The performance had gone well.
He hadn't even gotten distracted by Weiss's beauty by making sure his eyes were closed for the majority of the song, just using his other senses to compensate. It made him a bit more aware of how the stage they were on had been somewhat roughly put together (as it had to be moved in parts on and off the center stage of the Amity Colosseum), but it would hold well enough.
Everything had gone well, applause, confetti, all that good stuff.
Then a speech from the Mistral Kingdom's leadership followed.
Usually the hosting Kingdom made the first speech on the first day, but they'd given it to Vale, oddly enough, as they'd be hosting the 40th Vytal Festival two years from now as a 'token of friendship' which Vale's Council of Congress had been more than happy to take advantage of. A supposed show of humility and friendship.
So on the fourth day of the Vytal Festival, they had the last half-time speech, to be followed on the fifth and sixth days by any companies willing to pay exorbitant prices (like the SDC) to flaunt their wealth and help pay for the Festival costs, and a final speech with representatives from all four Kingdoms in tow on the 7th day.
But the current Governor of Mistral had begun to speak of nationalism, of Mistral's noble leadership, and some rather self-centered opinions of the Traditionalists and how people needed to see that a strong guiding hand was necessary and how ugly roots had to be pulled out.
Ironic.
That was when his blood quickened.
Jaune turned, seeing a gray bolt of lightning suddenly descend from the sky, strike a pair of people who appeared to be standing at the top of the stadium's edge (nobody should have been there for safety reasons), striking something in one of the two's hands, evaporating the other.
He knew that he wasn't the only one, not only was half of Amity facing in the lightning wielder's direction, the heavy sensation of mana was palpable. Even at this distance.
The mass of lightning in his hands split in two.
His fingers quickly flew forwards, opening up his Inventory-
Twin streaks of gray lighting flew, one towards himself, another towards the VIP seating where various high profile members of Mistral's upper society should be. Plus whatever other Kingdom's delegations.
But a black armored form erupted from the stage in front of him, a crimson blade drawing from a sheath with the roar of gunfire.
Well now it was too late to try to see if he could just catch it in his Inventory and be done with it.
His hand instead reached out to support the armored body from behind, feeling the stage give out as both he and his current shield were sent flying downwards and backwards, their feet sliding against the stone floor of the Amity Colosseum's central arena as they were projected far, far towards the edge as both sets of feet braced against the attack.
His knees braced as his Aura crackled hot as lightning scorched against both of their bodies, seeing the heat flake off black DLC coating. Luckily he had dragonscales to soak up some of the damage as they slid to the arena's edge, meeting the wall, their knees digging deep to the point they too were against the crumbling stone.
"Gods damn it, Adam!" He hissed quietly as lightning wreathed around them, "I was ready for that!"
Sure, Immunity to Missiles was hard to explain but… well actually, there was always an unfortunately small chance that the 'supernatural luck' could mean it would just hit someone else instead of him, so this might have been inevitable. It was better to make your own luck.
When Adam had warned him of a potential assassination play and that he'd handle it, but didn't want Jaune to step in, Jaune had prepared for it regardless. It literally didn't hurt to be extra prepared, but figured it wouldn't be a concern if Adam was on it.
But he thought that Adam had meant he was preventing it, not intending on using it for publicity, the punk. Handled his ass! Now he'd have to apologize about it to Trivia later! And then assure Yang and Blake that he was fine, and then all of the rest of his family and friends! Oh he was gonna get it.
Still, even in the worst case scenario, Jaune had been ready to block even a barrage of sniper fire with his Inventory, but he hadn't been expecting magic by any means. In all honesty, he wasn't sure if he could catch a magical attack that way. He'd never had the opportunity to even try before, in all honesty.
"I could take no such risk." Sure, the voice itself was unrecognizable in the aftermath of the warping created by the speakers, but Jaune could recognize the surly man's way of speaking regardless, "I have come as a knight to defend the innocent."
"Oh and there's no theatrics at play at all, huh?" He sighed, brushing the dust off his costume. "No damn flashy bullshit? Shit, I kinda hope somebody got that on the cameras. That probably looked kinda cool."
