115

Chapter 115:

Earlier:

Given that he could transform into a bird and take flight, Qrow counted himself as being pretty good at getting around. Of course, no matter how magical such an ability was, there was no changing the fact that a mere crow couldn't possibly keep up with a bullhead at cruising speed. So he wasn't at all surprised when the airship diminished into a speck before his vision, even as he strained with all his strength to keep it in sight long enough to figure out where it was going.

It was the best he could do, sadly. He'd watched from the sidelines, hidden by his transformation, as Ruby had taken on the corrupt Huntsman. When those thugs from the Council had arrived to arrest her, he'd been prepared to jump to her defense, once the bullets started flying. It had been as much a shock to him as it was to Ruby's friends when she'd surrendered.

After that, Qrow's only option had been to do his best to keep up as Ruby was dragged back to Vale, where whoever was behind this harassment of her was planning on doing God-knew-what.

Unfortunately, Qrow's fixation on keeping up with his quarry meant that he hadn't been paying enough attention to his surroundings. So he missed it when a similar black, avian shape rose up from the forest canopy to intercept him. The next thing Qrow knew, a feathered body bulled into him, and he found himself cawing in anger and pain as a beak pecked and talons scratched. Qrow and his attacker tumbled down into the foliage below. When they emerged beneath the leafy canopy, they had both changed.

Qrow landed hard and awkwardly, barely able to get his feet back under himself in time, falling to one knee, having to brace his hands against the ground to keep from falling over entirely. Looking up, an angry growl emerged from his throat at the sight of the black-haired woman, who executed a much more graceful landing in front of him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Raven?" asked Qrow, glaring at his sister furiously.

"Seeing to it that the little red bitch gets her due," said Raven firmly, smirking at Qrow. "I'm hardly one to support anything Vale's Council, or any Kingdom's for that matter, does. But, on this occasion, I'll make an exception."

"Still going on about your stupid tribe," growled Qrow. "Those assholes got what was coming to them. They lived their lives picking on people they thought couldn't fight back. It was only a matter of time until they...until you...picked a fight with someone who could."

"They were your family," growled Raven.

"They're a bunch of thieves and murderers, acting self-righteous about being thieves and murderers, as though that's something to be proud of," Qrow retorted. "You had a chance to be something more...something better."

"A housewife?" asked Raven mockingly.

"A mother," Qrow answered in a low tone. "You could've been there for Yang. You could've helped her become the girl she is today. But you passed on that, 'cause, when push comes to shove, you don't have the stomach for a real fight."

"You mean I had too much brains to be Ozpin's pawn in a war that's impossible to win," countered Raven. "You've worked for him so long, but you still don't have the slightest inkling of what you're up against. It's a hopeless fight, Brother, but Ozpin's still willing to throw lives away on it, knowing full well that he's sending people to die for nothing."

"You would see it that way," grumbled Qrow.

Raven's hand closed around the handle of her sword. "Now then, I'll be stopping you here, Qrow. Ruby won't be getting any help from you, regardless of where she's going, and who she's up against."

"Fine," growled Qrow, pulling out his own sword. "I'll beat you down and drag you back to Ozpin myself. You can spend your time in detention, just like Tai."

"I'd like to see you try," replied Raven, drawing her blade with a vicious grin.

"Are those Atlesian Knights?" asked Ren, taking in the androids that had accompanied the soldiers down.

"They're the Knight-130 models," said Blake. "I guess Mason hasn't gotten his hands on the newer two-hundred models yet." These particular androids she knew all too well, having mowed through several of them, alongside Adam, during her final mission for the White Fang, right before she cut her ties with them.

The androids sported a basic humanoid shape. Their domed heads sported glowing red visors, while a similar light emitted from their chestplates. By and large, they resembled humans wearing black, metal armor. However, the way it encompassed their limbs gave the impression of a frame too spindly to actually be human. As they approached, they raised their arms. With a click, their hands locked into place, the fingers extending and straightening, revealing themselves to be gun-barrels. Without preamble, the androids opened fire, the soldiers who'd already reached the floor joining in.

The members of Team RYNB surged forward, charging through the storm of incoming bullets to reach their targets. They all countered the incoming hailstorm in different ways. Ren spun StormFlower in his grip, the blades of the two guns glowing with violet energy, creating whirling shields that deflected away any bullets that threatened to come in contact with him. Blake's own weapons were a blur as she worked them to swat down the incoming projectiles. Sometimes, one made it through her defense, striking her body, only for said body to dissolve into shadow, while the real Blake darted in a different direction, throwing off the aim of android and soldier alike. Meanwhile, Yang hunkered down behind her upraised gauntlets, shifting back and forth as she charged. The occasional bullet clanged uselessly off the golden metal. Raising her eyes, she glared at the soldiers, preparing to plow into them with all the speed and strength she could muster.

Nora was the only member of their team that didn't immediately charge the enemy. Instead, she shifted Magnhild into its grenade-launcher-mode, and fired off several shots, the grenades leaving trails of pink smoke as they arced over the heads of her teammates to explode amidst the troops and androids ahead of them, destroying several robotic bodies, and sending the human ones tumbling and flying. Her attack disrupted the barrage, allowing her friends to close in with less pressure than before. After that, Nora shifted her weapon back into its hammer-mode, before jumping up to stand atop Magnhild's head, triggering its explosive shockwave to allow her to literally ride her hammer into battle.

Blake and Ren were amongst the androids and soldiers like a pair of dervishes, working their weapons through swift attacks, cutting the androids to pieces, and knocking the soldiers sprawling. Nora and Yang struck like a pair of cannonballs, sending people and pieces flying. Neither the soldiers nor androids stood a chance against the onslaught, and it was the work of a few seconds to completely wreck the group of enemies that had already made their way down to the floor...which was good, because still more were dropping in with every passing second.

"Let's teach these losers a lesson!" shouted Yang, diving into their midst without hesitation.

Meanwhile, Jaune, Pyrrha, and Weiss rushed to Ruby's aid. Hazel had completely forgotten their presence, thanks to Ozpin, so they were able to rush past him without any further hinderance. However, the three of them came up short when they saw the fight raging in front of them.

