Hello again everyone! How are you all doing? I hope that you as as well as possible!
Ch. 63 is here. Hope you enjoy it!
Once more, thank you all for following/favoring/commenting or simply reading the story. You guys are the best!
See you all next week!
A few minutes ago
The faunus Fenris had left guard the tunnel were so easily dispatched that Ruby almost felt sad about the beating they had suffered in Weiss' hands. She stared at them as her partner continued her interrogation.
"So, if I take it correctly, Carmel is in the tomb your Boss wants to use, Yang and the rest of my friends are in that underground village of yours and the rest of your people are going after both of them?"
The jackal faunus, terrified as much as he was hurt, nodded with his head "yes, Madam." Weiss stood up and stared at Ruby "did you destroy their radios?"
"YuP" Ruby replied. "Save for one I kept for us, they are unable to call anyone. Do you still have the one we got from Carmel's guards as well?" she asked back.
The ex-heiress nodded and then glared at the captives once more, trying to ensure they would be way too terrified to even think of doing something like ambush them. She then turned to her partner.
"Do you think you can make the distance while- YEEEEP!" Sparing not even one moment, and ignoring the guards they had just subdued, Ruby hugged Weiss and burst inside the tunnel with immense speed.
"What do we do!?" she shouted, trying to be heard over the lashing wind. "Leave Yang and the rest to me!" the brunette screamed. "Go settle the score with that bitch. You can do it, can't you partner?"
Weiss thought to object for a moment. She wanted to tell Ruby that she needed to see Yang as soon as possible. She needed to see her smile, the beautiful gorgeous smile she had missed so much.
However, Ruby was in better shape than her for sure. And no matter how selfish it sounded, helping Yang and the rest to escape the ambush was Weiss' top priority at this point. Not to mention…
She grabbed her scarf; the one Kendrick had gifted her with his dying breath. She had some unfinished business with the beautiful bitch that had tortured her and killed her friend. "Got it" she only replied.
Present time
Weiss thrust forward, aiming for the woman's chest. "KNEEL!" the CEO roared, focusing her semblance on the pale girl. To her horror, it didn't even faze her- the girl had closed her eye as soon as she charged her!
Sophia jumped aside at the last moment and the pale huntress missed her. Weiss landed in front of the statue and opened her eye "it sounds easier than it is- fighting without looking at you" she sighed.
"You crazy psycho! Now is not the time for that!" Sophia screamed. "Fenris is below; fighting with your faunus friends! You should go help them!" A cyan eye looked away, carefully avoiding her gaze.
"At this point, I don't believe anything that comes out of your mouth, you sly vixen. Even if Blake and Ilia are there, they are more that capable of dealing with the likes of him-as will I with the likes of you!"
An angry rune sizzled with energy behind her, unleashing a series of fire bolts towards the CEO. Sophia ducked and found shelter behind a pillar, trembling in shock as the burning missiles shook the walls around her.
"Can't you understand that I am not your greatest problem right now?" she screamed from behind her cover. "Fenris fed the Eldergrimm to the Morkvind; it consumed its power and will keep growing if left alone!"
Weiss stopped. The image of the stag-headed terror, breathing over her while she was holding Kendrick's corpse, flashed through her mind. Dead wind whispers in the trees… spirit of ancient spite it brings…
She gripped her blade. That song is proving to be quite realistic and in a very bad way. Dust damn it- this complicates things even more!
"Do you understand now how insignificant your revenge is, Weiss?" Sophia asked, taking advantage of the girl's momentary ceasefire. "The entire country is at- YEEEEP!"
Another fireball sizzled in the air, its heat grazing the brunette woman's ear and making her let out a pained gasp. "Do I look like a fool? You are as much responsible for that as Fenris is. And I WILL see you pay for your crimes, Carmel! You will be trialed in Atlas; I will make sure of it!"
Sophia panted. Her nerves were on the verge of breaking; she really needed a smoke right now. "Weiss… I can help you win this. We have a much greater enemy before us… please think logically…" she begged.
Weiss was really sad the business woman couldn't see how angry her expression was at the sound of these words. "That's exactly what I am doing" she started walking towards the pillar "and I have reached the conclusion that I can't trust a snake like you!"
Weiss flipped Myrtenaster and let its tip touch the ground. A white rune sprawled from below her, engulfing the room in its brilliant, shimmering light.
