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A/N
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Prologue
Ruby turned her gaze from the open hatch of the bullhead to the inside at the sound of clips clipping and weapons loading that barely came over the sound of the twin engines that roared in her left ear. Seeing her team gearing up for their next big operation, she decided that it was finally time to do the same. The extra magazines for her sidearm, two extra magazines for Crescent Rose, and then she checked her harness and the rest of the pouches she had started wearing some four years ago.
Their target was the head of the snake, the same evil person that had been pulling the strings from behind the veil that had shrouded them in so much mystery. They were finally going to put Salem down, once for an all. All the pain, the loss, the blood, the sweat, and the death was now about to pay off.
It all started at Beacon and now it was finishing in a land that was a variable Hell for anyone that looked at it. Pools of lava and blackness that spawned Grimm covered the molten earth that they had walked on so many times before this day with jagged mountains standing like statues to the damned. An active volcano spewed lava in the distance and housed over a million Grimm of different size and shape. The remnants of the Atlas military were to hold the front and provide a distraction so that their team could come around from behind and end Salem.
"We're thirty minutes out." The pilot told them. "Make final checks and get ready for touchdown."
Ruby nodded and looked around the hold of the bullhead. They were friends that she had grown used to fighting with since the day Beacon fell. They had come together, worked as one, and took down some of the more fanatical members of Salem's group. But they had endured pain along the way. The last of the students to stand and fight against the approaching evil were members of different teams not her own. Jaune Arc, the lone survivor of team JNPR and last member of the Arc family, sat hunched over with ear buds firmly planted in his ears as he listened to the last recording message from his first and only love, Pyrrha Nikos, taken at the great fall of Beacon. He had suffered through holding Nora's hands as she died to gunshot wounds and left Ren for dead under the orders that Ren would come back alive while he worked with others to hold the line against a wave of Grimm that took the town Anatolia from Mistral.
Beside him, Coco Adel held a pair of gold rings in her hand that she could never give up. After losing Fox Alistar, the love of her life, on the battlefield she had become a broken woman that only wanted to join him but not before taking as many lives with her. She had survived, regrettably, to this point with the help of Yatsuhashi Daichi during operation Fastball, and again with the death of Velvet Scarlatina who died to an illness she contracted from an infection being subjected to torture. Now the last surviving member, Coco had become distant and no longer cared about fashion.
Ruby silently wished that members of her team were still present, but the war had ripped them from her as well. The only other surviving member was Weiss, and she had been hospitalized a year ago and was still undergoing surgery for a prosthetic arm for the one she lost. But she had more duties now than fighting a war that would never seem to end. With the White Fang backing Salem, they made a final push on the SDC and killed her family. Her sister, Winter Schnee, made a valiant last stand against overwhelming odds, but time took her as well. With the death of their family and a need to keep the business afloat to help them with the war, Weiss took the helm and began working from the safety of her now former home to make sure that the military was properly supplied with the best of the best technology to end the war. With her in charge, she united with Mr. Ycaruse's company to create more technologies and better the world.
Without Weiss present, they were down a tactical support fighter, but she had gotten them a replacement, oddly enough, in the form of Snow Goodwitch, a bastard child sired by Schnee himself and thrown away with her mother some twenty-two years ago. She had already proven to be an excellent summoner of the Schnee Arts, and with her adopted mother, Glynda Goodwitch, training her after finding her at an orphanage some eighteen years ago, she had proven to be better than Winter at summoning. She was not the elemental user that Weiss was, nor was she as skilled with a rapier like Weiss, but her summoning ability more than made up for it.
Snow sat in a meditative state, her eyes closed as she ran her fingers along the edge of her blade. Every few seconds you could see her mouth twitch in response to something she remembered about her older cousin, Winter, or her adopted mother that had been taken from her.
Ruby touched her left eye, or where it would have been had she not been injured during operation Homecoming. A black fabric now covered her missing eye, but she wasn't alone in the department for missing ocular organs. Zero Evergreen was missing his right eye after a weapon misfire took place during the preparation for Homecoming and he lost it as a result. The man had proven his worth time and time again. The war might not have taken as much from him, as he'd already lost it prior to the war, but he was still a man that was as damaged as they were now. He was dubbed the Holyman for his weapon, a giant metal cross with more guns built into it than the bullhead had in its current arsenal.
Zero sat in front of a black metallic mat that he used for checking over each of his guns and ensuring that each round was properly made. They stuck to the mat and when he finished checking over one of the guns, he slapped a magazine in it and stowed it in the oversized cross he carried them in.
Zero was their replacement for Blake Belladonna, who died getting them information on a member of Salem's group, Hazel, who worked with the White Fang after Cinder Fall was wounded from her fight with Pyrrha and Ruby at the fall of Beacon. Wounded, she had managed to give them the information before slipping into a coma where she held strong for four days before death took her. Her sacrifice was not in vain, and two weeks later Hazel met his end at the end of a barrel from Zero and Ruby's weapons.
