Viewer Discretion Advised - Shit's about to get BLOODY
Chapter 69 – Blood Rage
Saphron
She could hear their screams, and the sound of the Horridus Morbus Thralls howling from inside of the Isolation Block. They sent shivers up her spine as she ran through the hallways to get to the locked door that blocked her way. She had never heard the sound of a Thrall before, and that sound would give anybody nightmares. They screamed just like people, and at times you could hear the person that they once were still screaming inside.
"HELP ME! KILL ME! IT HURTS!" She could hear those terrifying screams, screams of people she could barely even recognise anymore. Every now and then she could hear a gunshot as well. She turned a corner and found the heavy locked door, and she kicked it, but that did absolutely nothing whatsoever. She aimed her shotgun at the glass but she saw the civilians inside, and the heroic warriors who were fighting them all.
I can't… I could hit them… even if the shell breaks the glass.
As she looked through the glass, her eyes widened when she realised that Terra was one of the brave people fighting the poor people that had turned into Thralls. One of them roared at her and shambled closer, all of them bar Patrick Greene's Thrall were all still very weak after recently transforming. The Thrall swung its long mutated claw arm towards her, but she just avoided it, ducking under the attack.
"Terra!" Saphron screamed, she took her fire axe and she slammed it down onto the lock on the door, in the vain hope of breaking it open. She strained and grit her teeth, eventually yelling with anger as she tried to pull the axe back out, lodged into the steel. But the harder she pulled, the wooden handle snapped and splintered. The act of doing so threw her backwards, and she aimed back at the door, but she still knew that there was no way in hell that she could get through with just a shotgun.
"Saph!" Terra yelled as she saw her beyond the door. "The Operating Theatre!" She yelled, grabbing a metal pole on the ground and swinging it round and across the face of the Thrall. The jaw of the human was broken off, blood spilled from the shattered bone and it spluttered, whimpering as it staggered away from Terra.
"P-Please!" The Thrall tried to whimper as blood poured from its mouth, but then the attempt to let Terra's guard down faded and the primal rage in the monster returned as it roared at Terra and lunged for her yet again, but she used the pole to hold it back.
"I'm coming!" Saphron yelled, and she sprinted the other way, to find her way in through the Operating Theatre. The window was not bullet proof, and she could break it with her shotgun.
She just needed to get there as fast as she could, before the Thralls infect more people.
Hazel
Hazel's howl echoed throughout the Hospital grounds, and Sun's eyes were wide with shock as he stared at the man that was once so calm around them. Tock's corpse laid by his side, her throat ripped open by his teeth. Her blood still smothered his face and his shirt, staining it and drying with the cold. He slammed his fists together as he growled, eyes glowing bright red and his skin turned pale. He spun round and he caught the blade of one of the White Fang Rogues with his bare hand. It was as if his skin was covered in armour. Hazel's eyes were filled with a feral fury that terrified the Rogue to his bones.
Hazel snapped the sword in his hand with just the pressure from his thumb, before he punched the soldier in the chest. The impact was so powerful that it through him through the bushes. Hazel arched his back and he howled to the Fractured Moon, before turning to the sound of the Hyena Faunus' maniacal laugh. He drew both his axes and he spun them through his fingers as he circled Hazel, the other soldier slowly stood back up. Sun weakly tried to get back up, but he was still badly beaten by the White Fang.
Hazel glared at Sun and pointed at him. "STAY DOWN!" He bellowed, growling in his voice, before he snapped back to Kardas. Sun was not about to disobey the massive man who was not even going to need a weapon to tear these White Fang Terrorists apart. Kardas grinned as he paced back and forth, his eyes fixed on Hazel Rainart.
"Well, well… I guess we see now why the Dark Queen wanted you on a leash. You act all calm and gentle… but this is the real you! You're nothing more than a savage animal." Kardas laughed, and Hazel was shaking with unending rage, blood dripped from his bristly facial hair that he had grown.
"I… warned… you." He growled, exhaling through his nose like a bull.
"And now, we're gonna kill you." Kardas assured, laughing, and the White Fang Rogues charged straight for him. They yelled with anger and misplaced valour as they swung their melee weapons at him, whilst the others who had their guns stayed back. There were approximately ten of them, and Kardas. Corsac was still with Yang, meaning that they were outnumbered – but not outgunned. One of the Rogues took his axe and swung it down towards Hazel's head, but he caught the man's wrist, and he ducked under the incoming attack.
His hand was so massive it pretty much swallowed the Rogue's wrist. The Rogue who swung his sword at Hazel staggered past, whilst Hazel lifted the first Rogue off the ground. He slowly squeezed his arm tighter and tighter. The soldier screamed in agony as his bones in the arm began to be crushed into powder. Hazel brought the Rogue down to the ground with immense force, sending cracks spreading through the ground like roots from a tree. Winded, the half dead soldier whimpered as his limb, broken, arm flopped onto the ground. But Hazel was not done with him yet, he grabbed his other arm and he pushed his boot against his chest and he pulled with all his might.
