Greetings all, and welcome to the first chapter of Limit Breaker of 2020!

So, I'd had the idea knocking around in my head to do unleash a chapter for you all on the 26th, since January 26th of last year was when the first chapter of this story was published, but I didn't even get started on this until the 28th, so those plans are effectively scuppered.

Creativity: Ah, it ain't too big a deal. Besides, we got that little announcement to give!

Author: Oh yeah, that! So, this won't be a surprise to the early readers of this work, but Limit Breaker is by far the most read of all my work so far, and recently managed to hit 80K reads in under a year. That is huge to me. HUGE!

So, before we get on with the reviews, I just want to give a big thanks to everyone who popped in to give this story a looksee over the last 365 days. I never thought I'd see one of my stories get that much traction and I'll see you hopefully when we reach that 100K milestone.

Now then, on to the reviews:

Potassium: Yeah, I'm really looking forward to showing off the armor more when the story action comes back into focus. Plus, we finally get to see the main cast doing some fighting instead of just Gula's slugfests. As for the whole Salem Gula thing, trust me. It isn't a problem. You'll see what I mean. As for the Wrathful transformation, just wait and see.

Avenger: Oh, the legendary battle of epicness is creeping ever closer, and I promise that it will be awesome. Very awesome…

Guest: Well, I dunno about you, but if I'd gone out of my way to put clothes on someone's back, only for them to complain, routinely empty the fridge and pantry and glower, I'd start feeling a bit antagonistic too. Besides, I'm mostly playing the petty antagonism between Gula and Tai for my own cheap laughs.

And that's all the reviews for this chapter! Yes, I see you Mangahero18, but you didn't leave any reviews on chapter 25. Thems the rules. That I made. Though I will acknowledge there was some good stuff in your reviews.

Creativity: But back to the story…

Author: Right, back to the story! So, when we last left off, Pyrrha and Amber had returned from Signal where they had gone to forge new weapons for themselves, with Pyrrha unveiling her new weapons/armor that she calls Phalanx! Salem has redeployed her forces and is apparently working on a plan to destroy the mysterious Red Warrior once and for all, and Gula's getting impatient to get on the road again, so why wait any longer?! Let us proudly present… The Discord password: R23A8zG

Creativity: well aren't you ClEvEr…

Author: Don't you take that tone with me.

Either way, it's now time to proudly present chapter 26 of Limit Breaker!

Three days after the fall of Beacon…

Grassbed village had been in a state of panic when Ash, Ingo, Garrow, Violet and Lila had burst back into the village in a panic of their own, blubbering about a flying ship and Gula being freaked out, which was immediately followed by explosions and columns of smoke rising into the air. Then there'd been the two glowing streaks of light that had begun crashing into each other and throwing bursts of energy at each other before they streaked off towards Vale. The tension that ran through the village for hours after that had been palpable, to the point where it had begun to attract Grimm to the settlement, though their numbers were comparatively low compared to what would have come crawling before Gula's infamous rampages.

Then they'd received news, and from Professor Ozpin of Beacon, no less; Gula, though bloody, beaten and unconscious, had been ultimately victorious. Of course, there was undoubtedly concern and insistence to visit when Ozpin's agent broke the news, but that was quickly stopped by the agent in question and the more level-headed among the villagers. Gula would make a full recovery and be back to the village before they knew it.

But that was all before the Vytal Festival. Before the champion of Sanctum was tricked into ripping apart an opponent on the field of battle, an opponent that was revealed to have been a machine this whole time. It was before the White Fang and the Grimm descended upon Amity Colosseum and the city of Vale, wreaking havoc in the streets and causing the death of Oum knows how many. It was before the CCT tower collapsed and suddenly the world was left without communications. Now, the tension and fear was far thicker than one could possibly imagine.

The Hunters that Gula had trusted to keep the village safe were now more than earning their keep, with Gula's students pitching in where they could. However, that did nothing to assuage the fear of the people. What was going on? When would communications be back online? Would communications ever come back online? Where was Gula? Had he survived? Was he trying to help in Vale?

However, one among them was facing a very different problem.

"We can't keep going on like this forever."

"The hell we can't. It's not great, but we're doing fine. The Grimm haven't made it close to the walls."

