A/N:
Hey guys, I guess it's just that time again isn't it? Oh boy, this isn't going to be pretty. I won't lie, this chapter was difficult to get through. The sheer pain some of my beta reader's experienced was… amusing. Just note that I am an evil person who thrives in causing emotional pain. I tried to crank it up to eleven in this chapter, and most of what they told me, seems to have worked out.
Just a few things before we start. I have remastered chapter one. It was lacking in quality compared to the rest of the story, so I've gone back and added bits and pieces to it. Nothing major, just a few tidbits here and there to make the chapter flow better with more interesting dialogue, and vivid detail to the scenes. The Official chapter title for chapter one is: A Pyrrhic Victory.
Again guys, if you want to talk to myself, or Xman (author of Power Within) I would encourage you guys to join our Discord! If you are interested, please follow this link: discord. gg/JrnKzyx
You are able to chat with us, talk to us about story ideas, and if you enjoy this story, you might even receive chapters early! (If I'm feeling nice about it). You'll even get to see the other stories we are working on, including possible future DBZ/RWBY stories. Just remember, if you do join, please read the rules. There's not to many and their pretty easy to follow!
That being said, on with the story!
Chapter Nine: The Death of Innocence
A terrifying laughter echoed in her dreams like a record on repeat. She squirmed as she felt the green tail puncture her stomach countless times. Blood trailing in the air and pooling around her body, drenching her dying form in thick red liquid. She felt like she was drowning in it. Watching its monstrous green form towering over her.
"Don't worry Yang…" the green menace licked its lips. "Not too long now until you become a part of me," the tail dug into her flesh, ripping the power from her body. It was sickening and she wanted to scream, but all she could muster was a whimper as blood splattered across her wrinkling face. The creatures horrible laughter brought fear like she had never felt before.
She let out a wordless scream of terror it's sound echoed around the black void she had been imprisoned in.
Yang shot out of bed in a cold sweat, her breathing erratic and maniacal. Resting on one of the beds on the Lookout, she could not deny that horrible energy that skyrocketed and scared her awake. It had been so powerful her dreams had brought about Cell's physical form to torment her. It was maddening, and an experience she had never witnessed before. A reassuring hand drifted to her stomach, as if to confirm that she was still alive.
"It can't be," she thought. That suffocating power was even more evident than it was before. She could remember just how powerful he had been when she had first encountered him, compared to the strength he now possessed. She had no idea how to explain it, but there was no denying that Cell was down at Amity Colosseum, and he was more powerful than ever.
She instantly leapt out of bed and threw on her clothes. As she dashed out the room and towards the outside area of the Lookout, she couldn't shake the terror that plagued her. She was determined to help in the effort to beat Cell, but she would not lie that the mere idea of facing the creature again brought her unimaginable fear. In mere minutes, she was at the Lookout's edge. Weiss and Ozpin were standing on the edge looking out to the distance with grim looks on their features.
"It's him, isn't it?" Yang asked, a shaky edge to her voice. Weiss was unable to answer, seeing as the amount of power she was feeling had stunned her into silence. With the minimal understand of how ki worked, she had managed to learn how to sense with Ozpin's guidance. The kind of power that was flowing from the Colosseum was incomprehensible. She could barely compare it to Ozpin's let alone hers.
"What is that? This power…" she trailed off. Her lips were quivering out of fear. "I can't… I can't…" she was struggling to breath. Ozpin placed a hand on her shoulder and calmed her down. She looked up to the wise headmaster, her icy blue eyes reflecting possibilities of death and destruction. He looked calm, but a stormy expression invaded his features.
"The eye of the storm has placed itself right over our heads," Ozpin murmured. "It seems doomsday was closer than I had anticipated,"
"I have to get down there!" the blonde stated. Before Ozpin had a chance to stop her, Yang had jumped off the edge of the Lookout and tore through the skies back towards Vale, a brilliant golden aura flowing around her. Weiss just sat watching, as her teammate and good friend, flew off towards her potential death. She looked up to Ozpin for an answer, because the man always seemed to have the answer. Unfortunately, the stormy look in his eyes gave her no comfort.
"What do we do?" She asked. Ozpin frowned, his gaze going only towards the floating colosseum.
"We wait… for now," the headmaster responded. "You are to stay up here. I am certain that with Cell drawing the attention of everyone in Vale, the people behind the Breach will take this opportunity to make their move," Ozpin stated. Weiss merely waited for him to continue. The silver haired man leaned on his cane as he looked over towards Vale. The sky grew darker, predicting an ominous future for the city.
"I must go," the man spoke suddenly, turning to the heiress. Weiss stood up, looking into the older man's eyes.
"Go? Go where!? Are you leaving me up here on my own?" she argued. The man shook his head.
"I cannot have you following. If you return to Vale as it is now, you will be doing more harm than good," he retorted calmly. Weiss looked like she wanted to argue, but she could not find the words to counter with. She still could not control these powers, and if she were to hurt someone in the process, she would regret it for the rest of her life.
"I… I understand headmaster," Weiss responded depressively. Ozpin merely nodded. He took a few steps forward, and promptly vanished from sight, void of sound, and without notice. It was as if he were never there at all. She was left alone on the top of a platform, miles high into the sky with nothing but the calm, cold breeze to comfort her. The temperature suddenly dropped as her hopes burned softly. It brought back painful memories of isolation from her childhood.
Without another word, she headed back towards the temple building to get some rest. Her hands clutched her upper arms, protecting herself from the chilling cold, and the fear that seemed to be crippling her heart. Her eyes started to glow, and the fear that she was cursed by started to freeze the very ground she walked on. Each step she took, placed sub-zero frost upon the tiled ground.
She could only pray that everything would turn out okay in the end.
But Weiss couldn't shake this horrible sinking feeling…
Like someone was going to die.
It had all been going so well.
While there had been bumps and annoyances along the way, the most important part of her plan was about to be executed. To induct fear into the people of Vale, and everything had played out perfectly. Even despite the fact the pest called Gohan had foiled her at a couple of turns, he had ultimately failed to see through her facade. Someone as strong as him had her worried, but he appeared to be as foolish as the rest. However, now things had taken a turn, and she wasn't sure if it was good or bad for her.
Right up until the moment that beam of light tore through the arena, she had been ready to execute the final phase of her plan. She had seen the fiasco from where she was standing. In that moment, her plans almost fell to pieces. Standing on a rooftop overlooking Vale, she let the hand with the microphone in it drop to her side. She watched as the large dust crystals under the colosseum dropped towards the city below.
"Another inconvenience," Cinder growled internally. Smoke billowed out of the bottom of the stadium as fires started to erupt in the city below. The fallen debris had seemed to have caused some fires to catch. After a few moments of silence, a small smile appeared on the red queen's face. Maybe this distraction could work in her favour?
"Boss?" A feminine voice came through her scroll. It seemed that Emerald had been trying to contact her. From the location her scroll was projecting, the girl appeared to be on the edge of the stadium. The girl was obviously trying to get out before the monster started his killing spree.
"Yes, Emerald. I am aware of what's happening," Cinder's voice cut off anything that the girl was going to say. "However, this might play to our favour. The original plan is now a failure, but this Cell terrorist will provide enough fear and negative energy to draw the Grimm to Vale," she continued. Cinder could practically hear the discontent and worries spilling from her subordinates mouth.
"What do you need me to do?" she asked. Cinder thought for a moment. Emerald had, at this point, worn out her usefulness in the plan. All that was left to do was acquire the maiden powers and record footage of the horrible fate that was about to befall Vale. Really, the remainder of the plan relied on her achieving her goals. The rest of them were nothing but fodder to her.
"Your appearance will tip off Ironwood and the other staff. The cover story about returning to Mistral will be outed as false. You need to stay out of sight and record the footage like I had told Mercury to do. However, since he is indisposed, you will have to take his place," Cinder responded. Emerald was silent for a few moments before she responded.
"Understood ma'am." the line went dead as Cinder hung up. She pocketed her scroll as she turned to Beacon tower. She could see the lights in the student dorms light up as multiple third and fourth years that skipped out on the final match at the colosseum, began to gear up and prepare for a Grimm assault. She could already feel the tremors in the ground.
"Sometimes, it's just too easy," Cinder smirked as she made her way across the rooftops towards Beacon. However, a few hundred meters away, a certain individual floated in the air, watching as she took off towards Beacon. He watched her as she bounded across rooftops towards her goal. A scowl graced his face as he pulled out a flask and downed half the bottle.
"I guess the party's starting," Qrow drawled. A ear splitting explosion drew his attention towards the colosseum. The shock wave from the blast brought a hurricane to tear across Vale. Fire and smoke started to rise from the top of the stadium. His jaw tightened as he turned back to see Cinder getting closer to Beacon. He spared the colosseum one last look before he silently stalked the girl after the maiden powers.
"You better have everything under control up there Gohan. I'm counting on you here."
Pyrrha blinked rapidly to get the dust out of her eyes, as she tried to get to her feet. She forced herself to look up from the prone position she had been thrown into after the blast. The moment she did, she wished she didn't. In that instant, all she desired was to be back home, safe and sound and away from the madness before her. The monster of nightmares was right there, standing in full view.
His slimy form was exactly as she remembered it. Forgetting the grotesque appearance of the monster was something she was sure would never happen. She could hear the audience in the stands gasping at the revelation of the monster as it started to walk forwards. Her eyes darted around the stadium, looking for Gohan, or anyone she knew. Her eyes caught with her teams. They were all on their feet, watching with horrified expressions.
However, Cell was not looking at her, but instead he had his back turned to her. At that moment, he had his greedy eyes locked onto her opponent. Penny Polendina managed to push herself to her feet and look at the new comer. Penny's face was a mixture of shock, and general wariness. It was hard to tell exactly what she was thinking.
"So, your Cell," Penny voiced, a dangerous edge to her tone. Anyone could tell the girl was slightly peeved. Anyone would be, and Penny's tone regarded the newcomer called Cell as a possible threat. The bug creature just grinned as he stalked towards her. Her senses told her to back away, and instinctively, she followed the advice of those instincts. Fighting Cell right now would not be ideal.
There were too many people around.
Before Pyrrha even knew what she was doing, her body was moving in retaliation to the threat bearing down on Penny.
"Stay away from her!" she zipped past Cell and stood in front of Penny protectively. Cell slowly came to a stop, his feral eyes looking Pyrrha up and down. The monster straightened up, projecting his chest outwards. Pyrrha couldn't tell what he was doing, but from the cracks and shuddering Cell was doing, it almost seemed like he was stretching. Cell was preparing for a fight.
Pyrrha could feel the cold grip of death closing in around her. Cell's very aura promised pain and agony, but she swallowed it and kept her composure.
"You… Pyrrha Nikos," Cell started. "You have grown considerably stronger since we last met. I'm almost impressed. The potential of this species is intriguing. The people of this planet hold such power, but have no idea the lengths they could achieve with it," the Android licked its lips. The amazon's hands started to sweat as she released a large portion of her power.
"Stay back!" she yelled. The grip on her weapon was like iron. "Don't come any closer!" she knew the words would fall on deaf ears. Cell was the kind of monster to break through any obstacle to achieve his goals. However, the words seemed almost instinctual. Her power paled in comparison to the mountains of energy she could sense in the pits of Cells being.
"Oh?" Cell chuckled. "Are you going to stop me?" his question was ultimately answered by the half-Saiyan that appeared out of thin air, right in front of Penny and Pyrrha. A black scowl permeated his face, showing no signs of fear, or terror. He stood like a wall… a pillar of hope that Pyrrha couldn't help but admire. His posture and presence in the arena suddenly brought hope to this horrible situation.
A dissatisfied scowl appeared on Cell's face. The look on the young Saiyan hybrid told Cell that escape was but a pipe dream this time around. The bio-android could already see the golden sparks springing to life around the teenage Saiyan's body. The boy's hair was already standing on end, as if the very transformation to a Super Saiyan was about to break free from the chains and shackles Gohan held it in. The wild, legendary power unleashed for all to see.
"Gohan, a pleasure to finally meet you again. It's been too long," Cell grinned. A brilliant golden aura flashed into existence around Cell as the ground started to shake violently. People in the audience started to scream as Pyrrha and Gohan immediately widened their eyes. The monstrous power almost had Pyrrha choking on air. Gohan's jaw tightened as he felt Cell's power skyrocket passed what it had been previously.
"H-How many people did you!-" Pyrrha demanded, her words falling short due to the disgust and horror. There were already tears in her eyes, sending silent prayers to the people who had been unfortunate enough to fall victim to this monster's crazed quest for power. Gohan could only growl, His hands tightening in the process.
"Oh I lost count a long time ago, but know that their screams for mercy went unanswered," Cell grinned. "Now, am I going to have to make you to move to get to my prize, or are you going to make this easier on yourselves by standing aside. I need that android behind you, and if killing you allows me passage to her, then I will gladly do it," the bio-android stated. Gohan turned his head to face Penny in astonishment. The girl was backing away, a new look of fear and terror flooded her eyes.
"An android!? But how...?" Gohan spun back around to Cell. Despite his distaste for androids, Penny was Ruby's friend, and he'd be damned if he would take that away from her, but he'd be having some serious words with Ironwood after this. The girl did come from Atlas after all. There was no doubt in his mind the general knew about her.
"I won't let you," the Saiyan hybrid snapped. "Your life ends here Cell," Gohan promised, venom dripping from his words. Cell grinned, powering up to prepare for the fight ahead. The sky turned black as the golden flames around the android thrashed around its body like a wild animal. Gohan stood, unaffected by the impromptu hurricane, while Pyrrha and Penny had to shield their face.
