Endgame
For Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang, this is where the road leads.
[Author's note: this story follows on from the story A Collision of the Future and the Past, as well as the other RWBY stories by Darkpenn. It was written without knowledge of what might happen in Volume 5. It concludes the series of Darkpenn RWBY stories.]
Part I
"My dear sweet creature," said Salem, as she stared into the eye of the frozen dragon. "What has been done to you?"
She stepped back and bowed her head. She spoke an incantation, and concentrated, drawing dark energies together.
Slowly, the dragon began to move. The eye blinked. The mouth of the dragon opened, and its tongue appeared, as if to again savour the taste of the air. On its perch, its feet moved. Its wings opened more fully, and closed again, and opened. It exhaled a rancid breath. It spread its wings again – and then it was in the air, circling the tower, dropping spawn from which more Grimm creatures emerged. It gave a screech.
"Well, aren't you wonderful," said Salem. She looked around at the ruins of what had once been Ozpin's office, at the top of the tower. She watched the dragon for a while, admiring it, and then went to the shaft of the broken elevator, which would take her to the vault of Beacon Academy.
"So many," muttered Yang, as the airship flew over the masses of Grimm creatures. "So many."
The creatures were walking around the Academy, a ghastly parade of dark energy. Beowulfs, Death Stalkers, Beringels, Nuckelavees. Giant Nevermores and Griffons flew in slow circles around the tower. So far, none of the Grimm creatures seemed to have seen the airship. It was almost as if they were entranced.
"Where are the bad guys likely to be?" said Yang.
"The vault, I would think," said Juane.
"Beacon Academy has a vault?" said Ruby.
"Yes, and the entrance is over there," said Juane, pointing.
Blake headed for it.
Qrow, unconscious, was locked in the tube that had once held Amber. Salem stood before him, the relic of Knowledge in her hand. The other two relics she had – one an ordinary-looking stone, the other a chrysanthemum in a glass vase – lay on a table not far away.
The metal box shook as Salem's energy passed through it. She put her other hand on the glass panel of the tube.
"Ah," she said eventually. "The little girl who wears the red cape. I had a feeling that she was important. Very important."
Weiss pointed. "Uh-oh," she said.
"Looks like the big guy has been defrosted," said Yang. "And it's heading this way."
Indeed, the dragon for coming for the airship, accompanied by flights of Nevermores and Griffons.
"I'll try to get us down near the vault entrance," said Blake. "But no promises."
The dragon was closing, its massive beak opening to snap the airship up.
And then a portal appeared in mid-air, and Glynda and General Ironwood came through it, landing on the back of the dragon. Glynda drew her crop and began to fire blasts of energy at the creatures flying alongside. General Ironwood pointed the huge bazooka he was carrying at the wing-joints of the dragon and began to fire. The dragon howled in pain and veered aside, trying to throw its attackers off its back. But they clung on, and kept firing.
And suddenly there was a gap in the flying crowd.
"Hold on!" shouted Blake. She hit the gas, and they streaked through the opening. But Nevermores and Griffons snapped at them. The airship was taking damage but Blake kept going.
"Yang, Nora, clear us a landing path!" shouted Ruby, as she pushed the button that opened the side-doors of the airship.
Yang and Nora leaned out, weapons ready. They fired, and their rockets cut a swath through the Grimm creatures.
Blake brought the crippled airship down, and it slid along the ground. The eight of them jumped out and ran for the vault door. They looked back to see that the airship had begun to burn. So: no way back. One-way trip.
They cut their way through the Grimm creatures, and made it to the doorway. The door had been torn off. The Grimm would be able to follow them. And then the eight of them would be caught between the army of creatures and Salem's minions. Unless ...
Juane turned to Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang. "This is as far as we go," he said. "We stand here. We stop them. You ... do what you have to do."
Sun drew his staff, twirled it.
"Sun ... " said Blake.
