Ah, Chapter 50, feels like such a milestone. I'll save the author's notes for the end.
I do not own anything.
Chapter 50-Hellfire Pt.3
Far right of the Airfield, 3:39…
Almost the second they touched down things for Ruby and Jaune's group went horribly wrong. While the super storm conjured up by Team IONC's knights had quelled the flames the enemy had simply carried out as if nothing had happened, covering the lost time in a frighteningly efficient manner. They came in expecting to find the enemy in disarray, instead they found them caring on as if the superstorm was nothing but a passing shower they could work through.
Jaune saw a sea of cold red eyes stare back at them before the dozens of rifles exploded at once in a unified chorus of death. Everything he'd been thinking of prior to that moment went out the window as survival took center stage. Catching sight of Ruby out of the corner of his eye he grabbed her and threw her body down to the ground along with his. The sudden maneuver quickly proved to be a life-saver as hundreds upon hundreds of bullets and plasma bolts ripped through the air directly into the soldiers who'd been too slow to react. Jaune did all he could to block out the sound of the following massacre without moving his body, not for the first time he wished Ren were with them as his Semblance would have been a major help in a situation like this. It might have given him and Ruby a better chance at survival.
The next thirty seconds felt like something out of a nightmare for Ruby, a continuous chorus of horrified screaming and tearing accompanied by the foul stench of blood. Not even Aemon Strip had been this bad, probably because she wasn't in the thick of what was quickly becoming a one-sided slaughter. She could feel her nails digging into the ground out of simple fear and longing for the insanity to end. What broke her out of the fear-induced paralysis was the howl of a Beowolf, by the sound of it, an Alpha. Finding the courage to peek her eyes open saw approaching figure, a hulking werewolf monstrosity with a body encased in hellish flames. There was a bright burst then the next thing she knew the Grimm was literally a fireball heading straight for them. "Jaune!" Roughly pushing the blond away while rolling to the side with Crescent Rose unfolding in her arms she readied herself for the coming clash. Sensing her fear the Beowolf went to her, its flaming jaws practically elongating to the point they seemed ready to swallow her whole.
Ruby sprung upwards when she knew the space between her and the Beowolf was less than five feet, more than enough for her to feel the unholy heat on the beast's face. Crescent Rose's blade rose in an upwards arc with insane speed with a thin red glow surrounding the blade's tip.
CLANG!
Ruby was thrown back by the collision, luckily her Aura was there to absorb most of the shockwave and eventually impact. Since this wasn't the first time something like this had happened she was able to get her footing back quickly enough. The Beowolf was knocked back to its original form by the collision, and like her it'd readied itself for a counter attack. The Beowolf and reaper locked eyes for a brief second then swung their respective weapons at each other. Sparks and embers erupted form the repeated clashes between the claws and scythe as both fighters fought to gain the advantage over each other. In physical strength the Beowolf had Ruby outmatched, but she was faster.
Red flames coiled around the Beowolf's claws enlarging them to gigantic sizes. Seeing her chance Ruby crouched then burst forth shifting her scythe into its polearm form. With so little distance between them it took a second for the red and black blade to completely run through the Grimm, but it wasn't enough to kill it. In response to the wound the Alpha Beowolf fueled more strength into the flames surrounding its black body. Ruby knew some of her clothes were beginning to catch fire, or at least show signs of it. With a quick turn of her hands Crescent Rose flipped from vertical to sideways, with the explosion of the gun barrel the blade returned to its original scythe form as it tore through the Beowolf's rib cage. An ear-splitting howl of agony left the Grimm's flaming jaws; however, Ruby paid it no mind. Twirling the scythe was more she brought it down on top of the Beowolf's right shoulder, then pulled the trigger again nearly splitting the Grimm in two with her attack.
The Beowolf looked at her with demonic fury promising her a pain on an unimaginable scale. Still wounded and cut up it charged her with fire bursting from all of its gaping wounds.
The redhead was out of options in that instant, she knew if she attacked she'd set the Grimm off like a bomb and more than likely kill herself in the resulting explosion, Aura or no Aura. A voice in her head screamed to run, and that's exactly what she did. Turning on her heel she found a familiar blond frantically approaching her. They practically slammed into each other in seconds, Jaune took her into his arms then turned so his shield protectively stood in front of them.
The young Arc's left arm screamed in pain when the Grimm slammed against it with all its force, and then howled in pure agony when it finally detonated. The team leaders felt their teeth rattle as the explosion threw both of them back a considerable distance.
Once the two teenagers stopped rolling the transparent golden ball of light protecting them flickered then vanished leaving them huffing and buffing on the ground.
Despite the ringing in her head and throbbing in her arms and shoulders Ruby felt a thank you was an order, "N-Nice save, didn't know your Semblance was that go-good."
Jaune would have said something in return if he wasn't alerted to a new danger via the hulking shadow that fell over them. Looking up both were greeted to the sight of a giant of a man carrying what looked to be a giant war axe, oh, and just like the Beowolf his entire body was covered in a layer of seething flames just like the Beowolf. Mentally cursing Jaune summoned forth the golden shield as the axe fell, its burning blade causing cracks to form in the light-composed barrier. When the mercenary hefted the axe back up for another swing Ruby sprang into action brandishing Crescent Rose with all the strength she could muster. As Jaune scrambled to his feet Ruby pressed her attack using her superior speed to outmaneuver her opponent who kept a cool head and counterattacked when he saw a hole in the reaper's defenses.
