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Chapter 137: Devastation
An entire day had been wasted.
That simple fact was currently all that Yang Branwen could see and the knowledge infuriated the Chimera to no end yet she felt powerless to act as if the unseen, choking grasp of Pyrrha Nikos's Semblance was still around her throat and holding her in place. Yang had returned to the disused hotel that had once served sailors and tourists until its' proximity to the docks had made the business a casualty of a Grimm attack and as per Pyrrha's instructions she had waited for the signal to be given before launching an attack that would direct the attention of the Hunters within the city of New Vale away from Halo Academy; the freedom to do so by any means and indulge her most monstrous instincts titillating for her.
Yet the signal had not been given.
The sun and set and then risen again and the Chimera was no closer to unleashing herself upon her unsuspecting victims than she had been, she had long since crossed the boundary between eagerness and simple irritation and now the waiting had become a physically painful thing for her; her right arm made of Grimm tissue grafted to her flesh flexed and coiled, almost convulsing entirely of its' own accord whilst the tendrils of Grimm matter woven throughout her body seemed to writhe and squirm, it was as though the obsidian flesh could smell the coming carnage in the air and was straining at the body which held it. The Chimera winced and grit her teeth, determined to persevere through the pain and stalked towards the a window which overlooked the docks themselves, soothing herself with the thought of the havoc she would unleash until finally, mercifully the scroll that Pyrrha had given her began to ring.
"WHAT HAS TAKEN YOU SO LONG?" Yang all but bellowed the moment she answered the video call
"I've been watching and making sure that I know the entirety of their comings and goings, learning our targets' movements" Pyrrha's voice was cold and clinical yet beneath it Yang could hear the same bloodthirstiness that drove her, the same love of the hunt and the kill no matter how much Pyrrha liked to pretend that she was above the Chimera in some way.
"We don't have unlimited time Nikos!" Yang urged, the fury in her words underlined by an almost pleading tone
"You're right we don't….we have once chance to do this and our Queen will accept no mistakes" Pyrrha's vivid green eyes narrowed as she reminded the more headstrong woman of the seriousness of their mission "Which is why we can't wait for the perfect time to strike any longer, we have to create our own destiny"
"So what you're saying is…." Yang's fiery red eyes seemed to glow with anticipation as a smile that was far too innocent and endearing for what was being discussed crossed her face
"Go, cause havoc" Pyrrha nodded "I'll deal with Goodwitch and Branwen….as well as my own vindication" Yang ended the call, the idea of listening to the Bandit Queen wax poetic and the wrongs committed against her and how she would see justice done far less appealing that the alternative. The Chimera's blood seemed to sing and the pain caused by her Grimm tissue appendage dissipated in an instant as the blonde strode across the room and grasped End-Times, her axe which also incorporated a shotgun; more than the simple violence this distraction would be a chance for her to feed, her attack would summon Grimm to the docks from the sea and Hunters would in turn be called to fight both the monsters and Yang herself leaving her free to butcher and take the Semblances from the best New Vale had to offer.
She could wait no longer and with her axe still in hand she tapped into the Semblance that had once belonged to her Remnants' Ruby Rose; racing across the room in a shower of black petals and shattering the window as she struck it. The Chimera hurtled downwards, along the side of the building and surging through the streets towards the docks; screams filling the sea air as she approached and left a trail of blood and bodies behind her, travelling at close to the speed of sound there was little that the pedestrians in her path could do as she collided with them and when the Chimera came skidding to a halt, axe in hand and screaming in challenge she did so smeared with gore and blood red eyes wild and frenzied.
There were no Hunters at the docks at that moment but that was not to say that Yang went unchallenged; as civilians ran from the docks and the seemingly insane rogue Huntress the Chimera found herself flung backwards as a rocket collided with the ground mere inches away from her before exploded into a blossom of flames.
"Ha! Miss-ile!" Yang taunted, still crazed with the primal hunger and fury that the Grimm tissue seeped into her mind as she turned her eyes towards the source of the attack, one of the few vessels currently docked which seemed to be little more than a glorified fishing boat equipped with some weaponry for its' crew to defend themselves from the Grimm.
Her response was horrific.
Using the stolen Semblance Yang was on the deck of the boat in an instant, black rose petals swirling around her; her face morphed into a cruel and terrible smile as she regarded the sailors who were now frozen in place by sheer terror and raised her axe yet made no effort to attack them, instead she used the Semblance she had stolen from her timelines' Sun Wukong and sent forth a pack of shimmering, glowing clones each with an axe of their own who chased down the fleeing sailors, the sound of blades striking flesh and bone filling the small fishing boat and the last screams died now.
"Now for the 'big' finish" the Chimera almost giggled with excitement at the thought of finally having the opportunity to use this Semblance, she had stalked and hunted its' original owner for almost a year and very nearly been killed in her attempt to take it. Storing End-Times in its' collapsed form across her back Yang Branwen dove from the boat and into the salty water below, swimming out to sea where she could already spot the first of the incoming tide of Grimm harassing nearby ships.
Then her body began to shine with golden light before growing, within moments Yang was large enough that her feet sunk into the seabed and yet she continued to to grow in size until she was truly titanic in scale and caused vast waves with each step she took before she finally drew close enough to a nearby ship to crouch down and pluck it from the sea in both hands, promptly turning at the waist and hurling through the air, back towards then docks where it did untold damage with several explosions ripping through the area, barely audible over the sound of screeching metal.
Pyrrha had wanted a distraction, Yang who was now roughly one hundred and fifty feet tall let out a rumbling, almost demonic chuckle as she noted that she had certainly delivered.
In the day that Team GORE had been undertaking their mission the four Faunus had made themselves surprisingly at home and comfortable, integrating themselves into the operations of the offshore Dust mining rig with an ease that many would have questioned or failed to understand.
Neither the Shadow Cadre or the Frost River Tribe from which the hailed were utter savages however and each of Team GORE had been raised to always undertake every task assigned to them with nothing less than their best efforts and to always be mindful of how ones' own work played into the larger endeavours of the tribe; such lessons being installed was often times the difference between life or death.
Beyond simple and undisputable work-ethic Team GORE had also earned something of a reputation over the course of the summer, one which the crew of the mining rig were well aware of meaning that rather than being feared or despised and raiders and pirates as they might have been the four Faunus were given a welcome greater than what even other Hunters could have expected.
