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Chapter 150: Through The Darkness
They had been utterly unprepared for Pantheon's wrath.
Team NEON had fought the sentient Grimm before, albeit with assistance from allies that the three of them doubted would be forthcoming this time and knew that Pantheon was intelligent as well being both extremely powerful and durable. This fight seemed different however, Pantheon fought less like the ruthless commander of the Grimm, forever choosing the perfect moment to enter the fray and deliver a killing blow that Team NEON knew them to be and more like a savage beast determined to slaughter everything in their path. This change however had not affected their mastery of the monsters around them and early on in their battle Pantheon had called forth those Creatures of Grimm nearby by simply wash over their enemies in a tide of teeth and claws.
"Ollie!" Helios called out as he seized a Deathstalker by its' tail and hurled it into the air, his Semblance warping and weakening gravity around the arachnid horror and slowing its' fall which allowed Olivine to shift Buster Bravo from into its' oversized gauntlet mode and crush the Grimm's skull with a single punishing blow. Before Olivine could land Pantheon was on her, swooping down with their tail and claws outstretch only to vanish as Ether used his Semblance to get her to relative safety, the two of them reappearing in the midst of a pack of Beowolves that they proceeded to unmake through sheer, brute force at close range.
Leaving Pantheon exposed and confused for just long enough for Helios to hurl Akuo at their face.
The blow did little more than vaguely irritate the monster further and cause all six of their eyes to hone in on Helios, Pantheon let out a wordless scream of rage as they dove towards the golden-armoured warrior who responded in kind, catching the rebounding Akuo in one hand whilst shifting Milo into its' rife form and opening fire with the other; the shots tore chunks of Pantheon's bony, armoured carapace away yet did nothing to slow their advance and Helios barely managed to brace himself and fling his shield in front of his face before the two of them collided with one another. No words passed between them, instead Helios grit his teeth and simply struggled not to be overwhelmed as he used his shield to keep Pantheon's snapping jaws at bay even as their streamlined and angled chest-armour forced Akuo aside and at the same time used Milo to keep the scything claws of Pantheon's upper arms at bay until eventually the monster seized the upper hand, their lower, more humanoid arms simply driving into Helios's shield and forced him back whilst throwing him off balance and leaving him unable to counter their clawed tail as it snaked around and grasped at his armoured back, thee three prongs of the claw sinking into the metal before Pantheon took to the air with a powerful flap of their wing and spun Helios before simply hurling him away.
Helios's Semblance once again came into play and most likely saved his life as he manipulated gravity to alter the angle of the fall; coming skidding to a halt mere feet away from the gap in the wall of the Hive-Tower that they fought within that had served as an access point to the next tower across until Team NEON themselves had destroyed the bridge between. No sooner had Helios leapt to his feet again than he saw Pantheon give a twisted, inhuman smile and direct the attention of the few remaining Beowolves away from Olivine and Ether and towards him. The red-haired warrior braced himself, painfully aware of the fact that he was only a few feet away from the edge.
The first Beowolf leapt, yet never reached him.
"COVER OLLIE!" Ether demanded as he materialised between his team-mate and the Grimm, Ghost Reverie cleaving the lead Beowolf in half before being shifted from its' axe mode to guitar Helios nodded in understanding and opened fire with Milo, the shots buying Olivine just enough time to sprint towards them and avoid Pantheon's claws whilst Ether used his guitar an a pick made of solid Ice Dust to send out a freezing blast which reduced every Grimm nearby to little more than an icy statue which Olivine promptly barrelled through.
Leaving the three of them against Pantheon.
"Think we've got a chance?" Olivine asked, collapsing the armoured mask that covered her face back into her goggles and resting them atop her hair, their cracked lensed being more of a hindrance than anything else; Ether reached out and the two gently squeezed each others' hands whilst Helios merely rolled his shoulders back and readied his weapons
"Perhaps" he answered calmly before Pantheon let out a shrieking war-cry and charged towards them and with no more left to say the three members of Team NEON rushed forth to meet them.
Helios both felt and heard Pantheon's armoured torso give way with a satisfying crack as he thundered into the beast and swiftly drove his sword into their unprotected flank; the Grimm made to retaliate by driving the scythe-blades of their upper arms down into him only for Olivine to rush in from behind Helios and use his armoured back as a springboard to leap up and grab Pantheon's limbs in her oversized gauntlets before Ether used his Semblance to appear behind the Grimm with his axe at the ready. Helios watched him prepare for a crippling blow aimed at Pantheon's back and for a fraction of a second dared to hope that this battle would end quickly, with them taking the initiative early on.
It was not to be.
Pantheon's tail lashed out and clutched Ether by the midsection, smashing him into the ground until the road cracked and cratered and his Aura flickered around him before finally hurling him aside and turning their attention to Olivine, their lower arms reaching up and breaking her grip before throwing her into the burning remains of a nearby building with a dull thud. Helios tried to turn the tide only for Pantheon to take to the air and sink the taloned claws of their feet into his armoured shoulders and begin carrying Helios to the edge of the Hive Tower, transferring the armoured warrior to his tail and bringing him up so that they could meet each others' gaze, Pantheon seemingly wanting Helios to know that the end was near before casting him down into the void below.
Then part of Pantheon's skull exploded as a bullet tore through it.
Helios had no time to think and simply reacted on base instinct, catching the ledge formed by the edge of the Hive Tower with one hand as Pantheon dropped him and plummeted downwards, their flapping wings suggesting that the monster still lived; he debated simply focusing all of his remaining might into his Semblance and turning the monsters' body into an obsidian comet but found himself unable as he lost sight of them against the darkness and smoke. Instead he pulled himself back into the Hive-Tower and took several seconds to catch his breath and stop his hands and knees from trembling after this most recent brush with death; when he looked up however the entire world seemed to pause for a moment
"You're here? You're safe?" Olivine had made her way out of the burning building and though her Aura was flickering around her it still held, leaving her with little more than scuffs and scratches whilst Ether would almost certainly need medical treatment even if he was able to stand under his own power. Stood between them though, with his pistols still smoking, his cybernetic leg hidden beneath his clothes and a determined expression on his face which quickly morphed into a familiar cocky grin.
Was Nyanza Angora
"Yeah; I got out of surgery and there was a battle going on so I followed your Scrolls….lucky you right?" he beamed only to be beset on all sides as Helios, Olivine and Ether rushed towards him and pulled the missing member of their team into a crushing hug; deciding that for a moment at least the mission could wait.
Nickel painted vast swathes of the night sky an ethereal shade of green, creating an artificial Aurora Borealis as she unleashed blast after blast from her photon weapons.
