16 - ||

Adam fought to remain on his feet before diving to the side, as the Asura careened into his previous position, the scything blades making mince-meat of the thick stone walls of the hall. Blood dripped over his mask from a cut on his forehead that he had just barely avoided and he had to fight to keep himself from wiping it, fully aware that if he gave his opponent even a moment's opportunity than he would be upon him again.

The myriad of cuts and wounds the fight had already delivered were a testament to that. It was a fight to remain standing, let alone still fighting, his breath coming in great shuddering gasps.

Whereas the Asura, his father, in contrast was still breathing smoothly, moving with explosive force and not so much as flinching in the face of Adam's attacks.

He's managed to strip one of the four swords of his father and barely avoided decapitation when another was thrown at him without warning like a spinning discus of death.

And the fight had gotten no easier afterwards.

The armour that encapsulated his father's arms was unlike anything he'd ever struck, every strike against them causing his sword to vibrate painfully in his hands, not making so much as a scratch on the incandescent armour.

That and he hit like a pack of Ursa Major on steroids.

But Adam still had one card left to play.

As the intimidating form of the Asura threw itself at Adam once more, a guttural roar exploding from its lips, Adam sheathed his blade, dug in deep and activated his semblance.

Power surged through the White Fang leader, his once dark hair now crackling with crimson energy as was his sword, the energy barely contained within his sheath.

Every impact that Adam had blocked with his blade had some of its energy stored within it, waiting for the right moment to be unleashed in one devastating strike that crushed through defences as if they weren't even there.

Adam's ace in the hole.

A fierce grin spread across his lips as the Faunus released his counter, his mother's technique lashing out with a blow that could cut down a Goliath with a single swing.

And stopped.

Adam stared in shock down at his sword, halted an inch from his foe's skin.

Two of the armoured hands had clapped together in an impossibly slick motion, catching the glowing blade between his palms and halting the attack mid-swing.

Adam's eyes bulged in shock.

The Asura bared his teeth in a menacing grin at the suddenly defenceless foe in front of him, and one of the swords scythed down with all the surety of an executioner's blade.

There was a spray of blood and Adam stumbled backwards, a bloody void where his right arm used to be, Blush clattering to the ground from his detached limb while he struggled to hold Wilt up in a guarding gesture.

He'd picked a fight with something far stronger than he thought possible, and was paying handily for the folly of his actions. He was down a limb, and if the fight continued he was likely to lose more of them.

If he was lucky.

Only one thing to do then.

The main doors leading in to the cafeteria were kicked open and a squad of White Fang terrorists stood on the other side, rifles upraised and centred on the form of the Asura.

As they started to fire, the multi-limbed form twitched before moving with terrible speed, suddenly among the masked fighters, his four swords lancing out, cutting them down in the space of two breaths.

Most of the bodies weren't even in one piece, let alone breathing after the Asura, in some cases literally, tore through them.

The Asura turned from where it floated in the air to face its foe once more to find nothing there but the limb it had cut off and a trail of blood leading through one of the windows.

He'd sacrificed his men to make his escape.

And picked up the other half of his weapon in the process.

The Asura growled angrily wanting to chase after its prey, to hunt it down and cut every limb from his cowardly form until he couldn't even crawl away from him.

But as he went to take the first step, he hesitated.

And with a great shudder, the lines on his face and skin retreated, fading away to reveal normal skin once more, pupils and irises reappearing from the white void that had consumed them. The four terrible swords came together, and with a twisting motion there were the two identical hunting rifles in their place, pristine as always.

The armoured limbs that extended away from his back fractured before they too began to fade away, breaking apart into tiny fragments that were blown away by an unseen wind leaving Alan Quatermain where the Asura had once been.

He moved forward through the air slowly, invisible limbs holding him upright before he eased himself back down into his chair once more, a hiss of discomfort sounding out through gritted teeth as he did so.

He went to start making his way out when he chocked and leaned over the side of his chair, retching. A mouthful of blood was spat out, the liquid only a shade of black as it splattered against the ground.

Tob grimaced. That had taken a lot out of him.

It had been a long time since he'd pulled out all the stops like that.

A very large part of him wanted to get onto the nearest dust plane, drag his ass back to Freshwater and sleep in his bed for the next month.

But he didn't.

There were still Grimm to fight.

People to save.

And a laddie to find.

He took in a breath, regained his bearings and his chair began rolling forward, the wheels spun by invisible hands.

And if nothing else?

He spun the twins in his hands, the two rifles cocking loudly as new rounds slid into place.

Because he was Alan goddamn Quatermain.

And this is what he did for a living.

I hurdled over the sparking remains of a destroyed Paladin, running into the lobby of Beacon tower, the voluminous room unsettlingly dark, no-one in sight.

Looks like this place got hit pretty hard during the attack.

But there's no Grimm here now, or White Fang or malfunctioning mechs.

Or Pyrrha.

Damn it.

Okay Jaune, come on, think.

The last point you that her scroll was still being picked up, it was in here.

Which means my partner must have been here as well, however briefly.

But sadly there were no muddy footprints or glowing neon signs pointing out where Pyrrha had run off to from here.

I didn't even know where to start.

I brought up my scroll, going to call Cardin again to see if he had any luck with finding Pyrrha's signal again when a thought struck me and my thumb hesitated over Cardin's name.

Now there's a thought.

I scrolled back up my contact list, tapping onto Pyrrha's name and pressed the dial button before listening intently.

We knew that Pyrrha had come here before her signal disappeared.

And we couldn't find any sign of her scroll signal afterwards.

So, perhaps Pyrrha hadn't left at all and was instead somewhere inside the building with Professor Ozpin.

Nothing.

I grimaced, turning to leave the tower, thinking of where else they could have gone from here when I heard something at the edge of my hearing and stopped.

I edged back in to the room, trying to pin down where the noise was coming from, the sound muffled somehow, not giving me a clear indication of where it originated from.

The sound grew louder as I approached and even muffled I could hear the familiar rhythm of the X-ray and Vav theme song sounding out from somewhere in the building.

Pyrrha's ringtone.

My legs sped up, my head on a swivel as I tried to find where on Remnant my partner had gotten to.

I came to a stop in front of the elevator, the ringtone now so audible I could make out the words coming from just beyond the elevator doors before the song cut off, the scroll having stopped ringing.

I pressed the call button on the side of the elevator and before I could so much as think of anything else, the door slid open revealing Pyrrha's scroll on the floor of the elevator.

With Pyrrha herself sprawled out beside it, face down on the floor and unmoving.

"Pyrrha!" I cried out, rushing in to the lift, hurriedly sheathing my sword in my shield as I did so.

I reached down and rolled Pyrrha over so she was facing up once more, her eyes tightly shut, her face twisted in a pained grimace.

I'd never seen Pyrrha grimace like that, not even when she got hit with the full front of Amynta's shield counter. She must have been in a great deal of pain.

But despite that fact, despite the fact that I was constantly shouting her name, trying to rouse her back into consciousness, the red headed warrior did not so much as twitch in response, the only movements she made coming from her slow, laboured breathing.

Her skin was pale and clammy, sweat gathering on her forehead and trailing down her body like tears.

I reached out with one hand to try and feel her temperature, trying to assess how bad it was. She was hot, almost as if I was holding my hand before open flame instead of pressing it against skin. It was like she was running a fever, one worse than anything I'd ever seen before. Whatever was happening to Pyrrha, it was burning her up on the inside like a raging inferno.

What the hell had happened to her?

And where the heck was Ozpin?

The building shook slightly, dust falling from the ceiling above, reminding me that now was not the time to be thinking about these things.

Pyrrha was not going to be up and about any time soon, and I've got no idea where to even to begin with whatever was happening to her. She needed to get to a healer, fast.

She wasn't walking out of here any time soon.

So I'll just make sure she doesn't need to.

I bent down and scooped Pyrrha up in my arms with a grunt, cradling her as I made my way out of the lift and back towards the exit of the tower.

Okay Jaune, you've found Pyrrha.

Well done.

Now all you've got to do is make your way out of the tower, past the murderous Grimm and malfunctioning mechs as well as any White Fang members along the way and deliver Pyrrha to safety, without you know, dying on the journey.

And let's not forget that your arms are occupied with holding onto Pyrrha, so you can't really attack anything you might come across. And because again, you're holding Pyrrha, you can't really defend either, for risk that the attack might hit her and her currently non-existent aura reserves.

So to reiterate, you've got to make it past all that, not being able to attack or defend.

I exhaled deeply before cracking my neck.

Sounds like a bit of a challenge.

I pushed open the doorway, my movement rate slowed considerably by my partner's added weight.

I'd be able to run for a short distance sure, but the path from here to the landing pads was a distance that was anything but short.