Watching the clash Jaune was torn between wanting to help and simply watching. A part of him knew if he did step in he'd do more harm than good, at best, another part of him refused to let Ruby continue fighting alone. The debate ended almost as quickly as it began when he felt a tingle run down his spine, an all-too familiar sign danger had found him again. Instinctively raising his shield as he spun to the left his arm once again cried out in pain when something heavy and hot bounced off his shield. Another blow came and by some miracle he blocked that one, and then one the one after it. Peering out from the corners of his shield Jaune saw another flaming soldier had found him, this one wielding a flaming broadsword that would easily split him in half if he wasn't careful enough. Summoning up what little courage he had Jaune waited until the last second to dodge the next swing, a horizontal slash that would have taken his head off. Using the skills taught to him he lunged at the exposed left side of his opponent. Crocea Mors' blade, though, never made contact with the enemy as the flames surrounding the attacker exploded outwards blinding Jaune as well as pushing him away. Behind his mask the soldier snarled then delivered a vicious knee strike to the blonde's face.
Falling onto his back Jaune had no time to mourn his broken noise or even reset it. The soldier angled his flaming sword directly above his chest then brought the weapon down. Rolling to the side Jaune was treated to the feeling of flames licking at his Aura-protected back sending hot waves of terror up his spine. That terror fueled his next actions: jumping to his feet, reversing his grip on his sword, and lastly thrusting it straight through the forearm of the mercenary. The flames surrounding the man's arms bit at Jaune's Aura, but he held out in swinging his shield arm around to smack the soldier in the head.
The mercenary and student broke apart, both of them equally stunned by the exchange of blows that just took place. Behind the visor-like helmet Jaune could feel the mercenary's hatred of his skyrocket as blood trailed down his torn forearm, Jaune's attack had cut so deep the left arm was practically useless from the elbow down. Feeling the malice bleed off the soldier Jaune readied himself for the next round by raising his shield and sword in a defensive position.
CRAAAACK!
Jaune and the mercenary sensed the presence of a new arrival to the battle, but only one of them knew right off the bat what it was.
Jaune wasn't sure he'd ever be able to fully purge the image of what happened next out of his mind. One minute he was staring at the mercenary he was about to do battle with, and the next his face was splattered with his blood and guts, all of it a sort of steaming hot that normally would have had him hissing in pain. The loud splattering of organs and blood on the ground followed by the loud thump shocked him out of the short-lived stupor. Turning to his right he saw the mercenary's killer, and immediately wished he could un-see it.
The ant was almost as big as he was, but it was bulkier with more muscle that as he just was strong enough to rip through a man in armor like a tank shell. Blood and intestines sled off the sleek black carapace of the monster ant, and its white mask and boney joints were stained bright red. The pincers of the beast angrily snapped as Jaune's paralyzed form fell into the line of its orange beady eyes.
Jaune knew what this creature was called, but the name escaped him, not that it mattered since the insectoid Grimm was about to kill him. Murder flashed in the eyes of the Grimm before it launched itself at him, the flash was exactly what was needed for Jaune to realize he had to act. A golden barrier appeared in front of his shield seconds before the ant slammed against it with all its might, Jaune felt the physical and mental pushback from the impact, but he held strong against it. The ant stumbled back surprised but not deterred from its attack. Lunging at Jaune with its pincers the blond side stepped then swung downwards with Crocea Mors' sword.
CLANG!
"Oh come on! You've got to be kidding me!"
Again, the shield saved his life when the ant swung its body around and lunged at Jaune with its full body. This time the Grimm dug its hairy legs into the earth and pushed against Jaune attempting to completely run him over. Anger and fear swirled within the Arc as he stared into the soulless black eyes of the Grimm, I AM NOT GOING TO DIE HERE! I AM NOT GOING TO DIE HERE! The golden barrier glowed brighter and hotter causing the ant to chirp in protest. A brilliant flash proceeded the over-sized ant literally flying back dozens of feet into a burning fire finally giving Jaune some breathing room. As the light faded the Arc collapsed to his knees exhausted and sweating from all parts of his body. "This…isn't going to get me anywhere." He snarled looking at the nicked longsword that had been his family heirloom. Frantically his eyes looked around for a new weapon, one that would actually give him a fighting chance. Soon enough his eyes fell on the top half remains of the soldier the ant had ruthlessly bisected. The gleam of the broadsword in the flames might as well have been a light from God himself.
The monster ant saw the human diving for the corpse and sprang into action. Using speed that belayed its bulky body the Grimm was upon the teenager ready to tear him apart. Jaune gripped the blade with all his strength and swung pushing all his Aura into the sword.
