Raven Branwen had been impatient, banging on their doors as soon as the first rays of light flitted through the holes in the walls. It took him and Weiss five minutes to get ready—mostly because she was exhausted from last night. Still, it was the opposite for him. Last night was probably the best sleep he ever had since, well, forever.
He had been away from the frontier for far too long. Apparently, long enough that his bones missed the scratchy linens, the hard beds, and the lukewarm food. Odd things to miss, for sure. But still, to each their own.
They marched into the desert as soon as Raven's men packed up their camp. Ruby and Blake shambled over the sands like zombies, their packs slung over their shoulders. Qrow Branwen slouched after them, already taking long sips of his flask.
Nex shot him a glare—a glare that vanished when Weiss elbowed his stomach. A long line of brigands followed them, the faunus from Tanis interspersed with their ranks, armed with pikes and crossbows.
"Hey," Qrow said, walking beside Raven. "Good to have you here, sis. For what it's worth."
"It's worth very little," Raven said, scoffing. "Of that, you can be certain."
Qrow grimaced and took another sip of his flask. "It's not too late to come back, you know."
"Come back?" Raven snorted. "You must be joking."
Ruby fidgeted with her skirt, stumbling as she almost tripped over a dune. "Yang still misses you."
"She'll come to me, sooner or later," Raven said, licking her lips. "Will you deny her this, little brother?"
"Can't stop her," Qrow said. "She's stubborn as her mom."
Raven hmphed. "I had strings, but now I'm free." She shook her head and turned to the trail. "A pity that you are not."
"Oz gave us an out," Qrow said. "We owe him our lives."
Raven stilled, her boot sinking into the sand. "A debt that we—she repaid. With her life. If anything, you should be the one furious. Did you even love Amariss Shade, little brother? Or did you simply use her like—"
"Shut up," Qrow said, growling.
Nex raised an eyebrow. Their little twin talk was getting a bit heated.
"Struck a nerve, have I?" Raven smirked.
Qrow kept mum. He chugged at his flask, his throat bobbing furiously.
"Silent as Mary's grave," Raven said. "What say you, godson of mine? Is this drunk even your father?"
"What do you think?" Nex said, his eyes narrowing. "My dad or no, it doesn't matter. Right now, the mission's the only thing that matters."
"How professional." Raven chuckled. "See, little brother? You can learn something from your son."
"Seems like he's learning all he can from you," Qrow said, wiping his lips with his cuff.
"A wise move, is it not?" Raven said.
Qrow said nothing in response. He only did what he always did. Find courage at the bottom of his flask.
Two hours passed on the march, with neither Grimm nor man in sight. Only the odd corpse here or there, some skeletons that had been picked clean by predators, and quiet ruins blowing dust in the wind.
The remains of Remnant's past had always been an interest to scholars, but venturing out into—and under—the Vacuan desert would have cost even the Atlesian military a large fortune of troops and supplies. Resources that would have been better served to keep the bulk of the Grimm at bay.
But still, he had gone on one of those less-than-legal expeditions before, digging into the vast underground maze that lay buried under Vacuo. It was said that there, the artificers of old constructed whole cities as a safe haven against the Grimm, before mankind harnessed the power of dust, with nothing but the blood of thousands of people. Sacrificed, offered as piety to their gods.
Only a legend, of course. What they found instead was reality—a pile of treasure that set Roman Torchwick and the Vagabonds for life.
As for him?
Well, his cut hung off his hip.
Nex grinned, sharpening Hrunting as he and Weiss sat on a boulder, the cliffside providing them shade. Raven's men set camp for the day, to burn off the worst of the sun. They would resume their march as soon as the worst of the heat died down in the afternoon.
Standard procedure, as outlined in one of their Geography courses. A fact that Raven would know well.
"Have you ever been here before?" Weiss said. "Any adventures I should know about?"
Nex chuckled. "Funny. I was just thinking about that."
"Oh?" Weiss arched an eyebrow. "Do tell."
