I know, late, but again, school took absolute priority. Capstone was freaking hard, and I never want to do it again. Anyway, I finished the course, I'm home now for ten days, and I should be getting these out faster. I have nothing else to say really considering my semi-brain dead state, so let's begin this chapter. Enjoy.
Chapter 37: A Devil and Her Shadow
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The tram was slowly taking them up to the upper level, overlooking the rest of the "copied town" as the two girls sat next to one another in silence.
Both had kept their eyes glued to the floor, and both had glanced at each other a few times with the intention to say something, but their words falling short.
Mainly, they didn't know what to say to the other really. Things were too awkward with what happened earlier.
"Ciel… I… What I said earlier… I wasn't myself, and-"
"It's alright. I know. But… It doesn't change the fact he killed everyone because he was afraid of what I'd do. What we'd do. Regardless of how it happened, or why, I'm still partly responsible for this mess."
"But it's unfair to place the burden on yourself! That's why… That's why I can't blame you at all for what happened. And… I think if the others were here, they'd say the same thing."
Would they..?
…
"What are we going to do about him?" Ciel asked.
"It'll be tricky, but we both possess high standard evasion maneuvers that will allow us to slip through a vast majority of attacks. If we're careful, we should be able win."
"Right…"
His ability was…
"What have you done all this time Ciel?"
"Huh?"
"Where have you gone?" Luna asked, "What have you seen of the world so far?"
"The world huh..? Truth be told Luna, the world's kind of a mess right now. Grimm are everywhere, Beacon fell, and my brother's got one of those crazy theories of his that some psychos are trying to destroy the world. The usual."
"Your brother?"
"Ah yeah, that's right... Back then, when we were together, I didn't even know I had a brother until a month later after… after that whole mess. I actually have two of them."
"I see. And how are they?"
"Well, the one that's the same age as me is a bit dull sometimes, but he's pretty fun to poke at now and then. My older brother is totally the coolest though. He tells bad jokes, but he's still pretty fun regardless. Together, they combine to form the awesome brotherly duo, Leo and Dante!"
Luna giggled at Ciel's statement, and even she laughed soon after.
"We also got this really sweet Fox Girl who totally has a thing for my older brother. If she didn't let her sense of "morality" get in the way, she totally would've pounced him by now. Why she didn't before now, I'll never know, but hey, props for restraint."
"Aren't you similar though? Minus the restraint bit." Luna asked with a sly smile
"I-I don't just jump at anyone you know… T-There's things like… Principles! Yeah, those! A-And a connection! That's important too!"
Another giggle escaped from Luna, "It's rare to see you flustered, but it's always adorable."
Ciel didn't have words for the the giggling girl, and only gave a huff and pout as she crossed her arms. But she smiled soon after, and joined in her in laughter as well.
The tram doors opened, allowing the two girls to step outside onto the platform to take in the sight around them.
It… looked so much like the facility they lived in, only much much bigger. The thing Ciel saw on the lower level was just a replica of the entrance. This… This was the real place…
…
Well, this was a replica of the real place, but… it felt like the real deal regardless. Only white, and not very colorful, just like the rest of the tower's inside.
"Just being here gives me the creeps… And nothing ever gives me the creeps…" Ciel stated as she cautiously glanced around.
"I feel uneasy as well…" Luna said walking alongside Ciel, "Being naturally attuned with the Dark, we rarely feel such nervousness in these kinds of settings."
"Yeah… Only when someone's the real deal we get that weird shiver… Like someone's gonna put up a decent enough fight."
"Now that I think about it, we never saw what he could, if anything at all."
"I did once." Ciel started, "At least, I think I did. I'm not entirely sure about what I saw, but I think-"
The ground began quaking violently, pieces of the ceiling falling down as the way they came slowly began to collapse.
"Crap, run for it!"
Ciel sprinted as fast as she could, and Luna followed next to her, surfing on her shadow like an ocean wave to keep up with the immortal. She flicked her hands, commanding her shadows to slice through the rubble that would have have stopped them, and Ciel took care of extras that Luna didn't have enough time to cut through.
Their teamwork allowed them to easily push through to the end, leaping through just in time before the passage had fully closed behind them.
"Well well, subjects 001 and 003. How nice to see you again." A deep and arrogant voice sounded through the air, "I must admit, I'm surprised you were able to break 003's brainwashing 001. I always thought you were some brute with no real intelligence and got by with dumb luck. But I may have been wrong. Tell me 001, do you remember my name?"
"Oooo, imma spell it out for you motherfu-"
As quick as Ciel took a step forward, she immediately stepped back to let the spike jet out from the ground and slowly retract back into the floor.
"Tsk tsk 001. Language. You wandering about sullies 'life' enough as is. We don't need anymore of your crudeness tainting the world. It's broken enough as is."
This asshat…
He never directly insulted anyone back then. At least, not obviously. But Ciel always hated it when he spoke. He sounded so… arrogant and condescending. And most annoyingly was the way he looked down on every one of the children.
Ciel was always a rough and tough kind of person, so she always knew when somebody was looking at her funny.
She beat them up if they did, even if she was as nice as she was.
Bullies were never her favorite. And she made sure they knew that.
"Please. Continue on forward. Tell me how my little experiments fare against. I'm not expecting all too much, but still, anything is better than nothing in terms of results. I used my Semblance on these subjects. While some didn't turn out like I had hoped, there were some that managed to at least surprise me."
What twisted shit is he going to throw at us..?
Ciel's body tensed up. She was confident she and Luna would be able to handle it no problem, but…
That shiver still remained. Not because of some worthy foe waiting ahead of them, but because she wasn't prepared to see whatever she would. Not knowing what she might see intimidated her the most. After all, how could she prepare herself if she didn't know what she'd see?
"There's movement up ahead… Large amounts… I'm not sure if they've noticed us but… They're moving slow. For now at least." Luna stated, "But something is strange with their movements. They're all… shuffling about aimlessly."
"So what? Easy targets then if they're dumb."
