Witching Hour at Mountain Glenn
Ruby gazed out of the bullhead's window. Her foot tapped against the ground as she stroked Crescent rose in her lap. The gesture comforting her somewhat. She was annoyed the nervous habits he had developed years ago remained, but her thoughts were far from her, residing with those in mountain Glenn.
A red light started to blink as the bullhead's engine roared to life.
"By some good luck the Grimm hordes are leaving an area we were going to have to pass through to get the designated Landing Zone." Blake said as she sat down, buckling herself in, "we'll land there instead, and travel on foot to the meeting point. It is closer to the meeting point anyway."
Weiss nodded. "How long is our flight?"
"Only ten minutes rather than the half hour that was expected." Blake explained.
Yin smiled, "things seem to be going our way." She said lightly.
Ruby frowned things were going too well in her mind. Why had the Grimm moved? There shouldn't have been anything to pull them away from the area. Unless there was a fight going on somewhere, a fight with immense amount of negativity…
"Let's get there quickly," Ruby said, "I have a bad feeling about this."
Yin looked at her cautiously, but said nothing.
The jolt of the bullhead accelerating jarred them all. As Weiss and Yang scrambled to stay in their seats, Ruby kept eye contact with her sister. A silent conversation translating concern. But Yin saw something far more worrying than simple concern.
She saw fear.
Lie felt the blood pump through his legs, his focus tunneling until he could only see the hammer he was sprinting towards. He bound over rubble with ease, ignoring the shouts from his foes, several of whom could do nothing to stop him.
Glynda was desperately struggling to keep the roof from collapsing on top of her allies, even as she also moved debris out of the way. Remnant's version of Qrow was trying to do first aid on his sister. God Raven was in the middle of dragging Arc and Belladonna out of the rubble, both were, fortunately, still unconscious. This left Qrow Branwen, Vytalian god, still in bird form, to stop him.
The massive wing arced through the air, threatening to blow Lie off his feet. He shifted his weight, hoping it would keep him balanced as he neared Magnahild. His lungs burned even as his legs screamed from being pushed so far above their limits. He ran faster than he could have thought possible. His vision narrowed even further. The sound of wind and screams vanished, only the crunch of rubble under his feet was audible to him.
He grinned as his hand wrapped around Magnahild. The Warhammer was cold, and Lie could only joke that it clearly missed its user. He turned knowing that Valkyrie had likely already left cover to try to close the distance between the two of them.
With gritted teeth and a near-bestial roar, he flung the hammer into the air. He instinctively knew that the weapon would travel no more than a few feet, he was too exhausted, his aura far too drained, to use all his potential strength.
He tracked the swirling Warhammer with his eyes. The world around him slowed, allowing him to absorb the scene before him. Vytalian Qrow had reverted to his human form, shouted something to his sister, and rushed after the hammer, desperate to intercept it. Lie wondered if Qrow knew what they were up to, but cast the thought away, soon, it would not matter. He didn't notice as Vytalian Raven tore open a portal and leapt through.
Lie grinned as Valkyrie closed in on the rapidly descending Warhammer. A gunshot rang out, a metallic ring rang less than a second later, the hammer suddenly changing trajectory. Lie's breath caught in his throat.
"Someone must have fired a bullet" he thought as he pushed himself forwards, forcing is aching body, already exhausted and drained, to continue to move. He pushed himself forward, Valkyrie had diverted herself, rushing after Magnahild as it struck the ground with a spray of debris. Vytalian Qrow was pursuing Magnahild as well, undoubtedly looking to stop Valkyrie from regaining her weapon.
Lie's eyes narrowed, noting that Qrow had abandoned his weapon in favor of speed. He surged forward, closing in on Qrow. Lie leapt at the last moment, grinning as recognition shown in Qrow's eyes. The surprise as the gods tumbled in a tangle of limbs was something Lie would not soon forget.
Lie kneed Qrow in the gut, a satisfying grunt of pain coming from Qrow's throat. Sharp pain radiated from his back as Qrow rammed his elbow between Lie's spine and shoulder blade even as his other hand went for Lie's eyes. Lie instinctively reared his head back, nimbly avoiding getting one of his eyes gouged out, but left himself open for a brutal headbutt to the face. Lie heard an audible crunch as blood poured from his nostrils. He ignored it as he struggled to regain his lost grip on Qrow. The god shoved Lie off. Thrusting an elbow into Lie's stomach for good measure, before pushing himself upwards.
