The Bullhead's landing struts screeched as it touched down on Beacon's platform. Medics didn't wait for instructions—they rushed Hyunwoo straight into the infirmary, the stretcher rattling over the polished floors.
Jiwon and Jisoo trailed close behind, their steps unsteady but their eyes locked on Hyunwoo's still form. His chest rose and fell faintly, each breath sounding weaker than the last.
"Stable but critical," one medic barked as they wheeled him past rows of empty beds. "We need immediate infusion—keep his vitals steady!"
Another team rushed Jaemin into the ward from a different side, his body wrapped in bloodied bandages. He winced, trying to sit up, but a nurse pushed him gently back down. "Rest. You've lost too much blood."
"But—Hyunwoo—" Jaemin protested, breath ragged.
"You've done your part," the nurse insisted firmly.
On the opposite side of the ward, Jiwon and Jisoo were forced to wait, sitting on cold chairs just outside the treatment room. They could hear the muffled commands of the medical staff, the hiss of dust-infused machines, the frantic beeps of monitoring equipment.
Jisoo buried her face into her hands. "He... he's never been like that before. Even when things got bad, he always had control. But tonight—" Her voice cracked, trembling. "It was like watching a stranger."
Jiwon clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white. His gaze never left the treatment room door. "He told us not to interfere. He said those Grimm were related to him. And then—" He swallowed hard, anger and fear twisting in his chest. "That red aura... I've never seen him fight like that. It wasn't Hyunwoo. It was something else."
Silence fell over them, broken only by the rhythmic footsteps of doctors moving back and forth.
From his bed, Jaemin turned his head toward the twins, voice weak but steady. "Whatever that aura was... it nearly killed him. And if we hadn't been there..." He trailed off, eyes clouded.
Minutes dragged like hours. The door to Hyunwoo's room remained shut, the glass window fogged by the mist of aura stabilizers. Every sound inside felt like a verdict waiting to fall.
The clock on the infirmary wall ticked in agonizing silence. Every minute felt stretched, heavy. Jiwon leaned forward, elbows on his knees, while Jisoo sat stiff beside him, arms crossed tightly.
The door finally cracked open—not a doctor, but a Beacon staff member, clipboard in hand. His face was grim.
"There's been... an incident," he began. "An underground train carrying Professor Oobleck and Team RWBY derailed beneath Vale. The impact wasn't catastrophic, but the wreck has stirred up Grimm in the area. They're beginning to push toward the city's outer districts."
Jiwon and Jisoo immediately looked at one another, the same thought sparking between them.
"We need to go there," Jiwon said, standing at once.
"Hyunwoo—" Jisoo's voice caught, her eyes flicking toward the closed treatment room door.
"He'd say the same thing," Jiwon cut in, jaw set. "Vale comes first."
For a moment, neither spoke, the weight of the decision crushing them. Behind the glass, Hyunwoo lay motionless, aura monitors flickering faintly at his side. Jaemin, bandaged and half-conscious, managed to force out from his bed, "Go. Protect Vale... He wouldn't forgive you if you stayed."
The twins exchanged one last glance—hesitation, then resolve. Jiwon grabbed his weapon, checking its dust chamber, while Jisoo tightened her gloves, her face hardening.
They both turned toward the exit, the echo of Hyunwoo's broken body lingering in their minds.
___
The city was in chaos. Smoke and dust swirled in the air as Grimm surged from the wreckage of the derailed train, their glowing eyes reflecting the fiery destruction around them. Team RWBY held their ground, weapons spinning and blades slicing through the nightmarish creatures, but the sheer number of Grimm pressed them to their limits.
Yang's momentum threw her into a group of Beowolves, and a brutal counterattack sent her smashing into the cracked pavement. Pain flared across her ribs as she struggled to rise, her fists clenching around Ember Celica. Ruby spun Crescent Rose in a blur, only to find herself facing a towering King Taijitu, its twin heads striking with deadly precision.
Then came a roar—Nora Valkyrie dropped from a nearby rooftop, her hammer smashing into the serpent Grimm with a thunderous crack. The rest of Team JNPR descended swiftly behind her, charging the horde with renewed vigor. Jaune found himself facing a massive Ursa, memories of past victories against similar foes flooding back. Crocea Mors flashed in his hands, slashing in precise arcs. The Ursa faltered, finally collapsing backward, defeated, as Pyrrha Nikos watched with quiet approval.
From the edge of the battlefield, Sun Wukong and Neptune Vasilias emerged, casually surveying the chaos. "Looks like Vale needs some extra hands," Sun called, twirling his staff. Neptune adjusted his trident with a grin, "We'll cover the civilians. You guys keep smashing those Grimm."
Then, from the north side of the city, two new figures cut through the Grimm. Jiwon's staff split into dual short blades as he moved with precise, measured strikes, each swing amplified by his Echo Sense, predicting the Grimm's attacks before they fully materialized. Beside him, Jisoo's chakram whirled through the air with deadly grace, each burst of her Step Burst semblance disorienting the nearest Grimm, sending them crashing into their own ranks.
