Chapter 52 – Bloodlust's End
Joanna
She stared at the sky; it was like the clouds were set on fire.
Black Gallows Dreadnaughts fell alongside the Shadow of Broken Promises, and now there was a constant spreading inferno, consuming the castle that Salem ruled over for so long. The burning wreckage of the Shadow of Broken Promises was protruding from the side of the castle, slowly crumbling more and more as the flames ate away at the armour plating. It was a hellish sight, and in truth, it didn't fill her with satisfaction.
A lot of people just died… they may have been their enemies, but they were still people and all of them died within a blink of an eye. But now all that remained were the Grimm and the Feral Ones, although they were already being pushed back, both here and all over the world, now that the White Fang were rebuilding and fighting back. It really felt like they were making a difference…
… Joanna just wished that… like Robyn… all this bloodshed could have been avoided.
"Joanna!" May called out, getting her attention.
"May?"
"Look!" May pointed up at the sky where the Shadow of Broken Promises exploded and came crashing down into the side of Evernight. Through the smoke and the glow of the skyscraper sized flames that were consuming Evernight… they saw something. She could see the Bullhead that had Marrow and Fiona on it arriving, landing at where the battlefield had ended.
"Fi…" Joanna gasped. Joanna jogged towards the landing Bullhead with May as it unfolded its landing gear, and the side door slid open. Inside of it were only Marrow and Fiona, and they quickly realised that Vine was not with them, and Marrow was still in anguish, tears streaming from his eyes.
Fiona jumped out and was embraced immediately by Joanna. "Thank the gods you're okay…" Joanna sighed, and May also gave her a warm hug, too. But as Joanna looked at Marrow, she walked towards him, crouching by his side. "Marrow? Where's Vine?" She asked.
He looked at her and shook his head, eyes still pouring with tears. "… he was still a Black Gallows creation… the Black Queen infected him too." Fiona said, bowing her head with grief, sharing Marrow's sadness. Joanna sighed, shaking his head.
"He knew… he knew the whole time…" Joanna said. "He wanted to make sure the virus did its job… and remained connected to the Black Gallows network."
"Brave son of a bitch…" May said, resting her staff against the side of the bullhead.
"He was… the only friend I had…" Marrow stammered, his fists still clenched.
Fiona walked over to him and she sat down in front of him, and she took his hands and gently held them in hers. "And he died making sure you could survive. You're not alone anymore… you never will be again." She promised with a kind smile, before wrapping her arms around him in a warm hug.
Joanna stood tall and walked out of the Bullhead, seeing the Vasillias Cartel soldiers sorting out the remnants of the Black Gallows.
The Black Gallows soldiers were all surrendering, dropping to their knees and holding their hands behind their heads. With no technology, they were helpless against them. She walked past the defeated soldiers. They all looked so lost and confused now. She approached the last remaining members of the Ace Ops: Harriet and Elm.
They too were on their knees, their trusty weapons and armour being useless without the Black Gallows network keeping them locked to their D.N.A. Joanna pressed her hands against her knees and leant forward, staring at Harriet, who was glaring back at her. "Was it all worth it? Betraying everyone for this?" She asked him. Elm hung her head, but Harriet gritted her teeth with hate in her eyes, before spitting in Joanna's face.
Joanna recoiled slightly, then wiped the saliva from her face. "You're gonna have plenty of time to think about what you've done. I promise you that." Joanna said, walking past her and Elm.
She walked up one of the dunes, staring at the rest of the battlefield to see the Grimm still attacking. "Dutch. We need our forces to join the White Fang and our other forces. We need to turn this fight around."
"My thoughts exactly." He replied from the lead Dreadnaught. "All Vasillias Cartel forces not tasked with escorting the Black Gallows P. , arm up and help the rest of our allies against the Grimm. We're close to ending this. We just need to buy our friends more time to bring Salem down."
Marrow picked up his rifle, filled with more than enough determination to fight right now, and Fiona walked with him alongside May. They joined Joanna, and the army of the Vasillias Cartel roared across the dunes, Dreadnaughts and Gunships roaring overhead to thin the horde of Grimm.
