A/N: Many have fallen to Sapphire's power, but what will happen when Team RWBY enter the fray?
Chapter 11: Kindred
"Gratitude is the only emotion you should be conveying right now."
Krev's back connected with the ground, sending a vicious pain up his spine. He had been rendered prone for the … actually, he couldn't remember how many times Sapphire had immobilised him by this point. Sapphire had punched, straggled and now kicked him in the jaw, so once again, as he lied a few feet away from his enemy, Krev was forced to stare up at the ceiling of the imprisoning dome as he spontaneously convulsed or gasped. Sure his slowly increasing Aura reserve was desperately trying to heal the damage to his body, but the excruciating pain lancing through his cracked jaw wasn't fading and blood continued to ooze down his cheeks, the crimson liquid running into his dishevelled hair…
"So many people crave a purpose," Sapphire continued, speaking his words with meticulous diction and scornful derision – a tone Krev, if he survived the night, would forever despise. "People wander through life searching for a reason to exist, even going as far to work for despicable individuals because they give them a purpose. I would even wager my soul that a number of, for example, Faunus join the White Fang because it gives them a purpose. But you my child, you have been given a destiny – a reason to exist!
"You were given a purpose when we performed the spell which turned you into a Child of Fate, a herald of the New Destiny. In addition to this, we bestowed upon you and your siblings gifts which make you all gods among mortals. But we also gave you a family when we performed the spell, making us – you and I – kindred."
"I … already had … a family," Krev wheezed.
"Oh yes," Sapphire chirped, "how could I forget? You are the biological son of a pair of traitors and raised by a group who spent decades aimlessly … wandering through life. All of whom were indeed disappointed with the current state of the world, but they were all either too cowardly or too self-absorbed to do anything about it. But you, your siblings, my brethren and I understand a simple truth: You must become transcendent and sacrifice everything to change the world … that is what makes us truly kindred.
"So, my child, do you not feel any obligation to repay us, to repay me for giving you a destiny? Do you not feel an obligation to repay a debt to your family?"
Krev met Sapphire's proud gaze and threw him a satisfied smile.
"No," he breathed, his tone filled with a happiness brought about by his desire to anger the thing who had killed … well, who had killed so many. It became apparent a second later Krev had been successful in his quest, for the Blue Knight's features were distorted by a hateful snarl, suggesting he was about to attack, but none came. Instead Sapphire raised one of his hands and snapped his fingers.
"What about them?" he enquired calmly.
Krev was confused by what he meant for a moment, but then he noticed the surface of the dome had become opaque, allowing him to see the building which stood in the distance behind Sapphire and beyond the dome itself. Realising that he could also see flashes out of the corner of his right eye, Krev tentatively turned his head. What he saw made him gasp. Students and teachers alike were relentlessly assaulting the dome, using bare hands, weapons or their Sembli to attempt weakening, and subsequently infiltrating, the structure. His eyes, however, became transfixed on Yang as she repeatedly hit the exterior of the dome and was breath taken by her determination … by the blinding rage which consumed her beautiful features.
"Look at them, trying to get in here; it's pointless, but honourable I suppose." When Sapphire paused, Krev took his eyes off Yang and returned his attention to the man giving the speech – the man adorning a stern, contemptuous glare. "Do you not feel an obligation to repay them for this kindness? Do you not wish to save them – to save her – from the cycle of indoctrination, vicious training and death at the hands of a Grimm, or some other ungodly force?"
He did, and he would, but not by joining Sapphire and destroying freewill!
"Getting a little desperate, aren't we?" Krev mocked, baring his bloodstained teeth. "Over the last few hours you've tried to oh, let's see, persuade me by describing the New Destiny – your solution to the problems of Remnant – as some holy cause; attempted goading me into using the full extent my power; threatened to break me by, I'm assuming, torturing Yang; demonstrated only a fraction of what a Child of Fate is capable of by harming my teammates and killing Valery; tried to guilt me into repaying a 'debt' I owe; and last, but certainly not least, have attempted using Yang and her classmates for yet another guilt trip.
"But look at the facts Sapphire; persuasion, threats, demonstrations and guilt have all failed. So … what is it going to be now?"
Sapphire didn't reply and instead marched forward, purposefully taking as few strides as possible to reach Krev within a few heartbeats. Once he was upon the Blood Angel, Sapphire reached down, wrapped his hand around Krev's neck and hoisted, brutishly picking him up and suspending him in the air.
"You are an insolent child … just like your parents!" Sapphire paused, the fury written across his face soon replaced by shock, his pupils dilating and mouth falling agape as a revelation took hold. "And look at what they became," he whispered angrily, "what you could become. Krev, if you will not join us, then I cannot allow you to become a hindrance!"
Krev was gagging from the tight grasp around his throat and clawing at the Blue Knight's wrist, but soon his frantic movements disappeared and were replaced by stillness, for having come to the realisation that Krev could disturb the New Destiny like his parents or even take one step further and undo everything that had been achieved over the years, Sapphire formed a tight fist and punched the Blood Angel square in the face, beginning the Child of Fate's slow, painful death.
The sound of gunfire was absolutely deafening, but no amount of noise ever broke Weiss' focus. She was determined, like her teammates, the other students and faculty members, to break through the seemingly impenetrable dome.
She wasn't paying any attention to everyone else's attempts, but she could see her teammates out of the corners of her eyes perfectly. Ruby (who was to her left) was firing dozens of high calibre rounds while Blake (who was to her right) tried a similar tactic, firing Gambol Shroud in its pistol form. Weiss herself was even firing small, turquois glyphs at the dome, but Yang (who was to Blake's right) was physically attacking its surface.
Their current predicament was similar to when they faced the Nevermore during initiation; they were all unleashing powerful attacks, yet no matter how much force Yang put behind a punch or they – Weiss, Ruby and Blake – fired at the dome, nothing happened. Their assault was even becoming dangerous for themselves because the bullets from their, other students' and professors' attacks ricocheted off the dome.
Weiss, like everyone else, wasn't too sure what was truly going on, but the situation was growing dire … she could feel it. The situation was also growing hopeless, but then something occurred which caused them all to stop from amazement. The dome, despite its previous solidity, suddenly began to pulse and flicker like a dying hologram.
Was this their doing?
The heiress had no idea why the dome had begun to falter, but the reason did not concern her and perhaps never would, for what was transpiring inside stunned and appalled her. Inside were Sapphire and Krev, the former holding the latter by the neck with one hand as he repeatedly punched with the other, each strike earning the so called 'Blue Knight' a wail of agony from Krev's limp frame.
Yang hadn't given any specific details beyond "Sapphire's trying to kill Krev" and "Quickly, he needs our help". Weiss had, as they started their journey on foot to where the battle was taking place, replied with a snarky comment of "Which one? Krev or Sapphire?", but Yang didn't reply. For a time Weiss believed Yang was overreacting, that Sapphire was merely trying to – as the blonde would say – 'get some payback' for the previous day's sparring match. But after seeing Amber and Silver unconscious, Valery's dead body and the way Sapphire was almost gleefully beating Krev, Weiss quickly realised that Yang has been right to pull the fire alarm.