"True… But if their numbers are large, even they may present a problem."
"Not really. I've picked up a few tricks since we last saw each other, some of which I haven't used yet. If we do actually get into some trouble, I'll wreck those scrubs before they get a chance to touch us."
"I'll trust in you. Besides, my Semblance makes dealing with large crowds much easier, so it shouldn't be too difficult."
"Alright, I'll be at the front and you do clean up for whatever manages to slip through me."
Luna gave a silent nod and they both moved down the corridor, covering each other's blind spots as their eyes pierced through the veil of darkness. Nothing had engaged them yet, but they stopped as soon as they heard their feet making contact with a liquid surface. While their eyes allowed them to see in the dark, it didn't allow them to see in color, so they were unsure of what the liquid was.
That was, until took a quick whiff, and recognized a tangy, almost coppery smell.
"Now that's just gross…" Ciel noted.
"Where is all this blood coming from?"
"Up ahead obviously. But judging by the amount, and the fact that I think I just stepped on a finger, our friends are messy eaters."
"Do you believe he has been feeding people to whatever creatures he made?"
"Don't know Luna. All I know is that these things aren't vegetarian. Or vegan for that matter."
Luna pursed her lips together into a silent giggle, but immediately refocused herself on the task ahead of them as the duo silently stepped through the damp and darkened hallway.
As they continued onward, munching and crunching noises slowly grew louder with each step they took, and when they rounded the corner, they saw what was making the noise.
Dozens of humanoid creatures were crouched low to floor in separate groups. The thin, black skinned creatures grabbed at the the broken, mangled, bloody limbs, chomping at them like voracious gluttons and ripping large chunks of flesh and bone in whole bites. Their white, skull-like heads that had grown small horns were soaked in crimson blood, with only more splatters of red coating their faces and bare heads as they continued feasting.
A few had stopped, turning their skull-like heads towards the two girls with maws of sharp teeth wide and dripping with blood and rended flesh. Their glowing red eyes that peered through the darkness focused solely on the two as they slowly stood up and shambled forward a few steps.
Then, a shrill shriek rang out through the wider hallways, the other creatures joining in the shrieking as they fumbled forward aggressively to give chase to Ciel and Luna.
The duo did not hesitate and moved into the crowds of creatures to begin cutting them down.
Ciel's bone-like scythe swept through crowds of them, slicing away arms and legs and torsos with each and every quick swipe of hers. None were safe from the extendable range of her scythe as they were minced by one after the other without restraint.
Luna's shadows had extensive reach, splitting off into half a dozen blade-like limbs that skewered and ripped apart the creatures. Each tendril shot through the Darkness with terrifying precision, some even tearing off whole limbs as soon as they contact, only to go after the next few shortly. When Luna used her hands, her shadows struck with much more precision and deft speed, allowing Ciel to forge on ahead without worry of what may attack her from the rear or from her sides.
The last of the creatures had been felled by Ciel as she took its head, the rest of its body slumping to the ground as black blood mixed with the crimson red on the the floor.
"They… resemble Grimm…"
"Tch… That bastard… He's been making freaks out of people!"
"Correct 001! Seeing as I no longer needed the rest of the personal within the tower, I turned half of them into my precious little creatures, and then let them feast on the other half which you're stepping through. Mind the mess."
A louder, more deeper roar sounded through the hall up ahead of the duo as the man chuckled over the intercoms.
"Oh dear. It seems you've enraged the alpha. If you ran past, you could've avoided angering it, but as always, you are way too eager to start a fight."
"Shut it assclown!" Ciel pointed at the ceiling.
The roar sounded again, and was closer than before, snapping the two to attention as a rumbling could be heard.
They sounded quick and heavy, a complete opposite of the creatures the two had slain.
And then, it crashed into the earth from the ceiling above, its body three times as big as Ciel's and much more muscular than its smaller counterparts, white bone plating twisting around its hands, legs, and chest. White, chipped horns stood tall from the mess of a creature as it let out another bellowing roar at the girls.
It raised up its bone covered fists and slammed them into the ground, unleashing a messy, infested wave of who knew what that quickly crawled on the ground towards the the girls to consume them. Before Ciel moved, she had been drawn back by a shadowy tendril wrapped around her waist, bringing her next to Luna a ways back.
"I reckon even you shouldn't touch that!" Luna stated.
"Thanks! Nice save by the way!"
"My pleasure!"
The creature lurched forwards with a howl and shot out a spherical mass of whatever infested mess composed it that grew tendrils, possibly to bring the girls in forcibly when the mass was close enough.
Ciel twirled her scythe once as the curved blade straightened out and transformed it into its large swordspear form, allowing her to take aim, slide to a halt, and shoot her weapon forward with great force.
The weapon flew through the air quickly and tore through the pod of mutated mass, just missing the creature's head as the weapon had been plunged into the ceiling. Ciel crouched to the floor and slid underneath the creatures massive body, making it turn around to find the girl. Instead of moving forward like intended, it's body had been forced upwards with large, sharp stalagmites of shadow, piercing its body and limbs across numerous sections to keep it in place.
All it did next was stare at Ciel as she kicked off the floor, her weapon in hand again and in its scythe form as she swept past the creature like a cool breeze, it's head no longer upon its shoulders as its body went limp and slowly began to dissolve.
Luna approached Ciel, and gave an approving nod as they high fived one another, soon jogging off together down the hallway to meet the man responsible for their past torment.
They were in an open courtyard, large and expansive, but it still retained its strange coloring of pure white as far as the eye could see with some patterns of black circuit pathways running about. A few white stones and boulders were placed in view, standing like tall, decorative monoliths for what lay in the rounded center.
A single large tree of pure white color stood tall, none of the blank leaves moving to scatter, but moving gently in the breeze nonetheless.
The courtyard seemed to span infinitely within the tower…
"Where is he?" Ciel asked as she looked around.
It didn't take long to notice Luna wasn't next to her, causing the young immortal to look back and see her friend standing still.
