The four men rushed through the dense forest blindly hacking and slashing at the low hanging branches and vines in their path. Their legs barely worked, and their lungs screamed in pain, but the adrenaline pounding through their brains ordered them to continue their escape.
They were being chased not by a Grimm, but by an army. An army of soldiers from all the four kingdoms and settlements from around the world that wanted them dead. After all, they wouldn't understand what the Black Fang truly stood for.
"OVER THERE!" The tallest man shouted at his comrades as he pointed at a small clearing in the dense woods. Through the flashes the others could make out through the dense branches and vines they saw a small cave cut into a cliff side.
They dove into the clearing and rushed into the cave. They had been sprinting for their lives for hours now. The Black Fang had destroyed several large freighters each containing millions of lein in cargo, and this small group had stolen a boat and fled to a remote island in the middle of the ocean. It took them a full day and night to arrive at the island, and after only a few hours of relaxing and enjoying the sensation of a mission gone perfectly the military caught up to them.
They made a mad dash into the dense woods as soon as the battleship appeared on the horizon. The rest of the world was desperate to put an end to the Black Fang's reign of terror and would do anything to catch just a few members of the terrorist organization. Their discovery stung more because they saw the island on a map and thought it would be a great way to reward themselves after a mission. A few days roughing it on a deserted island sound like fun when they thought they weren't going to be hunted like dogs.
The youngest of the group a tiger faunas named, Isaac Aino, collapsed onto his hands and knees panting. "We… We're gonna…die." He panted out.
"No, we won't!" The groups ox faunas, Ashton Tai, tried to reassure pulling Isaac to his feet.
Marco Dream the eagle faunas turned to face his closest friends, "I'm with Isaac here Ash. God knows how many soldiers are out their looking for us right now.
"Then we go down fighting. Just like Adam." The team's unspoken leader, Tyrion Gold barked out. He was a lion faunas. A trait a wore proudly with his long golden mane of hair and the cat ears poking out of his hair. He stood far above the others, and he was the one who ordered them into the clearing they stood in right now.
Adam Taurus was a hero in the Black Fang because his ideals had spawned their organization. He believed that the faunas were not inferior nor equal to the humans. They were superior to them. And through their actions they would prove to the world that the faunas were the true dominant species and claim their spot on their rightful throne.
Tyrion took a moment to analyze the area they had found themselves in. The thick tree line was less than twenty feet from the cave entrance. The cave itself was spherical in shape, and a pedestal covered in decaying vines sat at the entrance. On top of the pedestal sat a grey translucent crystal ball a foot in diameter. Facing the back of the small cave Tyrion saw that the cave walls were covered in thick healthy vines that grew down from the ceiling, clinging to the walls, and gathering around a large oval shaped object that sat at the back of the cave. The vines were tightly intertwined, and several grew out of the bottom rooting themselves into the stone floor, keeping the object upright.
"What the hell is that thing?" Isaac blurted out upon seeing the strange object.
"A cocoon?" Marco posited starring at the oval covered vine.
"What kind of animal makes a cocoon out of vines?!" Ashton shouted, his short temper making itself known.
Tyrion ignored his friends arguing and approached the strange object with extreme caution. As he got within a few feet of the strange object the vines started to glow a blinding bright green and throbbing with a pulse, like they were pumping blood into the cocoon.
The light died down and the vives covering the top of the cocoon loosened and fell to the floor.
"What… the… hell?" Tyrion breathed out upon seeing what was contained within the cocoon.
A small girl.
She looked no older than twelve years old with light brown hair that stretched down past her knees, and two short reindeer antlers sticking out of the top of her head. Her eyes fluttered open and her sat upright giving the four Black Fang soldiers a good look into her brilliant emerald eyes. She was wearing a tattered dress made of what looked like dried leaves stitched together.
The girl giggled softly and tilted her head to the side with a bright smile, "How did the four of you find me out here?" She asked in a joking tone.
Isaac panicked and reached for his gun, "What the fuck are you? How did you do that?" He demanded.
"My name is Lio. The God of Life." She answered calmly.
"God of what?" Marco breathed out in confusion.
