AN: Alright I'm gonna be straight with ya'll. I had planned to end this story with this chapter being the last and then start a new story where this one would've left off.
About 10K words in, I realized I was barely coming up on a halfway point. While I realize some of you are eager to see how I wrap up what is technically the first chunk of RWBY, I doubt any of you would've wanted to trudge through a monstrous 20k+ chapter.
That in mind, I've decided to cut that monster in half...ish. This chapter clocks in at a much more palatable 7k-ish.
But enough of my excuses! On to story talk.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
That's me laughing at all the people who thought I was gonna end this the same way canon did it.
While a majority of you seem to have seen the small seeds of planted and can maybe guess where I'm going with them, there were still a number who, for some reason, thought I was gonna follow cannon? Like what?
Fuck you and fuck your canon.
I DO WHAT I WANT.
Now, seeing as how music is a huge thing to me - as I know it is to some of you as well - here's some tracks and artists I was blasting while writing this chapter's fight scenes.
Sithu Aye (prog-instrumental-metal with a touch of anime): Set Course For Andromeda, Constants and Variables, Transient Transistors, the entire Senpai EP II: The Noticing, and Invent the Universe album.
Little V Mills (Metal/rock covers): Hell of a Time, Go Tell Aunt Rhody, and Ryu's Theme.
Rayden (Breakbeat dubsteb wub wub covers): Power to Strive, Pleasures of Combat, Chokkaku, and Stand Up Be Strong.
Toska (prog-rock): the entire Ode to The Author (Live) EP.
Night Verses (Prog-Metal?): Introducing: The Rot Under the Sun, Rage, Pull Back Your Teeth, and Be Happy With Yourself, I'm Staying Here in Hell.
Alright, NOW I'm done blabbering on.
Here is Part 1 of the last chapter of RMS!
Sparks flew as obsidian clashed against chakra treated metal, concussive blasts of air following each blow.
Sapphire bore into amber as Naruto and Cinder clashed once again, the resulting explosion carving yet another trench into the ground below them.
As a result of the two warriors' battle, the area around Beacon's dormitories, once decorated by plenty of greenery and well made walkways of stone, was now an unrecognizable mess.
Deep trenches had been gouged into the earth by both wind and water, the plant life had been consumed by flames, the concrete of the walkways was now indiscernible from the dirt and debris, while deep craters pitted the area.
In short; what had once been a spot where many of Beacon's students took time to rest and relax was now nothing but a warzone.
And, for once, there was neither a smirk or grin plastered on Cinder's face, only a thin line. Even as sweat dotted her brow, even as she continued to push her body to fight an empowered Uzumaki Jinchūriki, Cinder couldn't help but feel amazement as Naruto's power kept on climbing.
Any time she thought she had the upper edge, he would get that much faster, that much stronger.
Any and all of her flames were simply drowned out by a water jutsu.
The cutting edges of her glass storms were met by blasts of wind natured chakra, tearing them asunder.
Even her twin obsidian blades chipped and cracked under the pressure of the blond's powerful swings, forcing her to constantly have to sharpen them.
That was nothing to say about the nearly suffocating pressure of the angry orange shroud of chakra the blond was cloaked in. The only reason she hadn't buckled under its malicious aura was thanks to the stolen half of the Maiden's power she was now constantly using.
Even still, the stolen power of the Maiden was doing nothing to even the gap between them.
The only reason she was still alive was thanks to her own years of experience and skill.
Despite being years older than him though, Naruto's ferocity and power had let him score several hits that still stung.
If it wasn't for her Aura shielding her, Cinder was sure that the slash that had cut into her thigh would have otherwise lopped off the limb entirely. The same could be said about the various other cuts that littered her form.
"Suiton: Suidan no jutsu (Water Release: Water Bullet Technique)!"
Rolling out of the way of the highly pressurised stream of water, Cinder came up on a knee, three arrows already nocked into her bow.
Naruto dodged out of the way of the three obsidian arrows, only to be engulfed in the explosion of flames that followed.
The flames and smoke were cleared away as a wall of wind exploded outwards, revealing Naruto, a single tail of chakra now swaying behind him.
Cinder frowned as she knew that the fight just got that much harder for her.
Without so much as a grunt of effort, a clone of the blond popped into existence, although it lacked the sinister cloak of chakra the original donned.
Knowing what it was created for, the doppelganger rushed off, making its way towards Amity Coliseum, scroll in hand as it tried to call any of Naruto's friends.
Cinder did nothing, simply watching the clone run off with a smirk.
"It won't help," she mocked.
The smirk was quickly ripped off her face when a fist was plowed into her abdomen, robbing her of all the air in her lungs.
With an almost casual palm thrust to the face and a satisfying crunch, the blond Jinchūriki sent the raven haired woman flying.
"I'm done talking Cinder. I warned you, several times."
Using the back of her hand to wipe off the blood leaking out of her no doubt broken nose, Cinder shakily got to her feet.
Before he could rush the downed woman, Naruto raised his hand, catching a boot in his hand all too easily.
