Chapter 19 – Ozpin's Plan
Ozpin
Embers and smoke trailed through the streets of Argus…
And nearby the chaos of the nearby battle echoed, as Ozpin and his team of warriors battled against the Higher Demons.
Bertilak roared, launching off one of the broken cars towards the Lord of the Wood. His mace smashed into the hand of the huge Leshen, but then it tossed him aside with ease. Carmine floated through the air, using her telekinesis to keep her afloat. She shot her Sai down into the Lord of the Wood's shoulder, shattering the bark and causing the arm to detach. Long vines grew outward and wrapped around the arm, yanking it back inside of the shoulder. The normally slow entity jumped up towards her, using the roots in its legs to elongate the limbs. It punched Carmine in the face, sending her plummeting back down and into the fountain.
Water splashed across her body, and she groaned in pain. Carmine stared ahead and saw the Lord of the Wood walking towards her, its claws sharpening more and more. The Lord of the Wood arched its arm all the way back, but Bertilak smashed his mace into the side of the Higher Demon's skull. The Lord stumbled to the side, then they both rushed the entity. It threw its arms back, blasting black energy from the bark and into their bodies. The powerful blast of dark magic tossed them across the floor, leaving black smoke trailing from their bodies.
"I hate this thing! He's really pissing me off!" He roared, and he detonated his semblance, blasting a powerful pulse of hot air into the Lord. It stood its ground, digging its roots into the tarmac, glaring at him emotionlessly. Carmine jumped up in the air, propelling her Sai into the side of the Leshen's skull, and she yanked the blade lodged in the Demon's head downwards, bashing the skull into the side of the fountain.
The Lord of the Wood snarled and vanished just as Bertilak buried the head of his mace down into the ground where the Higher Demon was standing. He yanked it free from the ground, looking around for the entity. The sound of cawing Corvid Birds echoed all around them. They watched as Crows and Ravens swarmed around them all.
The Lord of the Wood suddenly erupted from the feathers and grabbed Bertilak by the side of his face and they both crashed through the fountain. Water viciously sprayed up from the ground, whilst the Lord pounded him down against the ground relentlessly. The Leshen swung around, extending the roots in its arm and flung him across the street. But as he flipped through the air, he shot the chain of his Mace towards it. The chain wrapped around the neck of the Leshen and he yanked the Demon from its position.
As it staggered forward, Carmine launched her Sai through the back of its leg, and brought it down to one knee. She ran as fast as she could, jumping off and across the roofs of cars, before jumping high above the Lord of the Wood to bring her Sai down into the roof of its skull.
The Lord of the Wood's hand suddenly caught her by the throat and the skull slowly turned, glaring directly at her with a chilling snarl. It stood tall as its knee repaired itself, and the skull suddenly split open, flames belched from inside of its mouth. Black smoke trailed from its head and it roared at her before going to bite her head off. She called her Sai into her hand and lodged it inside the jawbone of the Leshen.
It snarled with anger, but refused to let go of her, crushing her throat slowly. Bertilak charged to Carmine's aid, swinging with his chain latched onto a lamppost and throwing himself towards the Higher Demon. He ploughed his mace into the Sai, snapping the jawbone and the impact alone caused the Leshen to release Carmine. She tumbled across the floor, gasping for air as water dripped from her soaked red hair. The Lord of the Wood stumbled, then it slowly turned to glare at them.
The skull was cracked extremely badly and the lower jaw was now hanging wide open. But the Lord of the Wood never retreated from a fight, and it snarled savagely at them.
Knowing that their aura was nearly broken.
Nearby, Glynda and Maria continued to clash with the Onyx Phantom. It sprinted after the Silver Eyed Warrior, moving terrifyingly fast as it darted through one of the buildings, bursting through the brickwork to her left. It slashed its replica Scythes across her body, knocking her onto the ground. Embers trailed past her face as she got back up, staring at the dark charred mimic of herself who paced back and forth. Half her face cracked and burnt with golden cinders floating away constantly.
"You are a dying breed, Silver Eyed One. How much longer can your endangered species endure, I wonder?" The Onyx Phantom snarled.
"Gods, do you ever shut up?" She yelled, throwing her Scythe at the Demon. It stepped aside, but she called it back with her Gravitationally Linked Dust Trigger, and it came flinging back towards her and the Phantom. The Onyx Phantom, though, knew her tricks. It jumped and corkscrewed through the air, narrowly avoiding the incoming weapon. She caught it but didn't wait. She bolted towards the Onyx Phantom and slid past it as it brought the Scythe down where she was, but she jumped and slashed the curved blade through the face of the demon.
It hardly even reacted as the golden burning hot ashes reconstructed the part of her face. The Onyx Phantom launched one Scythe at her but she just dodged it, but could not avoid the fist of the Demon as it punched her in the ribs. The impact blew her across the street and into one building. Before she could even get back up, she felt the boot of the Mimic press against the back of her neck.
Hearing her own voice, deformed with a demonic tone, laughing down at her was quite the disconcerting thing to experience. "How long until your feeble kind begs for us to finish you off?" The Onyx Phantom asked.
"We… won't give up…" She strained, but the Onyx Phantom leaned down and whispered into her ear.
"They all say that at first… but they have all failed one way or another. Either your will shall break first, and you will let us extinguish your insignificant lives… or we will bleed you dry and finish it ourselves." The Onyx Phantom explained.
Maria strained as she tried to get back up. Then the Onyx Phantom formed another Scythe to replace the one that it threw. "But you? You will not live to see –"
Suddenly the wall exploded and was thrown into the demon, all the pieces of rubble directly launched into the Higher Demon. It tumbled outside and stared up, changing its form into that of Glynda Goodwitch. She walked towards him and gritted her teeth with hate, levitating a truck with the Disciplinarian and throwing it towards the Onyx Phantom. It stood motionless, then punched both fists into the van and ripped in two. It held them like they weighed nothing at all, then it threw them back at her.