She hoped down from the cocoon she was contained in and moved over to the pedestal with the grey orb atop it. With a wave of her hand the decaying vines suddenly returned to life and moved away from the orb and pedestal. The pedestal itself was attached to the floor clearly having been carved there. The intricate carving themselves depicted a women holding an orb over her head and vines and flowers coming out of the orb, and people bowing down at the base of her feet.
Lio waved her hand over the greyed-out orb and it suddenly glowed bright green. The stone floor below them was suddenly covered in grass and bright flowers, and the ceiling above them had bioluminescent plants sprout out of the cracks that ran down the walls. Moss quickly spread across the entirety of walls.
"That's better." Lio sighed relived. She then looked down at her body and frowned at her dress. She snapped her fingers and the tattered dress of dried leaves turned into an elegant gown made of moss and flowers. "This will do until I can return to my original form." She muttered.
Isaac fascinated by the orb reached out to touch it, only for a branch to swing down from ceiling and cut his arm off by the elbow. She shrieked and fell to his knees clutching the bloody stump where his arm was once attached.
"I would refrain from touching the orb of life Isaac." Lio instructed. "It would be a shame for one of my creations to die so young." She leaned down and held out her hand, a soft green glow manifesting around her hand.
The blood flow stopped, and the bone of his arm started to grow outwards in the shape of the arm he lost. The mussels, veins, nerves, and tendons shortly followed, and Isaac's arm was once again attached to his body, his old one still on the floor.
"How did you…?" Isaac asked in disbelief.
"As I told you Isaac. I am the God of Life. Healing a wound as trivial as this is no more than an inconvenience." She explained hopping back to her feet.
"How do you know our names?" Ashton asked.
"I know everyone's names Ashton." Lio explained.
"You called us 'Your creations'." Tyrion said walking over to Lio. "What do you mean by that?"
Lio stared at Tyrion for a moment. "Hm, how do I explain it in a way that you can understand." She mumbled tapping her chin. Tyrion looked a little offended at the young faunas' statement.
"A long time ago my elder brothers created humanity, but humanity turned against them, so they destroyed their creation. I was and still am rather fond of humanity, so I attempted to revive the species and in doing so I created the faunas." She explained.
"You created the faunas?" Tyrion breathed out wanting confirmation.
"Indirectly, but yes. I believe it has something to do with my antlers." She stated pointing at the antlers growing out of her head.
Tyrion stumbled back in shock. He didn't want to believe it but based on what he had seen in the last few minutes it made sense. This little girl was the God of Life. He was talking to a god. The same god that had created his species.
"Somethings wrong…" Marco said from the other side of the cave they stood in. He looked incredibly nauseous, and a faint purple glow emanated from under his skin.
A look of pained horror spread across his face right before he exploded. Chunks of muscle and viscera coated the walls of the cave. The group barely processed Marco's fate when Ashton met the same grizzly end.
Tyrion panicked and he reached for his revolver, fumbling to get it out of its holster. His eye's focused on the God of Life who stood as still as a statue a look of horror spread across her face.
"WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED!?" He demanded.
"It… It can't be." She mumbled absent mindedly. "That's impossible."
Tyrion looked down at his skin and saw the faint purple glow under his skin. He felt incredibly nauseous and fell to his knees. His pain didn't last long as the purple light took over his body and his insides met the walls of the cave. Isaac screamed in horror as his only friends blew up in front of him.
A loud cackle rang out from high above the still living figures. The laugh came from a girl with alabaster white skin floating above the clearing. She could not have been older than fifteen years old but was clearly older than thirteen. She wore a black dress with crimson accents running down the sleeves and hem of the skirt. Her eyes were blood red with a black sclera. She had long white hair that fell past her upper back. Lio took quick notice to the black veins visible under her skin.
Lio's gown transformed into ornate wooden armor and a long saber with a blade made of sharpened leaves and a handle of made of wood grew out of her palm. "What are you." The God asked coldly.
The floating girl giggled again. "That's a little hurtful." She quipped in a light innocent voice. "I have a name you know. I thought you knew everyone's name." She taunted a sinister smile spreading across her face.
Lio concentrated hard as she starred at the pale girl. "Your curse blocks my powers." She finally answered.
"Curse…?" She asked analyzing her body. "No… I don't see a curse, but more of a blessing." Her innocent voice was cancelled out by her sinister, mocking tone.
