(Haven Academy)
As the evening sky looms over Mistral, silhouetting the twin mountain peaks, and the enormous Cho Chin, Haven Academy is left empty with the only people inside the school are Lionheart and Raven. Inside of the headmaster's office, Lionheart remains seated at his desk, patiently waiting as Raven's mask is resting on his desk. A moment later, Raven cuts open a portal and Vernal just walks out of it smoothly with a stumbling Emerald coming out of the portal behind her, addressing to Vernal.
Emerald: "Ugh, how are you this difficult to keep track of?"
Vernal glances at the green-haired girl and retorts sarcastically.
Vernal: "What? I was just giving you a little exercise. Besides, no one asked you to be my handler."
Raven just stares at Vernal carefully as Emerald takes offense to that statement. Before Emerald can say anything back, Cinder opens the door to the headmaster office, walking inside with Mercury following behind. Seeing her, Emerald runs up to Cinder as Mercury asks.
Mercury: "What took you so long, Em?"
This just earns him a disapproving glare from Emerald. Meanwhile, Cinder looks to Raven, then to Leo.
Cinder: "It's about time we get started. No more delays."
Leo, Raven, and Vernal are quiet as Leo nods to her and leads them out the office's door. As they walk through the corridor, leading the school's grand hall, Mercury exhales.
Mercury: "Man, I'm going to miss being able to walk around the city freely. Not allowed to do it in Salem's castle."
Emerald: "Y-Yeah..."
She shivers to herself at the thought of returning and muttering.
Emerald: "That place always feels so... dead. Having Christina there doesn't exactly help make it better, and Salem is-"
In front of her, Cinder cuts her, glancing over to her.
Cinder: "Salem is 'what,' exactly?"
Emerald's eyes become small and beady in fear as she immediately curls in on herself.
Emerald: "I-It's nothing."
Cinder turns back to the front of their group, following Lionheart just as voices can be heard, emerging from the grand hall. The group slows down their pace only to stop in place. All eyes fall to Lionheart as it becomes clear the voices are coming from Qrow and his group.
Raven: "It's Qrow and his tag-a-longs."
Lionheart: "N-No... they weren't supposed to be here..."
As Cinder and Raven nudge their group back into the corridor, Cinder turns to Lionheart.
Cinder: "Leo, go and take care of the problem now."
Leo begins to sweat, anxiety plastered over his face.
Lionheart: "M-Me? I-I don't know what to do."
Cinder just grabs him by his shoulder and presses further.
Cinder: "You're the headmaster of an entire student body. Go and give them detention or something."
Gulping nervously, Lionheart approaches the main balcony at the far end of the grand hall.
[This is what the school's grand hall looks like as a fresh reminder.]
Lionheart approaches and upon seeing ten people instead of six, he becomes even more nervous. He tries to calm himself down and act causal as he shifts his attention to Qrow.
Lionheart: "Ah, Qrow... to what do I owe for your visit? And why you brought such a colorful collection of people here?"
As he asks this, Lionheart has a forceful laugh for flavor as to not sound so tense and anxious. Qrow just glares at him as he responds back.
Qrow: "We have some questions about... well, a whole lot if I'm being honest."
Lionheart: "O-Oh, I see. Then, I'll be happy to answer them for you."
Despite what he said, Leo is clearly uncomfortable, especially the unwavering glare Y/N is giving him. The assembled group then ask their questions to him.
Ruby: "Were you the one who send the huntsmen to those missions?"
Lionheart: "I-I was, yes."
Jaune: "Were you aware that majority of them didn't come back alive?"
Lionheart: "Y-Yes. It was rather... u-unfortunate."
This makes the still glaring Y/N fold his hands into fists, clenching them tightly as he finally chimes in.
Y/N #1: "Really, because one of them survived and told us that those missions were suicidal and it wasn't because of criminals or Grimm, but by three assailants and one of them used fire to kill his group."
Lionheart: "W-What?"
Ren: "Was the train shutting down your doing?"
Lionheart: "N-No, of course not."
Nora: "Why would send them to these suicide missions?"
