(A/N: Thank you all for being so patient with me!
It's been over a month because I had semester finals, a big group project we needed to wrap up, and a HECK-TON of pent up stress!
So, thank you for only sending… a minimal number of messages that would be summed up as "Hurry up!"
And also, Merry Christmas!
Without further ado, onto the chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or Starbound, I only own this story, Poaling Mono, Iris Virtuas, and Erisa Mono (technically), as well as the backstory explaining the Game. RWBY belongs to Monty Oum (R.I.P.) of Rooster Teeth, Starbound belongs to Chucklefish.
On with the show!)
"External Speech"
'Internal Speech/Commands'
Gamer System/Devices
"Iris The Intern External Voice"
"Iris The Intern Internal Voice"
*Name*: Party Chat
Name: Poaling Mono
Race: Soul/Void Hybrid-Type Golem Core
Geist Grimm
Core Title(s): Seasonal Savior
Title(s): Spirit of the Protector, Gun Nut
Level: 24: 25.2%
HP: 1,237.5 /1,237.5 (VIT * 15)
AP: 1,237.5 /1,237.5 -N/A- (VIT * 15)*0
MP: 1,785 /1,785 (INT * 17)
Energy: 100%
SP: 30
Lien: 14030
Durability: 50,000/50,000
Fenrir, The Bound Wolf
Level: Boss
HP: 1,750,000/1,750,000
AP: ?
MP: 25,000/25,000
I swung my oversized stone arm at the ancient Beowolf's head, aiming to disorient and give myself a better chance of victory in the long run of this likely-lengthy battle.
Fenrir… didn't even try to dodge the blow. Visually, it looked serious - I could FEEL my body being covered in something black, warm and sticky. But from the stats…
HP: 1,7499,700/1,750,000
… It was but a drop in the great lake.
However, something I noticed alongside the Grimm-blood spattered over me…
EX-Drive:
{300/1000} → {0/4}
? ?:
(Level: 0: 0.0%) {1/5}
'So I've got the EX-Drive and… something else?'
"Pathetic…" The ancient Grimm growled, not even flinching from my blow.
Before I even knew what was happening, I was tumbling through the air, missing my right arm.
Durability: 47,300/48,000
EX-Drive:
{400/1000} → {0/4}
'Well, crud!' I pushed myself up with my left arm, looking back just in time to see Fenrir crushing my disembodied stone arm to dust in his jaws.
I glanced back at my now-exposed Geist arm, trying to recall what I could about the Petra Gigas from Volume 4.
'It also lost it's right arm of stone…' I saw a large, bramble-covered remnant of a tree, not far behind me.
'But it didn't care about that, because it just replaced it with whatever it could!'
I quickly leapt backwards - both to get closer to the tree to possess it and to dodge a swipe of Fenrir's claws.
'New plan: replace worn body parts with whatever I can find and build up the EX and hope for the saving grace I need!'
With that, I reached into the thorn-covered trunk, feeling my being permeate throughout its structure, and swung it at the Beowolf, once again getting splattered with Grimm-Blood.
HP: 1,7499,300/1,750,000
EX-Drive:
{700/1000} → {0/4}
? ?:
(Level: 0: 0.0%) {2/5} {0.2%}
'So the second thing increases by one every time I get splattered with blood?'
I blocked with my left arm, hearing the stone crackling under the raw power of the attack.
'Well, whatever it is, I just hope it's enough to see me through this!'
(P.O.V.: Iris Virtuas)
I watched Poaling get covered in Grimm-blood, even as he lost his remaining stone arm.
NOTICE!
A function of Void Heart - "Shadow-Skelter" - is affecting Gamer's Mind!
My eyes widened at the pop up.
"This could either be really good, or really bad…"
(P.O.V.: Poaling Mono)
? ?:
(Level: 0: 0%) {4/5} {0.4%}
'One more!'
As more and more of the Beowolf's blood covered me, I began feeling a sense of… excitement.
"HAH!" I swiped the thorny log across Fenrir's chest, drawing blood yet again.
Shadow Skelter:
(Level: 1: 25.0%) {5/5} {0.5%}
ACTIVATED! (00:05:00)
STR *2, INT *2, DEX *2
"Hehehe-" I was suddenly overcome with what I could only describe as what I always imagined 'going mad with power' felt like. "HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Looking back at the following moment, in which I suddenly sent Fenrir flying about 50 meters straight up with a single uppercut from my thorny arm…
"PREPARE FOR AN OBLIVION-"
… I don't know whether to be amused, embarrassed, horrified, or all of the above, that I'd essentially become O'Malley from Red vs Blue.
