RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late and great Monty Oum.
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RWBY: Destiny of Remnant
Chapter 24: Last Stand
Not too far away from Ashe's position Saul Jude sat in the back of Gerard's car next to the lieutenant while Gerard and the driver sat in the front, speeding along the unusually empty highway, with only a few cars going this way and that.
Gerard sighed as he began to consider just how many of his crew were now dead because he had agreed to go along with this, the money was just too damn good to pass up but now he wished he had just told Ante to take his offer and choke on it. He only hoped what was left of the Fury Gang could hold Ashe off until they got there.
The angel statue soon came into sight and the driver said "Boss, there's the statue Miko told you about, they have to be around here somewhere."
Gerard nodded as he looked up to the buildings to try and see his crew fighting Ashe, but saw nothing. The lieutenant cocked his gun and said "Think they're okay?"
"After what that maniac Kasai did to our gang in the school I'm just hoping they're all still alive." Gerard stated as he loaded up his automatic pistol.
"I know Ashe, when he goes on a rampage he doesn't stop until he thinks he's won." Jude revealed, getting an annoyed glare from Gerard in return.
"Don't tempt me to give him what he wants." Gerard voiced with a snarl.
Jude was about to respond when a loud thud sound impacted against the car. All four of them looked to see Ashe clinging to the left side of the car, right outside the lieutenant's seat.
Before the lieutenant could act Ashe blasted through the door and riddled him with bullets, killing him. Jude transformed his arm into cannon mode and fired at the door, blasting it right off the hinges and forcing Ashe to jump up to the roof of the car.
"Shake him off!" Gerard yelled to the drive who began to wildly swerve the car left and right in an attempt to force Ashe off but it wasn't doing anything.
"Your gang's all dead Gerard! What's wrong? Not so tough when you're victim isn't a child or a civilian?!" Ashe called. He tried to shoot into the car, but it went faster and faster, making him hold on tighter as he just barely dodged the blasts coming from Gerard and Jude inside of the car.
The driver kept accelerating until he was nearly at top speed, speeding along the highway until they were at a part of it that went over a river next to the train tracks. The drive looked in the rear-view mirror to see Ashe struggling to hold on and then with a smirk he slammed his foot on the breaks and Ashe lost his grip and went sailing over the car and landed on the road, dozens of meters in front of them.
Ashe moaned in pain as he tried to get up, he could feel his aura failing to heal the new bruises, made worse by the fact that he could tell a few of his ribs were now cracked.
Up ahead Jude smiled in satisfaction as he saw Ashe struggle to get up. Gerard looked to the driver and said "Run him over." The driver nodded and sped the car forwards, aiming for Ashe.
Ashe crawled over to the other end of the highway, which overlooked the river, but then he heard a car stopping so he looked up to see that a car stopped near him and the civilian driver got out. "Hey man, are you okay?" he asked.
"Not really." Ashe said as he stood up and saw the car rushing towards him. "Word of warning, sir, you might want to get clear." He finished as he took out the shotgun and aimed it at the charging car. He could hear the quick footsteps as the man got out of the way and he took aim for the speeding car. "Come on..." Ashe beckoned as he fired a round off.
The blast hit the front of the car and managed to tear through the front and make a small impact on the engine. "Slow down, we're giving him an open shot at us!" Jude pointed out.
"Shut up! We're turning this son of a bitch into road kill!" Gerard shouted as they kept going forward, swerving a little to avoid the blasts.
Ashe fired three more times, hitting the front twice and causing the engine of the car to catch fire and the third blast hit one of the front tires, but the car kept speeding towards him. Ashe held his ground in front of the now abandoned car and grinned, they were playing right into his hands.
As the car continued speeding towards Ashe Jude could see though his enemy's plan and knew this would not end well so he opened the door. "Where do you think you're going?!" Gerard demanded.
"Not with you." Jude said before he jumped out of the car and landed roughly onto the ground, made a little softer by a roll, luckily going unnoticed by Ashe. Gerard decided to ignore Jude for now, but then another blast tore through the windshield and hit the driver right in the chest, killing him.
"No!" cried Gerard as the dead man's foot slid onto the gas pedal and the car accelerated and went faster towards Ashe. He looked ahead to see a small smile on Ashe's face before he jumped out of the way.
Gerard screamed in panic as he moved to get out of the car and then...
A loud and terrible crashing sound tore through the air, alerting all in a close proximity of what had happened as metal tore and scraped against metal as the two cars smashed into one another. If one were to listen closely busts of fire and miniature explosions erupted as glass from the windows and mirrors shattered and littered the streets. Other cars on the road stopped dead, some began to reverse or turn around while others dialed the police.
Ashe got up and sized up his handiwork, the terrible crash was a deadly one, no way any one inside could have survived. No way in hell Jude could have survived that... but you never know.
As Ashe began to approach the wreckage he heard someone rushing up from behind him. He turned around just in time to get a metal fist to the face. He fell to the ground and looked up to see Jude grinning down at him.
"Just the two of us now, Ashe!" he said as he kicked Ashe in the gut. "You think you're a hero after today? All the blood on your hands will never wash off! NEVER! You're just like me!" Jude ranted as he kept kicking Ashe over and over again.
Ashe screamed in defiance and let out a scream of "HAAKSKEEKAH!" that sent Jude flying into one of the parked cars, cracking the windshield. Jude moaned as Ashe began to approach him with a sword in one hand and a pistol in the other. "We are more alike than I'd like to admit, Jude. But the major difference between us? I regret my kills and I hate myself for every single life I take. I know that with each murder I commit, no matter how bad they were or what I tell myself I was preventing, I know that I am just another monster. I'm no hero Jude, but I'm no villain either!" Ashe said as he blasted Jude several times. As this happened Ashe didn't notice a figure climbing out of the wreckage.
Jude fell off the hood of the car and crumbled on the ground as Ashe blasted the ground a mere two inches in front of his head.
"Get up! I want you to see what's coming! This is our final battle, Jude. I will not let you get away this time!" Ashe shouted as he aimed for Jude's head.
Jude glanced up and couldn't help but smile. Behind Ashe was Gerard, burned and scarred, with shrapnel sticking out of his guts as his aura feebly tried to heal him with blood pouring from his wounds. In his hands he held a burning piece of wreckage and was moving towards Ashe. Jude smirked as he looked back down and shook his head. "Oh Ashe... you never did know when to quit. Did you?" he asked before he began laughing.
Ashe heard a footstep behind him as well an agonized grunt so he whipped around and fired his pistol into Gerard's chest.
"Ah!" Gerard cried in pain as he staggered back towards the edge. He dropped his blunt weapon and examined his newest wound before he let out a small, bitter laugh before he finally rasped out "Bullseye dude... ah fuck..." He backed up closer to the edge and went over the traffic barriers and fell into the river below, his life ending with a loud splash.
Ashe sighed and knew that he had pretty much destroyed an entire gang. Sure three of them were still alive and six or seven of them had been killed by Neo, but most of them were dead by his hand. His guilty conscience provided a good enough distraction for Jude who grabbed Ashe from behind and slammed his metal fist into Ashe's back.
