Disclaimer: RWBY is owned by Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth Productions, while God Eater is owned by Hiro Yoshimura, Shift and Bandai Namco Entertainment
After the Bullhead landed and dropped them off a half an hour ago, the four girl team of Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long immediately got to work on finding any Grimm in sight. For Ruby, she was glad that she gained Goodwitch's permission for her group to travel towards the Emerald Forest to train themselves. With the Vytal Festival coming closer and closer each day, she couldn't afford to slack off, not that Weiss would ever let her.
Speaking of the Festival, the young reaper frowned as she thought about Elena, remembering that she won't be able to witness the event due to the Branwen's job. While she was glad she was able to meet her, Ruby felt upset that the God Eaters are only in Remnant for a few weeks. Shaking her head, she knew that there isn't anything she can do to persuade Elena to stay with her family, knowing that there are monsters at the Far East Branch that must be dealt with.
Shaking her head of such thoughts, she led her team through the Emerald Forest, keeping an eye out for any Grimm in the process. She was armed with her Crescent Rose, a Scythe capable of cutting through any monster that came in her way with its sharpened blades and its considerable reach. It also helps her that it is capable of being a sniper rifle, allowing the young girl to pick off foes from a distance.
Being in front of the group as the team leader of RWBY, she felt that it was her responsible of leading the charge against the creatures of darkness. Keeping her weapon close, she remained focused on the surrounding area, looking for anything relating to the monstrous Grimm. Joined up front by her sister, the young sibling looked back to where the Bullhead was before sighing.
"Something bothering you, Ruby," she turned to face a worried Yang. "You look like there was something in your mind."
"Oh, just… remembering that I didn't tell Elena what we're doing right now," came her answer. "She's probably worried about where we are right now."
"Didn't she go meet with Professor Ozpin? I'm sure she got the news from Professor Goodwitch when talking to him."
"I guess so…"
"I wouldn't worry about it for now, sis." Patting the young reaper's shoulder, the blonde offered a fond smile as she spoke. "Elena will find something to do with the God Eaters. They don't need us around all the time."
"But—"
"But nothing, Ruby. They lived out their own lives the way they wanted. We should be happy for them."
Ruby stalled a little behind with a crestfallen expression as she mutters sadly. "Yes, and yet I would have liked that she could stay with us so that we can, you know… be a full family."
"But Elena already has a family," Yang assured her. "Her adopted sister Leah, the Blood Unit and the people over at the Far East Branch they told us about." Stopping, the blonde took a deep breath before finishing her thoughts. "And… they'll need her back so she could take on those Aragami."
"Right…"
"But for now, I think its best we forget about that." Smiling, the blonde raised a fist in the air before proclaiming loudly. "We have some Grimm to kill, so let's get to it."
"Yeah," Ruby followed out with her own cheer before bringing herself back to lead while Weiss and Blake remained at the rear, keeping a firm grip on their weapons. Nothing has been said afterwards as they scoured the forest for any creature of darkness, yet to their surprise, there hasn't been any Grimm sighting as of late. The only sounds they heard was the chirping of birds and what sounded like a far off explosions and gunfire, but they shrugged it off thinking it was another Huntsmen team training.
While the search for any Grimm remained strong for the girls, only Blake felt the sense of dread in the air as her ears, hidden in the bow she wore, flicked to the faint sound of a wolf howl. Due to her Faunas heritage, she was able to make out the far off noise in the distance, causing her to further tighten her guard in case whatever was out there would show up near them. Her actions were mirrored by Weiss, who was beside her at that back as she kept her grip on Myrtenaster.
Eventually, they reached a wide clearing within the Emerald Forest, farther away from the landing site they started from. Out of the four of them, only Yang felt a little frustrated as they haven't encountered a single Grimm yet. The others felt her frustration in their own ways, from Blake keeping an eye out, Weiss sheathing her rapier before crossing her arms, and Ruby, who looked down while maintaining her sniper scythe.
"Well isn't this great," Yang muttered out in annoyance. "Not a single Grimm in sight, We've been here for hours… and all we got was the sounds of a fight not long ago."
"Yang, we've only been here for no less than a half an hour," Weiss corrected, keeping herself and her voice calm. "We're not going to strike gold in terms of Grimm confrontations. Perhaps this could help us in easing ourselves into the next term."
