Chapter 63 - One in the Same
Act VII - Memories
Back in the Fragment's Universe...
They had arrived not long after Sky and Tabus' vanishing act. The snow had calmed down, revealing wedged into the mountain an old, tribal temple, frozen totem polls and tattered remains of banners decorating the gateway, there was nothing significant beyond the door, only the glowing cracks snug inside the frame of frozen stone.
Albatross pushed himself down the rampart with Iota quickly catching Amber before she could fall over from her recovery from motion sickness. All of them held varying degrees of shock over the fact that they lost Sky to a rift. The worst of the group were, Jaune, Ruby, and Iota.
"Great, perfect even! We were complete idiots!" Iota yelled, kicking the snow with his foot angrily, whilst Erika sat against a pillar, running her hands over her hair, having lost her brother again. Iota was now crossed between anger and guilt over what Ruby had told them, a small set of tears in her eyes, and for once, Iota had enough of it. "When I find that Vex, there will be no God that can repair the damage I'll inflict!"
"We have to go back, find a way to reach him," Jaune announced, even though the situation was impossible he had to try. "He never backed down on us, so I won't either."
"Your kindness is admirable but it's impossible now," Summer declared with a frown. "Believe me I want to help Sky but he's been thrown into another reality entirely, none of us have the means to travel between worlds, let alone make it back."
"No way, that... there's has to be someway," Even Weiss wasn't fully accepting this as fact, glancing between the ancient rift and then back at her team. "We can't just leave him behind, this was his responsibility too."
"W-we can't just leave him behind! Not this time," Yang yelled, looking down t her feet.
"As much as I want to, we don't have time to argue. Sky would want us to continue on, knowing him he's already working on a way to return." Blake reinforced, assuring Yang with a nudge. "We can trust him to see his part through."
"Albatross?" Weiss' query brought his eyes to her. "You have experience with jumping between realities, you can go and bring Sky back whilst we handle the Vex," Weiss added, looking to Ruby, who was still looking down at the relic. "What do you say, Ruby? Ruby?"
. . .
"You know, you all have grown so much." Albatross smiled more, looking to the four again. "Now, as creepy as it sounds, and I know it does, I've watched you all for a long time, and you've all come so far to reach this point that you're fighting against a creation of the Gods."
"Yang, you had learned to master you anger, and find balance within yourself, and..." Albatross rested his left hand on his mechanical right, its design far beyond Remnant's time. "You found strength beyond the limits of your scars."
"Blake, you unified your people, and aided in bringing a new age for your people's future, paving a way for unity, and, had found unity among those you call friends."
"Weiss, you proved yourself to be more than just 'the family heiress', you escaped your chains and found a place you wish to honor 'your' name, not a 'title', and have proved as much to me."
"Ruby." She flinched at that, still eyeing the relic. "Above everything... I have never seen someone so pure-hearted in my life, and my second, you have seen the darkest sides of human nature, and have suffered loss, pain, regret... and have only grown stronger, through all that has stacked against you, Sky told me alot about you, and from where I'm standing, this world is fortunate to have a hero like you, even if they don't see it yet."
Albatross then stepped forward, his hand procuring one of the small items Gambit gave Sky, Iota, and Eric before. "I need your word, that all your anger, doubt, and fear will all be lost to you. I need you all to promise that when you go to the Argus that you fight on even ground, as more than those with opposing ideals, but that of true, living beings, fighting for your home. If you don't prepared yourselves then I fear Charron has already won this war." Albatross sighed, looking to the coin in his hand, running a finger over the surface
"I swear." His gaze met Ruby, her hands placing the Relic of Knowledge on her belt safely, those silver eyes flashing in the light. "We'll buy as much time as we can, you just get Sky home safe." Then she looked to everyone
"I don't know what's waiting for us, and I don't know if there's a hope we can win... but I know, that if we work together-" Iota, Erika, and Amber nodded. "If we stand by each others' sides-" Summer and Qrow smiled. "That all our doubts, fears, and anger will vanish-" Yang, Blake, and Weiss looked to Oscar, who nodded back with a determined face. "And we can win, or die trying."