Even as the world swayed before him, the boom emanating from a grenade blast could be heard clearly. Lie could only grin. It was music to his ears.
Ruby and company leapt from the bullhead. Landing nimbly on the ground below them.
Blake glanced around. "The meeting area is about a mile that way." She said pointing towards a wooded area.
"I'll scout ahead." Ruby said quickly, vanishing in a burst of petals. She returned only moments later. Petals fluttered around her as she stopped, her hair frizzy and her pony tail almost undone.
"You said the meeting point was a giant statue near a fountain, right?" She asked Blake.
Blake nodded, "that's right."
"Well, there's nobody there. I even checked the nearby buildings. I found nothing."
"We're early, aren't we? Maybe they simply haven't arrived." Yang proposed.
"That is a possibility," Blake conceded, "but it's unlikely. Raven runs a bandit tribe, shed have a scout waiting for us to notify her of our arrival. They don't have scroll reception, which means we can't tell them when we arrive."
Yin nodded, "is it possible that something came up?" she asked. "Perhaps there was an outbreak of Grimm. That horde moved quickly, something had to cause that. Perhaps a fight broke out underground and that attracted the Grimm."
Yang frowned, the possibility of that was high, but part of her worried that perhaps her mother had, once again, vanished without a trace.
"Yin has a good point. Perhaps we should head to the meeting spot. Raven can make portals, at worst, they had to leave, and Raven can inform us of that later." Weiss pointed out. The others nodded in agreement.
The group headed down into the ruins of mountain Glenn. Their pace was faster than a gentle walk but not quite a jog. Wary glances passed between the group as they headed deeper into the cityscape. Ruby and Yin shifted uncomfortably as they looked at the surrounding ruins, the crumbled buildings before them reminding the sisters of another, disturbingly familiar world.
The group halted when they arrived at what could have once been a main plaza. The stone slabs beneath their feet were cracked a worn, claw marks etched across its surface. But those small hints that the creatures of Grimm dwelled here were nothing compared to the fountain.
Even Weiss had to admit the fountain had once been a thing of beauty, it still stood but the statue in the middle was damaged beyond recognition. Perhaps it had once been an angel, an outstretched stone lump, that could have been a wing, was attached to a distorted body, its original form lost to the ages and the constantly advancing Grimm.
The fountain itself was a wide circular ring, while clawed and chipped it still contained water, stagnant and reeking. Weiss looked at it warily, and felt the distinct desire to leave as soon as possible. Blake's scrunched face revealed she felt similarly.
"There's nobody here. Not even any Grimm." Yang commented as she kicked some loose stones with a boot.
"Let's set up camp." Weiss proposed, hating the idea but seeing it as the best option. "Many of these buildings could work as lookouts, we can stay the night, if no one shows up, we can call Ironwood for retrieval."
Ruby opened her mouth to say something, but the words caught in her throat. Her eyes widened as she rapidly drew her weapon, aiming Crescent Rose at a portal swirling into existence behind Yang.
"Out of the way!" Yin shouted grabbing Weiss by the arm.
Yang wiped around, weapon at the ready. A figure tumbled out, her raven hair blinding Yang for a moment.
The woman regained her balance, gasping for breath as she raised her head.
Yang stared. She looked just like she did in the picture! So, this was her mother. The one who had ran out on her, abandoned her and dad to run a group of thugs.
Rage boiled within Yang. She wanted to scream out, but she held herself in check. At least for now.
"Raven." Yin said coldly, her arms crossed. She glared at this woman frostily. Yang paused. Was this Yin's mother? The Vytalian Raven?
"We need to go. They're in trouble." Raven said, pointing back at the portal.
Ruby did not need to be told twice. She charged on through vanishing as she passed through the portal. Blake followed quickly. With Weiss, barely a foot behind her. Yang and Yin stood staring at Raven.
Raven's concern soon turned to irritation. "What are you waiting for? Knight-Commander Arc and your friend are in trouble!" She snapped.