Adam's blade was glowing with a ferocious red light, fiercely bright alongside the scorched crimson armor that showed beneath the peels of black carbon coating that smoked off his form in wispy black hisses of steam. It seemed that even the armor and plume seemed to glow bright as the black carbon and the atmosphere around him seemed to darken mysteriously as a result of his Semblance.
His Aura was warm earth and fire, as if forged steel was held below the soil's surface, ready to erupt from the ground like bitter fangs. It was the scent of smoke on the wind, catching fragrant flower petals like incense. Brought all the more overwhelming to his nose by the power he was keeping contained in his weapon.
Jaune could still feel that, despite the numbness from the bit of lightning he'd endured, though he was sure despite the insulation and blocking the majority, Adam too was feeling the shock in his body down to his bones.
He didn't know what Adam had named the Katana and Gun-Sheath combo, but it wasn't a weapon style that was uncommon in Mistral. It was based on the original Second Generation Huntsmen weapons that began to form after the Great War, after all, like the Gunblades of Vale and the Rifle-Halberd variants in Atlas.
Must have been a bit heavier than he'd normally wield, too, judging as it was a bit thicker and longer than a normal katana, better for his increased speed and strength using his armor.
The weapon let out a flick to the side, releasing some of the pent up energy, tearing up the floor of the arena, before it was sheathed, the encased steel humming threateningly with power.
Adam was probably holding on to the remainder in case he needed it to force an escape.
Jaune shook his wrist, feeling a bit tender from the impact and lightning bypassing his Aura as he stepped around Adam, oh wait, Black Knight Zero, and looked down at the weapon that had been thrown.
His hand reached down-
"Be cautious." Zero warned as Jaune rolled his eyes.
"I wasn't going to touch it directly. Who knows what it does."
Plus his fingers were covered in dragon scale anyways.
His fingers brought the Inventory to life as he dragged the window over the object.
SR Rarity Equipment (Incomplete): Bolt of Ọ̸̧̐̋z̷̘̓̏ͅr̷̡̞̅ä̵̩̫͖̀̐ī̴͖͕̙
Origin: Remnant
Description: A weapon that is missing its core and the font of its true power. A cursed spear that can only be handled safely with a long lost memory. This is the weapon of a legendary general, The Conqueror of Animus, he who bound Mistral together in blood, splitting the Singing Mountain in two with the completed Bolt. He-who-laid the poisonous plans to conquer the rest of Remnant in Mistral's heart.
An endeavor doomed to fail from the beginning, decided upon by Ọ̸̧̐̋z̷̘̓̏ͅr̷̡̞̅ä̵̩̫͖̀̐ī̴͖͕̙ himself.
If thou lack the memory, wield not this spear. It is a power that grants only ruin, requiring the life force of the wielder without the memory to buffer its power.
"...what the-"
"JAUNE!" Weiss and Ren's voices called out to him in worry.
"Ren, Weiss." He smiled, hoping to reassure them that everything was alright, "Neither of you were hurt, right?"
"US?!" Mt. Weissmore blew up, "What about yourself?! You were the one that got suddenly-"
"I'm fine! I'm fine. A certain wandering knight seems to have shown up unexpectedly and helped protect me."
He slapped the side of Zero's armor just a little too hard, threatening to topple the suit of stolen tech over while it was focused on keeping control over the absorbed power in his weapon. The armor was still super hot from the lightning. If not for Aura, Zero must have been baking inside that thing.
Just because he'd let it go for now didn't mean he still didn't feel bitter about it all.
"We're fine. Are you sure, you're ok, Jaune?" Ren was already at his side, checking his hands and realizing they were covered, so he reached up to grab his head and check what visible skin he could. That was for the best, his hands felt like they were probably a little red from enduring the shock. "We should get you medical aid just in case."
"I think they might be more busy with what's up above." Jaune looked up at the VIP stands. The Mistralian section had been blasted by the other half of the mass of magic lightning, the tear in the reinforced glass hadn't been shattered apart, but melted through. "It extends even into the Atlas side. I'm going to go-"
"No." Both Zero and Ren both put a hand on his shoulder.
Ren looked up at Zero with a look of confusion before turning back to Jaune.
