Omniscient POV
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A hasty safe zone was established at the air docks.
Chairs, tables, crates, vending machines, and anything else anyone could get their hands on and carry over was stacked along the air dock's perimeter.
People who were fortunate enough to make it sought refuge behind the Atlesian soldiers standing guard, blasting anything not resembling a person, while doctors and nurses scrambled in and out of tents to treat the wounded.
Huntsmen and Huntresses helped defend the line in front of the wall, battling in the open fields on either side of the avenue leading to the academy.
Among them, two notable Huntsmen stood out from the rest.
"It's been ages since I've had this much fun!" Laurence pounded the studs of his cestus clad fists together. "We should do this more often!"
Reynold shot an explosive round at the Beowolf in the middle of the closely knitted pack, blowing them all up at once.
"Focus, Laurence." He surveyed the area. "People's lives are at stake."
"Of course." He crushed an Ursa's skull with a single punch. "Doesn't mean we can't enjoy ourselves while we do it!"
Reynold made what had to be the hundredth call to Roderick this evening, and when the line failed to go through again, he riddled a Creep full of holes.
A collective shrill of screams ran down the field, where a hulking mass of lumbering metal chased a group of people.
Its entire body was made of broken Atlesian Knights and other various pieces of weapons and machinery, and in the center of the collective heap was a large Grimm mask belonging to that of a Geist.
Everyone prepared themselves for the tough battle incoming, and the Huntsmen and Huntresses hesitantly shifted forward, unsure of how to handle the issue.
However, a bellow of laughter solved that problem.
Reynold facepalmed.
"Give 'em to me!" Laurence strolled ahead and detached the club from the side of his oversized backpack. "I'ma get it!"
The Geist met the big man halfway and brought its boulder sized fist down on him.
Laurence dugged in his heels and swung for the fences, shattering the fist and sending the pieces flying high in the sky.
The Geist fumbled and blinked with its singular eye.
Drawing the sword attached to the other side of his backpack, Laurence tossed it up and batted his sword, propelling it through a hip. The Geist tumbled flat on its back, shaking the ground and puffing a cloud of dirt and dust, while the sword itself sailed away somewhere on campus.
"Whoops. I think I overdid that one." Laurence watched his sword disappear with a hand over his brow. "Hey, Floyd, you see that? Is that your name? Ah. Whatever." He jumped on top of the Geist and clutched the mask. "Don't worry, Floyd. Uncle Larry will take care of you!"
All the Geist could do was scream out of its eye as Laurence muscled it out, exposing a portion of its ghostly body, and folded it like paper.
The Geist went poof!
Laurence's jubilance echoed across the field, and the jaws of the onlookers hit the ground in a collective thump.
"Now," he dusted off his hands and scanned the many rooftops of the academy, "where did you go?"
-----
Leon Alexander Gates
-----
Alexander tore the dining hall apart.
"Ua Binn, where are you?!" He roared and shovelled anything that his teammate could be under. "Say something, damn it!"
Come on!
No stone was left unturned, his skin went cold every time he came across a body, and when it wasn't him, his sliver of relief would get smothered by a landslide of dread.
Where was he?!
Alexander came across a severed arm soaked in blood, fingers still twitching, and the sight of the bright yellow gauntlet adorning it churned a nauseating scorch up his gut.
Yang's arm.
"Alex, are you there?"
Alexander caught his breath.
From the dining hall's busted doors, Ruby peeked inside and hesitantly entered.
Oh, no. . .
He ripped his vest off and tossed it over the arm, bundling it up tight and holding it close.
"Rose." Alexander approached her. "What are you doing here?
"S-sorry." Ruby averted her gaze and curled in on herself. "I thought you needed help, so I, uh, followed you here. . ."
As much as he wanted to send her off, considering the fact she was bawling her eyes out a moment ago, it would be better if he had the extra pair of hands.
Besides, who was he to complain?
Searching for Stiofan was the only thing keeping Alexander's mind well away from the possibility of Cooper being. . .
Alexander slammed the door on that thought.