The soft grunt from behind Ruby alerted her to the less stable member of their group Lulu. The poor girl had suffered a lot through the war and her childhood. Raised by an abusive father, she was beaten daily until she got her aura and her semblance unlocked. A lizard faunus at birth, she sported hard scales that provided her great protection from most forms of attack, but those had been washed away now by the war. Her tail, that she was once so proud of, was now scared and burned from years of fighting. The love of her life, Velvet, had been the only thing to keep her happy during the war when the Rouge Hunters started making their appearances again.
Ruby knew that deep down it was wrong of her to look at her with such ill content, but she was replacing Yang, who died helping Blake defeat Tyrian. With only one arm, she fought against the maniac and when victory was close at hand for her, it was yanked away by a surprise attack from Adam Taurus. Consumed with rage, Blake struck both men down and cried for days over the loss of Yang. Ruby had too, as she was now without a family with the death of Qrow Branwen and Tai Xiao-Long.
But time had not healed all wounds, and Lulu mourned the loss of her lover by taking her last name. Though no one would argue or deny such a thing to her, once the war was over and the proper government channels were back online without the threat of war, it was clear that she would once again have no last name. They only allowed it now because they knew how valuable she was to the cause and if they could pull a victory out of this, they'd either let her keep it or remove it entirely.
A metallic hand rested gently on Ruby's shoulder and her mind paused before she looked over to the owner of the hand. Rain Ycaruse, heir to the Ycaruse Industries, and leader of team RSLV that was comprised of Zero, Lulu, and Snow, gave her a sad smile as he looked behind himself to where their greatest weapon lay: the Spring Maiden.
It was Rain and his team that had gone out and found the Spring Maiden on orders from James Ironwood. Upon discovery of Spring, they were asked to bring the Maiden back to command and from there, began utilizing the Maiden's powers to win the war that they were losing.
What war had done to this land, Spring might yet be able to fix. But the idea alone was an off shot of impossible, but Rain was a believer unlike anyone else. Growing up with stories of power, he believed in the will of tomorrow and had always stood firm with the belief that the hand of fate was meant to guide the noble and just. He survived the abandonment of his middle brother, who shot and took his left eye, left arm, and both legs when he was seven years old. He survived their fight to the death that collapsed both of his lungs. And he survived the death of his older brother, the heir to their fathers' estate and company. His faith was strong, but at times, Ruby wondered how much more trust he could put in faith before he'd become a broken man.
The main monitor shimmered to life and the group got to their feet as James Ironwood's face appeared. War had not taken kindly to him. He was now bald with pieces of metal strapped to his jaw and wore a face that had seen too much defeat and not enough victory. He was one step away from being broken. This would either make him better or break him.
"Fire Team Charlie, my forces are moving up. We'll buy you as much time as we can but…"
"We only need fifteen minutes," Ruby told him. Her silver eye burned like fire. If James were present, it was clear he wouldn't make direct eye contact with her. "James, we can do this. Trust us."
The man released a tired shudder as he tried and failed to nod. "I know you can. But my forces are limited. The Grimm outnumbers us three hundred to one. They have air superiority and what few cruisers I have left can't stand against them fully. I know that this is something you all proposed to do, but this operation will either see the death of Atlas or its rise to fame again. I know we can't bring back Vale or Haven, but if we win this, we can try to remake them. Bring them back to the glory that they once stood as."
"We'll win this fight, General." Coco told him. Her hands shook with rage, though he couldn't see it. She blamed him for Fox's death. She never set eyes on the man in real life after his death. She feared she'd shot him. While killing him would make her feel better, and she'd most certainly die in the end, Remnant would be left completely unprotected with him backing the military and coming up with tactical plans to face their enemies.
"I know you will. But I'm just letting you know that my forces are weak and we won't hold out for long. You have to stop her before my forces are destroyed. Please… that's all I'm asking. If you have to retreat, let me know, and I'll pull them back immediately. But they won't last forever and this is all I have."
"What about the drafting?" Jaune asked. His eyes were narrowed as he spoke and the once proud General turned away. "You have more men capable of fighting."
"They're not ready," Rain told him.
"Tell hell with that!" Jaune fired back. "They're more than ready."
"I agree." Coco said with her eyes narrowed on the paling General. "You enacted the draft three years ago when the war started to go south for us. And you've been sitting on the last batch for over a year now. You have the forces."
"They're children."
"So we're we!"
Zero put a calming hand on Coco's shoulder and she shrugged him off. "General," Zero began, his voice grim and low, "use them."
"They're children. Some of them aren't even past the age of seventeen yet! They're not ready. Rain, please, speak reason to them."
"As much as I hate to say it," the Spring Maiden confessed, "deploy your troops. I know it's wrong but this is the last ditch effort to win this war."
