158

Chapter 158:

"Ms. Rose..." Ruby looked over, surprised to see Ozpin approaching her and her friends along the wall. As he walked, nearly everyone he passed gave the Headmaster a wide berth, his appearance attracting a number of different looks. There were sad looks, angry looks, pained looks, frightened looks, and disgusted looks. People had seen Ozpin's story, thanks to Jinn, and it seemed that they had come to hold a variety of different opinions of him as a consequence of that.

"Professor," said Ruby, greeting him with a small smile.

Ozpin came a stop, his expression briefly washing forlorn. "I suppose...you have things to say to me."

"I guess I do," said Ruby. Ozpin looked down, resting his cane on the top of the wall, his hands resting on top of that. It almost seemed as though he was afraid to look at Ruby's face, and hear what she had to say, certain that all she would have for him was condemnation.

He was surprised though, when Ruby's hands came to rest upon his.

"Thank you," said Ruby softly.

"What?" Ozpin's voice was little more than a surprised whisper.

Ruby beamed warmly at him. "You've been fighting...all this time. You've given so much...I think we can say, in some way, however indirectly, that we are here, because of you, and everything that you've done."

Even Ruby's friends were taken aback by that observation. They all had different opinions about Ozpin, after Jinn's story. Not many of them thought well of him, considering what they had learned. He had lied to them, deceived them, even after he had promised that he would tell them everything. More than a few of them felt that they deserved to know the truth of what they were up against, not be fed falsehoods and partial truths, manipulated into a war that there seemed to be no way of winning.

But, as Ruby had pointed out, Ozpin had been fighting this war against Salem for so long, over the course of so many lives. Whatever they had lost and sacrificed, he had lost and sacrificed tenfold. Not only that, but after learning that he had such a deep, personal connection with Salem, they couldn't exactly blame him for not wanting to talk about how he had ended up in an ultimate conflict with the woman he had once loved.

"Ms. Rose...what will you do?" asked Ozpin.

Ruby turned to gaze out at the approaching horde. They were maybe an hour away at most. And that largely seemed to be because they were moving at a sedate pace. If Salem chose to make them run, instead of walk, they would be at the walls in mere minutes, to say nothing of the flyers. There was no telling what the top speed of the whale-Grimm was. Perhaps it was flying as fast as it could, and the rest of the Grimm were keeping in formation with it.

"I'll go out to them," said Ruby.

A chorus of gasps rose around her.

"Ruby! That's crazy!" Yang exclaimed, her eyes wide.

"Y-yeah...you'll never make it!" added Nora.

"We should work to shore up our defenses and fight them off here," added Weiss.

"That won't work," said Ruby, giving them all a sober look. "You know it won't."

Eyes darted towards the approaching army. They could see Ruby was right. It wasn't a matter of strategy and tactics anymore. Against a horde of that size, all those things went out the window. The sheer volume of Grimm would swamp their defenses in minutes. There were enough to completely encircle Vale, and invade from all directions. The sheer number of flying Grimm would enable them to easily overcome the rate of fire of the Kingdom's anti-air defenses. And, even though Huntsmen, Huntresses, and students from all around the world had gathered here for the Vytal Festival, their presence was nothing more than a drop in the bucket against a mass of Grimm at this size.

"That's why we have to stop her...stop Salem," said Ruby. "If I can go out to her, and take her down, then the horde will break up."

If that happened, then the presence of Makoto would drive the Grimm away, even if the radius of effect for him wasn't as wide as Kyo's.

"It won't be easy, Ms. Rose," Ozpin observed, also turning to look out over the horde. "Even if Salem is confident in her own immortality, the fact remains that she will use the Grimm currently serving under her to try and stop you. Even with your training, getting out there by yourself would be no easy feat."

"But I won't be by myself, will I?" asked Ruby, turning to her friends.

Jaune smiled warmly. "You're damn right you won't."

"Agreed," added Pyrrha.

"Well...I have reservations about this," noted Weiss, before smirking at Ruby. "But I certainly can't let you leave me behind."

"You're not going without me," added Yang.

"I couldn't live with myself if I stayed behind," said Blake.

"We're coming too," added Nora, tightly gripping Ren's hand.

"We have your back," added Ren.

"You're not going without us, either," said Natsuki, coming up alongside Setsuna, Miyu, and Oscar.

"We shall accompany you as well," declared Ciel, alongside Piper, Penny, and Rain; all of whom nodded in agreement.

"Wish we could join you," said Shinrei, coming up to join them. Keikoku, Chinmei, and Taihaku were also behind him.

Ruby noticed that their wounds were healed. "Are you still hurt?" she asked.

"Nah," said Shinrei, affecting an annoyed expression as he rubbed the back of his head. "Sasame's still busy with Kyo, but Miyu-chan was able to fix us up easily enough. Jester was just playing around with us, annoying as it is to admit that."

"We will shore up the defenses," declared Taihaku firmly. "With us helping to hold the line, we can buy you additional time, even against these numbers."