The ensuing shot from said boot caused the half blood Uzumaki to unhand the attacker.
Looking at the familiar head of silver hair, Naruto growled.
"Mercury."
The teen said nothing, assuming a ready stance instead.
Seeing the one who was partially responsible for Yang's being booted from the tournament, a second tail formed.
"Revenge was usually Sasuke's thing, but I'm pretty sure Yang wouldn't mind if I kicked your ass for her," was all Naruto said before blurring from sight.
Mercury cried out in pain as Kurama's Jinchūriki palmed his face, plowing him straight into the ground with enough force to form another crater.
Without even turning around, one of the Bijū cloak's tails lashed out, deflecting an arrow aimed for Naruto's back.
Turning his crimson eyes back to Cinder, Naruto snarled.
In another blur of movement, the blond lashed out at Cinder with a clawed strike.
While the raven haired woman just barely avoided having her abdomen cut open, she still received four shallow lacerations to her stomach, her maroon dress being likewise cut into.
As the amber eyed schemer grimaced in pain and quickly moved a hand to apply pressure to the wounds, Naruto was forced to turn his sights back to Mercury when the silver haired teen began to fire off a barrage of shots.
Despite the speed and accuracy of each individual shot, Naruto was easily able to weave around them.
The barrage came to an abrupt end with the now crimson-eyed teen plowing his knee straight into Mercury's jaw.
He was given no respite though, the blond Uzumaki grabbing the silver haired teen by his feet as he was lifted into the air.
With a quick spin, Cinder's henchman was sent careening into the side of a nearby building as if he was launched out of a canon.
Blurring through the necessary handseals, Naruto was ready to make the rubble Mercury lay in his grave.
"Katon: Endan (Fire Release: Flame Bullet)!"
As the ball of flames was just about to engulf the downed Mercury, Cinder erected a wall of her own fire.
Seeing as how he hadn't pumped all that much chakra or used a lot of oil in the jutsu, it was promptly overtaken by the stronger flames.
Watching the two recollect themselves, Mercury bleeding steadily from his mouth and head while Cinder's previously flawless porcelain skin was now dirtied and covered in her own blood in several places, Naruto felt something begin to nag at him.
That little voice in the back of his head that said something wasn't right was proven correct when the memories of his clone came rushing back to him.
The last thing the clone had seen was a pair of heterochromatic eyes and a mocking smirk.
With that, it all finally clicked for the blond.
Cinder saw the look of realization as it visibly dawned on Naruto, and she smirked.
"Like I said, it's too late."
Yet again, Naruto was faced with a decision.
Finish off Cinder and Mercury, or attempt to save his friends.
Hell, who was he kidding?
Friends came first.
In a blur, Naruto was gone, hoping to stop whatever plan Cinder had set in motion.
Pyrrha panted, taking advantage of the brief respite she had been given.
Despite her very innocent and childish appearance, Penny was proving that she was indeed "combat ready".
Since the start of the match, the ginger haired girl had kept Pyrrha on her toes, forcing the redhead to pull out all of the proverbial stops.
Hell, she had even been forced into actually using her Semblance some time ago, a feat only her boyfriend had previously been capable of.
Taking a breath to calm her nerves and recenter herself, Pyrrha sprinted at her opponent, eager to resume their match.
The redhead of team NNPR twirled out of the way of a vertically spinning blade. Ducking under the one that followed it, Pyrrha leapt upwards, landing on the third blade. Using the spin of the weapon, Penny was sent skipping backwards from a devastating kick to the head.
Executing a well timed backflip off of her pseudo platform, Pyrrha landed and took a knee, aiming down the sights of Miló now in its rifle form.
Penny was able to not only defend herself from the incoming bullets by forming a shield out of her swords, but also keep advancing by causing them to quickly spin.
Just as the Atlesian girl was but a few yards away, Pyrrha switched up her tactic, sending Akoúo flying at Penny.
What followed caught almost everyone watching the match by surprise.
Although Penny easily deflected the spinning shield, she quickly found herself on the defensive as Akoúo made another pass at her, then another, and another.
Many couldn't believe their eyes. It looked like Pyrrha's shield had suddenly gained some form of sentience, relentlessly attacking Penny from all angles.
Although the younger Atlesian was able to defend herself from the seemingly crazed buzzsaw of a shield, she was having to focus all of her attention and swords on doing so.
Seeing an opening, Pyrrha recalled Akoúo, launching Miló in spear form.
To the redhead's surprise, she missed.
Sure it was by a few inches at best, but still, she rarely if ever missed.
Shaking her head, Pyrrha decided to ponder on it later.
Up in the stands, Ren frowned and leaned forward in his seat.
Seeing the look on his face, Nora asked, "What's up Ren?"
"Pyrrha missed," he answered simply.
The others stared at him questioningly.
"Soo…?" Yang asked hoping to get Ren to explain.
Explain he did.
"Even before we were put on a team together, Pyrrha was a master marksman. Being who she is, Pyrrha obviously wasn't content with just that and continued to better herself. Even Naruto has admitted that she outclasses him in accuracy with both thrown weapons and guns."