Nex swished Hrunting, the silvery steel glimmering in the dark. "Did you know that there are entire cities buried under the desert?"
"I remember reading about them once," Weiss said. "Grimm-infested remains of ancient civilizations, highways spanning all the way from Vale to Vacuo." She smiled, her fingers drumming his thigh. "Experts even theorise that these highways go so deep that they run under the oceans, linking Mistral and Atlas as well."
"It's not a theory." Nex grinned.
"Not a theory?" Weiss said.
"There really are highways that go underwater." Nex winked. "Shhh. Don't tell anyone."
Weiss leaned against him, her eyes twinkling. "You've gone on an expedition before."
"Not a legal one," Nex said. "I was thirteen maybe. Got in, got out." He sheathed his sword. "Got myself Hrunting here."
"You're saying you found your sword underground?" Weiss said.
"Nope," Nex said. "I'm saying that the metal I used to forge it came from an ancient city. Very old, very rich, you know how it goes." He coughed, rifling through his brain for the name. "Tethys. Yep. That's what it was called."
"Tethys?" Weiss said. "Never heard of it."
"Obviously," Nex said.
Weiss snickered. "So where's Tethys?"
"Buried under a thousand gigatons of water," Nex said.
"How?" Weiss said, her eyebrows creasing. "Why?"
"Partly my fault," Nex said. "Turns out, picking very old locks has this very unfortunate side-effect of—"
"Triggering traps," Inky's wife said softly, peering at them through the shadows. "Even though they shouldn't be triggered at all."
Nex nodded, spying Inky having a chat with Raven. Apparently, she came along as well. Well, whatever she did was not his problem. As long as her magic did not get in his way—and as long she herself did not.
"Why, hello there," Weiss said. "I'm afraid we didn't catch your name."
"I am called Leli," the ginger said, smiling curtly. She tapped her bow and the lute fastened to her back. "I am a bard by trade, as you may have inferred. But, I assure you, I can hold my own in a scrap."
"Of course," Weiss said with a grin. "It'd be great to fight alongside you and Inky."
Nex let his eyes wander over Leli's form, his semblance etching her emblem and weapons into his mind.
Just in case.
Leli had a sword fastened to her belt and two onyx knives hidden in her boots, as well as a set of silver daggers strapped to her thigh. Pareidolia deduced that she had many more blades tucked away on her body. All of them were poisoned. Some would have killed an elephant with a small prick, while others would have merely put it to sleep.
She held a towering bow by her side like a staff, its bottom arch sinking into the sands. It was black as brimstone and twice as tall as an average man. He did not need Pareidolia to know that its girth was not meant to be wielded by amateur hands—or perhaps even human ones. A quiver crammed full of ebony bolts—thick missiles definitely custom-made for her bow—dangled by her hip.
Her armour was made from finely linked mail. An incredibly old-fashioned design, popular among Vacuo's assassins. She wore a greyish-blue cowl over it, a brooch in the likeness of a nightingale in-flight keeping it attached to her chest.
Leli chuckled, meeting his stare with her own. "You have already met my love. Inky. What do you think about her?"
"She's crazy," Blake said, coming up behind Leli with Ruby in tow. "No offence."
"Um..." Ruby tapped the sand with her feet. "Excuse me, ma'am?"
Leli swept her cloak aside, letting them pass. "No offence is taken. In fact, I too sometimes believe that my dearly beloved has, ah, brushed insanity far too many times to be considered sane."
"Is that so?" Weiss said. "I'm sensing a story here."
"Methinks this story will have to be told in the future, eh?" Inky said, popping out from Leli's shadow. A grin stretched her cheeks as she coiled around Leli like a snake. "Now then! Introductions! This is Leli, my beloved. Leli, these are Ruby, Blake, Weiss, and Nex."
Nex nodded, shifting on his legs.
"It is a pleasure to meet you," Leli said, her peculiar accent thick in her gentle voice. "I do hope Inky hasn't been too troublesome."
