Chapter 52: The bane of Atlas, Isaac Howard

Amber groaned with exhaustion as she drove her spear through the back window of the van, smashing the rest of the broken glass, clearing enough that she could climb through without needing stitches afterwards.

Quick as she could, she tossed her weapon out before following herself. And thankfully, it seemed that Howard's attempt was elsewhere as despite the noise, he hadn't seemed to notice.

Once outside, she turned and began hauling Jiao, who had hit his head when the car flipped, rendering him unconscious. Which made the act of dragging him much harder as he not only couldn't help, but was much heavier then he should be!

Thankfully, after a bit of turning and twist, she managed to wiggle him out with pretty light injuries.

With a sigh of relief, she used the opportunity to check the singer for any life threatening injuries. She had been careful when getting him out and tried to shield him with her own body, but she couldn't do much with them trapped in a spinning vehicle! In fact, she was pretty sure she knew where was a good place to start given how one particular spin had sent them smashing into the floor so hard, Amber had fractured her arm, which had been wrapped around the singer's head.

And a blow that sturdy would definitely have done some damage regardless of how she had been shielding him.

Sure enough, as she checked his head, she saw blood pouring out of his skull. Though fortunately it didn't seem to be as bad as her arm.

When they had been hit, Amber had definitely absorbed most of the damage, but an old wound on his head, on the top above his ears, had reopened and was now dumping blood onto the ground.

It was old and poorly stitched. The kind of stitch that made it obvious that whoever had done it had been more concerned with keeping it sealed than letting it heal properly. The hair around had been so badly mattered it almost looked and felt like fur. Though in the dim light, she couldn't get a good look.

But that didn't matter right now. On the other side of the van, she could already hear the sounds of fighting. Howard was currently taking on Cinder and Adam, though given the circumstances, she knew they wouldn't last long.

She had to act fast!

Immediately, Amber leaned over his body, using her scroll of light. She couldn't do much to stop the bleeding, but she could slow it. That would have to do. She had to use her time very wisely and Jiao was just the first step.

So much to do, so little time. Amber could feel herself begin to breathe rapidly and unevenly, her heart hammering in her chest. No! Not now! Not yet. She had to focus. She had to save everyone! She couldn't afford to fail now!

Clamping one hand over her chest, Amber forced herself to take deep, slow breaths. Counting to ten in her head as she calmed down. That's right. Think of something calming, of something happy. Breath. Breath.

As she sat there, she felt herself begin to calm down, her breath becoming more even, her heart slowing. That's right, she was going to be okay. They were going to be okay. Everything was fine.

Amber repeated that in her head a few more times, waiting until she knew she wasn't going to hyperventilate again. Then, the moment she was done, her eyes shot open and she immediately began ripping her clothes and pressing the cloth against Jiao's wounds, slowing the bloodstream. And when she saw the blood starting to cloth, she knew that things were going to be fine.

Or at least convinced herself it was.

Meanwhile on the other side of the truck.

"Aahhhh!" Cinder screamed as she and Adam charged at Howard, splitting up to try and take him from both sides. However, when the Faunus made the first move, lunging at him drawing his sword from his sheath, the old man not only parried him, but when he knocked his sword away, his massive force behind the strike knocked him off balance, letting the older man kick him so hard he was sent flying back, tumbling into the ditch on the side of the road.

Seeing this as an opportunity, Cinder shot forward, trying to capitalize on his momentary shift in balance, she tried to slash his neck, heating her blades as she went. But when she struck, Howard effortlessly, almost borely, swung his weapon up, between them blocking the attack!

With an annoyed snarl, Cinder immediately released a flurry of fast attacks, with both sword slashes and leg sweeps, desperately trying to do something to inflict some damage, but Howard effortlessly blocked her blades while shifting his weight to make her kicks to his legs pointless.

Getting annoyed, Cinder changed tactics, this time dancing circles around him at high speeds, forcing him to keep turning to face her as she kept darting in at him whenever she got into an advantageous position.

Her plan, wear Howard out! Someone at his age couldn't keep up with her for long. She just had to keep forcing him to defend against her attacks, never letting him catch his breath! If she kept it up, she'd be able to land a powerful enough blow to stun him, and create another opening!

Seeing another opening, she darted in to strike at his side again. From this angle, she could go dodge to either his front or his back depending on how he countered!

Sure enough, Howard swung wide, aiming to take the girl out with his bladed weapon. However, she was ready for this, ducking under the attack and slashing his side before trying leaping away to safety once again!

But to her surprise, Howard planted his feet, not even trying to avoid the attack, letting her land a clean shot to his stomach as he swung at her again!

Caught off guard, Cinder threw her upper body backwards, just barely dodging the blade as it scraped her nose. However doing this had put her off balance, which was exactly what the old man was going for!

