Relic of the Future: Chapter 157

They were on the wall now, Ozpin turning them so that Jaune's back was to it and then throwing them against it.

Into it?

Jaune's eyes widened as he felt the metal gears on his back. The clockwork wall of Ozpin's office! That realisation lasted only a second before dull, rusty cogs bit into and ground through his shoulder. Aura came up against machine – the cogs powered by motors that would not stop, could not stop, and coming up against the power of the soul that did much the same.

The result was like grinding two pieces of solid metal together. Sparks flew, a horrible, twisted sound filled the room and both the cogs and Jaune's body began to heat up.

And he screamed. Loudly.

Ozpin pushed him further in, submerging him in the machinery. His left foot caught in something that tried to suck him down and in, while his spine was assaulted by the clunk, clunk, clunk of a piston determined to break through his bones. Ozpin was going to grind him to paste, aura or no.

Despite it, Jaune kept going, kept strangling him.

I have… to hold on…

Metal ground and popped. The cog which couldn't turn against his shoulder forced problems back down the chain, each rotating cog stressing and straining backwards until something slipped. A huge cogwheel the size of a person exploded out from the wall with incredible force, narrowly missing Raven. The sudden hole in the system caused another gear to have nothing holding it in place. It fell with a mighty clang.

From there it was a chain reaction of grinding metal and machinery. Like a taut string coiled on itself a hundred times and suddenly let go, spinning backwards and out of control. Something exploded in a loud bang and more machinery burst outward. The ones around and behind them did the same, suddenly spinning off Jaune's shoulder and launching them into the open air. A heavy chunk of metal struck the back of his skull.

Aura or not, the impact rattled his brain. Every muscle in his body went slack and Ozpin took his chance to escape, heaving for air and holding his neck with one hand. Before he could recover, he brought up a green shield to protect himself from another violently bouncing cogwheel. The clockface that had once made up the wall of his office was a mess of broken and twisted machinery.

[...]

Jaune groaned and unsteadily pushed himself up onto his hands and knees. He wasn't sure if he was concussed or not. The world was spinning. Suddenly, it took a more violent twist and the floor came up to punch him in the cheek. It took another second for him to realise that was because Ozpin had kicked him in the jaw.

Where was Raven…? Jaune's bleary eyes looked past Ozpin to see the Spring Maiden nursing her left arm with her right hand, the limb covered in blood. There was a huge, copper wheel buried into the wall behind her, which must have struck with the force of a speeding car.

[...]

Jaune tried to push himself up again, but his shoulder wouldn't respond. He toppled onto his side, spewing vomit onto the floor.

Definitely a concussion. Come on, get up. Move!

His body responded sluggishly. His vision was swimming and he felt lightheaded, as if he were standing at the edge of a tall cliff and the vertigo had come running.

—Relic of the Future: Chapter 157