"HE'S KILLING HIM!" Yang cried, wracking her fingers through her long, blonde hair.
Weiss understood her teammate's panic and she too wanted to get inside, but the momentarily appearing, disappearing and reappearing gaps in the dome were no larger than an Astringe egg, and she didn't want to risk leaping through one in case it resealed whilst she was in mid-air … the heiress didn't particularly desire to imagine what would happen. No, she had to wait, bide her time until…
Yes! There it was! Right in front of Team RWBY appeared a gap slightly larger than Yang. It was their best and potentially only opportunity to help Krev, so Weiss activated her Semblance. A glyph appeared beneath her feet, prompting Weiss to twirl on the spot and stab the ground with the tip of her rapier, an action which caused sharp pillars of ice to shoot up from the ground and strike the dome. It would have been a useless attack a few seconds earlier, but now, whilst the dome was weak, it had the desired effect because the rim of the gap – a perfect circle – was frozen, creating a gateway.
"Good work, Weiss," said Ruby, complimenting her partner with a cute smile as she ran for the entrance.
After her leader used the ice path and entry she had created, Weiss ran inside next, followed by Blake, then finally Yang.
Yang ran through the frozen entrance just in time, for a millisecond later the ice was broken by the dome's determination to stay in existence and the circular gap disappeared. This meant Team RWBY was inside the dome and about to fight Sapphire with no allies, a fact which should have bothered Yang, but it didn't. All she cared about was saving Krev. Besides, after all the enemies they'd faced, Yang knew she and her teammates were ready for the man who insisted he was called by another's name.
Realising that four people had successfully penetrated his defences, Sapphire ceased his endless attack on Krev and looked towards the team running towards him, meeting Yang's scowl.
"Looks like I let my concentration slip," he said, eyes returning to the Blood Angel. "Don't worry though my child, I won't let it happen again."
Even though her eyes were locked on Sapphire, Yang still paid attention to the dome as its surface became solid again and its opaque interior turned back into a mythic sight; a dome formed of swirling oceans, cutting off their view of the outside world.
Sapphire threw Krev to the ground and unleashed an onslaught of waves. He swiftly and repeatedly pushed out splayed hands, causing waves – circular walls of intertwined threads – to shriek towards his opponents.
A wave struck Yang, but it didn't send her off her feet or engulf her body. Instead the wave dissipated on contact, its impact, although painful, fuelling her Semblance. Knowing she could withstand the barrage, Yang continued to effortlessly sprint towards Sapphire. Her teammates, however, were forced to dodge the waves.
Ruby used her speed to rapidly shift left-to-right, Weiss used a combination of her white speed and blue barrier glyphs, and Blake used her natural agility to avoid harm. Yang watched her teammates' efforts to evade the Blue Knight's attack as she sprinted behind them, their movements remaining clear despite the number of waves which momentarily obscured her vision upon striking her body. But Yang was also in the perfect position to witness as her friends could no longer evade his relentless barrage and became overwhelmed; Ruby, Weiss and Blake were struck by a single wave each, sending them, one-by-one, hurtling past Yang.
If they were in any other circumstance, she would have tried to catch her teammates before they harshly skidded across the stone floor, but Yang was focused on reaching her enemy.
Sapphire turned his attention to her and concentrated his efforts on a single target.
Wave-after-wave viciously pummelled her entire body, but Yang never slowed. Sure the assault hurt like Hell, but she could take the hits.
One last wave struck as she was upon him, the barrier acting as the perfect cover for her to take him by surprise. Yang emerged from the dissipating threads and began her own barrage, using all the strength she had gathered to rapidly strike every inch of his torso. Her knuckles collided with his chest, stomach, hips and shoulders, her strikes never following a pattern and always earning her a groan of pain from the man now acting as her punching bag.
Every hit carried the power of a car going at full speed and the blasts fired from Ember Celica, but no matter how many she landed or how much the Blue Knight flailed on the spot, he didn't budge. Sapphire was rooted to the ground and his Aura was showing no signs of depleting, so Yang decided to try a different tactic and rammed the base of her right boot into his left shin. The attack didn't break his leg, but it caused Sapphire to collapse onto one knee.
Now looking down on the top of his skull, Yang unleashed another flurry of punches. Each hit carried the same amount of power as the last assault, but this time they connected with ever part of his face and head, her fists smashing into his jaw, cheek bones, temples, nose, eyes, forehead and the rest of his skull, forcing his head in every direction as she wailed on his cranium like a speedball.
After the last punch he slumped, causing his messy raven-black hair to cascade forward and shield his features. It looked as if Sapphire was bowing to Yang, but respect for his attacker was the last thing on his mind. He straightened his back a moment later and met Yang's crimson gaze, smiling at her current state.
Yang was panting, her shoulders rising and falling with every breath. She wasn't exhausted, it was the hatred blazing within her very soul which caused the physical reaction and seeing the arrogance written across his face didn't help with the blonde's fury. Yang wished only to inflict pain upon the Blue Knight, but what enraged her the most was the fact he possessed no injuries from her onslaught; there were no cuts, bruises, swelling or blood, just that putrid, smiling face she loathed.
Yang screamed a fearsome battle cry in Sapphire's undaunted face, visceral bloodlust consuming her features and her soul as she balled one of her hands into a tight fist and threw an incredible punch. It was an attack which connected with his smile, bringing a whole new meaning to 'wiping the smile off someone's face' as it lifted Sapphire off the ground and launched him towards the other end of the dome.
Yang watched as he span through the air and landed on the masonry thirty feet away with a grunt. He was down, but his Aura wasn't, so Yang swiftly punched the empty space in front of her, commanding her gauntlets to fire explosive rounds which sizzled through the air and detonated upon impact with Sapphire.
When she was confident he would stay down for at least a few seconds, Yang chanced looking down at Krev. She could tell he was badly beaten-up and in a lot of pain. He was healing, but slowly as his Aura levels gradually replenished. Yang knew that his shielding – or as he called it, 'Guardian' – had been completely destroyed because of the extend of the wounds, so that also needed to be regenerated before he could assist, otherwise he would be in danger of receiving more life-threatening injuries.
Hearing a groan emanate from Sapphire in the distance, Yang redirected her full attention and saw he was in the process of tentatively picking himself off the ground. He didn't appear seriously injured or hurt, but he was moving slower than usual.
Yang gave a pleased smirk before raising her fists and smashing them together, a painful action she had performed many times in the past to increase her strength. Her knuckles colliding together, especially with the amount of power she already possessed, was excruciating, but she could take the ever increasing pain and with each passing hit she grew stronger, her hair ablaze and crimson eyes shining from the blue haze cast by the dome.