"What? Cold feet?" She jokingly called out to her friend.
She didn't move at all…
Worried, Ciel quickly jogged to her friend, and saw the look of terror on her face as her eyes were wide and darted to Ciel.
"What the hell is going o-?!"
Her words were cut off as she felt something hot passing through her body and out her chest, looking down as she watched a bolt of red pass through her.
And Luna.
Unfrozen, the girl fell backwards, almost hitting the ground had Ciel not caught her that moment and quickly lay her down.
"No..! No no no no no! Luna! Luna?!" She said shaking her, "Come on, please! Please say something!"
She didn't give a response.
Ciel looked around panickedly trying to calm herself down, but she couldn't at all. She was too shaken at the moment.
Luna had gone cold, and her eyes had closed.
The young immortal pulled her in close, hugging her tightly and hoping there was still a beat in her left.
Nothing. Not even a tremor.
Her tears flowed profusely now as she cried out, her voice echoing throughout the infinity that was the courtyard.
An inky blackness overtook her from, turning her cries hollow and echoing as her body took on its devilish form, tears flowing from the glowing white eyegaps of her now black armored form.
Luna free from the Shadow Skinned Ciel's hands, the immortal let out another bellow, angry and full of rage as her white and black Aura crackled around her furiously, ceasing only when she did as her armored hands crashed into the floor to keep her up.
"Scream and cry all you'd like, but she's not going to be coming back."
Ciel's glowing eyes widened angrily as her thinly armored head jolted up at the voice, spotting a figure hiding within the shadow of one of the monolithic stones.
A man stepped out wearing black pants and shoes, a grey shirt underneath a white lab coat as he stepped forward to reveal himself fully; a middle aged man with brown hair and piercing crimson eyes that rested behind a pair of rectangular shaped grey glasses.
As his form came into view, small crystal-clear flashes shone next to him to take the form of humanoids, only, they were machines.
One of the heavily modified AK 200 Units, only now their armor was pitch black instead of grey, retaining their white glows from their v-line visors and sporting sleeker, more elegant armor that covered their entire form. Equally sleek and elegant rifles that only had two rails to format the gun barrels matching their armor rested in their hands as the eight units, four on each side of the man stood at attention.
The transformed Ciel stood up fully, stepping back and mindful to not tread on her friend as her head quickly scanned the area, ensuring there were only eight of the machines before extending her hand. Her weapon appeared in its scythe form, soon allowing her to take it in with both hands as the two outer AK 200's raised up their rifles.
Crimson glows like the beam that struck the two girls charged up between the rails, and then burst forth into an intense and continuous beam of energy. Ciel raised up her weapon and struck its curved point into the path of the beams as they connected with the blade and forced her back. With a mighty swing, she swiped her weapon across her body to reflect the beams back at the machines that let them loose, melting their metal bodies as the rest raised their weapons to fire.
Ciel gave them no chance, and quickly moved with blinding fury to cut in half the three on the outer right of her, then spun around to sweep through the last three machines in one swing, and gave no pause in slicing at the man's throat.
But she had completed been halted.
A thin, light red flash of Aura prevented her from moving any further, but the Aura on its own wouldn't have been enough to stop her swing. There was trick her from taking the man's head.
"Your rage gives you strength, 001."
Ciel then felt a burning sensation build up in her head, causing her to drop her weapon and reel back clutching her head as she angrily growled. She easily shook it off quite literally and glared at the man, unable to move further.
"But like 003, you can't defy me either."
Ciel let out a low growl, trying to resist the force preventing her from moving forward.
"Surprising as it may seem, even I make a mistake now and then. Like you… and 003."
She wasn't… some number..!
"You can't defy me any longer. Your fates were sealed the moment I had you in the palm of my hand."
The man snapped his fingers, and another machine phased into existence, taller than the rest and with a much larger rifle than the other Units.
Everything moved slowly, and Ciel watched the machine raise its rifle, certain it would fire at her. But when she stared at the barrel, her eyes widened, realizing it wasn't pointed at her.
She'd be playing into his hands, but to her, it didn't matter any longer. He wasn't going to allow him to disrespect her or Luna.
Her Aura flowed around her body violently in a pitch black color, freeing her from whatever force held her down, allowing her to move to Luna's body. By the time she took hold of her body into her arms, there wasn't time to freeze anything around her, and there wasn't time to escape, she'd be hit regardless.
The powerful, beam-like railshot crashed into her back forcefully, sending her flying with Luna still in her arms and crashing into the monoliths, knocking a few of them down and onto her, burying the two in a massive heap of rubble.
"Hmph… All that power and still too soft hearted and stupid to save herself. What an utter disappointment…"
A wave of his hand, and the large machine shouldered its weapon, turning in unison with its maker as they walked away.
Her glowing white eyes opened slowly in the dark. All she saw was stone all around her. With what little luck remained with her, Ciel hadn't been completely crushed by rubble, and lay within the mound of collapsed stone with minimal space to move freely.
She let out a few distorted breaths, pulling her armored, trapped foot out of some of the rubble, and looking around her once more.
That was until she heard some staggering breaths from the one in her arms.
"Luna..!" Ciel called out in a hollow, echoing voice.
"Ciel..? Ciel… You're… okay…"
"Of course I am, dummy! W-We need to do something about you!"
She tried to move around, but was only reminded of how small her space was.
"Damn it..!"
"Ciel… Listen… Don't… Don't let him tell you what you are… Be… who you want to be…"
With her words spoken, her paled lips touched the cold, armored cheek of Ciel before she closed her eyes and leaned back into the girls arms.
The armor on the cheek began to crack, and a piece fell onto Luna. A bright ray of light emerged from the small gap as the rest of the armor began to crack and fall apart to let out more rays of light.
Then, within the next instant, the armor had cracked.
"Now then… I should leave before she comes back out. I still need to get things working like she asked before I leave here."
The pile of rubble had exploded, sending chunks of stone flying at the man. His machine had stepped in the way, the chunks crumbling to pieces as soon as it made contact with its armor.