Albatross felt it again, a memory of his own overlaying Ruby and her team, of people he once knew, some no longer here to see how far he's come. Deep down he knew they were still watching his back, pushing him forward as Ruby has for her friends. "Good luck, Ruby Rose." Then, he crushed the coin
Back in the Indomitable Universe...
We sat in the cafeteria during lunch, myself, and Echo having spent the day in team MAZE's room or in the gym as I'd rather be prepared for anything that could transpire. Thanks strangely to Echo's help, despite her sexual jokes, Penny was now able to completely deduce the near building-size levels of information on our abrupt transport to this world.
"From what Cognitum could simplify I need to somehow recreate a small variant of the rift that sent me here, meaning I need to somehow make contact with the rift over the Emerald Forest and make a complete copy of its energy signature otherwise I'll just be thrown into God knows how many universes," I summarized to team MAZE, all of which took in my info evenly
"So in other words you're stuck here," I jumped at Echo's blunt arrival behind me, herself slipping in between me and Azure while grabbing the apple from her tray. "Shouldn't be too hard, not many people have the kind of tech or power to move between worlds, and it's not like we can ask someone like Chaser for help."
Myst blew a raspberry, "No luck on my end, I couldn't get in contact with him, sucks too, he's got the ability to jump between worlds or atleast I'm assuming," Then she leaned back. "Funny, this talk about 'God-like beings' and 'traveling between worlds' just sounds so pedestrian now."
"I think we have those Nightmares from the docks to thank for that, Chaser too," Eros added with a shake of his head. "I'm still trying to process everything."
'Never a dull moment with this team' All of them unanimously agreed with the mute, then she tapped her pen to the page. 'Sky, about Tabus, are you sure she's under this Vex's control and not just doing this of her own free will?'
I shook my head. "There's no denying it, what I saw... it wasn't her, sure, Tabus from past experiences is hot-headed, addicted to combat, and definitely hates me, but... there was one time she just spoke with me and... it sounded like she was lost or confused," Then the night at Haven sprung to mind. "And again, when she was under his influence she looked like she was struggling to regain control, she definitely could have killed me twice by now."
Eros shivered, "You sure Zorah doesn't want to get involved, this girl sounds like the perfect match for him," It was subtle, but I saw Azure's ear twitch slightly, even Echo hummed a sly smile as I tried not to think of yesterday. "Where is he anyway?"
"With Ice Queen studying," Myst said almost instantly, gulping down her drink. "Ah... yep, they said they needed to discuss more about Dust and the connection with that odd Grimm from the forest a while back."
"You mean the one punching ice everywhere?" Echo mumbled. Even as we discussed my dilemma I couldn't shake this feeling something was off, like yesterday, that nagging sensation something was watching me kept crawling up my back, yet Penny never spotted anything
'Hey, are you okay, you look tense?' Looking to Azure, she wore an expression that read my own like an open book, 'What's wrong?'
"You good, Bluey?" Myst pipped up as Eros and Echo looked to me also. I leaned in, ushering them to do the same whilst I glanced around us at the other students, their conversations acting as a shield for ours
"We may have a problem, a big one." I began. "Penny, I need you to monitor any suspicious characters, any details that make us feel threatened, alright? Without Iota here to act as a third pair of eyes I'm relying on you solely."
"Affirmative. Monitoring all surrounding students now."
"Something's bothered me since I arrived, where exactly did Tabus go? I mean, we entered the same rift so unless it threw us apart, I doubt that alone would be enough to impede her pursuit."
"Well if she's a Grimm her tendencies for chaos might lead her toward higher concentrated areas of negative emotions, though that's a stretch given her independence," Myst swayed her hand like a seesaw. "Though on the other hand, she's clearly akin to that of a Huntsman so she's more than likely planning out her assault, an entire school of trainee Huntsmen is alot, even for her I bet."