Lio tightened her grip on her saber. "In that case, allow me to introduce myself." The girl floated down hovering a few feet above the ground.
"I am Llorona. Daughter of Salem." She introduced bowing.
"S-Salem… the witch that nearly destroyed Remnant twenty-one years ago?" Isaac stammered out.
Llorona sighed and waved her hand in Isaac's direction, red smoke leaving her palm. "Shut up and die." She groaned.
The smoke circled around Isaac's face and then flew up his nose. A few seconds later he started coughing up large amounts of blood and fell to the floor his heart having stopped beating.
"They're so cute when their dying." Llorona joked.
A deep rage burned inside the God of Life as she stood still, her grip so tight her swords handle started to crack. "How… How did you… How did you do that." She asked through gridded teeth. Her gaze was fixed on the floor after seeing the red fog leave Llorona's hand.
Llorona giggled once more. "It's simple really. I stole the powers from the God of Death." She answered.
Lio looked up her rage showing in her emerald eye's. "What did you do to my little brother…" She growled.
"Little brother!?" The pale witch cackled. "He was nearly fifty times your height! How is that little?" She laughed.
Lio charged at Llorona jumping into the air slashing down at her. Llorona didn't flinch and smiled at the God's attempt to kill her. Lio was grabbed out of the air and pinned to the floor by arms made of blue energy.
"Did I forget to mention that I also stole the powers from the God of War?" Llorona mocked.
A large tree erupted from the ground and crashed down on the floating girl. The tree landed on the ground shacking the whole island. After a short moment Llorona came rocketing out of the trunk surrounded by a ball of fire.
"And the God of the Eternal Flame." She taunted as the ball faded from around her. "And almost every other God minus you and a couple others."
Lio didn't attempt to struggle. She knew it would have been pointless. The chi arms created by the God of War were impossible to destroy, she had been trapped in them enough times to know. The only ability more powerful than the arms were Death's chains, but Lio wasn't going to give that information to Llorona.
"How are you stealing our power's? What do you plan to do with them? How do you know about our existence, any record of us should have been erased?" Lio asked wanting clarity before she met the mysterious fate her brothers had already met.
Llorona sighed. "Always the same questions from you guys…" She groaned. "I absorb the energy from the orb on your alter." She started motioning over to the pedestal with the green orb on top. "I'm going to become a god and reshape the universe in my image, and I found a book that told of the eleven gods." She explained vaguely, clearly having gone through this same conversation several times before.
"At least the God of Death didn't talk much." She mumbled under her breath, as she floated over to the green orb.
Lio began sobbing lightly, knowing pleading would be pointless, and fighting would never work. She had always been the weakest among her siblings.
Llorona picked up the orb and immediately the green energy began flowing from the orb and into the witch. She smiled from ear to ear as the green color faded from the crystal ball. She felt wild lighting shooting across her nerves and her skin became more sensitive to the air around her.
The flow of energy stopped, and the orb was now a deep blackish grey. She tossed it to the ground without a care in the world. She turned to face the former God of Life and smiled brightly seeing her body slowly disintegrate and crumble into leaves and flower petals. Before long Lio's body was no more and Llorona was the only one standing in the grotto.
"Nine down. Two to go." She giggled.
A low rumbling sound came from the woods in front of her drawing her attention. She was met with two large glowing yellow eyes burring with rage. The eyes were attached to a large wolf like animal that stood nearly thirty feet in height. It's body had no fur, scales, or skin, but instead seemed to be made of moving smoky shadows.
"Make that ten." The pale girl remarked, the forest around her morphing and bending to her will.
Team AMBR was relaxing in their dorm room working hard to complete their homework assignments. As normal, the team's leader was absent from the dorm room. All team leaders had to take extra classes at the end of the day.
The team's stealth expert, Bella, looked up from her paper and at the door to her right. "Three… two… one…" She counted out loud so the other members could hear her. Her face flushed bright red as nothing happened when she finished counting and the team's leader Amber walked in a few seconds after she had finished counting.
"Hey guys!" She greeted as she walked into the room.
"Better luck next time Bell." Mia quipped from the other side of the room.
Amber threw a stack of papers on the dining table that the team had placed in the center of the room. She cleared her throat, "I require your attention!" She proclaimed.
"What is it this time?" Rod groaned turning in his chair.