Carcharodon had not been willing to stand on ceremony or allow himself to become idle however and Team GORE had, after a period of haggling more akin to extortion where new terms were agreed begun loading shipments of Dust onto the their vessel, with the Faunus more than a little hesitant to allow strangers onto the Nemesis Kharybdis without their oversight and over the course of the first day several shipments had been made between the mining rig and not only New Vale's freight docks, but also smaller coastal settlements further afield; which Team GORE had also used to gather information for their thesis pertaining to the movement of aquatic Grimm.
After a good nights' sleep and equally good food Team GORE had woken early the next morning and prepared to take to the waves once again, the Nemesis Kharybdis was currently cutting through the icy water though each of the Faunus currently standing at its' bow took in the sight of the roiling, restless surface and the black shapes with angrily glowing eyes and came to the same conclusion which Raffia was the first to vocalise
"There's more Grimm than yesterday….a lot more"
"Agreed" Carcharodon rasped, a thoughtful look on his pallid features as he watched a school of Rippers, small Piranha Grimm barely longer than his forearm breaching the surface with their wide jaws snapping frantically.
"It's like this as far as Marauder can see" Hellion added quietly; Onyx let out a wordless grunt and narrowed his greenish yellow eyes in suspicion, both his own lived experience and Corvid Xiao Long's thesis which Team GORE were expanded on were in agreement that something was wrong
"I don't like this, there's no reason for there to be this many" Carcharodon stated flatly, speaking his friends' concerns aloud.
"Wait! Listen!" Raffia snapped, surprising Team GORE with his sudden instance, yet as they each strained their ears Carcharodon, Hellion and Onyx each found their eyes widening in turn as they heard what the Axolotl Faunus had; sirens in the distance barely audible above the sea yet clearly coming from the direction of the mainland.
"An attack!" Onyx snarled "Now it makes sense!" as if they heard him speak the Grimm below the waves seemed to move as a single unified force towards New Vale, Team GORE looked around and saw that there were few ships currently on the waves and almost none of them were as well armed as the Nemesis Kharybdis.
"Raffia stay here and cut down as many as you can!" Carcharodon snapped "I'll have the ship drop anchor, Onyx ready our guns!"
"Aye Captain!" the Puma Faunus grunted before both he and the Shark Faunus departed, leaving Raffia and Hellion on the deck
"YOU HEARD HIM!" the Dragonfly Faunus called out as she flung over a dozen throwing knives with Lightening Dust tips into the water and sent arcs of electricity forking and crackling across its' surface, the black smoke of unmade Grimm rising from below the surface whilst Raffia nodded and drew the Blazing Avenger in its' melee form, combing the two swords of unequal length just as a vast tentacle, bulbous and armoured giving it the appearance of a monstrous club rose up from the water
"NOT ON MY SHIP!" Raffia let out a fierce war-cry as he span and slashed, the Blazing Avenger in its' laser lance form leaving a trail of incandescent light behind it as it sheared neatly through the obsidian flesh; the rest of the Grimm began to breach the waves only to be torn asunder by a salvo from the ships' broadside guns courtesy of Onyx.
The victory was short lived
"What in our ancestors name" Hellion's voice was barely more than a whisper of simply disbelief and even as the ships' guns continued to fire on the Grimm in the water Raffia came to a stunned halt as his eyes followed Hellion's gaze.
The air itself seemed to tremble as a lone figure strode through the mist and haze, a towering monstrosity in the shape of a woman whom Hellion and Raffia watched in silent horror as she lifted a ship from the water and hurled it into the docks as though it weighed nothing.
The gigantic woman sported a right arm made of Grimm flesh and it became clear to Team GORE that this was why the sea had become so filled with monsters, they had been drawn to the impending carnage that this new foe intended to wreak. Carcharodon and Onyx turned the weapons of the Nemesis Kharybdis towards the golden haired titan and unleashed punishing salvo after salvo, proving that whoever this woman was she could be harmed as her Aura flickered around her with each impact.
It wasn't enough to stop her however and she turned her hateful gaze towards Team GORE and their ship, striding through the waves and hurling another vessel aside as she did so
"We can't fight that" Hellion gasped, turning to Raffia with fear in her eyes and adding "We can't outrun her either; we need to tell Car to abandon-"
"WE WILL NOT ABANDON THIS SHIP!" the diminutive Faunus screamed in rage "WE WILL NOT LOSE ANYTHING ELSE!" he glared in the direction of the giant who had been staggered by the main rail-gun of the Nemesis Kharybdis and seemed to be at the very least momentarily winded. Drawing his Scroll he quickly contacted Carcharodon
"Aim the rail-gun at her face, I've got a plan" without waiting for an answer the diminutive Faunus ended the call and strode towards the prow of the vessel, clambering over its' railings
"What the hell are you doing?" Hellion demanded
"Something that will pass on into legends" Raffia answered her with a devilish smirk as he slipped down the outside of the ships' hull whilst painfully aware of time being of the essence and that their titanic foe would soon recover. scrabbling across its' patchwork surface until he reached the main weapon the Axolotl Faunus took a moment to consider if this was truly the best course of action before deciding that there no other options and that legends were not made by reasonable people.
He scurried inside the barrel of the weapon, mentally preparing his Semblance as he wormed his slight frame into the space between the next round to be fired and the upper edge of the barrel, taking several deep breaths to steady himself.
Then the rail-gun fired.
The sheer force of the acceleration broke Raffia's bones and shredded his flesh only for it to rapidly stitch itself back together. The impact of the round striking the giants' face was apocalyptic, like a thunderstorm condensed and distilled into a single moment and followed by an almighty crack as her nose was broken by the force. The Grimm-armed titan staggered backwards, Aura flickering around her and already beginning to shrink as her focus and control of her Semblance was broken.
Raffia however wasn't finished.
He had managed leap from the rail-gun round and cling onto the giants' face and now he aimed the Blazing Avenger directly between her eyes, focusing all of the weapons' power into a single burst, its' tip glowing white hot until finally he fired with immediate results. His target crumpled backwards, shrinking to her natural size as she did so but not before she swatted him away like a particularly annoying bug in the process.