"Leli!" Inky said, curling her nose up at the giggling bard. "Oh, do be ignoring her, eh? I am not troublesome. In fact, methinks I'm the more charming of us two."
Weiss laughed, her voice tinkling across the chasm. "Charming. Yes. We can see that."
Nex laid his back on the boulder, keeping an eye on Inky and Leli as they chatted with the SBR of his team. He engaged his semblance, analysing the energy that suffused Inky.
It seemed to run in her weapons, too. A sword in a fancy sheath, a green gem shimmering on its hilt. As well as a staff made of ivory-white steel. It was tipped with a clump of fire dust in the shape of a heart—a literal, blood-red heart, with all the veins and arteries intricately chiselled into it. It must have cost a kingdom's fortune just from the craftsmanship alone.
Her outfit matched her weapons nicely. An orange shawl draped over dark, coat-like vestments, with a knife hidden in her left breast, under her emblem—a staff wreathed in roaring flames. She kept playing with the knife whenever she thought no one was looking.
Whoever Leli and Inky really were, they were the real deal. Adventurers. Huntresses twice their age. Maybe even a pair of dead-eyed assassins, considering his godmother's streak with her associates. It was probably best that his team stayed on their good side.
"Come," Raven said, her voice rousing him from his thoughts. "We must resume your training."
"Well," Weiss said, schooling her grinning face, "I'm afraid Nex and I must go. But perhaps we can sit and chat later?"
"Of course," Leli said. "We'll be here should you have need of us, yes?"
Raven took them to a secluded corner, her men busy building makeshift outposts along the cliff. She motioned for them to sit.
Nex plopped down on the packed sand, laying a sheathed Oathkeeper on his lap. Weiss followed, but not before making sure her skirt was well out of the way as she crouched on her heels. Doubtless, she looked silly. Like a crab skittering along the sandy, ocean floor.
"Such poise," Raven said, snorting. "Truly a sight worthy of the Schnee name."
"Considering present company," Weiss said, "I don't think there's much call to impress, is there?"
"Indeed not," Raven said. "Such frivolities are best reserved for an Atlesian soiree."
"Well, we're here to train," Weiss said, clasping Myrtenaster's hilt. "So train us."
Raven nodded, gesturing for them to do what they did before.
Nex closed his eyes. He coaxed his aura out of its shell, the light of his soul entwined with his blade. The dust sang to him, crooning in his ears. A sliver of fire hissed into existence. It swayed before him, in the darkness of his mind, just like it always did.
Deeper.
Part the flames.
Deeper.
Part the embers.
Deeper.
Part the motes.
Deeper, into the darkness, the cold heart of the flame.
He could see it now. It was there, white-hot and—
Weiss yelped, a wave of fire kissing his face. The sound of his stubble melting off, the hairs crinkling, made him grimace.
"Sorry," Weiss whispered as she summoned another fireball.
"It's fine," Nex mumbled, his withered heart feeling a stab of pain—centuries of effort, wasted. "It'll just grow back or something."
Inky giggled, her laughter coming from Weiss' flank. "Methinks y'all be doing it wrong, eh?"
"Oh? You have something to say, huntress?" Raven said, annoyance colouring her voice.
"Demon huntress, please." Inky grinned. "It be the rightful title, eh?"
"Ugh." Raven shook her head. "Have you even seen this technique before?"
"It just so happens that I have," Inky said. "Me bestie knows it best, eh?"
"And you are not your bestie," Raven said. "Do not presume to teach a skill that you yourself do not practice."
"Ah, but that is where you are wrong, Raven Branwen," Inky said, the sand crunching under her staff. "Fancy a wager?"
"Take your foolishness elsewhere, woman," Raven said. "I do not gamble."
"Methinks your teacher's a tad scared of Captain Inky, eh?" Inky said, giggling. "I have tutored many an apprentice, you see, quite successfully if I may say so myself."
Raven scowled, waving for them to get lost. "If you return as incompetent as ever, then you would have wasted no one's time but your own."
Weiss rolled her eyes. "Noted, Chief Branwen."
