RWBYond War

AN: This is the last action filled chapter of this story. Today is election day so…yeah…looking forward to how awfully that goes. Today I have this and a chapter of RWBYond Sisters. November 9, I'll have another chapter of Sisters, focused on a bit of info we got in volume 4. Sadly, my Kurome one-shot is being postponed, maybe canceled for another day. I just have too much on my plate to formulate that story and the important stuff has been stated numerous times throughout these stories. Without further ado, let's back up a bit to, close to the end of last chapter.

Chapter 26: Do It

Yang sighed as she saw Kurome burn the remains of Tobi's body. She couldn't help but feel proud of her honorary sibling. She had come so far and now she was ready to finally live her own life. Yang had made a vow to Akagi, or at least the deadeye puppet of her, to protect Kurome. But Kurome didn't need her. She never did. Hell, Yang wasn't even too confident she could beat the younger girl at this point.

"Mission success." Rubrum said.

"Yep." Yang popped her lips.

"Hey if you can…um…swing by my place and pick me up on the way to Beacon…I'd appreciate it."

"Rubrum Snappes, don't you already have a girlfriend."

"I…shut up. I just want to be with you all to celebrate."

"I'm not celebrating shit until tomorrow night." Yang said. "I'm going to bed and you should too."

"Alright Yang. I'll see you all in the morning." Rubrum said.

"Goodnight." Yang turned her radio off. The building shook again as she descended the first flight of stairs. She saw Jaune helping Ruby down like a proper gentleman. It kind of made Yang jealous. She didn't have anyone like that. There was no one to make her feel like a princess.

"I'm fine Jaune." Ruby said as she collapsed into his arms.

"I'll take it from here." Yang said. She put her mask on and punched the air. A Black Gate appeared and the three of them stepped through. Yang had become numb to the portal's effects over the years. She still preferred the thrill of a motorcycle or jet, but this was exciting too.

They stepped out in downtown Vale. Yang wanted to pick up Weiss and this kids before heading back to Beacon. She reserved herself knowing that as soon as Citrine was in arms reach, Ruby was liable to smother her for the rest of the week. They walked to the nearest building. There was a gunshot followed by a gasp from Ruby.

"Ruby!" Jaune said as he caught her. Another gunshot and Jaune blocked it. Yang found the location of the assailant and stepped in front of the next bullet, punching it out of the air. She launched a rocket from her hand and destroyed the tree the shots came from. Vile fell from the tree and landed on his feet with a roll.

"Get out of here." Yang scowled.

"DON'T!" Vile said. "Don't you move a muscle. He was holding his side with his left hand. His right hand held a gun pointed at Ruby. His armor was dented and sparking. His mask was off, revealing his face. "I'm ending this now."

"The hell you are..." Jaune stood in front of Ruby but Yang stepped between them.

"Take Ruby and leave." Yang ordered.

"I'm fine." Ruby said. "Just…winded."

"Ruby you're bleeding. Your ebony threads are too stretched out from your previous battle. You already won all the fights you need to."

"No she hasn't." Vile said. "Until she's dead or I am…it's not over."

"Well then…" Yang said. "Give it your best shot." Vile fired his gun but Yang caught the bullet before it could get past her. Vile disappeared with a smirk on his face. Yang scanned the area and saw the shifting air where he was through her eyepiece. She slid to Ruby's side just as Vile thrust a flying kick at her. She blocked the first two kicks and caught the third. She tossed him back and he landed on his feet. Yang blasted at his feet with her shotguns, keeping him flipping through the air to dodge. She spotted his leg hitting the ground wrong and capitalized by slamming into him, causing him to go flying into a restaurant.

"Yang this is my fight!" Ruby said.

"With all due respect, piss off." Yang said. "I may not be an Argentware like you two, but you're MY sister, MY family, it was MY dad he killed too. So, you just take a hike and get your kid."

"Let's go." Jaune said, picking her up bridal style.

"Hey put me down!" She fumed but calmed down when Jaune gave her a big open-moth kiss. Ruby moaned as she wrapped her arms around Jaune's head.

"Stop ignoring me!" Vile put his guns together to form his sword. Yang blocked the sword strike. Jaune took off with Ruby. Vile tried dashing around Yang but she strafed in front of him at every step.

"You have my undivided attention." Yang said. "When I'm done with you, your new name will be Pile, as in the pile of garbage I'm going to dump your body in."

"This didn't end so well for you last time." Vile noted. "And to hell with my codename. It's Levi."