"Well now, I didn't expect you to get up so soon. I thought you'd shut down just like you did last time, but I suppose that was asking for too much."
The large machine had soon returned to standing at attention, and the man noticed something white falling from the sky. They were glowing and thin strands…
"Feathers..? Ack!"
He quickly dropped the glowing white feather out of his palm, shaking off his smoldering hand and spotting the burning imprint of the feather.
"What in the world..?"
(It's My Turn, feat. Casey Lee Williams)
A bright glow blinded his sight for a brief moment, and then died down, allowing the man to take in the sight. It was Ciel, but… she was different. Way different.
Her body had forsaken its dark encasement of armor, and revealed a bodily form completely bathed in white, resembling a secondary layer of skin. Her face had no mouth, only the form of a nose, and eyes completely overtaken with a bright sky blue glow. Most noticeable of her new form was the pair of large, Angelic wings of pure white Aura, each wing easily twice her size or larger and each feather traced in a black outline of Aura. And her weapon, her scythe… It took on a purer form compared to its natural, sinister skeletal form.
"Well well, how ironic… A devil that can take on the form of an angel… What are you going to do? Smite me? Ha! What a joke! Do you think a simple change of appearance is enough to scare me 001?!"
His hand quickly shot into the machine, burying itself deep into the metal, where oddly enough, the metal began to assimilate with his body, spreading across all corners of his body to make him almost as large as his machine, and nearly as covered in armor.
More groups of smaller machines phased into existence near him, their guns armed and ready.
"Now..! Step forward 001! If you're lucky enough, I might reevaluate your worth!"
Within the next instant, the front row of machines fell to pieces within an instant, shocking the man as he looked back to the now angelic Ciel.
(0:48)
Without warning, she surged forward spanning her wings, leaving a glowing trail of feathers behind her as she instantly melted her divine scythe through the metal of the machines, and swung for the man's neck. He quickly stepped back, and although he avoided the zing of the metal, a small cut formed on his throat.
He moved backwards with each swing, assimilating the pieces of the broken machines to his body to block the deadly steel of the scythe as it cut through his defenses like butter. Forming enough metal around his arms, he blocked the next few strikes, but even that was beginning to fail against Ciel's mighty scythe. She swung so quickly that her attacks were practically invisible, and left dozens of streaks of white light with each attack.
Ciel kicked the man away from her than underhand tossed her scythe at her target, sending her deadly weapon spiraling like a saw. The man blocked the initial attack, but still suffered direct damage to his body. He watched as the scythe quickly spun back into Ciel's hands before she sent it spiraling back at him.
"That won't work again!"
With a mighty punch, the man sent his armored fist into the weapon's pole and sent it flying back at the Angelic girl, who easily caught her weapon and held it with both hands before taking a graceful swing at her opponent.
He smirked at the nonsensical wing, but it vanished just as immediately when dozens upon dozens of slashes appeared around him in a deadly vortex, leaving deep cuts all across his body.
B-But how?! She was nowhere near me!
Sparing no time, the man leaned down quickly to assimilate four of the smaller machines' miniature Dust Railguns to his arm, and fired all of them off as soon as they were fully attached to his arm. Four beams of red energy surged forward within a near instant, but Ciel simply twirled her weapon around quickly, opening a small vortex of white Aura within the center of the spin that ate up the beams.
Then, the Angelic girl took her weapon up with both hands as the vortex of white opened once again, and with another quick and powerful swing, eight beams of red energy, larger than the ones shot at her, surged outwards in a flash, barely giving the man time to defend himself as only one of his legs was taken.
"Damn it..!"
Touching one of the broken machines near him, red veins traveled across the machines body, tearing off its legs and replacing the one he had just lost.
What the hell..! She didn't have these kinds of powers before!
Yet again he was pressed to act quickly as the pole of Ciel's scythe extend far as she took a wide swing, missing the first, but quickly making the blade shift into a straight position to resemble a sort of curved spear as it was thrusted forward with intense force. The point tore through the defensive barrier that was formed like paper, and was digging into the armored body of the man as he struggled in vain to defend himself.
The scythe point only barely dug into his gut, but it's current divine essence sent an excruciating burning sensation throughout his body, upping in intensity the longer the blade stuck him. Crashing into a nearby monolith, he had an opportunity of escape when grabbed the pole with both hands and kicked his leg into it with a pained shout to force both it and the girl up into the air.
He threw the girl into one of the monoliths nearby, but her divine wings of light shielded her from the impact, allowing her to then let go of her weapon and span her wings wide to remain in the air, her weapon shrinking back down to its original shape.
Touching one of the machines near him, he assimilated eight of their weapons, four for each arm as he raised them up and fired each one off in intervals.
(2:06)
The Angelic Ciel kicked off the colossal stone as her wings spanned outwards, allowing her to dart and weave through the air easily to avoid anything that came her way. Glowing white feathers floated in the air wherever she traveled, and when she was centered high above, she flapped her angelic wings, and all the feathers instantly swayed and pointed at the man down below before traveling with the powerful energy that moved them, raining down like deadly needles of light.
All the man could do was cower under the metal barriers he put up, but even that didn't save him from the majestic feathers that quickly dented and warped the metal across various sections, soon bursting through to attack and pierce the man's flesh as he cried out in pain.
Ciel landed gracefully, her glowing bright sky blue eyes focused only on the man as he stepped out from the dust, pulling feathers out of his body as they smoked within his grasp.
"Damn you..! A good for nothing like you couldn't possibly have wings as pure as those! You shouldn't have those in the first place!"
The Angelic Ciel moved without hesitation, charging in as her weapon returned to her hand. Another swing for the head, but like the last, it only barely missed as the man swung his massive arm at her. The entire arm had been cut away easily, allowing Ciel to easily move in for another attack.
Or so she thought.
Her weapon had been caught, and with a quick glance, she saw one of the machine still had enough functionality to grab hold of the pole with both hands and keep her held down.
