Only one week and a few hours late. Sorry about that everyone, but work has picked up like crazy due to what I refer to as a scheduling issue. Turns out that a lot of people wanted vacation time for the last week of summer and who ever is in charge of scheduling didn't notice until a good quarter of a department didn't show up. So I've been working a my normal shifts and another shift in a department I left about 7 months ago. On the bright side I made a fair amount of money, but couldn't keep to my release schedule. We've gotten over 800 followers now and nearly 680 favorites. It's always a joy to see those numbers rising and it fills me with pride that so many of you have taken notice of my story.
Now that's done and I'll thank you for once again coming to see another chapter release. Onward towards the final floor of Signal's tower.
"Put me down, we have to go back for Blake." Ruby continued to try and break free of Dunstan's grasp.
"If we go back for her now we'd be abandoning your sister. How long do you think she can hold off an immortal foe?"
"Let me help her. If you stop that ringing, then me and Yang can help Blake."
"That's no longer an option. If I go on alone I doubt I'd survive against whoever is in charge. I may be good, but my entire style was built around understanding my opponents then finishing them on the second or third go around. Unless I'm facing off against someone leagues below my level then I could lose." Dunstan tossed a vial of blood to Ruby.
"Then what are we supposed to do. You know Blake doesn't stand a chance against him by herself. Weiss might not even make it to the third floor in time to help." Ruby noticed Dunstan turn his head away from her. "Weiss is coming, right?"
"She promised to watch our backs by staying on the ground floor. A room easily accessible to anyone who can fit through the front door of Signal's most prominent buildings."
"Weiss knows what she's doing. She wouldn't break a promise like that. She's stronger than we ever gave her credit for and smarter too. There's no way she'd ever lose to some killer," Ruby said with confidence.
"I'll give you that. Your resident queen is tougher than she looks, but we have different matters to attend to. Help me, help your sister. Once Yang is freed up she can aid Blake. If she isn't to hurt, she can help turn the tide in Blake's favor or buy enough time for Weiss to arrive after she seals the entrance."
"Okay, we go up there kill whoever is ringing that bell then get back down to help bust Adam's teeth in before Yang does."
"About as sound of a plan I would've used. Skimped on the details in between those points, but those tend to get filled in during the plan. You good to help me now?" When Ruby gave a nod of her head, Dunstan let her go.
"You didn't have to carry me up all those stairs. I think you wrinkled my skirt."
"Since when do you care about appearances?"
"Since Weiss made it a point that everyone on the team is properly dressed. I know Yang thinks we do it so we don't besmirch Weiss' name or something, but she just doesn't want others getting the wrong impression of us. Being raised by a prim and proper family tends to get people thinking about how the outside world will view them." Ruby knew Weiss wasn't complete forthcoming about her upbringing. Spending so much time together though did lead to some secrets slipping through the cracks.
"Anything unique about the fourth floor?"
"Nothing besides that it was reserved for people on their fourth year at Signal. Should be normal unless they changed it after we left."
"So nothing too big. Should be fun saving the world again."
"You never did tell me how that ended, Dunstan."
"I saved the day of course. Fought my way through the night and brought an end to the nightmare along with everything it birthed," Dunstan said boastingly.
"Never really talked about what happened afterwards. You didn't talk about your home or what happened to the spreading plague that had infected the surrounding areas."
Dunstan felt a sharp pain pierce his head at the thought. A flash of images from Yharnam and the red moon that filled its sky. Beasts being hunted down and strung up on stakes as warnings to anything that saw it. Doors covered in blood as the incense that warded off the plague burnt out. The shattering of wood as homes were busted into and cries from those it housed. Field hospitals with people that were fraught with a fever. Beasts falling to blades as cities burned in the background and sudden explosion that ripped the sky asunder. Mountains giving way to rivers and the ground reaching skywards.
"Dunstan are you okay?" Ruby asked as the man in question had raised a hand to comfort the pain that filled his head.
"Just a headache. It will pass eventually."
"Is this about what happened in Yharnem?"