Moving with his attack, he shifted his weight faster than Cinder thought was possible and slammed his knee into her stomach, knocking the wind from her chest and sending her flying several feet before slamming into a street light on the side of the road.

Coughing like her lungs had collapsed, Cinder forced an eye open as she fought back the vomit coming up her stomach. Her aura had absorbed the damage, but not the pain, or how it shifted things around inside her.

However, any thoughts of throwing up were immediately driven from her mind as she saw Howard charging at high speeds towards her, slamming his weapons back together into a single one which he hurled at her the instant it was connected.

The boomerang flew through the air, whipping up a small vortex as it shot towards her. The blade dug through the ground leaving a ditch where it touched. Cinder barely had the time to roll forward before the blade cut right through the street light, sending it crashing to the ground as the weapon whirled back to its point of origin.

Then, suddenly, the weapons changed trajectory, flying straighter and high from where it was supposed to be going. In fact, the directional change so drastically, Cinder was forced to dodge by pressing herself flat against the ground to avoid the blade.

But before she could even begin to try to come up with an explanation, she looked above her and saw Howard, high in the air where the boomerang was heading, catching it immediately and pulling it apart back into Tonfa form again.

Quick as she could, Cinder knocked an arrow and took aim, planning to shoot him out of the air. But before she could, Howard suddenly changed direction mid air, launching himself downward at the dark haired girl so fast, she didn't have time to dodge as he slammed down on top of her, landing on her shoulders!

"Gah!" Cinder cried as she was thrown onto her back, crushed beneath both Howard's metal boots as below her, the very earth began to crack! Her bow, still armed with an arrow, fell to the ground still clutched in her hands, but completely useless as he was still standing on her.

The impact of this launch attack alone had caused incredible stain on her aura cloak, causing it to shift and bend to stop the huntsman from breaking through it, but somehow, he was also still continuing to propel himself down, like Chesher's semblance! Only this time, instead of a huge crate with the force being dispersed over a wide area, it was all contained in his boots which were pinning the girl!

Immediately and without remorse, Howard raised one of his massive blades over her then swung it down, tip aimed right for the girl's eye.

Reacting quickly, Cinder threw her head to the side, barely dodging the blade causing it to dig deep into the ground right next to her. With her aura gathered around her shoulders to stop them from shattering, he wouldn't need to break it completely to kill her.

However, before she could think on this subject anymore, Howard raised his second blade, once again right over her face. Reacting right away, Cinder tried to dodge in the same way, throwing her head to the other side.

But this time, instead of getting out of the way, she only slammed her skull against the other half of the old man's weapon.

Immediately the girl's eyes widened. She was trapped! And with the blade descending on top of her, she was going to die!

Suddenly, before he could land the finishing blow, a deafening roar immediately pulled his attention as a massive red energy wave shot towards him, ripping apart the ground in its wake!

Immediately, Howard spun, raising both Tonfas as shields against the blast as he shifted his weight to try and block the hit! But when the energy rammed into him, try as he might, he couldn't hold his ground and was sent skidding back, leaving a rut in the ground from where his feet had stayed dug in.

"Cinder! Stop playing around!" Adam roared from where he stood next to the ditch, his sword already back in its scabbard, pistons hammering away to charge his semblance. "We don't have all day! So let's hurry up and take this guy out already!"

"Yeah, tell me something I don't know." Cinder grunted as she rolled onto her shoulder before flipping back onto her feet. "Adam, I have a plan. Back me up, okay?!" She yelled, making sure Howard could hear them.

Despite their tough act, they both knew they were in hot water. Adam had just hit the man with roughly sixty percent charge of his semblance and that had barely moved him a few feet! What's more, he was still able to black that attack, meaning even though he had been pushed back, he had taken next to no damage.

Adam's semblance was by far the most destructive ability out of all the members of team AACE. The runner up was Cinder's three arrow trick and even then it wasn't a composition between the two. So if the old man could take over half of the redhead's attack so easily, they'd need to hit him head on at a hundred percent if they wanted to have even the slightest chance of winning!

And on that note.

Cinder quickly glanced at her quiver, taking note of how many arrows she had left. Seven She had seven left. That meant they'd only have a few moves to create an opening and finish Howard off. If they messed up once, they'd be dead.

"Adam! Steam Destroyer!" Cinder yelled as she took off, charging at Howard with Adam right behind her. Together, they ran in parallel circles around the older huntsman, forcing him back on the defenses as they slowly but surely moved close with each loop.

Then, right as they crossed each other in front of Howard, Adam shot forward, shooting towards the old man with a flying knee aimed at his face.

Howard, upon seeing this, immediately raised his tonfa to guard, blocking the attack and forcing Adam to land right in front of him where he made to slash his chest open so fast, the Faunus barely had time to duck.