"Idiot!" The man said swing a newly acquired arm at the girl, "Falling for something like that is-!"
Zero hesitation and a glowing white bare fist crushed into the side of the man's face to crush the armor plating protecting him and knock out a few teeth, some spatters of blood included given the armor plating was directly attached to his face. The mighty strength of her punch sent him flying far without sign of losing altitude until he crashed into another monolith and fell back down into the ground.
"Damn you..! I won't let you win!"
Numerous pieces of the broken machine bodies began to rush towards the man after he extended his assimilation veins and drew them in, each piece increasing the size and mass of his body exponentially until he was a giant mess of machine parts that took on something of a human shape, however grotesque looking it was.
His voice had become deeper and more distorted as he angrily shouted at the Angelic girl he towered over and raised his colossal fist to crush her. Recalling her weapon, the blade had become spear-like again and completely straightened itself to resemble a double edge greatsword, thus allowing the weapon to take on its swordspear form as she used her wings to surge forward and under the great beast's legs and cut one of them out so it could kneel.
A desperate punch missed its mark, allowing the girl to fall onto the hunk of metal and drag her weapon through it to render it useless before leaping up and slashing the arm off entirely. As she fell onto its hulking shoulders, she quickly ran up towards the spine and stabbed at it repeatedly, earning more cries of pain from the lumbering beast as blood eventually surged in large amounts.
Despite being shaken off, she flew up into the air and then immediately swooped down to lob off the other arm in an instant, making more blood flow freely from the fresh wound. Sparing no time for her enemy, Ciel folded her wings towards her back and spun under a desperate swing of the stump-like arm, stabbing her swordspear into its abdomen.
As if it weighed nothing, the Angelic girl easily lifted the metal creature into the air, spun it once, and tossed it off her weapon and into the ground with a large crash. Another flap of her wings immediately placed her on its back once more as she pierced its body again. Aura surged from her weapon in an explosive burst, causing explosive ruptures all around its body as it fell to the ground in a heaping mess.
(End Song)
Ciel had leapt off its back to put some considerable distance between them, landing on top of a monolith and twirling her swordspear into backhand position as she raised it up and aimed at the mess of metal and blood down below.
The nightmare would end with this next strike.
…
Or so she thought.
It was only then she remembered Luna was still present. But…
…
Her moment of hesitation benefited her in the end.
With the same zero hesitation she possessed in the fight early on, she thrusted her swordspear behind her, hearing a wet "thunk" behind her as blood spilled onto her pristine, white form.
The man behind her stood behind Ciel with the only arm he had, knife ready to pierce the back of her neck, but slipping out of his burnt and bloodied hand.
"H-How did you..?!"
"For someone so smart… you've always been a complete idiot when it came to people… Vogler…"
Her voice echoed, but it was soft, almost crystalline as the words came out of her.
Vogler coughed up more blood as he fell off the monolith, but he spared no time in crawling away pathetically like a worm.
"I… don't want to die…"
"Luna more than likely thought the same." Ciel responded in a cold tone as she trailed the lowly man.
He was a snake. No, not even that much. He was a worm. Nothing more, nothing less.
He stared back at Ciel, fear ever present in his eyes as he knelt down and looked back at the girl resembling divinity. Vogler's gaze then trailed to the floor as he let out a manic sort of laughter that was pathetically stifled.
"Ciel…" he said finally using her actual name, "Kill me."
Just as quickly as the words left his mouth, his head had been taken in one swift slash of her swordspear, the rest of his body slumping to the ground a moment after. An almost divine essence, matching Ciel's white and black Aura, burned away the body slowly until nothing but blackened ash filtered in the air of the pristine, pure white background of the tower.
She waited. And waited. And waited. And waited until the body had completely been reduced to black dust and scattered.
It was only then she let out a relaxed exhale of breath with her crystalline voice, falling to her her knees moments after as her Angelic wings of white Aura chipped away quickly like shards of beautiful glass that floated and dissolved in the air. Soon , the second layer of pristine, white skin followed after, reverting her to her original form as she let out exhausted breaths.
"Big brother wasn't kidding… I really tore up all the muscles in my body… If doesn't hurt… but… it doesn't feel all too great either…"
…
…
"Right… This tower of terrors… Need to bring it down…"
Using her swordspear, Ciel propped herself up until she was on both feet, and moved slowly away from the courtyard, dragging her weapon behind her. She looked back a final time where Luna had been left, flashing a smile before tears streamed down her face.
"I guess… This time it's goodbye for real… Luna…"
The room was… dark in contrast to the rest of the tower. Rather, it was dimly lit. For a room was that seemingly spanned a hundred meter radius, there was absolutely nothing in there.
Save for the large, black sphere at the center that was three time her size.
That had to be what was powering the tower… and fueling progress towards the nightmarish experiments Vogler was conducting…
He never had something like this before. It had to come into his possession recently.
It was so dark… The presence it gave off was absolutely dreadful. Like it was absent and void of life.
True dark… It almost reminded her of when HE got really mad.
…
Not that it mattered. She still had to destroy it.
She didn't have too much Aura left in her, and her muscles were still undergoing the constant strain of destroying and repairing themselves. However long this was going to last, she had no idea, but it was annoying to have limited movement.
It was the price she had to pay for using such power.
And so she dragged her heavy legs towards the core of pitch black darkness, swordspear dragging through the floor to leave long cuts.
Then she struck.
The rebound was immediate, and she fell flat on her back.
"Damn it… Tougher than I thought… Oh well… Try again…"
Ciel picked herself up and forced herself at the core, but this time, instead of bouncing back, the tip of her swordspear remained where it was, unmoving against the crackles of black energy resisting her.
"Come on..! You piece of shit! Break already!"
She pushed harder, but the weapon barely budged.
"Break damn it! Break!"
The swordspear moved just an inch forward, but no further.
"BREAK ALREADY!" She screamed.
As if the chunk of blackened glass heard her, her weapon sank deep into the sphere. But it wasn't so simple as to break. Ciel was blasted away a considerable distance by a large force of electrifying black energy.
