Book 2, Chapter 11

Final Confrontation

He stared in awe at the sight of Ruby Rose, the Pariah of Saunders, as she engulfed the two blades with her power, power it shouldn't have been possible for her to obtain. It was impossible, no Pariah should've been capable of manifesting such awesome power, even if imperfect and unrefined. And yet, in defiance of all logic and reasoning, here she stood, raw, unadulterated power pouring forth from her like waves. Wings unfurled and ablaze, burning so hot that the very space around her began to suffocate. Atop all else, he had exhausted a fair chunk of his own power battling Qrow and the girl's Captain, leaving him somewhat exposed. The instant healing spell he'd cast upon himself that allowed him to survive their combined attacks would be nullified by any strike Rose could send his way, meaning he had to take her absolutely seriously.

"So, you must be Rose." He mused aloud, holding his current distance from her with a wary glare. Even if she had no idea what was going on or how she was using her power, she was a very real threat. Her innate Dark Magic could cancel out his blessing resurrection the Brothers had bestowed upon him... not to mention, all aura and semblances that got within 2 meters of her would be nullified, as would any magic she cut or slapped with her wings. "I never thought I'd see the day that a Pariah awakened their ancestral blood. By all means it shouldn't be possible, yet here we are."

"Enough talk, it's time to finish this!" Ruby roared, blasting off with her dual blades and her screaming jetpack. Her wings unfurled to full length, and she left a trail of lingering flames in her wake, charring the ground and disintegrating all left behind her. Ozpin knew not to take such an attack head on, so opted to teleport over it instead, using his small vortex to levitate himself further away.

"Dark Magic... fascinating, dangerous even... but while you can nullify magic, aura and semblances, you're nothing special. You're still vulnerable to physical attacks, just like everyone else!" Ruby only narrowly dodged a storm of razor-sharp debris as it was launched her way, canceling her charge and rolling right before pivoting around to face her opponent. She watched as he raised a hand to the sky, and dark clouds began to swirl around violently. Within a fraction of a second, a bolt of lightning, real lightning, struck the ground where she stood, its target only evading narrowly by a few inches before warping up to her target.

It was only because of his cane that he wasn't decapitated in an instant, using a perfectly timed and placed uppercut to deflect her attack the instant she appeared before him. Using a time-slowing blast at point blank range in an attempt to go for a swift kill, failing as she simply warped back down to the ground, dodging his attack completely. In a response to her reallocation, he opened up with the same spell he'd used before, blackening the ground below her and allowing it's dark roots to spread while gnashing maws snapped at her wherever she roam.

Ruby, seemingly showing some sort of vague understanding of her abilities, stabbed the ground with both blades, dispelling the attack and causing the blackening to disintegrate and whither away as the wind carried it off into the nothing. Even if Ruby didn't completely know what she was doing, how to use these new powers, or even what they were, she was intelligent enough to pick up on occurrences, skilled enough to fight on even footing with most opponents that should reasonably outclass her, and resilient enough to endure almost any punishment despite being without any aura. Ozpin knew this, and growled angrily as she'd effectively rendered his previous move void, showing a waste of magic power. Despite having no formal training in swordplay, she was well coordinated enough to maneuver the hunks of steel around with a sort of grace unto herself and mimic the actions and skills to some extent.

Teleporting far back, Ozpin summoned his Sigils to form his array of lasers once again, and with the raise of a hand, those arrows of light began to manifest all around them, all trained in on Ruby. Only this time, he wasn't pulling any punches. Arrays formed every couple of meters apart forming a large sphere around them, while the gaps between them were dotted with the arrows like stars. As if to conceal, another sweep of his hand cast a haze over his magic, while the swirling black clouds overhead rained down a barrage of lightning bolts. Ruby could only watch as the world around her shifted and turned into weapons with which to kill her, too focused on deflecting and dispelling each lightning bolt that was sent her way with the Wolf King's Blade.

As the lasers lanced her way, and the arrows began to fire away like machine guns, Ruby warped back and forth in every direction, trying her hardest to avoid every attack leveled her way until she could find an opening. Even still, despite moving as fast as she possibly could and focusing on making every saving throw, the occasional arrow cut through her and the occasional laser grazed. Growling under her breath, she knew she had to figure something out, and fast. Her time wasn't infinite, and she didn't think she could hold out long enough for his magic to run dry, especially if he could conjure up things like this.