Inky trotted along the shadowed path, leading them out into the desert. The infernal sun battered their backs with dry, scorching heat. Half an hour of walking and he was already drenched. Never before had he been grateful for Weiss fussing over him and forcing him to use her sunscreen as well.
Inky sighed, smiling like a child lost in a candy store as she stared at the sun. "Ah, to bask in the light of day. It be most invigorating, eh?"
Weiss winced and held a palm up, shielding her eyes. "I don't know how you're finding this unbearable heat even remotely pleasant."
Nex was inclined to agree. He wiped the sweat off his neck, the water thick and freezing cold. For fuck's sake. He was born and raised in Atlas, rimed in blood and snow. Facing the sweltering desert heat head-on was not his forte.
"Now then," Inky said, the ruby on her staff pulsing. Light flashed—and a chair fashioned from wood and royal velvet appeared from thin air. His semblance squirmed. She sat on her throne, smiling and crossing her legs. "I shall call forth the flame, and you shall attempt to part it."
"How did you do that?" Weiss said, her eyebrows furrowing as she stared at Inky.
Magic. Nex shrugged. It was magic. Though the casual, nonchalant use of it would have probably made Ozpin's cult baulk.
"Magic," Inky said, parroting his thoughts. She grinned and cupped her face, her elbows on her knees. Another flash of light and a goblet of wine floated beside her, mist wafting off the crimson liquid. "Why, something be wrong, Weiss Schnee?"
Weiss pursed her lips. "Are you a Maiden as well?"
"Why, yes!" Inky laughed. "The fire be my domain, eh?"
"You're the Summer Maiden," Nex said, licking his lips.
"Quite the gander, eh, Nexus Shade?" Inky said. "Now then. Part the flames, apprentices!"
Two balls of white fire flashed into existence, hovering harmlessly before them.
Nex gritted his teeth, his aura surging into a scalpel. Weiss did the same beside him, her eyes closing as she glowed a pale blue.
His aura, guided by his semblance, whizzed through one of Inky's fireballs, peeling the outer layers as if it were an egg. What remained was a faint sliver. It winked at him, almost taunting.
"The fire will hurt you," Inky said. "It be its nature. And it be your nature to shy away, eh?"
Nex licked his lips, his semblance—and a fraction of his soul—delving into the flames. He swam along the molten currents, trying to split it open.
It hissed.
"Don't lose sight of the goal," Inky said. "When you find yourself able, rip the flame from inside. No more be necessary, eh?"
Nex nodded and drew upon his reserves, his aura welling up like an unstoppable tide.
Weiss smiled as the outer layers of her fireball flaked off—and only a tiny orb remained.
Nex squinted at his sliver of white flame. It was weakening, the bonds holding it together as loose as a rich man's purse. He flared his aura, midnight blue bursting out of the fire. The white flame scattered into motes that faded in the wind.
Weiss gasped, her tiny orb exploding. It left a crater in the sands. "You did it!"
Nex bit his lip. "That… was easier than expected."
It was either Inky went easy on her fireballs or Raven was a crappy teacher. The worst part was that he absolutely had no idea which.
Inky chuckled. "Of course! Your teacher be making you call the flame and asking you to destroy it at the same time. No task be more difficult than to oppose oneself, eh?"
"That's…" Weiss trailed off. "Surprisingly deep."
"Ha! Think nothing more of it!" Inky said. "It be me job to dig into the unseen, eh?"
"Thanks, Inky," Nex said. "You're definitely a much better teacher than Raven."
Inky preened at that, sipping on her wine.
"Are you still going to spend the summer with her?" Weiss said.
Nex shrugged. "Probably. I gave my word, right?"
Weiss breathed a sigh, her nostrils shrinking. "Whatever you say, Mr Shade. Shall we return then?"
"What about you?" Nex said.
"Now that we know why we haven't been making progress," Weiss said, "I think I can catch up on the way."
