Chapter 9

Battles Reborn

The dragon flew over the kingdom, its wings of death spreading over it and covering it in a quick darkness. But Vale itself was not the beast's prize, for it was the castle it sat under, Beacon itself. And afterward, it would relish in devouring and burning the rest of the kingdom. But before it got to the tower, a large bubble surrounded the campus, protecting it from any harm. Hyouga flew Dain and Nayru to the field in front of Beacon, where they devised a plan.

"What do we do?" Hyouga asked.

"Hyouga, you keep on flying. Keep firing on the Brimbreather, see if it has a weak point. Nayru, you need to assist Hyouga. Try to power up her shots with any Dust you can fire." Dain commanded.

"Will do. What about you?" Nayru asked.

"I'll go to the campus, try to find Summer. She's the last one we need to beat this thing. Once I find her, we'll decide what to do afterward." Dain said. Nayru and Hyouga nodded, and Hyouga flapped her wings, flying sky high. She notched three arrows and fired them all at once, all hitting their mark. Unfortunately, the scales of the dragon were extremely thick and tough, unable to be pierced by any sword, beside the Daímonas. And it was clear that Grendel wasn't going to help them out anytime soon.

So Hyouga continued to hammer on the dragon, Nayru using bolts of numerous Dust types to either hit the dragon directly or power up Hyouga's arrows. And her aim was always true, but the power never was. But the dragon finally was done playing games, and readied a great fire in its belly. The city of Vale, in a split second, was turned into an inferno. The calamity, in one attack, had crippled the entire kingdom, all the while the Huntsmen of Beacon watched helplessly as the great dragon destroyed their homes. Meanwhile Dain rushed to the crowd. He searched frantically for Summer, but she was nowhere to be seen.

'The dorms. They must be taking shelter in there.' Dain thought. He rushed to the dorm of team STRQ, where, as Dain predicted, they were watching through the window as the dragon burned Vale to the ground. "Summer, we need you." Dain said quickly.

"I know you do. But you must understand the futility in this. Even if we ground it, what can we do?" Summer said.

"Without Grendel, you mean." Dain said. Summer nodded.

"Wait, what happened to Ron?" Qrow asked.

"Grendel's taken his mind. He's… not what legends say he is. He's a monster, heartless and stripped of any basic human emotion." Dain told the team. "And we just gave him the most powerful weapon in recorded history."

"You mean the Jinrui?" Raven asked. "Why did you give it to him if you knew?!"

"We didn't at the time. The Jinrui- as he calls it now, the Daímonas, It must've awakened Grendel." Dain said. Then an idea came to him. "Only reenactments of the past warriors can awaken them. Hyouga must've known this when she fell."

"So you're saying in order for our counterparts to awaken, we need to jump off a cliff?" Summer asked.

"No! Well… maybe. Look, I don't know know how it works! But…" Dain then stepped back, turning his back to the team as he rested his chin on his fist. At that moment, a vivid memory came to him. It showed himself- no, not himself, but someone similar to himself reaching toward the sky, and a heavenly ray landing in his hand.

Without thinking, he raised his hand to the heavens. Harmlessly, a ray of light pierced the dorms and went into the palm of Dain.

He heard an echo of a voice. "Dain Ral, son of Dale Ral, your spirit has awakened the mythical power within. Tyson Oron, I bestow upon you your blade, kept within the stars for the time you end the cycle of rebirth."

The light burst open, and a single edged sword now was held by Dain, with a stream of green flowing through it, as if infused with the blade itself.

"Dain Ral, you now hold the only counter to the Daímonas, a blade known as the Astéri, the heart of the sun itself, as the Daímonas is the heart of the moon, whole as the sun. Now fight, use the Astéri to annihilate the great dragon, and bring safety to Remnant." The voice faded after those words, as Dain observed the blade. The hilt was of pure gold, but it was as solid as bedrock. The blade looked of silver, but was tougher than diamonds, and razor sharp.

And as he lowered the sword, he remembered everything. The memories of Tyson Oron, the endless cycle of torment he suffered, and how every generation the spirits of the team and Grendel were reborn, if only to battle again, and repeat the cycle of reincarnation and desolation.

"No. No more." Dain muttered. "It shall end, here and now. The legend of Grendel, the greatest lie to exist, ends now!" Dain rushed out to Beacon Field, Astéri in hand and ready for battle. Meanwhile Summer watched, from the distance, almost saddened at Dain's decision.

"He must know. He must realize that defeating Grendel is pointless." Summer muttered to herself.

"Uh, hello? Is Summer in there? We'd like very much to have her back." Qrow said.

