RWBY & All associated trademarks are property of Rooster Teeth (RIP Monty Oum)
I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.
I am making no money from this.
Chapter 127: Four Horsemen
The morning had come far to soon and as the late summer sun emerged fully above the horizon the sound of chirping birds and the city of New Vale rousing itself for another hectic and productive day in the distance beyond the remains of the Exclusion Zone wall were all drowned out by the roaring thrusters of several aerial transports as teams of students from the second, third and fourth years prepared to deploy. The vehicles were of a newer model than what Halo Academy, an Atlesian model known as the Manta to replace the Bull-Heads that had served the academy well for years after many had been destroyed or heavily damaged in the Battle of New Vale and Team GORE had been heard wondering aloud where the transport they had claimed as their own had been taken and if this meant that they would be able to take or buy it now that it was no longer needed.
"All I'm saying is, if we messed up in our initiation we wouldn't be able to just run to the nearest wall and get out that way" Nova Violette's comment was greeted with much jeering and several expletives that indicated their companions disagreement. Team FADE had found themselves sharing their transport with a now Second Year Team RAIN and the topic of conversation had turned to the relative difficulties of their initiation trials once the Manta had passed over the remains of Beacon Academy, giving the younger students their first real view of the historic building. Team FADE had been part of the last class of students to be tested in the Exclusion Zone rather than the Emerald Forest and were keen to defend themselves against the accusation that they'd had it easy.
"I think Nova may have a point" the always prim and regularly scathing Iridescence noted, tipping back her wide brimmed hat and displaying a small smirk "I heard a lot of swearing but no actual answer as to why the Exclusion Zone was the harder challenge"
"Other than basic history?" Felix scoffed in an affronted tone "They stopped using the Exclusion Zone because it was too dangerous, the Forest is literally a step down"
"Sounds to me like you just didn't kill enough Grimm while you were in there" Amethyst Wukong shot back with a snort, earning several sharp intakes of breath from her team-mates until Diamond leaned forward wearing a smile that was far too sweet to promise anything other than pain
"Hey remember that beating we all gave you last year? Wanna try your luck again?"
"Come on guys it's all just jokes" Redshank Bronzewing shook his head with a soft sigh and gently pulled Amethyst back and was treated to a roll of her mint green eyes for his trouble, the young man with the swept forward Mohawk and overly stylised sword still being far more gentle than his appearance would suggest and the sudden awkwardness between the two at the physical contact suggesting that old feelings were still present.
Felix promptly decided that it was too early in the morning to deal with Amethyst and her ex-boyfriend who was also her partner pining after each other and turned his attention to Team FADE
"Okay we've done this before you know the drill, when we land the we'll head North and the kids can take the south" he jerked a thumb at Team RAIN and received middle fingers in return but paid them no notice "We've got a decent sized area to clear out but it shouldn't take too long; more teams in the forest yesterday might mean more dead Grimm overall but the ones that are left are gonna be even more riled up"
"So of course we get to deal with 'em first thing in the morning on our first day back….and then straight onto classes" Arctus grumbled.
"Well Hellion promised to take notes for us if Team GORE get back early….and they've got some big guns and Onyx's Semblance so they might" Eagle noted, pride showing plainly on her face that Hellion's ability to read and write in the common language of the Kingdoms had progressed so far beyond what it had once been. Her friends made to offer their opinions on the offer, largely gratitude mixed with good natured grumbling about Team GORE getting out of the Emerald Forest first but were interrupted by a sharp whistle from Amethyst who gave Felix a single nod as a silent conversation took place between them.
"Okay it's go time people!" the Lion Faunus declared as he positioned himself at the exit hatch located beneath the left wing of the Manta, Team FADE around him whilst Team RAIN gathered around Redshank who was, despite appearances the leader of the team opposite them.
"On my mark!" Felix raised his voice to be heard over the howling wind as the hatches open and trees rushed passed below them, a clearing coming ever closer "Three! Two! One! GO!" In a single fluid motion Felix had launched himself from the Manta and drawn Hack and Slash from across his back as he somersaulted downwards. He caught glimpses of Eagle soaring downwards in her avian form, Arctus using a Glyph fuelled with Gravity Dust as something akin to a surfboard whilst Diamond managed to direct her fall so that she could use her Semblance to run vertically down one of the trees at the edge of the clearing; then he began working on his own landing strategy and felt the familiar power of his Semblance flooding his muscles as he absorbed heat from the early morning sun.
The ground shook and the booming impact that came with it echoes through the trees.
"Holy Oum Dude!" Diamond exclaimed as she readied Lex Talionis.
"Uh yeah, I've been hitting a little harder since….you know" Felix admitted as he rose to his feet and took in the sight of both the small crater he hand formed by simply landing in a crouch and the stunned looks that Team RAIN were giving him.
Suddenly he heard a faint, ragged breathing interspersed with unmistakable snarling and he quickly turned to both Arctus and Amethyst; whose own Faunus hearing confirmed what Felix knew to be the case
"Incoming" Arctus warned as he unslung Grimmiger-Henker from his back
"On all sides" Amethyst added as the Gemini Kong unfurled and slid into place over her knuckles; Felix rolled his shoulders back and shifted his weight, suddenly eager to get back into the thick of things without the threat of grand conspiracies hanging over head and a feral grin came to his lips as he gave orders
"Okay, Team RAIN pair up with a member of Team FADE; we've got your backs!"
Then the Beowolves began bursting from the trees.
The single pack had spread itself thin and surrounded the clearing as if its expected to encounter prey simply by waiting there; a plot that indicated intelligence and as the Hunters braced themselves they saw that there was indeed an Alpha Beowolf leading them, a larger Grimm with thicker bony armour and larger, more pronounced spines gracing its' hide to mark it out from those subservient to it.
Eagle quickly found herself paired up with Nova Violette, the tall and athletic dark skinned teen with a coppery orange afro gestured to Eagle's shield frantically as the Grimm bounded ever closer and indicated that they had a plan.
"Quick pass the cable claw things!" they beckoned as Eagle deployed Sentinel and with a silent nod as she drew her sword the powerfully built Blonde Huntress ordered her robotic companion to do as they were asked. Sentinel fired his claws towards Nova who deftly caught them and activated their Semblance with a booming rush of air, they shot backwards and as Sentinel braced himself the droids' cable arms were pulled taught and roughly half a dozen Grimm were sent clattering to the ground in a heap as they collided with them. Nova released Sentinel's arms and readied his own weapons whilst Sentinel aimed his mini-gun at the pile of monsters and the two opened fire with devastating effect. A pair of Grimm escaped only for Eagle to decapitate one with a flourish and calmly kick the other back into the line of fire.
"Gimme a Glyph!" Amethyst called out to Arctus, with whom she had found herself working. The Monkey Faunus was sprinting towards a particularly large Beowolf and leapt into to the air just as Arctus did as requested and created a platform which hovered at an angle several feet in the air.