"Let the adults handle it. They'll be-"
The giant monitors that displayed the normally drone controlled camera feeds lit up, revealing wordlessly the devastation that the magical lightning had wrought. There was almost nobody in the Mistral stands that were still alive. Most of their bodies had been burnt to wretched black husks, like human shaped charcoal.
Fuck. Some of those shapes were the size of children. Whole families had been up in that upper layer. Why had that assassin done this? What purpose did it solve? Wasn't he the target? Why would anyone do this?
As if people had been merely holding in their panic until that exact moment, there began to be screams of terror and fright amongst the whole of the Amity Colosseum.
And at the end, the form of Specialist Elm, having used her own body to stop the remaining lightning, her legs still anchored to the ground with her Semblance, was laying on the ground, only her upper torso and head left intact just below the clavicle. Pinkish red nutritional fluids to keep the valkyrie muscle strands alive and healthy leaked onto the ground as the General held her head, wordlessly shouting at her on the screen.
She had ten hours of life support battery life. She'd survive as long as the insulation in her black box casing her brain held and even if it didn't the NIMPH could restore a pretty solid amount of damage given that the magic lightning hadn't just torn the brain apart. That didn't stop Jaune from tearing himself from his friends' grips and warping via Shadow into the VIP box.
He couldn't help himself. He hadn't been able to save the people up in the box, but he could still save Elm.
He did feel sorry about ignoring his friend's words of caution, to stay with them, but even with Mistral's defenses, with the shock of what had happened, it wouldn't be a surprise if Grimm began to swarm the Capital within the day.
"Jaune?! Are you alright? How did-"
Jaune just gave a quick assurance that he was fine, reaching over for his Inventory and scrolling through it. While Atlas had spare bodies for Victory Wing, so did he. It just never hurt to be careful.
Rather they'd never needed such a thing before, as the Nikke Team had been more than effective at handling themselves, especially with Aura and Semblances in tow, even after all these years. Their whole motto at this point had become bragging about their '100% success rate' after all, though that was probably a bit of a marketing thing, even if it was true.
He ignored the gasp of surprise by Governor Geumnamu, (he must have been mingling with the General for political reasons, thus had survived the Bolt.
One of his two spare bodies for Specialist Elm landed on the ground with a loud thump, the back of the head already exposed and open, ready to receive the black box.
"Move over and let me extract her black box." He urged the General, who nodded and handed Jaune what remained of Specialist Elm. Her eyes were non-responsive, her brain having already entered a hibernating state to prevent feeling the pain of her current predicament.
Specialist Annette was currently guarding them in case of a second shot, her High-Charge Laser Sniper ready to counterfire in case of a second attack, though Jaune knew there likely could be no follow up, he let her stay on alert anyways.
There could still be more danger waiting in the wings. Something had gone wrong here. Something had gone very wrong.
The General began to question Mistral's Governor as Jaune pulled out a plasma scalpel to cut through the shell of the artificial skull. Without Elm conscious to provide Aura, he made quick work of it, extracting the sleek black shell that housed her brain.
He wiped away a bit of shock absorbing lubricant before performing a quick diagnostics to make sure there was no lasting damage. The casing hadn't been breached, the insulation held, but the shock still had caused a rather traumatic moment, causing the brain to temporarily shut down under the influence of the NIMPH nanomachines.
Instead of erasing the memory, he had them isolate it, in case Elm wished to confront the moment later or remove it herself. It should be her choice, but right now she'd need to be in fighting shape sooner rather than later.
The black box slid into the spare body, a quick check ensured that all connections and ports were linked up successfully. Jaune closed up the skull and watched as it began to self-weld, leaving a Y shaped mark in the alloy named by the ARK of Humanity as Goddessium that would disappear given a bit of time for the angelskin to grow over it.
"Initiate Boot Sequence Alpha Zero Zero Niner."
Specialist Elm shuddered as her eyes flickered open, seemingly coming back to life.
A mass of green and blue strings of code she couldn't comprehend swam in her head.
"Agh." She coughed, she knew it was purely a psychosomatic response, Jaune always made a note of it, like it was a joke to him, "It feels like I got run over by thirty Bullheads."
"You caught and endured a bolt of lightning that melted through your chassis by using your body as a shield. I'd be surprised if you felt like a ray of sunshine after that."
Oh. When did their little Professor Arc get here?