Thus, during the walk back, Weiss kept asking him to make fireballs for her to practice on. It was probably more difficult doing it while baking under the sun and keeping an eye on the slippery path. Still, the fact that she managed to do it as soon as they stepped into camp only proved that the woman he loved was talented indeed.
"I did it," Weiss said, smiling as the embers fluttered in the breeze. "So, does that make me a master dust mage too?" she winked at him, her smile turning into a grin.
Nex shrugged. "Sure."
It hardly mattered anyway.
Raven marched towards them. "You've done it then?" she said. "Have you gained the skill necessary?"
"Yes, and it only took a more capable teacher," Weiss said, letting out a hmph. "You know, maybe you could learn something from Inky."
"The fact that you are more compatible with her hardly speaks anything about my capabilities," Raven said, scoffing. "We Branwens didn't survive this long by being weak, heiress of Schnee."
Weiss arched an eyebrow. "I'd hardly call raiding remote, tiny settlements a display of strength."
Raven's men bristled at that, their clubs creaking.
"Calm yourselves," Raven said, sparing them a glance. "Unless of course you believe you can best her."
None of them made any further moves. Not until Vernal stepped forward with a grin. Her tomahawks glinted in the dark, dangling from her belt.
"She ain't so tough," Vernal said. "I'm betting we can make her kneel. If you want to, chief."
Raven hummed, watching them both. A small crowd of both bandits and refugees had already gathered, Ruby and Blake among them. The creases on both of their eyebrows betrayed their worry.
"You seem so sure," Weiss said, a hand on her rapier. "Care to put your money where your mouth is?"
Nex clicked his tongue, hard-light inching Oathkeeper out of its sheath. If it came to it, there was absolutely no way he was letting any of them lay a hand on his fiance.
"Oh spare me the dramatics!" Inky said, jogging out of the crowd. She stood between Vernal and Weiss, staff gripped tightly in her right hand, her left on the hilt of her sword. "Why can't y'all just get along, eh? We be all comrades-in-arms here, eh?"
Weiss nodded, heaving a soft sigh. "Out of respect for you, Inky, I'll forget that a certain someone here is acting awfully aggressive."
"And I'll forget that you just insulted us, princess," Vernal said, hissing. "For now. Better hope that I don't find you outside your castle."
"Enough, Vernal," Raven said. "Attend to the scouts. We have a long march ahead of us."
The crowd eventually dispersed, going back to whatever it was they were doing before. Team Snowbear sat in a secluded corner. Far away from the sun—at Weiss' vehemence. They talked about what they learned from Inky, in hushed voices that even the walls did not hear.
Ruby gasped. "You mean—"
Weiss placed a finger on the silver-eyed girl's lips. "Yes. And keep it down, will you?"
"What else is real?" Ruby whispered, grinning. "Fairies? Trolls? Dragons?"
Nex shrugged, turning to his partner.
"I… actually don't know," Weiss said, blinking. "All I know is what the headmaster told me."
"If this is real," Blake said, "why hide it at all?"
"We're missing something," Nex said. "Some crucial part of the puzzle."
Some reason why Ozpin went through all the effort to hide it. Or if the one who orchestrated the deception was even him at all.
"Does your semblance work on magic?" Weiss said.
"Nope," Nex said, a flash of irritation welling up in his mind. "I can sense it though. Sometimes."
"Tell me about what you sense on Inky," Weiss said.
"Flames. A furnace," Nex said. "It's like there's a thousand suns trapped under her skin."
Cinder Fall was more subtle. Hers seemed… wrong. An amalgamation between thunder and fire, smashed together by something that reeked of rot. Like Grimm. It was the same gut feeling he had whenever one of the monsters showed up.
"Well, it's great that Inky is on our side," Weiss said. "I wouldn't want to fight someone like her."
"Like her?" Ruby said. "What do you mean?"
"I don't know," Weiss said. "She just seems so regal. Wise. Under all the noise she makes, I mean."
Nex quirked an eyebrow. "You think she's actually a princess?"