It's too intense! thought Pyrrha, watching with wide eyes as the two fighters flickered in and out of sight, their sheer speed reducing their battle to what seemed to be a series of still images, appearing at one point, before vanishing to reappear somewhere else, the ringing of steel against steel becoming a continuous sound.

If we jump in without thinking, we'll just trip Ruby up, thought Jaune, straining to keep track of the fight. Even while barely catching a glimpse of Ruby's face, Jaune could see her desperation, even feel it in the air. Ruby was only just barely keeping up with Tyrian's movements. The man's wild and erratic fighting style kept her from reading his rhythm and properly predicting his movements, forcing her to rely purely on her own speed and reflexes, a terrifying prospect when her opponent already matched, maybe even exceeded, her own speed.

We need a gap, thought Weiss. Even if it's small, if there's the slightest opening, we'll be able to jump in.

To their surprise, that came sooner than they expected. With a pained exhalation, Ruby was knocked away, Tyrian's boot connecting solidly with her stomach and sending her flying. Grinning and shouting exultantly, he prepared to charge after her, only to run straight into one of Weiss' Glyphs, which appeared between him and his quarry. Repelled backwards, Tyrian executed a backflip, before landing on all fours, poised to launch himself after his target again.

The sound of a gunshot from outside the field of his vision warned him of something incoming. Tyrian immediately pushed off the floor, aiming to go into a rolling spin to carry him out of the way of the incoming projectile. However, the blades connected to his bracers abruptly felt heavy, as though he was trying to drag them through thick mud. The resulting resistance slowed Tyrian's evasion, so that the javelin lancing down from above grazed his side, before plunging into the floor where he'd been crouched only seconds earlier.

Grunting, Tyrian landed again, backpedaling even farther away. Rather than press the attack, the other three members of Ruby's team took the opportunity to rally around her.

"You made it," said Ruby, panting.

Jaune smiled, reaching out with his right hand, careful not to clock Ruby with the handle of his sword as he rested it on her shoulder, sending some of his Aura into her, easing the pain of the kick she'd just taken, and restoring her lost strength.

"What are we up against?" asked Weiss, getting sickly chills just looking at the man in front of them, who was looking back with a crazed grin that hadn't faltered in the slightest, even after taking a hit from Pyrrha's javelin.

"He's strong," said Ruby, "stronger than me. He's fast too, and I can't read his rhythm at all. It's like he doesn't even have one."

"What are his weapons?" asked Pyrrha, calling her javelin back to her hand.

"He's got those blades on his wrists," said Ruby. "They've got guns hidden in them, so watch out for that."

"He'll probably use them for a surprise attack at close range," guessed Jaune.

"The thing that really worries me is that stinger of his," said Pyrrha, eying the appendage warily. "There's no telling what kind of venom he has in there."

Ruby nodded.

"Oh!" squealed Tyrian. "How observant you all are! How cautious!" He giggled maniacally. "I can't wait to reward you for your worries!" He paused, standing upright, gently pinching his chin. "Well...why not start now?"

"Huh?" grunted Ruby, wondering why their enemy would abruptly start chatting with them. Then again, there was little this man did that made complete sense, whether in or out of battle.

"Shall I tell you my Semblance?" asked Tyrian rhetorically. Abruptly, the color of his eyes shifted, their gold transitioning to violet. "I call it...Potency."

"What's that mean?" wondered Jaune.

"I think it means his poison is as deadly as he wants it to be," said Ruby.

"Exactly!" cheered Tyrian, arcing his stinger over his shoulder. A single drop of violet fluid welled up a the tip, before falling to the floor. It landed with a splashing hiss, prompting a faint tendril of smoke to well up as the bubbling liquid sank into the hole it ate out of the solid concrete. "Such a useful Semblance. If I want to, I can simply paralyze your body, make you into little more than a doll for me to play with. Or...I can inject you with a toxin that will make you writhe with agony for a full week, before your life finally bleeds away. Or...just a few milligrams of a neurotoxin that will kill you before you even have a chance to feel the pain of my sting. Isn't that nice?"

The members of RASP shuddered at the idea of facing any of those venoms.

Tyrian cackled, enjoying their trepidation. "So fearsome, isn't it. Now...here is the situation. My goddess has decreed one important thing. The false Maiden who killed Cinder must be brought to her...alive. However, the rest of you are not protected by her mercy."

"What does Salem want with me?" asked Ruby.

Tyrian sighed dramatically. "Alas. I know not. It is not for a lowly servant, such as my humble self, to know such things, if Her Grace does not deign to tell me. My only recourse is to obey."

His grin returned, wider and more vicious before. "Now then...you precious friends of the dear Rose, I'll give you a special option. I'll allow you to leave with your lives intact. Just give that beautiful little Rose over to me, and you can avoid death. Should you choose to continue to aid her..." He broke down into another wheezing cackle. "Well...how about I allow you to choose just how you wish to die...It can all be over with a tiny prick...or you can spend days consumed by pain. I imagine that's not a difficult choice, but I'll give it to you all the same."

"How about a different option?" suggested Jaune. "How about we beat you and keep Ruby with us?"

Tyrian barked out a shrill laugh. "Good one! But...sadly...impossible."

"We'll have to see about that," growled Weiss.

"Indeed we shall," agreed Tyrian, sinking down onto all fours once more.

Jaune stepped up to the front, raising his shield and sword. Pyrrha and Weiss formed up behind him, flanking him from behind and at the sides. Behind the three of them, Ruby rejoined her swords and closed her eyes.

With a howl, almost like that of a hunting animal, Tyrian flung himself at Team RASP with what seemed like wild abandon.

With a mighty roar, Hazel surged forward, throwing a powerful punch out with his fist, aiming right for Ozpin's head. It failed to connect with anything though, Ozpin vanishing from sight in a flash. The next thing Hazel knew, the former Wizard's cane struck against the back of his head, Ozpin having leapt up and then thrust downwards with a fierce strike, now holding his cane like a sword.

