AN: Glad to be back on this. After we stepped things up during the last chapter, I'd have hated to leave you all hanging for too long. So, enjoy.
Chapter 51: Determination, Termination
Word quickly spread about the sudden emergence of the Jormungandr. Word often spread during the rare event of an ancient-class Grimm attacking. However, in spite of the rarity, Remnant had a very well-thought-out response system to an ancient Grimm attack. First, evacuation orders are called in for every single residential area within a 300 mile radius. From there, local authorities are left to head up all evacuation efforts. Next, the authorities contact the nearest Legend, if a Legend isn't already facing the ancient-class. Eventually, the Legend currently fighting the ancient-class will be given the okay to unleash their full potential on the Grimm.
This was normally the process. However, when Professor Ozpin was informed of the Jormungandr emerging in Ever After Forest, he knew that Glynda already would be facing the beast. He also knew that he had to break normal protocol and step in himself, due to the hidden severity of the situation that most of the world knew nothing about. This is Salem's doing! He thought with certainty. She seems to have gotten bolder after Vytal, in spite of the fact it was a failure…why?
I can't think of that right now though. My students need my help.
Ozpin quickly dialed Oobleck's number on his scroll. "Barty, I'm sure you've heard the news by now. I'm heading over to Ever After to back Glynda up. Please, get in contact with the plane carrying Hansel and Team RWBY, and make sure Hansel is aware of the situation as well."
Ozpin hung up and moved into the elevator. As it went down, he thought about how Hansel was going to take Glynda being in danger like this. He knows as well as anyone else what she is capable of. He's no fool to worry needlessly. But even so…they're close.
The elevator reached the ground floor. Ozpin stepped out. If I can just get there before the plane arrives, we can clean up this situation before Hansel and Team RWBY returns. Hopefully we can also use this as a chance to detain whichever enforcers Salem has attacking the forest…
Before Ozpin could ponder the matter any further, the world around him seemed to distort slightly. Then, in a flash, Professor Ozpin was gone. A singular white portal lined on the floor then closed.
Meanwhile, Glynda Goodwitch stared up at the mighty Jormungandr in terrified awe. "Give us more credit, Professor Goodwitch," Cinder Fall mocked, "did you honestly think we wouldn't learn from our mistakes from Vytal? This time, we're going for quality over quantity."
"Now then, I'd love to stay and chat, but I've got power to claim."
Glynda's eyes widened. No! She thought frantically, trying to brandish her riding crop at Cinder.
"Make sure she suffers, Jormungandr." Cinder ordered before taking flight.
"Cinder!" Glynda exclaimed, only to suddenly sense the danger from Jormungandr.
With an unearthly hiss, a black miasma was sprayed from the Grimm's mouth. Cinder and Glynda both gasped in unison as Cinder quickly changed directions. Glynda redirected her attention to herself. Using her Semblance, she lifted herself into the air and flew away from the falling miasma.
The miasma then fell to the ground, accompanied by a loud hiss that did not emanate from the big snake. It sounded somewhat like air being let out of a balloon, or even a pot full with water burning on a stove. Glynda's vision of Cinder was obscured by a cloud of steam that rose up like a fog.
Then, the fog cleared, revealing a massive crater that looked like an explosion had taken place. Glynda gasped. Poison. Corrosive poison. And very dangerous corrosive poison by the looks of it. I don't know if that could've burned through my Aura, but risking it would've been foolish. Glynda looked up at Jormungandr. Such destruction with a single attack. And that was probably just it warming up, too. That's an ancient-class Grimm, for you.
Glynda narrowed her eyes, seeing she was the only person left. Damn, Cinder must've used the attack as a cover to escape…although I'm guessing that even she was not expecting its power to be as devastating as it was. All I can do now is hope that Ann gets her and the rest of Team JNPR as far away from this place as possible.
Jormungandr then turned its head away from Glynda. She gasped. No, is it sensing the distress from the other students! I can't let that thing get anywhere near them!
Glynda brandished her riding crop at Jormungandr. I can't lift something that massive, but I can do this at least! She declared as several trees were uprooted by her Semblance. The trees were brought together and then actually began to alter their shape. The leaves were ripped off and the trunks were shaved into what looked like the tip of a spear.