"-FOR WHICH THERE IS NO PREPARATION!"
I finished, sending the Grimm flying like a baseball on his way down.
HP: 1,748,000/1,750,000
"Hah!" Fenrir snorted as he rose back up to his paws. "Perhaps I was right about you after all!"
(Timeskip: 4 Minutes, 20 Seconds later…)
If you asked me what the rest of that time in my apparent "Shadow Skelter" looked like for the battle, I'd sum it up to the following:
"Lots of blood… lots and lots of blood…"
I would then likely turn away and refuse to elaborate further.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" I'd only continued to howl with laughter like a deranged psychopath as my crumbling body dripped a constant trail of the Beowolf's black blood that coated me all over, whilst I continued whaling hit after hit upon Fenrir.
Speaking of Fenrir…
HP: 1,735,000/1,750,000
Despite gushing out fluids like a faucet, the Grimm almost seemed… hopeful?
Shadow Skelter:
(Level: 1: 25.0%) {0/5} {0.5%}
Deactivated! (00:00:00)
With that, the power, the excitement, everything I'd felt during the state of Shadow Skelter vanished, leaving me feeling sore, tired and mildly disoriented.
"Oogh." I fought back a groan, readying myself for Fenrir to take advantage of my relatively-weakened state.
What I did not expect was for the giant Beowolf to give something imitating a grin and a bow.
"For one who has barely even touched the potential of the power you ferry, you've done… adequately."
I only stared, confused, as Fenrir looked back up at me. "I have been on this world since before the Brothers created the Dustlings, and I've only ever felt that power once before."
"Visitors from another existence had come to the Brothers, asking for them to give their so-called deity the fortitude to handle her responsibilities. For whatever reason, the Brothers decided to humor them, and created two… fragments.
"The Brother of Light created a shining light from the essence he shaped souls from so that this 'Gaia' would have the compassion to care for her duty. The Brother of Darkness created a darkness from the very darkness we Grimm are borne of so that 'Gaia' would be capable of the ferocity needed to fight back against whatever dared attack her wards."
Fenrir turned, the gateway he appeared from opening behind him. "Now I know you are not bound to the same forms as us, for you harbor the heart of Grimm created oh so long ago."
With that, he leapt through the gateway - which then burst into a coagulated cloud of condensed shadow - about the size of a normal Beowolf - and shot towards me at high speed.
Before I could even move, the spherical cloud knocked me right out of the remains of my Petra Gigas body and howling echoed in my ears for a minute.
Beowolf Skull has been imbued with Fenrir's Howl!
Your Grimm form is now evolving!
(P.O.V.: Iris Virtuas)
I landed the Bullhead in the original clearing, before disembarking and hurrying to follow the trail of destruction left by the battle, getting splashed with black every time I stepped into the black puddles of blood dotting the ground.
"Poaling?!" I called him, seeing his Geistly form hunched over.
A swivel of his ears indicated he'd heard me- 'Wait… Ears?'
As he turned around, the face of a Beowolf stared back at me with an unreadable expression for a few moments.
Then, he shot at me like a rocket, pinning me to the ground.
(A/N: Alright, cliffhanger! Also, two things!
First, I sincerely apologize for the long delay - college finals were stressful for me. I'm sure many of you readers can empathize with me on that.
Second, one of the primary reasons why I'm leaving this on a cliffhanger is that tomorrow…
I will be going into surgery to have my wisdom teeth removed.
I'm told that I'm going to be very sleepy for a couple of days after, I won't be able to suck air or fluids through straws, I won't be able to eat solid foods, and a whole bunch of other stuff that I won't dump on you readers.
But as for why that has anything to do with this…
One: I might not recover from the loopiness before Christmas, so the Christmas special might be SLIGHTLY behind schedule.
Two: I might've lost my train of thought if I didn't get this out, so I didn't want to lose what I already had jotted down in my head - as I'm told I likely won't remember anything around the period of time I go in for the surgery.
Anyways, before I forget, I would like you to do the following in your reviews for this chapter, if you'd like.
1st: After your personal review, type in gifts you'd like to give the Mixed Data Team: Poaling Mono, Iris Virtuas, and Erisa Mono. I will include them in the Christmas Special!
2nd: If any of you know the reference(s) in this chapter, give me your guesses for a Christmas Cookie!
Please Favorite, Follow, Review, PM me, Check out my other stories (such as Aground: A-Game?), please keep the profanity to a minimum, and…
After my surgery, I hope to see you in the Games!
-poaling12