"Well, whatever the case may be, doubt she'd risk confronting you now," Echo brushed off, but her white eye remained fixated on my gaze, it was almost unnerving how intense her-
"Nine o'clock high!" Penny's command threw me over the bench, tackling Myst and Eros down as Red War ensnared my body, deflecting the many blades that pierced the ground. Echo had already grabbed Azure, tugging her into a shadow to escape as the student body panicked and fled from the splintered wood and crash of furniture
"You guys alright?" I breathed, pulling the duo to their feet
"Thanks for the save, Bluey." Myst winked with a thumb up, Eros tapping a knuckle to my chestplate as they slowly stood back with Azure and Echo, the latter approaching me
"Stay back, leave this to me!" For now anyway. I stood down the open space of the tables, with students moving far away, and some even leaving the hall, before me, knives clenched between pale hands, a mask with a single, silver eye staring back, Tabus was finally here
"Surprised you saw that coming, but you humans have the gift of natural perception and destruction." Tabus sneered, she hadn't lost her touch, but I wonder if it was even possible to break Charron's control - No, I can and I will, Tabus wasn't that weak, having my ass handed by her proved to me that much
"Coming from the Grimm who can't make her own choices, that's quite poetic." I countered, yet her eye looked amused when she flicked the knife in her left hand, the tip of the blade spinning atop her skin, black mist left to leak
"Coming from the human who can't decide when to die, that's quite pitiful." Ooooh, she's good, scarily good too. "I've been around for centuries, what's that against a man who's missing his friends, his own personality, and a dead bitch?"
"I don't know, but I'm willing to find out." Readying my blades on my arms, I stood strong, and Tabus lowered her arms lazily, the knives swinging by her shorts. A hungry, malice look in her silver eye. "Come on then!"
"Okay..." She raised them behind her back, her iris traced by a red contrail. "Ante Up."
[No POV]
...
...
A line of horizontal knives flew across the gap, with Sky banishing them to the ground, their white-hot tips molting the frame of the floor whilst his foot kicked one back at Tabus, her hand easily catching it in a spin, throwing it, along with a dozen more searing knives in Sky's direction.
Taking to the air with a powerful boost from his back thrusters, Sky flipped over the wall of knives, firing two blasts of ice towards Tabus who ran atop the tables to her left. She ran along their frame, flinging knives from her waist, all either missing or skating by Sky's body. Grasping two in her hands, she leapt to the canteen's newest addition, a pillar that sat in the center of the room, spinning her body around the cylinder with knives dug deep. She threw herself towards Sky, breaking her arms in the process, yet they snapped in place again, that extra momentum crashing into his body when they spun in the air, her hand dancing across his back, as they coiled around his jetpack, her feet pressed to his waist.
"Time to clip you." Tabus sneered, pulling back, and the rupturing force on his shoulder blades had him spin to try and reach for her, instead though, he swung his arms in front of him, and reverted to fire dust, blasting himself flying into the wall behind them, crushing Tabus against it, yet a painful force had pressed against his aura, with Tabus using her neck to keep her body from being crushed
"If you want a clip, use a scroll!" Sky rebound, activating the repulsers on his feet, pushing them both up the wall. A sickening crack and fresh smell of singed skin had traveled to their noses, with Sky being pushed to the ground with a shocking amount of force, shattering a table, yet Myst appeared under him, her legs crackling gold.
"Be cool if you kept our school intact, now, press your feet together." Doing so without objection, Sky looked to see Tabus descending, throwing more knives in Sky's direction. There was a surprising amount of kinetic energy building in Myst's legs as Sky was soon thrown like a volleyball by a kinetic blast, breaking the tables around him and Myst
*Crack-Bam*
Tabus was mid-flight, so she had nowhere to run from Sky's heels striking her chest, the cracks of her ribs rattling Sky's eardrums painfully, and her body smacking the left wall with force to shatter the glass to her right. This didn't stop Tabus as she tore at the stone around her, fingers black with white, curved nails, wisps of black dark matter leaking from wounds, whilst her chest seemed to puff out.
Sky's attack had embedded her own flesh into her organs, that thought almost made Sky sick to his stomach. Not realizing his mistake of turning his attention away from the fight, Tabus had thrown a crafters dozen of knives his way, some skinning his armour, but three had pierced the jetpack, flight faltering upon Sky's slow descent.