"Pyrrha, get Penny and evacuate the stadium. I will take Cell alone." Gohan ordered. Pyrrha looked like she wanted to protest, but the dark, black look on Gohan's face told her he would not repeat himself. She swallowed heavily as she turned to Penny. The Atlas android could not take her eyes off the green bio-android.
"Let's go Penny," Pyrrha voiced. After a few seconds, Penny still had yet to respond. The red haired girl tried again, this time more aggressively. "We need to leave right now Penny!" Pyrrha yelled, snapping the girl out of her thoughts. The android silently nodded as she turned to leave with Pyrrha. However, as the two turned to leave, Cell vanished from sight, and reappeared right in front of the two girls.
Gohan's eyes widened significantly, his body already turning to rush to their defense. Cell had slipped right passed his guard without him even noticing. Had he underestimated how much power the bio-android had acquired, or was he just unprepared for the sudden movement? He hadn't been expecting such speed. It was these sorts of things that cost people their lives!
Pyrrha had no time to react before she was backhanded away. The initial blow sent her body tumbling like a ragdoll. She quickly managed to regain balance a few moments after Cell had attacked. Her aura withstood the blow, but she shortly found a large beam of energy trailing after her.
The moment her eyes caught sight of the attack, she knew it would tear through her entire body like paper mache. There was no way she could block or defend against a power like that, leaving her the only viable option to dodge. Diving out of the way, she hadn't realized her mistake until it was too late. The attack had missed her, but now it had a new target. A target that had no chance of escaping. Gohan's eyes widened in horror, as did most of the people in the audience.
"NO!" the redhead's screams were drowned out by the genocide that commenced.
The beam tore through the invisible barricade that protected the crowd and blew up a large portion of the stadium. In a gruesome explosion of light, thousands of people lost their lives in an instant. Fire spread everywhere and the screaming started. People were up and running for their lives. The cameras and live streams were all destroyed or shut down in the process. So many people had lost their lives in just a few mere moments.
"No!" the cat faunus watched as people were slaughtered right before her eyes. "No! No! NO!" Blake trembled, feeling her stomach twist. Blake watched helplessly as a small amount of survivors scrambled around in vain trying to put out the torrents of fire now scorching their skin. Some people were lucky enough to have perished in the blast. Other's slowly bled to death from dismemberment. It was a horrible sight to behold. Blake was only just out of range from the blast to shield herself.
"Evacuate the colosseum! Everyone out now!" Ironwood commanded over the microphone. The people in the stadium didn't need to be told twice, or at all in this situation. After the attack had connected, people had started to run for their lives, screaming and crying as loved ones died all around them. No one could have possibly seen this coming. While the people screamed in horror, the distant cries of the Grimm thundered through the skies.
Hope was quickly falling towards rock bottom.
Down on the stadium floor, Blake had flown down, through the destroyed barrier and joined Pyrrha's side. The jet black haired faunus helped her friend back to her feet, despite the sickening feeling that had descended upon them. Gohan had managed to defend Penny from whatever Cell was trying to do. It was clear from what the Bio-Android had said that he was after Penny, but for what reason he didn't know.
"You…" Gohan's voice had become dark and filled with rage. Blake and Pyrrha could feel the atmosphere grow dense as a yellow flame burst to life at the half-Saiyans feet. His eyes promised nothing but justice and divine retribution. "How dare you! Not one of those lives will go unaccounted for, NOT ONE!" Gohan screamed as light exploded around him, engulfing his body in a majestic golden flame.
Pyrrha had seen this transformation once before, but back then it was different. Yang had gotten hurt, and this shift in Gohan's power just sort of… happened. It was as if a flame had just been lit. However, this situation was different. The stakes were higher than ever, and now, watching him transform… it was like witnessing a bonfire of power erupt into a vengeful inferno. The sheer power rolling off him was intense and dense.
There was no more hiding this legendary power. In a matter of moments, everyone present saw Gohan's muscles enlarge and pulsate with raw power. His hair flashed for a brief second before shifting into a transcendent golden glow. His hair grew wilder, and his eyes changed from onyx black to sea green. There was no love in those green eyes, only a lifetime promise of pain and agony.
With one final scream, Gohan had transformed into a Super Saiyan, cracking and destroying the ground beneath him. This was his full power. He wasn't holding back like last time. This was every drop of his power in usage for all to see. It wasn't a regular transformation like Pyrrha had seen when they first faced Cell. No… this was more defined and sharp. Gohan's very form was glowing and radiating power.
His body holding the unbridled fury of thousands of innocent people crying out for justice. Cell would not go unpunished.
"So… the little Super Saiyan finally came out of hiding, did he? Well, I'm sorry to tell you this Gohan, but you're no match for me," Cell laughed as he sped forward and met Gohan full on. The Saiyan wasn't even phased. Cell would be the strongest opponent he had ever faced, but the collective might of Android Seventeen and Eighteen was comparable to the monsters energy alone. The monster had grown outrageously strong, and now it was his duty to put this nightmare to bed.
Gohan caught Cell's fist dead on, not even budging an inch.
"What!?" the monsters stunned face didn't go unnoticed. "Where have you been keeping all this power!?" the android demanded. Gohan's fist tightened, feeling the bones in Cell's fist crack. The creature screamed.
"I'm going to make you pay. Not a single life you have taken will go unavenged. I will make you suffer!" Gohan growled. Cell grunted as he went in for another strike, forcing the Saiyan hybrid to disengage from the monster. Cell jumped back and powered up. His beady eyes focusing in on Gohan carefully. This had been almost the second time he had underestimated this boy. The son of Goku was bound to have many tricks up his sleeve after all.
"This is going to be more difficult than I had thought," Cell grumbled.
Unfortunately for the Green Menace, Gohan was well versed in going up against all odds. They launched into battle without warning, disappearing and reappearing all over the now, torn and damaged arena of Amity Colosseum. Penny, Pyrrha and Blake who were now joined by Ruby were now helping Pyrrha out of the Stadium.
"Are you okay Pyrrha!?" Ruby asked frantically. The red hooded girl seemed to be almost in a panicked state. Pyrrha looked up at the crimsonette before nodding. She managed to steady herself on her feet. She turned to look at the fight raging on back the arena. Green and golden blurs sped all around the arena at lightning fast speeds.
"I'm fine! We need to leave," Pyrrha stated quickly. Ruby looked towards the arena with a confused look on her face. She couldn't see where Gohan and Cell had gone. However, all she could see were strange displacements in the air, followed by sonic booms.
"Where did they go!? I can't see them!" she asked, a worried look on her face. Blake grunted as she gestured towards the arena, a sour, sick look on her face. The girl had clearly had enough of being here and wanted to get as far away as possible. No one could blame her. After seeing thousands of people die in such a way, it was hard to not want to run away.
"They're still there, they are just moving too fast. I can't keep up. I see a flash every now and then, but that's it."
"We don't have time to stand around and watch!" Pyrrha cut in. The look on her face was desperate. "We need to leave now!" all the eyes were on her now. Blake, Ruby and Penny nodded as they turned and ran out the nearest exit. As they ran, they could see the last passenger ship take off from the colosseum docking bay.
"Oh no! We're too late!" the crimsonette cired.
"Pyrrha!" a familiar voice called out. A blonde figure appeared at the end of the passenger ship, along with a black haired male, and an orange haired girl. Upon narrowing their eyes, it seemed that the remnants of team JNPR had been evacuated along with the other Huntsman trainees. "Hold on Pyrrha, we can come back for you!" he called out. Just as he yelled that, a violent tremor shook the stadium.
"No! Jaune! We can find another way off! Don't worry!" Pyrrha turned to the others. "Come on! Let's go!" she ran towards a vacate docking bay for ships. It was empty and relatively safe for flight. Blake, seeing what Pyrrha was planning on doing, nodded in agreement.
"Good idea Pyrrha. I can carry Ruby, you take Penny," an aura exploded around Blake. Pyrrha nodded in agreement, however, before she could power up to take flight, a energy blast hit the platform they were standing on. They lost their balance, Ruby and Penny falling on their backs and sliding towards the edge of the docking bay.
"Don't think you can escape me that easily!" Cell roared. The Android appeared before them, only to be smacked away by a golden blur. Gohan appeared in his place.
"I got this! Keep going and get to safety!"
Cell growled as he watched his opportunity closing out fast. He needed to deal with Gohan quickly, and it was becoming apparent that the teenage Saiyan was still much stronger than him. He needed to incapacitate the boy… or distract him. His feral eyes glanced towards the passenger ships that were heading to Vale to help evacuate more civilians. A malicious idea formed inside the creature's head.
Grinning, Cell powered up and shot high into the sky. It wasn't long before he noticed the golden blur tailing him closely, ensuring that he couldn't escape. The half-Saiyan sped past him, cutting him off and halting him in his tracks. The bio-android growled in irritation as the Saiyan floated in front of him, his arms crossed over his chest.
"Sorry, but running away is no longer an option,"
A menacing laugh filled the air as Cell lifted his hand and charged a energy blast. Gohan got ready to defend, but found an amused look on the Android's face. Cell burst into hysterical laughter, as if the monster had just laid the perfect trap.
"Oh Gohan, you misunderstand," Cell drawled as he gestured to the passenger ships carrying hundreds, if not thousands of innocent people. Gohan's eyes widened in horror. "This isn't for you, it's for them,"
"Don't think I'll give you the chance!" Gohan snapped, shooting towards Cell. However, the bio-android already had enough energy to discharge the blasts. Before Gohan could reach Cell, the attacks exploded from the monster's hands, rocketing down towards the passenger ships. A foot buried itself in Cell's torso, forcing blood and spittle to erupt from the creature's mouth. His head immediately turned to follow the energy waves that Cell had fired.
"NO!" the desperation in his voice was in vain, as he was already out of range to stop the attacks from connecting with the ships.
"It's either fight me and let those people die, or you let me chase after your little friends!" Cell bellowed with laughter as the blast collided with the ships. It wasn't enough to destroy them, but the energy blast ensured that every life on board those ships would perish should the ship fall. Even from here, Gohan could hear the screams of innocent people cry out for help as they plummeted towards the ground. He had no choice.
He had to save those people!
"Damnit!" Gohan tore off and sped after the falling ships as fast as he could, leaving a cackling Cell behind him. Cell watched as Gohan's golden trail flew off into the distance to aid those ships that were currently falling to the ground, smoke billowing out of the damaged areas. Cell wasted no time in diverting his attention to the girls who were about to take flight off the stadium.
Cell dived down and intercepted the four girls trying to find a way out of the now smoking colosseum. The fires were starting to spread and so far, they were the only four left in the stadium. The rest had already evacuated and were currently falling to the ground in their damaged ships.
"Now…" the bio-android grinned as he landed in front of the girls. "Be a good bunch of girls and hand the Android over to me. If you do, I promise you will live to see a few more days," Cell motioned towards Penny. Pyrrha and Blake stepped forward. Cell frowned. Those two would prove troublesome with their special abilities. He would have to make short work of them.
"Ruby, take Penny and run! We will hold him off. You have to get Penny somewhere safe!" Blake ordered. Ruby could only nod dumbly before she took Penny by the hand and ran in an opposite direction. Cell could only grin as he watched the two girls run away.
"I hope you realize that you just dug your own graves," Cell chuckled. Pyrrha and Blake launched forward to attack him head on. The girl's teamwork was flawless and had Cell on the defence, but the bug man didn't seem to be taking much damage each time one of them managed to get through his guard. However, he wasn't faring so well either when it came to hitting them.
"You two have improved exponentially since we last met. I dare say you have surpassed what I thought was possible for the vermin on this pathetic planet, but you two are no match for me. You may be fast, but I'm…" Cell disappeared and reappeared behind them with renewed and improved speed. The girls had no time to react.
"Much faster!" Cell slammed both their heads together. They slammed together with such force that Pyrrha's remaining aura cracked, shattering on impact, rendering her immediately unconscious. Her battle with Penny left her with minimal aura, and that hit from Cell earlier put her dangerously low. This was just the final straw.
Blake on the other hand, was able to remain conscious. Her aura took the brunt of the impact, allowing her to remain upright and stable, and since she had taken this kind of abuse before from Cell, she was still able to keep fighting. However, the cat faunus now had a new problem. Pyrrha was down and out, leaving her in a horribly one-sided one on one battle with someone leagues beyond her capabilities.
"Please, as if you can continue fighting. Your friend over there is going to suffocate from all the smoke if she doesn't get out of here soon. You might as well give up-URK!" Cell was cut off when a golden blur slammed into him. The attack had caught him by surprise, something which angered him greatly. The monster regained his senses, glaring towards his new attacker.
Yang Xiao Long touched down and glared at Cell with hateful eyes. The blonde flicked her head, and blew some hair out of her crimson eyes. She turned to Blake, exchanging a silent conversation with her partner. There wasn't any time for words, and Blake knew that. Picking up Pyrrha's unconscious body Blake ran and took off back to the Lookout. Yang returned her gaze towards the Green Menace, who was currently returning her glare tenfold as he got back to his feet.
"You girls seem to pop out of the woodwork like insects," Cell growled as he wiped some blood off his mouth. Yang smirked, fueling the anger that was growing within the bio-android.