"Focus on doing what you need to do," said Makoto, approaching from behind Ozpin, Ironwood and Glynda walking beside him. "We shall keep the Kingdom secure."

Ozpin had been watching Ruby carefully, all throughout this. Finally, he closed his eyes. "I shall go too," he said.

"Ozpin-!" protested Glynda, stepping forward.

Ozpin cut her off by holding up his hand, a wan smile on his face. "I think we both know that my time as Beacon's Headmaster is at an end."

Glynda frowned unhappily, but didn't object either.

Ozpin sighed. "And...while you may or may not forgive me, I would not be surprised if you could not find it in your hearts to ever fully trust me again...if at all. So, at the very least, I should do what I can to bring an end to this, once and for all."

He sighed tiredly. "If that truly is possible, despite everything I long believed, then there will be no more need for any such deceptions...not that there is anything left to hide anymore."

"Oz..." whispered Ironwood.

"I'm coming too," rasped a gravelly voice, a familiar figure pushing through the crowd to approach Ruby.

"Uncle Qrow!" exclaimed Ruby.

He wasn't alone. Walking alongside him were Yukimura, Blaine, and Maria. Blaine walked up to Jaune.

"Are you sure about this, son?" he asked worriedly. "Your mother is going to kill me, if she finds out I let you go through with this."

"I'm sure," said Jaune. "I belong beside Ruby...through thick and thin."

Blaine sighed, then gave his son a smile. "You're a good man...a better one than me. I wish I could come with you."

"Mom and the girls wouldn't be able to get over it, if anything happened to you," said Jaune. "Keep 'em safe, Dad."

"I will," Blaine promised.

Meanwhile, Maria was speaking to Oscar. "Your Aunt is gonna give me an earful for sure, once she finds out I let you do this," she said.

"Yeah," admitted Oscar with a sigh. "But..." He glanced at Natsuki. "...I don't want to live with that regret, feeling that I should've done something, but didn't."

Maria cackled. "You sound like a proper Huntsman, my boy. Go give those Grimm hell."

"Yes, Ma'am," said Oscar, smiling warmly down at his teacher.

Maria gave him one last grin, before turning and ambling towards Ruby, who was talking softly with Yukimura, while Qrow stood off to the side. Apparently, her godfather would be remaining behind to help the defenders, which was fine by Ruby. Ironically, she was beginning to get an idea of what her father had felt, when he had thought about her going off to fight and risk her life, with the possibility she might never come back. The thought of losing her godfather, whom she'd only found out about recently, was something that made her shudder. So she was glad that he would be staying behind, where it was marginally safer.

"I heard you've mastered those eyes of yours," said Maria, now coming into earshot of Ruby, as she wrapped up her conversation with Yukimura with one last hug.

"I wouldn't say that," said Ruby, turning to regard the woman who had briefly been her teacher, during the festival. "But...I think I'm starting to get an idea of what to do with them."

"Then you're a damn sight better with them than I was," noted Maria. "I had no idea they might have the capability to do what you've done with 'em."

Ruby sighed. "Well...as much as I hate to say it, Jester is right. Even if this power of the Silver Eyes comes from the God of Light, because we're human, we can do more with it than a god could."

"Is it odd that that frightens me as much as it gives me hope?" wondered Maria.

"Nope," said Ruby, giving her a wry smile. "Thank you for everything, Maria."

"Make sure you come back alive," said Maria. "And look after Oscar for me, please. His Aunt is going to blister my ears for letting him take part in this madness. If anything happens to the boy, she'll be using my hide for a fireplace rug."

"I'll do what I can," promised Ruby.

Weiss watched all these interactions with a wistful smile on her face. She glanced sidelong at Pyrrha, who was also looking on with a warm expression. One of the first things Pyrrha had done, after regaining consciousness, was check on the status of her parents. Fortunately, the clinic they were being treated in was close to where the safe zone had been established, and they had been amongst the first evacuees.

A hand suddenly rested on Weiss' shoulder, making her jump. Turning around, her eyes widened at the sight of who had come up behind her. "Winter!" Her gaze slid to Winter's left. "Whitley?"

"Dear Sister," said Whitley in a teasing tone, "you didn't think you could go haring off on such a fool's errand, and not expect us to have something to say about it, did you?"

"Uh...Well..." Weiss was a little unbalanced. Winter's presence didn't surprise her all that much. But she hadn't been expecting Whitley to come as well, and not just because he was a civilian. Even though they had buried that hatchet, and Weiss had turned over her claim to the SDC to him, she found it a little strange that he would so openly express concern for her wellbeing.

"After all, I expect you to be around to vex Father for a very long time coming," continued Whitley, giving her a wry smile. "The entertainment I derive from that is well worth wishing for your survival."

"Cheeky," commented Weiss, unable to keep a smirk from her face. "I plan on making trouble for Father for a very long time to come."