Skin and muscle tissue tore, and the bone in his shoulder slowly popped and crunched, before snapping clean off. The White Fang Rogue shrieked horrendously from the agony as his thick crimson blood sprayed from the arm and his open shoulder, Hazel swung the arm round and he beat him to death with it. Bashing his head in with his arm until it was hanging from loose tendon, and the side of his head had caved in. Blood was everywhere, splattered across Hazel's shirt.
Sun was seeing the inner monster… this was what Hazel was afraid of. The very taste of blood, it made Hazel loose all sight of good in the world – and turned him into a vicious monster. The Rogue Swordsman picked himself back up and he aimed his sidearm at Hazel, firing bullets at him, but his semblance… the Blood Rage… it seemed to make him invincible for a short amount of time as well. But not in the same way as Mazen's invulnerability, he still would take damage but he would heal instantly, a lot like Kannix's in fact. However unlike Kannix, he did not feel pain, not at all.
He felt nothing at all.
Just rage.
Uncontrollable, Primal Rage.
The bullets punctured into his broad muscular frame, but they did not stop him at all. He just walked closer and closer to him, even when he shot up to his face, he was regenerating so fast that it did not even kill him. All that pain did… was piss him off even more.
He stopped the barrel of the gun from firing with his hand, staring down at the short White Fang Rogue, eyes burning red. The soldier shook with horror in his widened eyes as Hazel pushed him down to his knees. A soldier jumped onto his back and stabbed his daggers into Hazel's back. He snarled with rage, and he reached over his back and grabbed the soldier by his head, and he threw him off. The soldier crashed against the edge of the wall, but when he turned back to the soldier, Kardas suddenly jumped at him.
The laughing Hyena slammed both axes into Hazel's chest, digging them deep with maniacal eyes. Hazel snarled from the pain, before he kicked Kardas in the chest. That attack threw the Hyena from his chest, and he ripped the axes from his ribs. His aura swiftly healed him again, and he threw the weapons down on the ground, before he charged Kardas and slammed his fist into his face. Kardas tumbled across the ground from the sudden and painful punch. Kardas crawled back from Hazel, nervously giggling as he backed off. Kardas stared at Sun who was taking cover, watching as the massive man tore the men apart.
Kardas narrowed his eyes. "Kill the boy!" Kardas yelled, and one of the men sprinted straight at him with his sword. Hazel snapped round, clenching his fists together so tightly that blood ran down his wrists from opening the skin. He sprinted after the White Fang Rogue and he dragged him away from Sun. He grabbed the sword and he stabbed the soldier in the face over and over again, snapping the blade ever time it hit the ground on the other side of his skull. The soldier shrieked from the pain at first, but pretty soon he was dead. But Hazel never stopped pounding that sword into his skull, not until the blade was gone… and he was only holding the hilt.
He dropped the hilt by the caved in skull of the Rogue, his brains carved apart and blood all over the courtyard. He turned and heard the sound of multiple rifles click as they aimed at him. He may be able to take bullets with his semblance engaged, but there was one fatal flaw with his semblance.
He can only take so much damage before this invulnerability wears off, and if they spray him with bullets, it could fade away much faster. So he turned to the bench that they were sat at earlier and he grabbed it, holding the metal table up by the seats, using it as a shield. The three armed soldiers continuously opened fire on him, but the bullets just bounced off the table as he walked towards them. He snarled with immense hate, before he twisted round and launched it at them with all his might. It shot at them, and smashed into them, knocking the three of them off their feet, and breaking their rifles.
Dazed they tried to get back up, and Hazel sprinted at them, punching another one across the face so hard it snapped his neck. He picked up one of the soldiers and he screamed with horror as he dug his fingers into his ribcage, breaking the bones and blood spewed from the holes. And he yelled with all his might, and ripped the man's torso open, blood sprayed out from him, all over Hazel as he tore the man in two with his hands. He dropped the massacred body on the ground, before he punched straight through the back of the other, and grabbed onto his spine. With Feral Rage he ripped his skull and spinal cord out from his back, holding the cord and skull covered in blood.
He howled to the sky with endless rage in his heart, eyes glowing as red as a Demon's. His skin was white as a sheet, like he was sick… sick with anger. He dropped the spine and skull of the soldier, blood covering his hands, turning to the other soldier, and he picked up the rifle and he held it over his head, bellowing as he pounded the stock into his face, over and over again. Slowly breaking the man's skull apart, and Sun's eyes were wide with horror. It reminded him… of Oobleck… of what Vir Nominis Umbra did to him with that claw hammer that night.
He saw flashes images again, of Umbra's evil smile as he beat their friend to death right in front of him, the amount of gooey blood that hung from the broken hammer after he was finished. Ever since that day? Sun was terrified of seeing that much blood. He looked away, unable to listen to their screams… or Hazel's.
This was not the man who killed his parents, that man made sure they died swiftly and felt no pain, and he hated himself for it. This? This was the thing that Hazel was terrified of, the power that lingered in him. The beast…
Hazel had already killed six… no… seven of Kardas' men, Tock included. Now there were only three other of his Rogues left, and of course the Hyena Faunus himself. He picked his axes up and he sprinted towards Hazel and he jumped at him, but Hazel swung his arm round and slammed it into Kardas' chest. That attack sent the Hyena Faunus flying, crashing through one of the streetlights. The post broke in two, shards of metal and sparks bounced across the ground as he tumbled past, looking up to see his scared men trying to take on Hazel Rainart.
