First off, today is the official one year anniversary of this story being up on this site, and I am absolutely blown away by the amount of support and reviews given to me by all of you! I purposely waited until today to upload this chapter, so I apologize for making you all wait so long.
I am disappointed though as I had a new cover image ready to replace the old one, but when I uploaded it to the Image manager it made the front gradient of the image white instead of the black that I had it set to. So it basically ruined the entire picture as it white out the Beacon I had put into the humanity sprite, AND left a weird white gradient around the central image.
If I can get it to look decent with the site's editing tool, then I may upload it as well, but it probably won't happen. Alright, enough of that. Let's celebrate this accomplishment together with by getting onto the story!
Children of Dark
A few days had passed since Tyrell's 'salvation' had been delivered at the hands of Abell and now the Vytal Festival was in full swing.
Concession stands, small shopping huts, and many other festival related activities had been set up all across Beacon's grounds. Only a few fights had already passed in the last two days, but none were the ones Cinder needed to keep track of at the moment.
Their fight had already been scheduled for later this afternoon, but she moved that to the back of her mind for now, as she called together a meeting.
"Once more." Cinder ordered before falling silent while both Mercury and Emerald relayed their contingency plan if (when) the breach failed.
Clearing her throat Emerald was the first to speak, "Mercury and I are to make our way to the doubles battles and fight against whomever is sent from team CFVY in that round."
"Once we win that fight, I'll move onto the singles round and throw the fight with a fake leg injury. Em here will place a 'bubble' around me and my opponent to make it look like they attacked me on purpose." Mercury picked up where Emerald had gone silent before handing the spotlight over to his partner.
'That sure as hell will be fun.' Emerald thought bitterly before she noticed the burning gaze set upon her by Cinder. The woman waited patiently for Emerald to continue as the thief quickly resumed.
"O-once Mercury's opponent is disqualified and taken out of the tournament, I'll escort him to the waiting emergency transport bullhead piloted by both you and Neo. Ma'am."
Nodding her head in approval, Cinder silenced them both as she finished the rest for them.
"Once poor Mercury is back on his feet, he'll sneak back into Amity and secure the broadcast lines after Mistral's dear champion and Ironwood's pet fight it out." A devious grin graced her lips as she could only wish how she would be able to see the look on Nikos' face when she destroys the android girl.
Along with Nikos' natural skills and her own intervention with how each match's participants would be decided, it was almost a guarantee that the champion would face Ironwood's machine in the finals.
"Once the machine is disposed of I will light the match that will ignite the flames of chaos and panic. While Mercury broadcasts my speech throughout Amity, Neo will have had Roman out by then and they'll have taken over one of Atlas's airships. With the airspace secure, I will send the signal for my tin soldiers to begin their attack."
Setting her gaze on Emerald, Cinder continued, "Once Mercury is finished taking footage of the Atlesian Knights attacking Vale, you will have to have the dust charges planted and activated once that video is sent."
Emerald only gave a curt nod before Cinder spoke more to herself than her two underlings.
"Between the Grimm, Abell's forces, and the White Fang Vale will suffocate and die out as all three snuff out this kingdom's light." It had angered her so when she had seen that Roman had activated the Breach too early since he couldn't fight against children.
They had been so close to Vale's downfall that day, but to Roman's inability to take care of simple bugs, Vale was allowed to see another sunrise.
That feeling of having your victory just within your grasp was beginning to make its way into her being as she thought more into it. Months of planning and securing both the necessary dust and aid of the Fang all gone down the drain in an instant.
Cinder smiled then.
It might have set their plans back by a month or so, but it had also given them more time to gather more strength for when they struck again.
"Ma'am?" Cinder's smile dimmed a bit as she focused her attention back onto Emerald.
"Hmm?"
The girl seemed somewhat nervous about something that Cinder couldn't place as crimson eyes avoided her stare.
Deciding to get right to the point Emerald voiced her opinion concerning their newfound ally. Clearing her throat once more Emerald began, "About Abell…" Her next words seemed to have caught in her throat as Cinder's eyes flashed warningly in her direction.
After a brief moment of composing herself Emerald said, "We don't trust him."
"'We'?" Mercury seemed taken slightly aback but went ignored by both of them. The flames grew more intense within Cinder's eyes as she needed more than that they just didn't trust Abell.
"And why is that, Emerald?"
"Well considering that he just straight out killed one of his own men in cold blood, that doesn't exactly make me warm up to him." Cinder's silence told Emerald to continue as the thief did just that, "I mean I get that we're all killers here, but one of your own with no reason? That brings his loyalty into question if you ask me."
"No one has." Emerald winced a little at how blunt Cinder was as their leader turned to face Mercury. "Perhaps you share these same feelings as Emerald proclaims Mercury?"
The silver haired boy shook his head without hesitation before saying, "Doesn't really concern me either way. I mean it's not like Em and I haven't taken out a few 'questionable' grunts in the White Fang before. Didn't we Em?" Putting her on the spot didn't faze her like he had wanted it too as Emerald sent a sideways glare over towards him.
"Of course we have."
"Then what's the problem?" Cinder inquired as she lazily shifted herself on her bed while keeping her eyes locked to Emerald's.
"I… I'm just worried that he may turn on us if the plan goes south." This time Cinder's eyes flashed dangerously as she asked, "Do you not have faith Emerald?"
"O-of course ma'am! I could never doubt your skills and strategies." It was well hidden, but Cinder could just make out the fear that lay hidden behind those red orbs.
"Good. Now, while I would be very disappointedif it ever came to that, I have a contingency plan for our dear Lord of Ash." Both Emerald and Mercury remained silent to hear her speak, Cinder smiled inwardly at that before going on.
