RWBY: Beacon

Day Seven

Going inside that bullhead sounded exactly like the stupid nonsense that got lesser wizards killed. There were somewhere between three and six people that were faster, stronger, and more experienced than I was at fighting in close range inside the damaged flying machine, and the confined interior of a bullhead was not the kind of space where wizards thrived.

In any case, I was confident that my six allies could take on one barely trained witch and her friends, but, like cornered rats, I had no doubt that they would try to flee the scene. That could not be allowed. Peach’s efforts were a good start, but that seemed like just the avenue where I could best assist with the operation.

Plus, if the false maiden and her allies tried to flee, that would give me a chance to safely see how some of my less physical spells performed against aura. Spells I wasn’t willing to risk casting on allies and sparring partners.

“I’m going to circle around, make sure they can’t get away.”

Ozpin nodded. He had his cane––he called it The Long Memory––pointed towards the bullhead and there was a glowing green gear spinning in the air in front of him. I wasn’t quite sure what he was doing, but the amount of magic pouring off of him made my skin tingle.

Unfortunately, the faint glow of my shield meant that stealth was not really an option, but that just made my next spell an even clearer choice. If there really was an illusionist amongst the group, it was important to be vigilant. I was confident that Kent would be able to piece whatever shroud they were using––Order magic was very good at seeing through all sorts of illusions and deceptions––but I was less confident that the other huntsmen would realize something was wrong.

Before anything else, I needed to make sure that our enemies were not already trying to flee. I twirled my wand, drawing the outline of an upside down keyhole in the air, then raised my wand towards the sky. “Homenum Revelio.” I considered overcharging the spell with Blue mana, but ultimately decided against it. Shadowcrest was too valuable a resource to waste so early into a potentially drawn-out fight and it wasn’t like the clearing was particularly large.

A moment later, I felt the spell wash over ten people. Exactly as expected. I could hear sounds of violence emerging from inside the bullhead where five people were rapidly moving around each other while a sixth hung back inside the cockpit and Kent was floating in the doorway.

I moved quickly––well, quickly for me, not compared to the huntsmen––circling around the clearing with my wand raised in front of me, a portion of my attention focused on maintaining the revealing charm I’d cast. The shield around me, a sphere of translucent golden-white that gleamed as the sun shone through it, was a comforting presence. Huntsmen were fast, but it took more than just speed to punch through a spell like this one.

My lips pulled into a tight frown as I remembered Raven dashing forward to cut those arrows out of the air. Perhaps I had somewhat undervalued some of aura’s more mundane benefits. I wouldn’t always have space and the element of surprise on my side, and physical projectiles tended to move a lot faster than spells. I could dodge a spell, or swat it out of the air with my wand. I absolutely could not have moved fast enough to block or dodge those arrows on my own. If instead of simple arrows they’d been enchanted with a shield-piercing charm or something similar…

Something to consider for the future. The dangers of my home plane were well known to wizards. On other planes however, there were untold threats that could come out of nowhere with no reason or warning. I was suddenly reminded of a story I’d heard as a child.

‘That very night, another wizard crept upon the oldest brother as he lay, wine-sodden, upon his bed. The thief took the wand and, for good measure, slit the oldest brother’s throat.’

It wasn’t an exact parallel, but it was a good lesson nonetheless. My planeswalker abilities couldn’t help me if I didn’t use them or didn’t protect myself on an axis I did not expect danger to come from.

A thought momentarily flashed through my mind. I had four mana left, but Slaughter Swamp could provide a fifth under certain circumstances. Such as if I decided to summon Solomon Grundy, a legendary tough and strong warrior. Perhaps a new body guard would be appropriate while my other companions were occupied?

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It was a tempting prospect, but I quickly discarded the idea. Without having ever summoned the zombie before, I didn’t know its temperament or how useful it would actually be. It simply wasn’t worth using up all of my mana for, though I would need to remember to try summoning him at some point now that I had the mana to do so.