"You're getting easily distracted, Ashe old boy! Not a good sign!" Jude taunted as stripped off Ashe's weapons and tossed them aside and put enough pressure on Ashe's wrists to force him to let go of the weapons he had in his hands. Despite all of Ashe's struggles he could free himself before Jude twirled him around and preformed a quick and brutal series of punches to the face and torso.
Ashe cried out in pain as spittle and blood went flying from his mouth once more before Jude transformed his arm back into cannon mode, reset it, and blasted Ashe, sending him flying down to a part of the highway that stood over the railway.
Jude stalked over to Ashe and picked him to slam him into the barriers.
"It's over Ashe! I've finally won!" Jude cheered maniacally as he smashed his fist into Ashe's eye. Ashe spat blood on Jude's face and tried to fight back, but after all the fighting he had done today he was utterly worn out. Just as Jude wanted him to be.
He struggled to breathe as Jude's hands tightened their grip on his neck. Just then Ashe heard something very familiar to him; the horn of a train. Then he remembered they were right above the railway! And with a train coming right below them...
His eyes looked up at Jude as he struggled to speak. "Do... do yo..." he choked out.
Jude lightened his grip on Ashe's neck a little and asked "What are your last words, Ashe?"
Ashe took a breath and said "Do you like trains?"
"What?" Jude questioned before Ashe used his feet to kick Jude in the gut and send him flying over the traffic barriers but due to Jude's grip on his neck he went too. Ashe quickly grabbed on to the barriers and held on for dear life as Jude lost his hold on Ashe's neck and fell down, only to grab Ashe's leg instead.
Ashe glanced back and saw the train rushing towards them and grinned. He looked down at Jude and used his free leg to kick Jude in the face. "I've had enough of this!" he yelled as he finally kicked Jude hard enough to force him to let go and Jude fell screaming to the ground only for the train to smash into him and end his cry.
Ashe weakly pulled himself over the barrier and back onto the solid pavement. He smiled as he heard the trains horn go under the bridge and he muttered "Walk away from that, you son of a bitch."
"Freeze!" yelled a voice. Ashe opened his eyes to see a motorcycle cop aiming his gun at him while some civilians watched from what they hoped would be a safe distance.
Ashe groaned and said "Look officer, I have been having a really hard time today and I'd really appreciate it you just take me to Haven Academy."
"Fat chance, I'm calling in back up to take you in for questioning, you murdering piece of garbage." The cop spat as he reached for his radio.
Just then a voice from the other side of the highway screamed "ASHE!"
Ashe's eyes widened as Jude appeared over the barriers of the opposite end of the road, injured, battered, but not dead, with the cable function of his robotic arm hauling him up.
"Did you really think that would work? I've been drowned, fed to Grimm, stabbed, shot, blown up, thrown down elevator shafts, impaled, and now hit by a train... I won't die until you do Ashe! I will always come back!" Jude ranted as he began cackling like a madman.
"Oh for fuck's sake, why won't you just die?! You have become more annoying than threatening." Ashe said, tired and exasperated.
Jude laughed and said "And yet I know you won't stop until I die, so try and catch me!" Jude said as he towards the civilians.
"Stop right there!" yelled the cop as he aimed for Jude, but was sent down on his back by a blast from Jude's cannon.
Jude quickly got into one of the civilians' cars and closed the door as Ashe struggled to get up.
"You want to end this? Come and get me!" Jude called to Ashe as he began to drive off.
There was a part of Ashe that was tempted to just let Jude go, his body with sore bones and aching muscles wanted to just give up... but deep down he knew he couldn't. That monster needed to be stopped today, for good.
He reclaimed his weapons and got on top of the knocked out cop's motorcycle and quickly sped after Jude, taking the closest exit where Jude was speeding away from. The motorcycle sped over pavement and past signs and other cars as he tired to keep up with Jude's new car as they entered the closest slum.
Ashe's new bike swerved left and right a little as he tried to get the hang of it but kept his focus on the road and where Jude was going, ignoring how tired his body was.
He pursued Jude relentlessly, zigzagging all around the rotting part of the city they were now in, aside from the occasional car or pedestrian he only had to keep watch for Jude as the sound of the roaring motorcycle engine being the only thing in his ears as he kept on Jude's trail.
In the car Jude kept glancing back to make sure Ashe was following him, and sure enough he was. Good, he didn't have long to go before he made it to Ante's factory. He turned a corner and sped off as Ashe followed him, rounding the corner not-so-gracefully as he quickly reared the bike up on one wheel to keep himself from falling then he brought the front back down and zoomed ahead after Jude.
If Ashe had been paying attention he would have noticed the Grimm Knight flying overhead, but that wasn't the only thing following him, as there was also a black bird soaring gracefully overhead, but keeping up with the chase, unnoticed by all.
Buildings and trees went zooming by, cars were overtaken, and neighborhoods passed up, but after a good five minutes of seemingly non-stop chasing Jude's car finally pulled into a large parking lot of another factory.
"Another one? How many factories do these guys own?" Ashe asked himself as he drove in as well. He observed that the surrounding area was totally empty, all the buildings were derelicts of the slums. Now he wished he had kept his scroll, at least then he could have called for backup.
He put the parking break on for the bike and got off of it as Jude exited the car he stole.
"Time's up, Jude." he called.
"Well this is as good a place as any for our final battle, though I must admit that train was a pretty nice idea." Jude confessed as they approached each other.
"Honestly I'm beginning to think your Semblance is 'staying alive' or something like that." Ashe snarked as he got ready for a fight. He knew there was one way to stop Jude and end him for good; the Ultimate Attack, he could unleash it if he got a good grip on Jude's head...
"My Semblance is endurance so I suppose that's not too far off." Jude stated his robotic hand flexed.
The clouds above were now dark and faint claps of thunder could be heard in the distance. Ashe looked up could tell a storm was coming, that would pretty appropriate for a final battle. He looked at Jude and said "I want this fight of ours to end here, tonight, forever."
Jude nodded in agreement and voiced "Maybe we've both outlived our purpose... Maybe we can kill ourselves here and now, so hell will welcome us both."
Ashe laughed and shook his head. "Hell?! Jude, stop and think about it; you claimed you saw hell as a child, I threw you to the Grimm, I impaled you with my sword, I left you for dead right before an explosion went off, a damn train hit you! Don't you see it? Hell doesn't want you." Ashe said.
Jude glared at him and asked "What?"
"Maybe, just maybe there are some souls just so evil, so tainted, so twisted and sick that hell cannot have them. It doesn't want them, so it spits them out like bad food. Hell has had plenty of opportunities to look into your soul Jude, and hell is too good for you." Ashe finished.
"There where would my soul go after death? Purgatory?" Jude inquired.
Ashe smirked and said "No. Nothing, it would go to nothing. An endless, empty void bereft of anyone, so large that the souls imprisoned inside of the Nothing would never come close to crossing paths. They would wander an empty nothingness for all eternity, alone and unwanted, hated and forgotten. That's what you will be, Jude. Nothing."