Yet Salem remained entirely unharmed.
"Alright, bet" the android muttered under her breath with an annoyed grimace as the Queen of Grimm avoided her latest onslaught. The two of them fought in the air and Nickel realised that what had formerly been her domain was now being used against her as Salem's ability to manipulate the flow of time translated into unmatched speed and manoeuvrability and each flap of her newly grown, gargoyle-like wings caused her to seemingly vanish and reappear behind, beside of even above or below the android until finally she grew tired of simply taunting and evading.
Salem finally launched an offensive of her own and the sky trembled with each blow.
"The Grimm are death and destruction incarnate, you understand that of course?" each word was accompanied a crushing blow that knocked Nickel through the air, only for Salem to already be waiting for by the time she had righted her "And you….you can't be killed can you, because you're not really alive. You're just a machine" Nickel, Aura flickering around her let out a wordless snarl of rage at this and promptly lashed out, both hands wrapping around Salem's neck as she hurtled downwards and ploughed the alabaster-skinned woman through several hundred reinforced walls as she powered through an entire Hive-Tower and deep into the next building beyond it until Salem ground her heel into the floor and brought them both to a halt, as though all of Nickel's inhuman might were nothing more than an annoyance.
"You might be extra" the android sneered coldly "But I'm not doing anything near the most yet" Salem seemed to have a retort ready for this yet never had a chance to deliver it as Nickel prepared her photon weapons and fired again, this time in a single large burst rather than single beams of light with the cataclysmic explosion that she caused ripping through countless levels of the Hive-Tower and triggered several smaller firestorms all of which served to buy her enough time to escape and fly through the night sky once more.
Only for the wind to be knocked from her again as Salem streaked after her, body still regenerating from the blast and with flames streaking from her hair and clothes. Nickel was dragged from her flightpath as the edge of Salem's crescent-bladed scythe caught her by the midsection and the Queen of Grimm simply spun and flung her through the air; the androids' own internal systems blared a dizzying array of warnings and alerts only to be silenced by error readings and simple pain as she was brought to a halt at speeds that should have been simply impossible; the armoured endoskeleton that formed her outer layer cracking and shattering around her left eye as Salem appeared in front of her her and punched her in the face.
"No more quips?" the demanded in a mocking coo as she reached out and cruelly ripped one of Nickel's wings away with an almost casual flick of the wrist, only for her gloating to be cut short as the android ripped a painful hole into the membrane of one of her own bat-like wings and grasped Salem by the shoulders, dragging her down with her as she began to spiral out of control.
Salem responded by kicking Nickel square in the chest and sending her streaking through the air, her failing systems making her appear to be a shooting star until finally she came crashing and rolling to a halt on, what she realised with a start was the same rooftop that their battle had begun on. Her photon weapons flashed again, disintegrating the tendrils of Grimm matter that tried to snake around her ankles as the android used the brief respite to gather her senses take stock of the damage that had been done to her; she winced in pain as she collapsed her wings and felt the twisted and sparking stump of the one that had been severed brush against several other internal components as it was retracted and bringing her hand up to her face she felt nothing but cold metal on its' left side where the covering she had in place of Penny's synthetic flesh and her eye had been destroyed, revealing a flickering and blinking optic below.
It was the superhuman reflexes of a body built for war that kept Nickel from being cleaved in half as Salem announced her presence; the android leaping and rolling aside as her opponents' scythe ripped through the space she had occupied before being drawn back towards by some unseen and unnatural force as Salem herself came into view, soaring towards the rooftop and landing gracefully with her wings folding and tucking behind her as she caught her weapon in one hand, giving it a twirling flourish before launching her next attack without breaking her stride.
"Bitch!" Nickel spat as she surged forwards, grasping Salem's weapon by its' shaft and holding firm even as the Queen of Grimm began to overpower her and the creaking of Nickel's own chassis reached her ears.
"I'm not done flexing yet" she chuckled darkly "This isn't even my final glow-up" prior to the battle Nickel had taken care to pilfer several glowing crystals of synthetic Eco-Dust and now, with a single thought she activated a subroutine that allowed her to process and use the volatile fuel source; her Aura and eyes glowing as unspeakable amounts of power were pushed through her body. Her knee came up and broke Salem's scythe in half, its' two halves shattering before she kicked out and sent the Queen of Grimm sliding backwards; not letting her sudden momentum go to waste Nickel quickly activated her weapons once again, her hands and forearms being wreathed in emerald light as she unleashed a maelstrom of attacks.
Except something was wrong.
"No, no, no" Nickel whispered desperately under her breath as she realised that the Eco-Dust wasn't lasting anywhere as long as she had expected it to and that her power was already beginning to wane after mere seconds.
"You really are a fool" Salem laughed as she strode through the onslaught of attacks, weathering the storm until it finally subsided and striding towards Nickel with her eyes glowing with scarlet light "I controlled Ozymandias, I always controlled Ozymandias….do you think I would have him use a weapon that could actually harm me?" Nickel glared up at her and realised what was happening, Salem was simply warping time around them to burn though her supply of Eco-Dust at an accelerated rate, rendering it all but useless.
Nickel made to respond with the only thing that seemed fitting at that moment, a vicious punch aimed squarely at Salem's mouth, only for Salem to launch her own offensive and bring the android to her knees as the Queen of Grimm appeared to flit in and out of existence; landing countless devastating blows to every part of Nickel's body and from all angles in a single instant before sending her sailing through the air with a simple backhanded slap that left her in a crumpled heap on the ground struggling to rise.
But rise she did, for as hopeless as the battle seemed she was more than a simple machine. She was alive and she refused to roll over and die and with that thought firmly in mind she charged at Salem once again.
Whatever the Chimera had been before was nothing to the seemingly unstoppable juggernaut that rampaged through those brave or foolish enough to oppose her now.
With the power that she had gained from Adam's final gambit Yang Branwen shook the ground with each movement and threatened to level everything around her if left unchecked, yet despite the seeming inevitability of the outcome Yang Xiao Long still charged at her twisted mirror image; hair glowing and surrounded by flames of pure Aura and her eyes blazing red as she reared back her remaining arm for a punch.
The Chimera was faster and stronger.
