The God of Remnant Chapter 10: Breach and Clear
" " – Dialogue
' ' – Thinking
Vale - Location
"Renewal Taekwondo" – Technique
Yang was confident in her abilities. She was confident in her speed. Her power. Her decision-making…for the most part. Yang was usually confident. Usually is what she would say because currently her confidence was being crushed right before her eyes.
When Yang first laid her eyes on her tiny opponent, she thought that all it would take was one good hit to send her to dreamland. Saying that she thought that would be a mistake, though, because she still thinks that to be true. Its just that, she couldn't land a hit to test her theory.
Yang and Neo had been fighting for only a minute, but Neo was making it clear who the top dog in this fight really was. Every punch that Yang threw, no matter how fast or powerful, only met the air that Neo previously occupied. Every grab that Yang attempted to pull off was met with a dodge and swift counter.
Re-engaging her opponent, Yang decided that if she punched faster than her opponent could dodge, there'd be no problem. With this strategy in mind, she went for a straight right hook followed by a straight left hook that both only hit air. Mixing it up, Yang lifted her right foot in an attempt to strike Neo's head.
This ended with Neo using her umbrella to hold Yang's foot in the air while she used her own foot to knock Yang off balance. With the blond off balance, Neo took the opportunity to swing her umbrella at Yang's head. The attack landed.
Yang stood up with a red mark and a scowl on her face, she growled before re-engaging. She decided to lead with a heavy left hook this time, hoping the force would at least prevent Neo from countering as easily.
Neo looked at the attack with a small smirk before spinning her body, so the attack flew by her harmlessly as she entered Yang's guard. Wrapping her left arm around Yang's to hold her in place, Neo showcased her superhuman flexibility by aiming a kick next to her own head to land another blow on Yang's face. Neo finished her combo by releasing Yang's arm, allowing the girl to back off a bit, before using the same foot to land a strong kick in her midsection. The attack sent Yang rolling away as she attempted to regain her bearings.
Neo wouldn't allow her the rest, however, as she came cartwheeling towards Yang, intent on continuing the fight. Yang shot up to her feet in response and began to engage the woman in close quarters combat. Yang began to use her weapons, each punch sending out a concussive shotgun blast. These seemed to have no effect on Neo, however, as she dodged, weaved, and used her umbrella to block all of the attempted shots.
Redirecting a particularly strong blast from Yang's right hand, neo slid into her guard once again. This time, she used the shaft of her umbrella to strike Yang's stomach, leading to Yang doubling over slightly from the force. Neo followed up by using her closed umbrella to hit Yang in the face, forcing the girl a couple steps back as she continued her assault.
Having pushed Yang against a wall of the train car, Neo held her opened umbrella between her and Yang. The smile on her face was unmistakable and it filled Yang with rage. It was a smile that reminded Yang that the woman she was fighting wasn't even trying yet.
Letting her rage guide her actions, Yang released a particularly strong blast from Ember Celica at Neo's feet. This forced the woman to reposition as she backflipped away from the blast until she was neatly seated upon a crate across the car from Yang. Her infuriatingly pleasant smile still plastered on her face.
Yang looked at this and felt her anger almost forcing her semblance to activate as she began to close the distance between her and Neo once again.
-With Seraphina and Weiss-
On the contrary to Yang, Weiss and Seraphina were having a much easier time with their opponent. Much easier as in, they were actually able to hit their opponent.
Weiss' quick movements and weapon suited to fast strikes gave her the edge in close combat over the White Fang soldier's much slower chainsaw. The man had barely an opportunity to swing his chainsaw, however, as the close quarters ensured that his swinging weapon was at a disadvantage against the stabbing rapier.
Anytime the man thought he'd have an opportunity to seriously injure Weiss, he'd find himself on the receiving end of a particularly nasty bullet infused with a random dust effect. This, of course, was courtesy of the scarily accurate Seraphina, who perfectly covered Weiss' few openings. The inopportune battle conditions left the man covered in burns and frostbite in various parts of his body from the effects of the dust. He even sported a few purple welts from the effects of gravity dust doing enough blunt damage to pierce his aura.
Currently, they were standing in similar positions to where they started. Weiss and Seraphina looked no worse for wear but the same couldn't be said about their opponent. He was hunched over using his chainsaw as a support while his breath came in hard huffs. The only thing that remained the same about him was the intense hatred that burned in his eyes at the two girls.
"You… think this is over?" The man asked between breaths, his low aura levels not doing his condition any favors.
"I'd say so, yes. Your options are to give up or we'll knock you out and let the proper authorities deal with you." Weiss coolly responded.
"I'd rather die… than have them send me back to that hellhole you Schnees call a mine!" the man yelled out with a cough following his statement.
This caused Weiss' face to falter for a minute as the man's words had more than the intended effect. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry. All I can say is that, in the future, I'll do what I can to change my family but for right now you're in my way." Weiss said as she sped towards her opponent going for the last hit.
