Chapter 53 – Silver Eyed Rage
Ruby
The ground shatters, chunks of concrete with ribs of rebar protruding from its structure. Plumes of thick dust and silt thrown sky high, just as Ruby and Fennec come exploding out from the Chamber.
Ruby shrieks with fury, eyes burning with silver flames, smashing Fennec into the ground with Crescent Rose, instantly spinning round to slam the blunt end of her scythe directly into his chest, firing the rifle at the same time, using the recoil to build the attack up. The impact creates a boom that blasts wind around them, and Fennec grunts as he launches away from her, only to drag his Spiral Dagger into the ground to slow himself down. Dust and rubble fall from his body as he slowly stands back up, staring straight at Ruby with a maniacal smirk on his face. Ruby stands before him, almost looking feral with the anger in her teary eyes, desperate to avenge her friend.
Fennec slowly stands back up as he draws a second Dagger from within his robes, standing his ground. "I'm guessing that human was your friend?" Fennec presumes, and Ruby snarls with rage.
"He was a mentor!" She roars, firing her sniper rifle at him, but his lightning fast reflexes help him just sidestep the bullet at the perfect time.
"Then maybe I should have made it more painful." He scoffs, and then Ruby turns to see Corsac jumping up from where he must have climbed up the hole. He pulls his hood down, revealing the scars on his face and the short hair through the middle of his scalp and a stubby ponytail, the rest of his head is shaven down the sides. Across the right side of his head, scraping through the shaven parts of his head are three scars that he must have been given by a Grimm at some point.
"We'll be sure to deliver your head to Blake Belladonna afterwards." Corsac assures as he draws his daggers, but Ruby shows no fear towards the two Fox Faunus Warriors.
"This ends here for both of you!" Ruby yells with rage, lunging towards Fennec first who just smirks as he sprints towards her as well. Corsac, clearly the smarter one of the two, is the one to try and flank the young Silver Eyed Girl. Ruby spins round as she slashes Crescent Rose at Fennec, but he rolls backwards, narrowly avoiding the attack, proceeding to blast flames straight at her. Ruby twirls the huge scythe through her fingers with great agility, managing to completely deflect the fire bolt, flames rupturing across the red blur of her weapon.
Corsac suddenly jumps and kicks Ruby in the side of the head, then jabbing forward with the Spiralling Dagger at her chest, but her aura shields any possible damage. Corsac ducks down when Ruby thrashes Crescent Rose at him, and he blasts the flames at her feet to cause her to stumble. As she staggers, he performs an impressive roundhouse kick that knocks the weapon from her grasp. Assuming she is now defenceless, he smirks and he goes to deal some more damage.
But he has been out of the loop, because Ruby has learned hand-to-hand combat thanks to Yang, Sun and Kassius. When he goes for a second attack, Ruby catches his forearm and she slams her elbow down into his arm, making him bark with pain to make him release the dagger. Ruby catches the weapon in her other arm and she throws the Dagger directly at Corsac, the blade punctures through his hood that is still down. The dagger carries him across the courtyard of the Radar Station, pinning him to the wall. Corsac grunts as he smashes into the wall, trying to break free from his predicament.
Ruby turns as Fennec yells, swinging his fist at her, so she backs up but only for Fennec to counter by punching right up her jaw, knocking her back and crashing against one of the walls. Ruby falls to the ground and reaches for Crescent Rose, only for Fennec to smash his foot right into her face. Fennec scoops his hands against her throat as he throttles her against the floor with that same smirk on his face. "You humans have always pushed the Faunus down; we will crush the Humans one by one, until only the Faunus remain! We are the dominant species of Remnant!" Fennec yells with rage, only for Ruby to reach down and grab her secondary combat knife sheathed on her leg, slashing it across his aura to knock him off.
Fennec presses his palm to his cheek, feeling the wound healing but the crimson blood still leaks from the opening, staining his cheek. Ruby stands back up, picking Crescent Rose back up as she stares him down. "Neither of us are the dominant species, Umbra is." Ruby states, even when trying to kill him she is still showing him that he is on the wrong side. But Fennec is too far gone; he has become a Zealot for the White Fang.
"Then we will crush him too." Fennec states as he picks his Spiral Daggers back up as well, but Ruby just scoffs at his foolish statement.
"Vir Nominis Umbra could just snap his fingers and kill all of you, all of us. You won't stand a chance against him, even if you manage to kill me." Ruby states, since she is not even going to give Fennec the chance to redeem. There is a possibility for Corsac, but Fennec murdered Port in cold blood. Ruby hears the struggling grunts of Corsac and glances at him, seeing him just thrust forward to rip the robes from the tactical gear that he wears underneath it. Both him and his brother wear the exact same tactical suits as the rest but they just wear their signature hooded robes over them to hide their arsenals.
"Only one way to find out, little girl." Fennec replies as he grins, charging the dust into his blades, preparing to attack. Ruby cocks the sniper rifle, ejecting an empty shell from the chamber and loading a new one in automatically.
Ruby points the barrel and the scythe behind her body as she pulls the trigger, the boom and kick of the High Impact Sniper Rifle sends her flying towards them, screeching with petals trailing behind her as she gets ready to slash. Fennec and Corsac both rush towards her, and Corsac slides under her as Fennec gets hit by the blade, the huge curved blade dealing some major damage to his aura, sending him flying all the way back. Fennec tumbles and Ruby keeps coming, only for Corsac to stab his dagger down into her cape, causing Ruby to fall from the yanking feeling she experienced.
