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Chapter 21 - The Light

«Who was that red-haired girl? - Director Ozpin asked, as Pyrrha, along with Zhawn, approached him. Ozpin had seen two other people in iron armour, but didn't pay much attention to it. James might well have created some sort of squad for situations like this, but this one... he sensed... magic from her? Strange magic, but magic nonetheless. Certainly not Maiden magic or Salem magic. As soon as he transferred the Maiden's power to Pyrrha, he could ask her who she was, but there was too much at stake right now to waste any time.

«I don't know exactly, she might be from Atlas or Mistral. The girl with the scythe is also on her team, from what I understand. - Pyrrha said, and her gaze returned to the black-haired hunter with the bright golden eyes, at least that's how it seemed to her when he first arrived at the Colosseum. That feeling of helplessness and bitterness when she'd seen Penny's dismembered body had vanished when he'd recovered her.

«Miss Nikos, let's hurry up. - The girl's thoughts returned to what was happening and with a nod she ran after the headmaster. Zhawn with an incomprehensible expression ran after them.

Zhawn... he was the first to see her not as 'Invincible Girl' but as Pyrrha, just Pyrrha. Of course, as it later turned out, that was part of his charm and kindness... perhaps also a bit of stupidity. Her girlish heart often starts pounding louder when he's around, but... she can see perfectly well that he only sees her as a close friend, no matter how sad she is to admit it. He looks at the same Weiss more often than he looks at her....

***

«It's a big bird. - Shinoa said, looking at the holographic projection of a huge flying Grimm. You can see it even without the projection if you don't have a building blocking your view.

«Students! It's time to evacuate! - They heard the voice of the green-haired professor who had been in the Coliseum, but now he must have come down. The evacuation was in full swing and many of the injured students had already been transferred. The kingdom itself hadn't had time to suffer much damage as the Grimm were purposefully going specifically to the academy, but that didn't mean the kingdom wasn't affected at all. Some streets would have been almost completely destroyed if not for the timely arrival of Rias, but even so the losses were enough. But now large clusters of Grimm were being shelled from the air, which gave time for a breather.

«Yeah, there's no proper weapons on the ship for a bird like that. - I muttered. - The Vale Council didn't allow the general to arrive with the most powerful weapons. Rias, I don't think your "power" will have any problem with that. - I glanced at the red-haired girl.

«Hmm, if I hit it, yes. - She nodded, not too confidently.

«It was a whole new experience. - Hermione admitted. - Tony, thank you for that armour... if it wasn't for her..." the girl shuddered and the images of mangled bodies reappeared before her eyes, Cortana having promptly covered all those bodies for the girl. But she wasn't stupid or blind and had already seen the bodies... torn bodies, torn limbs....

«You're doing a good job of hanging in there. Both of you. - I looked at Erina and Hermione. - Cortana, how much charge is left in their armour?

«There's still thirty-five per cent and the charge is slowly regenerating. - came the voice of the AI.

«You should get some rest with everyone. - I glanced at the student hunters on the sidelines.

The evacuation was in full swing, I could see it with my drone in the sky. With it, I also spotted Pyrrha running out of the academy... with a wounded Jon holding a bloody hand to his stomach.

«I've got some business to take care of. If there are any big Grimm elephants coming from the south side, Goliaths. - I informed Rias and Shinoa. The huge flying Grimm in the sky was no longer just a black dot in the sky, but a rather large speck. In about seven minutes, it should arrive here.

«How important..." the Gremory heiress muttered with a puff of her cheeks.

I don't remember the plot very well after the third season of RWBY, it would be more accurate to say that I have only sketchy information and I'm not sure about it. But what I definitely remember is the death of Pyrrha and the fall of Bicon. While I was helping the hunters evacuate the civilians and the wounded, I didn't notice that she had already left with Ozpin... he's probably dead by now, but my plans for him, if they affected him, were very fragmented.

«You're Pyrrha, aren't you? - I asked, landing next to them. The girl's green eyes were wide open, probably due to fear for her friend, and she was breathing heavily.

«Yes... you're the one who helped Penny. - Clearly she hasn't forgotten me. After those words came a groan from the boy in her arms.

«Weiss... - he whispered as if in delirium, and the girl closed her eyes as if from phantom pain.

«There... the Headmaster ordered us to leave and call Professor Goodwitch and Crowe, there's a dangerous woman with great power. - she spoke quickly.

«'Put it on the ground, I'll fly it up. - I said to the girl, and she only hesitated a second and immediately put the guy down and hope flashed in her eyes. His aura is nil, that girl must have given him a pretty good beating. Closing his wound with my skills was a breeze. - All he needs to do now is just rest. Do you care about him?

«He's... the leader of our team and he's helped me a lot. - she said, exhaling, noticing that the wound was really gone. - He's a very close friend and comrade to me... I have to go. May I know your name?

«Anthony Luthor, you can just call me Tony. - I extended my hand to her for a handshake and she responded with her firm grip.

«That's a strange name Tony, thanks for everything... if that knucklehead wakes up don't let him follow me. - she smiled a little sadly. - Bring reinforcements. - She said finally and picked up her shield and spear and walked back.

«Is it just me, or have I not seen any girls who aren't pretty yet? - A strange thought occurred to me. Aura probably plays a part in that.

***

«What kind of monsters are these. - A demoness of the Gremory clan burst out of her mouth after using the spheres of destruction on the huge Grimm elephants.

After her power annihilated its head, it immediately began to scatter black particles. They gave the girl goosebumps, as if it was something very... aggressive and evil, but that was probably the case. Her demonic power was clearly attracting them, because as soon as she "blazed" with it again, a new crowd of Grimm rushed towards her.

