Hello everyone and all, Melody here. Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all, sorry this took forever but I felt this would be a good day to post this since I've finally finished the chapter. Anyway I've been tossing some ideas around in my head for a couple of other crossover fanfics I could write. One is Demon Slayer x FE Three Houses, a High School of the Dead one cause I'm getting back into it, and finally one that's MHA x Darker than BLACK. If either of those pique your interests, let me know. Let's get to it.
Sincerely, Melody.
A few days turned into a week then two since Lothur had watched his father die. He tried to move, to motivate himself to do anything but had trouble doing so. Fianna and Emerald couldn't help him and Soleil had the slightest idea of how bad Lothur felt. Of course he had called Neon, he was on the phone with her the moment the live stream went up; Well she called him the moment she saw Flynn's armour. He couldn't even cry though which concerned her, he didn't know why but he just couldn't. He had yet to cry, it just didn't feel real.
The only class he participated in fully though, was combat training. That was why he was currently standing over the unconscious bodies of Team CRDL after stomping them into the ground with his Semblance. Slowly his beastly visage disappeared showing his impassive face. The only sound he could hear was the adrenaline rushing through his veins as Professor Goodwitch explained why he won. Lifting his blade, he rested it on his shoulder and looked up to the screen to see he only lost 15% of his Aura; He could go a couple more rounds.
"Give me another." He said, his voice hoarse from having barely talked the past few weeks. "I can handle it."
Even though she was concerned, Glynda nodded and tapped her scroll, "Next up is Mr. Marvos and Mr. Rouge to go against Mr. Blutmond." She announced which got the pair to come down from where they were sitting.
Soleil in his pristine coat drew his flamberge while Drakon readied his axe. Lothur made sure his revolver was loaded and grinned. After both parties were readied, Glynda told them to start and Lothur was already rushing at the two. His swing was wide and left many openings for the pair to try and exploit but when Drakon tried to take a swing, Lothur's other arm brought up his revolver and he took a shot. While it did little damage, the hand cannon still shoved Drakon back a bit as Soleil took the brunt of the swing. The force behind it was staggering and caused his eyes to widen as it pushed him back.
Silvery light shone from Soleil as he coated his blade in the radiance and charged Lothur. It was as if his blade temporarily turned to light but Lothur found himself unable to dodge the smack as Soleil struck his chest with the flat of his sword. Drakon came from behind and took a swing with his axe. Twisting back with the blow, Lothur kicked at Drakon's side. The massive axe was sent flying back a few feet away and Lothur took that opportunity to jump away from Soleil. Rolling to the ground he flicked his wrist and brought up his hand cannon. Quickly pulling the trigger twice unleashed four flaming rounds that streaked through the air. Empowering his legs with light, Soleil easily dodged the bullets and made his way over to Drakon's axe. Lothur on the other hand distracted himself with Drakon as he charged the other Faunus. Given he didn't have a weapon at the moment, Drakon was forced to take the assault head-on.
Luckily with a mixture of his armour and aura, the damage wasn't that severe. Drakon just held up his arms and blocked the strikes until he noticed Soleil around fifteen feet behind Lothur. Raising the axe, Soleil threw it directly at Lothur's head. As if he had some sixth sense, Lothur moved his head out of the way. While he was distracted Drakon moved to the side and narrowly caught the axe. The swing was low but Drakon pressed a button on the handle, unleashing a cold wave at Lothur. Before he could jump away the frozen mist quickly condensed into ice, trapping Lothur in place. Everyone in the arena noticed the glow in Lothur's eyes though; They knew the ice wouldn't contain him. Soft pink turned a malicious crimson and everyone felt their skin crawl as the sounds of Lothur's bones breaking and contorting filled the room. The ice around his legs shattered as they shifted to a beastly form. Unlike the previous match though, he didn't transform his entire body.