Exactly what she needed for a springboard, as the Grimm reared onto its' hind legs Amethyst leapt onto the Glyph and flung herself forwards, the Dust chambers of her weapons rotating and causing her right fist to become wreathed in flames and force a pained yelp from the Grimm with the impact of her wild haymaker; she landed and quickly launched a spinning backhand with her left fist which was enveloped in a flickering and translucent blue mass with a vaguely honeycomb appearance to it. The hard-light Dust shattered the skull of the Beowolf with ease and Amethyst bounced on the balls of her feet partially with happiness and partially to regain her balance.
"And that's how you!-" she was cut off by Arctus shifting his broadsword into its' double barrelled laser cannon mode and firing over her shoulder to dispatch a second Grimm that the younger Faunus hadn't seen approaching her.
"No" Arctus sighed "That's how you do it" Amethyst scowled before using her Semblance, a glowing purple facsimile of her own form shot forwards at blinding speed and disabled a Grimm which had been approaching Arctus. The Bear Faunus decided turnabout was fair play and took it in his stride as they continued their work, though he was certain he'd hear about it later.
Diamond weaved between Grimm and removed limbs from bodies with Lex Talionis in its' glaive form whilst any Grimm that survived her lightning strikes were quickly unmade by Redshank who wielded Redeemer Scion in its' shotgun mode.
"Do you guys always make it look this easy?" the younger student demanded, almost awestruck as he watched Diamond kick one Beowolf away whilst simultaneously using her Semblance so that she could use the things ribs as a stepping stool to decapitate another.
"Most of the time dude" Diamond shrugged as the Grimm she had kicked aside was shot in chest, adding in a harsh mutter "Just as long as they've only got one head" her irritation only served to make her more formidable and impress Redshank even more as her blade lashed out invisibly fast and left nothing surrounding her save for a rapidly dispersing black mist.
Felix and Iridescence had been left with the Alpha Beowolf and Felix almost laughed as he remembered a time that such a prospect would have concerned him. The Grimm let out a howl of pain as Iridescence's weapon flew back to her hand and scored a deep gash along its' muzzle in the process, she had plucked 'Precious Fury' from beneath her hat and hurled it in its' discus form whilst Felix unloaded Hack and Slash in their machine pistol form until she caught the weapon and separated it into its' twin Khopesh form, the blades seeming far more savage choice in weapon that such a prim and haughty Huntress would be expected to use.
"I've got a plan" Felix announced "But I need quick answer and don't take this the wrong way, are you strong enough to pull it off balance?" it was a reasonable question, Iridescence was after all a little under five and a half feet tall and possessed a slight build; she was a Huntress however and she gave the Lion Faunus a nod as she flipped one of her blades over in her hands and shifted it into its' whip form, having an inkling of what Felix intended.
Seeing her nod the Lion Faunus rushed forwards and returned his weapons to their chainsaw-bladed sword forms whilst behind him Iridescence planted her sword into the ground and anchored herself before lashing out with her whip and ensnaring the Alpha Grimm's neck. The Beowolf thrashed and struggled but was quickly and painfully jerked forwards as Felix closed the distance and gathered his Semblance in a glow of golden light; he was an unstoppable object and as he collided with the Grimm and headbutted it directly in the snout it was flung to the ground with an earthshaking crash, lying prone for the fraction of a second it took Felix to bury Hack and Slash in its' torso and unmake the thing.
"Crude, bordering on barbaric to be truthful" Iridescence noted as she slipped her weapons back beneath her hat "But undeniably effective"
"Everyone good?" Felix called out, merely rolling his eyes at her comments.
"Safe to say we're all awake now" he laughed after receiving a chorus of confirmations, his voice then quickly took on an authoritative note that the dirty blonde hadn't noticed in himself before "Good, we're splitting into our teams from here on out. Team RAIN head south and check in, make contact if anything goes wrong….Let's go to work"
Salem's eyes snapped open and a flash or arcane light escaped them as a predatory smile formed on the Queen of Grimm's face; she had her answer.
The hours that she had spent in deep meditation had seemed far longer due to her manipulations of the flow of time and indeed even now the viscous surfaces of the various Spawning pits that surrounded her and formed her steadily expanding empire seemed to ripple in slow motion.
"Return to me" the words left her lips in a hushed whisper that echoed unnaturally and held an oddly grating note to it, her breath misting before her as she spoke despite the warmth of the morning air; her words were whispered directly into the Grimm hive mind itself and transcended physical limitations, Salem waited as the command travelled along the tangled web of linked primal minds and the gaping chasms of psychic resonance that were the Spawning Pits that had been brought under her sway until it finally it reached its' intended recipient; then it was a matter of waiting longer still as the command was obeyed, fortunately Salem had learned patience beyond mortal comprehension in her isolation.
Eventually the sound of powerful wings filled the air and several forms could be seen through the canopy of dead trees that lined Salem's swampland lair; the living darkness of Grimm tissue slowly encasing their trunks and spreading thick webbing between each tree to form a vast structure. The trees shook as large bodies weaved between their branches, with all but one of the winged monsters eventually taking positions on the lower limbs of the trees; the glowing and fiery red eyes of the flock of Nevermore gleaming as they preened themselves whilst Pantheon swooped low and landed before what was now Salem's throne, dropping to one knee and sinking into a deep bow as their wings folded around them and Flesh-Seeker buried in the oddly fleshy ground along with their clawed upper limbs.
"My Queen" the monstrous Grimm growled out, their inhuman voice having the same reverent tone that it always held.
"You've done well bringing more of your siblings home to us" Salem all but cooed as she rose from her throne, sauntering towards Pantheon and stroking the armoured carapace of their skull; it was a truthful comment, since being dispatched mere weeks ago Pantheon and the flock of airborne Grimm that followed them had located almost a dozen new Spawning and brought each of them under Salem's control without having to sacrifice a single one; vastly increasing the Queen of the Grimm's arsenal of expendable and replaceable monsters.
"I live to serve" Pantheon growled simply, bringing a pleased smile to Salem's lips.
"And your new task will be a simple one" she informed her loyal subject "I will be travelling….beyond your reach. I will be returning with allies; you are to watch over my domain"
"As you wish my Queen" Pantheon's bow deepened and Salem gave the monsters' skull once last caress before tapping into what remained of the powers of the Wizard to once again alter her relationship with time; she saw Pantheon rising to take her place in her throne in slow motion before in a series of rapid blinks she found herself in a clearing several dozen miles away from her domain.
The untouched grassland, far from any settlement seemed an oddly incongruous plan for what was about to occur but Salem reasoned that it would be wise to act proceed with caution.
Her isolation had been an indescribable torture without respite; ripped free of the Grimm hive mind from which she had risen for the first time in her existence and removed from the flow of time, each moment had felt like an aeon where all of time until the moment of her severing from reality had been condensed into a singularity that was bored into her mind for an infinite amount of eternities. But eventually, after having her mind shattered and reformed countless times she had begun to learn and with nothing but the raw, untapped Power of the Wizard to keep her company until Ozymandias had begun to use consciously enough for her to burrow into his mind she had found herself manipulating those powers in ways that no mere mortal to use them had dared consider.
