So RWBY has been getting pretty dark lately. At this rate they might even become darker then my story by the end of season with how things are shaping up over in the canon. Then we have Roosterteeth in general who has gotten really good at making me sympathize with certain characters, followed by something really shitty happening to said character. Heck, in the latest season of RvB I cried when [REDACTED] went and [REDACTED] so that [REDACTED] could [REDACTED].
Also there's been a sudden increase in RWBY/Bloodborne fanart, that increase being 4 pieces over the last week compared to the nothing we had over the previous nine months. I don't expect there will be to many more popping up, but it's nice to see them since the combination rarely happens.
Hope everyone had a happy new years celebration. Now if you'd follow me you can see what the old pantheons were built for.
The Phantom held up a small bone in its left hand that let off a soft glow before he put it back in his pouch and drew his weapons. Walking towards the scorpions he would occasionally vanish into mist and reappear a few feet closer to them. When the scorpion tried to strike him its claw passed through the mist he left behind. With a flash of his blade the arm was severed and two bullets slammed into the monster's head. Each hit at the same time delivering enough force to cause the Grimm to recoil.
Sheathing his sword he lowered his stance and kept his grip on the handle of the sword. With the tension building in his arms like a coiled snake waiting to strike. The Deathstalker charged forward intent on impaling the Hunter before it would trample his body. Bringing its tail down the Grimm saw a red flash along with its stinger flying through the air. Bringing its attention back to the man the monster could only feel the blade cutting through its carapace covered head as if it were made of paper. The strike cleaved through the Grimm and smashed into the ground as the blade erupted with a splash of blood.
Completely ignoring its dead brethren the remaining Deathstalker was keen on claiming what the others could not and ran towards the lone white Huntress. With a wave of her rapier 6 red projectiles shot forward like a set of shooting stars with each one finding their mark as they exploded into a red mist. Before it could shake off the blows and continue towards her, Weiss continued to fire volley after volley until a screen of red mist blocked its view.
The Grimm began to flail its claw and tail around instinctively knowing what was likely to follow such an event. Each time the claw struck the ground a flurry of dirt and rock would be thrown outward as the stinger would stab around the impact zone in search of fallen prey. In frustration over not finding its prey after so long it ran out of the mist towards the Huntress. Bursting out of the mist the Hunter was stood in front of the cloud patiently waiting with his sword sheathed. With a flash of red his katana was drawn and the strike seemed to reach further than the blade should have allowed before he was sheathing it again.
The scorpion had a single slash running diagonally across the face that seemed to go a full foot back into its flesh. Without even a whimper it toppled over dead as the phantom returned to his summoner. Walking up to Weiss he got down on one knee and placed his left hand over his chest as he bowed his head. The gesture shocked Weiss at how the man was bowing before her like one would a queen or leader. Out of respect she gave him a curtsy as his body began to dissolve into a mist now that his task was completed.
Weiss was snapped back to reality when she saw Ruby bleeding out at her feet. Taking her hands she tried to apply pressure to the wounds to keep her friend alive. The occasional grunt of pain confirming that she was still alive for the moment.
Seeing that the wave of Grimm had let up Blake and Yang quickly ran over to them to see how they fared. Getting closer they saw Ruby lying on the ground with a crying Weiss kneeling over her. Yang sprinted ahead seeing that Weiss' gloves were covered in blood as she continued to press into Ruby's back. A look of horror began to form across her face as she saw the blood pooling around her little sister.
"Ruby, everything is going to be fine. We just need to get you to the hospital and they can patch you up." Yang said in fake confidence trying to ease the worry her sister would be going through.
"Yang," Ruby weakly stated, "Please don't leave me."
They had never seen their leader so weak before, so hurt. The face that would always have a smile over it was now one of a pained grimace. Their own mortality finally being shown before them as Ruby was slowly fading. Blake had trouble looking at her leader as the youngest of their team, the kindest, was going to be unjustly taken from this world.
"Why did it have to be you? I've done so many wrong things with my life. My actions have led to the deaths of others, so why is it you and not me?" Blake begged wanting something to answer back.
"Blake, don't worry," Ruby tried consoling her, "I couldn't ask for anything more than having all of you here with me." The comforting sight of friends brought a smile to her face in contrast to the loneliness she felt in the alley.