Together, the many trees Glynda uprooted looked like a giant spear. "Your battle is with me, monster!" She exclaimed, directing the mass of trees at Jormungandr's face.
The massive snake hissed in surprise as the trees collided with it. Furious at being blindsided, Jormungandr turned its attention back to its floating adversary, Glynda Goodwitch. Glynda glared up at the ancient-class Grimm.
I don't like the idea of Cinder being left to her own devices, but if I let this thing roam free, even more people will die! Glynda realized. I have to eliminate this thing first, and pray that Professor Ozpin, Georgios, or Qrow are on their way to back me up, they certainly realize the severity of this situation, right?
The snake hissed threateningly at Glynda. She winced slightly as the sound ravaged her eardrums. "This is where my power is most useful, hunting and slaying monsters like you." She growled, prepared to push her Semblance to the limit for this monster. "I won't let you near a single one of my students!"
The news would quickly spread all over Vale as the evacuation notice came down to the entire 300 mile radius from where Jormungandr was spotted. Glynda Goodwitch was fighting an ancient-class Grimm.
Meanwhile, word suddenly reached Professor Ozpin's private jet, on the tailend of its journey back from Atlas Academy. Oobleck had followed Ozpin's instructions to the letter and now the pilot had to do the same. "Umm…this is your captain speaking," the pilot spoke up over the intercom. He sounded audibly worried as he continued, "Professor Kobalt…could you please come to the cockpit? There's something we need to discuss…it's important."
All four members of Team RWBY looked at Hansel with a mixture of bewilderment and concern. Hansel shrugged and rose from his seat. "Whatever it is, I'm sure it's nothing major. If the ship was falling out of the sky, they would just tell us." Hansel sagely reminded them as he made his way to the cockpit.
Hansel then confronted a visibly nervous pilot. "What is it?" Hansel asked. "You know, you scared my students a bit."
"Er…I'll apologize to them later." The pilot promised. "I have a message from Professor Ozpin, sir. It's urgent…and bad."
Hansel narrowed his eyes as the pilot began the message. By the time the pilot was finished delivering the message, Hansel was utterly mortified. Glynda. Predictably, all he could think of was his beloved foster mother.
Back in Ever After Forest, Ann Greene predictably sensed danger before anyone in Team JNPR. She spun around, drawing her odd weapon, the giant paintbrush-staff, Gables Brush. "Everyone, keep running! This is where we part ways!"
"Professor Greene?" Pyrrha looked over her shoulder and gasped in horror as Cinder Fall came rocketing into view.
Greene instinctively blocked Cinder's first attack with Gables Brush. It was a frontal swing, aimed right at her. "No time to gawk! Go! I'm going to buy you time!"
"No, Professor Greene, we can help you!" Pyrrha exclaimed.
"Don't be stupid, even if you all attacked her together she'd crush you! You'll just be in my way, now go!" Greene yelled.
Jaune instinctively grabbed Pyrrha's arm. "Come on, Pyrrha, we've gotta get out of here, now!" He yelled, pulling Pyrrha away from the fight, much to her protests.
"I am growing tired of these interferences." Cinder snarled as Team JNPR disappeared into the trees.
Greene smirked. "You should've known this would happen, when you decided to attack our students once again. I for one, don't plan to let you near a single one of them!"
The tip of the paintbrush suddenly turned blue as Greene created distance between the two of them. She then dabbed a bit of paint on herself, like warpaint. Part of her face was now blue. Cinder frowned at the act. What the hell was that supposed to do? She wondered before rocketing forward and stabbing Greene right in the chest.
Then, much to Cinder's shock, her blade shattered against Greene's body. "What?"
"Did you know, Cinder Fall, in some cultures, the color blue symbolizes being 'full of grace' by divine favor?"
I can't beat her, not without giving it all I've got from the start. Using this many 'colors' is going to hurt me in the morning, but for the safety of my students, it's well worth it! Greene declared as she quickly swapped cartridges in Gables Brush. The tip suddenly turned red.
Greene kicked Cinder off of her before dabbing red paint on her arms. "And red often represents danger! It represents anger!" Greene continued.
Before Cinder could recover, Greene was upon her again. "What?" Cinder was shocked.
