Vale was nothing more than a War-zone as the city was invaded by the hordes of Grimm. Atlesian Knight-200s were firing at the Dark Creatures while Hunters and Huntress (in training or not) were equally trying to prevent the Grimm to go further into the city. In the middle of this chaos, civilians were seen running away to escape the hordes and in the fairgrounds, Blake and Weiss were looking around in shock and horror at what was happening around them.
A few moments ago, Ghira and Kali went away with some guards to call reinforcement and to warn Sienna Khan of what was going on, leaving their daughter and her team-mate behind for a bit " I don't believe this..." The Schnee Heiress muttered to herself as her eyes scanned the chaos around her while Blake pulled out her Scroll "Yang, are you okay ?" she asked the Blond Brawler with concern clear in her voice and to her relief, her team-mate responded "I'm fine. Is Ruby with you? She's not answering her Scroll !"
Blakefrowned at her Scroll before answering back " No, she isn't..." then she added in a comforting and confident manner "Yang, I'm sure she's fine ! She's our leader ! She can take care of herself !" For a few seconds, there was no response from the Blond until she said in a hesitant tone "Right..." it was easy to understand that she must be worried sick for her younger sibling.
But then Yang seemed to have regained her composure because she quickly added with determination "I'm headed to the docks near the courtyard…Someone is releasing Grimm into the School !"
Blake was about to say something when she heard the sounds of Grimm growling, and her expression turned into one of worry "Yang !" "Ugh ! Gotta go ! Be careful !" the blond girl replied back in a hurried tone before the call ended. "Blake, what are we going to do ?" Weiss Schnee asked the Cat Faunus with a worried tone as she looked around from the chaos focus on her team-mate who responded back pensively "We're going to the docks, and we're doing our job ! Maybe we can find my parents there..." then she used her Scroll to call upon her rocket locker, which landed behind her before opening up to reveal her weapon Gambol Shroud. Weiss gave one last look at Blake before nodding in agreement and dashing away from the fairgrounds.
At the same time, at the Amity Colosseum, Ruby, Pyrrha and Penny were readying their weapon as the Giant Nevermore was still trying to break the barrier protecting the stadium while in the stands, the rest of Team JNPR were equally readying their weapons, looking at the Gigantic Dark Birds with worry. Ruby, seeing that the barrier was becoming weaker and weaker shouted loudly in a serious tone "EVERYONE GET READY !"
Just as she said this, the Nevermore completely broke through the holographic barrier, and the force of it landing on the arena floor knocked back Ruby, Pyrrha, and Penny. The Dark Bird then screeched loudly before lunging at Pyrrha who dodged its attack . However before it could lunge again, the Nevermore found itself being knocked back by a red, twirling blur of roses before being stabbed by one of Penny's swords. Ruby and the orange haired android then jumped back to stand at Pyrrha's both sides. Both students harbored an angered look on their faces.
The Nevermore rose up in the sky and circled around the arena for a moment before lunging back down. Ruby held her scythe while Penny's eyes narrowed as her swords flied around her and Pyrrha was glaring at the upcoming Nevermore. Suddenly, the Dark Bird got pinned down by a barrage of rocket lockers, and screeched out loudly in pain before going unconscious. The lockers in question opened up, revealing the weapons of various students : Jaune, Ren, Nora, Yatsuhashi (from Team CFVY) , all members of Team SSSN (Scarlet David, Sage Ayana, Sun Wukong and Neptune Vasilias), the remaining member of Team CFVY, all members of Team ABRN and finally Flynt Coal and Neon Katt from Team FNKI. All of them were holding their weapons, ready to fight.
However the students found themselves suddenly shaken when the Nevermore started to get back up. Seeing this, Ren leaped into the air before using the blades of his weapons to slash at the Dark Bird's eye. Arslan Altan then used her rope dart to grab the towering Yatsuhashi from the ground carrying him upward. Sage also jumped into the air, and Nora ran up to the Nevermore's head before hitting it with Magnhild (her hammer).
When Arslan reached peak height, she released her grip on Yatsuhashi who was soon joined by Sage before the two broadsword wielders slashed down the Nevermore, decapitating it. The Dark Bird's head landed near Ruby before dissipating into black particles, while the students formed a perimeter. As Arslan landed back on the ground next to her teammates, Ruby looked over to her comrades to returned the stares with eyes burning with determination "Everyone ! We are Hunters ! Our job is to protect people from Grimm ! AND THAT'S WHAT WE WILL DO !"
