Out of curiosity, do any of you watch the show The Good Doctor? If so, what do you guys think of it? As someone with two autistic brothers, I find it rather inspiring – shows that they truly can be what they want to be in the future, should they truly desire it. That said, the sheer number of asshole characters in the show is kind of staggering. Seriously, the number of genuine nice main characters can be counted on one hand. And while it is nice of the show to give us multiple sides of these same jerkass characters (after all, everyone in real life has multiple sides to them, so yay realism), it's still pretty damn hard to feel any sympathy for them, at least for me. So again, your opinions?

On another note, saw Black Panther and loved it! I believe I've said it before, but I'll say it again: I've yet to be disappointed by any MCU film! Killmonger in particular was amazing – the little subtle nuances he was given by both Michael B. Jordan and the script just blew me away. Klaue was a fun villain too but lacked the same kind of depth that Killmonger had, though Klaue certainly had some potential. And the sheer amount of detail that was poured into making Wakanda what it is blew me away, from how the high-tech stuff Vibranium melded with their traditions to how said traditions also played a significant part in the entire narrative. The realism behind Killmonger's past and his goals definitely made it feel so much more personal too.

God, now to just wait until Infinity War… man, that is going to be an awesome day when it comes out. But I will admit to worrying slightly about Antman and the Wasp. While the first one turned out great and I have equally high hopes for this one, the very fact that it'll be coming out after Infinity War yet with the events of the film occurring sometime after Civil War yet before Infinity War has me worried about what kind of reception it'll get overall. Oh well, only time will tell!

Now then, onto the chapter!

Chapter 50

Salem arrived in Vacuo the same way she'd arrived in the other kingdoms – with an entrance.

All but divebombing from the sky, she hit the ground front feet-first with such force that when combined with her mass resulted in a shockwave that surely rattled the entire continent.

And yet… it didn't feel anywhere near as satisfying as the other times had thus far.

To be expected given the landscape. Unlike the other three kingdoms, where settlements and cities were much closer and had some kind of pattern to how they were spread out, Vacuo lacked any such pattern, with settlements and the very few actual towns and cities being spread out and formed in areas where it was possible to maintain stable lifestyles for the people that comprised these settlements, areas that were few and in between for the most part.

As a result, Salem highly doubted she was able to cause that much harm with her landing.

Oh well, it's nice to have some measure of challenge. Besides, her precious Grimm were still on the attack. All she'd have to do is simply follow the noise and proceed from there.

So she began to take several massive steps forward -.

-Only to stop not long thereafter.

She looked down at the spot before her as she'd headed west, her eyes widening in genuine surprise as one person and one person only dared to stand before her.

A face she recognized in an instant and earned a deafening growl from her throat.

Ozpin.


Ozpin, having arrived just as Salem had barely begun her trek, maintained a neutral expression even as his body all but screamed at him to rest for a moment. While his semblance can grant him an immense boost in speed when pushed to the limit, the strain it puts on his body was not insignificant. A minute of rest was needed for the strain to subside, but he wasn't about to sit down and do just that.

However, even while standing, the strain will go away, though it will take longer than a minute to do so. So time for him to see just how long he can drag this out before Salem finally attacks. The longer he can do that, the longer the settlements in Vacuo will remain untouched by Salem here.

"Did you really think I'd just let you continue to do as you pleased?" he then said, making sure to speak loudly enough for Salem to hear him. Given the size difference between them, this would surely be a tough order to fulfill provided her vastly improved abilities doesn't extend to her senses.

A second later, it seemed that Salem really could hear him without much trouble, for she snorted in direct response to his words before taking half a step forward.

Ozpin made no attempt to move, having made sure to stand far enough in front of Salem as to ensure he was both visible to her and well enough away from her to avoid being affected by that death field her semblance had created.

"…You know, over all these years, I've regretted what I'd done to you," he began in a much softer voice. "Truly, I have. Of all the things I've ever wished to have the power to change, that day where I sold you out to the others is one I wished I could change the most."

He closed his eyes as emotions within him warred against one another. But this only last a few seconds before opening his eyes, his resolve clear as day for Salem to see. "But now? Now, I no longer feel that way at all, Salem. That's right, I've done away with my regrets. How could I not, when you've become what you are now."

That seemed to have some kind of impact on Salem, for her eyes seemed to widen quite a bit, her massive frame going unnaturally still.

"You've become too filled with hate. Or rather, you allowed yourself to become enveloped by your own seething hatred, closed off from all others for so long that it was honestly inevitable." He paused. The strain on his body was almost gone now. Soon, he'd be able to move without issue again. Just a bit longer… "I shall make no excuses for the world today – the same things that plagued humanity back then still plague it now… but things are still much better today than they ever were before. People have changed since then, Salem, and continue to change slowly yet surely for the better."

He narrowed his eyes and pointed his cane at her accusingly. "And now look at you – a monster both figuratively and literally, hellbent on crushing humanity for something that the most recent generations can't possibly be accounted for. Revenge? A just cause? Call it whatever you want, old friend, but all you're doing is lashing out!"

Salem's teeth audibly grinded against one another for several seconds before she roared at him. And what a roar it was. It was a good thing his semblance allowed him to channel his aura to create a barrier otherwise the roar may have very well blown him far, far away. Even then, the barrier he hastily formed just as Salem roared rattled and shuddered under the force, cracking in the process.

Thankfully, the roaring ceased just before the barrier could fully give way. Shakily, from the sheer impact of the roar, Ozpin stood back up to his full height and proceeded to meet Salem's vicious glare with one of his own.