To eagle eyes students, they would notice the board in the back read that Lothur was only as 50% of his aura even though he only took a few hits so far. Drakon wasn't fairing much better due to him effectively being a punching bag since the start of the match but Soleil's aura had only gone down a single percent. Using his enhanced leg strength, Lothur dashed at Soleil and attempted to cleave him in half only for a shield of light to block him. The loud bang that resounded through the arena caused people to wince as Lothur glared through the semi-transparent shield. Soleil simply frowned.
"You do know that this is only a spar, yes?" His polite tone was betrayed by the annoyed look in his eyes.
"Shut up and be my punching bag dammit," Lothur whispered with a low growl as he drew his blade back and slammed down on the shield once again. Due to the shadows in the room and not being directly in sunlight, the shield cracked from the force of the strike. "Cause I have some shit I need to work through!" He roared out and slammed once more as Soleil swiftly moved back.
The barrier of light shattered easily but the force and momentum forced Lothur to continue and slam into the ground. Given the force behind the swing, the blade easily carved into the stone floor. As he dragged his blade out of the ground though Lothur failed to notice as Drakon came up behind him. His own eyes had a glow to them like Lothur's but it was a cool, comforting blue. Like before he took a swing with his axe but this time it was accompanied by a massive spectral draconic tail slapping Lothur out of the arena. He was shocked as he was sent flying but couldn't do anything to stop himself as he was embedded into the wall. Looking at the board everyone noticed Lothur was down to only 5% of his aura. Slowly the teen's legs shifted back into their normal humanoid form.
Mercury sat in the stands with a clear interest in his eyes. He was leaning forward with elbows on his knees and resting his head in his hands. In his head, he was thinking of various strategies that the pair could've used to beat Lothur more easily but that didn't matter at the moment. Soon his match would be up as he listened to Professor Goodwitch ask the class questions about the match before announcing the next match. He'd be going against Miss Pyrrha Nikos. So far she hadn't shown any signs of using a Semblance; Visible signs. If his theory was correct she probably had one that wasn't all that corporeal. He understood what it was like to have one that others couldn't really see so he was just suspicious. She held a myth of being invincible in battle. Mercury wanted to see if it were true.
He made his way to the locker room and grabbed his weapons. Like always, he had his boot-guns on but he had some other tricks up his sleeves. A long while back he had Sally help him make some gloves to go with the boots save for them not being guns. While they weren't bulky they still packed a punch. He also strapped a belt with numerous pouches to his waist.
Making his way to the arena he saw that Pyrrha was already waiting for him. He held a steady smile on her face as he drew closer.
"You guys know the rules, like a tournament either your opponent's Aura goes in the red or you are pushed out of the ring. If both participants are ready?" The professor questioned as she looked between the two. Both nodded,"Then begin."
"I hope we both learn something new from this." Pyrrha offered politely as she held up her shield.
"I hope so too," Mercury replied before taking a relaxed stance.
Surprisingly, the person to take action in the match was Pyrrha. She moved to stab at him with her spear. Mercury easily dodged out of the way of the attack and then the next, and the one after that. She was testing his reaction which he knew so he wouldn't give her any information. He just lazily dodged the attacks with his hands in his pockets. Her attacks were precise but didn't land, mostly being feints. Mercury pulled back once he was bored enough and zipped around her. With a little hop, he spun quickly and aimed a kick at the side of her head.
He knew the kick would've connected but something felt off. As she moved her head out of the way he felt something push his leg up. It led to a few theories forming in his mind as he landed. Ducking down to avoid a spear swipe he thought. There were three real possibilities that would make sense; One, she could manipulate gravity to a small degree, two, she could create a force field that repelled things, and three, she could control magnetism. Any of them could be the answer but he had to be sure. Moving away from her he quickly pulled a hand out of his pocket and moved it to one of his many pouches.
