THY RUSTED KNIGHT 33

Arthur Watts subscribed to the thought that if you wanted something done, then it was best you do it yourself.

He wasn't hauling crates of Dust himself, however, but he was there to supervise even as Roman Torchwick called out orders.

"Hey! You there!" Roman called out, pointing towards a dog faunus who looked confuse as he struggled in carrying a box.

"Yeah, you! Be careful not to drop that, you animal! What do you think we're working with here?! Sand?! This is Dust, you idiot! Highly volatile explosive Dust!" Roman scolded, pushing another faunus to help the one who was already struggling. "If you're going to have a hard time carrying it then call for help!"

Arthur hummed as he leaned against the bullhead before blinking as he felt eyes land on him.

Looking beside him, he saw brown and pink heterochromatic eyes staring at him. Neopolitan also leaned against the bullhead as she crossed her arms while smirking at him.

"And what do you want this time, Neo?" He addressed her calmly.

As much as Neo acted facetious sometimes, she was a professional.

And Arthur Watts loved professionals.

It was why he insisted that she accompany them during their operations at the docks tonight. For a man such as him, it was best

He clicked his tongue however when Neo changed into Cinder.

Cinder was not a professional.

She was an impulsive, up jumped, piece of garbage that was too ambitious for her own good.

Neo however only looked at him amusedly even as Cinder's face was the one looking at him.

"You want to know where she is and why I'm here instead of her?"

Neo nodded enthusiastically, even as Arthur shivered at the smile gracing Cinder's face.

Cinder Fall did not smile like that.

It was happy, carefree, curious, and inviting with a glint of sharpness at the edge of her teeth.

Seeing that kind of smile directed at him unnerved Arthur more than he would have ever thought, but before he could even say anything about it, all hell broke loose.

"CINDEEEEEER!!!!!"

The shout reverberated across the docks and the next thing Arthur knew, a pillar of light illuminated the night.

--------

Vale woke up to the sound of an explosion.

Immediately, citizens panickedly got out of their bed to turn on the news even as some of them rushed outside to watch the commotion.

They first turned to the walls, fearing that the Grimm had breached it but as they found no signs of damage in that area, eyes scanned the horizon to see a glow emanating from the direction of Vale's docks.

Multicolored smoke wafted up towards the sky and those knowledgeable enough would immediately note the involvement of Dust in that explosion.

After all, it was only reasonable to think that highly volatile and explosive Dust would be able to produce such a phenomenon while being destructive enough to disturb them.

There was no Dust, however, at least not yet.

--------

Jaune Arc arrived with a bang.

And yet he knew it was a mistake.

Someone with his experience should already know by now not to jump in without a plan, especially when they had the element of surprise.

Yet here he was, jumping in even before he managed to form a plan with Port and Oobleck.

They were only supposed to stake out the docks, wait for Glynda, alert the police to get some prison cells ready, and then jump in to arrest Roman Torchwick and the White Fang.

He couldn't help it however because the moment he saw her face, he lost it.

Black hair, amber eyes, and a pretty red dress.

It was her alright.

Except it wasn't.

Despite the years since he last saw her, he would recognize the pink and brown woman anywhere as Neo.

Only she could be that colorful and disguise herself into another person.

It just so happened that she turned into the worst person possible.

By then, he already forgot she was Neo.

Th-Thump!

"Do you believe in destiny?"

Th-Thump!

"Yes."

Cruel amber eyes flashed through his mind, and before he knew it, Jaune was already moving.

He stood up, unsheathing Crocea Mors in its greatsword form before pouring every ounce of himself into it. Aura and Magic melded into his sword, and Crocea Mors glowed a baleful light as he hatefully screamed one single name.

""CINDEEEEEER!""

Pyrrha's voice mixed with his and he saw Peter move to grab him but it was already too late.

Jaune swung, Pyrrha screamed, and deep down inside him, Creation and Destruction collided into one.

-------

The Blacksmith paused as she felt the spark.

The spark of godhood that is before it slowly fizzled out and she was back to watching Team RWBY react to their own shenanigans.

"Weiss!" Ruby Rose screamed indignantly.

"It's not me! It's this stupid theater!" Weiss Schnee shouted embarrassedly, covering her blushing face but her eyes peeked through her fingers as she watched a version of herself get railed by Jaune Arc.

"Finally! It's not just me anymore!" Blake Belladonna exasperatedly threw her hands up even as Yang Xiao Long grumbled beside her.

The Blacksmith took that time to quietly step back, teleporting herself and leaving the four women to their lonesome as she rushed after her champion even as she kept herself invisible.

It was easy to cross the veil between worlds now and it was even easier for a being such as her to manifest beside her champion.