"Easing ourselves… sounds like a Weiss thing to say."
"But Weiss does have a point," Blake cuts in. "Since we got back, there has been something that is stressing all of us, whether it's our academics or… personal problems." The faunas then looked over her teammates before speaking up. "Besides, it gives us four a chance to actually sit down and discuss the God Eaters."
"Again with that," Weiss retorted in shock. "I thought we were done—"
"Weiss, let me finish." Seeing her stop, the faunas let out a breath before speaking out her thoughts. "The God Eaters, and by extension, their occupation and the monsters they face, have been a source of stress for some of us, from wanting one of them to stay with Ruby and Yang to be family, to the constant denial of dismissing the Aragami."
"Blake, nothing is going to change my mind about that."
"And I'm not saying that you're right." Groaning, Blake moved over towards Ruby before placing a hand on her shoulder while speaking. "I'm saying that ever since meeting Elena and her friends, the very topic of them is causing stress between us."
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying that for us to function as a team properly, we should be more accepting of what has been said. If Ruby and Yang believes in the God Eaters, then let them. It shouldn't mean that you can deny what they told us with a straight face, but acknowledge what they want to believe."
"You can't expect me to—"
"Besides, how else can we explain Lindow and Elena's arms, and the fact that some faunas can pick up a human scent from them?"
"It could have been a make-up job," Weiss replied weakly before scoffing. "Are you telling me that those arms are actually real?"
"Yes," Blake, Ruby and Yang answered at the same time.
"You three are unbelievable," she conceded before sighing, turning around to leave. "I'm going for a walk."
"Weiss, wait a minute," Ruby pleaded on deaf ears, only to receive silence as the Heiress left the area. "Great… now what?"
"Give her time to calm down," her sister answered, shaking her head a she sighed. "Blake's right. We have been stressed as of late."
While the girls got themselves situated in the wide open area of the Emerald Forest, Weiss moved through the foliage in a slightly faster pace, her mind back on the conversation she just had. On one end, she is adamant about her opinion of the Aragami, firmly believing that such beasts don't exist. On the other, she understands where Ruby is coming from in terms of Elena, wanting to have a sibling close to them as she remembers her time spent with her own sister Winter.
During her thoughts, her body arrived at an undisturbed waterfall, disrupting her mind as she gazed at the sight in front of her. Mesmerised by the water flowing down the Cliffside, she moved closer to the scene to see her reflection on the aquatic surface, gasping at the crystal clear visage. Taking a look around, she found herself being at ease before spotting a boulder, walking over to it before sitting on top.
"Such a serene place," she commented, letting out a sigh of relief as she closed her eyes. "I feel like all my worries are being washed away here." She then thought about the others. "I guess I have been too rough on Ruby and Yang. Perhaps I should get back and explain myself." Hearing the waterfall, she closed her eyes for a few seconds before letting out a smile. "I should also bring them here so they can feel relaxed."
Nodding to herself, she got off the boulder before turning to where she came from, only to stop halfway as her eyes met those of the Marduk. Calm was replaced with fear as she stared at the beast unknown to her; her breathing became rapid as the beast started to growl. If she was afraid of it beforehand, the sight of its maw opening to reveal bloodied fangs had heightened it into pure fright.
Back to Ruby and the others, the three girls have been relaxing at the wide open area as the team leader looked over her weapon, looking for any impurities. The young reaper had shed a few tears when Weiss left to take a walk, but she knew that given enough time, the heiress would calm down before coming back. As she collapse Crescent Rose back into its compact form, a shriek echoed in the horizon, prompting her and the others to bring out their weapons in ranged mode.
"You think that was Weiss," Yang asked out in worry.
"It has to be," Blake answered, keeping Gambol Shroud trained onto the horizon. "No one could shriek out like that except for Weiss."
"Unless you count Jaune screaming like a girl."
"Guys, focus," Ruby reprimanded. "She wouldn't scream like that unless it was important."
"I'm picking up movement," the faunas announced before pointing to her left. "It's coming from that direction… and it's awfully close."