Instead of human flesh what the ant Grimm got was a red-hot sword encased in fiery light cutting straight though its head down to its abdomen. All the speed it'd built up suddenly turned against it as the blade nearly split it in two. Its legs twitched for a second before going still on top the blond knight. Since they were so close Jaune was treated to the disgusting smell of blood and dirt which canvased the Grimm's dirty body from head to ugly toe. Vomit built up in his throat and nearly exploded out his mouth, but he held it all back through sheer will knowing barfing wasn't going to keep him alive. Before his frantic eyes the Grimm's body dissolve into black mist leaving behind a broken mask and bone fragments. The brief moment of happiness allowed Jaune to let his head down and breath out the air he'd been holding in. The broadsword tumbled out of his hands onto his side while his fingers trembled from the stress and fried nerves.
THUNK! THUNK! THUNK! THUNK
His sky-blue eyes went wide at the vibrations that traveled beneath his head and continued onwards, turning his head he saw a massive object moving through the ground on a warpath towards Ruby. "RUBY!" Remembering Nora he tried replicate the same golden barrier that had protected the orange-haired Valkyrie from the Kamakiri's blades. The pull in his gut was stronger and the surge in power lit his already fried nerves.
The sound of her voice being called was enough to get the redhead to turn from the enemy she'd been fighting. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the ground to her right explode outwards revealing a human-sized ant with pincers angrily snapping at her. "EEK!" Before she could respond a golden dome appeared around RUby, separating her from the chaos around her. The ant bounced off the barrier with a metallic clang giving Ruby a five-second window of opportunity; she took it in a heartbeat.
BANG!
As the decapitated body of the ant fell down several more burst up surrounding Ruby, but the reaper was ready for them.
"RAAAH!" She screamed swinging Crescent Rose in a beautiful three-hundred sixty degree spin that perfectly bisected each of the ants. As she came to a stop she saw the spinning form of an Ursa coming at her hard and fast.
THUNK!
Momentarily stunned by the golden wall before it the Ursa was too slow to react to the high-powered rifle barrel now aimed at its head. With a pull of the trigger the empowered Grimm lost its head just as the monster ant had early.
It wasn't until Jaune stumbled to her side did Ruby feel her heart even return to a normal pace of beating. Not for the first time she could actually feel the trembling in her arms, a combination of excitement and fear that was keeping her combat senses going at max efficiency. From the looks of things the same could be said for Jaune. "W-Was this what Ryswell was like?" It was a surprise to her that her voice managed to work.
"No, this is worse." Actually, it really was. In Ryswell Jaune was at least alone, a type of dark relief compared to what he was experiencing now: the dying screams of men and women fighting a battle they'd already lost, the fear of a national crisis hanging over his head, his teammates and friends being God knows where in this mess, actual human enemies who didn't bat an eye at killing teenagers, and even more Grimm. Compared to this Jaune actually wished he was back in Ryswell, alone and scared in a forest surrounded by Grimm who'd somehow magically gained the ability to Flame-On. Scared eyes flickering to the reaper Jaune choked out the next few words, "At least this time I've got you with me so it's not so bad."
It was cliché and stupid, yet the reaper he'd known for several laughed, a purifying sound that put his doubts to rest. For a moment Jaune actually felt he wasn't sitting in the bowls of hell, instead he was back at Beacon laughing with the friends he'd made.
And with the shaking of the ground beneath them the moment of clam ended bringing the two back to harsh reality. Hundreds of cracks opened in the ground moving the earth apart while knocking off balance anything that was standing on the ground. In the distance what buildings remained began to crumble inwards as their last foundations gave out reducing them into collapsing piles of rubble. Sulfur and steam exploded from the cracks forcing everyone to cover their eyes for fear of severe or permanent damage to their eyes. Their lungs came under attack next as the smog happily rushed through any exposed openings sending the survivors into coughing and hazing fits.
Beside him Ruby was a hot mess of matted hair, sweat, burnt clothes, and barely contained fear. It was clear Jaune was her one and only anchor as she clung to him as if her life depended on it, given the worsening situation that wasn't exactly a stretch to say. She won't last much longer like this! Stabbing his stolen sword into the ground Jaune threw both his arms around Ruby and whispered to her to hold on just as his parents and elder siblings had done when he was scared. The memories flowed into his head like water from a stream pushing out the fear and panic that had previously consumed him.
"It'll be okay Jaune, it'll be okay."
"Ruby, don't let go of me."
"Huh?"
"Just don't let go! Don't look up! Just focus on me!"
Miraculously she did as he asked and buried her head in his chest, it was amazing how small she was compared to his tall and lanky form. Subconsciously Jaune's breathing began to return to a steady and controlled pace and his thundering heart began to calm. Around the two teenagers star-like light rose up from the ground and encircled them like a protective cocoon, solidifying into golden hard light. Everything from the ashes to the fire completely bounced off the barrier leaving the blond and redhead safe within as the world around them took on the characteristics of a burning wasteland. Neither of them could see this as they'd shut their eyes in an attempt to wait out the calamity.
Behind them, hundreds of feet away the radio tower they were sent to capture disappeared in an explosive eruption of fire and magma that spiraled upwards like a tornado. The reinforced metal immediately liquefied under the intense heat. Within seconds the outline of the building vanished completely behind the red and orange twister which saturated the entire vicinity with heat so great onlookers felt as if they'd wondered into the heart of a volcano.