He touched down behind Hazel, who immediately spun about, lashing out with one hand in a powerful backhanded strike that sent a wave of yellow lightning arcing out in a fierce crescent. Again, it seemed to connect with nothing, Ozpin simply ducking beneath the arc of Hazel's swing, a few strands of his gray hair standing on end being the only indicator that the lightning had affected him at all. From there, Ozpin lunged forward with a series of thrusting strikes so rapid that his cane seemed to multiply, the sound of its impacts against Hazel's chest and stomach echoing with the rapidity of machine-gun fire. Hazel's body jerked from the repeated hits, his arms spreading out wide.

Stamping down, Ozpin's Aura flared a brilliant, emerald-green color, the light transitioning down the length of his cane, before exploding outward with the force of his next blow, the hit sending Hazel flying away to land on his back, before skidding to a stop.

"As always, your anger blinds you, Hazel," commented Ozpin calmly. "Your hatred towards me is understandable, justified even. However, you have allowed Salem to twist it to serve her own purposes. Gretchen would be so very disappointed in you."

"SILENCE!" bellowed Hazel. "You have no right to say her name!"

"Perhaps," agreed Ozpin. "But, even so, I have more right than you, you who decided to make yourself into the antithesis of everything she fought for. In your desire for vengeance, you've repeatedly spat upon her memory."

Abandoning words entirely, Hazel surged towards Ozpin with a bestial howl, launching himself across the floor like a cannonball. Punching out, he launched a surging bolt of crackling electricity at Ozpin, who parried the incoming bolt with a swift lash of his cane. Hazel followed up, leading with a series of swift, powerful swings, faster and fiercer than before, the intensity of his attack increasing with every passing second.

There was too much power behind those blows for Ozpin to even think about deflecting them, so he opted to dodge instead, skipping back and forth, while falling back to keep Hazel's sheer bulk from overwhelming him. Hazel's swings looked wild. However, they purposely closed off possible routes of escape, even as he charged fiercely, aiming to keep Ozpin from taking his back again.

For his part, Ozpin counterattacked where he could. Hazel's offense left no room for defensive moves. Instead, the ferocity of his offense was, in a sense, its own defense, the rapid pace of attacks allowing little chance for Ozpin to attack in turn, lest he leave himself open to one of those mighty swings. Worse still, even when Hazel's blows missed, lightning still arced off his fists and arms, dancing across the gap between his and Ozpin's bodies, sending painful jolts through the old Wizard's muscles with every near-miss. Over time, the accumulated damage would cause his evasion to flag, and Ozpin would be left open to a direct blow from one of those mighty fists.

Worse still, the hits Ozpin did land were mostly ineffectual. Even if they managed to penetrate into Hazel's powerfully-Tempered Aura, Ozpin couldn't inflict any real damage, and Hazel didn't even react to the pain of those hits, thanks to his Semblance, Numbing Agent, which allowed Hazel to completely suppress his sense of pain. Doing so was what enabled him to inject himself with so much raw Dust. It was a method that would be unthinkable for nearly anybody else.

With a roar, Hazel advanced, clasping his hands together above his head, before bringing them down in a mighty hammer-blow. Ozpin had seen this kind of attack before. If he tried to simply dodge it, Hazel's attack would hit the floor, producing a powerful electrical shockwave that would hit Ozpin, even if he dodged.

Instead, Ozpin dropped into a crouch, planting the tip of his cane into the floor. Abruptly, his body was enclosed by a hemisphere of shimmering, emerald energy, Ozpin bracing himself with all his strength. Hazel's linked fists slammed down against the shield with all the force of a descending meteor. The roar of impact filled even the expansive room that served as their arena, the shockwave making the entire space tremble. The floor around Ozpin's shield cracked, then broke apart. Beneath its protection, Ozpin looked up impassively, even as he realized that he'd underestimated the strength behind Hazel's blow, the shield beginning to crack.

It broke. At the same time, fortunately, that the force behind Hazel's strike ran out. Ozpin's shield shattered, the clash between the two men prompting them to stumble back from one another. Hazel recovered his balance and control first, to Ozpin's hidden dismay, immediately going back on the attack again, closing in with another roar.

A bolt of violet energy slammed into the side of Hazel's chest, knocking him off his feet and sending him sprawling across the floor.

"Glynda?" said Ozpin, recovering.

Glynda strode forward to stand next her Headmaster, the two of them facing down the raging beast that was Hazel Rainart.

"If you stand in my way, you'll die as well," growled Hazel, rising to his feet, seeming none the worse for wear.

"I have no intention of dying here," said Glynda. "So the two of us will simply have to take you down."

"The same as always," growled Hazel, glaring at Ozpin. "How many people do you have to hide behind, before you'll accept your fate?"

"I accepted my fate long ago," Ozpin replied calmly. "Allowing you to kill me would accomplish nothing, least of all bringing your sister back."

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" roared Hazel, surging forward on the attack once more.

This is not working out for us, thought Watts, frowning as he observed the situation taking place in the nearby room. It was remarkable that Vale's Council had such a space at their disposal...or Mason Ayers did. From experience, he knew that Atlas had similar underground facilities, though those facilities were located under Mantle. It was in such facilities that some of their more powerful weapons and technologies had been tested in secret. Watts himself had been involved in such testing, before his fall from grace.

But this was not the time for reminiscing. It was good that the soldiers that were trying to stop the other Beacon students weren't fully aware of what was going on. Not even Mason knew what was happening now. However, the arrival of Ozpin and his deputy had not been something that Watts had anticipated. The presence of Ozpin meant that Hazel would completely ignore the plan, the hatred that Salem had carefully nurtured within him running out of control.

With Hazel unable to prevent interference, Ruby Rose would get reinforcements for the fight with Tyrian. The girl had already exceeded his expectations by being able to hold her own. It was apparent that Tyrian had the overall advantage, but he wasn't winning near as easily as they had anticipated, and the arrival of her friends, if she could properly coordinate with them, might actually tip the battle in her favor.

Watts frowned, looking at his scroll, wondering if now was the time to call for a retreat. They could fall back and regroup. Working with Mason had been an excellent opportunity, but one that had ultimately failed to yield what they needed. Worse still, retreating would mean abandoning Mercury. There was no chance of retrieving him like this.

Perhaps I should have Tyrian put him down, mused Watts. Better to silence Mercury for good, than leave the boy alive to talk. Unfortunately, it was unlikely that Tyrian would get the chance.