An almond-shaped eye stared at the huntress from just behind the pillar's edge. Now that she was closer, she could easily make eye contact- Weiss had her eye closed, focusing on her summon only.
"FUCK YOU!" Sophia had enough of the girl's stubbornness. She lashed out, taking advantage of her enemy's motionless state, and shot three bullets towards her. To her disappointment, none of them found home.
A large white-blue sword deflected them as Arma Gigas jumped out of the circle. Its size had been reduced from huge to that of a regular human, but it made up for it with its enhanced mobility.
And that was not the only trick it could pull off. A second glyph, filled in lightning dust, immediately covered the ground beneath it. A series of bullets were once more shot at her, followed by Carmel's angry roar.
"OPEN YOUR EYES! STAND AND FIGHT! LOOK AT ME! SCHNEEE!" The time dilation glyph enhanced the summoned Grimm's reflexes even more, making it easily block the gunfire.
"Get her" Weiss' voice was soft and calm, barely a whisper under her enemy's screams. The Arma Gigas rushed forward with immense speed.
"NO! STAY AWAY! I AM-" an audible thud was heard as the CEO fell unconscious, making Weiss open her eyes and wipe the tears running down her cheeks.
"Finally" she tenderly grasped the scarf "you are where you belong, you venomous rattlesnake. Be glad I hate spilling blood if I can avoid it, or you would be on your way to hell at this point."
-o—
As soon as Sophia had left the room, Wenge walked and stood between the door and his enemies, who had slowly regained their former vigor as he deactivated his semblance.
"You can cause severe exhaustion to others" Blake gave her sword a quick swing. "You people prove to be a constant source of amusement" Fenris grinned. "Or annoyance" Ilia completed.
All four of them exchanged looks of concern. Blake and ilia seemingly had the advantage, but they also had to be extra cautious- there was no way to tell how a three-way fight would go.
The moments passed when Gray finally spoke "let me inform you, Ms. Belladonna, that standing around shall not do you well. In fact, I would say it works to my benefit instead."
Blake's eyes hardened. Was he bluffing? "That works fine for me as well" Wenge commented, clenching his fists. Ilia stared him in harsh disapproval. Everyone was tense; waiting for a mistake done by their-
"Blood has been spilled inside the sacred temple It has claimed as Its own. Therefore the Dead Wind is coming to accept the offering- all of you" Fenris' words made everyone's breaths stop in their throats.
"MS SOPHIA!" Wenge was the one who made the first mistake. Gray lashed out at him, but the two girls were equally fast. "GAAAH!" Ilia's whip hit him on the chest, electrocuting the man unconscious.
At the same moment, Blake jumped between her friend and the wolf man. Nightfall whirled and parried a pair of ferocious slashes, as the cat girl changed footing and thrust forward.
Gray, unable to avoid it, grabbed her blade with both arms. The sharp weapon sliced his aura, making him grit his teeth in pain. Sensing she had the advantage, Blake stepped back and performed a vertical cut.
The blade cut his face, slicing a good chunk of Fenris' aura. At the same moment, Ilia shocked him with her whip. "AARGGG!" his scream echoed as the combined attacks sent him roll on the ground.
He immediately jumped up. His palms were in pain and despite his aura still holding, he could feel the sting of Amitola's attack and the slices from Belladona's weapon. Both mentioned girls carefully walked closer.
"Keep calm Ilia; he might be cornered, but we still don't know what he has up his sleeve" the cat-girl steadily moved, letting her magma-red blade glow in the low light of the tomb.
And she was right, as usual. One moment, Fenris stood in front of them; the next one, a surge of power emanated from the wolf faunus as he let all his restrictions and totally released the full brunt of his semblance.
Both girls took one step back, as their eyes opened wide at what they came to see. Gray's semblance wrapped his entire body and started to alter is shape.
His skin got covered in thick gray fur. Arms and legs expanded, muscles tearing through the fabric of his cloak. His claws got even bigger and sharper, as his shoulders opened and his torso got larger.
His face changed too. His nose got replaced by a wolf muzzle, his mouth filled with sharp teeth, saliva dripping from his open jaws. His feral green eyes shone with primal hatred as power surged through them.
He smiled at the two surprised women "who is cornered again, Ms. Belladonna?" his voice was still the same, only a few tones deeper. "That- you are a werewolf!" Ilia blurted, failing to contain her shock.
"Is this your semblance?" Blake tried her best to gather her thoughts. "You never used it while being part of the Fang" she readied Nightfall.