"Go," he said. "I'll stay with these guys. After all, they could do with a dose of style."
Blake wiped a tear from her eye. Then she pulled Sun to her and kissed him – hard.
Then Team RWBY ran for the hallway that led to the vault.
Juane, Nora, Ren and Sun turned to face the wave.
"Team, uh, hmm, let me think, er ... hey, how about SNARL?" said Juane. "Sun, Nora, Arc, Ren, Lie."
"That's ... terrible," said Ren. "But I have nothing better."
"SNARL it is," said Nora.
The charging Grimm were almost on them. Hundreds. Thousands. More.
Nora lifted her hammer. "Let's rock!" she shouted.
Part II
Team RWBY burst into the first chamber, a long, wide room. To be confronted by Cinder Fall, Mercury, Emerald, Tyrian Callows, Doctor Watts, Roman Torchwick, and Neo. Salem stood at the rear.
"Remember," she said to her minions, "I do not want the girl with the red cape killed. I just want her Aura worn down. When she is weak enough I can take her heart."
"And the others?" said Roman.
"Do as you please," said Salem.
Team RWBY came to a halt.
"Well, this looks like fun," said Yang. She cocked her gauntlets.
"I have a surprise for them," said Weiss. She conjured a large glyph, and from the glyph emerged a massive armoured knight, with a huge sword. It was a computer simulation that Weiss had used for training but it was as deadly as the real thing. It turned its head towards Weiss. "Go, my friend," she said.
The knight charged, smashing into Salem's team. Astonished, they scattered ... but then re-assembled. They began to fire at the knight.
But now Team RWBY had their own weapons drawn and were firing. The room was alive with bolts and bullets. Ruby snapped her scythe into its full position and fired, and Weiss continued to summon vanquished opponents from the glyph.
Tyrian was running around the wall, aiming to leap onto Yang. He was laughing maniacally – and then he jumped.
"Blake, now!" shouted Yang.
Blake's Gambol Shroud shot out, catching Tyrian in mid-air and coiling around his neck. Blake snapped the cord, and Tyrian became a weapon that she slammed into the others. She pulled back ... and then threw again. Tyrian screamed as Blake smashed him into a wall.
Mercury and Emerald were face-to-face with Weiss. She saw the expression on their faces. "This is your chance to get away," she whispered. "Away from Salem, away from Cinder. Go. Go now. We won't stop you."
Mercury and Emerald exchanged glances. Then they ran for the door.
Watts and Roman were firing bolts of energy at Ruby, but she was using her Aura to defend herself. She could feel that her energy was dropping. She lifted the scythe and ran forward.
Cinder was coming for Yang. She hovered in front of her. Yang was firing, again and again, but nothing was getting through.
"You know, I remember you as being rather more attractive," said Yang. "But now ... well, I don't suppose you don't get asked on many dates. Am I right?"
Cinder gave a grimacing smile.
"Oh, you've lost an arm too?" said Yang, still firing. "I know how that one feels, believe me. What, no snappy comeback? Cat got your tongue?"
Cinder loosed a blast of energy that lifted Yang off her feet and threw her backwards. She drew her sword out of the air, and lifted it to strike at Yang. The blade came down in a deadly sweep –
And then was blocked by another blade. Cinder looked up, and saw –
Raven Branwen.
Cinder looked at Yang. Yang said: "Yep, that's my mom. You're screwed."
Raven lifted her sword. Cinder lifted hers.
Maiden against Maiden. The blades clashed together with a roar like thunder.
Ruby swung the scythe again and again, making Roman and Neo dodge, as she worked her way closer to Salem. But she kept taking hits, and her Aura was diminishing. And she could not remember how she had summoned the power of the relic.
Weiss' armoured knight had fallen, and her white Grimm beasts had faded away. Tyrian had finally escaped Blake's ribbon, and was ready to charge again, his wrist-knives extended. He was next to Watts when Weiss created a wall of ice, shutting them in the corner of the room.