What Weiss didn't expect was her opponent to release his weapon in order to barely dodge the thrust of her rapier, letting the weapon harmlessly fly past him. He used one of his now free hands to grab Weiss' leading wrist and give it a hard squeeze, causing her weapon to fall with a clang and a gasp of pain and surprise to leave her mouth. Using his other arm, he reached over and caught Weiss' neck in a lock and causing the poor girl to weakly struggle against his strong grip. Unfortunately for Weiss, due to the speed at which he countered and her positioning throughout, Seraphina hadn't had an angle to save her friend.
"I've got your master, so you should be a good kitty and drop your weapon before she has an unfortunate accident." The White Fang member said with a slight squeeze to Weiss' neck, causing the girl to briefly gasp for air.
Eyes filled with cold fury and cat ears standing on edge, Seraphina let out a breath before she loosened up and slowly kneeled. Slowly placing her weapon on the ground and standing back up, Seraphina even kicked the weapon to her opponent's feet and put her hands up as a sign of surrender. "Happy?" She asked in a tone devoid of amusement.
"Very! But it's too bad that I can't allow you girls to leave here." The man said as he prepped to tighten his grip around the heiress' neck.
"I thought you'd say that." Was Seraphina's cold response as the man saw her eyes glow before all he knew was darkness.
-With Blake-
As soon as Blake brandished her weapons, she and Torchwick began to fight in earnest. The man was even more slippery than she remembered as she had been unable to land a hit. The same could be said for him, though, as Blake's natural and trained agility was proving too much for the crime lord.
"Hold still!" Roman said, going for an overhead swing. This would prove to be his undoing as when his cane contacted the faunus, she disappeared. In her place now stood a perfect replica of her made of ice. The substitution not only blocked the damage, but also trapped Torchwick as he tried and failed to free his cane.
Capitalizing on the opening she created, Blake came down on the man's wrist with the sheath of Gambol Shroud. An audible crack filled the room as Roman was forced to pull his wrist back, his face the image of pain. Taking advantage of his retreat, Blake re-sheathed her weapon and held her now single weapon like a bat. Spinning once to gather momentum, she turned and landed a solid blow to Roman's chin, sending him flying into the air.
While he was stunned in the air, Blake leaped after him and unsheathed her weapon once again. Once she met Roman in the air, Blake unleashed a combo so fast that the glint of her sword was all that was visible as scratches and bruises seemingly appeared on the man's body. Ending her combo with a downwards slam, Roman's body was sent flying into the hard metal of the train with a loud thud. His groans of pain and slight movement were key signals to her that she hadn't crossed the line as she landed with a much quieter thump.
Not wanting to give him a chance to recover, Blake dashed towards the downed criminal and held her sword to his throat. The man had recovered enough by this point to mockingly put his hands up and smile at her, despite his deplorable condition.
"You know… Me and you aren't so different." Roman said in his usual playful tone, although the pain from the beating he'd received still caused an audible strain.
"Shut up." Blake responded curtly. "I need to know how to stop this train. Now!" Blake demanded, not liking the mischievous gleam that was shining in Torchwick's eyes.
-With Yang-
As Yang approached Neo, the woman smiled innocently, even tilting her head and blinking to emphasize her face. Upon reaching her, Yang decided to take the bait and send a punch towards Neo's inviting face. Expecting this, Neo used her opened umbrella to deflect the punch. Neo followed her deflection with a spin, allowing her to stand on her hands as she sent a hurricane of kicks towards Yang.
A few of the kicks hit home, but most were dodged before Yang decided to grab one of the offending appendages and send Neo flying with a throw. Neo used the momentum of the throw to casually spin into a cartwheel, standing up straight and meeting Yang's eyes with the same playful expression on her face.
Yang immediately closed the distance between them and led with shot of Ember Celica that was deflected by Neo's umbrella before returning to a punching combo. Neo skillfully deflected and parried each punch before backing up half a step, unbeknownst to the other girl. Yang, not realizing the slightly larger distance, overextended with her next punch.
This overextension allowed Neo to grab the awaiting appendage and use it as leverage to pull herself onto Yang's upper body. Neo used Yang's build against her as she began to literally dance on the girl's head with a series of spins and twists that left Yang bewildered as she tried to counter. Yang sent a stray punch flying that proved to be her undoing, as Neo capitalized on the stray attack. Grabbing onto the outstretched appendage, Neo cartwheeled off of Yang's head and used he falling momentum to send Yang flying.
Neo knew her job was done when she heard the girl's body slam against the ceiling and then the ground, her form left unmoving as she faded into unconsciousness. Grinning at her victory, Neo approached the girl and began to draw a blade hidden in her umbrella's handle, smile turning sadistic as she inched closer. Hovering her blade over the girl, Neo briefly studied her features before shrugging and letting the blade drop.
"!"
