Two Sides to a Coin Ch. 25: Darkness Collides
I would like to state, if you see me address Onyx as he and not it, it's a mistake. Onyx is non-bionary because he's not even close to human, so just point that out to me and I will correct it. Also, thank y'all for 190 followers (it's so close to 200!) and 150 favorites. Love you, let's get dark.
Ruby banged her head on the desk in frustration. Out of the seemingly limitless powers Onyx had, one of them definitely wasn't history. Ruby often struggled in any subject not involving Grimm, thus forcing her to abuse the help she had at her disposal. What certainly didn't help her cause was the fact that Ozpin sometimes pulled them out of classes to visit the Phantom Zone over the last few weeks.
Every day they went there, the Black Knight seemed even more terrifying. The Phantom was a man that, despite his many secrets, you knew how to fear almost instantly. The Black Knight kept shedding layers every time you spoke with him. Ruby hadn't even seen the extent of his weapons nor a speck of his semblance. It was horrifying to think of how much could be hidden beneath that mask.
All of them were always relieved to leave the Phantom Zone behind, but they had adjusted better. Less and less became new, more and more became business. They felt safe in there, as strange as it sounded. The men Phantom kept were not ill-trained. All of them could fight (from what they were told), the Black Knight could definitely fight, and something told the girls that Phantom could fight very well.
Now, Ruby's sole concern was history. It was almost more painful then enduring the eery feeling of the Phantom Zone.
Ask Weiss for help or I will, Onyx finally grumbled.
"She's busy!" Ruby whispered. "I'm not gonna bother-."
"Just ask me yourself next time," Weiss said as she rose to her feet. She had been sitting on her bed while Ruby worked on the desk. Weiss had been studying, while Ruby had actual assignments to do.
"I didn't wanna bother you," Ruby whined.
"When you have issues, Onyx will turn to me. I'd rather not have it speak in my head for as long as possible, take that as a request from your girlfriend." Ruby mumbled something while Weiss leaned over Ruby's shoulder.
"What is it?" Weiss asked. She looked over the assignment carefully, nodding at each part of it.
"Uhm, this," Ruby said, pointing to the questions.
"What're you-?"
"All of them." Weiss looked angrily at Ruby, but took one breath in.
"Well, let's see..." She read the questions, nodding once again. "Okay, well, did you do the readings?" Ruby nodded. "Onyx, would you mind helping out here?"
Tell her I'm not memory, Onyx grumbled. I don't take orders from the mate of the-.
Would you please? Ruby pleaded. Onyx let out a sigh through Ruby, pulling up the memories of the readings. Ruby smiled at Weiss, also directing the happy thoughts towards Onyx.
"Thank you," Ruby said, both to Weiss and to Onyx. "I don't know-."
"Most likely kill someone," Weiss replied, not letting her finish her thought. She laid a kiss on Ruby's lips, forcing the younger girl to keep down the animalistic part of her for that brief moment before Weiss went to return to studying.
Before she could even arrive, Ruby's scroll went off. She looked down, seeing that the message was simple.
Docks, ghost, information.
-Ozpin
"Pack up!" Ruby called out. Weiss got off of her bed, picking up Myrtenaster as she rose. Blake and Yang gathered their equipment on the other side of the room, getting to their feet as quickly as possible. Nobody asked any questions, it had been far too long in this routine for them to ask any questions now.
The Phantom Zone
This time, RWBY was greeted by a different scene then what they had grown accustomed to. The bar seemed to be missing some of Phantom's men, with the informant himself pacing the top floor of the building. Ruby lead the way, walking straight up to the top (they had long outgrown the need for an escort to the top).
The Phantom heard them approaching, his posture returning to normal.
"Ah, RWBY," he said. "A promise is a promise, regardless of the circumstances around it. Have a seat."
"Wait what?" Ruby asked, stepping forward. "What're you talking about?" The Phantom looked at her, his mask keeping his face seemingly emotionless but you could feel the annoyance radiating from it.
"Take a look around you, Rose. Anything seem astray to you?" Ruby looked around, but it was Onyx who first whispered to her.
The Black Knight is gone.
"The Black Knight isn't here," Ruby mumbled.
"And there we have the anger," the Phantom said. He sat down in his seat, cane raised in the air. "I paid him this morning and I sent off the message to you four. Apparently, sometime between those two events, he slipped out with his pay. Bastard wasn't worth the pay."
"So uh... That bad?" Yang asked, barely containing the grin.