"Crap! I don't know how to properly harness this power yet, and I don't know WHAT I can do with it, either!" She was slightly panicking internally, despite trying to keep a cool, level head. "I can't keep evading forever, and eventually I'm just gonna exhaust myself if I keep up like this... I need something stronger, sturdier! I'll wear out before he does at this rate. I have to be like a rock... no, like steel!"

As if in response to her internal monologue, Ruby gaped in awe as her wings curled inwards and disappeared, shifting instead into a sort of spectral draconic armor around her of the same coloration. While it felt to weigh nothing, she instinctively knew well enough that this drop in raw agility and evasive capacity was balanced out by a marked uptick in defense, made evident by how even a direct hit from a laser across her side did little more than be split apart wherever it struck, arrows shattering into dust upon impact. With a small chuckle, Ruby kicked off and blasted away with her Jetpack to close the distance as she found she could no longer warp around as she had before.

Ozpin noticeably cringed as her form changed, redoubling the volume of firepower he leveled upon her as he kept trying to maintain distance. He didn't like to admit it, but his previous battle had exhausted a fair amount of his magic, and while Ruby didn't know how to wield her own magic, likely didn't even know how to feel how much mana she had either, she was still a massive threat, and wouldn't need magic to kill this body with one more good strike. His magic was being rapidly exhausted, and he didn't think he could manage any more than 50 seconds of magical onslaught before he was burnt out himself.

Changing his strategy as for all his magic, nothing even slowed her now, Ozpin dispelled all his magic around them, setting forth to meet the Pariah's charge in kind, keeping his own magic aura close and clashing cane-to-blade. He used his own magic to bolster his strength, speed and reaction time, something Ruby mimicked as her armor dispersed and reformed her previous wings and closed the distance in an instant. Sparks flew in all directions as the weapons clashed again and again, with each clash shining like a shooting star sailing through the skies.

Despite being far more heavily armed, however, Ruby only remained competitive in this battle by the sheer strength of her armor and agility provided by her dark magic. It was clear as day, Ozpin was a far superior warrior, for while Ruby struggled for a single hit, he only showed a slight midge of effort parrying, countering and deflecting her every move with his cane. She supposed it didn't help that she wasn't familiar with either blade in her hands, but at the end of the day, this was a man who had defeated her Captain while he was working with a man who worked at the same pace and on the same wavelength. Ruby knew that this matchup was very heavily weighed against her, yet pressed on into battle against this superior foe nonetheless.

With a single, perfectly timed and executed upwards slash, Ruby growled as Qrow's katana was knocked out of her grip, ducking back just in time to avoid getting slapped across the face by his cane before forcing herself back forward as it passed and throwing a fist his way. Said fist was halted against the cane, but Ruby, ever the improviser, merely shift her hand to grip the weapon and pull it aside while slashing diagonally upwards with her Captain's, her target only narrowly dodging that attack. However, refusing to let go of his weapon, Ruby ripped back with all her strength, pulling Ozpin in for a rough headbutt directly to his nose, forcing the older warrior to recoil.

Though she attempted to exploit the opening, it was too short-lived for her to make much use of, only grazing his abdomen with the Wolf King's Blade as the old wizard launched himself another meter back, yanking the cane out of her grip. Gritting her teeth, Ruby allowed the momentum of the blade to carry her around in a swift 360, pivoting the blade in her hands to take his incoming drive with the flat of the blade. She taut her muscles as she skid back on the balls of her feet, the impact area where the cane struck the blade glowing white hot for but a moment before cooling back down as Ruby came to a halt. Panting for just another moment, she steadied her breathing and allowed herself to calm. She would get nowhere in this fight by losing her head now, she had to fight smart, find a way to create an opening she could exploit.

Ozpin was easily the swiftest opponent she'd ever fought, faster than she herself was by no small margin. Even if she put the magical consideration aside, he was stronger than her, faster than her, smarter, more skilled, and he had her totally eclipsed in experience. Adding the magical factor on top of all that, and the fact that he actually knew how to use his magic, it wasn't looking good for her, and she was painfully aware of this.