Taking her opportunity, the Horseman came flying towards him, snapping the tenants in her legs to boost herself, tackling him mid-flight. Both fighters rolled viciously in the air, Tabus kicked forward, tossing Sky into another table, her doing landing in another, breaking it in two.
It didn't provide the remaining students a moment to recover from the sudden death match among their peaceful lives, the two tables flew up, both crashing in the air, with a knife striking through the wood, followed by a whirlwind of crimson and white to saw through the wood and flames, both blades slicing through Tabus' chest and stomach.
What startled the Horseman was the fact Sky's armor had vanished in a flash of red stars, revealing the scaly additions to his body, eyes as sharp as her own while he drew his right arm back, flames buckling against his skin. In retaliation, Tabus threw her own as both drew closer to the ground.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" Their fists connected, resulting in everyone else watching in horror as Tabus' arm was obliterated upon the strike, her skin and flesh splashing across the ground, alongside the chunks of her bone marrow and flesh sticking to the ground, cooked by the fires. "O-oh Gods that's-ACK!"
"Keep your eyes on the fight!" Tabus spat, the black mist of her missing arm coiling tightly around Sky's neck, bony fingers beginning to emerge in seconds.
She threw the man off his feet and into the ground, shattering the tiles before he was left to feel the stone ring in his ears when Tabus pulled him through the ground, throwing him into the air, followed by another dozen knives, all erupting into flames upon contact with his scaly skin and exposed abdomen
Sky didn't even budge when the flames caught the knives, their cinder-glow dimming to black once Sky's aura had absorbed the fire from their tips, adding to his flames, their edges trimmed with a more crimson tint. This didn't phase Tabus much, who's arm was beginning to form into a solid again, the bone hiding among the black flames.
"Ok... hit me with your best shot." Tabus taunted with a manic look on her face, curling her skeletal fingers toward herself. However, her eye twitched slightly, the that met her own, a cunning, devilish grin crossed Sky's face, his draconic eyes ablaze under the flames, whilst his lips revealed his sharpened canines. "!"
"I'm all fired up now..." He growled, his flaming knee connecting with her jaw, throwing the two of them into a torrent of fire across the canteen, past Echo, who held a marshmallow on a stick as they flew by, her smile growing at the sight of it now cooked to perfection
Sky grabbed Tabus by the collar, his left fist thrown to her cheek, only to strike her reforming arm, which twisted around to grab his wrist, spinning the two for her to propel his body into the ground again. Planting his arms on the floor, he thrust his feet up to strike Tabus' defensive arms, breaking the bone in her right, which twisted at an uncomfortable angle to throw another cascade of knives, yet Sky rolled backward to avoid their chilling tips, freezing the tiles to the point of absolute zero.
"Fire Dragon's Talons!" Spinning on his heel, Sky's right leg spun to heel stomp Tabus, her knife spun downwards, the blade striking up at the arc of fire, their contrasting elements bursting at the touch, followed by a knife slicing Sky's right cheek, yet his flames had burnt her hand, but only enough to cause minor damage, whatever 'minor' meant for Tabus. "Fire Dragon's Roar!"
Tabus sneered at the rush of fierce flames beginning to coil around her like a funnel, not wanting to spend the remainder of the fight burnt, she flipped out more knives from her pouches, her jacket now burnt off her body, leaving only the black fabric that covered her chest to survive, her shorts were also lightly charred. Upon flicking the knife in her left hand, the several blades danced in a spiral around her, their sub-zero touch hissing at the fire.
"Spiral Cortex." Her words were colder than that of her blades, once their edges shot through the flames in an anticlockwise rotation, they canceled out the breath attack, yet Sky had run through the fires after her, not wishing to give her the distance advantage she needed now. "Shit."
Tabus struck out, her cold edge bypassing Sky's aura, and piercing his right arm, but he merely placed his ring finger and middle finger together, the sharp jab to Tabus' wrist had made her fingers seize up for a moment, the sensation of fire reaching her, making the Grimm gasp in pain and shock. Sky had managed to strike her nerve, shutting out her ability to nullify the pain receptors in her hand.