After one final strike she launched herself forward using only a small percentage of her self-created might, dragging behind her a single fist which carried the force of an airship travelling at full speed. Yang felt the surge of power rush through her entire body, the power which told her she was now a god whose strike would finally kill the Blue Knight, however; by the time she closed the gap, Sapphire was back on his feet and something amazing happened…
He caught the fist with his bare hand! There were no threads coating his hand, no barriers, just his bare hand wrapped around her fist. Yang's eye widened in horror at the sight, the might of her attack transferring from her fist to his body a moment later. Sapphire, however, remained unmoved. Only a shockwave emanated from their joined hands, affecting neither party as it washed over them and struck the ground, cracking it in all directions. Yang then felt it, her eyes turning back to purple and her godlike power fading; she had put everything into that punch … and look what happened!
Sapphire threw his captive a smirk which conveyed his intention, frightening Yang before wrenching her arm with a single twist. She cried out in agony, the scream filling him with joy as he made a fist with his free hand and punched Yang in the face, landing a strike one-hundred times more powerful than hers, sending an unconscious Yang hurtling away.
Impressed by his own strength, Sapphire raised his hands and studied them in awe.
"So this is how you must feel," he whispered to himself.
Sapphire's trail of thought was suddenly broken upon feeling a presence quickly approaching. His detection was vindicated a heartbeat later by a wail of pain, no, not a wail of pain, just a high pitch voice shrieking. Knowing they would soon be upon him from a western angle, Sapphire quickly drew and brought Jekla down in that direction.
His timing was immaculate, for the tip of his broadsword slashed at the handle of a magnificent weapon wielded by an interestingly dressed girl, the force of the counterattack sending her sprawling through the air away from him.
She was on course to land on the ground, but before this occurred Sapphire fired a stream of threads and caught the girl. He suspended her for a moment, his hand raised in her direction as he scrutinised the girl.
He could tell she was young, much younger than her teammates in fact, and that she was sporting a red hood. Sapphire then remembered Yang's description of her sister, instantly recognising the girl within his grasp to be Ruby.
"You have a lot of spunk," he spat, "but life will eventually beat that out of you. Well, unless I beat out of you first."
Sapphire thrust his hand towards the ground, commanding the threads encasing Ruby to smash her onto the hard floor. He had deduced, as he always deduced, from the rate of her approach that Ruby possessed a Semblance relating to speed, not Penance. Expected, of course, for only the Children of Fate could wield the same abilities.
Smirking from his realisation, Sapphire began to repeatedly slam Ruby onto the ground, intending to kill the young student the way he had overwhelmed Yang before his eye-opening conversation with Krev Melek. His fun, however, was interrupted after five slams. Sapphire wasn't suddenly attacked or distracted by thoughts of his stubborn child, he had, once again, sensed another presence coming towards him.
Perhaps this was an extension of his ability to manipulate the Aura within others, sensing the Aura within his opponents as they came in for an attack … or perhaps he was 'sensing' his enemies using an instinct honed from centuries of combat. Either way, he was about to be attacked and needed to counter.
Releasing the hooded girl from his telekinetic-like grip, Sapphire swung Jekla to his right, both hands on the handle, in a downwards, diagonal arc to kill his attacker. It should have worked, but his sword bounced off a rapier held by a short, pristine white girl.
The rapier was much smaller than his broadsword, but it had been coated in what appeared to be some kind of red energy – an energy which protected the girl and forced Jekla over his head with his hands still on the handle, leaving him vulnerable.
He didn't possess any abilities like Amber's, but time still seemed to slow down from his perspective and allowed him to study the girl who so effortlessly parried his attack, his eyes widening upon realising it had been Weiss Schnee – a girl who was easily recognisable for being the heiress to the world's most powerful and extremely corrupt organisation.
His thoughts were interrupted upon sensing yet another presence, causing Sapphire to turn his head just in time to witness a girl dressed in nothing but black flying towards him with a leg outstretched. Unable to block or counter, the base of the girl's small boot connected with his face and sent him bouncing across the ground.
He was bored with ricocheting across the masonry, so he drove Jekla into the ground with incredible force and used the blade to come to a grinding halt several feet away from the tag team. Sapphire was, once more, on one knee, so he was forced to look up at the two girls running towards him.
Sapphire would have laughed at the irony of his current position if he wasn't infuriated, for a man usually proposed to a girl whilst on one knee, not plan their demise.
The former Blue Knight rose to his feet and studied the girls. He knew Weiss to be the girl with the rapier, but the girl dressed in black, the girl wearing a bow and carrying a thin sword and a razor sharp sheath in either hand fascinated him, then he realised it was Blake, realised that she was the last member of Team RWBY.
How did he know the name of their team? Well he had listened to a great deal of Krev and Yang's touching conversation, but the name of the first year team and its spelling was information Weiss Schnee conveyed to Valery during their own exchange – information he extracted and retained from Valery's mind.
The instance Weiss and Blake were upon him they unleashed a perfectly coordinated flurry of impressive swipes. Both girls were trying to land crucial hits that were blocked or parried by Sapphire's broadsword, but that didn't mean they were the only aggressors in their battle against him. The Blue Knight himself struck back with many bold, powerful arcs of his sword, attacks which Weiss and Blake both understood possessed the potential to deal serious damage their Aura and to themselves, therefore; Weiss used Myrtenaster to redirect the angle of his swipes rather than use precious Aura, a parry which caused sparks to fly off her sword every time his own passed over it. Blake, on the other hand, opted for leaving clones in her wake to take the hit as she evaded and, hopefully, disorientate Sapphire.
The swordfight continued for a few more seconds, but then something interesting happened. Sapphire, the man whom caused so much carnage and pain, leapt backwards through the air, away from his opponents, and landed several feet away. Weiss thought, for a fleeting moment at least, she and Blake had him on the run…
Wishful thinking, as the old saying goes.
Sapphire snapped his fingers, an overly confident action which commanded the twelve sentries of Jern Swarm to fly through the air as a stream of disks and cease their travel once they had reached Weiss and Blake. The heiress fully expected the sentries to open fire immediately, but none did as they whirled around them and took up a formation.
Weiss remained poised with Myrtenaster in both hands as Blake scowled at the disks, her grip tightening on Gambol Shroud's two halves whilst her back faced the heiress. They were ready, even before the sentries stopped upon taking up an inverted dome formation, and studied the disks closely, waiting for any sign of activation from the pieces which slowly span around them.
With Jern Swarm in position, Sapphire waved his hand in a nonchalant fashion. The surface of each disk became illuminated with a navy blue light, signalling to Weiss and Blake that all twelve were about to fire all at once, but they didn't.
Having learned from the mistake of Jern Swarm's previous owner and having seen the same tactic work against Amber Stone earlier that same evening, Sapphire had ordered the sentries to fire in bursts. This took the two girls slightly by surprise, but Weiss and Blake were nothing if not adaptable, so they executed their defences with perfect timing despite the Jern Swarm's pieces firing at random times and for random periods of time.
Both girls used their blades to block the energy beams, but Weiss and Blake also used their Sembli to defend themselves against his assault, the former using barrier glyphs to block the beams whilst the latter left clones behind to attempt confusing whatever targeting system Jern Swarm used. Their defensive strategies appeared to be working despite how much Aura they were using, but eventually the sentries adapted to Blake's style and saw past the illusions she created, instead targeting and subsequently shooting her directly.