Lionheart: "I... I did no such thing."
Leo becomes more tense, more panicked, and more vengeful as the accusations pile up. Inside the corridor and standing several feet away from Leo, Raven realizes that Lionheart has been compromised and makes an executive decision to attack as she turns to Vernal.
Raven: "Vernal..."
As she said her name, Raven opens a portal, motioning Vernal to jump inside, which she does much to Cinder and her accomplices' surprise.
Cinder: "What are you doing?"
Raven: "Part of our agreement, Cinder."
Back in the school's grand hall, a portal open right behind Qrow as Vernal pops out and flips over Qrow's head, distracting him and Y/N for only a second before Raven reaches out to grab Qrow by the collar and drags him through the portal and into the corridor. Both Y/N and Ruby watch in shock and horror as this happen, making Y/N quickly takes out Crimson and Violet, making Ruby and the others to draw out their own weapons.
Ruby: "Qrow!"
They then turn to face the new threat along with the headmaster as Y/N yells at him.
Y/N #1: "Lionheart, you goddamn traitor! We trusted you!"
Lionheart: "My apology for tarnishing your expectations of me, Mr. L/N."
Enraged, the armed Y/N goes to dash over to the stairs to attack the traitorous headmaster. Jaune only spares Vernal a glance before glaring up at Lionheart and rushing up the stairs with his swords in his hands. Halfway up, Emerald comes rushing out of the halfway, drop-kicking Y/N over the railing, which Y/N blocks with his blades but, the force cause him to fall off. Emerald quickly follows this up by using the chains of her weapon to trap Jaune's leg and throw him over the railing, jumping down beside him and resting her other blade at Jaune's neck.
Y/N #1: "You..."
As Y/N recover from that sudden attack and prepare to retaliate, Weiss and Yang react next, readying their weapons, getting a moment of surprise at seeing Vernal so willingly to attack her own uncle. Notably, Weiss is more shocked than Yang as Yang is angrier and more appalled by it. However, their attention only remains on Vernal for a second before Yang catches Mercury jumping over the railing in the corner of her eye. Mercury goes for a roundhouse kick to her head only for Yang to block the blow at the last second, sliding back beside Weiss.
Mercury: "Hey there, Blondie. I'm thinking you owe me an apology for my leg, don't you think?"
His eyes are drawn to her robotic arm as he comments.
Mercury: "Hm, nice arm, really suits you."
The red-eyed Yang becomes tunnel-visioned on him, slamming her two fists together as her hair flickers with small patches of fire as she jumps forwards, readying her fist towards him.
Yang: "I'm going to break your legs for real this time, and your arms for good measure!"
Behind them, Roman and Neo see what's starting to happen and both silently agree to rush towards the front double doors at the back with Neo show some concern over Y/N and Yang, especially Y/N as she never him this mad before. The now armed Nora and Ren see them trying to leave.
Nora: "Hey! Don't split up!"
Roman: "Oh I'm sure you guys got this under control."
Ren: "Don't just leave!"
Ren and Nora chase after the criminal duo and just when they almost make it to the front double doors, Hazel enters through it, completely unfazed by the burgeoning battle happening before him as he closes it behind him. He calls out to Cinder, who just walk out of the corridor and enter the balcony with Lionheart.
Hazel: "The White Fang will arrive here any minute now. No one is getting in, no one is getting out."
Roman and Neo stop in their track by Hazel as Roman begins to hear Ozpin's disembodied voice, saying audibly.
Ozpin: "Oh crap."
Mumbling to himself, Roman then asks.
Roman: "Oh crap? What do you mean that?!"
This just leaves Neo confuse as to why he's mumbling to himself. And with no pause, Ozpin speaks once more.
Ozpin: "Roman, I need you to run."
Roman looks to Neo, standing beside him.
Roman: "Neo..."
In an instant, they're back on the same exact combat wavelength as though they never missed a beat. With a nod from Neo, the two vanish into an illusion, leaving Ren and Nora to stare at this hulking mass of a person who now has blocked their nearest possible exit. Meanwhile, the smirking Cinder strolls her way over to Leo, now standing beside him as she announces her presence to everyone in the grand hall.