Time passed, on how was anyone one's guess, but eventually the twister dispersed. When it did nothing remained of the radio tower or anything within its vicinity, just a red-rimmed hole in the earth that led downwards into darkness. Beyond it, stretching all the way to the airfield the ground had been upturned and torn apart as if some mad deity had taken a hammer and smashed it up in a fit of rage. Survivors moaned and groaned as they came to finding the entire landscape had changed completely out of the blue.
Sensing the danger had passed Jaune's subconscious mind dropped the barrier letting the sullied air rush back into the lungs of the two teens.
"J-J-Ja…J…Jaune?" Ruby's terrified voice poked in his ears.
"Y-Ye-Yeah, I-I'm here…" Slowly he pulled away from her, his body shaking just as much as hers' was. It wasn't exactly easy as fear kept her clinging to his shoulders even as he tried to stand up. That was a problem given his legs had practically liquefied just like the radio tower. "A-Are you okay?"
For an answer all he got was a stunned nod. Still holding her in his arms the young knight rose to his feet, half-needing Ruby's support to do so. Their mouths went agape as they took in the near magically change in landscape: the surrounding area no longer looked like a military base but a flaming wasteland with pieces of wreckage sticking out in certain places. Like before fires were everywhere only now they were much larger than before creating visible updrafts. Craters and fissures stretched out for miles in all directions. There was no sign of any organized force like the base's occupants, the mercenaries or even the Grimm. If Jaune had to guess odds were the latter two were busy picking off survivors.
With that realization he steeled his legs and gripped Ruby's hands. "We're falling back to the central station."
"H-Huh?"
"Ruby, if we stay here we're going to get surrounded and killed! There's nothing left so we gotta move now!" It surprised him how forcefully his voice was and how his body had begun to move while he was speaking. "We're out of our league here! The best option we have right now is heading back to base and holding out there until help can arrive, warheads or not!"
Ruby didn't really argue with him as he guided them over upturned plateaus and over smoking fissures, not that she could have if she wanted to. From the minute they exited through the portal their mission was a failure, all they'd done was waste life and manpower. If they stayed all they'd be doing was ensuring this would be the place they'd die. The entire area now reeked of death meaning it wouldn't be long before the Grimm were swarming the place killing anyone foolish enough to be caught dead hanging around.
"J-Jaune, d-do you even know which way to go?" She finally exclaimed.
"Close enough idea," He answered looking down at his Scroll with focused eyes and a straight frown. "We at least have to get out of the open. At the rate this is going the fortress wall won't be able to keep all the Grimm in the forest out, odds are they're probably already at the walls as right now."
"You're right about that one! The Grimm are at the walls, in a matter of minutes they'll break through and this fortress really will become hell! Don't worry though, for you guys the Grimm won't be an issue!"
The hearts of the teenagers stopped dead moments before a solid wall of fire cut off their pathway forcing them to come to a stop. Seemingly reaching into the clouds the wall caste an orange-red light on the two of them who stared at it in wide-eyed horror. With their minds temporarily scrambled they barely heard the footsteps approaching them until the wall of flames receded until it was no more than twenty feet high, a fence that kept them from escaping. Slowly the two turned around to face the newcomer.
With a body that would put most athletes to shame and scars signifying a Huntsman's life Ruby and Jaune realized their luck had officially run out. Never mind the twin scythes the man carried in each of his hands whose blades were still glowing bright red, what caught their attention was the carefree smile he wore on his face. A look that they'd seen on dangerous criminals such as Roman Torchwick and a few White Fang officials-men who thrived on causing chaos and destruction.
Coming to a stop ten feet from them Ruby took in all of his features, silently praying his hypothesis was wrong. A deeply-toned body covered with scars and from the looks of things, a crossed out tattoo on his right arm while myriad of flames covered his left bicep. The weapons he brandished in his gloved hands were the same model as her Crescent Rose, high powered sniper rifles combined with scythes. Finally she took in the hair, a coal-like black that was tied in a short pony tail that bellowed in the ever present wind. His face was covered by a rather thin but well-cut beard. In the light caste by the surrounding fire his eyes looked to be orange-red, miniature embers in a human skull. All the signs were there from the appearance down to the weapons confirming her worst fears. "Y…Y…Y…Yo…Yo…You're….You're…You're…" she stammered out feeling what strength she had flee her body. Briefly looking back at the wall of flames she felt the desire to test her luck to see if she could run straight through the wall dragging Jaune with her and just keep running.
The mysterious man seemed to take amusement at Ruby's fear, while she was examining him he was busy doing the same to her. "Hm, redhead, gothic clothing, babyish face, ah, and that scythe! You're Summer Rose's little girl, Ruby! Nice to finally meet ya'!"
Surprised as he was Jaune didn't lower his guard. "You know this guy Ruby?"