One of them aimed his pistol at him and he fired over and over, Hazel barely even reacted, just recoiling from the actual impact of a bullet colliding into his body. He snarled and he grabbed the pistol and pulled it from his hand, swinging round and punching him across the face with great force. He spluttered blood across the ground, then Hazel continued to beat the living hell out of him. He beat him bloody, punch after punch, it found the man's face, snapping his nose and giving him internal bleeding. Hazel grabbed him by the shoulder and with his other hand, he ripped the soldier's throat out with his hand, dropping the choking the soldier on the ground as he suffered.
Hazel turned away from him, leaving him to suffer. "P-Please! We surrender!" The last two soldiers begged as they held their hands over their heads, but Hazel ran towards them and he grabbed one of them and snapped his leg with his arms, bending it the other way, causing the bone to erupt out from his thigh. He shrieked from the immense pain that he felt as his hot blood ran down his leg. He then grabbed a metal pole that was left here from the construction teams and he pushed it through his gut, running it through him. He spluttered in agony, before Hazel stood over the man who was held above the ground by the pole of metal, and he stamped down on his head, so hard that it snapped his neck, spine and killed him instantly, folding him backwards.
The last White Fang Rogue ran for his life, but he sprinted after him. "NO PLEASE! I'M SORRY!" He wailed, only for Hazel to grab him by his head, and he dragged him back to the courtyard, and he slammed his face into the ground over and over again, slowly crushing his head, splattering it against the ground.
"I! WARNED! YOU!" He bellowed with unending hatred for him, determined to protect Sun and Yang at all costs, even if that cost was his own humanity. He brought the man's head down one more time, and his head exploded like a melon, brains and blood splattered everywhere. Hazel rose back up, and he turned, his eyes widened as he saw Kardas sprinting towards Sun, with his axe in his hands.
He grabbed Sun and held the axe to his neck, Sun spat blood from his previous beating. Kardas stared at him with that same smile on his pathetic face, and Hazel glared at him. "Let him go." He growled, and he laughed.
"I think not. I told you how this ends, handsome boy over here is gonna die. Gonna leave a nice present for his pretty girlfriend – and after I'm done with you? I think I might just take her… I wonder if Belladonna's scream like the girls in prison?" He wondered with a grin.
That was it…
… not only was he a killer… but a raper as well. Sun seemed to harden himself as well, pushing the horror of what Hazel turned himself into aside. Sun reached down into his pocket… and Hazel saw what he had. It was just a fork for when he had dinner, but he still had it with him. Sun nodded and Hazel nodded back – just seeing Sun was enough to keep him from being blinded by his rage.
Sun took his fork and he stabbed it right into Kardas' right eye, blood sprayed from his eye and he released the Monkey Faunus. "YOU'LL NEVER LAY A FINGER ON MY GIRLFRIEND!" Sun yelled, and Hazel grabbed Kardas by the hair and he smashed him down against the ground. Kardas wailed in pain, and Hazel punched him across the jaw, knocking his teeth out. The teeth landed in front of him, and Sun made sure he watched this monster die…
"You like laughing?" He snarled with hatred. "You liked hearing those girls scream?" He asked, as he brought his thumbs over Kardas' eyes and held his skull. "Then how do YOU SCREAM?" He bellowed, pushing his thumbs down into his eyes. His eyes burst and blood poured out, and the high pitched screech emerged from Kardas as the indescribable pain erupted throughout his body. His arms and legs kicked and swung as he wailed, blood poured from his mouth and eyes, and Hazel made sure he suffered before he slowly built up the pressure in his skull.
Hazel roared at him with unending fury, before he collapsed Kardas' whole skull, splattering it everywhere, and Sun gasped, covering his face as the brain matter went everywhere. Hazel took his hands from the dead Hyena Faunus, completely unable to recognise him. Sun stared at Hazel, then at the corpse of Kardas, and all the Rogues…
Only one remained.
He stared at Sun and he stood back up. "I'm… saving Yang…" He growled, his semblance was still in control over him, but he could see through the red just enough to speak. Sun stood up, holding his side as he looked at Hazel and the corpses of them. Sun spat blood and saliva down onto the corpse of Kardas.
"Motherfucker got what he deserved. Don't ever threaten the girl I love…" He snarled, before they walked away.
The Laughing Maniac was dead…
… and now it was only Corsac Albain left.
Yang
Corsac dragged Yang by the blade of his Spiralling Dagger, and he threw her across the ground. She held her metal hand to her bleeding shoulder, it hurt so bad… like a burning hot brand on her body. But she stared through her messy blonde hair at Corsac who stared at her. She held her stomach and she slowly stood back up, until Corsac kicked her in the mouth, splitting her lip. She collapsed to the ground and she clenched her hand into a fist, her metal wrist slowly opened to reveal Ember Celica… she was not completely defenceless.
She stared at Corsac… and she still hoped they could get out of this without one of them being a corpse at the end of this. "Ruby… was left no choice! She told me what happened, Oscar killed your brother because he was a lunatic! He left them no choice!" Yang yelled at Corsac, and the Albain Brother scoffed, pointing the blood soaked blade at her face.