True to her word, the sounds of monstrous footsteps came into the sisters' ears, prompting them to adjust their sights towards the aforementioned direction. They were eventually relieved when they saw Weiss come out from the foliage, but they then noticed the look of fear in her eyes. It wasn't long that something else followed as the sight of the Marduk appeared after the girl, surprising the three by its appearance.
Seeing it continue to follow her, Weiss desperately closed her eyes before bringing out Myrtenaster, stopping for a second before embedding it into the ground. Pulling the trigger within it, the rapier unleashed a torrential wave of ice towards the Aragami, getting its front paw caught in it. Taking the time now, she pulled her blade out before rejoining the other three girls, panting heavily as she tried to regain her breath.
"What in the world," Yang muttered in shock as she eyed the Marduk, watching it observe the ice covering its paw. "What kind of monster is that thing?"
"Is it some sort of evolved Grimm," Blake followed up, backing away as it growled.
"No, Grimm are distinguished as having bodies as dark as the abyss, with bone armor to depict their age," Weiss answered in her feared state. "That… thing is not a Grimm."
"THEN WHAT THE HELL IS IT?"
Before Ruby could answered, the Marduk roared out as it began to pull its paw out of the ice, causing the frozen prison to crack from the top. Wide eyed, the girls of RWBY watched in shock as the Aragami removed its limb from the ice, shattering it in ease before stomping on it further. Its eyes on the white themed girl, the beast ignited the paw before detonating its surroundings, melting what was left of Weiss' attack with ease before strolling towards it.
"OK, whatever it is, it is certainly not a Grimm," Blake pointed out, staying on guard.
"What kind of creature is it," Weiss muttered out, afraid of the Marduk as Ruby was in her thoughts.
"One particular monster that changed our lives was the Marduk, back when we thought Romeo was killed," Elena's voice echoed in her mind. "It takes on the appearance of a giant white maned wolf, with protruding red capes from its back and stone-like armored gauntlets on its front paws. That Aragami is capable of emitting a powerful bias field that draws in other Aragami, as well as disabling regular God Arcs."
"A giant wolf… red capes and armored paws," she muttered out before gasping. "Yang, Remember what Elena told us back home? About her job of avenging Romeo?"
"Yeah, what about it," the blonde replied.
"The monster they were after was a monster called a Marduk." Groaning, she aimed her weapon's sights to the ground in front of it. "Her description of it came to me when I saw this thing… Yang, this monster is an Aragami."
"WHAT?"
"How is that even possible," Weiss questioned the young reaper. "In fact, are you even—"
"I know it is one." Firing a round, she saw the Marduk pause as the bullet impacted in front of it on the ground before detonating while she spoke. "We can't kill it with what we have."
"Then what should we do," Blake pressed out, watching the Marduk's movements.
"Stall it… We keep it busy until Elena gets here."
With that being said, she fired another round at the Aragami, watching as the beast backed away as the bullet made contact with the ground in front of it. Getting the idea, Yang primed her Ember Celica gauntlets before charging towards the Marduk, lashing a punch towards its face while pulling the trigger mechanism within it. The Dust powered punch slightly staggered the beast as Yang followed it up with a series of strikes, disorienting it before backing off.
Just as the Marduk shook its face off in annoyance, it gazed back towards the group only to find Blake in the air; Gambol shroud out in the skies while being tied to the faunas by the ribbon. Taking the initiative, she spun herself as the weapon followed suit, slamming it into its eye while she gracefully landed on the surface. Pulling the ribbon, she brought the weapon back before taking aim, firing a dew explosive Dust rounds at it before backing away.
While they attacked, both Ruby and Weiss got into position as the latter prepared a glyph in front of Crescent Rose while the former loaded it with a clip of Ice Dust rounds. As the smoke cleared, the Marduk roared out before making its approach towards the girls, only to skid on the ground as Ruby fired her bullet through the glyph. With its enhancement from Weiss, the Ice Dust round impacted the Aragami's face, encasing it in solid, frozen water and buying the girls time.
With it working on getting the ice shattered, it left itself open for Yang as she got right in front of its face before launching a powerful fist, sending it back a fair distance. It was followed up when Blake used Gambol Shroud's ribbon to ensnare its front paws before pulling back, forcing the Aragami to stumble down to the ground. Seeing the Marduk downed, Weiss projected a series of glyphs before rushing in, using the speed boost granted by her semblance while coating Myrtenaster in flame before striking it somewhere it seemed vulnerable.