Glynda also did not back down, fragmenting the two halves of the truck with a single pulse, and she launched them back at the Onyx Phantom. It spun around and punched its fist down into the ground, blasting all the chunks of rubble and tarmac up from the road and using the same telekinetic power, it formed a shield. But despite the cover, a shard still made it through and cut through the eye of the Demon.
It grunted, staggering back a step, but Glynda walked towards the demon, blasting bolt after bolt of energy at it. The Demon dodged the incoming blows then launched some back at her. She raised her Crop, deflecting them, but then the Phantom flew towards her, leaving a crater in the road behind it. It grabbed Glynda by the throat and smashed her against the wall.
"All those children you love so dearly will die horrible meaningless deaths soon… you can spare them this… if you just give us the Relic." The Onyx Phantom growled.
"Get… OFF!" she roared, blasting him away with the wall she was against. The Onyx Phantom tumbled across the crumbling road, glaring back at her with the Shadow Crop in its grasp.
She landed from where it held her and wiped the dust from her clothes and pushed her glasses back up. "Your desperation to manipulate us is telling… you really are afraid we'll win this time." Glynda chuckled.
The Onyx Phantom tilted its head.
"Your words… we have heard it all so many times. I look forward to the day when you realise you have been fighting for a lost cause." The Onyx Phantom hissed.
Glynda narrowed her eyes at the Demon, then she smirked. The Onyx Phantom raised a brow. "You talk too much."
"So I've been told."
Maria roared, and she launched towards the Onyx Phantom from behind, slashing straight through the Demon, cleaving it in half. The top half of the diagonally cut demon hung down, but they watched as the ashes reconstructed the damage anyway. But they could see the cracks bleeding through, if they kept up the pace they could bring the Demon down. "Not… bad… Huntresses… not bad at all." The Onyx Phantom chuckled as it reconstructed itself.
But now the two of them worked together against the Higher Demon, Glynda shot multiple arcs of energy at the Onyx Phantom. It deflected incoming projectiles with its own Crop, then immediately shifted into Maria's form, deflecting her Scythes, avoiding and parrying each strike she made. It kicked Maria in the leg, knocking her down to the ground, but as Maria dropped, Glynda swiftly threw a car towards the Higher Demon with the telekinetic power of the Disciplinarian. The Demon cut clean through the car with the Scythe, then it threw the Scythe directly at Glynda.
It spun horizontally and hooked onto her neck, pinning her against the wall. She pushed as hard as she could against the Scythe to free herself. The Onyx Phantom stamped down onto the ground, where Maria's head was only missing when she rolled aside. The Phantom swiftly slashed at her with the other Scythe, but she locked her blade against its own. Maria turned to Glynda and threw hers close to Maria, within reach of her. Glynda quickly reached out and held on tight, then Maria activated the Gravitational Link.
This yanked Glynda free and straight through the Spectral Blade that pinned her there. It damaged her aura, but she could return the damage in one hard punch. She smashed her fist into the side of the Onyx Phantom's face, blowing it across the floor. As it flipped back onto its feet, she threw the Scythe and it dug directly into its chest. Maria clicked the trigger and pulled it back, ripping a hole into the Higher Demon.
But it continued to stand its ground, glaring back at them with an inhuman growl.
"How much longer can this bastard keep this up?" Maria panted.
"They don't feel pain and don't fear death. They'll keep fighting until their bodies are destroyed. And even then… they'll eventually come right back, anyway." Glynda answered.
"How the hell do we kill them, then?" Maria asked.
"We figure out their weakness in the Embered Grove, just like Umbra's. Our answers must be in there…"
The Onyx Phantom's body twitched and cracked, turning to glare at them with a devilish grin.
Ozpin stood his ground as the Whisperer floated above him, still taking the form of Salem. It held out its arms, and the shards of glass pulsed around it. "We will consume every shred of suffering from this world, and when there is nothing left, you will be nothing more than a forgotten memory." The Whisperer growled, before launching the shards of glass towards him.
Ozpin spun his Sceptre through his fingers, breaking all the shards before they could even reach him. He gritted his teeth and cracked his neck. Green energy glowed from his eyes and the armour plating shifted. The clockwork spun and suddenly a pair of giant mechanical Archangel Wings erupted from his back. They were formed from metal and clockwork, like the rest of his armour.
But they were his old Knight Wings.
"Well, well… the Knight of Vengeance lives on!" The Whisperer laughed.
"I am your Knight no longer." Ozpin growled. He swung his wings so hard that the floor exploded. The Headmaster of Beacon flew towards the Whisperer, firing a beam of green energy from the Whisperer. The Higher Demon raised Salem's Spartan Shield, refracting his beam across the district, cutting clean through buildings and killing some stray Grimm in the process.
Ozpin darted forward, ramming his spear through the chest of the Whisperer, and then punching it in the face. The Whisperer suddenly exploded, launching shards of glass outwards, blowing Ozpin away. The shards returned together into the Fractured Shape of Salem. The Whisperer immediately grabbed the Sceptre and tried to escape with the Relic, only for Ozpin to throw himself into the Demon's flank. They both crashed into the side of a building together.
The Sceptre bounced away from the Whisperer, but Ozpin caught it with his boot. It dangled there, swaying back and forth on the tip of his foot, then the Whisperer grabbed him by the throat. It snarled with Salem's face standing back up. Ozpin kicked the Sceptre up in the air and caught it with his free hand. With a furious roar, he rammed the blade directly into the face of the Whisperer, pinning it against the ground. He pushed as hard as he could to destroy the Demon.