Sky spun to her left, avoiding the downward thrust of her other knife. Sky spun the dropped one in his hand, clasping onto the leather tightly he lunged down with all his might, sinking the tip into her throat, followed by a twist and pull, her back facing him while the edge of the knife ignited.
Sky wasted no time plunging the knife through her back, slicing and hacking with each thrust, all the while Tabus cried out in pain, not that it was anything of a little girl would make, no, every yell was filled with anger, hatred over what Sky had done to her only chance home, to her brothers, not that she ever admitted it to their faces. Morana and Mars were her family, Una was the only person that kept her secrets, and that factor alone kept her fire going.
"No... I can't l-lose here!" She screamed like a banshee
*Whoosh-Crack*
He lost his breath as her leg broke itself to twist her body around, her right striking his side, forcing Sky to lurch back in pain. Tabus moved a safe distance away, and after an endless storm of attacks, there was a small moment of silence, both of them panting.
"Just drop dead already," Tabus spoke bitterly, feeling her hair fall through the now broken scalp of her mask on the back of her head, whilst Sky merely took the last of his fire canisters, crushing its contents in his hand, allowing the gash on his arm and cheek to clot over. "I just want to go home, and if I have to kill you to do such, so be it!"
"So you're going to do that, by killing everyone else in this one and countless more!?" Sky shot back angrily
"I couldn't care less about what happens to all of you! This isn't my home. This isn't my world. Salem, Team RWBYS, the Vex, who gives a shit!"
"I do! That's why I'll stop you right here and now!" Sky's own vow grew with his fire, the one in his heart kept him moving. Ruby was what drove him so far everytime, not willpower or some other cliche excuse, just the thought of a world without her or their friends sounded far too unpleasant to consider. "I need to close the gap, but how?"
"Sky, if you continue this frontal assault, the school could be left in complete disrepair, I recommend a more forward approach," Sky paused at Penny's advice. "Try to take the Grimm down in one fatal stroke while minimizing property damage." He nodded.
"Right then... if you just wanted to go home, then why the hell are you letting Charron manipulate you!?" That made her pause. "You don't have to do this, I can help you find another way, don't make me go back on my word to Mars, please, Tabus!"
Her own hands shook against her knives, each word he spoke, every ounce of 'promise' he rambled on-and-on about made her skin crawl, her blood boiled, every pour on her skin leaked with anger that couldn't be satisfied. But the part of her chained away under Charron's influence wanted that, as much as she loathed those words she'd happily accept them if it meant she could just be free.
"Not all of us can keep our destiny, not all of us can have this gift of love, friendship, and hope you love to go on about," Tabus' words had caused a great silence among everyone. "We can't always change who we are, that's when others of power can help you reach a point where 'destiny' and 'virtue' reach no meaning, even if it costs everything, what do I have to lose? A future without my family... is nothing to me."
"It doesn't have to be that wa-" Sky tried to offer her, yet his hand froze when her mask had finally fallen to pieces, each fragment echoed across the grand hall like a stone to water in Sky's ears. His eyes widening to a horrified strain of terror, each breath was sharp and pained under the seconds his heart continued to pull at his lungs
The raven hair was much wilder, slightly longer as it was tied at the back, allowing the jagged, torn ponytail to bob in place near her neck. The black texture had been moved to reveal her pair of silver eyes clearly to the light of day that glowed from the outside world of blue, yet Sky felt no warmth, both in her eyes and at the sun on his face, just numbness. Even her crimson highlights were brighter than normal.
While the form, the style of clothing, even with the scowl plastered on her pale skin, Sky tried his best to conjure some trick that was playing with his mind, a construct of Charron, it had to be, right? Nothing, everything was normal, leaving him with a sinking feeling in his chest. He attacked her, beaten, burned... stabbed relentlessly...
The Horseman of Pestilence. Tabus was... Ruby.
"R-ruby... no... i-i-it..." Sky felt bile nearly reach his mouth, the taste of acid in his throat was nowhere reaching the pain he felt at her stare, which only hardened at the name mentioned as it rubbed her the wrong way. Sky's hand even trembled, reaching out to her. "I-I-I..."
