Fall of Beacon : The Machine That Ended an Army
Beacon Tower shook as flames licked the broken spires. Jaune Arc stood between Pyrrha Nikos and Cinder Fall, his shield raised even though he knew it wouldn't matter. Pyrrha was barely standing. Cinder's bow was already forming, molten glass pulling itself into shape.
"End of the line," Cinder said coldly.
The world screamed. A blue shape tore through the tower wall like it wasn't there, smashing into Cinder with enough force to crater the floor. She skidded across the platform, barely stopping herself from going over the edge.
Hovering where she'd stood was a machine.
Sleek. Sharp. Silent.
Metal Sonic.
Jaune didn't hesitate. "Metal. Target confirmed."
Metal Sonic's red eyes locked onto Cinder.
TARGET IDENTIFIED: CINDER FALL
ANOMALOUS ENERGY SIGNATURE DETECTED
THREAT LEVEL: EXTREME
Cinder rose slowly, eyes narrowed. "You again…"
Metal Sonic vanished, not moved, vanished.
A sonic boom cracked the air as he reappeared behind her, striking with precision that sent her flying. She fired back instinctively, arrows blazing through the air.
Metal Sonic intercepted them mid-flight, movements so exact it looked unreal. Shields flickered for fractions of a second, only where needed. No wasted motion. No hesitation.
MAIDEN ENERGY CONFIRMED
DRAIN PROTOCOL: ACTIVE
Energy tendrils snapped outward, latching onto Cinder. The stolen power surged violently, lightning flashing as it was ripped out of her, resisting with everything it had. Cinder screamed in rage as her strength collapsed. Her aura flickered wildly, then dimmed.
Pyrrha stared. "He's… taking it." Jaune clenched his fists. He knew what Metal Sonic was built for. Cinder hit her knees, drained so much, its as if her very soul was drained.
DRAIN COMPLETE
SUBJECT STATUS: COMBAT INEFFECTIVE
TERMINATION ADVISED
Metal Sonic's arm reconfigured, energy rapidly focusing into a lethal blast. Jaune stepped forward instantly. "Stop."The cannon hesitated.
JAUNE ARC PRIORITY COMMAND RECEIVED
REQUESTING JUSTIFICATION
Jaune didn't plead. He reasoned.
"She didn't plan this alone," he said firmly. "Beacon, the White Fang, Grimm everywhere..this was coordinated. She answers to someone higher up." Cinder laughed weakly. "You think you matter..." "Quiet," Jaune snapped, never taking his eyes off Metal Sonic. "She's an information asset. Alive, she's leverage. Dead, she's useless."
Silence. Then thousands of calculations ran behind Metal Sonic's glowing eyes.
TACTICAL ANALYSIS COMPLETE
PROBABILITY OF SUPERIOR COMMAND STRUCTURE: HIGH
SUBJECT VALUE: INTELLIGENCE SOURCE
TERMINATION: DENIED
The cannon powered down. Metal Sonic stepped forward and struck Cinder once, precise, controlled. She collapsed instantly, unconscious before she hit the floor.
Pyrrha exhaled shakily. "He almost killed her."
Jaune nodded. "That's why stopping him mattered." Metal Sonic turned away, attention already shifting. Below them, Beacon burned. White Fang forces flooded the streets. Grimm swarmed unchecked.
NEW OBJECTIVE: BATTLEFIELD SUPPRESSION
HOSTILE ELIMINATION: PRIORITY
Metal Sonic launched skyward. What followed wasn't chaos. It was systematic destruction.
White Fang units were erased before they could react. Metal Sonic struck supply lines first, then command clusters, then remaining forces, always in that order. Weapons failed mid-aim. Vehicles were disabled in seconds. Grimm packs were shattered before they reached civilians.
Students only saw flashes of blue light and collapsing enemies. "He's not fighting," Pyrrha realized. "He's dismantling them."
In the streets, the White Fang tried to regroup.
They never got the chance.
Entire units vanished in moments. There was no retreat, no surrender only sudden impact and silence. Grimm were destroyed just as efficiently, ripped apart before they could overwhelm huntsmen and slaughter citizens.
HOSTILE ORGANIZATION: WHITE FANG
STATUS: ELIMINATED
Only the leaders remained.
Adam Taurus and the surviving commanders engaged together in desperation, Aura flaring as they attacked in unison. Metal Sonic walked through it. Every strike was countered. Every opening exploited. Aura shattered under perfectly timed blows. One by one, the leaders fell hard.they lived barely only by luck.
Their Aura flickered weakly, almost gone, bodies refusing to respond.
SURVIVORS IDENTIFIED
COMBAT CAPABILITY: NEGLIGIBLE
THREAT PROJECTION: ZERO
Metal Sonic turned away, not for mercy, but for efficiency.