"In addition," he began as if nothing had just happened. "You've taken on such a form… and for what? So you could look down on others, to feel superior? Or does looking people in the eyes now make you feel bad?"

His words were said tauntingly, perhaps almost childishly so in some respects, but at this point, he'd be willing to say anything and everything to provoke Salem. The strain on his body was now almost completely gone and the more enraged Salem became at him, the less attention she'd pay to the various settlements that made up Vacuo.

Besides, he felt he had a point there – back when she'd still be human, Salem had been a tall woman, but still had to look up slightly if she wished to look people such as himself in the eyes. Following her merging process with the Grimm, however, she'd simply grown bigger and bigger so that she'd have to physically look down on others. This was especially the case in her current form. And as much as she's changed since he'd known her back then, there were surely some parts of her that remained the same… like the inferiority she'd sometimes felt back then, the uncertainty.

Surprisingly, it pained him to play on such old 'wounds,' but for the sake of the world, he wasn't about to let this stop him.

"Ha… unbelievable. Perhaps deep down, you really are just the same as you were back then." He shook his head, feigning disbelief. "Perhaps I have nothing to fear, after all, if you can't even bring yourself to look me in the eyes when you kill me."

At this point, he was genuinely goading her into doing just that. The power difference between them was such that he held no illusions about his chances against her in direct combat now, especially when Salem could just squish him or obliterate him with a roar or aura beam.

But to his surprise, when he looked back up at Salem, it was to see a surprisingly complicated expression on that warped face of hers. Dare he even think it, she looked to be contemplating his words.

However, the anger from earlier was still there but now with something akin to a twinkle of bemusement.

Salem was gearing up for something and Ozpin couldn't even begin to fathom what that might be.

Because of this, he was very much on guard when he could all but feel Salem's power at work, the very space directly around her shifting as her semblance went to work.

He was more than a little tempted to go on the attack right there and then, but before he could fully consider any proper course of action, he ended up all but freezing in place when the rippling that occurred in the very space itself now began to occur all across Salem's entire body.

She was using her semblance directly on herself.

Such a thought and sight boggled Ozpin's mind so much that he dropped his guard ever so slightly as the rippling sensation then gave to way to sort of barrier surrounded the monstrous woman, transforming into one of pure darkness that prevented him from seeing whatever Salem was doing now.

The one thing he did manage to see before the barrier became impossible to see past was how Salem's entire body seemed to start… shrinking?

Whatever was going on, it was now enough for Ozpin to do away with his bravado and leap back several meters in one smooth motion, his cane at the ready in case of a sudden attack. His strain now done away with, he could afford to move at full speed again with having to fear for overreaching himself.

A few seconds later, the barrier began to shrink at a gradual pace, though it picked up a bit in speed overtime, until it had gone from being several times larger than a mountain to around ten feet in diameter.

An oppressive sensation overcame Ozpin and it was only thanks to his intuition and decades of experience that kept him from doing anything that could be rash.

In a way, perhaps he was right to keep himself from doing so.

The barrier then cracked as if made out of weak glass, an ominous red light seeping out through the small cracks in the otherwise pitch-black shell. Then the barrier shattered completely and with enough force to be more akin to an explosion more than anything else, really.

The broken shards that once made up the barrier went flying in every direction at incredible speeds, forcing Ozpin dodge at the last possible microsecond. Even then, with so many shards sent his way, he couldn't dodge completely unless he was willing to use his semblance to move far, far away. And he was very much unwilling to do so, so he had to settle for using his cane to smash the shards that would have otherwise impaled him.

After this brief display of violence, a hushed and eerie silence then fell upon the entire desolate desert area as Ozpin proceeded to take a few steps forward.

And what he saw rather amazed him.

There, where the barrier had once been, now stood Salem in a new form.

No, perhaps it'd be much more appropriate to say that she'd taken on a humanoid version of her previous monstrous form – the dark red and black flesh that had enveloped her limbs still covered her legs, which functioned and somewhat actually looked like a human's legs, but the feet remained very much malformed, more akin to how the Wyverns' feet looked like. Her front legs, however, had reverted back into arms, the skin black with red veins, and quite beefy due to the sheer amount of mass Salem had added to herself since her initial transformation, the arms muscular and with the fingers being more along the lines of claws than anything else.

Her torso remained quite womanly and nude, though the deathly white skin turned out to be like thick scales all over her entire body, which resulted in Salem appearing to lack private areas. Even then, the once slender woman now sported visible muscle definition, presumably from all the mass she'd merged with. There was an intricate red design across the chest as well, extending downwards along her stomach's sides and ending just a bit above the thighs.

But it was really Salem's face that stood out to Ozpin, the horrid mouth of her previously massive form having remained the same now in this new state, but with parts of it looking to have closed and badly so, resulting in small openings on the side of her neck that revealed the teeth still there, which wriggled with even the slightest breaths she took. The horns that had been on the side of her face were no longer there and have instead seemed to have been replaced by a crown-like design that sat upon her head, made from the same bone-white substance that most Grimm sported. Her white hair, which had been so wild and untamed in her previous state, had changed ever so slightly as well, looking more ethereal than the ghastly appearance of before and fell straight down her back for the most part, though some of it fell straight down her front as well, covering her breasts.

The gentlest of flaps then alerted Ozpin to her wings, which were still massive in comparison to her current size. The wings remained the same in overall design, but now they moved and folded themselves around her lower body, forming a sort of pod that hid her lower half from view.