Ruby must be doing the same thing, wanting to do some kind of good and be of assistance to distract herself.
"Alright." He nodded. "So, got any ideas where we should search next?"
Ruby smiled and stood straight like a soldier ready for duty. "Have you tried calling him?"
Alexander stared.
That actually never occurred to him.
Ruby made the call, and after a few heavy seconds, a faint ring echoed, and Alexander jumped into action.
"Where is it coming from?" he said and searched every direction for where it could be.
"There!" She hurried to one of the many broken windows. "It's coming from over there."
Blurring outside in a steak of red, Ruby let out a sharp gasp alarming enough to make Alexander's skin crawl.
"What is it?" Alexander joined her. "Where's—"
She looked back at him, glassy eyed and pale as a sheet of paper, and all she could do was point a trembling finger at the body resting against one of the portico colonnades.
Alexander choked up on the puke wanting to spill out, his body seized, and no matter how much he wanted the sight before him to change, it only became clearer.
The once pristine and prestigious silver vest of the SDC First Guard was ruined, stained red and punctured as if a pair of drills tore into it, and Red Fury and Yellow were carelessly discarded at the man's feet.
Gingerly scraping his steps across the glass covered ground for a closer view, Alexander paused at the edge of the bloody puddle, boots squishing and squealing, and the temperature dropped to absolute zero.
Alexander forgot how to breathe, he broke into a cold sweat and couldn't stop himself from being absorbed by reality ripping the last veil of doubt out of him.
That was Stiofan.
However, from just a glance alone, it was tough to tell because the dignified face of his friend was no more, the right side vandalized into a mangled mess and graffitied by blood, mush, and char.
Not even his eye remained, leaving behind only a gaping socket.
Alexander staggered, everything around him wobbled, but he steadied his heart, burying the embers of grief beginning to smoulder within him, and did whatever possible to keep it together.
Don't lose it just yet.
Alexander carefully checked Stiofan's wrist for a pulse.
Ruby's feet crunched behind Alexander.
"Alex," she said quietly, "is he. . ."
Alexander honed in on what could barely be considered a sign of life and urgency fueled him with enough horsepower to kick his ass into the highest gear.
Sailing by from overhead, the Wyvern shrieked, dropping more goo near them.
Ruby shook her head and wiped the anguish tearing apart her face.
Alexander changed Red Fury and Yellow Fury into their sword forms and passed them to Ruby. "Hold these."
Taking the weapons, she stored them on her back and brandished her scythe.
"We need to get to the air docks." Alexander placed his balled up vest on Stiofan's chest and lifted him like a precious artifact. "Cover me while I carry him."
With that said, they ran off.
Ruby buzzed around and mowed mobs of Grimm like grass, carving themselves a lane to the air docks, yet no matter how many were cut down to size, the Wyvern simply threw more their way.
Grimm came at them from all sides.
Alexander concentrated on running and following the path Ruby cleared out for them, no room for any thought other than saving Stiofan.
They were doing good. . . up until Ruby froze.
Awkwardly shifting around, her breathing went ragged, and she whipped her head back and forth as if she were trying to find something.
Alexander struggled to suppress the panic rising inside him. "Why'd you stop?"
Ruby didn't hear him.
The Grimm closed in; they lost their chance of escape.
Damn it!
Alexander locked onto the building closest to them: the training hall.
"Rose!" He bumped her. "Wake up!"
Ruby jolted out of her skirt and automatically slashed any Grimm who got too close.
Alexander jutted his head. "Get inside the training hall!"
Blitzing off in a red streak, Ruby shoved the doors wide open, Alexander rocketed inside, and the doors banged behind him, locks twisted shut.
The doors thumped and rocked, but they managed to hold well.
Seeing that they were safe for now, they soaked in the moment for all it was worth to rest.
Alexander gulped and took in his surroundings.
"Okay, since we're here," he opened the door to the nearest training room, "let's see what we can do."
Once Stiofan was set on a table, Alexander shook the feeling back into his arms, went to the medical cabinet, and clutched the handles with unsteady hands until they went white.