And besides, when the rest of us had followed after Penny we'd carved a swathe through the enemies before us, clearing a path directly to the tower from the airship. If I was lucky, that path would still be there and I could use it as a direct route to safety for the two of us.

I glanced out briefly over the area and my heart plummeted, al thoughts of it being an easy journey abruptly vanishing.

The dragon had seemingly been busy, the courtyard all but invisible beneath a broiling sea if Grimm flesh, monsters of every size and shape roaring, snarling and hissing at each other. It was a sentient wall half a dozen Grimm deep at its thinnest part, and twice again that in others.

I looked at the horde of Grimm that were barrelling towards me, the air filled with more Griffons than I had ever seen in my life, a murder of Nevermore flying in their wake.

I swore.

On my own, maybe I could risk it.

But weighed down by an unconscious partner?

No getting out that way.

Okay Jaune think.

What's your next move?

My eyes flickered around, searching the surroundings for inspiration when an idea struck me.

I may not be able to get out per say.

But I could get in position for a pickup.

I turned and sprinted back into the tower, making for the elevator with all the speed I could muster.

I could hear the cries of the griffon's behind me getting closer, the flying Grimm diving after their escaping prey.

The previously darkened room was illuminated by the light that came from the inside of the lift, serving as a beacon to guide me safety.

I mantled the desk, all but throwing Pyrrha's body into the lift as I slid into it after her, my hand slapping the lift close button.

The heavy metal doors slid shut, muting the ravenous sounds of the Grimm as well as putting a hefty barrier between them and us.

I stood up, pressing the button for the top floor before I fished my scroll out of my pocket, bending down to examine my partner's form.

Still unconscious.

Whatever had happened to her had certainly done a number on her.

All the more reason to put as much distance between them and us.

My scroll dialled for what only seemed to be a second before connecting Sun's face showing up, clearly worried.

"Oh thank God!" Sun exhaled before he glared at me through the screen. "WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU MAN!?" He yelled through the device, his voice filling the elevator.

"I'm in Beacon Tower." I replied distractedly, focusing more on my comatose partner than I was on Sun. "Tried to make it back to the launch pad but there's too many Grimm for me to get out like this."

Sun glared down at me through the phone. "What the heck are you…" He started before he stopped, clearly catching sight of Pyrrha through the camera. "Ah crap. How bad?" He asked, his voice suddenly quiet in the face of this new development.

I grimaced. "I can't get her to wake up." I replied, disgusted with my own inability to assist my partner. "And I can't get her past all those Grimm with her unconscious. So I'm going to need a pick up Sun."

Sun looked up from the screen, his eyes scanning his surroundings for inspiration before his eyes lit up in a way that usually had me worrying about a prank. "I've got an idea of how I can do that." The Faunus said, nodding his head. The camera bounced, showing Sun on the move as he continued talking to me. "Any ideas on where we could pick you up?" He asked, weaving around other people as he did so.

I nodded. "We're in a lift heading for the top floor of the tower. I'll barricade the door and meet you there."

"Hang tight, we'll be there soon." Sun promised me before the screen went blurry, the sound of Sun yelling at Neptune barely audible before the call ended.

I looked back down at Pyrrha, still unresponsive in the face of whatever had happened to her.

I couldn't see any visible injuries, no blood or breaks. But her aura felt weak and strange, far more mercurial than I was used to feeling from my partner.

Hell if not for the fact she was right in front of me, I might not have even recognised her.

Her muscles seemed tense, as if she had somehow strained all of them at the same time, causing them all to pull tightly on one another.

I've got no idea what's going on here.

Maybe acute aura exhaustion.

I looked down at my hand, a flash of white aura covering it for a moment.

But I had an idea.

If I could connect my aura to Pyrrha's, then maybe I could help refill hers enough that she could regain consciousness. Or at the very least give her some measure of protection against whatever would no doubt try to impede our escape, knowing my luck anyway.

I pressed my hand against Pyrrha's shoulder, bring my aura to bear as I tried to establish a connection with my partner. I frowned as the auras seemed to refuse to connect, acting like two magnets repelling away from each other.

I gritted my teeth and forced my hand down, fighting through the shakes to place my palm back into place as I flooded it with aura, trying to force the link.

There was a sizzling hiss and I pulled back my hand with a swear, shaking it as I did so.

It felt like I'd just stuck my hand onto a pool of lava, the burning sensation flooding though me. I sucked in a breath, cutting off any further expletives as I went to examine my hand.

Nothing.

My hand was utterly unharmed, despite my senses screaming that my hand should be a blackened mess at this point.

What the hell happened to you Pyrrha?

The elevator slowed to a stop and the door opened, interrupting my thoughts.

Now is not the time for this.

When you've gotten Pyrrha to safety then you can start worrying about all this.

I lifted my partner up in my arms once more, walking into the wide open room.

The room was mostly empty, a few stone columns on the sides with a single desk sitting before me, two chairs facing each other from either side of the desk.

Above me I caught sight of gigantic gears and cogs, all clicking and whirring away with no hint as to what their function might me.

There were windows on almost every wall, showing the Grimm fighting away within the city, scattered explosions and plumes of fire marking those fighting back against them.

Not quite how I expected to be back in Ozpin's office.

The most disquieting thing about it all was the silence.

I mean sure the gears above us were making the same sounds that they always were, but up here in the tower, high above the world below, I couldn't make out the sounds of the conflict taking place in the city.

I moved past Ozpin's desk, lying Pyrrha down behind it aiming to put at least some cover between my comatose partner and the only entrance into this room.

Speaking of which I needed to ring Sun, let him know where exactly on the tower we are, and check on how far off he was from us.

I opened my scroll, dialling quickly only to collapse it back shut at the sight of a 'No Signal' icon flashing on my device.

Great.

So much for that idea.

Okay, then if I can't tell them where we are then I'll just have to show them.

Maybe I can try and cut through one of the windows beforehand in preparation for when Sun and the others show up with their transportation.

Yeah that sounds like an idea.

I was almost at the window when I felt it.

The floor shaking slightly beneath my feet.

A low rumbling filling my ears.

And a cold shiver running up my spine.

Without hesitating I spun, pushing Pyrrha's unmoving form behind me, my sheath unfolding into a shield as I planted it on the ground, curling my body behind it.

Something was coming.

The elevator doors exploded outwards with a bang, one of the doors slamming into my shield before ricocheting off of it, the heavy frame embedding itself deeply into one of the concrete pillars surrounding this place.

I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat.

If I hadn't gotten my shield up in time, that door wouldn't have just hit me, it would have taken my head clean off.

Something shifted in the smoke that was wafting out of the hole that used to hold the elevator, shadows drifting from smoke cloud to smoke cloud, a bizarre reflection of whatever was inside.

CLINK

The sound echoed throughout the room as a shoe made of what looked like glass or crystal stepped out of the smoke. The rest of the body followed after it, a red dress stitched with lines of gold throughout, looking more like veins of molten power than simple cloth sat on skin like porcelain. A familiar face smiled coolly at me, still wearing the same hair style as when we'd first met all those months ago in the corridor outside team JNPR's room.

But I have to say.

I don't recall her eyes glowing yellow like that before.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, even as I felt like ice was sliding down my spine.

This wasn't right.

Whatever the heck was going on here, this wasn't right.

"Jaune," Cindy drawled as she stepped forward, seeming more like an Alpha Beowolf on the prowl than anything human, the smoke clearing as she approached me. "Fancy meeting you here."

I didn't drop my shield, locking eyes firmly with her, making sure to keep myself between her and Pyrrha. I was scared out of my mind, frantically thinking of a way to get out of this, to get Pyrrha to safety.

But I didn't let that show on my face.

If there's anything that Tob and Peter have taught me, it's the importance of appearing to be in complete control of a situation.

Even if you're not.

Especially if you're not.

"Small world." I agreed idly, coming to a stop as I did so. "Anything I can help you with Cindy?"

Cindy laughed lightly at that, as if she were applauding the actions of a child in a sandbox. "Why yes there is." She agreed, sounding faux astonished that I had realised it. "I'm going to need to borrow your partner for a while Jaune. She's got something that doesn't belong to her."

I fought not to let anything show on my face, forcing this façade of indifference to stay on as I let a little sarcasm begin to drip in. From what little we learnt about Cinder during our research sessions suggested that she was the powerhouse of her team by a wide margin. And that was before I found out about whatever the heck that just was.

I would have been hesitant enough to fight her in the first place but with Pyrrha like this, I didn't really have much choice in the matter but confronting her.

Still, just because I have to oppose her doesn't mean I'm going to be an idiot about it.

Let's try and keep stalling, buy as much time as possible for Sun and co to arrive with their transport for my partner and me to make a hasty getaway.

"Well gee, I mean that sounds like so much fun," I began, overemphasizing the 'so' to make it clear just what I thought on the matter "but Pyrrha's feeling a little under the weather right now, so we'll have to put a raincheck on that." I finished, casually taking another slow step away from where Pyrrha was hidden, keeping Cinder's eyes firmly on me.