"Well why don't you Leave…I, promise I won't kill you if you apologize and promise to never show your sorry ass around here again."

"Tough talk coming from you." He swung at her again. He was fast, but not as fast as last time. Yang was just able to keep up and throw in a parry here and there. Vile was getting noticeably frustrated at his lack of progress.

"Hold still you bitch."

"What's the matter Vile? Having a hard time keeping your boner for murder up around me?"

"You're in no position to mock me!" He zipped around and kicked her in the face. She fell into the arms of a clone as it suplexed her. Vile stomped on her face with a shotgun kick. She went to punch his knee but missed as he pivoted around and kicked her stomach.

She rolled onto her feet and rushed him. Her hands moved at blinding speed as she tried hitting him. He was forced to block most of the blows. She kicked his knee out and hit his head with a headbutt. He doubled backwards with a grunt. He grabbed the back of his neck and pulled his helmet back up over his face.

"Probably should have started with that." Yang said. She barely reacted fast enough to block the flying kick combo aimed at her head. She tried upper cutting him but the punch was blocked by an energy shield.

Yang dodged a swing from the energy scythe. She somersaulted around the hammer construct, and with a massive punch destroyed Vile's shield. Vile grunted in frustration and tried swinging at her again. Seeing his technique in raw form, it wasn't all that strange. Dove's sword technique, Jaune's use of constructs and Mercury's kicks. Okay, so it was unique, especially compared to Yang's punches, but she never lost to any of them. She wouldn't lose to Vile.

Vile created a titan construct and crushed the entire little plaza they were in. Yang bailed using the Black Gate. She reappeared in the air, high above the city. She plummeted down like a comet towards Vile. His titan was looking around, ready for her to strike. Yang took a page from Ruby's book, actually it was something that her father had initially thought up and taught them. She fired her payload towards the sky to increase her speed. Her whole body caught fire as she hit terminal velocity and slammed into Vile from above.

The construct shattered, as did part of Vile's breastplate. She created a crater in the plaza with the strike. Before the smoke could clear she spotted Vile and punched him with an execution strike. The glyph tore part of his chest open but his aura was still stable.

"Got you." He said. Yang felt the sword pierce her from behind. She threw her elbow into him but that one was a clone. And Yang had almost second guessed herself too. The sword was also fake but it was enough to catch Yang off guard as Vile kicked her in the face.

"Damn you're good." She said. "Most guys, and girls, are left unable to stand after I blow them away."

"I'm not most guys." He flipped around for another kick but Yang dodged.

"You are hard to put down." She said as she caught his foot and held him up in the air. She slammed him down once before he managed to take a slice of her leg. She dropped him and jumped back before he could slice her neck. The sword might be shit for killing people, but a slice in her neck could still end her.

"You're out of your league." He sliced at her but she blocked the sword.

"You're the one that can barely move." She struck him in the stomach.

"I'm still plenty better than you." He kicked her arm.

"Then why are you the one…" She punched him in the face. "Getting wrecked?"

"Never has a Bran beaten an Argentware." He tried slicing her head off but she ducked under it.

"My name is XIAO LONG!" She punched him in the dick then sent a knee to it too.

"And look at where THAT legacy is."

"YOU BASTARD!" Her hair turned stark white and her eyes began to glow red. Her White Raven form reached heights it never had before as she charged him.

"That's right…" His helmet unfolded. His eyes were glowing with radiant light. The light from his eyes burned a white-hot pain through Yang's body. In a flash, he sliced through her mask, leaving a deep cut along her face. Her power scattered to the winds.

"What?" She was dumbfounded.

"As I said…" He started advancing on her with a relentless assault. "You could never beat me." He sliced along her stomach and kicked her solar plexus. She started coughing out blood and Redstone. "Being a descendent of Avis Bran is bad enough. But using that mask, those portals, that eyepiece."

"Damn it." Yang cursed. She pulled the Branwen spectacle off her right eye, which was burning and bloodshot.

"Did you know?" He continued his advance on her. "Redstone, and the black ooze that Grimm are born from originate from the same dimension? Did you know that dust disappears to that same Oblivion when it's used? That's where the Grimoire are now. That's where the Witch, the Wizard and all the previous maidens are now. That's where the strong go when they die. And those with magic can reconstitute from there. That's where all the new dust comes from when the Hecatonchires dies. Did you know any of that? Or did Avarice hide his greatest failure from you lot."

"To hell with Avarice."

