Hello again everyone! How are you doing? I hope those last two weeks treated you well!
Chapter 65 is up. Due to the, ahem, unexpected nature of this year's vacations, I didn't manage to make it a double one, but I hope you will enjoy it nonetheless.
As usual, thank you so much for reading/ commenting/ following or favoring the series. You are the best!
See you next week with ch. 66. Until then, be well and have fun!
Next to the tunnel's entrance to the cave Weiss and Blake stood silent, diligently waiting for the monster to come through. Nonexistent bystanders could easily assume they were on bad terms, but that was not the case.
The white and black of RWBY deeply appreciated each other's stoic and patient demeanor in times like these; the rest of their friends and team mates made enough noise as it was, especially Sun and Yang.
"It's a truly strange thing" Weiss broke the silence uncharacteristically. The cat girl raised an eyebrow, but didn't even dare avert her eyes from the tunnel "are you talking about Yang? Or Sophia?"
"There is nothing to say about Yang" Weiss firmly replied. "I made her worry so much with my childishness. I owe her a huge apology when I return to civilization; let her know how horrible I feel for my actions."
"I believe she knows that already and is just happy to have you back. Yang may be a loud one, but you know better than me she can understand when she has to be patient too" Blake commented. The alabaster girl nodded solemnly "I know. But I don't think it's bad for me to spoil her once in a while" the reply came.
The faunus smiled in agreement; she had felt the urgency to spoil Sun for how he treated her more than once and loved how much he always looked to appreciate it. She was sure Yang would do so as well.
"Sophia on the other hand…" Weiss' voice fell and her eyes dropped. "I feel weird. I somehow…" "You can't bring yourself to hate her despite all that she did, do you?" Blake cut her off, earning another nod.
"She mentally tortured me, made me kill captives with my own hands, forced me to fight for her cause and even shot someone I came to think as a friend those last few days" the ex-heiress replied.
"Yet, those last words of hers truly hit me. No matter how much of a horrible person one is they don't deserve to die all alone, having lost everything they stand for" she blinked a few tears away.
The yellow-eyed beauty stared at her friend for a few seconds. Her gaze was not of shock but of deep appreciation; a feeling the white girl made her experience almost every time they had such conversations.
"I am so glad you never change" Blake whispered. Weiss sighed deeply "in good faith, I would-" a powerful gust of wind hit them both head on, tussling their hair and forcing them to cover their eyes for a moment.
It was cold and harrowing, bringing the scent of old blood and decrepit soil. Their body hair stood on edge and both girls took position. First part of the plan; guide it towards the outskirts, away from the plaza.
Weiss flicked Myrtenaster, spinning the chamber to the lightning dust canister. "I know you can't aim properly like this" Ruby's voice sounded in her mind "but I also know this will not stop you fight along with us."
Two white colored glyphs formed below the huntresses, imbuing their muscles with the power of lightning. "How much can you keep them up?" Blake asked. "As much as necessary" the determined reply came.
Its arrival was as sudden as it was silent. To them, it felt as if the wind itself carried the monstrous shape out of the tunnel. A stag-shaped and ominous looking maw glared around through a pair of pitch-black orbs.
A huge cloud surrounded its form, like a cage made out of light blue air swirling like a maelstrom. Centered on the monster, it filled the cave with a white-bluish light that contrasted the green miasma-colored flames.
The wind on its own was heavy, sickly and chilling. Gleaming red eyes stared at them from the malevolent aura it spread; Weiss remembered the white Beowolves it could summon and shivered at the thought.
Its gaze lingered at the interior, until it became fixed on a single spot; the flame-wreathed mausoleum, where it had consumed Alginos and absorbed its power. It made one step forward towards the building-
Pointing forward, Weiss created a minor rune and shot a few fireballs towards the large Grimm. The sizzling beams of red-hot energy flew at the monster- and vanished as soon as they entered the blue cloud.
The monster turned its gaze towards them. Its deep, dead eyes stared at the two huntresses, while the blue and green lights were reflected on its skull.
"Go!" Blake and Weiss jumped backwards and used a series of gravity glyphs the Schnee had prepared in advance to land on top of a nearby roof. They quickly took position to see if the enemy had gotten the bait-
'OOOOOO' leaving an unearthly screech, the Morkvind rushed forward. Without even trying to teleport, it lashed out and sliced at them with a pair of razor-sharp claws.