"You can't die Ruby." Yang sobbed as her sister's skin began to pale.
"Hunters can't die Yang. Didn't Dunstan tell you that?" Ruby asked with her voice failing as her body began to turn transparent. Weiss' hand phased through Ruby as her body faded into a pale white mist. She began franticly trying to feel for Ruby's body in hope that she was hallucinating only for her hand to touch the earth.
"Why isn't she here? Why is she gone?" Weiss cried seeing that her friend had vanished before them.
"No body to bury or blood to infect others. The best way to keep others safe and prevent enemies from learning anything from your body." Blake said sadly seeing the mist beginning to dissipate and with it the last reminder that Ruby was ever with them.
"What do you mean?" Yang asked still staring at the spot where her sister had been.
"Minerals, foliage, food, markings, all things that could lead back to your friends or place of training. Methods that prefer secrecy over tradition. No wonder all those gravestones were stacked atop one another without any burial mounds." Blake thought back to Dunstan's home finally understanding that the stones stood as reminders for those who had left since there were never any bodies to recover.
"She deserved to have a proper burial, not whatever this was." Yang said, still having trouble accepting that they wouldn't get to bury her sister.
"We need to calm down Yang." Blake suggested seeing just how wracked the team was with emotion.
"You do not get to tell me to calm down. I've lost so much already and now I've lost my own sister because I wasn't good enough to be there for her."
"All you're accomplishing right now is drawing more Grimm to our location. We won't be able to hold on if you start drawing the Grimm away from the others."
"Who put you in charge?" Yang yelled in anger at Blake.
"Ruby did! And I don't have the ability or skills to watch all your backs like she could. I'll never be as good as Ruby was in leading so I'll need your and Weiss' help to make it through this." They all began to realize they had no experience leading and lacked the training courses most team leaders went through while at Beacon.
"We fight," Yang started holding her hand out between the others.
"We survive," Blake added placing her hand atop Yang's.
"We remember," Weiss finished as she looked over at where Ruby had been lying.
As they removed their hands they saw the Grimm starting to swarm over the edge with some black arachnid like Grimm about the size of a small car leading the charge. Each one had bones covering the ends of their legs along with their heads and torsos. The fangs would occasionally drip green ooze that would melt the grass beneath them.
"Blake, if we don't make it out of this I want to say I'm sorry for everything I said about the faunas being evil or degenerates." Weiss placed her hand on Blake's shoulder in confidence.
"When we get out of this we can talk about it more."
"If you two are done flirting I think I found somethings to take my anger out on." The stakes were pulled back as the components began to hiss from the increased heat being applied to the weapons.
"Why must you always be such a brute when it comes to these matters?"
"In case you couldn't tell Weiss, I'm not in the mood for elegant and precise. I'm going to be angry and oh so very vengeful." Flames began rolling off her hair with the embers burning the ground around her.
"Just don't hurt yourself Yang. We all need to make it out of this for Ruby."
"No need to worry there. I can't afford for some Grimm to get the better of me, especially when there's so much I have to do." Yang said, finally running forward to meet the Grimm.
"Think you can get your friend back here?" Blake asked hoping to at least offset the number's advantage of the Grimm.
"Buy me some time. I'm not exactly sure how easy it will be to pull him back out here." Weiss said as she summoned another glyph in an attempt to bring back the phantom.
"I have you covered, just focus on your summoning." Blake stood between Weiss and the Grimm that had ran past Yang.
With katana in hand she struck down the first Grimm that approached with a single powerful strike. Each attack was like a river pushing forward against the Grimm, each step used to advance and give power to her blows. An endless dance she was performing while her instincts yelled at her to run away and abandon her position.
Weiss continued to pour her aura into her gloves as red wisps began to hover around her. The red smoke would occasionally fade to reveal a skull at the core of the wisps before they were hidden behind the cover. Holding out her hand a silver skull took shape while the wisps circled furiously. Crushing it between her hands the wisps slammed into the Glyph turning it red as it spun rapidly on the ground. Feeling the aura drain from her she watched as the red phantom began to rise out of the ground.