Jude grinned as the sounds of guns loading up could be heard. Ashe turned to see Trooper, Zhan, Tom-Tom, Lao, Little Steve, and Fireball all aiming their weapons at him while behind on a balcony of the factory Ante, Merrick, Douglas, and a Grimm Knight all overlooked the standoff.
"Bravo Ashe! A pointless pontificating speech of self-righteousness that wannabe good guys like you just thrive on... though I must thank you for getting rid of the Fury Gang, saved me over four million and fifty-five thousand and lien!" Ante said.
"So I guess Jude called you guys to prepare a trap?" Ashe guessed.
"That's right." Trooper said with a nod.
"And we're not the only ones here, Ashe! This Grimm Knight has been following and watching you, Mistress Salem and your dearly beloved big sis want to see the final battle! Say hello!" Damien prodded.
Ashe just glared at the Grimm Knight and said "Sis, if you have anything else to say to me tonight is the final night I'm willing to give you a chance."
"Enough stalling! Come on, NOW!" Jude commanded furiously.
Ashe turned to face him and said "You want a fight? You got it."
The two charged at each other. Jude made the first blow with two kicks to the gut and a head bash as he ripped Ashe's shotgun away from him and slammed it into Ashe's side, and followed it up with a sucker-punch to the head. It was just as he wanted it; Ashe was too worn out to properly fight back anymore. This battle was his before it even began.
Ashe, however, wasn't going to give up that easily. He landed two quick punches to Jude's side before slamming a powerful chop attack to Jude's neck and followed it up with a roundhouse kick to the head, forcing Jude to drop the shotgun, only for him to recover with his hand transformed into hook mode as he slammed it into Ashe's shoulder. He then ducked a wild haymaker from Ashe and got behind him and grabbed both of his arms and pulled as one foot kicked Ashe in the small of his back, trying to break Ashe's arms, but Ashe kicked up with both his legs and hit Jude in the still flesh part of his stomach, forcing Jude to drop him.
Ashe received a nasty slash across the shoulder from the hook before he whipped around and blasted Jude twice in the robotic part of the upper torso before Jude backhanded him with the hook. Ashe rolled out of the way of Jude's hook as it tried to slam into his head and he jumped up and got out both pistol and sword.
He jumped forward and slammed his sword into Jude's robotic foot, causing him to cry out in pain before the organic foot kicked Ashe in the face once more. Jude transformed his hand back into cannon mode and both combatants fired at once, while Ashe's shots only managed to hit Jude's robotic half Jude's shot hit Ashe in the arm, forcing him to drop the gun. He moved to pick it but Jude stomped on his hand to stop him, but Ashe struck back by swinging his sword up and scarring Jude across the face, both flesh and metal sides.
They lurched towards one another and began wrestling for each other until Ashe head butted him and tried to slash Jude with his sword three times but the cyborg dodged it each time before he transformed his hand into its blade form and met Ashe's head on.
They traded blows about seven times before Jude slammed his against the lower part of Ashe's so hard that the Guerrilla Hunter lost his grip and dropped it. Ashe quickly began weaving and dodging past Jude's wild swings and strikes, one of which managed to cut off some of Ashe's hair before Jude kicked him in the groin and then slammed his fist into Ashe's cheek so hard a tooth flew out.
Ashe staggered sideways and fell to the ground as Jude jumped on top of him, blowing the wind out of him before he unleashed a powerful series of five metal punches to Ashe's face. "That all you got?! Is that as hard as you can fight?!" Jude ranted as he forced Ashe to stand up and unleashed five more powerful punches upon him.
Ashe managed to dodge the next attack and run a few meters away as Jude's hand turned into buzzsaw mode. He rushed forward and swung at Ashe twice but missed both times before Ashe used his Semblance to launch himself up and over Jude but the cyborg twirled around and slashed Ashe across the back with the buzzsaw. Ashe fell to the ground and Jude plunged the spinning saw forward only for Ash to roll out of the way. He tried it again but Ashe simply got out of the way once again so this time Jude aimed for Ashe's midsection but Ashe kicked Jude in the chest as he pushed himself up with his arms and dodged another wild swing of the buzzsaw. Jude preformed another swing but Ashe ducked and got behind Jude to smash both his fists into Jude's back. Ashe then jumped up onto Jude's shoulders, grabbed the buzzsaw and brought it up mere centimeters in front of Jude's face before Jude dropped his body onto the ground to force Ashe off.
The two fighters got up but Jude got the first hit in with a haymaker to the gut but Ashe managed to slam a fist into Jude's neck once again before he tried to grab Jude's head to perform the Ultimate Attack but the former drug lord head-bashed Ashe, spun him around, and stabbed the hook right into Ashe's back, forcing him to scream out in pain as it got hooked on his scapula, better known as the shoulder blade bone and used it as leverage to spin Ashe around, forcing more screams out of his before Jude let him fall to the ground, only to open up another attack with fifteen devastating kicks.
The enforcers and Ante watched, most of them unsettled by just how brutal the fight was but others were unphased by it, while Ante himself just enjoyed it.
Trooper put his gun down and said "This is wrong." The others glanced at him, but said nothing to agree or disagree with him.
Ashe had had enough; he whipped out Qrow's switchblade and jumped up to slam it into Jude's collarbone. Jude screamed in agony before Ashe silenced him with an uppercut before he grabbed Jude by the head and slammed the organic half of it down into his knee, and then he kicked him down and punched him thrice before he saw his shotgun had landed about six feet away.
He lunged forward and grabbed it as Jude got back up, only for Ashe to smash him across the face with the butt of the shotgun twice and then in the blasted him in the robotic section of the gut. Ashe pressed forward, slamming the gun into Jude twice more before the cyborg blasted Ashe in the chest with the arm cannon.
Ashe fell yet again as Jude got up. "I have had enough of this." He snarled.
Ashe looked at him as he got up and said "I... I'm... just getting started." He charged at Jude but was sent flying by a mighty punch into the car Jude had stolen. He slid off the hood and onto the ground where Jude jumped to his side and ripped the robe off.
"A memento of the priest? Cute." Jude scolded as he ripped it up, only for the two pictures to fall out of the pocket. "What's this?"
"No!" Ashe cried as he tried to grab the two photos, only for Jude to kick him in the neck to keep him down. Jude picked up the photos, looked at them, and laughed.
"Oh you sentimental fool." Jude muttered as he kicked Ashe back into the car, the impact shattering the side window. Ashe tried to get up but Jude rammed him head to gut like a bull, then got up and unleashed three jabs into Ashe's face followed up by a roundhouse kick to the head. He let Ashe fall to the ground before he slammed his foot down on Ashe's shoulder. He picked Ashe up and slapped him across the face but the injured warrior tried to punch Jude in the gut again only to hit the robotic half. "Pathetic." Jude hissed before he kicked Ashe in the chest so hard he went flying onto his back.