But the second he was back up, the two began trading blows, Adam unleashing a barrage of powerful, fast kicks, his speed quickly putting the old man on the defensive, but even then, try as he might, the redhead couldn't get around Howard's guard.

Watching the young man carefully, Howard almost immediately saw his plan. He was using the pistons on his scabbard to charge his semblance, which meant he was playing for time, waiting to reach a hundred percent. Which told him they were desperate. Otherwise they'd never try something this long and risky.

And that meant, if he stopped this plan, their will would almost certainly break!

Planting his feet, Howard swung a fast right hook at Adam's head, forcing him to back up. But instead of giving him space, the old man moved in, throwing a barrage of lightning fast punches not unlike a boxer, forcing the Faunus to retreat further until.

Thump.

Adam's eyes widened as he felt his back hit the upturn van. He had been forced back so fast, he hadn't realized he had been being driven into a corner by the old man! And now, he was swinging wide, aiming to take his head off.

Having no choice, he ducked to avoid a massive blow. But as he went down, the old man quickly shifted his weight, pivoting on the ball of his foot and delivering a massive uppercut to the Faunus, sending him flying up into the air, completely knocking the wind out of his!

But before he could to far, Howard reached out and grabbed his leg, effortlessly hauling him back and slamming him to the ground before slamming his boot onto Adam's face, crushing it against the ground as the sheer force of his blow sent shockwaves ripping through the road, cracking the pavement and making Adam's aura flicker.

At this point, one more blow would finish him, but Howard was no fool. He hadn't forgotten about his other opponent. And all this had really been was a ploy to draw her out, and it worked like a charm.

Seeing her teammate going down, Cinder shot towards him from behind, heating her blades as she leapt at him, aiming to stab the back of his neck.

However, the man spun, easily blocking her attack, blades catching on the segments of one of his tonfas.

"Got you!" He bellowed, pulling his other weapon back, pulling her in and giving him an opening to uppercut the girl and finish the fight!

Thinking quickly, Cinder used her weight to throw her lower body forward, placing her feet right next to her blades, catching him by surprise, making Howard too slow to react as the girl acrobatically pushed of his weapon and leapt back, flipping through the air before straightening out, three arrows knocked in her bow.

With a smirk, she fired them into the ground at three points all around the old man. As the ground began to glow, Adam, seeing his chance, drove his foot into the back of the old man's knee, immediately forcing him to collapse, grunting in pain as his shin hit the ground.

Upon doing this, Adam immediately dove out of the blast range as the ground began to glow. However, he hadn't even gotten out of the circle before Howard had spun, smashing his weapon into one of the arrows, shattering it into pieces of dust and glass!

Eyes wide, Cinder swore at the old man. Even on one knee he was so fast! And being able to immediately tell the weakness of her attack was a testament to his experience.

Having no choice, she used her semblance to detonate the remaining arrows, immediately making the old man disappear in a cloud of dirt and smoke as he was showered in glass shards and embers from the blast. But…

"Not enough!" Howard yelled, swinging his arm, clearing the smoke with a powerful gust of wind which blew Cinder back, sending her crashing into a street light on the far side of the road!

But as he spun around to face his second opponent, his mouth fell open as he saw Adam only a few feet from him. Feet spread wide, one hand tightly gripping his blade, the other holding his scabbard.

"Game over." The Faunus said, his eyes narrowed, a smirk spread across his face. Aura radiated from him, so much so that the little light they had was becoming distorted, casting him into a shadow so dark, it even illuminated the night.

"See you in hell."

With that, the entire world flashed, becoming darker as the silhouette of Adam seemed to glow red from his hair and horns. With a single fluid movement, he drew his sword, slashing the air to release a huge wave of red energy that ripped through the ground and anything else in its way as it raced towards Howard with a deafening roar!

The wave of energy was too big to dodge and too powerful to block. There was no way to escape it! Adam knew had no chance! And if this connected, that was game!

However, Howard remained unfazed.

Slamming both his weapons into the ground, the old man brought his hands together as if in prayer. Immediately the ground around him began to shift, blowing outward as if being picked up by the wind. Steam started to pour from his body and the red light from Adam's semblance seemed to become distorted as a loud groaning sound filled the air, immediately making both his opponents raise their heads in confusion. What the hell was he doing?

However, before they could make any guesses, the red wave washed over Howard, completely engulfing him.

"Di-did you get him?" Cinder gasped as she limped over to the Faunus who was staring right at his attack, a look of uncertainty on his face the likes of which she had never seen.

But as she followed his gaze, she immediately understood why.