Watts' gaze shifted to Ruby, particularly to those Silver Eyes of hers, which had apparently interested Salem so much, once she had learned the truth about the girl. That had been when Salem's interest had shifted to capturing Ruby, which was the main reason that they had colluded so carefully with Mason Ayers.

Retreat may not even be an option at the moment, thought Watts dourly. Tyrian is always difficult to call off, especially when his objective is in front of him like this. And Hazel won't back down from killing Ozpin. It would seem we're in a serious bind here.

Jaune met Tyrian first, shield raised, ready to ward off his first strike. Initially, it seemed that Tyrian was going to execute a swing from one of those wrist-mounted blades of his. However, he instead, latched onto the edges of Jaune's shield, planting his boots against the face, actually hanging on it and hauling himself up to leer over the rim at Jaune, his grin widening, almost as though he saw something that appealed to him personally.

Whatever was going through the madman's head was something Jaune didn't get much of a chance to question, not when Pyrrha and Weiss attacked Tyrian from either side. Kicking off the shield, Tyrian launched himself away from their strikes, the kickoff sending Jaune stumbling back a couple steps.

Landing in another crouch, on all-fours, Tyrian jumped to the side, his body blurring with the speed of his movement, before he rushed them from another angle, keeping low this time. Pyrrha went to meet him, leading with a downward strike from Milo in its sword-form. Tyrian slashed a blade up to meet the descending sword, before transitioning straight into a sweeping kick to try and take Pyrrha's legs out from under her. But Pyrrha had already jumped, flipping above Tyrian, left arm drawn back to hurl Akouo at the back of his head. However, she was forced to abandon that when Tyrian's tail, seemingly of its own volition, lashed at her face. Pyrrha quickly brought her shield up to deflect it.

But she didn't give up on attacking entirely. Even as she blocked Tyrian's stinger, Pyrrha thrust downward, Milo extending into its javelin-mode, forcing Tyrian to dodge, as the blade threatened to strike his Aura between his shoulder-blades. Once again, Tyrian's arms felt strangely heavy, and Pyrrha's attack grazed his side. Grunting, Tyrian came back upright, a manic grin still decorating his face.

Then, from behind him, a spectral arm emerged from a familiar sword-wheel Glyph, holding aloft an enormous broadsword, and bringing it straight down at Tyrian's head. With a gleeful shout, Tyrian threw himself to the side again, the sword splitting the floor where he'd been standing.

Turning about, Tyrian squealed happily to see Weiss flying at him in one of her gliding lunges. She led with a barrage of thrusts, Myrtenaster a blur that seemed to be in multiple places at once. Tyrian's own weapons flashed out rapidly, meeting the thrusts easily, deflecting every last one of them. With a laugh, Tyrian sent his tail lashing over his shoulder, the venomous barb flying right at Weiss' face.

At her waist, Weiss' right hand twisted slightly, the first two fingers extending out. A tiny Glyph appeared between Weiss and the incoming stinger, spinning into being at a slight angle, Tyrian's attack deflecting off to the side.

"Oh!" gasped Tyrian. Not hesitating, he pressed the attack, bulling forward with wild-looking slashes of his wrist-blades. Weiss fell back, Myrtenaster working furiously, but not nearly fast enough to fend off all his slashes. However, her Semblance took up the slack, Glyphs appearing with incredible speed to intercept the incoming strikes and gently nudge them off-course.

Tyrian only seemed more excited and amused, as though he'd just discovered a new difficulty level on a favorite video-game. He prepared to go on an even more furious onslaught, only for Weiss to call up a larger Glyph to propel herself aside. From behind her, Jaune charged through...his movement a blur. He closed the distance between himself and Tyrian in what seemed like a single step, attacking by thrusting the face of his shield forward.

Leaping back, Tyrian planted his hands and feet on the incoming shield's face, kicking off to keep Jaune's rush from slamming into him. As soon as he pushed away though, Jaune pulled the shield aside, transitioning directly into a downwards slash, the blade of his sword blazing white, and launching a crescent of light right at him. Tyrian was forced to try and catch the slash on the crossed blades of his bracers, the force behind the blow launching him backwards.

Rather than try to fully block the attack as Hazel had, Tyrian shifted his center of gravity, and allowed himself to be knocked aside from the path of Jaune's attack. However, the path of his evasion wound up taking him directly into the path of Pyrrha, who was closing in to attack again.

In response, Tyrian raised his left arm, aiming his fist right at Pyrrha. Her eyes widened when she saw the gun-barrels emerge from within the bracer, firing a stream of bullets at her. Pyrrha raised her shield, but not to block the bullets, as one might have expected. Instead, angling its edge towards the incoming projectiles. Said edge flared with the black energy of her Semblance, which spread to the bullets themselves, the projectiles being pulled into a circular orbit around the rim of Pyrrha's shield, their orbit increasing in speed with each revolution, becoming a rapid blur.

Pyrrha drew her left arm back in preparation to throw her shield again. Tyrian tried to strike at her with his tail again, aiming to force her to abort her attack. However, Pyrrha chose that instant to release the bullets revolving around Akouo's rim from their orbit, timing it so that they were sent flying back at Tyrian, her Polarity propelling them at an even greater velocity than they'd been fired at. Tyrian's jaw opened slightly. Working both his blades and his tail, he deflected the incoming shots. But the force behind them checked his forward momentum, actually causing him to skid back slightly.

The delay gave Pyrrha the time she needed to throw her shield, which slammed against Tyrian's upraised bracers, knocking him back farther. Now Tyrian was put on the back foot, stumbling back slightly from the repeated powerful impacts. What was more, even though he'd managed to deflect Akouo, Pyrrha used her Semblance to send it arcing around to dive at him from behind and above. Tyrian deflected the attack with a lash from his tail, but found himself facing Pyrrha pressing an offensive from the front, extending Milo into its javelin-mode, spinning it by its shaft between her hands to launch a barrage of slashes, all while her shield arced back around in a continuous attack of its own.