From Beacon Tower, Jaune watched the city below."There's… no White Fang left," Pyrrha said quietly. Jaune nodded, stomach heavy. "Nothing that can regroup." Grimm were already retreating, their numbers broken, their advance shattered. Metal Sonic hovered above the city, scanning relentlessly.Beacon was still burning,
but the enemy army was gone.Metal Sonic wasn't dangerous because he was strong.
He was dangerous because he decided when wars ended.
And tonight....
An army learned what that meant.
Blake : POV
My Aura was gone, completely gone. Not flickering. Not recovering. Just… empty. Yang was beside me, one knee on the ground, gauntlets cracked, breathing hard through clenched teeth.
Adam stood a few steps away, calm, composed.
White Fang surrounded us in a loose circle. No rush. No shouting. They knew we were finished.
Adam's blade rested on his shoulder.
"So," he said quietly, eyes never leaving mine, "this is where it ends." Yang leaned closer to me. "Hey," she whispered. "Eyes on me, Blake."
I tried to answer. Then the air screamed.
A high, metallic shriek tore through the street, like sound itself was being forced out of the way. Something dropped between us and the White Fang.The impact cracked the ground. Smoke rolled outward in a sharp wave.
Standing there was a machine.
Blue metal. Sharp lines. Red eyes that swept over the entire street in less than a second.
Then it spoke, flat and emotionless.
"PRIORITY DIRECTIVE ENGAGED.
PROTECTING TWO OF JAUNE ARC'S ROMANTICALLY SIGNIFICANT ASSOCIATES."
Yang blinked. "…Romantically what?"
I didn't get a chance to respond.
Because the machine looked up.
And the White Fang stopped being an army.
It vanished. Not ran. Not charged. Just vanished. The first fighter went down before the sound reached us. Another dropped a heartbeat later. Weapons shattered mid-raise. People didn't even have time to scream. The machine reappeared behind them. Then above them.
Then inside their formation. It didn't flail or rush. Every movement was exact, terrifyingly calm. Attempts to regroup were erased instantly. Grimm that rushed in were destroyed mid-lunge, never reaching anyone. Yang's voice was barely audible. "Blake… there's nothing stopping it."
She was right. There was no resistance that mattered. Adam finally moved. He charged, Aura flaring bright, blade screaming through the air with everything he had. The machine caught it. Not blocked, Caught!!! The impact cracked the street. Adam was thrown back hard, skidding across the pavement, Aura flickering wildly. Banesaw rushed in from the side, roaring.
One strike was all that was needed. Banesaw flew through a wall and collapsed, unmoving, Aura barely holding. Silence fell. The White Fang was gone. Not retreating. Gone.
The machine stood in the center of the street, eyes glowing brighter as it scanned.
"HOSTILE ORGANIZATION: WHITE FANG
STATUS: NEUTRALIZED." Adam groaned, trying to rise. His Aura flickered weakly, barely there. Banesaw didn't move. They were the only ones left. The machine looked at them. For a moment, I thought this was where it ended. Then...
"SURVIVORS LOGGED.
COMBAT CAPABILITY: INSUFFICIENT."
It turned away. Not mercy. Calculation.
It walked toward us and stopped.
"STATUS CHECK: PROTECTED ASSETS."
Yang let out a weak, breathless laugh. "Assets. Wow. Romantic ones, apparently." Despite myself, despite everything, I felt a shaky smile tug at my mouth.
"Do you remember him at Beacon?" I whispered.
Yang snorted softly. "Yeah. Standing outside our dorm like a haunted lamp post." "He waited three hours," I said. "Because Jaune told him 'friends hang out nearby.'" Yang shook her head. "And Penny. Oh my god, the music." I could see it clearly.
Metal Sonic, rigid as a statue in the courtyard, holding a speaker like it might explode. Playing the same song over and over because Penny had said she liked it once. Penny clapping happily. Jaune slowly dying of embarrassment.
Yang huffed. "He tripped over a chair because Nora moved it." I swallowed. "That machine," I said quietly, "just erased an army." Yang went still. "Yeah." She stared at the empty street. "And he didn't look any different." That was the worst part. Same shape. Same voice. Same precise movements.
The only difference was the situation.
Back at Beacon, Metal Sonic tried to understand people. Tonight, there were no people to understand. Only threats to remove. The machine looked once more at the empty street, then launched into the sky, gone in a flash of blue light and thunder. The sound faded.
Yang leaned back against the wall. "Next time Jaune says his dad builds 'support units,' I'm calling him out." I let out a quiet breath. "Please don't. I don't think he realizes what that means to everyone else." Yang smiled faintly. "Yeah. He still sees the guy who helped Penny pick music." I closed my eyes.
So did I. But now I also saw the thing that had stood between us and death, and decided who lived based on numbers alone. Yang nudged my shoulder gently. "We're alive." I nodded. "Because of him." She paused. "Still allowed to be terrified though."
"…Very allowed."
Somewhere above Beacon, a blue streak crossed the sky. And for the first time since the Fall began, I couldn't tell whether that made me feel safer or watched.