Up until now, Salem had been keeping herself afloat in the air, just off the ground by several feet. But upon her wings taking on their current pod-like appearance, she landed and the ground shook as several bombs went off. Ozpin nearly lost his balance as a result, having been taken off-guard by this.

But he recovered gracefully and more importantly quickly. And the smallest beads of sweat formed upon his brow from nerves immediately thereafter.

He had no idea what exactly Salem did to make herself this way now, but it was immediately evident that she still retained a good deal of the immense amount of mass she'd absorbed over the course of her rampage. She was heavier than her new appearance would suggest and by more than a significant margin. But what about the rest of the mass then? Where did that go?

Salem began to walk towards him boldly, arrogantly. Her bare feet, just barely visible under her folded wings, all but sunk into the sand thanks to her weight, the ground even shaking a bit with every step she took.

Ozpin let her approach, not wanting to give her reason to attack just yet. Nonetheless, he remained ready to leap back the very instant that death-field of hers appeared again. Judging by the lack of damage being done to the surrounding environment right now, however, it seemed like he might not have to worry about it. Yet.

Several seconds later, Salem finally came to a stop just a few yards away from him. It was at this point that Ozpin realized Salem hadn't quite reverted herself back to her previous size completely – before, she'd stood at around six feet in height while he stood at six foot six. Now in her newest form, she was just as tall as he was, perhaps even an inch taller.

And her eyes… now, they were completely red in color, no longer a distinction between the irises and sclera. Pure energy seemed to bleed right out of them, running down the sides of her face for just an inch or two before simply stopping, forming straight-lined cracks in her scale-like skin.

It certainly made for an ominous appearance and the smirk on her face indicated that she knew this and was very much taking advantage of it.

And then… she spoke.

"Here I am, Ozpin," Salem spoke, her voice no longer like that of a human's, instead a mockery of one's. There was a sense of finality to her voice as well, which demanded all of Ozpin's attention. "Think I'm too scared to look you in the eyes now?"

She was looking directly into his eyes as she uttered those words, all but challenging him to dispute the claim.

If anyone else was in his position right now, they'd have been terrified out of their minds right now – the combination of Salem's new appearance, her voice, the look of sheer rage and disdainful amusement in her eyes and the overwhelming presence she now gave off was simply all too much. Even the likes of Qrow and Glynda and even Peter would've trembled before such a visage.

But Ozpin? All he could do, much to his own surprise, was chuckle as if he'd just heard a joke. And as Salem's challenging sneer turned into a frown marred by swiftly growing rage, Ozpin could only let out an actual laugh in response.

"For you to take on this new appearance… did you really do so in direct response to my words?" Ozpin asked. But he already knew the answer. It was enough to make him shake his head in genuine disbelief. "To think that you did so just to throw my words back in my face… it would seem you really are childish."

The look on Salem's face as he spoke was kind of comical, just enough to earn another brief chuckle out of him, but once it faded, his expression turned bittersweet. The reason Salem had this childish aspect to her mentality still was most likely due to the trauma she received that day, her emotional growth stunted. Of course, proceeding to spend the past several decades surrounded only by Grimm likely didn't help much either. Nor would he imagine merging with so many Grimm and other materials did much to change that in a positive way.

Yes, Salem was very much like a child throwing a massive temper tantrum, a deadly one… but there was a reason behind it, even if it was far from a justification in the end.

"Really now," he muttered as he lowered his head. "This really isn't funny at all."

"Not funny, hmm? Very well then. How about I show you what I find funny," spoke the woman.

She made a show of spreading her wings apart, revealing her form in its entirety as she reared back her right fist. She was going to engage him in direct physical combat, it would seem, a shocking turn of events considering her previous way of fighting.

The very instant Salem fully pulled her fist back, Ozpin's instincts went crazy, screaming danger. He swung his cane with both hands at an angle, his movement fluid, sharp, and most importantly minimal as opposed to the wide motion Salem was undoubtedly about to unleash.

Against anyone else, his attack would've landed first, especially with his semblance in effect. But against Salem? He had no such luck.

Faster than even he could perceive, Salem launched her wide swinging punch, feeling her fist slam against his cane.

The resulting impact gave way to a shockwave that blew him back like a ragdoll, but not before his wrist bones nearly snapped under the direct force of the punch. Flying back several dozen meters as if he was weightless, he could scarcely find it in him to shift his center of gravity and land, instead focusing in amazement at how his entire body rattled even in mid-flight.

He ended up smashing headfirst into a hill of sand, which did little to dampen the sheer amount of force he struck the ground with. His aura flashed a bright green as it kicked into overdrive to cushion the force, but to little avail.

Ignoring this, however, Ozpin swiftly turned his tumble into a roll and shot up – just in time to see Salem all but suddenly appear in front of him, a dark grin on her face. She was close, far too close. Unable to properly launch an attack with his cane, he instead lashed out with a short kick to her pelvis in an attempt to knock her away.

But just as the bottom of his shoe made contact, he knew right away he'd made a mistake. Sure enough, he was the one to go stumbling back again, having felt as if he'd tried to budge a few mountains.

"Well that confirms one thing…" he muttered to himself now of all times. It would seem that Salem truly had compressed most of her previous mass into this new form. That meant knocking her back would be an impossibility for him now.

And it was one that she was very well aware of, considering how she laughed. Then she blurred from his sight and the next thing Ozpin knew, her hand enveloped his entire head. Then he found himself being smashed into the ground.