Mia and Bella got up and walked over to the table. "What's with the papers?" Mia asked sitting in one of the color-coded dining chairs.
"These are sign up papers." Amber explained.
"Sign up for what?" Rod asked getting up, his curiosity being spiked.
"The qualifiers for the forty-sixth Vytal Festival Tournament!" Amber stated excitement swelling in her voice. "If we qualify then we transfer to Atlas for a couple months and compete, and after the tournament we transfer back to Beacon." She explained.
"Sounds like fun!" Mia exclaimed.
"Definitely interesting." Bella remarked.
"What do ya' say Rod?" Amber asked hopefully.
"Well, we are the number five team in Beacon, so we stand a good chance at qualifying." He paused for a moment. "Why not."
"HELL YEAH!" Amber exclaimed. She started to walk over to her desk to grab a pen but when he reached out to grab it, the pen vanished from the pencil holder on her desk and appeared in her hand, white rose petals falling off the writing tool.
"I didn't know you could teleport objects?" Mia stated looking over Amber's shoulder.
"I can't. Or I couldn't." She corrected sitting down at the dining table.
"Looks like your semblance is evolving." Rod said sitting down across from her.
"I guess it is…" Amber smile from ear to ear at the thought. The evolution of a semblance was a rare occurrence, and Amber's was so simple that she figured that it would never evolve in any way. When she was a child she remembered Ruby saying that she thought the same thing about her semblance, but it had changed greatly over the years. The most noticeable difference was that Ruby had a similar form of teleportation to her daughter, but Ruby's was slower and harder on her aura then Amber's was.
Each member of the team signed their name on the forms and Amber got up from the table with them in hand. "I'll hand these over to my Aunt Blake and we will be officially signed up for the Vytal Tournament." She was about to teleport to her Aunt's office, but a knock at their kitchen door stopped her.
In the doorway stood the leader to the team next door to them, Amy Gem. "Hey guys." She greeted.
"Hey Amy!" Amber returned walking over to the purple themed girl. "What's up?"
"Oh, I was just wondering that since your about to turn in your paper's… you wouldn't mind turning in my teams papers." She requested nervously.
"You guys are signing up for the tournament?" Mia asked from the table.
"Yeah we talked it over and decided that we weren't going to let you guys upstage us." She joked.
Amber grabbed the papers from Amy's hand. "Sure, thing Amy." With that Amber vanished from the dorm room in a cloud of rose petals.
She reappeared in front of her Aunt's office and knocked on the door. Her Aunt's voice could be heard through the door letting Amber know to come in. She opened the door, forgetting to close it behind her, and walked into the room.
"Hey Aunt Blake." Amber greeted.
"Hello Amber, what can I help you with?" She asked with a warm smile.
Amber skipped over to the desk and handed Blake the forms. Blake stared at them for a moment in silence. "You're sure about this?" She checked.
Amber nodded affirmatively.
Blake smile brightly and opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by another knock at her door.
Amber looked over her shoulder. "Summer, Elly?" She said seeing her older sister and cousin in the doorway.
"Hello Amber, Aunt Blake." Summer greeted respectfully.
"Hey Mom, Runt." Elly greeted brushing past Summer and approached the desk.
"What do I owe the pleasure?" Blake joked.
Elly chuckled and hand her mom the same stack of papers that Amber had handed her a few moments ago. Summer quickly followed her cousin's actions.
"Your both signing up?" Amber questioned.
"Yep!" Elly responded.
"Of course." Summer returned.
Amber looked between them for a moment and chuckled. "Well can't wait to mop the floor with you guys." She taunted.
"We'll see about that Runt." Elly challenged.
"Just don't get herself too hurt, okay?" Summer requested sounding like the overprotective sister she was.
Blake chuckled at the cousins antics. "The matches start in next Saturday at one P.M." She handed them each a paper detailing the rules of the qualifier rounds.
"Now I can't say this but." Blake started. "I'm rooting for the three of you. Good luck."
"Thank you Aunt Blake." Summer thanked.
"Yeah, thanks Mom."
Amber closed her eyes and lightly snickered, "I won't be needing it." The others looked at her weirdly. Amber opened her silver eyes that now resonated with a faint silver glow, "My team has this in the bag."
Next Chapter; Qualifiers