Blake was shot multiple times, the beams pelting her shielding whilst pushing her in a multitude of directions.
"Blake!" Weiss yelled, concerned for her teammate.
Weiss was forced to watch out of the corner of her eye as the beams relented long enough for Blake to collapse to the ground, but the respite for the Faunus didn't last long. The sentries seemed intent on finishing Blake off, so a multiple of the disks continued to fire at the unconscious girl, however; having theorised that a single beam could destroy what remained of her protection and kill Blake, Weiss shielded her teammate from the bursts of energy using even more barrier glyphs.
"Wake up soon, Blake," the heiress said urgently, beginning a dance where she studied the sentries, waited for illumination and summoned a protective glyph just in time to defend either herself or Blake – a dance she hoped would conserve as much Aura as possible, buying them both the time they needed to await Ruby or Yang's awakening.
As if she felt Weiss' need for her assistance, Ruby regained consciousness and lifted her throbbing head off the stone floor. Her vision was blurry for a moment, but it quickly returned for Ruby to witness a most distressing sight.
Weiss, her partner and friend, was standing in the middle of a dome formed from Sapphire's secondary weapon, defending both herself and Blake from an onslaught of beams. Seeing this prompted Ruby to sit up completely and to start the process of forming a plan, but then she heard it, a sardonic laugh which filled her with hatred.
Ruby turned her attention towards the source of the laughter, her gaze falling upon Sapphire. He was standing several feet away from her, laughing as he watched his sentries attack her teammates. Sapphire was gaining pleasure from seeing her partner struggling to survive, the same glee she'd seen written across his face as he ruthlessly beat Krev to a limp, bloody pulp.
Grabbing her scythe off the ground, Ruby transformed Crescent Rose back into its sniper state and took aim, her sight trained on Sapphire's head. She could feel her soul begging her to end Sapphire's life, to fire a round through his brain and save her friends, but Ruby had seen how easily he'd blocked Yang's attack, knew his Aura – his protection – was far greater than any student, Huntsmen or Huntress she had ever seen, so she made the smarter move and redirected her rifle's barrel to Jern Swarm.
Ruby fired four consecutive rounds, the powerful bullets leaving massive holes in four of the sentries, the disks falling to the ground like lifeless flies.
Sapphire, having witnessed the death of four sentries, ceased his laughter and snarled at the hooded girl. Infuriated, he charged forward, his armoured boots connecting with the stone and emitting a loud thud with every stride.
Ruby heard his approach and ceased firing, swiftly redirecting Crescent Rose. Her telescopic sight allowed Ruby to see, with painstaking detail, the fury in his eyes and the curl of his lips, an expression which told her one important fact…
He was coming for her.
Terrified, Ruby panicked and opened fire, shooting round-after-round at the fast approaching Blue Knight. The first bullet struck Sapphire directly between the eyes without penetrating his protection or causing any obvious damage, but the shot forced his head to jolt back and, unbeknown to Ruby … he felt the impact.
By possessing the body of a Child of Fate, Sapphire's Aura reserves were now well above the average Huntsman or Huntress', remaining abnormally high even after all the battles. Therefore, he was protected, but due to Yang's relentless attack he could now feel every impact. So, even though every bullet collided, collapsed under its own force and ricocheted off his Guardian, he felt the pain of being shot by a multitude of sniper rounds, each impact causing his body to jolt depending on the placement of the shots.
Bullets struck his shoulders, chest, stomach and head, each round pushing back those points of his anatomy for milliseconds, however; despite the amount of impacts or the pain, Sapphire never slowed down.
Hearing Sapphire charging towards a new target, Weiss looked to her right to see the Blue Knight sprinting towards Ruby with the prowess of an athlete, his broadsword drawn and ready to kill her partner. He was only a few feet away from Ruby, so she needed to act quickly.
A glowing clock face appeared beneath Weiss' feet, dramatically increasing her power and speed. She then, without a moment's hesitation, span on her heels and drove the tip of her rapier into the ground, casting another glyph which created a dome made of ice. It was similar to the dome she created to protect the entirety of Team RWBY from the crash which signified the beginning of the Breach, but there was a key difference; instead of having a jagged surface with spikes which served no purpose, the spikes on this dome pierced through the remaining sentries and rendered them inert.
Free from the assault, Weiss leapt with Myrtenaster's tip pointed before her, making herself as streamlined as possible so she quickly, and effectively, smashed through the top of her ice dome without causing much harm to her body nor slowing herself down.
Weiss travelled through the air with a degree of elegance, landing inches in front of Ruby a heartbeat later just as Sapphire brought down his massive blade. Weiss wasn't going to perform any self-sacrifice, but she was going to end the fight once and for all!
The heiress used the red dust in her rapier to charge her blade. The moment the surface of Myrtenaster glowed a magnificent crimson light, Weiss held her sword horizontally to block Sapphire's attack. It was a counter she had used at the beginning of their skirmish and it worked again, for Sapphire's blade collided with Myrtenaster, but despite the amount of force he put behind his attack to kill Ruby the blade bounced off and flew backwards, travelling over his head with both of his hands still on the handle.
With the Blue Knight's sword and hands above his head, Weiss charged her blade again and span on the spot, this time slicing Sapphire across his torso with her weapon, sending him hurtling away.
Sapphire rolled across the ground for several seconds, then stopped his journey by ramming Jekla into the stone once more. As he rose to his full height, he glared at Weiss Schnee, but his expression of loathing did not frighten her, in fact, she was giving him the exact same look.
"You will leave her alone!" Weiss screamed, her entire demeanour conveying only rage.
Would this throw her off? Would this leave her vulnerable? The answer, to that particular question, would be no.
With her increased power and speed still in effect, Weiss dashed forward and closed the gap between them in less than a second. Her speed, her determination to kill him, took Sapphire off guard and left him truly vulnerable to her onslaught of precision strikes.
Weiss rapidly swiped, her blade landing upon and running across the entirety of his torso and other, more crucial parts of his form, ensuring to slice across all his joints. Weiss hacked and slashed away at his ankles, kneecaps, thighs, hips, wrists and the inside of his elbows – precision strikes which caused Sapphire to cry out in agony.
The heiress knew she was winning their battle, but with the effects of her first glyph fading and his ability to recover quickly, she needed to end the conflict before he regained any composure. Therefore, without needing to cast any glyph, Weiss jumped up and over Sapphire's giant form to perform her final assault, but she didn't let a great opportunity pass by and slashed on her way behind him, using Myrtenaster to strike up his torso, across his face and down his back using a variety of different angles on her short journey to her new position.
With the pain of so many strikes running throughout his entire being, Sapphire cried out as he collapsed, his knees giving way as his body fell like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
Weiss was underneath Sapphire, more specially, directly underneath his back as he fell backwards, giving her the perfect opportunity to attack. The heiress charged her blade once more and all elegance was lost as she swiped upwards like a batswoman striking a ball, the ball, of course, being Sapphire, the blade striking his spine and sending the Blue Knight cartwheeling into the sky directly above her.