Gray smirked "my semblance is a gift from the God of darkness. It is the ability to imitate a mythical beast; the Werewolf. Feel privileged to die to it, Blake" he replied- and charged at her.
Her instincts kicked in at once. Fenris moved with unbelievable speed, aiming to sever her head from her body, but he only managed to slice her clone.
Ilia turned invisible at once and jumped up to the coffin. She got her whip ready to attack; hoping Blake would get what she intended to do.
Left claw, right claw Blake performed a couple horizontal slices to parry his attacks. Bite! Claw! Bite! She teleported away, rolled on the floor to avoid his arm and then used her sword's blunt side to stop his bite.
Taking advantage of her blade being held between his fangs, the huge werewolf sliced at her wide open torso. He knew Blake couldn't blink like this, unless she gave up her weapon- also a good outcome for him.
He knew little of Blake, it seemed. Rapidly activating Nightfall's blade, she released its second form, effectively breaking it into pieces and freeing it from his ferocious jaws.
Not even one second later, she whirled it and activated her semblance, creating a momentary cloud of deadly cuts and slices as she blinked around him "AAARGG!" and earned another pained roar from the man.
She finally skipped back, next to the broken coffin. Fenris' huge form turned around and stared at her in hatred. The black-haired girl's eyes narrowed. He seems unhurt! WHY? I am sure I broke his aura!
Calm down Blake she told herself as the Werewolf showed her his teeth and lowered his head, ready to charge. He attacks, you deflect, and Ilia shall pierce him… NOW!
Gray jumped at Blake once more, trying to bite her. The yellow-eyed faunus blinked to the right, and got ready for the net attack. As soon as he turned to face her, Ilia would-
"Fools" he murmured "I can smell you" to the cat-girl's horror, he didn't go after her. Instead, he sliced at the exact place Ilia was standing. Ilia, who was unprepared for his attack.
"AAAAAAAAAA!" the violent scream made Blake's heart nearly stop, as the monster's claws sliced her friend's stomach, tore her aura apart and made her fall down in a quickly forming pool of her own blood.
"ILIA!"
-o—
The screams, growls and shouts from the main street forced Alex to make haste as she slowly ran down the back alley. She hated to leave it all to Albus, but she had her own part to play.
Carefully, she reached the back of the nearby house and continued undeterred as Albus had successfully managed to draw all attention to him. She jumped to the next one, still unseen by their enemies.
Move like the shadows, unseen. She reached the edge of the second house, slowly reaching out to peek. I hate not being able to use my echolocation because they might listen to it- fighting other faunus is such a drag.
The alley was empty, the sounds of fighting still going on behind her. She jumped to the final house, tiptoeing around the corner. She peeked again and saw the house which the annoying gun was shooting from.
It is a 50-meter dash to the house; make it sixty if the window is closed. But there is no enemy, so I just have to- "Found you!" a cackling, sinister voice sounded, as she felt a sharp blade press her back.
Somehow Sen Spot had managed to ambush her and was now standing behind the bat faunus, her smelly breath tingling Alexandra's sensitive nose. "Did you really think it would be that easy to get a drop on us?"
"Well" she replied, carefully trying to not shout "you do look stupid- ah!" Sen stabbed her back, cutting her aura off and making the girl's nerves fill in pain.
Alex tried to jump away, but the hyena faunus was on her, stabbing her twice with her sword and dagger before the albino rolled away. Thank Dust the Gatling makes so much noise they didn't hear us! She thought.
The black-haired bandit licked her lips "aura will not protect you for much longer and I took quite a lot already, didn't I?" the woman's eyes narrowed. I don't have time to waste on her! Albus needs me!
"Wanna know how I found you?" Sen started slowly walking towards the bat-girl. "No" with a rapid motion, Alex drew her gun and shot. Her enemy was anticipating that and ran to the left, the bullet grazing her.
The huntress barely managed to change her weapon to its axe form as the hyena fell on her, smiling maniacally and slicing like a rabid animal.
She jumped back and, only sustaining a few shallow cuts as she charged forward. "I smelled you" Sen laughed as she charged as well, not even caring about the girl's weapon.
Defending without my semblance is nearly impossible Alex thought as the hyena came closer. And I don't have enough time to drag this on!
So, she simply let go. Tactics, skills, training, were all tossed aside. The vampire bat faunus threw all caution to the wind; her predatory instinct overcame her as she replied to the enemy's attack with equal ferocity.