All the color drained from Ironwood's face. It was a bitter pill that needed to be swallowed now or never. No one liked what he had proposed three years ago. The first detachment was now dead and the second detachment had been destroyed, but survived all their grueling fights. He used the smartest, the bravest, and the most cunning members to have survived that ordeal to train the next group that reached the proper age that hadn't been part of the families to leave Atlas. He couldn't really blame them for leaving either. No one wanted to fight a war. No one wanted to fight a war during wartime. And no one wanted to be told they had to enlist and fight during wartime. A great many fifteen year olds were ripped from their loving parents hands and forced to fight. Those that survived became soldiers for the frontlines. But a great many of them escaped, ran for the hills or back to their families, and were shot in the back for leaving.
"As you wish…" He cut the feed and from there they had no idea if he would do as asked or not.
"Whether we win or not, he's a dead man either way." Ruby told them. The Council had been on his butt since day one of this whole thing. The fall of Beacon had been a close demotion for him. But after the fall of Haven, they knew things were going sideways. James took charge, stationed troops along their borders and provided military aid whenever possible to Vacuo. But it wasn't enough and even now it wasn't enough to save him from the crosshairs of the Council. Whether they won this fight or not, James was sunk. His military career was in shambles and his status as a Headmaster would be removed for his failures and the unsavory choice to open the draft and recruit children.
"Shame I won't be there to pull the trigger," Coco muttered. She slipped the ring back on and turned to the others as they got to their feet. The bullhead had started to slow down. They were on their final approach to the LZ. From there, it'd be up to them and the hope that the pilot could get out of the ensuing gunfight unscathed. He'd be their only way back home. So they hoped he didn't get shot down. Hadn't happened yet and he'd dropped them off in the worst of the worst fights that they came out on top in.
The bullhead suddenly lurched upwards as a ball of thunder hit the underside of the craft. Small licks of flame danced outside the hatch. Ruby hastily took aim at the ground, searching for any AA Weapons. She found none, meaning magic was being used. She looked for a caster, but found none.
The bullhead rocked sideways and tilted to the side as it banked to the left hard. They all grabbed the nearest thing that was bolted down as they dove under a cliff. "Enemy fighters behind us!" The pilot screamed. Zero and Coco latched themselves to the craft and poked their guns outside to see two Nevermores flying behind them with two dark figures riding atop them. The two opened fire on the riders with a barrage of bullets that riddled them. The two fliers fell out of the sky and crashed into the smoldering landscape. "We're coming up on the LZ. It'll be a hotter drop than expected."
"What does that mean?" Ruby asked. She didn't get an answer, but she let her mind wonder on what just that might mean. The team checked their weapons a final time as the bullhead began to slow down and descend. The hatch erupted with fire and spines from somewhere below. Zero shoved Ruby back, fixed his cross so that the short portion was resting in front of his shoulder. He clicked something on the side of it and the top of it opened up. Micro missiles flew from the opening and peppered the ground below. The barrage of attacks ended and Zero pulled back. "You get them all?" she asked quietly.
Zero nodded silently. He fixed his cross on his back and grabbed a pair of pistols from inside his coat.
The ground came up fast and the stop was near instant.
"Go! Go! Go!" Jaune screamed as he bolted out of the craft. The others followed. His shield came up and blocked incoming fire from two spine throwing Grimm. Ruby and Snow vaulted over him, weapons drawn and slashing at the enemy. The Grimm fell fast before their barrage of attacks. Jaune looked over his shield as he made a mad charge for the closes one, tackling it from the side and spearing it with his sword. It gave a weak cry. He gave his sword its head and watched the thing die slowly. "We made it down!" Jaune said as he watched the bullhead circle around in the sky. A law caw sounded and they watched eight Nevermores rise from the ridge behind them. "Move!"
They all started running. Zero turned and fired a few missiles from his cross. They caught one in the chest and downed it instantly. The others surged towards them. The Spring Maiden clapped her hands and then pushed them out. A barrier arose around them. The Nevermores jerked upwards and flapped their wings hard in their direction. A thousand feathers filled the air as the metal hard feathers flew their direction and bounced near harmlessly off the protective barrier. Ruby, slid, turned, and took aim with Coco and Zero at the birds from the safety of the tunnel they had found. They squeezed the trigger and a thousand bullets replied to the thousand feathers. The Grimm cried as they were sliced apart by the hot metal moving at super speeds. Three died. Two were wounded. The remaining two pulled away, gaining more altitude as they made ready for another pass on them.
The others got to them and watched the sky as the bullhead circled around with a dozen Griffon-like Grimm and varying others after it.
"I'll draw their attention." The pilots' voice echoed through their radios. "Get to the Queen. End this. I'll stay in the area as long as I can. But I'm n-" Static came over the line. They looked to the sky and saw a trail of smoke in the distance. "Fuckers! All of you!"
"Get to safety!" Coco ordered. "We can't get out of here if you don't stay safe."