Her face was a mixture of fear and astonishment. "H-H-H-He's…he's…V-Ves-"
"Vesuvius Tect," The man spoke up smiling. "Former leader of Team VINE of Mistral, top enforcer for PESTILENCE Arms and Enforcement." Hosting one of the scythes on top his shoulders his smile fell a little as he watched the dread fully manifest on the faces of the Beacon students. "It's nothing personal, but Ruby Rose, Jaune Arc, I've got orders to bring you two in."
Weapons Lab B, 4:12 PM…
"You felt that too right?" Izaak questioned.
"Yes Izaak, I did, now shut up and let me focus."
"The second radio tower's gone Olivia." This time she didn't answer him, not that there was a need to. If he kept talking all he would have done was disrupt Olivia's concentration. Besides, he had his own problems to focus on. Strange as it was the sound of blood dripping down Stórrdetta's blades was actually soothing to him; in the past some people had said that meant he wasn't entirely stable if he found the sound of blood dripping from a weapon to be relaxing.
Izaak never argued with them because he knew somewhere deep down they were right. A normal person didn't find that soothing, and they didn't find single-handedly killing an estimated thirty people in less than twenty-five minutes to be more annoying than anything.
They barged into the weapons lab shooting at everything that moved, and by the time they found a working terminal for Olivia and the surviving technicians to jack into half of the forces they'd came in with were dead. Fast forward ten minutes later and Izaak and Olivia were probably the last Beacon students left alive, freshmen or not. He'd watched them die with silent eyes and a straight frown, his emotions kept in check by a tight restraint. Instead of breaking down or lashing out in anger he focused his efforts on cutting down anything that approached his teammate, be it human, Grimm, or machine. It'd served him well as evident by the bloody wasteland he'd created between the towering terminal Olivia was furiously hacking and the warzone beyond them. Above their heads the lights continuously flickered on and off as the ceiling rocked every five seconds and the ground which they stood on trembled almost nonstop.
Odds are they've already gotten everything they came for, now they're just freelance shopping. The Viking thought taking in the myriad of sounds and smells his senses were feeding him. Any minute he was expecting either the ceiling to cave in on them or the floor to give out and collapse down into an endless abyss, either way Izaak knew all they were doing was wasting time. "That terminal's not cutting it is it?"
"…No. Almost all of the data's already been copied and there's a virus working its way through the system." Olivia's quiet yet furious voice answered back causing her coworkers to flinch rather badly.
"Then why the hell are we still here?" He looked to the few remaining soldier's he'd held the line with. Unlike him they were well past their breaking point and it showed on their faces. "Look I'm not trying to be a cow-"
It looked like the floor was going to give out before the ceiling did as evident by the increased tremors rocking the entire area. All the fighting came to an instant stop as all around them the metal walls bent and shuddered as if they were being bent by pure force. There was another power surge before all the lights went out completely leaving the entire populace submerged in utter darkness.
"We're leaving!" Which Olivia's commanding voice cut through like a knife through butter.
As soon as the words had exited her mouth the emergency power came back on casting the entire floor in a bright red glow. The mercenaries went back to firing while everyone else made a mad break for cover.
Izaak planted his axe into the ground and threw up the widest gravity shield he could muster without straining himself. "I take it the terminal's out of power?" He called to his teammate.
"Yes, and soon the emergency power's going to go out." Olivia stated placing her palms together causing a thin outlying of green Aura to form around her body. "Everyone gather around me!"
In all they were only about ten people left not counting the two students. While the others huddled around Olivia interconnecting themselves Izaak looked back out at the approaching enemy, under the glow of the emergency lights they resembled metal demons whose only goal was the complete annihilation of anything they deemed the opposition.
"Izaak! Get your ass over here, I'm gonna need your strength if we're going to make it to the front!"
Without missing a beat Izaak joined in the circle transferring his Aura through the soldiers directly into Olivia. Though his primal senses were screaming for him to turn around and face the enemy rapidly approaching them he focused on strengthening his teammate. He saw and felt Olivia's Aura flare up to the point it caused a sizable burst of air to explode outwards. Izaak felt the wind rush through his nostrils and fill his lungs, and then the sudden burst of light nearly blinded him as soon as the feeling settled in his stomach.
Shocked and exhausted gasps left everyone's mouths as they got a fistful of smog-coated air. Even Olivia was not immune as she fell to her knees coughing up some bodily fluids while at the same time fighting off the slight nausea that came with teleporting such a distance and carrying so many people with her. It was going to take her a minute or two to get her strength back before she can make another jump back to the central station.
Izaak knew they didn't have that minute since the ground beneath them was still shaking, more violently now then it was than when they were inside. Planting his axe down as an anchor he turned back to the weapons lab, a set of three, rectangular buildings that had each been set ablaze and breaking apart by the second. Any second he was fully expecting one of them to give out and collapse or outright explode showering the area with debris. A heartbeat leader and such a thing occurred, just not in the way he expected.