Winter frowned. "I would rather you didn't do this, Weiss," she said. "This is a danger far beyond what I would accept, for a student your age. This is beyond the scope of what even most professional Huntsmen would ever be expected to do."

"Even so...it has to be done," countered Weiss.

Winter sighed, before giving Weiss a resolute look. "Just be sure you come out of this alive. I do not want to tell Ms. Forrest that you died out there."

"I'll come back," Weiss promised.

Finished saying her farewells to her siblings, Weiss turned, then flinched back in surprise. At some point, Dove had come up to Pyrrha. Now they were wrapped in a tight embrace, kissing each other deeply. Blushing, Weiss averted her eyes from the display, only to find herself looking at Sun and Blake in a similar situation, which prompted her face to heat up even more.

After a long, intense kiss, Dove pulled away. "I wish I could go with you," he said.

"You're needed here," said Pyrrha, cupping his cheeks. "Even if Ruby succeeds, there's no telling what the Grimm will do, without Salem to lead them. They could attack anywhere."

"Yeah," conceded Dove. "But you're going to be in the thick of it."

"We'll get through this," Pyrrha promised.

"You'd better," said Dove, leaning in to rest his forehead against hers.

Meanwhile, Blake and Sun were parting as well, with Sun's tail still wrapping tightly around Blake's waist.

"I should be out there with you," he said determinedly.

"Stay and fight alongside your team," said Blake. "I'll feel better, knowing that someone like you is on the walls."

"I'll do my best," Sun promised her.

"And I will too," Blake replied, leaning in to kiss him again.

"Blake!"

Pulling away from Sun, Blake blinked in surprise to see Ilia managing to weave her way through the crowd to reach her.

"I'm glad you're okay," said Blake, quickly hugging her friend, prompting an embarrassed blush from Ilia.

"...I should be the one saying that," said Ilia, after a moment's pause, before hugging Blake back.

"I thought you were under arrest," said Blake, pulling back to look Ilia over. She was dressed in her combat outfit again, and even had Lightning Lash at her side, hardly the kind of situation a prisoner of Atlas and Vale would be expected to be in.

Ilia gave Blake a wry smile. "Since I was helping fight the White Fang, Ozpin said it was only logical that I wouldn't be expected to do it unarmed. Winter said that she's going to request clemency for me, once this is over."

"What about Neo?" asked Blake.

"She's doing all right," said Ilia. "Thanks to your friend's sister, she's pretty much completely recovered now. She needs a replacement weapon though."

Blake nodded.

Ilia's smile faded. "Blake...what I heard...Is it true? Are you really going...out there?" She swallowed nervously, glancing out at the approaching swarm.

Blake nodded. "Ruby's going out there, and we can't let her go alone."

"You'll come back, right?" asked Ilia.

"Of course I will," said Blake. "Look after things here for me, all right."

"All right," said Ilia, nodding reluctantly.

"Thank you," said Blake softly.

The exchange continued, Ruby and her friends trading farewells with the friends they'd made at Beacon, as well as over the course of the Vytal Festival. However, before long, Ozpin gently rapped the tip of his cane against the floor, calling their attention to him.

"I know that it is difficult," he said. "However, it is time that we went. We cannot allow Salem to draw any closer, before launching our attack."

"Right," said Ruby.

"Very well then," said Ozpin. "All the members of the attack team, please assemble alongside me. Glynda, if you would..."

Glynda nodded, drawing her riding crop and readying it. RASP, RYNB, CPPR, MNPS, and Qrow gathered around Ozpin. Drawing their weapons, they faced out over the wall, watching the Grimm horde that drew closer with each passing second. Glynda raised her crop. A violet glow emanated from the floor beneath the gathered attackers, forming into a sigil as Glynda readied herself to use Dust-boosted telekinesis. With a flick of her crop, she pointed out at the Grimm. The array beneath the fighters' feet flashed brilliantly, and they were launched through the air, Glynda's power sending them flying out towards the leading edge of the Grimm horde.

"Good luck," Glynda said softly, tracing the arcs they drew through the sky as they headed towards what appeared to be certain death.

Meanwhile, Makoto was giving orders to the Goyosei assembled before him. "Deploy outside the wall," he said. "Cut down all that come within your range. Spare no effort."

The Goyosei bowed in acknowledgement, before leaping off the wall, then darting along its length to take positions apart from one another, prepared to use all their strength to hold off as much of the Grimm forces as they could.

"All students and Huntsmen, please head to the designated positions that are being sent to your scrolls," ordered Ironwood.

Ironwood and Makoto had quickly hashed out a strategy for the best defensive formation that they could manage. The Goyosei were powerful, but their reach limited. As such, there was only so much of Vale's defensive perimeter that each one could cover. If they deployed so that their combined areas of influence had no gaps between them, they would only be able to cover a portion of even just the northern wall. However, Spreading out as evenly as they could, they could each take substantial responsibility for a sizable portion of the perimeter, with the forces of Atlas and Vale; supplemented by the Huntsmen, Huntresses, and students; filling in the gaps. The resulting channels would also have the consequence of funneling the Grimm into the defenders' lines of fire, ensuring that they would be able to hold out better, given that they could concentrate their strength, rather than try to spread it out across the entire perimeter.