Time slowed to a crawl for Yang as her opponent weaved around her wild and frantic blow, not even needing to tap into Ruby's Semblance to avoid it before responding with a punch of her own; Yang felt her ribs crack as the air was forced from her lungs and her Aura flickered around her before she was lifted from her feet and sent hurtling backwards, tearing a shallow trench into the ground before she finally came to a stop where she remained unmoving. Blake was, exactly as the Chimera predicted the next to intervene and, equally predictably the attack seemed to come from everywhere at once as the Feline Faunus used her Semblance to great effect only to be simply overpowered by Yang Branwen's response; she tapped into Sun Wukong's Semblance and sent forth countless copies of herself made of glowing Aura which tore through the shadowy after-images that Blake left behind, revealing where Blake herself was and allowing the Chimera to simply aim an open palm at her and use the concussive blast of the shock-wave Semblance at her disposal, sending Blake crashing backwards with her Aura visibly breaking.
Before she could appreciate the sense of victory her next challenger came in the form of Gangrel Slate teleporting above her in order to deliver a spinning heel kick to her face which landed with a painful crack before aiming Breaker at point blank range and opening fire only to miss as the Chimera became a blur of motion, black rose petals falling about her as she dodged bullets before delivering a crushing blow to the Bear Faunus's face which sent him staggering backwards.
"These interruptions are more than I can….bear" the Chimera chuckled, only to stagger forwards as a glowing Beowolf summoned by Weiss pounced and landed on her back, buying Gangrel the time he needed to recover and launch a fresh offensive, his sword tearing deep gouges into his opponents' flesh yet the Chimera simply refused to be defeated; ripping the construct away from her body and crushing it before seeking out Weiss and focusing on her. With a low and guttural snarl she charged towards her in a blur of motion and rose petals as she prepared to finally acquire the Schnee Semblance for her collection, yet she was once again denied as Gangrel teleported between them; his Aura breaking and his cybernetic left arm being reduced to a sparking and crumpled mess as he was flung backwards into Weiss and, with a roar of unrestrained fury the Chimera unleashed another Shock-wave, almost certainly breaking some of the Bear Faunus's bones as he and Weiss were flung from their feet.
"Creature!" a commanding voice filled the air "Your battle is with me!" Yang Branwen allowed a small smirk as she scanned the scorched and cratered battlefield littered with burning debris that the street leading into New Vale had become and caught sight of her challenger; Kataigida Nikos stood amidst the flames, crimson hair flowing behind her, sword in hand to replace her broken and forgotten spear and golden armour whose damaged state served only to make her seem more imposing gleaming.
"Oh this will be anticlimactic" the Chimera laughed before sending a pair of Aura clones rushing towards the head of the Nikosi, only to be left cocking her head in faint surprise as she carved through them both in a single, graceful slash; decapitating one and gutting the other. The Chimera snarled before charging forwards at incomprehensible speeds and Kataigida, through either bravery or simple bravado braced herself and prepared to meet the unhinged abomination head on yet Yang Branwen had no intention of entertaining any notions of fair or honourable combat; coming to a halt just short of Kataigida and using Sun's Semblance again to have a pair of clones seize the warrior woman's arms so that she could rip her sword from her grasp; from there the Chimera yet again used her shock-wave attack to knock the wind from Kataigida before finally lashing out and plunging the sword she had stolen first into her opponents' gut and secondly through her thigh, ripping the blade out through the side of her leg and leaving Kataigida collapsing backwards into a rapidly spreading pool of her own blood.
"Nobody else" Yang Branwen breathed out "There's nobody left to interfere and now I am going to rip all of your souls out of your bodies….If I'm honest I don't care what your Semblance is this is just to hurt you" with that the Chimera loomed over her latest victim and for her part Kataigida tried to struggle and drag herself away only to be held in place by a boot on her chest; death in the most horrific way imaginable seemed inevitable until what she only describe as a living shadow rose from the ground behind the Chimera and took form.
Then Carcharodon attacked.
The Shark Faunus lunged at his adversary without warning, wrapping his arms around her and using his Semblance to sink into the ground once again and travelling across the ground in an attempt to take the Chimera somewhere the two of them could battle without interruption until the monstrous woman freed herself by using the geomancy Semblance at her disposal, destroying the ground that Carcharodon was travelling through and leaving them both sprawled on the ground struggling for breath. The Chimera was the first to recover and saw Weiss trying to help Gangrel stand whilst Blake and Yang frantically tried to stem Kataigida's bleeding and made to wade into the midst of her enemies once again in a single-minded haze of primal hunger and bloodlust only to be halted by Carcharodon in an agonising fashion, the Shark Faunus surging up from the ground with the Red Waves at the ready and slashing through the tendons on Yang's ankles, raking his blades across her spine and then finally slashing her throat and leaving her crumpled on the ground a bloody mess letting out sickening, gurgling and retching sounds.
"GO! THIS MONSTER IS MINE" Carcharodon called out to the older Hunters who had held her at bay thus far "YOUR CHILDREN ARE ALIVE, THE CITY IS BEING EVACUATED AND YOU'RE ALL INJURED…..THIS IS NO LONGER YOUR FIGHT" with that Carcharodon watched Blake, Yang, Weiss, Gangrel and Kataigida make their exit and was almost certain that he saw the bloodied head of the Nikosi and the former head of the Atlesian Specialist Branch give him silent nods of understanding before they left; he paid little mind to this however and quickly returned his focus to his hated enemy
"Get up. I know you're not dead" the Chimera let out a twisted cackle as she obliged, her Aura running like tar as she used Raffia Dirge's Semblance to heal the various wounds that she had received with her laughter ending only when it was replaced by howls of pain that were finally silenced by her vomiting up a thick, pulpy mass of living darkness that vanished into mist in her hands; causing the faintest look of concern to cross Yang Branwen's face and betray her.
"Do you know why it hurts you to use his Semblance?" Carcharodon asked, his rasping voice soft yet filled with unspeakable venom
"I'm sure you're going to tell me it's the power of friendship" the Chimera sneered, trying to mask her sudden panic at the idea of her enemy knowing of some weakness she herself was not aware of.
"Because of what you are and what you've done…..you're sick and Raffia is trying to make you well again" Carcharodon gave a broad smile that displayed his rows of fangs "He's healing you" the Chimera trembled with rage for a fraction of a second before letting out a wordless scream and charging.
In truth none of the Hunters aboard Team CLIR's Bull-head had expected to reach Salem without incident, but none of them had quite expected the deluge of winged monsters that would confront them. The battle of New Vale's skies continued and the vast amount of Grimm Spires that remained and surrounded the vast majority of the cities' perimeter spawned an endless tide of airborne Grimm, what felt like a dozen fresh monsters for every one that was felled even as the first transports filled with evacuees took to the air and attempted to find a clear path to safety through the breach that Glynda Goodwitch and Dove Bronzewing had sacrificed themselves to create with warships and fighters escorting and defending them as best they could; with Team CLIR and their passengers being forced to delay their own critical objective on several instances to save airships filled with civilians.