The Whisperer unleashed a haunting roar of fury, a collection of so many screams combined into one erupted. Cracks formed in some shards as he charged up the laser. The Whisperer kicked him in the chest with both feet, knocking Ozpin away. He swung his mechanical wings to keep himself in the air, and he immediately cast a spell, forming three magical signs of him, and then he fired. Similar beams of green energy all blasted from the Glyphs and they all impacted with the chest of the Whisperer. The beams burned straight through and out the other side.
The Whisperer shot out from the flames and punched Ozpin in the face. The two grappled onto each other, punching each other in the face so hard that shock waves were created. The Whisperer tossed Ozpin down towards the ground. Dust and rubble were flung everywhere by the impact. Then the Whisperer landed down on his chest. It pushed Salem's leg down on Ozpin's throat.
"Relinquish the Relic of Knowledge." The Whisperer commanded. "We will not ask you again."
"Good!" Ozpin yelled back. Opening a magic portal beneath him, he fell through and closed it behind him. The short range teleportation had him drop from above and skewer the Sceptre straight through its spine. The Whisperer rotated around in its own body, now facing Ozpin and punching him in the chest.
It launched its Spear towards him, but the Professor batted it aside with his wing. The Whisperer shot forward, slashing its newly formed blades at him over and over. Ozpin ducked and dodged the incoming swings, slashing the sharp feathers of his wings across the Demon's face, and then he jumped up and kicked both feet into its chest. The Whisperer bent backwards nearly all the way, but unnaturally rose upwards, snarling at him.
Ozpin froze time and sprinted towards the Whisperer, only for it to break through the frozen moment in time, staring at him amongst the floating shards of time around them. "Your tricks are wearing thin, Professor." The Whisperer warned.
Ozpin cracked his neck and collapsed the Sceptre down into Cane Form. He flew forward and smashed through the leg of the Whisperer, bringing it down to one knee. He swung down into the side of its head as well, but the Whisperer quickly blasted a powerful bolt of red lightning from its hand. The impact launched Ozpin across the frozen moment in time. He looked up and saw the building above was exploding and falling towards the Whisperer's current position, so he resumed time, allowing the building to crash down on top of the Demon.
But that seemed to have no real impact on the entity at all, as it just punched through the crumbling brickwork effortlessly. The Whisperer levitated hundreds of chunks of rubble and launched them all towards Ozpin. The Professor moved so fast he was like a blur, dodging every projectile, before bolting forward. He jabbed at incredible speeds at the Demon, relentlessly damaging the entity with his constant hard and fast strikes.
He then jumped up and channelled more magical energy from the Relic and into the tip of the cane, slamming it down against the ground. Spikes of green energy erupted from the ground, skewering the leg of the Whisperer. It snarled with frustration and broke free.
He backed up, but then the Whisperer stopped and turned.
"Back off!" Cordovin roared, and Ozpin gasped to see the damaged but still fighting Colossus now where they were. She fired a powerful beam of electrical dust into the surprised Whisperer. The impact blew the Demon away, sending it flying back and out of harm's way. "Danger close!" She yelled at the others. The Lord of the Wood and the Onyx Phantom stared at the huge War Machine as it fired on them.
The Lord of the Wood retreated into a flock of Corvid Birds whilst the Onyx Phantom bolted. "Yeah, you better run!" Cordovin yelled.
Ozpin's eyes widened.
"Why the hell did they retreat? They wouldn't retreat… not even against the Colossus… the hell have they got prepared for us?" Ozpin knew those Demons all too well.
And he was right.
They never retreated. They didn't fear destruction or feel pain at all. They feared nothing like that… so why would they retreat?
Only reason they'd retreat… would be if they had a trick up their sleeve.
Ozpin snapped out of his mind when he heard Cordovin. "Oz! C'mon!" Cordovin yelled, firing at the next wave of Grimm headed their way.
"Everyone! Aboard the Colossus!" He yelled. Everyone followed him and they clambered aboard the hull, holding onto the slash marks or anything else they could grab. "We need to get you up to speed… these people need saving… and I need your help to do it." Cordovin explained.
But Ozpin's mind was still focusing on the Higher Demons.
He could see them watching them leave.
What are you planning?
Unaware of the Leviathan-Class Entities approaching the city from the sea…
Battle of Mantle
Things were getting worse down in Mantle.
The Oncoming Shadow's endless assault continued to force the defending soldiers back, and the Colossi continued to battle against the Krastax Titans. Juggernauts and Paladins fired everything they had at the Grimm, shredding through their numbers with their machine guns and artillery cannons. But even they were not enough. Hellfire Tanks fired shot after shot, nailing Megoliaths in the skull and ending them. But one by one, soldiers continue to fall to the beasts.
Sun sprinted ahead with Oscar beside him, and the Monkey Faunus roared with fury as he struck across the jaw of a Thrall, breaking the bony jawbone off its face with very little effort. His teeth were constantly gritted as he fought repeatedly, punching Grimm in the face and snapping the arm of a Beowulf in the process. Sun rolled aside as a Spiker launched multiple quills towards him. When it fired them from its tail once again, roaring from its split jaw, he spiralled Ruyi Jingu Bang through his fingers, breaking all the quills. Sun rushed forward and smashed the Bo-Staff across its skull, breaking off plates of white armour, before kicking it onto its back.
The staff disconnected into its Gunchucks and he filled its gut with led, roaring with hatred. "FUCKING DIE!" He howled. In his outburst of hate, he hadn't even acknowledged the Sabyr that was jumping towards him from his left. Oscar shot into the side of the Big Cat, ramming the blade of his sword through the ribs and sending it tumbling across the floor. Black blood and smoke covered the floor. Oscar looked back at Sun, who was on a warpath.