Crashing into the floor, she was completely paralyzed by the massive flow of energy that suddenly passed through her. But she could feel the ground shaking violently, and saw chunks of debris falling from the ceiling all around her. The ground even started to fall apart, revealing the lower levels below.
Everything was falling apart now.
"Well… I did it… I guess…"
She really couldn't move any longer with paralysis that had just hit her…
"I wonder if I'll get to see big brother soon… And Leo… And foxy… And the cutie pie wolf cub Irene…"
Her eyes grew heavy, and unable to resist her exhaustion any further, her consciousness faded shortly after as the floor had completely fallen apart.
And just as she was about to fall… a hand reached out and caught her.
The tower had collapsed entirely, but she was far enough away to be unaffected. No Grimm were around in the forested area, so they wouldn't be attacked. Hopefully.
Her soft humming of the lullaby was so peaceful and soothing…
It made Luna all the more sadder as she sat in the grass with Ciel's head resting on her lap. She was still unconscious, so a direct "goodbye" wasn't likely in the cards. No, it wasn't going to happen. She was already fading.
A rustling of leaves alerted her, but she didn't stand. She let her shadows stand like flexible spears, pointing towards the direction of the noise.
"Now now… No need for those."
A man stepped out garbed in a tattered black cloak and… wearing a dragon mask that resembled a Grimm. His voice was sly and cool, making Luna wary of him still.
"Who are you?"
"Who I am isn't really important. However, the person in your arms is." The man responded pointing to Ciel.
Luna's hold grew tighter on Ciel. She wasn't going to let any means of harm come to her while she still lived.
"Calm down, now. I'm not here to take her away. If that were the case, we wouldn't be having this discussion right now."
Then…
"Why are you here?" Luna asked.
"No real reason. I'm here to make sure she's alive and alright. Well, as far as 'alright' applies to her. The older one would be very upset if he realized something terrible had happened to her, and then he'd come running after her. With the way things are now, we can't have that happening."
"Older one… You mean her brother… What is he to you that someone as shady as you would come here to ensure her survival?"
"Hmmm… Well, if I had to sum it up, he's more or less a long term investment."
"Long term… investment?"
"That's right. While I can't really be 'hands on' concerning him, there's nothing wrong with working behind the scenes a bit."
…
He… didn't seem to be a threat… But could he be trusted?
"Oh dear, you seem to not be doing so well…"
"I…" Luna paused briefly, staring at her hand to notice it had already become transparent, "I'm going to fade soon… As horrible as it sounds… that crude scientist's power kept me alive past the limit of my Semblance all those years ago. I'm only allowed to survive one fatal attack within a period of a week, regardless of what the attack is. Even if I haven't taken any fatal hits after the first time, with that man dead…"
"His power no longer holds sway over you. But as a consequence, the same power keeping you alive is also no longer present. And soon enough, you'll fade." The dragon masked finished for her.
"Yes…"
"Well… spend your last moments together wisely. I'll be going now."
"Wait a moment! Please! After I fade, will you-?"
"There's no need for me to be here any longer than I should. Besides… the 'other' dragon will be here shortly. No doubt for her."
"Other..?"
That's right… Ciel was traveling with someone else for some time…
"Kind sir… May I know your name?"
"Please, a degenerate such as myself isn't anywhere near being worthy to share his name with anyone. But if you insist…"
The man's dragon mask turned to Luna, looking down to the seated girl.
"My name is Aizûr. And it was a pleasure to make your acquaintance, however short term it was. Waste no further time on me. Say your goodbyes while you can, young girl. Bye bye."
With those last words, he had turned around and disappeared into the clearing, leaving Luna alone with Ciel for the time being. She leaned forward and gave her a kiss, sniffling as she did so before hugging her tightly.
"Even if it wasn't for long… I was able to see you again after all this time… And… I couldn't be more grateful for such a wonderful opportunity! But… here we part ways yet again. This time, the last time. I love you, my little devil. Or should I say little angel?" She said between another sniffle, "Knowing you, I'd think you'd prefer 'little devil' given how mischievous and rambunctious you are…"
Her body had become completely transparent, and parts of her had already began to vanish. With what she managed, Luna had pulled out the split-heart necklace, one half of the heart black while the other white, that Ciel had lost earlier within the tower and placed it in her friend's hand, closing it shut to make sure she still held on to it.
"Regardless of what occurred in the past… I always enjoyed my time with you! Nothing made me happier..!" She said over her sobbing.
She had lain Ciel on the ground so she wouldn't fall, but still kept what was left of her hand interlocked with Ciel's.
"Goodbye… sweet Ciel. I will… always love and cherish you…"
Her form had been erased as the last of it vanished in thin wisps of shadow into the bright rays of sunlight.
Musashi had arrived just then, and sword for a moment she saw another person present, but thought she must have imagined. She was exhausted after running for a day and night straight without stopping.
All she saw for sure was the battered Ciel as she hurried over and gently scooped her up into her arms. Her sensitive hearing allowed her to ascertain Ciel was still breathing and had a heartbeat, so she wasn't as panicked. But seeing her injured…
The tan skinned dragon Faunus shook her head as her long, obsidian horns glistened in the sunlight. She stood up, and immediately began walking in the direction she came from, looking to the resting Ciel and smiling before she turned her eyes back to the clearing.
"What sort of mischief did you manage to get into, you sweet and tiny devil…"
"He… seems a little off…"
Jaune, Nora and Ren stopped at Ruby's sudden statement, staring at her with some confusion. They then looked to Dante who was further ahead of them, seeing him continuing walking.
It looked as though he also put his arm back into the sling he had been using for months now. He never complained about it hurting, but he did make mention it ached a little now and then, and so he wanted to rest his arm.
But most of the time now, he was at the head of the pack, ensuring their safety.
"I mean, he's always been a little weird. Well, not weird weird… I mean-"
"What Nora is trying to say is that he's always been somewhat strange to some extent. No disrespect mind you." Ren said in place of Nora.