"There's more of them showing up every time. We're not strong enough to keep this up forever."

This same argument between Ash and Ingo had been going on for quite some time. In fact, it had been going between Ingo and the rest of Gula's trainees for the better part of a week.

"Look, I'm not sure what else you want us to do about it. The Grimm are manageable so far, and they've actually proven to be good training. We're getting faster and stronger every time we go out there. You've said as much, yourself." Ash pointed out.

"Yes, I have, but it isn't going to be enough! Oum, how many times do I have to say that?!" Ingo argued angrily.

"I don't see any evidence for that. Besides, what exactly can we do other than what we're doing now? We can't just do intense training since we need to be ready for if the Grimm show up, and I'm not about to venture into Grimm territory just because you're getting paranoid." Ash shot back. Ingo glared at him.

"I'm thinking ahead! What happens when the Hunters, you, me, Garrow and the twins aren't enough?! What happens when we can't keep up?!" He shot back in a raised voice. Ash stared evenly at him.

"Well, we fight to the end. What else can we do?" Ash replied. Ingo shook his head.

"And we lose that way. No, we need to get stronger faster. Just relying on this little increments isn't going to cut it anymore." Ingo stated. Ash straightened up.

"Ingo, you better not be thinking what I think you're thinking." Ash muttered lowly, only for Ingo to ignore him.

"We've got Gula's teachings on harnessing the energy of our bodies. What if we were to add the power of the soul to that?" Ingo asked Ash, who slashed his hand through the air.

"Gula warned us against that! He told us that to his knowledge, Ki and Aura had never been used in tandem, and for all he knew, that could be too much for someone to handle!" Ash immediately reminded Ingo of, his tone defiant and forceful. Ingo just snorted.

"By his own admission, he's just making a guess. If we can take him at his word, that is." Ingo replied. Ash's eyes narrowed.

"Are you accusing him of lying to us?" Ash hissed. Ingo shrugged.

"It wouldn't be the first time. He spent over four years lying to us, what would one more little detail be? For all we know, he's so strong because he already does have both and just decided he didn't want us getting as strong as him." Ingo suggested. Ash's eyes narrowed.

"You're heading down a dangerous road, Ingo. And I am not going to follow you down it." Ash growled before he left. Ingo just huffed and spun on his heel before marching away. They had no idea. They just refused to see reason. They couldn't keep waiting for Gula to return, and they couldn't just let their strength continue to increase at this snail's pace. They needed something different. If the others weren't going to see reason, then Ingo would just have to go it alone. He'd be the hero. Not them. No, they didn't have the spine for it. They'd proven that. They weren't willing to do what needed to be done for the good of the village. He would. He'd find the power to protect them all, and he'd do it without Gula.

"You sure you don't want us to stick around a little longer? I'm happy to stick around to help you train with your new armor."

"Thanks, but that won't be necessary. I've already got enough of a handle on it that I can take it from here. Besides, it's not like I don't have anyone else to train with. Also, I think Gula's going to bust a vein if he's kept cooped up here much longer."

Gula grumbled a bit at the joke made at his expense. Amber was taking longer to say goodbye to Pyrrha than he thought necessary. Still, he'd been polite and patient enough to keep quiet while they bade each other farewell. At least for a while. At this point, they were at tail swishing and foot tapping levels of impatience, which was currently being made the subject of ridicule.

Amber had a change of clothes and other travelling necessities in a bag slung over her shoulder, with her telescoping staff in a sheath that hung opposite the bag. She was dressed for travel in a dark brown undershirt, a deep brown tunic and black pants with brown boots. She'd also had a bit of a haircut, cutting it just short enough to keep it out of her eyes when flying at high speeds.

"Alright, alright. We'll get going. Hopefully we'll catch each other in Mistral." Amber said as she gave Pyrrha a hug goodbye.

"I'm sure you'll find us somehow. Safe travels!" Pyrrha replied as she bade them farewell as Amber turned around. Gula waved goodbye before a transparent aura erupted from his body and he rocketed into the air. Amber wasn't far behind and the two were streaking across the sky towards Mistral. They weren't going quite as fast as Gula wanted (rookie flyer in tow and all) but it was still good time, nonetheless.

