[Nujabes – Battlecry (feat. Shing02)]
残り:四の影/ Remnant's Four Shadows
Volume 4, Episode 9: Push The Limit and Redefine It
[Cues: My Hero Academia OST – Hero A]
If there was one thing Lapis took up from Yuki was the art of analyzing semblances. Sure, she was not as good as him, but she could certainly go at it decently enough. Jaune worked harder on his semblance…having Aura Amplification essentially made learning the auric arts really easy to do. Thankfully, Menagerie did have a library to study.
"It's time I start cashing in all that gold I was sitting under with this semblance." Jaune said as he called upon his aura glowing pure white.
Blake and Sun were sparring with each other's clones as a blindfolded Lapis took on fighting Ghira relying only on Manifesta to be precise in her movement.
"Are you sure you can handle my husband?" Kali said only for Lapis to grab his arm and flip him over.
She promptly used a similar pressure point attack Gen used to paralyze him briefly.
"I have to deal with a guy who has a semblance that makes his upper aura limit…endless. I can handle your husband." Lapis said taking off the blindfold.
Blake finished off Sun's clone, but Sun sweep kicked Blake's clone before punching it causing it to fizzle out.
"Blake, I do want to propose an idea. Sun could probably do it too and maybe Jaune if he makes it a completely auric technique. You ever considered using shuriken and duplicating it through your clones?" Lapis said with a wry grin.
Before Blake could speak, Jaune came up all excited alongside with a half dozen of lighter colored Jaunes.
"I can make clones of myself with aura!" Jaune said giddy. "I discovered it by accident…and when one fades away…"
One of the clones exploded into white dust.
"I can get memories from the clone apparently." Jaune said with a grin.
[Music Ends]
"Oh, come on!" Blake screamed. "I literally have a semblance that makes clones. How can…"
"Auric technique. Jaune, write that technique down. It could be useful for others to learn…" Lapis said as Jaune ran off to do that.
"What exactly is his semblance?" Sun asked.
When Lapis told Sun, Sun took a breath to calm down. He admitted that he was a tiny bit envious, but he was going to use it as a motivator to get better.
"Good, because I'm going to also get you up to speed on Manifesta and Armis. Armis mostly given the situation." Lapis said.
Beside Lapis having reasonable fear of something bad happening, the next day was a quiet day as was the day after. So, they kept training. Jaune kept working on his auric control, Lapis worked on new techniques, and Blake and Sun kept up the clone work. Before long, a week had passed. Lapis seemingly relaxed for the moment only to sense an all too familiar energy.
Sun was sitting on a beach chair enjoying the sun, Blake was reading a book, and Jaune was sipping a fruity drink. Lapis came up running screaming that her sister was coming.
"You have a sist-" BOOM!
Sun was cut off by an explosion and the team sprang into action. Lazuli flew over Kuo Kuana having shot a fireball near some fisherman's feet.
"Where is she…ah, there you are, sister." Lazuli said as Lapis flew up to her.
"Why are you even here?" Lapis snarled.
"I wanted a rematch, dear sis." Lazuli said with a wary look on her face. "Just you and me….let's end things before we run out of time…before I do."
"What do you mean by that?" Lapis asked.
"Well sis, I may not be around for much longer. Seems that unlike you, the doctor fucked up with me. I'm…unstable and don't really have long on Remnant. If I'm going to leave this dump of a world, I'm going out with a bang." Lazuli said glaring at her twin.
Jaune, Blake, and Sun all came only for Lazuli to raise a wall of flame blocking them.
"Back the hell off, this is family business." Lazuli said as Lapis raised a hand to have her team halt.
"She's right. Team, protect Kuo Kuana. She's mine." Lapis said icily as the two floated down to the ground eyeing the other. "This ends today…"
[Cues: Pendulum – Self vs Self (Instrumental)]
The two glared at each other as a quiet breeze before a shockwave broke the quiet from the first punch parry that blew the two sisters back. Lazuli produced a dragon of flames for her hands with Lapis making one of water with the clash exploding to cover the area with hot steam. Lazuli looked around within the steam with flames in her hands.
"I can sense your movements, sister of mine. You're not the only one with Manifesta." Lazuli said before turning around blocking Lazuli's punch only to get a sucker punch to the jaw.
Lapis manipulated the hot steam into her body.