"Faster, smarter, stronger, more skilled and more experienced, both with weapons and in the arcane... my weapons, armor, and other wargear are superior, but that's not much of a leg up in this fight... no matter, I need to play to what strengths I do hold over him." Ruby thought in a methodical manner, before taking stock of her equipment. Of course, there was her Plasmatech blasters, her flamethrower, thermal detonators, jetpack and jetpack missile, but she had to remember that she had more weapons now than she did before. Wrist-mounted Micro-missiles, knee missiles, a twin blaster, the blade in her hands, and of course her wings as well. She was way more heavily armed than Ozpin was, and his aura was already gone, so even if he did react to her attacks, he couldn't raise his aura to tank any damage for him, whereas her armor could weather a veritable maelstrom of damage before giving way.

Knowing now what she needed to do, Ruby blasted off backwards and mag-locked the Wolf King's Blade to the exterior of her jetpack while bringing her wings back in and shifting back into her scaly armor. Sliding her twin blasters out of their holsters, Ruby opened up with a barrage of neon green plasma from about twenty meters back, immediately taking the man off guard as he opted to evasion in favor of defense. He raised a few magic barriers, but they shattered before the devastating power of her blasters, robbing him of his defenses and continuing to chip away his mana. Every time he attempted to close the distance, Ruby merely sprayed a wall of light blue flames that lingered across the deck where it continued to burn as she rocketed even further back to maintain distance.

Within a few short moments, Ruby dropped down and sprayed one last wall of flames, with Ozpin noticing just slightly too late as the lingering flames had effectively boxed him in a confined area, effectively giving the older warrior zero room to maneuver. The lingering flames burned far too hot for what magic he still had to snuff out, bringing a hardened look upon his face...

As she raised a single blaster and aligned it to Ozpin's head, she noticed too late that he was aligning his cane with her as well, and pulling a sort of lever. Before she could even pull the trigger, a massive wave shot forth, and everything went white...

"Fall back to fourth positions, go!" Whitley roared as he sent a single blaster bolt down range, lancing straight through another soldier's head... or was it a student? A hunter? It was hard to tell in all this chaos, admittedly, but it was another kill to his name nonetheless. It was of little reassurance as they pulled back out of yet another defensive line, having been overrun twice already before. Two Mercenaries had also lost their lives in the last one, with one's throat being blasted open by a bullet, the damage too severe to treat, while the other was killed by a hail of gunfire so great that had it not been for his armor, there likely wouldn't even be anything left of him.

Turning back, he blocked a Hunter's longsword with his gauntlets before kicking them back and washing them over with a column of blue fire, before sticking his wrist out and letting rip with dozens of micro-missiles that whistles through the air as they sought out their targets. His HUD told him that seventeen were confirmed killed by the missiles, but he ignored it as he reigned his attention back on the Hunter, who was still trying to attack him despite his clothes being on fire. Ducking aside a strike, Whitley swiftly drew his knife from his boot and slashed the Hunter across the abdomen, breaking the last of his aura before driving back up and into the man's throat. Ripping his blade out, he was met with the uncomfortable feeling of munitions exploding all around him, throwing him on his side while also robbing him of any cover in the immediate area.

However, as if in response to his dire situation, he felt a new presence touch down just beside him, yanking him upright to face the threat. It was one of the champions, his undersuit completely black and his armor a dark green primarily, while the trim around his visor and his gauntlets a blood red, and the shoulder and knee pads desert yellow. He wore red-brown boots, used a jetpack of the same type as Ruby's with the same missiles, had a powerful blaster on his hip, the one he recognized as a Plasmatech 50X, and a sleek blaster rifle that fired in three round bursts.

"Still alive, Whit?" The voice asked, drawing a chuckle from the younger mercenary as he immediately recognized his mentor's voice. Leveling his blaster back down towards the enemy and braving their return fire, he fired off a few quick shots, killing a few more attacking soldiers.

"Feeling fine, Nagisa! Let's do this!" Forcing himself back into the fight. Without any hesitation, the two mercenaries blast off up into the air for a greater advantage. However, as a brilliant white flash filled the skies, the resulting shockwave threw the two warriors right back down, striking the ground hard with the clattering of armor and weapons against the frozen dirt beneath them. Nobody not within a trench or otherwise covered suffered much the same fate, either being shoved on their face or back from the power, regardless of their side in this fight.