"Adam and the White Fang have reserved food storages in case they ever needed to go into hiding. I have asked our Faunus friend to not only donate some of those precious reserves to Abell and his alleged kingdom, but to also help secure further resources for him."
"If Abell were to ever go against us, then the supplies would stop and his people would starve." It wasn't as foolproof as she would have liked, but it was the best she could think of for the time being until she found something more solid.
Let it be known that Cinder Fall can and will exploit any weaknesses within both those she faced and those she allied with.
After all it allowed her a semblance of control over her 'allies' after all.
"However, though I hate to admit it, I need Abell's numbers if my plan is to truly succeed in overthrowing Vale."
Need.
The word tasted like ash within her mouth as she, Cinder Fall, would always take what she wanted whether it is through manipulation, sacrifice, or seduction. But never did she need something so much that she was willing to sacrifice the loyalty of the White Fang in exchange for Abell's greater numbers.
If she were being honest she would have favored Abell's side over Adam's any given time. From what she has seen of his armies, they not only match Adam's forces but triple what White Fang troops Adam has under his control.
Although, in terms of technological advancement, Adam is winning in strides as she has yet to see one piece of Dust technology of any kind with or on Abell and his forces. That was what made Adam such a valuable asset, even if she paid Roman to gather the more advanced tech for Adam's grunts.
In the end she needed them both if her plan were to ever bear the fruits of success. Though she would never admit that to anyone of them should it ever come into question.
'And that was only a 'glimpse' of what he held.' Cinder thought with both intrigue and caution. A great army could be both beneficial while also troublesome.
If Emerald's suspicions were accurate indeed, then not only could the Lord expose them all to either Ozpin, or worse, Ironwood, but also hunt them down with his own spies.
That would just become another nuisance to her not to mention how much further back she would be pushed if Abell did decide to turn on them.
Starting to feel a small headache coming on Cinder sighed as she still needed to make an important call before she could enjoy the rest of her day.
"Both of you may leave." She dismissed them without another word.
Mercury and Emerald nodded silently before making their way out of the dorm room. Cinder overheard Mercury mention something about checking out the fairgrounds after team RWBY's fight, but she paid it no mind further.
After she managed to massage the headache away Cinder pulled out her personal Scroll from within her pocket. Scrolling through the list of contacts for only a minute she found the one she had been looking for.
Once it began ringing it only took two for her superior to pick up.
"It's me. I need to talk to you about a possible problem that could affect the plan. No it's nothing to do with the Maiden, but rather a new ally that I have recently recruited."
There was only audio shared between the two Scrolls as her superior didn't wish to be seen just yet. Cinder had only seen her superior once, but that was many, many, years ago.
"Have you heard of the one known as the Ashen Lord?" Silence met her ear for what seemed like an hour before her superior spoke once more.
"Yes. Understood. I will keep a watchful eye on him once the festivities are dealt with, and what is rightfully mine belongs to me." Once that was said the line went dead as her superior had hung up.
Stashing the small device away back into her pocket Cinder smirked to herself as she stood to leave for the coliseum.
Once the contingency went into effect and Vale fell, she would direct her attention back to Abell. Whether he turned on her or not mattered little as all she needed to do then was to seduce the man into eventually taking her as his bride.
Once that was accomplished, the good Lord's men would find nothing of their leader but a pile of ashes and metal.
If the way each of his generals and soldiers addressed him as their 'Lord', then by what she can recall from when kings ruled over Remnant so long ago, than as his bride she would be made Queen.
With no one to turn to but herself, she would take down the remaining three kingdoms with her newfound soldiers marching behind her. But all of this was still just a seed planted into the ground, and would need time to grow into the plant that would bear more fruits of success to her.
It would take time for her to not only gain Abell's trust, but that of his subjects as well. When that time did come and she had a true army behind her, along with her intellect and cunning the three remaining kingdoms stood little chance.
"That's if they haven't torn each other apart by then that is." Cinder's smirk grew into a devilish grin as she walked out of her room and into Beacon's halls.
…
The Vytal Festival was a time to remind the world of the long lasting peace between each kingdom. For decades this sacred event has been shared amongst all of Remnants strong standing kingdoms.
For most it was a time of not only peace, but a time to prove oneself and bring glory to their kingdom; while others just simply enjoyed the competition amongst the multiple schools of each combat school.
Thousands of viewers from all over the world come to the Vytal Festival to witness the battles waged between teams from each Huntsman academy.
For those not interested in the competition there were fairgrounds held along the chosen kingdom's academy. Both the fights and fairgrounds kept a good balance to support the happy atmosphere to keep the citizens in a fair mood.
After all, if every single person within Amity coliseum were to suddenly feel a sudden surge of fear and negative emotions. Well, then every Grimm within twenty miles would be there faster than anyone could even scream.
That was what they were here to help accomplish.
Within a secluded section of the locker rooms provided to competitors sat four individuals.
They hailed from Sunset Academy located within a far off city within the deserts of Vacuo.
The first one was of average height; a little thin but wore thick, bronze metal armor around his arms, legs, and torso. A faded blue tunic wrapped itself around his common frame while two fairly large shoulder guards shown from beneath the tunic.
Sitting across his lap was a massive halberd that stood taller than he by a head. The inward ax-head was menacing while a tipped spear headed off the weapon at the top. The weapon was, despite its weight, struck almost as fast as lightning.
A brass helm obscured his face as the visor was down. His name was Linder.
The second was also of average height, but unlike the first he was a tad thicker in girth. He wore a knight's armor and, although terribly worn like his brown cloak, the black armor beneath was light and offered good defense.
Within its sheath lay a standard longsword with no special properties while a medium metal shield rested on his back. The only noticeable thing about the shield was the silver tower that symbolized what it meant to be a knight once.