He's losing it…
Oscar snapped back to reality, raising his sword and stopping the blade of a Knights' Bannerman. The skull with glowing red eyes glared down at him. It snarled in its dead language, forcing him down to one knee. Oscar dashed to the side, using his semblance to his advantage, leaving a trail of glass-like matter behind him after using the power. He then jumped and drove the sword down the spine of the soldier. The Spectral Knight howled as it collapsed into itself just as Oscar ripped the sword free.
He rushed through the crowd of soldiers, all of which were bravely fighting off the Grimm together, but every now and then Oscar tripped on a cadaver or two. As he ran ahead, he saw Team C.F.V.Y fighting together, with Coco unleashing endless gunfire from Gianduja and providing the occasional support from her Winter Maiden Powers. Yatsuhashi covered her from the back, slashing Grimm after Grimm with Fulcrum, and Fox was slashing them apart with Sharp Retribution. Velvet cut her Hardlight Replicant of Crescent Rose through four thralls in one swing before switching to Cardin's Executioner Mace, burying it down the skull of a Beringel trying to get up to her, splattering black blood against her chest.
Flying overhead were Cinder and Penny, both laying down support with their abilities. Penny carved through the never-ending swarm of Grimm with her lasers, whilst also slashing Floating Array through the wing of a Griffin that went for the kill. The beast crashed down into the side of a Megoliath, and Cinder covered her back with powerful bolts of lightning and beams of fire.
Cinder drew her Obsidian Bow and fired three arrows into the body of a screeching Nevermore, blowing the monster apart. She gasped, eyes widening and holding onto Penny's hand. "Look out!" She yelled, just as a massive Sphinx snapped its jaws at where they just were. The Sphinx splayed its long wings out as it banked across the sky, but the two flying Huntresses turned and launched back towards the monster. Penny dove, firing a pair of beams of green energy into its chest, slicing through the thick muscle. It screeched in anger and pain, then the long white serpentine tail slithered towards Penny, biting at her relentlessly. Cinder broke the sound barrier as she rocketed towards the Monster, and she froze the wing solid with ice, before smashing straight through the limb with her Obsidian Swords, roaring with fury.
The Sphinx cried out as it plummeted, still using its tail to fight Penny, but she spun Floating Array around and cut through its neck like it was a Circular Saw Blade, before blasting up into the air and diving blades first into the beast, smashing it into the floor. Penny quickly flew back up to join Cinder, whilst Kassius and others fought against the Grimm right next to where that Sphinx crash landed.
He launched Lash Equinox into the chest of a Thrall, killing it instantly before punching a Beowulf in the skull so hard that the bony armour fragmented. He rolled forward and pulled his sword from the disintegrating Thrall, connecting the two swords together and into a double-ended spear, driving it through the chest of an Alpha Beowulf, and then spinning around with Vulcan Nox, firing it on full auto at the Grimm, shredding them. Nearby, Emerald and Neo covered him, cutting through the Grimm that were nearby.
Neo jumped overhead and fired Hush's gun down at the Ursa Major that jumped at her, blowing a hole in its armour. The Dire Bear snarled, swinging around and slashing its claws at her. She effortlessly stepped aside and ducked under its blows, before stabbing it through the throat and flipping away from its corpse as it came toppling down. Emerald, on the other hand, extended the chains of Silent Judgement, and she slashed through an entire pack of Beowulves and Sabyrs in a couple swings, before headshotting a Thrall behind her.
Just ahead of them, Junior battled against the Grimm with the Malachite Twins as well. The two of them sprinted and slashed their blades through them. Militia sprinted towards them, dropping down and slashing through the kneecap of an Ursa, and as it came crashing down, Melanie jumped and flipped backwards, cutting the skull clean in half with her heel. Junior spun around and fired a missile from his Bazooka into the charging Therapod's mouth, killing the dinosaur instantaneously.
The Drift of Wandering Star and entire Fleet of both Atlesian and Acolytes of Lien Dreadnaughts were firing everything they had, but the Grimm were polluting the skies with that blood red layer of stormy cloud. And the Tempests themselves were not a force to be reckoned with either.
Jaune looked around after decimating a large group of Grimm with his Semblance. "We need to retreat! Phase 2 of the defence! I REPEAT! PHASE 2! Use the walls!" Jaune ordered into all channels. Nora blasted more Grimm with Magnhild to hold them back.
"Copy that!" Mazen replied through the comms, cutting through the Grimm nearby. "ALL FORCES! FALL BACK TO THE WALL!"
All the soldiers made their retreat, still firing back at the Grimm, whilst a legion of Atlesian Knights made their approach through the battlefield. Once they got in front of their soldiers, despite a few not making it and being fed on by the Grimm, they raised their arms, forming a strong but temporary Hardlight Shield Phalanx to hold the Grimm back. The Colossi continued to fight against the Krastax together, though.
Units 4 and 7 battled against the massive Cephalopod together, and 4 punched the enormous beast across the side of its head, whilst 7 jumped up and stabbed her powerful Mining Drill into the shoulder of the beast. The Krastax bellowed with agony as it reached back for her, wrapping its long tendril around the arm of the Colossus. She strained as the Krastax glared at her and it bit into the armour with its huge mandibles, digging into the armour plating. Unit Seven groaned as she held the beast back, despite it ripping chunks from the plating of her cockpit.
Unit 4 fired his cannon into the spine of the Cephalopod, turning its attention away, but the beast launched its tendril and wrapped it around the arm of the Colossus. It sprinted towards him and smashed him down against the ground. It stomped onto the cockpit. The armour was weakening each time. Unit 7 roared as she ran into it again, but this time she rammed her drill through the back of the beast and straight through the chest this time.