Ashe tried to get up but Jude slashed his across the back with his hand's blade mode, then he kicked Ashe back into the car and elbowed him in the face, breaking Ashe's nose. He picked up Ashe and whirled him around and sent him flying through the windshield of the car, breaking the glass.
Ashe managed to get himself out only for Jude to plunge his blade into Ashe's shoulder, but Ashe didn't give up. He jumped up and slammed both fists into the organic side of Jude's face, blackening his eye. He tried to attack Jude with two punches and a kick but Jude blocked and countered all three attacks before he backhanded Ashe hard enough to knock him down.
Jude picked Ashe up and said "You lose again Ashe. You will always lose!" he placed his knee out and held Ashe over his head and then he slammed his down, hurting Ashe's spine, but not breaking it.
The enforcers watched on, most of them no longer seeing this as a simple good fight, but as a bloody death duel.
Ashe saw his pistol, ran to pick it up and successfully reclaimed it as he dodged Jude's next attack. He aimed the gun at Jude and screamed "Fuck you!" He unloaded every Dust bullet he had into him, only for Jude's robotic hand to punch out, grab Ashe's hand, and crush it. Ashe screamed as he dropped the gun before Jude punched his collar bone and kneed him in the face before he punched Ashe hard enough to send a torrent of blood and spit out of his mouth.
Ashe staggered around, dazed and tired before Jude kicked him hard enough to send him flying into the motorcycle he had hijacked. Ashe moaned as he saw a pipe near to where he had parked the bike and knew that with his weapons scattered or gone he needed to improvise. He crawled to the pipe and picked it up and could see that Jude was approaching him, so he jolted up and slammed the pipe across Jude's chest four times before Jude simply judo-chopped him across the chest and then knocked him back down with a chop to the face, laughing at the weakened fighter as he fell.
"Really now Ashe, a pipe? Oh how desperate I have made you." Jude taunted as he grabbed Ashe's hair and pulled him up. He slammed the steel fist into Ashe sending him reeling back but did not let up, as he quickly kicked Ashe in the groin again before sending him flying with a high karate kick to the chest.
Ashe landed near his sword and tried to reach for it, only for Jude's metal foot to stomp on his hand while his organic foot stepped on Ashe's neck.
"Look at me Ashe." Jude ordered. Ashe forced himself to look at Jude's hideous half and half face as he held up the photo of his family. "So hard to believe that either you or Cinder could have looked so innocent at one point. You're a pathetic shell of a warrior Ashe, who only longs to live in the past instead of the future. Well today I will do you a favor and end your miserable little life." He spat as he tore the photo apart.
Ashe screamed in anger as he desperately tried to get free but Jude was too strong.
Elsewhere Cinder watch via the Grimm Knight's transmissions and did her best to hide the horror and woe she was feeling. Last night she had tried to kill Ashe, true, but she wanted him to die quickly so he would not suffer. This... this wasn't what she wanted. She couldn't stand to see her little brother in such pain but she forced herself to.
Despite her best efforts Salem could sense Cinder's emotional turmoil and knew something needed to be done about it.
Jude looked down at Ashe and laughed. "Emotions will only get your Semblance so far... now for the one of your dearly departed little Mila..." he said as he began to rip the second picture apart. He managed to make one little tear before...
"Haakskeekah!" Ashe screamed and Jude was sent flying backwards as Ashe jumped up and grabbed the picture. He would have done that earlier, but his aura wasn't strong enough for a proper Haakskeekah, hell even the one he had just used on Jude was pretty weak.
Speaking of which, he looked to see Jude getting up but he couldn't let him gain an advantage so Ashe ran forward, flipped over, and brought all of his body weight on top of Jude's torso. Ashe laughed as he grabbed Jude under the arms and flipped him over his head and then he sat on Jude's back as he began choking him.
"You wanted a real fight asshole so I hope you're happy!" Ashe yelled. He knew he needed to finish this quickly, his body was covered with blood and sweat so he knew this couldn't last much longer so he moved to perform the Ultimate Attack but then Jude growled as he rolled around to force Ashe off, which did work, but as he got up Ashe kicked him in the back, slamming Jude's head onto the pavement, denting the metal side a little. Ashe got on top of Jude's back and grabbed his arms to pull him back to put more strain on Jude's back. The cyborg screamed in pain as he used his hand to crush Ashe's injured hand once again, forcing Ashe to let his arms go but the Guerrilla Hunter didn't give up. He ran down to Jude's robotic leg, picked it up, and shattered the knee on the ground. Jude grunted in pain before Ashe dive-bombed him with an elbow to the back of the head.
Jude yelled out as he forced Ashe off and managed to get up before Ashe ran up to unleash the Ultimate Attack on Jude and end the fight for good, but he was too slow. Jude's arm cannon got close enough to Ashe's face to make the final blow of the fight. The Cannon fired at a low setting, but at point blank range which was enough to send Ashe down.
"Got anymore in you?" Jude asked as Ashe tried to get up.
Ashe tried, he really did try to get up and keep fighting but his body just couldn't do it. His aura was depleted to the point where his Semblance couldn't help.
This was it.
Jude had won.
Jude transformed his arm into the whip mode and wrapped the cable around Ashe's neck and dragged him to the edge of the parking lot where he detached the cable and tossed it over a streetlight pole where and used it to hoist Ashe up, while Ashe had managed to get his hands over the impromptu noose so he wouldn't choke. Jude tied the other end of the cable to the car and laughed at the hanging Ashe, whose vision was covered by blood and sweat.
"Zhan, come here!" Jude called.
Zhan looked up to Ante who nodded approvingly. As much as Zhan wanted to stay out of it he apparently had no choice. He walked over to the streetlight and asked "I can see that your need of my services has come, so what do you want me to do?"
Jude handed Zhan the picture of Ashe and Mila. "Look at her, take a good long look." Jude said as a new whip came out of his arm. Zhan did so and had to admit the woman in the photograph was a rather beautiful young lady, what she was doing with Kasai was anyone's guess, though Zhan was smart enough to deduce what had happened on his own.
Jude used his new whip and began slamming it against the hanging Ashe, forcing him to cry out in pain.
"Her name was Mila, she was Ashe's beloved, I killed her and that's where this hatred between us got really personal." Jude elaborated as he continued whipping Ashe, creating bloody stripes on Ashe's body.
Zhan nodded, he didn't like where this was going. "You want me to create an illusion of her?" he guessed. While he had done such an act many times in the past recent events were making him question everything. He regretted stabbing Ember, he regretted creating an illusion of Pyrrha in front of Jaune, but with a sick mind such as Jude's he wondered what he wanted him to create.
Zhan grinned and stopped whipping Ashe to whisper something into Zhan's ear. "I want you to create an illusion of her. Naked, bloody, crucified, and weeping in misery, a dead newborn before her. I want you to make this vision of her curse Ashe's name and damn him. I want you to help me break his spirit and mind for good."
Zhan stepped back, a shocked look on his face, he had created some terrible illusions in his time but that... that wasn't just wrong, it was pure evil.
"No." Zhan said defiantly as he let the photo fall to the ground.
