Arc II - Barons Rising

Chapter 19: Turnabout Events

"Sky, gimme your hand!"

Not wasting time to hesitation, my arm reached out for Yang's, the blonde girl pulling me aboard the train as the snap of fangs shook the air behind me, the mutated Rakan Taijitu hissed from behind the end of the cart, to our surprise it was keeping up, the white head joined behind it carelessly allowing the cobra head to pull along, spitting acidic venom towards the carts, but due to the speed we picked up it wasn't going to land a shot, hopefully.

"Hurry, children! We must get to the front and stop this train!" Oobleck yelled to us, but then my sensors picked up something volatile, and no, not the fact there's a two-headed snake after us

"Uh...Professor?" Weiss called out, before he rushed to her side

"Doctor..." He muttered, as the rest of us walked over, before peering into the small shaft, only to find a strange hexagonal object, with wires and a blue screen on its face, then Eric laughed nervously

"What's that?" Weiss continued, as Eric piped up to me

"I think I know why the detection is going off?" And what might that be? "Well...lots of bad electronics, some chemicals meant for larger than life effects..."

"That my dear...appears to be a bomb." Oobleck answered casually as he pointed to it, that was when I had jumped behind Yang, even in this armour, I ain't taking any chances

"We got baddies!" Ruby pointed ahead of us, as we looked to see a large amount of White Fang exiting the cars and moving towards us slowly. "But what about the bomb!?"

"Well I didn't expect them to go-" Oobleck tried to say

*BLEEP-BLEEP-BLEEP-BLEEP*

Warning: High Threat Level Detected

Analysis Complete - Several similar devices detected

"Find me in the alps..." I muttered, as my scanners picked up alot more readings of the same chemicals, and I didn't need an A in science to understand what that meant. "Hey doc? I just picked up more signs of the chemical mix-up for the bombs, they're in the next 2 cars ahead of us."

"What!? Quickly, Blake, detach the caboose!" Oobleck yelled as we ran to the next car, but as Blake jumped down, I watched as it instantly flew away from us, causing me to ponder as to why. The Rakan seemed uninterested by this as the boy snaked, no pun intended, around the cart, its white head slinging around to sink its fangs into the hull of the cart, pulling the black, cobra head towards us again with a steely glare. "Yang, starve this-!"

*BOOOM*

We then watched the first car explode a few yards away, breaking away at the ceiling above.

"That's not good." Oobleck mumbled in concern, as me and Ruby opened the next hatch, and I was right, there was another bomb

"Neither is this!" Ruby called out, as we both looked at each other, although she couldn't see my worried look. "Sky, what's going on?"

"I don't know, but we're not gunna give up this easily." I told her, as she nodded, then Oobleck ran past us to tear the third compartment open and reveal what I had detected, more of them were placed in each cart

"This is definitely not good," Then he looked at us. "Children! We must move off of these three carts now!" But then me and Ruby fell over slightly, as we noticed the car detach, and the approach of the Rakan, the head snapping down on the metal hull before us

"Hold on!" I told Ruby, before I grabbed her bridal-style and launched us across the gap and onto the next cart over, the fangs of the cobra head sinking clean into the edge as it continued to sling itself along. Setting Ruby down I turned to guard against the ever-closing serpent that insisted on following us...with a large collection of Grimm...oh boy

"This doesn't make sense!" Yang protested, just as the speaker systems on-board rung out again

~YOU WANT TO UNDERSTAND WHY I'M DOING THIS? WHY IT IS I ENJOY TOYING WITH YOU?~

We all waited over the whirling of the wind caused my the train, alongside the sharp scrapes of the track.

~I HAVE BEEN TESTING YOUR RESOLVE. AGAINST ALL YOU HAVE FACED AND YET YOU STILL HAVE NEVER SEEMED TO GRASP PROJECT ECLIPSE'S BASIC FUNCTIONS~

"And what's that?" I dared, what came next wasn't the reply I wanted

~HEHEHE, YOU STILL HAVEN'T TOLD THEM? I GAVE YOU TIME BEFORE THIS. BUT SEEMS YOU ARE AFRAID~

If my blood hadn't run cold by then, it did now, even as we jumped atop the next cart to watch the final bomb fly away, the Rakan still pursuing us, but my heart was racing again, not good. Whatever is game was I don't think my stress could handle it.