Of course, even this strategy was a stopgap at best. From the looks of things, Salem had somehow rallied more Grimm than anyone would have thought existed on the entire continent of Sanus. Even if they protected the northern perimeter of Vale and Beacon, the sheer number of Grimm would allow them to gradually sweep around to the sides and encircle the Kingdom in its entirety. When that happened, there was no hope of holding the defensive perimeter. Therefore, their best chance at getting through this was praying that Ruby's group was able to stop Salem, before that seemingly inevitable fate occurred.

It was a long shot, but might well be the only hope they had.

As Ruby's team of attackers descended towards the incoming Grimm, Ozpin shouted to be heard over the rush of wind in their ears. "Focus on breaking through! Open a path for Ms. Rose."

Ruby frowned, not liking the idea of her friends fighting on her behalf, while she simply followed along behind them. However, she understood the purpose behind Ozpin's orders. In order to face Salem and Jester, she would need to martial every ounce of strength and stamina she possessed. Every Grimm she had to deal with on the way to her true enemies, however inconsequential it might have been on its own, represented a drain on the energy she would need to reserve for the real fight. Because of that, as soon as they touched down, she paused, allowing the others to move up ahead of her.

The entire group found themselves facing a wave of Grimm. There were Ursas, Creeps, and Beowolves, of course. They were joined by thundering herds of Goliaths and Boarbatusks. Sabyrs, which typically appeared in the tundras of Solitas, charged alongside Dromedons, Jackalopes, and Ziraphs that usually inhabited the deserts around Vacuo. In the air, Nevermores and Griffons shared space with Manticores, Sphinxes, Teryx, and Ravagers. It almost seemed as though Salem had called upon Grimm from every continent and region in the world for the purpose of this one attack...and maybe she had.

Given the way things had played out, the original plan had apparently been to bring Vale down through a more mundane type of Grimm attack, while eroding their ability to resist it from within. However, it didn't seem likely that Salem would have prepared a force like this merely as a backup plan, if her original effort failed. It was certainly too soon, if she had simply decided to dispense with subtlety because Jester had put everything out into the open at the beginning of the attack.

Maybe Jester still put her up to it, thought Ruby.

If that was the case, then it might have actually been a good thing. If she had drawn Grimm that would be attacking other places, then maybe the situation outside of Vale wasn't as dire as it had initially seemed. However, they wouldn't know until later if that was the case.

It seemed odd, yet there was no denying that Salem's army was now at Vale's doorstep, there wasn't much time to worry about why Salem had suddenly changed strategies so drastically. At this point, all she could do was press forward and do her best to bring this to an end, in a way that didn't end with everything else coming to an end as well.

Ozpin and Qrow took the lead. Ruby had seen her uncle fight before. However, this was her first time seeing Beacon's Headmaster, the current incarnation of the Wizard who'd created the Maidens, go into battle. The last time she'd been in his vicinity, while he'd been fighting, Ruby had been too preoccupied by her own fight with Tyrian. By his own admission, Ozpin had nothing more than a tiny fragment of his original magic, which meant that his battle strength would likely take some other form.

The instant his feet touched down on the forest floor, Ozpin shot forward at a speed that left Ruby breathless. The technique wasn't the same, yet his speed was easily a match for her Shukuchi. The distance between him and the first Ursa bearing down on them vanished in an instant. In a flash, his cane thrust out in front of him. Despite not bearing a point at its end, it still pierced through the Ursa's chest as though it were every bit as sharp as Weiss' rapier. The bearlike Grimm lurched with a roar of pain, before finding itself blown backwards by the raw power behind Ozpin's attack. A trio of Beowolves leapt over the Ursa's tumbling body, lunging at Ozpin in its wake. However, the Headmaster's cane was a flickering blur, unleashing a flurry of strikes that set all three Grimm back, reminding Ruby of characters on the receiving end of a combo in one of those fighting games Yang had been trying to get her into.

A mere second later, those Grimm were down as well. However, they were just the tip of the iceberg, plenty more following in their wake. Even though none of them, whether on their own or in groups, were a match for Ozpin's skill, the sheer press of them threatened to bury him completely under the raw weight of their numbers.

But Ozpin wasn't alone. Qrow rushed out alongside him, his sword extending to become the blade of a massive scythe, which Qrow wielded with blinding speed, the swift slashes of his weapon cutting down multiple Grimm at a time. Then the others arrived. Yang and her team charged in alongside Qrow, attacking furiously with their own weapons. The remainder of Ruby's team, as well as Team CPPR formed up beside Ozpin. Altogether, they plowed ahead, mowing down the Grimm that charged at their front, and swooped down from above.