Exhaling slowly and deliberately Salem braced herself and reached over her shoulder as a long, chitinous shaft rose from the mass of shattered bone resembling a crescent moon that grew from her shoulder blades, in a single fluid movement she pulled the crescent away and shifted her grip on the newly formed shaft as the shattered fragments of bone reshaped themselves into a curved scythe blade; a choice of weapon which Salem didn't care to delve into the meaning behind. With a single powerful swing a wave of purest darkness was projected from the blade of the weapon and seemed to hang in the air, a single scar on reality which began to tear itself open further until it formed a single, ragged wound in the fabric of space and time large enough for Salem herself to fit within.
With a look of determination she strode into the void which promptly vanished behind her.
What greeted Salem was in many was in many ways similar in appearance to her own understanding of the Grimm hive mind; an incomprehensibly vast web spanning out in all directions formed of countless focal points which branched out into various limbs or pathways that led to focal points of their own; though this was not a series of interconnected consciousnesses.
This was time itself.
It had taken an amount of time that could never truly be measured for Salem to learn to perceive of reality this way and longer still to master her newfound powers so that she could forge those perceptions into something that was tangible to her but it had finally been done. Each focal point was a single defining moment in time and the branches that led away from it were the myriad possible outcomes of each moment; weaving a vast web of possible realities from which to take what she needed.
Salem knew however that there were limits to what she would be capable of, set by some immutable laws of the multiverse beyond even her control and understood intrinsically by virtue of her use of the Wizards' power. She would not be able to simply retreat backwards along the course of her own timeline and stop her defeat from ever happening, it simply could not be done. She would not be able to linger in any of the alternate timelines, nor would she be able to simply pluck other Wizards or Maidens from their own realities; those powers were tied to the world from which they came and even Salem's current plan was skirting the limits of what could be considered blasphemous.
With that in mind she set about her task quickly, knowing that the longer it took the greater her chances of being stranded beyond existence once again became.
She retraced the history of her own timeline and saw the various events that had culminated in her defeat on Menagerie; the fall of Vale and the events around it were a tangled mess of focal points and branching timelines which Salem eagerly began perusing, in search of answers.
The same familiar faces showed themselves to her countless times as she examined the possible outcomes; Ruby Rose Weiss Schnee, Bake Belladonna, Yang Xiao Long, Cinder Fall, Ozpin, Qrow Branwen, Gangrel Slate, Oscar Pine; she even noted that in some iterations of the timeline that it was some variation of Penny Polendina to lead the final attack.
There were others present too, in one timeline she saw Hunters by the names of Robin Lincoln, Akane Amaranth, Irving Hawthorne and Nyssa Noirette battling against humans who were seemingly living manifestations of the seven deadly sins.
In another a winged Faunus with a prosthetic left wing named Taegen led a group of Hunters named Team THRN valiantly as Vale burned around them, unknowingly creating a turning point in their history.
In another timeline Hellebore Chrysochlorous, Echium Watercress, Viridian Foxglove and Niveos Nemesia of Team HEVN found themselves in a similar position; ploughing through Grimm by the score as they led those who couldn't defend themselves to safety, actions that would have a lasting impact on their timeline.
Salem dismissed each of these alternate realities in turn until finally she found something that suited her purposes; a reality adjacent to her own where the branching point had been earlier but the two timelines had progressed largely in line with each other until the events marking the beginning of the last war. An evil smile found its' way onto her ghostly face as she examined the timeline and looked for a suitable place to make her incision
Then she drew her scythe and opened a portal.
"COME ON, THIS WAY!" Felix bellowed as he and his team-mates rushed through the Emerald Forest at a frantic pace, the dull crack of Lex Talionis, the cacophony of Hack and Slash and the high-pitched and whining shriek of Arctus' laser weapon filling the air; interspersed with the dying howls and snarls of Grimm that were cut down as they rushed towards the sounds of fighting that drew ever closer whilst Eagle held her shield in front of her and took point, simply smashing through any resistance that they may have encountered. Felix glanced at his Scroll again and saw that they were rapidly closing in on Team RAIN's position, as if the earthshaking impacts in the distance were not proof enough and forced himself to move faster still.
Team FADE had been putting down vast swarms of Grimm recently agitated by the activity in the forest with ease when Felix had received a call from Redshank Bronzewing, the Leader of Team RAIN informing him that they'd come across something that they were unequipped to deal with and that there was already one confirmed broken Aura with the situation rapidly deteriorating. Naturally Felix had ordered Team FADE to abandon their own objectives and assist the younger students as they came rushing into a clearing that had been made by the shattering and uprooting of several trees the four of them took stock of the situation that greeted them with grim determination.
Nova Violette lay slumped against a tree with a dazed expression plastered across a face that was covered in blood which poured from a sizeable gash in their forehead; Iridescence had quickly thrown down her own weapon which lacked a firearm component and was currently using Nova's weapons, the Neutron Stars to cover her injured partner
"Glad you could make it!" Amethyst quipped acidly as she and Redshank attempted to injure, slow or at the very least distract a single large Grimm that it had become painfully obvious that their weapons lacked the power to kill.
"Seriously, that's what you're struggling with?" Felix shot back, earning himself a glare in response. In all fairness the monster that they'd encountered was something entirely beyond what the second year team could reasonably be expected to handle alone and Felix could readily accept that calling for back up had been the correct choice for Team RAIN.
The Grimm was a Saw-Russ and judging by the size, unmistakable cunning behind the malevolence in its' eyes and the various instances of pitting, scoring and assorted detritus littering its' bony armour it was a particularly old one at that. Its' torso was several meters long, wide set and low slung with an armoured ribcage and a single row of short, hooked spines that ran along its' underside scraping the ground as it moved yet at the same time it was massive enough that its' shoulders were still above even Arctus's head. Its' four legs were thick and muscular, leading to clawed feet whose digits were splayed wide whilst behind it an even more powerful tail tipped with several jutting bone spikes more than doubled the Grimm's length. Its' head was unmistakably saurian, tapering down to a blunt and ridged snout and a mouth filled with sharp teeth though the most notable aspect of the Saw-Russ and the thing for which it had been named was on its' back which was entirely covered in thick armour plates of bone white, from the Grimm's spine protruded a large fin comprised of several swept back and hook shaped blades which had the appearance of being part of a circular saw.
"Okay what's the plan?" Eagle asked as the Saw-Russ turned to the newcomers and let out a low rumbling snarl as it regarded them
"Ammi, Red pull back cover Nova….We've got this" Felix instructed the younger students. At that moment, as if in response to the challenge the Grimm let out a roar and a jet of flames spewed from its' open maw; directly onto the Lion Faunus whose golden Aura shone brightly around him as his Semblance effortlessly absorbed the heat and left the flames guttering out harmlessly.