"Yes, that bad Xiao Long. It most likely means that someone else took him under their employment, which means a big asset loss, which means a very, very hard day for me."
"You gonna kill him?"
"I have five men out there with the orders to find him."
"They gonna kill him?"
"They wouldn't be able to. Now, can we please just get to work?" Ruby nodded, shooting a look in her sister's direction as she handed over the scroll.
Since coming to terms with both Onyx and Weiss, Ruby had grown more into her leadership role. It suited her very well, even with her... Tendencies to leave control of her body to another being. It very thoroughly came into play when she was at the Phantom Zone, the one environment where her status mattered more than anything.
The Phantom tapped out a few things on the scroll, handing it off quickly.
"All the information is on there, nothing's missing, no shortage of quality, yada yada yada, will you please leave me to my current situation?" The Phantom said impatiently.
"Well..." Yang started.
"Of course," Weiss cut in. "Thank you Phantom. We hope to catch you in a... Better mood." All of team RWBY left, filled with more satisfaction then usual. They were all glad to see the Phantom so uncomfortable on his own turf. It felt like justice in some ways.
When the four girls were out of earshot, the Phantom's expression under his mask changed.
"Oh I will be," he whispered softly. He held up his hand to his ear, holding it firmly in place. "Black, they're on their way to you. Be prepared, act swiftly, saw what we talked about."
Team RWBY
The four girls wandered through the streets towards their airship. Once it had become apparent that the Phantom had no plans to kill them, parking the airship in inconvenient places for the sake of some speed while traveling had no longer been necessary. RWBY was fine with walking for the pilot's sake, so they just parked at the closest landing pad and walked.
"Man, it feels like some kind of a gift that the Phantom was so riled up," Yang said happily. "I will not forget this day or the look I picture being on his face."
"It did feel good," Blake said softly. "But we have to be a little wary. I mean, we don't know about the Black Knight."
And I really don't like this, Onyx contributed. It seems... Strange. But it appeared to me that Phantom was telling the truth.
"Blake's right and Onyx agrees," Ruby said. "We have to be cautious. We don't know when we're going to see-." She came to a dead stop in both her words and tracks when she spotted something ahead.
The slender, well made, black suit of armor was just in front of them. Arms folded, face set forward, waiting.
"-him..."
Ruby felt her muscles tense, Onyx beginning to prepare itself.
"Hello RWBY," the Black Knight said in his rich voice. It sounded just like it always had, no more spiteful no more friendly.
"BK," Yang called out, using the name she often did for the Black Knight. "Your boss is pretty wound up right now. If you go back and offer him a massage, maybe he'll forgive you." The Black Knight let out a laugh, but this laugh was cold, empty, and venomous.
"You still believe that the Phantom is my boss?" The Black Knight asked. "No, no, of course not. I work elsewhere, and elsewhere had some... Conflicting interests with the Phantom." His helmet seemed to turn directly towards Ruby. "Namely you, Rose."
"W-w-what?" Ruby stuttered.
This isn't good, Onyx began to flare. Let me take hold. I swear, I can kill him fast.
"They want for me to fight you," the Black Knight said.
I can't tell if he's lying but I can kill him all the same.
"And so I will. Those who stand in my way... Well that'll be quick." The Black Knight reached his left arm to his back while his right arm grabbed something around his waste. When he slung his arms away from those two spots, the four girls finally got to see what his weapons were.
His left arm came back with a very long metal rod. It took a few moments to unfold into a kite-shield, one large enough to cover almost his entire body in his upright position. But the designs on it were beautiful. The shield was almost all black, much like his normal wardrobe. It had the design of a torch at the bottom tip, branching off of that were two leaves. They held in place two crossed axes, all made to highlight the black wolfs-head in the center of it. But the eyes of the wolf were, no they glowed red.
His right arm had pulled off a series of metal blocks from his armor. They all started to shrink down from the distanced and dismantled bunch that they were to form a sword. The sword was a simple design, a straight sword with a large pommel that implied that it could be used with two hands. In the center of the hilt rested a red gem, but this red was much more muted then that of the wolf's eyes. The actual sword blade wasn't pure black, but it was still a very deep gray.
"Allow me to introduce Peur du Loup and Mort Fléau," the Black Knight said, watching their eyes follow his weapons. "They have more than proven their worth against far better then you. I shall enjoy making you suffer, Rose."