Weiss chuckled. "At this point, I'm willing to believe anything. I wouldn't be surprised if she's secretly Vacuan royalty indulging in some strange pastime."
To be fair, she was right. The Atlesian elite had weird hobbies—throwing coins into ponds was one of them. How much weirder could a literal princess from Vacuo be?
"You're practically Atlas' princess though," Blake said. "That makes you equals, right?"
Weiss snorted—a tiny sound slipping through the edge of her chapped lips. "Hardly. I may be the heiress of the richest company in the world, but the Schnees aren't royalty. There are bloodlines older than ours with even more wealth and influence."
Of course. The ones with the real power—the ones who controlled the kingdoms and, by extension, the huntsmen—hid in the background. There was no need to reveal yourself if you had someone else to represent you, after all. Someone else to do your dirty work.
Time passed and the shadows set. The sun had died, casting the Vacuan expanse in darkness. It was then that their party made their way across the desert, Raven's scouts having caught Tyrian's trail. His was a path of destruction. Travellers from all walks of life, huntsman or otherwise, left as blackened carrion for the crows. Inky muttered a solemn prayer for each and every one of them, lighting them up in a pyre with a snap of her fingers.
Qrow took a long chug of his flask, staring at the swathes of white flame. "You wanna tell us who you are?"
Nex swallowed a mouthful of hot water, offering his bottle to Weiss when he was done. She took a sip of it, winking as she cooled the water off with a pale-blue glyph. Ruby and Blake snickered as they held out their bottles and asked her to do the same.
"Knowing who I am will be of no use to you, Qrow Branwen," Inky whispered. "For all I see of 'ye destiny… Be demon eyes and wings unfurled."
"Right," Qrow said, shaking the last drops of beer from his flask. "Cryptic bullshit. Gotta jot that one down."
"Death hangs upon you like a cloak of winter, huntsman," Inky said, tapping the corpse of a little boy with her staff. "It be quite unfortunate, eh?"
Qrow stiffened. His jaw clenched as he stuffed his flask into his pocket. "I'm starting to hate the all-knowing mystic act."
"Hate it, dread it, fear it," Inky said, strolling away. "Destiny comes like a thief in the night. It be inevitable, eh?"
Leaving those words behind, Inky trotted after Leli, the Maiden's shawl—worn on her back like a cloak—swaying in the desert breeze. They brought up the rear of their group, just behind the refugees. Or, well, Raven's initiates. Ahead walked the scouts, with the bulk of their entourage—and Raven herself—in the middle. A tactical formation that allowed them to survey the desert and prepare for whatever it was that lurked under the sands.
A raven landed on Inky's arm. It pecked at her scars, tittering.
"Here, birdie," Inky mumbled, tossing some strips of jerky into its beak. "Don't wanna have rotting meat for dinner, eh?"
The raven squawked and flapped its wings—frantic.
Nex laid a hand on Hrunting, his eyes darting from the sloping dunes to the small ruins that protruded through the sand.
"Wazzat?" Inky said, stilling. She stared at the skies, a grim look on her face.
His team and the refugees took notice, the buzzing of Lancers poking his extra pair of ears. Their silvery wings shone through the gaps in the clouds, along with something that seemed larger. A snake with wings. Its scales drank the night like nectar, glowing bloody crimson under the stars.
Damn. A Lyndwyrm. An A-Class Grimm. At least three notches above the common D-Class fodder the average huntsman faced.
"Don't make any sudden moves," Qrow said, glaring at the refugees. Their legs quivered. "Just let it fly away. Nice and slow."
The wolf-girl the other night nodded, seemingly having taken leadership over her kin.
"Don't you worry, Lil birdie," Inky muttered, stroking the bird's head. "Captain Inky be protecting you, eh?"
The bandits ahead seemed to have stopped, gaping at the Lyndwyrm as it glided through the heavens—and away from them.
Ruby lowered Crescent Rose, the sights sinking into its shaft. "Eheh. I think we're clear. I think."
Pareidolia said otherwise.