"Oum damn it!" Iris raged, her usual cool and collected facade cracking as yet another unavoidable distraction presented itself "Quetzalcoatl heading towards that airship! Flock of Nevermore behind it!"
"We don't have the ammo left for that" Rusty admitted through clenched teeth from the gunners' seat beside her, with Lux leaning over his shoulder wearing a frown of deep concern. Behind them, filling the cramped cockpit were Felix and Corvid who simply shared a glance before nodding in silent agreement, the elder of the Xiao Long siblings speaking up
"Get us close and give us a distraction, we've got this" she ordered simply, her voice free of any trace of the fear of self-doubt that might have plagued another Hunter under such grave circumstances and, sharing the same unshakeable belief in Corvid's abilities Iris silently followed her team-leaders' instructions and brought Old Unreliable into a steep arc to chase after the monstrous winged and serpentine Grimm whilst Felix and Corvid marched back into the rear of the Bull-head, finding Onyx, Diamond and Hellion preparing to bar their way.
"Hellion, any….I don't know 'word' from Eagle and Arctus?" Felix asked hopefully upon seeing the Dragonfly Faunus who promptly shook her head at the response, Onyx let out a slow sigh and placed his hands on Corvid's shoulders
"You don't have to do this alone" he murmured
"I'm not alone" she countered, reaching up and stroking his bearded cheek "I've got you guys here….but I'm the one who can fly….and Fluffy's just too hard-headed to die" the Puma Faunus couldn't help but chuckle at this as he leaned down to kiss Corvid's cheek before stepping aside, preparing to provide cover fire from the transport. Corvid and Felix prepared to leap out of the rear hatch and the Lion Faunus felt Diamond gently punch his shoulder
"Stay safe Dude" Felix found himself wishing he could give a glib or witty answer, but with Salem having joined the battle, his mothers' already under attack from the Chimera and the entire sky and city below them being a war-zone he found that the words just wouldn't come and so instead he simply gave a weak smile.
Then the hatch opened and Felix and Corvid leapt.
Wind rushed around Felix, though not quite loud enough to drown out the sound of the Omega Wing deploying and unfurling itself before wrapping around Corvid in its' battle-suit form. The two of them had been deployed directly above the Quetzalcoatl whose long, scaly form undulated with each flap of its' vast feathery wings as it powered through the air in pursuit of a ship full of evacuees, the flock of Nevermore that had accompanied ceasing their barrage of bladed quills aimed at the airship in favour of letting out terrible shrieks and screeches as they tore towards the falling Hunters. They were unmade in a matter of moments as Felix activated his Semblance, not activating his Balrog State but become enveloped in a blazing golden light as he became an unstoppable force and simply ripped through the midst of the Nevermore until he landed on the back of the Winged Serpent and glanced up to see that Corvid had dove through the air as well, using her forcefield and arm mounted blades to cut a path through the avian horrors whilst simultaneously blasting a score of them to smithereens with her rail-guns.
Then Iris brought Old Unreliable swooping directly into the path of the Quetzalcoatl, between the Grimm and its' intended quarry to act as a distraction with Lux standing in the open hatch, bracing himself as he prepared to use his Semblance until, a moment later the night sky was illuminated and became almost daylight; leaving the serpentine horror blinded and disoriented whilst Onyx, Hellion and Diamond who'd been warned and prepared for the effects of Lux's Semblance began opening fire to draw the attention of the Grimm away from the evacuees. Felix, who had been similarly prepared saw his chance and took it; sprinting along the length of the Quetzalcoatl and calling out to his sister
"Corey! Incendiary round, fastball special!" Corvid seemed to understand as she quickly swooped into position and switched to Fire Dust ammunition before firing; the shots streaked through the air mere feet above the monstrous Grimm and running parallel to its' back until they reached the Lion Faunus who, with perfect timing turned, leapt into the air and allowed himself to be hit.
The incendiary rounds exploded, Felix absorbing the heat of the flames into himself as the blast was combined with his own unstoppable nature and flung him further along the body of the Grimm until he reached its' head and finally unsheathed Hack and Slash from his back and brought them down with their chainsaw blades screaming to carve deep into the skull of the Quetzalcoatl and through the roof of its' fanged maw; leaving the Lion Faunus sailing through the air as he overshot the body of the Grimm which was now fading away into smoke and nothingness.
He'd barely begun to fall before he felt something large and muscular collide with him and grasp him firmly.
"Too hard-headed to die she says" Onyx snorted, having leapt out Team CLIR's Bull-head to catch his fellow Faunus "You'd be a bloody smear on the ground if I didn't love your sister so much" with that the Puma Faunus hefted Jotun Fang in its' artillery piece mode and fired countless shots from the cannon directly downwards, the strain of firing the weapon one-handed almost breaking his arm yet still her persisted; revealing the rounds he had fired to be a mixture of Ice and, much rarer and esoteric Hard-Light Dust rounds which created a series of barriers in their path as they fell, none of which did anything to halt them but slowed their fall somewhat with each successive collision until finally they felt the welcome grip of Corvid's hands on their shoulders as she caught them and sped towards the waiting Old Unreliable without hesitation
"Did you really just throw yourself out of a transport with a ridiculous plan to save my little brother?" she asked Onyx with an amused edge to her voice
"Is this something I'm going to be teased about a later date?" Onyx grunted back
"Oh if we live to see a later date then absolutely" Corvid chuckled "But thanks….and I love you" Corvid and her two passengers reached the rear hatch of Team CLIR's Bull-head before Onyx could answer and almost the moment they did the sky around the rooftop Salem had positioned herself upon was painted a deep emerald green; suggesting that the aerial battle that she and Nickel had been engaged in had returned to a single location.
"No more distractions" Felix murmured, caring little about Corvid and Onyx's tender moment as he added "We need to get there and help….New Vale is counting on it"
The Chimera was a force of nature, but Carcharodon was unrelenting in his hatred and would not be denied his vengeance.
With an echoing roar of animal fury Yang Branwen used her geomancy Semblance to shatter the ground entirely, vast spears of craggy and jagged rock erupting upwards in a series of rings around the Chimera to form protective barriers, which were promptly ignored by Carcharodon as the Shark Faunus surged forwards; his body rippling and splashing in a viscous liquid state as he simply ran through the barriers and delivered a fierce onslaught the moment he drew close enough; his right arm coming up and around as the blade running along its' surface bit into Yang's face and being quickly followed by his right leg colliding with her knee with bone-shattering force, from there Carcharodon used his Semblance to appear on Yang's opposite side without sacrificing his momentum and deliver a spinning kick to her gut followed by a bladed backhand to her already bloodied face and finally attempting to drive the Red Waves into the point where the obsidian tissue of her Grimm arm met living flesh.