It unleashed a deafening roar of furious pain. It dropped to one knee but 4 delivered the final blow by thrusting his drill upwards and skewering the skull, ripping it clean off, spine dangling from its head. The corpse collapsed with a heavy crash, killing the first of the titans. A massive plume of black smoke rose from the crumbling corpse, but they turned and the pilots gasped.
They watched as the Shark Krastax dodged the incoming shocks with terrifying speed, and it smashed Unit 2 aside, then went straight for Unit 9. It tackled the Colossus and the thick ice broke beneath them. They both fell into the Glacier beneath, and Unit 9 desperately tried to activate the thrusters. The Shark was now in its element. It swam at even more frightening speeds than on land and slashed through the legs so hard the feet were gone. Leaving the Colossus to sink.
The last thing they ever heard of Unit 9 was her terrified screams as she and the Colossus sank into the dark depths of the frozen sea. The Shark Krastax burst from the ice once again, roaring at Unit 2, who stared at the beast with hatred.
The Eel Krastax also proved to be more than even three Colossi could handle together. It was terrifyingly fast and its acid spit was too dangerous. It blasted the acid onto the hull of Unit 5, melting the armour slowly. But the Colossus was still moving, firing at the Eel. A projectile of fire exploded into the beast's shoulder, causing it to recoil away. But it suddenly sprinted on all fours at a speed that should have been impossible for such a massive creature, and it rammed its long claws into the gut of the suit. It then ripped them out and stabbed into the arms, specifically into the joints, and it twisted all six bladed claws. The action severed the arms from the Colossus, and then the beast head-butted the Colossus down to its knees.
But it slid aside as Unit 1 fired a beam of energy at it to try to save Unit 5, only for it to immediately jump behind the suit and bury the claws down into the cockpit. As it pried the metal open, the Krastax's carapace skull opened, revealing the huge eel inside that slithered out and slammed down into the cockpit, devouring the screaming pilot. Sparks and flames erupted from the destroyed Colossus.
Two down.
Only five left now.
Kassius stared at the Colossi. He knew that even with 5 left, those two Krastax could still win with their respective strategies. They're too fast. Then… another insane idea popped into his mind as he stared at the Eel.
"Hyde… you think you can control that thing now?" Kassius asked.
"You mean… that Krastax? I… I don't know."
"You controlled a Leviathan. It's only a little taller." Kassius encouraged.
"It's not just that, we could surprise the Leviathan. That Krastax will be harder and there is a huge army of Grimm in the way." Hyde explained.
"I got an idea for that." Kassius assured. He then contacted Jaune. "Jaune! Order the Colossi to retreat with you so they can hold the walls. The Krastax are tearing them apart!" Jaune ordered.
"But the Krastax will attack us!" Jaune replied.
"Don't worry, I have a plan to sort that one out!" Kassius promised. "Trust me."
Jaune sighed. "Alright… ALL COLOSSI LISTEN UP! RETREAT TO THE WALLS AND HOLD THEM WITH US! WE HAVE A PLAN TO TAKE DOWN THE KRASTAX!" Jaune ordered.
The Colossi pilots looked at each other and sighed. "Copy that! Retreating! Drift of Wandering Star, we need cover fire on the Krastax!"
"Understood. All cannons fire on those Kaiju!" Ortega commanded. Soon came the whistling howls of incoming shells, fired from the broadside cannons of the Drift of Wandering Star.
Kassius turned to Neo and Emerald. "Go…" He told them. Emerald nodded, and they both ran with their forces. "Cinder? I'm gonna need your help here, sis. I need you to fly me onto that Eel Krastax."
"Fly you – WHAT?"
"Just trust me! Hyde can control it. We can use it the same way we used the Leviathan back at the Sanctum!" Kassius promised.
"Gods, what is it with you and insane plans?" Cinder sighed. He saw her look for him, then she flew directly at him.
"Guess it runs in the family." He sprinted and jumped up, reaching his hand up as a large pack of Grimm just lunged for him. Cinder caught onto his hand and he held on tight as she flew towards the monster.
As Cinder flew him to hijack the titan, Jaune stood with his forces at the wall, watching the Atlesian Knights holding the Oncoming Shadow back just long enough for them to make an effective retreat. In this area, they had trenches and more defensive positions to fire from. Pyrrha stood beside him and nodded, wiping the sweat from her brow.
"We're doing well so far…" Jaune panted, then he raised his scroll and contacted Robyn. "Robyn, how's the Evacuation coming? We're retreating to the second phase. And we're down half our Colossi."
"Half? By the gods…" she stammered, but she quickly snapped back. "We've nearly got everyone out of Mantle, but the city is still under attack from above. The Air Force and the Cannons are holding them off, but soon this place is gonna be rubble." Robyn warned.
"I know. We just have to hold them off a little longer." Jaune assured.
"Sir! They're sending something else in!" A White Fang Soldier called from above, using his sniper. Mazen looked up at him.
"What's Umbra throwing at us next?"
The soldier stammered and lowered the scope of his rifle. "The Knights of Grimm…"
"Fuck…" Hazel growled, and he grabbed one of his blood vials and drank it, activating his semblance, snarling savagely as he stared ahead at the Grimm.
They saw the Nevermore, the Burning Wyvern and the Undead Bat approach, and they could assume Loss was in there in her much smaller but stealthier Mourning Dove Form. Death swung his Nevermore Wings, launching a storm of Fatal Feathers into their line of Atlesian Knights, breaking their Phalanx, which Fury and Fear helped weaken further. Fury blasted a column of fire from above into the Knights whilst Fear just dive-bombed them, crushing them under his colossal form. The Bat shifted violently into his Knight Form, and he grinned sadistically, eyes glowing bright gold at the army as the Oncoming Shadow swarmed over the Riot Knights, smashing them to pieces.