Jude glared at him and asked "What did you say, illusionist?"
Zhan glared back and barked "I said no!"
Jude placed his robotic hand behind his back and transformed it into cannon mode, resetting it on to special assassination mode it had been given by Sherizawa. "Why not?" he inquired.
Zhan stood his ground firmly and said "I may work for monsters, but I refuse to be one."
Jude rolled his eyes and said "Heroes." His arm jolted out and fired at Zhan's chest point blank, the laser piercing Zhan's heart. Zhan cried out in pain as he fell on his back, a little blood pouring out of his wound past the aura.
"NO!" screamed Trooper as he and the other enforcers ran forward to help their fallen comrade. Up on the balcony Ante's jaw had dropped, but the shock was replaced by fury. Jude had killed one of his men... he was going to pay for that.
Jude began to go back whipping Ashe when a blast from Trooper blew him down.
"Get that son of a bitch!" Tom-Tom cried as he slammed his mallet into Jude's stomach. Jude snarled as he got up and managed to drive Tom-Tom back with a crack of his whip. He could see that Little Steve and Lao were ready to avenge their cohort while Trooper and Fireball tried to help Zhan.
Jude sighed as he used his hook to catch Tom-Tom's mallet and throw him back then used it to parry Lao's strike. "Some learn and some don't!" he said wickedly.
"Zhan! Buddy, come on, stay with us!" Trooper begged as he and Fireball tried to stop the bleeding.
Zhan gave out a small, bitter laugh and said "Just like my... grandmother said... shot to the heart..."
"Don't talk, save your strength, we WILL save you!" Trooper cried as Little Steve opened fire on Jude.
"No... it's too late for me, my friend... just give me one last request..." Zhan weakly said.
"Anything!" Trooper cried.
"One last cigarette..."
Trooper held back the tears as his friend lay dying and dug out a cigarette pack from Zhan's breast pocket and had Fireball light it up for him.
Up ahead Lao parried a strike from Jude's blade and jumped over his new enemy to slice his ear off. Jude screamed in pain before Lao rammed his sword through Jude's robotic leg and yelled "Fucking cyborg!"
Jude roared as he sent Lao flying with a mighty punch from the metal fist before Tom-Tom slammed his mallet onto Jude's back, cracking his one real shoulder blade and then jumping up to kick the back of Jude's head as well as the upper back, but Jude swung around, grabbed Tom-Tom, and slammed him into the ground.
"You wanna fight?! Come on! You'll all die!" he growled as Little Steve blew him away with his minigun.
Jude moaned in pain, but he recovered despite blood leaking from his wounds of his organic side while sparks flew from his robotic half. He transformed his hand back into cannon mode and fired four times at Little Steve. The massive enforcer took the impact of the hits, and while he did feel pain he forced himself to ignore it as he used his huge gun as a melee weapon to smash Jude down.
Up ahead Merrick took aim at Jude with his sniper rifle and muttered "This is for Zhan you..."
"No." Ante said, "I want you to use that shot for Ashe."
"Damien, I think the Guerrilla is the least of our worries, we need to take that cyborg down!" Merrick yelled.
"I agree, that's why I want you to shoot Ashe free of that cable." Damien finished.
Merrick was a little stunned by the order at first, but then he grinned and nodded.
"Damein, when Salem, who has a damn robot within ear shot by the way, finds out about this she'll kill you! Why are you doing this?!" Douglas exclaimed.
Ante sighed and looked to the dying form of Zhan and muttered "Loyalty."
Merrick took the shot and the bullet tore through the cable, freeing Ashe who dropped to the ground, taking in deep breaths of air into his body.
Trooper looked over to Ashe, then to his three partners who were fighting Jude. He had to help them.
"Go... take Jude down." Zhan urged him.
"I'll stay with him and do what I can." Fireball said as he reached into a pouch on his belt and took out a medical strip.
Trooper nodded but before he left Zhan said "It's funny... we've known each other for years and I never learned your real name."
Trooper looked down guiltily and revealed "My real name is Alexander Camos."
Zhan smiled at him and said "It was nice to know you... Alexander." He took one deep inhale of the cigarette and blew the smoke out of his mouth as Trooper... Alexander ran to help Ashe up.
"Come on Kasai, don't die on us yet." he said as he pulled Ashe to his feet. "You okay?"
"Wha... what do you think?! Why are you helping me?" Ashe inquired.
"Because that bastard killed my friend, truce?" Alexander offered.
Ashe looked over to the sight of Jude slamming the full weight of his combined fists into Little Steve's head, then grabbed Tom-Tom who tried to jump him out of the air and slammed him into Little Steve. Ashe nodded and said "I know what to do, the one sure thing that can kill him... he's mine."
"Fair enough." Alexander agreed, "I'll distract him, just get a weapon."
Ashe looked over to see his sword and said "I can do that, just get him ready for me." Alexander nodded and ran into a fray while Ashe reclaimed his sword. "Okay... one last time."
Jude currently had Lao locked in combat, their respective blades pressing against one another, Lao seemed to be gaining the upper hand as he pulled back and swung his sword. The blades met seven times but then Jude head-butted him and sent Lao to the ground. He raised his blade up to finish the swordsman off only for Alexander to shoot him in the back four times. Jude cried out in pain as Alexander pinned held his gun across Jude's neck to pin him to his body with Lao preformed a sweeping kick to knock Jude's legs out from underneath him, while using his sword to impale Jude's leg.
Jude screamed out in pain before Little Steve grabbed his remaining organic arm and twisted it, resulting in a snapping sound as it broke, making Jude scream more. Tom-Tom joined in the beating as he slammed his mallet into Jude's face, cracking the metal cheek. Jude managed to wrestle himself free and tried to use his arm cannon to blast them but just before he could fire Alexander used his gun to shoot into the robotic hand cannon, blowing it off with a small explosion, reducing the hand to a jagged, sparking stump.
The cyborg fell to his knees screaming in agony before he slumped backwards onto the ground.
Tom-Tom got ready to slam his mallet down on Jude's head but Alexander stopped him. "No, he's not ours to kill." he said.
"Trooper..." Tom-Tom began before he noticed Lao and Little Steve were staring at something... or someone.
Ashe was walking towards them; bloody, sweaty, beaten, and tired, but not done yet. He glanced at all of them with a threatening look and they all understood the meaning of it so they all backed off.
Jude looked at Ashe coming at him with the sword and said "Looks like neither of us won in the end."
"Nobody really ever wins a war, not really. Because when you take part in the bloodshed you've already lost." Ashe said as he firmly gripped his sword. "I'll just be what they call the winner."
He slammed his sword into Jude's stomach and yelled "One for sorrow!" over Jude's agonized screamed. He yanked the sword out and slashed Jude's organic fingers off and added "Two for joy!" Then he stabbed Jude's foot and cried "Three for a girl!" Then he slashed Jude across the hip as he said "Four for a boy!"
The enforcers all watched, either amazed or disturbed by the sight, but they enjoyed watching Jude suffer.