His vision blurred and he nearly even blacked out as he was slammed with a level of power far beyond anything he'd ever been on the receiving end of. But then a vicious knee to his midsection was enough to wake him back up completely, just in time for Salem to toss him straight up into the air.

Oh, how quickly the desert below seemed to just shrink and disappear from view. Not even a full second later, nothing but clouds filled his vision and he proceeded to form a barrier around him just in case.

Sure enough, Salem shot up at him, slamming a shoulder directly into the barrier… and it shattered like glass.

He was allowed just enough time for his eyes to widen in shock and for him to swing his cane at Salem's neck. His strike connected, but did absolutely nothing, instead creaking dangerously upon making contact. Salem herself didn't even budge from the blow.

She grabbed a hold of him by his throat, her claws sinking into his skin on the back of his neck with absolute ease, his aura and own natural durability doing absolutely nothing to stop her immense strength.

His airway being cut off, he could only gasp as Salem pulled him close, her eyes merely inches away from his own.

"Let's go for a little ride, 'old friend.'" Salem spat out these words as if they were a curse, but there was a sense of glee about them too.

Then her wings began to flap powerfully and the world around them all but faded away from his vision as Salem began to fly at absurd speeds and only continuing to accelerate.

His sense of distance and direction was thrown out of whack a fraction of a second into the flight. No longer able to tell up from down and left from right, the entire world was little more than a swirl to Ozpin. He coughed and hacked and gagged as Salem's grip tightened even more, what little air he had left being forcibly drawn out of him from the flight. All of his bones creaked and his organs were making sounds that didn't bode well at all either as the flight reached a speed he couldn't possibly achieve even with the full might of his semblance. His body simply wasn't capable of enduring this kind of speed.

Then, things finally seemed to reorient themselves as he was suddenly able make heads and tails of directions again. He then realized quite weakly that they were flying straight up. He could tell by the thinning air and increasing pressure and dropping temperature.

His eyes widened almost comically at this point. Was Salem planning to hurl him out of orbit?

He received an answer a microsecond later when Salem's grip on him suddenly vanished. She'd let go of him just as they both made it into low orbit.

Salem then turned in midair and seemed to levitate in place above him, her wings flapping only once or twice to keep her afloat while he was all but suspended directly below her. Then she laughed as gravity finally reasserted itself over him and he fell.

Ozpin wasn't the kind of man to scream, but in a situation like this, he was feeling inclined to change this particular part of himself. Not that it would do him much good with how little air he had in his lungs and how thin the atmosphere up here was. As a result, he could only open his mouth in a silent cry as he fell at ever increasing speeds.

Then just after falling a good several dozen yards, Salem suddenly reappeared again, flying directly parallel to him for a split second before wrapping her arms around him. She held onto him quite tightly, tightly enough for his ribs and the bones in his arms to start cracking. Then she started to flap her wings even more, picking up speed until they were both essentially divebombing towards the ground below at speeds much greater than even lightning.

At this kind of speed, Ozpin had no doubts as to his chances of survival – he'll die, plain and simple, should he hit the ground at this kind of speed.

As ragged as he'd quickly become, he wasn't about to give up without a fight and so he struggled to break free from Salem's hold as they neared the ground, but to no positive results; she was much stronger than him and her condensed mass wasn't helping matters.

But he had more than one way to struggle.

Concentrating, he formed yet another barrier. But unlike the others ones which formed as a perfect sphere that was a few feet away from his body, this one formed directly over his entire form. After molding it, he swiftly forced it to expand.

By pure dumb luck, Salem hadn't been expecting such a thing and her grip on him was loosened just enough for some breathing room and for him to wiggle his way out.

Also by sheer luck, rather than slam him directly into the ground, Salem had performed an upwards curve so that they'd both been flying parallel to the desert below. So when he broke free of her grasp, he ended up tumbling for an entire mile, which he found much more preferable to directly hitting the ground as a human comet.

Still, his tumble was a painful one due to just how fast this was. His aura took a hell of a beating, however, and by the time he came to a stop, he was amazed he still had some aura left at all.

Shakily, he stood back up, his mind feeling fairly clear now but with his body so wracked by the G-forces it had to endure just now that it would be a while before the effects fully vanished.

This was a length of time Salem wasn't about to give him, obviously.

The monstrous woman landed just several feet away and huffed as she did so. "Slippery as always, Ozpin. I should've known better."

"Well, it's to be expected when you play around that much," he retorted as he steadied himself, his cane at the ready.

His words clearly struck a nerve and rightfully so – if Salem so wanted, she could kill him in a veritable instant in any number of ways. But here she was, playfully resorting to direct combat rather than utilize her semblance against him. Hell, a single physical blow with any semblance of her true strength could smear him like nothing, yet here the blows she'd landed on him thus far had clearly left him still intact.

"How can I not when we have so much to 'say' to one another?" Salem lowered her wings, no longer seeming keen on flying, but Ozpin remained on guard anyways, for she could change her mind faster than he could react if taken off guard. "After all, just how many decades has it been since we've seen each other, hmm? It's only natural that we need to 'catch up' after all this time."

She lunged forward and threw a punch that was just as wild as her previous movements. Her lack of training and experience in physical combat was hilariously obvious. But Ozpin still made it a high priority to take this as seriously as could due to her immense strength. To this end, he dodged the blow by barely an inch, using his semblance only slightly to give him an edge. Even then, the sheer force of the blow was enough to nearly throw him off balance.