Laughing came over the line but no other reply followed.
Jaune breathed deep and started moving through the tunnel. "Crevice is to the east. Let's move. We don't have long."
No one said anything else. They started following him. Coco brought up the rear while Zero took point. Ruby moved beside side Jaune and watched the sky through the thing cracks in the ceiling. The sky was filled with smoke and flying Grimm. They knew they were here and looking for them. She checked a small device that was attached to her belt. It hummed with unnatural energy and she took a deep breath. Let's hope these things work like how they're supposed to.
The device was supposed to shield their presence from Grimm when turned on. Only a few were ever made and those with them were even fewer. They worked well enough at stopping Grimm from sensing you, but they were still able to smell, hear, and see you. When Weiss had handed the device over to her, she had told her that it worked like her weapon in that no one ever knew what it was until it revealed to her. It was a good way of explaining it at the time and one that Ruby had appreciated, but now it was dumb and she wished to survive this to see if she could make a better description on the thing.
The ground rumbled beneath their feet. Zero held up his fist and they started looking around for the problem. He motioned to Ruby and Rain. They moved up to his side. It wasn't hard to miss what he stopped them for. A long tail was blocking their path. And if there was a long tail, there was usually a large Grimm attached to said item.
"Charlie Team, you got a situation." The pilots' voice came over the line.
The black tail twitched and a large dragon head emerged from behind the mountains that they needed to pass to get to their target. Three eyes on each side of its face and large powerful wings formed as the thing got to its feet. It was sniffing the air. No way it wouldn't miss their scents.
A loud roar sounded overhead and the bullhead passed them by. It was smoking badly. The left engine was damaged and most likely no longer operational. It still had enough thrust to keep itself in the air.
The large Grimm made a quiet growl as if thinking on which target it wanted to go after. Scampering over the mountain, it looked away from the burning craft and towards them.
"We can get past it," Rain told him.
"No, you can't… Not without help."
"Sythril, you don't have the firepower!" Coco shot back.
"I've got the mass."
The team looked to each other. They knew what this meant for them in the end now. "Sold it copy," Spring replied. "Hit him hard, boss."
The bullhead circled around, firing its main gun into the back of the Grimm. It turns its attention to it and scream in defiance at it. "You're on your own, Charlie. Sythril out." The bullhead sped up, firing away at the side of the monster. It screamed in pain as the rounds tore through its hard flesh. A moment later the bullhead slammed into the side of it and detonated into a ball of fire. The resulting blast knocked the creature to the ground, leaving a large hole in the side of its body where the metal craft had hit it. It whimpered and bleed freely from the mouth. Death came moments later.
The team shuddered as they watched the ball of fire slowly dwindle into nothing. The Grimm slowly began to fade away with the flames and they all sighed.
"Let's get moving." Jaune ordered. No one moved for a moment. "We have to complete the mission." There was no point in reminding them, they knew already. They wouldn't be here if it wasn't something they didn't want to do.
Ruby inhaled deeply and nodded. "Right," she replied softly.
The team started moving then and followed Jaune and Ruby as they took point. Zero ran ahead a moment later to resume his role in their team. They marched for another five minutes before they found the citadel that was the home for Salem, their target.
"As far as bad places go…" Jaune didn't say anything more. They knew what he was getting at. Coco stepped up beside him and pointed to the front entrance. He shook his head and motioned to the moat of black goop that blocked their entrance. "We know that stuff is where a large majority of her Grimm come from. If we try to cross that, it's a death sentence." He pointed further up the ridge. "Over there, behind the outcropping of rocks. If our intel from Black is right, there's a secret entrance over there. They said they used it to escape after Cinder fell."
Coco snorted. "Are we really going to believe their information?"
"I'm the leader. I make the calls. And we're going through…" He stopped abruptly and unfolded his shield. It came up too slow as the side of the cave erupted in a ball of fire. Coco and Jaune were knocked back. The others shook off the blast and got ready for a fight. A dozen Grimm came down on them with three rouges following backing them up.
Ruby took aim and fired beside Zero. Rain ran forward with Lulu. His pistols brought down two Grimm while Lulu began her gruesome combat of ripping them apart with her berserker strength. As soon as Rain was close enough, he twirled his weapons in his hand and allowed them transform into a curved bladed weapon with a long handle. He cut a path to the three rouges and brought down one before they could get their weapons up.
Ruby sniped one of the other rouges and forced the last one back.
The Grimm were destroyed quickly enough by Lulu and the others. With their deaths, they were free to attack the final rouge. Rain and Lulu double teamed it until it was brought down by Coco. Her weapon tore through its entire left side and dropped him. She marched up to him and unloaded another fifty rounds in its face until the head was completely gone.
"Jaune!"
Rain and Lulu came back to the ground and found their leader pinned beneath a few large rocks. He gasped for air underneath the rocks and held up his right arm. He spat blood and pointed to the citadel. "You… You have to take it. G-Go. I'll be fine. I'll be-" He coughed up a lot of blood and looked to the Spring. "Finish the mission. I'll be right here waiting for you. I promise."