"Five for silver!" Ashe exclaimed as he bashed Jude's metal skull in with the hilt of his sword. He got behind Jude and cried "Six for gold!" as he rammed his sword through Jude's metallic chest. He pulled the blade out, now covered with blood and oil and slashed Jude across the face and shouted "Seven for a secret never to be told!" Then he spun around and cut both of Jude's sides with quick spins. "Eight for heaven! Nine for hell!"
And finally he got in front of Jude and quietly said "And ten for family you took from me." He stabbed the sword into Jude's chest, impaling him. Jude vomited up some blood as he tried to look up at Ashe.
"I... I won't..."
"You've lost Jude, for good. Now it's time for the finishing blow." Ashe said as he placed his hands on the sides of Jude's face. "Time for a little thing we call the Ultimate Attack." he finished as he closed his eyes and thought back and remembered everything.
"Ashe... I... I'm afraid." Jude stammered.
Ashe looked at him, smirked, and whispered "I know."
Then the Ultimate Attack was unleashed.
Every bad thing that had ever happened to Ashe, every embarrassing little incident, every time he feared for his life, every time he almost died, every time he considered taking his own life, every lonely minute, every wound, every cold night, all the sadness he had felt; losing his parents and Cinder, the burden of the crystal, every injury he had ever gotten from a Grimm, every friend he had lost along the way, the loss of Deno, the loss of Mila, the self loathing he felt after she died, the loneliness after he lost her, every bad dream and regret he had regarding her, the pain of finding out what Cinder had truly become and eventually seeing it for himself, failing Jaune and Ruby, finding out Mila was pregnant when she died, his breakdown in the warehouse, every injury he suffered during the battle of Haven, Cinder stabbing him in the shoulder, realizing that Cinder was willing to kill him, the pain of nearly losing Jaune, every little bit of guilt he felt for the lives he had snuffed out over the years and today, all of the pain Jude had just dealt him: all of it flowed into Jude at once. Over twenty years of excruciating pain went into Jude, all at once.
Jude screamed louder than he ever had before as blood began to pour from his mouth and his one real eye. His body began to violently shake along with his screams as he fell backwards, blood still flowing out of his body as his aura faded away. It was simply too much for him. With one final scream of hatred Saul Jude died.
It was quiet for a few minutes afterwards. Ashe and the four enforcers just stared at the dead body of the cyborg. Ashe fell to his knees and muttered "It's finally over."
Alexander turned and ran to Zhan and Fireball, the other enforcers realized what he was doing and ran after him. They made it to Fireball who was cradling Zhan's dying body in his arms. Alexander kneeled down and took hold of Zhan's hand. "It's been an honor." he said.
Zhan squeezed his friends and said "Same to you..."
Ashe kept staring at his now dead enemy, but was broken out of his trance when a raven landed on Jude's head. Ashe remained silent as he knew what was happening; doves to souls to heaven, crows to purgatory, sparrows to hell, and ravens took them to nothing. The raven hopped up to stand over Jude's eye and then it plunged its beak in, tearing it out.
The raven turned to look at Ashe, eye in beak, and it was then that Ashe realized that the raven had red eyes. Just like...
"Branwen?" he asked.
The raven simply flew away and Ashe watched as it took off into the overcast sky.
Ante, Merrick, Douglas, and a few guards came out of the factory over to enforcers who were still gathered around Zhan.
"I got a medic, maybe we can..." Douglas began before Lao shook his head.
"It's too late. He's gone."
Most of the enforcers bowed their heads in respect to their fallen partner as Ashe got up in the background. He looked to see Ante approaching him and said "I... I don't want a fight... not anymore."
Damien sighed and said "That's not up to me. Thanks for killing him and avenging Zhan."
"Why do you care?" Ashe asked.
"To inspire loyalty in his men a leader must be loyal to them." Damien replied.
"I never expected you to be that profound." Ashe stated.
"No one ever does." Ante said with a smile.
Salem nodded with approval as Jude died, one less pawn for her but she had plenty more. Cinder was correct when she said Jude's obsession with Ashe was a burden, one that could be costly if left unchecked so Salem had expected Jude's usefulness to her was nearing its end and once again she was proven correct. Jude had failed her so he deserved to die.
Now there was two things left to take care of, both of which could be dealt with at once. She could feel Cinder's relief at her brother's victory so she said "It appears that your brother is victorious, my apprentice."
"It seems that way." Cinder stated blandly.
"Mistress, what of Ante? He and his men helped Ashe kill Jude, shall we punish them for it?" Steppenwolffe asked.
Salem shook her head and voiced "No, Jude was going to die for his failure to obtain Nikos and the Aura Crystal, they did us a favor. As for Ante, while I am somewhat annoyed by his actions I am more impressed by his choice to stand against me. He will live for now, but one of his enforcers will need to be made an example of so he will know not to try my good will again."
Everyone could tell Emerald was disappointed with that decision.
"What of my brother? Shall we allow him to go free?" Cinder asked.
"No, my disciple, you are going to kill him." Salem answered.
Cinder was surprised but quickly hid it and nodded obediently. "What... what if I was to bring him over to our side? The loss of Nikos and the death of Arc has left us with a dent in our Grimm Commander number. We could..."
"No." Salem snapped, her voice raising. "Your compassion for your brother is clouding you judgement and your... failure last night has made me reconsider my faith in you. You need to redeem yourself." she finished sternly.
Cinder bowed and said "I... I will do anything you ask of me, my master."
Salem smiled and said "Good. Go forth and destroy what is left of your family, prove your loyalty to me my child and earn your redemption."
Cinder nodded and answered "I will do whatever is necessary."
Salem opened up a portal and Cinder walked through it. Emerald moved to follow her but Salem stopped her. "No, this is something she needs to do alone."
Out of nowhere in the parking lot Salem's portal opened up, startling most of those present.
"Oh what now?" muttered Little Steve as he quickly reloaded his minigun. Cinder appeared out of the vortex and surveyed the situation.
"Oh crap." whispered Tom-Tom, terrified of Cinder's presence.
"Wh-what do we do?" asked Fireball.
"Let's just wait and see what she's gonna do first." Alexander stated as Cinder looked at Ashe.
"Congratulations Ashe, you finally defeated him." she said as she walked towards her brother.
Ashe gave her a humorless smile and joked "Third time was the charm after all."
Cinder looked at Ante and his men and said "Excuse us, we need to speak in private."
Damein nodded and went back to his group while Ashe and Cinder walked alongside each other.
"You're here to kill me, aren't you?" Ashe asked.
"That is my appointed task and I... I need to do it." Cinder confirmed.
"There's no point in arguing with you anymore, you chosen your fate already." Ashe stated.
"Perhaps I have." Cinder said with a nod.
"What's up with your face? Shouldn't you aura have healed it by now, as powerful as it has to be?" Ashe asked.
"My master decided I needed to be punished for my failures." Cinder answered.
"Cinder, if that isn't proof enough of how bad of an idea staying loyal to that witch is I don't know what is." he stated as he knelt down to Jude's body and yanked the sword out.