She was shocked to see her blade bounce back from its strike, allowing the Aragami to roar out as the gauntlets heated up and, before she could recover from her stupor, it detonated its surroundings, pushing her back several feet. The blast also shattered the ice embedded into its head, freeing its sights once more before it gazed at the group of humans in front of it. Gauntlets still ignited, the monster roared out before swiping the ground, sending a large boulder of molten rock towards them.
Seeing the projectile incoming, the girls jumped out of the way as the molten rock flew passed over them, but the searing heat emitted from it hit their bodies. Regaining their bearings, they looked up to witness the Marduk stalking towards them with a menacing growl in its maw, its footsteps crumbling the dirt. Regaining their weapons, they all broke off as they changed their weapons into ranged mode before opening fire, seeing the bullets impact its body as they went in separate directions.
Growling in annoyance, the Marduk chose to go after Blake, roaring out at her as she looked back to spot blood on its fangs. Thinking back from before, she realized that the roar and the detonations from afar were due to the Aragami, frightening her as she realized it can kill. Reflexes overtaking her body, she jumped out of the way in time as the beast pounced on her, devastating the ground from its charged gauntlets before it roars out.
Just as it turned to face the faunas once again, various Ice Dust blasts started to impact its body, slightly disorienting it from its chosen target and forcing it to turn to the source. Growling, the Marduk spotted Weiss surrounded by various glyphs, using different hand motions as they launched out another volley towards it. Jumping out of the way, the Aragami managed to avoid most of the projectiles, while the remaining attacks homed in on its body before impacting it, engulfing it in a frosty smoke and encasing the ground around it in ice.
"That should about do it," the Schnee heiress spat out, only for the Marduk to blast the smoke around it away while it roared out, shocking her. "Impossible… how could it…"
"KEEP IT DISTRACTED," Yang's voice echoed out, followed by the beast staggering as its hind legs were dislodged by her punches. "WE GOTTA HOLD OUT UNTIL THE GOD EATERS GET HERE!"
Nodding in agreement, Ruby planted the blade of her scythe into the ground before taking aim, pointing Crescent Rose towards the Marduk's eyes. However, before she could pull the trigger, she was suddenly pushed out of the way by Blake as a stinger came out of nowhere, causing them to look at the source. To their shock, they spotted a scorpion faunas who laughed in a crazed manner as he approached.
"Now isn't this a surprise," he started off between laughs. "Not only do I see a girl with Silver Eyes, but the monster responsible for all our troubles. She would most likely reward me for this."
"What the… who are you," Blake questioned him, causing his laughter to stop before smirking.
"Well, young lady, I am Tyrian Callows, a faunas on a mission." Keeping his smirk, he pointed towards the Marduk as it was still engaged against Weiss and Yang. "I'm here to dispose of the foul beast laying waste on the Grimm here. It's become a thorn on my mistress' side, and so I came to get rid of it." He began to cackle as he pointed towards Ruby. "I never thought I would find a Silver Eyed girl as well. Oh, She would praise me if I were to kill her as well."
"Who?"
"Never mind that for now." Keeping his grin, Tyrian unlocked his pincer blades on his wrists while his stinger hung in the air. "While I'm here… I might as well get started."
With that being said, he sped forward towards the two girls with the intent of killing Ruby, lashing his blades at the two of them. However, he only met air as Blake used her semblance to take the hit instead while she was in the air with Ruby in her arms. With him disoriented for a second, she unleashed a kick towards his head, hitting the mark and sending him to the ground.
The psychopath, shaking his head from the blow, immediately got back on his feet before trying once again, using his tail to grab Blake by the ankle before tossing her off of Ruby. With the both of them in the air, he pounced out into the air, readying his stinger to pierce the young girl's body. However, he didn't take into account Yang hurling from her engagement with Marduk as the Aragami had tossed her, causing the blonde to collide with the scorpion faunas.
Going towards its prey, the Marduk took notice of Tyrian, roaring out before jumping in to pounce on him. Groaning, the crazed man pushed Yang off before taking notice of the Marduk charging towards him and, not wanting to die yet, jumped out of the way as it collided with the ground. Dusting himself of the dirt, his eyes once again locked onto Ruby, smirking as she groaned while getting off the surface.