She turns to see Corsac sprinting towards her, dodging the round that she fires at him just by stepping to the side. Corsac rushes her, smashing his knee against her head to push her away, her cape still retracting her movements. But Corsac grabs her by the hair and smashes her head into the floor with force. Ruby grits her teeth and growls with anger, she pulls with all her strength and the red fabric in the cape tears off, and she grabs the Fox Faunus by his hair and throws him off her back. She stands tall, lacking her hood and cape now, but she has grown up and does not care for style like she used to.
She now wears a more impressive tactical suit that lacks a skirt and replaced with trousers with many pouches and her knife strapped round her right thigh. She stares them both down but Fennec immediately attacks again, and he manages to kick Crescent Rose from her grasp again, but Ruby wanted him to do that. She reaches up and catches the forearm which the hand holds the dagger, holding it above their heads. With her other arm she starts to send hard blows with her fist into his lower abdomen over and over again, making Fennec grunt and squawk with pain, only for her to take her dagger and stab it straight into his ear, now making him scream with agony. Still with the Faunus in her grasp, she takes the dagger, and she throws it towards Corsac and it stabs into his furry tail.
Corsac screams with agony, trying to pull himself free from her blade, and Ruby takes the dagger from Fennec's grasp and she throws it aside. Now she uses her skills that she has learned from her friends, smashing her knee into Fennec's chest to make him hunch forward. Doing so, she hooks her arm round his head and throws her body down into the ground. Now atop him, she uses her legs to pin his arms down, leaning down to stare into his eyes as she grabs him with both hands by the throat.
She squeezes with all her might, slowly breaking his aura down as she grits her teeth together, trying to squeeze the life from him. But when she lets her anger out, she does not even notice that Corsac has ripped the combat knife from his tail and he stares at Ruby, sprinting towards her with a blood thirsty scream, jumping and tackling her off his brother. Fennec gasps for air, coughing on the spot as he regains his strength.
Corsac punches Ruby over and over again in the face, delivering bruises that her aura is desperately healing as fast as it can. But as Corsac continuously punches her in the face, flashes of memory come to her mind.
Port's face...
His smile...
How she will never hear his joyous voice again, or his many great tales that he had in his younger days.
The silver energy in her eyes builds up and the flames ignite again and she screams with rage and anguish as she swings her fist into Corsac's face. The act of doing so blasts a beam of silver light from her eyes and into Corsac, the impact launches him high in the air, before he crashes down to the ground with force. Ruby pushes her hands against the ground to get back up, staring the two brothers down with enraged expressions. She stands before them with silver flames crackling from her silver eye and behind her eye patch that she wears. Fennec draws his daggers, but is acting more cautious now.
Ruby reaches her hand out, and the silver energy wraps around Crescent Rose and it comes flying right back into her grasp. Ruby screams with the anger of a Silver Eyed Warrior, catching the weapon as she makes her next strike at him.
Blake
Adam clashes against her, the red blade of Wilt and Blush scraping across Gambol Shroud as he towers above the much shorter Feline Faunus with gritted teeth. Sparks burst from the contact of the two razor sharp blades that scrape across one another, as he pushes down and down against her. His strength trumping hers and forcing her down to one knee. "Adam! I swear to you! It wasn't me!" Blake begs as he forces the blade closer and closer to her throat, but Adam just yells with rage.
"Liar!" He roars, nearly slashing her throat until Oobleck suddenly appears and swings his Thermos at him, but Adam ducks down and he takes his sword from Blake and he immediately swings it straight at Oobleck. He must be blocking the loss of his friend from his mind; he has to if he is to help defeat their enemies. Adam scrapes Wilt and Blush across his Thermos Staff, scraping the paint off it and he viciously slashes at Oobleck, the impact makes him fall to one knee.
Adam holds the sword with both hands over his head as he goes to behead the Doctor, until Blake leaps at him with Gambol Shroud.
"No!" She shrieks, catches the red blade and scraping it away from Oobleck, spinning round and slashing her scabbard across his face to make him stagger. The impact scrapes across the mask but he does not back down, just continues to attack over and over again. Blake keeps fighting defensively opposed to offensively because she does not want to kill Adam, she does not even want to hurt him. She just wants him to hear the truth, to know that Vir Nominis Umbra did all of it for this to happen in the first place.
Adam spins round and he slashes Wilt and Blush straight at Blake, then firing the shotgun in his Scabbard at her as well, but Blake uses her semblance to avoid it. Her hologram shimmers away as the shrapnel of the shell impacts the shadow. He growls with anger, he may not have been able to see her but he could tell from the sound her body made when it got hit. Blake backs up and crosses both the scabbard and the blade of Gambol Shroud over one another which catches the blade of Wilt and Blush, and she stares at him. "Adam! Listen to me! It was Umbra! It was all him, he can shape shift into anything he wants! He did that to turn the White Fang against us again!" Blake states, but Adam just grits his teeth with anger.