There was an odd feeling as if her Aura was gaining energy from another source, turning her head to follow it to see an extra copy of just her legs still standing upright from her Semblance keeping them posted up, the Aura leaking from it back into her body.
"That's a bit trippy. Why don't I remember that?" Elm began to stand upright, her body felt completely fine, the same as before, if not slightly hungry. She might not have needed to eat, but the human brain always craved sustenance, and this spare body must not have had anything in its system. "Last thing I remember was your song being close to ending."
"Shock and trauma protocol. The memory isn't gone, just separated until you have time to decide what to do with it. Right now we might have to bring Mistral into a full defensive state." Jaune informed her, making her nod, though she still scratched at the side of her head, that sudden gap in her memory felt odd.
Her teammate Annette just gave a quick nod in Elm's direction, clearly thankful for her actions. It felt kind of itchy being thanked for something she didn't remember, but when Elm closed her eyes she could sense the separated memory Professor Arc was referring to. Like a thick bubble inside her mind, ready to be popped or shrunk down into nothingness.
Weird.
"Alright, got it. Did I use Laplace to help tank the hit? Is everyone ok?"
"You did, but it's fine. No radiation spilled because it wasn't active. I've got a spare of that too, just the one though."
A familiar weapon landed in her hands, though lacking some of the wear her partner had to this point. A bit of a shame, but if she was currently in a renewed state, her partner doing so as well wasn't odd. Rather it felt surprisingly fresh. At least, that was how she was going to choose to look at it.
Judging from the devastation on the other side of where her previous legs were, it must have been quite the hit. Better to be positive and thankful in this case.
"Still, your revival seems to have helped calm the crowd a bit. Good job, Professor." The General laughed in Jaune's direction, the boy blinked confusedly.
Elm did too for a moment, before laughing as she realized they were all being shown live on the monitors.
"Seems that Victory Wing's biggest trump cared's finally been revealed to the world, eh? Ha ha ha! I'm surprised we even managed to keep it hidden this long, considering all the crazy stuff you've had us do, General!"
The General smiled as he pulled the mic hanging limply in the Mistralian Governor's hands into his own, turning it on and speaking.
"Test. Test. Good. Everyone. Please remain calm. Fear is the enemy. Fear invites the Grimm. Instead, have hope. Though not all of Atlas's military is here, our best defenders, Victory Wing, are here to assist in your protection. I too shall personally aid the Capitals defenses, should it be necessary. As will every able-bodied Huntsmen and Huntress. And as you can see, our Atlas delegation has a unique advantage."
Elm shot to attention, stepping forwards by the General's side.
"Victory Wing is infallible. They cannot lose. For the Grimm can only win if good men and women fall. But Victory Wing shall rise from the ashes every time! This is the trump card we've prepared for the sake of protecting the Kingdoms. To ensure the safety of all of Remnant! So please, be assured. You will be safe as long as you believe in us. Have hope, Mistral!"
Putting the fact that there were only the four of them to the side, it was a good enough speech to get a few cheers from the crowd. Half from excitement, the other half out of desperate hope. A need for salvation.
And when the majority of Mistral's leadership was suddenly taken out in an attack she couldn't even remember, it was important that they gave the people of Mistral some hope.
A flash of text appeared on her HUD. Lower priority line, likely from an army technician that had accompanied them to Mistral.
CCT and Amity are online and operational. Mistral's defensive systems are unresponsive. Their technicians are working on it, but someone's locked them out.
That wasn't good. And even though the General was waving and smiling, there was a sudden faint tenseness that you could only see if you'd worked alongside the man long enough when he wasn't so. They'd arrived at one of those rare moments when he was focused on an objective and figuring out a path forward.
"Hey, Elm." Jaune's voice was quiet as he tugged at the edge of her uniform, getting her attention. "I can help if you guys need me."
Normally she'd have refused, it was her job to protect him.
Though it would seem contradictory to what they showed on the surface as one of the Defenders of Mantle, if the decision came between Mantle and Jaune, she was supposed to pick him. That was how important he was. Even though Victory Wing also had other responsibilities, if it came between that and the safety of Jaune Arc, they knew what they were supposed to choose every time.