The Chimera retaliated with tremendous force; using her free hand to unleash a sonic shock-wave which she was stunned to see Carcharodon withstand the initial deluge of; the deafening scream of rushing air washing over the Shark Faunus whose Semblance left his entire body rippling as the concussive blast struck him, eventually Yang wrestled her Grimm arm free and redoubled her efforts with both hands until finally her opponent was blasted from his feet, the ground being ripped apart as Carcharodon was hurled away from her.
By the time Carcharodon had staggered to his feet, ears ringing and head spinning from the onslaught Yang had already healed the latest injuries that he had inflicted on her and was preparing to seize the initiative; her Aura flaring around as she used Sun Wukong's Semblance to send a pair of clones charging towards him.
The Shark Faunus bared his fangs and let out a low snarl before throwing himself into the glowing bodies, dropping into a crouch and sliding between them as they neared him and focusing on the clone to his left first, ripping through its' thigh as he drew level with it before leaping to his feet and driving the Red Waves into its' gut and neck landing fatal blows in quick succession until the first clone vanished and then turning his attention towards the second, sidestepping its' attempt to leap on him and decapitating it in a single slash.
Then the Chimera struck him like a comet.
He saw nothing but a blut of motion and falling petals before she collided with him and smashed him through each of the stone pillars that she had raised in turn until he managed to regain enough of his senses to slip free of her grasp with the use of his Semblance. The Chimera was determined however and would not be denied in her quest to consume the souls of every capable enemy she encountered, taking their Semblances for herself; Carcharodon sank to his hands and knees gasping for breath and struggling to force himself to continue until he heard the laboured and snarling breaths of his monstrous adversary behind him and felt the waves of searing heat as Yang Branwen prepared to use her own Semblance. The Shark Faunus felt her fist plunge through him as he used his liquid form to take the brunt of the damage, only to realise that he had played into the Chimera's hands as he heard her mocking taunt
"Steams like you've made a mistake" with that the golden flames around her grew brighter and hotter until Carcharodon felt his liquid form begin to boil and evaporate until Yang finally relented, leaving him sprawled face down on the ground and twitching with angry red burns littering his gaunt and grey-tinged flesh.
She was not finished however and Carcharodon felt the ground tremble beneath titanic footsteps as she used the Semblance that she had showcased in her attack on New Vale's docks, growing large enough that she could grasp his entire body in a single fist which she then proceeded to hammer into the ground with thunderous, booming impacts until Carcharodon lay bloody and battered at the bottom of a crater with his pale lilac Aura flickering around him and so dazed and stunned that he was barely away of the Chimera returning to her natural state until he felt her presence beside him.
"I'm going to kill you now" she informed him coldly, there were no threats or barbs, only a simple and unavoidable reality as she held her Grimm arm over his torso and Carcharodon saw the horrific, serpentine tendrils writhe free of the limb before he felt them tear into his chest and the entire world suddenly become dark and distant as the Chimera began to consume his soul.
Exactly as he had planned, he was after all not foolish enough to believe he could kill the Chimera alone and had spent plenty of time planning exactly how he would enact his plan for retribution against her.
"Where are you?" his voice was not heard as he had not physically spoken, instead it echoed out through the freezing darkness that Carcharodon had found himself in which he supposed might be Yang Branwen's soul. There was nothing to be seen here, only a vast expanse of nothingness and Carcharodon was not even sure that he had eyes, he couldn't feel any part of his body but finally after what seemed like an eternity he felt what he had hoped and known deep down that he would find here.
The last remains of Raffia Dirge's soul.
"Go….go to our ancestors and tell them that the ruler of our people deemed you one of the greatest heroes of the Tribe; tell them that you fought monsters of the kind they could never imagine. But first, help me kill her Raffia" there were no words to describe exactly what it was that Carcharodon felt but he was sure that the presence he felt pressing against his own mind or soul was indeed his deceased friend and after another indeterminate moment that must have been far shorter than it seemed the darkness subsided entirely as the last echo of Raffia put the Axolotl Faunus's talent for destruction to good use.
Carcharodon was suddenly back in his own body and aware of two things, firstly the agony in his chest where the Chimera's tendrils had bored into him and secondly the fact that Yang Branwen herself was screaming.
He made no attempt to keep the twisted and sadistic smile from his face as he watched in fascination; Raffia's Semblance had been activated and there was nothing that the Chimera could do to halt it, thick and sludge-like Grimm matter was spewed from her mouth and choked her screams as her body healed itself and attempted to cleanse the abhorrent influence from her. What came next however was something that Carcharodon had never expected; the other souls trapped within the Chimera began to join Raffia's battle against their murderer, the soul of Ruby Rose rising to the fore and proving that Yang had taken more than just her sister's speed.
The Chimera's blazing red eyes became silver for a split second before her screams reached a fever pitch and her eyes shone with pure white light as her Grimm arm was unmade from within and the Grimm tissue woven every body was destroyed, the power of the Silver Eyed Warrior being turned inwards until Yang collapsed, her eyes now their natural amethyst that hadn't been seen in over a decade as she convulsed.
"I'm going to kill you now" Carcharodon informed her, repeating her own words back to her through clenched teeth as he crawled and dragged himself until he was straddling her prone form; he knew that she was dying and would be gone in a matter of moments either way but simply refused to let her die by anything other than his own hand.
The Red Waves flashes out and Yang Branwen's head rolled away from her body; particles of light in the colour of the Aura each of her victims swirled and flowed from her body and briefly formed incandescent silhouettes of the person that they had once been, with a diminutive figure appearing before Carcharodon; caudal fins laid flat along his skull as he reached out before finally vanishing and fading into whatever lay beyond
"Thank you Raffia" the Shark Faunus whispered out as he collapsed backwards, vision blurring and the consciousness that he fought hard to cling to slowly slipping away from him. Looking up at the night sky he could see the first airships filled with evacuees fleeing from New Vale and gave a small smile. The plan was a success and justice had been done, Carcharodon felt that if he were to die here it would be a good end to his story and that he would be greeted by his ancestors in the great beyond; yet as the world grew dim around him he realised, much to his surprise that death did not seem keen to take him.
Instead he merely drifted into unconsciousness from exhaustion, with fate seemingly having other ideas for him.