"Little girl has some thorns," he muttered out, shaking his head as his smirk reformed. "It will make killing you all the more enjoyable."
Scared for her life, Ruby gasped as he rushed towards her with his wrist blades primed, barely jumping out of the way as he lashed his right arm at her body. Looking over to the Marduk, she caught its focus on the scorpion psychopath as the monster's gauntlets opened up before it slammed into the ground, sending a molten projectile towards him. Sensing the danger, he moved out of the way as it flew passed his back before colliding into the surrounding trees.
Due to the distraction by the Aragami, he was wide open to attack as Blake wrapped his leg with the Ribbon on Gambol Shroud, using the opportunity to fling him back down to the ground. Despite the move, Tyrian swiped the cloth with his weapon before readjusting his body in the air, managing to land on the surface with his feet while skidding through the foliage. Growling at the cat faunas, he aimed his pincer blades at her while the gun barrels popped out, letting loose a volley of Dust Rounds at her, only for her to deploy a clone in her place to take the hits while she moved out of the way.
With Blake focused on keeping Tyrian off of Ruby Rose, both Yang and Weiss were barely maintaining the Marduk's focus as it gazed at the scorpion psychopath. Using her glyphs to her full advantage, the snow themed girl used her semblance to launch pillars of ice towards the wolf monster while Yang, with her Semblance activated, delivered one heavy punch at its legs after another. While they gave it their all, the Marduk huffed out before igniting the ground around it, blasting Yang away as the Xiao Long girl crashed by the Schnee Heiress.
"Dammit," she cursed out, groaning as she got off the ground. "This thing knows how to take a hit."
"And whatever it is, it's not fazed by the ice I embedded into it," the white haired girl added. "Exactly how do we kill it?"
"We can't. Just keep it busy until—"
Before she could even finish her thoughts, a lone sniper round pierced into it from above, earning a yelp from the beast and surprising the two girls. Looking up, they saw a lone bullhead hovering over them as the six God Eaters jumped out of the vehicle, with Ciel aiming her God Arc at the Aragami. Using the recoil from her gun, she fired round after round at the monster, slowing her descent while the beast jumped away to avoid injury.
Landing on the surface, the God Eaters primed their God Arcs as their eyes laid on the Marduk, with Elena groaning as she has to fight the one Psion she's accustomed to. Joining her, Lindow hummed out as the Aragami growled at the newcomers, placing his own God Arc over his shoulder. The girls of RWBY looked in awe as the bullets from Ciel's weapon managed to harm it before Ruby herself joined her new sister.
"Elena, am I glad you're here," she addressed the Blood Captain. "We were only trying to stall it until you guys got here, but then—"
"Easy there, Ruby," the God Eater calmed her down, her eyes still on the Marduk. "One thing at a time."
"R-Right."
"Excuse me," Tyrian interjected, getting the girls' attention as he growled. "That girl and the monster are my prey. I won't allow you to take them from me."
"Your prey?" Giving out a chuckle, Elena smirked as her grip on the God Arc tightened. "You don't know a single thing about an Aragami. What makes you think you can handle Marduk."
"He's also after Ruby," Blake added in, making her hum out. "He said that she is a threat to someone he knows."
"I see." Nodding, she turned to Ayane and Lindow before speaking out. "Can you two keep her safe from that asshole?"
"Consider it done," Ayane acknowledged, twirling her God Arc in her hands.
"Blood, you're with me. Let's show this Marduk that we God Eaters are a different breed."
"Right," all three of her unit replied as the monster roared out at them before jumping towards them, its gauntlets already ignited before slamming them into the ground. However, the four members of Blood had already moved out of the way before Gil used the opportunity to lunge his Charge Spear in the beast's armored paw, embedding it in one of the gaps in it. Howling in pain, it moved the injured limb before swiping him off of it, growling at the Male God Eater before getting hit in the face by a Blast round.
Humming to herself, Elena knew that the beast would turn to face her as Marduks are bred to go after larger threats, and the one in front of her is no different. Changing her God Arc back to its Blade Mode, she jumped over to the side as the monster chucked a portion of molten earth towards her, getting her shield up in time to stop its swipe from hitting her side. Taking a page from the Buster God Arc wielders, she turned her blade to the ground while the shield remained up before taking the opportunity to swipe upwards, shocking the beast as it pierced into its flesh.