They were so close.
They just needed to get the Relic of Destruction and take Salem down.
Eryka
They only narrowly escaped the collapsing ceiling of the amphitheatre that they were inside of, thanks to Eryka grabbing onto them and flying them out through the collapsing ceiling. As Eryka flew into the air and over the castle, they saw the devastation of the Shadow of Broken Promises making its impact against the castle. Half of the keep had been completely engulfed in flames and destroyed. She flew them through the smoke and descended near the flames, landing firmly. Eryka, however was no expert Maiden yet, though, and she couldn't stick the landing, tumbling across the black sand. She grunted as she rolled, Weiss and Winter doing the same.
The three of them panted with relief now that they were out of there, but the smoke was choking to breathe. "Gods… that was so close…" Weiss panted, coughing through the smoke.
"Are you okay?" Winter trembled, crawling over to Weiss' side.
"I'm okay… what about… wait… Eryka?" Weiss stammered. Winter turned as well and saw the footprints heading towards the flames.
"Eryka!" she called out.
Eryka walked away from them the second they landed, with Slice 'N Dice drawn, she was walking around the growing flames, and she kept looking up through the smoke with hate in her eyes, panting and covering her mouth and nose with her hand from the thick plumes of smoke. But she kept going, her shortsword tightly grasped in her other hand, then she found it… staring up at the keep, she could still see the wall in which Tyrian was thrown through when the Dreadnaught crashed into the castle.
"Where are you? You son of a bitch…" Eryka snarled, looking around for him, trying to either find his burnt body… or worse… if he somehow survived, so that she could finish the job. She kept getting closer to the flames, and she activated her Maiden Powers, holding out her hand, but nothing happened. "C'mon… you did it a second ago…" But this time, fire just kept bursting from her hand, just spreading more flames. "Come on… ice… you're the fucking Winter Maiden!" She yelled at herself, then she finally closed her eyes, thinking of the Schnee Snowflake Symbol, and that actually helped her.
She pictured Winter's face, and that alone helped her think of something other than all the surrounding flames, and frost started forming on her fingers. It was a bizarre sensation, just manifesting elements like this and not even feeling it… but she ignored the spectacle of her powers and kept blasting the icy winds into the flames to extinguish a path through.
"Eryka!" she heard Winter calling out.
Weiss and Winter sprinted behind her and grabbed onto her, pulling her away from the fire. "What the hell are you doing?" Winter yelled in shock.
"I need to be sure! I need to make sure that bastard is dead!" Eryka argued, pulling herself free from Winter.
"The man was on fire and fell all the way up there into an exploding warship! There's no way he could have survived that, especially with his aura broken!" Weiss argued.
"He killed Neptune! I need to know that his killer is in the fucking ground!" Eryka yelled, trying to walk further into the flames, but the Schnees continued to pull her away, and finally Winter yanked her back and pulled her into a loving hug. Winter pushed her hand through Eryka's blue hair as they stood by the flames.
"I'm sorry, Eryka… I can't imagine what you're going through right now… but what you want? It's not going to help you… you're just going to get yourself killed… I… I can't lose you, Eryka…" Winter sounded like she was going to cry, a rare sound that Eryka was never used to.
Suddenly the sound of metal creaking grew louder and louder, and the flames were raging hotter and hotter. "This place is getting unstable! We need to go!" Weiss yelled.
Eryka stared at Winter, then looked back at the flames. She still wanted to find him and stab him in the heart a thousand times… but she knew she would die. She closed her teary eyes, then clenched her hands into fists. "Fuck… FUCK!" Eryka yelled with anguish, running with Winter and Weiss out of the way of the collapsing rubble from the Shadow of Broken Promises.
Massive chunks of armoured hull, set ablaze by the fire, came crashing down, and not only that, but the very room they were just in collapsed as well. An avalanche of concrete, bricks and rubble came toppling down into the flames. They jumped away just in time to stay ahead of it.