"Have you looked in a mirror lately? That's the most hypocritical thing I've ever heard," Yang snarked. Cell growled and launched into a full blown assault. Yang barely had time to react before the monster landed a hit directly to her face. Yang skidded back before her aura flared and her power increased. Blood flowed from her lip that had split from the hit. Not even her aura could protect her fully from Cell's overwhelming strength.
However, it seemed that Yang's semblance might even the field.
"Let's go, you ugly son of a-" Yang couldn't finish her sentence before Cell engaged her in combat once again. She was woefully underprepared for the sheer speed the fight was paced at. She was durable and could take punishment. There was no denying that, but with every hit that Cell landed on her, she could feel herself getting both stronger, and more fragile. If she could get one good hit on him, then maybe she might gain an upper hand.
Luckily, Cell got cocky and overextended.
Yang found the opening, blocking an incoming attack, parrying it and then dashing forward aiming for her target. Cell was prepared for this. He leapt up and over her. However, what he was not expecting was for her to twist her body. He knew he had made a fatal error when he heard Ember Celica load and click. The buxom blonde grinned as Cell's features widened in horror.
"Absorb this!" Yang fired. The enhanced strength, and semblance empowered shells shredded Cell's tail like paper mache. The shells had cut clean through the bio-androids tail, and with his guard broken through, the monster was sure to feel the damage. Cell screamed as purple blood squirted and dripped off the dismembered appendage and onto the destroyed tiled ground. The stadium was now a full inferno, and the heat was rising.
Yang felt the colosseum was about to fall. Not even checking to see if Cell would make it out of it, she turned and booked it. Taking flight, she zipped out of the falling stadium just in time to see it fall to the ground and explode just over the Emerald Forest. Nothing could have made it out of there alive, but apparently, Cell wasn't part of that equation.
From the fire and flames, the green shadow loomed into the air to face the fiery blonde. With a grunt, Cell regenerated, a spare tail burst out of his backside, dripping a slick green fluid. The sheer sight of the event made Yang want to hurl. Cell glowered evilly towards Yang. A familiar sense of dread and despair filled her being, as the glowing slit eyes glared at her hatefully.
"I am going to make you pay for that," Cell promised angrily. Beads of sweat started to drip down her forehead as the monster floated closer to her. She remained in a defensive stance, but something told her she wasn't coming out of this without injury. Before she even knew what was happening, Cell was behind her. What felt like a truck, slammed into her with jaw-dropping force.
She stood no match against this nightmare incarnate.
Saving the ships from plummeting to their doom was no easy feat. Gohan was forced to utilize a technique he was not very fond of, and that was adopting Tien's multi-form technique. By splitting his strength up, he was able to create copies of himself to gently lower the ships to the ground and allow people to escape the burning pile of metal.
It didn't help that a stray Atlas warship had started open firing on friendlies. Something else was going on other than Cell's grand reveal, and Gohan could tell that the damage inflicted on Beacon and Vale would be severe. It would take months, maybe even years to fix all the damage, and the chaos didn't seem to be stopping any time soon. Gohan had never seen so many Grimm before. The skies were littered with them, and hordes were rampaging across the ground.
"The Grimm aren't my priority. Cell need's to be stopped!"
"Gohan!" a voice called out. The half-Saiyan was about ready to take off back into the sky to find Cell when the voice interrupted his thoughts. He turned around to see Jaune, Ren and Nora run up to him. All of them had confused and worried looks on their faces. Their expressions brought an unneeded amount of stress to Gohan's shoulders.
"Please tell me Pyrrha and the others made it out of the stadium!" he cried. The desperation in his voice was mirrored by Ren and Nora's expressions. All three of them were equally terrified and worried about the fates of their friends and classmates. Gohan quickly closed his eyes and extended his senses. He was surprised to find that Yang was fighting Cell, and holding her own at best. His heart rate did increase dramatically whenever her energy fluctuated, but extending his senses further, he noted that Blake and Pyrrha were heading towards the Lookout.
It also appeared that Ruby and Penny had made it out of the flaming colosseum and back down to Beacon. Where they were going, he wasn't sure, but they needed to get as far away from Cell as they possibly could. Penny, for some reason unknown to him, was Cell's target. He had to get back into action, and find Cell again.
"They are safe for now, but if I let Cell have his way… none of us will live to see the sunrise tomorrow," Gohan stated with a dangerous edge to his tone. Nora and Ren exchanged glances while Jaune could only sigh in frustration. All three of them had absolutely no idea what was going on, but it was clear that the entire Kingdom was under siege. They had to fulfill their duty as a Huntsman.
"We can handle the ground. Just make sure you kill whatever that thing is," Jaune retorted. Gohan nodded and exploded into the sky, leaving behind the students on the ground. The ships were saved, and so were the people inside of them. There were enough huntress and hunters on the passenger carriers to defend the people from the masses of Grimm that seemed to be assaulting Vale now.
The half-Saiyan growled as he tore through the skies towards Beacon. Yang's energy was dangerously low, but stable. Cell was with her, but it seemed as if the two were travelling together now. It had been clear that Cell had easily defeated Yang, but he had kept her alive for some reason. The bio-android was playing a dangerous game. The boiling rage was close to overflowing inside of the teenager Saiyan. He could feel his body drawing power from these intense emotions.
He couldn't let them get the better of him. That was how Vegeta died. Consumed by his pride and anger, he had rushed off to fight the Androids, only to find that he was no match for them, despite being a Super Saiyan. History would have been much different if that stubborn Saiyan had just waited. Maybe they would have had a chance.
Maybe everyone didn't have to die.
Gohan shook the depressing thoughts out of his head as he thundered towards Cell, who seemed to be closing in on Ruby and Penny. Whatever he was trying to do, Gohan couldn't let him achieve it. For the sake of Remnant and everyone that lived here. Cell achieving his evolution meant the death of every single living thing on Remnant.
"This way Penny," Ruby said as she turned another corner with her android friend. Penny was trying desperately to process what was going on. Nothing made sense to her and everything had happened so fast. It was only less than thirty minutes ago, where she was still fighting Pyrrha Nikos in the stadium. So many people had lost their lives, and it had come out of nowhere. How could such a being end so many lives so quickly?
"Ruby what's going on? I don't understand," Penny asked desperately. She couldn't stop thinking about what that monster wanted with her. He had called her an android. How was it possible that it knew about her? "What does that thing want with me?" the ginger continued. She couldn't help but link the recent break in at Atlas to this creature called Cell. Ironwood had been very tight-lipped about it. He had barely told her anything.
Ruby desperately tried to think of an answer, but there was no inkling as to what was going on, or why the monster wanted one of her good friends. She didn't even know what Cell looked like until today. She had only heard stories from Blake and Yang. Now she wished she had never seen him. His grotesque form made her sick, and that only amplified when she watched the monster slaughter all those audience members.
"I don't know Penny, and I don't think either of us want to know. Let's just keep running until our legs can't carry us anymore," Ruby replied nervously. As they were running, Ruby had called on her weapon locker so at least one of them could deal with the Grimm they came across. Penny's weapons had been damaged beyond recognition when Cell had entered the arena. The only thing the girl had was her strength.
They had made it to the gardens just behind Beacon Academy before Ruby ran out of breath. It was relatively quiet back here, and the sounds of battle were muffled at best. Considering all the fighting was going on outside the front of Beacon, the backside of it seemed rather quiet. Ruby took a deep breath and calmed down. She hoped they had made it far enough.
"I hope this was enough to escape from that thing," Ruby exhaled. Unfortunately, fate had other plans.
"I'm afraid you are mistaken," a raspy voice sounded from behind the two girls. Landing right behind them, Cell appeared with Yang hanging limply from his right arm. Ruby jumped to Penny's defense and faced the creature defiantly. Her silver eyes only widened when she caught sight of her sister dangling loosely from the monster's arm. The blonde was silent and unmoving, causing Ruby's heart to drop.
Yang… couldn't be dead. It just wasn't possible!
Bloodied and beaten, her hair stained red and her nose clearly broken. The girl looked like she had been put through the worst kind of torture. Ruby's eyes watered as she shakily pulled out Crescent Rose and pointed it at the creature. Her knees were trembling as her eyes watered. Penny merely glared at the creature that had cornered them.
"You…! You let my sister go right now!" Ruby demanded. The crimsonettes anger was fighting a fierce internal battle with her fear. Cell could only chuckle as he pulled Yang up and dangled her in front of Ruby. Her sister was unconscious, having been beaten to a bloody pulp, the girl had her eyes shut and her chest was steadily rising and falling, showing Ruby that she was still alive.
"If you know what's good for your sister, then you will hand over the android without a fuss," Cell ordered with a grin. Ruby couldn't figure out what to do. She was presented with an almost impossible choice. Trade Penny for Yang? She couldn't do that! How could she possibly make a choice to trade one of her best friends for the life of her sister? It wasn't fair!
"Life isn't fair," painful memories returned to her. Losing her mother had been scarring enough. She wasn't prepared to make a decision like this!
"I- I…" Ruby choked on her words as tears started streaming down her cheeks. She couldn't make this trade! She didn't know what to do! She clenched her eyes tightly and prayed to whatever deity was listening. Her trembling increased when a pained moan reached her ears. Yang's unconscious, agonized groans didn't make this situation any easier!
"Uncle Qrow… Mom… please help me… I… I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!" Ruby screamed internally. Penny saw this conflict tearing her best friend apart. She didn't understand it, but seeing Ruby cry like that made her feel less real than she already was. If leaving her side and returning her sister to her would stop those tears, she would gladly do so. It was a sacrifice she was ready to make. Being human was all about sacrifice. That's what her father had told her anyway.
"Okay," the ginger declared. Ruby slowly turned to Penny, the orange haired robot could only give a friendly smile. The red caped girl didn't understand. Why was Penny doing this? She was her friend! Why was she…?
"Penny… please. I-I don't want you to-" Ruby choked. Penny could only place her hands on her best friend's shoulders in reassurance. The bright, small smile that she gave Ruby wasn't enough to stop the tears flowing, but it was enough to show the crimsonette that her mind was made up. She was a machine designed for combat to help bring peace. If she wasn't ready to trade her life for her best friend's sister, then she had already failed in the one purpose she was designed for.
Besides…
She wasn't a real girl.
A real life is worth so much more than a fake one.
"It's okay Ruby. Don't cry," the android smiled. "Promise me that you will be safe," Penny asked. Ruby trembled as she took Penny's hand and pulled the android into her embrace. Ruby didn't want to let go, and neither did Penny. The two hadn't known each other very long, but it was clear that their friendship was one of the strongest. However, the resident murderer was starting to get impatient.
"This sentimental moment is agonizing. Hurry it up," Cell snapped.
"I… I promise Penny," Ruby smiled as a fresh stream of tears poured out of her eyes. Penny let go and turned around. Glaring at Cell, she stalked forward until she was only a few feet away from the monster. Cell grinned as Ruby stood by, helpless as her android friend walked towards the creature without fear. Penny stopped and shot Cell a hateful look.
"I'm here, now let Ruby's sister go!" she demanded. Cell grinned, as he threw the body in his hands to the red girl in the cape. Ruby barely caught Yang before the blonde hit the ground. The younger sister gently put Yang down and kneeled beside her almost crippled sister.
Cell would honor this deal since the girl was so brave to sacrifice herself to him like this. It was almost too easy. A bunch of sentimental fools. He viewed it as such weakness.
"I have to admit. You have some serious confidence walking up to me like that. I will give you applause where it's due, you certainly are brave, but foolish," Cell grinned. His tail snaked around and positioned it over top of her. He was so close to evolving, he could practically taste it. He could feel Gohan's energy closing in, if he didn't absorb this android now, he would miss his chance!
Time seemed to slow down as Penny gave one last look towards Ruby, who was cradling her sister, watching with horrified eyes.
"Good-bye Ruby. Thank you for being my friend," Penny said with a smile. A lone tear dripped down the robot's cheek, and glistened before it hit the ground. Cell's tail opened and swallowed her whole. His maniacal laughter echoed around the area as Penny was successfully absorbed. Cell's body started to morph, and change.
A golden blur sped onto the scene just in time to witness the transformation.
"NO! I'm too late!" he cursed.
Power rolled off the glowing form as Cell's body finalized its changes. Another burst of light erupted out of the bio-android before the dust cleared. When Cell's body stopped glowing, his new form had been completed. His strength and power multiplied several times over. It was stunning and chilling at the same time. Gohan was practically speechless.
Instead of his insect-like appearance, he was now a hulking figure with an even longer tail. His cicada-like wings where now gone, and now he just looked like a giant force to be reckoned with. His semi-perfect form was now complete. There was only one more stage to his evolution, and he was going to savour getting there.
"No…" Gohan breathed. He hadn't been fast enough. He had let Cell win again! Now he could sense his power more than ever before. Freeza was in there along with King Cold and so many other powers, each more powerful and evident than before. The new form of Cell glistened as he flexed his fingers. He drew in a deep breath and then exhaled.
"Ah," His new voice echoed. "Now this is exhilarating," Cell voiced, his voice deep and masculine. He admired his new body. Looking himself over, he could only imagine what his perfect form would look like. His final evolution would be a sight to behold. He liked this form so much better than the previous one. Now he could truly feel the power coursing through his veins. His true purpose was starting to be fulfilled.
"How…" Gohan asked as he touched down next to Ruby. He checked on Yang. At least she was still breathing. She was lucky enough not to be dead yet. Cell turned to Gohan and grinned.