Groaning lowly, Whitley and Nagisa slowly pulled themselves upright as the light above them began to fade, the rain of debris from above began to strike the earth all around them, the closest among them coming down like a spiraling column of blue fire. With a deafening roar, the ground before where it struck splintered and gave way before the impact, eventually coming to a halt just a few meters ahead of them, chased by a torrent of wind. A closer look showed a singular figure rising up from the blue inferno that still raged upon where it halted, the silhouette of a mercenary just like them within the blaze, and the image of none other than Ozpin himself riding the whirlwind that faced their comrade...

"Nice trick, but it'll take more than some fancy flashlight to kill me!" The voice of a warrior they though out of the fight rose from the cackling flames, and a slight grin formed upon their faces behind their masks.

"Perhaps not, but it weakened you enough. Your dark magic armor has been sundered, your blasters broken, and your power is spiraling out of control... You cannot any longer defeat me alone, no matter your remaining wargear or power." Ozpin's voice carried an almost certain ring to it, and the mere sight of his face disgusted them. This man had been a thorn in their nation's side for a thousand years, and now the blood of their brothers and sisters in arms was on his hands. Right here, right now, they were determined to hold him accountable for his crimes against their people...

STOP!
Play Libera Me From Hell here for maximum effect!

"You're a fool to think she stands alone, Ozpin!" Nagisa called, drawing attention back to himself and Whitley, the duo stepping up beside Ruby on either side, readying their weapons as they prepared for battle. Booming laughter drew from above, and upon wings of fire descend more Mercenaries, all brandishing the dreaded insignia of the venerable Lone Wolves upon their pauldrons, leading them their battered Captain, brandishing his classic chainsword, and the very man who'd put her in the hospital in the first place beside him brandishing his katana. "You aren't just facing the Pariah of Saunders, now! You're facing all the Lone Wolves!"

Magma, Foudre, Vanessa, Mason, Richter, Gordon, Whitley, Nagisa, Ruby, Captain Shiota, and Qrow Branwen now all stood shoulder to shoulder, the full might of the Lone Wolves plus a Veteran Huntsman for the first time ever stood together in a fully united front for all the world to see, their flag planted firmly into the earth behind them and whipping wildly in the raging wind. Grinning slightly as she chanced a glance to either side, Ruby turned her attention back to the fore, making note of a few dozen tiny drones circling around them. Flycams, she recognized, and not of their own design.

"So, Ozpin wishes to broadcast this to the world, eh?" She thought idly, before reeling her attention back in and taking the Wolf King's Blade in both hands. A split second to level out her breathing, synchronize it with the two swordsmen beside her, and force her power back in. The raging inferno around them condensed in on herself with but a thought, burning a near blinding and hazy outline that bled off her in waves, and she felt her power surge. "Alright, c'mon! Let's do this!"

And in an instant, all warriors kicked off into the fray once again. Fifty seconds to decide the fate of a battle that would forever change the world. One final battle between destiny and those who spat in its face. One last epic confrontation, one final showdown within the eye of a raging storm. As the Pariah of Saunders locked blades with the sorcerer within an instant, it was as if the whole world had ground to a halt, as a battle like that of which had never before been seen kicked off with a blinding white flash.

As the dawn of a new era began to take shape, all of Remnant couldn't help but hold their breath. All the cards were on the table now, and not a single soul couldn't see it now... Not a single soul within the world would remain untouched from this clash, and only one would rise to victory and glory eternal...

A/N: Sorry this took so long, everybody! Been having some serious writer's block hitting me again. I admittedly both dread and really look forward to writing the next chapter where everything will come to an end, and the victor will be realized... but good lord, that's gonna be a fight to write in of itself XD.

In other news, I'm probably gonna be moving a lot of my content going forward over to AO3. If you want reasons, you can ask me in PMs, but I'd rather keep e'm on the DL. I already got the first two chapters of this story posted there, so I'd really appreciate if you'd support me there as well.

Anyways... The next chapter will hopefully be out... eventually. Fingers crossed it's in a timely manner, but no guarantees.