"What do you mean? It's me, Summer." Summer said bluntly.

"Uh, no. We know better. We know our Summer wouldn't turn a blind eye to a whole kingdom in danger. We're heading out, so we need our leader back." Taiyang said.

"You don't understand, though! You don't know the Brimbreather like I do! It can't be killed! We tried centuries ago, but it's heart was like bedrock!" Summer exclaimed.

"So that explains it." Raven sighed. "Summer, if you can hear me, you'll have to forgive me."

"Forgive you for wha-" Summer asked, but was cut off when Raven backhanded her across the cheek.

"Give us back Summer, Synthia. We have no need for you nihilist attitude." Raven growled.

"Who do you think you are to command me? I am Synthia, champion of Vale! I led the charge of the final battle of the Great War sixty years ago, far before any of You ingrates were ever conceived!" Synthia stomped.

"And yet you suppress your host, simply because you're scared of a flying lizard. Figured a hero like you would be a bit more selfless." Raven scoffed.

"You-!" Synthia stammered.

"Fine. Since you're so stubborn." Raven took Synthia's arm in an iron grasp. She recited a silent chant, and suddenly Synthia collapsed.

"What did you do?" Qrow asked, catching Summer.

"I reversed the suppression. Oz taught me a little spell to do so a while after he told us about the warriors. Guess he knew Synthia would be stubborn about fighting the dragon." Raven replied.

"So we got Summer back?" Taiyang asked. Raven nodded as Summer's eyes fluttered open.

"Five more minutes." Summer sighed. "It's too early for this."

"No time, leader. We got a world to save." Qrow snickered.

"Oh, right. That. Well, so long as you think you still need me." Summer said.

"Hardly the time for jokes, Sum. Team DRHN is fighting the Brimbreather." Raven said. That seemed to get Summer up.

"Alright, fine. But after this, you guys owe me a cup of coffee." Summer said.

Raven laughed. "If the battle doesn't wake you up any, sure." They gathered their weapons and headed to battle.

Meanwhile, Hyouga was having trouble keeping the dragon from the city. Some buildings have already collapsed by now, while the inferno continued to spread. She flew arrows of lightning, which arced lightning in the trail of the arrow as it struck, and sometimes Nayru would enhance the arrow with various elements, but it didn't pierce the dragon either way. The scales were too tough for just the two of them. But then a stream of green energy nicked the monster. It impacted with such force that it fell straight to the ground. Dain rushed in and slashed downward on the dragon's belly, which caused a significant scratch on the scales.

The beast roared with anger as it kicked Dain away, merely by the sight of the blade it's anger flared. And with its anger, so did the city go up in flames. It was devastated by the attack, over a hundred homes destroyed within one blast.

"This is bad. At this rate, Hyouga's gonna run out of energy to keep the academy protected." Nayru said, gritting her teeth as she shot an ice bolt at the dragon. No effect.

"Have you still not awakened yet?" Dain asked.

"No, Mariana hasn't woken up yet. Why is it?" Nayru asked.

"I don't know. There must be a reason. But for now, focus on the dragon!" Dain shouted over the fires. The dragon now homed in on the school, but it was pointless in their eyes as the fire vanished on contact with the shield. But Hyouga seemed to suffer the strike.

"No. This isn't good." Nayru turned pale. "The dragon is wearing Hyouga down. If this keeps up…"

Then a drum sounded. Only two beats at first, then another two. Even the dragon seemed intrigued at the sudden sound. Then another drum. More drums sounded, and the sound echoed throughout the field. From the shield marched the Huntsmen of Beacon, United in arms and sound. Their boots sounded for miles, their weapons raised to the march. More instruments played. A song of fine spirits, and one of courage, power, and wisdom. Courage of the acknowledgement of the danger they were up against, power in overcoming that fear, and pushing forward.

And wisdom, in knowing how to defeat the Brimbreather. They leveled their weapons, and went for the charge. Summer leading the charge with team STRQ. Dain, Nayru, and Hyouga joined the charge of hope as the Dragon spit another inferno. But Hyouga blocked the fire with a new shield, stronger than the last.

"This is it! We either die martyrs, or live heroes!" Dain shouted over the war cries. The dragon seemed frightened at the rally, and tried to retreat, but Summer acted quicker. She vanished in a flurry of roses and took a thorn ridden vine, thicker than any rope, and wrapped it around the dragon's wing. It uprooted the tree, but the extra weight slowed it down and caused it to be just too slow to escape the onslaught. The Huntsmen rushed the beast and caught it at the wings, ripping the left one wide open.