"Well, it's quite simple really," Cell chuckled as he gestured to his new, glorious appearance. "After breaking into Atlas, I found the schematics for that little Android. Turns out she's made of the same technology that Dr. Gero used to conduct his research on. She was made from the remains of Android Thirteen. The very same Android you destroyed thirteen years ago," Cell smirked. Gohan's eyes widened.
Penny was a reconstruction of Android Thirteen? The same one he had fought at Mountain Glenn? If only he could remember what had happened, he would have been able to put a stop to all this madness before it had a chance to begin. Cursing the predicament he found himself in, he prepared for a fight. He had to protect Ruby and Yang! Cell was stronger than ever now, but he couldn't afford to falter!
"After I had a small… chat, with her creator, I made my way here to Vale. I am an awfully patient person when it comes to getting the things I want. Good things come to those who are patient, and I was willing to wait for the perfect opportunity to strike," Cell explained, chuckling as he examined the horrified looks of both Gohan and Ruby. "She was always hidden away from the public eye, that is until the tournament. She would be right out in the open, and ripe for the taking," the bio-android finished. Ruby was silent, while Gohan was trying exceptionally hard not to let his emotions overrun his mind.
Suddenly a power skyrocketed, drawing both Cell's eyes towards Ruby. Gohan, sensing the danger managed to grab Yang and jump away. The girl's power continued to rise, and show no signs of stopping. A red aura exploded around the small fifteen-year-old as raw, white power started leaking from her eyes. She took a few steps towards Cell. The Android in question turned his full attention to Ruby.
Ruby's eyes started glowing fiercely. She had long since fallen into despair. Everything that had happened had managed to push her over the edge. It all happened so quickly. She had almost lost Yang, and now she had lost Penny. So many people had been hurt and killed today because of this monster. Her smaller, more honest soul felt tainted with the stench of death.
It made her sick.
It made her angry.
She had never felt genuine hatred for anything in her life until now.
"Having a melt down are we? Come on girl, show me what you've got," Cell chuckled as he turned to face Ruby. He watched as her eyes began to glow even brighter than before. He waited for a few moments as Ruby's head lifted to look at Cell. The Android couldn't even see her eyes because they were glowing so brightly. A sense of dread filling both himself and Gohan. She was slowly spiralling out of control, her energy rising to inconceivable heights.
"This isn't going to end well," Gohan muttered as he slowly lifted an energy shield to protect himself and Yang. Ruby's energy was flagging wilding, lashing out at whatever was closest to her. Gohan wasn't sure if his shield would hold at this range. Her power had far exceeded Cell's previous form, and it didn't show any signs of stopping. Her form slowly started to drift into the air, her feet levitating off the ground.
Cell actually took a step back.
"You think you can scare me? Who do you think I am-"
Ruby screamed and all hell broke loose.
In an explosion of light, Ruby's form exploded, flooding the area in a brilliant white light. Gohan held steady, keeping the energy shield up to protect Yang and himself. However, whatever Ruby was doing was practically sucking the energy right out of the shield. Gohan had to continuously feed the barrier more and more energy. A small crack appeared in the shield. The sheer power of this phenomenon was enough to push Gohan's defense to it's limit.
Cell on the other hand took the full blunt force of whatever power Ruby had exerted.
"What's this!?" Cell screamed. The light lit up the sky and the entirety of Vale. It was something to behold as many people, even the Grimm stopped and stared at the glorious light that filled the sky.
Darkness covered every part of the underground vault, presenting an unsettling tense atmosphere to the two people currently occupying it. Making her way down to the depths of Beacon Academy, Cinder could not shake the terrible feeling that she was walking into a trap. Her mind was filled to the brim with uncertainties, and she was right to feel these things. Her plans had been compromised and abruptly changed at the last second.
The feeling of doubt clouded her senses. It wasn't until she made it to the bottom where her fears became a reality. A fierce scowl invaded her features as she stopped dead in her tracks. Standing across from her at a fair distance, was Professor Ozpin. The moment the two caught sight of each other, the eldest of them chuckled lightly.
"So, it seems I was right to assume you would come here at the first sign of chaos," Ozpin remarked casually. He had been waiting for the infiltrator to reveal herself to him. As he stood in the vault, she appeared before him just like he had predicted. Cinder simply frowned, refusing to let her raging emotions get the better of her. She looked past him to see the brown girl Amber, the one which she had assaulted previously, lying in the metal coffin, devoid of any life.
Cinder's jaw tightened. She had been played like a fool. Amber was dead, and now the powers lay in the hands of another woman of Ozpin's choosing. It would take months, maybe even years to find the other half of her power. Nothing infuriated Cinder more than being outplayed by those who she looked down upon. It disgusted her to accept the fact that she had failed.
"You have already transferred the powers," Cinder noted blandly. She didn't miss the crude smile that appeared on Ozpin's face.
"Yes, but it was not you who forced my hand. Rather, a common threat that we both share," Ozpin responded carefully. "With Cell making his presence on Remnant known, I had a feeling that Salem's strategy would have to change, especially when Gohan foiled your attempts at infiltrating the CCT," the man continued. Cinder held onto her passive facade, controlling her temper, and maintaining a confident posture.
"I had no idea such power existed. I was already too deeply rooted into Beacon to make any serious changes to fit your little 'ace' into the bigger picture. Not only did he foil my attempts to hack the CCT, but he erased every Grimm that tried to invade Vale after I went to the trouble of planning the Breach," Cinder growled lightly, flames erupting in her hands. Ozpin remained still, a knowing smirk on his face.
"And yet here you are, at the end of the road with nothing to show for it. Are you proud of yourself? I'm sure Salem is not one to tolerate such failure," the man remarked. A swipe of Cinder's hand sent a torrent of fire towards Ozpin. The older man didn't even try to dodge, letting the attack hit him straight on. When the flames cleared, he showed no signs of damage. "You're going to have to try a little harder than that if you seek to kill me, Cinder Fall,"
"You forget, old man, that I hold half the power of the Fall Maiden. It doesn't matter where your little tool hides, you know the Maiden's power can't be separated like this for long. In the end, it will always seek out it's other half," Cinder retorted. Ozpin merely sighed, shaking his head in disappointment. No matter who Salem placed on the board, there was never any way to reason with these people.
"You are right," the headmaster admitted tiredly. "It's just a shame that someone such as yourself has had their mind poisoned by Salem. You're a pawn of your Queen, and you will forever remain one," Ozpin stated rather sadly. Cinder merely chuckled again.
"I am no pawn," she spat the word as if it were venom. "If I have these powers, Salem wouldn't dare think of disposing me. I am too valuable to her for her to simply toss aside. I will be sure that I will remain that way, until I am powerful enough to topple her," Cinder replied with conviction as fire appeared in her hand once again. The older man gave her an amused smile, as if to mock her promise.
"You wish to overcome the mother of Grimm? Please…" Ozpin waved the younger girl off. "Many better people than you have tried- more powerful and brighter might I add. What chance do you have against the likes of her?" he asked. Cinder frowned at his words. She wanted to be powerful, and she wanted to be feared. That was her dream, and she would have nothing less. She wasn't about to let the words of a deluded headmaster ruin that for her.
"It is my destiny to do so, Ozpin. I will not stop, and I will not falter until I have achieved what I desire," Cinder replied darkly. The echo's of Ozpin's laughter trailed through the black darkness of the vault. The red queen couldn't figure out why the man was laughing at her statement.
"You are strong willed, something many people lack. I have no doubt you might eventually achieve your goals, but what will it take to do so? What will you sacrifice to achieve those selfish desires? How many people will you kill? How many families burn to complete your selfish goals, I wonder?" Ozpin asked no one in particular.
"Enough," Cinder snapped viciously. "I shall do whatever it takes."
"Then I shall do whatever it takes to stop you here," he retorted calmly. Cinder summoned her two swords and readied herself for combat. She gazed at him, noting his calm demeanor. His posture screamed confidence, experience and many other things that Cinder wished she could have. This man was decades older than her, there was no telling what kind of tactics and powers he had in his arsenal.
"You will tell me where the Fall Maiden is," Cinder growled. Ozpin simply replied by shooting forth and engaging her in one on one. Cinder dashed forward with blinding agility, meeting him head on. She would get what she wanted. She was determined to survive and be the strongest.
She wasn't about to let her story end here.
Touching down in Beacon's courtyard, Blake arrived just in time to see the fighting take a positive turn. Huntsman and huntresses of all ages were working together to repel the invading Grimm forces. Stray members of the White Fang were also being grouped up and arrested. While the fighting was still far from over, Blake could tell that if something were to break through the strong forces of Beacon, the Kingdom would fall.
Turning, she decided her abilities would be best suited aiding Gohan in the fight against Cell. So while she was on that train of thought, she concluded that finding where Ruby and Penny had run off to was her top priority. She noted that Pyrrha's team was tearing through waves of Grimm, along with the other students. She slipped away before anyone noticed she was even there.
Blake dashed behind the cafeteria, following Ruby's energy signature until her eyes caught sight of something that chilled her to the very core. A brief glance into the cafeteria had her eyes landing on one of the people that had influenced her life the most since she was just a kid. A man that she had admired, and now feared… the White Fang commander himself.
Adam Taurus.
The moment she caught sight of his appearance, he looked up and their eyes met. He dropped the person he was currently holding by the neck and turned to look at Blake fully. The person he had been holding dropped to the floor, and immediately scrambled to escape from certain death. Adam didn't even bat an eye at the victim, as his attention was now solely focused on the black haired beauty that stood across from him.
Steeling her nerves, she stepped into the cafeteria, a brave, confident look on her face.
Blake didn't have time to be scared of Adam Taurus anymore. No. She had come so far now. Adam was her own personal demon that had haunted her dreams ever since she had abandoned him on the train that fateful day. However, now it was time to confront her demons, and finally put them to rest. Blake did so by slowly removing her Gambol Shroud and stalking towards Adam with a scowl on her face. Adam watched with amusement as his ex-partner approached him without a shred of fear.
"Well now, this is a change isn't it? I half expected you to run away like a coward," Adam practically spat. Blake's expression didn't change, as she now stood only meters away from him. Ruby had to wait, this matter was personal, and needed to be dealt with. She wished she never had to see him again, but it seemed that fate was dealing her a bad hand again. With all the crap she had been through dealing with Cell, Adam Taurus was now a fly on a very large wall.
What could he possibly do to her that Cell hadn't already threatened to do?
"What are you doing here Adam?" She demanded. Adam frowned.
"Changing the world. Continuing our dream… your dream," He snarled viciously. Blake's jaw tightened, her hands shaking in anger.
"My dream was for equality! Not to be feared! That's what I wanted!" Blake shot back. Adam growled and shot forward. Blake was ready, her sword clashed with his and suddenly they were evenly matched. Blake wasn't going to take this lying down. Adam was hurting innocent people. He was destroying what the faunus had worked so hard for. She had the power to stop him from dismantling what she was fighting for, and she was going to use it.
"What you want is impossible!" Adam went in for a kick while they were in sword lock, but Blake saw this coming and raised her knee, blocking the kick completely. Her aura took a hit, but she barely felt the impact of it. Her energy began to rise to match her anger, fueling her strength and power. Adam suddenly found himself being pushed back, her surprisingly superior strength surpassing his.
"No, it's not! I won't stop until we have achieved equality! What your doing is erasing all that hard work! You're spreading fear!" Blake screamed back. They broke the sword lock, sparks dancing off their blades like tiny fireworks. In an instant, their weapons were already in motion again. Another set of hot, dangerous sparks clashed as Adam pushed harder, pushing Blake back slightly. However, the sheer power she now possessed allowed her to not only match Adam's brute strength, but to overpower it.
"I'm doing what's necessary! Are you truly that naïve to think that a few apologies and peaceful acts are going to make the humans stop treating us like wild animals!? NO! It doesn't work like that Blake! You should show them! The only way to do that, is by showing them that we are stronger!" Adam snapped back.
"I should have left with my parents. You're insane!" Blake broke of the second sword lock and delivered a kick to his face. Adam's mask cracked a bit but stayed on his face. He spat out a bit of blood. He raised his shotgun-sheath and fired. Blake took the blow full on, and was sent crashing into the wall behind her. She slid down and collapsed to her knees, having been winded from the attack. The force behind his weapon was shockingly powerful.
"Your parents are cowards," Adam spat hatefully. "They left to govern that horrible spit of land that is an insult to our kind. Menagerie… you might as well just call it a Zoo! A place to dump all the faunus so that the humans could forget about us," he continued to rant. Blake knew his words were true. They had shared the same visions not that long ago, but Blake had seen so much since coming to Beacon.
She had met Ruby,Yang, Weiss and all the rest. She had even made friends with Weiss! A Schnee of all people! Someone that she blamed for all the hatred towards her kind, but Weiss was none-the-wiser. She had grown up, being taught that the White Fang were evil, and rightly so! They had tormented her, and threatened her family for years! She had every right to hate and fear them!
"I'm not going to let you just dismantle all the work my parents achieved. Starting from now, I'm taking you down," Blake stated with a groan as she pulled herself to her feet. A powerful obsidian aura of power exploded, circling her body, lifting debris around her. Her hair fluttered beautifully as her flaming purple energy circled her body. She looked up to see that Adam had stepped back, slightly in shock at the power she was displaying.
"You won't hurt any more people Adam," Blake declared. Adam could only scowl.
"You can try," He snarled.
She shot forward with blinding speed to engage him. She was ready to face him, but he was ready for her. She knew how he fought, and he knew how she fought. She was fast enough to see his attacks, and he was fast enough to keep up with her. To the untrained eye, the two combatants were completely even, but anyone with a shred of combat experience knew that Blake had the upper hand. She was wearing Adam out with her superior speed and power.