"I don't think you doing that will save you. How is steam going to hurt me?" Lazuli snarked only to see Lapis's body bulk up slightly. "Wait, wha-"
A punch to the stomach before an uppercut got Lazuli on her back and on edge. She sprang up headbutting her sister before they traded blows. The two slashed at each other with blades of their respective elements as Lapis's body hissed out steam. Lazuli raised her body heat giving off flames forcing Lapis to jump back.
"Too hot to handle…and too hot to touch." Lazuli said as Lapis shook her hand. "What now?"
"Did you neglect to realize that you choose to fight me on an island…surrounded by water?" Lapis said raising a chunk of the ocean from the sea.
"The same island that has massive heat waves from the lack of snow!" Lazuli said combusting the air around her.
[Cues: Shikabane Hime ~ Kuro - Original Soundtrack – Shi he no Sanbika]
Over the fight, they gave all they had…but it grew clear that their semblances basically made them evenly matched. The air radiated dryly as the two sisters glared at each other panting. Lazuli smirked once again raring to go, the sandy ground had small clusters of glass from the heat.
"It's over, sister. We're evenly matched…but I have an ace in the hole." Lazuli said producing a sword before it become consumed with flames. "Superheated Armis…one swipe of this and it's over for you. And you can't dodge me forever."
"You're right. I can't. But…" Lapis said stoically raising her hand. "We are not evenly matched."
The air around Lazuli's throat tightened as she coughed and hacked…dropping her sword with its flames flickering out. Lazuli grabbed her own throat stumbling as she looked up to her twin who had no emotion on her face.
"You…can control air?! But I thou…" Lazuli said before coughing too much to speak anymore.
"I don't want to do this. I wanted my sister and all I got was Rotertod's demented final middle finger. It didn't have to end like this…I didn't want to have to kill you." Lapis said as tears slowly spilled.
"Not like we had a choice. We…were fucked from the beginning." Lazuli said haggardly.
"When I was at the breaking point, I saw you…you were the one to open my aura from what I thought was beyond the grave…" Lapis said. "But I can't sense any soul in you…at all."
"That's because you're half-right. You and Yuki have something in common…a link to what is in the Voyd." Lazuli said as the shock caused Lapis to lose her grip. "What happened that day...long ago was the last act of your twin did before she and you died to become one."
"But I didn't…" Lapis said as Lazuli grew weaker coughing up blackened blood. "What the…"
Lazuli fell to her knees writhing in pain, but still speaking as she treated this light.
"You're only incomplete because you only have your aura, but both the souls. I have the opposite problem…and you can see which of us is more stable. What you don't realize was…Rotertod had been fucking with the Voyden before he realized it. He still lives…" Lazuli said laughing before spitting up more blood. "Yeah…it's over for me. I could die right now and leave you incomplete but…I'm an agent of chaos. Besides…the one thing that will cause the most chaos is YOU being complete."
"What will happen to me? To you?!" Lapis asked.
"Me? I'll leave this accursed world. I don't exactly know if there's an afterlife or if I get a second chance in some other universe….but it was fun while it lasted." Lazuli said as Lapis was holding back tears. "As for you…you become complete. I guess. Now take the other wing and soar."
[Music Ends]
Lazuli looked up at the sky and smirked before her body combusted into red energy that sprang out consuming Lapis before it fizzled out into purple sparkles. Lapis was supposedly complete. Physically, there had been few changes on her. Her hair was still blue, but now had bits of red in it. Her aura however had shifted between red, blue, and purple for a moment before she took a breath. Twin sisters were now in perfect sync and harmony…at least it was supposed to had Lazuli not given up control to Lapis.
"The one good thing you did in your reckless life. I'll avenge you for what Rotertod did you and to me." Lapis said before seeing an explosion in the distance in the city.
She took up her twin sister's sword lighting it aflame like she did.
-=o=-
Gen was already a problem in a handbasket, but the mad doctors made it a bit more chaotic. Dr. Merlot's method of choice was a one-man hovercraft manned with machine guns and other gadgets while leading a small army of mutated Deathstalkers. Alexa was hands-on in fighting Blake as Gen was being fought off by Jaune. Sun was trying to clip off the mutants as the Menagerie Royal Guard backed them all up.
Jaune made use of his clones to fight only for Jaune to get caught by his head because of Gen.
"I sense a familiar yet new power." Gen said only for a slam to get everyone to pause.
One of the Deathstalkers was crushed by Lapis who stood tall.
"Lapis?" Jaune said sensing Lapis's aura which felt warmer.