Even in this dim light, they could see something was very, very wrong. A large bulge was visible at the center of the attack, where Howard was. At the same time, streams of energy were being pushed off, fraying at the seams as if being pulled apart, sending the displaced energy flying off past the old huntsman in harmless streams.

And as the rest of the attack finally washed past, they could see Howard standing in the exact same spot without a scratch on him, completely unfazed by the attack.

"H-how?" Adam breathed out eyes wide, completely stunned by what he had just witnessed. "I hit you with one-hundred percent of my power. Nobody should be able to stop that. No one." For once, Cinder found herself agreeing with the Faunus. Nobody she knew, not even Crow or Summer could probably stop an attack like that so easily.

Dodge it, maybe. But not stop it. Yet this old man had survived without so much as a scratch! What the hell had he done?!

Said man let out a huff as he pulled his hands apart, reached out beside him to pick up his weapons, eyes still fixed on Adam as he spoke.

"You have impressive power. But your semblance is basic, rigid."

Howard crouched down, calmly spinning his tonfa as he pulled one hand back, the other remaining outstretched as if to catch something. "There's only one way to use it and that makes it predictable. That predictably is your weakness. If your opponent can read your moves, they can counter. And it's a simple power to guess."

Adam took a step back, his face still a mask of shock as he struggled to focus on the old man's words.

"Your semblance lets you absorb kinetic energy and release it back as an energy wave. But there's a limit to what you can absorb. And once excised, that power just goes to waste. However, your big weaknesses are that you need a conduit to use the stored power or release it, meaning I can predict when and where the attack is going to come from. As for the next obvious one is that at the end of the day, all your firing back is elementary particles. So if your opponent can break those particles apart, it doesn't matter how much energy you fire, it'll all disperse without harming your opponent."

Cinder felt her heart stop at his words. He had been able to figure out Adam's semblance down to the letter after just one encounter with it? Then what else had he learned about their abilities during the very short time seeing them? The ins and outs of her semblance? What about Amber's? Maybe he had even seen through their fighting styles! If he had, this battle was all but over! No way they could take on somebody who could read their line and had a vast understanding of their semblances. That was just too much!

"So, you two out of ideas?" Howard's voice snapped Cinder out of her daze. His tone was one of calm demeanor, yet held a certain kind of tone, one inductive of someone who knew the battle was already over.

Instinctively, Cinder took a faltering step back, only to realize her legs and arms were shaking. She was scared. Terrified even. She knew she couldn't take someone at Howard's level, even if she wanted to. And with every fiber of her being was screaming at her to run, she couldn't even think clearly. Everything was just happening too fast!

Besides her, she felt Adam mimicking her, his hands also trembling as he rested them on his sword that was back in its scabbard. The dull banging coming from him told her that the pistons were charging his semblance, but they both knew it was pointless. Howard had survived a one-hundred percent blast, meaning no attack in their arsenal could pierce that shield!

"Hmph. I believe it was." Howard said, not moving from his position. "Then if you don't mind, I'm going to end this pointless fight right now. I'm truly sorry for this, but I can't have you running around free anymore. I'll see about having you imprisoned until we're done with the Eternal Dynasty. Until then, you're going to go to sleep!"

With that, Howard shot forward, moving so fast, it caught Cinder and Adam completely off guard. He hadn't been this fast before! He was practically skating across the ground with no regard for the laws of either physics or gravity!

Immediately, Cinder tried to dodge out of the way, but when she took a step, her weapons seemed to be frozen in place, as if held there by an invisible, unmovable hand. No. No! It wasn't just being held in place, it was being pulled towards Howard. Pulled with so much force, she couldn't break away! What the hell was-!?

Before she could finish, Howard slid to a stop in front of her, launching his arm forward with all his strength. Immediately, Cinder crossed her blades, managing to block the attack, but the weight behind the man was so great, all it did was slam her own weapons into her chest as she was sent flying back from the attack!

Spinning on the ball of his foot, Howard brought his tonfa down on top of Adam, swinging with the same force he had just used to send Cinder flying.

Acting quickly, the redhead Faunus tried to parry the attack by releasing the little energy he had managed to store up alongside his strike.

But the attack had no effect as Howard effortlessly cut right through the attack and smashed right through his parry, letting the blades tonfa slammed down on his opponent's head, ripping Adam's head sideways and throwing him to the ground with so much force he bounced back up, the wind completely knocked out of him, giving the older huntsman more than enough time to lash out and kick him so hard, Adam was thrown several feet back!

Or at least that's what should have happened.

Right as he was flying away, his sword, moving on its own, latched itself to Howard's tonfa, sticking to it like it had been sealed there!

Immediately, Adam's flight came to an abrupt stop, wrenching his arm as he met this sudden stop. The Faunus' cry of pain was short-lived however as he was dragged back in by his own weapon!