"I know that. But… he doesn't talk all too much nowadays."
"Well, that's because he's really serious about getting us to Mistral safely. His concentration's off the charts that it's scary…" Jaune replied as he continued helping Ren carry Qrow in their makeshift stretcher.
"But this is different…" Ruby said, worriedly looking to Dante, "There's something wrong with him. I've tried asking if there's anything wrong, but he always brushes the question off."
"Oh yeah! One of those 'There's plenty wrong with me' jokes he always says! His jokes are pretty good sometimes! Did he tell you one of those jokes?" Nora commented.
"Well, he did, but…"
"Has he been doing anything out of the ordinary? Well… At the very least, anything out of the unordinary he already does?" Ren asked.
"You mean not sleeping at all like he already does? Or eating anything at all?" Jaune returned.
"I… I think he's hurt somehow…"
All of them went silent for a moment.
"N-No way! That guy heals quicker than ripping off a bandaid! Well, except for his arm…"
"Not like that." Ruby said shaking her head at Nora, "I think it's on a more personal level. Haven't you guys noticed how different he's been ever since seeing each other again?"
"He did seem a little down…" Nora said.
"We have to take into consideration there might have been a lot that's happened in the time we've been separated. For all we know, things may have happened that he doesn't really want to talk about." Ren added.
"It's just… I don't like not knowing what's wrong with him… How else am I supposed to help if don't know what I can do?"
"M-Maybe you can go ask him again! A-And you know… Be super cutesy about it!"
"Wouldn't that be a bit manipulative?" Ren asked Jaune.
"W-Well… Maybe, but… It'd get results wouldn't it? I mean, he never says 'no' to Ruby…"
"True…"
"Of course he'd never say no to her!" Nora said pinching and tugging the sides of Ruby's cheeks in spite of her cute squeaks, "Can't you guys see just how cute she is?!"
A violent quake interrupted them all, making their footing unsteady for the few seconds the tremors lasted.
"What the heck was that?!" Jaune asked.
"Earthquake..?" Ren said as he looked around.
Ruby, stumbling out of her stupor looked back to Dante in the distance, his left hand touching the side of a large tree. His head was down, and he was… trembling..?
Within the next moment, she saw his hand squeeze, easily crushing the bark and wood of the tree as large, destructive cracks ran up all the way to the top of the tree, collapsing it in the next second with a loud, echoing thud.
It didn't take long for Ruby to zip over to him.
"Are you okay?"
No response.
"Hey… Da-"
She touched his shoulder, and felt something horrible wash over her. It… felt so terrible that it brought her tears
Snapping out of whatever trance he was in, he immediately snapped his head to Ruby and panicked slightly.
"What?! What happened?!" He said wiping away her tears with his bandaged hand that he took out of his sling, "Seriously, what's wrong? Did something happen? I kinda spaced out for a bit…" He said apologetically.
"Why..?"
"Hm? Why what?"
"Why are you feeling this way..?"
"W-What do you mean..?"
"Why are you so hurt..?"
"Uh… I'm not… hurt or anything… I mean, I got angry for a second just a little while ago when that quake hit us, but… I don't really know why… so…"
"Then why aren't you talking much to any of us?"
"I'm…" He paused, letting out a shard exhale, "I'm just worried. With everything that's happened both these recent weeks and months ago… I'm legitimately worried for once."
Dante stared at his right hand, clenching it tightly.
"Way back then before I came here, I had the luxury to be laid back and humorous until I reached the end of the road because of how strong I used to be. Problem is, I'm not as effective or efficient when I'm like that. And now… Now things are in such a state that I can't afford to be a total goofball for even a split second. I have to be serious from the get go all the way to the end. Otherwise, it'll go downhill quick."
The immortal gave the young reaper a reassuring head pat, and rubbed the top of her head gently.
"I made a promise that I was going to get you and everyone else safely to Mistral. And unlike the bonehead I used to be in the past, I'm going to follow through on that promise with as little bumps in the road as I can manage. So I'm sorry if I'm not laughing like everyone else or being my usual goofball self. Getting you safely to your destination… That's what's most important to me right now. More than eating, or sleeping, or having fun. I will protect you all. And I will not fail."
Ruby gave him a small pout, but she grabbed the hand on top of her hand and held onto it tightly, moving it down to her cheek.
She could feel the warmth in his hands now…
"Aw, ain't that sweet? Two lovers sharing a moment together! You're one lucky bro!"
Dante immediately spun around at the sensation of the foul Auras he sensed, eyes wide open. He wasn't shocked, the immortal had been expecting trouble constantly after Aizûr. His widened eyes were only a means to keep himself focused and able to perceive what might have been coming his way.
Five figures stood down the road, each garbed in black cloaks and wearing bone white masks that resembled different Grimm.
"More of you…" Dante silently muttered.
Jaune and Ren has already placed Qrow down so that the two of them and Nora could join Ruby and Dante's side.
"Looks like all of them are here. Now then, let's start the party!" One of them shouted as they charged forward.
(Omake: Skyla's Reckoning 5, by Xera Stark)
«»
"Okay, serious girl talk, okay?" Skyla said.
This was very serious stuff. Delicate stuff. Stuff she shouldn't mess with.
Irene rubbed her tired eyes as she sat cutely on a rock.
"I know it's early, but we need to make sure they don't hear us." Skyla's voice came out in a whisper as she reached forward and gently grabbed Irene's kicking feet, holding them still. "Gucci?"
The little wolf girl's blue eyes opened, bright in the fleeting rays of the morning sun. The sleepiness seemed to leave her in one, affirmative "hmph!".
"Gucci." Skyla gave a firm nod herself as she let go of the small girl's cute socks. "Now, I need you to think hard. Ciel and Musashi. You've seen the way they act, the way they talk, the way they look at each other when they think no one's looking!"
Her voice was soft, but firm. She wanted to be clear. Concise. This was a job for an investigator. A good one, too.
Unfortunately, Skyla left her bubble pipe and detective cap at home.