But right now it was Mistral at risk. Despite understanding the intent of her orders, the letter of them didn't force her to choose him over the foreign Kingdom. Not that she wished to risk him, but if all she was doing was sending him to help some technicians get the city's defenses back online he'd be relatively safe, right?
Still this wasn't a decision she could make on her own.
She weighed the idea quickly, worded it as well as she could, and passed it along to the General.
He turned, his back facing the mostly cheering crowd below, a frown on his face.
"...He will need an escort. There is no way he can go alone." The General's voice invited no nonsense. "I cannot encourage reckless behavior, but it is true that we currently have need of you, Jaune."
"Oh, don't worry! My parents and Team STRQ will be busy helping keep my friends and family safe before they help out with everything else, but I'm sure I can get Team CRXN to help cover me, whatever it is! I want to help! Oh, and you can probably get some use out of the Black Knights too. They're an insurgent force, but one of them helped defend me, so that's worth something, right?"
As usual, Jaune clearly knew something he wasn't letting the General or Victory Wing in on, but he seemed so excited that she didn't have it in her to grill him for details at the moment. Later.
Mercedes reporting. I have contained a few members of the insurgent group known in Mistral as the Black Knights. However I'll be outnumbered soon, please advise.
Oh. It was odd that it took so long for Mercedes to get back to them.
"...it seems I will have to personally communicate with that red Knight below." She heard the General muse as he began to step towards the edge of their protected VIP box, preparing to jump down. "Get in contact with Team CRXN asap. We have to ready ourselves for a potential attack. Specialist Annette, get to high ground and keep us informed through your scope. Specialist Elm, you'll be on watchdog duty until Team CRXN meets up with Professor Jaune."
"Yessir!"
"Excuse me, ser or lady knight. I'd really appreciate it if you would stand down." Mercedes frowned, a wall of compacted dirt pressing the unit with the spider marked shield against the wall of the cavern again. "Depending on what happens, we may have to cooperate."
Her uniform had been mussed up by a smattering of gunfire, even having taken a blow to the brow as she'd twisted out of the way of an initial burst fire. Not ideal, needing her to brush the back of a hand to straighten it a bit. Against sentient enemies, appearance was yet important.
Image was a strength of its own.
Really, the aim of the person in the white plumed armor had been rather spot on, but their hand to hand had been a tad weak. As if either they'd become dependent on their brute strength or had never quite finished their training in the first place.
It'd only taken one clash for Mercedes to understand she had the superior power output, despite her visually lighter frame.
She'd immediately followed up by kicking her opponent back and trying to bury her under a layer of earthen wall. Watching the armored black suit burst out of the first layer had still caught her off guard, though not enough to prevent her from striking the faceplate with Guilty's partisan butt and slamming the armored form back with double the walls. She'd debated on firing the laser rifle shot from that end to top it, but that seemed like a bit of unneeded aggression.
The white plumed armor groaned as steel ground against dirt and flecks of stone as it eventually burst through another Semblance crafted wall, making Mercedes frown. It wasn't as if they were on the surface where she could rely on the strength of asphalt and concrete. They were in a tunnel that had been partly filled in and packed with dirt with no idea how it'd been formed in the first place. She didn't feel confident in using the actual stonework without causing damage to the tunnel as a whole, so the dirt alone had to do.
But while a thick layer of packed earth was enough to keep the bucket-headed one with the visor mask in place, as well as the two that had come alongside the white plumed one, it wasn't enough against the white plumed armor.
"Please cooperate." Mercedes raised Guilty to use the laser partisan to deflect a hissing red axe that had been previously hanging off the armor's hip. The weapon edges hissed and crackled against each other. "Hopefully you'll be getting a message from that red armored one that calls himself Zero soon."
Guilty spun on instinct, a circular blur of white, as it attempted to deflect a low sweep with the base of the haft, only to have the attempt knocked away via the red ax and find an armored leg slamming into the side of her calf.
Mercedes blinked, finding her leg almost immediately gave way, slamming her foot back into the ground so hard it buried in the compacted earth to the upper ankle.
Alright, maybe that was the wrong thing to say, as the white plumed armor increased its aggression. Misunderstandings. Truly frustrating.
Well, Mercedes could understand that kind of fierce loyalty. Respected it, even.