Yang was the first to break at the threat of her sister. She activated Ember Celica, throwing out a single shot aimed right at the Black Knight. Without a single moment's hesitation, he raised up his shield to block the threat. The shot broke apart harmlessly on the hard metal, causing the Black Knight to laugh.
"Stalker's Steel is the strongest metal found," he said happily. "I would've thought you'd recognize how frivolous your attempt was, Xiao Long." Yang didn't wait another moment to lunge forward. She swung her fist around with as much might as she could, but the Black Knight stopped it with his shield. Yang was amazed when she felt him not react at all, but her amazement quickly turned to horror as the flat of his sword collided with her stomach. Yang made it all the way back to her team before the momentum stopped, the blonde having to stand very slowly.
"Yang!" Ruby called out. The other three girls had been too surprised by the current turn of events to act, but Ruby had snapped out of it the moment she saw Yang land.
"Yeah," Yang groaned. "Lots of force but I can... Use that in my favor..." Her hair began to glow, her eyes growing more and more red by the passing moment.
Yang got up to her feet, slamming her fists together.
"Stand back," she growled. The other three took one step back, knowing full and well what was about to happen.
Yang' semblance gave her strength every time she got hit. After going sailing like she just did, even the Black Knight's shield wouldn't be able to withstand the force that was about to come down on it.
She fired off two rounds from her gauntlet behind her, launching herself towards the armored man. He stood his ground, shield raised to protect. At the last moment, he spun out of the way of Yang's attack. She had no time to course correct herself back towards him.
The Black Knight swung his shield in a downward arc, crashing it right on Yang's back. She hit the ground hard, immediately feeling his armored shoe hit her in the stomach. Beyond that, her memory went black.
But her team watched as Yang hit the closest building to them, falling to ground limply.
"Yang!" Ruby yelled out. She ran over to her sister, noticing her closed eyes.
"It's amazing how far a semblance like that takes you when you're opponents are idiots," the Black Knight sneered. "Unfortunately, hitting harder doesn't make you less vulnerable when you are faster."
This man is worse than I had thought, Onyx echoed. Give me control.
"... No..." Ruby said softly. "That's what he's expecting... I think..." Ruby's mind worked furiously.
My flower, give me control!
"That's what he wants!" Ruby finally said, her voice rising slightly. "I swear it... I know this is it..."
Look up!
Ruby looked, and saw Blake trying to fight the Black Knight. She had acted instantly, trying her best to stall him. She kept throwing out sword swings and shadowing out of the way before he could lower his shield.
"What is she doing?" Ruby asked Weiss.
"She said the Black Knight wants to fight you," Weiss explained. "So she's trying to wear him down while you were focusing on Yang." Ruby drew Crescent Rose, aware of Weiss' careful gaze. "No Onyx?"
"He's waiting for that," Ruby said instantly. "Why would someone try this?"
"Try this or not, we'll need it," Weiss grumbled. She propped up her sword, ready to rush in.
The Black Knight noticed this movement and stood his ground against Blake's next attack. He watched her go through the normal pattern, a few slashes of the sword to force his shield up and a dive into the air.
Only this time, he swung around the flat of his sword behind him. Just as he had predicted, Blake came down directly behind him in time to get caught by the blade. She let out a puff of air before the Black Knight brought his shield down on top of her.
"Predictable," he spat. He redirected his gaze to Ruby and Weiss, both of them staring at him in a daze. "Now, will you girls wise up and stop attacking a duelist one at a time? Or will I breeze through this as well?" Ruby and Weiss snapped out of their daze, rushing forward.
Ruby let loose a few rounds from Crescent Rose, all of which harmlessly reflected off of the Black Knight's shield. But she was mostly attempting to buy a few spare moments for Weiss to get into proper position.
She finally fired off a round to distance herself from the Black Knight. He had just enough time to look up from his shield to see a wall of ice reach him, freezing his entire body in place.
Weiss and Ruby both smiled, looking over at Blake. She still remained collapsed on the ground behind the Black Knight, causing both of them to hesitate.
Get rid of him first, Onyx whispered. Kill him.
"Weiss," Ruby said. "We're gonna have to... Get rid of him." The sound of laughter started to fill the area, forcing Weiss and Ruby to look up at the Black Knight.
They could see him laughing, his gaze focused straight on them.
"You two really are children," the Black Knight said. "You jump to conclusions, you assume victory, and you don't do your homework."