Was she going to allow him to plummet back to Remnant and impale him on the way down? It was tempting, but she needed to ensure his godlike invulnerability was destroyed before she delivered her final strike.
Weiss twirled on the spot, waving Myrtenaster over her head to rotate the chamber and fire turquois snowflakes at the helpless Blue Knight. Her movements appeared elegant, but the snowflakes brutally struck his wrists, ankles and neck simultaneously, creating five bindings which suspended him in the sky. Weiss then focused for a moment, holding Myrtenaster in both hands to summon the clock face glyph, bestowing upon her incredible strength and speed once more.
She was using a lot of Aura, but Weiss didn't care by this point. All the heiress cared about was ending Sapphire and his reign of aguish, therefore, without any thought for her own personal safety, Weiss summoned a multitude of blue, solid glyphs around the suspended Blue Knight and leapt skyward to perform, as she had done against the 'chainsword' wielding thug, a series of ruthless attacks.
Weiss jumped from one glyph to another, her entire form looking like a white flash of light as she dealt countless hits to Sapphire's entire body. Her sword sliced across his torso, back and every other inch she could find in order to chip away at his Aura reserves before her newfound speed wore off. Sadly this occurred a few seconds later, forcing Weiss to leap from a glyph to his left to a glyph to his right at normal speed, jumping over him to land another devastating, charged hit between his shoulders.
Sapphire wailed in pain and his bindings were shattered, causing him to plummet and crash into the masonry with a Remnant-shaking impact.
Knowing he was truly vulnerable, Weiss leapt from her current glyph to another she summoned directly overhead, its surface pointing towards Sapphire. She was –for the lack of a term – upside-down, but on a mere whim the blue glyph changed, turning black and allowing Weiss to defy the laws of gravity as she ensured her shot wouldn't miss.
It was funny how the last time she used this glyph for such a purpose it was to kill a Grimm, but Sapphire was something else … something she didn't understand …
Something she feared.
Satisfied with her positioning, Weiss commanded the glyph to fire. She was propelled, turned into a Weiss-shaped missile with Myrtenaster acting as the warhead, however; her streamlined posture changed as she span in the air, raising her sword over her head in the style of a bloodthirsty warrior preparing to execute their opponent.
She was planning to decapitate the Blue Knight to ensure his death, but as her feet made contact with the stone floor and she brought down her sword, Sapphire pushed himself off the ground and landed, rather elegantly, a few feet away.
Myrtenaster struck the stonework where his neck should have been, but the fight wasn't over yet! Knowing she could still defeat him, Weiss pirouetted as she stood, slashing the air to unleash a wall of fire from her sword.
Seeing the flames rushing towards him, Sapphire raised Jekla – which he had successfully held on to throughout the duration of Weiss' assault – and successfully blocked the attack, but the fire exploded on impact and pushed Sapphire away from the heiress, the base of his boots skidding across the stone.
After a moment passed and the intense heat subsided, Sapphire lowered Jekla to gaze upon Weiss Schnee with triumph, but what happened next indeed frightened him.
Infuriated, Weiss twirled on the spot, her rapier sweeping behind her as she gave the elegant performance. She stopped a moment later and brought the tip of her sword down, stabbing the ground between her feet to summon pillars of ice … pillars which quickly approached Sapphire and encased his entire form, except head and hands, in ice.
He was ensnared, only able to grunt in discomfort as he struggled in her entrapment. It was quite ironic really after imprisoning Krev within a dome, but this was not a time to mule over irony, this was a time to strike! Weiss locked the chamber of her rapier onto a rarely used type of dust, a setting which caused an angelic light and symbols to travel up the surface of her blade.
This was it, her final attack! It had been her final strike against the armour in White Castle and now it would destroy Sapphire!
Wishing to end the battle quickly, Weiss cast a white glyph beneath her feet which allowed her to dash forward. She was like an enraged spectre, a mask of fury distorting her features.
Seeing her approaching, Sapphire looked within himself and used the fury which had burned inside of him for generations to emit not only a bellow of rage, but a small shockwave of threads from his body which destroyed his cage and granted him the opportunity to swipe Jekla for a counterattack –
Their swords collided, Weiss passing Sapphire as he remained rooted to the spot, the moment gone in a flash. They waited, the heiress and the Blue Knight standing several feet away from each other, back-to-back, neither moving. It was a warrior showdown; both parties waiting for the other to collapse from a fatal wound, but time seemed to become irrelevant as neither fell and instead wore smirks of confidence.
Sapphire's smirk, however, came from a place of arrogance whilst she, the heiress, had a reason to be confident…
The Blue Knight continued to smirk as he turned on the spot to face Weiss, but his happiness was quickly replaced by a frown upon hearing a fizzle. Knowing the source to be Jekla, he looked down and was surprised to see hairline, white cracks appearing across its surface. He thought, for a fleeting moment, that she had merely damaged his blade, but then the cracks began to spread, consuming Jekla and travelling towards the hilt.
Fearing the cracks could spread to his hand like a decease he released Jekla from his grasp, watching in horror as it disintegrated into snowflakes upon striking the ground.
"You bi–!" he yelled, turning his scathing eyes to his opponent as his insult was interrupted.
Weiss had cast her divine glyph once more and was upon him, yet she did not attack him immediately. Instead the heiress summoned blue glyphs which surrounded Sapphire for a second time, her latest batch forming a dome. She swiftly dashed between the glyphs for several seconds, landing countless strikes on every inch of Sapphire's flailing body.
Victory was within her grasp, so Weiss stopped in front of him and performed the perfect backflip, her feet connecting with a glyph level with his head. Time was passing slowly for Weiss, granting her the capability to watch, not just feel, as she launched herself off the glyph and swung Myrtenaster in a brutal arc and emitted a scream of rage. She was aiming, as she always had, to decapitate the Blue Knight, but as she sliced the air Sapphire raised both of his hands and caught her, one hand (protected by a layer of threads) gripping her blade as the other wrapped around her throat.
Time returned to normal for the heiress, her body feeling weak from the excessive use of her Semblance. It angered Weiss, because she knew no matter how hard she fought against him, she would never defeat Sapphire. In fact, she was now within his grip and defenceless, so there was no more battle and only … and only death.
Sapphire gave his captive a devilish smile and slammed her onto the ground, his hands firmly remaining around her neck and sword as he enjoyed her cry of pain. Leaning over Weiss, glaring into her eyes, Sapphire wrenched Myrtenaster from her grip and threw it to one side, leaving her with absolutely no hope of escape.
"You should really work on that style of yours," he growled, enjoying the panic in her wide eyes as she clawed at his wrist. "A valiant effort my little snowflake, but you have failed to stop me and will die knowing, when I am done with you, I will take great pleasure from taring her apart."
Sapphire released her throat only to ball the same hand into a fist and knock her out. His quarrel was never with Team RWBY, but he was going to enjoy killing them for their interference, therefore, as he raised and charged his fist with blue threads to make his next punch one that would destroy the heiress' head, he wore a gleeful smile. But before he could bring down his fist, he was shot in the back of the skull by a high calibre sniper round, causing his head to jolt forward.