Neo was forced to grip her blade tightly as she was forced to dodge back and to the side of the girl's body, her senses screaming at her. She would prove to have moved not a second too soon as a blue dragon flew over the girl's downed form. Taking stock of the newcomer, Neo felt a chill go up her spine as she saw his emotionless face gazing at her previous opponent's condition.
"What the hell were you about to do?" Mori Jin asked in a deceptively calm voice as he began to move Yang to a safe part of the car. Neo didn't dare interrupt him as the feeling from before was engraved within her, bolting her legs to the ground.
The feeling of having an apex predator hunting you was what she had felt.
-With Ruby and Oobleck-
Letting a sniper shot ring out, Ruby dropped another paladin as its leg joint gave way to the powerful round. "Professor!" Ruby called out. "It looks like there's only one more!" She informed as she lifted her scythe, awaiting further orders.
"Good! Then let's make quick work of this one so we can move on!" Oobleck said, charging forward towards the paladin.
Oobleck used his superior speed to mount the paladin, finding a perch above the cockpit with his weapon primed. Stuffing the barrel of his staff into a space between the cockpit and the rear, Oobleck pulled the trigger. The effect was immediate as it caused a light explosion, leaving the top of the paladin on fire. With the AI going crazy, Ruby took advantage of the machine losing its priority to dash forward as well.
As soon as Oobleck ran off and got a safe distance away, Ruby used her semblance to speed towards the machine. Spinning like a top, Ruby used the sharp edge of her scythe to sever the paladin's legs. Losing its supports, it only took a second for the robot to collapse in on itself before falling off the train.
The resulting explosion reached their ears a second later, causing Ruby to change objectives after a brief celebration with Zwei. "Alright, let's move on!" She declared only to almost lose her footing as the train seemed to start shaking. "What's going on?!" Ruby yelled as she kneeled to keep her balance.
"Ms. Rose, look!" Oobleck called with a hand pointing towards the back of the train.
What Oobleck was pointing at was a series of explosions that were going on behind them. The explosions seemed to be timed as they went off in intervals, causing a controlled series of lights to flash behind them.
"They must be blowing up the tunnel…but why?..." Oobleck pondered while looking towards the display. Shaking his head, he changed gears "Change of plans. We'll have to stop this train at the end because unless this is a suicide mission, they won't have set up any explosives at the end of the tunnel." He said, restructuring the plan. "With that in mind, first we'll regroup…" He began before being cut off by the appearance of three more paladins from the back of the train. "Forget that. You'll have to meet up with your team at the head of the train while I deal with these." Oobleck said, with a gesture before charging towards the paladins.
Ruby, still unable to stand up fully from the shaking but gradually getting used to it, heard the sound of Zwei whining while he looked on at Oobleck's charge. "Go help him, I'll be fine." She reassured with a supportive pat before Zwei seemed to beam at her, charging towards Oobleck with excited barks. "Now, to head towards the front…" Ruby said as she slowly walked on shaky feet towards the front of the train.
-With Mori-
Neo didn't know exactly what to expect when she saw the monkey faunus as first. He appeared unarmed, which gave her more than a bit of confidence as she figured her weapon would give her a large advantage. She knew he was a first-year student at Beacon, so she knew generally what to expect in terms of power and speed.
This guy took her expectations and shattered them like one of her illusions.
After placing Yang against the door that he used to enter, Mori disappeared from Neo's sight. She was only given a split second to react as a kick came flying at the side of her head. Reacting fast and using her umbrella to block it, Neo was surprised when the force of the kick sent her skidding across the train car.
Before Neo could recover from the blow, Mori was upon her again. "Re: Taekwondo: Soksa!" Mori said as he sent a knee towards Neo's face. Bracing for the impact, Neo brought her forearms up and together to protect her face from the blow. The blow never came though, as she felt the wind from the attack flying over her head. Before she could retaliate, she felt her arms forcefully being pulled down by the back of his leg as she heard him call out his techniques. "Re:Taekwondo: Hoe Grab!" The calling of his technique came with a shot of pain as he brought his other knee up to impact her temple, leaving her head spinning from the contact.
Mori released her as she began to stumble back, each step looking shakier than the last. Deciding to go in for the finisher, Mori closed the distance between them before lifting his leg to strike. His confusion made it onto his face as his strike landed, only for the girl to break like glass when he struck.
Mori's eyes began to itch a little as he dropped back down into his base stance. Spotting a white shape moving towards Yang, Mori spun; He turned to find Yang left alone as the door next to her closed. His opponent seemingly ran away, leaving him alone with his unconscious friend.
The distraction of her sudden escape made him fail to notice a small black portal closing in an obscure corner of the room.
-With Neo-
Neo was moving through the train, planning on hiding out until the plan completed as that presented the highest chance of her getting away. As she moved to find a safe place to stowaway, she began to think back to the battle.