Salem, undeterred, threw a vicious hook with her other fist and aimed for his midsection. Ozpin was forced to twist in order to avoid the blow, for it was significantly faster than the initial one. He heard Salem growl and a fraction of a second later, the woman started to unleash one vicious blow after another with increasing speed.

As wild and amateurish as her assault was, it wasn't one Ozpin wished to be particularly close to so he leapt back a good yard or two, but not before having to deflect some of the initial blows with his cane.

He frowned. His cane had been bent from those few hits. Even though he'd tried to merely redirect the hits just a bit and with his remaining aura reinforcing his weapon, Salem's strikes had still dealt considerable to damage it, with cracks and splits running down the entirety of the cane in addition to its bent look now. One more blow, even if it was only a graze, would break his weapon into pieces.

This meant his longtime weapon had only one good hit left in it. So he decided to try making it count for something.

And here came such an opportunity.

Salem leapt at him like a woman possessed, still holding back immensely as to try instilling uncertainty and even fear in his heart no doubt. But he allowed himself to feel nothing of this sort. Instead, he narrowed his eyes as Salem neared quickly. Taking up the appropriate stance, he feigned a defense which then provoked Salem into launching a straight punch directly for his chest.

And he responded in kind as she fell for his ruse. Instead of trying to block the attack like she thought he would, he twisted his entire body, completely avoiding her overextending punch while allowing himself to pour the entirety of his strength and weight into his thrust. He even used his semblance to further enhance the speed of his movements.

It struck true, the tip of his cane burying itself directly in Salem's left eye. Despite how much she weighed, her poor posture combined with still being in midair allowed Ozpin's strike to tilt her and even slightly knock her back, but it took every ounce of power of he could draw out from within.

Even then, he still paid a price for this, his cane finally breaking for good into dozens of useless pieces while the attack in and of itself nearly resulted in his arm being broken since, poor air posture or not, Salem's weight wasn't something he could support for even a split second.

Immediately after delivering the attack, he rolled to the side just before Salem landed where he'd just been. She whirled around, her eyes tracking his movements and they shined with sheer anger. His attack had done essentially no damage despite having struck her eye, at least no physical damage. He certainly wounded her pride, if nothing else.

Seeing that she would no doubt be holding back less from now on, Ozpin quickly kicked as much sand as he could at her in the hopes of obscuring her vision.

But then the sand simply froze in place in midair and then parted around Salem, who dashed at him far more quickly than he could possibly react to.

The realization that the woman was now evidently going to be using her semblance much more liberally was the only thing Ozpin had on his mind just as Salem's right foot came slamming into his chest.

His aura flared all around his body before dissipating, a sign that he was now drained completely of it. His sternum audibly cracked and in a moment of immense self-awareness, Ozpin felt one of his ribs stab into his left lung.

Left breathless, he was flung a great distance, pain and shock wracking him so much that he couldn't even begin to figure out exactly how far he went flying.

However far he went, he ended up apparently going somewhere not so barren, for he ended up slamming into an actual boulder now that had been sticking out of the ground. With no more aura left to cushion blows, he felt the full brunt of the impact as he smacked right side first into said boulder, hard enough to practically shatter it.

He then collapsed to the sandy ground, gasping helplessly. He tried to move and in doing so winced. The boulder hadn't been the only thing to shatter; the bones in his right arm were little more than splinters, or at least that's what it felt like to him.

He let out a moan of genuine pain as he nonetheless tried to get up, too stubborn to simply roll over now. But just as he even began to stand up, a shadow fell over him and before he could move yet another inch, he felt an open hand slam into the back of his head, forcing him back down.

He inhaled, gasped, then choked. More than a little sand had gotten into his mouth and nostrils and combined with the perforated lung and badly damaged sternum and ribs, breathing was no longer possible. It didn't matter how stubborn he was to breath properly nor what he did – his body was hurt in a way it's never hurt before and reality wasn't about to change just for him.

His head was then forced deeper into the sand, feeling said grainy substance now covering his hair and shoulders. Breathing became even harder as did his struggle to break free.

"How does it feel, 'old friend?' How does it feel to be so utterly helpless in the face of the past?" Salem whispered to him, her voice sounding so clear despite how much sand he could feel plugging his ears. "Come on now, laugh! Laugh like you did just moments ago!"

She lifted him up, high over her head before slamming him down again, this time onto his back. Something broke when that happened but before he could so much as grunt in response to this additional pain, he felt Salem grab him by his hair and yank his head up so that he would be forced to look at her.

With increasing weakness, Ozpin managed to shake the sand out of his face enough to look at Salem, whose expression was one of dark glee. She then kneeled a little and leaned forward, doing so in such a way as to place just a smidgen of her mass upon his prone form. But even such a small amount of mass was beyond his capabilities to budge and with him in his current state, the sudden pressure was mind-numbing.

"…Ha. All done, eh?" She chuckled darkly. "To be expected given our difference in power now. Yet I can't help but feel somewhat disappointed… but then again, humans truly are such fragile beings. Still… I'm expecting more from you, Ozpin. Come on, keep struggling."

She lifted him up to his feet and shoved him back lightly, 'lightly' in accordance to her definition of the word.

To Ozpin, he all but went flying back and it was only by sheer dumb luck that he was able to firmly plant himself into the sand just prior to being shoved. Even then, he went skidding back several yards and it took his remaining strength to remain upright.