"Told us what?" Blake's question had me frozen in place

~YOU SEE. I DON'T NEED TO SAY ANYTHING. BECAUSE IT WILL BE YOU TO SPILL ALL YOUR LITTLE SECRETS~

I felt glass shatter.

~ISN'T THAT RIGHT...KAI...AMADEUS?~

I didn't move an inch, nothing in my linear mind would construct a single motion or thought. It was as if something flicked a switch in my head clean off the wall.

"Kai...?" Ruby spoke my real name, and Gods know how many more thing that would begin to bring up

"You mean...all this time your name - no...what else is there?" Yang...please no...if I could I'd have fallen to my knees in shame, the only one who knew was Weiss, but...even she didn't know about anything beyond that...I...I...

My eyes widened, the shadow quickly encompassed my form as I dove back onto my side, the fangs slicing straight through the hull like butter. I stared up at the horrific sight of the twin head glaring down at me, both hissing slowly, the white head snapped towards my team, lowering its head to propel the several shards of green crystal at them, followed by several small explosions of green goo. My blades quickly whirled around again to push against the force of the acidic fangs that attempted to strip my own armor into molten slag.

The green gashes across the scales seemed to hum with the newly forged spines on the white head's back, with acid dripping from the black head's fangs, burning small holes through the roof of the cart.

I need to get a grip! "Guys, go stop this train, I'll take care of this!" I ordered, but then I saw Weiss try to press forward

"Sky-"

"Get going!...nothing else matters now..." I whispered the last part to her, I received a sad nod as she reluctantly followed after the others leaving me and Oobleck as I pushed the Rakan Grimm back, flipping around to stand back on my two

"Sky, are you capable of taking this creature down?" Oobleck asked me seriously. All I did was raise my bladed arms, standing firm as I heard his footsteps leave. Now I could allow this one moment to slip, a single, spiteful infestation to run its course like poison though me

"Ok..." I growled, my highlights turning a mixture of blue and red as I lit my blades on fire. "Come and get me."

When I glared back at Rakan, it had already made its approach, but I could see around my body, purple bolts of lightning coursing across my arms, sending waves of power through my body. So I can amplify my movements with Dust? Fire seems to make me feel...better, stronger even, strange but not unwelcomed given how royally pissed I am.

When I saw the serpent loom over me, I glared up, before my legs launched me into the air, narrowly missing the massive reptile easily, then I swung my arms around, as the flamed edges struck the side of Rakan's jaw, leaving behind an electrical discharge to force a hiss of pain. Then I spun in the air, striking downwards, creating an 'X' on the Cobra's head. Pushing back I avoided the white head as it shot more green crystals to force my defence.

But the cobra head swung itself in turn, knocking me into the cart over and driving the lightning across the hull with a smolder of flames as I grit my teeth in pain, but my glare was still present in my eyes. I planted my feet on the hull before launching myself at the Mutant Grimm, the two heads lashing out, with the black cobra spitting acid, but I bent at the knees, sliding under the stream and pushing back up with thrust the right arm through its jaw, pulling back to split the lower jaw in-two. With a turn I blocked and surfed the white head into the wall of the tunnel, shredding its forehead as the velocity dragged the two back towards the edge of the cart.

My next hit was a straight, horizontal swing from my right, I immediately followed by an uppercut with the left blade. I then then jumped and slashed the black head from left to right while spinning twice. I quickly landed, facing the opened jaws of the white head, carving a rugged 'X' from top to bottom, before inversely slashing the X again from bottom to top. Running under its heads to the underbelly, I drove to diagonal lines across the point their scales turn color, followed by a jump over the body and towards the black head, lacerating the eyes witg several strokes of my arms, blinding it completely under its own mist.

Hoping from the cobra head and over the white head I sunk my hooks into the scales, slamming my legs into the cart as I pulled so hard I was standing on the side of the cart, pulling the head up and over the edge, using gravity to hoist myself over as the black smog erupted from the cobra head screaming as it was blended by the weight of the train and the tracks it caught itself under. I released the white head too, seeing its head crack open from smashing into the tunnel walls.