Raffia landed in the wreckage of what had once been the docks, bones breaking again as he hit the ground and bounced several times before rolling to a stop. Spitting out blood and teeth and letting out several pained choking sounds he focused once again and allowed his Semblance to take affect, his salmon coloured Aura roiling around him as though it were some viscous liquid until the damage to his body was undone and could drag himself to his feet
"Well that's unfortunate….I'll have to gamble with the Atlesians for a new one" he muttered as he looked at his weapon, it would serve as a sword but the firing mechanism of the laser was utterly destroyed. The Caudal fins adorning the sides of his head lay flat as he scanned the nearby area for any signs of life, finding none but hearing the sounds of Grimm and the people fighting against the close by he prepared to join the battle.
Then the sound of waterlogged boots striding out of the debris-littered water reached his ears.
"Well I wasn't expecting to have my dramatic entrance one-upped so soon" the blonde woman, now at her natural size snarled, as she wiped blood away from her face with one hand and drew a hefty executioners' axe with the other, regarding Raffia with open malice and hunger as the Faunus separated and twirled his two swords.
"The only real question is do I kill you now or wait for your friends on that sailboat of yours to come and help" she paused, an amused smirk on her face as she nodded to the ship she had thrown at the docks which lay on its' side close by "Ah well, frigate"
With that Yang Branwen, Salem's Chimera attacked.
"Right then lads….and lady, sorry. Are we ready for this?" Sooty's gravelly voice echoed in the underground tunnels and the silvery haired older man let out a sigh as he visibly began mentally bracing himself for what might lay ahead.
"We are" Helios nodded, Olivine, Ether and Nyanza standing ready behind him with their weapons already drawn and senses heightened by their nerves in the forbidding gloom; with the answer given their small group began moving again and made their final approach towards their goal.
The engineering team that Team NEON had accompanied into New Vale's sewers and power grid had hunkered down for the night whilst the student Hunters had kept watch and ventured ahead to create a safe perimeter for them to work within; after allowing themselves the luxury of sleep they had woken once again and planned their next move. Many of the engineers and assorted specialists and tradesmen and their apprentices working alongside them had split up and were working in smaller teams inside the rigidly defined safe zone that Team had defined, with Olivine being particularly blunt in her assertions that if any of them ventured outside of it without a Hunters' express approval there would be hell to pay; another group had stayed within the groups' base camp to monitor the location and progress of each small team whilst Team NEON themselves, Sooty the chief engineer and a few employees that he had hand picked ventured beyond the safe zone and deeper into the underbelly of the city, finally reaching the narrow corridors and small access shafts and ladders that formed a maze-like landscape several stories deep that those who knew of its' existence referred to as 'the rat-runs' situated directly below one of New Vale's vast Hive Towers.
Specifically the exact Hive Tower which Qrow had sent them to investigate.
Helios and Nyanza took the lead, the armoured redheads' shield and prowess providing a bulwark against any Grimm that might appear whilst his partners' greater than human senses made the bushy tailed Faunus the ideal choice to scout ahead. Olivine and Ether hung back and took positions behind Sooty and his colleagues, Olivine keeping Buster Bravo at the ready in case the group needed to retreat and found the way blocked; between the two pairs the engineers shared nervous looks, the fact that the thermal charges the carried were decidedly not intended for repairs remaining unspoken.
"I hear something up ahead" Nyanza noted in hushed tone, voice muffled somewhat by the filter-mask that still covered the lower half of his face to combat the putrid stench that the rest of Team NEON were forced to agree had grown steadily worse, an omen that none of them wished to consider too much.
"What do you hear?" Helios asked, equally hushed. Nyanza took a moment to answer as he strained his ears to listen to the sound that nobody else had managed to hear yet
"Buzzing" he eventually answered "Like bug wings"
"Should we turn back?" one of the engineers asked, understandably concerned by the development
"No" Ether answered from behind "If we're being honest this means we're heading the right way" with that grim statement the group continued and soon the sound that Nyanza had alluded to became clear to everyone, a low droning buzz that put all who heard it mind of an insects' wings.
"I'm taking point" Nyanza murmured as he stepped in front of Helios and levelled the Pharaoh Mafdet out in front of himself, the long barrels of the pistols sweeping the narrow, twisting walkways as their footsteps echoed through them until finally the source of the noise made itself known.
A Botfly Grimm.
The bulbous and distended thing bobbed gracelessly into view, hairy appendages grasping and stinger jabbing in the direction of the group. The terrain worked in the Hunters' favour as the bloated and ungainly monstrosity struggled to turn and fit itself into the rat-run which Team NEON and their charges occupied and in that time Nyanza's pale green eyes had begun to glow as if lit from behind as he engaged his Semblance and fired each of his pistols once, the shots in a supreme display of luck and marksmanship struck the insectoid monsters' invisibly fast, gossamer thin wings and shredded them, leaving the Grimm tumbling to ground and struggling to rise until Ether used his own Semblance to appear above it, a cloud of mist coalescing into his physical form as he brought Ghost Reverie down on the things' skull, cleaving its' head apart in a single swing.
"Bloody hell is that what's been causing problems in the city?" Sooty demanded, voice hoarse with shock and horror
"It is" Helios nodded, only to be silenced by Nyanza tugging at his sleeve and frantically pointing at the ceiling of the rat-run that the Botfly had emerged from, silently directing his partners' gaze upwards until Helios's vivid green eyes widened in disgust at what he saw.
Thin matted tendrils of Grimm matter spreading across the ceiling like vines, or more accurately like rot and mould that corroded the metal around them, most likely eating into the Hive Towers' power grid and creating the fluctuations that had piqued Qrow's initial interest in the place.
"Wait here" Helios murmured to those behind him, tapping Nyanza and directing his partner to follow him; with their weapons at the ready the two of covered each other as they rounded the corner fully expecting to see vast tides of Grimm waiting for them.
What they found was somehow worse.
The matted tendrils of glistening and slimy tendrils formed a thin living blanket which had crept across much of the walls, ceiling and floor of the narrow rat-run, pulsing faintly and with a faint crimson light emanating from within the thickest portions of the tangled mess; on the floor however was a truly sorrowful sight, the body of a homeless man who had taken refuge in the rat-runs presumably in search of warmth and shelter lay shredded and torn apart from the inside where a Maggot Grim had incubated and burst free of him, the Grimm tendrils overtaking the dessicated body and beginning to subsume it entirely.