Eryka stared at the flames, her hands digging into the flame baked black sand. The fire reflected off her eyes, but she sighed, shaking her head.
"Okay… let's go…" She sighed. Winter helped her back up, and they ran away from Evernight to return to the battle.
Ruby
Ruby fell to one knee, panting as she looked at the edge where Watts' fell to his death. She let Black Thorn fall from her fingers, but then she turned after hearing the trembling of Penny. She saw her standing there; she looked so small, letting her Grave Dust Swords drop to the floor.
Thanks to the fact she was not connected to the Black Gallows network, her Grave Dust was thankfully still working just fine. But Ruby could see the internal conflict on her face… she was the one who dealt the killing blow. Penny shuffled towards the edge of the cliff, and Ruby stood up, walking over to her. "Penny?" She whispered to her, then they both looked over the edge and saw him below.
Watts.
He was dead, his lifeless eyes staring up at the sky with a still smoking hole in his chest. "It's over… Penny? It's over… he can't hurt you anymore." Ruby promised, and Penny sobbed. Despite lacking the tears to do so, she cried and fell to her knees. Ruby dropped with her and wrapped her arms around her beloved, pressing her head close to Penny's, being there for her.
"I… I…"
"You did what you had to. You don't have to feel bad for what you did… he was never going to stop, you heard him." Ruby explained, turning Penny to face her, caressing her cheek. "It's okay…" she promised, pressing her forehead against Penny's.
Penny sniffled, closing her eyes as she hiccuped her breaths to speak. "I… I didn't want to… I had to…"
"Yeah… you did. And I'm proud of you. Think of how many lives you've saved by stopping him… he would have been just like Salem if he had survived and done what he planned to do."
Penny looked at Ruby, panting desperately. Ruby smiled affectionately, still caressing her cheek, then she pulled Penny close, and they shared a long and passionate kiss with each other. Penny trembled when they finished their kiss, pressing her head against Ruby's. "I'm… I'm free…"
That choked Ruby up.
"Yeah… you are… you're finally free." Ruby promised, and Penny kissed her again and again, a bright smile forming on her face. Her mind started racing, imagining all the things they could do once this was over.
Exploring!
Swimming in the sea!
So many things!
Suddenly a shockwave erupted next to them, the blast nearly knocked them over, and Penny immediately snapped back to reality, levitating Floating Array in front of herself and Ruby.
"Oh… Arthur…" Salem's voice chillingly spoke, the black dust drifting away to reveal the Dark Queen stood at the edge of the cliff next to them. Ruby's eyes widened, and she stared down at the Relic of Knowledge still dangling from her hip. "Tsk, tsk, tsk… I always knew your ambitions would one day spell the end for you." Salem said with a sigh.
Salem glanced at Ruby and Penny, her eyes glowing red. "I see you beat me to it… I must say you were more merciful than what I would have done to the man." She stated, her arms held behind her back as she looked down at Watts' corpse once again.
Ruby glanced across the sand and rock to where she left Black Thorn to join Penny's side. They weren't far, but with Salem right there, she would have to be incredibly fast to reach them in time. "He got what he deserved." Ruby said.
"Hmm…" Salem softly hummed, her eyes leaving them and Watts, then gazing out towards the view of Evernight. In fact, now was the first time Ruby and Penny could focus on what had just happened. Both of their eyes widened. Seeing the destroyed, burning wreckage of the Shadow of Broken Promises crashed into her castle, setting the entire structure ablaze. "… what a waste." She sighed, shaking her head, her white hair loosely hanging down her back. "The legacy of Nathaniel Killian literally crashing down in flames."
"You've lost, Salem…" Ruby stated.
Salem laughed, chillingly confident. "Have I?" she asked, turning her gaze back to Ruby. She got up and so did Penny, keeping her swords pointed at her. "The Black Gallows served their purpose… and they fought admirably. But now… all I need to succeed is hanging from your hip." Salem stated calmly.