Beyond having an immeasurably powerful Semblance, Caliginous Null was also an incredibly skilled fighter and a masterful opponent; which Arctus, Eagle, Neon, Squish and Jade soon learned as they attempted to stop the relentless advance of the Locust Faunus.
"Tell me, what is it you're so eager to die defending?" he mused almost conversationally as Arctus lunged at him with a roar, the older Faunus countering with seemingly no effort at all as he snared the blade of Grimmiger-Henker with his own hook-sword and forced Arctus's arm and weapon aside before lashing out at his face; finding himself prevented from carving into Arctus's flesh by a thick mass of vines erupting into existence coiling and tightening around his wrist which bought Arctus just enough time to create a Glyph between himself and Caliginous and summon his Minotaur construct which stampeded over the emaciated Faunus militant and dragged him back through the opening that he had created in the wall of the building.
"Thanks" Arctus murmured, turning to Jade and seeing to fear and panic in her eyes despite the contrails of light than shone from them "It's gonna be okay, we're gonna be fine"
As if to directly contravene this statement Caliginous tore his way inside once again, the shimmering remains of Arctus's construct swirling about him like fireflies.
Neon was the first to charge, surging towards the Locust Faunus shrouded by an aurora of rainbow-coloured light as she prepared to use her Semblance to shift her momentum into a blast of pure Aura only to find that momentum stolen from her as Caliginous caught one of her ankles with his hook-sword and dragged her off balance before driving his knee into her back with a worrying crunch and then finally slamming his elbow into her gut and leaving the Feline Faunus laid flat on her back struggling to recover. Before Null could press his advantage however Squish levelled Breaker at his face and opened fire; forcing the Locust Faunus to retaliate with the use of his Semblance, his eyes and mouth becoming bottomless voids of darkness as the bullets flying towards him were disintegrated and consumed. Neon used the brief opening to recover and kicked Caliginous's legs out from under him as she pulled herself into a crouch and scurried away which in turn provided the opening that Eagle, who had been covering Oscar, was waiting for; the blonde shifted into her avian form and flew close to Null before shifting back into her true self and delivering a kick to his chest followed by a punishing blow to his face with her shield though before she could put her sword to use the Locust Faunus recovered and parried with his own weapons.
Which Eagle was prepared for.
"Sentinel now!" she called as she ejected the shield from her arm, the droid unfurling as he came online and quickly fired his retractable claws at Null in an attempt to hold in in place; it was not to be however and Caliginous swiftly kicked Eagle away before turning his attention to Sentinel, eyes darkening as his Semblance came into effect and with time slowing to a crawl of Eagle as she realised what was about to happen whilst being entirely powerless to prevent it.
"NO!" the scream that escaped her was one of pure anguish as Sentinel, who was devoid of an Aura and thus entirely unable to protect himself was simply torn apart by Caliginous Null and his twisted, sparking components were broken down and disintegrated before being consumed. Eagle wasn't consciously aware of her decision to charge again, she was simply in motion and her sword clanged against her enemies' with sparks spraying from each impact as Caliginous calmly outmanoeuvred her, blocking, parrying and countering blow after blow until he finally managed to throw Eagle off balance and prepared to bring his blades down on his neck.
Only to be denied by Squish and Jade acting in tandem.
The Reptilian Faunus leapt into the fray and dragged the curved blade fitted to the base of his smaller pistol across the Locust Faunus's face, his Aura rippling around the blow before Jade, with a yell of exertion brought a truly massive tree into existence directly beneath where Caliginous stood; the ground erupting and hurling him into the air as the trunk and branches collided with his body ad finally Neon sprinted back into view and unleashed a stream of rainbow-coloured light from her palms, blasting through the tree trunk and striking Caliginous's falling body with enough force to fling him backwards.
Arctus trudged and limped over to Eagle, pulling her to her feet gently but urgently as he desperately sought for some words of comfort, her crimson eyes were filled with tears and her entire body shook with barely contained rage at what had been done.
"It's time!" Oscar's voice was strained and as Arctus turned towards him he saw that blood trickled from the young Wizard's eyes, nose and ears from the strain of channelling his magical might in such a way; far more importantly however was the portal he had created and the change that had overcome it. Where the centre of the portal had been a brilliant white before it was now pitch black, yet in the darkness Arctus could see glimmering stars and the flames and pillars of smoke of some ongoing battle all flickering in and out of focus whilst the sounds of Grimm and gunfire echoed through the portal.
"Uncle Squish" the Bear Faunus found himself turning towards the Reptilian who simply limped over and patted his shoulder
"Go….tell your old man I said thanks, for having you as a son and everything else" Arctus nodded silently, struggling with a sudden lump in his throat before turning towards Eagle and Jade, urging them to head for the portal.
Then Caliginous tore his way into the building once more, the roof shaking and threatening to collapse as the Locust Faunus entered, hungry eyes focusing on the portal and widening in sudden comprehension
"Another Remnant….infinite, Remnants, infinite war and conquest" the words were filled with wonder and a simple, base hunger as he took a single step towards Oscar which prompted Squish to open fire
"GO!" he barked "We'll hold him!" Arctus was ready to argue, there was no way that Squish and Neon alone would be able to survive against Null and Eagle seemed prepared to throw herself into the battle once again but the opportunity was denied to them by Jade who acted quickly and without hesitation, using the power of the Spring Maiden to create a barrier of thorns and vines which she knew would hold Caliginous for mere seconds before quickly and simply tackling both Arctus and Eagle with all of her might, sending the three of them toppling into the portal.
And then there was darkness.
Nickel hit the ground with a thud, more of internal systems being damaged by the impact sending fresh error warnings scrolling across her vision.
The android had fought the Queen of the Grimm for as long as she could and with every ounce of strength yet it was a task doomed to fail from the outset and for her trouble she had lost most of her left arm, blown apart when Salem had grown tired of the incessant stream of photon attacks and suffered a gaping wound to her midsection through which a vast amount of her inner workings could be seen which had been delivered by a savage slash of Salem's clawed hands and was currently leaking coolant and other fluids as Nickel attempted to right herself. The Queen of the Grimm loomed over her and Nickel tried to lash out with a sweep at her legs, only for Salem to avoid the attack and respond by cruelly stomping on the limb, sending a ripple out through the Primordial Grimm matter that covered the roof of the Hive-Tower as she crushed Nickel's leg and followed up with a punch to the already damaged side of her skull, putting out her flickering left optic for good before her claws into the androids' torso and holding her mangled form aloft, and marching towards the edge of the roof.