Nora nodded along, adding, "Didn't she also ask Captain Whiskers to train her on how to use those knives and stars he uses?"
Ren simply nodded.
"Are you saying something or somebody made her miss?" Weiss asked.
Ren narrowed his eyes, "With everything going on right now, and after what happened to Yang, we'd be stupid to not suspect foul play."
Realizing just what Ren was getting at, the others turned their eyes back to the fight below.
Though it appeared they had gone back to normal, they all sat that much straighter and kept their eyes roaming, looking for any sign of Cinder or her group.
Pyrrha mentally cursed.
She had missed, again!
This time she had overextended a sword swing, aiming for where she had thought Penny's abdomen was, only to strike air. It was a costly mistake and the emerald eyed teen had barely managed to avoid being blasted by one of Penny's lasers because of it.
Something wasn't right, she knew it, but in the heat of battle, there was little time to ponder on what that something could be.
Once more, Pyrrha chose to focus on the fight at hand.
Ruby fidgeted in her seat as she watched Pyrrha catch Penny with a shield rush, sending the ginger haired Atlesian tumbling off the edge of the floating arena.
While she very much so cared for Penny, she wished that the android girl would have lost the match then and there.
Instead, the team leader of team RWBY watched as Penny cleverly used the lasers from her swords to boost her back onto the arena.
Pyrrha gave her no time to rest either, already waiting for her.
Watching as the two continued their bout, Ruby couldn't help but clench and unclench her hands. There was pit in her stomach, a foreboding feeling that told her something wasn't right.
The original reason for that had been the fact that she knew what Penny was. Ruby also knew, and had seen firsthand, what Pyrrha's Semblance could do to metal.
While she knew that Pyrrha was possibly one of the nicest and most caring individuals she had ever met, the silver eyed teen was also aware of just how easy it was for accidents to happen, especially since Pyrrha herself had no idea about Penny's secret.
Ren's observation from earlier only added fuel to the fire.
Glancing at the scoreboard that displayed both of their Aura levels, Ruby took some solace in seeing that the two of them were coming to the ends of their proverbial rope.
Feeling her paranoia peek, Ruby glanced around the arena.
Just as she was about to look back at the match, she saw it.
Across the way, she saw a familiar head of pink and brown hair with an even more familiar head of spiky blond hair.
Her heart dropped as she saw Neo slide her hidden blade into the blond's back.
However before she could scream in terror, said blond went up in a cloud of smoke, meaning it had only been one of Naruto's clones.
Neo then looked Ruby directly in the eye and smiled, pointing back down at the match below.
This time, there was no scream of terror. In fact, Ruby felt...nothing. Her entire body simply went numb.
Sure she could hear the screams of horror, the gasps of shock, and the crying. She could feel her team wrapping her in a group hug. She could even feel the cold wetness of the tears cascading down her face.
But, it was almost as if the entire world around her had become dull and muted.
And then the sobs came, her body violently shaking as her mind finally processed the scene below.
Miló clattered to the ground, echoing across the otherwise silent arena.
Dropping to her knees, Pyrrha felt herself begin to shake as hot tears bubbled around her eyes.
How?
How had this happened?
Her mind replayed the last few seconds over and over again, attempting to figure out just where it had all gone wrong.
Annoyed by Penny's swords, she had sought to take them out of the equation. Using Miló to test the durability of the wires that connected the various swords to Penny, Pyrrha figured that the cables were a little stronger than the wires Naruto used.
Knowing how much force it would take to cut through such durable material, the Invincible Girl had sent Akoúo flying, a blast from her Semblance meant to help push the bronze shield through the cable.
Inches away, the image before Pyrrha blurred away, revealing that she hadn't been aiming for one of Penny's cables.
In a raw display of brutality, Akoúo cut clean through sword, cable, and wielder alike.
Like a puppet with its strings cut, the swords clattered to the ground.
In an almost poetic way, Penny followed suit, innocent eyes wide with shock as Akoúo bisected her.
Pyrrha could feel herself begin to shake, unable to tear her eyes away from the sight before her and unable to stop the tears that followed. It was almost as if her own mind was forcing her to behold the atrocity she had wrought with her own two hands.
What had she done?
And why did her heart hurt so much?
Was it for Penny?
Or was it for herself?
"No..."
Shock and horror.
It hung in the air like a fog.
Naruto hadn't even made it to the airfield, instead having to watch on screen as his girlfriend brutally bisected Penny.
Shaking in pure rage, a new name had just made it to the top of his shit list.
Emerald.
He was sure of it now, she was the one responsible for tricking Yang and had now done the same with Pyrrha, this time with a far more grievous outcome.
Learning Penny was some sort of man-made android was shocking sure, but it did nothing to diminish her loss of life.
And that was it, despite her not appearing on Kurama's radar, Penny had a life. She had friends, she could experience what it meant to be alive, and could make her own choices.
Penny had been a living being and was viciously taken away from those friends, not by Pyrrha, but by Emerald.
And he was going to make sure that she along with Cinder and Mercury got what was coming to them.