Tearing up the cafeteria, Blake and Adam fought without rest and without fatigue. Blake and Adam would disappear and reappear all over the place. Tables were sliced to pieces. Explosions and decals of bullet marks littered the walls, the floor covered by a blanket of shattered glass. Adam was slowly starting to lose his ground, and advantage over Blake, and now even he could see this.
"You've improved a lot," Adam grunted as Blake kicked him backwards. "This power you've acquired, you should make the smart choice and re-join us. With your power, we can really start to change this world," Adam baited. Blake scowled and slammed her sword into his, forming another sword lock. The older of the pair was starting to tire out, and was finding that Blake still had a lot of energy left. He was going to lose.
"I'm sick of hearing you talk Adam. I will never join you. One day, I'll show the world that faunus are good people, and that they should fear people like you," Blake replied venomously. Adam scowled, but continued to hold his ground.
"Then you leave me no choice," He stated sadly. As the fight continued, Blake and Adam seemed to get some good hits on one another. However, it was becoming obvious that the cat faunus was going to come out the victor of this battle. Blake was determined to defeat Adam, while Adam was now attempting to put an end to Blake once and for all. The traitor had to be punished, but that reality was becoming more clouded as time progressed.
Blake's bow had since fallen off from the amount of power she was channelling. She was starting to struggle after keeping her power up for so long, and it seemed obvious that Adam was starting to fatigue after losing his aura after Blake's last attack. She needed to finish this fight and put Adam down for good. She didn't want to kill him, but trying to incapacitate him was proving to be more difficult than it was worth.
A split second later, an incomprehensible force ripped through the cafeteria like a freight train. Both Adam and Blake were thrown from their positions and were sent ragdolling towards one of the walls. The frozen chill that followed the blast felt as if Vale had suddenly entered an ice age. Blake struggled to fight against it, but it proved to be too strong.
When the light faded, the cafeteria had been frozen over, leaving Blake and Adam shivering from the icy air and thick fog.
Adam slowly tried to get up while Blake was desperately forcing herself to get to her feet. Adam could only glare at Blake's prone form. He had no idea how she had attained this level of strength in such a short amount of time. Whatever she had been doing, it had obviously worked, putting her at a level above his own. He had only been able to match her out of sheer tenacity.
"You will pay for this treachery Blake. I will see to it that you suffer for this!" Adam promised as he got to his feet. His clothes were almost frozen and his body was chilled. He could no longer lift his sword to fight. As much as he hated to admit it, retreat was the only viable option now. If he continued the fight, he'd only end up dead.
"You touch anyone I care about, and I will hunt you until oblivion," Blake snarled, promising every word. Adam shot her one last look before limping his way out of the remains of the cafeteria, leaving Blake behind. She managed to climb to her feet, and quickly limped in the opposite direction. While she was hurt, and barely able to fight, she still needed to find Ruby.
"Come on Ruby… please be okay. Please keep Penny safe," Blake thought as she used the remnants of her energy to float into the air, and hover her way towards Ruby's energy signature that seemed to be dropping by the second. Blake felt relief when she could also sense Gohan, but an overwhelming power that just seemed to have gotten exponentially larger was also there, and dread once again filled her stomach.
Cell was more powerful than ever now, and whatever hope she had about surviving the day seemed to drop to almost non-existence.
When the light finally died down, Gohan almost collapsed from exhaustion. Ruby's explosion of anger didn't seem to have a direct target other than the area they occupied. The entire area was frozen over, an icy tundra for hundreds of meters. The half-Saiyan was utterly flabbergasted at the sudden change of scenery. For Ruby to have expelled that much power from her body, it would have done a number on her mentally.
Gohan let down the barrier and fell to his knees, dropping out of Super Saiyan in the process. He had expended a shocking amount of energy trying to keep the barrier up, but the energy he was pushing into the barrier felt as if it was being sucked out. Fortunately for him, the blonde who he had been protecting had woken up and caught him before he hit the ground. Looking up, she didn't exactly seem to be at peak physical condition yet.
She had a broken nose, and dried blood caked all over her mouth. She had a split lip, and a black eye. It was clear she had been beaten into unconsciousness by Cell. It seemed that whatever had woken her up had been enough to give her energy to catch Gohan. Her unconscious form had looked frail and weak, but now here she was, kneeling at Gohan's side as the two supported each other.
"You okay?" Yang asked. Gohan coughed a bit as he fought to recover the energy he had lost. While he wasn't physically injured at all, his energy had been practically sucked out of him. It took a few deep breaths for his senses to come back to him, and for his concentration to start focusing on regaining the energy he had suddenly lost.
"Feeling a little drained right now. Keeping that barrier up while Ruby channeled her attack took more out of me than I thought," Gohan admitted. As the two looked up to examine the extent of the damages, they saw that Ruby was sitting on the ground a couple of meters away from them, looking rather impassive and ghost-like. Her eyes had stopped glowing, and now retained a rather dead, uncaring look to them. It was as if her very soul had been spent in that attack.
Her vision was directed towards Cell. As they followed her gaze, they saw just what had happened to the monster. Cell hadn't even fallen over, nor was he at his knees. He was gently hovering above the ground, growling and spluttering at the injuries he had retained from her attack. One of his legs were missing, and the arm he had used to shield himself from the blast had been frozen over. The rest of him remained intact.
"GAK-URK," the hulking green android spluttered. Gohan wasn't sure how Cell had taken such a blast and retained most of his body. The amount of power that had been building within Ruby's body had been incredibly immense. It reminded him of his own inner potential that he had yet to figure out how to tap into. Piccolo had always lectured him on how he had this strange power inside of him, and that the only way he was able to tap into it was through emotional strain. He thought that he had unlocked it when Piccolo died, but he couldn't be more wrong. Even now, he could still feel it, locked somewhere deep within his being.
"H-how is he even still alive!?" Yang breathed, shocked at the damage Cell had taken. She wasn't sure how anyone could take losing a leg, and having an arm frozen in a block of ice could still remain standing. It seemed like this monster was going to fight until he was nothing but a pile of mush! Even the Grimm gave up after being dismembered. Cell didn't know when to quit!
"H-HOW…" Cell struggled out. He focused. He growled and after a few minutes of just struggling to stand, he did the impossible. He regenerated. Using the cells incorporated into him from the Namekian Piccolo, he had managed to regenerate half his being. How he managed to was beyond even him, but he was lucky.
"AHHH!" Cell roared as he pushed out a new leg, snapping off the frozen block encasing his arm. He growled as he flexed it back and forth, making sure there was no permanent damage. Slowly, he turned around to face the girl who had dared to damage him in such a way. His large form turned, his eyes landing on the crimsonette. She wasn't able to move from her sitting position. She watched emotionlessly as Cell glared murderously at her.
Yang felt like this was bad dream that she desperately wanted to wake up from. Gohan was desperately trying to recover his energy, but the more he stressed about it, the slower it was coming back to him. Cell had already recovered from the attack using the Namekian cells implanted in his body, and now the android was a step ahead of him.
"You…" Cell glared at Ruby. Her breath caught in her throat as crippling fear encased her, seizing control of every muscle in her body. The shadow of death loomed over her as Cell took one step towards her. That single step sent shakes through the ground, splitting and cracking under his glorious power and weight. Cell was no longer playing around. Someone who had the capacity to damage him like that would not be allowed to live!
"How dare you!" Cell looked even more murderous than before. Each step he took towards Ruby felt more thunderous and hate-filled than the last. Ruby couldn't move, paralyzed by her own terror and inability to react. She was completely drained of energy. Whatever had just happened to her seemingly drained her completely. Energy and emotion… she just sat there, waiting for death to come and claim her.
"Ruby! Get out of there!" Yang screamed desperately. She attempted to get up and run to her sister's aid, but her injuries had zapped her energy, pulling her back down to the ground. She fell on her front, skidding on the frozen, icy ground. She looked desperate, her lilac eyes flashing to red and back again. Anger and fear working together to try and save one of the most important things in her life.
Ruby just sat there, watching as the nightmarish monster got closer to her. The dried tears on her cheeks and her red puffy eyes just observed Cell as his hate-filled being got closer. Gohan had only just managed to stand to his feet. He cupped his hands in a desperate effort to save her. A blinding blue light appeared in his hands as he channeled all the energy he had managed to collect into a desperate attack.
"KA-ME-HA-ME… HA!" the half-Saiyan's voice roared with such ferocity it drew Cell's attention away from Ruby. The attack exploded forward towards Cell. The bio-android turned and raised his hands. He caught the attack with full force. The attack started to push him back, but Cell was having none of it. With a grunt, he threw his hands up, deflecting the blast sky high. The blue beam rocketed into the sky before detonating, blowing away all the clouds that were hovering over Vale.
Gohan's breathing was strained. All his energy spent, he once again, fell to his knees, powerless to stop whatever was going to happen next. Cell returned to walking towards Ruby now that Gohan was out of commission. Once Cell was right in front of the girl who was sitting down on her rear, gazing up at the monster like a helpless child, Cell brought down a hand and grasped the red headed girl around her neck, lifting her up.
"LET HER GO!" Yang screamed. Cell paid no attention to her. Ruby didn't even try to fight it. Her eyes were reflecting terror beyond imagination. Scenarios of how she was going to die played over inside her head, her life flashing before her very eyes. The fear that had claimed her heart had taken over, and tears of terror streamed down her cheeks. Cell could only growl in response.
"That power of yours, tell me!" Cell demanded angrily. "What was it!? You are weaker than a simple human now! How is it possible for a little girl like you to generate such power!?" the bio-android demanded. He could sense the red hooded girl's power, and it was pathetically low. He couldn't even sense where that power had gone either, and that angered him beyond anything else.
"ANSWER ME!" the android demanded. The girl couldn't even find the strength to respond. Through the fear of death, and the tears that refused to stop flowing, Ruby Rose was incapable of giving an answer. Cell waited a few moments as the crying persisted. Out of the corner of his eye Gohan was clawing his way back to his feet, an enraged look plastered his face. The android growled ferociously. If he couldn't get the answers he desired, then he would dispose of them so nobody would ever find out. Absorbing this girl would be pointless, her power was already expended.
"Fine then. Keep your secrets little girl…" Cell raised his other hand and placed it against her chest, a maniacal grin gracing his features. "YOU CAN TAKE THEM TO YOUR GRAVE!"
At that moment, Blake floated around the corner just in time to witness something she would never forget for the rest of her life. Her eyes widened as she saw the situation. She saw Cell holding Ruby by the neck while Gohan and Yang desperately tried to help, both had seemingly run out of power to make any sort of difference. Blake knew in that instant, she was the only one that had a chance to stop whatever was happening.
But she couldn't.
She wasn't fast enough.
A light emitted from Cell's palm. Time slowed down as Yang's pleading screams fell on deaf ears.
He fired.
The blast tore right through the small girl's body, reducing her heart to dust, and exiting out the other side. The light reflected in all their eyes, implanting the horrific event in their memories for as long as they would live. Ruby didn't even scream. There was no time for her to even register the pain. Her life faded in mere seconds. Her torso smoking, her arms dropped, hanging limply at her side. Blake dropped to the ground, covering her mouth in disbelief.
Cell dropped her, her lifeless corpse, hitting the ground with a hollow thud. Ruby's lifeless face landed on an angle that faced Yang. Blood seeped out of her mouth and her barren silver eyes bore right into her. Anguish overloaded the blonde sister as she fell to her hands and knees. Her lilac eyes shifted and remained in their crimson state.
A blood-curdling scream ripped through the deafening silence.
Yang wails echoed throughout the now ghostly Beacon Academy. Cell merely took a few steps back, turning his back to the corpse and making his way towards Gohan. The boy was livid, shaking with renewed energy and anger. He had been powerless to stop yet another death.
Blake watched as Yang clawed her way to her now deceased sister's side with renewed energy. She pushed herself to her knees and cradled Ruby's body in her slowly blood-soaking hands. Tears streamed from her now crimson eyes. She rocked back and forth with Ruby's body in her arms. The hole in her body was like a hole that had formed in Yang's heart.
"That's one future problem taken care of… now for the rest of-urk!" Cell hunched over, blood seeping out of his mouth. No one had hit him, it was something in his body. What the hell was happening to him? He was so close to perfection! This shouldn't be happening to him! It was one problem after another! First Gohan, then the girl with the red hood, and now… whatever the hell this was!
"This isn't happening… this can't be happening," Blake denied, a dead look reflecting in her eyes. She had watched her fifteen-year-old friend die. Her team leader was just ruthlessly murdered right in front of her by a monster that seemed so far to be completely unstoppable. Gohan on the other hand couldn't bring himself to believe that a girl so young and so full of life had been killed in such a way.
"Cell!" Gohan growled. He couldn't push himself up. He had spent most of his energy. Yang however, was starting to glow, and everyone noticed it. Whatever was happening to Cell was put on hold as all their attention was brought to the blonde-haired brawler. As she cradled the corpse of her younger sister, her hair started to flame violently, shifting and changing. Yang dipped her forehead, hers touching Ruby's. The frozen area started to violently steam as searing heat poured out of Yang's body.
Red.
Hot.
Unbridled.
Rage.