Cinder: "Hello everyone..."
As Y/N kick Emerald away from him, his eyes shift to Cinder on the balcony as his face scrunches up into a scowling expression.
Y/N #1: "Cinder..."
Cinder goes to climb down the stairs as all eyes fall to her with Ruby and Y/N glaring at her.
Cinder: "It's so nice to see you all. The Schnee, the bimbo, the maiden wannabe's little friends, the drunk..."
Before she continues, her eye is drawn to Ruby and Y/N as Cinder reaches the bottom of the stairs next to Emerald, who holds Jaune at gunpoint.
Cinder: "The child... and you..."
She glares at them as they do the same with Y/N doing it more so. Jaune is also glaring at Cinder but is more preoccupied with Emerald holding him in place.
Cinder: "We have a score to settle."
Ruby goes to carefully aim Crescent Rose and Y/N morph one of his swords into pistols and take aim as well.
Ruby: "We do."
Y/N #1: "But we're not the only one."
Almost in sync, Ruby and Y/N fire their shots. Cinder goes to dodge a little only to not realize that those shots were meant for Emerald. It knocks Emerald off balance, giving Jaune the opportunity to be free from Emerald's grip and go to slash at Cinder's head. Y/N tries to follow this up by rushing over and striking at Cinder. Unfortunately, they miss as Cinder quickly evade by moving her body away from their attacks. She retaliates by extending her arm and shoots a fireball at them, which they manage to avoid and roll back to Ruby. Cinder glares indignantly at Jaune, while still having her eye affixed on Ruby and Y/N.
Cinder: "You're not worth the air you breathe."
Jaune yells back at her.
Jaune: "Worth more than you!"
Cinder: "Tch!"
Y/N quickly puts away Crimson and Violet and goes to draw out Grimm Slayer from its sheath as he points it at Cinder.
Y/N #1: "I going to stop you! And I don't intend to fail a second time!"
Cinder: "Try all you want, your efforts will be pointless. I'll get what I want, just like how I got the maiden power from Ozpin's pathetic candidate."
This enraged Y/N and Jaune.
Y/N #1: "You fucking bitch!"
Jaune charges at her, sword raised and helmet on only for Emerald jumps in front of Cinder and blocks him while Ruby and the red-eyed Y/N rushes up behind him then jumps over Jaune to slash at Cinder. While Cinder evades their numerous strikes, she quickly conjures up a blade of her own and starts blocking and parrying their attacks.
During this, Weiss hesitates between helping them or helping Yang with Mercury, which their fight had already started, seeing them exchange fists and kicks as they do. Before she can decide, Vernal walks up to her, drawing her blade.
Vernal: "Weiss..."
This gets Weiss's attention but, she doesn't lift her rapier, unsure of how to deal with Vernal's genuinely aggressive posture. Angrily, the bandit girl asks.
Vernal: "Did you or Y/N even get my warning? Did Yang tell you about it?"
Weiss: "I did, but I-"
Vernal is quick to cut her off.
Vernal: "I gave you an out, a chance to escape from this, to be free. But no, I now see what my mother was talking about. That old man has such a grip over people. That he convinces you and your friends to go against your better judgement."
Before Weiss can respond back, she shoots a quick glare.
Weiss: "I weighed my options. I made my choice. And I'm sticking to it. If you have an issue with that, well..."
She then takes up a defensive stance, readying her rapier as Vernal puts on her mask. The two begin to circle and as they come to a halt a few seconds later, Weiss speaks up.
Weiss: "I'm sorry."
Vernal: "I'm not."
The bandit girl then launches forward as the two lock blades, staring each other down.
Meanwhile, Ren keeps his eyes locked on Hazel while Nora shifts her gaze between the large man and the fights happening near the other side of the grand hall. Hazel has been focusing on Y/N as he fights violently towards Cinder with Ruby. He stares at him with a mixture of sadness, pity, and regret.