The Viking's enhanced ears picked up the creaking, insectoid creaking that made his skin crawl and his hair stand on end. In seconds it was loud enough for everyone to hear it and stop what they were doing to stare in awe at the far left building. A shrill roar proceeded the roof exploding outwards as a gigantic red figure outstretched itself towards the sky howling in unholy rage. What was eye-catching were the pair of scimitar-like blades attached to the mouth, both of them roughly the size of two school buses put together, and no doubt possessing the strength needed to cut through them as well. Two whip-like appendages wildly flailed out tracing fiery lines across the blackened sky. The blades snapped and the Grimm roared again, a disgusting gurgled sound that was enough to make the blood of trained soldiers run cold. The squirmed and twisted as if it were still trying to pull itself out of the hole it'd dug, or it was trying to decide where to attack.
When it turned Izaak's group caught a glimpse of three of the Gigadeath's ember-like eyes. Izaak himself felt a lot of the fight leave him when the Alpha Grimm's titanic shadow fell over him turning him into an ant. Thin lines of fire traced the Grimm's underbelly, usually it's only constant weak spot if one every thought of slaying a Gigadeath. Now if one could fashion such a blade they more than likely would have gotten a flamethrower-like blast to the face. Its multiple legs twitched and clawed at the air longing for the hard touch of the ground.
There was another screech before the Alpha Gigadeath turned its head due south, a low chirp continuously coming from its lips. Unseen thoughts passed through the flaming Grimm's head as it gave another shriek then dove downwards creating yet another tremor that shook one half of the base. Even from miles away the group could hear the sounds of earth being dug up and torn apart.
"Wh-Wh…Where…th-the hell's it going?" One of the soldiers asked in a visibly frightened voice.
"To Cichorium." Olivia's tight voice answered. "It's going to Cichorium either because there's a greater amount of negativity down there or something's directing it to go there."
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Grabbing Stórrdetta Izaak fired off four Aura slashes that flew across the ground directly into the oncoming fireballs that were headed straight for his group. The resulting explosions obscured the sight of the lab's front entrance which he knew had been blown clean open. Through the smoke he saw several red dots forming. "Everyone down!"
This time the fireballs came in too fast for him to stop, he heard two of them make impact as evident by the pain-filled screaming that assaulted his ears while the rest zoomed onward. After that he saw another red object zooming towards him, this one larger and faster than a fireball. By instinct he rolled to the side out of the object's way. Izaak heard the sound of a blade cutting through air and flesh followed by more screaming. Coming up out of his roll he saw single ember-like eye fall on him before the mysterious object zoomed towards him raising a sword-shaped mass of flames overhead. Growling low in this throat Izaak threw up Stórrdetta resulting in a nail-biting clash of metal that forced Izaak to steel his legs least he be overpowered. Up close he now had a better look at his new enemy: a Geist-controlled flaming Paladin mech.
The Grimm's putrid black essence had seeped into every joint of the Paladin's mechanized body turning it into a demonic puppet for it to control as it saw fit. In the center of the body where the cockpit was Izaak saw the Grimm mask staring back at him with a hollow hatred at having stopped its attack. Looking back to the arm he realized the weapon was more than likely a new attachment, something that had been tested in the labs down below but was now being used as an instrument of murder.
"If you think that's going to be enough to stop me, then you're out of your mind!" Fending off the blade Izaak grabbed the metallic arm of the mech and activated his Semblance. The space around the arm distorted as gravity took a violent hold on the arm crushing the metal and circuitry beneath it. Shrieking in pain the Geist aimed its left arm weapon, an energy cannon, directly at him. Jumping onto the arm then scrambling up to the shoulder he evaded the blast then separated the right arm from the entire body in one cut. Explosive jets of fire and black smoke exploded from the stomp forcing Izaak off but not away from the main body. Eyes flashing he swung Stórrdetta at the right leg severing it in one cut. Not missing a beat Izaak poured his Aura into his weapon then brought it down in a straight slash down the middle, cutting into the Grimm who only tried to flee at the last second.
Yanking Stórrdetta away then jumping back he avoided the explosive blast that came with the possessed Paladin's destruction. Before he could savor his victory he looked around to find there were now more of the possessed machines running around. Again, he fell within the sights of a red eye and now had another possessed Paladin heading straight for him, this one bearing a flaming drill on its arm instead of a blade.
"Really?!" He parried, an incredibly dangerous move that made his arms ache in pain at having to knock back the spiraling piece of metal aimed at his chance. The drill-equipped Paladin was a tad smarter than the last one as it was fast enough to parry Izaak's follow up attack. Out of the corner of Izaak's left eye he saw the secondary weapon, a malformed flamethrower charging up. Rather than a spray of flames a seemingly concentrated beam of fire shot out from the barrel nearly roasting him on the spot and chasing after him as he took off running to avoid the attack. Seeing him on the run the missile pods on the Paladin's shoulders and arms opened up and unleashed their payload. "Fine then, you wanna play rough then that's how we'll do things!" Stomping his foot into the ground the Viking slammed his giant axe into the ground. Around him a visibly sphere of purple and black appeared and broke the ground around him. The second it touched the barrier the flame laser distorted and fizzled out while the missiles all went off obscuring the seventeen year-old in a cloud of blazing orange and yellow.
THU-CUNK!