The Spring Maiden nodded and started running for the hidden entrance. The others followed, say for Ruby. She stared him down and waited until they were gone before she helped him remove the scroll he carried from his pocket. He blinked and smiled tiredly. She slowly turned it over and he opened up the recording left by Pyrrha.
"We'll be right behind you, Jaune." Ruby whispered sadly.
Jaune hit play and put his head against the hard rock as if he were going to get comfortable for a nap. "Alright, Jaune. Just like we practiced. Follow these instructions."
The scroll fell from his hands as his eyes began to grow tired.
"I-I-I… I want you to know that I'm just happy to be a part of your life." The recording ended and Jaune closed his eyes as something warm touched his cheek. Slowly his eyes opened and he smiled at the sight of his love flying down to him. Her hands cupped his face and she kissed him.
The scroll turned off.
(-)
Ruby got back to the group and looked over her shoulder as she heard the end of the recording. Goodbye, Jaune. She looked to the others as they found the hidden passage. A few Grimm lay at their feet, dead by their weapons and magic. "We'll need to move fast. Most likely those three radioed Salem that we're coming."
"Isn't she connected to all the Grimm?" Lulu asked.
"That's never been proven, but we'll assume she knows anyways." Coco told them. Her hands trembled as they began to silently march up the stairs. Zero took point with a shotgun. Ruby and Coco brought up the rear while Lulu, Rain and Snow moved in the middle with their weapons drown.
They came to a door. Rain moved forward and fed an optical cable under it. His PDA lit up with the other side of the door. He fiddled with the camera to see as much as he could before he pulled it back and gave them the clear. Zero slowly pushed the door open and raised his weapon as he put his back to the wall and moved around to the other side. The others filtered in. Rain fed the cable back into his belt and shut the light off on his PDA. When the last one filtered in, they moved to a large hallway lined with the dark candles and matching crystals.
They moved silently and fast towards the large double doors at the end of the hallway. Rain fed the cable again and gave a nod to the group when he identified a body sitting at the head of a large table. The Spring Maiden summoned the totality of her power as Rain and Zero slapped charges on the door. A moment later they detonated and the team rushed in with weapons drawn and firing at the lone figure. Magics and bullets filled the air and blew out the windows and candles. The body dropped hard and fast.
Coco rushed the corpse and pointed her weapon at it. She pulled back the fabric and found a small boy with tanned skin and black hair underneath the black wing cloak that Salem was reported to wear. "It's not her!" she told them.
The boy lurched up and speared her through the chest when she turned her back on him. The boy threw her away. Coco crumpled against the burning candles and stone. She moved, but didn't get up.
The strange boy raised a hand and dark energy flared to life in the palm of his hand. Lulu surged forward and grabbed the end of the table. The boy fired. She threw the table up. The two collided and the table splintered into a million toothpicks as the dark orb barreled through it and tossed Lulu back through the doorframe. She hit the ground hard and roared in pain.
Rain and Zero opened fire on the floating corpse of a child. They peppered him nice and good. Rain narrowed his one eye and turned towards Coco as her body jerked oddly. He took aim at her and fired. A mirage of movement followed and the corpse disappeared from sight, leaving only Emerald behind.
Snow stepped forward, shoving Ruby back as she pointed her weapon at the woman. "Go find the target. I will deal with her."
No one dared to say a thing. They moved out back through the way they came, picking up Lulu as they went. Zero lead them to another flight of stairs that spiraled upwards and towards the roof.
As soon as they were gone, Snow stabbed her weapon into the ground and a glyph appeared in the air. A shimmer of light erupted between the two and a white woman appeared holding twin rapiers. Emerald didn't even flinch in the presence of the dead summoning of Winter Schnee, eldest sister of Weiss Schnee and cousin to Snow.
Emerald waited for the opening move. "You were the bully as a kid, weren't you?" Emerald asked, hoping to rile her opponent.
The Winter summoning bristled, feeling the burning emotion surging in Snow. "Me?" she replied, sounding dumbfounded and scoffing at the woman. "No. I was the twelve-year-old."
Emerald smirked. "One would think that would teach you some sympathy for me."
Snow snarled at her. "Sympathy? If getting your ass beat teaches you anything, it'll be that it's better to be the bully than the little kid getting beat on."
Emerald held her weapons up as she got ready for the fight to the death. "You are one enlightened individual, aren't you?"
"I'm a government sanctioned sociopath." Snow's blade glowed as she made ready to attack. "I think I turned out okay, for an emotionally stunted and abandoned four-year-old, murderer." The summoning lunged forward with all the speed and grace of her original self.