"Well that answers that question." Yang thought, appraising the Vytalian Raven with a new eye. Her rage had mostly dissipated, but she knew it would be back with a vengeance when she laid eye son her own mother.
Yin however, felt like her limbs were made of lead.
"Blake's here?" She asked, her thoughts racing. How? Why? She didn't know. Did Jaune capture her? What was going on?
"There's no time," Raven shouted, "hurry up!"
A firm grip on Yin's wrist snapped her out of her stupor; Yin looked to see lilac eyes gazing into her own.
"We need to hurry." Yang said. Her voice was gentle, but the words and meaning firm. Yin nodded numbly as she allowed Yang to pull her to the portal, and then through it.
Lie could only stare and grind his teeth in frustration. This place should have crumbled but instead, it had held. Valkyrie had started her barrage of the supports, well aimed grenades causing them to crumble like cookies. But no sooner had Valkyrie blasted one to bits, then Glynda had repaired another, using her telekinesis to fit all the pieces back in place.
The only way to stop Glynda without killing her, Lie had soon realized, was to turn those supports into a fine powder. An impossible task under the present circumstances. To make matters worse, he was nearly certain Valkyrie was out of grenades.
And then he had discovered why Raven had left. He rolled onto his stomach, struggling to push himself up. He raised his head to shout something to Valkyrie. Only to see a red portal appear before her. He screamed a warning. Only to find a familiar face appearing from the portal. He watched as the familiar scythe gun knocked Magnahild from an equally surprised Valkyrie's hands. Valkyrie, now disarmed, massively outnumbered, and surrounded, raised her hands in surrender.
Even as Remnant's versions of Blake and Weiss followed her out, with two Yang's following less than half a minute behind, Lie could still hardly believe his eyes.
One of the yang's walked over to him.
'Ren?" She asked. Yin glanced down at her friend, he looked worse for the wear. He was clearly exhausted, a black eye and swollen lip testament to a brutal, and uncharacteristically physical, fight.
He looked up. "Yes Yang?" he asked weakly.
"What the hell?" She asked.
"I think I bit off, a little more than I could chew." He muttered, taking deep breaths as he did. His mind raced to find a way out of this. Where the hell was Neo?
"You think?" She asked.
"Raven!" Vytalian Qrow shouted as his sister stumbled out of her own portal. He grasped her by the shoulders.
"I'm fine Qrow." She said brusquely, waving off his concern with an irritated huff. "Make sure those two are unarmed. We can't have them starting this fight again."
Yin looked at him. "You guys started this fight?" She asked, her tone hinting at a feeling of betrayal.
"It's more complicated than it seems." He said. The look of disbelief on her face did little to comfort him. In fact, it hurt. It hurt that a friend of his, not one as close as his teammates, but a friend nonetheless, did not believe him.
Yin kneeled and rested a hand on his shoulder "You'll have time to explain." She said.
He glanced at Nora, who had her hands held out, eyes downcast. He almost didn't notice the glint of steel.
"Move!" he shouted, giving Yin's wrist a yank as a blade whipped past her ear. The goddess jerked out of the way just in time.
Ren rolled away from Yang, shaving himself onto unsteady feet.
Neo stood, but next to her was Salem. A red blade in her hands.
Everyone stared. Some in wonder, some in fear, at the pale, Grimm-like figure in front of them. She stood tall and proud, a look of distaste on her face as she observed the battlefield. When Neo's eyes fell on Ruby, the mute girl made to move, only to be stopped by a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at Salem, the fear clear on Neo's face.
"Get Ren and Nora out of here." She ordered, "I will… delay these ones."
Neo nodded, vanishing with Lie in tow.
"Who are you?" Vytalian Qrow snarled.
"She's Salem, queen of the Grimm." Remnant Raven replied. She was standing once again, but seemed in no shape to actually do battle.
Salem gave an almost mocking curtsy "I'm pleased you know of me." She said. She pointed her rapier at Raven.
"Now, I'm going to assume, that regardless of my opinion on the matter, you wish to fight." Salem said with a smile.