I had only just moved half-way around the clearing when there was a tortured screech of tearing metal and a person was sent bodily hurtling through the side of the bullhead in a high arc, leaving a gaping rent in the side of the craft. My eyes widened and I automatically tracked the gray-haired boy’s body as it arced through the air.

I raised my wand but before I could fire off a spell, the side of the bullhead was torn apart by a hail of knife-like stone blades that cut through the metal like paper. They weren’t aimed at me, but several impacted against my shield like bludgers and shattered into tiny shards. What was left of the bullhead’s side was promptly destroyed as well as Qrow and a green-haired girl flew through it, both slamming into the ground and leaving deep furrows through the soft earth.

My eyes flicked between the girl on the ground, the guy soaring wildly through the air, and the bullhead. One of those was a much surer target than the other. I pointed my wand at the girl, who was already struggling to get to her feet, and cast. “Imperio,” I whispered harshly.

The spell connected and I instantly felt resistance. Much more than I would have expected, but less than I had feared. I focused my will, my eyes narrowing as I smothered the girl’s mind and will with my own. I could feel something unusual pushing back against my control––her aura, probably––but it was weak and uncontrolled. Perhaps aura could protect the mind, but it, just like physical shielding, required training to work properly?

Meanwhile, Glynda emerged from the ruined bullhead, several dozen shards of torn metal and plastic orbiting around her. She waved her crop and several of the larger pieces flew after the boy, wrapping around his limbs like chains and pushing him higher up into the air.

“Damn you!” a woman shouted, her voice distorted. “Damn you all! How? How! Just die!” There was an eruption of flames and Raven was suddenly behind me as what was left of the bullhead was consumed by a boiling ball of fire. Gold light flared within the flames and Kent flew up into the air to hover above the bullhead.

Most of my attention remained focused on my target, but I didn’t fail to miss how the last person inside the bullhead tried to escape in the other direction. “She’s running!” I called out. “I got the green one!”

Raven and Qrow were after her a moment later, but by the time they made it to the fleeing woman, it was already over. Ozpin intercepted her in a blur of green. He moved like lightning, his body almost seeming to stutter as he closed the gap between him and her, dozens of spectral green gears clicking and turning in the air around him. The two exchanged a half-dozen blows that I could only perceive by the impacts of their weapons against each other, and then Ozpin’s final strike caught her directly in the chest and her aura shattered in a hail of crystalline orange light.

She staggered backwards and raised her arm. One of her sleeves turned white and a blast of magical wind erupted from her body, but it was too little, too late. Ozpin slapped her arm aside, jabbed her in the chest with his cane, and the magic she was calling on died before it could do more than lift some leaves up into the air.

My control of the girl slipped for a moment. “Cinder!” she cried out, her voice panicked.

I clenched my teeth and her resistance died. Her weapons were swiftly thrown aside and she lay down with her face pressed into the dirt and her arms on her head. At the same time, Peach appeared behind the woman––Cinder, apparently––and two of the vines on her arms lunged forward like striking snakes. They grew rapidly, wrapping around Cinder’s arms, chest, and neck. Cinder struggled mightily, but it was no use. Several flowers bloomed around her face and she collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.

Glynda floated down to the earth. The last of the trio was floating behind her, wrapped up in sheets of torn metal like an ugly present, only his head visible past the layers of gift wrapping. Kent gestured and two small ankhs flew from his fingers. One impacted against each of the subdued enemies and they both slumped into unconsciousness as well.

He smiled cheerfully. “Well, that was easy enough. I’ve always been a fan of…alternative medicine, shall we say. Particularly when it works.”

Qrow snorted loudly. “Medicine?” he asked.

“Well, call it a special kind of surgery, perhaps. Aggressive healing? This is all to fix Amber, is it not? Thus, medicine.”

Peach, who was tending to Cinder, shrugged. “Reasonable enough. Not too dissimilar from some of the field healing I’ve done. Sometimes, you need to beat the infection out.”

“And you ask why all the students go into Vale for their checkups…” Glynda mumbled.