His black helm obscured his face as the visor lay shut. He was simply known as B.
The third was almost average height, but fell short by only half a foot when compared to the first two. He wore light leather armor that had been dyed black ages ago. Metal plates clung to his left arm while two metal shin guards clasped around his legs.
He only carried two daggers with him, but they were special. Clutched in his right was a gold tracer while grasped in his left was a dark silver one. The gold would blind his enemies while the jagged edge of the dark silver would spill their blood upon the ground.
His metal mask of a sealer obscured his face as it wrapped around it tightly. His name was Tyrion.
The fourth and final was above average height as he stood a head taller than the three assigned to him. His armor made him nearly impenetrable at the cost of his mobility. Thick stone armor and chains would have brought any other man to his knees from just the sheer weight of it, but he was not like any other man.
His immense strength allowed him to carry not only his armor, but both his stone shield and tooth. Given to him as a gift, he carried a relic from the age of Ancients as his grip tightened around the black "handle" of the dragon tooth.
The dark depths of his stone helmet allowed none to see the glowing white eyes that lay beneath it.
He was the Warhol.
"Now calling team Wartable to the arena!" A voice that they had once recognized bellowed over the intercom as all four of them rose simultaneously at the call.
The first three fell into single file behind the fourth, the one embedded in stone as the light of the arena grew brighter.
The stone clad one had to cover his eyes as the suns' light shone on them for the first time in months.
"WELCOME TO THE VYTAL FESTIVAL!" Peter Port bellowed into his microphone as his voice echoed throughout the entirety of Amity. After spending an agonizingly boring week in the hospital, through sheer will the Beacon history professor was back on his feet just in time for the festival.
It didn't show up on camera, but a sturdy cane rested itself to the side of the announcer's desk. It was required after that mission where the portly professor still blamed himself for the deaths of the students he was assigned.
He made sure to notify and write a personal letter of apology to each of team CRDL's parents once he had been cleared from the hospital. But Peter Port made it his solemn vow to personally go and apologize to each members' family once the festival ended.
Along with that vow was a promise.
Peter's grip tightened around his microphone as he recalled the Grimm that had turned that mission into such a tragedy.
Pure white fur, strange red-tipped quills producing from its body and black, bottomless pits for eyes. The only real relation it held to any known Grimm was that it resembled a Beowolf, but even then it would be an outcast amongst its kin with the strange antlers that produced from the abomination's skull.
It was unlike anything the aged huntsman had ever encountered in his lifetime or Huntsman career. It would stay burned into his memory until the day he told his last tale.
"-re you okay? Peter." It was Bart whom carried a look of concern for his friend as Peter had lost himself in his thoughts… again.
"I-I'm alright! Forgive me, I was absorbed in thought." With a nod of conformation from Bart, Peter turned his attention back to the two new teams that had gathered within the arena.
Clearing his throat before beginning Peter announced the first team.
"We have a good fight for you all today! On the right hand side of the arena we have team SLVR {Silver}! These three lovely ladies and gentlemen hail from Vacuo and have come here to show their might to you all today folks!"
"That's right Peter, and from what I've heard of this team they pack quite a punch." Bart added in as Peter nodded in agreement. "And what about our other team?"
"These four gentlemen hail all the way from Sunset Academy all the way towards the edge of Vacuo's monstrous desert. Frankly I've never heard of many other academies in Vacuo save for Shade, but I'm sure even the smallest of schools can dream of winning." A few audible boos could be heard from the crowd as it seemed spectators from the same school were present today.
"But they must have a very exotic taste in fashion Bart, because I'm seeing a large variety amongst this team!" An enthused nod from Oobleck before the history professor took over for Peter, "Yes Peter; Sunset Academy specializes in close quarters combat mainly, but team SLVR holds an advantage over them with young Ms. Lilia's dual hand guns."
"Team WTBL {Wartable} everyone!" Peter shouted into his mic as he was already pumped up to witness the match unfold.
Back down to the arena both teams locked eyes with one another.
Team SLVR consisted of Silver, Lilia, Vergil and Richie. Silver was their team leader, and while she was a fox Faunus she still held both the respect of her teammates and fellow students.
Wearing a light pink kimono with small bright orange flowers, long sleeves made them drape underneath her arms. They never got in the way of her combat as she always made sure to stay light on her feet. Her long, silver hair fell down past her shoulders as she made sure her katana, Fang, was securely fastened to her hip.
Lilia had dark violet hair and wore a much more modern day outfit than her leader.
Blue jean shorts had a small chain run from the corner of one front pocket and across her thigh to the left side back pocket. A grey hoodie with the sleeves rolled up covered a navy blue t-shirt underneath. She wore a small necklace that held a tiny emerald green butterfly against her neck as Lilia used her staff/pistols as a makeshift pole to lean against.
Vergil wore a white trench coat with red sleeves and loose black trousers with one of the legs cut up to his lower thigh. His red hair seemed to express his personality as he was getting himself pumped up while steeled brown eyes locked with his opponent; the one carrying the large halberd. Readying himself, he placed a hand around his girl, a greatsword that if on the ground would stand as tall as he was.
Finally, Richie stood alert and ready but also held a focused nature behind her deep blue eyes. Wearing a sky blue V necked t-shirt that exposed some skin (for her fans) and a white "combat skirt" with a black line running down the right side; Richie smirked at the one covered in both rocks and chains while she cracked her knuckles in anticipation.
All the while team WTBL stood perfectly still as they waited for the announcer to begin the fight. They had all but two objectives: the first being to make it to the singles round, while the second included drawing as much attention away from the Witch and her underlings as they could.
Warhol felt a small vibration at the base of his neck vibrate just then.