"Us?" He questions as he kicks her in the middle of the chest to push her back. "And who is us, Blake?" Adam questions as he walks towards her with Wilt and Blush sheathed back into his scabbard, still with his hand held onto the hilt. His skill completely outmatches Blake considering the fact that he is blind and yet he can still battle her with formidable skill. Blake stares at him, terrified to see him returning to the Adam she once knew, spiteful and cold.
"All of us! Think about it Adam! Why would I go through all that trouble to bring us together, only to tear it all down?" Blake yells, stood right before him whilst everyone fights in around her, and Oobleck stands back up. He too is no match for Adam either, he is just too fast and able to deflect their attacks faster than their can even make them.
"Gain our trust, and then take control. That's why you killed Sienna, I heard what you said. Even a Shape Shifter cannot mimic your voice, I would know." Adam snarls, completely blinded by his anger, the feeling of betrayal that he feels from the death of Sienna. Adam partially draws Wilt and Blush, showing the blood red blade in his grasp. Blake stares at it with horror, flashing images of seeing Yang's arm getting amputated back at Beacon all those years ago.
"Adam...please...it's what he wants..." Blake begs with tears in her feline amber eyes, desperately hoping he will stop this violence. But Adam just stares her down, unable to see her face but he can picture it...once her beauty brought him comfort, but now it just brings him rage.
"I made a promise...I intend to keep it now." Adam snarls, remarking back to that promise he made Blake when Beacon fell.
I will make it my mission to destroy everything you love...
Blake can hear the promise reciting in her head, and she knows now...the heartbreaking truth.
The Adam she thought returned is gone forever, now the monster within has returned. Adam suddenly rushes forward and slashes straight at Blake, only for her body to vanish and she appears behind him with teary eyes as she slashes Gambol Shroud at him with full force. Adam grunts from the feeling of the two weapons slashing across his spine. He staggers but immediately turns to swing the sword at her, and Blake blocks the attack with her Katana. She flips through the air, landing behind him and she fires her pistol at him repeatedly, but Adam cuts each bullet down with the swift movements of his wrist to guide the sword. Sparks and clangs burst from the impacts of bullets against the red blade, and he sprints at her again, sheathing the sword, only to rip it back out again, but Blake rolls backwards.
He dashes towards her and he thrusts the blade upwards at her and he fires the shotgun scabbard at her from behind, and the impact sends Blake flying back. Blake yelps as her back smashes against the wall with force, sending cracks through the marble and granite walls that make up the huge chamber. She falls to her knees with a groan, looking up with a gasp to see Adam jumping towards her with Wilt and Blush pushed down towards her.
Blake moves her head to the side, just missing Wilt and Blush as he stabs it into the wall, only just catching some of her hair, but he just pulls her head from the blade, ripping a few strands from her head. She immediately smashes her head into Adam's face to knock him back and she rushes towards him now. She jumps and performs an impressive back flip that strikes right up Adam's jaw, making him stagger back and she swings across ways with Gambol Shroud, slicing across his red aura. She fires herself forward by blasting the handgun, using the recoil to slam both the blade and her scabbard into his chest. She throws her grappling hook onto a vantage point and she swings around him, and kicks him with both feet in the spin.
Adam tumbles across the ground, and he senses how close he is to Wilt and Blush, since he has a spiritual connection to the weapon as his Semblance is bound to the weapon. He grabs the hilt and immediately spins round, slashing a line of red energy from the blade which knocks Blake out of the air and into the ground again. Adam runs towards her and he slashes his blade across her aura, which pushes her back onto the ground.
Adam kicks Gambol Shroud from arm's reach and he presses his boot against her stomach, holding her down as she struggles. "It's a real shame, Blake. You and I...we could have gone so far if you hadn't betrayed us once...and then you betrayed me again. You turned against me before and I forgave you...but not a second time." Adam snarls as he goes to stab her in the stomach, but Oobleck roars as he smashes his staff into Adam's head, knocking him back. Oobleck blasts flames from the staff and he leaps towards him, blasting him in the chest to push him away from her.
"She never betrayed you!" Oobleck yells as he spins the staff through his finger and smashes Adam in the chest, but he catches the weapon with one hand and kicks the teacher in the chest. He instantly swings round with his sword to deal damage but Oobleck rolls out of the way, blasting flames towards him but Adam blocks the cloud of fire with the red blade, the impact pushes him back slightly but the constant fire damage builds up the kinetic energy in his sword and his red hair begins to glow.
Blake looks up and her eyes widen. "Doctor! Don't! His semblance!" Blake wails, but she is too late. Adam roars with rage and he slashes Wilt and Blush at Oobleck, and the energy in his aura channels into the blade to create one almighty attack. The blade activates the Moonslice Semblance, and the red blade slashes straight through Oobleck's Thermos, snapping it in half, causing the dust crystals inside to shatter and explode into flames. The Moonslice attack creates a powerful shockwave that shatters the crates and windows around them, and Oobleck's semblance breaks as he is thrown back. The green flash of energy crackles across his body, and he thrown back with burns on his clothes, lucky that the attack was focused on the Thermos Staff.
Oobleck crashes to the ground with a grunt and the severed remains of his Thermos clatter against the ground. Adam rises from his Moonslice Stance, the glowing energy receding from his hair and sword and he approaches Oobleck to finish him off. "I'm sorry, Doctor." Adam mournfully says as he holds the sword above his stomach.