Tyrian went into a rapid series of flips and spins, lashing out with all five limbs, whether to deflect an incoming attack or launch a counter. His acrobatics and speed were awe-inspiring, allowing him to easily keep pace with the two-front attack Pyrrha had launched. Even using her Semblance to try and interfere with the movements of his wrist-mounted blades, Pyrrha wasn't able to lock him down entirely, and Tyrian more than compensated by resorting to kicks with her.

Fortunately, Pyrrha wasn't fighting on her own. Tyrian came out of a dodge, abruptly realizing that Pyrrha had left him an opening in her attacks to escape through. He landed on his feet, already anticipating what was to come, seeing Jaune closing in, sword raised, blade shining white. At the same time, another Summoning Glyph flashed into being, calling forth another sword-wielding arm, the massive blade striking in perfect synch with Jaune's own sword.

Even blocking with his bracers, Tyrian was blasted completely away. He would have landed on his back, had he not brought his tail under him, using it to catch him and push off again, allowing to land on his hands and feet again. Despite the powerful attack he'd just endured, Tyrian's grin didn't show the slightest sign of faltering. Indeed, he even looked exhilarated.

"So much fun!" he shouted. "You're all working so hard to give your friend a breather."

A crackle reached Tyrian's ears, accompanied by a buzzing, humming sensation that caused his hairs to stand on end. His eyes widened as he noticed Ruby raise her sword up behind her friends. Abruptly, several of the lights above exploded in a shower of sparks, countless arcs of electricity-No!-lightning erupting from the floor and ceiling, even the nearest wall. In fact, some appeared to emerge from thin air.

"How?" gasped Tyrian, his eyes going up, his smile faltering for the first time. There's no clouds! You can't even see the sky from in here.

Ruby smiled in satisfaction. I'm glad I was right, she thought silently.

In truth, she'd never really needed to be under an open sky to use the Raikoken. Her continuous practice had taught her that well enough. In fact, the energy itself came, not from a mere storm, but from the electromagnetic field of the earth itself. Calling it came in the form of a storm cloud was essentially a product of calling upon that power under an open sky. But it didn't need to be like that. In fact, Ruby felt certain that, with continued practice, she could learn to call on this kind of power just as easily as she did her own Aura.

But that was still a ways away. And utilizing the Raikoken like this had required her to spend some extra time immersing herself in the World's Aura to get a proper sense of how to call on its power this far underground. Now the lightning was writhing around her blade, dancing and throwing off sparks. Ruby's friends parted, allowing her to pass between them.

There was something else Ruby had learned through her continuing efforts, practicing this technique. In its own way, the Aura of the World was more...real...in a sense that Ruby couldn't quite explain. It had nothing to do with the properties of lightning or electricity, and everything to do with the nature of Aura itself. The power of the One was more persistent and present than that of any single person, no matter how powerful a person was, even if that person was someone like Kyo.

Because of that, awakening to this technique allowed Ruby to realize that it could be used for something more than attacks, however brilliant or elaborate they might be. It could be used to complete the one technique she'd been seeking to perfect before. Relaxing her body, Ruby allowed the power of her lightning to flow from her swords and into her cloak.

"Tenyo no Hana."

The effect was completely different from before. Rather than exploding outward, Ruby's cloak instead bloomed, as though it had been planted with countless seeds. Petals, that were also like feathers, blossomed across its surface, humming with energy, scintillating colors dancing over them.

"Ruby!" called Jaune nervously. He, Weiss, and Pyrrha looked on uneasily at the sight, well aware of the limitations of Ruby's most rarely-used technique.

"It's okay," said Ruby.

Pyrrha's eyes traced over Ruby's cloak. It was a beautiful technique to be sure. Then Pyrrha realized something. The petals aren't dropping away.

In previous uses of this technique, the petals that had formed across Ruby's cloak had periodically dropped off on their own, a symptom of its inherent instability, the fact that its activity was constantly burning Ruby's Aura. But now, the cloak remained whole, each of those feathers looking tangible and whole, despite being formed from pure plasma.

For his part, Tyrian backpedaled farther, his body tensing. This was beyond what he'd been told the girl was capable of. Her abilities had already exceeded his expectations several times over, through the course of this battle. Before now, that had been exciting, entertaining even. But now...it was daunting. For the first time since the fight had begun, the victory that Tyrian had been so certain would be his looked to be slipping away, and the realization reached him that this girl might actually be capable of defeating him, especially with her friends helping her.

Tyrian's arms and legs began to quiver. Those tremors traveled into the rest of his body, which began to shake in its entirety. Suddenly, Tyrian hunched forward, dipping his head towards the ground. Then he raised his face to look at Ruby. His eyes were practically shining with excitement, his grin fiercer and wider than ever before. How exciting! How thrilling! Before, it was nothing more than play. But now...it's a real fight.

Ruby's swords were hidden from view, the feathered edges of her cloak covering them completely, enshrouding her arms as well. From this perspective, Ruby looked practically unarmed, only the straightened contours of the hem, down to the corners of her garment, indicating the presence of her blades. In this state, it would make tracking their movements difficult.

Tyrian licked his lips eagerly. He could sense the power and danger emanating from the beautiful garment that enshrouded Ruby's body. Between that trailing cloak and the hood, she was almost completely covered against attacks from behind or the sides. The cloak was basically a set of electrified armor, which wouldn't simply block his attacks, but pay him back with jolts from the lightning that infused it. The only openings in that defense were below its edge, if he aimed for Ruby's feet and ankles...and...directly from the front, where her swords waited to strike. If he actually wanted to land a hit on her, Tyrian would have no choice but to come at his enemy from head-on.

With an eager grin, Tyrian sank down on all fours, then launched himself straight at Ruby with a wild shout.

Hazel's back slammed against the wall, shattering the concrete, his body even imbedding itself into it slightly. He growled, raising his head, then pulled free with an angry roar. Reaching into his pouches, he drew out several more Dust-crystals, fire-Dust this time, and proceeded to jam them into the skin of his upper arms alongside the lightning-Dust already imbedded there.

In front of him, Ozpin and Glynda stood together, both of them looking slightly daunted, despite seemingly having the edge in this conflict.

"His Aura recharges so quickly," commented Glynda.