"We need to contact Qrow" Nyanza breathed out, eyes wide and hands trembling a fraction as he took in the sight. Helios nodded silently and drew his Scroll, seeing that he thankfully did have a signal and making a video call to the secretive veteran Huntsman.
"Heely, tell me you've got some good news" Qrow's face was weary and Helios immediately saw that the man was on edge, pushing his concerns aside he answered
"The Maggot and Botfly Grimm have made their way into the cities' power grid and some sort of Grimm….decay has set in" he turned his Scroll to display his surroundings to Qrow
"Sweet fucking Oum" the older man growled gruffly "It looks like the early stages of a proto-Spawning Pit….On top of everything else"
"Everything else?" Helios demanded, no longer able to ignore his concerns; Qrow let out a sigh
"Felix called and things are a little bit complicated on his end, on top of that we've got an incursion coming from the docks…..it's all in hand, focus on your mission" Helios's eyes narrowed, Qrow's expression made it clear that there was a lot going unsaid
"Are you sure-"
"Yes I'm sure Helios" Qrow answered, clearly agitated "My suspicions are right, this is how the Grimm have been moving inside the city and if that matting is what I think it is then it has to be dealt with immediately. You have your mission, everyone else has theirs; get to work and I'll make sure that tower is evacuated"
"Understood" Helios nodded solemnly, his sense of duty overriding any further queries he may have, ending the call Helios turned back to both Team NEON and the small group of engineers; steeling himself he locked eyes with Sooty
"Start prepping the thermal charges; this mission just became the highest priority"
The fight between Yang Branwen, Salem's Chimera and Raffia Dirge of the Shadow Cadre, vanguard of the Frost River Tribe would go on to become the stuff of legends, a cataclysmic meeting of two equal and opposite forces; the golden haired abomination wielding the Semblances of her victims and possessed of an endless fury whilst the Axolotl Faunus was defiance and resilience incarnate, simply refusing to die and retaliating with reckless abandon that few other would dare.
Raffia collapsed to the ground, swords falling from his grasp as his neck was broken for what was at least the fourth time in the course of this battle yet it was merely a brief inconvenience; the lance of pain and cold, terrifying numbness being quickly washed away as his bones and nerves healed and allowed him to crouch down and recover his weapons.
"Is this all you have?" he demanded as he spat out a mouthful of blood and regarded Yang with demented glee, for her part the Chimera was furious; she had struck the Faunus at twice the speed of sound and violently wrenched his skull away from his spine yet it barely seemed to register.
It seemed that she would need to get more creative in her use of Semblances
"You want what I have?" she cackled evilly "Well let's start things with a Yang" she slammed End-Times into the ground and held both palms out in front of her, the air in front of the them visibly warping before a dull thrumming sound echoed throughout the ruins of the docks the Chimera unleashed a shock-wave of pure concussive force that surged across the debris-strewn remains of the docks and scoured away everything in its' path. Raffia proved beyond all doubt that he was more than the mindless berserker that many saw him as, sheathing the shorter of his two sword and using his free hand to throw a handful of Gravity Dust crystals into the oncoming shock-wave as he leapt into the air, the resultant blast of force allowed him to sail through the air just ahead of Yang's attack until its' energy was finally spent and the Axolotl Faunus landed in a crouch, pale pink Aura flickering around him is at repaired several lacerations and stemmed the bleeding from his ruptured eardrums.
As impressive as his continued survival was Raffia knew that he needed to land a decisive blow soon, his Aura would support his Semblance indefinitely and the Chimera seemed to be showing no signs of tiring. Gazing across their battlefield which as now an open expanse of concrete and asphalt close to the coastline with all wreckage and terrain stripped away the Faunus saw the tell-tale black petals forming around his opponent and readied his sword.
He might not have been able to match her speed but he didn't need to, she was predictable.
Yang collided with Raffia with bone shattering force, driving her elbow into his skull and crumpling it with the blow, but even as he healed he knew he had been successful; the Chimera had come to a sudden stop and let out a choking sound that was equal parts pain and surprise.
"Got anything in your bag of cheap tricks to deal with that" Raffia sneered as both of them glanced down and saw the longer his two swords buried in her gut to the hilt, its' bloodstained blade bursting from her lower back.
"I will have soon" Yang shot back, blood spilling from her lips as she raised her axe overhead; Raffia released his sword and caught the weapon which was seemingly what the half Grimm abomination had intended as she unleashed a pair of Semblances in quick succession, firstly breathing fire directly into Raffia's face and forcing him to stagger away and then sinking to the ground and striking the asphalt with an open palm.
Whoever's Semblance she was channelling had been a Geomancer in life and the ground erupted in jagged pillars of stone as tremors tore through it and though Raffia managed to weave aside from each of the pillars in turn it seemed that Yang had only intended them to be a momentary distraction rather than a killing blow. Staring at her through the filled of jagged spires the Faunus watched her rip his sword from her gut and hold it out ahead of her as she channelled Sun Wukong's Semblance and manifested four clones made of shimmering golden light, each of them wielding a copy of his own sword whilst the Chimera took the original in both hands and bent its' blade before throwing it aside.
"That is, by far the most insulting thing you've done!" Raffia spat, rushing into the fray once more whilst Yang's light-clones charged out to meet him, the Axolotl Faunus still carried End-Times, Yang Branwen's axe and took great pleasure in using to to relieve the first clone of its' head.
The victory was brief as Raffia winced in pain at the feeling of his own sword tearing into his flank
"Bastard!" the word escaped him as a pained hiss as he wrestled the offending light clone to the ground, wrapping his legs around its' arm and breaking before using its' trapped position to hack into its' chest with Yang's axe.
Pressing his advantage he lunged back to his feet and swung the axe at the gut of one the final to light clones, its' surface rippled yet the thing remained until Raffia let out a snarl and shifted the weapon into its' shotgun form and fired point-blank into its' chest as it fired.
The final light-clone vanished as soon as Raffia turned his attention to it, immediately raising his suspicions; whoever this monster was she had only been able to use one Semblance at once thus-far and this likely meant she had chosen a new plan of attack; casting his eyes around he realised with a sinking feeling that he could no longer see the Chimera
"Come out, come out wherever you-" the taunt was silenced as Yang emerged from seemingly empty space, releasing the Semblance she had stolen from Neo Politan and using Ruby Rose's speed to pounce, her left arm closing around Raffia's throat as she hoisted him from the ground and sped into each of the stone pillars she had created in turn, shattering them until she slammed her opponent into the last of them and wrestled her axe free of his grip with her Grimm-flesh right arm
"Give me that" she chuckled "I want you to know that you put up a better fight than-"
"We're not finished yet" before Yang could fully process the Faunus's assertion her world erupted into pain and she looked down at the bleeding stump where her left hand had been a moment before, Raffia's hand having flown to his sheathed short-sword the moment he had lost control of End-times.