However, Glynda's launch had sent them well past the Grimm's forward ranks. Because of that, the Grimm that had been at the head of Salem's charge were now turning around, doubling back to come at them from behind. But they found themselves facing Team MNPS. Natsuki's flames swept amongst them, burning them to ash before their bodies could dissolve, or Setsuna's gravity crushed them flat. Oscar sent his kama whirling through their ranks, cutting down any that closed with him personally. For someone who was still relatively new to fighting Grimm, he was doing incredibly well. For her part, Miyu moved alongside Ruby, ready to use her own techniques to support the front and the rear as needed.

They made their way forward like a well-oiled machine, pushing their way through the crimson-colored foliage of Forever Fall, the leaves raining around them, almost as though the whole forest was bleeding. Up ahead, the Grimm's numbers only seemed to grow greater, as more and more of them closed in, also pressing in from the sides. Ahead and above, the massive form of Salem's whale loomed, seeming close, yet painfully out of reach.

Weiss reversed her grip on Myrtenaster, while allowing Jaune and Pyrrha to step ahead and provide her with the cover she needed. As she did, she shifted the Dust-chambers in her weapon, selecting the blue ice-Dust. The sword-wheel of her Summoning Glyph appeared beneath her. Then, with a flash, her Arma Gigas appeared, the massive knight bounding forward. It swept its sword out ahead of itself, swinging the massive blade in a mighty arc, which immediately sent a wave of ice roaring out across the ground. Over a dozen Grimm were frozen over instantly, while nearly twice as many were impaled on the stalagmites that thrust out like frozen spears. The frozen Grimm shattered along with the ice, but still more followed. Weiss' Summon charged to meet them, sweeping its sword in mighty arcs, mowing down those that closed in, while continuing to send waves of ice out with every swing.

With a shout, Pyrrha jumped and slung her shield at an incoming swarm of Ravagers, which were stooping down from above. It slammed into the skull of the first one, crushing it, before Pyrrha's Semblance sent it rocketing to the next in line, repeating the process over and over again, while Pyrrha used her javelin to fend off a pair of bounding Sabyrs that charged at her along the ground. Ducking under the first one, she lunged forward, slashing the blade across its chest, before dancing back out of the way of the second, using her javelin to cut its throat. It was followed by a Creep, which leapt upwards and descended on Pyrrha from above, only for her shield to slam down on the back of its head, prompting the monster to lurch down, so that Pyrrha's sword thrust into its mouth, stabbing up into its skull. Retrieving her shield, Pyrrha continued to charge forward.

Jaune found himself guarding the flank, his eyes widening as he saw a Boarbatusk come rolling in. Raising his shield, Jaune planted his feet firmly against the ground, calling upon the Aura within his weapon. The shield flashed white, right as the Boarbatusk slammed into it. With a pained squeal, the piglike Grimm unfolded, its back snapping against the impediment as the force of its own attack was rebounded against it. The Boarbatusk disintegrated, revealing the antler-decorated, rabbitlike shape of a Jackalope, as it charged through the cloud of black particles, using them for cover.

First, it tried to gore Jaune with its antlers. However, they snapped against the surface of his shield. Crying out in pain, the Jackalope turned about, lashing out with its powerful hind legs, trying to kick Jaune out of the way. However, he deftly deflected the blows, shifting his shield so that the hits skidded off to the side, before stepping forward and bringing his sword down in a powerful slash that cleaved the Grimm in two.

Then Jaune's eyes widened as he saw what lay behind the Jackalope. The ground jumped beneath his feet as the awe-inspiring bulk of a Goliath bore down at him like the front of an onrushing train, the Grimm's trumpeting cries reaching his very bones. Swallowing nervously, Jaune set himself, raising his shield and preparing to call upon its Aura once more.

However, that proved unnecessary, as an orange-haired girl appeared between him and the Goliath. Directing her swords, Penny brought them around to slash at the Goliath's trunk, cutting it off. Then two trios of her weapons flew up to flank the massive Grimm from behind and above. Still reeling in pain, the Goliath was not able to respond as Penny's swords converted into their gun-modes, then orbited around in a pair of cylindrical formations, emerald spheres of energy building within them. Then, with a flash, a pair of powerful beams were sent lancing down, punching through the back of the Goliath's neck from opposing angles, where it was lacking in armor. The Goliath lurched, then collapsed.

While Penny was dealing with the Goliath, a Manticore dove down at her from above, spitting a fireball at her. However, Ciel intervened, raising her pata-sword. With a flash, a dome of white energy appeared, the Manticore's attack splashing harmlessly over it. The shield vanished, and Ciel jumped up to meet the descending Grimm. She thrust her blade out with flawless precision, piercing the Manticore between its eyes. Before it could begin to dissolve, she yanked her sword down, using the fact that it had been anchored in the Manticore's body to lever herself up and over it, using the Manticore as a foothold to leap higher still. There, she slashed out, her sword lined with the pale-green of wind-Dust. The resulting edge was easily sharp enough to behead a massive Nevermore, one nearly as big as the one that had menaced Team RASP, during one of their forest training sessions at the beginning of the year.