He coughed and when he did so, he felt blood leave his mouth. The violent way Salem had handled him just now had only worsened the damage received not even a moment ago. His left lung was about ready to fully collapse and so was his sternum and ribs. It was a miracle he was still alive, in all honesty.

It was only now as he assessed his physical state that he became truly aware of his own approaching mortality.

And he found himself feeling rather unbothered by it.

All beings feared death, even those who claimed otherwise. He was no exception. However, as he stood before his former friend turned enemy of humanity, Ozpin's own fear of death had all but evaporated, replaced by a desire to do some good before finally kicking the bucket, a desire that was fueled by the anger that blossomed within him at his lack of damage upon Salem.

If he is to die here and now, it would not be without doing something to Salem. If he could just so much as scratch her, he'd be able to die with just one less regret.

His determination must have shown through his face, for Salem's twisted smirk transformed into a frown. "There it is…" she began. "That same bullheaded and irritating determination from our youth. The same stubbornness that had compelled you to ignore the possibilities I'd tried to open your eyes too and sell me out to those bastards that burned me alive. Now I finally have a chance to stomp it right out of you!"

He ignored her words and tried to run forward – only for Salem to appear right in front of him, halting his charge before it could even begin. She raised her leg and delivered a vicious stomp to the side of his left knee, breaking it like a brittle twig. Then just as he began to fall forward, Salem's fist slammed harshly against his jaw, knocking out some of his teeth in the process. Then a second punch in the form of an uppercut buried itself in his gut, rumbling his stomach in a way irritated the rest of his insides.

Bile and blood welled up in his throat, his mind going blank from the hits and pain. Yet he persevered, using his remaining leg to skip forward, his left fist rocketing towards Salem.

And amazingly, his blow connected, Salem so surprised that her hits haven't felled him yet that she hadn't been able to dodge. But when his fist connected, the only thing Ozpin succeeded in doing was breaking his knuckles with a sickening crunch.

It was only now that Ozpin finally did away with all pretense and genuinely roared in fury. He wasn't about to let this much stop him just yet.

Faster than ever before, he pulled his left fist back and threw another punch, this one connecting with the side of Salem's temple before using his semblance to propel himself forward and smash his head directly against hers.

This cost him what remaining strength he had, however, and so he ended up with his eyes being barely even an inch away from Salem's own. He glared into the woman's surprised eyes with all the determination and fury he could muster and in doing so, he could've sworn he saw some flicker of familiar emotion within Salem's red eyes.

In the split second after, Ozpin recalled the events of back then, the way he and Salem used to act before everything went wrong at his hands. He recalled the uncertainty and even fear that would sometimes be present in Salem's eyes whenever things had gotten exceptionally tense…

And it was that very same look that had been in those eyes of hers just now.

Although he failed to do any actual damage to her, it would seem that his determination had rekindled her old self much more than even she would likely ever admit.

At this realization, Ozpin felt the indignancy within him fizzle out, his expression softening in the process.

It was at this point that his body finally began to succumb to all the damage he'd received and he started to fall back, but not before doing something that he, in his increasingly tired state of mind, didn't think he'd do now of all times:

He laughed.

Not in the mocking and bitter way from earlier when he'd tried to provoke Salem, but in the same exact way he'd used to do when he was just a young boy, when times had felt simpler to him, when he'd been arrogant and adventurous and had always dragged Salem around with him on his training sessions and so-called journeys.

It was as if the way he used to laugh back then had been ripped straight out of the past and inserted into the present.

He simply couldn't help it – laughing in remembrance of the past, that is. Of what could have been had he simply been smarter and less narrow-minded back then.

But now? None of it mattered anymore, he supposed.

Having fallen back onto the sand, his laughter faded and Ozpin could now only wearily look up at the sky above. It was still somewhat early in the day, but if he squinted just enough, he could vaguely make out pieces of the broken moon.

The sight of it filled his otherwise blurring vision and oddly enough put him at peace, sapping whatever fight he had left in him.

Still, he tried to move and found himself unable to anymore, Salem's few genuine blows having damaged him immensely.

"Ha…" Just as he let out that one final chuckle, Salem now slowly stood over him, the shadow she cast upon him making it hard to see what sort of expression she was making, though to be fair his vision had blurred even more.

His strength now fully gone and with his ability to breath gone as well, Ozpin slowly closed his eyes, knowing what was coming and silently preparing for it.

He could hear Salem lift one of her legs, positioning her foot just above his head.

As the woman then brought her foot down, the very last thought Ozpin had was that, before he'd closed his eyes, Salem had looked just a little sad…

And then he was no more.


Salem made not a single sound as she ended Ozpin's life. Not even when she used her semblance to all but disintegrate his body immediately after dealing the final blow did she utter a peep.

The way Ozpin had laughed at the end there and the expression he'd made…

She shook her head violently, ridding herself of the thoughts that had been suddenly popping into her mind. But what thoughts? What had they been about? Feeling so very frazzled, Salem was unable to tell what those thoughts had even been about despite how vehemently she'd wished to rid herself of them.

A long minute passed thereafter, the woman no longer quite feeling as excited as she had been earlier to crush Vacuo. Her mood was a very sour one now.

…Looks like Ozpin might have been right, after all, albeit to a very mild extent. There was a part of her that had remained unchanged since her younger days, back when she'd been pathetic.

She snorted.

Really now, how ridiculous. To think that the day she'd long since dreamed of would take a turn like this. She'll have to take some extra time here in Vacuo to properly purge whatever pitiful human traits she still had out of herself.