A "gift" from the Witch as he felt the cold metal of the small device pinch into his skin while syncing with his pulse. It connected to his body's vital signs and generated an "aura."
Of course that was only for the large screen to show their "auras" deplete whenever they got hit. The hit would still impact his body with its full force and cause damage, but that was what the armor was for after all.
Each of them carried the same device attached to their necks and when he looked up to the large screen he noticed that the name that they used to enter was posted along with a large bar. It ranged from red on the left side, yellow in the middle, and green all the way to the right.
Turning away from the screen team WTBL locked their cold, blank eyes to team SLVR's vibrant ones. The one girl, Lilia, chuckled nervously when she met the dark depths of Warhol's helm before looking away.
Two screens appeared behind either team as various elemental symbols cycled through at a fast pace.
The screen behind WTBL stopped first as it landed on a symbol of a tree.
All four members of team WTBL turned to look at the landscape behind them as it changed from a plain, flat surface to a lush green forest. Multiple trees rose up ranging from a variety of brown, green, and orange leaves while a few rock formations were scattered here and there to provide cover.
A small clearing held the middle of the forest area.
The screen behind team SLVR stopped soon after before revealing a symbol of an erupting volcano.
Soon following the symbol a hellish landscape erupted behind the Vacuo team as charcoal, molten lava and ash covered the entire ground. Fire dust crystals protruded from the ground along with small fires sprouting up to add to the look of the land.
Silver sighed when she saw the arena they got before looking at the rest of her team. Both Vergil and Richie didn't seem bothered by the random choice of arena type that they received while Lilia looked nervous.
Her partner and friend fidgeted slightly as she got off her weapon and held it firmly in her grasp.
Silver looked over to their opponents, but her eyes narrowed on the one carrying a sword and shield. His weapons didn't look like they held any sort of guns or hidden mechanics that would later surprise them, but she knew better than to underestimate an opponent.
Silver sighed once more when Vergil opened his mouth, "So you guys are all from Sunset eh? I've heard that school doesn't even hold a very good Hunter program, and that they charge you extra since their equipment is always falling apart."
If they were insulted by Vergil's comments then they didn't show it as the big one in stone armor looked to the one with both sword and shield. Silver strained to hear the words passed between the two, if only to get an advantage, but it was as if no words were exchanged between the two.
He nodded to him and that was all it took for the hooded one to turn around and walk into to trees behind them. Silver's eyes widened when he seemingly vanished within the foliage.
'Splitting up this early? Foolish.' Silver thought before addressing her team, "Vergil, both you and Richie go for the one with the halberd while I go after the one that wlaked into the forest."
"You're the boss."
"Heh, this'll be easy."
Both were confident, Vergil especially, but that wasn't always a good thing when it came to combat. Silver shook her head to clear her thoughts; now wasn't the time to re-discuss their strategy as she turned to Lilia.
"You got their leader Lil." Her partner looked nervously at her, but Silver just gave her a reassuring smile that seemed to calm the girl as the announcer was about to begin the fight.
"3….!"
Team SLVR lowered themselves into their fighting stances.
"2…!"
The remaining members of team WTBL all gave a small bow to their opponents before they too crouched down slightly in preparation.
"1…!"
Lilia took one last deep breath before the announcer burst everyone's eardrums.
"FIGHT!"
Silver was fast as she dashed right past all three members of WTBL before shooting off into the forest. She climbed up a tree to find a good vantage point as she surveyed the surrounding area.
The sounds of clashing weapons were behind her and began to fade, but they picked up a distinct sound.
"Was that… crackling?" She asked herself quietly before she heard a faint rustling off in the distance. Alert, Silver spotted the flashing of a brown cloak ducking behind a tree before vanishing.
Drawing Fang she made her way through the foliage until she came upon the small clearing in the middle.
There wasn't much lighting in this part of the forest, but thankfully her Faunus enhanced eyesight didn't worry about that as she spotted her prey standing in the middle of the clearing.
He was just standing there looking directly at her within her hiding spot.
"You know that you're leader isn't really clever if he thinks that dividing us up this early will grant him an advantage. Vergil and the rest can handle themselves without me." She was down and standing within the clearing within seconds as she tried getting a feel for this guy.
He didn't respond as he just stood there looking at her. It was beginning to annoy her as she wasted no time and ran forwards with Fang poised to strike.
He dashed away out of reach as she reared her weapon back and tried again to hit him, but he simply back stepped out of range. Backing away she distanced herself before he could attack, but he made no move to as he simply circled around her slowly.
It was her third attempt at striking him did he retaliate.
Once again well out of Fang's reach, he appeared into her guard. It caught her by surprise when he got so close as she didn't react fast enough to… feel him poke the center of her forehead?
Quickly putting distance between them and feeling a little weirded out by her opponent Silver made an attempt to inquire some info out of him.
"What are you playing at?" Silver received no answer as once he made it around her he went back to the middle of the clearing.
Silver sighed again as she asked herself, "Why do I always get the nut jobs?"
…
Outside the forest and on SLVR's front a battle raged on between the three members of each team. Vergil had been separated from Richie when the guy with the halberd shot lightning from his weapon!
Freaking lightning!
Vergil was currently taking on the short one with the dual daggers, and hated to admit it, but he was actually having trouble holding his ground.
His slow attacks (when compared to his opponent's own) left too many openings for the speedy bastard to get in and chip a little of his aura away with each swing.
Vergil knew that if he could land one hit on this guy then it would be over for the pipsqueak.
"Ooohh. It looks like Virgil is starting to heat up." Port joked to both the dismay of the audience and Vergil's growing frustration.
Tyrion rolled out of the way of the greatsword as it came crashing down onto the molten bedrock. Sending small pieces of stone flying as he dashed behind Vergil dragging his gold tracer along his left thigh.