Stunned and in agonizing pain, the Faunus couldn't do anything as he was pulled back in, letting Howard rake his bladed tonfa across his entire body, slicing right through his aura.

"Aaaahhhh!" Adam screamed, a trail of blood leaking from his chest along the slash. Fortunately, it wasn't very deep thanks to the boy's aura, however, Howard was far from done.

Planting his feet, he swung Adam overhead by the sword that was still somehow stuck to his weapon and slammed him down onto the road behind him, a dull crack coming from his body when it hit the cement. Then, he dragged him across the ground as he spun again, this time swinging high into the air, somehow freeing Adam from his hold and sending him high into the sky, the Faunus barely clinging to consciousness.

"One down" Howard muttered as he had changed his weapon back into its boomerang form and had already thrown it at the airborne Faunus. At the same time, Cinder had pulled herself out of the ditch she had been knocked into, still slightly dazed, but still awake enough to see the entire scene playing out.

"Look out!"

Cinder screamed only to realize that he was either completely out of it, or physically unable to do anything. If he could do something, he'd be doing it by now! The fact he wasn't should make that obvious! Which meant it was up to her to do something before it was too late!

Moving as fast as she could, Cinder fired two more arrows into the boomerang, desperately trying to throw it off course, but even as the glass arrows exploded against the metal, the weapon didn't budge, counting on its path. Leaving the girl to run towards her teammate in a futile attempt to save him. But she was too far, and by the time she got there, Adam would be cut in half.

But then, suddenly movement from her side caught her eye, and before she could even look, Amber flew past her, having used both fire and wind dust to blast herself straight towards Adam at such high speeds, she was able to to crash into him, knocking him out of the way right in the nick of time! Barely dodging the weapon as it scraped against her back.

As the boomerang flew through the area where its target had been moments ago, Adam and Amber came crashing to the ground, the girl wrapping her arms around him as they both rolled a few feet on impact, the Faunus' head protected by his leader.

"Y-you okay?" Amber asked, despite the fact she had taken the brunt of the damage. Her eyes filled with worry for him.

"Yeah, fine." Adam grunted, still not completely conscious. "How's-?" He broke off as a violent coughing fit ripped its way through his throat resulting in blood coming out of his mouth.

"Fine. I treated his wounds and his life is not in danger. For now, focus on the enemy. He's the one who's going to be the problem." Amber answered as she gently laid him on the ground, flinching slightly as she gripped her spear with her fractured arm. Fortunately, if Adam noticed, he didn't say anything.

"Yeah, well, I hope you came up with something while tending to the man child." Cinder said, sliding between them and Howard, who had caught his boomerang and was now slowly advancing towards them. "We hit this bastard with everything we got and it wasn't enough. If that wasn't bad enough, I'm down to my last two arrows and am the only one with aura left. The way I see them, our opinions aren't looking to good."

A bead of sweat ran down Cinder's face as she glared at the advancing huntsman, her grip turned her knuckles white as she gripped her weapon. "His speed, power, strategy, and ability to read the battlefield is far above anyone I've ever seen. Way above anyone we've faced this far." She said, clenching her teeth as she shifted nervously. "His experience is what gives him his strength. And as much as I hate to admit it, not even Summer or Qrow can come close to comparison, not with the twenty, thirty years he's got on them. If we can't find a way to break through his defenses soon, we're all dead."

"Yeah, well. Experience can be a detractor too, if you know what to look for." Amber said, taking a step forward to stand next to her partner, a small smile playing on her lips. Causing said girl to look over at her in confusion.

"In order to achieve it, you need to live long enough, and while the soul might keep its speed, the body definitely won't. Take another close look. He's slowing down."

Eyes widening, Cinder turned back to Howard, every moment of the battle replaying in her mind. After each attack, Howard slowed down, not giving chase or trying to keep up the pressure. If he had attacked like that back when the battle had first started, he would have finished it within seconds! Yet he hadn't, which meant he either couldn't or he couldn't afford to risk it.

If he really did have this weakness, then if he went in guns blazing, if they dodged or countered, he'd be vulnerable. And without his aura, he was just a rickety old man!

"Huh, good eye." She murmured to Amber. "He is slowing down. Which means if we attack in shifts, one of us will get through. And then-."

"It means once we make an opening, we'll have a few minutes to retreat and get as far away from him as possible."

Immediately Cinder's head whipped around to face Amber, her eyes wide and nostrils flared.

"Excuse me, what?!" She snapped, her voice filled with rage and disbelief. How could Amber be this foolish?! If they ran, they'd lose their one to get even with this stupid old man consequence free!