Tabus chuckled darkly, and Sky could barely move, but Tabus did, spinning her knives amongst her digits. "Oh? You're going to apologize now? Aww, is the little hero all out of quips, no more fight left in ya?" Tabus scoffed, "If I knew seeing my face would break you this badly I would have done it sooner, hahaha!"
Sky could barely move, only stand, trembling when the girl he loved was his enemy, sure, it wasn't his Ruby, but how could he try to lift a finger to his greatest memory? Her laugh, smile, kindness, strength, love, all that was Ruby kept feeding his guilt, and that only made movement and logic empty, voidless.
*Shing*
"Crap!" Myst snapped
"Sky!" Echo and Eros gasped
"...it's me?" The Ruby of this universe could barely process the scene laid out before her. It was her but... twisted, and the way Sky reacted toward her made something twist in Ruby's chest. "Why is he just standing there?"
Sky gasped slightly, the cold thickness of her blade striking his bare chest, the ice clotting the wound, but numbing only the pain, yet the feeling he held when his gaze dropped from Ruby's face only remained still.
"Fight." Tabus spat, striking diagonally from right to left, followed by the same movement left to right
*Shing*
"Fight!" Again. And again. And again. Each hit passed his aura, the wounds weren't deep, even as his fires began to dwindle, their light aided in Sky's endless suffering, healing the wounds as Tabus continued to make more and more until he would finally run dry, yet something shook her, with every laceration of the one in her way of freedom, why did it hurt all the same? "FIGHT!"
*POW*
Her hand holding the blade struck his temple, blood dripping down Sky's face, yet his shaken eyes could only stare at the ground, his muscles begged to move and act, his mind was blank, and his heart was beating with pain. The force threw him back, even so, he didn't move at all.
By now Tabus was growing impatient, nothing she did evoked a reaction. "Ruby's dead and gone, get over it already!" She kicked his side, tossing him back toward team MAZE and RWBY, drawing her knives. "I said fight dammit!" Tabus screamed, thrusting her knife for the final, killing blow to his chest, all her power thrown into its edge, and her smile had grown, or, it did last for a second, a mere glimmer
*Shing-Slice-Spat*
Tabus recoiled angrily, her fingers were reduced to stumps and a boot mark was imprinted on her stomach. To everyone's surprise, it was Azure who took the initiative, drawing her weapon, a convertible reclusive bow. It was black with a few markings of azure stripes along the riser. "You mutt!"
A note fell at Tabus' feet. 'I may not understand the situation all that well, however, I won't stand by and watch someone get hurt protecting me'
"Wolfie's got a point," Myst shrugged, cracking her knuckles. "May look like Ruby but you sure as hell aren't our friend."
"I may like fighting but there's a moral line somewhere that you crossed when Sky refused to fight back, though I suppose being a Grimm would put a damper on warrior's honor, eh?" Echo ridiculed, flicking her highlight
Tabus didn't quite listen to the rest, immediately disregarding Sky while brandishing her blades, snap-kicking Eros as he moved in to block her attack alongside Yang, neither matching the indomitable strength behind her attack. Mid-spin Tabus threw her weapons down, blinding the group as she dispatched the lot in the confusion, throwing them like ragdolls into one-another.
Ren wasn't easily fooled and managed to lock his left forearm with Tabus', the two staring at one another for a moment. "I don't have time for some second-hand side character," Tabus pushed back, bursting into a flurry of black rose petals tinted with purple, the flurry and speed crashing against Ren and Myst, both collapsing against the floor while Jaune and Pyrrha moved in to aid their fallen teammates.
"Everyone stay back, without most of our weapons we can't fight her head on!" Those that weren't knocked down retreated, Azure and Echo managing to stay in the fight as Echo suddenly vanished without a trace, leaving Azure alone in the fight
"Azure, get out of there!" Ruby called out but was almost cut off as a knife struck her aura, clattering to the ground as her body froze under the pricing glare from Tabus
"You stay out of this..." Her voice darkened considerably, exciting an anxious gulp from her duplicate. Then her arm snapped out to catch the arrow by the shaft, snapping it like a twig. "I'm only here for Sky, now though, I think I'll take your tail as a reward."