"Stop!" Blake yells, lunging forward and stopping the blade with Gambol Shroud. She holds him back and looks back at Oobleck with a desperate look in her eyes. "Doctor Oobleck! Get out of here!" She begs, since he is helpless now, no weapon and his aura has been completely destroyed. Oobleck nods, and he retreats away, and she looks back at Adam, seeing him with gritted teeth, towering above her.
"You would protect humanity above those who aim to crush us?" Adam snarls, staring straight at her.
"I am not protecting Humanity! I am not protecting the Faunus! I want to save everyone from Vir Nominis Umbra! And if that means stopping you...then I will." Blake states, now realising that she needs to stop him.
Past relationships aside.
She needs to take Adam down now.
"That's the spirit." He replies, as Blake leaps backwards and rushes forward to make another attack.
Kragen
The Silver Eyed Warrior spins his Isomacium Staff at the speed of a plane's propeller, charging it up with the silver aura of his eyes that lights the many markings inside the weapon up constantly. He strikes over and over again, each attack creates powerful booms and bright flashes to make Mazen stagger from the attacks. Kragen jumps and he smashes the staff downwards towards Mazen's head, but the huge High Leader catches the staff in his brutish hand and he pulls Kragen forward to punch him with his other fist. His Chainsword has been punched from his grasp by the Architect, yet he is still just as dangerous without it.
Mazen stamps his massive boot downwards at where the old Warrior has fallen, but Yenna blasts a fireball into his back, the explosion pushes him back but he crystallizes his aura around his fists as he rushes towards her again. He cannot open his hands but they have become impenetrable as he swipes his fist across Yenna's cheek, nearly knocking her onto the ground, but before she can even stand back up, Mazen upper cuts her, which throws her into the air. He catches her by her ankle and with all his might he swings the Spring Maiden round and launches her into Kragen. They both grunt from the impact, knocked over by him and he turns, seeing the Architect sprinting towards him. The mechanical man jumps and kicks him in the chest to push him back, only to swing round with his sword, slashing across orangey red aura with the crackling blade. Mazen stumbles but immediately comes back round with his crystallised fist to punch the Architect in the head, making him stagger.
Mazen did not even feel anything from punching the mechanical man in the head, nothing at all from the thick crystallised aura that surrounds his fist. He immediately punches him in the gut and freezes his aura around his foot as he spins round to kick him in the head. The Architect falls to the ground, sparks leaking from some damaged circuitry inside of his head. He flinches as his optics have become slightly damaged, flickering constantly in his vision. "Crap! Vision's impaired!" He cries out as he stumbles across the room. He smacks the side of his head and something seems to fix back into the right place because the circuits stop sparking and the vision returns.
Then he wishes he couldn't see after he just spots a massive fist come flying towards his face, sending him flying across the room. The Architect crashes and tumbles across the room, scraping his newly polished steel coloured paint from places of his armoured body. He groans with frustration as he looks at the scratched up polish on his body. "I just got the polish just right!" He complains, and he suddenly aims his sword at Mazen, firing a round into his chest that launches him across the room as well. Mazen grunts, crashing straight into a wall so hard that he is partially lodged into the wall.
Kragen and Yenna both groan, feeling like they are both too old for this, more Kragen than her since he is physically looking and feeling older than her. But mentally...they are both carrying the mindsets of elders. The Architect jogs over to them both and he pulls them back up to their feet. "You two good?" The Architect asks them as he ejects an empty dust cartridge from his sword-rifle. Kragen cracks his neck and pushes his chest out to pop a stress in his back out.
"Yeah...just remembering how old I am." Kragen groans, and Yenna sighs.
"Same..." She groans, which gets a raised brow from Kragen but he doesn't say a word since she does not look a day older from when they were split from each other.
"Mazen just keeps getting back up, everything we throw at him, and his semblance just counters it." The Architect describes as he stares at Mazen, who is slowly ripping himself free from the wall that he was blasted into. Dust and silt floats down from the crater of which he is still stuck inside of.
"I know, he has one hell of an arsenal. Even without that damn sword of his." Yenna adds, since she feels so much weaker down here from the lack of open air and soil to use to her advantage. She forms another pair of Elemental Swords in her hands as she stares the huge man down, but Kragen is smart and he examines him. He watches as he frees himself from slowly from the crater, and he cannot help but realise something. The crystallised aura was not formed around his chest when the Architect shot him.
"He must use a lot of aura to crystallise his aura like that, must be why he couldn't do that when you shot at him, Architect." Kragen explains, as Mazen rips his massive arm from the marble with force.
"We just need to get his aura down. Okay..." The Architect agrees.
"We keep hitting him until he goes down, sounds like a plan." Yenna agrees as she reignites the fire in her eyes and cracks her neck. Mazen finally breaks free with a roar that sounds very similar to that of a Grizzly Bear in fact, and he lands down from the crater with dust sitting on his huge torso. Mazen is clearly a Bear Faunus, which explains his name – Ursus – much like Ursa, which is the Grimm Malformation of a Bear. Also explains his massive form and the rage that he has, that of a Bear as well.