Cinder smiled thinly, her gaze not leaving my own. "I wasn't asking Jaune." She informed me, even as she stepped forward again with another loud CLINK sounding as her shoe struck the ground, her eyes flicking towards the desk that Pyrrha's unmoving form was hidden behind.

Damn.

There goes that idea.

Guess it's time for the fallback plan.

I drew my sword from the top of my shield, the rasp of the blade deafening in the silence of the room, brandishing it towards the huntress from Haven without saying a word.

Cinder regarded my silent threat with all the worry of someone watching a toddler swing a rubber weapon at them. "Careful there Jaune." Cinder said silkily, the words somehow sounding genuine despite the situation. "That's not a very smart idea."

I rolled my shoulders at that, reinforcing my guard as I did so. "Oh I know." I admitted, narrowing my gaze as I did so. "They're something of a speciality of mine."

Cinder's eyes smouldered, literally smouldered before she raised a hand towards me.

My senses screamed at me and I rolled to the left as a gout of flame so hot that it glowed an incandescent white ripped through the space I had previously stood in, moving through the reinforced window as if it was made of air and leaving a jagged hole with slagged edges behind.

I swallowed.

I knew Cinder was strong.

But if that thing had hit me something told me my aura wouldn't have saved me. I wouldn't have just been hurt, I would have been ash.

Cinder in response to my efforts in avoiding her attack wasn't angry or even annoyed.

She seemed more…amused…than anything else.

And that terrified me, sent a cold chill running down my spine in defiance of the sweltering heat that remained in the aftermath of her attack.

There's no way in hell that I'm going to be able to overpower her attacks.

And the room doesn't exactly leave me much in the way of an exploitable environment.

Can't run.

Can't beat her at range.

She'll probably overpower me at close quarters.

Talking seems to have run out of steam.

Not many options left on the board here.

I shifted from one foot to the other, my vial pouch clinking as it did so, and I cursed the fact that I'd already used all the tonics I'd hand on hand.

Clank

And then I heard a sound that didn't fit in with the usual ones and I had to fight to keep myself from reaching down to see what it was and give Cinder any indication.

I remembered.

I may not have anything left in my vials.

But I do have one idea that might buy me a little more time.

If I can pull it off.

Before I could think on it any further another ball of flame was launched towards me and I dodged out of the way, the projectile slamming into the glass window behind me and burning brightly.

Screw it.

Instead of dodging to the side again I dove forward, rolling under a blast of flame as I swung Candidus Mors towards her, the blade aiming towards her unprotected chest, her arms moving as I did so.

I felt something I could only describe as a thrum of power that somehow felt familiar fill the air and my blade was forced to a halt as it crashed into the cross block of the two obsidian blades that had seemingly appeared out of thin air.

Oh come on.

Now that is just some grade A bulls-hurk!

My internal dialogue was cut short by the high heel slamming into my chest with all the force of a freight train, slamming me against one of the windows with such force that I was amazed I wasn't sent through it.

As I landed with a wheeze, I raised my shield as a blast of fire tried to immolate me, flaring my aura as I did so and reflected the blast back at the surprised Cinder, smacking her across the room to collide with a window of her own.

Thank you magic healing aura, and all your forcefieldy bullshit.

I went to go after her when an ear-splitting shriek nearly sent me to my knees, my hands coming up to clutch at my ears in an attempt to protect them from the god-like scream. A vast shadow fell over the tower and I turned to see the Dragon heading straight for it, akin to the Nevermore on the bridge all those months ago on a far more devastating scale.

I swore spinning back to move towards Pyrrha, when I came face to face with a pair of glowing yellow eyes.

Cinder.

Shit.

I swung out with my shield to bludgeon her, not even attempting to try and swing my sword from such an ultra-close range, trying to force her away from me.

She shifted around my blow as if she was made of water, her hands now bereft of weapons as one hand gripped the side of my shield with a grip like a vice.

And then the elbow from her other arm cracked me straight in the center of the chest, just as the Dragon's wing slammed into the tower.

It was chaos, the roof ripping itself apart, the massive gears enclosed within being thrown every which way, some off the tower, some landing on the floor.

And I was hit so hard that I ploughed through Ozpin's desk like it wasn't even there, slamming to a stop into the wall behind it with a groan.

Oh god.

Oh that really stung.

I glanced down at my left arm to see the tattered torn leather straps of shield partly on it, but the shield itself nowhere to be found.

Cinder must have still been holding onto it when she bitchslapped me across the room.

Okay.

Physical isn't working.

Time for the ace in the hole.

My now unencumbered left hand reached into the vial pouch, forcing its way past the jagged glass of the broken vials and closed itself tightly around something that felt metallic.

Double or nothing time.

Cinder stepped out of the smoke, radiant and untouched and with a surge of that familiar feeling power an obsidian bow was suddenly in her hands, an arrow of the same color forming in her free hand. Her foot came down, pinning me to the floor as she gazed imperiously down at me. "Any last words?" She asked lightly, nocking the arrow and bring it back to full draw, the tip levelled at my head.

"A few." I coughed, before I cracked a smile painfully, "How do you feel about the color pink?"

I relished in the look of confusion that appeared on Cinder's face as the P3 grenade rolled out of my open hand, her eyes drawn towards the tumbling object even as I closed my eyes and turned my head away, moving to the side slightly.

The grenade exploded with incredible force, my hand going numb briefly before the pain set in, the paint splattering painfully against me even as the blast wave pushed me down into the floor of Ozpin's office.

Cinder in contrast did not have the floor behind her and was sent flying backwards with a cry, the sound of the pink paint splattering against her skin and dress music to my ears.

I opened my eyes and pushed myself to my feet, scrambling towards Pyrrha as I aimed to make the most of Cinder being stunned, for however brief a moment that may be.

I caught sight of the black arrow that had embedded itself deeply, inches from where I'd been sitting and swallowed, throwing a quick thanks to whatever guardian angel helped me make it through that alive.

I didn't have time to find wherever my shield had been flung to, and I wouldn't have been able to hold it anyway while I was supporting Pyrrha's unconscious form.

I lifted Pyrrha to cradle her in my free arm, moving towards the hole in the wall that led out to the night sky. "Sun!" I called out through the window, desperate for my friend to show up. "Sun where are you?"

There was nothing for a moment, the only sound to be heard the near silent breaths of my partner and the crackling of the various fires that had spread throughout the building during my terrifying encounter with the flame wielding huntress.

And then I heard it.

The sound of turbines spinning.

Something pulled up from the skies below to hold steady outside the destroyed office. It was a dust plane, albeit one that had seemingly been through a war, with scratches and rends on the sides, panels flattened and one of the engines letting out a worrying large amount of smoke.

I knew that ship.

It was the one that had crash landed in front of me not two days ago, carrying the unconscious townsfolk of Dragon's Passing as well as the comatose deputy Cobalt.

The door slid back to reveal Sun and Sage facing me, Scarlet blasting incoming Grimm with well-aimed shots from his pistol on the other side.

"C'mon, jump!" Sun called out, gesturing for me to come forward.

I felt the temperature in the room rise dramatically and swore internally, knowing that Cinder was likely going to be on our tail any minute.

I sprinted forward, Pyrrha's dead weight making it increasingly awkward to move before I leapt from the shattered window towards the dustplane, legs still moving as I did so.

The instant I left the ground it became clear to me.

I was going to hit the roof and bounce straight off unless I could find something to hold on to.

Or I made something to hold onto.

Here goes nothing.

My free hand lashed out Candidus Mors in hand and stabbed into the roof of the ship, the blade sliding before becoming caught in the craft's rigid metal. I bounced on the dustplane's roof, protecting Pyrrha's body with my own as best as I could as I did so before my arm was yanked painfully back towards my sword anchor.

I roared, half in pain, half in triumph as the sword held in place my momentum successfully cancelled with my impromptu strategy.

I landed heavily on the flying airship, cradling my unconscious friend as I watched our terrifying opponent draw away from us as the airship continued to move.

Time to get the hell out of here

I went to bang on the ship's roof when something caught my eye back towards the tower, something of an accomplishment considering the massive freaking dragon that was curled up around the entire tower.

Cinder stepped forward out of the darkness, thrumming with power, somehow completely pristine again in the space of time it took for us to make our impromptu escape.

Damn.

Was hoping that would last a bit longer.

The last thing I want is Cinder taking potshots at us with her bow while Pyrrha and I are still stuck on the roof.

The woman in red looked up at me, her one visible eye glowing an eldritch yellow before something happened. Lines of curling script formed around her in the air, akin to a glyph but looking infinitely more complex. The crystals on the anklets she wore began to glow and resonated with one another.

Oh this does not look good.