"Scatter!" Nex barked, arm around Weiss' stomach as he tackled her away.
The Lyndwyrm roared, its narrow, serpentine eyes blazing.
Flaming meteors rained from the sky, lighting up the night.
The refugees screamed in panic when the first volley rocked the sands, unearthing the ruins beneath. Deathstalkers skittered out of the darkness, their tails and mandibles clicking. Red eyes burned, even deeper still, Taijitu and their kings slithering through the windows of broken towers and shattered dwellings of old.
Nex ducked behind Vigilance on instinct, a Taijitu's tail ripping through the sand. It smashed against his shield—and Weiss gasped. His footing loose, the blow sent him flying into a wall. Luckily, it only collapsed under his weight, and it did not bury him in rubble.
"Shit," Nex said, his semblance counting the Grimm. Dozens—outnumbering them even as Raven's men formed cells to push the monsters back. He leapt to his feet, Hrunting howling as it melted a Lancer's head off. "Have to regroup…"
He dashed towards Weiss, Oathkeeper and Hrunting flashing as he spun through the Grimm. Deathstalkers and Taijitu may have been big, but they were bulky. As long as he did not take their hits standing still—and aimed for their vitals, then—
The Lyndwyrm screeched, spitting fireballs at him.
Nex grunted as the flames grazed his coat, his aura spurring him to move faster, away from the ashes of the unlucky ones who got hit. The damned thing seemed to be hellbent on frying him alive, its shadow looming over every step he took.
Fire hissed.
A ring of meteors swerved towards him, his semblance screaming. He summoned his aura, coaxing a shield of hard light from Vigilance—
"Begone spawn of darkness!" Inky yelled.
She smashed the ruby of her staff against the ground, a wall of white flames holding up the sky. The meteors fizzled as they crashed against it, melting to slag. It dripped over the sands and dried into sparkling obsidian.
The Lyndwyrm shrieked, winds buffeting the unyielding flames and kicking up a sandstorm.
"I had it covered," Nex said, shielding his eyes from the dust. His extra pair of ears flattened. "But thanks."
"You be lucky, eh?" Inky giggled. "Captain Inky be master of the arcane, eh?"
Leli rolled her eyes, her arm blurring as she fired missile after missile, the string of her gigantic bow shrieking like a banshee every time it snapped into place. Her arrows popped the heads of Grimm, turning them into puddles of gore, without fail. "Ah, if only Captain Inky"—Leli grunted, another arrow exploding an Ursa into bits—"was master of her mouth as well."
"Oh? I be master of me mouth too, eh?" Inky smirked, swinging her staff at a Nevermore. It froze in place, fizzling out of existence—almost like it had never been there at all. "I be remembering how you moaned last night—"
Nex sprinted off. He growled and slid under a Deathstalker's tail. A quick slash at the meaty, fleshy part took it clean off. The bulb rolled down a dune, venom and blood staining it a boiling crimson.
"Nex!" Weiss gasped as her glyphs took a blow meant for Vernal, the woman locked against a Taijitu. "Are you alright?!"
"Fine," Nex said, eyeing the carnage around them—people and monsters dying left and right. "Where's the team?"
The answer came when Ruby Rose dashed towards him, clutching a child in her arms. She handed the bawling boy off to the wolf-girl—who scurried past the line of bandits keeping the Grimm away from those who could not fight. Blake Belladonna was at the fringe, distracting a pair of King Taijitu so the bandits behind her could shoot at their underbellies.
"We can't win this," Nex said, firing a bolt of thunder at a Taijitu about to swallow a man whole. It gave the man enough time to scamper away while the snake toppled over, writhing. "Not without losing half of us."
It was a sad truth. But they had to retreat. Caught between the Taijitu below, the Lancers above, and the Deathstalkers ahead—it was a shitty situation to be sure. And that was without mentioning the Lyndwyrm circling the skies, swooping down every now and then to gobble up an unlucky bandit.
Qrow split a Taijitu by its belly, his scythe spinning around him. "Don't think that thing's gonna let us walk away, kid."