As she envisioned each of the boy's attacks, she couldn't help a smile from growing on her face. The presence she felt when he first entered the car. The speed and power with which he struck. The minimal amount of wasted movement in each technique. If only she weren't on a time limit! Then she would have taken her time to dissect his moves and crush him.
She wanted to fight him again.
One thing struck her as odd, though. When she used her semblance to escape, she had been sure to cloak herself to avoid detection on her way out.
So why had she seen the boy's yellow cross-haired pupils tracking her escape?
-In an Unknown Location-
In a random forest in the wilderness of Vale stood a female figure. Her outfit consisted of a shallow cut black and red dress with black shorts underneath, with series of beaded necklaces and a belt that wrapped around her waist and carried her weapon's sheath. Attached also is a long black object that is either fur or feathers, with a red and white bandana material like hanging from behind her. Her forearms bear red armored gauntlets that protrude outwards and black fingerless gloves. She wore black mid-thigh high leggings with red splatter patterns and black heels. She also had long black hair with a white mask, one more intricate than those of the White fang, hiding her face.
Her weapon was a long sword that was longer than one of her legs, sheathed in a black sheath. The only parts of the weapon that were visible was the black handle and a dust cylinder not dissimilar to the ones used by Weiss and Seraphina.
The woman had just finished peering through a small black portal created through the use of her semblance. The purpose of said portal was to watch the fight between Yang Xiao-Long and Neopolitan. She had been greatly disappointed in the performance of Yang and was prepared to step in when someone or rather something more interesting showed itself.
She held herself back from saving Yang like she originally planned and watched the young faunus boy ward off Yang's attacker. The display wouldn't have been anything special under normal circumstances. The boy was just a strong first year, so what? But then he actually started fighting. It wasn't so much his strength that she was interested so much as it was the techniques he was using.
The boy was using Renewal Taekwondo.
A faunus boy that fought without a weapon was interesting. A boy that fought without a weapon and used a legendary and (most importantly) dead combat art was beyond interesting. The last person she knew to have used that was rumored long dead.
Closing the portal and vacating the area, Raven Branwen proceeded with one thought in mind. She would find out what she could about this boy, for he could prove more than useful to her cause.
-With Blake-
"Tell me how to stop the train!" Blake demanded of the still-grinning Torchwick. The situation of her blade at his throat seemingly not worrying him in the least.
"Now why would I do something like that?" Roman said, almost laughing at the snarl that threatened to escape Blake's lips. "Hey, tell ya what? I'll throw you a bone. Sorry, poor choice of words." Roman said with more than a hint of amusement at his own animal imagery. "There are no brakes." He whispered just loud enough for Blake's enhanced hearing to pick up.
"What did you just say?" Blake responded incredulously at the criminal's bold statement.
"I said, there are no brakes. We had them removed before the train began moving to stop anyone from foiling our carefully laid out plan." Roman expanded, delighting in the color that drained from Blake's naturally pale face. "I've got another surprise, but you'll have to find out about that one all. By. Your. Self" Roman taunted, beginning to laugh at the expression Blake was showing him.
Roman didn't get to laugh for long as Blake's expression quickly returned to her normal stoic countenance as she brought her sheath down on his head, temporarily silencing the man. Her expression didn't match her inner turmoil at the man's words, however.
'What did he mean by another surprise?' She thought to herself.
Blake was given little time to ponder the implications of Torchwick's words as the train began to shake drastically, almost knocking her to her feet. The sound of distant explosions was not far behind as Blake's analytical mind easily pieced together what was going on.
'They're blowing up the tunnel behind us!' Blake shouted in her mind, as her body slowly adjusted to the unstable conditions of the train car.
"Blake!" she heard from behind her. Turning in the direction of the voice, Blake found Seraphina and Weiss steadily moving towards her. Seraphina looked no worse for wear but Weiss…
"Weiss! Is your neck alright?" She asked her teammate, referring to the redness marring her neck that stood out from the rest of her snow-like skin.
"I'm fine. But what's going on with the train? The explosions and shaking don't inspire too much confidence." Weiss remarked at the rapidly changing situation.
"Torchwick and the Fang are blowing up the tunnels behind us. For what reason, I don't know but we can't stop the train unless we want to die. That is, if we could stop the train. They apparently had the brakes cut before departure so we've gotta brace for the impact." Blake summed up for the other two.
"We've got no choice then. We have to get everyone together before the train collides with the city." Seraphina said, grimly noting to herself that this mission went from prevention to damage control in an instant.
"Guys!" They heard from above them before Ruby dropped down from a latch in the roof. "What's the situation?" She asked, looking at the serious expressions on the rest of the girls faces.
"No time to explain." Seraphina responded while picking up Torchwick's unconscious form. "We've just gotta group up with Mori and Yang to brace for impact." She answered before quickly moving towards the back of the train, followed by her teammates.
Moving through the train care and picking up their fallen foes along the way, it wasn't long before the group came int contact with Mori and Yang. Mori was supporting the Blonde Brawler under one of her arms as she walked with a sullen expression.