Back down below, Yang roared as she dove headlong into the Grimm, lashing out with powerful punches and kicks, Ember Celica firing in conjunction with her attacks. Oftentimes, her attacks turned the Grimm themselves into projectiles, as a punch from Yang's fist sent the hulking form of an Ursa Major flying backwards, scattering the Beowolves behind it like tenpins. Then, with a shriek, a Deathstalker appeared ahead of her, its armored form shattering the trees that impeded it into splinters. It rushed right towards Yang, its mandibles clacking furiously, while its tail reared back, aiming to impale Yang on its massive stinger.

However, Yang charged straight in to meet it. Right as she closed to within striking distance, her body flashed, her blonde hair turning an even lighter shade of yellow, while her skin lightened, and her eyes turned a fierce Crimson. Her weapon roared, her punch obliterating the Deathstalker's head. As the defeated Grimm's body dissolved, Yang's body returned to normal, and she rushed straight for the next wave of Grimm without missing a step.

Nora rushed right alongside her, shouting jubilantly as she swept her hammer through wide arcs, using Magnhild's explosive shockwaves to shatter Grimm bodies. The black head of a King Taijitu lunged out at her from between the trees with an angry hiss. However, Nora quickly sent her hammer whirling around in an uppercut, which smashed the lunging serpent's jaw up from below, snapping its mouth closed, breaking its fangs. Then Nora triggered the shockwave, which tore upwards through the monster's skull, smashing its head to pieces. With an even angrier hiss, the Taijitu's white head slithered around to attack her from a different angle, only to find its skull in the path of Nora's descending hammer, which slammed it down into the ground, crushing it out of existence.

Beside Nora, Blake and Ren danced in tandem. Neither of them had the raw power that Yang and Nora had, but made up for it with the precision of their attacks. They wove their way through a pack of Beowolves, Blake lashing out with her sickle on its ribbon, while Ren darted in close, cutting Grimm down with swift, precise slashes from his bladed guns, before dropping still more with swift bursts of fire, which he used to cover Blake, who in turn closed in and used her own attacks to allow Ren to close in as well.

With a roar, a Sabyr leapt from behind cover, its claws grasping Blake's shoulders, its fangs punching through her neck. However, Blake's Shadow evaporated, leaving the Sabyr with nothing but empty air. Instead, the Sabyr found the barrel of Ren's gun pressed up against its head. A quick pull of the trigger was enough for Ren to dispatch the beast. Right then though, an Ursa rose up behind him, roaring as it raised a massive paw in an effort to separate Ren's head from his shoulders. However, the Ursa froze in place, its body lurching to a stop. Then it simply collapsed, revealing Blake standing behind it, her sickle having pierced the back of its neck.

The pair of them felt an intense heat descending from above. Blake gasped, darting forward, wrapping an arm around Ren's chest, then using her Semblance to create a Shadow, which launched them to safety. Her movement wasn't a second too soon, with a fireball exploding where Ren had been standing just seconds earlier. With an earthshaking roar, the massive, winged form of a Sphinx descended, landing hard.

The massive Grimm was a sight to behold, with its rounded bone-mask branching off into four crests, stretching out over its neck, which extended out from a feline body, from which a pair of large, black wings extended. Its tail was its most unusual feature, given that it was actually the neck and head of a white snake, which arced around to one side of the Sphinx's head to hiss menacingly at Blake and Ren.

The pair of them readied themselves to dodge as the fanged mouth of the Sphinx's main head opened, orange and yellow light building in its throat, the first sign of another fireball. However, a quartet of black spheres arced in, revolving in a ring around the Spinx's head. A black field of gravitational energy filled the space between them, the gravity forcing the Sphinx's mouth back shut, closing it upon the fireball that it had been about to launch.

Angry flames exploded from the gaps between the Sphinx's fangs, while its throat was illuminated from within by a yellow flash, prompting its entire head to jolt. The serpent head arced upwards, hissing in pain. However, four more black spheres came rushing in, slamming into the snake-head from multiple angles.

Rain appeared, running across the front of the Sphinx. Distracted as it was by the pain that Piper had caused with her weapon, it failed to react as Rain launched his shield, which opened up into its kite-mode, Rain sending it flying up and over the Sphinx's head, guiding it with the string. Controlling the kite's flight-path, Rain used it to loop the string around the Sphinx's neck, elegantly guiding the string beneath the protective shield of the monster's crests. Returning the shield to its place on his right arm, Rain turned away from the Sphinx, pulling sharply downward, while retracting the string with the reel on his right arm at the same time. The wind-Dust impregnated within the string activated, forming a razor-sharp whirlwind, which cleaved through the Sphinx's neck, weakened as it was by the fireball that had detonated in its own mouth, beheading it.