"Insufferable as you are I almost regret asking" Salem noted with an amused edge to her sneering voice "But do you have any last words?"
"Nah chief, I'm good….I've got what I wanted out of this" Nickel chuckled, managing to contort what was left of her face into a smug grin upon seeing Salem's obvious confusion
"I've been trolling you this whole time you dumb fuck, how much of New Vale have you managed to sink while we've been fighting? I'm guessing not much" Salem's eyes flashed menacingly and Nickel's tone only grew more mocking "Little trick I learned from Felix….angry people make mistakes, and you are really easy to get angry and distracted. You're not gonna win, you know that right? Because despite everything I've done, all of it, there are people still dumb enough to come and lend me a hand; they'll be here any second now. So good game" with that final taunt Nickel's grin widened and became something predatory as she activated the self destruct protocol that she had painstakingly reinstalled into her body without the knowledge of Ruby or anyone else and held up her remaining arm so that she could spend her final moments looking at the friendship bracelet that Penny and Ruby's children had made for her.
The flash of Nickel's self destruction engulfed the roof of Hive-Tower.
Salem dragged herself to her feet, body still healing as she stood and took in the devastation around her; a vast portion of the roof she had been using as her base had been simply destroyed and caved in whilst the primordial Grimm matter that had coated it had been flash-boiled or otherwise destroyed.
"No" Salem hissed under her breath, using what tendrils of Grimm matter remained to begin regrowing the surface whilst also reaching out into Hive Mind only to be appalled at what she saw; the android had been correct and not only had vast portions of her Grimm horde been pushed back enough to allow New Vale to begin evacuating its' people but her battle against first Ruby and then Nickel had kept her from her goal of sinking the city into the void between universes and now, with Wizards across a thousand or more Remnants coming together to stop her she could feel a swelling, roiling mass of magical energy gathering on the periphery of her senses. Something was about to happen and she simply refused to allow it; Salem channelled the Power of the Wizard and sent her mind delving deep into the abyss in search of those who dared defy her, forcing New Vale deeper into the space between realities.
Only to be left reeling as she was dealt a pair of cataclysmic blows in quick succession.
The first blow came in the form of a white-hot meteor of light and anger striking her with world-shattering force. Felix Xiao Long letting out a roar as he landed, body blackened and craggy like volcanic rock whilst his hair, eyes and fur glowed white hot and the flames enveloping his body tinged blue at their tips; the Lion Faunus was quickly joined by Diamond Sustrai-Black and Corvid Xiao Long who aimed their weapons at the Queen of the Grimm as though she were a mere street criminal; behind them landed Onyx, Hellion, Lux, Rusty and Iris who brought Team CLIR's Bull-head into a controlled landing with her telekinetic might alone. Salem returned her consciousness to her body entirely and was fully prepared to eviscerate each and every one of the inconsequential beings that stood before her in an instant, only for her eyes to widen as she felt the second blow from across the multiverse.
A swirling portal was torn into the midst of the impromptu battlefield that the roof of the Hive-Tower had become, pure white in its' centre with its' edges shifting between various shades of blue and green and through that portal the power of a thousand or more Wizards flowed.
"NO!" Salem's scream was a distorted and inhuman sound that seemed to reach into the souls of all those who heard it, yet she was utterly powerless to stop the combined might of Wizards across the multiverse as the darkness was pushed back and New Vale's lower reaches were dredged from the abyss that had claimed them before finally the night sky became as daylight when explosions ripped through each of the Grimm-Spires that Salem had grown around the city, the condensed and magically aged Grimm tissue at each of their centres being utterly destroyed from within.
Salem saw that her plans had thwarted and that she was defeated and so let out a wordless scream of rage before unleashing her powers in a single, unfocused blast that ripped through the air.
"GET DOWN!" Felix barked out, his Balrog state failing as the blast washed over him, his friends and allies did so, even Corvid being unwilling to rely on her Semblance alone in the face of such a threat. When the howling and screaming maelstrom of wind subsided however Felix saw that they were all unharmed. Salem however was gone without a trace though the swirling and fluctuating portal remained.
And Felix was almost certain that something was moving just beyond it.
Arctus was engulfed by a freezing, icy darkness seemingly without end that forced the air from his lungs and help him in an eternal, airless void until he was certain that something had gone wrong and that he was going to die trapped in the void between realities until finally reality forced itself into being once more and imposed itself on him, filling his lungs with burning, smoky air as the sounds of a raging battle against Grimm whose roars and screams filled the air assaulted his ears.
The Bear Faunus sucked in a single choking and gasping breath before deep icy dread and panic set in and scrabbled around and forced himself to his feet despite the fact that his entire body seemed determined to betray him. Eagle and Jade were beside him in similar states of disarray and dazed disorientation; yet the Bear Faunus's attention was focused primarily on the portal from whence they had come.
He could still see the Remnant that they had left beyond the portal, more importantly he could see the battle still raging there as Caliginous Null tore through the hasty defences that Jade had constructed; battering Neon and Squish as they attempted to hold him at bay and stop him crossing the portal or simply taking Oscar as a prisoner. Squish unloaded a steady stream of high calibre rounds from Breaker into the Locust Faunus, whose Aura flickered around him yet Null seemed not to notice and instead devoted the entirety of his attention to Neon who attempted to put some distance between them, giving herself space to build momentum and unleash a powerful burst of her Semblance. Caliginous hurled one of his hook-swords directly at Neon and the Feline Faunus fell to the ground with a pained yell as the blade sunk into her shoulder and her Aura shattered.
Arctus realised with utter horror what would happen next.
Caliginous prepared his Semblance, the floor and remaining walls of the abandoned coffee shop that Oscar had made his abode being torn asunder and disintegrated before the Locust Faunus began to turn his attention towards Neon who, without her Aura would be simply torn apart by his monstrous abilities. Arctus readied his weapon in its' laser cannon form and fired, the beam of light lancing through the portal and striking Caliginous square in the throat; shattering his Aura and seemingly causing him to choke. The effect was immediate and obscenely violent, chunks of stone and steel piping that Caliginous had torn from the walls and ground with his Semblance suddenly reconstituted themselves inside of the Locust Faunus's mouth and with each of the chunks of debris being larger than his entire head the results were, bloody. The headless body of the White Fang General collapsed forwards as his skull was shredded from within.
Squish stared through the portal and met Arctus's gaze, the two of them trying to find the words for a final goodbye only to be robbed of the chance before either could speak as Oscar's stamina finally failed and the portal flickered out of existence in an instant.
Allowing Arctus to see the rooftop that he had emerged on and those who he shared it with for the first time.