As she followed her champion's spark, what she saw would forever sear itself into her mind.

------------
To understand what just happened, it was important to note that whatever Jaune Arc the Rusted Knight did, it was not an Aura Slash.

At least not completely.

As hate fueled his strike and the determination to see his foe dead pushed him forward, Crocea Mors buzzed, glowed, and was lengthened by light just before an arc of light exploded out of it.

It was pure energy generated by Creation, coated in the power of Destruction, while being amplified by his Semblance.

It was devastating.

Bzzzt!

It was as if electricity inverted itself before the world as everyone knew it exploded.

KRA-KA-TOOM!

Light exploded into his eyes at that but he was not satisfied just yet.

He walked forward, ignoring the flames lashing out at him as he manifested his Magic Armor.

He clenched Crocea Mors tightly, pouring everything and more into it as he imagined Cinder dead.

But as the explosion died down and his eyes scanned the wreckage, a sound rang out across the night.

BANG!

Ice Dust exploded at his feet and Jaune immediately felt himself slip before he stomped a foot down and broke both ice and concrete alike.

Looking at the source of the shot, there he saw her.

"Well, this is interesting. Who the hell are you? How do you know Cinder?"

She opened her mouth to say some words but they did not register, regardless Jaune could only respond one way as his blood throbbed throughout his body.

"CINDEEEER!"

A black rage not completely of his own took hold of him and then the fight was on.
------

The moment Arthur Watts saw the light, instincts and self-preservation made him leap to the side and hit the ground right before activating his hard light shield to protect his head.

It was the only reason he survived as the pillar of light crashed down into the bullhead he was just leaning on.

"NEOOO!" He heard Roman shout, but it was immediately drowned out by a loud noise.

KRA-KA-TOOM!

The world rang as the explosion engulfed Arthur despite his best efforts to leap away from the bullhead.

His hard light shield buckled as it took the brunt of the explosion, breaking as molten pieces of the bullhead showered him.

He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth as he felt the explosion's force slam into his body, while heat singed his back even through his Aura.

He didn't know if Neo managed to get away, but anyone else caught in the blast would either be dead by now or at least be heavily injured.

Already, he could hear the screams coming from the poor Faunus around them as his ears finally decided to stop ringing.

"My legs! I can't feel my legs!"

"Help! Somebody help!"

"Mama....I can't see."

Light danced across Arthur's eyes still but he blinked them away just before he heard a metallic stomp.

Looking towards the source, he saw an armored man walking across the fiery docks with a glowing sword.

Arthur narrowed his eyes at that and his hand immediately fished for his gun even as he moved to aim at the man.

Smoke blocked him from having a complete view but he didn't need a complete view. He aimed at the man's feet, and Ice Dust shot out of Arthur's revolver to coat the ground in ice.

He watched stoically as the man ignored his attack, stomping the ground and breaking both ice and concrete to stop him from slipping.

Whoever this was, this man was strong and he preferred to fight straightforwardly. More than that, he knew who Cinder was.

That was impossible.

Cinder was supposed to be a ghost, a woman with no identity. He should know because he was the one to erase her records on behest of his queen himself.

As far as he knew, Cinder was only allowed to roam in public recently after she finished her training to become a vessel for the Maidens.

There was no way this man should know her unless he encountered her when she targetted the Fall Maiden.

Even then, he doubted Cinder would hide an encounter with such a man. Not to their queem at least.

"Well, this is interesting." Arthur muttered, narrowing his eyes as he looked at the interloper. "Who the hell are you? How do you know Cinder?"

"CINDEEEER!"

Arthur rolled sideways, dodging the greatsword that just slammed onto the ground he was just on.

Bang!

He shat Lightning Dust at the man but it only fizzled out as it dissipitated across what looked to be like Hard Light armor.

His eyes widened at that.

Hard Light across the whole body?! How?! The man didn't even looked like he was carrying any generator to produce such armor!

Even Arthur needed his rings to generate them but even then, he only had enough to make a small shield!

To be able to create one of top of Aura, one would need a luxurious amount of Dust and a generator as big as a backpack!

Seeing this guy lumbering around in his armor without any visible sign of technology grated at him.

Arthur clicked his tongue at that, glaring as he brandished his own Hard Light shield but he didn't even have the time to breath, because his eyes widened as the man blurred right in front of him.

"CINDERRRR!!!!"

Gods, he was tired of hearing that woman's name but Arthur had no time to reply as the shout came just as he felt the greatsword slam into his Hard Light shield.

"G-Guh!" He grunted as his shield broke but it did its job.

It saved his life.

Instead of being cut in two, he flew sideways.

His breath leaving him as he crashed on the side of a trailer.

Metal crumpled and blood spat out of his mouth as he felt his Aura break at the force of his crash.

