward easily knocking Nora out of his path as he continued toward Ozpin.
Yang and Mercury fought, trading blows before Emerald tied her arms together with her weapon's chains "Yang!" Ruby called prepared to help only to have Hazel grab her by her hood and toss Ruby aside.
"Ruby!" Yang called concerned as she was forced to her knees.
"Eyes up here, Blondie" Mercury laughed as he kicked his boot toward her face, a gunshot rang out from it, Yang closed her eyes preparing for the hit. She was surprised when it never came, she slowly opened her eyes to see Mercury's boot caught in the hand of the last person she expected to see.
"You alright?"
"Y-yeah" she answered shocked.
"What're you doing here?!" Mercury growled angrily.
"What I should've been doing from the beginning"
"S-Slade?" Ruby asked confused as she caught a glimpse of him.
"That's right" he chuckled "It's time someone showed you how a real Huntsmen fights" he twisted Mercury's boot around before slamming his own into his back throwing him through the air, into Emerald, knocking her over. Yang freed herself as Emerald lost focus, standing up with a grin on her face.
"I knew it"
"Don't act like you knew I was gonna be here, I only decided to come save your ass minutes ago" he replied indignantly.
"Oz!" Qrow called with concern as Hazel pulled his fist back while he charged toward him to strike, Slade flew past Yang and Ruby stopping in front of Ozpin as he came closer. Slade pulled his hand up to catch his fist as he struck sliding back a few inches as the ground crumbled beneath his heels. Hazel looked on in shock of his strength, unaware his Semblance was the only reason he was able to take the strike, having used it to slow down Hazel's momentum enough for him to handle.
"You'll have to do better than that" he chuckled, angering Hazel.
Releasing Hazel allowed him to strike with his opposite hand, Slade slammed his fist into his neck stumbling him then his abdomen before slamming his elbow up into his face, throwing Hazel backward as he rolled to a nearby pillar. Slade appeared in front of him before he could even move, twisting violently before kicking Hazel in the face through the pillar and into the wall behind him.
"Hazel!" Cinder called in shock.
Hazel quickly got back up charging Slade angrily, swinging for his head as he ducked under his arm. Slade slammed his fist into his abdomen then took a step back to avoid another strike before striking Hazel in the face twice causing him to stumble. Slade jumped back as Hazel swung his arm to avoid the attack then flipped over his back and rolled forward as he rammed his shoulder toward Slade. Hazel slowly approached him with his hands up defensively, he stuck forward as Slade ducked around it and struck for his abdomen. Hazel slammed his knee into Slade's face, then his fist into his chest just as Slade blocked the second strike with his gauntlets before being thrown backward by the force of the strike, rolling back to his feet.
"Not bad" he spit to his left.
Hazel charged forward as Slade grabbed the splintered fragments of wood from the broken pillar in his hands and threw them in his face, disorienting him. Slade then jumped forward and slammed both of his boots into his abdomen, landing on his back before rolling backward into a standing position. Slade then rushed forward as Hazel fell to his knees, he held up his hands in front of his face defensively. Slade flipped forward and kicked him in the back of the head before rolling into the landing away from him.
"Stop running away and fight me!" Hazel shouted.
"You asked for it" Slade smirked.
Slade charged forward jumping toward him and kicking Hazel in the abdomen as he spun through the air kicking him twice more before using his hand to catch himself and punching Hazel in the face as his fist came up to hit him. Slade stepped to the side slamming his fist into Hazel's side twice before rolling behind him to his left as his fist came back down to strike him. Slade slammed both of his fists into Hazel's back ducking under his arms as he spun around to strike him and tilted his head back to avoid a third strike.
Stepping forward he ducked his head to the left as Hazel struck slamming his fist into his side's between dodging attacks as Hazel continued to try and land a hit on him. Slade sidestepped the final strike before smashing his right fist into Hazel's side and his left into his face stumbling him back. Ducking under another strike he uppercut Hazel then punched him in the abdomen twice before slamming his right boot into his chest. Slade jumped up grabbing Hazel's head and pulling it down, slamming his knee into his face before receiving a fist to his face, throwing Slade backward as he slid to a stop.