"I try not to think about what happened after Yharnam. It's like a dream I can't remember and the more I grasp at the memories, the more they slip away."
"Then don't think about it. Sometimes if you're patient enough and wait long enough it will come to you."
Dunstan was about to reply when they reached the door leading to the fourth and final floor of Signal's tower. Running through the door they saw a man with a top hat on his head stood in the center of the arena. He wore what must have been a custom suit due to the embroidering on the cuffs and the odd symbol that marked his right chest pocket.
"So nice of you to finally arrive. You will not believe how much work it took to get to this exact point." The mystery man said as Ruby and Dunstan walked into the arena. They noticed a clocked figure behind the man with a bell in their right hand that continuously rang.
"Are you the one behind all of this?" Ruby asked as her hand inched towards the weapon she kept strapped to her back.
"You're going to have to be more specific than that."
"Are you the reason everyone in Vale is fighting to survive this night?"
"In that case, yes. Vale fell to pieces a little quicker than I expected, but it was a nice enough distraction." The man began walking around the arena without a care. "The logistics alone combined with coercing the right people really made pulling tonight off feel special."
"Was this all just some game to you?" Ruby felt her voice strain at the realization that everything she suffered through was caused by someone's whim.
"After enough time everything turns into a game. What is a child doing by pretending to be a Huntress anyways?"
"Protecting my family." Ruby pulled out her weapon and gave a nod to Dunstan who smiled in return.
Dunstan ran at Floes who eagerly charged as well. Dunstan brought his sword up just as Floes brought his down creating a shower of sparks from the clash. Even with the second blade Dunstan's attacks were all intercepted by Floes own. Each trying to unleash their own burst of attacks only to intercept the others. As they clashed Ruby launched herself over Dunstan only for Floes to raise his left hand towards Ruby.
"Where do you think you're going?" A gunshot went off throwing Ruby further into the air and causing her to tumble to a stop only a few feet from Floes.
Before Floes could turn back to face Dunstan two swords flashed before him. Floes once pristine suit now had two horizontal gashes across it that oozed blood. Bringing his attention back on Dunstan, Floes raised his sword and intercepted the twin blades that were trying to snap back together. With his sword wedged between the two blades Floes swung his own weapon throwing Dunstan and freeing their weapons.
The moment Dunstan landed he launched himself at Floes again. Instead of swinging his own sword he brought the gun at his hip up and fired trying to catch Floes mid swing. Floes narrowly leaped out of the way towards Ruby who was poised to strike. Swinging her scythe Ruby felt the tip of the blade begin to sink into Floes side only for it to stop due to his sword pressing back against the body of the scythe. With one arm still free he used the butt of his pistol and whipped Ruby across the head. As she stumbled backwards Floes dropped the gun and reached into his jacket pulling out another pistol that had clockwork like mechanisms built into the double barreled marvel.
Leveling the pistol at Ruby as she stumbled back the shots fired wide due to Dunstan's swords hitting the gun. The two bullets leaving rather large holes in the arena wall. When Ruby recovered she saw Dunstan engaged with Floes and made another run for the bell maiden. They both saw the red speedster make a break for it and While Dunstan could feel a grin forming on his face, Floes' remained calm. Dunstan was about to bring his sword down when a bullet crashed into his chest. He could feel his heart stop for a moment as Floes had an opportunity to kill him. Instead of delivering a fatal strike Floes ran towards Ruby.
Ruby ran at the bell maiden and drew her scythe back. Vanishing in a flash of petals she reappeared next to the maiden and brought her scythe forward impaling her. The maiden was hoisted off the ground by the force of the strike. Ruby kicked the back of her scythe, giving it enough momentum to carry the weapon over her head and into the floor. The ground cracked as the scythe pierced the ground with a body still stuck to it. The ringing came to a halt as the maiden let out her last gasps for air. Ruby was about to rejoin Dunstan in his fight when something nailed her leg, knocking it out from under her. As she brought her arms out two bullets tried to pierce her back and pushed her into the ground. Trying to get up she felt another pair of bullets nail her back and force her back down. Ruby felt what little aura she had left shatter under the force and for a hand to grip her by the neck.