It did him one good thing however, it gave him distance from his attacker.

He glared and raised his gun before looking at the terrified Faunus around them.

"What are you waiting for?! Attack him! He killed your comrades!"

Contrary to expectations however, it was not the Faunus who moved first.

It was Roman Torchwick.

The man charged the armored man with a warcry but by then, Arthur Watts had bigger problems.

"Hahaha! Beware, criminals! For we are here!" A voice boomed just as Dust rounds flew towards the Faunus moving to assist Roman.

Arthur glared, looking at a heavy-set man atop a trailer as profiles flashed through his mind. Eventually, he pegs the identity of the man joining them this chaotic evening.

"Peter Port."

And just as he said that, lightning flashed through the night and Arthur watched as a streak engaged his reinforcements in close combat.

"Bartholomew Oobleck."

"Hahaha! The very same!" Peter Port shouted, eyes glinting with heroic determination as he leapt down the trailer.

The ground shook at his arrival but Arthur only clicked his tongue because it was at that moment did Arthur realize they were fucked.

Beacon had sent its faculty and they were not here to teach.

--------

Peter Port clicked his tongue as his blunderbuss, Blowhard, shot out Lightning Dust to incapacitate the White Fang and surprisingly, the human leading them.

He should be stopping Jaune right now. He knew he should be doing that.

But he heard how Ozpin and Glynda together lost against him when he first appeared.

And considering the Rusted Knight just continued training after that? That alone told Peter what he could and could not do in this situation.

In the event the Jaune Arc the Rusted Knight truly lost himself, Peter Port and Bartholomew Oobleck would merely be a bump on the road if they tried to stop him.

No.

The best thing to do right now was to stop anyone else from jumping in and becoming victims of their new friend.

Thus, he and Oobleck's efforts to round up the White Fang themselves.

They didn't expect the man that would be leading them, however.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Boom!

Peter Port found himself in a shootout with a surprisingly proficient gunslinger. Despite having the advantage of having Aura however, Peter was wary with just charging in against someone who knew about him.

"Peter Port, The Defender of Mountain Glenn." The man drawled, hiding behind one of the metal trailers as he shot Fire Dust at Peter.

Anybody who knew his old title might know more about him than he was comfortable with. After all, the first step of beating your enemy is knowing them and at that, this man had the advantage.

"How does it feel to fail in your own duty?" The man mocked, peppering Peter with enough Lightning Dust to stop him in his tracks and make him hide against a container..

The reminder of his own failure grated at him but Peter's eyebrow could only twitch at the mocking tone the man called him with.

Yet it had been some time since anyone called him that and he was no longer the hot-blooded young man prone to rage at the mention of his faulre.

That didn't mean he wasn't angry though.

"I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage, good sir! May I know the name of the man I'm about to shoot?!" He shouted, while loading Blowhard with Gravity Dust.

"I'm afraid I can't help you there, old man! See, I'm not the one about to be shot!" The man bantered back and Peter grinned as he aimed Blowhard at the trailer at the same time the man emerged and aimed his own gun at him.

BANG!

BANG!

Gravity Dust met Gravity Dust midair and Peter Port laughed as they both found themselves blasted backwards.

His back met another metal trailer but he wasn't worried, his Aura took the brunt of the force as metal crumpled inward.

The same could not be said about the other man however. Peter watched as his eyes widened and he rolled backwards ass over head to dissipate the force before finding himself with his back against the ground.

Now this was the life!

There was just something to be admired about a good old shootout containing witty banter yet it would not do for him to get bogged down and distracted.

He took the time the other man was struggling to get up to look at his friends to see how they were doing.

He saw Barth was doing fine, completely at ease as he took on multiple White Fang members in close combat.

Jaune's fight however was more concerning. It couldn't even be called a fight if Peter was being honest. He could only watch however as Jaune began to bully Roman Torchwick.

Indecision struck Peter's heart at the sight. He hoped Roman Torchwick would survive until Glynda came here but if he couldn't?

Then it would be up to Port to stop his friend from committing a murder.

--------
Fire flashed around him and Roman gritted his teeth as he clashed swords with their assailant.

Melodic Cudgel groaned as the man roared against him and it took Roman's all to twist around and sidestep him.

In hindsight, charging the man who could create explosions with his swords was not the wisest of decisions.

But what can he say? He never claimed he was wise.

But he had no choice, this guy hurt Neo.

Roman twitched at that, Melodic Cudgel spitting out Fire Dust as he shot at the man's back.

It only fizzled out however and Roman was back to holding on for dear life. Any attack he made only bounced off the man's armor and any attack he parried had the chance of breaking Melodic Cudgel in two.