'Are you going to let him die, too?'
Calm down. Get a grip already. Don't think like that.
A hand touched his wrist.
"Alex, I'm so sorry." Ruby's voice cracked as her face strained to keep back what must've been a flood of tears trying to break free. "I-I don't know what came over me."
Alexander's temper flared, but he smothered it before it could take over and focused entirely on cooling down.
"I only thought about getting us out of here, but then I started thinking about everything that happened, and then I guess it all hit me at once." She lowered her head and squeezed him tighter. "My mind went blank, and I just lost track."
Alexander forgave her.
"Forget about it." He opened the cabinet. "We have more important things to do than stand around and feel sorry for ourselves."
Ruby glanced at Stiofan and gave a firm nod.
They wasted no more time and worked on Stiofan as best as they could with frayed nerves, and the endless amounts of blood getting all over the place did them no favours either. The room spun around Alexander, and Ruby looked about ready to hurl chunks since they started. However, despite all the issues, they managed to patch him up and put pressure on his wounds.
"So, uh, what're your plans for winter break?" Ruby half-heartedly laughed and immediately flushed. "Sorry. I know now isn't the time for jokes, but I was thinking about next year. How all this would blow over and the school would be up and running again as if nothing happened, and everyone would be back here in one piece."
Alexander frowned.
"Oh." The hope in her eyes sank. "Guess not, huh?"
As much as he wanted to avoid the topic, there was no avoiding it now, considering the fact that she would learn about it sooner or later.
Best to ease her into it now.
"I need to tell you something." He chose his next words carefully and delivered them as kindly as he could. "Your sister. . ."
Ruby tensed. "Yang?"
Alexander checked his balled up vest sitting on the floor next to his foot.
"Alex," Ruby's mouth quivered, "what's wrong with Yang?"
"It's better if I showed you." He grabbed his vest. "I found it in the dining hall."
Alexander locked eyes with Ruby, giving her a moment to get ready for what he was about to do, and then, as slowly as he possibly could, he unveiled what was inside.
Ruby went slack like her soul left her body, and for a split second, a faint light flickered inside of her silver eyes, much to Alexander's bewilderment.
Then the tears finally came.
Alexander went around the table, and Ruby clung to him like a lifeline, sobbing against his chest.
-----
Omniscient POV
-----
Meanwhile, stuck on a nearby rooftop close to the training hall, a large sword glinted in the moonlight, and Laurence yanked it free.
"Aha!" He examined it. "Almost lost you again, didn't I? Hmm. What's that?"
Below, a horde of Grimm surrounded and rammed the doors to the training hall.
Laurence pondered the possibility of people being trapped inside and absolute elation bellowed out him louder than a megaphone.
The Grimm looked over.
Spinning his cap backwards, he transformed his sword to a tripod and fixed it to the edge of the roof. The thick end of the club mounted the sword hilt while the handle faced the Grimm, and his cestus gloves clipped to the club to become grips.
The Grimm were left stupefied by the assembly, and some of the smarter ones gave a nervous glance at their brethren.
"It's time to play, Cerberus!" Laurence drew a chain of super sized rounds from his backpack and loaded it. "Sick 'em, boy!"
The machine gun was unleashed.
Cerberus salivated hot fire and chomped anything it could get it's slobbery fangs on, mauling life, limb, and concrete to make a huge mess of things.
Splatters of muck and gunk painted the town red, and the Grimm's frantic cries were muzzled under the rabid barks of Cerberus and Laurence's exhilarated guffaws.
Inside the training hall, Alexander and Ruby nearly had a heart attack from the tsunami of destruction pounding at the walls.
The Wyvern returned.
"You want some, too?!" The ratel Faunus redirected his aim. "Well, Uncle Larry's got plenty to spare!"
Cerberus nipped the Wyvern, forcing it to shriek and change course.
By the end of it, only a smoking gun and the carnage in front of it remained.
Laurence whistled. "Oh, yeah. . ."
Moments later, Ruby and Alexander jumped at the heavy knocks pounding at the training hall doors.
