AN: Hey everyone, I have the next chapter here. Thank you for all the support this series has gotten here and on Tv Tropes. This has been a long chapter coming with a couple of reveals and revelations. The first half touched base with a return to the scene of a crime. And the second half has a fateful encounter that leads to someone special showing up for the first time. This will be the last chapter of the year, as I will be enjoying the holiday break. Hope you enjoy this chapter, leave a review with your comments and questions, and have a nice day.
Chapter 43 – Shadows
Roman.
In the Emerald Forest, Roman and Sisigou walked into the cave. As they moved past the blasted-out sections of the wall, the orange-haired criminal pointed to the pedestal, "We found him right there." He said before the necromancer walked over to, "Now, will you hurry up. I don't want to be out here for much longer."
"Relax, this shouldn't take long." Sisigou responded as he examined the pedestal, "I wanted to see if I could confirm the seal used to keep Ozpin's head alive by examining the scene for myself."
"I get that but hurry up." Roman responded, "It's not like we have the guy with a literal one-shot gun to take care of Grimm if they show up." He said before scratching the back of his neck, "Or something worse."
"Don't worry, if any show up, I have my own type of special rounds." Sisigou responded before showing off his holstered shotgun, "If you want, I could make you a few Original Rounds for your weapon. I know the process of creating them."
"Unless you have some spareribs for me, forget it." Roman responded, looking around the cave, "I like mine right where they are." He said before having a look of confusion, "Huh?" the orange-haired criminal walked over to the odd wall he saw before. However, a large chunk of it appeared to be blown out, "Wasn't there more wall here?"
"Okay, I confirmed what I needed." Sisigou said as he walked over to Roman, "I should be able to make the head speak as soon as Kiritsugu gets back with Chloe." He then looked at the wall the orange-haired criminal was looking at, "What is this stuff doing here?"
"You know what this is?" Roman asked as Sisigou broke off a chunk of the wall.
Sisigou examined the hardened blackish-crimson residue, "Let me ask you, do you recall the invasion of Apocrypha last year?"
"Uh, I think it happened while I was traveling." Roman responded, "But what does that have to do with this stuff?" he said while also looking at the odd wall, "It's almost as black as a Grimm."
"Yeah, just like the Black Gunk." Sisigou said before pocking the stone, "I need to analyze this before jumping to conclusions." He said before walking away, "But if my hunch is right, things are going to get a lot worse here."
"Great, I was hope for some actual good news," Roman said before sighing and following Sisigou. The two made their way out of the cave, but in the nearby bushes, a Beowolf watched with a salivating mouth. It waited for the moment to strike, flaring its fangs.
However, a light shined from behind the creature. A blue light. In turning around, the Grimm looked up at a dark-robed being radiating a black mist. Through the hood, a set of black horns protruded. The Beowolf snarled, but still back up from this towering being. The black-hooded figure glared down; a blue flame was seen through the skull's eye sockets. His jaw slowly opened before his body pounced a high speed on the Beowolf. The Grimm could not scream as the teeth tore into its throat. A ferocious barrage of bites ripped the flesh, the head coming off as the rest of the body was being devoured before it could dissolve. When there was nothing left to eat, the hooded figure stood up. He looked over to Roman and Sisigou in the distance, following them from the shadows.
Blake.
A top of a tree with crimson leaves, Blake was looking through a set of binoculars. Her gaze was focused on a moving group of White Fang members. Suddenly, her faunus ears flinched before lower the binoculars. She turned to see the Malachite twins jump to a lower branch, "Anything on their perimeter?"
"No, but it's really hard to keep track when the group is also moving." Melanie responded, crossing her arms, "And I can't get too close without the faunus seeing or hearing me."
"Yeah," Miltia said before yawning, "And I'm getting tired, we need a break."
"If they're not stopping, we can't either." Blake responded, then looked through her binoculars, "I'm not going to let him attack this-" She was saying until gasping.
"What?" the white twin asked, "Do you see someone?"
"A-Atalanta?" Blake said while seeing a lioness faunus with a White Fang mask talking with others, "Why is she here!? And why does she-!?" the black cat faunus said before watching the person break away from the group. Blake lowered the binoculars and looked back to the twins, "Let's move, I need to talk with her." She said before jumping off the branch and moving from tree to tree. The twins looked at each other before following the black cat faunus.
The three ran through the forest, soon making it to the edge of a clearing before stopping. In the center of the field, the one they were following stood motionless, "What is she doing?" The red twin asked Blake.
"I'm not sure," Blake responded, squinting at the person, "But, that looks like what my sem-" Suddenly, her faunus ears flinched. She turned to the twins to speak a warning, but it was too late.