They flew in silence for about fifteen minutes before Amber piped up.

"So, where exactly are we heading first?" She asked as she drew alongside him.

"We're heading towards a village in the mountains. I lived near there for a while and before the whole Vale disaster happened I got into a big fight with my sister. Remember that?" Gula asked his student.

"Right. What happened to her, by the way?" Amber asked.

"The hell if I know. I can't sense her energy and she has her own ship, so my guess is that she crawled back into it and flew off. Anyway, before she showed up, I was training some of the village kids in energy manipulation before Aspera cut the lesson short and we fought each other from Mistral to the beaches of Vale, beating each other nearly to death in the process. As I understand it, Ozpin got word to them that I was alive, but I imagine that after the whole Vale thing happened, people are probably a little freaked out, to say the least." Gula answered. Amber raised an eyebrow.

"I thought I was the first person you were training in energy manipulation." Amber questioned.

"And when did I ever say that? I will say however, that you are easily the most advanced of all my students. Before I left, they'd barely mastered the basic energy blast, let alone energy waves. Also, they don't know energy sensing, last I checked." Gula replied. Amber felt a brief bubble of pride before she tamped it down. Likely, they hadn't had daily one on one training sessions for as long as she'd had. Even though Gula had told her she'd taken to this remarkably well, she still didn't think she was that special, especially when held up against she sheer might of her teacher.

"Actually, on that note, don't let them know you have any Aura at all when you land. Also, try not to show off too much. I don't want any infighting or jealousy to start happening when we get back." Gula informed her. Amber shuddered at the thought. The last thing she wanted was to become a source of discord between Gula and his other students.

"Also, and this probably doesn't need to be said, but we should probably keep the whole 'magic' thing under wraps for now. That's a whole other headache I do not have the patience for right now." Gula added. Amber had to concur, if for a multitude of other reasons.

They were currently over a sea of trees when Amber was starting to feel rather fatigued. Gula seemed to have noticed and motioned to land in a clearing. Amber couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy that Gula wasn't even winded in the slightest. It was clear that he could have made it back to the village by now and he still wouldn't be tired, though she quickly tamped those feelings down. Jealousy wouldn't close the gap between them, though she was half-suspecting that nothing would for quite some time.

Besides, relying on pure power would only get you so far. She'd learned that lesson incredibly harshly from her battle with Cinder. By all rights, she'd had the superior strength, thanks to the Maiden powers. However, Cinder and her cronies had managed to outmaneuver her and defeat her soundly, and she had the scars to prove it. A shudder went down Amber's spine as she recalled the sensation of her very Aura being slowly leached out of her body. She unconsciously hugged her arms after they landed and Gula immediately sat down and shut his eyes to meditate.

He'd been doing that a lot lately, now that Amber thought about it. He'd been spending more time sitting stock still with his eyes shut, as if deep in thought far more than he spent training. It had started a few days ago and Amber was starting to get really curious as to what he was doing. However, her curiosity wasn't so great that she'd intrude to ask. At least, not yet. It was probably just some other form of training that he hadn't told her about. Or he was practicing more mental discipline. After all, so far as Amber knew, he currently outclassed virtually everyone on Remnant in sheer destructive power. He didn't need more, at least at the moment. So, why not improve in other areas?

Amber took a seat on a nearby fallen log and grabbed a protein bar out of her bag and idly munched on it while she recovered her strength for the remainder of the flight. Gula hadn't moved since he'd begun meditating. Hell, to Amber's eyes, he hadn't even twitched.

"I wonder what could be going on in your head." Amber muttered under her breath as she finished off the protein bar and stuffed the wrapper back into the bag. Out of curiosity, she decided to tap into her energy sense to see what was going on and was very surprised to see what was happening.

Amber had come to compare someone's energy as a body of water; an analogy she found worked very well regarding the multiple facets of judging someone's energy. Size, temperament, so on and so forth. She'd also come to prefer the use of the word 'ki' over 'energy'. Amber compared her own Ki to that of a pond, while most other people (Hunters included) were more akin to puddles or brooks. Additionally, her ki was generally calm and rarely disturbed, though it would begin to 'boil' when in a combat situation and she was actively drawing on it.