"Diamond?" her name escaped his lips with equal parts hope, wonder and fearful disbelief only for the undeniable truth of the situation to be revealed as the sniper sprinted across the roof and leapt into his arms, both Arctus and Diamond collapsing to the ground sobbing as they held onto one another. Felix reached them a moment later, pulling Eagle to her feet and into a crushing hug of his own which was promptly joined by first Hellion and then the others.
"What's going on?" the blonde managed to ask despite her face been buried in the Dragonfly Faunus's neck "Salem was launching an attack?"
"But you stopped it" Felix answered, voice cracking as he laughed at the sheer insanity of the situation "She ran as soon as that portal opened….it's over"
The truth of those words seemed self evident; with Salem's Grimm-Spires destroyed by the Wizards across the multiverse her countless hordes of monsters would soon find themselves pushed back, Salem herself had fled and Team FADE had been reunited. It was over, at least for the moment
Authors' Notes:
Was that a fucking trip or what people?
150 Chapters and, excuse me for bragging but I think that this was definitely a chapter worth the milestone.
We've got one more Chapter left of Vol.11 and then we're heading into the big finale...But I wanted to be the 'Large scale war' volume because that's how Downward Spiral ended and I've got other plans for how Vol.12 is gonna go.
That being said, let's summarise shall we?:
You didn't think I'd forgotten about Team NEON Vs Pantheon did you?
I made a deliberate choice to make Pantheon seem less intelligent or aware in this fight as a side-effect of Salem overriding their will a few chapters back when they were getting defiant.
Pantheon has just got too many limbs to be easily countered in a one on one.
Yes I know all the students have landing strategies and know how to handle a fall before they get to the Academy, but we're playing high stakes "The floor is lava" right now.
That Helios, Ether and Olivine combo was so close to being cool as fuck.
AND THERE HE IS! THE LUCKY KITTY IS BACK IN ACTION.
So Pantheon is down, but most certainly not out.
Nickel is on her DBZ fight scene bullshit once again.
She's also back on her "Annoying stereotypical Gen Z slang" bullshit as well.
You didn't really think it was gonna be that easy to blow Salem up did you?
"This isn't even my final glow-up" you know what I did there, you know EXACTLY what I did.
Didn't wanna make the fight drag on forever with Nickel pulling out power ups so I had Salem come up with a pretty effective way to counter it.
The Chimera was on a roll here and if I'm being entirely honest I gave very serious consideration to the idea of having her kill one of them; it was very nearly Gangrel but I couldn't bring myself to do it, he was my first RWBY OC.
Ouch, Mama Nikos is definitely gonna need a doctor after that.
Carcharodon once again with the bad-ass entrances….although you've gotta admit Yang using geomancy to get free of him like that was a pretty cool counter.
"You're sick and Raffia is trying to make you well again" every single time she used Raffia's Semblance it was trying to rip the Grimm tissue back out of her; did any of you get it and see it coming?
I had to come up with a reason that Felix and Co didn't reach Nickel right away and it made sense to show them covering the airships preparing to evac.
Haven't seen Lux's Semblance in a very long time.
Thinking about it, I don't think we've actually seen Felix and Corvid do a combo move like that before….so it was long overdue.
Onyx is a real one, get you an Onyx.
I really wanted Carcharodon to start the fight off strong and just run through everything the Chimera threw at him at first. But it was never gonna last really was it.
The Yang Semblance and giant Semblance one-two punch was pretty damn nasty and you know it was.
But did you think, did you really think that Carcharodon was gonna go down that easily?
He found Raffia's soul and had Raffia rip her apart from the inside out, Raffia found Ruby's soul in there somewhere and look….a soul is more than a Semblance; if Yang can steal Ruby's speed then the soul of a Silver Eyed Warrior is still effective.
Also….for those of you who read The Downward Spiral all I'm gonna say is "Hello again".
Caliginous had to be more than just a flashy Semblance or it'd be boring when we finally got to this showdown.
Can we get an F in chat for Sentinel please.
Oh come on you knew that Null was going to walk back in the moment they tried to leave through that portal; it's a cliché that I was happy to indulge in.
Also, I initially had this scene before Carcharodon killed the Chimera because I didn't want all of Team FADE's stuff to be clumped in the back half of the chapter but I ended up liking it this way more, we have the action jumping from one side of the portal to the other back and forth.
Oof, Nickel got wrecked.
So Nickel a) learned from that time Felix smashed her through an entire Hive Tower and b) knew that Corvid would come and help her despite being told not to and c) went out like a boss, with one last look at the friendship bracelet from the twins….enjoy all the feels.
The real question now is, is she gone for good?
As much as you might have been looking forward to it, this is not the time or the place for a cataclysmic showdown with Salem and Team FADE….That comes later.
Boom, the Wizards have saved the day. Salem still has the Wizard's power at her disposal but her Grimm spires are gone and New Vale is back in the physical plane.
And now Arctus, Eagle and Jade are on the right side of the portal, yay.
I'm not letting Neo die twice in the same story, not happening.
Also I've known exactly how I was gonna kill Null since I had the initial concept for him and it was genuinely satisfying to get it written down.
And scene, we got a glimpse of the big reunions but we can do them properly in the next chapter to close out the volume.
So…..final body count for Vol.11 is, Professor Glynda Goodwitch, Professor Dove Bronzewing, Adam Taurus, Harriet Bree (Though she only ever got cameos) Yang 'The Chimera' Branwen, Sentinel and possibly Nickel Polendina?….Also a metric fuck-ton of red-shirts.
Thank you to SumoSnipe, Dolsky, Funlander and MajorBrony95 for their reviews on the last chapter.
I mean I was sorely tempted to have one of the Yangs make a "Stop hitting yourself" joke.
It's funny that everyone thought Car was going to die because his was a death I never even considered for this volume….take that ominous statement however you want.
The Chimera surviving that blast felt like (And was probably subconsciously inspired by) Freiza surviving the Spirit Bomb in DBZ.
Null's name is actually a synonym for darkness and with Null usually preceding the word void I just wanted to give him a name that sounded like "Dark void/Black hole" because he consumes everything.
I gave serious consideration to having Salem take both of Ruby's eyes if I'm honest but decided against it for reasons that may become clear in the future (There's a sequel that people want and Ruby and Nickel did move to Menagerie to eventually take jobs at Team CFVYs' academy after all)
To be honest my Salem was given a definite character and origin before canon had fleshed her out so it's fair to say that she was always her own entity.
As for who the Sequel will be about….I've been getting requests for a story following Athena-Jade, people like her.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review