The Chimera let out a single scream of wordless rage before activating yet another Semblance, this being one she hadn't used in a very long time; her own.
Her fiery eyes shone brighter and her hair became like golden fire as she swung and landed a single wild and uncoordinated blow that tore Raffia from the ground, the Axolotl Faunus hit the ground several dozen meters away and the solid surface cracked beneath him, his Aura flickering around him as it struggled to repair ruptured organs and shattered bone before finally dissipating with one final flash of pale pink light.
He was spent, he had no more tricks left and as much as he wanted to rise and continue to the fight his body simply would not obey him; as his vision began to dim he saw a figure limp into view and loom over him; immediately knowing that it was the Chimera before he had fully appreciated the damage he had wrought on her, left arm cut away a few inches above the wrist, bloodstained face and clothes sodden with gore from the gut wound whilst her eyes and hair still glowed with terrible power.
He almost didn't feel the blow as End-times was lifted over head and brought down, tearing through his ribcage.
"My ancestors are smiling on me today" he managed to choke out, a familiar twisted smile on his face even as the light in his eyes faded; defiant until his last breath he added "After everything I've done, they will greet me as a hero in the afterlife; I died in battle against a monster"
The peaceful embrace of the darkness was stolen from him by the chilling laugh that the Chimera replied with.
"Oh you're not meeting anyone except the other souls I've eaten" Yang adjusted her grip on End-times and Raffia's last moments were spent watching barbed tendrils emerge from the Grimm-flesh of her arm and slither down the shaft of weapon, inching towards his body with inexorable certainty.
The Nemesis Kharybdis had long since run out of munitions and yet the Grimm kept coming, the only possible upside to this situation that Carcharodon could find was that his teams' ceaseless onslaught against the monsters had distracted a large portion of them from both New Vale's coastline and devastated docks or the other ships and boats that were yet to flee to safety.
Instead they had attacked Team GORE specifically.
"We're going to be overrun!" Hellion warned as she leaned over the railings of the ship to drive a pair of knives into the eye-sockets of an amphibious Grimm, a slimy thing with a flattened and vaguely triangular head and spiny fins growing from its' back, overall resembling the first lifeforms to venture onto dry land from Remnants' primordial oceans
"THEN FIGHT TO THE LAST BREATH!" Onyx roared in defiance; the three of them had taken up positions on the open deck of their ship and were cleaving through the steady stream of Grimm that were attempting to scale its' surface whilst those monsters who were solely aquatic tore at and crashed against its' hull in an effort to sink it; as if to underline his intentions the hulking Puma Faunus swung Jotun Fang, the monstrous head of the double-bladed battle axe ripping a trio of Grimm aside in a single swing as the slithered and crawled on to the deck, Onyx quickly shifted the weapon into its' ranged form and the artillery pieces' booming report was almost lost beneath the primal roar of fury that the Faunus let out, each shot blasting a Grimm apart as Onyx strode forwards until he finally reached the opposite side of the deck to Hellion and unleashed his Semblance into the waiting horrors below, Creatures of Grimm that resembled Sharks and Crocodiles or more ancient things whose names Team GORE didn't know were shredded by the wave of force that struck them.
Carcharodon knew that it wouldn't be enough yet continued to fight on, deciding that if this was to be the end then he would take every Grimm that dared to sully his ship with its' presence into the darkness with him; the Shark Faunus was a blur of motion, the blades of the Red Waves reduced to flickering flashes only identifiable by the beheaded, disembowelled and dismembered monsters they left in their wake; Carcharodon fought like a man possessed and only halted when a piercing shriek split the air, clearing the last of the beasts away from him with a spinning, slashing attack that sheared bodies cleanly apart he gazed upwards and saw a colossal Nevermore whose wings blotted out the sun diving not simply towards the Nemesis Kharybdis but towards him in particular.
Carcharodon gave a smile filled with jagged fangs and sprinted towards the prow of the ship and crushed an Ice Dust crystal in his fist, activating his Semblance at the exact moment that the avian horrors' outstretched talons reached out to snatch him away.
The Grimm soared upwards, squawking in confusion as it realised that its' prey had eluded it; their claws passing through the Faunus's body and finding no purchase; then then things movements began to slow and its' shrieking took on an agonised note as its' limbs stiffened, ice crystals forming from within.
"IT'S GONNA FALL BACK AND HIT THE DECK!" Onyx warned and Carcharodon's black eyes widened as he realised that his friend was correct; the Grimm froze solid and began to plummet downwards on a collision course that would see it cause severe damage to the Nemesis Kharybdis.
Then suddenly it exploded.
"About damned time!" Hellion exclaimed as New Vale's air force made its' grand entrance, rockets ripping airborne Grimm from the sky in a cacophony of explosions whilst laser-fire seared through the waves, flash-boiling countless hundreds of gallons as lances of burning light tore through aquatic Grimm.
"This" Onyx panted out as leaned on his axe for support and clutched at a stitch in his side "Will be one that those who come after us will tell stories about"
"We're not finished" Carcharodon rasped out, turning his attention towards the ruined docks where he knew Raffia and the giant woman that had begun this attack to be; likely locked in combat
"Take the ship back to mining rig, see that they're safe, evacuate if you need to and ensure that this vessel remains seaworthy" he murmured to Onyx and Hellion, trusting that the ships' AI would suffice whilst his helmsman was absent "I'm finding Raffia" without waiting for an answer the Shark Faunus ran and leapt over the edge of the ships' prow, activating his Semblance once again and using it to travel through the water faster than simply swimming would have allowed.
Before long Carcharodon had emerged and reformed in the remains of what had once been New Vale's commercial docks, his body solidifying from its' obsidian liquid state as he cast his eyes around and struggled to comprehend the scale of the ruin that greeted him; the ship that their titanic attacker had hurled at the docks had smashed through building entirely, decimating a pier and flipping, tearing a deep gouge into the street of the beach-front where it had come to rest on its' side; nestled into a mountain of destruction around it.