"I deserved it, my ego got the better of me." Cinder voiced.
Ashe sighed and revealed "I spoke to mom last night."
Cinder looked at him and asked "What?"
"I spoke to her, she said she's sorry for what you've become. She was within the Aura Crystal, or at least a part of her soul was. She loved us sis, even after death." Ashe said.
Cinder did not respond to that, she just asked "Ashe, where is the Aura Crystal?"
"Safe from you. Safe from Salem."
"Not for long, once you die I will be the only guardian left and..." Cinder stopped when she noticed a smile on Ashe's face. "What?"
"It won't do you any good Cinder, last night I severed our bloodline from the crystal. Our family no longer serves it, it will not accept you." he answered.
"What?! Then..."
"I gave to two new guardians, both of whom are very trustworthy, more so than the two of us ever were." he told her.
"Who are they?" she demanded, an edge to her voice.
"You already know them, so you'll have to guess." Ashe said with a cheeky smile.
Cinder hid her frustration and asked "Please Ashe, join me. Maybe my master can find a place for you in our ranks if you..."
"You already know the answer to that. Besides, I don't think she'd take kindly to you weaseling out of your job." he said.
She nodded, "I suppose you're right."
The two siblings faced each other and Ashe said "Okay, let's get this over with."
"Y-you're just accepting your death? Just like that?" Cinder asked, rather put off by his attitude.
"Cinder, in the last week or so I... I made a difference. I helped saved lives and I have ended lives, but most importantly I have helped make the lives of some really amazing kids better. And if... if I can make the lives of other people better then I will have no regrets dying. Who knows? Maybe I'll be with Mila once I die but I just want you to know this... no matter what you've done Cinder I still love you." he finished.
Cinder was silent before she returned with "And I love you."
She created a fire within the palm of her hand as she approached Ashe. He didn't make a move. He accepted his fate; he couldn't run, couldn't fight anymore, he couldn't win this time.
The least he could do was sacrifice himself so his sister could live.
He smiled and mentally wished all of his younger friends good luck in the future. 'Jaune, Pyrrha, have your happily ever after... Ruby, kick Salem's ass...' he thought. But his thoughts ceased when something happened... the flame in Cinder's hand died down and she turned around, hiding her face from him.
"Cinder?" he asked.
"Once upon a time in the world of Remnant there lived a brother and a sister, they wanted to be the greatest warriors in the world... so they did." Cinder recited as she whirled around and slammed a flaming fist into Ashe's chest, tearing through his flesh and bones to grab his heart and burn it.
Ashe's eyes widened but he didn't scream. He just looked at his sister and tried to whisper something, but the pain was too much. He slumped forward but Cinder withdrew her blood soaked hand from his chest and caught him. She placed him in her lap and whispered to him "And the brother and sister, despite how hard they tried or how much they loved each other, didn't live happily ever after."
She refused to let her tears flow as she leaned down and kissed Ashe's forehead. "Goodbye little brother." she whispered.
She looked up as the Grimm Knight approached her and Salem's voice came out of it.
"Well done." her master said. Cinder simply bowed her head in respect.
"Master, what shall I do with the bodies?"
"Whatever you want. I will leave you time to settle things out, use your scroll to contact us so I can bring you back to the ship, I hand control of the Knight over to you." Salem stated. The robots transmission device deactivated as the Mistress of Grimm added "Do as you please, my disciple."
Cinder nodded and said "I will be ready to return to you within the hour.
As the communications ended Cinder picked up Ashe easily with the strength she posses and as she placed him in the Grimm Knight's arms said "I will have the Grimm Knight return him to Haven Academy."
"Why?" Alexander asked.
"It's the least he deserves. They need to know where the village his beloved lived in was, so get me a note and pen." she ordered. One of the guards quickly ran back into the factory to get it for her as she turned her attention to Jude's corpse.
"And Jude?" Lao inquired.
Cinder glared at the dead cyborg and said "Destroy the body, throw it into a furnace and burn it."
"Gladly." Alexander said, all too happy to destroy the body of the one who murdered his friend. Despite that he hadn't enjoyed seeing Ashe died, he wondered why didn't they just let the tired and broken man go and give him a break for once, but kept his thoughts to himself so as not to entice Cinder's wrath.
"What will you do with Zhan?" she asked.
"What do you care?" snapped Douglas.
Cinder glared at the enforcer but ignored him as Ante answered her. "Give him a proper burial, he worked for me and died working for me, so I could at least do that for him."
Cinder nodded and said "Fair enough, oh and Ante..." She grabbed Douglas by the neck and crushed it, killing him. Douglas died with a surprised yelp before Cinder dropped him to the ground. "My master wishes you to know that if you ever try a stunt like the one you pulled by freeing Ashe you shall die."
Ante glared at her and asked "Why didn't you just kill me?"
"You still have a purpose to my master, your weapons expert was expendable. Continue your evacuation and contact my master once you are done." Cinder explained as she walked up to the the factory to claim the note and pen.
The enforcers watched as she walked away and knew that no matter how much they hated Cinder, Salem, or working for either of them they now had no choice, they would work for them or die. Some of them wanted to fight Cinder but knew that would be suicide, so they just accepted their fates as servants to Salem.
After Cinder wrote the note she walked over to where Ashe had been hug and picked up the photo from where Zhan had dropped it. She examined the photo and saw how happy her brother was with this woman. She clenched the photo in her fist as she stuffed it in a pocket on her dress. She went over and easily picked up Ashe's body as she walked over to the Grimm Knight. She placed Ashe's body in its arms, then she put their father's sword in his arms and placed them on his chest to cover up the wound she had created and then pierced the bottom half of the note on to the sword so it would stick.
"Take him to Haven Academy and fire a rocket at the grounds to get their attention, then return here." she ordered as she closed Ashe's eyelids.
The Grimm Knight nodded and took off into the gloomy sky as the rain began to fall.
Cinder watched as Ante, his thugs, and what was left of the enforcers carried their two dead comrades as well as Jude's corpse into the building. Once they were inside Cinder walked out of the parking lot and into the empty slums, walking until she was sure no one was around. Once she was sure she was utterly alone and no one could see or hear her she let out a scream of anger and misery, her powers creating a small shockwave that destroyed anything it touched before it died out.
After so many years of refusing to shed tears Cinder Fall finally let them flow.
Her brother was dead, and she had killed him.
Ruby hummed to herself as she used a welding torch on Crescent Rose to fuse the two halves back together. Haven Academy had a fantastic weapons forge room and she decided to try and repair Crescent Rose to get her mind off of Ashe. The last news they had gotten about him was the cops following a loose trail of dead thugs from the Fury Gang and him being spotted on a highway. Neo and Ross had returned earlier and told everyone what they could but Ruby shook those thoughts from her head as she returned her attention to her beloved weapon.
The gun barrel was badly damaged, Cinder had unintentionally burned it when she grabbed it so it would need a new handle due to the scoring would mess up any shots fired and make them detonate too early.. She knew she could repair it here, but with once Uncle Qrow was rested up and they got home, sky was the limit so it was better to wait.