"He was my brother! The one thing I ever wanted to protect! And I failed… the only thing I can do now, is to make the killer feel the same pain. I will kill you, then Ruby Rose… and after that? When Oscar Pine knows how it feels to lose everything? Then I will kill him." Corsac snarled, and Yang scoffed.
"You're doing this… to get to him?" Yang was surprised to say the least.
"You Humans… are all vermin, you have brought us all to heel countless times! Hunted us like dogs! So for that, you will be butchered like pigs in a pen! But first? I'm gonna make sure you die screaming, you do not have the right to die in peace." Corsac growled in anger, Yang knew that he was too far gone to be reasoned with. He made his decision and was not about to change it.
Someone was going to die here, it was either Yang Xiao Long… or Corsac Albain.
Corsac took his Spiralling Dagger and he thrusted it towards Yang's spine, only for her to spin round and stop the blade with her armoured metal arm, staring straight at him with flaring lilac eyes. She jumped up and punched up his jaw with her bare fist, knocking him back. She staggered and coughed from her affliction, but she could still fight thanks to sparring and the help of Starla Schnee. She held up her fists, staring down Corsac who circled her, drawing his second blade.
"How long do you think you will last against me with no aura, human?" He snarled, and Yang just rolled her eyes.
"Man, just shut the hell up." She sighed, and they both rushed each other. He stabbed at Yang, but she moved her head aside, just getting cut across the cheek, and she stopped the other blade by catching his wrist. She gripped his arm tight and with her cybernetic augmentation she backhanded the Fox Faunus, a loud metallic clap erupted from the sound of metal hitting flesh. He staggered away from her and Yang aimed Ember Celica at him, firing a couple shots at him.
He ran as quickly as he could, avoiding the incoming shards of shell shrapnel that cut through the metal walls like knives through soft meat. He jumped and rolled, before he blasted flames at Yang. She gasped and she held up her cybernetic arm, stopping the flames from getting close. But the heat was unbearable, with no aura to shield against the flames she could not stay there for long. She ducked and rolled out of the killer's way. As she turned, her eyes widened when she heard the approaching yell from Corsac. He jumped and brought both dagger down at him, so she turned and grabbed the long damp wooden plank, and she swung it into the side of his head.
The wood exploded, softened from exposure and he was thrown into the building that was next to them. The walls collapsed, and she walked towards the building, keeping Ember Celica loaded. "Listen, Corsac – it does not have to end like this. Come on, let's just talk about this!"
"Did you talk to Tyrian?" He asked her, and she fell silent… realising that sadly – she really did understand how Corsac felt. "No… I thought not. You went straight for the kill, I've done my homework on you, Xiao Long. And I know what Ruby Rose has become, do you really think she is still that little girl you raised? Whilst your father cowered with grief?" He asked her, she looked around inside of the dark room – she knew he had the advantage, some Faunus had Night Vision, and Faunus that had Fox Traits had this ability.
But she did not.
"Don't talk about him… I know how you feel, Corsac. But believe me, this will not make you feel better! I did not hunt Tyrian down, he came for us. He destroyed our home, all our memories and pictures of our mom. Our dad…" Her voice was soft and heartbroken, knowing she didn't have any pictures of her father anywhere. "He left us no choice, but you do, Corsac. Just stop this." Yang begged her.
"My brother… was all I ever had. I promised I would keep him safe… if your sister and her boyfriend had not killed him… I could forgive them hurting him, or me… but this? This I cannot forgive. It's the way it has to be – you know that." Corsac told her. "You would do the same."
Corsac suddenly erupted from the darkness behind her and he stabbed her in the back, through the back of her shoulder. Yang yelled in pain as she felt that long blade puncture deep into her back, she reached back and grabbed him by his head, and threw him over her shoulder. His red hood fell down and showed his face… the thick beard he had formed after letting himself go, long uncared for dark hair.
He was tired… looked like he hadn't slept for weeks.
"Please, Corsac… I do not want to kill you." Yang begged him as she kept Ember Celica trained on him.
"What do I have left? Tell me that." Corsac asked her, she stared at his eyes and saw his pain… his grief. She looked at him and she sighed.
"You're life… the chance to change." Yang suggested.
Corsac scoffed. "It's too late for that, Yang. You know how this ends… one of us will not be returning from this night." Corsac told her as he spun his daggers through his fingers. Yang rubbed the blood that leaked from her back. "The question is who?" He said.
Yang sighed, she knew now that there was no coming back for Corsac Albain, he was going to have to die if she ever wanted to see her baby sister again. Yang raised her fists, it hurt to lift her bare arm… but she could still do it… for now. Corsac shot towards her and he blasted wind and fire down at Yang, and she held up her cybernetic arm, the yellow pain started to blacken from the flames that burned against it, the wind pushed her across the ground, but she managed to roll out of the way, and she punched Corsac across the jaw with her metal fist. He ducked down from her second punch and he went to stab her in the stomach, but she brought her metal fist down into that arm, causing him to drop the dagger.
The blade bounced across the floor and Yang punched Corsac in the face, knocking him back, the Albain Brothers never really had the strongest individual auras… but that was their semblance. When they fought together they amplified each other's auras – without Fennec… Corsac was already running low on aura. The Albain Brother growled as he felt his thin aura getting weaker whilst Yang kept her fists up.