"Anyone in there?!" Laurence knocked faster. "You're not dead, are you?!"
Recognizing the voice, Alexander opened the door and got snatched up by a pair of mighty arms.
"I know you!" Laurence blurted right in Alexander's face. "Let's eat some more noodles after this!"
Alexander preferred to be eaten by Grimm.
Ruby came out of the room, puzzled by the sight.
"Is that your friend?" Laurence dropped Alexander and went to her with wide open arms. "Come here!"
"Wah!"
Other than being crushed to death, Alexander and Ruby made it out of their alright, and with Laurence's help, they managed to get Stiofan to the air docks without any more issues.
-----
Pyrrha, Jaune, and Roderick barged out of Beacon Tower.
"Are they seriously fighting?" Roderick examined the ground as if he could see what was happening. "This is too crazy, man."
"You can say that again." Jaune tapped his scroll, but his shivering hands made it impossible to properly use. "Ugh, where is it? I'm sure I have Goodwitch's number here somewhere."
While Roderick and Jaune were too busy trying to come to terms with what was happening, Pyrrha watched the flashing green light at the top of the tower.
There was no time to get help, at least not before Cinder fulfilled whatever she intended to do, so that left them with only one option.
"Go, Jaune." Pyrrha waved him off. "Get to Vale and call for help. Hurry."
"Huh?" He frowned, perplexed. "What're you going to do?"
The way she kept staring at the tower pumped him full of sickness.
"No, Pyrrha, you can't!" Jaune gawked and panic took control. "You saw how powerful she is! I won't let you—"
Pyrrha closed her eyes, exhaled, and silenced Jaune with a kiss.
It lasted only a few seconds before Pyrrha magnetized Jaune's armour and shoved him inside one of the many lockers littering the plaza, jamming the door shut.
She typed in a set of coordinates.
"Wait, stop!" Jaune pounded at the door. "Pyrrha, please don't do this! Roderick, tell her to stop! You have to—"
The locker rocketed off on a one way trip to Vale.
Wishing him the best of luck, Pyrrha prepared herself to tackle an even bigger problem.
Roderick stood off to the side with an amused expression.
"So," he cracked a smile, "looks like I'm not the only one who got lucky tonight."
"Don't tell me." Pyrrha gave a knowing look. "Did you and Yang. . ."
He playfully shrugged.
She laughed a little, indulging the short lived moment of fun for all it was worth.
"Roderick."
"Yeah?"
"I, um. . ." Pyrrha sucked her lips and looked around. "I can't go in there by myself. That's why I have to ask: will you come with me?"
Roderick's face tightened. "Of course I will."
"I promise to explain everything later." Her fingers shuddered. "We just don't have the time right now."
"Yeah." His brow wrinkled. "I'll hold you to that."
"I'm so sorry." Pyrrha hugged him and rested her head in the crook of his neck. "I just wish that it didn't have to be this way, that none of this ever happened and everything would go back to how they used to be."
"Same here." Roderick stroked her ponytail. "But this is how it has to be, isn't it?"
"Then, if you'll be so kind, let's fight once more." She searched his golden eyes. "Together."
He pressed his forehead against hers. "Always."
The years they spent with each other, the fun, laughs, pain, and love, overwhelmed them in that instant and glowed brighter beyond any sense of understanding or words could describe.
Roderick and Pyrrha entered Beacon Tower and checked the broken elevator of no return.
"Uh, didn't we just use this thing a minute ago?" Roderick gave it a funny look and scratched his head. "What happened to it?"
Pyrrha used her Semblance to pry the doors open.
A large hole punctured the floor and ceiling of the elevator, and judging by how the metal was burned and bent upwards, the answer was clear.
Roderick blew out his nerves. "Cinder went up."
"If she did." Pyrrha touched her chest to settle her pounding heart. "Ozpin. . ."
They shared a sad glance, went into the elevator, and after giving each other a nod of encouragement, they dinged their arms together.
"Hold on." Pyrrha extended her Semblance over the entire elevator. "I'm taking us to the top."