Angered by the interruption he ignored Weiss and began to slowly rise to his feet. Sapphire planned greeting his attacker before defeating them, but something didn't seem right about the shot, for it seemed too … pointless. Ruby, the obvious culprit for the sniper shot, knew he could withstand such an attack … so what was the point?
Mulling over the options he realised her plan, quickening his movements and turning just in time to catch Ruby's scythe with thread coated hands. He held the top of the weapon in his grasp, the blades pushing into his right hand. It was a grudge match; Ruby putting all her strength into driving the scythe through his face whilst he struggled to keep it back.
"You possess an incredible amount of strength little girl," he uttered, staring at the razor sharp tips which hovered only millimetres from his left eye.
He pushed on the head of the scythe, forcing it back long enough for him to free his right hand, ball it into a tight fist and throw a reversed punch.
The back of his fist connected with the side of Ruby's head, causing her to let go of her scythe and turn on the spot and let out a yelp of pain from the small amount of force he put behind the attack. When she was completely facing the other direction, Sapphire reached out and curled his free hand around the fabric of her hood. He pulled, twisting at the same time and throwing Ruby like she was nothing.
After spiralling through the air her small frame connected and bounced along the stonework. She was defeated, but Sapphire wanted to ensure her utter destruction before returning to ending Weiss. Therefore, the Blue Knight spun the scythe within his grasp, repositioning the weapon before throwing it like a javelin.
In the distance Ruby stumbled to her feet, holding the sides of her throbbing head, but she had to continue … she had to ensure he didn't harm Weiss, that he … that he – Ruby's eyes widened in shock as she witnessed Crescent Rose coming towards her, her reflexes proving to be impaired by her injuries, for the barrel of the weapon collided with her face, knocking her out on impact.
Sapphire gave a broad, hateful smile as he watched the hooded girl collapse, wondering if it was time to end Ruby or finish his business with Weiss. But when he realised how much Ruby's death would affect Krev, he came to a decision and sprinted in the direction of the young leader. However, after a few strides, he halted, knowing that another member of the first year team was about to attack.
He turned and summoned a barrier comprised of threads, blocking a strike from Blake.
"Hello kitten," Sapphire breathed, goading her.
Blake was instantly enraged by his remark and unleashed a flurry of swipes, but no matter how many different angles she tried or how many clones she conjured to confuse Sapphire, she was never able to penetrate his defensive strategy. For what felt like minutes the pair sparred, Blake acting as the aggressor as Sapphire effortlessly blocked her assault with barriers.
Their battle ended with Sapphire as the victor, the Blue Knight having seen her style countless times before and using his knowledge to predict her next attack. Confident he knew how she was about to strike, Sapphire coated both his hands with threads and intercepted Gambol Shroud, catching the blades.
Blake was astonished by his action and he used it to his advantage. Sapphire thrusted his head forward with incredible force, his forehead smashing into her face and breaking her nose with a loud crack. Blake cried out in pain and instinctively loosened her grip on Gambol Shroud's pieces, allowing Sapphire to wrench them from her grasp, grab her by the neck and lift Blake off her feet in one swift movement.
He glared at Blake, finding pleasure in her desperate attempt to free herself from his grasp and the blood which poured from her deformed nose.
"R-W-B … B! Oh, look, I got the third member again! Lucky me!" he shouted gleefully. "Now, let's see what terrible little secrets you have in that pretty head of yours."
Sapphire surrounded his free hand in a light coating of threads and grabbed the top of her cranium, granting him an exciting opportunity to delve into Blake's innermost thoughts and darkest secrets as she screamed and convulsed in agony.
"Oh Blake," he breathed, sounding almost disappointed. "No wonder you're such a depressive. You have done such terrible things, atrocities I suspect not even Yang would forgive you for." Sapphire increased the pressure of his grip, making her scream louder. "How can you even live with yourself knowing you fought for the wrong cause, knowing no-one will ever love the real you?" he paused, taking pleasure from her pain. "But don't worry, you won't have to deal with this burden any longer."
Sapphire increased the pressure of his grip once more, aiming to repeat history and execute Blake – the Faunus whom committed many sins – the exact same way he had killed Valery. However, as he felt her cranium begin to give way to his strength, he was interrupted by Yang.
"NO!" screamed the blonde, her shriek taring his focus away from Blake and forcing the Blood Angel to awaken from his dreamless sleep.
Krev rolled onto his front with a groan, resting his palms on the hard floor. He pushed, using the leverage to lift his aching body and sit up. Despite the regeneration of his Guardian and the considerable amount of healing his entire body, even his clothes, felt like lead weights, so he was still incapable of helping RWBY immediately and was forced to witness what transpired.
Sapphire threw Blake to the ground as he had done with Krev, turning on the spot to fight his next opponent, but Yang attacked with such ferocity he was unable to block a single hit.
Yang had taken him off guard, leaving him defenceless as she landed strikes which carried incredible power, her strength having been increased ten-fold by his direct punch.
He was failing on the spot and this time he could feel the agony of every strike, but even through his pain and the swiftness of her assault, Sapphire was still able to see the fury which burned in her eyes, the hatred which did not equal her previous display of fury, but far surpassed it.
As Yang attacked the Blue Knight her teammates regained consciousness, their collective attention honing in on Sapphire and the fact he was vulnerable, therefore; without even the need to call out the names of any formations or strategies, the three remaining team members knew what needed to be done, using this knowledge to force themselves into ignoring their injuries and continuing the battle.
Ruby, Weiss and Blake grabbed their weapons off the ground and charged forward, joining Yang in her assault a few seconds later. Ruby and Blake attacked Sapphire from opposing sides as Weiss hacked away from behind, all four girls entering a coordinated onslaught.
Vicious punches and limb severing strikes landed across the entirety of Sapphire's dwindling Guardian, their assault impressing the Blood Angel and making him believe, for the first time that night, they could actually defeat his enemy, however; as victory seemed close, Sapphire pulled a miracle out of thin air.
"ENOUGH!" Sapphire cried, spreading out his arms.
A massive shockwave of threads burst forth from his body and struck the four girls, instantly lifting them – including Yang – off their feet and sending them spiralling away in four different directions. Krev had seen, no, he had experienced this counterattack before and knew history was repeating itself, knew Team RWBY wouldn't succeed on four separate fronts against Sapphire.
Before the Blood Angel could even force his weak form to react, Sapphire splayed one of his hands and fired four streams of threads from the fingertips. The streams tore through the air, chasing after and encasing the four members of Team RWBY in cocoons of blue threads. The girls were instantly suspended in mid-air, but Sapphire wasted no time in thrusting the same, splayed hand in the direction opposite to Krev.
It was unclear if Sapphire already knew the Blood Angel had awoken, but his actions, his choice of placement, gave Krev the perfect angle to watch as his saviours hurtled through the air and collided with the other end of her dome. Their backs smashed against the mystic barrier, causing all four girls – who were ironically lined up in team order – to emit cries of pain. Unsurprisingly the Blue Knight never relented and kept his hand raised in their direction, keeping them pinned against the dome's interior.