Ruby shot towards Black Thorn and reached out, and Penny launched her swords at Salem, only for Salem to hold her hand forward at Penny, her telekinesis stopping the Grave Dust Swords in their tracks, and then she caught Ruby out of the air before she could even reach her weapons, extending her hand and catching her by the throat. Ruby gasped for air as she tried to breathe, and Salem lifted her off the ground, and slowly rotated Penny's Grave Dust swords towards her, and shot them into her chest.
Penny yelped in pain, thrown off the edge of the cliff, leaving Salem with Ruby. "Of all the Huntresses who have been a thorn in my side, you have been the one who has stung me the most." Salem growled, squeezing Ruby's throat tighter and tighter. She reached towards the Lamp that dangled from her hip. "… but even the brightest lights flicker and die."
Ruby gritted her teeth and scowled at her. "You… sure about… that?"
Salem stared at her, then Ruby smirked, her eyes glowing bright silver. Ruby roared with fury and Salem gasped, hit directly by Ruby's Silver Eyes, encasing her body in stone. Salem roared with immense pain as the stone melted onto her skin, trapping her in the same pose, then Penny flew back up the side of the cliff, and smashed the arm that held Ruby, now in stone. Ruby dropped, and she grabbed onto the stone, hand still choking her, but Penny grabbed it and squeezed the wrist as hard as she could, shattering the rock into powder.
The hand broke apart, and Ruby could finally breathe again, gasping for air. "It won't hold her for long! We need to –"
Before Ruby could even finish, Salem's arm suddenly erupted through her own shoulder, and she grabbed onto her own head and tore the stone apart, shattering it in a cloud of smoke. Through the dust, they watched as Salem clambered out of her statue like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon, stepping on the black sand, her loose white hair blowing in the wind and smoke still trailing from her body, clothes torn from the constant fighting.
But Salem stared them down, still able to fight.
And will always be ready to fight.
Ruby and Penny, whilst still low on aura, stood their ground against Salem.
Because if she takes the Relic and reunites it with the other three…
… the Gods will Return…
Nora
Blood soaked the blade of Stormur Skeggox, and she panted as she lowered the axe to the floor, staring at Hazel's beheaded corpse on the ground, and his head a few feet away. She closed her eyes and stifled her breath, pushing her hand through her hair as she stammered, shaking her head.
"Damn it…" she sighed, wishing deep down that there could have been another way.
The sound of Oscar groaning as he regained consciousness helped her focus on something other than her killing Hazel. She ran to his side and slid across the floor, helping him up. "You okay?" She asked.
"Damn it… I'm sorry the bastard knocked me out… what happened?" He paused when he saw the body of Hazel Rainart on the ground. "You got him… good job." He said he sounded much less broken up about it than Nora was, but the fact that he was essentially raised by bandits after his Aunt and Uncle were butchered by Jackdaw? It explained a lot. He had been used to seeing death in his life.
Fire rushed through the building, and they saw the roof cracking, and even parts of it were coming down. Huge chunks of burning debris plummeted onto the floor with heavy crashes. "We need to get the hell out of here. This place is not gonna last much longer." Oscar said as he ran towards the door, but he looked back and saw Nora staring up at the tower.
"Ren…" Nora stammered. "I'm not leaving my husband." She said, spinning her axe through her fingers.
"Nora!" Oscar called out, but then he paused, looking at her. "Be careful."
"Always." She assured, sprinting towards the spiralling staircase that headed up towards the tower that Icarus carried him and his father towards.
Ren
Atop the tower…
The entire structure they were on was shaking. They could feel it swaying back and forth as it weakened from the heat and the impact itself of the Shadow of Broken Promises. And down below was nothing but flames, and many of them were burning so high that they could see the tips of them all the way from up here. Icarus growled as he tried to get back up, his wings severely damaged from their fight, and all of their aura broken as well. Sparks leaked from his thrusters, alongside flames from the fuel cells.