"Run!" Blake signaled and Weiss complied. Powered by the glyphs, they ran across the roof in a single moment and jumped away to the next one, rolling and flipping to not lose momentum.
'OOOO' the monster vanished completely, along with the pulsing blue aura surrounding it. Blake halted for a second "did we fail?" she asked-
"NO!" sensing the air around her suddenly freeze Weiss charged at her, hugging her tight as she used her body weight to send both of them crashing down on the street.
Before they even reached the ground, the Grimm appeared. Its hands fell on the spot where the cat faunus had been standing, slicing through the roof as if it was made of butter, tearing half the building apart.
They found themselves getting showered in rubble, auras protecting them from every serious injury. The ground around them shook and cracked, brimming with unholy energy.
It was Blake who acted this time. "Purple!" Weiss reacted to the girl's voice and reflexively cast a gravity glyph, propelling them away the moment vines and branches burst from the ground beneath them.
Breaking the hug, they let the dust throw them on the other end of the alley. They quickly jumped up and readied their weapons. The creature charged again, closing the distance between them in a heartbeat.
Blake conjured a clone and Weiss made a series of platforms, skating to avoid its mad rush. They barely managed to run away, as it tore down the nearby houses' walls, throwing debris all over the place.
It raised its head, towering over the half-destroyed houses. It snorted, fuming at the persistence of its prey that refused to sit around and be devoured.
Said prey stared at it, standing in the middle of a much more spacious area. It resembled a small park if not for the lack of trees, with enough room for them to move.
This place was quite far from the tomb. Houses were scarcer here and the flickering green light weaker. Blake and Weiss raised their weapons again, as the monster opened its mouth to roar.
A pair of missiles flew across the opening, hitting the Morkvind head-on. Its aura absorbed the impact but the projectiles made a small hole in it allowing a third one, shot with deadly precision, pass through.
'OOOOOOOOOOGGGGGG!' the immense roar of pain that followed made the girls flinch. The monster's chest exploded in a shower of red energy, covering the Grimm in a cloud of dust.
"Hi yah!" Yang jumped and landed in front of Weiss and Blake, at once assuming her boxing stance. She shot a wink towards her girlfriend's location, earning a cute little smirk in return. "We are ready Rubes!" she shouted in her earpiece.
"Great!" Ruby replied, ready to set Crescent Rose in place on top of a roof that had a clear view of the opening. "Phase two begins now! Let's give it all we've got!"
-o—
"After we lure it in the open, the real battle begins" Ruby had explained in a hurry when making the plan. "Yang will stand vanguard and Weiss shall provide support."
"And what about you?" her partner had asked. Ruby knelt and carefully continued assembling Crescent Rose's newest modifications. "I will hit it with my mightiest blow- I leave ground control to Blake."
The Morkvind roared, its tall figure bursting out of the smoke. "Here it comes!" Blake screamed, making Yang take one step forward to meet it head-on.
A pair of black glyphs spread on the air around her the exact moment it sliced at Yang with its claws. The woman jumped, avoiding the first cut and landed on the nearest glyph.
Not even standing for a second the blonde somersaulted on the second one. The monster's other hand thrust at her, but Blake was there, her sword screeching as its blade parried the sharp claws.
Ember Celica shot forward, a pair of missiles landing on its monstrous face, engulfing- the cold aura returned at once, instantly freezing both projectiles mid-air, making them shatter.
"Retreat!" Blake blinked away, her clone shattering under the power of the monstrous arm. But Yang faltered for a moment, feeling a mighty and unearthly chill cover her entire body.
Her eyes became heavy, her lips got dry and parched. She felt her sweat and saliva form crystals in her skin and mouth, scratching her skin.
That was all she managed to feel, before a strong power erupted from below her. Weiss' white glyph shot Yang up high and she followed by forming a series of stepping glyphs around the brawler.
Her accuracy wasn't as precise as her girlfriend had gotten used to, but she didn't mind at this point. Yang jumped around the makeshift path in order to accelerate, putting some more force in her jumps to make up for the wrong distance between the platforms.
Realizing what she was going to do, Blake shot a side glance at Weiss, who nodded while preparing a rune. Please, focus! Don't even dare mess this one up!