Azure snorted, drawing three colored arrows while a bronze aura shimmered over her form, bits of stone stuck to her body. Tabus lunged with two knives, swiping two of the arrows from her path, the third piercing her shoulder with the force of gravity plunging her through the ground, then she noticed the pulsing, amethyst halo emanating from the arrowhead.
With her pinned Azure drew back her bow, firing two more arrows only for a burst of dark roses to blot out her view, followed by twin blades slicing across both her aura and enhanced endurance, forcing her back a few meters as the frantic Grimm gave chase, tearing through the canteen while evading or downright taking the elemental arrows head-on.
"She's trying to win with sheer ferocity, just like Zorah would," Azure felt a chill at the revelation, rolling under a table as the knives blew it to splinters, Tabus lunged atop Azure, disarming the Faunus with unparalleled skill. Wrapping her legs around Tabus, Azure, threw her headfirst into the floor, pushing her away while stumbling to her own two feet, reaching for her bow
Azure gasped, diving from three knives, followed by two striking her aura, exploding with small rings of electricity that disrupted her earth enhancement. It was a strain but she forced her Semblance to switch from earth to fire, bluish-white flames dancing over her shoulders and other points of her body as she guarded against a downward slice, immediately followed by a thrust that she herself felt her aura strain against.
"Her Semblance is good, aura ain't half bad but compared to most veteran Huntsmen I've killed-" Tabus turned into roses, swiping across the grand hall with far greater control than Ruby, splitting herself into multiple flurries to confuse Azure. "-the lines in your movements are painfully easy to predict!"
Azure threw a right hook behind her, only for Tabus to reform the opposite side, her own hand reaching forward to snatch Azure by the throat, cutting off her airflow in seconds. The others tried to move in but then they heard Azure cough, struggling to breathe. "Move another inch and I'll snap the cute bitch's neck."
Ignoring those on the sidelines, Tabus threw Azure to her right, her form crashing into Sky as he caught her, both crashing into a broken table. "Oh, so you finally want to fight?"
Sky didn't look any different than when he realized who he was fighting. A part of him was beating himself up for not realizing the similarities, and now, after watching the others fight his own battle, risking their lives for a total stranger he had to come to a decision. "No... I could never lift a hand to you, even if you're not the Ruby I know, that won't ever make it right,"
His words brought her to a standstill before the two, Azure trying to push herself off of Sky as the two watched Tabus carefully. Her mind was racing with Charron's voice, repeating orders to her, drilling them through her mind, sinking his fingers into her bones like a puppeteer, the mental attack left Tabus conflicted, grasping her head while squeezing her eyes shut.
"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Grabbing a knife she rammed the blade through her own temple, pulling black mist from her scalp while feeling a twisted sense of relief, prodding the weapon toward her enemies. "Die... die, die, die, DIE!"
"Azure, hold on," Sky whispered as his Semblance slowly kicked in, or it would have if not for the lightning-quick flash of white crossing between them and Tabus, the Grimm wailing in pain as her hand was severed from her wrist, the knife clattering to the floor
"Man, you really are pathetic, Hero," The smug voice made Sky surprisingly relaxed, noting the warm look on Azure's face as her own body eased beside him, staring up at the white-haired boy clutching an onyx blade. "How about you give yourself a pat on the back and let the big kids handle this, k?"
"So, Tabus was it? I don't know, wasn't really paying attention," At her name she leered toward Zorah, seeing him sheave his blade while resting his hand on the handle casually. "How's about I give you a real fucking massacre?"
To Be Continued...
This chapter's fight was emotional as well as brutal! Took me time to truly bring out the recklessness of Tabus, who turns out to be an alternate version of Ruby that was accidentally thrown into the Fragments Universe. Hope you enjoyed, appreciate the support as always, seeya in the next chapter!
Next Chapter: Harrowed Heart
Zorah arrives to save the day as usual but he is more than happy to oblige the violence fueling Tabus with equal amounts of bloodlust. Meanwhile, Ruby leads her friends into the heart of their journey in an attempt to stall Charron.