The second those words escaped the red girl's mouth, everyone cheered in agreement when suddenly hippogriff-like Grimm landed on top of the Colosseum before flying towards the group of students "Griffons..." Ren remarked out-loud as he looked at them with a neutral expression "Anybody got a plan of attack ?" Neptune asked the others as he looked at everyone present while holding his weapon at the ready. Ruby was about to answer when suddenly a 'Griffon' landed right in front of her before roaring at her. Then the Dark Beast was scared away at the sound of a gunshot.
"Students! I think it would be best for you to leave !" Professor Port inquired the students at he held his weapon, a mix between a battle-ax and a blunderbuss, as not far behind appeared Professor (Doctor) Oobleck who was also holding his weapon (which strangely looked like a thermos). "But we did a-" Ruby began to protest but was interrupted by Oobleck " Miss Rose ! This day will surely go down in Remnant's history ! I'd prefer it if my students could live to tell about it !"
Ruby nodded at the Doctor's words before turning back to the other students and saying loudly "LET'S GO !" However, as all the students left, Ruby got distracted by the familiar flash of Velvet's camera which caused her to stop in her track just as the Rabbit Faunus stopped to look at the photograph she took but was sadly interrupted by her leader's calls for her "Velvet !" The Rabbit Faunus quickly go after the others, leaving behind the two teachers who were being circled by the Griffons.
Meanwhile, Simba and Amethyst were courageously fighting against waves of Grimm. The two were taking down as many as they could but some managed to get pass them to invade the city. Suddenly, Simba found himself being swarmed by Beowolves, knocking him off balance. He let out a roar of surprise as he fell on his side and the roar caused Amethyst to look at him with worry "SIMBA !" The reddish-browned Lioness cried out in alarm before lunging at the Grimm covering her mate. She swapped one away with her paw before using her jaws to pull the rest of the Golden Lion.
Simba roared loudly as he went back on his paws before looking at Amethyst and saying "Thank you..." "Anytime love but what should we do ? There are to many of them !" The reddish-browned Lioness asked him as she killed a rather large Boarbadtusk. The Golden Lion went deep in thought, glancing back and forth between the upcoming Grimm and Beacon Academy before sighing deeply as he prepared himself to say something that WILL angered Amethyst "Go..."
"What ?" Amethyst asked him with confusion and he replied back in a clearer tone "Go to Beacon… Make sure everyone is alright..." "But what will YOU do ?!" the reddish-browned Lioness asked him in alarm as she looked at the Golden Lion with pure concern in her beautiful purple eyes "I will catch up don't worry about me… GO !" Simba replied back hurriedly as he gently pushed her with his large head "Okay ! See you later !" Amethyst said back with determination as she pressed her head against his.
Simba wanted to say that he wasn't about to follow her but knew that if he did, she wouldn't leave so he had no choice but to do what he hated the most : lying to her. "See you Ame..." He whispered softy as he watched her dashing away toward Beacon Academy for a moment until a chorus of growls echoed from behind him. Sighing deeply by the nose, the Golden Lion slowly turned around to face a large horde of Grimm which had stopped in their tracks as they stared at him with their red eyes.
Simba eyed them with a serious look on his face before closing his eyes thinking to himself "Forgive me Amethyst… I love you..."then he re-opened his eyes, glaring daggers at the horde in front of him before letting out the loudest roar he could muster :
ROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRR !
The roar caught many Grimm of guards as some of them were seen backing away in fright while some of the Alphas seemed hesitant to attack the Lion who was now standing in his full size, glaring daggers at the Grimm. But soon, some Grimm regained their composure and snarled at the Golden Lion before charging forward, accepting the challenge. Simba watched them before sighing "Once more into the fray...Into the last good fight I'll ever know… Live and die on this day… Live and die on this day..." he recited the poem Amethyst had once told him days after their meeting before roaring again as he pounced at the upcoming enemies, his claws unsheathed and his fangs barred.