"Don't fuck with this human." I joked, feeling my anger subside into sorrow of the events that had transpired since coming to Mountain Glenn. "Gods...dammit."

"Much as I would like to salvage this outcome, we need to press forward, we're running out of track." Iota? "I get it now, their plan is not so crazy, they released Grimm within the tunnels, and a train weighs around 270,000 pounds, it would be enough force, plus speed, to completely obliterate the wall between the tunnel and Downtown Vale."

"You mean they plan to breach...that's why they got all the dust, this is a literal, high-velocity bomb!" This situation was far more severe than before

"Agreed."

~...YOU'VE LOST...~

"SHIT-"

"SHIT-"

"SHIT-"

*CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!*

. . . . . .

"...Sky...up, get...!"

"You...move...now!"

"Please..."

At the sound of the voices calling out me from the void, my eyes slowly opened to the blue sky above me, as the ringing in my ears slowly dissipated, only to be filled with the sound of screams and the cries of monsters. My mind quickly came to, as I sat up from the rubble, seeing that I had landed in a shop, but it faced Vale's square, along with a swarm of Grimm, but far less than what I expected.

"N-No...we...failed." I breathed, as I tried to move, but my legs wouldn't listen

"Thankfully the breach is closed, but..." Eric spoke sadly, as I felt my heart sink at the sight ahead of me. In the central platform, was my team, they all faced the Grimm that surrounded them, alongside Coco and her team, Jaune's team too, but thankfully they were all okay, seeing as they were taking care of the stragglers

~H-H-HUNTSMEN A-AND HUNTRESSES...HELLO. G-GOODBYE~

[No-one's POV]

All eyes and ears tried to pinpoint the sudden, sharp voice that silenced the chaos, the majority of Grimm gone or fleeing into the fire of Atlas Knights, but the broken, distorted voice still continued, the same from the train that Team RWBYS had heard.

"Oooh, you really done it now, kids." Roman chuckled darkly, still held down my Atlas personal

"Who are you?" Professor Goodwich questioned sternly, pushing her glasses back up her nose, but a bone-chilling laugh was her answer

~W-WHO WOULD YOU LIKE IT TO BE?~

From the rubble of a nearby shop, something walked out with an ear-splitting scrape of a blade tailing its steps. Lifting something off the ground, all Students faced a cloaked figure standing on elevated ground, raising a large, mirror-face scythe to rest on its shoulder. The cloak parted at its side to allow a black, feathered arm to grasp the crooked, grey handle as two royal red eyes stared at them all with frantic intent to kill. white talons sunk clean into stone.

"Is that a...Grimm!?" Coco gaped, as all students raised their weapons, only for the figure to lower the scythe towards the ground, tapping the tip of the blade off the ground impatiently

~DON'T PAY TOO MUCH ATTENTION TO MORANA. WE ARE MISSING THE STAR OF THIS SHOW STILL~

"Sky...wait, where is he?" Weiss finally realized that he wasn't with them this whole time they were fighting, how could she just...forget him? Another laugh from Mars

~FROM YOUR FACES I CAN SEE YOU HAVEN'T REALIZE HE WAS GONE. OR...DO YOU SIMPLY NOT CARE FOR THE LIAR AMONG YOU?~

~OH WELL. I SHOULD BEGIN TO CLARIFY THAT YOUR...FRIEND. HE IS NOT OF THIS WORLD. FAR FROM REMNANT THAT IS~

"What?" Yang gaped, with the cloaked figure, Morana, steadily pacing as if the voice originated from him, but his eyes never left the group of Huntsmen, Huntresses and Atlas personal

~HE HAS LIED TO YOU ALL. A MAN TAKEN FROM HIS OWN WORLD AND CAST INTO THIS ONE. OF COURSE I WAS THE ONE TO PERFECT SUCH A THING. THAT IS ALL I WILL SAY ON THE MATTER HOWEVER~

"Sky isn't...from Remnant?" Sun tried to piece it together in his head, all the while Sky was too busy sinking into the rubble he sat in, his karma had caught up to him at the very end, and all he could do was listen, he couldn't even defend himself or try to say a word, just like always

~MORANA...END THIS HUNT WOULD YOU?~

"...Life is such a circus of failures...and I'm the main attraction." Sky didn't bother moving, he knew what would happen next, this...Morana, would attack, but who cares? There are dozens of armed warriors, why would it matter if he were to intervene? "I'm better off just...doing nothing."