He stared at her, but then he smirked, and he threw his knife straight at Yang, her eyes widened and she lifted her cybernetic arm, and the blade lodged into Ember Celica, trapping the mechanism from being able to fire. She staggered back, sparks flew from her badly damaged metal arm, staring past it to see Corsac charge her again, and he tackled her to the ground, punching Yang in the face over and over again.
"Fennec will be avenged! He will get the justice that he deserves! Starting with you suffering the same fate!" Corsac yelled with rage as he took his hands and he clamped them around Yang's slender neck. She gasped as he began to strangle her, she punched at him but he had the advantage over her.
And without her Aura… she could not engage her semblance.
Hazel and Sun needed to get there as fast as they could.
Glynda
The Hospital was in a time of extreme crisis, the Thralls that were remaining – nine now – were getting faster by the second. Glynda gasped as one of the Thralls that was shambling towards her dodged her blast of powerful purple gravity dust. The pulse blew the gurney behind it over and it leapt towards her with a bone chilling howl, slashing its long bony claw arm at her face. She rolled out of the way and the mutated patient crashed and toppled through the tables with medical supplies sat on them.
The Thrall roared at her, blood pouring from its mouth, and in its voice she could hear the terrifying voice of the person it once was. "HELP ME! PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!" The Thrall begged, holding one hand up, acting as if it was still a person. The voice then deformed back into the demonic roar that they make and it jumped straight at Glynda again, and this time she hit her target. The Gravity Dust blasted the creature high up into the air, and it crashed against the roof.
The Thrall drove its clawed arm into the wall to save itself from the damage caused from hitting the ground. It looked up and saw that Patrick – the Alpha – was stood in the rafters as well, roaring viciously, commanding the others to continue the attack. It was clear how it worked now, the first of a Pack of Thralls to turn would be the leader – the Alpha, so to speak – and was a little more intelligent than the rest, able to lead them like a commander.
The Thrall jumped down towards Glynda, only to be shot in the side by Terra with her pistol. The Thrall grunted and dropped out of the air, crashing down the stairs. It limped as it tried to get back up, but Glynda held it up with her Telekinesis Semblance, and she smashed it's head against the wall with all her might, killing it right then and there. She was not the only one fighting the infected inside of the Isolation Wards though.
Victor, Terra, Neptune, Professor Peach and many others were doing the same. Peach spun her Hardlight Dust whip through her fingers before she swung it towards one of the Thralls that was clawing at the locked gates at a mother and her son, who were both screaming in fear from the monster. The Lasso wrapped around its throat and she threw it towards her, and with the other Hardlight Dust gauntlet she had, she conjured a Sword. Glynda and the rest of the Huntsmen and Huntresses who worked at Beacon described her as a Technomancer. She was like a Sorceress but she used technology instead of magic.
She swung the Hardlight blade through the Thrall's torso, killing it instantly. The halved body crashed to the ground with a heavy thud, whilst Terra kept her eyes on the ceilings, knowing that Patrick was lurking up there. She could see the blood from his arm and his mouth falling from the ceiling where he was moving. She wiped the sweat from her burning eyes to find the monster, every now and then seeing the glimmer of glowing red eyes up in the darkness, but she could not get a good shot.
Terra was no soldier, she was an engineer – and firing a gun was never her forte – and even if she was tactically trained, none of them had the ammo to waste. This was a Hospital, not a Military Base.
Neptune continued to keep his rifle aimed at Maya's Thrall in the net, still stuck there. Every single moment that he heard the sound of Weiss choking on her own blood… it utterly terrified him. He rushed forward and aimed at Maya's head, it broke his heart that he had to aim the rifle at her head. Just yesterday he was talking to her about what kind of dress and shoes he should buy Weiss for their anniversary… she was always the best person to ask, since she was a fashion model.
But he had to take the shot, only he could not take the risk.
There were others down there, even if he hit her in the head and killed her, the round could hit someone downstairs. And the other risk was just as dangerous – what if he missed? What if he hits the bag by accident and destroys it? That's it, Weiss is dead, he did not have time to look for a new one.
No, that was the only way to save his girlfriend.
He jumped onto the net and he transformed Trishula into its bladed form to try and kill her without damaging the bag. Unaware that Patrick was looming overhead, snarling viciously as he stared down at him. His eyes widened when Patrick's blood fell upon his shoulder, he looked up and saw the Alpha Thrall glaring at him. "Hey!" Terra yelled, she hit the barrel of her gun against the stairs and she fired up at Patrick. The bullet missed but it was meant to simply get Patrick's attention off Neptune. "Quick, Neptune!"
Patrick leapt through the rafters like an Orangutan through the Amazon Rainforest, before landing right in front of Terra, staring straight at her with blood drooling from his jaws. He snarled at her, and she aimed her pistol, firing at him, but the Thrall rushed her. She gasped and she pushed the barrel of her gun horizontally into his jaws. But the claw was the real threat, he stabbed at her, just missing her thin frame, until the purple dust surrounded his body.