Rather than save Jaune Arc's family for last, perhaps it'd be best to start with them first then. Yes, that sounded like a good idea. It'd help get her back in the groove. Then once that's done, she'll head back to Vale and put an end to it once and for all.

A shame Ozpin now won't be able to see her raze his precious academy to the ground, but it's a 'loss' she'll just have to deal with.

Taking a brief few seconds to stretch and further get used to her new appearance, Salem then spread out her wings, ready to take flight once more-.

Only to stop.

There, up in the sky just now, there'd been a flash of light.

"What in the…?" she began to say, only to trail off as the flash of light faded before she could get a good look at it.

Only for her eyes to widen upon realizing a split second later just where it had originated from:

The moon.

An instant, the entire world suddenly seemed to shake.

…Something has arrived on Remnant.


When Ozpin had all but ordered them to stay put and tend to the city, Amber had felt somewhat offended by the headmaster going off on his lonesome to stall Salem. To her, it had seemed like a stupid, nay, suicidal move to make.

But that was how she'd felt several minutes ago, when Ozpin had initially left and his orders had been passed onto her and the others by Glynda and that Qrow guy.

A few minutes after that, however, she was of a different mindset. While she still considered his move far from a smart one, it was perhaps the only option any of them really had. With the possibility of Grimm appearing to attack the city once more, it simply wouldn't do to have too many of them go to attack Salem, especially since such an option would've very likely resulted in their deaths.

It wasn't something she particularly agreed with, but it was one she honestly felt she had no choice but to accept under these dire circumstances. And so, since Ozpin's departure, she and the others had been quick to obey, with her and that Peter Port guy along with a handful of others tending to the walls around Vale while the rest checked on the people back at the various bunkers.

Even that Raven woman, who looked like a very stubborn lone-wolf type person, had reluctantly stayed behind for a handful of minutes before suddenly leaving through that portal thing she could do.

This all had occurred just a few minutes ago, however.

Now?

Now, all Amber was doing was covering eyes whilst simultaneously steadying herself as a blinding flash of light blue light struck the area just behind Vale's wall, placing whatever this was directly within the city.

Whatever it was, it had struck with enough force to make it feel like the entire world was shaking and immediately after the shaking subsided, Amber was quick to leap down from the wall and onto the street below, her senses as alert as they'll ever be.

Peter Port, who'd been further along the wall, leapt from his spot to somewhere not too far from her while the remaining huntsmen, huntresses, and soldiers that had been tending to the city's defenses were quick to surround whatever this was as well, weapons drawn and trigger fingers all but itching to fire.

The veritable pillar of light remained where it was, not as blinding as it had bene initially, but still far too intense for any of them to look at directly, which only put them more on edge.

Amber had to avert her eyes to the right, which allowed her to see Glynda, Qrow, and Oobleck come running towards the scene. That other blond guy, Tai or something like that, was bringing up the rear as well.

Now as they all gathered, the light finally began to die down and they all formed a perimeter, not wanting to let whatever this was past any of them.

Amber, being a Maiden, was the strongest one here in terms of sheer firepower, and so she boldly approached, her eyes brimming with said Maiden power.

As such, she was the first to see what the source of the pillar of light was – and despite the situation, she couldn't help but blush a fair bit.

There, in the very center of the crater that was formed, was a kneeling man. A kneeling naked man.

The light finally died down completely and everyone else nearby saw the man as well and looked equally perplexed, though a number of women and even a few guys couldn't help but blush slightly despite themselves, the sight of the nude individual being so out of the ordinary even by today's standards that embarrassment was the only option.

The man then stood slowly up and Amber immediately assessed his form.

He was quite tall, six foot five in height, and with a heavily muscled build that made her and a handful of others nearby balk at the sheer amount of power that seemed to be radiating from this guy's hard and rippling muscles. However, his physique was a little slim, especially around the stomach and waist, denoting a certain sense of speed and agility to this individual. His arms and legs were equally well-muscled, built for immense power while also having a certain slimness to them that implied a good deal of flexibility and quickness.

Amber, despite herself, also couldn't help but look at, ah, a certain region of the man's form and her blush deepened immensely. This guy may be nude, but he definitely wasn't 'weaponless.' She didn't seem to be the only one thinking along such lines because she just vaguely heard a nearby huntress mutter something along the lines of 'could kill a Deathstalker with that!'

Pulling her gaze away from there and upwards to the man's face, Amber couldn't help but gape ever so slightly.

The man looked to be in his early to mid-twenties, with sharp and noble facial features, like that of a warrior prince. He had golden blonde hair that travel straight down past his shoulders, but by how much Amber didn't know. But it was his eyes though that grabbed her attention the most, his irises a blazing blue, as if they were suns. They locked onto her with such an intensity that she simply froze in place.

Then his eyes closed and an expression of mild concentration formed on his face. Before everyone's very eyes, a shadowy substance formed and Amber's eyes went wide, recognizing it as being the same kind of shadowy substance that Tenebrous seemed to have been composed of.

Said substance, having seemingly appeared from nowhere, took shape, covering the man's nakedness by actually forming clothes of a sort, an odd combination between Atlas and Mistral styled clothing – black combat boots with white plated greaves over it, covering up to below his calves; black no-pocket combat trousers along with a matching waist cape that went down to his calves, said waist cape having intricate designs on it that were a pure white and blue in color. Nothing covered his upper body, however, with the only change being his hair being suddenly pulled up and a small black ribbon-like creation appearing to form a high ponytail.