'Revenge plotting later gaki! Massive amounts of Grimm are heading towards Vale!' Kurama roared out.
Looking at the screen as Pyrrha sat there, nearly catatonic, Naruto knew what he had to do.
"Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Multi Shadow Clone technique)!"
Suddenly, the courtyard Naruto had been standing in was covered in a massive cloud of smoke.
As the cloud dissipated, it revealed several hundred copies of the blond Jinchūriki.
As one, the mass of blond haired doppelgängers rushed off to Vale, the safety of her citizens their only concern. Any Grimm met along the way was to be disposed of. Sightings of Cinder or any of her henchmen were to be reported back to him.
Naruto himself turned his gaze back to the coliseum floating in the air above Beacon. Kurama was right. Any plans for revenge would need to be put on the back burner. All of his friends, as well as possibly hundreds of civilians and students, were all but trapped up there.
"Kurama?"
The chibified Bijū turned a questioning gaze to his container.
"I'm gonna find a way up there. I want you to stay down here though."
The grin that stretched across the Kyūbi's maw was downright vicious.
"With pleasure."
With a leap, the small fox kit was engulfed in a ring of flames. Emerging from the inferno was the far more terrifying form of the Nine-Tailed-Fox, now as large as a stallion.
Letting loose a war cry that shook the surrounding area, Kurama bounded off into the city, ready to bring havoc down upon the invading Grimm.
Naruto turned his gaze to the tower that was Beacon's namesake.
Briefly he wondered what Ozpin would do with all of this going on.
He had felt it before, the unassuming Headmaster held a wealth of power in him, the likes of which Naruto more closely likened to that of the shinobi during his time. He highly doubted it was chakra, but whatever it was, Ozpin kept it under tightly bound wraps.
Deciding to ponder on what other secrets the enigmatic headmaster still kept, Naruto instead made for the airfield as Vale's sirens sounded off.
There would no doubt be ships leaving to the coliseum to ferry the innocents to safety, that was his ticket up there.
What had once been a stadium filled with laughter and smiles, was now a prison to many.
It had all happened so fast that almost everyone was still trying to process just what in the world had happened.
Seconds after Penny's fall, a voice came over the intercom, a black chess piece being displayed along with it.
The following speech only served to further entrench the people in their shock and horror.
The real kicker was the almost hard to argue truth many of the civilians saw before them.
They clearly knew little to nothing of what was being taught to the children they entrusted to the Academies. The feminine voice had also raised several points many had been wondering quietly to themselves.
Why had Atlas all but invaded Vale with its armed forces? Why did it look like they were gearing up for an all out war? What was really being kept hidden from them by the powers that be?
When the broadcast ended and the jumbotrons went dark, a shocked and stunned silence filled the arena, many unsure of what was happening around them.
The blaring horn of Amity Coliseum's defense system was a jarring wake up call for many. The automated voice that followed it however filled everyone with dread.
"Alert, incoming Grimm attack. Threat level: 9."
Screams of terror and panicked cries filled the air as the reality of what was happening set in. People quickly began to vacate their seats and rush towards the exits, pushing and shoving in an act of self-preservation.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please, there is no need for panic," General Ironwood's voice boomed over the intercom.
Whatever semblance of calm Atlas' leader tried to invoke was instead met with far more panic as an ear piercing shriek shook the arena.
Perched above them, angrily pecking at the stadium's barrier, was a massive avian monstrosity.
While the group of team RWBY plus Nora and Ren were still struggling to come to terms with what they had seen, their sense of duty quickly overrode their horror.
"That Nevermore is almost as big as the one we fought in Uzu!" Nora cried in alarm.
And it was true, the Nevermore above them was almost large enough to completely obscure their view of the sky above the coliseum.
"It's not alone either," Blake added in horror, watching as several dozen smaller Nevermore began to circle the stadium.
To everyone's further horror - thanks to the aid of its smaller flock - the Nevermore came plummeting down into the stadium, smashing right through the weakened barrier like it was a pane of glass.
The remaining onlookers watched as the porcelain masked monstrosity lowered its head and glared straight at a still immobile Pyrrha Nikos. Opening its beak, it let out a horrifying screech and charged forward.
"Pyrrha!" the group cried out, all of them leaping over the railing and racing towards the still catatonic redhead.
However, with a single flap of its pitch black wings, the massive Nevermore created a blast of wind that sent each of them tumbling backwards. As they collected their bearings and made for Pyrrha again, they were stopped yet again, this time by the dozen or so smaller Nevermore that had accompanied the much larger one.
Horrified, the others watched as the Nevermore opened its beak, ready to swallow a vulnerable Pyrrha whole.
Right as the avian monster was upon her, a blur of rose petals slammed into the charging Nevermore, a shriek of pain following the collision.
Wide eyed, the others watched as a still puffy-eyed Ruby brandished one of Penny's swords.
"Leave her alone!" The young teen cried out, her voice still raw and broken from all that had happened.
The Nevermore shrieked in defiance of the small human before it.