'How much longer?' Tyrion thought to the others as Warhol responded with some frustration in his voice, 'Not until their leader is dealt with- AAAARRRGGGHH!'
Warhol roared in frustration as he smacked his Dragon's tooth down on what he thought was the small girl beneath him, but to his mounting anger she had flanked him.
Vergil mimicked the internal roar with his own out loud as Tyrion jabbed both of his daggers into the back of his opponent. Unfortunalty Vergil's aura protected against any blood loss as he brought his greatsword around overhead.
If Vergil wasn't getting so frustrated over not being able to land a hit, then he would have noticed how his aura was beginning to reach into the yellow.
"You piece of shit just let me hit you!" Vergil shouted as Tyrion rolled to the side once more as the greatsword landed closer this time. Folding his arms in disappointment and shaking his head, Tyrion would have laughed at the pitiful display if he were still capable of something so joyous.
"Nothing more than a child." Tyrion rolled to avoid another thrust from the boy's oversized sword.
This went on for a good duration as Tyrion dodged, parried, and countered as Vergil's anger finally hit its peak. Imbedding his greatsword into the earth with enough force to cause cracks to web all the way to Tyrion's feet, the hunter in training finally had enough.
"The others might have found this arena to put us at a disadvantage, but it works just fine for me." There was an edge in Vergil's voice as the cracks began to glow a deep blue as Tyrion kept a close eye on his footing.
Blue pillars of fire burst forth from beneath the earth, reaching up and into the sky up above. Not able to move fast enough to avoid it, Tyrion's right arm got caught in the inferno.
Vergil was more disappointed than surprised when he didn't hear him scream.
He was in pain all right, but once the flames died down and the smoke cleared only then did Vergil's eyes widen.
The robe covering T's arm was completely burned away and revealed a black, charred arm. It was paper thin and looked to be near the bone as boney like fingers wrapped around the hilt of his gold tracer tightly.
Setting Vergil with a glare that promised pain, Tyrion grasped the gold tracer in both hands and charged forward. Vergil couldn't move, his semblance holding him in place for at least another minute, but by then he would be out of it.
Trying to call to one of his teammates for aid, he soon found out that they were both too preoccupied at the moment with their own opponents.
Lilia would dodge around the big guy with ease, but whenever she tried attacking with her pistols in their pole form her weapon would simply bounce off.
She preferred to use the melee form of her dual pistols, but Vergil knew that against an opponent in that thick of armor then she would never get anywhere.
Richie was in a similar boat, but she was actually landing her strikes on her opponent. Unfortunately he landed more than her and with each hit a course of lightning would go through her.
Silver was nowhere to be seen, but judging how only her aura meter was going down Vergil knew that it wasn't going well for her.
A shadow loomed over him as Tyrion wasted no time in performing a long dance of cuts and slashes with his gold tracer. Multiple cuts bled from Vergil's body as he was physically forced back as his aura dipped down past the red mark.
"And that takes out Virgil. Tyrion showed quite a fantastic display of experience with his weapons there, wouldn't you agree Peter?" Port nodded in agreement as they both continued to watch on.
Tyrion turned and walked calmly into the forest waiting beyond without a second glance back to the child of an opponent.
…
Richie was having the time of her life right now! The electricity flowing through her was getting her pumped as she and Linder traded blows.
Now while her semblance didn't allow her to absorb said electricity like that Valkyrie girl from yesterday's fights, it did do something else for her. Richie placed some distance away from her opponent before activating her semblance.
Throwing a few jabs in front of herself for a warm up, they soon picked up in speed as her fists began glowing a blinding yellow.
"It looks like Ms. Richie is about to activate her semblance thanks to Mr. Linder's lighting attacks!" Oobleck announced as a good majority of the crowd cheered for Vacuo's martial arts champion. "And it looks like she really has the crowd riled up as well."
"I don't know about you Bart, but if I were Mr. Linder right now I would be on my guard." Port warned as he began thinking of a way to take down his opponent within the few spare seconds he had left.
Just as she was about all charged up Richie wasted no time in dashing straight towards Linder as he held up his halberd with both hands in defense.
He was running out of distance and time as the girl would be upon him within no time. Warhol was too preoccupied with trying to smash his opponent into the ground, and Tyrion had left to go and enact one of the rituals.
They were either too preoccupied or far away enough that he couldn't communicate with any of them.
'Guess it's time for my trump card.'
Out of options and with his opponent about to be on top of him, Linder went with his last resort.
Reaching beneath his tunic he pulled out a small metal chime, gifted to him by Grandahl before they had departed for Vale. Brining the chime close to his lips, Linder began citing the once forbidden hymns.
Richie was upon him just as his chime began to illuminate with an unholy light, but he made sure to hide it within the fabric of his armor until it was fully ready. Her punches were as fast as lightning itself.
They assaulted all across Linder's body as the same electricity from his own weapon filtered through the girl and straight back at him. Attempting to block the too fast punches proved futile as the halberd's pole could only catch one punch at a time.
Feeling the impact on the thick metal was followed up with three more along his abdomen.
The small device attached to his neck began to emit a loud ringing sound that deafened his ears as it signaled that his apparent "aura" had reached below zero. Thankfully the girl did not here it as her punches stopped entirely and she smirked at her small victory for her team.
"Mr. Linder's aura has been completely taken out and therefore he is out of the match." Oobleck announced to the dismay of some members of the crowd who had been cheering for WTBL.
"Better luck next time." Richie said before going off to help Lilia out with the big guy.
"Not… just yet… wench…" Linder was breathing heavily as he knew that both his armor and body had been badly damaged by the girl's fists. Shakily drawing forth his sacred chime, the Climax hex was ready as he raised his arm in her direction.
