Team ALLY

Chapter 17: Complications

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Me and Yema hear the White Fang barreling down on us. I spin around and fling Yema at them. She flings a barrage of barbs laced with fire dust which detonate and slow them down. We get to a clearing and really prepare to fight. "They sent quite the welcoming committee."

"Leo, stay focused."

"C'mon, just getting loose." I extend the barrels and get psyched up. The White Fang pour into the clearing along with two airships. "I Think we grossly underestimated the enemy." Yema says scared. "C'mon. This'll be cake. You work on taking out those airships and I'll cull some of the guys down here. She nods and forms more barbs and flings them at the airships. I charge the guys on the ground and they go down pretty easy. But there's a ton of them. The airships go down then Yema returns to me and we go back-to-back. "Leo, I think Aries grossly miscalculated his plan!"

"I'm starting to agree!" We fend them off to the best of our abilities until a large captain smacks Yema with a hammer, sending her flying across the field as her aura fades. "Yema!" I feel something rising up inside me. A power I haven't felt in a long time.

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My body is racked with pain. I look over and see white fang flying in the air. A group start to approach me. I try and lift my sword but I don't have the strength to. Before I can blink, Leonidas is there in front of me. "No one touches Yema! Ragh!" He's surrounded by a red aura, his hair has curled and turned red. His pose is beastlike, all fours. His fingernails have become clawlike. "Leo?" The captain approaches again and Leo charges him like a wild animal. He swings at Leo using the chainsword but Leo just deflects it with his gauntlet and digs his claws deep into his gut before firing off his gauntlet, turning his entrails to chum before ripping them out. Seeing the horror before them, the White Fang soldiers are stunned. Leo starts firing, blowing them all away.

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We're running the VIP the rest of the way to the safehouse while Aries is being carried by Qrow. We're currently 7 Kilometers out. When Aries starts to stir. "A-a-ambush!"

"What?"

"Large mass of energy, about a kilometer out!"

"Shit! Are you able to fight?"

"Still kinda weak but I'll fight my hardest." The White Fang surround us and Qrow puts Aries down and they get ready to fight. Aries locks the VIP in a box as they surround us. We go in hard, taking out as many as we can when we hear Aries yell. We look over and see a guy with red hair charging us. He slices me across the leg and I go down. Qrow backs up to protect the VIP. Aries barely manages to his feet, clutching his side where the man's sword had got him. "You White Fangs, you claim to hunt for peace yet you spill blood in the name of hatred. What will ripping him away from his family do for your cause?" The man with red hair turns around to face him. "You claim superiority, when your bloodline has more blood on its hands than I ever will, Paladin." Before Aries can retort the man's already started to walk toward him. "Your ancestor, Kaguya Celestian, the one that gave your family its name. She earned that name because it's said she could supposedly read stars. She used her powers to dominate the east and create Mistral. She was the most powerful warlord of her time. And her bloodlust was insatiable. Maybe some of it carried down to the rest of you wretched...."

"SHUT UP!" Aries yells, cutting the man off. Something starts to swirl around him. "Mock me, but never mock my family!" We're all stunned. The man charges Aries but he stops the blade by crossing his bracers. He looks up and shows a pair of bright blue eyes. His hair starts to grow out long and lightens a shade with a silver stripe and his body slims into a feminine figure. "Joan?!" Qrow exclaims.

"Hey there, Qrow." she says with a smile. A sword forms in her right hand, a dragon head at the hilt and spirals running up the straight edged katana. She uncrosses her hands, sending him stumbling back. "Who are you?" I ask.

"I'm Joan Paladin, but most people knew me as the Angel of the North Wind. But Aries simply knew me as mom." She turns to the man with red hair. "You must be Taurus' son, how he would be disappointed. He charges and Joan blocks it. She holds out a hand and he's blown back by a gust of wind. She channels some around her blade and charges him. The wind making each blow more intense. She lifts the blade above her head and breaks the blade in half. He stumbles back and she holds the blade behind herself and prepared to charge. "Fang, retreat!" he grabs the pieces to his sword and the white fang leave. She lets out a large breath and falls on her knees. Her sword dissipates as her hair slowly starts to darken and shorten. "I guess Aries' body has grown weak. Do me a favor and tell him I love him."

"I will" I respond." She smiles as she looks at me. "Take good care of him." She falls over as she finishes reverting back into Aries.

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Leo is standing in the middle of the bodies when the group starts to retreat. He lets out one more roar and falls to his hands and knees. "Leo!" I run up and check on him. He's panting hard, and his body is returning to his normal state. "Leo are you okay?"

"I'll be fine, I haven't let loose like that in a while."

"What was that?"

"My semblance, rather my fully activated semblance, berserker rage. I just lose control and attack anything I see as a threat. I've always tried to contain it. It's only happened one other time."

"What happened?"

"Me and Aries were sparring, things got a little out of hand and I ended up beating the shit out of him. He doesn't remember it but I'll never forget it." I see an airship fly up and I help Leo stand to his feet. We see Aries laying on a bed with field dressings. Qrow looks down at the battlefield then over at Leo. "Damn. I'd ask how's the other guy but I can't tell how many there were." Leo looks over at Lilac. "Don't tell Aries." She nods and we return to the academy.