Pulling Ruby up to eye level, Floes pressed the barrel to the side of Ruby's head and pulled the trigger. A flash from the gun and splatter of blood filled Dunstan's eyes. As Ruby's body fell towards the ground a sword embedded itself in Floes' arm. Looking at Dunstan, Floes saw only one sword in his hand and recognized the other half that had bit into his arm. Floes went to grab the blade only for Dunstan to throw his other sword forcing Floes to leap away as the blade spiraled through the air.
'Dunstan, I can't feel my body. What is going on? Why are you looking at me like that, Dunstan? Please answer me. Why can't I feel my Body? Please say something.' Ruby tried saying with only a jumble of words leaving her mouth.
"What answer going body. What is going looking are on? Why are Dunstan? Please Dunstan? Please, going body. What is you looking what answer? Please answer going body? Answer going body."
"Ruby I need you to calm down. The dream isn't taking you back even though you can't fight anymore. I'm going to give you something to help heal this, but you have to stay still while it works." Dunstan reached into his jacket and pulled out several vials and began injecting them one after another into Ruby.
"Do you really think I'd leave the connection to the dream open knowing there were Hunters after me. I will admit that reopening the Hunters dream was an unintended side effect at the time, but seeing what it brought back made me quick to rectify that." Floes laughed at the appearance of his opponents. "I only had to sacrifice a few hundred of my bodies to get the power needed to sever the connection to this world and bury that place once and for all."
"Just stay here for a moment. Keep your eyes focused on Floes and learn as much as you can." Dunstan stood up and drew his cane and pistol.
Floes gripped the sword lodged in his arm and with a quick jerk ripped it free. Drawing his arm back, Floes threw the weapon back at Dunstan. The sword spun through the air like a disk before a quick jab of a cane knocked it to the ground. Dunstan ran at floes trying to close the distance between them when an explosion occurred over head. Rolling out of the way of the falling rubble, Dunstan saw the blood red moon that hung above the academy.
"Come, Flora of the Moon. She who gave blood to the Pthumerians to uplift them. Who gave life to the beasts and let those around them transcend their human bonds. I beseech thee to grant an audience to hear my plea." The light from the moon shined into the arena as the clouds parted. Basking Floes in its red glow.
Dunstan tried to slash at Floes with his cane, only for it to come to a stop mid-air as if it had struck a stone wall. Dunstan struck the barrier again and again to no avail. Seeing the was impenetrable, Dunstan shifted his weapon into a whip. Sending an out a horizontal strike he watched as the base of his whip hit the invisible field and began curving behind Floes. As the tip of the whip curved inwards to reach floes, it smashed into another barrier. Dunstan pulled on his weapon seeing the whip wrap the air around Floes. The shield had formed a perfect sphere around his target.
"Don't do this Floes. The Great Ones never cared for us as a people. They would only glance our way when enough of an uproar was made to garner their attention." Dunstan's words were drowned out by the sound of shattering glass. The sky above Signal cracked open revealing an otherworldly darkens that devoured any light it touched.
"They may not care for us, but they are sympathetic to our plights. Placing curses on those who have committed atrocities and granting the wishes of those who've delved deep enough. All it takes is an offering to lure their eyes to a single point." The arena was covered in darkness as the moon's light vanished behind the hole that filled the sky. "I've given enough blood to garner her attention and made sure to keep the others away for when she descends. I will receive what I have earned you dying relic."
"Then I'll just have to beat you before she arrives. In the end they don't care who is standing before them as long as it gives them a reason to expend some of their power." Dunstan drew his swords and flipped the left one to hold it with a reverse grip. "You gave up your bodies to bait the waters so all I have to do is finish you to end this Hunt."
"Do you really think a hunter can stand up to this body. There's a reason I kept this one after all." In an instant Floes had drawn a longsword and pistol. "Condensing my mind into a single vessel has done wonders for me too."