With it disoriented from the strike, Elena took the chance to jump back as Nana came from behind, bashing her Boost Hammer onto its face. Stunning it, she lifted her God Arc off its forehead before proceeding to hit it from the sides, the booster mechanism on to enhance the damage output. Hearing it growl, she gasped as the uninjured paw made a swipe at her, hitting her on the side and forcing her off of it.
Getting back on all fours, the Marduk growled before turning towards Ciel, stalking towards the tactical God Eater with the intent to kill her. However, before it could even reach her, it felt a sudden change in the Oracle Cells, causing it to gaze at Nana as she had activated her Blood Power. Roaring out, it rushed towards her before making another swipe at her, only to miss as she dodged the attack while allowing Ciel to aim her weapon at the Aragami before taking the shot, impacting its legs and forcing it down again.
With Tyrian, the scorpion faunas once had the advantage when he was only against Blake, but now he's been struggling against the Cradle Leader Ayane. Every strike he made at the girl was either dodged or blocked by the girl as she met his moves with her own attacks. He even once tried to impale her with his tail, hoping to pump her with poison, but she somehow managed to grab the extra limb before elbowing his face, making him feel his nose break from the impact.
"Come on, I know giant scorpions that fight better than you," she taunted, leaning far back as he tried to swipe her with his pincer blades. "Is that the best you got? You're making me fall asleep here."
"Damn you bitch," he cursed at the pinkette, growling as she giggled at the insult.
"Oh please, I've been called worse."
Roaring out, he jumped back as her God Arc came to strike, hitting the air as the faunas primed his guns in his wrists before aiming at the young woman. Cackling like crazy, he unloaded another volley of Dust rounds towards her, but that only allowed her to jump out of the way of the bullets. With him focused on her, Tyrian didn't count on Lindow coming from behind before getting it in the face by the armored hand of his.
"Here's a rule here," he muttered out to the psycho. "Always keep your eyes on All foes."
"Meaningless dribble," Tyrian spat out before glaring. "You'll all be dead alongside that girl."
Using his tail, he swatted the experience Cradle member away before getting back on his feet, returning his sights on Ruby as she backed up behind Ayane. Smirking, he rushed over towards her with an insanely toned roar, leaping over the Cradle Founder before pushing her away with his limb. Licking his lips, he turned around to spot the frightened Ruby, but before he could make a move, a monstrous face bit into his torso before being tossed back over to Lindow, who had used his God Arc's devour function to pull him off the young reaper.
Growling, the psycho lashed his weapons at the God Eater, grazing his cheek and causing him to drop the God Arc. Cackling at the result, he was about to turn around only to meet a Blast Gun round impact his body, sending him into the treeline for a brief moment. Helping her partner up, she gazed over towards where she sent the man with her bullet, only to see him jump back out to them as his aura fizzled out of control.
"Aww, is the little bug getting tired," she taunted him, only to hear him growl out. "I think I made him mad."
"Let's cool him off a little more," Lindow added, picking up his God Arc. "He'll give up."
"Like hell I will," they heard him retort, seeing him catch his breath as his eyes turned purple. "My Goddess will praise me for the job I'll finish… and reward me for that silver eyed girl's death."
"Oh, so you serve something akin to that of a god." Steeling herself, she activated her weapon's Devour Function as it roared out at him. "Too bad for you… We eat gods."
Confusing him, she let loose the artificial Aragami towards the man, forcing him to jump up in the air. However, she anticipated it as she redirected the monstrous maw up, snatching him in the leg before pulling down, slamming him into the ground. Retracting the God Arc's devour function, she returned her weapon into its blade mode before spotting him back on his feet, bringing her shield up as his blades impacted the metal surface. However, he used the chance to sting her with his tail, pulling her down before swatting Lindow away.
"Foolish girl," he muttered out before cackling. "You fought well for a child… but you can't do anything now. My poison will make sure of that."