"Okay" Felix breathed out as he shifted his weight on the balls of his feet, feeling confident in the situation "Arctus, put out any fire I missed, Eagle get airborne and get ready to take it out when I give you an opening, Diamond get a firing position and cover me" it only took a moment for his team-mates to spring into action, Eagle shifting into her avian form in flash of pure white Aura whilst Arctus reached for a handful of Ice Dust and Diamond used Semblance scale a tree and ready her sniper rifle and then Felix was in motion, his Semblance taking the heat from the Saw-Russ's flames and converting into Aura and raw unrelenting power as he charged towards the Grimm which turned as if to drive its' spiked tail into his torso to no avail; Felix's shoulder collided with the Grimm's flank and bone gave way with an audible and sickening snap as the Saw-Russ was forcefully shunted back several feet, the Lion Faunus braced himself and caught the things' still thrashing tail and with a roar of exertion hoisted the Grimm from the ground and swung, releasing his grip on its' tail and sending it flying through the air where it would land in a crumpled heap and be unable to defend itself from Eagle's oncoming attack.
The Saw-Russ it seemed, had other plans.
"LOOK OUT!" Diamond gave a frantic warning as the Saw-Russ landed and promptly used its' tail to right itself before using the powerful appendage to hurl itself forwards whilst its' body curled in on itself; armour plates and saw-blade fins repositioning themselves as the Grimm's limbs and head were retracted, leaving a heavily defended sphere with a massive circular blade encompassing its' equator tearing into the ground and rushing towards Felix like a wheel.
Felix leapt to the side and watched as Eagle hit the ground, her sword sinking into the earth as the blow intended to pierce the skull of the Saw-Russ failed to find its' mark; Sentinels' clawed appendages being fired on their retractable cables a moment a later likewise missing their target as the Grimm ripped through the space Felix had occupied and set itself on a collision course with the tree Diamond had perched in.
"I've got it!" Arctus assured her, creating a shimmering and translucent Glyph in the path of the monster only to be left stunned as the Grimm simply ploughed through it continued into the tree trunk which was quickly splintered. Felix watched as Diamond leapt into the adjacent tree only to be forced to quickly evade once again as the Saw-Russ began spewing flames up into the low hanging branches.
"ARCTUS!" Felix saw that the splintered tree was falling towards his cousin who made no attempt to move or defend himself simply creating a massive summoning Glyph in his hands with a look of intense concentration; the Lion Faunus surged forwards and ploughed into the falling timber with enough force to shatter it entirely, fragments and splinters pattering harmlessly off of both his and Arctus's Auras, just the Bear Faunus made his move.
"DEE, GET READY FOR A HEAD SHOT!" with that the Bear Faunus conjured a truly monstrous Nevermore construct which plucked the Saw-Russ from the ground as the Grimm turned towards him and prepared to unleash another jet of flames. The Nevermore hauled the struggling monster into the air and as it thrashed and struggled Diamond let out a quick salvo of Ice Dust rounds to halt the spreading flames from its' attacks before using her Semblance to sprint vertically along a tree trunk parallel to the captured Grimm before shifting Lex Talionis into its' glaive mode and leaping from one tree to the next, relative forces changing as her feet left one surface and connected with the next and adding momentum to her blow as she lashed out and cleaved through the neck of the Saw-Russ in a single swing.
"Holy shit that was cool" Amethyst Wukong, momentarily forgotten by the older students muttered as Diamond launched herself back towards the ground with a back flip and landed in a crouch. Felix made some witty retort to his childhood friend and Eagle returned to group suggesting that they call for an evacuation to get Nova to safety.
Arctus heard none of it; the Bear Faunus had found his focus limited solely to Diamond and the way that her right hand visibly trembled against the ground and her rapid, shallow breathing
"You okay?" he asked as he crouched down in front of her, her face had been hidden by her hair and the others had missed her subtle distress but Arctus was unsurprised, yet still deeply worried when his partner looked up at him and he saw that her cherry red eyes were wide
"You're okay, you're okay" he repeated soothingly as his fingers laced through hers and slowly her breathing was brought under control
"Sorry, I-"
"Don't apologise"
"It's stupid though Big Guy, I hate this" Diamond huffed as they rose to their feet and she leaned into his shoulder "I saw the fire it was breathing and thought of…." she trailed off but Arctus didn't need to see the way she gestured at her left arm to know that she had been forcibly reminded of the Hydrakken and its' own projectile attacks.
"You gonna be okay until we can get out of her?" Arctus asked as he gently pulled her closer; Diamond considered for a moment before nodding and murmuring
"Yeah….I think I should talk to counsellor Vasilias though" Arctus nodded in both understanding and agreement
"Good idea, I'll tell Felix and take notes for you" Diamond leaned up to kiss his cheek gently before noticing that their friends were being to stare and realise that something had been amiss. Deciding that she would have the conversation on her own terms she merely turned to Felix
"Are we getting out of here or what Dude? 'cos that fight definitely told every Grimm for a few miles that we're here"
In a universe parallel to the one which Salem had left history had transpired differently.
The initial defining point where the timelines had begun to differ could be identified as the moments in which Pyrrha Nikos won her first exhibition match in a Mistrali martial arts tournament at thirteen years old. The announcers had given the young combatant, often mocked and ostracised from her peers due to her tribal heritage the moniker of 'The Bandit Girl' and where one version of events had seen her strive to overcome that title, eventually becoming known as 'The Invincible Girl' only to find the pedestal she was placed upon by those around her to be distasteful and departing from her home Kingdom to attend Beacon Academy in Vale; this version of Pyrrha Nikos had taken the mocking nickname as a badge of honour.
By the time she was seventeen this Pyrrha Nikos had become known as 'The Bandit Queen of Mistral' and had reconnected with the Nikosi people to whom she was related through her father; she arrived at Haven Academy of Mistral with a notoriety and reputation for ruthlessness that preceded her along with the support of a tribe, within which she held a prominent position, all of which had naturally made her intriguing to Cinder Fall when the two had been partnered together during their initiation and formed into a team along with two more of the False Maiden's allies.
The timelines had truly begun to diverge during the Vytal Tournament in Vale where Pyrrha, a willing accomplice to Cinder's plans brutally murdered an opponent in the singles round and provided the spark needed to trigger a large scale Grimm incursion which in turn led to the destruction of Beacon Academy and much of the city it resided in. Shortly after Pyrrha had returned a wounded Cinder to Salem, meeting the Queen of the Grimm in person for the first time and promptly pledging her fealty.
However her loyalty did not come for free.