"He's awesome!" Nora shouted enthusiastically.
"Why do you think I told you he was one of our best?" Qrow asked with a smirk "He's not even using his Semblance, he's just toying with Hazel"
Slade quickly hopped from one foot to the other, left and right as he approached Hazel confusing him enough to miss his strike. Slade slammed his fist into his abdomen then planted his hands onto the ground and raising his right leg backward to kick him in the face before sliding behind him and grabbing his arm to slam Hazel over his shoulder and into the ground. Hazel rolled away from his as he slammed his boot down toward his face, Slade then kicked again for his chest only to have him catch his leg in his hand. Slade picked up his other leg as Hazel slammed his elbow down toward his leg, and kicked his fist into his own chest, knocking Hazel back and winding the man.
"Leo!" Cinder called "Open the vault" she ordered frantically.
Leonardo quickly opened the path to the vault as Raven, Vernal and Cinder all stepped onto the platform and descended into the vault.
"No!" Qrow shouted angrily.
Hazel sprinted toward Slade, leaping into the air and kicking for his face. Slade dropped onto his knees as he soared overhead. Turning around quickly he slammed his fist down as Slade rolled away from him. Slade leapt back from the ground and punched him in the face and kicked him in the abdomen before catching himself on the ground and upercutting him as he turned slamming his boot into Hazel's abdomen once more. Slade jumped up slamming both of his elbows into Hazel's shoulders, dropping him onto his knees. Hazel grabbed Slade around the abdomen, he slammed his elbows into Hazel's back before being lifted into the air, he slammed his knee into his abdomen as Hazel slammed him onto his back.
Hazel struck for his head as Slade blocked with his gauntlets then punched him in the face before blocking two more and rolling onto his side. Slade elbowed Hazel in the face before punching him with his opposite fist as he rolled back and pushed himself out from underneath Hazel. Flipping backward he slammed his boots into Hazel's face, throwing him onto his back.
"I'm not impressed" Slade shook his head as he crossed his arms "I'd have thought one of Salem's servants would be tougher. I haven't even used my Semblance yet" he taunted.
"You little-"
"Augh!" Ruby yelled being thrown by Mercury's kick to her chest.
"Ruby!" Yang yelled concerned.
"Looks like my friends need some assistance" Slade pointed out before slamming his boot into Hazel's face, throwing him onto his back once more "Stay down would you?" he asked with a smirk.
"C'mon, Blondie" Mercury chuckled "Let's dance" he gestured for Yang to attack him as he stepped into his battle stance.
Yang growled stepping toward him, she stopped short as Slade stood by her side "You'll be dealing with both of us" he crossed his arms over his chest. Yang grinned with a nod toward him as she prepared to attack.
"Two against one?" Mercury asked surprised "I thought you Huntsmen liked fighting fair"
"They do" Slade answered "Unfortunately for you, I'm not a real Huntsman"
"If that's how you want to play it" Mercury chuckled.
Yang leapt toward him only to be knocked away by his right leg slamming into her chest, throwing her backward considerably. Slade turned to catch her before she could be hurt but was stopped as Mercury leapt toward him, striking Slade across the face with his fist. Slade backhanded him quickly as he focused on his opponent, Mercury twisted around kicking Slade's gauntlet before being stuck in the face by Slade's opposite fist. Slade wrapped his arm around his neck, keeping him trapped in his grip as he suffocated.
Mercury fired his boots to the left simultaneously, propelling them both to the right, slamming his fist into Slade's chest as they made contact with the ground. Quickly pinning Slade to the ground by his throat, Mercury began relentlessly striking him in the face only for Slade to easy block the strikes with his gauntlets. Yang leapt toward them, clasping both hands together to strike his back, knocking Mercury off of Slade. Mercury fired his left boot at Yang as he slid to a stop forcing her to block the round with her prosthetic arm.