"Hey guys!" Mori called out as he spotted them approaching him. "Aren't we supposed to be heading towards the front of the train?" He asked, confused as to why everyone formed a circle around him and Yang with Weiss moving to stand at the center.
"No time! Weiss, do it!" Ruby called, causing the white themed girl to stab her weapon into the ground, forming a thick structure of ice around them. The timing was a little off as the group stood in tense silence for a couple seconds before it happened.
Mori's world became a sea of white as the loud sound of a train crashing permeated the area.
-?-
Mori had no idea where he was.
He was on the back of a stranger and was being carried… somewhere. The stranger wasn't a complete stranger, he recognized the young man as the same one who he saw when he was fighting Yang. Just who was this guy?
This identity of the young man seemed to be the least important thing at that moment as several things were amiss. Firstly, his left eye and left leg were unusable. Why, he did not know. But his leg was numb, and his eye was incapable of seeing. Secondly, the man had just dropped him and told him to run, seemingly with the intent of facing the…thing that stood before them. Was he the one that did this to him?
The man was tall and had sharp, predatory facial features to match. He had perfectly tanned skin and long purple hair that clashed in a terrifying way with his red slitted eyes. The man was also shirtless, showing off his perfectly toned, god-like physique. He was only clad in the bottom half of what appeared to have been a gi. Most odd of all were the protrusions from his elbows, which began with his skin color and ended in a dark pink reminiscent of a plant's thorns.
"How touching." The alien-like being said before flicking his right hand downward.
The action caused a large circular area of the wasteland they were located in to sink downwards, creating an arena of sorts. It seemed; he had no true intention of letting them escape.
"Now, rest in peace." He commanded, reaching forward to seemingly use that same power to end the young man between them.
He was interrupted by a long red blade piercing his abdomen, causing blood to spurt out but seemingly having no effect beyond that. Casually looking back, the man looked at the perpetrator in confusion. Mori followed the man's eyes and felt his own eyes widen at the sight before him.
It was the same large, white bodied creatures from the nightmare that granted him Kinto'un.
The alien man expressed slight annoyance at the presence of the creature, dully noting the appearance of what had to have been hundreds of the same beings. They all began to follow the first's lead and throw their swords at the young man. His response was minimal, at best, as he began to wave his arms in defense.
The arm waving served it's purpose as it created a dome of protection around the boy and started cleaving the white creatures into pieces by the hundreds. Mori could only sit and watch in awe of the raw power being shown to him. This would prove to be a mistake as a few of the swords missed their mark and were flying towards his prone form.
He was saved by the timely intervention of a brown-haired girl in glasses, however, as she tackled him out of the way with a grunt at the exertion.
"Are you alright?!" She hastily asked him, only for him to not respond as he stared at the sky. The sky that contained four red swords, spelling the end for the young teens.
Mori was shocked into further shock at the appearance of the young man that carried him appearing between him and the swords, blocking his view of them.
"What are you doing? I thought I told you to run?" He asked in a joking tone, completely unbefitting of the situation.
His smile is what broke Mori, though. The gentle smile of a man that only smiles when strictly necessary. The smile of a man that was completely content with his choice. The soft smile of his best friend. The best friend whose name he called as he saw the first blade enter his torso, launching him into a sea of black…
"DAEWI!"
-Vale City Square-
Mori shot up. A silent scream on his lips as he reached towards an overcast sky.
'Wait. Overcast? It was just the dead of night.' The confused monkey faunus thought to himself as he quickly spared a glance to his surroundings.
What he saw did not inspire confidence.
He was at the center of a clearing in the middle of the city of Vale. He was surrounded by his friends from his most recent mission on all sides, brandishing their weapons towards an encroaching onslaught of grimm. He noted the Beowolves up front backed by larger grimm such as King Taijitu and Ursai Majors ready to feast on them.
Seraphina, ever perceptive, was the first to pick up on Mori's updated condition. "Mori? Good that you're well enough to stand, but I need to know if you can fight." She asked without turning around.
Mori moved to stand next to his partner as he brandished Yeoui, this was definitely not a situation where just his taekwondo would cut it. "What's the situation?" He asked, already guessing most of it but asking purely for clarity.
"We failed our mission, so the train ended up crashing into the center of the city. We managed to get all of the civilians to evacuate but the situation is still looking bad. We were holding this area until you woke up, but now that you have; we can fight back." She quickly summarized for her partner, who stood at the ready.
"Alright. Now that we're all up, you all know what to do. Kill all the grimm and watch each other's backs! Let's Go!" Ruby called out as she led the charge towards the horde of grimm. He scythe splitting a beowolf in half signaling the beginning of the battle.
-GoR-
Ruby began her assault by jumping and aiming her weapon at the ground. Pulling the trigger released a sniper round into the ground and allowed the recoil to carry her into the air above the wave of Beowolves. Her flight path ended with her surrounded by Beowolves on all sides, but this was all according to plan.