He could no longer fly, that much was certain, but he was still a threat. Ren tried to get back up, but the ground was barely holding together, and Icarus snarled as he rushed towards Ren. He grabbed the young man by the throat and smashed him against one of the pieces of rubble, so hard that he yelled in agony, nearly winded. He stamped down on Ren's leg and swung his Khopesh towards his throat with a horrific metallic scream.
Li roared and jumped towards Icarus, smashing his cane across the side of Icarus' face, causing him to stagger away from Ren. Then he rolled backwards and shot three arrows at him. Icarus swiftly slashed at them with Undying Hatred, cutting them down before they could even reach him. Li sprinted at him and he jumped, smashing his knee into Icarus' face, but Icarus caught him by his hair and punched him in the stomach before slashing across his stomach.
With no aura to protect him, Li roared in agony as blood poured from his stomach. He dropped to one knee and Icarus spun around to slash through his jugular, but Ren fired Stormflower at him. Most of the bullets still hit the malfunctioning wings, but he still landed a few hits on his body. Icarus barked as he felt the skin be torn open by bullets, and his red blood running down his body. He growled and stared at Ren, throwing his Khopesh at him, stabbing into his shoulder and pinning him to the wall.
He yelled in great pain, grabbing onto the Khopesh lodged in his shoulder, blood pouring down that arm. Icarus growled as he walked towards him, but Li picked up his Bow and spun around, smashing it into Icarus' face so hard that his Old Bow shattered, but his mechanical jaw burst as well. Icarus hollered in pain as the last of his protein cannisters cracked and started hissing, pumping all that pain back into his system. He roared from the pain, grabbing at his metal jaw that was sparking and dangling from the hinge.
Li pressed his hand against his sliced open stomach, feeling the fatal wound and the blood oozing constantly. He then turned to his son, able to see his soul staring back at him. "I love you… my son…" Li said with a kind smile. "You look after Nora… and my grandchild… let them know their grandfather will always be looking down on them… their Guardian Angel. Just as I always will… for you… my son…" Li said with a smile.
"Dad… dad no…" Ren begged, trying to pull the Khopesh from his shoulder.
Li stared at Icarus, who had stumbled towards the edge, his back to the crumbling wall of the tower. Li gritted his teeth in rage, channelling the fury of a Father and a Widower, at the man who took his home from him that night… at the sins of his creation… and he let out one last defiant berserk roar.
"DAD!" Ren screamed.
Li bolted up from where he fell, and sprinted towards Icarus, who stared at his old enemy with wide red eyes, as Li tackled him through the wall. Icarus' wings shattered upon contact, the metal feathers breaking apart, sending the two plummeting off the edge of the tower towards the flames. Li held onto Icarus, as the two plummeted from the sun… and into the fire… together…
They both vanished into the flames, leaving Ren screaming out for his father… who he had lost once again…
… for good this time.
Ren sobbed, finally ripping the Khopesh from his shoulder and letting it clatter off the edge into the fire as well. He stared at the smoke, feeling the building crumbling more and more beneath him.
"Ren!" her faint voice called out.
Suddenly Nora was in front of him, shaking him by the shoulders. "REN!" His eyes widened when he saw her, but the tears were still there on his ash covered face. She looked at him, then looked back, just seeing the shattered bow and his cane on the ground. "W-Where is…"
He trembled and sobbed, burying his head in her shoulder. She began to tear up as well, but she felt the tower weakening more and more. "Renny… we have to go. We can't stay here." Nora said to him, helping him back up, but as she walked towards the stairs that she ran up, suddenly they collapsed, and the entire tower finally gave way.
They both screamed, falling as the entire tower collapsed, breaking apart in the air as they fell. They held on to each other, awaiting the same fate as Li…
… until suddenly, a ball of green energy formed around them and halted their descent. They both looked around and turned to see Oscar with the Long Memory pointed at them, his eyes glowing gold with the help of Ozpin. He pulled them to safety outside the tower and they landed on the desert ground.
Nora gasped and sprinted to Oscar, hugging him tight, so tight he nearly couldn't breathe. "Thank the gods for you!" She yelled, and he chuckled.