Mercury quickly stood as Slade rose to his feet charging Yang and swinging his right leg toward her face. Yang ducked beneath his leg, placing herself behind him as he turned to face her again, slamming her metal fist into his face and kicking him in the chest pushed him back toward Slade as he backhanded Mercury once again. Yang swung her fist toward his face once more as he recovered from Slade's attack using his own hand to push Yang's fist away from him before blocking Slade's with his opposite hand. Yang kicked the back of Mercury's left knee dropping him down onto it as Slade slammed his opposite fist into his face. Yang slammed her metal fist into his gut, knocking the wind out of him before his face crashed into the ground from the force of Slade's strike to his head. Mercury then fired both his boots at Slade, throwing him backward into the nearby pillar.
Yang punched him in the face as he stood before being struck across the face twice in retaliation. Blocking Mercury's next strike with her arm she then pushed his arm away from her with the elbow of her opposite arm as she spun to elbow him in the face only to meet his forearm instead. Mercury struck for her chest only to have Yang catch his arm before slamming her metal fist into his chest throwing him backward with the strike into Slade's grip around the back of his neck slamming him into the ground.
"I'd stay down if I were you" Slade advised.
"Nice to see we can still work together so well" Yang pointed out with a small smile.
"Imagine if we actually practiced" he chuckled. Slade's expression changed to a serious one as he caught sight of the entrance to the vault lying open "Someone needs to get down there, we cannot allow Cinder to get away with one of the relics"
"None of us could stand against Cinder and my mother at the same time alone, not to mention the Spring Maiden is with them-"
"It doesn't matter who goes down there, they just need to keep them occupied long enough for the rest of us to wrap up here. I get the feeling Raven and Cinder aren't exactly the best of friends, it shouldn't be too hard to turn them against each other-"
"Slade!" Ruby shouted just as he caught sight of Hazel charging toward him from the corner of his eye. Hazel roared angrily as he slammed into Slade, his rage quickly changed to confusion as he felt nothing, instead passing right through Slade as if he wasn't even there.
"Nice" Yang smirked as Hazel tumbled to the floor from his own momentum.
Using his Semblance, Slade lifted Hazel into the air and threw him into the front door to the room they stood in smashing through it with tremendous force onto the academy's quad. Adam Taurus and White Fang soldiers looked on "What's going on in there?" one of them asked Adam.
"None of your concern..." Hazel answered from his place on the floor.
Adam and his followers stared in amazement as they watched Hazel get back up. He then took out another pair of red Dust crystals and stabs them into his arms. He lets out another roar as Ruby watched from inside the building. She then looked back to her friends and allies, all of them looking tired and worn out from the battle they've endured with the exclusion of Slade, having only recently joined the battle.
"More Dust?" Slade asked exasperated.
"Stay focused! Our friends are almost done here" Adam ordered.
"ADAM!" a voice calls out to him as they returned to work.
They all look up and see Blake standing proudly on top of the roof of a nearby building "Blake?" Adam asked confused.
"Who is that?" Hazel asked in slight annoyance.
"Stand down!" she ordered.
The White Fang soldiers aimed their firearms at her "Wait!" Adam ordered putting his hands up as the White Fang soldiers stand down, before laughing evilly "To think that I went through so much trouble to find you, only to have you deliver yourself to me"
"This isn't what's right for the Faunus! Stop what you're doing and we can end this peacefully" she pleaded.
"You're wrong, Blake, and you can't stop us" he replied.
"No, I can't. Not by myself" she admitted.
"That's why she didn't come alone!" Sun called out.
Adam and his followers turned to the left in surprise, seeing Sun Wukong standing in front of a massive legion of Faunus all armed with blunt weaponry, their shields bearing the old White Fang symbol "What?!" Adam shouted in surprise
"Who's there?" one of his men asked.
They then turn to the right, and see Ghira leading another massive legion of Faunus "Your brothers and sisters" he answered
One of the White Fang Soldiers lowered his weapon, recognizing one of the Faunus in the crowd "M- Mata?" he asked in shock.