Before she could counter, Gables Brush was flipped around and Cinder was jabbed repeatedly by Greene's paintbrush staff. Cinder gasped in pain. The impacts felt like getting hit by a very powerful sledgehammer. Did her physical strength just increase? Not only her defense…but her offense too? If I had known she was this powerful, I would've taken care of her while I had infiltrated Beacon!
Ann Greene's Semblance: Colors. By inserting her Aura into paint, she can create a variety of effects that act as status buffs. Originally, she used a mixture of colors to create perfect camouflages, hence her position as stealth instructor at Beacon. However, after extensive training, Ann evolved her Semblance to mimic effects that colors symbolized. For example, the color blue granted her luck that almost seemed like she was blessed by the gods. Red increased her strength by giving her the power of a furious berserker. The color green could even enhance her healing abilities.
But the color yellow…that and blue were probably her most useful colors. She then inserted another cartridge into Gables Brush. The tip then changed to yellow. While Cinder was recovering, Greene rushed her and dabbed some yellow paint onto her stomach.
Cinder's eyes widened. "What did you just do to me?" She demanded.
"I just taught you fear." Greene glared at her.
Cinder's eyes widened as Greene's form contorted into something monstrous, something terrifying, something so demonic it made Salem look normal. It made her flinch for a brief moment as the scene around her changed. She gasped in horror, recognizing the area around her. "No…it can't be!" She exclaimed.
"You are nothing without me, Cinder!" A familiar voice exclaimed.
"So filthy!" A second voice added.
"So worthless!" Then came a third voice.
"Not back here." She moaned in terror. "I…I never wanted to be back here! I never wanted to go back to that miserable life!"
Greene, from the outside of Cinder's terror-trip, watched as Cinder flailed about with a look of fear on her face. Yellow, the color of cowardice, the color of fear. It attacks the fears of the victim. I hate doing that to people, and it's useless against Grimm, but it's pretty damn useful on people who deserve it.
Now then, Professor Ozpin mentioned that she needs to be brought in alive. I don't know why she would be, it'd be easier to just kill her. But, whatever his reasons are, I trust him.
Cinder continued to yell in fear as she desperately looked around for a way out of the nightmare she had returned to.
"Are you going to fail me, Cinder?" Then came Salem's voice. Help arrived in the most unlikely of places, for Cinder Fall.
"N-no," Cinder was actually surprised to hear her mistress' voice, "no Your Grace, of course not."
"Then why are you losing? After all the power I gave you, after all of my investment in you? I thought you were the girl who wanted power? Was I wrong?"
"No, you weren't!" Greene frowned. There was something wrong, something different about her fear now.
I need to incapacitate her, right now. Greene felt her vision blur, just a bit. Damn it, using that many colors at once is doing a number on me.
She then popped one last cartridge into Gables Brush. The tip of the paintbrush turned black. Black, the color of death and sorrow. If I can splash enough of this paint onto her, I can put her in a deathlike state of suspended animation.
Black was the most complex color in Greene's repertoire of weapons. Another requirement of Colors was that the colors she uses must match her current mood; the reflection of her soul. Blue could only be used when Greene felt in danger against a genuinely superior opponent and needed the luck of the gods. Red could only be used in a moment of extreme determination, like desiring to protect one's students from harm. Yellow could only be used when the user hated their opponent.
Finally, black could only be used when Ann Greene wanted to kill her opponents. Using colors that did not reflect Greene's current mood actually had disastrous effects on her. After everything she's done, death is the least she deserves. Greene thought hatefully as she readied her paintbrush.
For as much as Greene wanted to kill her though, the fact that black was not an instant-death attack was also a reflection that deep down, Greene was immensely kind, and did not really want to kill anyone. I'll finish this, return to Team JNPR, and get the other students out of this forest. Don't you worry, Glynda, you'll be free to go all out!
Back in Cinder's terrified dreamscape, the voice of Salem continued to warn Cinder against disappointing her. "So if I wasn't wrong, then you have no right to fail. Or have you perhaps forgotten the price of failures that cannot be…mended?"
"I. Have. Not." Cinder muttered as flames danced around one of her eyes.
