A Simple Bet Between Friends

Chapter 40

The flight couldn't have been but a couple minutes but it felt like hours. She was far from the only anxious one, even Ozpin looked a little more on edge than she had ever seen him. It was for good reason of course.

Beacon was under siege by the Grimm and there were still civilians in the area. From what little she overheard from the pilots radio, things were looking bad. The Grimm had yet to break into Vale proper, but the way things were going the city would have its own concerns soon enough. The sheer amount of negativity from the civilians at Beacon would be enough to drown their defenses in Grimm.

Thankfully, they had Atlas and their armies to help fight. The Atlesians were taking a beating trying to hold back the tide but they were buying time and that was enough for now. Once the civilians were safe the hunters could turn their full attention back towards the school. Grimm horde or not, she liked those odds.

Soon the cavalry would arrive and they were gonna make the Grimm regret the day they wandered out of whatever cave they came from.

They just had to make it until then.

"LZ is clear," The pilot's voice buzzed over the intercom. "Your escort will lead you to the FOB, there you can link up with whoever is leading the defense."

Things had already been organized? There was something to say about the Atlesians and their discipline but Yang couldn't think of it. Instead, she prepared herself; physically and mentally.

Nobody said a word as the Bullhead landed abruptly, shaking violently at the sudden stop. She would have fallen over were it not for Jaune catching her. His smile was a little forced but it still had a hint of smugness to it.

"So now you're literally falling for me?" She wanted to punch that look off his face but smiled instead. The humour was nice, it helped more than just her relax. Even now, she could see his team laughing at the crappy joke. She could practically feel Weiss' eyes rolling in her head and it distracted Ruby from what had just happened in the arena.

Blake didn't even seem to hear it, simply staring at the door with an intensity that said she was looking beyond it. A soft hiss wrung out and the door flew open.

"Best of luck." The pilot's voice came back over the intercom.

Ozpin was the first one out, already moving away from the Bullhead before the rest of them had even set foot out of it. It was the first time she had actually laid eyes on Beacon and it caught her breath.

The school grounds had been turned into a battlefield. She could just make out a few Grimm moving around in the distance, the faint sound of gunfire and yelling. It took her a moment to process it all, she wasn't the only one. Each of them were affected in their own ways, even Ozpin.

After a moment a couple soldiers came over to address them, or Ozpin rather. He gestured for them to follow and they did, being led in the direction of a number large tents set up on one of the other landing pads.

A makeshift barricade served as their wall in case any Grimm decided to try anything, though judging by the lack of action they had managed to clear at least a part of the school grounds.

Dozens of soldiers were rushing back and forth, some moving to relieve others on the barricade, while others rushed off in groups with their froids further into Beacon proper.

They were led to a tent set up roughly in the center of the encampment, where their escort told them to wait as Ozpin spoke with the commander. A voice from the inside told them all to enter and the man who escorted them nodded, before allowing them all inside.

The walls of the tent had a number of tables set up, all with some kind of computer or radio on it. Men and women barking out instructions and orders while constantly updating a number of boards with information she didn't understand. In the center was a table with a map of Beacon.