"Are you crazy?! If we have a shot at victory, I'd say we take it!" She pushed, angrily gesturing at the gray haired man. "After everything he's done, he still hasn't paid for it and properly never will! Nobody in Vale is going to believe that the rich, generous Howard of Howard shipping is actually a racist madman who's daughter is the leader of the most dangerous gang in the city! And even if we do escape, he'll just come after us again!" The dark haired girl's frustration only grew as her partner refused to look at her, irritating stubbornness still burning in her eyes. Why couldn't she see the opportunity for revenge that was right in front of her? Why couldn't she see that!?

Deciding that Amber must be a little rattled after being in a flipped truck, Cinder spoke up again, this time in a slightly more forceful tone. "We need to kill him here or else we'll regret-!"

"Our mission is to rescue Jiao. Not fight the Seraphim, not get revenge." Amber cut in, not even bothering to look over at her partner. "Keeping him safe is priority one. Everything else can take the backseat. That's final."

Cinder felt herself bristle at Amber's hard tone, frustration rising in her chest. So that was it. They'd just run away? Just stand back and let Howard go unpunished? She didn't need Rhodes disembodied voice whispering in her ear to know that didn't sit right with her.

Right now, every fiber of her being was screaming at her to attack, to force her partner and her massive brain into battle and take that bastard down. She could practically feel the cracking of his bones under her fists as she beat him into submission, hears his groans of pain as she forced him to apologize for tricking Amber, picture his bloody, scared face as the police hauled him off to jail before they turned to her to congratulate her for her help in bring such a well hidden criminal to justice. Her first step towards becoming the hero Ruby looked up to, and closer to getting even with the Phantom.

All of that and more was right in front of her, the opportunity of a lifetime one only a fool would pass up! All she had to do was go.

Immediately she felt her body tense up, her grip tightening on her blades as she crouched down, legs bent, ready to spring forward. Her gaze became fixed on her objective as new hope filled her chest. With her skill and Amber's brains, there was no way they could lose! War hero or not, he was one old man against Beacon's best! Just one step, and she could have her sweet revenge!

As she let out a breath, the dark haired girl turned to her partner, her body relaxing as she did. Fire was already burning in her gaze. It was taking every ounce of her self control to hold herself back, and as Amber turned to meet her gaze, she knew she had made the right decision. And with that knowledge, a warm feeling took root in her chest, one she was getting more and more accustomed to, essentially around the dark skinned girl.

"So what's the plan?" She asked, looking her leader in her eyes. "I don't think he's just going to let us leave. And if we're dragging Jiao, we won't be able to outrun him. We need a distraction, and a big one. Something to last long enough to get to a more populated area and disappear into the crowds. Got any ideas?"

As she watched her partner, she saw her eyes widened and mouth fall open slightly. Clearly, Amber had thought Cinder would just charge, not that the dark haired girl could blame her. And while she still was itching for payback, she knew she had to-. No, rather she wanted to change, to be better. As while Amber might not have the highest opinion of herself, through Cinder's eyes, the girl was the picture perfect vision of what a huntress should be.

"R-right, I do have something in mind." Amber replied, turning her attention back to Howard. "Howard's semblance is the biggest problem here. It's called magnetism. It lets him create a power positive or negative pull in any metallic object, basically letting him pull things towards him, or push them away. So any conventional attacks, such as bullets or blades, won't even get close to him. It's a tricky ability to fight against for sure."

"That's his semblance? You got to be kidding me." The dark haired girl bit her lip as a bead of sweat ran down her face. "So that's how he's able to move and fight like that. He's using our own weapons against us. With an ability like that, just being near him is dangerous. How can you fight something you can't hit?"

"You're not wrong. It's definitely a power far greater than mine." Amber replied, shifting her stance to level her weapon at Howard, with her good arm supporting the weight. "However, there's also an inherited weakness to it. He can only magnetize certain objects. Aka, metal. So your arrows and my staff won't be affected. Of course I'm sure he knows that too, it's probably the reason he hasn't attacked us yet. Still, if we play our cards right, I think we can make a big enough opening and escape. But we'll only get one chance to pull this off, so give me your ear, I've got a plan."

As Cinder leaned in, letting Amber whisper into her ear, Howard shifted his gaze between the two girls. He had been surprised by how accurately the dark skinned girl had broken down his abilities and weaknesses to her partner. Getting almost every single thing right, she clearly had a good head on her shoulders on top of extensive research in such a short span of time, a fear even he would struggle to pull off even in his prime.

But something about her seemed off.

She had tried to hide it, but he had noticed her injured arm. And the way she had thrown herself at Adam, if she had been even a second later, she'd have been hit by the blade. What's more, he could see her battered body and many untreated bruises across her face from earlier in the day. A good warrior knows that victory was achieved long before they stepped onto the battlefield. That one must treat their body as a temple or risk falling to infection or sickness.