Fires raged, the sounds of battle filled the air, roaring Grimm, screaming and the sound of gunfire on all sides whilst the scent of blood assaulted the Shark Faunus's nostrils.
Yet the only thing Carcharodon saw was a lone figure standing over a broken body.
"Another useful semblance" Yang Branwen noted through teeth gritted in pain "I'll be sure to deal with you another time" Carcharodon took a single step towards her, acting on pure instinct with his limbs numb and heavy and ice in his veins as he realised that the motionless form beside this abomination was Raffia.
His horror only grew as the tendrils that grew from the Chimera's Grimm-Flesh arm retracted and she ripped her axe free of the Axolotl Faunus's chest
"Now let's see" the bleeding, maimed and battered woman choked out and before Carcharodon could act or even think he was treated to a sight that would haunt his nightmares.
Yang Branwen using Raffia's Semblance
Her golden Aura bubbling over her body and taking the shape of the arm Raffia had cut from her as flesh and bone began to rapidly regrow, the stab wound in her abdomen closed and the injury that the Nemesis Kharybdis had given her face all vanished in a matter of moments.
"I'd love to carry this on" the Chimera taunted, eyes wild as she relished in her new power "But you know how it is; I get lethargic after I eat" with that the woman vanished in a shower of black petals and a blur of motion.
He wasted no effort on trying to follow her, instead Carcharodon sprinted to Raffia's side and sunk to his knees; knowing from the pool of blood around the man that he had known his entire life that it was too late long before he saw the glassy distant look in his eyes.
A scream of unfettered an unspeakable grief and hatred tore free of him before the Shark Faunus, the unflinching leader of the last of his people broke down completely, sobbing over his friends' body until the sound of New Vale's Hunters swarming the area and their bellows of 'Hunter down' stirred him.
In that moment Carcharodon Gore made a vow that he swore to honour if it killed him; those responsible for this would die screaming.
"There's Grimm here" one of the engineers murmured fearfully as they huddled together in the defensive barrier that Team NEON created with their own bodies, the group moving ever deeper into the rat-runs that lay beneath the Hive Tower that the Maggot Grimm had infested.
"Aye there's Grimm here" Sooty nodded, face ashen as the drone of insectoid wings and moist, squelching shuffling assaulted his ears "Keep your mouth shut and your chin up and we shouldn't draw 'em to us….Helios lad we're down to the last charge"
"Where do you want us to place it?" the redhead asked, allowing himself a sigh of relief despite the stoic and unshakeable appearance he was attempting to keep in place for the benefit of the civilians accompanying his team. The oppressive darkness and festering stench in the claustrophobic conditions of the rat-runs were slowly wearing down his resolve and he would be glad to be free of them, privately resolving to never venture this far under the city again for any reason.
"Here" the older man stepped closer and directed his torch towards the specialised map of the rat runs that he carried which showed the various power lines that ran through them; the location he pointed to was close by, perhaps a few minutes walk if they were less cautious not that Helios would accept that idea and one level down and an access point close to the place that the charge was to be placed.
"We can do that" Nyanza noted quietly as he leaned around Helios and peered at the map "Sooty, have your guy prime the charge; Helios and I can get down there and place it"
"You sure about that?" it was Olivine that spoke up this time "It's dangerous"
"Everything about this is dangerous" Nyanza countered with a shrug "Makes more sense to me for us to send as few people in as possible; I can see in the dark, Heely can cover me and we can be out of here in no time, it's safer than having civvies do it….no offence"
"None taken" Sooty grunted before turning to Helios "It's your call" the redhead thought for a few moments before finally nodding in agreement
"Nyanza's right, we're here to keep your people safe and we can do that more effectively by not putting you in harms' way in the first place. Prime the charge and give me the detonator"
"You heard the man" Sooty gestured to one of his employees who began quickly readying the last charge whilst Helios turned to Ether and Olivine
"Take them and-"
"Not a chance Heely" Olivine interrupted "We'll wait here….we're not leaving you behind orders or not. I've got a bad feeling" Helios saw the look on the small woman's face and knew that it would be fruitless to argue
"Stay here" he nodded to her and her partner as he took the charge and detonator from one of the engineers "Nyanza, let's go"
The pair moved through the rat-runs in silence, what little communication they required being carried out through gestures largely involving gesturing at the map or indicating for one another to wait whilst they took point and checked that blind corners were clear until finally they came to their goal, a single rusted and corroded ladder at the mouth of a hole just wide enough for them to fit through.
Grimm tendrils spewed from the mouth of the hole leading out in all directions and the sound of buzzing and movement had steadily increased until they had reached this point.
"I'm going to assume that you knew this is where the Grimm were concentrated" Helios noted, allowing Nyanza to take the charge and detonator whilst the redhead readied his sword and shield
"Not here exactly but I could hear which way the noise was coming from" Nyanza admitted "And I stand by what I said, this is the safe option"
"Agreed" Helios nodded "I'm just curious as to when heroism which bordered on stupidity stopped being 'my' signature" his partner merely rolled his eyes in response to that and secured his important cargo whilst readying his pistols.
"Don't worry" the Feline Faunus assured him "I've got this" without wasting any more words Nyanza ran forwards and simply leapt into the hole, tucking his close to his body to avoid touching the Grimm matter around it and landing in a crouch.
Immediately Nyanza knew he had miscalculated.
"Oh shit" he breathed out at the sight of easily hundred of bloody red eyes turning towards him; the glow of the bulbous orbs illuminating the Grimm which the belonged to and revealing that there were scores of the Botfly Grimm and their underdeveloped Maggot kin filling the narrow corridor ahead of him and that walls, ceiling and floor beneath his feet were all thick with ropey strands of Grimm tissue which ate into their surfaces. The Grimm began to move as a single tide of hunger given form, the Botfly Grimm buzzing and droning as the bobbed closer, colliding into one another as they did so and with the Maggot Grimm dragging themselves along the ground close behind; Nyanza knew that he would not be able to climb up the ladder and make it to safety before those glistening stingers reached him and so he did the only thing that made sense to him in that moment
"Heely! I could do with some cover down here!" with that Nyanza took the thermal charge and rolled it into the mass of Grimm with an underhanded throw and a flash of his Semblance, his good fortune bringing it rolling to a stop at roughly the place he had intended to plant it.