What followed after was a mess of a fight. Sen and Alex hacked, sliced and cut each other, cracking and destroying each other's aura within a few seconds.
"I like your guts!" her enemy said as they exchanged attacks, barely trying to parry or dodge "but you are not crazy enough to pull it off!" she added the exact moment their auras broke down completely.
Sen head-butted Alexandra, making her fall down. "Die!" she jumped on her and kicked her axe away. The albino girl tried to punch her, but she cut her arm, deflecting her attack.
"I said die! And scream! It's not fun unless you scream!" Alex tried to punch her again "I said scream! not-" the moment Sen tried to cut her again though, she felt a sharp pain on her forehead.
"Aaaa…" failing to even understand what had happened, the hyena fell on the ground, blood running down her face from a large stab wound.
Alexandra tossed the bloody corpse aside and quickly wiped the blood off her punching dagger before hiding it again in her bracer. "For all that's worth" she said before running to help Albus "I am really sorry."
A few minutes earlier
The quick swing from his staff sent the faunus trying to reach him fly away. Albus had no time to rejoice, however, as the Gatling gun from the empty house fired at him at once.
The man rolled on the ground and sent another wave of air dust forward, blasting away the barrage- which mattered little, since the enemy's continued fire passed through as soon as the blast ended.
Son of a- he barely managed to get behind a nearby wall, clenching his teeth so subdue the pain from the -quite a few- bullets that hit him. I was effing careless! The Gatling guy was waiting for me!
"What are you four waiting for?" the voice of the faunus handling the annoying weapon sounded. "Get off the ground and kill him! He ain't doing that again- I will turn him to Valean cheese!"
Well, he is not wrong, but it works better for me Albus closed his eyes and focused, activating his semblance. He felt his own shadow expand and twirl. It broke in four pieces and moved on the wall behind him.
"Got you!" the exact same moment, all four terrorists jumped at him- and suddenly got attacked by four tendrils of darkness. They merged with their own shadows and erupted, fully restraining them.
"Thank Dust it worked" he opened his eyes and stood up, staring at the perplexed faunus suspended above ground in front of him. "Let's go for a walk, guys."
Hidden behind the door, only his Gatling gun visible from the road, Baz cackled in anticipation. Soon, the men he sent after the human would return- there was no way he would be able to take them on his own.
A pity he would have to find another victim, but- oh here they… are? All four of them walked out from the corner, but not in the exact state he had been expecting them to.
Instead, they were grappled by large shadow tendrils that moved them while shielding the puny man hiding from behind. The only thing visible was a stupid satisfied smirk on his face.
Albus kept moving, his heart beating fast. He was doing his best to keep smiling, despite knowing he was betting quite- his focus saved him this time, as the enemy opened fire.
Albus tried his best to move both himself and his captives, but failed to do so. The series of high-caliber bullets filled the area once more. They hit him head on, taking away most of his aura and breaking his control.
Not there was much left to control, anyway. "AAARG!" A shower of blood filled him, as his captives got annihilated by the merciless shower of lead, coming from their uncaring comrade.
"HAHAHAHA! YOU ARE A FOOL TO THINK HOSTAGES WILL EVER WORK ON ME! STUPID HUMAN!" Baz kept screaming as he kept shooting at Albus. "YOU-GAH!"
Holding his breath under the pile of corpses and trying his best to not faint, Albus had crawled within range and shot at him with his staff.
The thin, concentrated blast of air sliced the man's face, rattling his aura and making him stumble. "YOU FUCKING HUMA-" another blast hit him head-on, throwing him on the ground.
The black-and-white haired boy tried to stand, but the pain from the bullets he had received was immense. He moved a couple more steps and then fell down. He was exhausted.
"Now you made me mad!" Baz stood up and started running towards him, an angry expression on his face. "I don't know what you did and broke my aura so easily, but I will give you a full taste of my jaws right-"
A loud humming sound reached them. It was about time, you gorgeous, lazy girl. A loud gunshot followed it. Baz didn't even manage to flinch before he fell on the ground, a smoking bullet hole on his bloody head.
"I am sorry" Alexandra's voice was heard as she slowly got closer to the dead faunus, her head lowered in apology "but you left me no choice, you idiot."
Meanwhile, in the other side of the street, Yang was facing a small yet significant problem. "GAH!" she was repelled by a series of coordinated attacks from the hyena's henchmen.