Its defiance was met and returned tenfold as a hail of gunfire was unleashed upon it. Crying in pain, the massive bird-like Grimm took to the air.
Shocked, both Ruby and Pyrrha turned to see all of their friends and former opponents from the tournament armed to the teeth, the flock of smaller Nevermore now lying at their feet and quickly fading away.
"Let's bring this oversized birdie down to our level," Jester Asgard grinned around his signature candy cane.
With a quick dash and help from both his teammate Eisen as well as Yatsuhashi of team CFVY, the leader of team JEST was sent barreling at the airborne Nevermore like a cannonball.
Unfurling himself from a ball shape, Jester continued to spin, his twin hook blades following his rotation. With a satisfying squelch, the blades lodged themselves deep into the back of the Nevermore, causing it to cry out in pain.
Using his weapons like reigns on a horse, the hooded leader of team JEST began to guide the Nevermore back towards a waiting Nora and Eisen.
Using his Semblance to generate an electrical charge, the taller teen bumped fists with a grinning Nora, sparks dancing between them.
As the form of a still screeching Nevermore came barreling towards them, the two powerhouses readied themselves.
With a flash of pink and green, Eisen and Nora swung their weapons straight at the Nevermore's mask. The ensuing blast of concussive air almost knocked several of the others onto their butts.
The damage done to the Nevermore was far more grievous though.
The feathered beast's once pristine mask was now all but shattered into pieces, some of those fragments having been forced into its skull by the force of Eisen and Nora's strike. However, that wouldn't be enough to down such a massive Grimm.
Blood dripping from its now visible face, the Nevermore shrieked and attempted to take flight once more.
Whatever flight plans the twisted creature had were harshly interrupted as lengths of chain and cloth began to encircle it.
Arslan, Blake, and Jester gritted their teeth as they used their respective weapons to bind the massive Grimm.
The thing shrieked as it struggled to free itself from the bindings.
"Weiss! Up!"
The Schnee heiress simply nodded, weaving a set of Glyphs to act as platforms.
Yang led the charge, ascending the platforms with ease. Following behind the blonde were Eisen and Nora.
Reaching the apex of the Glyph made platforms, the three teens leapt at the still struggling Nevermore.
The ensuing unified attack caused the arena floor to split, cracks spider webbing outwards from the point of contact. The others were sent skidding backwards as the blast of air slammed into them.
At the center of it, the Nevermore couldn't even let out so much as a dying screech as the top part of its skull was harshly and quickly pulverized and joined to the bottom half, the crunch and crack of bones shattering echoing loudly across the vacant arena.
Letting self satisfied grins stretch across their faces, the three powerhouses shared a quick fist bump before rejoining their friends.
Despite the destruction around her, Pyrrha couldn't help but to focus on the bit of cloth she gingerly held between her fingers. Looking into the silver eyes of Ruby, the redhead couldn't help but choke out a sob.
"Ruby...I...I'm so...I'm so sorry!"
For a moment, Ruby's eyes misted over in unshed tears before she steeled herself.
Without any sort of hesitation, the shorter teen engulfed a still crying Pyrrha in a hug.
"So am I. But, it wasn't your fault."
Pyrrha only sobbed harder, clutching onto the younger girl.
"Ruby's right."
Everyone turned, surprised to see Naruto walking up to them with his face set into a frown.
Picking up Akoúo and Miló, he held them out for Pyrrha.
"Cinder, Emerald, Mercury, and Neo did this. They're the ones to blame for all of this and it's our job to stop them."
Looking into her boyfriend's glacial sapphires - eyes that held an untold amount of love for her, sorrow for what had happened, and resolve to stop the ones responsible - Pyrrha gathered herself before accepting her weapons.
Briefly, Naruto's eyes softened as he gently wiped away the remaining tears on her face.
Pyrrha offered a small smile, enjoying the moment and what it meant.
The dry roar and flapping of wings interrupted the moment and drew everyone's attention to the top of the coliseum.
Perched atop the stadium were Griffon, monstrous creatures who resembled the unholy union of several different animals.
Naruto frowned at the sight of them. He had heard of them and seem descriptions of them in several books, but had never actually seen them in person, which, with his mission track record, was surprising.
Hell, he and his team had faced down an ancient and massive Nevermore that could use chakra in its rawest form.
Suddenly, what Ozpin had said to him and Pyrrha down in the bunker came to mind.
"...I'm sure you've noticed; the Creatures of Grimm are growing stronger, more prevalent. Beasts that have slumbered for decades have awoken. New types of Grimm are appearing."
Narrowing his eyes even as the Griffon made to attack, Naruto couldn't help but to think that something else was going on.
'There's no way any of this is a coincidence. Someone else is pulling the strings here, someone who can somehow control the Grimm in some way. Big question is: who are they and what do they want?'
Deciding to shelve those thoughts for later, the blond stepped forward, already speeding through a set of seals.
A clone popped into existence next to him, already going through its own set of seals.
"Fūton: Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)!"
"Katon: Ryūka no jutsu (Fire Release: Dragon Flame technique)!"