At the same time, Amethyst was facing the courtyard of Beacon Academy where she saw Glynda and Qrow fighthing against some Grimm alongside some a squadron of Knights from Atlas. Roaring, she caught the attention of some of the Grimm who soon were killed by their enemies who took opportunity of them distracted to attack. "Miss Aster ! What are you doing here ?!" The Blond Teacher asked the reddish-browned Lioness who approached her "I came to help of course !" "Us too !" two other voices responded and she turned her head to see Weiss and Blake approaching them.
"Amethyst where is Simba ? Isn't he with you ?" Blake asked the Lioness who responded back "He was but then he asked me to come here to hel-" Amethyst was then interrupted by the loudest roar she had ever heard coming from where she came from "Is that Simba ?!" Weiss asked with shock as she looked toward where the roar came from "No… He promised ! He said he would follow me !" Amethyst yelled out in anger and disbelief as she started to cry and Blake, being the closest one to her, gently hugged one of the Lioness's forelegs in an attempt to comfort her.
"Do you think he is… you know..." Weiss asked them with sadness as she looked ready to tear up at any seconds. "No it wasn't a roar of agony… It was a challenge roar..." Amethyst responded softy as she sobbed uncontrollably. Qrow's eyes widened in alarm as he shouted in horror "But that mean he attracted all Grimm to him !" Glynda , hearing this, became as pale as a ghost but then she shook her head to regain her composure before saying "Come on ! Let's get rid of those Grimm first ! We will help Simba later !" Amethyst seemed ready to protest when Blake stepped in "Simba is not a defenseless cub you know… He can take care of himself !" The reddish-browned Lioness looked hesitant as he looked toward where her mate was before nodding "Alright let's go !" she growled as she pounced on an upcoming Alpha Beowolf and her allies quickly joined her.
While our friends were fighting, all across Beacon Academy, various students were engaged in a battle against the many Creatures of Grimm: Jaune was charging at an Ursa before delivering a slash that knocked it back, while Neon roller-bladed away from a Boarbatusk that was charging her. Coco opened fire on a Griffon as it landed on the ground while Arslan was fighting an Ursa Major before it ran off to attack Nora who shot it with her grenade launcher. Ren fired his guns at a retreating Beowolf who dropped dead after receiving the bullets.
Apart of the students and staffs of Beacon, things were being chaotic : airships were firing against several Nevermores while some Atlesian Soldiers were struggling against a rather large Deathstalker on the main avenue of Beacon. Back to Amethyst, she was fighting alongside Weiss, Blake, Glynda and Qrow when suddenly all of them found themselves being shaken by a tremor and Qrow stabbed the ground with his sword to keep himself standing "Oh no..." Glynda muttered in horror as she looked at something in the distance just as another tremor shook Jaune as he battled an Ursa Major, with Sage and Scarlet piggyback riding on it with worried expressions on their faces.
"What's going on ?!" Amethyst asked loudly in a worried tone as she looked at Glynda who pointed at Mountain Glenn with the same look of horror from earlier. "Look..." the Blond Teacher inquired the Lioness who turned her head to look at the mountain… before gasping in horror at what she saw. The mountain in question was shaking violently as various body parts of a monstrous-looking Grimm were slowly revealing themselves before the mountain completely broke apart...releasing a titanic Dragon-like Grimm in the process.
The Wyvern roared loudly (it sounded more like a screech than a roar) before flying out of the abandoned Mountain Glenn toward Beacon Academy. As the Gigantic Wyvern-like Creature flied, a strange black, tar-like substance exuded from it which dropped to the ground in the city of Vale before various Grimm spawned out of the pools. At the sight of them ,the members of Team SSSN and Team JNPR formed a 'lineup' to engage the incoming enemies with Jaune and Pyrrha exchanging a smile to each other before charging the horde of Grimm.
Back to Amethyst, she was looking at the approaching Wyvern with wide eyes of horror before asking the Professor Glynda "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING ?!" Glynda glanced away from the Wyvern to look at the reddish-browned Lioness "This thing is one of the largest Grimm in Remnant : the Wyvern Grimm ! It had been dormant for a long time and now…" Glynda paused in her explanation to kill an upcoming Beowolf.
"How can we stop it ?" the Lioness asked the Blond Teacher as she pinned down a Boarbatusk before biting its neck, killing it. "I don't know…" Glynda replied softy as she be-headed another Grimm. Amethyst frowned before looking toward Weiss and Blake who were fighting side by side "Girls ! Do you know where Ruby is ?" The team member of Team RWBY blinked before answering with the negative. "I will go look for them !" Weiss announced with determination and Blake, who at first seemed hesitant, nodded at her before adding "I will go look for my parents !" Then the two girls left the scene.