Yet Amber had made no effort to treat herself before rushing in. A move that was a bold as it was stupid. Had she taken the time to properly address her injuries, she would be in a slightly better position for the coming fight. And in the midst of battle, even small decisions like that can make the difference between life and death.

And even if she did escape, if her wounds got infected or worsened from her neglect, she could die from her injuries. Howard knew far too many soldiers who lost their lives from that very mistake.

But Amber should be different. He knew Silver would have taught her the importance of taking care of oneself. Hell, he had seen it when he had run into her at Summer's hotel room. Back then, even with the intense sadness and self loathing he had seen in her eyes, she had been taking care of herself, making sure she was always battle ready.

So why was she suddenly acting like this? As if she couldn't be bothered to take care of herself? That wasn't the mindset of a warrior, it was one of a fool. Something Amber most definitely wasn't.

Slowly, Howard's eyes narrowed as he studied the girl. Surely she wasn't-?

"Alright, that's my plan. Follow it to the letter or else we will die." Amber said as she and Cinder broke their huddle, both locking their eyes on Howard. "And remember, regardless of if we pull this off, we retreat. Got that?"

Cinder shot her partner a grin, taking her eyes off her opponent for a second. "Yeah, I'm not that stupid." She said jokingly. "Can't say this is my favorite plan, but I got nothing better. So I'll follow your lead."

Returning her gaze to Howard, Cinder turned Midnight back into bow form and knocked an arrow, taking aim at the old man, her voice portraying none of her earlier apprehension.

"Let's go, Amber!"

At her shout, the dark skinned girl shot forward, her spear, which held an ice crystal as the tip, leveled at Howard's chest on a fast frontal assault.

"Humph, child's play." The old man grunted, effortlessly raising his weapon to block Amber's strike. "Without an aura, you have no way to activate the dust, meaning all you have is a pointy stick. You're going to need to do better than that if you want to win. Try again."

Amber, biting her lip, shifted her stance, letting her quickly reposition her weapon.

"Then how about this!" She cried, immediately releasing a barrage of lightning fast strikes and jabs, each one aimed at the old man's face as Amber tried desperately to get around his guard.

However, Howard effortlessly moved his tonfa, repositioning it to block each and every attack, not one even coming close, making him let out a sigh in disappointment.

"This is embarrassing. You're Silver's daughter, aren't you?" He questioned, eyes narrowed to slits. "This is a disgrace to her name. Your mother was both strong and kind, knowing the truth behind being a huntress. Such a pointless display like this, is something she'd never stand for!"

With one final cry, he swung his blade up, slamming it against Amber's spear, cutting right through the dust crystal and knocking her off balance with the end of his blade wracking across her cheek, tearing it open. Then, shifting his weight forward, Howard delivered a powerful punch with his other hand to the girl's stomach, slamming the metal weapon right below her ribs which was greeted with a loud crack as her bones fractured.

"Gah!" Amber cried, unable to scream as the wind was knocked from her. Unable to even recover before Howard had spun, slashing her across the neck, sending blood pouring down her front, staining the entire front of her shirt!

"Aahhh!" Amber screamed as she stumbled backwards, hand flying up to press against the wound on her neck. Given the angle, it wasn't as deep as to be fatal, but it would definitely need stitches to stop the bleeding.

But before she could even finish her examination, Howard shot forward, his metal boot slamming into her stomach at the exact same spot as his first blow. This caused yet another sickening crunch from her rips right before she was sent flying backwards from the sheer force of the attack.

Amber flew through the air, tasting blood in her mouth, her entire body screaming in agony. Yet, a small smile spread across her face. While not the way she had hoped, she had accomplished her goal. Which meant now was it. It was do or die time. Everything hinged on the next few seconds, and she couldn't afford to let her pain dictate how she acted!

Immediately, she sucked in as much air as her deflated lungs could before letting out a gasping, but loud enough shout, one that immediately pulled her opponent's attention.

"Now!"

Immediately Cinder loosed her arrow, sending it flying right towards Howard, igniting into a flashy burst of flames long reaching its target.

"Too slow!" Howard snapped, immediately raising his tonfa to block the attack. "It doesn't matter how strong an attack is if it doesn't connect. All you're doing is wasting your energy. Maybe next time, have a silent signal to avoid alerting your opponent."

At his words, Cinder smirked as she let out a quiet chuckle. And for once, Amber joined in.

"That was the point."

Immediately Howard's eyes widened in horror as he realized what they were up to. But it was too late to react as the next second, the Arrow struck his guard, triggering the powdered ice that covered his weapon from when he had shattered Amber's spear, causing it to flash freeze, the entire blade frozen to the ground!

"Amber, now!" Cinder screamed. They both knew Howard could break out in a matter of seconds and if they lost this window, they'd lose the entire battle!