Greene continued to approach Cinder. Then, ten feet away, flames exploded around Cinder's body, blowing Greene away. Cinder's dreamscape caught fire. Burn it. Burn it all away. Cinder angrily thought.
Cinder then turned her fury onto a shocked Greene. "You will pay for showing me that." She vowed, noting that she was back in the 'real world'.
"How…how did you…" Greene stammered in disbelief.
"I'll admit, throwing me into an illusion of terror was an effective move." Cinder acknowledged. "But I found something that terrifies me even more than what you showed me. It's the fear of failing my mistress."
She used something she was afraid of even more in reality to escape the illusion…or rather, her greatest fear is something that would cause her to force her way out of the illusion! Greene realized. I miscalculated!
"I will first eliminate you." Cinder promised. "Then I will take what's mine from Pyrrha Nikos."
Greene winced at the malice in Cinder's voice. This is bad.
Two blades were then constructed from Cinder's Semblance, Scorching Caress. Greene narrowed her eyes and readied Gables Brush. I didn't get where I am backing down in the face of danger. And I certainly didn't become a teacher so that I could abandon my students when the going got tough.
Greene was never one to abandon comrades. During her time as a student, and later as a professional, she failed several missions because she prioritized their lives over the completion of the mission. And some of those missions had been reclaiming territory for people to live. Quite crucial missions that could not be failed for the future of Remnant. And yet, Greene chose to prioritize the lives of her comrades instead. Greene was both popular and unpopular in the circles of Huntsmen for that reason. Popular amongst those she saved, unpopular amongst those who believe she should have prioritized the mission. Then, she met Professor Ozpin.
"I won't lie to you, Ann, the missions you failed could have helped humanity. However, your temperament is perfect to pass onto the next generation. A generation that values each other first and foremost is far more capable of working together than one that isn't. And perhaps that very temperament will ultimately preserve lives, if it is passed onto the right number of people." That was what Ozpin had said to her on the day he hired her as a professor.
Greene thought back to the students she told to escape while she held the line. Keep running, Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora, Ren. She pleaded inwardly. You children, who know to value each other, over possible futures, are the future of Remnant. The minute we sacrifice our humanity to win is the minute we've lost, that has always been what separates us from the Grimm and the villains who take advantage of their darkness.
As Cinder flew towards Greene, the Beacon professor smirked as she readied Gables Brush. Now then, let's see how long my godlike luck holds out. She bravely prepared to stand against Cinder once again.
Meanwhile, Professor Peach and Team CFVY continued making their way to the site of what they would soon discover to be Team CRDL's fight. Peach knew that she should have sent Team CFVY on their way. However, if students were in trouble because of an enemy beyond them, she needed CFVY to help evacuate them all if they were going to save every single life currently in danger.
"Stay behind me," she made sure to remind them before sensing a particularly dangerous presence.
Peach froze in place, Team CFVY did the same. A face very familiar to Peach came walking out of the trees. Her eyes widened in disbelief. "Hazel Rainart?"
Hazel narrowed his eyes. "Hello, Thumbelina." He said in a surprisingly polite and even-keeled tone of voice.
"What is the meaning of this? You practically vanished off the face of Remnant years ago, and now you're…" Peach paled, realizing what this meant. "No, you're perpetrating this attack, aren't you?"
"I'm merely under orders, nothing more." Hazel replied.
"Are you mad?" Peach demanded, red with anger. "These children are innocent!"
"And you have no reason to worry, only one person has to die today. It's a pity that it is one of those children, but such is the fate of anyone who decides to take Opzin's side."
Coco narrowed her eyes at this conversation. They're targeting a student? If all the gossip is true, then Ruby's a big reason the guys who caused the Vytal Festival incident to retreat, then that also means she's the target. But no, if they knew exactly where we were to attack us, then they'd also know she's not here. So then who else could it be? Which student could they possibly be targeting?
"You are mad," Peach shook her head, "if you think that any of this is what Gretchen would want."
Hazel's even-keeled expression vanished in favor of a glare. "Do not speak her name." He snarled.
"She was my responsibility, Hazel. The mission she died on was my fault. If you want to kill anyone for her, then kill me." Peach pleaded to him. "But leave these children out of this! None of them even knew who Gretchen was!"