While Glynda, Both Qrows and Remnant Raven seemed itching to fight. Yin glanced at Salem. There was something Unnervingly familiar about her, the way she acted her weapon was incredibly similar to Weiss'. Yin shook the thought that appeared in her head away. Weiss would never do what Salem was accused of doing. She glanced at Ruby, he was splitting her attention between Nora and Salem.
"You don't… want to fight?" Weiss asked incredulously.
"Of course not." Salem said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I could certainly defeat all of you, but it would take time and effort that I'd rather expend in other ways." She glanced at the group.
"besides, even if you have several Vytalian gods on your side. One is exhausted, another injured, and two of the other four are unconscious." Salem pointed out, "perhaps, it would be best for everyone if we called this a draw, licked our wounds and fought again another day."
Salem glanced at Ruby, who, despite not being in charge, would hold a great amount of sway over the outcome of this altercation. She felt her heart swell as she looked into Ruby's silver eyes. She hoped she would not have to fight. The very thought made her stomach churn. Salem resisted biting her lip in discomfort. In all honesty, she didn't think she could fight her former comrades.
Surprisingly, it was Glynda who spoke first.
"That idea has some merit." She said, ignoring the shocked looks on her allies' faces.
Salem smiled. "Well then I will take my allies and leave."
"Nora Valkyrie stays with us." Glynda said.
Salem turned her head, gazing at where she knew cinder lay.
"Valkyrie…" She pretended to muse, as she turned back to Glynda. "I think not." She said, smiling as she noted the air around Valkyrie crack.
In a flash Neo appeared, striking out with her parasol. She quickly grabbed ahold of Valkyrie and before anyone could attack, vanished with her.
Ruby was the first to react, spinning back toward Salem. Salem could see the rage in her eyes. She ignored one of the Qrow's firing at her, spinning so the round flew harmlessly past her. She took a defensive position as Ruby surged forward. Salem saw rage in those eyes, and it saddened her. To her pleasure, she watched as Ruby's rage to turned to shock as she was grabbed from behind.
"What the hell are you doing?" Ruby snarled at her sister, struggling to free herself from Yin's grip.
Yin's eyes narrowed. She shook her head. Ruby slumped slightly. A sigh of defeat leaving her throat.
In the meantime, Salem curiously observed, nobody had struck. It seemed that Glynda's group understood they were no match for her alone. Certainly, they had evaded her time and time again, but that was mostly due to a desire on Salem's to avoid attracting attention from Vytal. An outburst of power from a being that could be mistaken for a Grimm would certainly attract the wrong sort of attention, and could even result in the deployment of the gods, which would only make achieving her goal of interdimensional balance more difficult, and much bloodier.
Now, with the gods already here, she had no need to hold back, and Glynda, perhaps through some preternatural instinct, knew it.
"As a consolation prize, you may have Cinder and her underling. Her insubordination has grown tiresome." Salem said, noting a familiar crackling behind her.
Neo appeared, a scowl on her face.
"We're leaving Neo." Salem said firmly. Neo frowned, but a single glare ended any real resistance. Neo nodded, giving a wink, the two women seemed to shatter into nothingness.
"Well, that was a thing." Yang said.
"Shut up Yang." Ruby snapped, before returning her fiery glare to Yin.
"Why'd you stop me?" She asked a moment later, silver eyes glaring expectantly at her sister.
Yin looked her sister in the face.
"A person who looks like a Grimm? Please tell me you didn't totally forget why we came her in the first place."
Ruby paused, before recognition came to her. "You think that was Fenrir?"
"It is a reasonable possibility. She was called the queen of the Grimm after all." Weiss pointed out.
Ruby paused, before shrugging off her sister's hand. "Let's talk about this later, I'm gonna go check on Jaune and Blake. Are you coming?"
Yin nodded eagerly, ignoring the pit in her stomach. Perhaps Ruby hadn't seen Salem's weapon, or some of her mannerisms. They were eerily familiar.
Yin shook her head, rushing off after her sister. There was time to contemplate the impossible later.
After all, it was impossible, right?
A/N: Apologies for the past two chapter taking longer than usual to be released. I have family coming this week, so the biweekly schedule will continue for a little bit longer.
I'm still working on the next arc, and there shouldn't be much delay between when this one finishes and the next one begins.
I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Leave you thoughts in the reviews!
Have a great week!
Until next time,
DeamonHunter