"Get off her!" Glynda yelled, throwing Patrick away from her. But the Alpha Thrall dug his claw arm into the wall and climbed back up into the rafters. They could not shoot up their either, if they hit the wrong wires, it could cause a power outage. They could not risk that, not once. Glynda pursued when Peach nodded her head with Victor aiming his pistol ahead, reloading it swiftly, showing his history in the Special Tasks Group.
They still had eight to go, and they were lining up. "You ready for this, Victor?" Peach inquired curiously, and Victor smirked.
"Been a while since I had a good fight." He answered, pointing his handgun forward and firing it at the Thralls. The one he aimed at slid across the floor and jumped towards him. He aimed it up at the head of the screeching monster, and he closed one eye, and fired. The bullet shot straight through the Thrall's skull. The Thrall crashed into the ground next to him, and Peach spun her Hardlight whip round, and a second charged towards her. She rolled out of the way and threw it, wrapping the whip around the neck of the Thrall. She yelled with anger as she twisted round, and threw the Thrall into the one that was running up behind her.
Both of them crashed to the ground, so she used her remaining Hardlight Dust to form a pair of long chained hammers. She launched one of them forward and hit the Thrall square in the chest, killing it instantly. The black flesh that infected their body faded away into smoke, and she brought the other down over her head with a yell, crushing its skull in one impressive attack.
Three more dead.
Four more to go, including Patrick.
Terra aimed down the sights of her pistol as one of the Thralls charged towards her, it bounced from side to side, dodging her incoming bullets, and she turned, her eyes were wide and then she smirked with inspiration. She grabbed the circular saw blade, designed for cutting off limbs if necessary, and she threw it with all her might. The blade spun and dug right through the skull of the Thrall, it staggered back, barely still alive, and she finished it off with one shot to the head.
Terra blew the smoke out with pride. "First try." She sighed a smile, until she heard the sound of a shotgun fire, and the window shattered in the Operating Theatre. Saphron ran in and she aimed her shotgun and blew the chest of a Thrall wide open, knocking the creature down to the ground. Terra's eyes widened and she ran to her beloved, hugging her tight and kissing her passionately. "The hell are you doing in here?" She stammered with fear for her health.
"Couldn't stand by and do nothing…" Saphron told her with a smile, Terra shook her head with frustration.
"Arcs and your courage." Terra chuckled.
"You're an Arc too." Saphron reminded, and Terra smirked.
"Guess I am." She said as she posed with her pistol, until they turned and saw that Glynda was still taking on Patrick. He was using the rafters like a Spider Monkey, impossible to land a hit on as he moved ever so quickly towards her. She ran up the stairs and kept her gaze on the darkness, before he landed down behind her and he slashed his claw at her. She blocked the attack with her Crop, keeping the monster back. It snarled viciously at her as it moved closer and closer, leaping forward and biting at her. She rolled aside and backed up into the other Operating Theatre…
… the one with the Incinerators.
She turned and saw one of them was still open from the last body that they had to burn. She stared back at Patrick as he stood in front of her. "I'm sorry." She sadly said to him, wishing that he could have made it a little longer. Patrick Greene was gone – there was only one thing to do for him now.
Put him down.
Patrick roared at her as she stood in front of the Furnace, and the Thrall leapt at her once last time, Glynda dodged him by moving aside, and Patrick fell straight into the Furnace. She ran back and before he could climb out, she slammed the door and locked it shut. She could hear the Thrall roar as it clawed against the heavy iron door. She then cranked the heat up to the max, and the Thrall roared with rage, burning away into dust. Glynda squinted her tear eyes shut… having to kill yet another innocent.
He was a fool – but not an evil man.
Just a man who wanted to be with his family.
There were only two thralls left now, excluding Maya who was still restrained by Neptune who had her held down, forcing her down pretty much with Trishula. The Thrall snarled with anger as he held the infected one down, desperately trying to pull the Respirator from her mouth.
Beneath him, Terra and Saphron were both still fighting the last remaining Thralls. Saphron aimed her Shotgun and she blew the head off the second to last Thrall, killing it instantly. But the last Thrall looked up and it started sprinting up the stairs to ambush Neptune. Saphron gasped. "Neptune! Look out!" She yelled, so Neptune took Trishula and he pressed his boot down on the chest of Maya to keep her restrained.
The long stave collapsed down into his rifle form, and with one aim he aimed at the leaping Thrall and he fired it, launching a powerful blue projectile that burned through the eye of the Thrall. The top of its head exploded and the Human-Grimm Hybrid went limp and crashed into the netting behind him. He lowered Trishula and he sighed, looking back at Maya as he stabbed the blade through her head.
All ten of the Thralls… were dead.
But Weiss was still choking to death, and Neptune heard her suffering, and Victor ran up the stairs to help him. "Go! Help Weiss, I'll get the bag!" Victor yelled, Neptune wasted no time, he holstered his weapon and sprinted back to her cell. He slid across the ground and saw her face… she had coughed up so much blood and her face was turning blue from a lack of oxygen.
"SHE'S GOING BLUE!" Neptune screamed with fear.