Then he aimed his pistols and began firing.
A dozen shots barked out from the Pharaoh Mafdet in the space of a second and each shot tore through soft, pulpy and distended flesh with ease yet it became painfully clear that the Grimm swarm was simply too vast in number for Nyanza to kill them all.
The sound of Helios landing in a crouch behind him was comforting enough for the Faunus to let out a sigh of relief and his usual cocky grin to fall into place on his lips as he began weaving around the Grimm that neared him, kicking Maggots aside and bursting the bodies of Botfly Grimm with well placed shot until Helios thundered passed him, Shield in front of his face and a wordless roar on his lips as he smashed into the living tsunami and forced it back before the darkness of his Aura enveloped him and he unleashed a wave of crushing force, increasing gravity around himself until scores of Grimm were crushed into a paste.
"Heely let's go!" Nyanza called out, still ripping through Grimm in a flurry of destruction "The charge is planted and I can't hold my Semblance forever!" Helios turned and saw that his partners' eyes were indeed glowing whilst his pale min green Aura flickered around him from the exertion. Nodding in agreement Helios turned and bolted back towards the ladder only to feel a massive presence looming over him as the deafening drone of the largest Grimm within the swarm filled his ears; powering forwards the redhead watched his partner take aim and channel the last of his Semblance into a single shot, skill and good fortune combining and sending the lone explosive round screaming passed Helios's ear with a hairs' breadth between them before striking something vital in the monsters' innards and tearing it apart in a single attack
"MOVE!" Nyanza screamed, his Aura finally failing as he was pushed to his limits; Helios lunged up the ladder and positioned himself at the mouth at the hole they had climbed down, hand extended out to Nyanza as the Faunus followed him.
Then Nyanza's luck ran out.
Helios saw the inevitable about to happen but was powerless to stop it; a lone Botfly Grimm, already wounded careened into escaping Faunus with crushing force and the detonator was flung from Nyanza's grasp, more importantly however even as Helios's drew his sword and stabbed down into the things eyes he saw its' stinger flash outwards and heard Nyanza scream in pain; the redhead stabbed again and again until the Grimm finally vanished and wasted to time in throwing his partner over his shoulder and sprinting back towards where Olivine and Ether waited
"Oh my Oum what happened?" Helios threw his Scroll at Olivine, orders flying from his lips in a panicked scream
"CONTACT QROW NOW! HE HAS NO AURA, HE NEEDS AN IMMEDIATE EVAC!"
"You need to take my leg" Nyanza's voice was a hushed and pained sob yet it silenced the dissenting voices which were beginning to be raised
"It stung me, you no what those stingers do" the Faunus continued, tail stiff as he trembled in terror "I don't wanna die Heely, not like that" with bile rising in his throat Helios set his partner down and pulled the leg of his blood-soaked jeans away to reveal a gaping wound in the back of his calf, blood spilling from it freely whilst black veins had already begun to spread away from the wound.
There was only one thing Helios could do and tears spilled down his cheeks as he realised it
"ETHER GET THEM OUT OF HERE! PULL BACK TO OUR BASE CAMP AND TELL EVERYONE WE'RE PULLING OUT! DO IT!" his roar echoed off of the wall and compelled Ether and the engineers to do as they were told without a second thought "Ollie, where the hell is Qrow? Damn it I need you to hold him" Nyanza was shaking violently now and a sheen of cold sweat. As Olivine took the Faunus and held him Helios ripped a sleeve away from his own clothes and tied it as tightly as he could around Nyanza's leg before taking a sizeable Fire Dust crystal and using it to heat the edge of his shield until it glowed.
"I am so sorry" Helios cried as he held the shield over Nyanza's leg and activated his Semblance; increased gravity bringing its' edge down like a guillotine and cleaving through flesh and bone with little resistance.
Nyanza's screams were the stuff of nightmares but Helios refused to stop, using Dust to cauterise the wound as best he could and scooping his maimed partner into his arms before sprinting after Ether and the engineers, Olivine at his side; desperately trying to contact Qrow Branwen until the grizzled veterans' voice finally greeted them
"Helios what's-"
"WE NEED AN EMERGENCY MEDICAL EVAC RIGHT NOW!" Helios screamed, his voice hoarse "MISSION IS A FAILURE, WE'RE REGROUPING BUT NYANZA IS LOSING TOO MUCH BLOOD; ONE OF THE BOTFLY GRIMM….HUNTER DOWN QROW WE HAVE A HUNTER DOWN!"
The haunted edge to Qrow's words when he next spoke made it clear that this was far from the first time one of those who acted in his stead had fallen in the line of duty, though the steel in his voice made it clear that the legendary Hunter would not simply resign himself to the inevitable
"Rover Tan will be on your location within the next ninety seconds" he promised "We're gonna get your team out Helios" Helios didn't answer, instead he continued sprinting with his bleeding and barely conscious partner in his arms and silently hoped that Qrow could deliver.
Pyrrha had watched and waited.
She had no knowledge of what carnage Yang had wrought elsewhere, only that it had been successful by the student Hunters that began pouring out of the academy as sirens began to blare throughout the city, clearly audible even from the ruins of what had once been the Exclusion Zone; professors and students alike had hastily boarded a fleet of Bull-Head transports in full combat gear and with their weapons locked and loaded, alongside them were those amongst Halo Academies' medical staff trained to serve as battlefield medics and within a matter of minutes the transports and surged into the sky and streaked towards the city, non of those aboard them realising that they had left the true prize free for the taking and much to her delight Pyrrha had not seen those she sought aboard any of them
After waiting a while longer Pyrrha had found a piece of scrap metal left by part of the vast crew of workmen undertaking the academy and its' vast anti-gravity platforms' repair project and used the metal and her own Semblance to levitate herself upwards; she could have simply focused her Semblance on her own armour but felt that the reckoning she had waited so long for deserved a better beginning than being hoisted into their air by ones' own neck.
She landed on the now empty airship terminal of the academy, no construction or maintenance workers having seen her ascent and nobody around her to halt her advance her green eyes shone with a hateful glee as she marched forwards; her Semblance bringing Milo and Akuo to her hands whilst the golden armour peeled away from her forearms to reveal the cybernetic limbs beneath.
She would allow those who had wronged her in her own timeline to see her for what she was.