Using her semblance and focusing the speed to her legs, Ruby began to spin while holding her scythe out from her. The effect was immediate as beowolf slices and grimm dust began to fill the air from the relentless assault. Ruby was moving so fast that she looked like a red spinning top of death as her cloak became the only thing visible of her.
Her spin ended when the area around her was clear, allowing her to wobble for a few seconds as she regained her bearings. The vomit she would release stood as proof that the 'cool spinning move' should stay on the backburner until she could figure out a way to kick the nausea that followed.
Yang began her carnage with a Death Stalker. She outmaneuvered its large claws and golden stinger by jumping onto its back. Now standing at the base of the tail, Yang swung at the Death Stalkers stinger like one would a punching bag. Her incredible strength managed to partially dislodge the stinger, leaving it hanging on the tail by a thread.
This caused the large grimm to cry out in pain as it began to writhe from side to side. Using this opening, Yang proceeded to the front side of the Stalker's carapace and loosed a shotgun blast into each of its eyes, blinding the creature.
For the finishing touch, Yang snatched the stinger from its barely maintained position on the tail and held it against the carapace stinger-side down. Taking a second to wind up, she let out her strongest punch of the day onto the stinger. Like a strong hammer to a well-placed nail, her fist impacted the stinger. The power behind her punch sent the stinger straight into the Death Stalker's head, killing it instantly.
Seeing the movement of the creature stop and its body disintegrating, Yang moved on to find her next target. Her earlier defeat still fresh in her mind as her eyes took on a hue of purple, giving her more strength to destroy her enemies with.
Weiss chose the more agile enemies that possessed less armor as her targets. She chose a pack of creeps that seemed intent on ransacking the shopping district as her first targets.
Before the creeps could enter their first store, Weiss stabbed Myrtenaster into the ground. The stab created a thin trail of ice that ended by erecting a tall ice wall in front of the group, blocking them from entering the store. The grimm looked around, seemingly confused at the sudden blockage before refocusing on the white-themed huntress-in-training.
Letting out a truly disturbing screech, the bipedal creatures began to charge the girl in masse. This was exactly what Weiss was expecting, and she let a small smile appear as her plan began to unfold. Treating the engagement like a dance, Weiss allowed herself to feel lighter on her feet than usual. This allowed her to slide past the first swipe with ease and allowed her to slide her blade between another creep with just as much ease.
This would continue for the entire group of grimm. Weiss would dodge a swipe and slide into a swift counter to take out another, she truly looked like an ice skater of death with the poise with which she moved.
Her blade finally finding the brain of the last of the creeps, Weiss used another stab of Myrtenaster and some fire dust to remove her ice creation. Her job in the area done, Weiss began to run to another area, intent on finding some more willing dance partners.
Blake, much like Weiss, chose to fight an agile opponent. The only difference was that Blake's opponent was much larger and was a solo fighter… Relatively speaking. Blake chose to face off against an Alpha King Taijitu. This species of grimm was more dangerous than a normal King Taijitu for two reasons. One, it made the regular King Taijitu look like a child in comparison. And Two, it had two heads to fight with.
This particular Taijitu had just crushed a bakery that Blake loved to visit so this had just become a personal bout for her. The creature did the honors of charging her, as she tried to think of a way to counter its two head advantage. Deciding quickly, Blake charged straight in and aimed for the space between the heads. Jumping so she wouldn't be hit by the place where they met, she instead unleashed Gambol Shroud and left a long, thin cut along the length of the creature.
The Taijitu hissed in slight annoyance from the cut but was otherwise unfazed. Coming up with an idea, Blake waited until the creature decided to charge her again and put her plan into action. Dodging to the right a little early, Blake changed the dust setting one her weapon to fire. The King Taijitu took her bait and lashed out to consume her with its left head. The creature would end up coughing smoke and writhing in pain upon consuming the clone Blake made using the last of her fire dust and her semblance.
The creature's left head was writhing in pain and caused half of the creature's body to be unresponsive as the right side was jerked along for the ride. All according to Blake's plan. Using the huge opening she created, Blake maneuvered around the creature and found her way onto the undamaged head of the creature. Using some gravity dust to compensate for her low penetration rounds did the trick as she let a shot loose into the creature's eye. The bullet backed by gravity dust shot straight through the Taijitu's right head, killing that half of the creature.
The death of half of the Taijitu's body seemed to have a large effect on the other side, causing it to lose a significant amount of motor control. The creature's previously large bouts of movement became nothing more than tiny wiggles, allowing Blake to easily kill the other side just as she handled the first.
Seraphina was moving through the city, trying to find any grimm that may have dispersed into the area and captured any civilians. Who would have guessed she'd be right on the money, finding a group of beowolves and creeps about to tear a family to shreds?