Emerald hissed as she ducked under the remains of the table, grabbing the corpse and hurling it at the speeding woman. Her weapons pierced through the flesh of the child and shoved him back hard against the concrete wall. She cut him in two as she yanked her blades out and moved towards her opponent. Snow followed suit. Emerald swore as she jumped away, her Semblance kicking as she disappeared under the table. The duo stabbed their weapons into the floor and lit the room with glyphs of power. They detonated into balls of fire and frozen air.
Emerald busted out of thin air in mid swing for Snow's throat. Winter appeared in a flash of light and took one of the blades to her throat while shoving her creator out of the way. The second blade found its home in her stomach and ended her life. Winter trembled and then fell dead on the spot. Snow jumped to her feet and slashed through the remains of her summoning. Her blades tasted flesh, but not enough for a clean kill. Not that she was going to kill her cleanly anyways.
Emerald sprang back holding her stomach where the blade had grazed her flesh. She hissed and opened fire on her. Snow summoned a glyph between herself and the bullets. Grunting, Emerald turned and ran. Snow followed.
Emerald ducked out of her vision for only a moment and Snow came to an immediate stop. With one hand, she thrust her sword into the ground and summoned more glyphs. The room lit up with ice and fire and two summonings, one a large man with a big sword and the other a small woman with a racoon tail holding a pair of claws. The two-summons parted and began their search for the target.
"You were sunk from the beginning, Snow Goodwitch!" Emerald's voice came from all directions. Snow snorted. "What were you thinking when you raided this place? Did you think you could survive here, beat us, and leave without problem? How many of you have fallen already?"
"Do you always talk when you're afraid?" Snow called out. No reply came. "When you killed Winter, you spoke to her the entire time. You were afraid of her because you couldn't beat her and you knew it. You wouldn't have won that fight if you hadn't gotten Mercury to help you."
"Oh… Is that a little anger I hear in your voice for the death of your cousin?"
"No. What you hear is the sound of your demise. Come out of your shadows and face me like a true warrior should."
"Three on one are not fair odds."
"Who said I had to fight fair. You don't. I'm not dying here today. You are, you filthy bitch!"
She swung her sword and clove the air in a thin arc of white energy. The large summoning fell down dead. Blood sprayed against the far wall and the other summoning turned with its weapons already in motion for something unseen. Emerald appeared, cursing and holding her left arm. The Faunus summoning swung wildly at her. Snow surged forward with her weapon poised for a final blow.
Emerald let the blade run through her chest with a smile. Snow jumped backwards as the illusionist disappeared before her eyes. The Faunus summon sniffed the air and bolted in its creators' direction. Snow landed and lowered herself to the floor as the coon warrior dashed over her former and tackled the pink haired thief to the ground. Snow jumped to her while spinning with the blade driving down through the body of her summon and straight into Emerald's left thigh.
Emerald cried and with her free hand fired through the summon into Snow's left shoulder. Two rounds found home in the bone of her bicep and joint for the shoulder, spinning her with the force behind the shot. She didn't cry, much to Emerald's displeasure.
The summon disappeared and allowed the thief to get up. She fired the remaining rounds at the adopted Goodwitch. Snow deflected them and smiled at the woman. She discarded her weapons and collapsed to her knees as blood pooled around her. Healing aura or not, she was done for and she was going to accept it.
Without hesitation Snow ran her through the gut and smiled as the little thief screamed. She yanked the blade out and stabbed it into her right lung. Emerald gasped for air. She stabbed her left lung and watched as her once dark skin began to turn blue around her face. She gasped for air and stopped crying. The silence that followed was a quiet rage from within Snow. She summoned up Winter and Weiss.
"…Coward…" Emerald coughed out through gritted teeth.
Snow smiled and four blades found home in her chest. Emerald died quickly. Snow flicked her sword to clean the blood and summoned the corpse of her newly slain enemy. It bowed before the three of them and silently stood after a short minute.
The summons disappeared. Snow took a few seconds to study herself and came to the sad conclusion that Rain and Jaune had been right all along: Vengeance solved nothing and she only felt empty inside after killing Emerald.
Stowing her blade, she turned and began heading up to find the others and complete their mission.
(-)
Ruby and Spring fell behind the others as they charged up the stairs. "She'll be okay," Zero told the two. Ruby was unbelieving. They stopped at a large wooden door. Rain switched from a shotgun to a rifle. "Is she on the other side?"
"Blow the door." Rain ordered. This was the last place she could be here unless They slapped charges on it. Even if Salem knew they were coming, the blast should have force to disorient the woman or failing that distract her long enough to kill her.
Zero slapped two charges on the door and fixed them with a single cable to link their detonators. He stepped back with the others, fixed his cross on the ground and ripped out a large rifle as the crosses unfolded to form a small shield that stabbed into the ground. The others took cover behind him and got ready for the fight. Zero looked down his scope and counted down from three. Once he hit zero he clicked the trigger on his gun and blew the door into a million splinters. As the ball of fire turned the door into splinters, Zero spied a woman in black and opened fire. His rounds disappeared before it could touch the figure.