Mata was in the crowd holding a club and shield "Please... stop this..." she pleaded
Adam and his followers looked all around them assessing the situation "Make no mistake, brothers! These are our enemies! And we will not let them ruin-" Suddenly, Adam was interrupted when a Mistral airship's searchlight illuminated Adam and his group. The Mistral police captain stood on the airship with Kali.
"Adam Taurus, this is the Mistral Police Force! Lower your weapons and surrender peacefully" the captain ordered over a P.A. More Mistral airships arrived shortly afterwards.
Back inside, Ruby knocked Emerald back a few feet. Emerald then heard the sounds of the Mistral airships as their searchlights reflected through the windows. Everyone stopped what they are doing. Weiss leaned up as Jaune continues healing her.
"What's happening?" she asked.
"I'm not sure. How are you feeling?" he asks concerned.
Weiss sat up "Better" she activates a summoning Glyph in her hand "Much better. Keep it up"
Back outside, Blake landed on ground from the roof "How?! How did you do this?!" Adam asked enraged.
"Adam, it's over" Blake replied, ignoring his question.
Adam looked around as the crowds of Menagerie Faunus got closer to him and his group. He then pulled out a detonator "Then it's over for all of us" he yelled.
"Hey wait!" one of his followers shouted in shock. Adam's followers held up their arms as they braced for the impending explosion. Adam pressed the button, but nothing happens.
"Huh?" He pressed the detonator button a few more times, yet nothing happened.
"What are you doing? Trying to get us all killed?!" one of his followers asked angrily.
Suddenly, Adam grabbed his collar enraged "I am making humanity pay for WHAT THEY'VE DONE!" Adam released him and pushed the White Fang soldier away.
"We sent someone over to confirm your explosives, and once we did, she disarmed them" Blake explained.
Ilia walked out from around the tower, dropping her black camouflage as she held the wires in her hand that disabled the bombs. Adam seethed, realizing that the situation was no longer in his favor.
"What do we do?!" Adam asked Hazel frantically.
Hazel cracked his knuckles "This... is your business. Not mine. Fix it" he answered. Adam just glared back at him before turning to Blake.
"I told you, Adam. It's over..." Blake called out again.
But Adam wasn't having any of it. He yelled out in frustration and charged forward toward Blake. He unsheathed Wilt from Blush to slash at her, but Blake used her Semblance to get out of the way and knocked him down by balling her fists together and hitting his back. Adam fell to the ground on his knees, before yelling out to his followers.
"KILL THEM!"
And thus, the battle between both Faunus groups begin. The White Fang soldiers drew their weapons and attempt to fire at the Mistral airships. Sun leapt around twirling Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang in its staff form, while Ilia fought with her whip. Hazel observed the situation in front of him but was suddenly impaled by a white, glowing stinger. He was then pulled back inside the building and sits up to see that Weiss is back on her feet with a summoned Queen Lancer flying above her. As she prepares to fight again, she gasped in shock. Yang and Ruby looked back as well and gasped when they see Blake, her eyes widening as she saw all of her teammates in the same place.
"Yang?" Blake asked in shock
Yang stares back at her in disbelief, before her sister snaps her out of her trance "Yang! Go!" Ruby shouted pointing in the direction of the vault entrance.
The ground suddenly shook violently, causing everyone to stumble slightly from the tremors managing to gain their footing as they came to a stop "That doesn't sound good" Slade noted as Yang ran toward the entrance, Emerald and Mercury tried to stop her.
"No!" Emerald yells trying to stop Yang, but fails to and falls to the ground thanks to Slade's Semblance pulling her legs out from under her. Mercury grabs her prosthetic arm. Yang's eyes briefly flashed red before returning to normal. She detached her arm and continued forward, causing Mercury to lose his balance for a bit. She leapt down the hole leading to the vault. Emerald and Mercury attempted to give chase, but they were stopped by an ice wall that suddenly appears in front of them. They turned around and see Weiss with her Queen Lancer summon as she prepared to fight the both of them. Jaune watched from his position and smiled proudly. Ruby then turned back around to look at Blake, and both nod at each other as she rushed back outside to join the battle.