So she decided to take off to avoid being set up, after all, Tony-kun was right and there was no need to let her guard down. And as she soared through the air and destroyed the creatures below, she noticed movement in the city. To be exact Nevermore, as the big Grimm bird was called, was being chopped up by a man with red eyes and a large sword. Next to him was also a blonde woman in strict clothes, and a man whose body parts were clearly not human, but more like a robot.

«We must find Ozpin quickly. - The red-eyed man put his sword on his shoulder.

«And find out what the hell is wrong with my androids and ships. - The man said, putting his gun away and pulling out some sort of mobile device.

«Well, the ships won't be a problem. - The red-eyed man pointed towards the ship frozen between the huge stone pillars... the second one was not too far away either, and the third one was still floating in the sky.

After his words, the shrill scream of Grimm was heard again and another Nevermore swooped down on them, while several earthy old Grimm jumped out of the corners of nearby houses. Only the three prepared to fight back as a transparent barrier appeared around their company and a seal flashed under their feet.

«Schnee? - came out of the blonde's mouth. And small dark red spheres flew into the Grimm, exploding and destroying them along with the asphalt. The same thing happened to Nevermore, who crashed into the barrier with his beak and a dark red beam flew into him from the side, literally burning a hole in him.

«Run towards Beacon Academy, there is an evacuation in progress. - said the red-haired woman.

«Evacuation is a good thing. You're not a student of the academy, are you from Atlas? - The blonde asked, looking at the barrier dissipating.

«No, she's not one of ours. - The General spoke in a serious tone, still trying to contact his ship. And now he succeeded, which, frankly, he hadn't expected.

«Powerful. - Crow nodded, acknowledging the girl's strength. - I haven't seen you before... or anywhere.

«I'm not from around here, and neither is my group. - Gremory replied, fixing her hair after her feet touched the ground. - We just thought we'd help. If you're worried about the ship, don't worry, my contact has already dealt with whoever got in.

«What? Your friend? Is he Ozpin's man too?" the general glanced at the other two men beside him.

«'No, I don't think so. - Glinda frowned slightly, and then a blindingly bright white light appeared from the direction of the academy and began to sizzle the Grimm. Even the huge Grimm that had almost reached the academy stopped in midair.

«What the...

***

«Yang! Blake! - Ruby shouted, looking around for her sister and friend.

«...everything was fine yesterday. - The snow princess whispered quietly, looking at the ruined architecture of the buildings and Bikon itself, though the academy itself had not suffered much damage. The girl took out a scroll and tried to call her friends.

«Weiss! Where are they?!

«How should I know? They must be here somewhere. Don't worry everything is due..." the platinum blonde didn't finish as Ruby's eyes widened and she used her manifestation to disappear from her seat.

«Oh, another friend of yours? - Sounded someone's vindictively unpleasant voice.

«No! Ruby run! - it was already Blake's shout and Weiss realised that there was going to be a fight again. She didn't flinch as she walked on and spotted some red-haired faun with a sword, who fended off Ruby's scythe and then sent a reddish energy that threw the girl aside.

«You... where's Yang? And don't you dare hurt Blake! - shouted the angry reaper as he prepared to attack again.

«Yang, is that the blonde? Don't worry, you'll see her soon enough. See, Black, that's what your cowardice gets you. I'm gonna change the world one way or another, revolution will happen... but before I do, I'm gonna destroy everything you love.

«You... you're definitely a villain! - shouted Ruby, clutching Rose's Red Rose tighter. - Why are you doing all this?!

«Because I want to and it's the right thing to do. - said the red-haired man slowly and grinned. - And your Yang, over there. - His grin grew wider and when Ruby glanced in that direction... she noticed Blake tearfully hugging Yang, who was... missing an arm. Weiss was also there, standing there as if in a stupor, unsure of what to do.

«Oh, I like that look of yours... - he drew his sword sharply and met the blow of the scythe, only he didn't expect such a strong blow and drove a few metres on the ground.

Opposite him stood the girl with the scythe... only different.

«I see that there is a villain here, which would be worth getting rid of. - Shinoa said phlegmatically, twirling her scythe in her hand. - Which one of you is Blake? I suggest you get out of here.

«Look Blake, watch me destroy everything you hold dear. - Adam, the red-haired one, said and... drew his sword sharply again to defend himself against the scythe. Shinoa more than professionally jumped over his blow, which sent a slash of reddish energy and struck back, running the point of the scythe across his back, which pushed the guy aside.

«No...no...no...no...Yang..." Ruby whispered quietly, tearfully looking at her sister, her hands trembling and her eyes starting to sting....

«And you wanted to start a revolution? Weakly. - Shinoa said with a smile and easily parried the red-haired man's next blow, and then dodged the "unexpected" energy from his sword. Adam was starting to get angry and he sped up, now outmatched in speed by most of the hunters. His blows were hard to see behind that speed, but Shinoa only smiled a little wider.

«You're not bad, though. Aren't you, Shi? - The girl spoke and her scythe flashed with dark energy for a moment and at that very moment the weapon collided with Adam's katana and shattered it, then the girl twisted the scythe and wanted to hit her opponent, but... a huge pillar of light burst out of Ruby's eyes, which simply blinded her and threw her aside.

«Ahhhhhhhh!" screamed Ruby from the heart. The Grimm nearby simply vaporised, but the wave of energy didn't have a particularly large range. Soon the light was gone and Ruby collapsed onto her sister's body.

«Escaped. - Shinoa stated in some annoyance, noticing that her opponent was gone.

«You... were able to fight him..." said Blake somehow disbelievingly. - And even won.

«I think your friends need help. - pointed at Yang without an arm... and at Ruby, unconscious, who had already been lifted up by Weiss.

***

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