"I have no hopes or dreams...seems fitting..." Sky whispered, his eyes beginning to close under the sounds of combat, it didn't matter...none of it did

"Are you serious," Iota growled, and Sky's eyes adjusted to the light again. "After everything...this is it? You're done? You quit?"

"Sure...let's call it that."

"Don't you fucking dare close your eyes, Sky Zaffre!" Sky listened, as it was the first time Iota had ever called him under his false name, not once had he ever said it, not unless it was an insult. "You close your eyes and you go back to being nothing. Not a man with split personalities or a machine on his wrist. No, you'll be alone. Forever."

"I have sat here and watched for months with Eric, I have listened to everything from sorrow to joy, now...now I want to speak, and you will sit, and you will listen." Sky said nothing, instead, he felt his body rise to sit upwards, even Eric was silent. "There may be no hope in going back...we may never see Erika again...so are you willing to let this go? After all the defiance against both myself and Mars?"

"Do you want to grow stronger? Take a chance and beg for forgiveness? Just once...I will do the same. Me. You. Eric. We will fall to our knees and beg them to forgive our deceit...because..." Iota sounded hurt just by trying to convey his words. "Because I too can't lose the only family we have again...no matter what."

Sky felt his body move, the screen of Cognitum aglow at the sight of Morana, standing tall over all his friends, his sister, his teacher and many others, it had taken them all down with effortless skill, but Sky...he was dead to it, so that's what he'll do.

"If I can't be Sky...then I'll be Kai again...just once more." Cognitum re-calibrated with his new found illumination, his body a shimmer of purple as he rose from the rubble, small cuts and bruising beginning to soften and fade with each step. "Iota...Eric...?"

"What?" Iota and Eric asked, and Sky felt his eyes shimmer too, his vision a little less foggy and uncertain of the goal ahead of him. It was there, Ruby was the last to stand against Morana, he own aura beginning to crackle from the battle as Morana held its scythe high again

"Activate Cognitum's Second From."

As the Grimm approached the group, the last to stand, Ruby, felt the weight of her own weapon pull her down, from battling constantly for atleast over an hour, she had barely anything to muster against the inhuman foe before her. He didn't even look tired at all.

"What...fleeting hope...lies and yet...unwavered." Morana breathed irregular words as if he had never understood basic English, but Ruby didn't waver, instead, she swung her scythe down to attack, only for a raised leg to send both herself and Crescent Rose sprawling across the courtyard, with the same foot pinning Ruby down before her friends

~IF DOZENS OF PROFESSIONAL HUNTSMEN FAILED TO STOP A HORSEMAN. WHAT CAN YOU DO? ACTUALLY, BETTER QUESTION, WHY IS IT THAT THE BEST FRIEND OF A LIAR SEEMS TO STILL RETAIN THE SPARK IN HER EYES?~

Ruby looked directly at Morana, her silver glare unwavered under the pressure applied to her stomach.

"I...made a promise that I would always be...Sky's friend, even if he never told us he came from somewhere else or about his real name, I don't care." Ruby grabbed Morana's leg, clenching her teeth for a moment. "Sky will always be my best friend!"

"...g-goodbye..." Morana raised his scythe again, and all cries rang out, say for Mercury and Emerald who watched from afar, Roman himself pleased by the outcome, or he was until something slammed his face into the ground, the only thing he caught a glimpse of was a silver sheen of light

"Get your filthy foot off of Ruby!" Sky snapped Morana's attention, yet the man had little time to do anything against an invisible shockwave of sound crashing against his bones, rattling them down to their atoms as he was sent spinning back into the ground, his scythe lost to the sky as his head turned to look at his attacker

Ruby stared like the rest in awe at Sky's sudden transformation. His armor had changed significantly. Now a chrome silver, with blue rings on his calves and thighs, the same rings on his arms, shoulder and chest that glowed. His armor was smooth and more curved at certain joints, giving him a rather sleek appearance. His helmet bore the same falcon gaze, with a ring around the back of his head.