Dunstan noticed Floes eyes twitching as they snapped to focus on everything around him. Minute jerks of the pupil turning into wide sweeps of the area. The moment Dunstan took a step forward Floes was halfway across the arena with his sword poised to strike. Raising his own blade Dunstan felt his arm being pushed back as he took the brunt of the blow. Swiping at Floes only resulting in failure as the blur of motion vanished before him.
Rolling to the side the sound of stone being shattered erupted along with fragments of the floor flying from the spot where Dunstan was stood. Floes sword had destroyed the tile completely and was quickly pulled up from the rubble. Dunstan swept Floes' legs forcing the man to the ground. Pulling a knife from his jacket he tried to stab Floes. Floes grabbed Dunstan's hand, preventing the knife from reaching his flesh. As Dunstan continued to press down with his knife, Floes dug his hand into Dunstan's. A snap echoed in the arena as Floes snapped two of Dunst's metacarpus, warping the hand. The grip on the knife slackened enough to let floes rip it from Dunstan's hand. Floes stabbed the knife into Dunstan's side causing the man to roll off and remove the weapon.
The knife clattered to the floor, as Floes stood back up to face Dunstan. Out of all of their exchanges Floes had managed to emerge victorious. With each clash whittling Dunstan down further and further he knew something dramatic would have to happen to shift the tide of battle. Pulling his arms back and his cane up, Dunstan prepared himself for a last ditch effort to end the fight in his favor. As Dunstan raised his weapon, Floes raised his own in preparation for the clash.
When a piece of rubble from the ceiling struck the floor, Floes charged Dunstan with a yell. With their swords raised Dunstan brought his left blade across to parry the stab only for his weapon to be swatted aside while Floes' sword continued forward. Floes continued his charge as his sword pierced Dunstan's chest. Dunstan's feet left the ground as he was dragged backwards by the impact until he was staring up at the gaping darkness above. Turning his head downwards he saw the silver blade hilted in his chest and likely the ground beneath him. Using both his hands he tried to pull the blade out with the only result being a new set of injuries on his hands. Feeling his strength beginning to fade Dunstan grabbed a vial and was about to inject himself when a bullet tore through his hand shattering the precious vial.
"Can't have you healing now after all the work I did." Floes pressed his foot into the gunshot wound. "Now for the main event. Moon Presence I once again request thee to make yourself be known and to hear my plea."
A chuckle could be heard from behind Floes coming from Dunstan as he winced with each gasp. "That's who you're trying to summon." Dunstan began to laugh only stopping when Floes gripped the sword handle causing the blade to shift in his chest.
"What do you find funny Hunter. Surely what remains of your order is aware of the being that sustained the dream and abandoned it during the last Hunt. After all it's what led to your species dying out. The only reason your even alive tonight is because I reopened the connection to the dream. Even the shattering of this world's fulcrum couldn't stop me forever. Nightmares slipping through for the last millennium all building up to this night."
"You really believe that she's still alive. How long have you deluded yourself by clinging on to a scrap of hope that I killed?"
"You tell nothing, but lies Hunter. She is too great to have been killed by a human or anything short of her equal."
"Look around Floes. You have nothing and your god is long dead. It's time you fade away like everything else."
"I have no need for you any longer. Now give way as I dredge up a body from the depths of the great sea." Floes pulled out his sword and aimed it at Dunstan's heart. With one push the blade shattered ribs and struck the organ ending its pulse. His pupils dilated as what life remained drained away onto the arena floor. The iris had nearly vanished revealing the darkness that crept behind it.
Before Ruby could even cry out, Dunstan's body vanished into a mist of light. Not even a stain of blood remained as Floes' weapon shined just as brightly as before. Trying to stand up and fight Ruby managed to get her right leg to properly move and toppled to the ground when the left remained unresponsive.
"Stay down you incessant pest. You'll get your turn after I've done what I had too," floes said trying to ignore the girl.
"What more could you possibly want? You've destroyed everything and put all of Remnant in danger."
"I was made to save your kind and was greeted with scalpels upon my birth. Even after everything that was done to me I still wanted to end the Hunt only to find silence upon reaching the surface. The beasts howling turning into little more than a murmur and the bloody streets being washed clean in the rain." Floes stabbed his sword into the ground out of frustration. "I lost my only purpose in life and found a new one. If I couldn't save humanity I would instead lead them into a new age. A new era with me at the spear point cutting a path into the future for others to follow."