Hazel seemed to calm down as he heaved a sigh. "You seem to misunderstand," he noted, "this is not just about Gretchen. This is about hurting the man who continues the system that kills children like Gretchen. It is all about Ozpin. As the man behind it all, he must take responsibility for the madness of putting children on the battlefield, sending them all to their deaths."
"And apparently one in particular will be a death by your hand." Peach spat. "Gretchen was a hero, even at her age. The fact that you'd spit on her memory by hurting someone her age is sickening, you are not the Hazel Rainart I knew."
"You're right, I'm not. Ozpin saw to that." Hazel admitted. "I've forgiven you though, Thumbelina. In the end, you're just a drone following the orders of a madman. And you always were Gretchen's favorite teacher. So step aside and let me continue hunting for my true quarry. Out of respect for our past connection, I don't want to hurt you."
"You know I can't do that, Hazel." Peach glared at the hulk of a man. "I am still a Beacon Professor. I let Gretchen down, but I won't let your 'quarry' down."
Hazel heaved another sigh. "He sends you all to your deaths." He lamented. "How in the world could he possibly inspire such foolish loyalty."
Hazel then suddenly found himself bound. He looked to see several vines had wrapped around him, having sprouted from the ground. "Because Professor Ozpin is capable of seeing the bigger picture, unlike you!" Peach declared. "And for Remnant to truly bloom, weeds need to be plucked. Weeds like the Grimm, the monsters who perpetrated the attack on the Vytal Festival, and apparently you now."
"So we fight, even if we don't see the end. Because otherwise, the results will be much, much worse!"
"Hell yeah, well said, Professor Peach!" Coco cheered.
"That should keep him restrained, right?" Velvet wondered.
"Be on your guard!" Peach warned. "Hazel may not have formal training as a Huntsman, but he is still a trained fighter, and one of the better fighters I've ever seen."
Even if that's true, Professor Peach's Semblance, Magic Garden, is masterful at restraining enemies. Coco noted. I've seen her restrain things as big as freaking Goliaths for crying out loud.
"I'm so glad you haven't forgotten my strength, Thumbelina." Hazel admitted. "After all, my strength is what Gretchen's could have been. Yet another thing that was tragically cut short, by Ozpin's foolishness."
Then, Hazel flexed his muscles and tore right out of the vines with ease. "What the shit?!" Coco yelled in disbelief.
Peach frantically turned to Team CFVY. "Run!" She frantically yelled. "You all have to get out of here, now-"
Hazel was upon them in an instant. He cleared the distance between himself and his five opponents in a single bound, ending up in between Peach and Team CFVY. With a quick backhand, Peach was sent flying right into a tree. She slumped to the ground and remained immobile upon impact.
"Professor Peach!" Velvet yelled in concern.
"Shit!" Coco cursed. "Everyone, on your guard, now!"
Coco quickly transformed her handbag into the minigun, Gianduja. Fox Alistair drew Sharp Retribution, while Yatsuhashi Daichi drew Fulcrum. All three weapons were trained on Hazel. "Velvet, stay back and provide support, you've got permission to bust your own weapon out, but figure out the best way to kick this guy's ass first!" Coco yelled.
"I have no quarrel with any of you." Hazel claimed. "Stand down. I don't wish to harm any more children."
"Big talk, asshole, seeing as you want to kill one of our classmates." Coco noted. "Not just that, but one of our underclassmen! Don't you know it's the duty of an upperclassman to protect the little ones?"
Hazel fell silent at this. "What, nothing left to say? I mean, even you have to see your 'won't hurt kids' schtick is total bullshit, right, meat for brains?" Coco taunted.
"Hey, Coco, taunting him might not be the best call." Yatsuhashi warned.
Hazel sighed. "More blood on Ozpin's hands," he lamented sincerely.
Coco's eyes widened. "Scatter!" She exclaimed as the members of Team CFVY put some distance between themselves and Hazel.
Then, Coco revved up Gianduja and fired on Hazel, who took note of the volley of bullets. Those are Dust-infused bullets…but wait, there's something different about them.
The bullets seemed to increase in size before exploding upon impact against Hazel, making the big man actually put his arms up in defense. This Dust…it seems stronger! He realized.