Two of them were lying down unconscious, courtesy of both her kicks and their cockiness that made them think she would be easy prey with her right arm missing.
Unfortunately, dispatching those two morons made the other five extra cautious. Two of them had drawn swords and attacked her, while the other two were providing support fire every time they found her open.
To make things even worse, the hyena was standing far away, smiling and drooling all over her arm, aggravating her to no end. I am having trouble with four guys and a creep. Weiss would kill me if she saw me.
She assumed her boxing stance, left shoulder slightly forward again. It was not that she didn't have an ace up her sleeve, but she had used her dust-infused semblance too much lately and didn't want to risk it.
Not to mention Fenris, Carmel and that monster Grimm are still around she thought. She activated her semblance, gathering energy in her left fist. It shone with a golden aura, making her enemies stand on edge.
"Sorry guys" Yang shouted "for underestimating you, I mean." Lilac eyes narrowed and she charged forward. The rifle-wielders opened fire at once, while the other two waited to attack as soon as she dodged.
Instead of maneuvering around, however, Yang jumped backwards and immediately used Ember Celica to shoot a pair of missiles at them. The explosion echoed in the empty street, filling the area in smoke.
The blonde was forced to roll mid-air, the recoil from using only one of her bracers without consistent foothold making her spin. She landed on her left foot and at once spun to regain momentum and run forward.
"SHOOT AT THE CLOUD!" Ed's voice reached her ears, making her smile. As soon as she heard it, Yang jumped high and used another Celica shot to reach one of the nearby walls.
She stepped on the wall only for a moment, as gunfire erupted from below, bullets slicing and piercing the alley, ricocheting on the ground and turning it into a kill zone.
The next moment, Yang jumped above her line of enemies and landed in front of the hyena man. The adversary was ready for her and a pair of kukri lashed out to cut the huntress.
"She is behind you; you morons!" Ed screamed as he tried to hack and slice Yang. She dodged the right one and allowed the left to chunk out a piece of her aura as she deflected in with her palm.
That sacrifice, however, allowed her to slam Ember Celica on his nose. "ARG!" Ed groaned and got forced to step back. "Get the filthy human!" the henchmen jumped out from the cloud and ran towards them.
They jumped at Yang, using their swords to cut her. Surprisingly, the woman didn't even resist. She only went and delivered another punch at Ed's stomach, making him fall on his knees.
"AH!" two large cuts on her back shook her aura, but she didn't move. She kept her arm there for a couple seconds, before kicking him away. It was that exact moment the last two enemies opened fire at her.
Yang rolled away and jumped far from them, taking distance. They all turned to face her- when a mechanical click made them stop. She stood up, her right arm in place, a disgusted expression all over her face.
"GIVE IT BACK!" screaming and drooling, Ed ran forward, blades ready and jaws open. "THIS IS MY TROPH-" Yang punched his jaw, making him lose his balance, with her right arm.
She then grabbed him and flipped him over before tossing him on the ground with a loud cracking noise that made the four henchmen shiver in fear.
That exact second they gave her this way was all she needed. Yang jump towards the swordmen and kicked the first one. The second tried to slice her right side, but she shot a missile at his face.
The rifles fired again, but this time she dodged while charging at them, using her metal arm to deflect the few ones that aimed at her vital parts.
Some bullets managed to graze her, powering her up even more. Her enemies understood that a little too late, however. The brawler jumped and performed a semblance-powered roundhouse kick at them.
Yang stood up, pleased to see the four faunus lying down unconscious and thoroughly beaten. Wait, four? Where is the hyena guy? Before even finishing her thought, she felt movement from her left.
"GIVE ME! THAT!" Ed ran towards her, screaming and screeching. "IT IS! MINE!" he swung hard with his kukri. "This!" the tall girl deflected the right one with her arm and grabbed his left hand "Is! My arm!"
"YOU LOST IT!" Instead of breaking free, he bit her shoulder. Surprised, she stifled a gasp of pain. He took advantage of it and kicked her away, standing in a raged state in front of her. "NOW IT BELONGS TO-"
A heavy object landed on Ed's head- the blunt side of a large, silver-red scythe. The man gasped and fell down, a huge bump on his skull. Before Yang could even smile at the weapon's sight, a merry voice giggled.
"Why do you always end up attracting weirdoes?" Ruby, smiling in all her teasing glory, asked her. "I date your partner, remember?" she retorted, before both of them got lost in each other's arms.