"Clear her airway!" Victor yelled as he sprinted back to where they were, so Neptune gently held his girlfriend's shoulders and turned her over. Her blood leaked from her mouth but it helped her breathe a little bit. She gasped, mouth agape and eyes wide, barely able to stay conscious, but she was fighting. Victor got the Respirator that they got from Maya's corpse and he prepared it. "Roll her over, keep her mouth open." Victor ordered.
Victor held the gear ready and Neptune did as he was told. "Hold her arms down." Victor also added, so that was what he did. He gently put his knees onto Weiss' arms so then her body does not thrash around. "Come on, Weiss – come on, honey, you know how this works." Victor told her as he carefully inserted the breathing tube down Weiss' throat, pushing through the blood and getting air through to her lungs so then she could breathe.
"Come on, Snow Angel, please…" Neptune begged her as he looked down at her as she suffered, Victor squeezed the airbag over and over again, to act like a lung.
"Just stay with us… stay with us… stay with us." He repeated it, getting softer spoken as Weiss gently began to relax, and her choking panic started to fade away. Her eyes slowly closed and her body went into a soft rest mode… after so much panic, her body needed to rest.
Relief pulsed through their bodies as they saw Weiss become stable again, and Victor looked at Neptune. The boy who was a victim of his nephew's crimes… he patted his shoulder with a smile. "She'll be okay… for now… she is going to need that Respirator on from now on… until they get back with that Violet."
Neptune nodded his head.
Glynda walked past their cells, the blood of so many innocents splattered on her arms as she looked around, and she sat down by the cell that once belonged to one of these people. She stared at her hands… tears streamed from her eyes… and she broke down, sobbing softly on her own.
It hurt…
… she became a Huntress to protect people.
But that job becomes much harder when the Grimm Threat is something you cannot see, until it kills them.
The Outbreak was under control but with the people in the condition that they were in? Another one was bound to happen very soon… but the Expedition Teams were very close to the Embered Grove.
They just need to get past Arcturus Base first.
Sun
Sun and Hazel sprinted through the darkness, and they could see the building where Yang was being strangled by Corsac. Hazel roared as he charged towards Corsac and grabbed onto him, swinging round and launching the Albain Brother across the courtyard. The Brother drove his hands down into the ground, slowing himself down and staring at Hazel who glared at him. "Get out of my way, Rainart!" Corsac yelled, looking around to see the scaffolding build onto the side of the Hospital.
Where they were in the process of building a whole new wing at the time, so then they could look after more people. Corsac circled round Hazel and he kept his eyes on the blade that was by his side. "You will not hurt anybody else." He growled, whilst Sun tended to Yang. She gasped for air, bruising had formed around her neck where Corsac was choking her with his hands.
"You're alright, Yang. We'll stop him." Sun assured as he stood back up and he held his fists up to back Hazel up.
Hazel's Blood Rage began to wear off, as his red eyes dimmed and the rage in him started to dial down. "Enough of this, Corsac. Revenge will not bring your brother back, it won't bring my daughter back." Hazel told Corsac as he held his hand up, and Corsac scoffed.
"Look at yourself, Rainart! Covered in the blood of my comrades? I heard what you did to them from here, I heard them begging for mercy. But you showed them none." Corsac growled and Hazel stared at him with narrowed eyes.
"They chose their own fate." Hazel snarled. "The moment they decided to follow a man like Kardas. But you still have a way out, this does not have to be how your story ends."
Sun stood behind a pile of cardboard boxes, old medical equipment ones that were shipped in for this Hospital. Corsac laughed, staring at Sun and back at him. "No it doesn't – but I don't care. Yang Xiao Long dies, and if any of you try and stop me then you will die as well. Starting with YOU!" He yelled with rage, kicking his dagger up into his hand and blasting a fireball into the supports of the Scaffolding. Hazel looked at him and his eyes widened.
"Ha! You missed!" Sun scoffed, but Corsac grinned.
"Oh, no I didn't." He assured, the scaffolding came apart and the metal snapped from the heat, causing it to tip and crash over Hazel. He grunted as the heavy poles and wooden planks fell upon him, Hazel was trapped underneath it and he yelled with anger and pain, pushing his hands against the floor to try and get back up. His dagger was right in front of him, and Corsac spun round, slamming his elbow against Sun's face, knocking him back.
"NO!" Hazel yelled desperately, but Sun hooked his arm around Corsac's neck, taking him off the floor and bombing him down against the ground. Sun slammed the hand that held that dagger over and over again until he released it. Sun took that chance and he threw it into the nearby river, washing it away. He turned back to Corsac and punched him in the face, over and over, bruising his face that was unprotected from his broken aura.
Corsac caught Sun's fist and he rolled over and landed on top of him. Corsac brought his fist down and knocked Sun against the ground. He stood above him and he rolled his sleeves up. "You didn't have to get involved in this conflict, Wukong… all you had to do was let me kill Yang. But now? Now you have to die." Corsac growled as he grabbed Sun by the throat and slowly crushed his windpipe.
Sun gasped for air, holding onto the strong arms of Corsac Albain, struggling as air barely managed to enter his lungs. Hazel's eyes widened and he looked back at his trapped leg. There was nothing he could do… not physically anyway. Yang tried to get up but she was still weak from being choked herself. Corsac's teeth were viciously gritted together as he tightened his grip around Sun's throat, slowly choking him to death.
