I'm really sorry for the wait! As some of you know, school has started, and I spent the last week getting into the groove of things. Of schedule will change, but I appreciate the continued support. The length is deplorable and for that I'm sorry. I did it for cliffhanger purposes. Sorry for the shitty sentence structure.
-(Y/N)-
"Agh!" I screamed again as I slammed into another tree. The four neon conduits, in the few minuets they had been there, had absolutely kicked my ass into a fine powder. "Seriously?! What... do you guys... want?!"
"It's like we said." The boy who had first attacked me spoke. "You're a liability to our cause. We can't have DUP conduits running around now can we?"
"I hate the DUP as much as anyone else! I'd never side with them."
"But you tried to save them! You openly protected them from me!" I smoke dashed away from another blast of neon that went past me.
"I just don't believe they all have to die!" I yelled. The boy paused, thinking.
"Then I believe you do." He shot towards me, his body turning to neon light before he slammed into me, sending me back through several trees. My healing power was working, but not fast enough. I couldn't possibly hope to take them all. I could run back to the others. Surely Goodwitch would be more than happy to lend a hand... No. I can't risk them getting hurt.
I heard the quad coming again, though at this point I didn't believe they had seen me yet. Nearby were a few bushes, so seeing as I didn't have much choice, I hid. "Where are you, ass wipe?!" One of them yelled.
"He's gotta be around here somewhere. The tree breaking ends right here." I heard a girl's voice. The two of them were about ten feet away, and another stood five feet past them. Then another figure, draped in the uniform black cloak, stepped in front of my bush. Seeing as none of them were looking, I saw this as a grand opportunity. I popped up, firing a cinder missile at the group of three while wrapping my chain around the neck of the one in front of me. The chain was already heated, so it started burning through the guy's neck immediately. While the others recovered, I fired a point-blank cinder missile at the conduit before me. It knocked him back, but I kept him in a firm place with my chain.
It was then I started seeing flashes of neon to my right, so, grabbing the conduit in front of me, I swung us around to the right and used him as a meat shield. This proved effective when two neon beams struck him. He screamed out in pain as the concentrated light probably pierced skin. The two combatants who had shot him moved in different directions, most likely a flanking tactic. I have to knock him out... but this might kill him... fuck it! They came to kill me, so why don't I return the favor.
I kicked the back of his knee, bringing him onto one while sending all the heat I could muster into my hands. Which were currently on his face. He shrieked as I burned him. For only a second, however, I smirk grew on my face. The knowledge that his life was in my hands, and that he would be gone to my strength, my power, filled me with glee. Like I said, only a second. Something or someone hit me in the back and sent me flying back into the clearing. I stuck out my hands and landed in a dive roll, immediately standing back up. A sigh of relief escaped my lips when I saw only three of them. The main boy, the first one I 'met' neon dashed at me, though this time it wasn't a ram. He stopped short and swung a neon encased fist at my head but I countered by launching my own flame- engulfed fist at him. Our hands collided, creating a shock wave of energy. He swung again; so did I. It became a fist fight; I dodged what I could, though was hit quite a lot. Thankfully him and I seemed to be on equal terms in the hand to hand category.
Of course, the other two had to intervene. I knew they had done something when another concentrated beam of neon hit my side. "Wow! You guys... really never... get tired of using that, do you?" I was panting. None of them said anything. "Fine, be a dick about it." They charged me, which caused some form of panic. Luckily, I could move right through them. I smoke dashed past them before spinning and firing a cinder missile. Damn- I'm running out of smoke. My attackers scattered, each of them light speed dashing away in a different direction. My number one fan, however, came right back. At this point though, I was ready. Flinging my chain out to the left, I smiled as I felt it hit something and wrap around. There was a conduit coming at me from my front, left, and right, so I decided to take two birds with one stone. Swinging my whip around, I slammed the restrained conduit around and into the one on my right. Using the momentum, I swung back around and whipped the guy that came at me from the front.
Like the entirety of this fight, he got up quickly. From somewhere on his hip, he produced a blade, which was then physically extended by neon light. "Well that's a new trick." I saw him smirk as he, like the world's most persistent and annoying bull, charged me again. This time I didn't dodge. I swung my chain around to meet his blade, as we danced and flew around the clearing, our weapons creating orange and purple sparks as they made contact. Wait! I have a chain! Becoming aware of my advantage, on the next swing, I wrapped the metal whip around his blade and yanked it out of his hand. His angered expression wasn't one I had to look at long as I sent a cinder blast at it, and finally, he seemed to take damage.
Just then, I felt sharp pains moving up my body starting from the leg. I turned to see the two I had previously knocked out had gotten back up and were shooting at me again. The one on the left neon dashed away, leaving the right one, who remained stationary. They continued to shoot me with neon beams. I only had one cinder missile left, so I knew I had to save it. So I decided to try something new. I smoke dashed in a zig-zag toward the conduit, and when I got close enough, I gathered energy, and fired a cinder blast from both hands at the same time. A feminine grunt escaped what I assumed to be the girl of the group as she was sent back into a tree. "Delilah!" I heard a yell from behind me. It was easily recognizable as my number one fan. I spun around to meet a phosphor beam to the chest. Before I could dodge, something rammed my back and I was sent flying right towards my original attacker. Because of my speed and mid-air position, I was unable to dodge in time as his neon covered fist made contact with my gut.