Ozpin nodded. "He is capable of drawing out more through sheer willpower. However, there is a price to be paid for relying on that kind of power. Unfortunately, his Semblance allows him to check that consequence a good deal longer than any other person would."

Glynda nodded.

With another angry roar, Hazel charged forward, his body moving even faster this time. He closed the distance between himself and the professors in a flash. Glynda flicked her riding crop out, sending a barrage of violet bolts flying at the enormous man. However, Hazel bulled through them as though they were little more than gnats.

Ozpin was a greenish blur as he dashed forward to meet Hazel halfway. Ozpin's cane cracked against the fire and lightning sheathing Hazel's fist, Ozpin launching a blurring succession of blows. Hazel either warded them off with his forearms or simply powered through them to lead with a mighty punch that forced Ozpin to leap aside, a blast of combined fire and lightning rushing through the space the Headmaster had once occupied to explode against the floor.

Hazel's reflexes actually seemed to have increased, following his second infusion of Dust, already turning to follow Ozpin, where before he would have only been able to react after Ozpin's cane cracked against the back of his head. Instead, the cane struck against Hazel's upraised forearm. Hazel knocked Ozpin's cane aside and followed up with a punch from his opposite fist. Ozpin brought up his Aura, conjuring a barrier of emerald energy between him and the incoming blow. But it only partially ablated the force of Hazel's punch, the blast of fire and lightning that accompanied it sending Ozpin flying back to slam directly into the same crater in the wall that Hazel had left earlier.

"Ozpin!" shouted Glynda, furiously waving her crop.

Hazel immediately followed up by charging the momentarily stunned Headmaster, roaring with pure animalistic fury, he unleashed a barrage of powerful punches that completely pulverized the concrete wall. However, the sensation of his fists pounding into the flesh and blood of his hated enemy eluded him, and Hazel's punches slowed to a stop. The reason why quickly became apparent.

Glynda had used her Telekinesis to assemble a barrier of broken concrete, interposing it between Ozpin and Hazel's fists. While Hazel had been pounding away, Glynda had broken up the concrete all around herself, adding it to the rubble from previous exchanges, binding it together into a heavy, dense barrier between him and Ozpin. Of course, Hazel's blows were enough to reduce such concrete to the consistency of powder from a single hit. But Glynda simply brought in more rubble, continually refreshing the barrier to keep up with Hazel's attack.

Abruptly, the remaining rubble accelerated right at Hazel in a barrage. With an angry growl, the man crossed his arms, ducking his head behind them to take the blows, deflecting it with a powerful surge of his Aura. When Glynda's attack ended, Hazel raised his head again, only to see the blurring form of Ozpin's cane flying at him in a barrage of swift, powerful thrusts. Hazel's body jerked repeatedly as Ozpin struck around his arms, hitting his chest, abdomen, and face, before putting all his strength into a final blow that knocked Hazel backwards.

Finding himself looking up at the ceiling as he flew, Hazel saw still more broken concrete, winding through the air in streams, weaving together to form a single gigantic spike, which plunged down to slam into his stomach, driving him to the floor. The spike then broke back up into individual pieces of rubble, which pounded down on him in a deadly hail, before piling up and burying the man.

Glynda didn't stop there though. Using her Semblance, she condensed the rubble, squeezing Hazel tightly within its embrace. The outer layers began to quickly fuse together, their forms melding, becoming as though they were a single, solid object. Finally, under the sheer pressure of Glynda's Semblance, and her ability to manipulate matter on a molecular level, the entire pile of concrete pieces was fused into a single, solid mound, with Hazel trapped in its center.

Glynda lowered her riding crop, gasping for breath. She sank down to one knee. It had taken every ounce of her strength to perform such a feat, particularly to apply so much pressure. That has to be enough, she thought.

Then, from within the mound, a groaning sound emerged, followed by a faint rumbling.

"It can't be..." Glynda whispered, her eyes going wide with shock.

"Glynda!" Ozpin skidded to a stop in front of her, planting his cane into the floor, calling up a domed barrier once more.

He was just in time, the concrete mass in front of them exploding outward with an echoing roar, as much that of flames and thunder as it was Hazel's exclamation of unquenchable rage. Superheated fragments of concrete, some of them as large as the torso of an average person, were sent flying through the air like comets. The shockwave rocked the room. Several chunks shattered against Ozpin's barrier, thrown with enough force to make his feet skid backwards slightly. Behind it, Ozpin grunted at the exertion of maintaining it.

At the center of the explosion, Hazel stood tall, arms thrown out wide, head tilted back, mouth hanging open. Finally, his voice died away, and Hazel slowly lowered his eyes back to his enemies. Glynda's attack hadn't left him untouched. Several small cuts bled on his face and through tears in his shirt. A small trickle also ran from the corner of his mouth. What was more, angry black veins ran down the length of his arms, out to his fists, also stretching up his neck and face, replacing the glowing ones that had been produced by the Dust he'd infused into his body.

The Dust crystals themselves crumbled, their color having faded to mostly gray, with only a tiny hint of their original hues. Where they had been, the skin of Hazel's arms was torn and blistered,

"Is he...?" wondered Glynda.

"Yes, he's self-destructing," said Ozpin. And not a moment too soon, he thought. Ozpin was also reaching the limits of his own strength. Thanks to several lifetimes worth of accumulated experience, he was a masterful combatant. Unfortunately, even with all his skill and experience, he had his limits. His current incarnation was gradually losing ground to the steady march of time, so he could no longer fight at his fullest capacity for as long as he used to. Competing with Hazel; whose rage and hatred allowed him to push his Aura past its limits continuously; and his Semblance, which enabled him to power through both damage that would have incapacitated anyone else, as well as enhance his body with an inhuman amount of Dust; would have been a task beyond Ozpin on his own. However, with Glynda's assistance, they had finally managed to push the man to the point where his rage couldn't carry him much further.

And still, Hazel's eyes lost none of their determination. Even though his shoulders heaved with each breath he took, he remained standing tall. Even though his hands shook from exhaustion, he still reached for the pouches at his belt. Even though the injection sites were already horrifically mangled, Hazel still prepared to use them again.

"Let's end this quickly," said Ozpin, raising his cane. Beside him, Glynda nodded, rising up and brandishing her riding crop.