"Finally, some backup," Yang growled, pushing herself upright and charging back into the fray. Ruby caught sight of them and allowed herself a brief nod of relief before spinning back toward her King Taijitu opponent.
Together, Team RWBY, JNPR, and NOVA created a coordinated front, the streets echoing with the clash of weapons, the roar of Grimm, and the determined shouts of Huntsmen and Huntresses fighting for their city.
The fight had only just begun, but with reinforcements arriving, hope surged amid the destruction.
The battle raged on, the streets of Vale lit with muzzle flashes, Aura flares, and the monstrous glow of Grimm eyes. Team RWBY fought back-to-back with Team JNPR, while Jiwon and Jisoo of NOVA cut clean paths through the horde. Every swing of a blade, every blast of a Semblance felt heavier than before, yet the Huntsmen-in-training refused to yield.
In the lull between clashes, Pyrrha's voice cut through the chaos, soft yet heavy with concern.
"Are... Hyunwoo and Jaemin okay?"
Her words made several heads turn mid-battle. Weiss faltered for a moment, her rapier impaling a Grimm as she shot Pyrrha a sharp look. Yang raised an eyebrow, Ember Celica sparking as she blasted a Beowolf away. Blake's eyes narrowed slightly, curious.
"Wait," Yang called out, "right—what about that Grimm?"
Ruby blinked, her scythe spinning as she cut clean through the King Taijitu's remaining head. "Hyunwoo and Jaemin?" she repeated, confusion clear in her tone. "What happened to them?"
JNPR froze for a second. Jaune looked at Pyrrha, then Ren, then Nora. Their silence was telling.
Ren's expression tightened, his strikes against the Grimm becoming sharper, more mechanical. Finally, he muttered under his breath, "Wait... you don't know?"
Ruby stopped for a moment, startled by his tone, but before she could press further, Jiwon's voice rang out like a blade through the tension.
"We'll explain after this," he snapped, his twin blades slicing down another wave of Grimm. His eyes narrowed with grim determination. "There are too many things to handle right now."
Jisoo's chakram tore through a group of creeping Creeps, her voice calm but cold. "Focus. If we don't hold this line, there won't be anyone left to explain to."
Team RWBY exchanged quick, uneasy glances. Questions swirled in the air—Hyunwoo, Jaemin, the strange humanoid Grimm—but the battlefield left no room for answers. The fight demanded their attention, and so blades and fists rose once more.
But the doubt lingered, heavy, unspoken, as the chaos raged around them.
The battle in Vale turned into a symphony of chaos—claws scraping against steel, fire cutting through the air, and Aura shimmering like broken glass. The Grimm were relentless, pouring from every street and alley. For a moment it seemed endless, but slowly, the scattered groups of Huntsmen-in-training began to find rhythm.
Weiss darted forward, summoning glyphs in quick succession to create footholds. Ruby didn't need a word; she blurred through them with Crescent Rose, her petals scattering in a brilliant trail of red. Jiwon was already there waiting, his dual blades flashing in a storm. His strikes meshed with Ruby's speed, every Grimm she left staggered fell neatly into his cutting arcs. It was a deadly relay—her speed, his precision.
On the other side, Ren slipped between the shadows of broken buildings, his quiet footfalls mirrored by Jisoo. She tossed her chakram, the glowing blades rebounding against glyphs Weiss had placed for control. Ren followed up with twin pistols, picking off the Grimm thrown off-balance. Neither spoke much, but their rhythm was uncanny—one feinting, the other punishing.
Nora, meanwhile, let out her usual war cry as she leapt high, her hammer crackling with lightning dust. Yang mirrored the move, launching herself into the air with Ember Celica. The two collided with a horde from above—Nora smashing down like thunder, Yang punching through the wave like fire. They laughed in unison, feeding off each other's energy, their raw force carving a circle of safety around them.
Jaune stood back-to-back with Pyrrha. His sword wavered at first when a massive Ursa charged, but Pyrrha's hand touched his shoulder briefly. That was enough. Jaune's strikes grew steadier, his shield catching a swipe before his blade cut deep. Pyrrha followed with graceful precision, her spear snapping through the Ursa's exposed neck.
Weiss glanced back in the chaos, her voice sharp. "Teamwork! Pair up and keep the tempo—we can't afford openings!"
Ruby, panting, shouted over the noise, "We hold this street—we don't let them through!"
Jiwon and Jisoo locked eyes for a brief second, then with NOVA's cold precision, adjusted their footing, aligning seamlessly with the momentum RWBY and JNPR carried. It was no longer a scramble for survival—it was a war formation, improvised, yet terrifyingly effective.
The Grimm crashed like a tidal wave. But this time, the tide began to break.
_____
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