Gula's Ki, meanwhile, was more akin to a lake in comparison, easily dwarfing her own. However, that wasn't surprising. The thing that did catch her was that it's default was more akin to a constant simmer than a true rest, as if constantly straining for battle. Gula hadn't told her much about his own people, the Saiyans, but he had shared that his people lived and breathed battle. Their biology and psychology all tailored towards combat. It had sounded unbelievable when he told her about his people's 'zenkai' boost, but he was dead serious about it and she didn't have reason to doubt him on it. It wasn't like she could disprove it. As it was, she could barely lay a scratch on him to find out.

Amber shook her head. Focusing on the gulf in strength between the two of them wasn't going to get her anywhere. Besides, it wasn't like she was no slouch either. It was hard to tell, given that the magic of the Fall Maiden felt so different from her Ki, but she felt that in terms of power, she was close to our just about at the level she'd been at before Cinder. However, she didn't have the same confidence or sense of invincibility that she'd felt before, something she'd been warned about and thought she'd curbed. Her experience with Cinder had taught her otherwise.

However, despite all that, she was nowhere near her old self when it came to technique. Much to Gula's frustration, she was still struggling with managing a proper energy wave. It was also a source of frustration for her as well, considering she was handling the basic energy blast adequately. She wasn't sure why the energy wave would present such a challenge to her. It was true that of everything she'd been taught so far, the energy wave was the technique she had the least enthusiasm for, by far. She'd much rather be learning more techniques akin to flight or energy sensing; techniques that weren't strictly combat oriented and could be applied to a multitude of situations.

However, as Gula had repeatedly drilled into her head, she needed to have the full repertoire of an adept of energy manipulation, and that repertoire included energy waves. If she came across a hostile energy user that knew what they were doing would absolutely have an energy wave technique, and not being able to manage one of her own could lead to disaster. Gula had repeatedly lectured her that in the event she was unable to avoid an energy wave or, Oum forbid, dodging the beam would have more disastrous consequences than stopping it, she needed to be able to answer with an energy wave of her own.

If they weren't taking this break specifically so she could rest and finish the journey to the village Gula had mentioned, she try to get some practice in now. After all, according to Gula, there were other aliens that were leagues stronger than him out there (a terrifying thought in and of itself) and he had no idea when the next one would come to Remnant with an energy blast primed and a crazed look in its eyes.

"Grrr…"

Amber's musings about the insane world she'd been thrust into were cut short when she heard what sounded like Gula growling. She turned to look at him and her eyes widened in shock. His energy was spiking insanely! It wasn't at a proverbial simmer anymore, either. Now it was easily a rolling boil. His body was surrounding in crimson energy looking more like a raging flame than the typical surging aura when he powered up. Additionally, the veins on his arms were bulging and his hair was spiking up even more than usual, as if an electrical current was running through it.

"Ah, Gula? You alright?" She asked in a raised voice, trying to get his attention. Almost immediately whatever he'd been doing stopped and everything fell back to normal. When he opened his eyes, Amber could have sworn his eyes were fading from a blue color back to their normal black, but she wasn't completely sure.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just doing a little exercise." Gula waved her off as he got up and stretched.

"Ah huh… So, this exercise causes your hair to ascend to new levels of spikiness and your eyes possibly to turn blue?" Amber inquired. Gula shrugged.

"I wouldn't know. I've never seen myself in a mirror when it happens." Gula replied matter-of-factly before rolling his right arm around.

"So, you think you're rested enough to keep going?" Gula asked. Amber nodded.

"Yeah, I can keep going. We're, what? Twenty minutes away by flight? I can manage that easy." Amber reported. Gula nodded.

"Alright, let's get going then. I wanna get there before sundown since I know they aren't going to leave me alone until I tell them what's kept me for so long." Gula replied before they both took off.

The rest of the flight was relatively quiet. There wasn't much to talk about at the moment, though Amber was mulling over what she'd seen from Gula before. When she'd used her energy sensing to peer closer at what had been happening, his energy had gone far beyond what she'd initially believed to be his full strength. He'd shown her what his power looked like when he powered up to his maximum and what she'd been sensing was well beyond double, or even triple what she'd believed him capable of. So that begged the question of how he'd done… that.