Amethyst watched them go for a moment before looking toward where Simba was last seen "I hope you are alright love… I can bear to lose you..." she whispered softy before pouncing on a sabertooth tiger-like Grimm a Sabyr who roared back at her defiantly.
At the same time, far away from there, Simba was having a lot of difficulties at trying to fight off the waves of Grimm falling on him. The Golden Lion ran away from an Alpha Beowolf who pounced on him before nipping him from behind. Simba then turned his head, grabbed the Dark Beast's leg between his jaws before tossing it away from him with a roar. A Beringel (A Gorilla-like Grimm) roared at him before charging. The Golden Lion avoided the Beast's fists before lunged at its neck and thanks to his weight, the Gorilla-like Grimm fell on his back.
The Beringel tried to push him away but the Lion quickly and mercilessly clawed its neck which killed it on the spot. Simba was panting in exhaustion as it was the first time he was facing so many Grimm at once but suddenly his enemies swarmed him and soon he was under a large pile of Grimm who clawed and bite him without giving him a chance to defend himself. Thanks to the Gods, they couldn't pierce his skin but he could still feel the blows which were painful.
Simba grunted in pain as he was receiving a lot of blows from his enemies who were trying their best to keep him down. Gathering his last strengths, the Golden Lion broke free with a roar before swiping his enemies away, clearing a space around him. However, as he stood on his hind-legs to strike a upcoming Beowolf, a charging Goliath crashed against his side and he was sent flying in the air before crashing hard against a building, destroying the rocky-wall in the process. The Dark Creatures stood there, watching the gap to see if their enemy was coming out.
After a few seconds, seeing that it wasn't the case, the hordes of Grimm ran away from there toward Beacon, ignoring their fallen enemy as the Golden Lion was laying on the ground, completely exhausted. Simba had no more strength left in him as he was feeling defeated "I'm sorry Ame...everyone…Forgive me Father… I failed you all..." he muttered softy to himself in a broken tone as he laid there, tears streaming down his muzzle. Suddenly, as he closed his eyes, a familiar voice echoed around him "You did not fail my son…"
Still with his eyes closed, Simba responded back in a miserable tone "How could you say that ?! I wasn't strong enough to stop those Grimm… I wasn't strong enough to prevent all of this ! I'm a failure !" The Golden Lion sighed/yelled the last part with defeat. "You are strong enough my son… All you need is a reason to fight for !" Mufasa's voice echoed again in his head and just as he was about to say something back, a flow of memories started to enter his mind .
All of them were souvenirs of the times he passed with everyone he grew to love and respect : Team RWBY, Team JNPR, Velvet and Coco… Amber… Emerald… Kali Belladonna… Amethyst. At the sight of his mate's smiling face, something inside him broke with a shattering sound similar to glass's. "A reason to fight for..." he thought to himself as his body started to grow in size while a strong heat emanated from him.
"Why do I fight ?" Simba asked internally to himself before answering just as quickly as a feeling of determination started to spread through his body "I fight for the people of Remnant who cannot defend themselves ! I fight for a peaceful word ! I FIGHT FOR THOSE I LOVE !" Just as he roared in his mind those last words his eyelids, which were closed a few seconds ago, re-opened to reveal bright white eyes as a deep growl escaped from his throat.
The second he opened his eyes, his body found itself surrounding by a raging fire which soon ignited the building he was in a bright orange light. The Grimm, the ones who were close enough, suddenly turned their heads to look at the building as it seemed to shook and backed away quickly when the say building fell apart. The Grimm, on their guards, suddenly flinched in fright when a loud and deep growl echoed from the dark mist but then they became terrified when a COLOSSAL figure revealed itself from the ruins.
The heat radiating from it burned the dark skins of the Grimm who backed again to put as much distance possible between them and the Unknown Fiery Beast. The Creature in question, who had its head lowered to the ground, lifted it to face the Grimm who whimpered when they saw two bright white eyes glaring at them before it pounced on them with a thunderous roar. The King had awaken his power… and was ready to unleash it on his enemies !
(To be continue…)