Upon being brought into the fold Pyrrha had quickly identified Tyrian Callows as the leader of a rival tribe on Anima, the Poli-Trogon a band of cannibalistic marauders who had blighted the continent and regularly encroached on the territories of other tribes, the Nikosi included. Pyrrha promptly challenged Tyrian to single combat for both the right to lead his people and his position within Salem's ranks; upon defeating Tyrian Pyrrha promptly handed over the daughter that he had kept hidden from the world, the Summer Maiden and set about uniting each of the tribes of the Anima Diaspora into a cohesive army with which to lay siege to Mistral, truly earning her title as the Bandit Queen.
With the powers of two Maidens Salem used Cinder as an unstoppable juggernaut to lay waste to Atlas where she finally fell whilst Pyrrha was unleashed upon Mistral, the Bandit Queen cutting off supply lines and destroying coastal cities before turning her attentions to any airship that attempted to enter the Kingdoms' airspace; slowly cutting off each of Mistral's cities from support so that they could be conquered at her leisure.
The tide had turned when Salem had fallen, Pyrrha and her people being unable to be recalled in time to aid the legions of Grimm that defended her fortress upon the ruins of Menagerie. With her mistress gone and the resources of Watts, Hazel and even Torchwick lost to her whilst her enemies could no turn their full attention to the bandits that plagued them.
Her war had turned into a campaign of extermination waged by the Kingdoms and by the age of twenty five Pyrrha Nikos was unsure exactly how long she could continue for.
"Sleep child, tomorrow we march" the young boy complied, or at least attempted to as he closed his eyes and pulled his fur blankets around himself a little tighter. Pyrrha leaned down and kissed his head before leaving the hut in which he and his father slept; the boy was Helios Nikos, two years old and the first and only child of her cousin Kataigida whose raiding party had failed to return a week ago, Pyrrha expected that she would have to raise the boy as her own son and heir if his mother could not be found.
As she stepped out of the hut and into the cold winter air Pyrrha scanned the skies, searching for any sign of airships or smaller transports sent by the Kingdom whilst privately noting that the task would be easier with the help of some of the Faunus refugees she had taken from the late Adam Taurus, the Frost River Tribe had taken the bulk of their numbers however and they had all perished when Atlas elected to aid Mistral in retaking its' northern coastline. Eventually she was certain that there were no aircraft lurking above and waiting to rain missiles upon her people and Pyrrha allowed herself to stretch and yawn, a display of exhaustion that she rarely allowed herself.
In the years since the fall of Vale Pyrrha's appearance had changed; her already powerful and athletic form had become even more muscled and toned with the combat and hardship whilst her golden armour had been replaced by a new set, made by the master smiths of her people; this armour was of the same brightly coloured material but much heavier and much more durable whilst being hidden beneath a thick cloak made from the pelt of some great bear, her Semblance made the additional weight unimportant and the additional metal an advantage. Her crimson hair was worn in long braids with the first traces of white hair brought on by stress making themselves known and the three pronged crown of her people rested upon her head whilst a single ragged scar ran over her right eye. The most severe difference however was one that was almost unseen unless one happened to notice the nerve connectors at her elbows, Pyrrha's forearms, hidden beneath heavy bracers and gauntlets were entirely cybernetic; her own arms having been crushed in the early days of Salem's campaign.
Frost and snow crunched underfoot as Pyrrha made her way towards her own hut which was naturally the largest building within the Nikosi settlement by far, a pair of warriors armed with halberds bowing and standing aside to allow her entry. As she closed the door behind her the acid green eyes honed in on a bottle of something that would hopefully ease the sting of her recent losses, though as she took a step towards it a low, almost sultry voice pierced the gloomy silence
"I wouldn't drink that if I were you" Pyrrha's hand lashed out, a flare of her Semblance intending to drag the intruder towards her by whatever metal they carried on their person, be it armour, weapons or otherwise. She was surprised to find her efforts to be futile, though this was quickly dwarfed by the identity of the speaker as she stepped into view
"My Queen!" Pyrrha gasped, quickly dropping into a bow
"Rise Pyrrha, we have much to discuss" Salem, who Pyrrha saw looked different and somehow younger than she had the last time they had spoken turned her blazing eyes to the bottle and sneered "Firstly there is the matter of the contents of that bottle being poisoned and the guards outside your door being part of a conspiracy to murder you….one which a not inconsiderable number of your people agree with; it seems they intend to use your body as a show of good faith to make peace with Mistral" the words hit her like freezing water and Pyrrha's mouth was suddenly dry. It was inconceivable to her that she would ever be ousted from her position, least of all by such cowardly means but the evidence of her eyes was too great to be ignored, this was Salem and the Queen of Grimm had never lied to her
"How?" she finally croaked out
"Simply, I am not the Salem you knew" the being wearing her masters' face stated "There are many worlds Pyrrha, endless amounts of them to be conquered just out of reach save for my hand, I've seen them….Come, serve me again Bandit Queen and this time when the time comes you will lead the charge" Pyrrha was numb, her mind racing with countless questions until one rose to the forefront and demanded to be answered
"What happens to my people if I leave?"
"The same thing that would happen if you stayed and allowed yourself to be killed….the future is not yet written but this Nikosi walk a path that only leads one way"
"This Nikosi?" Pyrrha's eyes widened "There are a Nikosi where you-"
"Come see what became of them in a world without your leadership" Salem held out her hand and Pyrrha took one last look around her empty hut, surrounding by doomed cowards and traitors before taking the offered hand.
She was a conqueror and an entirely new Remnant was too great of a prize to be ignored.
In another universe thing had taken yet another path; the key to the divergence in this particular timeline had been Blake Belladonna, or more particularly her death.
In this timeline the mission in which Blake had abandoned Adam Taurus and had in turn set her upon the path that led her to Beacon and eventually a more peaceful path for equality as a founding member of the Coalition had taken a different, more tragic turn when Blake was struck by an Atlesian military robot and fell beneath the wheels of the moving train.
Adam's rage had been terrible to behold and what little restraint or sanity he could be said to possess had slipped away.
The ramifications of Blake's death had been far reaching and more dangerous than could possibly have been anticipated however, she was the child of Ghira and Kali Belladonna, founding members of the White Fang, raised by Sienna Khan following her parents deaths and was the partner of Adam Taurus; she was known to some extent or another by every member of the White Fang and her death at the hands of Atlas in a display of their typical systematic heavy-handedness had galvanised the entire organisation and been used as a rallying cry. Ex-members of the White Fang such as Tukson and Obsidian Eadala began to see the violence used by Adam as both justified and necessary whilst those with doubts who begun to believe that the Bull Faunus may need to be reigned in, such as Gangrel Slate had found fresh conviction, the Vaccuan branch of the organisation was brought back from the brink of desertion and new recruits were found from the student bodies of each of the Academies as the Vytal Tournament brought them within Adam's sphere of influence, individuals such as Neon Katt, Sun Wukong and Velvet Scarlatina being recruited by Team GRAP.