While the other teens who had never seen Naruto use a jutsu could only stare in awe, his own team and team RWBY were once more reminded of just how powerful their friend was.
Gale force winds fed and directed the searing inferno, engulfing the dozen or so Griffon in a tomb of blistering heat and concussive winds.
The only sound heard was not the sound of anguished roars, but the crackling of fire and the howling of winds.
Stopping his chakra flow to the technique and dispelling his clone, Naruto released a breath.
"Holy shit man!" Sun Wukong of team SSSN called out, his jaw near the floor.
"Suddenly I'm glad you didn't go all out against us," Jester joked.
His teammates could only nod in agreement.
Taking a quick glance around and stretching his senses further out, Naruto was glad to find that everyone was now on the outer edges of the coliseum waiting to be ferried to a safe area.
'Gaki! The White Fang is air dropping even more Grimm in! I've taken a few down, but it looks like some are headed your way!'
Naruto nearly snarled.
"You guys head to the docks and keep the civilians safe!"
As the others moved to follow the blond's orders, he gently grabbed Blake by the arm.
"The White Fang are here and they're releasing even more Grimm into the school and the nearby areas of the city. A few are headed this way as well."
A brief flash of sadness crossed the raven haired girl's face before she looked into Naruto's worried eyes.
Neither said anything for a moment.
Then Blake reached up and tugged, undoing the ribbon that she used to hide her furry black ears.
Naruto only grinned and nodded his head, perfectly understanding what Blake was trying to say.
The two shared a brief hug before Naruto turned his eyes to the top of the coliseum. Grinning, an idea started to form in his devious brain.
In a burst of speed, the blond took Pyrrha by surprise when he scooped her into his arms and began to hop his way up to the top of Amity Coliseum.
Although she was caught off guard by her boyfriend, a single glance at the smirk on his whiskered face was enough to let her know that she was needed for one of his crazy ideas.
"Why the hell did you stop!?" An angered White Fang member yelled to the Bullhead's driver.
Said driver was beyond confused as he fiddled with every button and switch available to him in an attempt to get the Bullhead moving again.
"It's not me! Something stopped us dead in the air!"
"These doors aren't going to hold the Grimm much longer! We need to drop this cargo or we're dead!"
"I'm trying man!"
As the two went back and forth, trying their damndest to get the Bullhead moving again, neither noticed the gargantuan form of an opaque dragon head rushing towards them.
The gaping maw of the chakra born dragon slammed into the flying vehicle with all the force of a speeding train, causing it to crash into another Bullhead that had been likewise stopped in the air.
The ensuing explosion lit up the night sky.
Pyrrha panted and took in some much needed gulps of air as sweat dotted her brow.
While she had recently taken to training her Semblance on a much grander scale, holding two Bullheads aloft, even for short periods, was not exactly the easiest thing ever.
"Knew you could do it Pyrrha-chan!" Naruto cheered with a grin.
The redhead blushed under the praise.
"Now you rest while I take care of the rest!"
Pyrrha all too happily obliged, knowing just as well that she was going to need all the Aura she could gain back for what was to come.
"Katon: Karyū Endan (Fire Release: Dragon Flame Bomb)!"
Looking on as her partner let loose a stream of white flames in the shape of the mythic beast of fire, Pyrrha was sure that any of the White Fang that escaped the attack would no doubt turn and run.
Meanwhile, down below the couple, the rest of their friends and fellow students were making quick work of the few Grimm and White Fang members that had managed to get passed Naruto and Pyrrha.
General Ironwood looked on in pride as he watched Ruby and Weiss make quick work of an Alpha.
Turning, he frowned as a small handful of Creeps slipped passed the group of teens. The Atlesian General reached into his coat. In one swift movement borne from years of experience, Ironwood leveled a gleaming revolver at the rushing Grimm and pulled the trigger.
Five gunshots were heard and five Grimm fell.
Without even blinking, the general then pointed the barrel of his gun straight up, jamming it into the mouth of the Beowulf that had tried to sneak up on him.
Blood splattered across the roof and floor of the coliseum as the body of the now headless Grimm flopped to the floor.
Holstering his gun, Ironwood regarded the teens before him with no small amount of pride.
"The last of the civilians are currently being ferried to a safe zone in Vale and no Grimm or White Fang member remains here. You've done your Kingdoms proud this day."
With a flawless about face, Ironwood began to board a waiting ship with an entourage of Atlesian Knights.
"Now, I must go reclaim my ship from the...vagabond who has captured it."
"What about us? What should we do?" Ruby inquired.
Before the Atlesian General could answer, a blur of red and yellow landed next to them.
Gently putting his girlfriend back on her feet, Naruto answered, "Simple, we head back to Beacon and do our jobs and put down this invasion."
Bright sapphires met cold blues as Naruto stared Ironwood down. After a brief moment, the elder Huntsman nodded his head.
Without a word more, the General boarded his ship and flew off.
"C'mon guys, there's still one last ship waiting for us."
The gathered group of students nodded and followed after the blond without hesitation.