Sun gasped and wheezed for air, the edges of his eyes started to darken, slowly being forced into unconsciousness by Corsac. He turned and faintly saw Hazel, who pushed his Dagger towards Sun, and it slid right up within reaching distance to him. Sun stared at the blade – the very one that murdered his parents – and he desperately reached for it. Every time his hand touched the blade, he could see it all again.
Hazel crushing his father's throat.
Hazel driving that dagger through his mother's heart…
It all came back, but it did not matter anymore. He did not forget a word that Hazel said, and he knew the man wanted to make things right. Sun reached out, and the thoughts kept echoing in his mind.
Don't let their deaths be for nothing!
Don't let their deaths be for nothing!
DO NOT LET THEIR DEATHS BE FOR NOTHING!
Sun felt the cold hilt and he tightened his grip around it and he stared up at Corsac – who was too far gone to be saved. He brought the huge blade up and drove it straight through Corsac's neck. The Last Albain gasped from the agony as the blade cut clean through, blood sprayed from both sides as Sun pulled it cleanly from his neck.
Corsac held his hand against his bleeding throat, coughing and choking on blood as he staggered across the ground. He stumbled, and his eyes became distant as his claret stained his clothes…
… and then he collapsed, falling through the cardboard boxes with a heavy thud.
His eyes were lifeless… and Corsac died here… between Hazel and Sun.
Yang weakly limped out from the shed he nearly killed her in, and Hazel managed to pull himself from the collapsed scaffolding and he approached Sun. He was in a bad way, but he could easily survive it with some medication. Sun stared up at Hazel, blood stained his hand and he continued to grip the dagger.
"Sun…" Hazel softly begged him as he stood above him with tears in his eyes. Sun had the same tearful eyes. "Sun please… just… let me help you…"
Sun looked up at him… he sniffled and he cried, releasing the dagger and finally letting Hazel help him. Hazel scooped him up into his arms and lifted the young man up. He carried Sun carefully, and he held Yang's hand as he helped her out from the shed. She could still walk luckily, just needed something for the pain and the bruising around her throat.
Hazel walked away… but he stopped and sighed, looking back at Corsac's body that was left behind.
There was still one more thing he had to do…
Hazel
The next morning…
The same time as those in Arkhonex were preparing to assault Arcturus Base, Hazel was digging multiple graves by himself. The bodies that had turned into Thralls had to be burned, they could not risk the spread of Horridus Morbus. The crowd at the fences had calmed down thanks to the Witches of the Restless Marshlands, they managed to calm them down before a riot broke out.
And the situation for now was secured.
Hazel used the shovel and he dug the holes for all their dead, those who were killed by Thralls and those who died because of the White Fang…
… and…
… the White Fang Rogues themselves.
As he buried the people who caused this outbreak in the first place, and tried to kill Yang, the Undertaker approached him with its own shovel. It looked at him with confusion as he gently buried Corsac Albain's body. "What are you doing?" The Undertaker asked him, and Hazel paused, still covered in the blood of these very people of which he brutally killed.
"Burying the dead." He replied.
"But these people… they were our enemies, were they not?" The Undertaker asked with confusion.
"Yes, they were." He answered sombrely.
"Then… why? Why bury our enemies?" Undertaker questioned, and Hazel paused, stabbing the shovel into the dirt.
"Because… I believe that it does not matter how life forges you. Whether you are good or bad… as long as we have the honour to bury the dead, good or evil? That makes us better than them… helps us remember that we still have good in our hearts." Hazel told the Undertaker, before continuing to bury Corsac's body.
The Undertaker approached, and it helped him, burying his body and all the bodies of the White Fang Rogues, one after the other. Even Kardas and Tock.
When they finished, Hazel paid his respects and he closed his eyes with sadness. "I hope, Corsac… you found your brother up there… wherever you go when you die? I hope he was waiting for you." Hazel said, before he turned and walked away, leaving the graves of the fallen behind.
The Last Albain… was dead.
Author Note - Damn that was intense, and Corsac Albain is dead... the Albain Brothers are finally at an end. And man... Kardas had a satisfying death, wasn't laughing at the end, was he?! Disgusting bastard.
I adore Hazel's semblance, the Blood Rage shows the side of Hazel that Salem wanted, and how he is such a damn monster if he tastes blood. Next chapter we will be exploring his backstory with his semblance in a pretty cool scene at the beginning I can't wait to write. I loved writing his savage brutality in this chapter, the way he kills people... man... don't mess with him. I have had Corsac's death planned for SO long now, one of the oldest ideas actually, this death was originally in a very old (and bad) story I wrote. Never published it because it was a pile of poo XD But I have always loved that death, it worked so well for Hazel and Sun.
Hopefully this can be the start of something new between them, now Sun understands what Hazel meant by what revenge does to people.
And the Outbreak is contained, for now. I love writing the Thralls, they are so damn dangerous and unnerving, yet so interesting to write. The way they use their bodies and their human/Faunus bodies to their advantage. Weiss is okay for now, but she is on borrowed time.
It is all up to the Arkhonex Teams now, which means one thing.
Stay tuned for the next chapter - Onto Old Town
Please review, follow and favourite if you enjoyed (I sure did XD)
- Matt