Blake unclasped Nightfall and started whirling it around. The white girl constructed a large ice glyph and shot it in order to freeze the left arm, while the whirling katana blade tried to entangle the right one.
"TAKE THIS!" Yang shot down, instantly activating her semblance. She unleashed all the force she had been storing since her encounter with the faunus and the cold aura, blazing like an infernal comet.
The Morkvind raised its head, but it was too late. Meteor Yang hit the freezing cloud head-on; the burst of heat totally dispersed the chilling wind, breaking the protective barrier.
Weiss' runes engulfed the entire left part of the monster, chilling it and slowing it down, while Blake succeeded in restraining the other arm.
"Yang! Withdraw!" Blake screamed as her sensitive nose picked a very dangerous scent- the heavy aroma of sparks and ozone produced by an electromagnetic current.
The blonde jumped away from the Grimm. It roared furiously and tried to break free, swinging its arms with all its might. And then, all of a sudden, it stopped.
Its eyes went directly towards the other side of the opening, where a sizzling sound had just been heard from. Ruby was kneeling at the top of the roof from where she had previously shot, taking aim at it.
Her beloved Scythe-rifle was set in front of her, surrounded by a series of long, horizontal energy barrels powered by yellow and purple dust. The entire system was pulsing with energy, rifle barrel filled in sparks.
Ruby smirked, visibly ecstatic. She could see the ancient monster's face even despite the lack of expressions on its skull. She could sense its fury transform; the primal beast started squirming, attempting to escape.
Five… the Morkvind roared, filling the cave with a wild cacophonous sound.
Four… Vines and branches burst from the ground, trying to impale the huntresses. Blake growled as she was forced to break away from it, freeing its right arm.
Three… Yang and Weiss flipped away, taking care of each other's back, slamming and cutting every piece of vegetation trying to assault their significant other.
Two… The Morkvind used its right arm to cut off its left one. The claws tore its dark flesh apart, disgusting black blood running down the open wound and evaporating as soon as it touched the ground, leaving a hissing goo behind.
One… Sensing there was no time left, or potentially desperate, it moved its arm in a maniacal manner and formed a huge, thick dome of vines and branches, trying to create-
Lightning Rose shot. Propelled by the properties of both lightning and gravity dust, Ruby's large caliber bullet flew as if shot by a mini rail gun, travelling the distance between her and her target in a split second. The only thing the monster could do was try and teleport, but it was too late.
It passed through the thick barrier as if it wasn't even there and hit the Grimm's right shoulder. 'OOOOOOO!' the horrible roar deafened them, as the impact tore its flesh, severing its remaining arm completely.
"Wow" Yang was awestruck. The monster flailed and smashed its head on a nearby building, spreading thick black goo from both wounds. It then crashed down with a sickening scream.
Ruby, eyes still on her target, started to quickly disassemble Lightning Rose and throwing the barrels one by one in her backpack. She was more than satisfied she had managed to strike such a potent hit, despite its teleportation messing up her aim, but-
The monstrous surge of energy that engulfed the entire cavern made the brunette click her tongue as she threw another barrel into her bag. "FALL BACK! HURRY!" Blake's voice sounded, making her heart pound.
Spikes, thorny branches and vines burst from everywhere- the ground, the walls and the ceiling. An entire forest assaulted them, rushing through the opening like a brown-gray wave.
"Yang!" "Weiss!" "Take cover!" the screams echoed inside the cavern. The three girls started jumping, punching, kicking and slicing, using as much of the surroundings as possible to avoid the onslaught.
Blake started slicing with immense speed, her magma-red blade shining inside the dark cloud of vines as it sliced all branches that rushed upon them.
Yang ran towards Weiss, jumping, punching and rolling between the diminutive openings she could find out. Her skin got scarred, her aura shook and her nerves wracked in pain, but she kept pushing.
Thick branches burst out from beneath her, hitting her in the chest and making her lose balance. She fell down and rolled, shooting missiles at everything that came closer to her in a frenzied-
A colossal glyph materialized from below. "Stay still!" Weiss' voice was heard, before a huge explosion wracked the area, engulfing them in red hot flames.