That would hold them for a few seconds, she thought. No more.
And then Neo came whacking into her. She backflipped, and came up with her sword ready. She saw that Neo had her blade drawn. Weiss raised her sword, which was still in ice mode – and then returned the setting to zero. Neo threw her umbrella down.
Blades. Steel. One on one. Weiss lifted her sword. "En garde," she said.
Roman was firing at Ruby, who was running around the walls, pivoting on the scythe. "Little Red, why won't you just give it up?" he said. "Dammit, girl, you've already lost."
"Not yet," said Ruby. "Not this day." But then she took a direct hit. She went down.
Tyrian and Watts burst their way through the ice. They raised their weapons.
Suddenly, from overhead there was the sound of stone breaking. And then the Grimm dragon came smashing through the ceiling, with Glynda and General Ironwood behind a protective shield, riding the dying creature down. It fell directly onto Tyrian and Watts. They screamed. The dragon gave a final screech, and then began to evaporate as stones from the shattered ceiling continued to fall.
Blake leaped back to escape the destruction.
"Hello, my darling," said a voice from behind her. She turned.
Taurus. He grabbed her by the wrist. He looked around, at Yang and Weiss and Ruby. He smiled.
"Adam, please," she said. "Don't make me do this. You can run. You can get away. Don't make me kill you."
"Oh, my dear Blake, don't you remember all the good times we had together? You could never kill me. Even though I cut off your friend's arm, you can't. And after I kill your other friends, you still won't be able to. You're weak – "
He grunted. He looked down. Blake's sword was in his ribs. There was a spurt of blood.
Blake looked into his face. "I wish I could say I'm sorry," she said. "But I'm not."
Cinder and Raven were smashing at each other, with swords and energy bolts. A howling wind swept around them, glowing as if it was on fire.
Weiss parried again, and thrust, knowing that Neo would block it. Their faces were only a few inches apart now. Neo smiled again.
Weiss lunged forward, ramming her forehead into Neo's face. There was a crack! Neo, astonished at such an unladylike tactic, staggered backwards. She could feel blood streaming down her face.
She stared at Weiss. This time, it was Weiss who smiled. Weiss knew she had worked out Neo's tactics of swordplay. She knew how to win.
Neo realised it too. She cartwheeled backwards, towards Roman and Salem.
"Enough of this!" snapped Salem. She extended a tentacle of energy and pulled Ruby to her. She whacked her across the face, dazing her. She could sense that Ruby's Aura was all but gone.
"And now," said Salem, picking Ruby up, "you will help me destroy the world, little one." She turned to go into the last chamber.
"Uh, just a moment, boss," said Roman. "Wasn't there something in my job description about me and Neo being saved when the apocalypse came down? I'm sure there was a clause about it."
Salem stared at him. "When I say I will destroy the world, I mean that I will destroy the world and everyone in it," she said. "Including you. So I suggest you say goodbye to your girlfriend. You two have just been pawns. You have all been pawns. To be used as needed and sacrificed when necessary."
Roman grunted. Then he raised his cane, aiming at Salem.
But Salem was too fast. She fired a bolt of energy from her hand. It slammed into him, knocking him down. Blood spurted from his mouth, and from the fatal wound. Neo knelt down beside him.
Salem turned to Neo. "Ah, I should not forget about you," she said. "You will recall that I said that the bill would fall due at some time. Well, it has."
She gestured, and a wave of energy wrapped around Neo. When it evaporated, Neo was ... not Neo. She was a stooped and arthritic crone. The price of love had been her beauty, her agility, and her youth.
Salem, still carrying the semi-conscious Ruby, went through the door. It slammed behind her.
At that moment, Raven's sword stabbed into Cinder. And Cinder shot a blast of energy into Raven's chest.
They both went down.
Yang ran to Raven. She lifted her mother's mask off.