A cruel twist of her lip was visible as her aura rose even higher. She started walking towards us, uncaring of the edge of the building leading to a sheer drop before her, her eyes fixated on us. Then before I even knew it her foot left the safety of the building and stepped off into open air.

What is she insane? What is she doing?

The crystal anklets shone even brighter than they had before and I felt my heart catch in my throat as I realised what they were.

They were dust crystals.

Fire-aligned dust crystals.

As soon as it seemed as if she was about to fall a plume of fire erupted from her foot, holding her steady in thin air. Her other foot steeped off the building and mirrored the action another plume of fire bursting out as she hovered in the air.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me?" I despaired as I looked upon this latest development.

She could fly.

She waited there a moment more, seemingly revelling in my despair before she tilted and started rocketing towards me, fire extending in a trail through the air behind her.

Oh shit.

"SUN!" I yelled, unsure if Geppeto's tech would work with this much wind whipping about. "We've got company!"

I saw Sun's head poke out the side of the plane and from the sound of the expletive that followed moments later, I'd say he got the picture pretty quickly. Next thing I know he was firing one of his shotguns at the approaching form of Cinder, trying to stave off her approach with his gunfire.

Scarlet and Sage both quickly joined in as well, Sage the other half of Sun's staff, firing one of the shotguns one handed as well. "Neptune! Fly faster!" I heard Sage bellow out over the sound of the gunfire.

I heard Neptune curse below me form where he was sitting in the cockpit. "This thing is missing an engine! What do you expect me to do, get out and push?" He roared back, weaving the plane out of the way of a flock of Nevermore as he did so.

The Grimm were thankfully kept at bay by the stream of gunfire produced by the rest of team SSSN, but the far greater threat was Cinder, and she was not so easily dispatched.

She moved around the plane with blurring speed, weaving and twisting out of the way of any attempt to strike her, lashing out towards the ship with blisteringly fast arrows or missiles of fire she called forth from nothing.

"What is it with you and older women?" Sun's voice asked me from where he was situated on the ship's door below. "I swear to god it's like Amelia Academy all over again."

I twitched at that and if not for the fact that we were currently being harried by an utterly terrifying attacker during a Grimm invasion while holding my unconscious partner, I was fairly certain I would have tried my level best to strangle the Faunus after that remark. "That was your fault and you know it!" I retorted, reminding Sun of the reason the Incident had even happened in the first place.

"Is this really the time to be talking about this?" Neptune's voice roared at us, even as he manoeuvred the dust plane out of the way of a wave of fire that Cinder had thrown towards us, slowing the plane for a moment to barrel roll around a pack of Griffons.

If not for the fact that I was holding on tightly to my sword I would have been thrown from the plane with Pyrrha in tow to a rather painful demise.

Suddenly something slammed into the ship with enough force that it shuddered beneath me and I turned my head to see one of Cinder's arrows piercing one of the remaining three engines, the turbine still spinning within it.

Then with a sound like a high pitched scream the arrow exploded, flinging me from where I was over Pyrrha's form towards the front of the ship.

I slid past the carapace of the cockpit, hands scrabbling frantically for a handhold when the ship tilted upwards slightly, stopping me from sliding any further.

I looked down to see Neptune waving up at me briefly before he returned his attention to flying the ship, the display awash with flashing red symbols that I even with my limited knowledge knew to be a bad sign, but I ignored it as I scrambled back up the ship, to where Pyrrha had been not moments ago.

When I arrived back on the roof it was to find Pyrrha was no longer on the roof of the ship, instead held under one of Cinder's arms like a bag of potatoes, the flame wielding huntress standing in the dead centre of the ship.

I went to reach for my sword and grasped nothing but air, my sword still stuck firmly in place in the ships roof. I also noticed that the turbine that the arrow had struck was now utterly gone, a gaping void where the piece of the ship had once been, the one beside it spewing thick black smoke that did not bode well for the ship.

Cinder smirked at me, clearly having seen that I was unarmed. "Better luck next time, Jaune." She whispered to me, the words somehow still audible over the whistling of the wind, her feet lifted off the surface of the ship as I knew that if I let her get away, I had no chance of getting Pyrrha back.

"NO!" I cried out as Cinder blasted off the back of the ship, Pyrrha in hand as she flew back towards the tower. I ran forward, using the hilt of my sword as an extra step leaping desperately after her only to be casually backhanded away sending me reeling through the air away from our airship.

I grit my teeth in frustration, fully aware that hitting the ground at this high up was going to turn me into a pancake.

I'm screwed.

"JAUNE CATCH!" Scarlet's voice called out from above me and I snapped open my eyes to see the hilt of Scarlet's pistol soaring through the air towards my form as it began to descend even faster.

I flailed through the air, reaching desperately for it and managed to grab hold, just in time for the rope to snap taught yanking painfully against my arm in a motion so fierce I thought it was going to tear my arm straight off.

"HOLD ON!" I heard Sage bellow down at me and there was a fierce pull from the other end of the rope, sending me soaring skyward once more. I hurtled past the airship as it began its descent, the remaining engine crippled as it began to limp towards the ground.

I released the hilt of the sword before I could be yanked back down again, doing my best to streamline my body as I came closer and closer towards the flying Cinder, Pyrrha's head losing listlessly in her grasp.

I came closer, now level in height with my foe.

But not close enough.

I swore impotently as I felt my speed began to fail, my upward momentum fading as gravity sought to re-establish its hold over me.

No.

Not when I was so close.

Come on!

Someone!

Anyone!

I felt two hands grasp me by the shoulders and I turned to see two identical golden glowing outlines of Sun by my sides, each one with a firm grip on my arms.

Sun, you beautiful bastard you.

In the Airship below I heard a roar of exertion as the two projections threw me bodily through the air towards Cinder as she slowed her approach to land in the devastated tower.

I didn't make a sound as I approached but Cinder still spun, somehow detecting me, one hand whirling towards me as it glowed white hot with the coming wrath of a scorching inferno.

But not quite fast enough.

I tackled Cinder out of the air, the flame-wielder letting out a curse as we crashed into Ozpin's obliterated office once more, and I was sent tumbling across the floor before I could get control of myself.

After a few moments the dizziness cleared and I warily made my way back up to my feet, keeping an eye out for an attack from Cinder.

Even as I did so, my hands searched desperately for a weapon to grab, a pipe, a piece of glass, anything. I settled on a broken brick, the masonry weighty in my hand.

Not exactly a weapon of legend but I'll have to make do,

I was hidden from the rest of the room by one of the large gears that had previously been whirring away in the roof, stopping anyone from seeing me, and I from seeing them.

Okay then Jaune.

Time for you to go pick a fight with someone who can throw around infernos like candy with a rock.

I sucked in a deep breath and braced myself.

No time like the present.

With that I spun round the corner, sprinting forward, the hand holding the rock drawn back to deliver a mighty strike.

But I stopped mid-way, my eyes widening as I caught sight of just where Cinder was.

The fire user floated casually at the edge of Ozpin's destroyed office, where one of the vast windows had been previously but now only a vast empty space leading out into Beacon below, the wind whipping about and blowing light debris around the floor.

One hand was held loosely by her side, at ease, not aimed towards me at the slightest.

The other one couldn't attack me either.

She was practically begging to be attacked.

But I couldn't risk it.

Cinder's occupied hand held my partner by the throat off the edge of the building, her armoured legs dangling lifelessly in the air, swaying with every errant gust of wind.

She smiled darkly at me, yellow eyes glittering in triumph. "Drop the rock." Cinder commanded me, hefting Pyrrha up slightly higher into the air as a clear indication of what would happen if I didn't comply. "Now."

I grit my teeth, swearing internally but did as she said, forcing my hand open to let the rock tumble from my hands.

Okay Jaune, let's take a knee.

Your one and only hope of ending this fight physically was just cut off at the knees, and if you try to get any closer to Cinder, you don't know if she won't drop Pyrrha just to spite you.

That limits your options.

All of them.

Stay calm.

Think of the Old Bastard's lessons.

If you can't think of an answer?

Buy time.

But how to do that?

A thought stuck me and I opened my mouth, addressing Cinder as I forced myself to stay in place. "Why are you doing this?" I asked, drawing a raised eyebrow from the woman at that. "How do you know Pyrrha?"

"Why?" Cinder drawled out, her wicked gaze locked onto me as she watched me stand helplessly before her. "Oh I'm afraid that's a bit beyond you Jaune. Suffice to say this is something that needed to happen." She said, the fervour in her voice intimidating to hear, and I almost swallowed instinctively.

I shook off the urge and spoke again, trying to keep the conversation going. "And Pyrrha?" I asked, narrowing my gaze at the kidnapper in front of me. "Why do you want her?"