"I take it that's Ms. Belladonna?" Slade asked Ruby as she prepared to fight next to him.
"Yeah, I'm as shocked to see her here as anyone" she answered.
"I'm not shocked, I knew she was coming" Slade smirked.
"What? How-" the ground shook once more stumbling everyone in the room.
"Nevermind! We need to get down there and help Yang, Raven and Cinder are able to fight on a whole different scale than her and she's alone with only one arm" Slade explained.
"You can pass through people and you're one of the strongest fighters we have right now. We can get you in there" Weiss said as she joined them.
"Sounds like a plan" Ruby smirked.
"Easy enough" he agreed.
"Then let's get to it" Qrow said joining the three of them with Harbinger pointed in Hazel's direction.
They charged toward their enemies with determination. Ruby swung Crescent Rose toward Emerald clashing her own weapon with hers as Weiss's blade clashed with Mercury's boot. Hazel brushed Qrow aside easily, having seen through their plan and attacked Slade. Holding his palm up toward Hazel, Slade used his Semblance to throw him backward into a nearby pillar. Turning toward Mercury and Emerald he rushed toward them, slamming his fist into Mercury's chest forced him to drop onto his knee's releasing Yang's prosthetic arm into Slade's hand. Twisting around with it in hand he backhanded Emerald with the metal arm before rushing toward the vault entrance.
"No!" Mercury yelled pinned to the ground by Weiss's heel as Ruby caught Emerald into a chokehold using Crescent Rose "You're too slow" Weiss smirked. Slade leapt down the entrance following after Yang just as another tremor tore through the building.
Raven stood looking over the edge of the path leading to the relic as Cinder's body plummeted, slowly freezing solid as she descended "Thank you, Vernal" she whispered shutting her eyes deactivating her Maiden power.
Turning toward the vault door with the relic sitting behind it she slowly approached, a look of determination adorning her features. Placing her hand onto the door of the vault as her Maiden power activating once more, caused the door to become covered with light blue leafy vine symbols from top to bottom glistening brightly. Removing her hand from the door, Raven leaned toward the door, cautiously listening to the low hum emanating from it. She quickly jumped back grabbing the hilt of her blade in response to the door clanging loudly, the door opened quickly, the individual petals of the flower shaped outline retracting into the base before it shifted into the frame of the door. Raven's Maiden power deactivated once more as she relaxed, releasing her grip on her blade. Looking into the vault she spotted the relic not too far away but was confused by the appearance of an entire desert surrounding it, she began to step through the doorway.
"I knew you were hiding something" Slade's voice said from behind her, causing Raven's eyes to widen in shock at how close he had gotten without her noticing. Raven twisted around striking her arm up toward his face only to crash into his gauntlet matching her strike perfectly, stopping her arm in place. Suddenly, a combat knife slid out from his sleeve into his hand thrusting it toward her face as his arm easily glided over her own from their position. Raven unsheathed her blade, barely managing to block the blade mere inches from her face, she could feel the chill on her cheeks from the metal. Slade pulled his arm back and tucked his opposite arm beneath hers before bringing it back up and trapping her arm in his grip with his other arm. Slamming his foot up toward her face caused her to use her blade to block the attack as his opposite foot came up with the strike pushing the blade away from her face. Using his other foot he slammed his boot into her face, using her arm to balance himself in the air pushing himself upward.
Raven managed to get her footing before slicing her blade at him forcing Slade to flip over it to avoid the attack. Twisting her blade around she swung back toward him as he descended to the ground, he flipped again managing to get over her blade before placing his left hand onto the back of her armor getting a firm grip as he planted his feet on the ground. Slade pulled Raven by her armor and thrashed her around forcing the blade from her hand and throwing her back away from the open vault door, she rolled to her feet painfully. Raven's blade embedded into the ground as she stopped, forming lightning into her hand as she activated her Maiden power. Raven charged forward grabbing her blade as the lightning chained to the blade and swung at Slade.