Irene nodded innocently.
"Now, the real question. Has one of them been acting… suspicious, lately?" Skyla asked.
Irene stared. She stared for a long time into Skyla's wide, piercing eyes. And after a long, silent minute, she tilted her head with a confused little blink.
"I knew it! One of them is having an affair…" Skyla concluded, bopping her palm with her fist. "But which one? Hm…"
This was more serious than she thought.
Irene's confusion grew.
"It can't be Musashi. No, she's too pure," the brunette reasoned, lowering her bopped hand as she paced around. "Ciel is faithful. No way she'll cheat either. They cuddle at night for Oum's sake!"
Skyla's brow knit in frustration as her pacing quickened. "Whoever it is, she hides it well. Almost… like she knows I'm looking into them!"
Irene's head lifted and tipped the other way, blinking silently. Her small mouth opened, but her confusion held her tongue.
And Skyla's suspicions only grew.
"There has to be something… They must've slipped up. Just once! That's all it takes to bring them in for questioning," Skyla murmured to herself.
Irene closed her mouth when Skyla fixed the girl with a quick, hopeful, but determined stare.
"Quick, you're an agent of the wolf clan! I need your spy skills! You're the only one of your bloodline who can h-!"
A pair of twin, soft pats stopped Skyla's words as two hands squished her cheeks. Skyla's eyes squinted at the young girl standing on the rock in front of her.
Holding her face.
Irene's eyes narrowed, a huff leaving her lips before squishing Skyla's cheeks a little more firmly.
"You want me to stop freaking out and making stuff up to distract myself, is that it?" Skyla asked.
Irene nodded with another "hmph", this one sounding demanding.
"I know I know…" the brunette sighed softly. "You don't have to call me paranoid."
Another "hmph", this one softer.
"You're right. I have nothing to worry about. They're happy together."
Irene lessened her squishing, but fixed Skyla with another narrowed gaze.
"Hey, I can feel sorry for myself! Besides, you don't know what it's like playing third wheel," Skyla offered up pathetically.
The small wolf girl rolled her eyes and took her hands away from Skyla's cheeks, brushing them down the front of her blue dress.
Two ears flicked as the girl crossed her arms, tail waving.
Her childish face held a firm stare again.
"Fiiiiine, I get it I get it," Skyla smiled at the girl and waved her hands dismissively. "I'm not lonely or anything. Besides, they're not even together yet! So I have nothing to be jealous of."
Irene hmphed again and tapped her socked foot.
"W-What?! Noooo, I'm not jealous. Why would you even think that?" Skyla looked appalled, leaning back with a dismissive wave of the hand. "Psh. No way. You're the one who's jealous."
Another hard "hmph!".
Skyla let her head fall dejectedly. "I know…"
The small wolf child nodded with a satisfied hum, hopping off her rock and taking Skyla's hand.
She walked the sulking girl back to camp.
Weapons Illustrated 16
«»
"Right right… We're back again folks after a good and well needed break. So instead of just dallying about, let's get straight to it. Ruby?"
"Right'o! Today's weapon is Alice Lianna's pair of katanas. The white bladed one is called Cruel Salvation, and the black bladed katana is called Cruel Entropy." Ruby stated as she walked up next to Dante, "Like her sister's weapons, they don't have any transformative forms and instead are geared more for working in conjunction with her Semblance, which Leo and Ciel are going to cover next time."
"Her Semblance involves shadows, and reversing its polarity to use light, in tandem with her weapons. When using the shadow aspect of her Semblance, she's able to lash out at enemies with powerful waves of shadow. When keeping them contained to her swords, it adds tremendous strength to herself and the weapons to overwhelm her foes with brute force."
"And when she uses the light aspect of her Semblance, adding them to her swords gives her tremendous cutting power that literally burns through her enemies with such intensity it's like literally chopping through butter! It helps that the material of her blades are super durable and just flexible enough that they won't break against most things!"
"The added strength factor of the materials used for her katanas, and the immense sharpness of them allows to cut through steel fairly easily. Unless there's a counterforce strong enough to block her, safe to say she'll cut through mostly anything sorry enough to come into contact with her blades." Danted added.
"To simplify it, think of her swords, when using the light aspect of her Semblance, as superheated blades infused with light!" Ruby said excitedly.
"And when she uses the shadow aspect, think of them as using chilled ice blades that are made more or less for absolutely overpowering her enemy. They wouldn't have as much cutting power when using her light aspect, but they compensate for that with greater overall durability and impacting force."
"Well everyone, that pretty much wraps things up for us today! Check in next time for some totally awesome fights!"
"Meh.."
"What's wrong?" Ruby asked.
"It's gonna be annoying is all."
"Come on, fights aren't always annoying!" She said patting him on the back.
"No, but this one will be. I can feel it."
"Meh, I guess we'll see." Ruby stated before waving to everyone with Dante, "By everybody!"
Bittersweet in the case of Ciel. I guess? I can't think or say anything clever. I'm still too exhausted. In any regard, we've moved back to the main course and are on our way towards the end. What's to happen in this predicament with RNJR and Dante? Look forward to the next chapter for more. But for now...
I highly recommend you all go check out the freaking amazing story XSRA's Flame written by Xera Stark. His story overall is absolutely fantastic and is a must read, so I suggest you seriously read it. You won't want to miss out on this story.
Not only that, but check out his other awesome and highly entertaining story Rogue Huntsmen as I mentioned above. It's just pure awesomeness bundled into one story. Trust me, you'll love it pretty much immediately. And hey! Go check out HydraFLow's story Lost in Binary! It's equally as awesome and entertaining, and more than definitely worth spending the time reading and enjoying!
Questions? Ask them anytime. I will try to answer without spoiling.
Please remember to review, follow and favorite this story if you really enjoyed it and want to continue seeing more of it. And hey, even tell others about this story! Remember that your support is what helps make this story grow even larger and what helps improve it. With that, I bid you all an excellent week/weekend!
Bye-bye now!