"I kept my eye on the tower… good thing I did… and that Ozpin gave me a hand." Oscar admitted, but then they both turned to the heartbroken Ren.
Ren held his hand against his shoulder, staring at the flames, crying out in anguish for the loss of his father.
"He's gone… he's really gone…"
Smoke and embers rose high above Evernight, just like that night in Kuroyuri…
… but now… Li knew that his son definitely got away.
And that was all he needed to know, to give his life to stop Icarus… once and for all.
Yang
Trapped under the rubble, Yang gasped for air, pushing against the rocks and brick that fell from above. When the Shadow of Broken Promises hit Evernight, she, Blake and Adam all were buried beneath it all. She forced her hands against the rocks, and pushed the heaviest off her chest, finally able to gulp an enormous volume of air, despite it being laced with smoke. She coughed and pushed the rest of the rubble from her dust smothered body, stumbling back on her feet.
"Blake!" Yang called out, her voice weak and raspy as she looked around, barely even able to move her cybernetic arm now. The thing was damaged beyond repair, sparks leaking from it constantly. She grabbed onto the shoulder and clicked a button, completely disconnecting it. "You're just slowing me down…" Yang stammered, coughing again. Smoke filled the air, making it harder and harder to figure out where they were. "Blake?" She called out.
"Yang!" Blake's voice gave Yang so much relief.
"Where are you?" Yang yelled.
"I can't tell! My… my leg's hurt, I'm trapped!" She yelled.
"Alright, I'm coming!" Yang assured as she looked around, waving the dust out of her face to find a way to Blake. The smoke was slowly lifting though, and above she could see the golden glow of the burning castle. "Shit… haven't got much time, need to get her out."
"Where's Adam?" Blake called.
"I don't know! Hopefully, he got killed in the collapse!" She yelled, but Blake didn't respond for that. Yang sighed as she kept searching through the rubble.
"Yang!" Blake yelled. "I can see you!"
"Where?"
"Here!" Yang looked around and finally saw her arm poking out from the rubble, waving around.
"There you are!" Yang ran to Blake and, with her only hand, she pulled the rocks and rubble off her. Blake pushed as hard as she could, crying out in pain as she tried to pull her leg from the rubble. Yang grabbed Blake's hand and pulled her through so she could breathe better, freeing her crushed chest. "Okay, I'm gonna carefully get this off ya." Yang assured, pushing the rocks and rubble off one at a time.
Suddenly Yang was kicked in the face and crashed onto the floor, as Adam landed on top of the rocks where Blake was trapped. Yang stared at him and Blake gasped in fear, knowing it was him. Adam too was covered in dirt, and he had a bad limp too, and had blood running down the side of his head. But he wiped the blood from his mouth, and he grinned sadistically.
"Not dead yet, Yang." Adam chuckled, growling at her like a feral beast.
Yang scowled back at him. With only one arm, she knew she was at a tremendous disadvantage… but now they were equally weakened. But she never backed down from a fight, especially when the love of her life was at risk, raising her fist. "Yang! Just go!" Blake begged.
"Not happening… he and I have a score to settle." Yang snarled.
"That we do, Yang." Adam agreed, sprinting down the rocks, his boot only narrowly missing Blake's head, and he punched Yang in the face so hard that it threw her into the pile of rock and rubble behind her. She raised her arm and deflected his sword, which he somehow still had in his hand. Sparks flew, but he pinned her by the throat with his sword against the wall, pushing her against it.
"Yang!" Blake screamed desperately as she tried to rip her wounded leg free. Adam smashed his head into Yang's face, dazing her for a few moments, but then he smashed his knee into her stomach and forcefully slammed his blade against her throat, cutting the skin. She grabbed onto his arm to get free, but he was too strong and had the advantage with both arms.
He stared directly into her eyes, but she still punched him in the face, only for him to force her against the wall again. He leaned closer, teeth gritted into a mad grin. "You don't deserve her love… so before I take her… I'll let her watch you DIE!" He roared, pulling the sword away and driving it towards her heart, but she raised her arm and pushed the sword towards her shoulder, getting stabbed straight through.