Deciding to get their attention the old-fashioned way, Seraphina did what any sensible huntress-in-training would do. She turned her weapon into its dagger form and began assaulting the grimm from the backline.
The effect was immediate as the entire group of grimm changed focus from the family to the person making minced meat out of their comrades. The family's joy at being saved and running away made the grimm less interested in them as the positive emotions made them less appetizing.
Seraphina dealt with the group in a similar way to Weiss but put her own spin on it. Every time a creep slashed or a beowolf leapt at her, Seraphina would use her semblance to slow the time around her. Within the slowed time, Seraphina would reposition and loose a shot into the offending grimm's head, ending them instantly.
The blue glowing eyes of Seraphina became a symbol of death for the creatures, as they began to disperse in numbers that didn't even allow them to regroup. Finishing off the group, Seraphina was suddenly aware of an object heading towards her at high speeds.
Turning her head, she found it to be a King Taijitu intent on swallowing her whole as it barreled down the street at insane speeds. She was about to use her semblance to dodge the attack as the range the creature was at made escape impossible. Before she could use it, however, a figure came barreling in from above.
The figure managed to smash the Taijitu's head into the ground with such force that the entire body's momentum was halted, and the quickly-disintegrating head was left in a crater.
"Are you alright?" The figure asked, turning around.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Are you a part of the reinforcements?" She asked, noting the boy's lack of a weapon.
"Yup, I'm on a team that got back early from our mission, so we were dispersed to help out here. My name's Ilpyo." The blue-haired boy said with a light smile.
-GoR-
Mori Jin was having the time of his life. After using his weapon to dispose of an imposing Death Stalker, Yeoui making quick work of its carapace, he stashed it again.
Landing a particularly strong kick to smash a beowolf's mask, Mori noticed that the grimm were beginning to give him a little space. The younger grimm were beginning to wise-up quickly, realizing that he would end them if they came within a certain range of him. Mori was more than willing to close the distance himself, though.
Before Mori could re-engage the group of grimm, he heard the distinctive noise of an airship in the air. Keeping his senses sharp but moving his eyes skyward; he was greeted to the sight of Team CFVY in the bay of an airship floating behind him.
"Hey! Velvet! Coco!" He called out while waving wildly at the two girls, causing a smirk to play out on Coco's face and a small smile to rise on Velvet's as they leapt out of the ship.
"Hey, Mori! Need some help?" Coco asked as she sauntered over to stand next to him, a box in her hand that wasn't there the last time they spoke.
"Yeah, sort of. After I killed a few of them, they started running away from me and it's starting to get annoying." He said with a slight pout.
"Don't worry about that." Coco said as she pressed a button on the box she was carrying. The box then morphed, more than tripling in size as it opened up and transformed into a hand-held gatling gun. "'cuz me and Gianduja have got this covered!" She said as she released a rain of bullets on the horde of wary grimm. Within seconds, the horde was reduced to nothing more than a fading mist, the only evidence of their existence fading with the wind.
"That. Was .Awesome!" Mori exclaimed with stars in his eyes as he marveled at Coco's beast of a weapon.
"Hehe. You haven't even seen how the rest of my team handles themselves. Speaking of, let's get to it guys!" She commanded. "Fox!" She called out to a dark-skinned boy with pale eyes. "You focus on taking out boarbatusks since you weapon's explosive effect combos well with their spines." She instructed the boy, receiving a nod in return. "Yatsuhashi!" She called to a tall, tanned tank of a man with a red great sword. "You back up Fox, and make sure that he doesn't get ran up on by any heavily armored grimm." She instructed, getting another nod before they ran off. "Coco and Mori, you're with me. We're gonna wipe out all of the stragglers because this thing is almost contained. Let's move!" She yelled out, getting confirmations in return.
-GoR-
The rest of the grimm extermination went as smoothly as one could expect. There were still a few more buildings that received damage, but all in all the attack was repelled.
The Atlesian Military had arrived soon after Team CVFY dropped in and set up a perimeter to contain the grimm. By the time, they had arrived, though, there was only a few Beowolves left to dispose of and the odd creep.
Everyone involved in the cleanup was gathered in the initial area of the breach, regrouping while Torchwick and the present Fang were arrested. Mercury and Emerald saw to the arrest of Torchwick as they handed him over to Ironwood with a patriotic salute. After doing so, they found there way over to Ruby so share in the girl's joy at their success.
Mori was standing around with Seraphina, telling her about his battles in the tunnel and his encounter with Neopolitan when he was tapped on the shoulder. Turning around, he was met with the sight of a blue-haired boy in a cloud-sleeved jacket.
"Hey, are you Mori Jin?" He asked politely.
"The one and only! What can I do for you…?" He trailed off.
"Ilpyo. Ilpyo Park." The teen finished with a hand reached for a handshake.
"Nice to meet you-" Mori began but was interrupted as he was pulled off-balance by Ilpyo, being forced to dodge a punch as he regained his balance.