Ren gazed at the sight below him with shaking fists. Looking out from the large glass windows of the transport ship they were on, all he could see were decimated buildings going up in flames as Grimm and White Fang laid siege to Vale.
Grinding his teeth, the long haired teen couldn't help but let his mind compare the sights before him and the one he had seen as a child.
"Ren...?"
Feeling a familiar arm grip his, Ren allowed his muscles to unclench as he stared into the worried eyes of his long time friend.
"It's...just...so similar to what happened back then. And just like back then, I'm just as helpless to stop it."
Nora smiled sadly as she perfectly understood the turmoil Ren was going through. After all, she had been there that day too.
"You're right, it is similar, but there's some big differences too."
Nora pointed to a father clutching onto his two children atop a destroyed building. Ren's eyes widened in horror as the poor man could only hold his children as Beowulf surrounded him, each salivating at the mouth.
As the magenta eyed teen made to look away, Nora forced him to watch.
Before he could scream at his friend, several blurs of orange attacked the Grimm.
As the Grimm fell, the blurs were revealed to be copies of his blond captain. The clones then approached the crying family before helping to ferry them away.
Again Nora moved her finger, this time pointing at what seemed to be a massive gathering of various Grimm. The monstrous creatures were so clumped together, it was hard to tell where one began and another ended, creating a somewhat repulsive blob.
Curiously, Ren watched as the mass of black and white began to writhe and undulate.
In the blink of an eye, the entire area erupted into a hellish inferno, the flames of which reached high into the sky.
As quickly as it had come, the pyre was gone, revealing the grinning visage of Kurama.
The voice of his friend and captain jarred Ren from his thoughts and the sight of the Kyūbi happily tearing his way through hordes of Grimm.
"And it's not just me and Kurama. Our teachers, fellow students, and veteran Huntsman are out there fighting for our home, and, as soon as we land, the rest of us will be doing the same."
Ren gave a firm nod, taking in the faces of his teammates as they offered him their support.
With a grin, Naruto held up a closed fist.
The long haired male of team NNPR bumped fists with his captain, Nora and Pyrrha joining to show their solidarity.
A nearby explosion tore the four teens from their heartfelt moment.
Wide eyed, each of the teens onboard watched as the ship that General Ironwood had been manning was engulfed in flames and sent plummeting to the ground below.
Not so surprisingly, it was Ruby who was the first one to react, already racing to the bay doors.
Just as unsurprisingly, Weiss was the one to reach for her partner and captain.
"What do you think you're doing you dolt!?"
Abashed, Ruby sunk into her cloak and squeaked out, "Uh...going to help reclaim General Ironwood's ship?"
Weiss stared at her sheepish captain for a moment before shaking her head with a sigh.
"Not without me you aren't."
Ruby cheered causing Weiss to groan at her childish captain.
"Hey!" Yang shouted, catching both Ruby and Weiss off guard.
For a moment, the blonde stared at her sister and teammate with concern before offering a determined nod.
"Be safe out there and come back to us."
"Watch each others backs," Blake offered.
Ruby and Weiss shared a grin.
"We will!"
And just like that, the two leapt out the back of the transport ship.
Naruto placed a reassuring hand on his fellow blonde's shoulder.
"Ruby is strong on her own, but her and Weiss together are a force to be reckoned with. They'll be fine, I promise you," Naruto said with all the confidence he had in his friends.
Yang gave the whiskered teen a nod and a grin.
Looking back at the approaching site of Beacon, Naruto turned to address the rest of the teens on board.
"We're almost there guys!" Taking a tight grip on Hi no Ishi, the blond slammed the butt of the staff onto the floor, "Let's show these teme just how strong we are together!"
While the foreign slur flew over most of their heads, the message came through loud and clear. A thunderous cheer shook the ship as each of the students took up their own weapons, preparing themselves physically and mentally for the literal war zone they were about to drop into.
Pyrrha felt a frown cross her features as she watched her fellow students and teammates race off to fight the enemy.
She wished she could join them now, to lend her strength to both her comrades and her Kingdom, but the sight of a waiting Ozpin served to remind her that she had her own unique role to play in all of this.
"Have you made your decision Ms. Nikos?" The silver haired Headmaster asked all too casually.
"About that," Naruto interjected.
Reaching into his jacket, the former shinobi turned Huntsman revealed a scroll, scrawled on which was a complex series of symbols, squiggles, and lines.
While it might look like a mess of black ink to some, those in the know would be able to recognize the similarities between the seal on the piece of paper and the one on Naruto's lower abdomen.
However, as many similarities as there were, there were just as many differences. The most glaring of which was the obvious incorporation of some of the Schnee family's Glyphs.
"I think I know of a better way to give Pyrrha the Fall Maiden's powers," the blond continued.
For a moment Ozpin said nothing, intently staring at the parchment before him.
Finally, a small grin broke out across the habitual coffee drinker's face.
"A seal created by combining the Shinobi art of Fūinjutsu and the Glyphs of the Schnee family. Truly an impressive work of arcane arts, both past and present."
Naruto and Pyrrha were gobsmacked.