Coco Adel's Semblance: Hype. It allows her to use her Aura to increase the strength of any Dust she is currently using.
Coco smirked as she continued firing on Hazel. That should keep the iron giant over there nice and preoccupied. She noted.
And I just realized, if the target they're after isn't Ruby, there's only one other person they'd possibly go to all this effort for…and that's Pyrrha, our most famous student.
"Coco, what now?" Came the voice of Fox Alistair in Coco's head.
Fox Alistair's Semblance: Telepathy, the mental communication between Fox and anyone he wishes. Perfect for strategizing in secret.
"Get this message over to Yatsuhashi," Coco replied, "have him wipe Big-and-Gruesome's memory of you, and then you can go in for the kill."
"You're okay with me killing someone?" Fox was taken aback by this.
"I'm not, but if this deranged bastard is really after one of our underclassmen, then we have no choice. We can't let him kill any of them."
Coco continued pouring the pressure of Gianduja onto Hazel. "I can do this all day, Muscles!" Coco taunted. "That's kind of the point of a minigun!"
"A pity I can't afford to do this all day." Hazel countered as he held his arm over his face and began advancing towards Coco and Velvet, who was standing next to her team leader and close friend.
"Umm…Coco?" Velvet warned.
"Give me all you got asshat, we can take whatever you throw at us." Coco goaded the big man.
"Three children are still exactly that: children." Hazel countered.
Hazel then froze in place. Wait, three? Huntsman academies operate in teams of four!
Then, Fox came speeding into view, striking at him with Sharp Retribution, right in the throat. Fox's eyes widened as his blades refused to dig into Hazel's body. Damn it, this Aura's like steel! Fox realized.
"Yatsuhashi! Do it again, this time for yourself! I need an extra hand!"
"Like I said, three children are still merely children." Hazel insisted.
No, I did it again. I know there are teams of four, so where and why-
Hazel was cut from his thoughts yet again as Yatsuhashi appeared and swung Fulcrum right into his chest. Yatsuhashi Daichi's Semblance: Memory Wiping. Yatsuhashi can alter and even erase memories of targets. Due to it being extremely taxing on his Aura, he can only use it at most three times a day.
"Nice hit, Yatsuhashi!" Coco cheered.
"It wasn't enough, Coco!" Yatsuhashi warned. "Fox, we have to get away from him, now!"
Indeed, not even Fulcrum, swung by arguably one of the most physically capable students in Beacon, could break through Hazel's Aura and actually injure him. Before either boy could retreat, the massive combatant grabbed Yatsuhashi by the head and lifted him off the ground and yanked Fox over his shoulder with his free hand.
"Please do not make me repeat myself a third time." Hazel tiredly told them before spinning and tossing Fox through a few trees.
"No, Fox!" Velvet yelled in horror as Fox came to a stop and laid unconscious.
"Considering your weak Aura, I'll guess you're the one who altered my memory." Hazel noted. "A clever trick, but perhaps you should've erased my knowledge of Huntsmen academy teams if you wanted it to stick."
"I don't…like using my Semblance…it's too invasive." Yatsuhashi admitted.
"A fair point. I suppose even if you had done that, your attacks still wouldn't have broken through my Aura." Hazel noted.
Coco moved behind Hazel. "Let him go, bastard!" She screamed, unloading on him with Gianduja.
Hazel let his Aura take care of the bullets sailing into his back as he effortlessly lifted Yatsuhashi over his head before slamming him into the ground, creating a large crater with the big Beacon student in the center.
"Damn you!" Coco yelled, refusing to let up as she continued to unload onto Hazel.
Velvet, paralyzed with fear at seeing Hazel take out two of her teammates with ease, could only yell at Coco, pleading with her to stop. "We have to retreat, Coco!"
"Fuck that!" Coco screamed. "Like hell I'm gonna just walk away after that!"
"Kids, always in such a rush." Hazel lamented before reaching into the crater and actually pulling a chunk of the earth right out. He then effortlessly tossed the chunk at Coco, who was forced to train Gianduja's gunfire on it.
Then, Hazel was upon her, having used the chunk as cover. "Coco!" Velvet yelled, wanting to run towards her friend and leader.