"It's really nice to meet you as well." Ilpyo said as he kept attacking Mori. "You'll have to excuse me. Ever since I saw you on TV, I've wanted to try my martial arts against your Renewal Taekwondo." Ilpyo said as he landed a high kick against Mori's blocking forearm.
This turned out to be the incorrect response as Mori suddenly found himself flipped upside down as he and Ilpyo tumbled to the ground. Mori opened his eyes to find himself under Ilpyo with a punch rushing towards his face. The punch stopped just short, however, the air pressure from it, pushing Mori's hair back a little.
"Why not finish it?" Mori asked.
"I could say the same to you…" Ilpyo said, drawing attention to Mori's foot. A foot which was currently place against the back of his head for a knockout, should he have kept moving. "That really was wonderful." Ilpyo said with a light laugh as he stood up, helping Mori up with a firm hand.
Thinking about something Ilpyo said before, Mori voiced a question. "Wait, how do you know about Renewal Taekwondo?" He asked with a slightly astonished expression.
Ilpyo responded with a mysterious smile as he gave his answer. "You'll have to fight me at the Vytal festival, and I'll answer all of your questions there." He challenged with a smirk, getting a smirk in return from the monkey faunus.
"You're on!"
-GoR-
Roman was sitting in a cell.
The cell was dark and small. This was the Atlesian Private Military's idea of solitary confinement. A cell scarcely big enough to hold a grown man with a place to sit and no windows to speak of. They didn't even let him keep his signature hat! It was truly a miserable experience.
So, don't sue him for being happy when the door opened to reveal general Ironwood all on his lonesome. "General Jimmy! To what do I owe the pleasure?" He asked in a jovial tone. Taking pride in the twitch that showed on the general's well-groomed eyebrow.
"I just thought I'd pay my newest prisoner a visit and let him know that I've been granted the rights to him for as long as I wish." Ironwood said with a small bit of amusement seeping into his monotone business voice. "I will give you one last chance, though. Who do you work for?" He asked.
Roman leaned forward as if he were about to spill the juiciest secret he'd ever heard. "You're looking at him." He answered simply, causing a smile to play out on Ironwood's face.
The smile remained as Ironwood walked away from the criminal. "We'll see about that." He said as the door to Roman's cell closed once again. Sealing him in the realm of darkness once again.
-GoR-
A few hours had passed since the Breach ended. Night had fallen, caressing Beacon in a gentle darkness, illuminated by the star-filed night.
None of this was important to Yang Xiao-Long, however, as she walked down the main pathway away from the main school building. She had received a message telling her to meet someone at this time at the statue of man conquering grimm. Normally, she would have ignored such a message, but the timing as well as a feeling she got wouldn't allow her to miss this.
Each step taking her closer to her goal, Yang soon caught sight of the statue as well as a figure standing in front of it. The height. The build. The hair. Everything about this woman caused a sense of familiarity in Yang as well as an anger to arise within her. She asked the question before she even realized it, probably because she already knew the answer.
"Who are you?"
The figure responded by taking off her mask and revealing red orbs that stared into Yang's own red eyes. Her eyes weren't the end of the similarities as her entire face looked like a carbon copy of Yang's own beautiful countenance.
Her expression unchanging, the now revealed Raven Branwen began the discussion with her daughter.
"We have a lot to discuss, Yang."
Chapter 10 End
AN: And here we are folks! The end of the breach as well as the end of Volume 2 and the longest chapter to date.
I really rushed to get this out as a Christmas present to all of you guys who support my releases as my schedule can be a bit…yeah. I originally wanted to do a double release on Christmas day, but my writing schedule definitely didn't allow that. Thus, I settled for a staggered release with just less time between chapters. You guys can thank the Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice soundtrack for the release speed of this because listening to that made the time fly by. You can also thank Sekiro for the delay of the last chapter as well, though. I spent the better part of the month 100%-ing the game after all.
About the story: I Decided to split the train battle into two parts because after I wrote the last line of the last chapter, that just felt like such an organic split that I couldn't bring myself to keep writing after that. Sorry if that caused any inconvenience or anything. I had a blast writing the fight between Neo and Yang and then Neo and Mori. The fight between Neo and Yang is my favorite in the show so I tried to capture the high-speed energy of the fight, but man was that difficult.
We also saw another glimpse into Mori's mind this chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed that because I went back and read Episode 102 of GoH for it. I forgot just how much I enjoyed the choreography of early Goh. The fights just hit different back then, especially when they were still somewhat grounded.
I look forward to writing the next arc because that's where the UnOrdinary characters get to make their debuts and start to impact the story. I'm going to use them to add more background to Atlas so you can be sure I'll enjoy writing that.
With that, I hope you guys enjoyed. Don't forget to leave your feedback on the chapter and I'll be sure to read the reviews and adjust as necessary. Thank you all, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year.
Also Thank you guys for 150 follows and 120+ favorites! It means a lot.
-Mango G.