Mazen walks towards them and he raises his fists, not even trying to go for his Chainsword. "Surprised you're not going for your weapon." Yenna points out as she approaches with her swords in her grasp, Kragen in the middle and the Architect to his left, her on his right. Mazen scoffs as he stares the three of them down, ready to do battle with them.
"You think I need it? I am not like most Hunters you have seen, I made sure I learned the skills outside of fighting with a weapon. So let's see what you've got, old-timers." Maze challenges, standing his ground and his eyes focused on each of them as they approach. The Architect swings his sword at Mazen but the Bear Faunus ducks down and powers his fist into his lower abdomen, even without crystallising his aura he does not even seem to flinch from punching titanium as hard as he did. He immediately kicks the mechanical man in the chest, turning to catch the staff of Kragen's and pulling him forward.
But this time, Kragen rolls under his fist that he swings at his head, and he pulls his staff round and swipes it under his legs to trip him over. Mazen crashes to the floor with a thud, but he rolls out of the way before Yenna could stab down at him with her swords. He kicks her in the knee and brings her down to one knee, then pulls her long black hair and punches her straight in her pretty face. Kragen snarls with anger, yet he still manages to stay calm and collected.
Rage is a useful emotion, but one cannot let it overpower themselves. Kragen makes his attack with his staff, smashing it across Mazen's head, spinning it round fast to smack it against his head another three times, before he jabs it into his lower abdomen, then spins round and smashes it against his ear. Mazen falls but rolls back onto his feet, staring straight at them, yelling through his full face mask. "You would risk you lives, and for what? An already doomed world?" Mazen questions as he stands there, and the Architect aims his rifle at him again.
"It's only doomed when the protectors give up on it!" The Architect argues, but Mazen just laughs at that statement.
"Protectors? Look around you! The protectors of this world are fighting a losing battle! Your enemies surround you and outnumber you, the destruction is coming and we cannot escape it!" Mazen roars right back, and there is a part of them that can understand his words. No matter what they do to protect the world, the people that live around them – there will always be those who will bring destruction.
Whether it be through malice, revenge or just madness.
And some...
Through evil.
But that is why they are here, to protect the world from those who seek to hurt it. "Then why are you fighting us? You know that there is a terrible moment coming, why fight against us? Help us stop Vir Nominis Umbra!" Kragen attempts to help the man, yet he has reasons that he recognises all too well.
"Because Humanity must be punished for what they have done to my people, they hunted us and slaughtered us for game! Saw us as the animals that we carry the traits of! I will not stop until the Faunus can have the revenge that they have been seeking for so long!" Mazen argues with malice in his voice, standing his ground.
"Revenge is not the way, believe me Mazen! I once knew a man who let vengeance consume his heart and he became a monster. But I managed to save him in the end, managed to cure that poison in his heart. It is not too late for you, either!" Kragen begs, clearly talking about Wymerus – the Knight of Vengeance that he freed all those years ago after Arkhonex fell. Mazen stands his ground but he shakes his head as he stares into his eyes.
"I cannot do that, Kragen. I know there are Humans out there who are not like the others, and I have no quarrel with them. But there are plenty more than must be destroyed, you are one of the good ones – but you are in my way of helping my people." Mazen states, revealing that he is not completely blinded by rage after all.
"Then who are you going after?" Yenna questions, curious to know his reasons now as she circles him.
"Atlas – they must be punished for what they have done to my people." Mazen snarls.
And at that moment...
It all makes sense.
His hatred towards Weiss back on the train when they tried to stop Torchwick with Oobleck in Vale, the fact he robbed from the Schnee Dust Company Banks as well. He has been targeting Atlesian Locations opposed to anywhere else, and has been killing everyone else that stands in his way.
Whether they are human or Faunus.
"What about the other Kingdoms?" The Architect questions.
"Those who harm my people there will fall as well, but Atlas is full of traitors. And my people will be freed." Mazen tells them with his fists held up ready to fight them.
Yenna looks at Kragen and he stares straight at the man that was once just the White Fang Lieutenant. "It doesn't have to be like this, Mazen. We can work together, if we stop Umbra then we can all wake up from this nightmare." Kragen states.
"And I wish you luck in that mission – but I cannot let Atlas walk away scot-free after everything they have done to my people." Mazen states, and Kragen sighs, because he knows that there is no point in trying to talk him out of this.
He wants revenge.
He wants justice.
And he won't stop until he gets it.
"You know we cannot let you kill thousands of innocents like this." The Architect tells him, and Mazen just stares them down.
"Then why are we still talking?" Mazen asks, and they all sigh.
"Fine." Yenna agrees.
"Come on! Show me how it's done!" Mazen roars, as he rushes towards them and swings his fist straight at them.
Qrow
Vera throws one of her tomahawks directly at Qrow but the Branwen slashes the axe out of the air with his sword, but Vera presses a button on the device on her wrist. It beeps and Qrow's eyes widen as he realises it carries explosive dust on it, and it explodes right next to him, knocking him back. Vera fires a web at his leg and she pulls him closer and she jumps, wrapping her legs around his leg and pinning him down against the ground. She smirks as she leans down to stare him in the eyes, seductively running her finger down from his lip to his neck and chest. "Shame you're not a Faunus...I'd love to screw around with someone like you." She whispers to him, in which he just looks disgusted.