She looked over to Penny, who was spinning around in a swivel chair. "You getting dizzy yet?" she asked
"A little disorientated, but it is not unpleasant! Quite the opposite in fact." Penny said.
"So I guess this is your first time on one of those." Ruby stated.
"Yes! I always wanted to do this but my father wouldn't let me." Penny answered as she stopped spinning.
Ruby nodded and said "Hey Penny, you think I could make Crescent Rose's pole stronger but still light enough to carry? Don't want it to get broken again."
"I think I may know a few metals that could help with that..." Penny began before someone else entered the room.
"Hey Rubes! Pen!" called Yang. Ruby looked up to see Yang standing in the doorway of the forge, which had been left pretty much up to her and Penny despite Professor Echo's hesitations. Fox had came in a while ago to look at the blades but ultimately decided to wait until he returned home to replace his weapons.
"Hi Yang, fixing up Crescent Rose might take a while and I may need Uncle Qrow's help." she reported.
"Well with you working on it it'll be ready to fight in no time." Yang said encouragingly.
"So is everything okay with Pyrrha's mom and dad?" Ruby asked.
"I guess so, we've left them pretty much alone since Ashe left so they can sort this out themselves. Though I guess they're trying to figure out just how some of Pyrrha's aura... soul... whatever, got into Jaune to begin with." Yang stated as her organic hand toyed around with some spent shell casings on the table.
"Any word of Ashe?" Penny asked.
"Not yet, only a lot of dead scumbags." Yang replied.
"Those kids okay?" Ruby asked.
"Pretty much, the aura shield thing he had in mind worked, but I think it drained his aura big time." Yang voiced.
"I wish he had kept his scroll, then he could have called us for help." Ruby complained.
"Hey, he's like that. I haven't known him long but I guess he thinks this is something he needs to do himself." Yang said.
Ruby shook her head and voiced "If I ever try to do something stupidly heroic try to stop me, okay?"
Yang laughed and said "Ruby, if I agreed to do that I could never let you out of my sight!"
Ruby laughed before she asked "So where are Weiss and Blake?"
"Blake's hanging out with Sun, letting him show her around the school and the library. Weiss is talking to her sister on the scroll." Yang revealed.
"They have released Specialist Schnee?" Penny asked.
"Yup, and your dad Pen, they're on their way right now." Yang informed.
Penny smiled as wide as she could and said "That is fantastic!"
"So what about Weiss' dad? I mean he has to be pretty..." Ruby began before an explosion interrupted her.
"Oh what now?!" Yang shouted as she activated one of her gauntlets.
"Let's find out." Ruby said as she took off her gloves.
The three ran out into the halls and soon met up with Blake and Sun.
"I'm guessing you heard that too?" Blake surmised.
"Kinda hard to miss, even without kitty ears." Yang teased.
They ran together until they found a small crowd gathered around one of the side entrances while Professor Echo and Dr. Oobleck held them all back and Qrow and Glynda stood outside investigating the disturbance.
"Dr. Oobleck! What happened?" Ruby asked.
"Miss Rose... I believe you and your friends should see this, however unpleasant it is." he said as he made way for them to get through. Ruby look to her teammates and friends as Ren and Nora arrived.
"We heard the boom, are we under attack?" Nora asked as he held up Magnhild.
"No, something else." Oobleck said before adding "I do believe you should get Mr. Arc and Miss Nikos, without a doubt this will concern them."
Ren nodded and ran off the fetch his other teammates as Weiss entered the scene "What's happening now?" she asked.
"We're about to find out." Blake said as they made their way through the crowd. Soon enough they were outside and could see a body laying on a bench with Qrow and Glynda standing in front of it.
"I... I just can't believe that even someone like Cinder could..." Glynda began before Qrow cut her off.
"Why not? It's obvious she's nothing but a heartless witch bitch by this point." he said bitterly.
"Uncle Qrow?" Ruby asked.
Qrow and Glynda turned around to see Team RWBY, Nora, Sun, and Penny.
"Did Oobleck let you kids out?" Qrow inquired.
"Yeah, what happened? What was that... oh no..." Blake gasped as she saw who was on the bench.
Ashe's body was laid out across the bench with his both of his hands grasping the sword's hilt as the blade was laid on his torso.
All of the teenagers' eyes widened in shock at the sight of their friend's dead body beaten, scarred, cut, burned, bruised, whipped, and there was no missing the hold that had been burned through his chest.
"Ashe..." Ruby said quietly before she fell to her knees, tears once again flowing from her silver eyes. Yang quickly dropped down to hug her little sister, she failed to do that last time Ruby lost a friend so she wouldn't fail her again.
Weiss stared at the bloodied body and asked "Is... is he...?"
"I am afraid so, Miss Schnee. He's gone." Glynda confirmed.
"Oh my god..." Sun whispered, stunned as Blake remembered hearing Glynda and Qrow talking about Cinder and she knew that Ashe's sister must have been his murderer.
"It was Cinder, wasn't it?" she guessed.
Qrow nodded and said "A kid spotted a Grimm Knight putting him here and then before it left it fired a rocket to get our attention. It seems that Cinder even sent a note." He took out the note that had been impaled on the sword and silently read it.
'Give my brother a proper burial, alongside his beloved. They lived in the village known as Otium, that's where she was buried so that is where he must be laid to rest. He lived and died a warrior, honor his sacrifice. - Cinder Fall.'
Qrow looked as Weiss, Blake, and Penny were now hugging Ruby as well and crying with her while Nora wiped her own tears away and Sun clenched his fist so tight he nearly drew blood.
Glynda looked at Ashe's body and said "He truly was worthy of being a Huntsman in the end."
Qrow said nothing in response. He just nodded and he sat down to comfort his nieces.
To Be Continued...
Yes, Ashe is dead and sadly I suppose most will not care, but I hope I made him a good enough character, one that you all ended up liking. He died, but he put up one hell of a fight before he did. Some of you liked him, some didn't, but I hope that in the end he was a good character. Just tell me in your review or PM me if you want to hear the music/track I assigned for his death scene.
Jude's death was originally going to be much more over the top and Raven would have been more involved in it, but I decided for a more subtle approach and I hope you thought his death was fitting enough. Jude was originally going to be run over by the train, not just hit by it and would have used a pill Salem gave him to repair his body, inspired by a scene from Batman Gothic where the villain Mr. Whisper is ran over by a train but his body repairs itself.
Originally Ante was going to be the one Cinder killed, but I decided to go with Douglas, who early on was to die in the explosions Ashe caused in the battle of Haven, but I decided that if he did the enforcers wouldn't have helped Ashe out.
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: After the next chapter I will be going on a month long hiatus to rest my brain cells and get some much needed rest and relaxation, and to plan out the next story arc... The White Fang Saga!
If you read this on Fanfiction . Net please leave a review and fave and follow the story, but please tell me what you thought about Ashe's death. Same goes to you guys on AO3, but with a comment, a kudos, and a bookmark. Please give me some feedback if you want me to continue this story.