Perilous Arc |AU|

Grit Your Teeth [Chap. 1]

"Get to Vale. Call for help, please."

"LISTEN! SHE'S GONNA GET HERSELF KILLED, JUST SEND BACKUP TO BEACON TOWER!" I shouted into my scroll, spittle spraying onto the plex screen.

"Wha-? I c-t hea-"

An explosion that rattled me punctuated the call I tried to have with Ruby, a 'Connection-Cut' screen replacing the crunchy video that the call allowed.

"FUCK!" I slammed my fist into the metal door of the locker, shaking the entire thing while I cursed. Resignation settled in me, thinking of how crushing the last few hours of my life had been. I thought of the 'death' of that student at Amity, right before everything went to hell with that voice preaching it all. I thought of the attacks launching all over Vale and even the Academy, and I thought of the Grimm swarming the Kingdom. Pyrrha and I even had to crush some fancy Atlas robots after our escape, which adds another enemy for everyone left. I thought of how Pyrrha saw fit to send me away, so I wouldn't get in the way of her suicide run. Now I can't even send out a call for backup, the one thing she asked of me. I slumped a little in my armor, hopelessness setting in.

Then, I thought of the arrow that killed the woman in that machine, in the basement Pyrrha and I fled from.

I thought of the woman that shot it, and my teeth grit.

I thought of how likely it was that she would be in the tower that my partner was marching towards, all alone. After all, where else would an evil asshole nest than in the Headmaster's personal office?

"BULLSHIT! I can't just stay in this thing! I can wimp out later!" I snarled to myself. I sent a mass-message to my team and all of team RWBY, which simply said Ozpin's office and backup ASAP, the words not in any particular order before I put the scroll away. I looked around the locker and made note of the space as much as I could with the limited light coming from the slits, and quickly planned an escape route.

With a grunt, I shifted my weapon off my hip and wedged it on one side of the locker. With a shuddering breath, I expanded the shield. The superior material of my great-grandfather's weapon won out, and with a series of creaking and cracks the lock and hinges of the locker broke. As soon as the noise reached my ears I wedged myself against the sides and kicked, and the door flew off. Wind smacked against my body and I watched the door fall to the ground, gulping as it disappeared immediately upon touching down. Only lucky reflex saved Crocea Mors from reaching the same fate, as I somehow caught it before it slipped out of the locker and put it back on my hip.

"N-now I just have to turn this around... should be simple?" I muttered, the wind drowning out my voice. I thought for a second about my next move, watching the ground fly by. The only relief I felt was that I recognized the buildings flying by, meaning I hadn't cleared the campus yet. Taking a deep breath, I gave myself some words of encouragement.

"Don't Die!"

I unwedged myself from the sides of the locker and grabbed the top lip, where the door used to rest, and threw myself downwards. I fell out of the locker only hanging on by my fingers, and the direction the locker was headed changed immediately towards the floor. A quick squeaked curse and I swung and threw myself backwards and back into the locker, dragging it with me once again. I landed hard in the empty storage container, slamming on my back and finally losing my grip... but I didn't fall out.

I simply breathed deeply for a few seconds, thinking on if I was dead or not, before gaining the courage to turn over and peek above the lip. A shocked smile slid across my face.

"That worked?!" The main tower of Beacon, which housed Ozpin's office, was now approaching. "HA! Just hold on Pyrrha, I'll be there!"

I paused in my celebration for a second and turned my gaze backwards towards Vale. My brows furrowed as I saw fire all around, buildings and airships alike with splotches of black skirting across the skyline. The largest one I saw was that monster, the dragon-like Grimm that flew over the buildings in the distance. I swallowed, mouth suddenly dry as I watched the scene before turning around, hoping that my friends were safe and that they managed to get the message I sent.

"Huh?"

I looked back towards the tower, but... everything was black. And had feathers?

"SCREEEEEEAAA!"

[AN- Yo. Something I'm doing just to have fun. Updates will be once a week for now, but that could slow down later on. Hope u enjoy. BTW, RT owns RWBY, not me.]