Qrow smashes his knee into her stomach and then whacks his head into hers, pushing her off his chest, and then spinning round to build the attack in his sword all the way up. The blade collides against her aura covered body, sending her flying across the room and crashing against one of the pillars. She looks up at him, her white hair covering one of her eyes as she stares at him. "Sorry sweetheart, not attracted to spiders." He says as he holds the sword at his side, pacing back and forth.
She suddenly draws her sword and throws it straight at him, Qrow's eyes widen and he rolls out of the way at the perfect moment, he just dodges the spear and he immediately spins round and slashes at her, cutting the web she shot at him down before it got close. The spear stabs into a thick window made of glass across the way from them, sending some cracks across it.
Qrow sprints towards her, spinning his sword round to deflect the bullets that she fires at him from her firearms that she has on her person. Qrow jumps up and stamps both feet down into her chest, pinning her against the ground with force. He presses his blade against her neck, pinning her down constantly. "Now, quit fighting us and focus on our real enemy!" Qrow begs, but she winks at him, firing a web into the ceiling and attaching it to his ankle. She pulls the web and sends him up into the air.
Qrow struggles as he tries to cut the web, until he sees Vera slowly floating up the web to meet his eyes with a smile on her face that just drives him insane. "Hi, cutie." She greets with an increasingly annoying voice. She then draws her other tomahawk and gently places it to his neck. "Don't move, honey – I don't wanna mess it up and make you suffer." She whispers, trying to line the blade up. But when she goes to slam the tomahawk into his neck, he moves his head aside and then grabs her by the throat, squeezing tight as he pulls her forward and smashes his head against hers.
He takes his chance and he cuts the web that connected him to the ceiling. And he pulls her down with him, smashing her into the ground with all his might. He stands above her, seeing her aura is getting weaker and weaker, practically crackling right now with light blue energy. But before he can even stab her with his sword, she fires a web and pulls herself away from his view. She wings round the pillar and she kicks him in the chest with both feet, and he crashes against the glass where the spear has been imbedded.
The room inside is dark with a faint green hue in there.
He groans but Vera comes swinging straight towards him once more, and she lands her feet onto the glass around him, pinning him right there. She stares at him with a smirk and she leans closer and closer, caressing his long black hair. "Don't worry...I've heard that the girl with the Silver Eyes is your little girl, right?" Vera asks, and Qrow glares at her with enraged eyes.
But she leans closer to his ear with a smirk as she whispers. "I won't make her last too long, maybe a week as I slowly skin her. I make sure she is in agony after I finish you off." She assures, but the words are the worst she could have possibly chosen.
Because with her head that close to the glass, she notices the green hue getting brighter and brighter.
Suddenly around ten Mutated Thralls that carry the serum that Merlot had crafted come charging towards the glass and they smash into it with all their might. The glass cracks and one of them stabs its claw straight through the glass. Qrow smirks back and he ducks down at the perfect moment as the claw shatters the glass. "No!" Vera screams with desperation, attempting to escape but one of the Thralls grabs her leg, holding her there. It pulls her back and she catches her hands onto the shattered glass around her, desperately trying to survive this attack. They keep reaching and grabbing onto her, her arms and one of them starts pulling onto her hair. They all screech and snarl viciously, and Qrow walks aside from her, staring back at her. "Please! Help me!" She cries with horror.
But Qrow glares into her brown eyes, the stare of an angered father. His words send chills of horror through her body.
"Shouldn't have threatened my baby girl." Qrow sternly states, and her eyes bulge from their sockets, feeling her grip on the glass loosening.
"No! Please! Stop!" She begs, as they pull her into the dark room. Her screeches echo from inside as they begin to devour her alive, stabbing her with their huge claws and gnawing away at her flesh. Blood spurts up and hits different sections of glass that remain as they rip her apart. One of them bites down into her throat as she wails, another disembowels her with its claws, ripping her insides out from her stomach. Blood pours out from her body as she wails, and Qrow just walks away, leaving her to suffer in her grizzly fate.
It takes around three minutes for her to finally die from the agony, silenced by a Thrall that chews into her scalp and rips her skull from her neck, as they continue to devour her like animals.
Vera is dead...for certain as well.
One down, many more to go.
Qrow keeps walking away from the bloodbath that is Vera's grave as they continue to eat her, and the systems set in place in case of the glass being broken activates. The metal sheet slides down from above, covering each window in case of an outbreak. There is no retrieving whatever is left of Vera now.
Qrow looks around, finally finished up with her and he turns to see Oscar and Winter still fighting against Yuma. Even with her help, they are both struggling against her. He then turns his head to see the crater where the sun is shining through, where Ruby launched herself into Fennec and Corsac went after her.
She needs Oscar.
Qrow turns and glares at Yuma, and he sprints towards the Bat Faunus, transforming into his Crow form, flying towards the Elite Faunus. He stands above Oscar with his sword above be driven into his stomach, until Qrow transforms back into human form. He tackles Yuma and launches him straight into the wall, the Bat Faunus crashes against the wall with a grunt, falling onto his face. Qrow offers his hand to Oscar with his sword in his other hand, and Winter smiles as she sees him stood there. "Thanks, Qrow...you okay?" Oscar asks him.
"Yeah." He agrees, not even shaken by the death of Vera, but then again.