Standing up the phantom looked over the battle happening in front of it and turned back to his summoner finding her clutching at her own chest in pain. Weiss pointed her rapier towards the battle as she gasped for air trying to ease whatever was paining her. Seeing the order he charged into the battle and began carving out a swath of Grimm.
Blake saw Grimm falling rapidly as the Phantom cut his way into the circle. Each swipe of his blade making quick work of anything it touched. Blake couldn't help but marvel at how well he handled the same weapon she was wielding. If Blake considered herself on par with a trained operative then he was on a completely other plane. The way he moved with the blade seemed to be as natural to him as breathing.
The flow of combat only shifting away from when they retreated from a hail of webbing being cast over them. Hitting the ground and catching some of the other Grimm they noticed the web begin to dissolve into whatever it touched. The webbing hissing as the ground melted and the Grimm howled at having their bodies being eaten away at.
The arachnids began to crawl over the bodies of their now dead comrades with abandon towards Blake. The armored bones at the end of each spider's leg seemed to hold up against the webbing while the other Grimm formed a circle around the edge not wanting to face the same fate of those who were caught underneath.
Blake took caution with each step to avoid getting caught on the webbing while the Phantom dashed over to the spiders. Passing her aura through the blade Blake swung the sword creating a wave that shot past the phantom knocking three spiders into the air. Taking the opportunity he sheathed the katana and drew the weapon which now had a blade of blood extending three feet past the original length letting him strike at the falling adversaries.
Blake got ready to launch another barrage when four Grimm were thrown into the ring causing them to get tangled in the web and begin slowly dissolving. Looking around she saw Yang leaping to her side to avoid the swarm that stopped at the edge of the arena.
"Still think we can do this?" Yang asked as the stake driver blasted through one the Grimm's skulls.
"It's just a matter of time now. All we have to do is keep going and eventually we'll clear the area."
"I'm surprised none of them have made a break for Beacon yet."
"Why would they when we're all feeling the way we are. We're the perfect distraction, probably even pulling some Grimm away from the other teams." Blake said as even the rush of combat failed to bury her emotions.
"They will all pay for what happened." Embers began to pool around Yang as her anger started to build.
"Yang I know how mad you are, but you"- an explosion erupted from near the CCT lighting up the sky- "oh god."
The fury building in Yang was tossed away for fear when she saw the flames almost reaching halfway up the tower. The building seemed fine from the distance, but she took notice that some of the exterior was crumbling off. The tower wasn't falling though, it was just scarred and she worried over what could possibly have caused such a thing to happen.
"We finish up here then investigate, agreed?" Blake asked as she held her katana at the ready.
"Agreed."
"Well good news is I don't think any of you are infected." Dunstan said finishing up his examination on the last blood sample.
"Infected? Is there something going around?" Most of the patients began to nervously shift at the mention of disease.
"Nothing you need to worry yourself over. Beacon is the safest location at the moment with a staff of Huntsman and Huntresses. For now you can return to the atrium while we wait for my partner to return with transport." Dunstan began walking back towards the exit when the door was thrown open.
One white fang soldier with a half broken mask walked into the room momentarily before a cane was stabbed through his chest tackling him back through the doorway. The sound of flesh being pierced with steel was heard repeatedly until Dunstan stepped back out covered in blood. Blood dripping off his coat as he dusted off his shoulders in an attempt to remove some of the liquid. Looking out he saw the crowd panicking at the thought of being attacked.
"Everything is under control people. I'm going back up top and I need you to barricade this door. No matter who is yelling from the other side do not open it unless they're named Oobleck or Dunstan." Removing himself from the situation Dunstan could see a few people in the crowd ready to take action the moment he turned away.
Walking up the stairs Dunstan saw a few more soldiers running down them with a look of fear on their faces. Realizing the man he just killed probably wasn't infected he berated himself mentally for the mistake. Continuing forward one of the men saw Dunstan and aimed his weapon at the Hunter. Before he could pull the trigger a wolf like beast tore into one of his partners eliciting a scream.
Rapidly turning to face the beast the soldier unloaded his gun into the monster to no effect. Each shot hammered against the beast's hide only for the clip to run empty in the end leaving the monster to dig its claws into the man. Tearing away at the already dead body and splashing blood along the walls with each strike.