Yang stood up, her hair glowing, but this time something was different. Her hair wasn't just shining like it usually did with her semblance. No, this time it was flaming. It had become a scorching flame, flowing down her back as if she had transcended to become a celestial goddess. Her golden aura had changed to a crimson red, and her eyes had changed yet again. Instead of just a change of color in the iris, both her eyes were now glowing a bright vermillion. Fire seemed to stream out of the corners of her eyes, as if she were crying tears of flame.
It was almost impossible to believe it, but Yang had transformed into something no one had ever seen before. Even Gohan was amazed at this new development. He couldn't figure out what this form meant. Yang's power hadn't increased at all. In fact, nothing about her energy had changed at all, but when he looked closely, he noticed that the wounds that Yang had sustained before were receding incredibly quickly.
"Incredible…" Gohan and Blake thought in unison.
"Oh? You want more? I'm more than willing to dish out if you think you can handle it," Cell gave Yang an arrogant smirk.
Everyone watched as Yang's fists tightened, still staring at Ruby's lifeless body. Slowly, she turned to face Cell. Faster than the normal eye could see, she raised her hands and slammed her fists together, creating a shockwave that almost blew away everyone in the area. Cell was rather surprised while Gohan and Blake shielded their eyes.
Like a phoenix, she had been reborn, and this time, she was out for blood.
"You are going to regret you had ever laid a hand on her, you God-damn bug! I WILL MAKE YOU SUFFER!"
Beacon Academy was in ruins. The White Fang had retreated at Adam's command and the Huntsmen and Huntresses in-training worked together with staff members, mercenaries and other older Huntsman to push back the Grimm threat in the city. The amount of damage the Kingdom had sustained during the onslaught was almost irreparable. At this point, it probably would be better to strip it all down and rebuild again.
Roman Torchwick had escaped with his partner-in-crime Neopolitan, after infiltrating the Atlas airships and taking them for a joyride. Emerald and Mercury were nowhere to be found, having fled the Kingdom after completing what Cinder had ordered them to do. However, there was still one left who had failed to make her clean escape. She had fallen right into Ozpin's trap.
Cinder Fall crawled out of the remained ruins of Beacon Academy, bloodied and beaten. Her hair was a mess and her dress was in tatters. Ozpin had escaped during their battle after she had brought out the powers of the Fall Maiden, but it had proven to be a waste of time seeing as Ozpin was much stronger than her. Why he would run away just when she was about to lose made absolutely no sense to her.
What she failed to realise was that he wasn't trying to stop her, or kill her. No, all he had been doing was buying time. He had played her right from the very start, and took pleasure in watching her calm facade break apart and fall to pieces around her. Cinder had to claw her way through the debris, practically on her hands and knees to get out of the ruins. Her aura was shot, and her stamina was running low. Escaping Vale now would be difficult.
She left her fair share of injuries and damages on the man, but she had failed in her overall goal. No maiden had been killed and she still only possessed half its powers. That much was enough to warrant serious punishment from Salem. Serving that blood thirsty tyrant was exhausting. Constantly having to play the submissive role was humiliating, not to mention damaging to her own pride. Returning empty handed, having only achieved half of what she had come here for, was not going to save her from Salem's wrath.
Cinder knew she would be ridiculed by her peers and her associates in crime that also served alongside Salem. They never liked her and they thought she was an amateur. She was just proving their assumptions by going back to see Salem now. She had come here to retrieve the rest of the Fall Maiden's powers and had failed miserably.
While she failed in that objective, she had succeeded in destroying Beacon Academy and bringing Vale to its knees.
Grimm roamed the streets, and people were scattered and scared. She had accomplished half of what Salem had ordered her to do, but half wasn't good enough. Half wasn't going to protect her from enduring the torture Salem would put her through for failing her. Cinder's empty hand slammed into the ground, slightly denting the pavement as waves of frustration and embarrassment coursed through her.
"Well… would you look at that?" A voice drawled in amusement as Cinder pushed herself to her knees. She looked over and cursed. Her slim chances of escape had just dropped to non-existance. She had no aura to defend herself, and her Maiden powers had been thoroughly exhausted for now. She watched grimly as Qrow Branwen stalked towards her, with his sword in hand. He wore an arrogant smirk as he examined her defeated form.
"The manipulative bitch herself," Qrow quipped, putting the tip of his sword at her throat. "Plans' not working out so well is it?" He taunted as he looked down at her, eyes filled to the brim with disdain and satisfaction. Cinder knew she had no other option. As much as it pained her, she had to surrender. No power and no aura to fight back with.
She raised her hands to surrender.
Qrow scowled before socking her right in the face. She fell from her knees back to the ground, blood trailing from her mouth. Her vision blurred as a splitting headache started to form. She clutched her head and her mouth in pain. She tried to muster the strength to glare hatefully in the drunkard's direction, but the pain blocked her from doing so. Qrow sighed in satisfaction, flexing his fingers as he did so.
"I'm not one for hitting girls, but damn did that feel good," Qrow chuckled. He walked over and grabbed a fist full of her hair. Cinder grit her teeth in pain as Qrow dragged her and threw her against a wall. She croaked in pain as she dropped from the wall, falling to the ground. Strolling up to her prone form, he once again placed his sword at her throat. All she could do was lie there at his mercy.
"Are you done yet?" Cinder hissed. Qrow shook his head.
"Not by a long-shot, so start talking. Unless you want my sword to acquaint itself with your neck in the next few minutes..." Qrow trailed off. Cinder was still having trouble breathing. This was not how she envisioned her day going. Not by any stretch of the margin. A frustrated growl pushed its way out of her mouth. Salem would kill her if she said anything. Half-Fall Maiden or not, she would be a dead woman if Salem found out she had talked.
"Go to hell," Cinder spat. A smirk graced the older huntsman's face.
"Somehow, I just hoped you would say that," Qrow drawled as he placed his sword on his back. Cinder raised a curious eyebrow. However, before she got the chance to say anything. Qrow reared his fist back and slammed it right into the middle of her face, breaking her nose and sending her into unconsciousness. The sickening crack gave the huntsman satisfaction, as the red queen's body fell limp.
"There you go… that's a much better look for you," he mocked. Laughing quietly to himself, he picked her up and looked around to see if there were any onlookers. He wouldn't risk Ironwood picking her up and locking her up in some high-tech Atlas prison. He needed to have a private chat with her. She had the information he needed. Ironwood wouldn't know how to get answers out of people like her, but Qrow could, granted they were much more… cruel.
Hoisting her up over his shoulder, he turned and took off into the air, a brilliant white aura covering his body. He shot into the air at Mach speed, heading to a remote, evacuated part of Vale. He would take his time with her, making sure she stayed well behaved.
By that, he meant chained to the nearest post like a dog with some aura and semblance restricting binds on her. Even with Fall Maiden powers, she wouldn't have a shred of hope to escape. He smirked to himself. He was going to have a real nice time with Cinder. One could even call it a date if they were into that sort of stuff.
One thing was for sure. Her time serving Salem was over.
It had been the moment she lost.
It had been a bitter pill to swallow, and even more so to accept that it had happened. Ruby Rose had been murdered by Cell without hesitation, or remorse. Even now as her motionless body lay on the ground, the undeniable truth was becoming more easy to push aside, and pretend that it was nothing but a bad dream.
Yet another person Gohan was unable to protect from the cruel fate that had befallen them. Ruby hadn't needed to perish like that, and the motion of her death brought about a storm of unimaginable guilt to rain down upon the half-Saiyan's shoulders. She didn't even know how powerful Cell was, or had become. She was helplessly in over her head, and it should have been his job to stop her from dying. Now he had to add another name to the list of people who he had failed to rescue.
The son of Goku's jaw tightened as he felt his energy slowly start to recharge as he grudgingly watched Yang and Cell face off against each other. He had forgone his power saving the people in the ship's earlier, and then spent the rest of it defending against whatever turned this place into- what seemed to be- a frozen wasteland. All he was capable of doing was observe the fight that was about to commence between Cell and Yang. His fists had turned white from the pressure of his clenched hands.
Despite this new transformation, he was almost certain that Cell would still outmatch her. There wasn't a even a possible chance that Yang had somehow gained the strength to ascend beyond his own strength. She was months away from catching up to his level. All he could possibly hope for was for Cell to underestimate her. Playing his cards like this was horribly inefficient when it came to battle strategy.
Yang's power hadn't increased at all. It was the same as it was before, so what was it that seemed to give him the impression that this form she had taken on was different? He watched as Yang stalked forward, angrily cracking her knuckles as she did so. Her eyes were zeroed in on Cell, an obvious sign that she was suffering from tunnel vision. Acting on emotion was a quick and easy way to get yourself killed, but he couldn't help her right now.
It was critical that he recover his lost energy as fast as he could.
Gohan couldn't help but feel like he had seen this before. This scenario seemed familiar in more ways than one. The way Yang walked towards Cell without fear, or care for her own life was something the half-Saiyan had only seen in one other person before. It was one of the people he had looked up to his entire life. She was walking with absolute resolve and conviction. Her form held purpose.
It reminded him when his father had first transformed on Namek, after Krillin was killed.
Yang's new transformation was something to marvel at. With her hair blazing like an inferno, and her aura thrashing around her like a raging wild animal. Her glowing blood red eyes promised pain towards her prey. Cell could only stand and glare at her, annoyance in his eyes. He couldn't sense any power increase in her. If that was the case, he had nothing to fear.
"You took her away from me…" Yang's voice crackled with rage. "My baby sister is gone because of you!" her voice bellowed. She abruptly exploded towards Cell, leaving behind a trail of flame and red mist. There was a notable increase in her speed and acceleration. Cell merely laughed as he caught her attack head on, and grunted as they faced off in a mercy lock. The bio-android seemed to want to play this out, having witnessed this strange transformation. He wanted to see what she was capable of doing now. His Saiyan cell's demanded he explore this new discovery!
"What are you going to do about it?" Cell growled in amusement, as he began to push Yang back. Her features didn't reflect a shred of concern about her current predicament. She brought up her knee and slammed it into his jaw. Cell grunted slightly, having been surprised by the sudden attack. He retaliated by breaking every single finger on Yang's hands. Her eyes flashed as each bone snapped under the overwhelming force. He grinned as a trail of purple blood leaked out of his mouth from her earlier hit.
"Show me more of this transformation of yours," he mocked as the golden inferno struggled to fight back. After a few moments of her struggling, Cell felt something strange in his grip. The red-eyed brawler grunted as her fingers started to twitch. The bio-android watched in fascination as her power started to grow.
"You think that hurts me?" she growled, looking up to meet his eyes. Cell lost his grin almost immediately. As he was still holding onto her hands, he could feel the bones he had snapped in her fingers knit back together, and become even stronger than before. He didn't even have time to question it before Yang broke off the engagement and quickly embedded her fist in his stomach. The power she had suddenly acquired catching him by surprise.
"URK!" Cell spluttered. How? He had broken all her fingers in the lock! How had they healed so quickly!? Was it this new transformation? Was it some kind of high speed healing? The android's mind was whirling with questions as he recovered from her hit. How was it that she had grown in power when damaged? That didn't make any sense! People got weaker when they got hurt, not the other way around!
Putting the pieces together on the sidelines, Gohan and Blake watched as Yang pushed back with unrelenting force. It was obvious that Cell wasn't fighting with his full strength, but it was outlandish to see Yang fighting back and actually holding her own against such a large power! Was it that her new transformation allowed her to heal the damage that she took, as well as convert it to sheer power?
"Incredible! This transformation has brought Yang's semblance to a whole new level! She can heal fatal injuries and turn that damage into raw power!" Gohan thought in amazement. The more damage Cell did to her, the more she would convert those injuries into power. Not only that but her aura had shot through the roof. She was healing incredibly quickly to account for the damage she was taking.
But there had to be a limit to what she could take.
"How intriguing… what else have you got?" Cell chuckled as he stumbled back. Yang disappeared, appearing behind him in an instant. Cell turned around and knocked her attack off course. He jumped, spun, and slammed his leg into her left arm. He could feel the bones snap and crack. She grunted as she tumbled to the side. It wasn't long before she was pushing herself up off the ground with her other arm. Cell watched with curiosity as her body refused to give up.
"I'm going to rip you to pieces," she snarled, her body filled to the brim with loathing. Her power once again shot through the roof. Her arm hung loosely, but this time she zipped forward at blinding speed. Cell wasn't prepared or fast enough to counter this. She swung her good arm and socked him in the face.
He was sent flying, but her onslaught wasn't done yet.
Speeding behind him, she planted her foot in his lower back, stopping the monster in mid-air. This time Cell could feel his bones crack, but going for a counter, he adjusted his body, and swung his tail. It wrapped around Yang's neck, and flung her into a nearby wall. She hit wall at speed, cracking under the force. She groaned as she fell to her knees.
"Yang!" Blake cried, trying to stand to help her partner, but was stopped by Gohan. She turned and gave the teenage Saiyan a desperate plea as to why he would hold her back. However, his eyes told her that he did so for good reason.
"Blake! Yang's lost herself in her anger. If you got close to her, there's no way to tell if she would attack you. She's incredibly unstable," Gohan explained. Blake looked at him as if he were crazy. What kind of absurd explanation was that!?
"So we're just going to let her fight Cell alone!? Gohan he KILLED Ruby! He's going to KILL Yang! We can't just stand around and-"
"Just calm down and look!" Gohan cut her off, pointing towards Yang's prone form. Blake followed his gesture to see that Yang's aura was still flaming. The inferno that coated her body in searing heat was still blazing, showing no signs of slowing down. "She's not down yet. I need to gather my strength if we have a hope of living, and right now, this transformation of her's is allowing her to fight on even ground with Cell… even if he is treating it like a game," Gohan growled out the last part.