The snake-heard let out a high-pitched hiss, writhing in agony. Piper charged in, jumping. The four orbs she had previously used to force the Sphinx's mouth shut now moved to form a horizontally-revolving ring, creating a gravity-platform beneath her leading foot, allowing her to jump higher still. Then she called all eight orbs together, forming them in a line so that their gravitational energy formed the blade of a massive sword, which Piper swung to sever the head of the snake. With that, the Sphinx's body dissolved.

Piper landed next to Rain, the two of them turning to check Ren and Blake. The other pair gave their friends from Atlas a curt nod of thanks, before the four of them were off once again, continuing to push forward.

Ruby followed behind the group, Akaibara drawn, but still within her hand. She longed to rush forward, to charge into the thick of the melee alongside Ozpin and Qrow, to fight alongside her friends and teammates, rather than stay back and allow them to open a path for her. However, she knew that her best hope lay in conserving her strength as much as possible. Looking up, she could see that the whale-Grimm looked both intimidatingly close, yet dauntingly far away. And that was without factoring how she would get up to that altitude. At this point, simply getting beneath that monstrous creature was only half the battle.

It was made all the more difficult by the fact that the press of Grimm was only getting heavier, the farther they progressed. They couldn't afford to get bogged down fighting the stronger Grimm, otherwise they would be swarmed by dozens of weaker ones. In many ways, it was the ultimate exercise in the basic philosophy Ruby had learned about dealing with the Grimm from the very beginning, taking down each one with as little excess energy and movement as possible, killing them as quickly and efficiently as they could.

They were making good progress, but things only continued to get harder as they advanced. Already, their forward momentum was slowing. Moving forward was like pushing against the incoming tide. Ruby's friends, along with Ozpin and Qrow, were killing Grimm as fast as they could, but new ones pressed in behind them. They were also coming in from the flanks, even circling around behind as the group pressed their way beyond the front ranks. MNPS had their hands full keeping the flankers off the group's back. Ruby occasionally had to dispatch one or two Grimm herself. She found it something of a miracle that she only had to deal with that many.

They were closer now, Salem's mount looming almost directly overhead. It was progressing forward, even as they moved towards it. However, it was accompanied by ever-growing swarms of Grimm that threatened to start pushing them back, if they slacked for a second. With the growing pressure from the front, that possibility gradually progressed towards certainty. Ozpin and Qrow were practically standing in place now, their weapons blurs, cutting down Grimm with every swing. Yet, for all their efforts, it took killing dozens of Grimm to manage to forge enough space for a single step.

The rest of her friends on either side weren't faring any better. What was more, Ruby could see that their strength was beginning to flag. Ren, Blake, Weiss, and Ciel in particular were starting to falter, stamina not being their strongest point. Even powerhouses like Yang and Nora were breathing hard and struggling to forge their way ahead. Of all of them, only Jaune and Penny seemed relatively fresh, and there was no way they could shoulder the burden of this fight on their own.

We need something strong enough to break through to reach that whale, thought Ruby, her eyes narrowing. If they could just muster up a powerful enough attack, then they might be able to open enough of a path to allow them to reach where they could worry about how to get up to the whale's altitude.

She needed to think. What can we do with who we have...?

After a moment, Ruby's eyes widened, and an excited grin spread across her face. "Natsu-chan! Miyu-chan!"

Hearing her voice, Natsuki broke away from the back line, Miyu joining her.

"What is it?" asked Ruby.

"We need to open a path," said Ruby. "We're gonna do it in one blow."

"I think I see what you're thinking," said Natsuki, grinning excitedly.

"I'll support as best I can," said Miyu. "But just the two of us..."

"It won't be just you," said Ruby. Then she turned towards the front. "Nora!"

"Coming at ya!" shouted Nora, slamming her hammer down on the skull of one last Beowolf, triggering her weapon and using the explosive shockwave to launch herself through the air towards Ruby. Behind her, Yang struggled to pick up her slack, but persevered.

"What's the plan?" asked Nora.

"We're gonna do a combo," Ruby replied.

Nora, already getting a glimmer of what Ruby had planned grinned ferociously. "Finally! I've been wanting to do a combo with you for forever, Ruby!" she exclaimed.

"Miyu-chan, do you think you can support the three of us?" asked Ruby.

"I can manage," said Miyu. While Jaune's unique ability would have been exceptionally helpful in this situation, he didn't yet have the control to spread that ability amongst three separate people simultaneously.

This would be the first time Ruby had tried something like this. Sasame and Kyo had told her stories about legendary combo attacks that could wipe out entire armies in an instant. However, they were the kind of moves that required a tremendous rapport for the participants to pull off. Ruby was confident in her bonds with the friends fighting beside her though.

"Then let's do this!" cheered Natsuki.

"Professor, Uncle Qrow...let us through!" Ruby shouted.

Qrow glanced over his shoulder, confused at the strange gathering now behind him and Ozpin. However, the two of them stepped apart, allowing the quartet to pass between them. As they did, they went into action.