"Just so you know I'm doing this because one of your brothers really pissed me off." Dunstan took a course piece of paper and ran it across his blade as if he were striking a match.
In an instant the blade was shrouded in flames and was lighting the stairway. Taking notice of the flames the Beast leaped towards Dunstan with its claws ready to tear into the man. Stepping back he swung his cane as it separated into a whip giving him ample reach to pick apart the beast. Each strike would ignite the beast and increase the flame that was eating away at the flesh. Without being able to press forward the beast could only hold out a hand in a vague attempt to stop the blows.
After the fourth strike it fell to the ground dead from either the whip carving away its flesh or the flames finally snuffing out the beast's life. Pressing his cane into the ground the whip reverted back into a blade and he continued forward using the light from his weapon. Reaching the top he noticed that the door had been blown off its hinges in some attempt to gain entrance. Before he could investigate the door further some bullets blasted through the entryway.
"Think we got it?" One of the masked men asked.
"Do you see a dead body bleeding out in front of us? No, we didn't get it." Another answered as their footsteps began to approach Dunstan.
"I do not wish to fight you. I advise you turn your arms towards the more immediate threat." Dunstan shouted from behind cover.
"Who are you and what happened to the men who went in there?"
"I'm just a Hunter who's taken up teaching. As for your friends they've unfortunately died from a beast."
"It's too bad you have to die here, but orders are orders." With that a cylindrical device landed beside Dunstan.
The explosion shook the roof as the soldiers all kept their weapons trained on the smoke cloud expecting the man to emerge ready to fight. As the smoke began to clear the leader signaled for two of his men to approach the door in search of the Hunter. They got ready to rush through the door when a transparent cane was thrust through one of their necks. Trying to turn around and face their assailant they could see the transparent body of the hunter.
Without giving him a chance to respond Dunstan kicked the body off his cane and into the other and brought his cane up for one final downwards stab only for a bullet to nail his shoulder. Seeing that the other soldiers were immobilized from fear or shock Dunstan dashed towards the leader of the group. The leader continued to open fire with his rifle as some of his men began to stir from their daze.
The primal fear that the Hunter invoked in others wasn't something any of them had trained for. All their battles and skirmishes with SDC security couldn't have prepared them for the thing in front of them. It was apathetic about their entire existence until they had attacked it. The sensation was alien, like something much greater than them had just turned its gaze towards them making them realize how insignificant in the world they were.
Out of fear they instinctively began to fire at the Hunter who continued to dash towards them. Seemingly avoiding each bullet until he was within striking distance of the group. Dunstan dragged another paper across his cane this time coating it in a shower of sparks. With lightning dancing across his blade he began working through the group knowing they couldn't open fire in fear of hitting their comrades. A few managed to pull out their swords or knives, but each blocked blow would just electrocute them instead of having the blade run through them.
"What are you?" The leader screamed watching his men get slaughtered before him.
"I've been called everything from doctor to murderer though I take up the mantle of Hunter again tonight. Tell me, what do you see?" Dunstan asked having almost never had the opportunity to converse with his enemies before.
"Demon." Was all the man could say as looked into Dunstan's eyes seeing something swimming deep within the darkness of his pupil.
Bringing his cane up he ended the fight wondering about the possible factions the soldiers could have belonged to. Dunstan was about to begin examining the bodies when a gust of wind began to whip around the landing pad. Looking up he saw the whale of a transport craft holding position overhead with four bullheads surrounding it.
"I brought the transport!" Oobleck yelled as his bullhead descended towards the landing pad.
"I can see that!" Dunstan yelled back as the roar of the engine was just beginning to calm after it had landed.
Oobleck stepped out of the bullhead and saw the gore that lay atop the roof, "what happened here?"
"A group of soldiers blasted the door open and let in one of the beasts. Sadly once I introduced myself they opened fire." Dunstan saw Oobleck look at the masks as his eyes switched between disappointment and anger.
"The White Fang has truly fallen if they are raiding shelters now. I had hoped they would have enough of a conscious to keep civilians out of this, but it seems nothing is safe." Oobleck finished as Dunstan walked past him and into the bullhead.