"Might as well be. But your mother is just like him. And you, you're another Avis Bran waiting to happen. If I didn't piss you off so much…or if you weren't about to die…you'd make a much better fit for Cipher."

"What are you on about?"

"The White Raven…those with magic can reconstitute themselves." He stabbed her through the gut. "Avis Bran's magic lives on in you." He said. His helmet flipped back up. "And like him…you fall to silver eyes."

"How…do you know this…"

"You already know why…Avis Bran created Cipher when he had a falling out with Avarice."

"I…" She squeezed her eyes shut. "Am not Avis Bran…I…am not Ursa…I AM YANG XIAO LONG." She headbutted him and grabbed his arm. She bent it behind his back, pulling the sword out as she did. She took all that energy, all the pain that was searing from her body and burned like the sun in the middle of July. With that power, her power, not the White Raven form, she punched his arm to where it bent in half.

"AH!" He screamed in pain. He dropped his sword. His arm was folded up like a lawn chair. His aura shattered. The armor on his arm broke apart. As it did, his arm dropped down like a soggy noodle, bone fragments and a metal plate ripped out from the skin.

"I should kill you now." She grabbed him by the throat and slammed him to the ground.

"You should." He said. "I killed your father. Nearly killed your sister. Kidnapped your niece. Put your best friend in a hospital. Beat your uncle to a pulp. Laid siege to one of the most secure cities in the world…And I did it all in one night."

"You asked for it." She punched his face.

"But who will be the monster then?"

"I don't care what you say." She punched him again.

"But you care about her." She punched him.

"She'll forgive me with everything you've done!" She punched him repeatedly. She felt like she was getting nowhere. What was this freaking helmet made of? She roared in anger and frustration. Every bad day she had ever had manifested in each blow. She was going to kill this man. She didn't care what kind of connection he had with Ruby.

She kept punching. She didn't know when she'd stop…or if she'd stop. She definitely wouldn't stop until he stopped breathing. But every punch did nothing. Her blows were lacking the power she had earlier. His helmet had cracked and given to her force before but now she was tired. With one last howl and punch she closed her eyes and finally broke through. The helmet was crushed like a soda can. The weight that was underneath Yang was gone. The armor was still there but it was empty now.

"GOD DAMN IT!" She screamed. She turned to find the Sword of Damocles was gone too. She cursed at the top of her lungs with every fowl word she could think of. He had escaped. He was still alive to hurt her sister and friends. He likely wouldn't come back for a long time. Not with the beating she just gave. That didn't keep her from pounding the ground in frustration.

"Yang." Ruby said. Yang turned and saw Ruby standing there with Citrine nestled against her chest and Jaune standing beside her with an arm around her waist.

"He got away." Yang wiped the blood and tears from her face. Ruby knelt in front of her.

"We'll find him." She held Citrine with one arm and channeled her maiden powers with the other one to heal Yang's wound. "It's…going to leave a scar."

"That's okay." Yang said. "My face was only the fourth or fifth best asset I had." Ruby gently caressed her right eye.

"Everything else should heal nicely." She put a hand to her stomach. "Your stomach has a scar too. But I suppose we all do."

"Team RWBY badge of honor." Yang said. Ruby laughed at that. It felt so glad to hear Ruby laugh. Ruby ran her hand through Yang's hair and pulled her into a hug.

"Let's go sis." She whispered.

"I'd love too." Yang said. "If you need someone to watch Citrine while you and Jaune have the rest of the night to yourselves…"

"No, I mean…not tonight. We're sleeping with her. This night has been hell on all of us. I just want it to be over with." She looked back at Jaune who was doing his best to look cool. "Maybe tomorrow." Ruby winked. She stood back up and walked to Jaune.

"We did good tonight." Jaune said. "All things together."

"Any crisis that doesn't involve the Grimm is a lot better for city morale." Ruby said. "Even though I'd rather fight a million Grimm than go through another night like this."

"But the Grimm fear you…come to think of it…they were probably scared of Vile too." Jaune said.

"You're probably right." Ruby gabbed his hand and held it to her cheek. "Your hand is so cold."

"It is freezing out here." Jaune said. "Let's get inside before Citrine catches a cold." He but a hand on Ruby's back. "After you." Ruby led the way. Jaune followed close behind her. Yang stayed a few steps behind. She didn't want to ruin this tender moment between the spouses.

AN: Didn't see that coming, did you? You could end the story here. But I want to do an epilogue about the days following these events. Then I want to do a little bonus chapter about what other people thought Vile's identity was. So until next time, stay classy.