Yang felt her arms and legs burning as her lover's fire rune consumed all vegetation, turning the massive wave into a dead mass of char-coaled wood and plantation.
Silence fell on the street. Yang stared at Weiss, who was panting and gasping, strain visible on her. And then she looked at Blake, slowly and steadily walking towards them.
"You have to work on your aim, Weiss" Ruby's voice cut off the silence as she landed between them, backpack strapped on her back "you almost hit Yang and Blake with that blast" she added, earning a nod from the seemingly frustrated woman.
"I know…" she stood up, accepting Yang's hand "but at least now it's over and I will have the time to fix my e-" a pulse of energy passed through them, making all girls shiver.
The flames far away roared and multiplied. The entire cavern got swallowed in a sickening green light. The ground shook and pulsed, its surface covered by a sickening, sweetly smell like rotting blood.
Monstrous forms got reflected in the walls, like twisted abominations that had escaped from the wicked Nursery Rhymes Weiss had been singing them lately.
"What the… ACTUAL EFFING HELL?" Yang's voice grew into a horrified scream, as she saw branches burst from beneath the ground again, but this time ignoring them and rushing at the Morkvind's body.
Ruby's eyes narrowed. And then opened wide, seeing the vines pierce through the stumps of its shoulders, molding into forming long and twisted arms. She got reminded of the Anathema and shivered.
Black, malicious orbs shone and the Stag-headed monster stood again in front of them. Its white skull reflected the shining green pulse, its black body getting tinted in the miasma.
It raised its new branch-made appendages and opened its horned maw letting out a cacophonous roar that made the air heavy with malice.
'OOOOOOO!' But this time, to the terror of the huntresses, the roar was answered. 'Ooooooooo!' the baying of wolves echoed from the mausoleum, as if responding to the monster's call.
And then another, from the village. And another, from the monoliths. And another, another one and one more. All huntresses stifled a gasp, as the sounds multiplied with every second passing by.
Large Beowolves, made of green flame, stepped out of the miasma, the earth beneath their feet sizzling and burning with every step made.
In the outskirts, the shadows cast by the horrendous flames turned into black Beowolves, their bodies swirling as if made of the cave's darkest shadows, pitch-black eyes the only indication of their existence.
The Morkvind's howling grew, more and more wolves bursting out of the flames and jumping from the cavern walls. Roars, howls and loud baying sounds filled the interior, as the Grimm answered to their King.
"What in the meaning of Dust is this?" Weiss took one step back, Yang staying close to her. "Blake" Ruby asked "how much time has passed?"
The cat girl stared at her scroll, hands trembling as she tried to also not let the stag-headed terror out of her eyes "a little less than an hour" she replied.
Ruby stowed Crescent Rose away and drew Thorn, before turning to meet her team's anxious stares. She flashed a weak smile "time to go. Stay cool- and start running."
-o—
The sound of combat filled their ears even after they had walked pretty far into the tunnel. Panting and gasping, Alex ran forward with Ilia at her back, trying to secure the area in front of them.
Just behind her, Albus was doing his best to keep up. His shadow had split in eight parts, forming small tendrils that carried over the seven unconscious Blood Moon members, along with Wenge Knight.
"We are nearing the exit. Please, hang in there just a little longer" Alex's voice was melodious and gentle, filled in tender love. I must be looking pretty bad for her to act like this, the boy thought.
Well, if he wanted to be honest they were doing pretty well so far; way better than he had been expecting. It was a testament to how powerful team RWBY was to keep that monster away from them for so long.
Albus took a breath and wiped the sweat running down his forehead. "I am fine; let's keep moving" he started moving, ignoring the flaring pain he felt at his lungs.
Not eased even by little, yet fully aware of the gravity their situation had, the bat girl ran ahead to clear the area. Considering they were far ahead and trusting her friends' fighting skills, she opened her mouth.
A small humming sound filled the cavern; making Albus hope nothing was lurking behind them to hear it. "I can feel the exit! We are really close, honey!" the enthusiasm in her voice blew his worries away.
Putting a lot of effort, he strained his body even more, pushing his aura reserves to their maximum limit. They made a mad dash forward, the light at the end of the tunnel visible after a few minutes.
They stepped out, ready to scream in exhaustion- and froze in place as they came face-to-face with the barrel of a large military-grade rifle.