"This is what you get for interfering!" he yelled before slowly closing his hand, creating a fist which commanded his threads to crush those within his grasp.
Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang's brief cries of pain were nothing in comparison to the screams which escaped their lips; blood-curdling shrieks which horrified Krev and prompted him to act.
He needed to act quickly, but due to the extent of his earlier blast he knew Crimson Force had runout of sufficient power to unleash another and he didn't have the time to reload his weapon, so there was only one option remaining…
The Blood Angel took hold of Crimson Force as he rose to his feet, conjuring a new set of crystal wings.
"RELEASE THEM!" Krev ordered, his face twisted into a snarl.
Krev flapped his wings and rushed towards Sapphire, his feet not even touching the ground as he closed the gap between them.
He was upon the Blue Knight in a blink of an eye, his natural ability to fight with swords and bladed wings taking over as he unleashed a flurry of strikes, but Sapphire's abilities had been advancing over the last few hours, evolving in fact, allowing him to perform impossible feats in a world of magic. Sapphire had, however, always possessed the capability to sense the Children of Fate when they were close by, therefore, he did not require any of his newfound power to know the Blood Angel was inbound.
Sapphire turned as Krev brought down his first strike, intercepting it with a barrier he created with the mere flick of the wrist. For a moment, as they entered into a battle where swords and crystals were blocked by threads, Krev thought he'd broken the Blue Knight's concentration, for Sapphire was rapidly moving both hands to parry his attacks with circular barriers, but RWBY was still being crushed by an intensifying force.
The urgency of the situation prompted Krev to increase the speed of his strikes, using what little strength he possessed to break Sapphire's unwavering concentration. This status quo only lasted a moment longer, for the Blue Knight quickly rotated on the spot and brought down the back of a fist like a hammer, forcing Krev off his feet and his face smashing onto the ground. Sapphire then kicked Krev in the face, the tip of his boot connecting with the Blood Angel's forehead.
Krev was lifted off the ground and into the air, releasing a pain-filled breath, expecting to feel his ankle being grabbed, pulled and his face punched any moment, but Sapphire didn't complete Ashley's technique and added his own twist, balling his left hand into a fist before throwing a punch which connected with Krev's sternum.
Due to the sheer power behind the attack Krev was unable to sustain his grip on Crimson Force, letting go of the two blades as he spiralled through the air and subsequently ricocheted across the ground with such force that his crystal wings shattered.
The Blood Angel came to a sudden stop over thirty feet away from Sapphire. He was badly bruised and was in a lot of pain, but he couldn't allow his enemy to kill his allies … he couldn't let Sapphire kill Yang.
Through pure determination alone Krev quickly got back to his feet, fully intending to fight Sapphire with his bare hands.
"Please," Sapphire growled under his breath, rolling his eyes at the sight of Krev's determination to – from his point of view – die horribly for a quartet of people he barely even knew.
The Blue Knight gave a dismissive wave of the hand, shooting a cluster of threads at Krev from his fingertips. The threads closed the gap in milliseconds and wrapped around the Blood Angel's form, leaving only his head exposed.
"Now stay there!" Sapphire barked. He really didn't enjoy the idea of holding Krev captive, but what choice did he have? Besides, he was going to enjoy making the Child of Fate watch.
Sapphire turned his full attention back to the four girls, lifting a hand as he looked at their pain stricken faces, increasing the pressure and their pain, making them cry out even louder.
"Are they the reason you defied me, Krev?" the madman shouted. "Were you merely trying to impress them? Does your defiance stem from a need to act all 'heroic' for this little team of WHORES!"
"Please, I'm begging you," Krev yelled in desperation, "please stop this!"
"You could have stopped this long before it even began!" Sapphire replied, increasing the pressure of his threads. "You could have joined me!"
"Please, I'm begging … stop hurting them!"
"Who knows?" the madman uttered, shrugging, ignoring Krev. "Perhaps when they're dead, maybe then you'll join me."
Sapphire increased the pressure one final time, slowly closing his hand to make a tight fist to escalate RWBY's suffering.
"NO!" Krev screamed, his fury unlocking, for just a moment, an aspect of his true power.
The blue energy coating his body turned into blood-red crystals, allowing Krev, in his passion, to shatter the crystals by spreading out his arms and break free. Krev staggered forward and remained perfectly still, astonished by what occurred only a heartbeat ago.
He was a Child of Fate, therefore, he just defied the laws of nature and reached into Sapphire, interacting and manipulating his Aura for merely an instance to convert his threads – an extension of his soul – into crystals.
Sapphire was also surprised by the latest development, for not even he was capable of truly manipulating the Aura within or around another. Sure he could reach inside a person's mind through their soul, but the complete manipulation of Aura, of the soul … the very reason why the Children of Fate existed, would take years to unlock as an ability, let alone successfully use it the first time….
Krev Melek was indeed like his parents. He was brilliant, powerful and possessed a natural ability to destroy a person's view of the world, but most of all he possessed the capability to exceed expectations and to make others wonder … for Krev just tapped into the power shared by all of the Children, Mastery of the Soul, an ability he should not have been able to utilise without training.
Due to his amazement, Sapphire's concentration wavered for a fraction of a second. Not much time to perform an overly complex manoeuvre, but for Yang … this was all the time she needed.
The blonde had been aware of everything which had transpired beyond her cocoon, an awareness gifted to Yang by her Semblance, because the entire time Sapphire had been applying a great deal of force upon her and the rest of Team RWBY, he had been causing Yang pain and, subsequently, feeding her Semblance, bestowing not only strength, but an ability to resist the pressure that had overwhelmed her teammates.
Yang now possessed the might of a god and yearned to use it against Sapphire, but his threads had been unyielding. They were weaker now, she could feel it, but they were still nearly indestructible, so she thought back to all the atrocities Sapphire had caused, all the lives he had taken and still wished to destroy: NOVA … Krev … Weiss … Blake … her sister!
With her soul fuelled by anger, Yang emitted a bellow of rage which shamed the most frightening of Grimm and broke free. Her actions caught Sapphire's attention, but this didn't matter anymore. Sapphire was in a state of shock; astonishment caused by Krev's display of power and intensified by Yang, for he could not even begin to comprehend how she also freed herself from his grasp, meaning he was quickly consumed by a bewilderment which hindered his ability to react.
The instant her feet touched the ground Yang rushed forward, using her strength to launch herself at Sapphire. Yang dragged a fist behind her until she was upon him and threw it with all her strength, a fist which connected with the side of his head.
Yang felt the energy of her strike transfer through her fist to his face. She also felt her knuckles obliterating not only his Guardian, but a large amount of his features in the process before sending him spiralling towards Krev.
The Blood Angel was forced from his catatonic state upon seeing Yang's powerful, face destroying punch. He was elated, but at the same time enraged, for this was the moment. It was the opportunityhe had been waiting for, but he didn't currently possess Crimson Force and couldn't retrieve it, so what was he going to use to finally end Sapphire's life?! He needed a sword, and because a small part of him already knew he could do it, Krev put his hands together and focused.