"I'm going on ahead then. Best I leave before I cause another incident." Dunstan tapped the pilot's shoulder motioning for him to head back to Beacon.
The flight back was mostly uneventful for Dunstan. Looking out he could see bodies beginning to fill the streets along with some of those flying beasts' bodies littering the roofs. The escorts definitely did a fine job of clearing the sky of hostiles allowing them an easy flight back to Beacon. Looking down at the now damaged city Dunstan felt sad at having never visited it when everything was operational.
Flying into the docks the Bullhead was about to land when an explosion lit up the sky. Looking for the source both the pilot and Dunstan could easily see the flames and smoke billowing up around the CCT. Without hesitation the pilot steered towards the tower to get a better view on what was happening around the superstructure.
Ruby was back in the gardens without a single injury on her body. Standing up she took a few cautious steps feeling that she could move just as well as when she woke up that morning. Pulling out Crescent Rose she started making her way back to her team as fast as she could. The world began to pass by at blurring speeds until a white beam of light passed in front of her in an attempt to hit her.
Leaping back Ruby covered her ears as the buzzing noise it was emitting almost deafened her. The ground that the laser tore across was actually fine and appeared to be undamaged for the moment. Ruby was about to step forward when an explosion began to trail along the same path as the beam quickly pressing towards her. Dodging to the side she let the explosion rush past her and continue down the street until it came to a sudden stop.
Turning her head up towards the tower Ruby felt sick looking at the being that was hanging off the building staring down at her. The seven arms were bent at awkward angles as the feet curled like fists crushing some of the tower's exterior casing. Each hand had six clawed fingers sticking out of them that could easily impale or crush a Huntress of her size. She could feel it staring at her from behind the cage like structure of bone and flesh that seemed to surround and protect its head.
She began leaping around in front of the tower firing away at the unimaginable horror that was clinging to the structure. Each shot was accompanied by a small burst of blood letting her know that the being did indeed bleed. With it being so high up she could only pelt away at it unless she wanted to try throwing herself at it with her weapon.
Annoyed with the pest that had been trying to injure it, the Amygdala finally descended the tower to confront the girl. Once it reached the ground it stood on two legs and hunched over Ruby as if she were an insect. A single swipe of the hand nearly had enough force to throw Ruby through the air with the gust of wind it left in its wake.
Standing her ground Ruby took the challenge and fired one last shot at the being which finally provoked it into truly fighting back. Moving at speeds unprecedented for something so large it slammed two hands into the ground trying to squish Ruby in one move. Pulling the arms back it saw petals falling were the bloody smear of the Hunter should have been and immediately brought one of the arms around to cover its head as Ruby tried to pierce the protective cage.
She fired off a shot to get away from the arm coming around to slap her off the head. The bullet went through the gaps in the cage and seemed to actually injure the being causing it to bring up two hands in an effort to cradle its own head as if in pain. Seeing the opportunity Ruby began to fire away at the head hoping to slip some bullets past the protective guard and cause some damage to the being.
Ruby was reloading her gun when she saw eyes beginning to bulge out of the interior of the cage. The sheer amount of eyes looking in so many different directions gave it complete coverage of everything in front of it. Just as Ruby was about to move, the same beam erupted from the center of its head and began zigzagging towards her.
As she ran from the laser she noticed the beam following her every step with terrifying accuracy along with the explosion happening almost instantly wherever the beam touched. She could feel the heat from the explosion beginning to near her with each passing second and having to avoid the shrapnel was preventing Ruby from pulling out all the stops.
Deciding to go on the offensive Ruby launched herself towards the being with her weapon as the laser phased right through her causing no harm. Away from the explosive ground she fired another bullet forcing her to move even faster as she brought her scythe back. Passing the head midair Ruby landed behind it as part of the protective cage began to slip from the rest of it. Like an exposed brain Ruby could now see the squishy interior that was normally protected by the shell.
As it screamed out in pain Ruby devised a rather cruel plan to bring the monster down. Propelling herself towards the head again it tried to swat her away only for Ruby to leap up the arm and use it as a platform to have a better shot at her objective. Bounding off the arm she collapsed her scythe and tucked herself into a ball before landing inside its cage.