"Stop!" Yang shouted as she struck.
Raven was stuck in place just as her blade was inches away from Slade's neck, he stood unfazed by her assault looking toward Yang "Took you long enough to get down here, I came in after you and I still arrived first. Slade stepped around Raven approaching Yang with her Prosthetic arm tucked in his coat, he removed it, holding it out toward her "I believe this belongs to you"
Yang accepted her arm back from him before turning her attention back to her mother "Thank you... Where's Cinder?" she asked quietly as she noticed Vernal's corpse on the floor between them.
"She fell" Slade answered with a smirk "Mommy dearest froze her after throwing her over the edge" he explained further.
Yang nodded in understanding "I watched from afar to see what she would do with Vernal dead... I didn't know she was going to be the Spring Maiden" she sighed.
"Ah, that's why I arrived first" Slade nodded in understanding "Guess it doesn't really matter now" Slade released Raven from his Semblance allowing her to move once again.
Raven turned to face Yang as she sheathed her blade once more, deactivating her Maiden power "I warned you, Yang. I gave you every opportunity to walk away from Qrow and Oz. So you can believe me when I say this wasn't personal"
"You opened the vault" Yang pointed out with a glare.
"Thanks to the chaos you and your friends caused upstairs. I knew you could handle it. You're my daughter after all"
"Qrow and Oz told me how the Maiden powers are transferred. The girl you found... she would've had to have trusted you if you were in her final thoughts, cared about you a lot" Yang concluded.
"I'm sure they told you plenty, and you just sat and obeyed" Raven rolled her eyes.
No, I'm starting to ask questions like you said. So tell me... what happened to the last Spring Maiden? Did she die in battle? Was it sickness?" she asked accusingly.
"What does it matter to you?" Raven asked.
Yang's eyes widened "I can already see the answer. It's all over your face. How could you?!" she asked in disbelief.
"She was scared when we found her! Weak. No matter how much training I put her through, she never learned! She wasn't cut out for this world! And with those powers, she would've been hunted her entire life! What I did-" Raven explained defensively.
"Wasn't personal" Yang quoted.
"It was mercy!"
"Which is it, Mom? Are you merciful, or are you a survivor? Did you let me walk into that trap because you knew I could handle it, or because it meant you could get what you wanted?!" Yang yelled angrily.
"It's not that simple. You don't know me, you don't know what I've been through, the choices I've had to make!"
"You're right. I don't know you. I only know the Raven Dad told me about. She was troubled, and complicated, but she fought for what she believed in, whether it was her team or her tribe! Did you kill her too?" Raven's eyes widened and looked away, before turning back to face her daughter again. Slade watched the two intently, unsure if it would be better for him to speak up or bite his tongue. Eventually he decided the latter was the better option.
"I've stared death in the face over and over again!" in her anger, her Maiden power activated with a flare "And every time I've spat in that face and survived, because I'm strong enough to do what others won't!"
"Oh, shut up! You don't know the first thing about strength! You turn your back on people, you run away when things get too hard, you put others in harm's way instead of yourself!" she balled her hand into a fist, shaking "You might be powerful, but that doesn't make you strong"
She's got you there Slade stifled a laugh
Raven was enraged "Who do you think you are, lecturing me?! Standing there, shaking like a scared little girl?!"
"Yeah, I'm scared. But I'm still standing here!" she started approaching Raven "I'm not like you, I won't run, which is why you're going to give me the Relic"
"And why would I-"
"Because you're afraid of Salem! And if you thought having Maiden powers put a target on your back, imagine what she'll do when she finds out you have a Relic" Raven turns away, seething "She'll come after you with everything she has" Raven's expression then turned solemn "Or she can come after me" Raven's eyes widened when she heard her daughter say that, before turning back to her "And I'll be standing there, waiting for her"
After a tense moment, Raven deactivated her Maiden powers "You don't want to do this, Yang" she said somberly.