Moving his head to the side, he narrowly dodged a strike from Ruby's scythe before hooking it with his weapon, tossing it away before kicking her down. Spotting Blake coming, he gripped the young girl by the hair before putting her in front of him, stopping the faunas girl's tracks. Keeping his smirk, he moved his blade near her neck before speaking.
"Stay where you are, little cat," he commanded before laughing. "This has to be done. Your new friends were powerless against me, and I now have the girl."
"LET HER GO," she demanded, only to freeze as the blade drew closer.
"I DON'T THINK SO!" Letting out a fake yawn, the psycho kept his smirk as he glared at her while continuing. "All you had to do was let me kill her, but you made the foolish mistake of fighting against me. My queen's word is absolute, and I am her faithful follower. This girl will die… IN SALEM'S NAME!"
"No…" Ruby muttered in fear, shaking as he licked his lips as the blade touched her skin.
"Farewell, little girl."
"No…" Her mind flashing back, she bore witness to a memory of her and Yang being ambushed by monster before she unconsciously called out. "MOMMY!"
Her words, heightened by her fear, suddenly stopped the Marduk as its mind flashed before seeing the girl in danger. A part of it remembering who she was, the Aragami roared out as Elena called out to her before jumping out of its fight, landing over Tyrian before bashing him off of the girl. Groaning in pain, the scorpion faunas looked over, only to see the monster standing in front of her while roaring out at him.
"Dammit… what are you, her little guardian angel," he asked it, only for it to bark at him. "Too late, she's dying today, and SO WILL YOU!"
Roaring out, he brought his guns out before firing at the monster, seeing the bullets impact its body as the Marduk stood there. It knew that Dust Weaponry has no effect on it, and while he stopped to reload, it used the opportunity to howl out, emitting a Bias Field as the familiar red vortex swirled around its body. Chuckling, Tyrian prepared to open fire once again, only to hear the sound of his guns jamming, shocking him before getting swatted by its ignited arms.
The Aragami, keeping its focus on the scorpion faunas, kept standing in front of Ruby as Blake came to comfort her. Hearing him shriek out, it crouched down as its gauntlets remained lit with fire, and when he came out of the foliage, the monster used the chance to launch two chunks of molten rock at him before jumping up, seeing him narrowly avoiding its attacks before blasting him from above. Landing on the ground, it hooked its paw on his shirt before flinging him up in the air, using its other paw to bash him into the treeline.
Watching it from close by, both RWBY and the God Eaters watched in surprise as an Aragami, a monster capable of killing them all is now defending Ruby from the efforts of Tyrian, using its abilities and Bias Field to hinder him. Elena was shocked more than most as all it took for it to change was for the young girl to call out to her missing mother, and the next thing she knew, the Aragami was defending her against the psychopath. She could only watch as the Marduk met Tyrian in the ongoing fight, disabling his and RWBY's weapons of ranged capabilities while mercilessly pommeling him.
Tyrian, having almost succeeded in killing Ruby, is now boiling with rage as the Marduk continued to hinder his progress, all the while taking him on in a one-sided fight. Using his blade, he proceeded to slash into its body, even using his stinger to get some hits in, but they were all bounced back as if it had no effect. Smirking in its mind, the Marduk roared before before jumping back, and as he lunged his stinger at it, its paw was immediately slamming it down to the ground, shattering his aura while splattering the appendage.
Tyrian could only scream out in pain and agony as a poisonous liquid poured out of his wound, and just as he was about to growl at it, the Marduk slapped him down to the ground, slowly stalking towards the downed faunas. Gasping out, the adrenaline in his body has long worn out, and as he turned to face the world, he panted out as the beast came closer. Growling at the monster, he spat out blood before leveling his eyes at the Aragami.
"Just you wait, beast…" he started, crawling away as he smirked. "When she learns of this, she will send every last Grimm in the world to hunt you down. You will not be safe from her wrath. When you die… I will be laughing from beyond the grave."
Scoffing, the Marduk growled before lunging its face at him, biting his head off before spitting it out. Seeing the corpse once more, it stomped its paw onto it, leaving it as nothing more than a paste of blood and guts. Satisfied with its work, it turned to face Ruby once more, causing her silver eyes to meet its only silver eye as the cloth around its neck flocked in the wind.