An arrow was fired into Melanie's back. In a matter of seconds, the arrow engulfed in a purplish-black flame before detonating. The explosion blasted Blake and Miltia in opposite directions, while the white twin's body was sent skidding forward into the dirt. As the three eventually stopped, the black cat faunus gasped at Melanie's body. Her back was scorched black. Miltia's eyes were trembling as her sisters were half-open with barely any light left in them. The two standing individuals then turned to the path of the arrow, seeing the lioness white fang member in a high branch, "YOU BITCH!" the red twin shouted at the attacker while leaping with her crimson claw-weapons reeled back. However, the lioness white fang member jumped towards her in response, reeling back her right arm with a dark aura. As the two slashed, a black claw cut through Miltia's weapon and into her chest. Her blood erupted while the red twin's eyes started to close.
White the red twin landed against a tree, while the lioness white fang member landed on one knee. In standing up, she glared over to Blake, "You," the black cat faunus spoke in resentment, while the lioness white fang member removed the mask, "You're not Atalanta." She said while glaring at the greenish-yellow eyes, "You're her alter."
"More than that," Atalante responded, the two glanced back to the lioness white fang member that was still in the middle of the field, watching it vanish like a clone, "I am your alter as well." Atalante said while glaring back to Blake, "And because of that, I hate you more than anything." The faunus alter said while spawning her bow and pulling back an arrow.
"Why are you here?" Blake said while readying her Gambol Shroud in its cleaver and pistol forms, "Why are you even still alive!?" However, Atalante responded by firing her arrow. The black cat faunus jumped out of the way, causing the arrow to imbed in a tree, setting it ablaze with a black flame.
"I am helping the White Fang achieve their goal, which is something you abandoned." Atalante said before drawing another arrow, "I was hoping to lure out that killer by using myself as bait, but that did not seem to work." She said before firing the shot. Blake dodged again, leading to this arrow crashing into a rock and shattering it, "Yet, I cannot complain about this result." The faunus alter said with the black cat faunus glaring back, "As for why I am still alive, it is my hatred that prevents me from dying." Atalante said before tossing her bow to the side, then went on her hands and feet, "And my hatred for you is eternal!" With those words, her body radiated a dark purple and black mist. The mist started to violently condense and form into the shape of a massive Boaratusk-like creature, "Raaaaaaaahhh!" the monstrous alter roared before charring at high speed.
Blake gasped before retreating into the forest, but the monstrous alter crashed through the tree in its pursuit. She transformed her weapon into is kusarigama form and grappled to a high branch of a large tree. However, the monstrous alter rammed into the tree, pulling out half its roots from one impact. Blake quickly emptied her clip into the boar's head, but the bullets barely left a mark in the black hide. The black cat faunus ejected the clipped, then reached for her reload, seeing the rainbow rounds before loading one into the chamber.
"Raaaaaaaaaaahhh!" the monstrous alter roared again before attempting to crash into the tree again. In response, Blake aimed with her pistol, firing as she jumped back. Instead of a single shot, a flame clone of the black cat faunus rocketed towards the monstrous alter, bursting into its head and boiling the eyes, "RaaaaAAAAaaaaaaahHHhh!" it screamed for hitting the tree at an unintended angle on the rightmost side. While in midair, Blake changed her weapon its kusarigama mode and threw it back to the branch. However, instead of grappling back up, she landed on the ground and pulled downward. The barely standing tree began to fall, toppling over the back of the monstrous alter with a loud crash.
Blake recalled her kusarigama before walking over to the head of the monstrous alter, "Transforming into that thing was a big mistake. I've training to defeat tougher Grimm than that during my second year at Beacon." She said before raising the cleaver, "And to me, you're nothing more than a Grimm."
"RRRAAAAAAAHHHH!" The monstrous alter roared before its body exploded in a black and purple mist. Blake jumped back to avoid the shockwave, but gasped as Atalante reemerged, "I'LL KILL YOU!" the faunus alter screamed while slashing wildly at Blake, each swipe radiating a black and purple aura around it.
Blake parried the attacks with her cleaver but knew her blade would soon give out. She held her kusarigama and fired a round towards the ground just as Atalante was about to land a hit. However, in place of the black cat faunus was a stone clone. Atalante's right arm was stuck inside the statue, rendering her unable to pull it out. The real Blake flanked behind the faunus alter, swinging her cleaver at her opponent.
However, Atalante gritted her teeth as she swung her right arm with the statue still attached. Blake gasped before the stone and fist slammed into her body. She was flung back, dropping her cleaver before bouncing off a large tree. The faunus alter slashed the statue to bit with her left hand, then rushed to the cleaver on the ground. As Blake was still recovering, Atalante leaped with the cleaver in both hand hands, the blade now covered in the black and purple aura.
Blake rolled out of the way of the vertical slash, watching the tree split in two from the attack. Atalante then held the cleaver horizontally before slashing again, creating a vicious rend of the dark aura that cut through the air. The black cat faunus ducked the slash, which chopped through a few trees in its path before dissipating.