The electricity around her body grew two-fold in intensity as she looked up. With a flick of her arm, the one that had the broken bones knitted, healed and snapped back into place. She flexed the arm, clenching her hand as she returned to glaring at the bio-android . Meanwhile, Cell calmly floated back down to the ground. He gave his back a small stretch, mocking Yang in the progress.
"That is some impressive power you have. I have to say, I wasn't expecting a transformation quite like this. It's quite different and very unique. The ability to take damage and throw it right back at the offender, not to mention the ability to heal the hits taken," Cell chuckled lightly as he gazed back at Yang's flaming form. "Given time, you might actually be a threat to me," he continued with a derisive smirk. Yang's aura flared wildly, mirroring her anger and sorrow.
"I'm going to kill you," she swore. On the sidelines, Gohan frowned depressively at the sheer agony in her tone. The more she fought, the more it tore her apart. Killing Cell wouldn't bring Ruby back, and somehow, he knew that Yang understood that. The guilt pouring down on him increased tenfold. "I swear it. I will KILL YOU."
Cell merely laughed in the face of her threats.
"You can't keep this transformation up forever," the bio-android commented knowingly. "There has to be a limit to what you can take," Yang ignored him, all she could see was red. She dashed towards him again, but this time Cell knew what to do. He needed to find the weakness to this form. And so far, he was gathering the information he needed.
"Stop talking!" she hissed violently. Gohan could see that her fighting was becoming even more erratic than before. She was starting to throw her weight around, resorting to old habits. She was getting desperate, and the fact that she had yet to do any visible damage to the monster that had murdered her sister pushed her to new heights of anger.
"Yang, be careful!" Gohan called out desperately. Yang didn't even register that she had heard him. Her tunnel vision had been amplified, and it seemed that the only thing it was focused on was Cell. He just needed a little more time to regain his strength. As he waited, gathering his strength and pooling it together, he held onto the hope that Yang could hold out a couple more minutes. Unfortunately, fate was not on their side today.
"It seems that I'm going to have to deal with you in one shot," Cell stated as he kicked Yang back and retreated a fair distance away. He brought his hands back, as a pink ball of energy sparked to life in his hands. Gohan's eyes widened in avid horror. Out on the sidelines, Blake could sense the unfathomable energy exceed what she thought was possible. The entire area was coated in a seductive violet light.
That monster was going to fire that at Yang.
"Yang!" Blake screamed. "Move! That will kill you! You can't take that head on!" Blake warned in terror. Yang stood tall, glaring at the monster. She wasn't about to die here, no way. She had to kill this thing with her own two hands. Her sister would not die in vain!
"Now… let's see just how effective your healing is! Gyarikku-Hou!" Cell yelled. The Galick Gun exploded from Cell's palms and thundered towards Yang. The power was overwhelming that the ground beneath the energy wave split and disintegrated. Yang realized the moment it left the palms of the monster, that it would kill her on contact. She did the smart thing and attempted to dodge.
With her increased speed, she managed to escape the hands of death by the skin of her teeth. The attack thundered past her and rocketed towards a lonely mountain in the distance. The attack ripped through the mountain like butter and blew it completely top side. Chunks of the mountain flew sky high, before eventually falling back down to the earth below, crushing trees and forestry alike.
When the attack continued, and swerved into the sky and out of sight, the people of Vale were left speechless. From the smoke and ashes of the Mountain, a primal black beast arose from a long, dark slumber. Its roar shook the very ground itself, and forced a blanket of stunned silence upon the remains of Vale. Its black wings flapped, blowing away all the dust and smoke.
The Grimm Dragon had awoken from it's slumber.
And it was looking for blood.
"Great, more problems," Gohan cursed. Cell was enough, he didn't need a rampaging Grimm dragon causing more chaos than there already was. Yang had turned and almost lost her tunnel vision on Cell. The Grimm had distracted her if for a brief moment. It's sheer size and ferocity had been enough to draw her attention away from Cell.
"This day cannot get any worse," Blake moaned from her knees. She was dangerously low on energy. Combating Cell, Adam and getting Pyrrha back to the Lookout had taken a lot out of her. Blake wanted nothing more than to wake up from this endless nightmare, but unfortunately, she found the chances of that happening on the small side of impossibility.
"Well… can't say I was expecting that to happen," Cell commented casually. Yang turned back to him, anger once again flooding her senses. The red electricity increased tenfold around her body. She had lost all sense of reason, and once again, she was seeing white hot rage. She charged Cell without a care for her safety and took him head on.
Gohan had noticed that Blake had since made her way over towards the deceased leader of team RWBY. Slowly, he made his way over towards the jet-black haired faunus to comfort her. Ruby's entire being had gone ice cold, and the girl's blood stained the ground beneath her. Blake trembled as she slowly closed Ruby's lifeless eyes, something she never thought she would ever have to do. Gohan merely watched, a numb feeling washing over him. This death just felt like all the others he had witnessed. It pained him to no end, but as a warrior, he had to fight through it no matter what.
"S-S-She didn't need to die… did she…?" Blake cried, choking on her words. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Out of all of them, the most innocent one had been the one to meet her end. Blake still couldn't believe this was happening. Ruby's skin was icy to the touch, and her skin was turning grey. Her black hair with crimson tips fluttered in the breeze. She looked almost… at peace.
"Nobody deserved what she got Blake… we failed her. All we can do is fight on, and move on. We-" Gohan cut himself off as he saw Ruby's body slowly start to become translucent. He thought he was seeing something at first, but then it became clear and apparent as Blake's hand fazed through the corpse. Blake started to panic.
"W-What's happening!?" Blake tried to grab at the body only to find that her hands were passing through the now fading away form of Ruby Rose. Gohan could only gape as the body completely faded from existence in just a few moments. He had seen this before! When the Z Fighter's died fighting against the Androids on Earth, their bodies vanished like this.
It meant they kept their bodies in the afterlife.
It was a special permission to those who deserved it. In other words, was it possible that Ruby was now in Otherworld, and with her body? Master Roshi had told him that when his father had died after the fight with Raditz, Kami had intervened and allowed Goku to keep his body. It was because he was going off to receive special training from King Kai.
"She's in Otherworld now! She kept her body… I didn't think…" Gohan trailed off. Who would intervene? There was no Guardian of Remnant as far as he was concerned. Did King Yemma allow her to keep her body? But for what purpose? People don't just get to keep their bodies because they were nice or good people. What was going on?
Blake looked at him in confusion. Her shocked, red puffy eyes demanded answers. While the battle raged on with Cell in the background, Gohan suddenly sensed that Yang's energy was starting to drop, and her aura was dropping even faster. She had hit her limit, and it seemed that Cell was finishing up with her. He had exhausted his entertainment, and fortunately for them, Gohan's strength had mostly returned.
An audible smack had Yang landing right next to him. The aura faded and she reverted back to normal. She groaned as her vision faded. Blake rushed to her side while Gohan stood tall once again. He quickly transformed back into a Super Saiyan and stood in front of the two protectively. Another push of his power and his form started to glimmer once again.
"She's quite durable. Very powerful, and I won't lie, a decent threat given time… but sadly she has already hit her limit," Cell commented as he gazed upon the broken form of the blonde brawler. She had managed to hold him off and give him some quality entertainment. He would admit she gave him some trouble here and there, but it was nothing that he couldn't handle. Dr. Gero had designed him to be the perfect warrior. He was destined to fight the likes of Goku and Gohan! Not some blonde teenage girl who had just learned how to use her energy!
Gohan stared him down. Cell turned his attention to the boy in front of him and laughed.
"Oh, come now," the android chided in delight. "She couldn't do that much damage to me! I know you're more powerful than her by a long shot, but I've evolved Gohan. You were only a fraction stronger, before I achieved this form. I am so much more-URK!" Gohan slammed his fist into Cell's face. He landed on the ground as Cell was sent flying backwards.
The monster managed to catch himself in the air.
"Stop running your mouth!" Gohan snapped. Cell merely smirked as he wiped away the blood trailing from the corner of his mouth.
"Well if you wanted to die so badly, then SO BE IT!" Cell dashed forward. Gohan quickly turned to Blake. The girl was almost paralyzed with fear. The amount of power she could feel radiating from both Gohan had Cell was unlike anything she could have ever imagined! Cell had been playing with Yang. There was no contest here. Gohan and Cell were grades above the rest of them!
"Get Yang out of here!" Gohan yelled as he blocked an attack from Cell. The hulking monster wasn't playing around anymore, and the real fight had only just begun. Blake swallowed hard as the landscape around them started to disintegrate from the sheer power that was being thrown at each other. She didn't need to be told twice.
She picked up Yang and flew off, not daring to look back.
Cinder gasped for air, spluttering and coughing as icy cold water was dropped onto her form.
"If you want to live, start talking," Qrow growled. She immediately looked around and examined her situation. They were in an evacuated part of Vale. She was tied to a lamp post with aura restricting binds around her hands to stop her from breaking free. Where Qrow Branwen had managed to get Atlas grade tech from was beyond her, but now she was completely at his mercy.
Not only that, but it was starting to get dark, and in the distance, she could see an overly large Grimm Dragon being attacked by many huntsman and huntresses-in-training, but looking past that, she could see a giant light show coming from behind Beacon tower, coupled with explosive sonic booms. The ground would shake and tremble from the sheer force. She could only make an estimated guess as to who were causing the earthquakes.
Cinder glared up at her capture. The one thing she hated the most was being at the mercy of another human being. It was humiliating, but at least it wouldn't be as humiliating as returning to Salem to be punished, and made an example of to her associates. What a failure this venture had turned out to be. If she could kick herself for being so utterly foolish, she would have done so several times over.
Salem had assured her that this plan would work. Why did it not surprise her that Salem had deliberately been as vague as possible as to what she had meant by 'work'? As long as Beacon fell, and Vale was left in ruins, the important part of the plan had worked. The Grimm queen could catch another Fall Maiden if she needed. Beacon needed to fall more than anything else, and from what Cinder was seeing right now, that was indeed happening.
Grimm littered the skies as the Dragon constantly dropped puddles of darkness that Grimm seemed to crawl out of. It was nothing new to her. Salem's domain was practically the breeding ground for the Grimm. They climbed out of the darkness like monsters from a bad nightmare. The Dragon seemed to be the embodiment of that nightmare. She turned her attention back to Qrow, who seemed unphased by the chaos happening on the other side of Vale.
The harsh reality dawned upon Cinder that perhaps Salem had written her off the moment she had failed her task at the CCT. It had been an important crux of the plan. Salem despised failure. Thinking back on it now, she had been relatively tame about it.
"What do you want to know?" Cinder hissed at the older man. Qrow cracked a small smile.
"Let's get the obvious out of the way. You were here for the Maiden. Salem wanted you to become the new Fall Maiden, but why bring down Beacon? You could have been subtle about it if you wanted the Maidens powers," Qrow elaborated. Cinder merely glared at him.
"She want's Beacon to fall. The result would spread fear throughout Remnant and pollute the other Kingdom's with doubt and paranoia. She also wants the relics… whatever they are," Cinder scowled looking away in shame and disgust. Qrow raised an eyebrow. Surely Salem would have informed Cinder of the power behind the relics.
"Salem didn't even tell you what the relics are? My God, I picked you for a smarter girl than this," Qrow laughed mockingly. Cinder raged, pulling at her binds. When they pulled her back to her defenseless position, she attempted to spit in Qrow's direction. She failed miserably as the man merely tilted his head to the side. He seemed amused by her pitiful attempts to insult him.
She hated this feeling. She would rather die than feel this kind of humiliation, but then again, that was her pride talking.
"She wouldn't tell me! She gave me directions, and a set of orders. If I didn't follow them to the letter. I would die," She muttered bitterly. The drunkard gave her a smirk, seeing her true insecure personality start to surface. It seemed that all these big time villains had some kind of breaking point, and with a little bit of observation, it became easy for him to break them down.
"So, you're a pawn. How ironic," Qrow drawled. Cinder snapped her gaze to him, her eyes burning with hatred.
"Like you would know! You're just another mindless follower of that old fool! How dare you judge me!" Cinder screamed. Her hatred and venom poured into every word she uttered towards the older drunkard hunter. Qrow crouched down so that he was level with her, they both glared at each other.
"Where's Ozpin? What did you do to him?" the drunkard questioned. Cinder tried to look away but a slap from Qrow forced her look back into his eyes. She attempted to spit at him again, but he covered her mouth before she did so. Her burning eyes screaming obscenities at him. What she wouldn't give to remove his head from his shoulders!
"How should I know?" Cinder grounded out as Qrow pulled his hand away from her mouth. Her raven-like hair hung over her eyes like curtains. She was a defeated, emotional mess. Even if she wanted or could, she was in no condition to be fighting someone of Qrow's calibre. She had faced off against Ozpin, and that had been hard enough. "He ran away before I got the chance to kill him," Cinder spat.
"You should really fix that attitude of yours," Qrow snarled. Her molten golden eyes still locked with his. "You're lucky I'm as forgiving as I am. If I were anyone else, you'd be dead right now." Qrow finished as he turned to walk away. Cinder watched him as he walked a good twenty meters away from her, he didn't show any sign of turning back. Momentarily, an unfamiliar feeling rushed into her body.
She started to panic.