"Gen, I sense that Rotertod still breathes. Does he?" Lapis said only for Alexa to pale.
"He…is now a she. Within the body of the one formerly belonging to Cinder…" Gen said tossing Jaune to the ground. "But that's not im-"
"Silence." Lapis said walking over and getting Jaune to his feet. "Are you all right?"
"What happened? What about Lazuli?" Jaune asked.
"Free from this world…and me? One can say complete and at peace…or at least I will be when Rotertod is dead and gone." Lapis said as her eyes briefly flashed red like her sister's.
"No…impossible. They…they became one?!" Alexa said only to get punched by Blake. "Merlot! We need to retreat, right now!"
"Why?" Merlot asked as this got Sun and Blake curious.
"Because I never expected this…the idea of the twins merging to become one being as I had tried to do in my early experiments. And from the way she's looking at me…I think Lazuli checked out and gave Lapis all the keys." Alexa said sweating. "We need to go! NOW!"
"Oh no. Merlot and Gen can go, but you…I won't let you leave this island ALIVE!" Lapis said as her aura flared.
"Yes, this is the challenge I wanted!" Gen said excitedly getting in front of her.
Lapis, not in the mood for Gen, simply grabbed Gen 's shoulder and hurled him into the side of a building before walking forward towards Alexa.
"Merlot, take your petri dish of a fighter and leave. Unless you want to be drowned and then burned." Lapis said as flames flickered off her body.
"You can control fire, now?!" Sun said shocked.
"I am now complete. Exactly what the doctor wanted…a super-solider. A fitting balance of water and fire…I want to see him the field test I'm about to do on his face." Lapis said with a split grin.
"Merlot, we need to go!" Alexa said scrambling to get away.
Blake's clones tackled her to the ground to which Alexa shot out flaming spines from her body to which Blake had a grin of her own as the clones exploded in Alexa's face.
"Finally got that exploding aura clones thing down!" Blake said as Alexa got up only to smacked down by Lapis.
"Lapis, I was…trying to make you into a great solider…" Alexa said with nervous laughter.
"You succeeded." Lapis said as a ball of air formed around Alexa.
She could only scream as the air was being pulled out of her lungs before the air within her lungs combusted into fire leaving the mad doctor to spit out flames in a desperate attempt for air. Most could only watch in mute horror as Alexa pleaded for mercy only for the fires to dim. Her lungs were smoky, but she could breathe….only for the air to grow cold. It was one last scream before her lungs were frozen and her head was sliced off with a sword swipe. Before the head hit the ground, she blasted away the body with a burst of aura taking out of a few of Deathstalkers.
"Gen, we're leaving." Merlot said mortified.
Gen protested only for Merlot to yell at him not to disobey orders. With a pout, Gen followed and as Merlot let loose smoke bombs to make their exit. Lapis could have cleared the smoke, but she let them go. She was a bit drained herself from the act and Jaune was the first to come up.
"Lapis, you still in there?" Jaune asked.
"Yes, it's still me." Lapis said as her eyes returned to normal. "I just…got a serious upgrade."
"So, you basically have two semblances…" Sun said dryly.
"And two sets of aura and souls. Though, it's just my soul. With the two auras combined…I'm pretty sure it puts me in the higher tier of aura amounts." Lapis said jokingly. "Now you'll have to use your semblance to keep up. I just have to not accidentally burn your pelvis."
"Did you just…pfft…hahaha." Sun said before laughing a bit more.
Blake had a blush and Jaune looked surprised to see Lapis openly emoting more.
"I'm happy to report that aside from property damaged and a few injured, we got no deaths." Saber said relived. "But you did let Merlot get away."
"I can sense them…leaving here and doing so quickly." Lapis said before taking up Alexa's head. "But I wonder…can they bring back Rotertod. And why come back using Cinder's body?"
"Maybe he intended to use yours originally?" Blake guessed only for Lapis to shudder.
"Yeah, thanks for that image, you tuna tasting dipshit." Lapis said glaring at her.
(A/N: I didn't expect to end Lapis's arc early, but it happens. This is what I like to call 'Shin Lapis' or 'Complete Lapis'. I toyed with the idea since the beginning and I'm glad I followed through. However, this means I also want to use the concept for something else. Noting RWBYverse, I want to continue the 'New Kingdom AU' to which I'll rewrite the first two and continue with the three as new content soon into the future. Now, we come full circle with Yuki.)
Ending Theme – The Boondocks Soundtracks – Red Ball Theme