"You goddamn liar!" Ruby yelled at Floes seeing his face stay stoic upon hearing her words. "No one who ever wanted to protect others would bring so much suffering to those they wanted to save."
"I guess I should have expected as much from a Hunter. Your kind would never have submitted to me like the rest of my followers. A few honeyed words are usually all it takes for a child to warm up to others, but I guess your no child. Monster would be more appropriate?"
Ruby let out a scream of anger as her body still refused to listen to her. "I'm going to kill you, you bastard, if it's the last thing I do."
"While it has been fun talking to something so below me, it appears that my efforts have come through." Floes looked up into the depths of the hole torn into the sky and could see something approaching its surface. "Perhaps you'll feel differently about submitting to me after I have a body worthy of ruling."
Ruby starred at the mass of grey and white flesh that seemed to float towards the hole before it breached the surface. The flesh slowly began to push itself out of the darkness. It appeared to be a culmination of rotted parts that had gravitated towards each other until forming a single unit. The most obvious part being the humans that composed the body. Each one was a pale as a ghost and lacked any hair. The eyes in their heads were completely black and seemed to lack any sign of intelligence. Ruby could see a few pieces of an Amygdala sticking out of the form. A few heads and arms that hadn't been fully absorbed by the mass. A few other odd extremities were exposed that clearly belonged to other Great Ones.
With on last push it was free and fell towards them. Floes opened his arms welcoming as the monster descended from the sky above. With a thunderous crash it punched an even larger hole through the roof and landed behind Floes. The moment Floes was within reach, one of the amygdala arms reached out and grabbed him. Floes was pulled above the being when the flesh atop it began to shift revealing a maw lined with teeth. In a blur of motion Ruby saw the hand slam into the being's top. Throwing Floes into the mouth before snapping shut.
Ruby looked up expecting something to happen only for the monster of flesh to begin hobbling towards her. She felt cheated out of something she deserved and was angry at the thing standing before her. Trying to stand up Ruby noticed her body was back in working order and quickly reached for Crescent Rose. With her weapon in hand she Fired off a few rounds to test the waters. Each bullet carving into her target's flesh, but the damage seemed meaningless do to the sheer size of her opponent.
Ruby ran forward and slashed at one of the several exposed legs that carried the monster. Her weapon tearing through the flesh to expose the muscle and bones that supported the being. Rolling to the side, Ruby avoided one of the Amygdala arms that reached for her. Hooking her scythe into its hand, Ruby let her blade segment. Spiraling across the arm she used the tension in the wires to support herself. Reaching the body, she stabbed the knife like blade that rested on the bottom of her weapon into the beast and reeled her blades in. The force snapping the giant arm backwards as bones shattered to accommodate the motion. Once the hand was pinned to the main body, Ruby fired her weapon propelling herself even further around the beast. The sound of flesh being torn was heard as her weapon went slack thanks to the arm being ripped from its body.
Blood spilled out from the wound and pooled on the floor. The monster roared as two bulges appeared underneath its skin. Ruby was about to charge in again when two arms tore out of the swells covered in viscera. The new appendages flailed about trying to crush Ruby. Each strike uncoordinated with the only substance being the strength behind them. Leaping through the barrage of attacks Ruby stabbed her weapon into the monster's body and caught her scythe into it. Ruby ran around the beast with her scythe still in its body. Every bone she snagged on being shattered as she fired her weapon to push through. Pushing herself further, Ruby leaped onto the body and began to carve into it. Nearing her third lap around Ruby leaped away noticing the lack of movement from the monster.
Ruby felt her heart pounding in her chest as the monster stopped moving. With a deep sigh she collapsed to the ground exhausted with her weapon barely being gripped in her right hand. The moon was still tinted red, but the clouds moving overhead brought some sense of normalcy to her. Ruby got ready to get back up when a rumble began to shake the arena. Looking around she saw the body of the monster begin to shake as parts of it began to collapse inwards. Like a flame burning out its last source of fuel she watched as it began compacting itself further and further. It all came to a stop when all that remained was a single body.