When Richie didn't even turn around to regard his threat, putting it off as nothing more than curses at her, she didn't see the projectile flying straight at her.
All that the cameras could pick up was a black blur flying straight through the air, its intended target never seeing it coming.
Richie stiffened like a deer in the headlights as the Climax hex was sent straight into her back.
The audience gasped in horror as what remained of her aura had taken much of the blow, but it still wasn't enough to stop it as it left severe burns across her entire back. Her skin was charred black in a few areas with the rest either already fallen off or peeling off to reveal swollen muscles.
Fortunately for her there wasn't much blood bleeding at the moment, but she would need medical attention immediately if they wished to keep it that way.
Richie fell forwards onto her stomach as paramedics came to retrieve her. Thankfully they had been fighting near the edges of the arena so they had easy access to her without the threat of being swept up in the other fights.
As they hoisted her up they warily looked back towards Linder as he too fell forward onto his front as (unbeknownst to everyone except his team) he died right there on the spot.
Another team of paramedics would come and retrieve him once they had finished taking care of Richie.
"I-it looks like team WTBL have lost their first member, but they still hold the advantage with a three on two fight!" Port announced a little shaky at first as he narrowed his eyes down to Linder's (presumed unconscious) form.
"That was quite the trick of Mr. Linder to pull on Ms. Richie, but sometimes you have to take your opponent down with you if it means securing victory." Oobleck adjusted his glasses as he took a sip of Beacon brand coffee. It calmed his nerves as he drew everyone's attention to the still visible battle happening between Lilia and Warhol.
"It looks like that the fight may even up at this rate if Ms. Lilia keeps dodging like this." Oobleck pointed out as everyone saw how Warhol's attacks seemed to be getting slower and slower as the fight progressed without him landing a single hit on the girl.
Lilia had not made one move against him as her usually not-so-confident self was getting a sudden boost as she easily rolled out from beneath Warhol's massive rock hammer. It looked more like a tooth to her from the brief glances that she took of it, and that made her curious about not only him but his entire team as well.
He grunted as he lifted back up his Dragon's tooth once more as he aimed for… well anywhere that would guarantee a strike.
The audience was beginning to get annoyed at both competitors as they either didn't hit one another, or failed to land a hit. Their booing increased as Lilia began to get cocky as she jumped out from the hammer's range, once the thing slammed into the molten rock she jumped up atop the ball at the top of the weapon.
Lilia smiled as she tapped playfully at the side of his weird stone helmet before jumping off to avoid being flung up into the air as he lifted up the massive thing.
"Stay still you bitch!" He growled with such ferocity and spite that it caused Lilia to lose that cockiness for a moment for it to be replaced by a scowl.
"Once this is over your putting a lien in the swear jar I carry." Lilia's confident smile came back after Warhol let out another angered snarl.
Honestly, to her he was more like a savage beast than a man as he ran at her with must have been his top speed.
It was disappointing to say the least. His hammer was clutched in both hands as Lilia rolled away as he continued to pursue her.
Backing away further until they came close to some fire dust crystals, Lilia had a plan forming in her mind on how she was finally going to end this. However, she raised a confused brow once she saw him kneeling down and, to her benefit, breathing heavily.
"Looks like all that weight finally got to you eh big guy?" She taunted him by stepping a little closer to him while using her pole to tap him on the helmet again. She was beginning to grow bored as only a barely audible grunt was his response.
"Come on tiger, where was all that rage and aggression just a few moments ago huh? Do you want me to call the medics to come and give you a water bottle?" Her confidence continued to grow more and more as he tried swatting away her weapon, but she kept moving it to the other side when he went to make a grab for it.
"Come on!"
"Boo!"
"Just finish him already!"
People from the crowd were shouting at her now as they just wanted someone to get out already. Huffing to herself in slight annoyance at how her fun was coming to an end, Lilia walked over to the fire dust crystal and smashed a chunk off with her pole.
Cradling the large piece in her left arm and holding her weapon in her right Lilia threw the fire dust crystal underneath his chest where chains met the ground.
Finally, she had transformed her weapon into its dual pistols form Monte and Carlo as she took aim at the fire dust crystal. It looked like he was finally recovering as he propped himself up onto one knee.
"Shame our fun had to come to an end pal." Lilia threw in at the last moment as she was about to pull the trigger when Warhol made his move. It was faster than she could account for as he scooped up the crystal in his hand before chucking it towards Lilia.
She panicked and didn't realize her mistake until it was already too late as she pulled the trigger on Carlo. The bullet met its target as intended, but too close as the fire dust exploded right in front of her.
The blast had actually sent her forwards as the dust crystal hadn't went off until it was directly behind her. She skidded across the heated ground beneath her before she collided with an unmovable force.
Cracking her eyes open she was met with the large stone boots of Warhol as she looked up at his imposing form. He blocked the sun from her eyes and all her confidence and cockiness she held just minutes ago fled her as he placed both his weapon and shield to the ground.
A resounding thud was heard as they contacted the ground right next to her head. Fear held her in place as he bent down and easily grabbed her entire face in just one of his meaty hands.
He wasn't gentle as he dragged her to what she thought was the edge of the arena.
Her opponent seemed to be able to read her thoughts as he chuckled darkly before lifting her up closer to his helmet. She couldn't see inside due to his hand obscuring her vision, but she did hear his chilling words right in her ear.
"That's too easy for you. You deserve to burn like the Sinner had."
She had no idea who he was talking about as she managed peek through a gap in between his fingers, and what she saw scared her.
Where the fire dust crystal had exploded a fire lay in its aftermath. A mixture of searing red and burning orange stung her eyes as he lifted her just before the flames.