Ruby burst forward with the use of her semblance and slashed through the woman as Lulu charged through the smoking remains of the doorframe to tackle the woman. Both flew through the woman without managing to hit her. Salem laughed and disappeared in a black mist.
The ground erupted beneath the two females and a pair of bear hands grabbed their ankles. Ruby yanked out her sidearm and fired down into the ground to where the hands were. Lulu punched the ground and ripped out a chunk of black fur and flesh and bone. Ruby tore herself out of the hands of her capture and jumped away from the area with Lulu punching the ground to catch them and end them.
"Lulu," Ruby called out, grabbing her attention as she holstered her sidearm and turned around to look for their target, "Get over and link-up."
Lulu ripped out a chunk of the ceiling where the hands had come out and hurled it back into the ground with enough force to through it to the floor below. A cry of pain sounded from below from her actions. As she made her way to them to link back up, her eyes narrowed on something behind the team. She snarled and jumped to the next level to smash into the strange figure. Ruby raised her scythe to fire at her location when Lulu came crashing back down from the way she had jumped.
Zero helped the enraged Lulu to her feet while the others took aim up at the figure. Rain and Ruby both opened fire. A wall of dark energy emerged to shield the figure from the rounds. Zero hefted his cross and took aim as well as the long portion of it opened and extended from the bottom with two handles snapping out. Holding firmly onto the two handles, Zero took aim and fired a single shot from the oversized barrel of his cross. The round tore through the energy barrier and knocked the figure back a good two feet while removing the cloak that they wore. Lulu jumped up again and grabbed the person by their head. With a single yank she tore the head off and then hurled the body to the ground. The others looked it over and swore.
The corpse was Ren's.
Ruby screamed and the others turned to take aim at whatever was attacking her. Salem held Ruby by the neck.
"Is this all that they'll send to face me?" Salem asked. She speared Ruby through the chest, making her still and throwing her away. The team growled and opened fire. Rounds did nothing to her. Her magic was absolute here. If she had ever left this place, bullets might work better, but that had been Ruby and Spring's job to remove her magical barriers. "The Little Soul that came to fight me is dead. And while I would normally thank you for bringing the Spring Maiden to me, currently, I have no need for her. Locking you up would do nothing for me right now."
"Then you aim to kill her?" Rain asked. His eyes didn't leave Salem. Spring looked to Ruby and then to the others. "We came this far. We don't intend to leave. Not like it matters, anyways."
The ground beneath Salem erupted upwards and the woman merely sidestepped the pillar of white that shot out like a cannon. Salem eyed the strange creature that fell out of the sky and landed in front of the group. It was a headless monster that stood like a human but had a blue circular object hovering behind it. It stood twice the height of the average human and sported several blue and white markings where armor might have once been.
Snow dropped off its massive shoulder and eyed the woman after taking in the form of Ruby.
Salem calmly raised her hand and destroyed the creature with a wave of violent red energy. It withstood the force of her attack long enough to throw a punch and force the woman back before it died. Snow lunged forward with amazing speed right beside an enraged Lulu as she tried and failed to spear the woman that had taken so many of her friends with the war. Lulu swung her fist in a wide arc and nearly caught her in the head. Salem flicked her fingers as though she was drying them off and sent both of them sailing backwards with cuts and burns from an unseen energy that radiated from her attack.
The two got to their feet quickly enough.
Zero took aim with his weapon and fired a second shot from the oversized cannon that was his cross's current form. The round stopped short of Salem's form and fell to the ground crumpled up like it hit a physically visible object. His eye narrowed and he tightened his grip on the weapon. The cross portion split open and showed three different types of long-range weapons inside it. He fired the weapon and released a barrage of missiles, the last of his three rounds from the cannon portion, and a barrage of smaller rounds that would have ripped her to shreds had her protective barrier didn't protect her. Zero scowled and lowered his weapon.
"Now what will you do?" Salem asked, sounding tired of the fight thus far.
The cross portion broke into two parts, leaving the long portion resting on his arm. He flipped the entire thing around and snorted at the woman as he punched the side where the cross had once been. The tail end of the cross opened further and sprouted wings. A pillar of fire erupted from behind it and it sailed to the woman. Eyes wide, she gestured to the side and the massive projectile flew over her shoulder and kept going until it hit the nearest structure where it detonated into a ball of fire. The force of the blast threw everyone down.
Spring summoned the elements to her side and blasted the downed woman with lightning and fire storms. Salem didn't scream. The area around her shimmered as her protective barrier began to fall.
Rain lunged forward with his weapons transformed into blades ready to strike her down.
The barrier fell.
He swung.
Salem reached out and grabbed his arm. Her eyes lingered on the metallic arm before she gave it a single yank to pull the entire thing from his body. He screamed and swung with the other weapon. Salem moved like water and slipped into his poor defense to remove the other arm. Blood greeted her this time and she shoved him back hard. His chest exploded outward. His near lifeless body slid across the ground and stopped short of Zero's form.