"You...know about the shinobi?"
Turning, the elder Huntsman began to lead the two teens to the waiting elevator.
"A tale for another time, we have more pressing matters. Would it be possible to create a Shadow Clone to perform this ritual? As much as both Ms. Nikos and myself would like to have you present, you would be far more valuable to Vale out on the front lines with your partner Kurama."
Naruto felt his jaw nearly unhinge itself.
"Um...uh...yeah...yeah I can do that."
Ozpin nodded gratefully.
"Worry not, after this ordeal is dealt with, you and I will be having a long talk Mr. Uzumaki."
Shaking off his shock, the blond former shinobi turned to his girlfriend, taking her hands in his own. The pair shared a wordless moment, simply staring into the other's eyes with all the passion and love they could muster.
"Be safe out there," Pyrrha finally said.
Naruto offered a foxy grin in return.
"They won't know what hit 'em!"
The couple parted ways after a chaste yet tender kiss.
As soon as the elevator door closed, Naruto's normally warm blue eyes froze over.
In a burst of flames, Kurama appeared next to his container and partner.
"I've managed to clear out areas of both Grimm and White Fang alike. Plus, it seems the Grimm are also able to sense chakra to some extent, at least my chakra, seeing as how they now refuse to go anywhere near where it lingers."
Walking out of the tower, Naruto easily bisected the Creep that attempted to ambush him. In the same motion, the blond sheathed Hi no Ishi and transformed it into its rifle mode, blowing holes into the pack of Beowulves that followed.
"That makes sense seeing as how your chakra is pretty toxic to anything that isn't you or me."
Casually keeping pace with Naruto and without breaking stride, Kurama sent one of his tails tunneling through the skull of an attacking Ursa. At the same time, another of his tails slammed into the chest of an Alpha mid-leap. The last sound it made was a pathetic whimper as its entire chest cavity was forcefully expelled from its body.
The two only paused in their walk as a small army of various Grimm came crawling out of the surrounding buildings.
While Naruto had no outward reaction to the mass of black beasts, Kurama allowed a predatory grin to stretch across his maw.
"Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu (Water Release: Giant Vortex)!"
Having poured a hefty amount of chakra into the jutsu, it came as no surprise to Naruto when the gargantuan wall of water rose to the height of some of the nearby buildings. The resulting wave all but decimated both the Grimm and the surrounding area.
Seeing some of the Goliath's that survived the torrential jutsu rising to their feet, Naruto chained together another set of hand seals.
"Doton: Yomi Numa (Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld)."
Using the water leftover from his last attack, the blond captain of team NNPR turned several blocks of Vale into a dark and mud filled swamp.
Kurama simply sat and watched as the remaining Grimm struggled to free themselves from the chakra infused mud only to find themselves sinking further in. The Kitsune themed Bijū chuckled darkly as he could sense what was happening to the Grimm that now found themselves fully buried beneath the surface.
Death by suffocation or being slowly crushed by the sheer weight and pressure of the chakra infused mud.
Definitely not a pleasant way to go.
As the two turned to leave, they were met by an approaching regiment of the new Atlesian Knights.
The two shared a confused look at the appearance of the robotic soldiers. Admittedly, the pair had very little interaction with the Atlesian forces, though they now found themselves somewhat put off by them.
Technology had never really been something Naruto really paid all that much attention to, and that was during his time where The Land of Snow's trains were considered high tech.
Being faced with human-like automatons that held no emotion, no chakra, and no sense of self was not something Naruto nor Kurama were comfortable with. It was all just...wrong to the two who were so closely tied to Nature.
Whatever reservations they had about the robots were forgotten when the Knights raised their rifles at them.
Looking at the glowing red visors on the mechanized warriors' helmets gave Naruto all the info he needed to figure out what was about to happen.
"Oh you've got to be shitting m-"
Gunfire echoed throughout the streets.
AN: Oh boy do we still have a ways to go after all this! Maybe now some of you will understand why I cut this chapter into two bits.
And hopefully this chapter will serve to give you hints about where I plan to take this whole Battle of Beacon arc, you know, if it wasn't obvious before.
Anyways, reasons for me wanting to end this story with this next chapter as well as the conclusion to this whole shit fest I've created will be out soon, seeing as how I'm technically about 3k into it already.
I eagerly await the "Naruto should've just killed Cinder" along with the "Naruto should totally pwn everyone and bang all of them" cause how dare I want conflict in a story right? Like how fucking dare I want to make a compelling story driven by character growth and story more than I want to satisfy all the tiny dicked fanboys out there who live vicariously through Naruto.
Sorry, being on the Discord chat with all the other writers brings out the salt and nihilist in me.
Also FYI: NO I HAVE NOT WATCHED ALL OF RWBY VOL. 5. WHY? BECAUSE VOL. 4 WAS SUPER FUCKING LACKLUSTER AND THE TRAILERS AND FIRST FEW EPISODES OF VOL. 5 WERE JUST AS MEH.
Fite me.
Now I'm off to spend way too many hours playing Subnautica and living out my worst fears.
Peace