Screaming like the savage warriors of old Izaak rocked towards the Geist with Stórrdetta gleaming with brown and violet energy. The Geist was too slow to react thus it ended up with the oversized axe blades impaled in its face. Shrieking in pain the Geist attempted to push the student off by releasing streams of swirling flames from all parts of its body; however, thanks to his Aura the Viking hardly felt the heat thus he was able to keep hacking away. On the fifth the Geist's mask broke entirely dispelling the dark force animating the Paladin.
Using the mech as a spring board Izaak was able to kick himself free of the explosion that followed , tucking himself into a tight ball to avoid hitting his head on another as he rolled along the ground until he ended up in a crouch in the middle of the battlefield. His breath coming out in short huffs the bronze-haired teenager took a second to take stock of how his surroundings had changed over the last five minutes.
Everywhere he looked he saw Grimm, Geist-controlled golems and mechs or monster ants chewing down on anyone they could get their six legs on. Figures, you can always count on bugs to make things worse. In the distant skies he heard distinctively reptilians howling and the sound of leathery wings flapping. Lovely, now we've got Wyverns too, all we need is a rampaging Nemean or Alpha Cretan and we'll have ourselves a real shit storm on our hands. He couldn't see or smell any of his companions, which didn't bod well. Though the air was positively saturated with chemicals of all kinds and smoke the one undeniable thing his noise could pick up with the overpowering odor of blood. Looking back to the smoking remains of the weapons lab Izaak realized just futile their coming to this place was. All we did was weaken our only hold out, trying to take back locations our enemy had already pillaged. "I gotta find Olivia so we can get the hell out of here." He reasoned standing upright with his hazel-eyes grim and his face a dark frown.
CRACK!
Jumping out of the way at the last second he was treated to the sight of a rock-like fist burst from the ground. It connected to a barely held together mass of rock and metal animated by a Geist bearing an ornate mask with several red swirls around the edges.
"It's nothing personal, but I don't have time to deal with you right now." The Viking calmly and coldly told the Grimm switching Stórrdetta into its firearm form. The laser sight marked a red dot on the Grimm's chest which the fired rocket sped towards with amazing speed. To his irritation rather than take the hit the Grimm threw up its right arm to block the attack. Right before his eyes the rock and metal that composed the limb became jet black with red markings, expanding and taking the explosions. When the smoke cloud cleared he saw there wasn't a scratch on the limb. "Maybe you didn't hear me the first time, I'm in a hurry."
Red-tipped spikes protruded from the right and left arms. Letting loose a feral roar the Geist slammed both into the ground causing an eruption of earthen spikes to speed towards the Viking. Not moving an inch the boy summoned his Semblance projecting a shield of gravity that canceled the attack. Taking Stórrdetta in hand he ran towards the Geist who answered his charge with one of its own.
Central Station, 4:34 PM…
"WYVERNNNNNNNNS!"
All across the frontlines soldiers and students alike cursed God, Oum, and every other deity they could think of as the winged reptiles flew over the skies above them, pelting the area with fireballs like aerial bombers. Entire patches of ground and hastily set up barricades disappeared in explosive clouds and concentrated blasts that left scorch marks along the ground. Returning enemy fire was easier said than down as the bombing had greatly disorientated everyone to the point any semblance of order on the battlefield was now gone. Everyone was now scrambling to do what they could where they could.
Pyrrha had to bite back the urge to scream every curse word in her vocabulary when she found her shots continuously bouncing off the Wyverns that wondered into her line of sight. Either they were out of range or their armor was too thick for her shots to penetrate, what they did succeed in doing was drawing the attention of the Grimm.
"You got a plan for this?" Cardin asked her having become her unofficial battle partner.
"Kill as many of them as we possibly can?" She responded.
"Wow, such a creative and tactically brilliant plan, exactly what I expected from the Great Pyrrha Nikos of Sanctum." The young knight chuckled.
The red and gold colored rifle continuously changed between a spear and sword as it cut and bisected ebony-colored scales protected by fire. The flame-laced mace devoured the flames of the Grimm and used it as fuel for each explosive blow it landed on the black bodies. Pyrrha and Cardin saw nothing but teeth, wings, and teeth, lots of teeth as they kept their backs to each other. All too quickly their faces became matted in sweat and black fluid as their weapons rose and fell, stabbed, pierced, and pummeled anything that came within their personal space.
In the eyes of the Grimm the two teenagers were a hated oddity, yes, both of them carried a small amount of fear within each of them: fear of dying, of lying loved ones, and failing, but it was tempered by something else. That something had the masked creatures snarling in fury and trying even harder to bring the two down. In response to that the Spartan and knight simply continued fighting, their bodies attaining more and more black stains upon them with every kill.
"Do you hear that!?" Pyrrha suddenly screamed as the decapitated body of a young Wyvern fell at her feet.
"Hear what?! Screaming? Explosions? The sound of countless people dying in agony!?"
"No! Not that, I mean that!"
It was amazing his eyes were still working decently between the heat and smog cooking the air. Cardin's image of the aircraft was blurry, but he could tell it was rather massive. He heard its loud engines more than he saw it as it trailed across the blacken sky. Focusing his deeming sight he saw a large black container attached to the haul of the ship, its size comparable to a home garage. "What the hell…" Right before his eyes the container begin to detach then fall through open air. As it picked up speed in descending Cardin felt yet another stone drop in his stomach. "Pyrrha," he warned placing both hands on his mace.