"YANG!" Blake screamed.
Yang gritted her teeth in agony as blood oozed from her arm, the serrated edge cutting against her forearm as she forced it into that placement. Adam snarled viciously, pulling the sword down from her shoulder and cutting through, slowly reaching her heart. Yang stared past him and saw Blake staring back at her, and that was all she needed.
Her eyes went from lilac to blood red and her hair erupted into golden flames, and she grabbed onto his hand, gripping him by the hand so tight she was crushing his fingers. He roared in agony as she pulled his hand away from the sword that was still stabbed into her shoulder. The two glared into each other's eyes, and they yelled with rage at each other. Then Yang smashed her head into his face, causing him to recoil away after being locked in position.
As he staggered away, she grabbed the sword in her shoulder and tore it out, roaring in agony as blood burst from the wound, and as Adam lunged at her, she slashed across his face and threw the sword aside, sending it clattering across the rocks. Adam glared at her, now with a deep slash across the side of his face, over the same eye branded by the Schnee Dust Company, leaking with claret.
Adam sprinted towards Yang, but she punched him in the face so hard that it created a shockwave and threw him into the air. He crashed against the rubble and tumbled down and landed beside his sword. Her eyes widened, and he smirked, swiftly sheathing the sword and unleashing what little power was left in it, and it hit Yang directly.
It cut across her body, burning her clothes and throwing her against the wall.
"NO! YANG!" Blake shrieked, not seeing her moving on the ground and with blood pooling around her. Yang wheezed, grabbing onto her throat as she bled out. Adam chuckled sinisterly as he walked towards Blake.
"I promised you… didn't I? I promised you I would take away everything you love… and I always keep my promises, my love." Adam said as he approached her.
"You're a monster…" Blake snarled with hate at him.
Yang slowly lifted her head, choking on her blood, and through the darkening vision she saw Adam approaching Blake.
He stood before her, staring at her. "I was hurt long before we met… by all sorts of people in all sorts of ways… but none hurt me quite like you. You didn't leave scars… you just abandoned me… betrayed me. And that? That… is something I cannot let stand." Adam snarled, taking his sword in both hands and swinging it above his head. "So… my love? Any last words?" He asked, about to bring it down.
Fire…
… that was all she saw.
Suddenly the rocks behind Adam exploded and melted into magma, and Yang stood tall, her fatal wound cauterised, and eyes leaking with flames and lava. Her golden flaming hair flushed with plasma blue, as nothing but unbridled fury took her over.
Just like before…
… when she snapped against Blake and Weiss for letting Raven and Qrow escape in the Atlesian Wildlands.
Adam hadn't even noticed the explosion, but Blake gasped when she saw the eruption of fury behind him. Yang sprinted towards him and jumped above him with an inhuman roar, which finally got his attention. He slowly turned, and she smashed her fist into his face. She grabbed him by the horn and dragged him away from Blake. "Look away." Yang growled at Blake, throwing Adam ahead of her.
Adam immediately thrusted his sword at her with a furious yell. "WHY. WON'T. YOU. DIE?" He screamed, but she stamped on the blade and punched him up the jaw, and picked up the sword, tossing it aside like it was nothing. He got up and drew his sheath, firing it at her, but she ducked and punched him in the arm so hard it broke his hand. He roared in pain, then she grabbed him by the horn again, and kicked him in the chest, dropping him to one knee.
As he lifted his head, Yang smashed her fist into his face relentlessly, punch after punch, breaking his nose and splitting the skin. He swung at her but she grabbed him by that same horn again, but this time she stamped down on his back and he shrieked in agony as she ripped the horn from his head, blood pouring out, and stabbing it into his shoulder. He fell to the floor, but she was filled with unending hate, beating him over and over, splattering his blood across the floor, smashing his head into the rocks.
He reached up at her, but she never stopped, blood coating her knuckles and splattering against her face.