"No no please no please!" She begged as the fires licked at her heels. "PLEASE!" She screamed this time as fire had always been one of her greatest fears. It was why Silver and her team were disappointed in what arena they got as they knew that Lilia was afraid of fire.
However, when her team split up and left her alone with Warhol, she had no choice as he forced her into the fiery landscape. Due to his inability to even land a single hit on her she grew more confident until she had completely forgotten where she was.
Her cries fell on deaf ears as, just before he dropped her, she saw the two glowing white eyes that bore into her own. They glowed with delight and malice as she held their gaze all the way down into the flames.
They hurt at first, and she would have gotten herself out of there had it not been the heavy boot that came crashing down on her abdomen. It felt like a Goliath had decided to lie atop her stomach as she screamed in pain across her form.
Warhol only watched with a blank stare as his anger from before left him as soon as she met the flames.
Her screams did nothing to move him off of her as the fire ate away at her aura. It wasn't until he heard the announcer's concerned comments did he finally remove his boot form her abdomen.
What remained of her clothes were charred black while the rest had been burned away. Lilia was covered from head to toe in burn marks as she lay unconscious on the ground.
The fires had been snuffed out through her constant, panicked movements. To say that the crowd was surprised would be an understatement as they watched on in stunned awe as Warhol gently picked up Lilia and carried her over towards the edge of the arena.
Paramedics that had come to retrieve Linder had instead taken her as Warhol went to retrieve his weapons. Once both were retrieved he began heading off into the fake forest to make sure that B was done playing around with SLVR's leader.
…
Silver backed away as another phantom came at her.
It didn't get far as its chest met the tip of her katana and the mindless thing walked straight into it. It disappeared into wisps of smoke and dark embers as Silver was breathing heavily as she looked up towards her opponent.
B still stood in the middle of the clearing in the same position that he was in when their fight began. Fight wasn't even a proper term as she hadn't been able to get a single hit on him as these damn phantoms kept coming out of nowhere it seemed.
Her opponent simply stood there and made no move to attack her as two more phantoms came out of the brush when she tried dashing towards him.
They were simple enough to take down, but their appearance unnerved Silver a bit when she briefly glanced at their jack-o-lantern like faces. Their bodies were covered head to toe in some kind of black ink that caked the ground whenever she cut one down. Glowing white eyes regarded her as nothing more than something to kill as they ran at her.
The head of the first one to reach her rolled before she bisected the second one at the abdomen.
Silver gritted her teeth as she had made absolutely no progress in getting closer to B as she looked up at the coliseum's monitor that displayed their auras. Her eyes widened with shock when she saw that she was the last one still in this fight while three of team WTBL still remained.
'They'll be heading here no doubt, but how did they take out the others so quickly?' Silver didn't have time to think on the answer as B seemed to notice this too as more phantoms came out from the woods. 'And how come that fat bloke up there isn't commentating on… whatever this semblance is?'
There were nearly a dozen of the freaks as they wasted no time in converging on her position.
Time seemed to slow down for Silver as all of the humanoid creatures barreled their way towards her like they were Grimm.
'Maybe they are…' Was her last thought as Silver activated her semblance. This time everything slowed down to nearly a standstill. Silver could actually walk right by each of the strange phantoms with ease as she made her way towards her opponent.
He made no visible movement, to her at least, as she felt that if he was the one sending these things after her then she would take them all down at the source.
Taking a deep breath Silver ran her katana across B's abdomen and chest with a flurry of quick, consecutive attacks. She smirked as time sped back up and her attacks caught up to her unsuspecting opponent.
His entire body looked as if it were being riddled with bullets as it jolted in the directions that her strikes had come from. To her horror though she saw how each strike caused crimson blood to spill out of his chest and onto her clothes.
B crumpled to the ground as his lifeless eyes stared up to the white clouds up above.
Silver knelt down in stunned silence as she shook the corpse of the person she just murdered. Did he have no aura? Was her first thought, but she quickly revoked that thought as the monitor showed him to still be in the green.
Her eyes widened as she quickly stood up and looked over towards the phantoms to see… nothing. They had all vanished into wisps of smoke like their brethren before them, leaving nothing but more of that black ink-like substance.
She shouldn't have taken her eyes off B's 'corpse' as the crimson blood began running black and leaked out in rapid succession. It managed to pool underneath her feet and covered the entire clearing within seconds. It was all the same ink that the phantoms were made of as it began to boil beneath her.
Trying to jump out of the ink proved ineffective as her feet had sunk into the sludge and were stuck there.
Soon after she herself was beginning to sink into the black ink! Quickly thinking Silver undid the buckles of her shoes before making another attempt to jump out of the ink before it got to her.
She had just left the ground when something clasped around her ankle. It felt surprisingly warm to the touch as it yanked her back down into the ink. Looking back down at what had grabbed her Silver stifled a scream as what looked like a disfigured version of one of the phantoms was slowly climbing its way up her leg.
Making an attempt to draw Fang and kill the freakish nightmare before it advanced any further proved futile as two other disfigured phantoms held down her arms. They then pinned her to the ground where the ink seemed to wrap itself all over her as it even covered her mouth.
Forget winning the tournament, all Silver wanted right now was for both her and her team to be as far away from these monsters as fast as possible.
A shadow loomed above her and, thinking it was another phantom, Silver glared at whatever had stood over her. To her shock it was B whom was completely unharmed from her attack earlier as he knelt down so that his face was directly above her own.
Silver could just make out the quiet (hollow) breaths taken in by B as he reached up and flipped open the visor of his helmet.
She would have screamed if it wasn't for the ink that wrapped around her mouth as the exact same white eyes that the phantoms held were within the head of the teen before her. Their intensity seemed even harsher than the phantoms themselves as Silver, whom could not take anymore, passed out.