Miyu utilized her support technique to enhance the Auras of Ruby, Natsuki, and Nora. At the same time, the sky darkened, and a bolt of lightning roared downwards to meet the upraised blade of Ruby's sword. Without an iota of hesitation, Ruby channeled that energy, now enhanced with the aid of Miyu's technique, directly into Nora, whose entire body began to shine pink. Beside her, Natsuki briefly flicked her blades into the air, using her fingers to quickly paint lines of blood across her face, before catching her blades again, which exploded into furious, flames.

Utilizing Flow, Nora channeled all the accumulated energy she'd received from Ruby, which was further enhanced by the support from Miyu, into the head of her hammer, which she swung straight down with a whoop. Beside her, Natsuki thrust out with her kodachi, a roiling jet of pitch-black fire erupting out ahead of her. Behind them, Ruby joined in, calling down another bolt to her sword.

With a deafening roar, a massive wave of pure energy surged forward in a wave. The Grimm ahead of them didn't stand a chance, vanishing before the surge of heat and light that swallowed them. It consumed everything ahead of the attacking group, including the trees of the forest, ripping its way through the ground and carving a trench. Boulders and hills were obliterated in an instant.

The others were briefly blinded and deafened. However, they soon recovered, stunned to see the devastation wrought by the combo Ruby, Nora, Natsuki, and Miyu had executed. A wide swath of bared ground carved a path all the way to the shadow of the whale. Grimm had actually fled away from that trench to either side. It seemed that they were just as shocked as Ruby's friends were by the sheer power of the unleashed attack, which hadn't merely destroyed countless Grimm, but changed the very landscape around them.

For a few seconds, Ruby stood there, panting for breath. Nora was also winded. Natsuki quickly wiped away the Chikewai she'd painted on her face, in order to limit how much of her stamina the technique consumed. Ruby wondered if she'd gone too far, and used too much of her energy at once. However, a gentle hand came to rest on her back, and a warm Aura surged through her, immediately clearing away the cobwebs of fatigue that had been gathering in her head. She smiled at the sensation of the Aura of the man she loved supporting her. At the same time, Miyu quickly moved to boost both Nora and Natsuki, so that they could get back up to fighting shape.

"Let's go!" shouted Ruby, running forward, her friends running alongside her. Their haste was understandable. The Grimm had been briefly repelled by the combo attack. However, as Ruby and her friends began to dash for their target, they quickly returned, spilling into the cleared space, swarming around to close in on Ruby and her friends, almost like water flowing inwards to fill a space cleared by cavitation.

"How are we gonna get up there?" asked Yang, her eyes rising to meet the underside of that massive whale.

"You have enough for one more boost?" asked Setsuna, coming up to run alongside Miyu.

"I'm not tapped out yet," Miyu replied, giving him a fond smile. She reached out and took Setsuna's hand.

"Then here we go!" shouted Setsuna.

Abruptly, the gravity around Ruby and her friends reversed, and they suddenly began to rise up into the air, Setsuna's technique carrying them up towards their final destination. However, the way was not completely clear. All around them, winged Grimm flew in on all sides. Thus, even as they rose, Ruby and her friends found themselves fighting their way through Nevermores, Griffons, Lancers, Manticores, Teryx, and Ravagers.

Penny, Piper, and Rain took the lead for this portion of the battle, their weapons being better-suited for aerial maneuvers. Weiss joined them, using her Glyphs to control her trajectory, the rest of the group providing support as best they could with ranged attacks. Pyrrha used her Semblance to control her shield's flight, maneuvering it around to intercept fireballs from Manticores, and hooks from Lancers. Qrow transformed into his namesake bird, flitting around them, before swiftly turning back to dispatch a Grimm, before transforming again to move on to the next one.

Miyu and Setsuna strained, their faces slick with sweat as they continued to raise the entire group into the air. They found themselves rising up past the enormous teeth lining the whale's jaw, then along the sloping expanse of its broad head. Finally, they crested its top dropping down to alight atop it.

Setsuna was finally able to release his technique, their gravity returning to normal, all of them setting down on the black expanse of the whale-Grimm's head. Its flesh was as hard as stone, and would have been indistinguishable from the ground, were it not for the palpable sense of wrongness that each of them felt upon contact with the malignant beast's body. There was something like a pulse running through it, which they could feel run up through their feet. However, it was not the sensation of something truly alive, animate...but not alive.

Setsuna and Miyu both collapsed to their knees, Setsuna on the verge losing consciousness. Quickly, Natsuki and Oscar moved to support them. The rest of the group formed up around them, while Ruby stepped forward slightly, walking along the gently sloping surface of the whale's head.

Up ahead, Ruby saw her. There was no mistaking that face, those eyes, or the black clothes that garbed her body. This was the woman, if she could be called that, who Ruby had only seen as an apparition before. Now she stood before Ruby in the flesh, her presence seeming to dwarf even the monstrous Grimm that served as her steed. She met Ruby's gaze with an almost serene expression that, nonetheless, seemed to overflow with malice.

"Welcome, Ruby Rose."

"Salem..." said Ruby, her mouth dry.