A curved longsword comprised entirely of blood-red crystals formed between his hands, its presence prompting Krev to swipe horizontally as Sapphire's limp form passed him.
Time slowed down for the Blood Angel, allowing him to observe every grotesque detail.
Out of the corner of his eye he watched as the blade of his crystal sword penetrated Sapphire's armour and sliced through his waist, easily cutting the Blue Knight in half. Krev turned to see the damage and watched as the top piece of Sapphire's corpse – his torso, arms and head – and the bottom half of Sapphire's corpse – hips, thighs, legs and every other sensitive area – separated and ricocheted across the stonework, leaving nasty residue in their wake.
Sapphire was finally dead and the dome was fading, meaning they had won, but all Krev could do was stare at the sword in his hands as it dissipated.
I haven't truly won.
Krev had used the power Sapphire and his brethren had cursed the Children of Fate, cursed him, with, power the madman had tried to use as a temptation for joining his cause. Krev hadn't given in during the opening stages of their conflict and swore to himself as their conflict continued, even as RWBY battled Sapphire, that he would never tap into his unnatural gifts beyond his Semblance and yield to Sapphire's desire for him to feel the true capability of a Child of Fate. Yet, here he was, staring at his palm, having just used his powers twice.
The first time was out of his control, but the second time was avoidable – he hadn't needed to summon a crystal object out of thin air without using a weapon as his 'catalyst', but he chose to.
Krev liked to think he would learn from the experience and renounce his abilities, never tapping into them ever again, but life didn't work like that. Also, if he was to fight the cult and win…
Nothing was guaranteed.
The Blood Angel's train of thought had come to a natural conclusion, but it still felt as if someone had punched him in the stomach and wrenched him from his thoughts when he heard it … when he heard coughing and wheezy breathes coming from the top part of Sapphire's corpse. It had shocked him, but the sensation quickly faded and was replaced by silent fury.
With the dome gone, the crowd Yang had gathered stayed back and watched in confusion and awe as Krev walked up to the severed body and gazed into its eyes with scathing contempt. The image was methodical, for the moonlight shined off Krev's hair and jacket, both of which were flowing from light wisps of cool air.
"I need details, Sapphire," Krev said coldly. "I want the name of your group, the names of its members and the names of the other Children."
Blood oozed from Sapphire's mouth and ran down the sides of his broken face, the emptiness in his eyes conveying that death would take him soon.
"I know you wish to destroy us," Sapphire replied, holding Krev's stern glare, "but telling you names, locations … it would be pointless. You see, we may have separated almost two decades ago, but our numbers have continued to grow, our cause has spread and plans we formed long ago, even before the spell, have been put in motion … you would never find them all."
"You seem to doubt my zeal, Sapphire," Krev retorted with a smile, "which surprises me, because you know how determined my parents were … you know how determined I am, so take heed in what I'm about to say: Even if it takes the rest of my life, I will hunt down every member of your goddamn cult and gut them as you watch from Hell."
Krev was done with their conversation and turned to depart. He approached Yang, who had been standing in the exact same spot where she had attacked Sapphire and began the manoeuvre which ended the battle. As he got closer, he saw how wide her eyes had become. She was stunned, so was everyone else who was observing, but he didn't care about their opinions, only Yang's and the opinions of her teammates.
Thinking of the others, his surviving team members included, Krev was about to ask Yang to ensure they were okay as they heard it, the words which made him stop dead in his tracks only a foot away from Yang…
"The rest of your life you say?!" Sapphire yelled, wheezing between sentences. "Then I'll be seeing you soon!"
Krev knew exactly what he was implying; Sapphire was mocking him, which wasn't unusual, but he was saying that if Krev followed any sort of quest to destroy the others, then he would fail and join him in death.
Containing his wrath, the Blood Angel bent down and grasped the hilts of his swords, lifting the two halves of his weapon from the ground as he straightened his back and looked Yang directly in the eye, giving her a stern expression.
"Go check on your sister," he breathed.
Yang wasn't sure what Krev had planned, but she knew it wasn't going to be pleasant. Therefore, Yang followed his advice and ran over to Ruby, dropping to her knees and hugging her awakening sister the instance she was within range.
Krev watched as Yang fussed over Ruby, checking her over for any major injuries. Ruby insisted she was fine and broke free of her older sister's embrace, apologising as she crawled over to Weiss and explained that her partner took a worse beating. Yang looked cute as she thought over this for a moment before agreeing, deciding to do the same. She hurried over to Blake and knelt down next to her, taking the Faunus within her arms. Yang then helped her partner to sit up and made sure she – Blake – tilted her head forward to prevent any blood from her broken nose going upward, but Blake insisted the blood had dried out and her nose was healing.
It was sweet to see the two girls interacting in such a friendly manner after the battle, Yang suggesting that she took Blake to the infirmary soon to ensure the Faunus' nose could be set properly, because she didn't want her friend's 'cute nose' ruined. This made Blake giggle, a glint of happiness shining in her eyes as she defied the blonde's orders and looked up to meet Yang's. They just sat there like that for a moment, gazing into each other's souls as Yang affectionately stroked her partner's onyx hair.
Within that instance it struck him like a train, a realisation that turned Krev's genuine smile into a grimace … a revelation he would need to share with Yang later.
There was still one last thing he needed to do before the night was over.
Krev turned on his heel and began to march towards Sapphire. As he approached his dying enemy, the Blood Angel collapsed the blades of Crimson Force and brought the hilts together, causing the pieces to change, interlock and crawl up his left arm. He then loaded the Dust cartridge from his back pocket into Crimson Force's cannon form, restoring it to full power.
Krev halted and stood over Sapphire, his feet merely an inch away from the … 'residue' which leaked from the Blue Knight. He then raised his arm, pointing the end of Crimson Force's barrel at the middle of Sapphire's torso.
"You may kill me," his adversary growled. "But like a father I am a part of all my offspring … including you."
Without responding Krev punched the air with the cannon, unleashing an energy beam which engulfed what remained of Sapphire and forced a blood-curdling scream from his lips as he was atomised. After several seconds the Blood Angel stopped and lowered his weapon, allowing him to see that Sapphire no longer existed, that his body had been replaced with a deep, dark crater.
Krev, regrettably, did not feel a sense of relief. Instead he became acutely aware of the people staring at him and looked up, his eyes landing upon several alarmed pupils standing only ten feet away. He then looked left and right, quickly scanning the stunned, scared and/or confused faces which comprised the rest of the crowd before turning to meet the gaze of those whose expressions mattered to him.
Unfortunately the four now-standing girls all wore the same shocked expression, a look which did not only convey confusion, but fear as well.
Even Yang wore this expression.
Krev looked down in sadness and exhaled, realising that he hadn't just killed another … he had just killed another on school grounds. He also realised that – if they hadn't before – they would all certainly fear him now.
A/N: Sapphire has been defeated, but it's not the end of the story just yet.
Chapter 12, the final instalment of this story, will be up shortly, so in the meantime please remember to favourite, follow and review this story.
Take care,
ChildOfFate16