The Brimbreather roared in pain as they all tore their weapons into the already wounded scales. Their weapons clashed with it, and ripped the scales apart, revealing the flesh of the dragon. Dain rushed the flesh with Astéri and ripped it wide open, the bedrock heart revealed.

"HYOUGA, NOW!" Dain shouted. Hyouga flew to the sky, higher than she's ever flown before. She notched her sharpest arrow, infused with electric Dust as she dove back down, Nayru catching the arrow with some ice Dust. She drew back the final arrow of the battle as it flew right into the belly of the dragon as it began to fly again.

Her aim could never have been more true, as the arrow pierced the dragon's heart and sent freezing lightning through the dragon. It roared an eardrum rupturing cry as it flailed desperately. But soon, it became silent.

A small ember passed its fangs, and the light within its barbaric eye flickered and faded. The Brimbreather, calamity of the old and new age, was no more.

But no song was sung, for the count of death among the citizens was far too much. The flames of the great calamity brought a terrible death to the people of Vale, for the population was now halved.

"This is all Grendel's doing. That megalomaniac is responsible for all this damn heartache!" Dain exclaimed. "To think that he would help us!"

"We cannot blame ourselves, Dain. We had no idea Ron- er, Grendel, would act that way." Hyouga said. She wrapped her wing around Dain.

"Lucia, you know what I must do. I can't just stay here. I have to go after Grendel. I can't allow Ron to suffer because of that son of a bitch." Dain said.

"I know. Which is why I shall help you." Hyouga said.

"Me too. Even if he's possessed, Ron was a friend. As much as he got on my nerves." Nayru agreed. Dain let a smile form on his face.

"Thank you. So what's the plan?" Dain asked.

"I'll look over Menagerie. There's a chance he might attack there to invoke the Faunus." Hyouga said.

"Good plan. I'll try to search the mountains here in Vale." Nayru said.

"And I'll remain here, making sure he doesn't come back here." Dain said.

"Are you sure, Dain? What if he attacks another kingdom instead?" Nayru asked.

"Then I'll be there. If he so much as sneezes, I'll be there with a handkerchief and a blade." Dain said. He looked to the Astéri. "Besides, with this thing, I can finally go toe to toe with him."

"I don't believe that blade is recorded in history. What even is it?" Nayru asked curiously.

"It is the counter of the Daímonas, and the heart of our sun." Dain explained. "But Nayru, I believe you should stay in Vale as well. Help rebuild, and try to awaken Mariana."

"But I… I don't know what to do. For the first time in my life, I don't know what to do!" Nayru exclaimed. "A-Am I going insane?! What do I do, Dain?!"

"Keep it together, Nayru! I'll help you through this, I swear! Just stay with me." Dain said, grasping her shoulders to keep her from moving so much. Eventually, Nayru regained her composure.

"I'm sorry, I just… it's so hard. To think. To know. I… I…"

"Just stay calm. It's us now. Hyouga's gonna go protect Menagerie, so we have to survive on our own." Dain said.

"Dain, the only way we've survived is by sticking together. If we separate…" Nayru said. A tear streamed down her cheek, but Dain wiped it off with his thumb.

"That was before. This is now. Besides, we got Team STRQ to help us now. So long as we all stick together, we can defeat gods." Dain said, referencing Nayru the first time they met Hyouga. "Isn't that right, Nayru?"

Nayru looked Dain in the eyes, and nodded silently. "Yes. So long as we stay together." But Nayru's lip still quivered as she hugged Dain. "I'm so fortunate to have ever met you."

"Same here, Nayru. I'm glad the tides of fate brought us together." Dain said, returning the hug. Hyouga joined in by hugging the both of them, wrapping her wings around the party.

"If you ever need me, give me a call. I'll be there to help, whether it be a battle against the Grimm or with yourselves." Hyouga said.

"Thank you, Lucia. We'll meet again soon." Dain said. Hyouga then took off to Menagerie, where she'd be the guardian angel of the Faunus.

"Hey you two, you ready to get back to work?" Summer asked.

"Yeah. Nayru?" Dain said. Nayru released Dain, and wiped the tears from her face.

"Yep. Ready." Nayru nodded. They then went to work on rebuilding the kingdom, and burying the dead.

But the rage within Dain never died out. All the deaths were caused by one man's eternal avarice, and he never even showed any shame in such a selfish action. But then Dain remembered what Grendel had said.

"But then… she showed me the way. She brought me back to life." Dain recalled. Questions began to form in his head. The main question being "Who is 'she?'"