B flipped down his knight's visor before poking the same spot that had put the girl within the illusion. Of course, he too could see the illusion as it faded back into a calm and peaceful scene in the forest.
"Well it seems that Mr. Bronze's semblance is along that of either hypnosis or illusionism. He most certainly put on quite the show for Ms. Silver through one heck of a trance as he never even once left his spot in that clearing folks." Port announced that last bit of data as all three remaining members of WTBL came into the center of the arena once more.
"Ladies and gentlemen, team WTBL is victorious!" Pork exclaimed loudly as cheers and whistles sounded from the crowd while others chose to remain silent.
'Has the first ritual been completed Tyrion?' Warhol asked through their shared thoughts once they were close enough.
'Yes, the summoning sign has been placed within the forest side of the arena that both B and I were in. It will remain hidden, and will be there when the time comes for our Lord to make his presence known.' Tyrion answered without any second thought as he hid his burned arm well away from the crowd. 'Shame about Linder though.'
Warhol had already walked over towards the corpse, still slightly warm, as he placed both his tooth and shield onto his back before bending down to pick up the body. Carrying Linder in a bridal style Warhol ordered, 'Get his weapons Tyrion. It's time to report to Lord Abell.'
All three took one last bow to the audience before they all walked out of the arena without another word.
…
It was half past midnight at Beacon and everyone, including the staff, had all seen themselves off to bed as a starred filled sky loomed over them. Not a breathing soul was up and about at this time of night, so it was good that he was nothing more than a fragment of one.
The man that he once was had all but been consumed by the Abyss within himself as the acolyte had taken his place instead.
It had taken some time to gather the necessary supplies without getting caught, but he had finally secured the tools that he would need to break into Ozpin's office. The first two locks had been bypassed by the Witch's virus, but the third was a manual one which was giving him the most trouble so far.
His white eyes flashed beneath his blue Atlas security helmet as a distinct *click* sounded.
The doors opened without as much as a squeak, but he made sure to do it slowly anyways just in case. Scanning the empty room for any signs of added security before coming up empty, the acolyte had gotten to work.
Heading over behind Ozpin's desk the acolyte used the man's previous knowledge and experiences to work the secret console. In no time he got the thing up and running before pulling out a Scroll with the screen flashing a picture of a Queen piece from chess.
Setting it upon the glass surface he was intrigued as small ripples were sent out across the desk and multiple files were brought up. Thankfully, he didn't have to sort through them all since his time here would be limited as a single file was left after the rest had been closed.
Opening the file to reveal its contents the acolyte memorized the code before closing the file, removing the Scroll and strolling over towards the elevator he had come up in.
There beneath the buttons to take oneself to different floors was a scanning device. Pulling out the Scroll once more he placed it before the identification scanner and the tiny Scroll did all the work as the scanner blinked green.
For all intents and purposes, the acolyte was Ozpin.
Inputting the code from the file the acolyte began its descent towards the bowels of Beacon Academy.
He was lucky that after his Lord had left after the Sentinel's purification had begun, that the General hadn't held any suspicions towards him. Of course, he had been questioned about what had occurred, but the acolyte knew what story to spin as it placed all the blame upon the Sentinel.
"May the Abyss cleanse his mind of his impurity." He arrived at his destination sooner than he expected as the doors slowly opened to reveal the chamber. The same chamber that his Ascendant witnessed when the Headmaster's dog tainted the Sentinel with their light.
He grimaced at the thought of such a thing befalling him as he made his way deeper into the Headmaster's secret dungeon.
It was when he saw a faint blue glow coming from another console did the acolyte known he had arrived. The console was different in shape compared to Ozpin's and was connected to a machine of sorts sporting two tubes that came out from the top. Each tube ran in the opposite direction until they connected to two metallic coffins.
The right one was empty as the window revealed nothing but a dark interior. His eyes were drawn to the coffin on the left as it was not empty.
Glowing white eyes roved over the form of the human female that had been encased within the metal coffin as he noted the damage she had taken across her body.
Lifting a hand and pressing it against the protective glass he was surprised to see small wisps of smoke coming up from beneath the flesh. It burned yes, but he did not remove the hand as the fascination of the child of Light took hold of his thoughts.
His head tilted to the side in curiosity as he just stood there and looked at the girl.
"I have found one of her sisters, my Lord." The acolyte whispered as, before he had time to even turn around, a strong grip grabbed around his jaw line while another hand planted itself firmly to the back of his head.
A resounding *SNAP* echoed throughout the chamber as both the lifeless body of the Atlas soldier and acolyte fell to the ground. Ozpin's breaths came in short gasps as it was the first time in a long while since he had to kill his fellow man.
Especially in such a harsh manner.
"We've been breached…" Ozpin told himself as he looked down at the tiny black flame that sprouted from the dead soldier's chest.
He could only stare at the tiny black sprite that had ended now two men's lives as he thought of the ill omen the black flame now presented.
'How many more lives will you continue to snuff out I wonder.'
I honestly can't believe how much love and attention this story has received over the past year since I first posted it. I could only dream of it reaching this height, and I have all of you to thank for it. From the constant support to the kind comments, and let's not forget about the very helpful constructive criticism.
This story is almost at two hundred followers, and well over half-way to two hundred favorites. We still have a long way to go with this journey and I hope you all will stick with me until we reach the end.
I feel that this chapter was pretty good, and I know that I'm still bad at combat scenes, but I will constantly try and improve upon that for the future my friends! Also, I dropped many hints throughout this chapter as to whom team WTBL consists of. I'm sure it was painfully obvious for a lot of you for some time now but… if you missed it, you must be blind!
I'll talk to you all in the next chapter :)