After this was done, an almost awkward silence fell upon everyone there as the man, practically ignoring them, took a deep breath like a newborn taking its first breath of life before exhaling slowly.

His eyes then suddenly opened and he was looking directly at Amber.

And Amber, disbelief and amazement evident in her expression and voice, called out to the man. She knew exactly who he was now.

"Jaune…?!"

"Hey Amber," spoke the young man in a voice that was noticeably deeper than before, though still recognizable. A small smile bloomed on his face, filled with so many different emotions that trying to pinpoint each one would be impossible to do. He then turned slowly. "Glynda, Peter, Bart… everyone." He nodded almost serenely, as if nothing was out of place.

"W-What is-! What happened to you?!" asked Amber. She looked to his clothes. "…Where's Tenebrous?"

It may not exactly seem like much to a lot of the others here, but Jaune himself being able to utilize a shadowy substance like that wasn't something he'd been capable of before. That he could do it now…

Jaune's expression became bittersweet. "…He sacrificed the rest of his power and being to help me fully ascend." He raised his hands up to around his chest and stared at them before balling them gently into fists. He closed his eyes once more for a second before opening them.

When he did, the bittersweet expression was gone and in its place was one of resolve, one so great that it stopped Amber from asking anything else. More than that, it made her actually back up as did that of everyone else around the transformed man. His presence… to say that it was different from before would be putting it so very mildly – it'd be like comparing heaven and earth.

"But the full explanation can wait for later," he then said. He took a step forward and when he did, aura began to outright pour off him, light blue in color. As he did this, it felt like the entire atmosphere of the planet had thickened considerably, feeling more akin to a vast ocean now. Breathing quickly became harder to do. "Where's Salem?"

"V-V-Vacuo," Glynda spoke up out of the blue, the normally composed woman just as affected as the rest of them. "That's the only kingdom left before she likely comes back here."

"…Ozpin went to face her alone," Amber then said, taking a minute to find the strength needed just to stand properly let alone speak to Jaune. His power, great enough to seemingly affect the world itself, was just too suffocating.

At her words, his expression hardened and he began to walk past her, head held high and fists tightly clenched. As he did so, Amber turned to continue looking at him. She saw everyone else do the same as well.

As she did so, she was surprised to see that there'd been one other change that she hadn't noticed – there, on Jaune's upper back, was a tattoo, that of a sword standing upright with what looked like angels wings sprouting from it, three on each side. As Jaune unconsciously flexed his back, the tattoo shifted a bit, motioning as if the blade was to impale someone. Given his current state of mind, Amber thought this action, minor as it was, was rather symbolic.

"When this is all over," Jaune began. "I swear I'll be back to explain everything. Quite a bit has changed while I was away."

Nearby, still with his own semblance active, Peter Port chuckled. "Make sure you give that wretch a good thrashing first!"

Jaune turned his head ever so slightly, enough to reveal a reassuring smile.

"Hey Jaune," Amber found herself suddenly saying. "…I'll be holding you to that, you know?" His presence having calmed down just a bit, she had a much easier time speaking. She spoke the word rather teasingly, not unlike how she's come to speak with him during the time they'd gotten to know one another. "You're not worming your way out of this, got it?"

Jaune's smile grew ever so slightly. "Ha ha… yeah, I got it."

Turning away from her, he then girded himself for a brief second. Then… he jumped.

The sheer force of his jump was enough to shake the entire city, blowing Amber and the others back just hard enough to earn plenty of surprised cries out of them.

Landing on her rear harder than she'd have liked, Amber couldn't help but grumble a bit in direct response to this. But then her grumbling turned to a small smile. "Heh. Even after whatever happened to him, he's still clumsy…" She smiled softly. It was nice to know already that he still hasn't changed all much mentally.

She raised her head and looked off in the direction Jaune had leapt in and then whispered one final bit of encouragement. Even if he obviously can't hear it, she knew he'd obey eagerly.

"Kick her ass, Jaune. For all of us."


Wow. Hard to believe it, but it's finally here – the final battle! Brace yourselves everyone, for as of right now, I can say with confidence that the next chapter will be the last one prior to the epilogue!

God, that feels oddly surreal to say for some reason. Probably because it felt like this fic took me longer than usual to build up to this point.

Now then, a few little notes…

Salem's new surprise form is one that I based off Demon god Baal from Fate Grand Order, specifically his humanoid form. You can check out the image of said form on the Type Moon wiki or on whatever image search engine you guys use. However, she still naturally retains a few traits from her previous draconic form, traits that I hope I did a decent job emphasizing a bit.

As for Jaune, I based his new physical appearance on a character named Helios Alpha. He's from a VN called Silverio Trinity. Same thing goes for his clothes, albeit with a different color scheme to reflect Tenebrous as well as Jaune's own light blue aura. Oh, and as you'll see with the updated cover image for this fic, I took the liberty of removing the sleeves/shoulder ornaments that Helios has for Jaune's new look.

Not to mention I gave Jaune a different tattoo than the one Helios has, specifically the Command Crest that Manaka Saijyou has from Fate Prototype. Partially because I find it cool, mainly because I find that it suits the symbolism I was going for there.

In any case, I hope you like Salem's and Jaune's new looks.

Now, with all that said, hope you all will look forward to the final battle! I'll be doing my best to make it as epic as I can!

Until next time, everyone! Take care!