As I tried to get up, another blast of energy came at me, only this one didn't do what I expected it to do. A moment later I was trapped inside a bubble made of purple light. "Ugh! Dammit!" I tried to move, but I was completely restrained. The bubble broke as another phosphor beam struck me, then another, then another. I looked back to see the other three were recovered and approaching me. I was picked up and thrown to the middle of them. Every time I tried to get up, I was beaten back down. My healing power was failing! I felt a rough hand on me as I was brought to my knees. In front of me, stood he, my first assailant. His arms raised as a spear of neon light formed in his hands. Does it end here? Is this really it? His arms were engulfed by energy as he readied his strike. But... this can't be it... I haven't become a huntsman yet... I haven't shown the world... It's ok, right? One less conduit won't matter... unless... Memories flashed before my mind. Memories of all the friends I made, all the moments I had, and in that moment, I felt my hands ball into fists. You know what? Fuck fate! It was then I felt something. Something wake inside of me. Like an empty well of power had been suddenly filled. I had never been told- shown- yet somehow, I knew exactly what to do.
I heard a screaming voice; it was mine. I screamed as I got one foot under me, momentarily shocking my executioner. I put one forearm in front of me, the other behind, as I grasped at the new feeling, charging the energy I didn't know I had. A hurricane of fire erupted from either of my forearms as a ring of rotating flame surrounded me, as well as them. I pushed off with my feet, seemingly setting my legs on fire, before I shot into the sky. It feels weird... why do I feel like there's three of me? Suddenly, my vision came back, revealing I was nearly 100 feet off the ground. I began to fall back, a large smirk growing as I did so, until I pointed at the ground and started falling. My arms shot flame as my smoke thrusters activated, and I fell like a rocket towards the ground.
Several moments and the sound of an explosion later, I opened my eyes to find myself standing in the clearing. Or at least what was left of it. The closest trees in the treeline were obliterated, and any red leafs on the ground were gone, singed. "H-Holy shit!" Suddenly I heard another voice. "Come on guys! We have to see what that was!" It was distant, but unmistakable as the voice of Ruby. Shit! Gotta run! I bolted into a nearby group of trees and hid. A moment later, I saw teams RWBY, JNPR, and the rest of my team come into the clearing. "Oh my Oum... what happened here?" Ruby asked.
"It's like someone set a bomb off." Yang said.
"But how? No one on the bullhead had that kind of equipment." Atra walked up behind them. I decided to make myself known before they came to any 'conclusions'.
"Hey!" I came out of my cover, waving at them.
"(Y/N)? Where were you?" Atra asked.
"Oh, y'know. Just out for a walk. Guess you all came to see what happened too."
"Yeah! Did you see the explosion? It was huge!" Ruby ran up in front of me, more exited than I felt she should be.
"Well, that is why I came here." I said, putting my hands in my pockets.
"Did you see anything suspicious? Maybe someone leaving the area?" Pyrrha asked. I though for a moment. I actually had no idea if the group of neon conduits survived. Best not mention that part. Don't want to raise any question.
"No, I got here just about when you did." I said.
"Students!? Students!" We turned our heads to see Glynda coming out from the treeline. "My Oum. What happened?" She was looking around with the same awe everyone else had. "Students, are you alright?" A chorus of yeses and nods were her answer. "Please, everyone return to the bullheads. I will handle this." She ushered our group back into the forest while she brought out her scroll. I heard the beginnings of a conversation with Ozpin. Too close. Again. I don't know how long how I can keep this a secret.
Delilah, Matthew, and the two others in the group sat against a group of trees, some of them panting. "Dammit!" Matthew clenched his fist. "We were so close! The hell was that?" Everyone else was silent. "We have to go back. We can take on those students! We just need to kill that smokey bastard!"
"Will you just shut it, Matthew?!" Delilah snapped. He turned to her, a scowl on his face. "You saw that kind of power! How the hell are we supposed to take on someone who can literally turn himself into a missile?!" She sighed, before standing up and putting a hand on his shoulder. "Listen, we can handle him another time. We can't just go throwing ourselves into fights. We have other things we need to do too. Lets just keep a close eye on him, and we'll worry about it when another opportunity presents itself."
"Okay... okay. Sorry, I just-"
"I know." She interrupted. "And we will. But for right now, lets focus on what's important." Delilah removed a photo from one of her pockets and handed it to Matthew. He looked at it and smiled, a tear in his eye.
"Yeah. What's important."
Again, sorry for the terrible wait time and lack of length. I ended it there for the structure of the next two chapters. Sorry for the shitty sentence structure.