"Oh I don't want her per say." Cinder admitted, shrugging her shoulders casually in response to my question. "I don't think we've ever even spoken to tell you the truth. Complete strangers in every way. But why should that matter Jaune? I mean after all," Her eyes lit up with some grim amusement as she smiled cruelly at me, "aren't strangers just friends you haven't met yet?"

I stood there, wary of another attack from the flame wielder when what she had said came through to me, the words echoing painfully in my ears.

Words I had heard from her before.

…It can't be.

I staggered as if I had been struck across the face by an Ursa Major, my legs wobbling before I forced them not to collapse beneath me.

No.

I felt numb as the realisation hit me, the last slot falling into place, as I realised just who she was, why that voice had sounded so familiar to me. Her eyes may not have been the color I pictured them, and neither was her hair but even as I stood there I saw the once featureless outline in my mind quickly become filled in by the form of the woman in front of me,

"You're dead." I heard myself say, my mind trying and failing to make sense of this impossibility in front of me.

Cinder Fall touched down in front of me, her crystal shoes landing with a light 'plink' on the roof. "Oh come now Jaune," She chided darkly, raising a hand towards me that suddenly began to glow like a red hot poker. "Is that any way to talk to your mother?"

A plume of flame exploded out of her hand and my body twisted out of the way reflexively, my mind still rocked by Cinder's revelation.

My mother was alive.

My mother was Cinder.

I dropped and rolled to the side, coming to a stop behind a collapsed column just in time for another blast of flame to splash against it.

And my mother was trying to do her level best to incinerate me.

I got feel my mouth opening and closing, working silently, words failing to form as my mind tried to refuse the reality that had just revealed itself.

"All of this was done for a reason, Jaune." Cinder's voice called out from where she was standing, drawing my attention back to her. "I've dedicated my entire life to fulfilling my desire, and right now I'm closer than I've ever been before."

I thought briefly about trying to go for a weapon, trying to force her to release Pyrrha but quickly came to the realization that there was no way for me to leave my impromptu cover without being seen, and if I made any threatening moves the only thing I was likely to get was char-grilled.

The only action I could make was in-action, and so I lay there not saying a word as Cinder continued on.

"It's something that you were supposed to play a part in, before I lost track of you." My mother continued on casually, sounding as if she was discussing the groceries for all the care she put into her voice. "But not just yet. You're not quite ready." There was a pause for a moment and I heard her voice sharpen slightly. "Why don't you come over here for me?"

I remained silent, unmoving as I felt her baleful gaze scan over the room, not quite sure where I was.

There was a few more tense moments before I heard her sigh in exasperation, a 'tsk' sounding out as well. "Looks like you need a little…" something moved and I heard Pyrrha let out a scream in pain.

Before I knew it I was on my feet out from behind my cover and standing before Cinder once more, glaring at her as well as the blade that she had stabbed into my partner's side. "…motivation." She purred, the expression on her face like the cat that ate the canary.

"Please." I begged, dropping down to my knees as I stared up at her, not able to think of any other options in this scenario. "Just don't hurt her."

Cinder laughed at that. "Bit late for that." She said mockingly, twisting the blade slightly as she did so, drawing another pained cry from Pyrrha. I went to step forward instinctively only to stop as Cinder's eyes flashed dangerously, stopping me in my tracks.

"You see for me to achieve my dream, my one wish, I'm going to need something, any your partner has taken a little bit of that something inside her." She let go of the hilt of the blade, leaving it impaled within my teammate, gesticulating with her free hand as she did so. "Now I probably don't need it, the amount she has in a miniscule fraction of it after all." Cinder paused for a moment pondering before her hand clenched together in a fist and her smile gained a violent edge. "But I wanted the whole thing and intend to get it."

C'mon Jaune think.

I got slowly to my feet, legs tensed and ready to leap forward at the first sign of an opportunity.

Something.

Anything.

How do you get to Pyrrha before Cinder kills her first?

My mother stretched out with her hand and a crackling fire burst into existence on her palm, spitting and hissing as if it was an angry cat. The flame captured her attention, her eyes moving away from me even as she continued to talk.

"Don't you have a wish Jaune?" She asked insidiously, watching the plume of flame dancing about on her hand intently. "Something you want more than anything?"

I forced my gritted teeth apart, all but spitting my words at the madwoman holding my partner hostage. "Let. Her. Go." I breathed, my fists clenched so tightly they began to go white as I stared Cinder down.

She laughed darkly at that, her body shaking with mirth before one of her eyes met mine, the yellow orb glowing with malice. "Wish granted." She whispered, the voice of someone about to tell the punchline of a joke.

Then her right hand opened and Pyrrha dropped out of sight without a sound, her form vanishing in an instant.

"No…" I heard a voice whisper, unsure if it was my own as the scene replayed in my mind over and over again, my partner falling again and again as I fought to make sense of it.

Before I even realised what I was doing I found myself surging forward, arms and legs pumping as I all but sprinted, barrelling towards the smug form of Cinder.

And then past her.

I leapt off the tower head first as if I was diving into a pool of water, the wind whipping by me as I made myself as streamlined as possible.

This was beyond a bad idea.

This was straight up suicide.

The worst idea, in the history of bad ideas.

I shot downwards like a bullet, quickly catching up to the tumbling form of my comatose partner and colliding into her, clutching her tightly to my chest as I did so.

Okay Jaune, you've got Pyrrha, that's step one down.

Now all you've got to do is come up with step two before you both become smears on the pavement.

I thought frantically, trying to go through every possible option.

I came up empty.

I had no tricks.

No gadgets.

Nothing left.

Except for my aura.

I was running on empty, practically fumes at this point.

The last time I'd tried to draw on my aura like this the backlash had nearly killed me and would most likely kill me now.

But at the rate things were going, gravity was definitely going to kill me anyway and I'd take highly probable death over certain death any day of the week.

Here goes nothing.

I closed my eyes and focused, digging down deep for my aura, calling it to come to me, to surround Pyrrha and me to provide whatever meagre protection it could provide.

The energy surged to my call, flowing through my veins like liquid power before it flickered, the white aura beginning to falter as it hit a blockage.

My back.

Where what little remained of the brand sat.

I know there was aura there, locked out of reach by the brand, aura I could use, aura I needed if I wanted any hope of Pyrrha and I surviving this fall.

So I gathered what energies I had left and with a thought of a shattering moon, slammed it forcibly into the blockage.

My back exploded into agony, a ragged screaming coming out of my mouth, the pain as if the brand in its entirety had been reapplied.

My vision went dark, my grip on Pyrrha loosening even as I fought to remain conscious, and my eyes beginning to flutter shut despite my struggles.

The darkness consumed me, the only sound I could hear the whistling of the wind as we fell towards our demise.

The only thing I could make out was the moon, radiant in the night sky, utterly uncaring of the disaster taking place in the world below.

Before my eyes I saw the moon seem to shift and twist in place, the shattered fragments of the heavenly body pulling themselves back together as if time had decided to reverse on a massive scale.

The pieces all slotted into place, cracks still showing before the white energy I saw as my trigger coursed over the cracks in a reversion of what I usually saw, the cracks fading away to reveal an intact perfect moon.

And then there was light.

Radiance erupted from all around me, blinding in its intensity, so bright that all the world seemed to vanish to my eyes, leaving only endless white.

When the light faded I noticed three things immediately.

One, I wasn't dead.

Hooray.

Two, I hadn't hit the ground yet either, as I floated in seeming defiance of gravity, not coming any closer to the world below.

I looked up to see the moon was still in its fractured state, despite whatever the heck I'd just seen there, but looking up at the moon now, feeling it's light upon my skin, there was a tingling running across my nerves. Something that felt similar to static electricity but wasn't. Something…familiar to me somehow.

And finally?

The blockage to my aura around my back was gone, and the energy was flowing freely through me, an ocean of power compared to the stream I was previously used to.

That blinding light that had rendered me sightless for a few moments was me, my aura rendering me an impromptu beacon blazing away in the night sky.

And I could feel something against my back, a strange itching sensation unlike anything I had ever felt before, something that defied all attempts to describe it with words.

But despite the strangeness of it I felt content.

At ease.

In a way I'd never felt before, in a way I'd never thought possible before.

Is this what having all your aura feels like for everyone?

It feels incredible!

I tightened one of my fists, relishing in the feel of the power coursing through me before I refocused, forcing my attention back to the matter at hand.

The one that was being held in my arms to be precise.

Pyrrha's form was still in my arms, the light from my aura illuminating her in ways that hadn't been possible during our attempted escape from Cinder.

Her eyes remained closed, only the slight rise and fall of her chest a sign that she was still alive.

And a darkening spot on the side of her waist, that was wet to touch.

The blade was gone, lost in the fall, and the hole it left behind was bleeding freely.

Shit.

Not like there's going to be a hospital open during a Grimm invasion.

And I don't exactly have anything to help bind the wound lying around, floating a few dozen feet in the air.