Without Blake Belladonna to act against them the White Fang and their operations at Mountain Glenn had gone unchecked and Cinder Fall's plan to flood the city of Vale with Grimm during the Vytal Tournament had proceeded with only one alteration, the death used to trigger the attack was that of Weiss Schnee at the hands of Gangrel Slate; chosen specifically to be an open declaration of war.
Adam had been brought to meet Salem in person for his part in the attack soon after and the Bull-Faunus used the opportunity to show his true intentions and foresight. He revealed to Salem that he had the Winter Maiden working within his organisation in the form of Orchid Hemlock, a Rabbit Faunus and prominent member of the Vaccuan White Fang; he then offered his continued support on the conditions that his vision of a Kingdom for the Faunus people, New Menagerie be realised and that Orchid replace Cinder as Salem's Maiden as the White Fang would not see one of their greatest assets handed over to a human to be consumed.
Salem, much to Cinder's surprise accepted the offer and ripped the parasitic Grimm from the False Maiden; killing her in the process.
Atlas was the next Kingdom to fall and Adam began to rebuild what remained in his own image, in the process learning of the existence of a child by the name of Jade Rangifer, a Reindeer Faunus whose powers quickly identified her as the Spring Maiden, the Bull Faunus kept the child at his side as an insurance policy until Salem was defeated; Orchid falling in battle along with her.
For more than ten years Adam and the Kingdom of New Menagerie had waged war against the rest of Remnant with Sun Wukong and Velvet Scarlatina using their Semblances in tandem to act as a two Faunus army which prowled the streets of Adam's Kingdom and enforced the hellish, totalitarian regime that he had put in place, the island of Menagerie had been retaken by a Lionfish Faunus who had forsaken her name and her equally devout followers who had formed a cult which worshipped both Adam and Blake as divine manifestations of the wrath of the Faunus people whilst Jade had become the White Fang's executioner; laying waste to those who dared opposed the will of Adam Taurus.
Adam Taurus, now in his early thirties moved cautiously through the hallways of what had once been Schnee Manor; the Bull Faunus had taken the residence as his own for much the same reason that he had taken Atlas for the location of New Menagerie, it was in his mind payment for the wrongs committed against him. His attire was predominantly black, a long trench-coat worn over lightweight tactical armour reaching almost to the floor as his booted feet made surprisingly soft footfalls against the carpet; Wilt and Blush hung at their customary place on his waist and leather-gloved hands were placed expectantly on the weapons as he approached his target. His deep crimson hair had grown longer and was mostly slicked back, reaching to his shoulders save for a few strands which fell in front of his latest mask, one whose bone white surface covered his entire face to hide the horrific scarring he had received in one of the many battles of his war.
His Aura visibly flared around him, a deep bloody light enveloping his form and coalescing around the blade of his sword as he took the final few steps towards his own office where he knew the intruder to be. A silent alarm had sounded only moments ago and rather than wait for assistance Adam had decided to meet this would be assassin head on; kicking the door from its' hinges and bursting through the empty frame as he unsheathed Wilt, he brought the glowing blade out in a wide arcing slash which unleashed a wave of crimson light, casting the office in an ominous light which illuminated the intruder before promptly tearing through the opposite wall; Adam quickly aimed Blush and made to fire.
He was forced back through the doorway and slammed against a wall with incredible force and felt his shotgun be wrenched from his grip faster than he could fully process, before his senses were robbed from him almost entirely by a hauntingly familiar voice
"Hello Adam, it seems you've been busy"
"Salem?" he choked out "You're….gone, you-"
"You truly believe I can be killed?" the Mother of Grimm gave a laugh of genuine amusement before releasing her grip on the Faunus "Put your weapons away and listen, time is of the essence"
"How are-"
"I said listen!" Salem snapped, her eyes flashing and voice echoing as it sent tremors through the corridor in which they stood "You have been betrayed, there have been enemies within your ranks for years and now they plan to make their move….your enemies have an armada of warships making their way here as we speak and your Kingdoms' defences have been disabled, New Menagerie will fall the way its' predecessor did; razed from above" behind his mask fiery red eyes widened and Adam knew, with inexplicable certainty that left terror clenching at his gut that Salem spoke the truth
"Who? Who dares?" he demanded
"Neon Katt was the first, she was a double agent for Atlas when you recruited her and has been supplying your enemies with information whilst recruiting others to conspire against you" Adam sunk to the ground, falling to his knees as his legs gave way beneath him
"How do you know all this?"
"I'm from a place where events occurred differently, I saw a great deal of this version of history when I made my way here….now come Adam, I have need of your abilities and one way or another your reign here is over" Adam looked up at Salem from his prone position and considered, much of Atlas lay beneath the mountains and the majority of his people would survive this assault; his lieutenants would continue the cause without him.
The choice was easier to make than he had expected
"How can I be of service?"
In yet another timeline the point of divergence had come much earlier, almost two decades before the fall of Vale and what was considered by the Kingdoms to be the start of their war against Salem. The timeline had branched off when Raven Branwen had entered Salem's service and instead of remaining loyal to Ozpin and his ideals, acting as a double agent until the Queen of Grimm had implanted her with a newly spawned parasitic Grimm to gift her with the ability to steal the powers of the Maidens which would in turn prompt her to flee and abandon her family along with society at large for years this version of Raven had given herself wholeheartedly to Salem, severing all ties with Ozpin and Team STRQ after making one final journey to Patch in order to spirit away her daughter.
Yang Branwen had been raised within the confines of Salem' fortress and the desolate and Grimm infested wastelands of Menagerie; her only interactions with humanity coming in the form of lessons and training at the hands of Salem's generals.
In this timeline Salem had never needed to recruit Cinder Fall as her chosen Maiden's daughter was the perfect weapon to infiltrate the Huntsmen and cause carnage during the Vytal Tournament, though the Queen had Grimm had chosen to make her an even more fearsome warrior by gifting her with a parasitic Grimm of her own, one that allowed her to harvest the souls and thus steal the Semblances of those she killed in Salem's service; earning her a moniker amongst those that stood against her.
The Chimera.
Yang Branwen was easily as tall, broad-shouldered and powerfully built as he counterpart in Salem's native timeline and had the advantage of a right forearm made of Grimm matter, pulsating black veins trailing up from her elbow where the limb was fused to her body and a cluster of jagged bone spike protruding from the flesh whilst the fingers were adorned with taloned fingers and sharp studs of bone lining the knuckles. Her attire consisted of knee high black boots tucked into black pants and a single scarlet bandanna tied around her left thigh which a pair of white tail-coat like decorations trailing from her hips, adorned with a twisting black thorn like pattern; a black leather jacket with a crimson deep scarlet vest worn beneath it, an armoured white gauntlet and black leather glove adorning her left arm and a spiked collar around her neck; the gauntlet being entirely decorative as her weapon was slung across her back in the form of a battleaxe which doubled as a shotgun. Her golden locks had been shorn at the back and sides, her remaining her styled into an artistic mess of spikes whilst her eyes glowed a fierce red with her Semblance; Yang Branwen was in her mid twenties and her eyes hadn't reverted to their natural pale amethyst colour in over a decade.