"It killed him," Weiss commented, gasping at the savagery of the Marduk's work. "It killed that faunas…"
"But why did it defend Ruby," Nana questioned, making Elena hum out in thought. "It's like… when she was in shock… the Marduk responded to her."
"What the hell does that mean, anyway," Gilbert questioned his fellow God Eater. "An Aragami only thinks about devouring. What would it gain from protecting her?"
"Nothing… unless…"
"Unless That Aragami was once a person… but how can that be possible?" Frowning, Elena thought back about how the Aragami made its appearance, only to shake her head in frustration. "I don't know."
"M-maybe I do," they all turned to face Ruby as she kept watch over the staring Marduk. "But I heard that she… died."
"Exactly what are you saying?"
"Cause… what if she didn't die that day, but rather… became that Aragami?" Gasping, she looked over to where the Marduk is, only to frown as it began to move away from them while disappearing into the foliage. "Its eye and that cloth… Yang and I know who owned that cloak."
"Ruby," Yang muttered, fearing what her little sister's about to say as the young reaper turned to face them with teared up eyes.
"That Aragami… it has to be mom."
A/N: I have a lot to say, and it's pretty heavy on my part.
First off on my list: WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO IDEACEMBER? Well, as much as it pains me to say this, but life happened in the worst way. Basically, mom and I have been looking into apartments left and right, applying to any two bedroom apartments that became available. However, the homeowners that had them decided to go with other applicants, leaving us homeless to the point where we had to stay at our friend's place. It wasn't so bad, but with her place being a one bedroom with not much room… what can you do? Thankfully, now we have a place on lockdown: A three bedroom. Downside: About $1200 for rent, not including heat and hydro.
Second: I bought two games on sale, Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise and Code Vein. I enjoyed those games when I got them, from the baseball minigame from the former to the story of the latter. Plus, Dyaus Pita made its appearance in Code Vein, so I firmly believe that the Revenants has to have been a way to combat the Aragami, or as they call them in game, 'Horrors,' only to be locked in a struggle of their own with the Lost. Still, I should have been more productive in typing fan fiction, so I deeply apologize for that.
Review Replies:
Alexwu704: Well, things is getting ugly by the second
First, Ironwood decide to take the beast alive when he should have pull his soldiers out instead because the Marduk was playing dead, giving his troops false security and it attacks them. Good thing Raven and the others are just out of the killzone of the beast attack
Now, Elena must save Team RWBY from the Marduk, which she and the others also have to be on the lookout for Tyrian as well
Sorry about mom conditions, I hope she feels better
Good luck and Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family
Now, they are getting worse, with Tyrian being dead and Ruby putting the pieces together on who the Marduk really is. Now they got to make a plan on dealing with the Aragami threat and hopefully bring Summer back. The themes I chose for it will be prominent in a later chapter.
She's now feeling better, but life threw another wrench, which I explained already.
Stratos263: So that is how dust didn't work very smart. Yeah ironwoods get destroyed. For a general he sucks
Well, in his mind and heart, he is thinking about the public's safety. He just chose the wrong methods and chose to ignore Elena and follow his Military expertise.
Ether02:Elena is about to go berserk ain't she?
About to? She already did against Ironwood.
Nexusknight2: Well I am surprised the links I add are considered spam. Odd how that works. Hope Your mom gets well soon Blaze.
For the review I'd like to say aside from Elena meeting Ironwood and their chat and the massacre that insured when Atlas's finest soldiers attacked Marduk Rose with the latter destroying them was pretty great.
Tyrian's gonna die next chapter fighting Marduk Rose? It was that moment he knew he f****ed up
She's feeling fine now. Thanks for that Nexus.
Anyways, now they have to further think about how to handle this situation, with Ruby guessing the identity of the Marduk.
And yeah, Tyrian's dead. I like a good crazy psychopath character, and he's not it. He ain't no Zagi from Tales of Vesperia.
Misaka Phenex: I want more stupid cliffhanger.
Well, I have to have cliffhangers to pace the story, otherwise it would have been a mess. Pacing is everything.
I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. What do you think? Leave a Favorite, Follow and Review.
Oh yeah, the next update for God Eater 3 is going to feature an Ashwrought Marduk, and from what I saw… WINGS OF TOMORROW IS BACK! WHOOHOO!
With that out of the way, I'm BlazefireDrago, signing out.