Form II - Echo

"Ruby...thank you for being my friend." Sky whispered to her, his left hand clenched shakily, her own eyes adjusting to that of pity. "I promise, I will do everything I can to make up for everything I've said and done, even if I have to beg for it..." His head turned to look at her with curved, saddened eyes. "I won't lose my family this time..."

That made her cheeks turn a bright shade of red, Ruby's own heart skipping a mile a minute at that as he turned back around to face Morana with a blunt stare.

"Let me guess, Horseman of Death?" One nod and a snarl. "Okay, you're crazy, got it." Sky raised his arms again, his eyes narrowed. "But sad to say, but I think I'll play Kai Amadeus just this once you unholy slag."

*SCREEEEEEEECH*

The massive sonic blast that echoed from Morana's mouth rung everyone's ears, yet as dust was blown away, Sky was still standing without a scratch or dazed state, instead, his armour seemed to radiate, his gauntlets sliding open three ports on each arm.

"You just activated my trap card." With a sudden step forward, Sky shot his right arm forward like a punch, sending a compressed wave of sound to shred the air, pushing Morana backward again to the point he could barely manage a scream. "My Echo form. I can both negate and fire compressed blast of sound, and my hearing is so precise that even a drop of water a mile away can be heard."

Sky raised his left arm, feeling the intense weight of Morana's fist behind the attack, followed by a startling strike to the side, turned around, Sky felt Morana drive his elbow into his back, so with a twist, he spun out of the lock to deliver a right cross to the back of Morana's head, followed by ducking under his backward swing. Releasing another sonic blast, Sky punched the air beside Morana, his own arm braced against Sky's as he screamed, yet Sky avoided it too.

Ducking under another right cross from Morana, Sky raised his own left fist, cracking it against Morana's cheek with a massive sonic blast, throwing the Horseman into the air, but to their surprise he gliding there, puffing out his chest and releasing his own sonic blast, so Sky stomped his feet, and the blast rocketed him into the air too.

Now flying towards the rooftops, Sky punched twice in the air as two cones of sound missed Morana, himself landing back on the courtyard and releasing a continuous burst of sound, shattering the windows of every building and tearing apart tiled roofs in an attempt to catch Sky, who ran and punched to land more concussive sonic booms on Morana, the hunter himself dazed by his own special attack.

Sky leaped off the building with his arms slung behind him to propel his body into the air again. With a single spin he released another sonic blast, increasing his turn velocity even more so, upon his descent, Morana moved back to grab his leg out of the spin, pulling him into the cyclone as he smashed Sky's body into the ground, where his leg sat against Morana's side, firing another sonic wave to shatter his ribs, forcing the Horseman to scream down at Sky, the ripples only managing to shatter the ground, with Sky pushing his palms against the ground and spin kicking Morana across the courtyard, his talons sunk into the stone to stand straight again with Sky.

"You've won against Huntsmen before, but never against someone smarter than you." Sky boasted, placing a hand to his chest. "I come from a world filled with impossible creations of fiction, don't think for a moment I don't have something I can use against your sorry pale ass!"

*Shing-Shing*

"Then its a good thing he had backup." Sky felt his back recoil against the cold touch of metal sinking through his armor, luckily the fact he unlocked his aura kept him safe from...a girl? "So, you really are quick on the fly, eh, Kai?"

A sharp, cunning, feminine voice spoke to him, the girl in black spun a knife in her hand, and another held in her left. She wore black shorts with hazel boots, a massive collection of silver knives along a belt, her abdomen was exposed, a skin-tight fabric covering her chest and around to her neck with a white line through the middle, though a bit of her chest was exposed slightly.

Black, fingerless gloves and bandages wrapped around her arms, with a black jacket, red lines like code stretching across it with a white outline, including a hood. Last was her smooth, White Fang helmet, with a cross necklace danging around her neck. Sky heard Yang groan angrily.

"Another one! Seriously!?" All of them agreed while the girl stood with Morana, the latter growling at her presence

"Bite me, if you want to have your ass kicked so be it, I can't care less, bro." She barked back, turning her head to look at Sky. "Did you honestly believe us Horsemen got anywhere in our lives alone? Remember, there's four of us. I'm Tabus, Horseman of Pestilence."