Pyrrha didn't know what was in the container, but she didn't plan on finding out. At her current level her Semblance could affect all metal within a twenty meter radius of her body, barely even a blimp on the overall battlefield, but enough for everyone to at least take cover under. While she focused on that Cardin called everyone in the vicinity over to take cover under the metal shield she was erecting. Neither of them knew what was coming, all that they had to brace themselves for it. At this point they'd given up on trying to stop the enemy from acting and just reacted. It was a shameful betrayal of the principals the redheads had been raised on, but they were out of options.
Beyond the metal cover the Spartan had erected the screeching of bolts could be heard followed by hundreds of shrill cries and bursts of hot air. Numerous pings and dings sounded off the cover causing small bucks. The assembled soldiers and students stared at the wall in wide fearful eyes noting knowing if it would hold or not.
"Could this day get any worse?" Russel whined feeling his own legs shaking.
"Considering what you just said, yeah, I'm betting it could." Cardin growled, his own hands shaking just a bit as he noticed the metal cover shake more and more as the dings and pings grew louder. Against his better judgement he looked over to Pyrrha; both of her arms were outstretched and her eyes were sealed shut. He could actually see traces of her Aura moving through her body as her Semblance was jacked up to its higher levels. It was a level of skill and concentration he couldn't even begin to fathom, the kind that his family had attempted to pound into his head only for him to refuse with every fiber of his being.
Without warning she cried out as her entire body bulked under a new strain. The eyes of Cardin and the others turned to the shield to find a massive red spot in the metal growing by the second. The sizzling and cackling of metal made it all too obvious what was about to happen.
No one could say or do anything when the shield burst. There was a brief shot of a massive black and red fireball the size of a car then everyone was rolling along the ground clenching themselves in agony while rock and metal cascaded over them like rain. Cardin and Russel were thrown back like rag dolls, their Auras trying and failing to observe the impact; meanwhile Pyrrha shot across the ground, her hair coming undone and spraying out around her as she came to a stop along the ground. Her bright red Aura fizzled and cackled before going completely dark just as her consciousness had.
For the second time that day Cardin felt blood rolling down the side of his pounding head, his wound had reopened and no doubt worsened thanks to the hit he'd taken. Head aching and he rolled over and attempted to push himself up. He coughed and blood fell from his lips like vomit, he concentrated on the sight and used it as motivation to push himself upwards.
The first thing he saw was a bird-like creature that stood at a little over one meter. If not for the orange glow around its body he wouldn't have been able to focus at all. He wiped the blood out of his eyes using his hand and attempted to focus again on the strange creature. Its beak alone was almost the size of his entire forearm. A pair of glowing orange eyes stared back at him with disinterest before realizing the human before it was still alive. An ear-screeching shriek left he creature then the flames surrounding it exploded in a shower of embers propelling it forward.
Cardin felt his left hand touch the handle of his trusty mace and instantly wrapped his fingers around the hot metal. Though his mind was still hazy he was clear headed enough to focus on the bird-shaped missile heading straight for him. The closer it got the deeper his sneer became until the opportune moment arrived.
BOOM!
The collision-born explosion incinerated the Grimm's head while Cardin's smacked against the hard ground yet again. His mace tumbled out of his hand as new pain coursed through his being driving his mental strength to near zero. Why? Why in God's name did… you have to open YOUR GODDAMN MOUTH RUSSEL!?
To be continued in Part 4…
Finally, I can't remember the last time I was able to bust out two chapters at once. Definitely not easy when you're pretty much occupied the entire week, but totally worth it. For the next few weeks I'm going to be attempting to get out at least two chapters per update, mostly because I want to wrap up the current story arc. Counting the next chapter there's about five or four left chapters left to what I've dubbed the "Hellfire Arc" of this story. My goal is to have it finished by September before school starts back up and I really ended up swamped for free time.
To give a brief description of the Grimm introduced the last two chapters…
The "monster ant" is called a Pallottola, which in Italian means "bullet" or "slug". It's based off of the real-life Paraponera clavata, aka the bullet ant. As Jaune so painfully found out this chapter its carapace is incredibly sturdy requiring nothing less than an armor-piercing round to penetrate it. As the average ant can lift over a 50 times its own weight a Pallottola can as well, making it a miniature bulldozer. It uses its massive strength for ramming and on occasion biting, being fully capable of going head to head with a tank, winning, and walking away without a scratch. Like normal ants they can be found in forests and lowland areas, usually severing a queen (an Alpha).
The "monster bird" at the end is a Kelenken, based on the real-life species of "terror birds" that once roamed Argentina. Again, like its real-life counterparts it kills its prey by either ramming into it with is massive skull or grabbing it with its beak and shaking it until the prey's bones break. Now enhanced by PESTILENCE's tinkering it can become a flaming missile that can either explode on contact or penetrate anything in front of it.
That's all for now, see you all in about two weeks, hopefully! Leave any thoughts or constructive criticism in the reviews!