However, there wasn't time to ask as Gula was descending towards a village. Amber was surprised to learn that it was a village that she hadn't visited before. If she recalled, it was called Grassbed. It had been on her list of stops, but then she'd run into… complications…

They landed not too far away from the gates, but still within the forested area before walking the rest of the way on the path. Amber didn't say it aloud, but she was glad that they weren't doing anymore flying. She was starting to tire out and wasn't sure how much longer it would have been safe for her to fly. She got the feeling that Gula knew that too, but kept going anyway, either to teach her a lesson or because they were close enough that he was comfortable risking it. Or both. Amber was leaning toward both.

"Alright, let's try to keep chatter about… well, all that to a minimum. Especially the fact that we'll eventually be leaving again. With how scared they're likely to all be after the Vytal Festival calamity, I don't want them freaking out even more than usual. Honestly, it probably won't be a problem. They got on fine before I showed up and they've been fine while I've been travelling." Gula muttered as they approached the gates. Sure enough, the two guards' eyes immediately became the size of dinner plates when they saw who it was that was approaching.

"You… You're…" One of the stuttered. Gula rolled his eyes.

"Yes, I'm alive, and I'm back. Don't make a scene of it, please?" Gula groaned as they passed the guards. Amber just waved shyly as they passed. They barely seemed to register her existence, so she just kept walking. Well, at least until she heard the whispers, building to mutters, then to shouts of excitement. She wasn't able to make out much, other than Gula's name and a general sense of welcoming and relief.

"You're more of a celebrity here than I thought." Amber quipped to him over the cacophony of the approaching villagers. Gula groaned.

"You fly directly into the village one time…" Gula muttered to himself before he started doing his best to disperse the crowd. It was pretty clear to Amber that he did not like the attention.

It took some time and a few non-answers to questions, some of which Amber was freaking out over a bit since more than one person were assuming that Amber and Gula were an item of all things, which Gula was always quick to shoot down, much to Amber's relief and added insistence that they weren't. Gula was reliable in his own way, but he was also… intense, stubborn and… well, he was completely and utterly terrifying, sometimes intentionally and sometimes by accident. Not always, but when you were aware of who he was and what he was capable of, even if you'd gotten to know him, you were always just a little on edge. Definitely not a good foundation to try to build a relationship on.

Eventually, Gula managed to get the crowd to disperse, sans three boys and two girls who looked to be approximately Gula's age. They were all wearing roughly the same wardrobe, though they came in different colors. Likely it was their training uniforms, which consisted of a shirt that ran down to the elbows, a sleeveless tunic over the shirt, baggy trousers that were tucked into boots, a cloth belt and a pair of fingerless gloves.

"Well, I can't say I didn't anticipate you five sticking around. How's training… been…" Gula started to ask before he stopped. His face hardened. Amber glanced at Gula, slightly worried.

"Clearing. Now." Gula stated before he shot off into the distance. There were looks of confusion between the five youths and Amber, but they followed along, with the youths looking surprised by Amber's ability to follow them into the air. However, they didn't question her about it, likely because they were concerned about what could have caused Gula to order them to head to the clearing where they trained.

The found him there, standing with his back facing away from the and his arms crossed. His tail was swishing through the air, which was an obvious sign of him not being happy. They all set down behind him and waited.

"I imagine you're all curious as to why I told you all to come here." Gula stated in a dangerously low voice. Amber had seen Gula frustrated and grumpy, but now she was realizing that this is what Gula looked like when he was feeling angry and really reigning it in.

Without looking, Gula swung his left hand back and launching a beam of energy from his palm that struck one of the boys in the chest, sending him hurtling backwards! Amber watched horrified as the boy slammed into a tree and slumped down, hand pressed against where beam had hit. Then she saw it. The telltale flash.

"Ingo… you'd better have a damn good explanation for why you have your Aura unlocked." Gula hissed as he slowly turned and marched towards the boy, now known as Ingo. Ingo groaned as he got to his feet.

"Dammit, you actually went through with it…" One of the other boys muttered under his breath.

"What were my specific words when I first offered to teach you energy manipulation?" Gula suddenly barked in a loud voice, making it clear that he wasn't asking anyone in particular.

"Well? What were they?!" He demanded in a louder voice.