Nex rolled his eyes. When was it ever that easy?
"You have a plan?" Weiss said, her back bumping against his.
"Qrow," Nex said, licking his lips. "Get Raven. Take the refugees and escape."
"What?!" Weiss said.
"What?" Qrow's voice cracked. "You crazy? What about you?"
Nex chuckled, slashing through a man-sized Taijitu. Its entrails spilt over the sands. "The four of us—together—can stall the Grimm. We'll punch a hole then catch up. It'd be easier this way."
Qrow snarled. "I'm not gonna—"
"For fuck's sake!" Nex slammed the pommel of his sword into a Lancer's gut, knocking it down into the sands. He stepped on it, crushing its head under his boot. "Go!" he screamed. "Or did you give mom this bullshit too?"
Qrow flinched. And in that moment of weakness, a Taijitu's tail smashed against his chest, robbing him of the choice. He soared past a crack in the earth, bursting into feathers. The dusty old crow squawked and flew towards Raven.
"You better know what you're doing," Weiss said, glyphs spiralling around them—orange glyphs that spat gouts of fire at the Taijitu.
Nex laughed, lashing out with arcs of thunder from his blades—thunder that clipped a Lancer's wings. "Believe it or not, I'm just making things up as I go."
But then again, that was probably exactly what got him into his current predicament.
Soon enough, Raven and Qrow—together—tore a hole through the Grimm, holding it open long enough for everyone to escape. Qrow's eyes lingered on his as the gap closed, swallowed by a flood of monsters. A tide of murderous, bloodthirsty monsters raring to charge towards them.
"Ah, here we be, adventurers surrounded by death," Inky said, chortling as her knife spun—by itself—and carved out a Lancer's entrails. She held out her hand, her staff arcing towards it, tearing through a Taijitu's stomach. "It be quite nostalgic, eh, Leli?"
Leli grunted, her ebony daggers held up into a guard. Her quiver lay near empty—with only a single arrow left. "Somehow, you were right, ma chérie," she said. "I do miss being in the thick of things."
Weiss scowled, her glyphs blocking another volley of fireballs from the Lyndwyrm. "You're incredibly relaxed considering our situation—you know, face-to-face with hundreds of Grimm."
Nex chuckled. It only showed how… inexperienced she was compared to the two.
Ruby managed a strained grin, taking shots at the Lancers zigzagging above. "Well, at least the others are safe."
Blake nodded as she popped another cartridge into Gambol Shroud. "For the record, team leader, if we die because of your sudden outburst of heroism, I'm haunting you from beyond."
Nex shrugged. He leapt into the fray, his sword and shield a battering ram that shoved the Grimm back. Ruby's scythe flashed as they fought side-by-side, Weiss covering their flanks.
The Deathstalkers seemed to regard him more as a threat, drawn to his shield whenever he bashed their pincers away. Still, it served him well. He jumped, planting his blade into a Deathstalker's eye. It thrashed under him, shrieking, the clattering of its armour filling his ears.
As long as—
A mighty roar shook the earth. Clouds of sand rushed towards them, driven by the sheer force of the dragon's voice.
Nex fell, his back hitting the ground. Inky skipped over him as he scrambled to his feet, the hem of her coat fluttering just above his nose. The mage twirled her staff, her eyes blazing with green fire. Howling winds smashed against the sandstorm and scattered it like dust in the breeze.
The Lyndwyrm sat on its haunches, coiled around a ruined tower. More Grimm crawled out of the cracks and stalked towards them, the red taint on their skin glowing an ominous red, marking them well in the dark.
Nex held his shield up, the corpses of Grimm around them dissipating by the dozen.
Still, it was not their sheer numbers that made his semblance panic. No. His team could deal with numbers.
Rather, what gave him pause was the Lyndwyrm guarding their helm, glaring at his team, hungry, as if they were nothing more than dinner. Back against the wall with only a dune at their flank, it certainly seemed to be the end.
Or, at least, until a horse neighed.