"HOLD THE LINE!" Jaune roared, raising his shield as Death and Fury flew towards them. As the Grimm approached, the solders grabbed the levers built into the trenches.
"Now!" Mazen commanded, and they yanked the levers together. Massive spikes erupted from the snow, impaling multiple Grimm on them and slowing them down even further. They had Guerilla Styled Traps too, false snowy ground covered with a sheet, causing Grimm to fall into spike traps as well.
The Knights landed and drew their weapons, vanishing into the horde.
But then… a deafening explosion shocked everyone.
Because it came from above.
Ozpin
The Colossus arrived, and Cordovin quickly climbed down, and they all saw why they were still standing. The main military base had a Shield Dome of its own, but it was not enough to protect the entire city of Argus.
But despite that, they still saved a lot of citizens from the city when the Oncoming Shadow arrived, and still had a large military force left over. The Colossus was definitely their biggest win, since, unlike Atlas, the force that hit Argus was a lot smaller in comparison. "As you can see, things are bad." Cordovin admitted.
"The city hasn't fallen yet. That's better than Vale and Queen's Cove." Ozpin stated.
Cordovin looked back at him. "Shit… I thought Vale would have lasted longer."
"They hit us directly, didn't stand a chance. And Queen's Cove just didn't have the defences needed, or Atlesian Tech." Glynda explained, Cordovin nodded her head in agreement.
"We've managed to save a couple thousand people from the city… a city which had hundreds of thousands… and we can only save a couple…" She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"It's something, Cordovin." Ozpin assured.
"Yes… yes, I suppose it is. But we can't make our escape, the Grimm are keeping us trapped in here. It was a colossal risk of me to save your asses from the Higher Demons, y'know?" Cordovin pointed out.
"Well, we appreciate it." Maria shrugged.
Cordovin stood there with her soldiers, who were no longer acting like pompous Atlesians anymore. Everyone was scared and on the same page now. "We need to get these people out of here like we planned. You need to head for Dragonspire Keep. It's the closest thing there is to safe right now. And we will need your help to defend the Relics there for transport if Umbra locates them." Ozpin explained.
"Yes… but the issue we have is all of that city right now. It's filled with Grimm and they just keep coming." Cordovin explained.
"Lots of people will die…" Carmine commented.
"And everyone will die if they stay here. The shield dome won't hold forever." Ozpin explained. He contemplated his ideas, then he heard a soldier behind him.
"Ma'am! We have multiple Leviathan-Class signatures detected! Three of them are unknown variants." The soldier informed.
"Unknown variants?" She asked.
"Are they bipedal? Massive and shaped like people?" He asked.
"Kinda, yeah…" The soldier shrugged.
"Shit… Krastax. They will level this place. You have to leave." Ozpin commanded.
"Did you not hear me? We won't make it with what's out there." She stated.
"I heard you… Glynda. I want you to go with them. Make sure they reach Dragonspire Reach…" Ozpin explained.
"What about the rest of you?" Glynda asked with concern, and Ozpin stared at Mihi Vindicta.
"I know a spell… I have never used it but I can use the Relic to teach me… it will release a massive explosion of magical energy that will wipe out anything in the radius… but Argus will be destroyed. I can create a small bubble of protective magic to protect Maria, Carmine and Bertilak… but the entire city will be wiped out. And it will not discriminate. You have to go." Ozpin explained.
"Even if you can do that, they will still come for us." Cordovin stated.
He raised the cane and stared at the Relic. "Not when I activate the Relic… all eyes… will be on me."
Glynda walked towards Ozpin and stared at the Headmaster with worry in her eyes. "You better make it back."
He smirked.
"No promises."
"Heh… of course you'd say that." She sighed.
"Get everyone ready. Fire off a flare once everyone is out of range, once everyone is past that tower on the outskirts of the city. Once I see that flare, I'll use the spell." Ozpin commanded, and Cordovin sighed.
"Alright. You heard the man. Everyone get ready, we're gonna have to be fast here. We need to evacuate our asses out of the city unless you wanna become a pile of ash." Cordovin ordered. The soldiers got moving and there was some panic from the civilians rescued, but they had a plan.
He turned to Maria, Carmine and Bertilak.
"Be honest with us… what are our chances?" Carmine asked.
"Slim… but don't worry about the spell. I will protect you from it." He assured, and they nodded their heads.
They trusted him.
He turned back to Glynda, and he affectionately wrapped his arms around her in a warm hug. "Be safe." He said to her.
"You too, old man."
Ozpin chuckled at that, and he walked out of the shield bubble as it came offline. Maria, Carmine and Bertilak bravely stood with him as he held the cane before him.
The pommel opened and the glowing stone levitated out of it.
A haunting howl of Grimm echoed across Argus, and he stared ahead at the city.
"Come and get me."
Ruby
Ruby's eye widened at the Hound, blood still dripping from its teeth as it stood tall.
"What the hell is that?" Yang gasped.
"I've never seen a Grimm like that before…" Blake agreed. The Hound glared down at them with a savage snarl. The Hound howled to the sky littered with lightning and Grimm, then it jumped off the roof and landed before the team of legendary Huntresses. It stood amongst the flames and the corpses of Jacques' defences, glaring Team R.W.B.Y down. Blood oozed from its teeth, then it licked it away whilst growling.
The Hound suddenly lunged towards Ruby. She gasped as the beast knocked her to the floor and pinned her. She strained as she tried to get free, letting the still warm blood trickle from its teeth and onto her cheek. Ruby growled, then her eye shone bright white, and that caused the Hound to release her. It covered its face and could not avoid Yang punching it in the side of the head.