"Y-You can't just leave me here!?" Cinder yelled after him. She was still tied to the lamp post, the aura restricting binds tied keeping her bound to the post. She pulled and tugged at them to no avail. They showed no signs of budging. "I have the Fall Maiden's powers! You need me!" Cinder screamed, desperation leaking into her voice like a poison.
Qrow stopped walking. He turned.
"Not for long," He responded tiredly, gesturing to the Grimm that had appeared around the area. Cinder noticed they were not taking any notice of Qrow, and their beady hungry eyes were on her. "They'll make sure of it," Qrow finished. Cinder's eyes widened in horrific desolation. She pulled at the binds that restricted her aura and powers with surprising vigor, but no matter how hard she tried...
She couldn't escape.
Multiple Ursa and Boarbatusk stalked towards her out of the shadows. Salem's precious subjects eyeing her hungrily. Cinder had given up too much, and thus she had become expendable in her mistress's eyes. She glanced towards Qrow, who was slowly walking away. He had no care for her. Why should he? She had done nothing but cause pain and misery since the moment she had arrived in Vale.
Was… was she going to die here?
"Help me!" Cinder screamed. Qrow kept walking. "For God's sake, I can help you! Please! I can't go back! She'd kill me!" Cinder pleaded. He showed no signs of stopping. He was slowly dropping out of sight. The Grimm started to close in on her helpless, bound form. Her eyes started to water. Was Salem really sending these beasts to kill her?
Was this how her story ended?
Cinder Fall, ripped to shreds by the creatures of Grimm.
Her desperate attempts at escape showed no progression and slowly her fate dawned upon her. She glanced to see their hungry eyes scan her delicious body. After all she had been through; the tasks she had carried out, and the people she had butchered to her mistress's delight… was this really how it all came to an end?
Crushing regret crashed down on top of her.
Tears streamed from her eyes as she resigned to her fate. Her body went limp as she was literally surrounded by Grimm. They were seconds away from ripping her to pieces and devouring her. In that moment, she uttered one sentence that she never thought would ever leave her thoughts, let alone her mouth. She would have laughed if she could, but it seemed life was nothing but an empty well of disappointment.
"Please, forgive me." It was simple, short and one of the most honest things she had ever said.
She shut her eyes and resigned to her fate.
She just hoped her end would be quick.
Arriving on the Lookout with Yang hanging loosely from her arms, Blake rushed towards two familiar figures who were sat on the steps of the temple-like building. Weiss was busy talking to Pyrrha, who was currently holding an ice-pack to her forehead. It seemed Pyrrha had a splitting headache from having her head bashed against Blake's. The moment Weiss turned her head to see the two new arrivals, she immediately jumped to her feet and rushed over.
"Blake!" she called out as she ran towards the two. When she got close enough to see the sorry state Yang was currently in, her eyes widened in horror. "W-what the hell happened!?" Weiss practically screamed when the full extent of the blonde's injuries became apparent. Yang's state was less than savoury, but at least she was still alive. Weiss couldn't shake the feeling of uselessness as she sat up on the Lookout, watching helplessly as her friends arrived with critical injuries.
"I don't know!" Blake snapped suddenly. Weiss was taken aback from the sudden outburst, as the jet-black haired faunus placed her partner on the ground. Pyrrha had since gotten to her feet and walked over to converse with Blake and Weiss. While she was not a hundred percent, she was at least awake and functional. She could push through a headache if she absolutely had to. "Everything just happened so damn fast! Cell got to Penny and absorbed her! He changed, and now he's this unstoppable killing machine!" the girl continued frantically.
"Wasn't he already an unstoppable killing machine?" Pyrrha asked softly. Blake groaned as she ran a shaky hand through her thick black hair. Cell went from a monster to a literal manifestation of Hell itself. The sheer magnitude of power that she felt radiating from him after he had finished with Yang was beyond her understanding. How could anyone stand up to such power?
"I'm not sure how it's even possible, but he's even more powerful than he was before. No matter what Yang threw at him, he just kept getting up. She couldn't even scratch him!" Blake growled in frustration. Her head fell into her hands in an attempt to calm herself down. While it manage to do so for the most part, she could feel the shakes and tremors even now. The clash between Gohan and Cell might as well be a clash between Gods.
"Cell absorbed Penny? What does that even mean?!" Weiss demanded. She had absolutely no idea what was going on, and Ozpin had only given her a brief explanation about what Cell was, and what he was after. The headmaster had only told her that Cell was out for power, going around Remnant collecting it. He never said anything about this terrorist being capable of absorbing things, let alone people!
"Wait a minute. Ruby was with Penny! What happened to her!? Is she alright?" Pyrrha questioned frantically. Weiss's mouth opened in shock at this new piece of information. Her icy blue eyes darted to Blake who was now utterly silent, her eyes void of any emotion. The cat faunus refused to meet their eyes. Weiss stepped forward, a little more aggressively than she would have liked.
"Ruby was with Penny? What happened?! Where is she!?" Weiss demanded. She had to know what happened to her partner. If something had happened to her… she didn't know what she would do, but Weiss wasn't prepared for what was coming next, and neither was Pyrrha.
Blake looked up at them, her eyes starting to water, and her expression gave the truth away before she even had to say it. She didn't even have the heart or courage to tell them verbally. The agonizing pain that one of their friends had died to this monster was almost too much. Blake was no stranger to death, so the pain was rather dulled, but that didn't make accepting it any easier. She had grown close to Ruby since she had started attending Beacon.
Pyrrha's relationship with Ruby was probably the weakest of them here. However, Weiss was Ruby's partner. She had spent days bonding and trying to understand Ruby, just as Ruby had done with her. Ruby and Weiss's relationship had probably been the strongest out of the team. The two, while having spats when the team was first formed, quickly put aside their differences and became fast friends. As much as Weiss would deny it, Ruby actually was her best friend.
"She… didn't make it."
A chilling breeze swept through the Lookout as the words exited Blake's mouth. Weiss took a few steps back, her face in denial. Blake saw the Ice Queen's hands drift up to her mouth as if she were about to puke. Pyrrha remained still, frozen and petrified with shock.
"Oh God," Weiss vehemently fought the urge to throw up. Pyrrha's emerald green eyes started to water as her arms hung loosely at her side. Of all the people to have lost their life, it happened to be the youngest and bravest of all of them. Silence coated the Lookout as the three girls stood around Yang's unconscious form in mourning. Both Blake and Pyrrha stared at the ground, refusing to meet anyone's eyes. They were supposed to be the ones to stop things like this from happening.
Ruby was gone, and there was nothing they could do to change that.
That lovely, friendly and adorable girl was gone. The girl that just wanted to make friends and protect the people she cared about. The girl that wanted to hang out with her friends, fight Grimm with them and generally make the world a better place. That girl had been murdered by a monster who desired power and was obsessed with perfection. Was it even fair that she had been the one to die and not one of them?
"Please!" Weiss's voice was hoarse and choked up, as she grabbed Blake's shoulders, forcing the girl to look up and meet the heiress's hysteric eyes. The Ice Queen's hands started to heat up dangerously, her newly acquired powers starting to react to her unstable emotions. Blake's jaw tightened as she pushed through the increasing heat from Weiss's grip.
"Please tell me that Ruby isn't dead! PLEASE!" Weiss's screams were excruciatingly pained. Blake could only look away, her own tears staining her face. The truth was too painful to bear. It felt like her world had turned upside down and inside out. It was only two days ago, they were discussing plans for the tournament and eating cookies, talking about studying together and many other student related activities. The red caped girl had really started to grow on her.
Now she was gone.
Just gone.
Weiss fell backwards, landing on her backside. She brought her knees up to her chest and tried her best to halt the streaming tears that just dismissed her will to stop. Blake was more reigned in, and it already seemed like Yang had done her bit. The blonde would never be the same again. Blake and Pyrrha dreaded what Yang would be like when she woke up.
"I-I just can't believe that she's gone," Pyrrha choked out. Blake forced herself to wipe away the tears and sadness. The constant tremors that vibrated through the Lookout reminded her that there were thousands of people back in Vale that still needed their help. She trusted that Gohan had the strength to combat Cell, so she would take her strengths elsewhere.
"Yes," Blake replied solemnly. Now was the time where giving up was not an option.
"This fight isn't over," Blake grounded out. Pyrrha and Weiss looked up at the girl who had seemingly turned her sadness into energy. She was glowing slightly, a purplish aura springing up around her. "We can't just give up. We can mourn Ruby later, right now we need to save what's left of Vale," she finished, as she got to her feet, as shaky as she was, she had to go back down there and help out. As long as she still breathed, she could continue fighting.
Pyrrha's doubts still clouded her eyes, and it was enough to get Blake to notice her dull and uncertain expression.
"Pyrrha snap out of it! We have to get back down there! There is a Dragon Grimm destroying Beacon! Gohan can handle Cell. We need to make sure that nobody else dies. Alright?!" Blake shouted, snapping Pyrrha out of her stump. Pyrrha nodded numbly. She still couldn't accept the fact that Ruby was gone.
Blake turned to the sobbing form of Weiss. The girl's eyes were red and her cheeks were stained with sticky wet streaks.
"Take care of Yang. We'll be back," Blake ordered. Weiss could only nod numbly as Blake grabbed Pyrrha by the hand and led the red headed girl over towards the edge of the Lookout. The cat faunus turned to her amazon companion.
"Are you ready? Now is the time, more important than ever, that we remain strong. For Ruby. For all the people who have lost their lives today," Blake spoke quietly. Pyrrha wiped her tears, her breathing had turned heavy and shaky. So much had happened today. This would no doubt go down in history as one of the worst tragedies in Remnant's history.
"No time to waste then," Pyrrha tried her best to sound brave, but it was clear the girl was still hurting. Blake gave her a nod of confirmation before they both leapt off the Lookout. Powering up, the two girls shot towards the small black flying dot that was circling the Kingdom in the distance. Purple and red intertwined as the girls tore through the sky.
They had lost so much, but they also had so much more to lose.
A/N:
Yeah. Hi again. Couple of you might not be very happy with me. Killing Ruby was an extremely hard scene to write, not to mention emotionally draining. I can tell a lot of you might not agree with the story's pacing, considering it's only chapter nine and we are reaching the end of volume 3. I would just like to remind you guys that these chapters are over 20k words. I had no plans at all making them this long, but it just started to happen during the editing phases. These chapters are basically 3-4 chapters in one, because I dislike short chapters.
So yeah! Ruby is dead. However, if you know your Dragon Ball, you know that death doesn't really mean it's the end of their story. I won't say anything, and I'll let you guys come up with what's going to happen in the future. I love seeing theories in the reviews, or in the discord. Let me tell you, it was a big decision to kill off Ruby.
I can already see people complaining.
"Oh, Yang wouldn't have been able to fight Semi-Perfect Cell on even ground! I call BS!"
Yeah. You're right. It wasn't a fair fight. Cell was basically just toying with her.
"Ruby's silver eyes did that much damage to Semi-Perfect Cell? YEAH RIGHT!"
There's a reason it did as much damage as it did, and it has to do with the nature of Silver eyes in this story. I've made some adjustments to the way the power works, considering that we barely know anything about it, other than 'big white explosion, freezing everything in the area.'
I hope you guys like the direction I'm taking this story, because now things get serious. Characters will start to change based on their experiences. While they will remain with their canon personalities, outlooks and viewpoints on certain subjects will change based on the events they have experienced. I think the biggest changes are with Blake, but you will see in the future.
Now onto review responses!
SSJacen35:
I gave you are rather lengthy response in your personal messages. If you haven't checked it already, I answered every question you had in detail through PMs.
Alexkellar:
You… forgive me? Should probably take that forgiveness back after this chapter! Hahahahahaha!
Guest - 4th of June:
Yes, I do agree. Cell is probably a bit stronger than he was in canon because of absorbing countless huntsman and huntresses all over Remnant. Seeing as they are clearly stronger than normal humans from DB (excluding the powerful humans like Roshi etc), I would expect that he would grow much stronger than he originally was.
FrostRaptor:
Well... I didn't kill off Pyrrha! Do I get brownie points? Cookies!? Oh, sorry. :(
Ultimatrix Bearer:
Yep, the hits do keep on rolling indeed. As for your questions. 1) Goku may appear at some point. Who knows? Oh, yeah. I do. (smiley-face-pointy-nose). 2) Gohan may come clean soon. He has to at some point right? I have to do the cliche reveal and the shocked reactions! Otherwise it wouldn't be a crossover! :O
Jackpotdante:
You make some good points, and I will say that my story isn't perfect. I was well aware that would be issues around this. It seems that you're the first person to point this out. It may seem artificial, but when I write the characters, I want them to seem like they are talking like they should be, and not robotic ex-positional machines like some fanfics do. I try to have the characters make mistakes to learn from, so they can grow as characters. I want to explore their flaws and eventually overcome them.
Maybe Gohan did go Super Saiyan at the wrong time due to myself trying to create tension, but at the same time, if he had gone Super Saiyan right at the start of the fight, I feel as if the fight would have been JUST Gohan and Cell instead of a group effort. Besides, I'd like to think that five verses one was enough for Gohan to decide against using Super Saiyan, but that's my point of view. It might be flawed, but then again, this is my first attempt at a DBZ crossover. I don't expect everything to be perfect.
That's a wrap everyone! Chapter Ten might be awhile coming. I'm extremely busy wrapping with work and personal life stuff. So it will take awhile for me to get around to updating again. Hope you guys are cool with this. Remember, join the Discord if you want to get in touch with us directly!
Ciao!