Blake aimed with her pistol, while Atalante stood in a blocking stance. The round that was fired was of water dust, creating an aqua clone. The impact delt no damage to the faunus alter, only soaking her. However, in taking her second shot, Blake fired an electric dust round, creating a shock clone that was shot at high speed. The clone collided with Atalante, electrocuting with the water spreading the voltage throughout her entire body. After a few seconds, Atalante's body was steaming while Blake fired a third shot, this one of wind dust that created an airstream clone. Atalante was staggered by the wind while Blake moved in close. She grabbed the faunus alter's wrists and tossed her over her body, retrieving her cleaver at the same time. Atalante recovered midway into the throw, landing on her feet while she glared back at the black cat faunus, "This won't end like last time." Blake responded while she reposed her weapon, "I'll defeat you myself if I have too."
"Yeah, that's just who you are." Atalante responded in indignation, "At your core, it always has to be about Blake." She said while the black cat faunus remained silent, "And if you don't like something, you run away from it."
"I'm not running anymore." Blake scowled while aiming her pistol.
"QUIT LYING!" Atalante shouted, "You may not be running away from your problems like before. But now, you're now running ahead with your problems!" she said with Blake flinching, "Where are the others? Your team? Ruby? Weiss? Even your partner Yang? I don't sense a single one of them nearby, because I know you left them behind!"
"Shut up!" Blake shouted back, "I don't want them to get hurt because of what I am getting into. I'm protecting them!"
"You aren't protecting anything!" Atalante shouted louder, "You want to know where Achilles is?" she said with Blake gasping, "He's back at our main base. We captured him when he was trying to get in contact with you."
Suddenly, Blake fired a shot from her pistol, which was an ice dust round. The bullet froze Atalante's right shoulder, "Let. Him. Go!" The black cat faunus spoke through her teeth as she readied for another shot.
"That is not my call to make." Atalante responded as her dark aura shattered the ice, "That day, I let you live so he could be happy with you." She said as her mind flashed back to the moment on the beach, "But now, I see he is better off without you." The faunus alter said her body started to radiate a violent black and purple aura, "And you are better off dead and alone!" Atalante said as the aura burst around her, "The burning shadow," She chanted while glaring at the black cat faunus, "The bow of the far side of the shattered moon," the faunus alter spoke as Blake gritted her teeth, knowing the type of attack that was coming next, "Take all of my hatred! Taur-"
Suddenly, both of their cat ears flinched at a loud bang. Right after, a red light shined down through the tree leaves, "A flare?" Blake commented.
"Oh no," Atalante said as her eyes widened, "The White Fang are under attack!" She said before running off towards the origin of the flare. Blake gasped as well before gritting her teeth, she then followed the faunus alter through the wood again.
However, a short distance away, the sound of someone crawling was heard. Melanie was unable to stand, crawling on her stomach towards Miltia, "Please…be alive." The white twin said with tears in her eyes, while the red twins were still barely open. Despite still being too far away, Melanie reached out her left hand, "Please…" she said before her hand fell and her body went limp. As her eyes were about to close, she heard someone approaching. While her vision was blurry, she made out their odd white boots.
Atalante and Blake ran through the woods towards the White Fang group. As they approached, the sounds of gunfire grew louder. Upon getting even closer, the screams of White Fang members getting slashed echoed through the trees. Blake scowled before rushing to take the lead, making it to the clearing, and seeing the carnage and slaughter that filled the area. The soil was almost stained red as the body parts of multiple faunus littered the area. She gripped her Gambol Shroud in each hand as she screamed, "ADAM!" the black cat faunus called out, then heard open more slash. In turning to the origin of the sound, the one holding sword made her gasp.
The corpse of a White Fang member fell before a man with short disheveled black hair. He wore a black coat over his shoulders, the ends stained red to match its interior. Beyond his grey boots and combat pants, the white holster housed a large rifle on his left side. Just above that was a red sheath, which the katana was already in his right hand. With his left hand, he pinched the blade near the hilt and wiped the faunus blood off, know this would not stain his red gloves. He then turned to the black cat faunus; his sharp gaze focused on her look of horror, "You have the wrong person." The White Fang Killer spoke, facing his next target, "And you're in my way."
AN: There you go, a lot of stuff to go over in just a few words. Roman returns to the cave where they found Ozpin's head, but learns that something else is on the loose. Grimm now know what it feels like when Gramps gets a little hungry. He is now on the purist, but what are his intentions? Moreover, Blake comes face-to-face with Atalante, starting a slight rematch from the first story. I really liked making both of their abilities shown here, especially playing with the dust clip and the clones. The twins take a fatal blow, but someone shows up to their side. And finally, another one of the White Fang Killers shows himself, the one who also wields a rifle and sword, Hijikata Toshizou. This Demon of the Battlefield is ready to carve through anyone that stands in his way. And right now, that's Blake and Atalante. Next chapter only gets more chaotic as Killers are on the loose. That is all for now, thanks for reading, and hope to see you in the next chapter.