"Nope. But I'm gonna do it anyway"
Yang walked forward, bumping her mother out of the way as she passes her. Raven looks down before turning to see her daughter approach the Relic chamber. A tear drips from Raven's eye. Slade's hand hovered over Defiance, unsure if Raven was going to let her just take the Relic and leave "I..." Raven held her arm as tears started to flow "I'm sorry..."
Tears welled up in Yang's eyes "Yeah... Me too"
Yang then heard the sound of one of Raven's portals as well as the sound of flapping wings from behind her. She looked behind her and saw a black feather fall gently to the ground with Slade silently staring at Raven's previous position, his stance relaxing now. Yang proceeded forward and entered the Relic chamber, She approached the Relic of Knowledge, an ornate, gold and cyan lamp, as it rested on the stone pedestal. Yang grabbed the Relic by its handle, small, indistinct whispers could be heard when she neared it. Tears then streamed from Yang's eyes, before she fell to her knees as she broke down crying.
Yang felt a hand on her shoulder, she turned to see Slade staring back at her, his hood lowered with his other hand "I'm sorry you had to go through that, Yang"
"It's alright... I'm used to disappointment by now" she replied wiping her tears away.
"That doesn't make it any easier" Slade sighed "Trust me, no matter how many times people let you down. It only gets harder"
"Why?" she asked confused "Wouldn't it get easier the more it happens?"
"No... the more you're let down, the harder it is to trust people, and when you finally do trust someone again, when they let you down... it's worse than the last time someone did" he explained.
"I..."
"You don't have to say anything, Yang. I can't imagine what you're going through right now, though I can sympathize"
Yang grabbed Slade into a hug "Thank you" was all she said as fresh tears streamed down her face. Slade wrapped his arms around her protectively.
"It's going to be alright" he whispered as he rubbed her back soothingly "I promise it'll be alright"
Yang and Slade ascended the vault using the elevator with the relic in Slade's right hand, as the elevator came to a stop they took in the scene around them. Emerald looked at them in surprise as Cinder didn't come back up.
"Yang" Ruby smiled with her friends joining her soon afterward.
Hazel seethed while tears streamed from Emerald's eyes. Yang smiled back down to her friends and shared a brief glance with Blake, who looked away for a moment before looking back up to her. Emerald collapsed to her knees, sobbing. Mercury and Hazel slowly backed away "Emerald, get up, we need to go" Mercury said urgently.
Emerald shook her head and remained stationary "Emerald!"
Emerald looked around as her breathing became frantic. She held her head and let out a loud scream, activating her Semblance. Suddenly, the room turned dark as black smoke rose from the ground nearby. From it, a giant effigy of Salem, limbs bent and deformed, towered above everyone in the room. The giant Salem opened her eyes, and let out an ear-piercing scream as it swooped down over everyone. The room was blanketed with darkness for a short time. Afterwards, everything returned to normal, Ruby shook in fear as she came to terms with what she had just witnessed. Everyone in the room was still present, with the exception of Emerald, Mercury and Hazel, who had disappeared.
"Wha- what was that?" Blake asked in shock.
"An illusion. But an accurate one. That... was Salem" Ozpin answered through Oscar.
Slade scowled "Was hoping that face would never spoil my view again" he sighed.
"What happened?" Qrow asked as Yang and Slade descended the stairs.
"I don't know exactly. When I got down there, Cinder was gone, and Vernal was dead" Yang answered.
"And Raven?"
"Gone"
"Well, we're all glad you're still here, firecracker" he said placing an assuring hand on her shoulder.
"From what I caught while I was there, Raven is the Spring Maiden and she defeated Cinder before opening the door to the Relic. Unfortunately she escaped with the help of her Semblance" Slade explained.
"I can't believe it-" Qrow sighed with a shake of his head but was interrupted by Ruby falling to her knees, Weiss caught her.
"Are you okay?" she asked concerned.
"I feel like I should be asking you guys" Ruby sighed. They both look up to see Blake approaching them. Yang walks over and dropped to her sister's side "So Blake, what're you doing here?" Ruby asked curiously.