"And you're frozen," Weiss said confidentially. "Now we're going to end this. Terribly sorry you won't be able to collect your payment from your employer." The Black Knight let out one more laugh and raised his head.
A small black energy circle formed around him. The ice all around him immediately dissolved into black fumes, floating into the air before completely dissolving. Ruby and Weiss watched on in horror as he stretched out, all of the ice that had been holding the killer in place having completely dissolved.
"A semblance is such a wonderful tool to have," the Black Knight said as he walked forward. Every time that black energy circle around touched ice, it dissolved. "Especially when you have one as useful against the most common tool that man uses today." The energy circle disappeared, the Black Knight raising his sword and shield.
"Black Radiance," he said softly. "It is amazing how dark energy Dust can't exist in the open air for more than a few moments, and it's wonderful to have a semblance that converts all Dust energy to dark energy." Weiss threw out a wave of flames, but the Black Knight let his semblance come alive again. The fire never even reached him.
In a flash, he lunged forward at them. Ruby and Weiss both rolled away, but it effectively split them away from each other. The Black Knight turned towards where Weiss had rolled, and brought his sword straight at her. Weiss was forced to use both hands to block the strong attack, the sheer force of it enough to make her let out a small yelp.
He brought his shield around to her exposed side, slamming into her stomach. Weiss collapsed to the ground, struggling for air. The Black Knight hit her on the head once with the hilt of his sword and moved away from Weiss.
"And then there were two, Rose," the Black Knight said in a low voice. "Now, are you going to show me Onyx or will this fight be over faster then those of your friends?" Ruby stared at the Black Knight, her scythe resting by her side. "Yes, all you were able to accomplish here was isolating your friends to one on one fights against a duelist while saving your best asset for such a fight for no apparent reason."
Ruby stared at the Black Knight, her limbs shaking. She had just witnessed his strength and his intelligence, making her feel extremely nervous. But now, she didn't have a choice. Ruby couldn't win against him, it was time to relinquish control.
Ruby closed her eyes and Onyx opened them. The visible eye had changed color to signify the mark of the beast, Onyx looking sharply at the Black Knight.
"Bring it," Onyx growled.
"Oh, this is going to be as interesting as I had hoped," the Black Knight said cruelly. Onyx wasted no time tucking away Crescent Rose and pouncing straight at the Black Knight.
The Black Knight raised up his shield to absorb the blow, but even he had to stagger back under the force of Onyx's fists. He pushed his shield outward slightly, but Onyx had already jumped back.
Onyx circled the Black Knight, it's arms hanging by it's side. It was biding it's time, trying to see if the Black Knight would go on the aggressive. But he didn't. He waited for the inevitable snap of Onyx, knowing full and well that this was going to be his only chance at defeating someone that much strength.
Onyx finally pounced, going straight for the Black Knight's chest. But the Black Knight rolled out of the way, swinging around his shield in perfect timing so that it'd catch Onyx in the back. It let out a small yelp, completely surprised by the blow. Before it had even hit the ground, the Black Knight hit it with his sword and shield one more time. When Onyx's body did come crashing to the ground, the Black Knight hit it once more on it's head to make sure that both it and Ruby were out.
He tucked away his weapons, leaning over the limp form of Ruby's body. He rolled it over so that the mask was facing him and inspected it carefully. Neither the mask nor gloves seemed to have sustained any actual damage, not even anything superficial. He shrugged and reached for the mask, pulling it off very quickly. He took a moment to study the face, nodding before pulling off the gloves.
"Well, well, well," he whispered. He took a picture on his scroll, smiling to himself. He cleaned up the scene, making sure that Ruby was lying the way she was when he first hit her and that her mask and gloves were on. He dialed in a number and started to walk away.
"The girl has Grimm in her," the Black Knight said into the scroll. "I have images and I'm heading over. We can discuss my raise and future employment when I get there."
End: Before I have to answer a million of these, the Black Knight isn't OP it's just circumstances this time. An incredible duelist, probably damn near unbeatable i duel, and that's what happened here. Now, I will be doing a charity stream this Saturday (October 18th) at 3:00 Arizona Time (6:00 EST for an easier conversion). The charity stream will be on twitch (my twitch account is on my profile for non-mobile users, for mobile users it's codynight22) and it will be run through Extra-Life, the gaming organization made to benefit children's hospitals. I'm donating towards TMC, there will be some incentives (including fic giveaways). If you can't make it, then questions, comments, follows, favorites, and feedback is appreciated.