The Hound tumbled across the garden, but as Yang shot forward and went to punch the monster; it grabbed her by the face and threw her into the base of the Schnee Monument in the centre. Blake sprinted at the Hound, slashing Gambol Shroud and her sheathe repeatedly at it, spinning through the air as she landed hit after hit. The Hound raised its arms to block her incoming blows, but then its arm rippled and extended. The Hound smacked her so hard she went flying a few yards.
The Hound growled, staring down at its hands as the black tar that constructed the walking nightmare shifted. It formed into a pair of axe blades, hardening with bone plates around them. It turned to Weiss, and it jumped at her, slashing the two blades hard and fast at her. She dodged the first but could not avoid the second as it smashed her into the wall. The Hound slashed its blade towards her neck as she moaned in pain. She ducked down and sliced through that arm, cutting the axe clean off.
The Hound roared with pain from the injury, but it quickly recovered, regenerating the stump back into its hand. It punched Weiss through the wall, causing it to explode and crumble behind her. She tumbled into the hallway of her old home, dust spreading across the delicate blue and marble floor. She groaned in pain, holding her stomach as she looked around.
The Hound was about to climb in after her, but Ruby hooked Crescent Rose under its chin and she fired backwards. It didn't cut the Hound's neck off its shoulders, but it pulled the monster away from her. The Hound tumbled but dragged the axe it formed in its other hand into the cobblestone. It swinged around just as Ruby twirled around and went for the killing blow. It caught her Scythe with the axe, then its jaws opened wide and it snapped at her face.
Ruby yelped, pulling away from the monster as it viciously slashed at her. It then grabbed her by the cape and smashed her face into the floor as hard as it could. Ruby reached to draw her knife from her boot and yanked it out, stabbing the creature in the throat. Ruby looked at it, her silver eye widening. It stared at her and grabbed the knife, yanking it out without even reacting from the injury. It suddenly threw the knife towards her, blade first. Ruby dashed aside in a burst of rose petals, only narrowly dodging the blade as it dug into the monument behind her.
The Hound roared savagely, throwing its arms back as it sprinted towards Ruby. It swung the axe at her, but Ruby cut the axe clean off, then went for the legs. She cut them off as well, and the Hound howled in agony once again, but suddenly, the black tar spewed out horrific spider legs, allowing it to scuttle along the floor on its back, snapping its arms backwards to crawl towards her. They could hear a woman screaming in agony inside of the creature's howl, then the body twisted and snapped again, the arms breaking multiple times to rotate around, so it was now on its front, and the Hound grabbed Ruby by the throat, opening its jaws to devour her.
Yang launched Blake at the Hound and she kicked it in the side of its head. The Hound rolled off Ruby, then they watched as the spider legs snapped together to reconstruct the original legs it had. All the while hearing a female voice shrieking in pain inside of its roar. Blake aimed her pistol at the creature, loading ice rounds into the barrel with Weiss jumping out from the halls of her home, firing her glyphs at it.
The Hound recoiled slightly from the incoming bullets, but it raised its arm and formed a shield of bony white armour, blocking their incoming projectiles. Weiss shot forward and went for the stab, but it batted her aside and then it jumped at Blake, stamping down on her chest. Suddenly it shrieked a howl out once more, as the back rippled and massive red wings burst from its spine. It grabbed onto Blake with its feet and it flew high in the air, before diving back towards the ground, pummelling her against the floor.
Blake groaned in pain, her aura flashing purple, now past the amber again. The Hound grabbed her by the head and immediately went to bite her face. Yang suddenly grabbed onto the roof of its mouth after jumping overhead and dragged it backwards. The Hound roared with fury as it reached back for her, then a loud nauseating crunch erupted as the neck bent all the way back. It stumbled, then the neck snapped back upright, and it turned, staring at Yang.
Then it did a double take, just as it was about to go for Ruby again.
It stared… directly at Yang.
Yang kept her fists raised and teeth fiercely gritted. Then… it spoke…
"Yang…"
It made her blood run cold, and her lilac eyes widened with disbelief. All of them stared in horror at hearing a Grimm speak.
"It's the one Kassius mentioned! The one that tried to take Oscar!" Ruby yelled.
The Knights of Grimm and the Demons were one thing… but this was a Grimm…
The Hound snarled, and it suddenly formed a long blade from one arm and it launched towards Yang in particular. It slashed at her, but Yang ducked down, rolling past it. The Hound bellowed with a sudden fury as it sprinted at her, slashing its long blade at her repeatedly. Yang blocked the incoming slashes as fast as she could, but it still nicked her twice.
Ruby launched herself into the side of the creature, hooking onto its foot again, tripping it over, which gave Yang the chance to smash its face down into the floor so hard it broke the pave stones apart. It rolled aside and swung its wings, brandishing that long and strangely familiar blade. It flew towards them and slashed across Ruby, making her aura flicker. Blake rolled away and continued to shoot up at the Hound as it banked across the sky. It descended and stabbed down at Yang once again.
Weiss thrusted into its back, repeatedly stabbing it with her pointed blade, before sliding past its legs, cutting into the back of its heels. It fell forward but suddenly ran on all fours towards Weiss, biting down on her leg and tossing her aside. As black tar filled the wounds, it stood upright once more, slashing across Blake's shadow, and she swung forward, kicking it in the face.
Yang gritted her teeth with anger and she smashed her fists together, eyes glowing red and hair igniting. She roared and charged the Hound as it charged towards her, and she punched it across the face so hard that bone fragments broke away. She punched it again and again, knocking it back with every step. It tried to fly away but Yang grabbed it by the wings and stomped down on its back, ripping the wings from its back. The Hound roared in immense pain as the wings bled.