Drawing her gun Ruby pressed the barrel against what was housed inside and began firing away at it. Each bullet would elicit either a flail or scream from the being reassuring Ruby that she was hurting it. The unbearable pain from each shot brought the being to press its hands on the side of its head and begin pressing. Ruby could hear the bones creaking from the stress, but continued to fire away now that her exit was blocked by one of the hands.
The race felt like minutes to Ruby as she tried to outpace the monster's own self destruction. Her arms turning heavy with each pull of the bolt and her heart pounding from excitement. She was about to load in another magazine when her world went askew and she felt the ground rushing to meet her. The sudden stop from hitting the ground threw Ruby from her position and against the cage. Climbing out of the head she was greeted with the sight of a Bullhead landing.
"I leave for 30 minutes and a Great One decides it would be an amazing idea to set up shop in Beacon. Wonder how it even got here in the first place." Dunstan remarked as he saw the dead Amygdala laying before him.
"He wasn't that tough." Ruby said, using her weapon as support while trying to catch her breath.
"A+ for creativity when it came to killing that Amygdala. Hopefully there aren't any in the city."
"There are more of those things?" Ruby said exasperated over the thought of having to face multiple of them at once.
"Those are the most common Great Ones I can think of. They were worshipped by the church as beings of a higher power so they were quite abundant around the city. Didn't actually expect any to show up here though. Wonder if there's something like Rom down in the city?"
"A what?" Ruby asked trying to imagine what could be more disturbing than what she just fought.
"Giant spider thing that was holding back the blood moon in Yharnam. Thinking back it probably wasn't the smartest idea to kill him. I mean he didn't even want to fight me initially I just saw a horrid spider and decided to attack it. Not my proudest moment as a Hunter, but it all worked out."
"Oh No!" Ruby yelled looking down the path leading towards the storage building, "They're in danger."
"Who's in danger?" Dunstan asked wondering just what could have suddenly set Ruby off.
"My team, we were in a fight when I died. They're still fighting and down a member since I'm not with them."
"Come on, we can take the bullhead. Worst case scenario we pull them out with it and get more reinforcements." Dunstan said as he stepped into the vehicle with Ruby following suit.
"Got a plan for dealing with a horde of Grimm?"
"I've got my whip for culling large groups and you have your scythe so I'd say we're prepared."
The Bullhead came over the building and they could see the swarm of Grimm that were encircling the team. Blake was killing the Grimm with strong quick swipes of her blade aiming for vital points before moving onto the next target. Yang was tearing through anything that got close and seemed to be pushed along the edges of the circle while a stranger was simply striking down anything that got near.
Ruby began frantically looking for Weiss and spotted her far away from the team trying to hold off a small group of Grimm by herself. The Beowolves would attack in waves knowing the Huntress couldn't deal with all of them at once otherwise she'd leave her back open to the others in waiting. She starting to run out of breath and the occasional scratches she suffered were beginning to add up against her aura.
Weiss saw a black flicker out of the corner of her eye and braced for another strike to her back only for the sound of a blade whistling through the air to grace her instead. Turning around she saw the back of a red cloaked individual. They were wielding a large scythe in their hands with a familiar red color scheme. When the hood was pulled back Weiss saw the cheery smile of her leader and silver eyes staring back at her.
Weiss couldn't find words to describe how she was feeling at the moment. Joy couldn't describe a fraction of what she felt at her leader's return from the dead. Whether a hallucination or miracle she let a smile form on her face as Ruby protected her back, letting her focus on the Grimm in front of her.
"Got your back Weiss."
"And I have yours."
Beta: 5 Coloured Walker
And that's how you cheese the Amygdala fight in 3 easy to follow steps. I hope this guide has been useful to those of you who can perform epic acrobatic feats. As for the exact size of an Amygdala's head being off call it artistic license so that the final fight could play out. Besides I'm kind of bored of things being killed in the normal hack and slash ways. In RWBY they get so creative when it comes to taking down bigger foes or teams so I figured I'd try to keep things interesting with how someone so agile would take on a boss from Bloodborne. We'll probably be getting into what Cinder's game plan was before everything went to hell next chapter so there's that to look forward to.
Until next time.