Hazel growled, baring bloody teeth, his hands reaching inside his pouches to obtain a fresh supply of Dust.

"Now this ain't gonna fly, buddy."

All three combatants froze in place. From behind Hazel, a black-garbed figure stepped out with a jingle of bells from the tips of his fool's cap.

This must be Jester, thought Ozpin, frowning in confusion, unable to figure out where the man had come from, or when he'd arrived. It was as though he'd stepped out of thin air.

"Hazel, buddy, keep this up and yer gonna do yerself a mischief," drawled Jester, grinning up at the larger man.

"Stay out of this," growled Hazel, glaring down at him. "I will make Ozpin pay."

"Nah," said Jester, waving a dismissive hand. "You can't. His backup's too good for that. You're gonna fall short of the mark. Is that how you wanna go, revenge forever out of your reach, just 'cause you didn't know when to stop?"

Hazel grit his teeth, a low rumble building in his chest.

Jester chuckled, bringing up his right hand to tap the skull-topped marotte against his shoulder. "There's no need to get upset, buddy. After all, even if someone gets to Ozpin first, you won't have missed out. That's the nice thing about an enemy who reincarnates. You'll always get another crack at him."

"That's not good enough," snarled Hazel. "Killing him once isn't enough. He needs to die as many times as it takes to pry him free of his unnatural grip on this world. I will make him suffer over and over again."

Hazel began to stride forward, ready to begin the battle anew. Glynda and Ozpin both readied themselves. Jester, meanwhile, shook his head in disappointment.

"Honestly, just a big brat throwing a tantrum, aren't you..." he mused. Abruptly, he darted forward, skipping high enough off the ground to reach Hazel's face, appearing to lightly tap him on the temple with the fingers of his left hand. As inconsequential as the move looked, Hazel's eyes rolled up and he collapsed bonelessly, out cold.

"Hup," grunted Jester, somehow slinging Hazel's enormous body over his left shoulder. Then he turned his teasing grin on Ozpin. "Not gonna demand I leave him behind, are ya?"

"Somehow, I get the feeling that I could not make you," said Ozpin, drawing a surprised gasp from Glynda.

"Smart man," said Jester, chuckling.

"You're him, aren't you..." asked Ozpin, "...the one that Kyo referred to...the one who prevents the Mibu Clan from interfering in anything to do with Salem?"

Glynda gasped more harshly, staring at the man before them.

"Well well...this Kyo's been the talkative one, I see," said Jester, his grin widening, his body beginning to darken before their eyes, the malevolent waves of his Aura seeming to steal the light from the air around him. "Hmm...Perhaps I aught to go remind him why the Mibu don't cross me." He paused seeming to consider it. "Nah...He ain't crossed the line...yet. Still, if he really hooks up with that Fall Maiden of yours, his time'll come sooner or later."

"Who are you?" asked Ozpin.

"Stories like that aren't meant to be told in places like this," replied Jester. "Instead, I'll just take my buddies and take my leave. You and yours have won the battle this time, kiddo. 'Course, I don't have to tell you that the war's still on. I'm sure you know when the decisive battle will be."

Ozpin nodded gravely.

Abruptly, a shrill scream echoed through the room, coming from where Team RASP battled Tyrian. Jester canted his head in their direction, his grin widening. "Ah! That's my cue. Later...brat."

With that...he was gone.

Tyrian and Ruby collided. Despite the blades of Ruby's swords being hidden by the sweeping edges of her cloak, Tyrian was able to find them easily enough. He didn't even seem to mind the electric jolts that ran through his arms with every contact with her electrified cloak. For her part, Ruby swept the garment around her, the feathered petals seeming to flow, as though the entire cloak was something amorphous. From within that shifting, distracting mass, her swords flashed out in streaks of crimson, their bright lines cutting through the air.

After their first clash, the two fighters fell back. But several feathers detached from Ruby's cloak, flying at Tyrian, who danced and flipped his way between them, the feathers exploding where they hit the floor around him, filling the air with flames and crackling arcs of lightning. Coming out of his spin, Tyrian saw that Ruby was no longer in front of him. However, his honed combat instincts alerted him to the shifting and buzzing of the air behind him, indicating that Ruby had flanked him. He jumped forward, planting one hand against the floor to spring away from Ruby's swords, which intersected right where his neck had been. Had he not dodged, her attack would have beheaded him.

Even as he escaped out of the way, Tyrian struck back, lashing out with his tail, the stinger flying right for one of Ruby's silver eyes. However, Ruby simply shifted her head slightly, interposing her hood between her face and the incoming attack. Tyrian's stinger glanced off the hood, feeling as though it had struck a solid steel impediment...an electrified steel impediment.

The surging electricity danced its way up his tail and into his body, where it prompted Tyrian's spine to arch, his muscles seizing. Ruby rushed forward to take advantage. But, somehow, Tyrian was able to control his spasms, making his body lurch even more unpredictably, and carrying him out of the immediate path of Ruby's next couple of swings. Landing on his back, Tyrian went into a roll that brought him back to his feet, his body quickly recovering from the electrocution, allowing him to bring up his arms. Ruby gasped, her eyes widening as she found herself staring down the barrels of Tyrian's guns.

The chatter of rapid shots echoed out, and Ruby backpedaled, sweeping her cloak up and around herself to fend off the bullets, which bounced off with angry sparking and crackling noises. At the same time, she detached more feathered petals, which arced through the air to bombard Tyrian, and the area around him.

Ruby came to a stop only for Tyrian to seem to materialize right behind her, wrist blades swinging for her neck from behind. Of course, such an attack was futile against the defense of her cloak, unless Tyrian could muster enough strength to enhance the edges of his blades to cut through the protective force that wreathed her body. But that was hardly Tyrian's intention. Instead, at the same time he slashed at Ruby's neck from behind, his tail arced up and over to reach over Ruby's head to swing down, bringing the barb flying right at her face from overhead.

To his surprise, his blades actually cut through Ruby's cloak easily. In fact, he barely even felt a tingle from the contact. At the same time, his tail arced up, around, and down, punching all the way through the back of her hood. Then the entire garment scattered into several flickering feathers, that quickly sparked out of existence, revealing that Ruby was no longer where he'd last seen her.