The Hound swiftly got back up and continued to slash at Yang, but she punched it again before finally grabbing a hold of it. She held onto its jaw and the shoulder. Yang bellowed with all her might, tearing the body apart, ripping the black flesh open.
Revealing Raven Branwen inside.
The red vanished from Yang's eyes, and she nearly collapsed from the shock. "Yaaaaang!" Raven shrieked in immense pain, her skin was as pale as ice, and her eyes had clouded over with scarring covering her naked body, only her neck and shoulder were visible, the rest was smothered with the Black Tar.
Yang's eyes widened when she remembered…
… Raven fell into the Tar Pit back in the Sanctum when she and Qrow killed her to save Ruby…
… this…
… this is what Umbra did to her?
"M-Mom?" Yang whimpered in terror of what had happened to her mother. But as soon as she saw what was within, the Hound regenerated, the black tar smothering back over Raven's body, and the face of the Hound reconstructed, immediately roaring at her.
Yang was shellshocked, staring at the monster her mother had been forcefully turned into…
The Hound glared at her, then it suddenly lunged for her, only for it to turn and see the Arma Gigas punching it in the face so hard that it tumbled down into the road. It weakly got back up and growled… but then it stopped, its misshapen ears perked up, and it turned its head, sniffing at the air.
It snarled, then the wings sprouted out once more, and it flew off.
To their disbelief.
Yang still couldn't even move. She felt sick to her stomach at what she just saw. "M-Mom…" Ruby and Blake both rushed to Yang, checking on her.
"Are you okay?" Blake asked her. Ruby looked back at where the Hound just was.
"She's… still alive?" Weiss gasped.
"I… don't think so… you saw her… whatever she is now, it's not her. Umbra's turned her into a monster." Blake explained, then she held Yang's face and made her look at her. "Hey… it's alright."
"Y-Yeah…" Yang stammered, hugging her knees. "Gods…" She buried her head down, unable to comprehend what she just saw.
But Weiss turned to Ruby, noticing she was still staring at where the Hound just was. Weiss crouched beside her, gently caressing her shoulder. "What is it?" Weiss asked her.
"Before it left… I saw it look away, like something just called it… why did it flee? It could have killed us… it left just like it did when it fought Team K.O.P.S." Ruby explained. Blake's ears perked up as well, and she turned her head with a gasp.
Suddenly, a blinding light and deafening bang erupted, causing them all to cover their ears and shield their eyes. "GODS! THE HELL WAS THAT?" Weiss yelled, and as the light faded… they found their answer.
Massive explosions had just been detonated around the entire floating city, at the bases of every… single… Shield Pylon. They watched as the one closest to them crumbled and collapsed, plummeting off the edge of Atlas and crashing down into Mantle and the Tundra below.
And the second they were destroyed… the entire Shield Dome faded away.
"Holy shit… holy shit… HOLY SHIT!" Yang screamed with horror as she stood back up.
"CLOVER? ARE YOU SEEING THIS?" Ruby yelled. "THE ENTIRE SHIELD DOME HAS JUST BEEN DESTROYED!"
And now… nothing was stopping the Grimm invasion into Atlas. They watched as the fleet of Monstra Whales all deeply grumbled and made their approach.
"W-What do we do?" Blake stammered. Weiss turned to the Manor, and she furrowed her brow, glaring at her father's office.
"Go." Weiss answered.
"What?" Ruby asked.
"Get to Atlas Academy. I'll deal with my father. But you need to get there and get the Relic. It's our only chance. We're out of time!" Weiss ordered.
Ruby looked around, and she watched as the Grimm swarmed into the City of Atlas, hearing the screams of terror echoing everywhere.
Ruby closed her silver eye… and she exhaled.
"Okay… but you get back to us as soon as you can." Ruby begged her, and Weiss nodded her head.
Ruby, Blake and Yang ran as fast as they could to get to the Academy. Weiss stared at her home and gripped Myrtenaster tight.
"It's time to end this game, Father."
Vir Nominis Umbra
The massive Grimm Whales all made their descent around the city, crashing down on the farmlands and even on top of towns. As they laid there, they opened their cavernous jaws, vomiting out entire lakes of Black Tar, spawning thousands of Grimm on the ground. Apathy shrieked as they lumbered with the Oncoming Shadow towards the main city and Atlas Academy. Screams echoed everywhere as the Grimm immediately laid siege to the city.
And down below, Vir Nominis Umbra watched as the burning remnants of the Shield Pylons came crashing down into Mantle and the Tundra below.
He held his hands together, and he smirked sinisterly, eyes glowing red.
And black smoke formed around him, and so did black and red lightning.
And he stepped forward…
… Vir Nominis Umbra was making his move.
Author Note - Atlas is done for, they don't stand a chance... especially now that Vir Nominis Umbra is making his move
So... I bet some people are glad they were right with their predictions lol. Raven is the Hound! Been sitting on that idea for ages now, originally she was just gonna be bad and be in this but when V8 came along and introduced the Hound? I was immediately down on having her become the Hound here. It was just too perfect and I love it. Plus the Hound is just... amazing in the show XD
Ozpin's plan is pretty crazy too, getting the entire Oncoming Shadow in Argus to focus on him and the Relic to help the people get away. In other words, Oz, Maria, Carmine and Bertilak are in for one hell of a fight soon. Especially with the other 3 Krastax headed their way. And of course we have Kassius' crazy plan to possess the Eel Krastax. Always gotta love Kassius for coming up with insane but awesome plans to get the upper hand in a fight XD
I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review, follow and favourite!
Stay tuned for the next chapter - Death of a Dynasty
- Matt