Currently however the fury that the fiery colour implied was both present and justified.
Salem's fortress had fallen, Penny Polendina had devastated the bastion of Grimm which Yang had been raised in and Raven Branwen had perished. The Chimera knew that Salem remained but her Queen was currently biding her time and planning her next move as she recovered from the crushing loss, the fact that she was entirely impossible to make contact with whilst doing so was understandable but undeniably unfortunate
Especially when Yang was being Hunted by a strike team sent specifically to kill her.
The first of the group to fall had been a Vaccuan sniper named May Zedong who had been dispatched after Yang had spotted her hiding in the trees, a Semblance stolen from a Feline Faunus named Artemis allowed her to see the Auras of any living thing around her even when dormant and made stealth a futile effort. With their cover blown the surviving members of the strike team had fought with all they had to bring her down, a woman named Harriet Bree being next to fall and her Semblance quickly deemed redundant before the Chimera set her sights on her next target.
Someone she had been eager to kill for a very long time.
Black rose petals trailed behind Yang as she raced forwards at inhuman speeds, the manifestation of a Semblance she had taken from a Silver Eyed girl who had claimed to be her sister in her dying moments and as she broke the sound barrier she saw a Glyph being formed, a pitiful attempt at a shield that was doomed to failure. Drawing her axe she collided with the Glyph and swung, skidding to a halt and watching the limp form of Weiss Schnee roll to a stop on the ground in the distance, the grass of the open field they fought in rapidly staining red beneath her.
"I've Schneeded that Semblance of yours for a while now" Yang noted as she stashed her axe over her back "Tyrian got your sister before I could but today I win….ter" as strode forwards at a leisurely pace and flexed the fingers of her her right hand the muscles of the Grimm tissue visibly coiled and shuddered before thin, barbed tendrils began to pierce her palm and slither from her hand with a mind of their own.
"STAY!" the command was roared by a voice that shook with tears and Yang was forcibly compelled to obey her limbs being held in place by some unseen force as the speaker rushed into view with their weapon at the ready, a dark skinned man with messy hair, a somewhat prominent chin and the tail of a Husky protruding from their uniform
"Marrow" the Chimera grinned evilly "You're not still angry are you?….Would you say you've got a 'bone' to pick with me?" Marrow Amin simply let out a wordless scream of rage as he hurled his weapon through the air directly at Yang's skull.
Yang closed her eyes and activated a Semblance that had once belonged to Sun Wukong.
A pair of clones mad of a golden light so harsh it was physically painful to observe sprung from her body and rushed into action, the first snatching Marrow's weapon 'Fetch' from the air and crushing it in their hands whilst the other charged towards Marrow himself, drawing and axe made of light and in that moment Marrow made a fatal error.
He turned his attention to the clone and lost focus on Yang, who promptly drew her weapon and converted it to its' shotgun form the moment her limbs began to follow her commands again; hitting the Faunus square in the gut and leaving him prone as the light clone brought their axe down on his collarbone and hacked deep into him.
"Play dead" she spat viciously as the clone vanished, taking a moment to decide which of her prizes to collect first; only to become aware of the presence of another newcomer behind her
"Chimera!" the familiar voice snarled and Yang's eyes blazed brighter as she turned to face a man whose crimson hair contrasted spectacularly with the pristine white of his uniform; a Faunus who had been placed into the care of an Atlesian military family after the deaths of his parents in an industrial accident and grown into something of a poster child for the icy Kingdom
"Specialist Taurus" Yang snarled, gesturing to her right hand as the tendrils retracted back into her palm "You owe me an arm, I hope you came to pay your debts" Adam made no effort to offer a quip of his own and simply shifted his weight, his body glowing a deep crimson as she reached for his katana and Yang quickly decided which of the Semblances in her arsenal to employ.
Adam gave her no chance and simply launched himself forwards, ripping Wilt from its' sheathe.
Then came to a halt.
His weapon fell from his grasp and a dark stain began to spread across his chest, where a curved blade above a material similar to bone had pierced through his ribcage. Yang's eyes widened in surprise, not at Adam's body collapsing forwards but at the open wound that had been rent into the fabric of reality behind him and the familiar figure that emerged from it
"My Queen" Yang bowed her head and stashed her weapon once again, a quickly suppressed note of annoyance rising in her voice as she cast her eyes around and saw that both Weiss Schnee and Marrow Amin seemed to have expired, their souls and Semblances now entirely beyond her reach.
"This attack was only a distraction. Atlas has your location and has dispatched Penny and Nickel Polendina; we both know that you can't fight them both alone"
"There's two of them now?" Yang snarled, the android was enough of a threat on her own; then something in the Queen of Grimm's mannerisms seemed to strike her as off and her eyes narrowed "Who are you, you're not Salem"
"I'm not the Salem you know" this being who wore her masters' face answered calmly and with the Semblance taken from Artemis Blush Yang could sense nothing but the same dreadful void in place of an Aura that the Salem she knew emanated
"What do you want?"
"My plans require powerful individuals with unquestionable loyalty….in return I offer you a world ripe for the harvesting, all the souls and powers you could wish for" the Chimera's face morphed into a savage smile at the idea, the sound of rapidly approaching aircraft hastening her decision
"Well then let's start things with a Yang"
Team FADE had returned, along with Team RAIN and the other student teams deployed into the Emerald Forest by mid morning and after a debriefing that was routine yet had never, in all their years being subjected to them managed to be anything less than tedious. By the time classes had ended for lunch those students who had not been sent to the medical wing for the thankfully minor injuries that they had accrued had been free to return to their classes; meaning that whilst Diamond had departed for the office of Neptune Vasilias and explained to Felix that she would likely be absent from class for the rest of the day, Felix, Arctus and Eagle had been given their first taste of just how arduous their final year as students would be.
Half a day of classes was proof enough that the workload was going to be simply brutal.
Currently it was late afternoon, rapidly becoming evening and Team FADE were all in their dormitory, Felix and Eagle sitting upon their own bunks; the Lion Faunus running his hands through his dirty blonde curls as he took in the sheer scope of what was expected of them, Fourth Year students would, in addition to their regular assignments have to both write and defend a thesis in addition to taking a much more active role in the planning and operation of their own missions; to say nothing of the prospect of planning ahead for what would become of them once they graduated. Below him Eagle pored over the notes that Hellion had taken for her, Team GORE having managed to return to the academy roughly an hour ahead of Team FADE; her armour and leather jacket had been replaced with her most comfortable pyjamas and she made herself comfortable whilst wearing a proud smile, Hellion's notes were as highly detailed as one would expect from the Shadow Cadre's scout and her writing had improved immensely with only the occasional instance of her reverting back to the glyphs that her people used which Eagle could thankfully read at least some of. Across from them sat Diamond and Arctus, the sniper leaning back against the Bear Faunus's chest gently strumming her bass guitar whilst her partner absently played with hair, a very rough draft of an assignment laying beside him after being temporarily abandoned.