Zero didn't hesitate in his steps to end the woman. He picked up the remaining part of his cross. They slipped over his arms and three barrels appeared out of the end of them. He opened fire. Her barrier shimmered and showed signs of life and longevity as it grew stronger with each round that hit it. Spring released an ice storm on the woman and removed the barrier entirely from the field of combat. Salem didn't even blink as the first bullet tore through her shoulder. She merely grunted and rose the floor they stood on to protect her. Zero snorted and tossed the weapon covering his left hand over the protective wall she formed. It detonated into a ball of fire that burned and seared her skin.
Lulu and Snow moved forward to hastily end the battle.
Two tendrils of dark energy sprang out of the smoke of the blast and caught them in the chest. They came to a sudden stop. Snow fell forward coughing blood. Lulu reached forward to try and start moving again. Salem walked out of the smoke and smiled at her. She grabbed her wrist and yanked away her arm. Lulu cried in pain and threw a punch with the other arm only to have the same happen. The tendril split inside her and removed both lung and threatened to remove her top half from her lower half. She fell backwards and stared up at the forms of Zero and Spring.
"So ends the rebellion," Salem said as she glided over the prone bodies. "To think that dear Ozpin put so much faith in you. Now that faith has abandoned you." Spring summoned the power of the wind to her side and yanked the bodies close to her form. "You have no more bullets left. You have no country left to back you up and you have nothing to challenge me with. This is your end, Spring Maiden, Zero Evergreen." Zero dropped his weapon and took a boxing pose. She laughed at him. "You lose." The tip of her finger grew bright with energy and a single shot pierced her lung. Zero blinked and fell to his knees.
Left alone, Spring backed up, ready to run. She looked over the older woman with hatred in her eyes. This wasn't supposed to happen. It wasn't supposed to go like this. It couldn't end here.
Spring held her breath and began to summon the full totality of her magic. Her might, her will, her aura, and her soul bleed into the very power she summoned to her side. All of creation began to fill her surge of power and in its growing form Salem only laughed as the once frail looking Maiden become a beacon of power and might that her trained eyes could see. Behind her with a shroud of power and a being more powerful than even herself. It stood protectively behind her, curious as to her intentions.
"It will not end here!" Spring declared. She slammed a palm on the ground and a light poured forth from her being. Her left arm disintegrated and her legs began to wobble. Salem blinked as she watched the light slowly engulf the bodies of the others. Spring smiled and watched as Salem grew worried. "We will win. I swear this now. I swear this forever. You will never win." She disappeared and the bodies began to fade away as well.
Salem moved to the light and felt the sting of its power on her form. Her hand burned and she regarded it with contempt. Victory, here and now was achieved. Why stop now when she could attain victory again?
She slammed her hand on the barrier of light that burned her flesh. Tiny clouds of dark energy began to filter into the light. She smiled and pulled back as the light began to fade. It wasn't enough to do what she wanted, but it was enough to save victory for herself again. She glanced at her hand and then to the light as it disappeared entirely, leaving none of the bodies behind. She turned and floated away, a sly smile forming on her face. Go, my children. Destroy Atlas. Destroy the world. She pulled a small blue orb from her pocket and grinned. I'm going to remake this world. Let's see if I can remake that world as well.
Location Unknown
Lulu felt her entire body scream in pain as she tried to move. She floated beside the others that had fallen in battle with them. The black and blue and red void world that made up the spot they were in. Gravity pulled at their forms and she could make out shouting. Something was angry with them or another person. She tried to move again but couldn't. She couldn't fight the gravity and gave him.
"…Allow this?" Someone shouted.
"Why not? No one has come this far before. Let them go. Don't you tire of seeing this all play out one time?"
"I do not. It goes against what we wished."
"We wished for them to choose. They chose. Now let them go."
"No! Why should I? This is a game to you!"
"It is not. It is merely entertainment for us now. We can no longer touch the world. Let them go. We never see another story from another perspective. Let's watch them now." There was an odd sound that made Lulu think of someone spitting. Gravity stopped and she felt herself get thrust in a different direction. Her world went dark and the voice from before said, "Time waits for no one. Let's see the changes this will have," before a white light blinded her.
Lulu's eyes snapped open and she felt the cold touch of metal on her back. She screamed and jerked to her feet only to be knocked down again.
"You are going to get your aura unlocked right now, little girl. And then," she turned to the voice, her eyes wide in fear and hatred, "I'm going to make a use for you." She stared at the man that held the leather belt in one hand. She looked him over with wide eyes and a slack jaw. He had reptilian skin and sharp teeth. He was dressed in blue jeans and a white button up shirt. A tail twitched angrily behind him. "I hope you're ready, Lulu. You're training starts now."
Father… How are you… How are you alive?