"If we choose to train with you, we forsake the path of Aura…" one of the girls quickly managed to get out.

"So, Ingo? Care to explain yourself?" Gula hissed at the boy, who looked at Gula defiantly.

"The Grimm would have overrun us eventually and you weren't here to protect us. We wouldn't have been enough forever. I chose to take a leap of faith to protect the village, and it worked. I'm far stronger than the others now." Ingo argued back. Gula's power flared and a silver aura erupted around his body.

"So, you went behind my back, broke the one rule I laid out for this training, foolishly risked your life, all for a damn shortcut." Gula growled as his power kept slowly rising. There was wind blowing around him and Ingo looked genuinely frightened. Amber wanted to step in, but she half suspected that Gula would just go through her to get to Ingo. Suddenly, Gula's fist lashed out, passing mere centimeters from Ingo's head and causing the tree behind him to explode in a shower of bark and splinters.

"You're done." Gula stated before he pulled his fist back and turned around.

"What the hell does that mean?" Ingo demanded.

"It means that I'm not training you anymore. And if I catch you sniffing around when I'm training everyone else, I will not hesitate to kick your sorry ass right back to the village." Gula growled. Ingo looked like he wanted to challenge Gula on this, but the tiny bits of tree were more than enough to discourage him. Instead he stalked out of the clearing and out of sight.

Amber glanced back and forth from between where Ingo had gone, Gula and the rest of the trainees, who looked visibly shaken by what had just transpired. Gula seemed to recognize that as he let out a surprisingly exhausting sigh.

"I'm sorry you guys had to see that, but I needed you to see how serious I am about breaking that rule. I didn't make that rule for no reason. I'm genuinely worried about how much time he has left now." Gula told them, the last statement really grabbing their attention.

"Wait, what do you mean by 'time he has left'? He's not dying because of this, is he?!" the older boy asked. Gula sighed and shook his head.

"His Aura and life energy are mixing together and causing the resulting power to overload his system. When he was flying away I could sense his power going up dangerously high for what level he should be at." Gula explained. Amber took note of this and tried to home in on him with her own senses. It wasn't hard. Ingo was lit up like a bonfire among candles, and now she could see what Gula was talking about. Ingo's power was so great that she could sense actual strain on his entire body from all the concentrated power. Either he wasn't trying to suppress it at all, or he hadn't noticed, and his Aura was constantly reinforcing his body against the internal pressure.

"That cannot be good for his body." Amber muttered.

"Honestly, I'm more worried about what effect it's having on his head. Could be have a literal power trip for all we know." Gula added in a grim tone before shaking his head.

"I knew Vale was gonna have an effect on everyone, but I didn't anticipate this." He groaned.

"Umm… Not to be rude, but can we get introductions out of the way?" One of the twin girls asked and Amber realized that they actually hadn't been properly introduced. Gula's reaction was to just drop his head into his open palm and grumble. Amber rubbed the back of her head, unsure of how to proceed in this situation.

"Why do I get the feeling that this is going to be a very long week…?" Gula complained, his voice muffled by his palm. If the prior situation hadn't been such a downer Amber would probably have giggled a bit. As it was though, she just glanced in the direction that Ingo had gone in. She could tell that this wasn't the end with him. She just hoped things would get better, but she wasn't exactly optimistic on the chances.

And that's where we're ending it for today! Finished this on Friday and on the last day of January to boot! Not too bad for timing, if I do say so myself.

So, Ingo's gone behind Gula's back and had his Aura unlocked. I was actually planning this WAY back in chapter four, if you can believe it. A years' worth of writing just to get to this point.

Creativity: Like we said, we really planned ahead with this one. Really looking forward to going through with this arc more.

Author: Also, we're probably gonna be doing quite a bit of skimming in regard to the RWBY Story in certain regards, which I'm sure a good chunk of you will love since you don't like this particular set of volumes. I thought they were fine, but whatever.

That said, we are going to have chapter sections where we cut back to Pyrrha and Yang's perspective, since I did not save Pyrrha and give her kickass new armor just to shelve her until the big action scene comes up.

Creativity: That would just be silly!

Author: Indeed…

Well, I think that's it from me for now! Thank you for reading, please review, hope to see you on Discord and we'll see you next time!