And perhaps Mercedes, too, had gotten a bit used to her normal overwhelming strength.
Instinctively she thrust with Guilty's laser partisan edge thrusting as it seared against the spider marked shield, cutting through the edge of it as the wielder didn't bother throwing up the Aura to defend it, truly using it as a disposable product.
In retaliation a red hot blur of an axehead descended in a chopping motion towards her face.
Her Aura extended with the intent on forming a cushion of air to act as a shield for her to deflect it with a backhand, only for that bit of reinforced air to dissipate instantly upon contact, making her hand strike the steel instead. Was it the heat? How hot was it?
It also had felt as if it had almost rattled her hand, and certainly hot enough that it caused her artificial nerves to deaden (passing the built in pain threshold) the moment after she made contact and deflected the blow.
Her eyes narrowed as a wave of earth forced distance so that Mercedes could speak again, the red ax hissing through the dirt wall, sending chunks of superheated some of that dirt looked kinda like molten- oh, a message.
Finally.
Mass of Grimm approaching from all sides. ETA four hours. Giant Elder Grimm spotted to the East. Aerial. Protocol Double Rook is now in effect. Make peace with the insurgents below, their leader shall contact his men soon. Minimize chaos.
Double Rook? Oh dear. She'd definitely missed something big.
"So you're aware: the people that would have you punished for what you're doing here have met quite the tragic end, from what I've been informed just now." Mercedes tapped her ear from under her hair, pretending there was an earpiece (it was the most easily explainable lie at the moment), "Meanwhile Atlas has neither jurisdiction or desire to press for criminal charges on behalf of the Mistralian government. Nor does their government currently have the means to even attempt to do so, especially when Grimm are currently headed for the Capital."
White plume backed off, seeming to weigh her words. Or understand them. Hopefully she hadn't overestimated her foe's comprehension abilities.
The fingers of the white and black armor uncurled and curled over the handle of the ax.
Then its ax pointed at their subordinates.
"Certainly, as a sign of good faith." Mercedes shrugged, letting the multiple layers of earth release the other armors. It wasn't ideal, as no promises had been made, but it wouldn't hurt to earn some good will. "See? I've freed your compatriots. There's more at stake here at the current moment, and I wish merely for your cooperation."
The left arm, bearing the spider marked shield that currently bore a glowing orange half melted edge, knocked against the bucket-like helmet of white plume's first subordinate unit, the one that Mercedes had found guarding the initial jamming Dust device.
As if scolding whoever was inside. She couldn't catch it perfectly, but the crackle of shortwaves Mercedes could 'feel' suggested as such.
She giggled, only to raise a hand to her mouth quickly afterwards.
Ahhhhh. They knew she'd listened in a bit somehow, huh? The white plume looked particularly embarrassed as it slapped the back of the first bucket head's helmet again.
It was like watching an older sibling watch out for their younger ones, in a way. More a family than a militant group. That didn't change the fact they were a bunch of armed insurgents willing to use lethal force, however. Dangerous, but necessary.
Regardless, she turned her attention to a burst of text appearing on her HUD, noting that the white plumed armor raised a hand to the side of its helmet as well.
Additionally note: If necessary, assure we will assist Black Knights in their wealth redistribution plan. We shall ignore political backlash, it has been deemed necessary to incite cheer in the populace. We MUST slow and disperse the Grimm approach by all means possible.
Mercedes didn't know what the situation must even be anymore, but it couldn't be when a Double Rook callout was in play.
That only applied if a foreign Kingdom's leadership was handing over their defense to Atlas or… well it had to be that Mistral's leadership had suffered some strange casualty. They were too prideful for the former.
"Alright. It seems we're going to be in the same boat for a bit then, miss fancy Atlas Specialist. I'm Black Knight Two. Me and my boys will be working under your lead for now. But if you try to use my White Leos as pawns, I'll gut you and damn the consequences."
Ah, a girl. Somewhat young, despite the voice distortion. Must have been very much a group based on merit or ability, rather than experience.
"Understood, Miss Knight of Two." Mercedes smiled warmly, "As long as you help defend Mistral, Atlas will look entirely the other way."
If this sinking feeling in her gut was of any indication Mistral might need all the help it could get.