"If Nyanza wants to hit a club tonight…." Diamond trailed off as a knock on the door disturbed them
"Doubt it" Felix noted as he slid off of his bunk "He's been out of it lately, I'm honestly kinda worried about him" Diamond said nothing to this, the felines' now ex-girlfriend was a friend of hers and it was a situation that she had sternly resolved to have no involvement it. Felix opened the door and was more than a little surprised to see Amethyst Wukong stood behind it wearing what were clearly her gym clothes
"Hey, wanna come train?" Felix saw the eager look on the Monkey Faunus's face, her nervous fidgeting and the way that her tail coiled and uncoiled reflexively behind her and couldn't help but be a little concerned
"Why, what's up?" Amethyst's face slowly morphed into a wide grin
"Team RAIN are being allowed to enter the Vytal Tournament! Our ban's been lifted!"
"No way" Felix laughed, happy for his old friend who he knew carried a lot of guilt over her experiments with substance abuse and the fallout that had come of it
"Yeah Goodwitch spoke to us after class, said if we're willing to fight for the Kingdom then we've earned the right to represent it" her expression faltered and her pale green eyes were quickly downcast "I think everyone knows the truth though, there's only two teams left in Second Year….Team MUCK were expelled and Team GLOW y'know…." she trailed off and Felix nodded in understanding before quickly making his way back into the dorm and grabbing the duffel bag he carried to the gym. Seeing Diamond giving him a questioning look and indicating towards the mountain of work to be done he merely shrugged
"I'm frazzled, it's making my eyes itch just looking at it" he gave a small grin "Besides it's one day right? What difference can it make?"
Authors Notes:
Okay so I said I was going to take a week off of writing….I then proceeded to plan out half a dozen chapters of this story, the entire sixth arc of Aegis, make an instrumental that may or may not get used in the "Power Rangers: Unworthy" fan project and then went and wrote this chapter as well.
So basically what I'm saying is don't believe me when I say I'm gonna take a break.
I think a lot of that comes down to it being this chapter….When I said I had another plot twist I've been holding onto since 2017 this was it; I went multiversal.
But guess what….I've still got more.
But anyway, let's summarise shall we:
The "Manta" is a reference to the Atlesian fighters in Vol.7 that use Manta as a call sign.
Of course Team GORE want their ride.
Arguments over who got the tougher initiation would definitely be a thing and you can't tell me otherwise.
Amethyst and Redshank….the ballad of pining background characters.
Proud GF Eagle.
So Felix is getting stronger because of the equipment in his cybernetic tail basically making his Semblance more efficient.
I paired the teams up that way because I specifically wanted to write Team FADE working with people that weren't just their own partners.
"Just as long as they've only got one head"….Oof.
Always go for the headbutt.
So basically the Salem scene follows on directly from the one at the end of the last chapter.
For anyone who hadn't already surmised as much, Pantheon is one of Salem's "Four Horsemen"….I refuse to accept that the fact she canonically has four people in her inner circle doesn't allude to that.
Seriously being ripped out of the flow of time like Salem was is basically a fate worse than death.
Salem has a scythe now, because of course she does.
Salem sees time as a web like the Hive Mind because that's the easiest way for her (And me) to interpret it.
I had to put some hard limits in place for Salem's power, otherwise we'd devolve into utter nonsense….So, she can't see the future, travel back in time (Along the timeline she's from, she can enter other timelines at points in their past) she can't bring out an army of Maidens, Wizards or other versions of herself and she can't vanish into another timeline indefinitely.
Okay so this scene was obviously the perfect opportunity for me to promote some other peoples' OCs:
Robin Lincoln and her team are Team RAIN, the title characters of a web-comic made by Neopoliitan.
Team THRN belong to Its-Raining-Cats.
Team HEVN belong to Foxy-Pawsy.
We never do see more Grimm getting drawn into a fight with a big boss Grimm, so I took the opportunity to have Team FADE pick some off.
A Saw-Russ, a Saurus….Get it?
It's a Dimitrodon Grimm, so naturally it breathes fire because why not and it also curls up acts like a giant rolling buzz-saw.
I was honestly very tempted to have Arctus summon one of the heads from the Hydrakken but I decided that would be a little too traumatising for Diamond.
And now….Into the Salem-Verse.
Obviously all my alternate timelines are based on the Downward Spiral timeline so I'll be using versions of events and backstories as they happened their and if canon has contradicted them since I wrote it than that's just something we're all going to live with.
So Horseman 2/4 is a version of Pyrrha that learned to love the pedestal she was placed on, stayed in Mistral and became Salem's partner.
I had to work in a baby Helios.
There was an alternate Team GORE in this timeline but they're most likely all dead.
So evil Pyrrha lost both arms….that's gonna be a plot point later; notice I didn't say who she killed in the tournament.
And the trend of Salem recruiting her allies when they were about to die begins, because the best way to get people to make the choice you want is to offer no other choices.
Oh you knew this timeline was gonna be bad the second I said Blake died during the Black Trailer.
Gangrel killing Weiss….the biggest Oof.
To anyone who read the Downward Spiral who wants to drop kick me for mentioning Jade….I'm sorry, but also I have plans.
Had to throw in a Cult of Taurus reference here.
And Horseman 3/4 is a tyrannical Adam who honestly almost won.
He won't have the SDC branding in this story but his face is scarred….He also didn't lose an arm or eye here like he did in Downward Spiral.
Shout out Neon Katt, Atlas's finest.
Yang 'The Chimera' Branwen enjoy that kick in the feelings.
Basically her look is Yang's Vol.4-6 outfit in Grimm colours; with a Grimm arm, a spike collar because Yang has to have something around her neck at all times and her hair short and spiky just to highlight that this isn't that Yang we know.
I haven't decided on a name for her axe yet but I'm leaning towards "Endtimes"
Black Roses when she uses Ruby's Semblance….Oh the edge.
And so far she's got Semblances from Ruby, Artemis and Sun as well as her own but she might have some others and yes she wanted to kill Weiss and Marrow specifically for their Semblances.
The puns though, coming from this Yang they're just evil.
This was the perfect place for me to have members of Ace-Ops.
Specialist Taurus….An Adam that was adopted by a family in the Atlas Military; in my head it was Neon's parents; I honestly had him show up here just because I want Adam taking Yang's arm to be something that's constant across the multiverse.
Penny and Nickel….meaning that either Nickel isn't as insane in this timeline or that Atlas decided the ends justify the means.
That last year workload is obscene.
Diamond made the smart choice by staying out of that mess.
Seriously there are almost no kids left in Team RAIN's year.
That last line….That's what we like to call foreshadowing lol.
Thank you to SumoSnipe and Funlander for their reviews on the last chapter.
I'm gonna assume those were song lyrics but I honestly don't know the song.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.