Moving as fast as she could, Amber tore one off her pouches and hurled it at Howard, making sure to throw it at an angle where he couldn't just swat it away. At the same time, Cinder fired her last arrow right towards the pouch, igniting it with her semblance.

The second the arrow hit the pouch, it burst! Creating a massive wall of ice that engulfed the old man, practically sweeping him off his feet as some of the more finely crushed parts were carried a short distance by the initial explosion before they froze. This created a dome around Howard, trapping him inside!

However, before the ice had even settled, Amber had already turned and raced back towards the van in a full spirit, completely ignoring the blood spluttering from her neck and the pain throbbing from her ribs.

"Let's go!" Amber screamed, scooping Jiao up and throwing him over her shoulder to avoid touching her injured stomach. "Grab Adam and let's get out of here! We need to get them both to a hospital before it's too late! Hur-!"

"Yeah, I know!" Cinder shot back, immediately pulling Adam over her shoulder. "You don't need to spell it out! I'm coming!"

With a quick nod at her partner, Amber took off, sprinting down the road, still carrying Jiao in one hand, her spear in the other.

And as she disappeared down the road, Cinder turned to look at Howard inside his frozen prison. He had freed his weapon from the ground and had turned it into boomerang form, which he was using to smash through the ice wall. He had already created several cracks along the ice, making it look more and more like a spiderweb with each hit. It was only going to be a matter of time before he freed himself and came after them.

But that wasn't what drew the dark haired girl's eye. No. What her gaze fixed on was the rotting ponytailed man, standing just behind Howard, who was looking right back at her, his horrible mouth spouting his eternal curse.

" Running away? I thought you'd never have to again." He said mockingly, his words dripping with laughter. Effortlessly tugging at the chain he still had wrapped around her heart, one the girl feared she'd never be free of. " Just admit it, running is all you're good at. All you'll ever be good at."

Cinder bit her lip as she felt rage immediately boiling up inside her, fighting every instinct inside screaming at her to fight it. Her own heartbeat was deafening in her ears as she could feel blood rushing to her face. She wanted nothing more than to run over to this rotten corpse and beat it into submission, to prove it wrong!

But even as Rhodes laughed, taunting her and all she had become, the dark haired girl turned away, her back facing him and her front in the direction Amber had run in.

"No. Not this time." She whispered, her voice so low even Adam wouldn't be able to hear it if he was awake. "I'm done with you. Done with your dogma, your poisonous words and all important duty. I'm done with letting you ruin my life. From this point on, I'm making my own choices, forging my own path, not just following the one you proclaimed for me. So if you want to keep wasting your time tormenting me, go ahead. But know this, if you think you can sway me or my decision any longer, you're dead wrong! I've got people, real people who are counting on me. I can't let some specter of my past control my actions any longer. I need to move forward, forward into my future. So, until the day comes when I can finally get rid of you for good, stay out of my way."

With that, Cinder ran, ran away from the rotting hallucination and after her partner. And as she did, she felt a heavy weight left from her chest. One she had carried since her time in Atlas, maybe longer.

And while she wasn't sure what it was, as she caught up to Amber, as they ran faster as the sound of shattering ice could be heard behind them, something deep down told her felt at peace, like it had finally found somewhere she could be safe, somewhere she didn't need all her usual bluster and boasting. Somewhere she could just be herself, no power required.

And as this feeling filled her gut, Cinder found herself smiling.

She could get used to a feeling like this.

/////////////////////////////////////////////

So, let's talk semblances.

Semblances are the embodiment of a person's soul. A literal manifestation of what that person is about. Therefore, while all abilities are unique, some are going to be similar. Blake and Sun for example. On paper, their ability is, make clone. But obviously, their clones behave very differently compared to each other.

And yes, Howard and Pyrrha are in that same category.

Basically, Howard can only create powerful positive or negative pulls between metallic objects. He can't manipulate them freely like Pyrrha can. This his how he changed the path of his boomerang and stuck Adam's sword to his tonfa. This is also how he launched himself forward at such high speeds. All he did was pull himself towards a metal object. (What? The difference in weight mean it should have been Cinder who got pulled towards Howard? But that's not as dynamic!)

As for how he deflected Adam's semblance, his semblance dose have one little quirk that set it apart from Pyrrha's. He can actually magnetize himself, or more specifically his aura cloak. And by doing this, he actually created a mini version of earth own magnetic shield around himself. And yes, when activated, there is no attack that can penetrate it.

Honestly, I'd say the different is Pyrrha has the stronger base semblance, but Howard has mastered his to a much higher degree. Which makes sense as Pyrrha was 18, where Howard is in his 60.

Anyway, that's enough out of me. I hope you enjoyed and I hope to see you next chapter. Bye