The being was human in shape with two arms and legs. What set it apart from what would be a human would be the lack of genitalia and its completely smooth face which lacked eyes, a nose, and a mouth. Its skin was sickly grey and lacked any hair. When Ruby reached for her weapon it turned its head as if to look at her. A seam split the head vertically across its center and tore open to reveal a pair of teeth and a tongue.
"I can feel the fear you're giving off, Ruby." Out of shock, Ruby fired her weapon launching a round at the thing standing before her. Raising its hand, the bullet harmlessly bounced off with a spark from the impact being the only visible effect. "You cannot kill a god."
"You're no god, you're a monster."
Ruby sat on the ground crying as the moon shined down on her and Floes. His new body shining a ghostly white as he stepped towards her. With a wave of his hand the blood from his old body that laid on the floor began to pool in his hand before solidifying into a sword. The blade lacked any texture and almost appeared flat with it all being made up of a single substance. Even the guard for the blade lacked any pattern and remained a static red.
With nothing to do and her body exhausted Ruby felt herself give up. Her mind that had been racing for some solution had come to a halt. She couldn't beat Floes in his new body and nothing she could muster could even detour him from his advance. Ruby relaxed seeing the situation before her and prepared herself for a much needed rest. Closing her eyes, she began to slow her breathing and listen to the sound of approaching footsteps. In the darkness of her mind she noticed something beginning to take shape.
Without even realizing Ruby felt her hand run across a rough metal surface of something. Opening her eyes, she saw the familiar bell that Dunstan gave her. A sudden surge of emotions brought Ruby back from her thoughts of defeat. Taking the bell Ruby held it out and shook it. The distinctive ring filling the arena and causing Floes to pause momentarily.
"There is no one for you to call on. The dream is dead along with all the tricks it granted its Hunters. That bell is nothing more than scrap now." Floes rant came to an abrupt stop when the arena shook from something
The sky was violently torn apart as a new hole was torn into reality above them. The sound reminding Ruby of fabric being torn Floes stopped in his tracks at the sudden feeling of cold washing over him. Ruby looked up into the darkness and could feel something from within it staring back at her. The sensation being enough to make her blood run cold. Several tentacles erupted from the hole dripping with a black liquid. Ruby watched as the globs of liquid would crush the stone floor as they fell from above. Reaching down the tentacles grabbed the top of the tower and began to be drawn back into the darkness. With the hold It had on the structure, the walls it gripped began to crumble inwards from the force. Eventually the building gave way shattering the floor beneath them, taking the rubble skywards. Before Ruby couldn't even begin to panic she realized that instead of falling she was being pulled up along with the remains of the structure.
Ruby tried to move to no success as whatever was pulling her up locked her movements. Moving her eyes, she could see Floes frozen just like her though his struggling caused his own extremities to begin bleeding due to the strain being put on them. All she could do was wait as more of her vision was taken up by the approaching darkness that sat in the sky. The rubble effortlessly drifted upwards through the hole. When her turn came Ruby could feel her heart quicken as her hand was pressed to the veil. As it passed through the barrier she could feel the cold as it ate away at her heat along with her hand vanishing into the darkness despite it being only a foot away from her eyes. Taking one last breath, Ruby was pulled into the darkness. After taking the two individuals from atop the tower the hole began to close. The edges slowly creeping towards one another until vanishing from existence and letting the island bask in the now pale moon.
1v1, 1 stock, no items, Final Destination. Let's do this. Seriously though folks, we have one last climatic fight to go and then we see what happens.
I've really enjoy writing these and most of you have probably noticed the naming theme for this chapter and the last three. It's just been enjoyable and we only have 2 more chapters to go. I know it's super basic to have each member face off with a opponent and have the boss at the top, but it's a classic in story telling and games. Just my influences shinning through on what I enjoy in a finale I guess. If every goes according to plan this story should end just before RWBY V4 comes out.