Most of the people in the stands expected him to pull out some Dust and throw it at her, they just weren't expecting the dust he actually threw. In the air, a cloud of silvery-white formed with Pyrrha in the center. Mercury stood outside the cloud and held up the hand that threw the powder. His thumb and middle fingers had a noticeable bulge. With a snap of his fingers, the cloud ignited in a violent bang and erupted into a brilliant fireball. Almost everyone in the room was surprised, save for two people, Sally and Glynda. The former was laughing like a madwoman while the latter was shaking her head with a sigh. Pyrrha hadn't expected the explosion that would envelop her but her aura still protected her save for the little bit of powder that had actually gotten on her skin. She did notice though how it was somewhat harder to breathe.
"What was that?" She gasped out once the smoke cleared only to see her opponent looking rather bored.
"Mixture of magnesium and gunpowder. Used in something called dragon's breath shotgun rounds. Cheaper than Dust rounds really given the amount it takes to make only costs a few lien in total." He explained as he pulled out another, small, handful of the powder. "Have some more, cause I have plenty."
He threw the handful while snapping his fingers to make a small fireball. It traveled out just a few feet but the little light show got Pyrrha to move out of reflex.
Mercury used that reflex to his advantage as he rushed at her with an axe kick. Though she was able to dodge it easily, the sound of a gunshot pulled her attention and she watched as Mercury's other foot came up and struck her under the chin. While no bones actually broke due to aura, the crunch that resounded throughout was sickening. The kick knocked her back onto the ground but before Mercury could even press his advantage she was able to roll to her feet. Her spear shifted to a rifle and she fired off a few shots at him and he drew back before digging into another pouch. Pyrrha braced herself for the bang but only saw a flash and smoke. Soon the arena was filled to the point where people could hardly see. Sally just laughed.
Pyrrha attempted to peer through the smoke but soon the world around her started to grow dark; Save for a path in front of her. In a strange whirl, the smoke cleared and she saw Mercury walking towards her rather casually. She went to raise her rifle but noticed her body was moving rather slowly. She turned her eyes back to Mercury and it appeared as if he was just walking in place.
Then she heard his voice, his tone bored to match the look in his eyes, "Honestly, the only reason you ever won those tournaments was because of the fact that I never entered. You must be confused right? That's normal considering you're in my world right now. Most people's brains can't process this state except for the one person I designate. Shame it only works on one person though." He explained yet his mouth wasn't moving. "You'll be like this for the next twenty-four seconds as your brain attempts to catch up with reality. During that time you won't be able to move, use aura, speak, or even think really. Sally explained it like that because I don't process this as you do." He spoke once more and his mouth moved but it was slow and the movements were like the words he said before. "The one thing though that you will be able to process," She didn't know when it happened but he was right in front of her. Then he simply punched her in the stomach. "Will be all the pain once your brain catches up." And with that, she felt the pressure from the punch. Then she felt it again and again as Mercury continued to punch and kick her until he just stopped and walked back to where he was standing and assumed the same posture.
To everyone watching, Mercury and Pyrrha were just standing there as the smoke cleared out of the arena. Many were confused until they noticed Mercury snap his fingers, as a small spark ignited between them. Then they all were witness to the ungodly screams Pyrrha made as the air around her body cracked as if it were panels made of glass. With each shattering sound, Pyrrha's screams got louder and everyone watched as her aura was quickly drained to only a couple percent. Mercury's own aura was reduced from 78% to 48% for some reason. Most assumed it was because of the cracks in the air and that being his Semblance but few knew the truth. Almost everyone was shocked when Pyrrha fell to the ground in defeat, coughing up blood in the process. Mercury simply looked up to Glynda who shook her head and announced his win. The room was silent as he made his way back to his way over to Pyrrha and picked her up.
"I'll take her to the nurse." He announced as he looked up to Glynda with a bored look in his eyes.
"Of course, on your way then." She replied before turning back to the class.
"What just happened?" Drakon asked quietly as he turned to Sally.
She looked over and gave a small smile, "Mercury must've figured out her Semblance. He's good at that kind of thing. He just used his own because it must've been something he couldn't normally handle."