She did threaten his daughter.
So it's possible any emotions were blocked in that moment.
Qrow turns to Oscar, since he and Winter can handle Yuma. "Oscar, you need to go help Ruby. She's outnumbered up there, the Albain Brothers are there with her." Qrow advises.
"What?" He questions, immediately spinning round to see the crater.
"Go, we can handle him." Winter assures Oscar with a nod.
Oscar nods back and he draws Traveller's Atrocity and he dashes away from them, using his Semblance to his advantage. Qrow looks away from where Oscar was stood and he looks at Winter, noticing the different style of hair she is rocking. Like Weiss she has decided to just let her hair hang and let it curl. "By the way, that haircut looks hot on you, Ice Queen." He compliments with a smirk to the woman he admittedly does have feelings for.
Something Weiss would hate since he is Ruby's dad, and would become her brother in law if they ever did get together.
Although Winter is in her mid thirties now and Qrow is ten years older than her, the age difference could always be much worse.
Winter just smiles with a slight blush, but then she notices something. "Wait...what happened to that Spider Girl?" Winter asks.
"Swatted." Qrow responds with a pun, in which Winter just rolls his eyes.
Yuma stands back up and he smirks, drawing both swords again as he stares at them. "Finally...a fair fight!" He laughs maniacally.
"We'll see." Qrow replies, and they both rush towards the Elite White Fang Warrior.
Ruby
The Silver Eyed Rose ducks down to avoid the stab from Corsac and she fires her sniper rifle into the ground, riding the recoil to slam into his chest, knocking him back. Ruby yells with rage as she spins round and slashes across his chest. The impact launches him all the way back but he does not back down, and that attack knocked his Spiralling Dagger from his grasp. But Corsac still can fight with his bare fists, and he swings right at Ruby, but she dashes right out of the way, red petals blowing right across his face.
He spins round to see Ruby slamming the other side of Crescent Rose into his head, so hard that it dazes him, making him stagger back. She immediately smashes her shoulder into his chest and jumps in the air, performing a graceful roundhouse kick that smacks into his head. He falls onto the ground, and she arches Crescent Rose over her back, catching the dagger which belongs to Fennec, pulling it from his grasp, and slashing him over and over again with her scythe, cutting his aura down with each well placed blow she delivers. Ruby spins Crescent Rose upwards and smashes the scythe upwards, launching Fennec into the air. She leaps into the air and then she hooks Crescent Rose onto his torso, and fires the sniper rifle to the sky. The recoil pulls her and him downwards and she crashes him into the ground with full force.
The impact breaks his aura, a flash of orange energy crackles across his body, and Fennec groans, trying to get back up, but Ruby pushes her boot down onto his chest, holding him there. She aims the sniper rifle at his head with furious eyes. "I told you, you will die for killing Port." Ruby snarls at Fennec, but Fennec just smiles at her.
Ruby raises an eyebrow.
Ruby's eye then widens with shock...feeling an agonizing pain through her abdomen, and she slowly lowers her eyes to see the Spiralling Dagger that belongs to Corsac protruding from her stomach. Purple dust flows through the dagger – the Shadow Dust – puncturing through her aura, red energy leaking with the blood. She then feels his hand on her shoulder, and his hand against her back that holds the blade. She collapses to one knee in agony, feeling the blood leaving the wound, her eye wide with shock. "Should have watched your back." Corsac snarls as he holds her there.
Fennec chuckles sinisterly as he stands back up, picking up his dagger, loading a crystal of Shadow Dust into the Spiral Dagger. "You fought well...but you talk too much." He says, until suddenly.
Oscar shoots towards him like a blur, punching Fennec in the head, knocking him to the ground and he spins round, immediately blasting a round into Corsac. His field of Aura protects him from the bullet but the impact still pushes him away from Ruby. Ruby collapses into Oscar's arms, she whimpers with pain in his arms. "Just...hold on, baby...you'll be okay." He assures as he caresses her cheek.
"Osc-" She weakly warns, as Corsac suddenly grabs him by his hair and throws him away from Ruby, and she falls to the floor. She presses her hands against the floor, coughing in pain as she tries to stand back up, crawling to Crescent Rose to kill Fennec, but he is already standing back up.
Oscar blocks the punches from Corsac with his forearms, stepping back from every single punch that is made towards him. He then dashes away as he uses his Time Semblance, and he throws a powerful punch straight into Corsac's back, bringing him to one knee. Oscar roars with rage, charging his fist up with time, slowing time down as he delivers an almighty punch into Corsac's face.
So powerful it nearly knocks him out, the only thing that keeps him conscious is the fact his aura is still up.
Ruby's aura flickers, confused from the Shadow Dust in her system as she crawls towards her weapon.
But Fennec kicks it away and he stands above her with a smirk. He crouches down in front of her with that sinister smirk on his face, holding the blade with Shadow Dust in it to her neck, pulling her head up with his hand grasping her beautiful long black and red hair. Ruby stares at him, still desperate to kill him.
She reaches for her knife...
But she forgot that she left it when she threw it into Corsac's tail.
Fennec grins maniacally. "Be sure to greet that man in the after life...and if you find her, send Ilia Amitola my regards." He requests, thrusting it towards her throat.