I faintly heard the wheezing whine of an engine and I turned my head to catch sight of the damaged airship Sun had commandeered, the darkened ship strangely easy to see in the night sky, even without the faint smoke trail that was trailing from one of the wings.

Sage.

Sage would be able to bind Pyrrha's wounds, give her a fighting chance of surviving and that was all my partner ever needed.

I stepped forward to move after them only for my legs to pump uselessly in the air, not moving an inch with my movements.

Well, that didn't work.

C'mon I did not come this far just to fall at the finish line.

I needed to get over there.

And suddenly I was moving, soaring through the air as I let out an exclamation in surprise, legs flailing wildly, my arms only stopped from doing so due to the fact I was holding Pyrrha as we barrelled towards the crippled airship like a ballistic missile.

I fought off the feeling of vertigo and focused, forcing myself to relax and not try to throw off my center of gravity although however I was doing this it seemed to not pay any regard to how my legs flailed about through the air.

I drew level with the door of the airship and kicked at it with my foot, the strike clanging loudly against the hull of the ship.

The door was pulled back, three guns and a sword levelling themselves at me as it did so only for their owners to blink in shock at what they saw outside. "Jaune!?" Scarlet squawked

I moved forward, gingerly handing Pyrrha to Sage, taking care not to aggravate her wound any further. "She's been stabbed, I don't know how bad it is." I said quickly, hoping that the most medically inclined member of team SSSN would be able to help my partner.

Sage blinked at me for a moment before acting, placing her gently to the floor and doing his best to examine the wound. "It's pretty deep." He said bluntly, reaching into his coat to pull out some bandages as well as some of his other supplies. "I'll do my best to stabilize but she's going to need more than a patch job after we land."

I nodded, feeling a great weight lift of my shoulder with Sage's pronouncement.

She was going to be alright.

She had a chance.

Sun coughed awkwardly, drawing my attention towards him. "Jaune, not that I'm not glad you're alive and all but what the actual fuck?" He asked me, his tone becoming rather strangled by the end of it.

I rubbed the back of my head awkwardly. "Uh, I guess I can fly now?" I said, shrugging my shoulders, a shiver of pins and needles running through me as I did so.

That was weird.

Scarlet gave me a very dry look. "Well those were a bit of a hint Jaune." He said with a gesture, his tone seemingly shellshocked.

I raised a brow quizzically. "What's a hint?" I asked him absently, most of my attention still focused on Pyrrha.

Sun blinked at me. "You've got to be kidding me." He said loudly, disbelief filling his voice.

I blinked at him, not sure what on Remnant he was going on about.

I mean it wasn't like a flight semblance was impossible right?

I mean Paris could teleport, Pyrrha could use her semblance on her armor to 'fly', Ruby could go from zero to ridiculous speeds in the blink of an eye.

Doesn't seem like too much of a stretch of the imagination to think a flight semblance was possible.

Sun stepped towards the edge of the ship, one of his guns thrusting towards me, hitting me with a painful smack.

I whirled on him, furious. "What the heck was that for!?" I exploded trying to alleviate the pain in my…

I paused.

Where had he just hit me?

I reached back over my shoulder to where the pain was quickly alleviating and felt something softer than skin under my fingers, with firm muscle just beneath it.

What the?

I looked towards the others again, trying to comprehend just what was behind me when I caught sight of something in the reflection of Sage's blade on the floor.

It was by no means a clear picture, the gleam of the sword not a mirror by any means but the shape wasn't really difficult to make out.

Extending from behind my back were two massive white wings, unmoving in the slightest. Now when I said the wings were white, I meant they were glowing white, as if someone had just flipped a switch on a spotlight, light radiating off the wings.

That was why I could see everything so clearly I realised. It was not that I'd suddenly developed the ability to see in the dark perfectly but rather I was giving off so much light that it wasn't dark anymore.

With an errant thought the wings moved smoothly, responding to my desires without any noticeable delay, flapping in the air once yet still I didn't move. I tried to look over my shoulder at my new limbs when I caught sight of the trail of white light being directed downwards from the wings.

I wasn't flying like a bird.

It was more like I was propelling myself through the force of what I'm assuming is my own aura.

And despite the sheer surreal realisation of the fact that I now had freaking wings, there was another feeling that came to the forefront of my mind entirely of its own accord.

Familiarity.

I had done this before.

I had flown with wings before.

I may not remember it, but my body sure did, with the way I moved so swiftly through the air without thinking, it was the only explanation that seemed to make sense.

Which in turn meant I had wings before.

A sudden image of the large burnt brand that had once spread across my back came to mind.

Before they were taken from me.

By someone wielding a high powered dust flame from point blank range.

Gee, no who do I know who could have done that?

"Look out!" Neptune called from the cockpit of the ship, just as I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up on end.

With a thought I dropped through the air, just as a lance of flame zoomed through the air where I had been not a moment earlier.

I growled, my teeth gritting together as I turned to see her making a beeline right for us, the flames billowing from her feet making it seem like she was a humanoid rocket.

I flew up to the ship once more, my wings moving in response to my every thought and I landed atop the roof of the airship.

"You guys get out of here, get Pyrrha to safety and a doctor!" I called out, speaking loudly to ensure I was heard over the whistling winds.

A blonde head poked itself up from the side of the ship, the monkey Faunus clearly sticking his torso out one of the doors. "And what the heck are you going to be doing in the meantime?" Sun bellowed back at me, his eyes flicking between myself, the smoking engines and the approaching fire wielder.

I wrapped a hand around the hilt of my sword from where it had been left impaled in the roof of the smuggler's plane, pulling it out with ease. As I pulled it from the metal the blade began to brighten as well until in the blink of an eye it seemed more like I was holding a bar made out of pure light then a sword.

"I'll be having a word with my mother." I said quietly, staring up at her floating form as her obsidian bow formed in her hands once more with a flash of power.

Without waiting for a response from the others I leapt up off the crippled airship, willing myself towards Cinder even as she raised her bow at me, arrows coming into existence in the blink of an eye, already nocked in the bow.

The arrow was fired from the bow and even though I could have knocked it aside with my sword, something screamed at me that was a bad idea and so instead I twisted, corkscrewing through the air in a dizzying spin that had me upon her in moments, Candidus Mors drawn back for a strike.

The bow dropped from her hands only to be replaced by her twin obsidian blades and she met my attack with one of her own, the additional momentum behind my swing cancelled out by her powerful attack.

"There's my angel." Cinder crowed in delight, the glow in her eyes even more apparent under the light of my wings, the pattern on her dress glowing like freshly erupted lava.

She attacked and I responded, a furious flurry of attacks taking place.

She was stronger and had more experience, her every blow almost crashing through my guard as if it was a charging goliath.

I on the other hand was faster, and could move through the air much more agilely with my wings then she could with her flames.

I dropped underneath yet another of her powerful swipes, lashing out with a kick as I halted in mid-air, upside down and face to feet with Cinder, hoping that the bizarre angle would throw her off guard.

Incredibly it worked for a moment, one of my attacks actually making it through her defence, my blade forming a shallow cut across one of her thighs.

Cinder curled up as if she was going into the foetal position before throwing her limbs out once more, a sphere of flame so thick it felt like getting backhanded by Peter blasting me away from her.

I spun through the air for a moment stunned before righting myself in the air once more, whirling back up to face her, blade up and ready to defend.

Empty space.

She was gone.

There was a loud screech and I turned to see a giant Griffon diving towards me, its beak open wide to swallow me whole.

I charged forward to meet it, twisting out of the way of its lunging bite and plunging Candidus Mors into its body, dragging the blade forward as I did so. I ripped the sword out of the Grimm, the beast breaking apart as it dropped like a stone through the air as my senses screamed out a warning to me.

I twisted, both hands coming up to support my blade just in time to stop the dual downward slash of Cinder's blades before they cut through me like a hot knife through butter.

Unfortunately while I may have stopped the blades, stopping the momentum was another thing entirely. I rocketed backwards, still trying to get free of Cinder's charge but crashed into something solid before I got the chance to do so, breath whooshing out of me at the sudden impact.

Even after all that Cinder was trying to force her blades down, the edges of her obsidian swords glowing white hot with the heat coming off of them. I could feel myself sweating from being this close and something told me if not for the fact that I had my aura protecting me, my skin would be bubbling right now.

"I thought she'd hidden you away forever, but I found you again Jaune." Cinder whispered towards me, the words sounding far louder than they had any right to be. "And this time, they'll be no one interfering."

I ignored her as the two swords drew closer, slowly descending as Cinder's superior strength began to overwhelm my own. This wasn't working.

Okay Jaune think.

What can you do?

Both arms are occupied.

Attacking with a leg is just asking for it to get sliced off.

And pressed up against a building like this I couldn't exactly use them to fly out of the way.

I paused, an idea slowly forming as I thought of a technique I'd used previously with my shield.