Blake reached out in fear, but felt the rubble be lifted off her, and she turned with relief as Ghira was there, staring at Yang with shock. Kali helped her daughter up as Yang continued to beat the bloody mess that was Adam.
"S-Sto-p." Adam desperately begged, spluttering blood, but Yang didn't stop.
The magma burned against his face from her eyes, and she grabbed him by the throat and choked him with one hand, screaming with hate, so much that her voice sounded demonic. He desperately grabbed onto her arm to get free, but nothing he did stopped her. She gritted her teeth and roared again at him.
"STOP!" Blake screamed, which made yang sharply turn, eyes blood red with magma tears burning her cheeks. "Please…"
"Stop? After everything he's done to you? YOU WANT ME TO STOP?" Yang yelled, still running on the fury in her chest.
"You're better than this… you're better than him. Please… just stop, Yang…" Blake begged. Yang looked around and saw the White Fang were here, able to take a moment to bring in Adam whilst the Vasillias Cartel and the rest of their forces battled against the Grimm. Yang stared back at Adam with gritted teeth, and then she saw the fear on his bloodied face.
She lifted him up and threw him against the floor, and he gasped for air, lying on his back. Yang stared down at him, then stamped down on his chest. And to get the remaining fury out of her heart, she twisted her boot, and threw her arm back, bellowing with every ounce of anger in her heart to the sky, blue embers trailing from her hair and burning the ends away, leaving her hair much shorter.
Yang panted and nearly collapsed if not for Ghira catching her, and helping her towards Blake, who was more than happy to help shoulder Yang. Blake lovingly kissed Yang's cheek as she walked away, but Adam pressed his knee against the rocks, and she saw the soldiers aim their rifles at him.
"Blake…" Adam wheezed, coughing up blood and picking up Wilt and Blush, pushing the blade into the rocks to support himself.
She stared back at him; her fist clenched. "… get… back… here…"
She gritted her teeth. "IT'S. OVER!" she yelled.
"Nothing… ends… until you strike me down… Blake…" He wheezed.
Blake stood and stared him down with Yang's head resting close to hers, barely conscious. "You have lost Adam… just give this up… this obsession… look at what it's done to you. It's turned you into a monster…"
He stared at her, stringy blood dangling from his split lip. "You think… that you made me this way? You… are not the artist… of what I am… I chose… this… it is who I have always been…" Adam admitted, and Blake trembled… but not in fear.
He's finally admitting it?
That it's not my fault?
That this was all him?
"Just… as I will always choose… to hunt you down… Blake…" He snarled, but Blake felt nothing towards his threats.
"Then we'll be waiting for you." She replied, and he stammered. "Goodbye… Adam."
She turned and walked away with Yang, and the White Fang surrounded him, all aiming their weapons at the defeated tyrant. "Belladonna!" He yelled. He gritted his teeth and mustered what little strength he had left. "BELLADONNA!" He roared.
But Blake just kept walking away.
He had never felt so… powerless.
And he saw the memories of Salem torturing him for his obsessions… for never leaving Blake alone.
All it ever brought him was more pain.
He would never get what he wanted.
"It's over, Adam." Ghira stated, with Kali by his side, blades at the ready. He looked at them all and showed his true nature.
Cowardice.
He dropped Wilt and Blush and hung his head in defeat.
It was over.
As Blake walked away with Yang, she finally was able to take it all in.
It's not my fault what happened to him…
… but… Sun…
Tears streamed from behind her blindfold, and she began to cry as she walked away.
He really was gone now…
Author Note - The Children of Salem are officially defeated, it's just Thaddeus left and Salem herself
This was another chapter I've been so excited to write, with Icarus and Li's deaths alongside Adam's defeat and the return of Plasma Yang. Loved having her go berserk again but this time it was to protect Blake and not attack her like in the Atlesian Wildlands. Plus having Yang beat Adam near to death one handed was super cathartic XD
And now Blake can finally move on... despite how much the truth hurts that Sun really is gone now.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please review, follow and favourite!
Stay tuned for the next chapter!
- Matt