Hazel: ("I'm sorry, Y/N... that we have to meet once more in such terrible circumstances...")
The large man then seems to only just now really look at the two students in front of him.
Hazel:" I don't wish to fight either of you."
Ren: "Nor I you."
Nora: "But we will if you're with her!"
Hazel: "Are you willing to die for someone else's lost cause?"
Both Nora and Ren glares at the man before Nora replying back.
Nora: "It's only lost if no one fights for it."
With a deep sigh, Hazel shook his head in dismay.
Hazel: "No one ever chooses peace..."
He then walks towards them calmly, cracking his knuckles as he does. Seeing this, Ren opens fire on him with his dual pistols, and Nora raises her hammer, ready to strike him. However, Hazel simply walks through Ren's bullets, tanking it with his aura alone and when Nora's hammer come down on him, he just catches the hammer's shaft with one hand. Nora does even have time to react before Hazel uses it as a lever to fling her through the grand hall's right set of double doors into one of the school's many hallways.
Ren: "Nora!"
He decides to charge at Hazel only to have his head grabbed by Hazel's massive hand and flung through the same double doors as Nora got fling through. Wordlessly, Hazel stalks inside after them.
Inside the hall leading to Leo's office, Raven and Qrow are locked in a desperate struggle as neither can quite get the upper hand on the other. With Qrow slashing at Raven with his longsword, Harbinger only to be blocked and parried by Raven and her blade, Omen. Qrow does manage to quickly morph his longsword into a scythe and managing to push Raven back with each swing of it. To the point that he lands a hit on her and send flying and crashing through Leo's office, tearing it up and leaving the windows shattered.
Raven: "Tch..."
Recovering from that, Raven see Qrow launching forward for another strike only for Raven jump up, avoiding it and landing on top of the scythe. Using a well-timed and placed portal, Raven kicks Qrow through into one that she's ripped open in the sky, the farthest distance she can manage from a loved one. Qrow plummets towards the school below but, transforms into a bird halfway down only to be attacked mid-air by Raven in her own bird form, hitting him with her feet. As Qrow push her back and Raven chase after him, the two siblings land on the roof of the school, standing face to face with one another, weapons still in their hands.
Qrow: "What the hell were you thinking? You said you want nothing to do with Salema and Ozpin. Yet here you are, throwing your own group with Salem's."
Raven: "I had no choice! The survival of my tribe takes-"
Her glaring brother just cuts her off, morphing his scythe into a longsword.
Qrow: "Cut the bullshit, Raven! It has never been about your tribe. It's always about you and what you want. You act all high and mighty but, the minute you're faced with someone stronger than you, you cower, you run..."
Before he continues further, Qrow points his longsword at her.
Qrow: "You're acting just like Y/N when I first took him in. At least with him, he managed to work through that kind of mindset out of his head."
This remark just infuriated Raven as she stands at the edge of the roof by this point as she feels the tile slipping under her feet and glares at Qrow and then asking.
Raven: "If you think you can keep talking, your pathetic semblance will take care of me for you."
Qrow: "Your pride will do that for you anyway."
He then lifts his blade for a strike towards her. However, this is when the White Fang arrives via bullheads. A bullhead with its bright lights on passes by overhead, distracting Qrow just enough for Raven to lunge forward, ready to make a diagonal strike. Qrow steps to the side and ends up on the edge of the roof himself and her next attack is about to land only for the tiles beneath his feet to slip and send him tumbling off the building. Enraged and annoyed, Raven let out a scream and jumps down after him.
As the two Branwen siblings continue their fight, a few more White Fang airships fly over and begin landing in the distance as it opens its hatch for Adam and several White Fang troops to step off.
Adam: "Lay down the charges on the CCT tower. The rest of you will secure the perimeter. Once you're done with that, feel free to take whatever that isn't bolted to the ground and destroy whatever is."
And with that, his armed troops nod to this and spread out, with a few jumping the gun and throwing molotovs to the nearby dormitories. Adam just watches the flames spread, holding his weapon in place.
Adam: ("Our revolution has started.")