Hazel then punched Coco right in the stomach, lifting her into the air and then launching her away. Coco landed, heaving and spitting up blood as her Aura flickered off like a dying light. She then took one last sharp breath before falling unconscious.
"What of you, little rabbit?" Hazel inquired. "What will you do?"
Velvet swallowed loudly but did not respond. "You've made the right choice, little one." Hazel sounded sincere. "When I say only one person has to die today, I meant it. Your comrades are alive. Tend to their wounds, and don't try to interfere again."
With that, Hazel began to walk away, leaving a stunned and terrified Velvet. Suddenly, vines sprouted up once more and wrapped around Hazel. The big man sighed. "Still trying to stop me, Thumbelina?"
"I am a professor of Beacon Academy." Thumbelina Peach rose to her feet, pointing her hand at Hazel. "I will not allow any harm to come to my students!"
Peach then collapsed to one knee as the vines snapped. "You have spirit, Thumbelina, but that doesn't count for much, in the face of overwhelming power. It seems Ozpin passes his delusion onto both faculty and students alike."
This is crazy, Velvet frantically noted, this guy's on a different level from the Grimm and criminals we've gone up against! I had a bunch of stuff saved up in my camera…but I don't know if any of it would've helped.
"Like hell I'm just going to let him walk away!" Coco's voice suddenly rang out in Velvet's head.
If he does walk away…he'll just go after the student he's trying to kill. Velvet realized. Even so…there's nothing I can do to stop him!
"As of now, the strongest student here is Scarlatina." Those words that had served as the greatest words of encouragement Velvet heard suddenly ran through her mind again.
Professor…you were wrong. She lamented before another memory came to her.
"I've always told you, you are awesome, Bun." Coco had said to her. "And if a guy like him sees it, you've got to see it."
"You seriously think I'm the strongest student in this entire class, even stronger than Pyrrha?" Admittedly, Velvet had been in disbelief at Coco's assurance.
"Duh! You're the lynchpin of Team CFVY, Velv." Coco had that big grin of hers as she revealed that fact that stunned Velvet. "Even Fox and Yatsuhashi know that."
"So have confidence in yourself, Bun, because it's just like Teach said: you're the strongest student."
Velvet then took a deep breath as she began rolling through film on her camera, looking for one image in particular. That's right, I'm the strongest, and it's time I accept that because there are people who believe in me and count on me.
And you're right about one other thing, Coco. We can't let him walk away, not when the life of a friend is at stake, regardless of who that is!
Velvet then stopped on one picture in particular that made her smile with uncharacteristic confidence. I've been taking a lot of photos since Vytal. Strongest student I may apparently be, I'm just a student compared to a pro like Professor Peach. I can't hope to stop him by mimicking another student.
So I've got to mimic a pro, and I can't think of anyone better to mimic than him! Velvet declared as a transparent object began to take shape in her hands.
Hazel then froze in place. Wait, what is this? I sense the desire to fight…no, that little rabbit intends to face me?
Hazel turned around, only to be shocked as he was suddenly blitzed by a speeding object. Something slashed across his right pectoral. He grunted in surprise, actually flinching in surprise from the sudden attack. Thankfully, his Aura protected him. Velvet Scarlatina landed behind him and turned around, ready to face him.
"Don't take me lightly, just because I'm a docile little bunny rabbit." Velvet warned, gripping a replica of Wolf Fang.
She then dropped into the fighting stance of Hansel Kobalt. "I am done playing nice!" She declared.
Meanwhile, a visibly concerned Hansel Kobalt sat in front of the rest of Team RWBY. "We have a serious situation on our hands." He grimly revealed.
Almost instantly, the members of Team RWBY's expressions mirrored his as the airship continued to fly.
AN: Hazel continues to be an unstoppable juggernaut like he should have been. We get the first hint into Cinder's past, and to be clear, that's because I intend to change that backstory a ton. And Ozpin has been taken out of the game for the time being. And to top it all off, Hansel and Team RWBY have been informed of the situation.
Although, I think for all you Velvet fans, you're probably the happiest. Velvet just took ten levels of badass by mimicking a pro's fighting style. And it actually managed to slow down Hazel.
Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, I'll see you all next time.