"I... I was gonna ask you three the same thing" she answered with a small smile.
Ruby, Weiss, and Yang, shared glances with each other "That's... a looooong story"
"Well... I'm not going anywhere" Blake replied.
"That's all that matters" Ruby giggled "That we're all here together. Right?"
Ruby looked to Yang as she spoke. Blake briefly looked away with a sorrowful expression on her face. Yang looked up at her and smiled "Yeah"
Blake looked back over to them and smiled back. Weiss offered a hand out to her, and she eagerly joined in to Team RWBY's first group hug after a long time of being apart. The four girls embraced each other while their friends looked on smiling. Slade watched the four of them with a broad smile on his face, despite his reservations about helping them, the happiness he saw in front of him told him he made the right choice.
Qrow then approached a panting Oscar, kneeling on the ground "I don't know how, but we did it, Oz. You okay?" he asked.
"I'm alright" Oscar replied.
"Kid?" Qrow asked surprised he was speaking to Oscar.
"He's resting. Too much energy fighting" he explained.
"Hey, wizard, don't strain yourself!" Qrow warned concerned.
"No! He had... a message..." taking a few more breaths "We must... get the lamp to... Atlas" Oscar groaned and slumped forward, but Qrow caught him.
Slade stood over them with a look of contempt the Relic still in his grip, he looked down at the cane next to them and growled at the sight of it "I knew I recognized that thing"
"Slade-"
"How long were you going to keep that from me if I stuck around? Did you think I wouldn't find out?" Slade asked accusingly.
"I wasn't going to tell you because I didn't think you'd stick around, I thought you'd leave the minute you got what you wanted" Qrow explained.
"You would've told me had I stuck around then?" Slade asked raising his eyebrow knowingly.
"Honestly I don't know if I would've told you, I was concerned you'd try and kill the kid if you found out Oz was in there-"
"You thought I would kill a fourteen year old?" Slade asked shocked "What kind of a monster do you think I am? I became a Bounty Hunter I didn't join a cult to murder children"
"I-"
"Do you really think so poorly of me that you think I would've hurt Oscar because Ozpin is in there too? You should know by now I'm not the vengeful type"
"Prove it" Qrow replied standing up, looking him dead in the eyes.
"How?" Slade asked never averting his gaze.
"The Relic" Qrow answered holding his hand out to him.
Slade looked down at the lamp in his hand "First you don't trust me about Ozpin and now you wont trust me with the Relic?" he asked "You're not helping your situation, I'm not here for you-"
"Then why did you come back?" Qrow asked "You didn't even need to be involved and yet here you are... the past year you've only done things when you were getting paid to do them and some of those things were morally questionable"
"I did what I was hired to do, nothing more and nothing less"
"So you admit to doing those horrible things?"
"If you shoot a man with your gun, do you blame the gun for killing him or the shooter?" Slade asked.
"Excuse me?" Qrow asked confused.
"I am merely a tool for those that hire me. I am not the one responsible for the deaths of those I was sent to kill, my employers are"
"That's an extremely dangerous way of thinking. Guns don't have emotions or conscious thought, they aren't able to comprehend their actions because they're not living beings" Qrow sighed deeply "But you've also put a lot of bad people behind bars, more so than people you've killed-"
"I've never killed anyone who didn't commit a crime, it may not have been a violent crime but it was a crime nonetheless" he explained before handing Qrow the Relic "Keep the stupid lamp. I'm only here for one reason anyway" he turned away from him before walking back toward Ruby and her friends.
"Thank you" Qrow called after him as he walked away, Slade gave a slight wave back acknowledging his words.
"Why do you think he came back?" Oscar asked "It's not like we offered him money or some kind of reward"
Qrow pondered the question deeply for a short time before frowning "Yang" he breathed.
Thanks for reading guys! I really appreciate everyone who's sticking around for the long haul and hope you like how it turns out. Hopefully won't be too long before I have another chapter out for you to read again in the near future. Thanks again.