Oscar bellows as he suddenly appears behind Fennec, wrapping a steel cable around his throat and strangling him as he pulls him away from Ruby. The blade was just about to puncture her throat, but he saved her just in time, and Fennec is dragged away from Ruby as Oscar continues to choke him out with that cable around his neck. Fennec lets out gasps and barks as he swings the Dagger around, then he stabs it straight into Oscar's leg, making the boy roar with pain.
Fennec smashes his elbow into Oscar's gut and spins round to punch him in the head, since the Shadow Dust has been used on him and he will need another crystal to use it again. He rips the blade from Oscar's leg and blood leaks from the open wound, but Corsac grabs onto him and throws him onto the ground, somehow still fighting. He begins to pound his fists against Oscar's face over and over again, and Ruby reaches out for the man she loves. "Oscar!" She cries out, voice still weak like she has been winded by the dagger that stabbed her.
Fennec stands there, still with the cable wrapped around his throat and he slowly walks towards Ruby again, picking up the dagger that Corsac was using that is still drenched in Ruby's blood. Dropped when Oscar pulled him back from Ruby.
Ruby cannot help but realise she is feeling light headed now, seeing the amount of blood that leaks down from her stomach and down her leg and into the concrete she pulls herself across. Fennec gets closer and closer to her with that Spiral Dagger in his grasp, but then he kicks her in the side where the wound is.
Like she has just been electrocuted, the pain shocks right through her body, and Ruby lets out a heart-wrenching scream. The pain is bringing back memories as she lays there, hearing the distant cackles of Tyrian in the laugh of Fennec as he pushes her onto her back with his foot. He stands above her and he holds the dagger with both hands and plunges it towards her ribs.
Ruby raises both hands, catching his forearms and holding the blade there, but his strength continues to trump hers as he forces it closer and closer towards her heart. Oscar continues to battle against Corsac, back up now as he catches Corsac's fist and smashes it into his own face with force, knocking him back.
Ruby stares up at Fennec with her silver eye wide as she stares at the deranged Fox Faunus as he pushes the blade closer and closer to her chest. She then begins to carefully move his arms towards her shoulder without him even noticing, because she knows that she cannot fight against him like this.
When the blade is above her shoulder...
She releases, and feels the agonizing feeling of the corkscrew shaped blade stabbing straight through her shoulder, and more blood begins to pour out from her wound. Fennec pushes the blade all the way down until the cold metal hilt presses against her skin, smirking with insanity in his eyes. Ruby lets out a shriek of agony from the feeling.
Time stops...
And Oscar turns his head slowly with rage in his hazel coloured eyes when he sees Fennec stabbing his girlfriend. He spins round and upper cuts Corsac in paused time and he sprints straight towards Fennec, feeling time running out for her. He throws one powerful punch into Fennec's face, and time resumes. Fennec staggers back from that punch, and Corsac is thrown onto the ground from his punch that happened at the same time. Oscar punches and punches him over and over again in the chest, pushing him closer to the edge of the building.
And finally, Oscar roars with rage, smashing his fist right into the centre of his chest, and that punch throws Fennec off the roof of the building. Fennec screams with desperation as he grabs onto the cable still wrapped around his neck, seeing the winch it is still attached to. Time running out to free himself, cable running out as well.
Fennec screeches as he reaches up at Oscar who watches him fall.
Then...
Bang!
The winch violently buckles, bending the steel and snapping the joints inside of it, but the cable remains attached. The cable tightens suddenly and sharply, and there is a hideous sky shattering crunch from Fennec's neck.
The Spiralling Dagger stabs down into the soil beneath where he was falling, the blade deactivating from the lack of a hand holding it.
The sunlight reveals the shadow...
Of Fennec's body hanging from the cable that tightened around his neck.
Killing him instantly.
Oscar stands above the point of which Fennec fell, and he knows what has happened here.
That was the first every time he has killed someone out of rage.
And he feels no remorse, only concern as he turns to Ruby, pressing his hand to her stomach to try and stop the bleeding. "Did...Did ya get him?" Ruby asks him with a weak voice, and Oscar smiles.
"I got him..." He assures.
Ruby smiles, knowing that they have avenged Port. "Good..."
"Come on, hold on honey...I'm gonna patch you up." He assures.
He turns to see that Corsac is gone.
Now there is only one brother left...
Author Note - Fennec is dead, and I must admit I have been waiting to do this death scene since I decided to make Knights of Grimm a series. And that was when I finished Act 1, so you can imagine I feel happy that this death has been done.
And did you see Ruby getting stabbed by Corsac coming? One of my favourite deaths so far because of how tense it is, with Oscar trying to help Ruby but Corsac keeps attacking him as well, so that was really fun to write. And having him get hanged was really fun to write as well, the desperation and then bang!
Over.
I can assume people would have wanted a death like what Vera suffered, but I have always found deaths like this extremely satisfying.
And what do you think of Mazen's reasons for what he does? Do you sympathise or think he is going too far with his actions?
Now there is only one chapter left for the Menagerie White Fang Skirmish, what do you think will happen next?
And how do you think Act 3 will end?
Because the end is near.
Please review, follow and favourite! Your feedback is always greatly appreciated! And I would love to know what you also thought of poor Professor Port's death in the previous chapter!
Stay tuned for the next chapter!
- Matt