Raven reached up and touched her on the cheek. "My precious child," she said. "I have watched over you all these years. Loved you. And now I have one final gift for you."
Blake knelt down beside Cinder. Cinder reached out. Dark blood was pumping from her wound. Blake took her hand. No-one deserves to die alone, she thought.
Cinder clasped Blake's hand. "H ... hurts," she rasped.
"I know," said Blake. "I know. But it will be over soon."
"Th ... thank you," said Cinder.
Weiss, Glynda and General Ironwood were examining the door that sealed off the other chamber. It had been closed by a heavy bar and a dose of magic. There was no way to open it.
"Can you create a portal to the other side?" said General Ironwood to his wife.
"I don't have enough Aura left," said Glynda.
"I do," said Neo.
Ruby drifted back to consciousness, to find Salem staring into her face.
"Let me look into those silver eyes of yours," said Salem. "Let me take your power."
Ruby felt her eyes start to burn. The pain built; it became agony; and then it became something else.
"Yes, child," said Salem. "This is what it feels like to have your soul die."
And then, behind and above Salem, a portal opened. And through it came Weiss, leaping, her sword ready. It rammed into Salem's back, and lodged there.
Salem screamed in pain and surprise, dropping Ruby.
Weiss pushed the sword further into Salem's flesh. A current of dark energy surged out of Salem's body, along the blade and into Weiss. Weiss shouted in pain but did not let go. She pressed the sword even deeper, and twisted.
There was a massive thump on the door. And then another, and another. It became to give way.
Salem managed to twist herself around to grab Weiss. She pulled her away and threw her into a wall. But the sword remained embedded in her flesh.
The door flew open.
"No," said Salem. "It isn't possible."
Two Maidens, glowing with power, stood in the doorway. One of them, the one with golden hair, threw something red to Ruby. "Go get her, sis," she said.
Ruby snapped Crescent Rose into its full, deadly, length. She leaped, and brought the blade down, driving it into Salem's body, from her shoulder to her hip.
"It ... it can't be," gasped Salem. "It ... can't."
"It is," said Ruby. Her eyes shone silver.
Salem's form shimmered, shimmered, and dissolved. In a moment, she was gone. Weiss' sword fell to the ground.
Ruby, Blake and Yang ran to Weiss. Yang put Weiss' sword into her hand.
Weiss looked up at them.
"I am done," she said. "Finished. But ... a favour, if you would."
"Sure, anything," said Yang.
"Please give Velvet a kiss for me," she said.
Then she was gone.
Coda
They were sitting in Junior's Club in Mistral, after it had officially closed for the evening.
"Now what?" said Blake.
"We mourn, we find Velvet and do as Weiss asked, we go to Weiss' family and tell them how bravely she died. And then we start to learn how to use our Maiden powers properly," said Yang.
Glynda and General Ironwood nodded.
Juane, Nora, Ren and Sun – Team SNARL – arrived and joined them. They all looked bruised and battered but they were alive. They had just come from visiting Qrow in hospital, as well as having their own wounds treated.
"I hope you four will be able to assist with the task of clearing the last of the Grimm out of Beacon," said General Ironwood. "And then help to put the place back together."
"Sure, we've already killed a couple of thousand – each – so a few more is no big deal," said Juane. "But we will expect extra credit."
"Might be possible," mused Glynda.
"What will you do, sis?" said Yang to Ruby.
"I ... I don't know," said Ruby. "All this, everything that has happened, everything I have learned ... it's a lot to digest. I'll need some time to understand it. So I think I will go back to Patch, live with Dad for a while, talk about things with him, try and figure out where I fit in."
"So no more Team RWBY," said Blake.
"How about Team Blake-plus-Sun?" said Sun.
Blake twisted a lock of hair around her finger. "I'll think about it," she said.
"The end," said Yang. "And also new beginnings."
"Which," said Ruby, "is exactly as it should be."
END