"So he can control the air?" Drakon questioned which got a laugh from Sally.
"No, his Semblance is something so much more than that. You'll have to ask him yourself though, it would be rude for me to say behind his back." She explained as she turned her head to Jaune as Drakon left the class with Weiss following behind him unaware. "Need something?"
Jaune looked angry as he spoke, "Your brother went too far."
Sally shrugged, "Probably. He tends to do that. Why are you telling me this?"
"What's wrong with him?! Why did he go that far?!" He shouted at her which drew everyone's attention to the pair.
"How should I know? He's his own person so if you wanna know just go ask with Drakon." She yelled back in a much more subdued tone. "If you want answers get off your ass and go get them yourself, asshole." She glared before the bell rang to signal the end of the day. Grabbing her stuff, she left the room with Mindy and Team FLER in tow.
A short while later, Mercury arrived at the nurse's office and dropped off Pyrrha after explaining what had happened. Turning back to leave he saw Weiss and Drakon waiting for him. Before they could ask questions, he motioned for them to follow. And followed they did as he started to walk to where the dogs stayed. When the trio arrived Weiss and Drakon were tackled by Zeus and Jupiter respectively. Dogmeat walked over and sat down as Mercury sat down beside her. He looked up at them expectantly as he scratched the mutt behind her ears. The questions were common to Mercury and he answered them to the best of his ability. The pair didn't believe him though because who could manipulate such a thing. It just caused Mercury to smirk.
And that's a wrap for the chapter. I hope people enjoyed it, I would've made it a bit longer but I've been really busy and wanted to put this out around now. Anyway, let's get to the reviews.
Monster King: Thanks, glad you liked it.
VGBlackwing: Yeah, he ain't gonna be all that happy about it.
Rio Skyron: Persona 3 and Fire Emblem: Three Houses has been distracting me lately, especially since I started to Crimson Flower Route in Three Houses recently.
Trjz: You're welcome, hope you like this one as well.
Kpmh2001: For me it is a mixture of writers' block in regard to this story and working on my own novel as well. Glad you didn't have much to critique in regards to the previous chapter. Being partially blind makes me strive to make sure my stuff can be read with ease mostly for my benefit and the benefit of anyone reading. Also, thanks for pointing that out. My mind wanders as I type so sometimes it affects my writing. Glad that it's easy to reorient your thoughts by just reading the next paragraph.
Now let's get to the revealed Semblances of this chapter.
Lothur Blutmond's Semblance: Shifter: Lothur's Semblance effectively makes him into a werewolf, either by fully transforming his body or partially transforming parts of his body to enhance his physical attributes but it quickly drains aura to use full-body transformation.
Drakon Marvos' Semblance: Dragon Soul: Drakon's Semblance allowed him to summon spectral body parts of a dragon to enhance his attacks. Depending on the amount of aura use, the larger the size of the limb.
Mercury Black's Semblance: Time Skip & Lock: Mercury's Semblance allows him to skip forward in time. While skipping forward he is unable to affect the biological organisms around him. For every six seconds he spends in skipped time, he burns 10% of his aura. He can only go forward, never back. Normally this seems like a teleportation ability until he targets exactly one person. Once a target has been designated they experience the time skip with Mercury but move in slow motion and can only perceive a path directly to Mercury, ignoring any barriers in between. The target can be affected by Mercury be it him moving them out of the way of an attack or unleashing a barrage of attacks on them. The person's brain experiences a six-second lag as their brain attempts to catch up with the regular world and all of the sensory information around them which leaves them unable to move.
So yeah, Mercury's Semblance is long and complicated and might be seen as overpowered but I tried to limit it as much as possible so it isn't quite so overpowered. Anyway, the next chapter will finally be getting back to Six but I wanted this one out first. Not sure when the next one will be out but maybe a month or two? You all should know by now that I have a very loose schedule if it can even be called that. Once again, Merry Christmas and happy holidays, hope you all enjoyed the chapter.