It got to the point that it was so bad that Roman had to give it his all to avoid the man's attacks but even then he felt the air buffet against him.

Normally, this was one of those moments where Neo would step in and they would tag team the enemy together but this was far from normal timea.

He didn't want to think Neo was dead but the longer she didn't resurface, the more the chances of that were true.

Tears pricked his eyes at that and he blinked them away.

That was his undoing.

One single lapse in concentration was all it took for Roman to be on the back foot because as Roman blinked away his tears, he stepped back when he was supposed to duck.

He avoided the sword from decapitating him, yes, but he did not manage to avoid the sudden burst of light that came out of it however.

Roman's eyes widened as he suddenly received an Aura Slash straight to the face.

It was small, yes, and his Aura did take the brunt of it but the force of it still sent his head back reeling.

Melodic Cudgel frantically moved to ward off any follow up attacks but it was futile.

He felt a hand grip his wrist tightly and the next thing he knew, he was being pulled into a headbutt.

Thud!

His face made contact with a helmet made of light and Roman blinked back stars as he stumbled backwards on his ass.

Before he could even orient himself however, a sword buried itself beside him just out of reach and before he knew it, the armored man was crashing into his chest.

Roman's breath left his mouth in a rush. He tried to push the man off of him but it was futile. An armored knees pinned his hands to his sides and by then, he was at the man's mercy.

"THIS IS FOR PYRRHA!" The armored man shouted, lifting Roman up by his collar before punching him straight in the face.

His Aura cracked and his head bounced back towards the ground before being lifted up again.

"THIS IS FOR PENNY!"

Another punch and Roman saw stars as his Aura broke.

"AND THIS IS FOR ME!!!!!"

There was no time to think and no time to answer because the next thing Roman knew, his nose was crushed as an armored fist fell upon him.

Blood poured down his face and Roman could only gasp weakly as all he could do was watch as the fist was raised again.

This was it. He was going to die here.

He closer his eyes as he thought morbid thoughts to himself but instead of feeling his head get crushed, he heard a sound.

Clang!

A metallic sang rang out throughout the night. Despite the fire burning around them, or the more distant sound of fighting, shooting, and swords clanging away from them, the sound rang loudly in Roman's ears.

He rasped weakly, opening his eyes as his breath ghosted across the fist inches away from his face

And there he saw the source of the sound.

It was a rock, a piece of concrete bouncing off of his opponents armor before rolling towards again.

Clang!

And there it was again.

Another piece of concrete.

He looked towards the source andlo and behold, there she was, swaying tiredly as she moved to throw another rock.

"N-No.....run." He breathed weakly but it was too late.

The armored man dropped him and Roman laid there weakly as the man stood to his full height before starting to walk.

Metallic stomps rang in his ears as he watched the man approach Neo who was still wearing Cinder's form.

---------

Neo was dazed and shaken but she knew one thing.

If she didn't do anything, Roman would die.

While she barely survived the explosion itself, with her reflexes and Aura being the only one to save her, she was not willing to let Roman get killed because she turned into Cinder.

Neo clicked her tongue at that.

Damn that fucking bitch for ruining their lives. She wasn't even here and she was still causing them problems. What did she even do to earn so much hate from this guy?

Neo stumbled back, keeping one hand close with her sword as she pretended to ward off the man with the other.

She used her Semblance to keep Cinder's form and her sword hidden and Neo suppressed a smile as the man approached her unarmed.

Ahhh, overconfidence. The bane of many.

She might have looked weak, unarmed, and injured right now but Neopolitan was far from having no fight left in her.

She gasped as she let the man close, real close, like habd reaching for her close, and then she lunged.

Her sword struck out, stabbing towards the man's neck only to freeze as it got trapped in crystallized light.

She blinked in shock at her blade and not a second later, a hand was grasping her neck while another grabbed her sword.

Neo tried to pull back but it was no use. The grip was too strong, too tight, and eventually, the man lifted Neo with one hand.

She choked with wide eyes, her breath leaving her in silent gasps even as she tried to kick her attacker. Her arms flailed, uselessly hitting the armored man even as he pulled her sword away.

"Do you believe in destiny?"

Neo tried to spit as she heard his words but tears only pricked her eyes as she saw her blade be flipped towards her.

This was it.

She was going to die now.

She tried to look at Roman one last time but all she could see was his downed form.

For a moment though, she thought he was dead.

Yet despite the shakiness now plaguing her vision, she saw him raise a hand towards her.

Damn.

She had hoped he wasn't looking but if he was.....

She gave him one last smile over the armored man's shoulder.

It was shaky but at least this was better than seeing him be killed in front of her.

Eventually however, she felt the hand tighten over her neck and Neo welcomed the darkness as it came for her.

CRACK!