Striding out onto the yellow bricked road lined with golden statues made in honour of those who had fallen Pyrrha came to a halt, the air suddenly leaving her. Up ahead was a statue made in her own image, or more accurately that of her counterpart; a younger Pyrrha wearing a more innocent smile than she could ever remember seeing on her own face and holding the hand of a man she didn't know.
This was by far the least important thing to her at that moment, instead her gaze was focused on two figures standing at the entrance of the academy; a slender man with raven black hair, streaked with pink and beside him, orange hair blowing in the wind and turquoise eyes wide in disbelief stood the object of all of the hatred Pyrrha Nikos, Bandit Queen of Anima could muster.
They had seen one another and Pyrrha knew that Goodwitch and Qrow lay behind these two Hunters; even Salem herself would not deny her this, her reckoning was at hand she would reclaim the honour that had been taken from her before she laid waste to her Queens' enemies.
Nora Valkyrie would die today. It was destiny.
Author's Notes:
Oh boy, everyone still okay after reading that?….'cos damn.
I told you I had things planned for this volume finale and trust me…..the biggest fights are yet to come; the actual finale battle is next chapter then 139 will wrap up and lead us into Vol.11, the penultimate volume of this story
The end is nigh.
But anyway, let's summarise shall we?
Bandit Queen Pyrrha hasn't learned the important lesson that it's bad manners to keep a lady waiting.
Gotta wonder how much of Yang's bloodthirstiness is her and how much is the Grimm; or if there's even a distinction at this point.
Under normal circumstances evil Yang would happily listen to evil Pyrrha….because even though I know I'm not gonna do anything with it the idea of the 'Hellfire' ship amuses me.
Getting hit by someone with Ruby's speed when you have no Aura…..seen episode one of "The Boys" yeah, this is like that.
Miss-ile…..No apologies will be offered, ever; and of course fishing boats have guns on them this is Remnant.
That's the Semblance I've been holding back on, Yang can go full Kaiju….and yes her throwing a ship at the docks was inspired by Pacific Rim.
Team GORE really have become great Hunters and found somewhere where they fit in.
Team GORE aren't from Vale originally but they know what should and shouldn't be in the water.
Yang might be big but come on, that's a battleship shooting at her; that's gonna do some damage to her Aura.
"Something that pass on into legends" come on, Raffia was brilliant this chapter and you know it….but you also surely knew that this was gonna go wrong for him.
Just a reminder that Raffia has never built a weapon of his own, Blazing Avenger was taken from Specialist Kafsi Asteri and Reaper Macabre that he had before that was allegedly won by gambling.
"Ah well, frigate"….Shut up it's funny.
Do not go outside the safe zone, it will end up like Aliens.
The rat-runs are inspired by some of the places I've worked in; I've done fitting work inside a prison and worked in the loading bay of a shopping centre, the space between the walls is definitely big enough to be an area in its' own right.
"If we're being honest this means we're heading the right way" Ether gets it, there's very rarely good news in this line of work.
You knew this was gonna end badly for someone as soon as you saw the Botfly Grimm right?
Why yes, I am enjoying getting steadily more disgusting with my imagery.
Proto Spawning Pit…..that will become important.
So yeah, this chapter is happening at the same time as FADE's mission last chapter which means Qrow is dealing with Team FADE & NEON's missions having Top Secret elements to them and then there's an attack going on which he's obviously gonna be using his lair to coordinate.
And yes Qrow kept Helios focused, can you blame him.
I sincerely hope I managed to convey just how epic this fight was in my head.
If you read Downward Spiral then you'll know that the Shock-Wave Semblance Yang used was actually Yatsuhashi's, obviously before the CFVY novel had given him a canon one.
Don't need super speed, just need to know what they're aiming at.
"I will have soon" and "You'd think someone is going to die on one of these mission" a couple chapters back; Raffia's death was definitely foreshadowed.
The Geomancer Semblance….get ready for this 'cos I'm gonna do a deep cut from my own lore; in the first few Chapters of the Downward Spiral; I think Chapter 04 Gangrel Slate mentioned Team GORE losing in the doubles round of the previous Vytal Tournament to Team MURK, the K of which was a Geomancer…..Which means I could feasibly have Yang pull out Malkavia Pitch's Semblance if I wanted to be really horrible.
"That is, by far the most insulting thing you've done!" Is he wrong though?
Looks like she's been…..Disarmed.
You knew she had to end the fight by using her own Semblance….also, think about how much power she had to throw around after being hit with a rail-gun.
Yes I gave you all a glimmer of hope that Raffia would find some kind of peace in death just to snatch it away from you with the next line; because if you're gonna be a bastard then you may as well be a good one.
The rest of Team GORE holding the line on their ship was pretty cool; especially Carcharodon freezing the Nevermore from the inside.
And boom, Yang can now rapidly regenerate….don't worry; spoilers but that's gonna be a double edged sword for her.
So yeah, you might have thought I was going soft because I've been a lot more sparing with the deaths than I was in Downward Spiral; bet you regret thinking that now.
Tough as Helios is those conditions are a long way from the forests and plains in Anima.
I hope you all knew something was gonna go wrong from the moment Nyanza started volunteering.
"I'm just curious as to when heroism which bordered on stupidity stopped being 'my' signature" ah callbacks.
There's that big ol' swarm of Grimm you were all waiting for.
Well the charge is set at the very least.
Nyanza used the last of his Aura to save Helios….oh that's gonna haunt him.
I don't want to say I'm still bitter over Vol.8 and Clover's death…..BUT, this is how you show a lucky character's luck finally running out.
"I don't wanna die Heely, not like that" oof, anyone else's heart break a little there?
Charges are set…..detonator is still down in the Grimm nest; looks like someone's gonna have to go back for it.
Yang did her job, Halo Academy is almost unguarded.
The robot arms are out, 'cos she wants to make a point.
Nora Valkyrie would die today. It was destiny….gratuitous use of the D word, the cardinal sin of RWBY has been committed.
Thank you to SumoSnipe and Funlander for their reviews on the last chapter.
Funny thing is….even that isn't a 100% kill confirmed.
Diamond gets some great lines but I think Carcharodon is a contender for 'Most epic shit said' as well.
Oh yeah they can rebuild, they have the technology….but it's a bitch to lose your command drone right as things are getting serious.
I'm sure you can guess where the Pod is gonna deposit her.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review