But that wasn't the only thing they did.

Here goes nothing.

I summoned my aura, flooding it through my wings as if I was trying to let out a burst of light from my shield.

The wings responded immediately, the strength of the light pouring off them increasing exponentially, Cinder backing away from the blinding radiance.

But I could still see clearly through it all.

I could see Cinder, her eyes blinded but her guard still up and ready for my counter attack.

I could see the battered airship carrying team SSSN and my partner limping towards the safe zone.

And I could see the murder of Giant Nevermore closing in on them, gaining speed with every beat of their wings.

I pressed my legs against the indentation that had been formed when I'd been slammed into the wall and leapt off, my wings blasting me into the air once more.

I zoomed past Cinder, making use of her defensive posture to move around her and pour on as much speed as I could, closing the gap between myself in the Grimm in moments.

Some of the Nevermore saw me coming, not exactly a difficult thing since I more or less glowed in the dark now and a flurry of massive feathers were fired towards me.

With a thought my wings shifted, directing me through the air in darting movements that had me feel gravity's pull with every lighting fast turn and I made it through the barrage without so much as flinching.

I pulled level with the first Nevermore, the beast just beginning to react to my arrival when I lashed out with my blade, Candidus Mors severing a wing with so little resistance that it was as if it was made of jelly, the crippled bird sent careening towards the ground.

I kept moving my sword carving a bloody path through the monsters, the thickened hide of the Grimm parting with ease under the weapons touch.

As I stabbed the last one in the back I saw what appeared to be channels of light spread throughout the Giant Nevermore, a pained shriek escaping its beak before it all but exploded, the shadowy remains fading to nothing before the light I was giving off.

I looked down at my blade in shock at that, now noticing that the familiar script of the blades name had shifted somehow, strange patterns of pulsing light now covering the blade.

When Peter said this thing was made to kill Grimm, he wasn't kidding around.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and I flipped upwards in mid-air, forcing aura out of my wings just as a lance of flame whooshed by below me and swung my blade to meet Cinder's strike with her own.

Defending Cinder's technique with her two swords was like fighting the Old Bastard or boxing with Peter. I didn't even try to attack at this point, it was taking all that I had just to keep up with her assault.

My arms shook with every block I made but some attacks still made it through my attempts to deflect them, my aura preventing them from being any more debilitating than a few more moments of pain.

I blocked one swipe and frantically threw my head backwards to avoid the next, the blade's tip light as a feather across my skin before it collided with the high-tech ear piece Geppeto had given me, rendering it into scrap in an instant, pulling my head slightly to the side as it did so.

It was if she was weaving a web of obsidian in the air with her blades, my every escape cut off by the encroaching form of one blade that would quickly harry me towards the other, each strike only barely deflected by my defence.

"Listening to your instincts, good!" Cinder praised me, apparently comfortable enough fighting to start talking to me mid-strike. "Looks like the legends were right after all."

"Oh shut UP!" I roared, calling upon my aura as I twisted to the side around one of her stabs to get close enough to slash at her.

She read my intent and flew backwards slightly, just enough that my attack would fall out of reach and leave me open to attack.

Fooled you.

My attempt at using Lilith's technique was sloppy and roughshod, only further exacerbated by the fact I didn't have a sheathe to try and contain it first, and if the Old Bastard had seen it would no doubt have informed that his wife would have turned in her grave in response to my uselessness.

But considering Cinder was quite literally an inch beyond the tip of my blade?

A misshapen blast of white energy slammed into Cinder sending her soaring upwards into the air with a startled cry, her weapons dropped as she crossed her arms over her chest in an attempt to protect herself.

It did the job nicely.

I heaved in a breath, the darkness encroaching at the edge of my vision from lack of oxygen clearing as I fought to keep my breathing steady, keeping my eyes focused on Cinder.

Just a little bit longer.

Then Pyrrha and the others would be within the safe zone with the others and I could break off to join them.

Even with all of her power, Cinder still wasn't strong enough to take us all on the combined remaining forces of Vale, Atlas and the other academies at the same time.

Cinder halted her ascent, the misshapen energies of my attack dissipating quickly and stared down at me for a moment, contemplating.

And then she started clapping.

Slow, languid applause that seemed as much insulting as it was encouraging, a smirk dancing across her lips. "Bravo, Jaune, bravo." She said loftily, the few scratches and tears I could see on her outfit stitching themselves back together seamlessly, rendering her pristine once more.

I swore internally.

Regen factor.

A damn quick one.

That's not going to help things.

"Each passing moment just adds a little bit more to you, Jaune." She continued, her eyes flashing briefly as she did so. "And I want to see just how long you can last before your hope fails you."

She tensed going to move towards me once more, and I readied myself for another bout of fast paced combat.

But she didn't come.

She just stayed there, floating above me, a myriad of expressions passing over her face in an instant, surprise, frustration, rage, and a dozen others before a blank expression came over the flame wielder's face.

I shivered.

Something didn't feel right.

"But it seems I've run out of time." Cinder said regretfully shaking her head before the weapons in her hands shattered and flew apart like ash on a wind. "So let's wrap this up shall we?"

An aura of power erupted around Cinder, seeming more like a miniature sun than anything else, flames orbiting around her as she prepared a devastating attack.

I readied myself, preparing to dodge out of the way of whatever was coming and try to attack her in the instant that followed.

Cinder met my eyes, her own still glowing inhumanly before a contemptuous smirk spread across her lips.

She lifted her arms, pointing not at me, but at the sole remaining Atlesian battleship floating in the skies above.

A beam of flames, larger than a bullhead exploded from Cinder, lancing through the titanic ship, being slowed only minimally by the ship itself before exiting in an equally large hole on the other side of the ship.

And then just like that, the devastated ship tipped as it began to fall haphazardly towards the ground, it's failing engines the only reason it hadn't crashed already.

My eyes flicked from the falling craft to the area below and a ball of ice formed in my stomach.

It was heading for the safe zone.

The kids!

I spun, aiming to soar towards the falling ship when I had to twist to the side to avoid a fiery swipe from one of Cinder's freshly reforged obsidian blades, a cruel smile on her face. "And where do you think you're going?" She asked smoothly, the flames licking her weapons reaching a brand new intensity as she interposed herself between the falling ship and myself. "I'm not through with you yet, my son."

God damn it.

C'mon Jaune think.

I just need a way to get around her.

A way to force her to give me an opening.

I didn't take my eyes off my mother, the flying witch still fixing her sadistic gaze upon me when her eyes darted to the side and she spun in mid-air, her swords crossing together to block just as something slammed into her with the force of a comet, sending her tumbling backward through the air.

As I stared there in confusion, I heard the booming crack of the Old Bastard's gun's finally catching up to the bullet.

But I didn't have time to thank him.

I forced my aura through my back, into where I thought my wings would be and the world blurred, a chorus of booms and curses signalling that Cinder was still preoccupied. The wind whipped across my face as I fought to keep my eyes open as I approached the ship, crossing the distance in unbelievable time.

I looked upon the falling ship, able to at last see the extent of the damage and swore. Cinder had put this thing through a blender. It was a miracle it was still in one piece, let alone still in the air. The attack had ripped through the centre of the ship, no doubt shredding countless important components in the process, fuel lines, coolant and such. And to cap things off, the bridge was gone.

As in literally gone. The lance of fire so fierce that it had all but erased the bridge from existence.

Well there goes Plan A, find the closest thing to a steering wheel and use it, as well as Plan B, press all the buttons until something works primarily due to the fact that the freaking bridge is gone!

I forced myself to focus, thinking frantically for a way to stop the falling plane, to catch it before it hit the ground.

Geppeto!

He'd know a way to fix this!

I reached up for my headset to try and call him only to come up only grasping my ear.

The earpiece was gone.

That's right, it got destroyed during the fight with Cinder.

Then how about my scroll?

I looked down at the tattered mess that had once been my lucky jumper, the pocket that had held my phone long since gone.

No dice there either.

C'mon Jaune, something, anything!

Nothing smart came to mind.

I moved, making my way from the side of the craft to underneath it, keeping pace with the falling ship.

But I had a dumb idea or two to spare.

"This is such a dumb idea." I murmured, fully aware of just how utterly ridiculous what I was attempting to do was.

But at the same time, I knew I didn't have any choice.

I might have been fast enough to save one or two, but that meant consigning the rest of them to death, along with the rest of the civilians taking refuge in the safe zone. That wasn't an option.

I pressed my arms against the falling ship and opened up my aura, forcing more energy out of my wings, propelling me upwards. I bit back a scream as it felt like a mountain dropped on me, before letting it out, a loud roar of both pain and defiance as I tried to push back against the falling ship.

Agony coursed through me, but I ignored it, the aura flowing out of my wings less a streak and more the after trail of a rocket, forcing me up even further as I vainly sort to overcome the battleships mass with my own force upon it.