Immediately, Tyrian tensed, readying himself for Ruby to counterattack from an unexpected direction. However, he was caught off-guard when the counter didn't come from Ruby.

The dissipating remnants of the shredded cloak masked the glow from below, keeping Tyrian from realizing that he was standing in the center of one of Weiss' Summoning Glyphs...until it was too late. The next thing Tyrian knew, an armored fist erupted upwards. Tyrian tried to dodge, only to bring his chin into line with the blow, which launched him upwards with a powerful uppercut.

The blow knocked Tyrian over backwards, giving him a view of the ceiling above, and the form of Pyrrha descending, Milo in its sword-form, raised in both hands. With a shout, she brought the weapon down, Tyrian crossing his bracers to intercept it with his pincer-shaped blades. However, behind Pyrrha, her shield, guided by her Polarity, dove down as well, accelerated to the fullest extent she was capable of. It slammed into the back edge of her sword, right at the same instant its leading edge slammed into Tyrian's defense, Pyrrha's training and skill with her Semblance enabling her to time the impact perfectly. The force sent Tyrian plummeting downward at an angle to slam into the floor with enough force to shatter it...

...If he were to hit the floor, that was...

But Jaune had now positioned himself directly below Tyrian, shield raised. Just as Tyrian's back slammed into it, Crocea Mors' Aura flared a brilliant white, and the force of Tyrian's impact slammed back into him, throwing him off the shield with a cry. That white light flowed out of the shield, and across into the sword, which Jaune swung with a determined shout. Twisting, Tyrian managed to get his bracers up, but the attack sent him flying...right at Ruby.

Ruby swept her sword through a broad, circular pass. As she did, the blade seemed to catch on the petals of her cloak, pulling it along with the blade's movements. Ruby's cloak flowed, the feathery petals melting together and condensing into and around Akaibara's blade, The entirety of the garment vanished into the sword, leaving Ruby clad only in her kimono and armor as she raised the blade overhead. Now Tyrian was flying towards her, his eyes wide as he watched the blade come down.

Tyrian lashed downwards with his tail, anchoring the barb into the floor. Overcoming his momentum strained his appendage to the extent that it nearly felt as though it was going to rip free from his body. Still, exerting every ounce of his Aura and strength, Tyrian was able to alter his course, swinging his body aside, out of the way, just in time. Ruby's sword descended with a sound like a clap of thunder, a shining, blue-white flash, tinged with red, filled the air. A crescent-blade of pure energy flew out along the line of Ruby's attack. Tyrian's response managed to pull his body out of the path...but his tail was still anchored to the floor.

Tyrian's shrill scream reached every inch of the room. The crazed man slammed into the floor, bouncing and rolling to a stop. The bulbous segments of his tail trailed behind him, lacking their characteristic stinger. Instead, a stream of sickly-purple fluid spilled out from it, splattering across the floor, eating sizzling holes in the concrete.

"Y-you...You bitch!" screamed Tyrian, his voice wheezing with pain and anger. He glared at her, his smile nowhere to be seen, tears actually leaking from his eyes as what remained of his tail whipped behind him, still scattering goblets of poison.

Ruby took a deep breath, summoning her Aura once more. Petals flowed outward from her body, gathering around her shoulders, moving both up and down, reforming her cloak and hood, though the trailing edge of her cloak was ragged, and several holes dotted the Aura-conjured fabric. The fight had been a lot harder than Ruby would have liked, even with her friends supporting her. That last attack in particular had taken a lot out of her, and she was more than a little troubled by her inability to finish it with that blow.

On top of that, in his own way, Tyrian was more dangerous than ever. Sure, she'd removed what was probably one of his deadliest weapons. But the tradeoff was that he would be more unpredictable than before. The look on his face clearly indicated that this was no longer a game to him. He might not even care that he was supposed to take her alive anymore. On top of that, while he'd lost his sting, the stump of his tail was still throwing out droplets of deadly poison with every pained lash, the spatter of which could do plenty of harm on its own.

Swallowing, Ruby divided Akaibara, taking up her swords once more, preparing to resume the battle.

"Dang, Tyrian. Looks like she did a number on you."

Ruby froze, her entire body going stiff at the sight of Jester, who appeared behind Tyrian as though he'd always been there, his grin still in place, the massive form of Hazel slung over his left shoulder as though the enormous man didn't weigh a thing.

"You...!" snarled Tyrian, his golden eyes turning violet as he faced Jester, his voice conveying nothing but hatred for the ridiculously-dressed man.

"Me," agreed Jester.

"What do you want?" growled Tyrian. "You don't belong here."

"I can agree with that," said Jester. "But that's true for you now. The plan is a wreck. The time's come to call it a loss and get gone, buddy. We're pulling out."

"Hey!" shouted Weiss, stepping forward, only to find herself forestalled by Ibara, Ruby holding out the blade to keep Weiss from advancing another step.

"Don't," said Ruby firmly, risking a glance back at her friend. "We're no match for him."

Jester chuckled. "Perceptive as always, Little Rose. I'm looking forward to seeing how much you can grow."

"Enough!" snapped Tyrian, whirling around. "I have a mission. But a clown like you wouldn't know anything about duty."

Jester sighed, his smile actually faltering slightly. "Knowing when to fall back is also a part of one's duty," he said, seeming to merely tap Tyrian in the side of the head.

In an instant, Tyrian was completely unconscious, falling forward, only kept from landing on his face by virtue of Jester grabbing the collar of his vest. "Well...that's all for today. Good work on clearing this hurdle, Little Rose."

A second later, his form swam and swirled inward on itself, Jester vanishing from sight, along with his cargo, leaving Team RASP alone...well...not completely. Ozpin and Glynda had been deprived of their opponent as well. But the sounds of battle still carried across the chamber, from where Team RYNB still fought against Mason's soldiers and androids.

"We're all alive," noted Jaune. "But it doesn't really feel like we won."

"That's the second time for me, lately," grumbled Ruby. "But let's help the others take out those soldiers. That'll help us feel better."

"Sounds like a plan to me," said Pyrrha.