But it wasn't working.

The ground was getting closer with every second and at the rate it was going to turn the entire evacuation zone into a goddamn pancake.

I needed more power!

I needed…

My eyes widened as an idea struck me.

Pyrrha.

Her semblance!

I could try and use her semblance!

I used Yang's not too long ago and she wasn't there, so why can't I use Pyrrha's?

I closed my eyes and focused, concentrating intently as I tried to ignore the whistling of the wind in my ears, the ship above me or anything else.

I focused everything I had on remembering the feel of Pyrrha's semblance.

On the black aura of my partner that possessed the power of polarity

I felt a connection flicker within me for a moment, before fading away again, refusing to come to fruition.

Oh come on damn you!

Focus!

I found myself in a vast empty space, a void filled with nothing but shadows, my wings doing nothing to banish the darkness.

I knew this place.

I'd dreamed of it.

I saw a flicker of something in the corner of my eye, the fast moving thing passing through my hands as if it was made out of mist.

Pyrrha.

I reached out grasping for the runaway shape of the energy only to stumble across something different instead.

It was certainly the same shade of black of Pyrrha's aura, albeit far smaller than I remembered it ever being.

And I can't say I ever would have imagined it to take the shape of a ball of fire.

I reached out and held it between my hands, trying to find a way to connect to it.

With the flame in my metaphorical hands I could feel more similarities between it and Pyrrha but at the same time something else was there as well, something I couldn't quite put into words.

It wasn't like it was the aura of another person but at the same time it was something…more than what Pyrrha had been previously.

But at the same time it was still Pyrrha so whatever it was hadn't replaced her in the process.

There wasn't a conscious mind responding to my touch.

But at the same time this was something that was very much alive.

I focused my attention on the small black flame, willing my aura towards it, my wings sweeping forward to surround the tiny flame.

The black flame stubbornly refused to accept my aura, seemingly unwilling to allow anything to touch it.

For a moment I considered trying to force the link, to flood the black flame with my aura until it was forced to accept it but instead I looked down at the flame in my hands and spoke.

"Please," I began, trying to convey all of my intentions for this link with every syllable, "please help me save them."

There was silence for a moment the black flame flickering and wavering in my hand.

And then I felt it.

Even though I couldn't see it, I could feel the path opening up between me and the power held atop my palm.

"Thank you Pyrrha." I murmured softly, beyond grateful that I'd managed to connect.

Now all I needed to do was try and figure out how to use Pyrrha's semblance an…

My train of thought was derailed by the sight of the black flame within my hands flickering again before it shrank rapidly, compressing into a tiny sphere, dragging the white energy of my aura in with it.

The sphere rippled.

Then it exploded, an ocean of black flames coming out in a torrent consuming everything in sight, including me, the feel of the flame ripping through my form at once agonising and assuring at the same time.

My eyes opened and I was beneath the plummeting airship once more, the sheer weight of the crippled vehicle forcing me downwards as well, quickly snapping me out of my flame induced shock.

Head in the game Jaune.

Okay, now how do I use Pyrrha's semblance?

Polarity's all about magnetism right?

Be the magnet Jaune.

Be the magnet.

The hull beneath my fingers flickered for a moment before a black glow surrounded it, stretching far and away to cover all the hull in my sight.

I blinked, staring up at the familiar vision of black aura enveloping the ship.

That wasn't me.

When I do my copy thing it always comes out white.

I think.

Still kind of new at this whole thing.

Suddenly the output coming out of my wings stuttered and I dropped with a shout, my aura coming back in haphazard bursts, turning an uncontrolled plummet into a barely there descent.

I contorted and manoeuvred through the air as best as I could with my suddenly awkward wings, their movements' jerky and stiff when my aura seemingly cut out.

I managed to move myself over a roof and landed, rolling as I did so to bleed off the excess momentum before I skidded to a stop before I fell off the edge.

What the heck was going on?

I can still feel my aura but it's dropping rapidly, despite the fact I'm not doing anything.

Wait a second.

I looked back up at the ship.

If I'm not holding the ship up, then that means…

I spun, trying to catch sight of who was responsible before I stopped freezing as I caught sight of the most likely culprit.

Pyrrha.

She was standing in the open door of the Bullhead I had dropped her in, no longer comatose so it seemed, one hand outstretched towards the gargantuan airship that now sat frozen in mid-air in defiance of gravity.

The crippled merchant ship she was in was floating above me as well, the black outline surrounding it a clear sign of her semblance at work.

But something was different.

Blatantly so.

Trails of flame extended from her eyes, near identical to the ones that I had seen from my mother. Her eyes had seemingly vanished, two shining white voids blazing away in their place. And her hair. It floated above her hair, twisting and flickering, more akin to a crackling flame than her regular locks.

I think I can guess where my aura's going to.

Pyrrha's hand moved with a sweeping motion and with a disgruntled groan the mighty airship shifted in the air, drifting away from the civilian packed safe zone.

As she did so I felt as if something exploded inside of my chest and I hunched over, reeling as pain ripped through me. It was agonizing as if molten steel was filling my veins, charring my insides with every painful beat of my heart.

I went to say something, to cry out for help maybe, but all that came out was a chocked gasp.

I tried to steady myself just in time for another wave of pain to crash into me and the world spun crazily, devolving into incomprehensible blurred colours for a few moments.

When I could start making sense of things again I noticed I was face down on the ground, the copper taste of blood filling my mouth.

Always a great sign.

And I couldn't seem to be able to breathe, my lungs stubbornly refusing to function as my aura continued to flow out of me despite the rather dire situation it was putting me in.

I don't think I could sever this connection if I wanted to.

I wouldn't even know where to start.

I forced my head up in an effort that made me feel as I was trying to bench press a Paladin, looking up just in time to see the crippled supercarrier come to a halt above the outskirts of the city, where the Grimm were pouring in by the thousands from the outskirts beyond,

The tell-tale sign of Pyrrha's semblance at play around the gargantuan ship vanished, the black outline fading away to nothing in an instant and the harsh grip of gravity reaffirmed itself once more upon the ship.

It fell for only a moment but when it crashed into the ground it did so with an impact that would have knocked me from my feet.

You know, if I wasn't already on the ground and all.

I looked up from my position on the ground to see Pyrrha staring straight at me, glowing eyes piercing through the dark like beacons, her flaming hair radiant as it floated above her head.

And when I looked into her eyes I didn't see Pyrrha.

I didn't see anyone at all.

After what felt like an eternity my partner closed her eyes, the visible aura of energy around her dissipating, her hair reverting to normal before she collapsed to the floor of the plane bonelessly.

I tried to push myself back up to my feet only for my limbs to refuse to respond to my commands, leaving me face down on the cold floor, pinned down by some great weight.

It took me a few moments for my sluggish thoughts to grasp that the thing that was pinning me down was in reality my own wings, the once weightless limbs now a considerable weight.

Well.

That's problematic.

I tried to push up from the ground, grunting with exertion, my breath already ragged. My arms gave out on me before I even began to look like pushing up from the floor. I felt a dull pain in my cheek and realised I was bleeding, apparently having landed on my face at an odd angle.

It had been a long time since I'd bled from something minor like this.

Not since I had my aura awakened.

Something about that thought made me pause for a moment, my brow furrowing as I mulled it over.

Was I…out of aura?

The thought of all the texts on aura exhaustion that Goodwitch had made me read as punishments came to mind, along with the rather unfortunate side effects that can happen.

Little things.

Like death.

That's not good.

My eyelids slowly began drifting shut, and although I knew that I should be trying to stay awake, get to some form of safety first before I passed out it didn't seem like I had any choice in the matter.

I don't know how long I laid there, my eyes unable to open, my limbs unwilling to move yet still remaining conscious, my mind refusing to descend into sleep, random erratic sounds my only way of knowing what was occurring around me.

Until finally I heard the sound of someone landing on the rooftop I was on, the faint shudder of the buildings vibrations from the impact felt through my body.

I heard footsteps, getting closer towards with every moment and I tried to stand once more, unwilling to have a possible enemy find me helplessly sprawled before them.

The footsteps came to a stop next to me and two arms, thick and strong like tree trunks, gently picked me up off the ground, cradling me as they did so, my wings flopping bonelessly towards the ground in a motion that twinged in my back.

Before a word was even said I found myself relaxing, those last moments of consciousness beginning to fade as the realization of who was holding me came through.

It was far from the first time, I'd been carried home by him after being exhausted from training.

"I've got you, my boy." Peter's voice said quietly to me, and I could feel us beginning to move, strong steady strides as if he was simply carrying me back home to Freshwater to sleep. "I've got you."

He grunted with exertion and we were airborne, the wind blowing against my face even as it whistled around me.

Just like it had been before.

Flying through the air.

Then there was darkness.