"Well, a pest is what you are, yes," Sky muttered, but he watched the girl grasp her knives tightly at that, a small hum of amusement rising to her throat

"Quick to die and to make jokes, seems this might actually be worth our time." Sky didn't have any breathing space to react to a blade slicing his jaw, but he did stop himself from falling back towards Blake and Weiss

"Nice to see you again, Kai." Una was back too, and...Sky felt his blood boil at the sight beyond the three Horsemen, standing as a purple stained Atlas Knight, armed crossed under dented and torn armor of a hacked machine, but those eyes were anything but a machine

"Our second and sadly, final meeting, Kai Amadeus," Mars spoke clinically, motioning with a hand towards Sky. "I assure you all...his death will be painless, as will all of yours."

"Bite me." Sky stomped, raising his arms to defend them all. "Stay back guys."

"Like hell we'll do that!" Coco

"We're doing this together man, whatever your name is why does it matter!?" Sun

"We won't let you kill yourself, not like this." Blake

"You can't honestly expect us to sit here and-" Weiss stopped talking at the sight of his hand raised with a thumbs up

"Do you trust me...sis." While many gawked at that, alongside Weiss blushing with embarrassment, she ultimately smiled with a small nod again, and Sky closed his fingers and brought his fist back around. "Okay, hit me with your best shot."

"Hmph. Kill him." Mars spoke and the pin dropped

Sky had no clue on what he was to do against all four Horsemen at once, but he steadied himself and ran for the ringleader, Mars, who stood with his arms still crossed. Tabus swung a few dozen molten-tipped knives, all of which sliced through Echo and burned Sky from within, raising his right arm he blasted the next barrage from the air, while Una rose from above the sonic cone, her polearm slicing the air in-front of Sky, yet his mind went into overdrive as his heart soared, his fist punching the ground to rocket him over Una, pressing his feet against her back as he flew above them.

A sudden shockwave rippled the air in-front of him, Morana raising his scythe as he sliced a clean cut through Sky's right cheek, his aura shimmered but he remained stoic as his hand grasped Morana's wrist, swinging his feet to press against the Horseman's face as he ran across his body mid-flight, pushing Morana down and himself up.

"MAAAAAAARS!" All three of them screamed, reeling their right fist back with a sonic charge at the ready, yet Mars simply held up his own fist, and as their two forces grew closer to a climax, Sky felt his eyes widen with horror at the gathering calamity of flames that consumed Mars' arm

"Rupture." His fist slammed into the ground mere inches from Sky, and to everyone's horror, a rising pillar of flames consumed Sky, throwing him flying into the air as the flames tore apart the ground

Without a moment to lose, Tabus swung dozens of searing knives into Sky's back, a chain of explosions shaking the sky and turning the air a piercing orange. This was followed by Morana grabbing Sky's scorched form and slicing a perfect horizontal line across his abdomen, Sky's aura shattering at the contact. Last was Una, who waited below Sky as she held her polearm down, and as he came into her line of sight, she struck up, creating a perpendicular laceration through his back, spraying blood across her blade as he fell from the air.

"Well, not as painless as I planned, but atleast he'll die knowing he held his own against all of us." Mars hummed with disappointment lacing his voice, all the while everyone sat with looks of terror and sorrow. Sky didn't move, only a small trickle of red oozing from his back and through his armor

"...S...ky..." Ruby could barely manage any words at all, her eyes stung with tears at the sight that couldn't begin to form in her head. "I...I ne...ver told you..."

. . .

"Honestly, kind of sad given how he gave you trouble for so many months only to die like this." Tabus grumbled, moving with Morana to stand over his still body, and to the looks of sadness in everyone's eyes, she shoved her foot onto his shoulder, pushing him over to view his wide, bug-like eyes. "Hmph, sad."

"I know you are, so what am I?" Tabus stared down with a dumbfounded expression, only for her and Morana to hear the clap of hands beneath them. "Thunder Clap."

*BOOOOM*

The whole group of Grimm and Humans alike were thrown off the central courtyard, a wave of dirt and stone raining atop them as eyes watched the forms of Tabus and Morana crashed violently into the walls of buildings, bringing the walls down atop them both. Una couldn't see it, but a palm rested against her own stomach and was followed by its own sonic blast, her weapon lost and voice caught in her throat as she was sent driving into the dirt, smoking from the impact.

"W-what's this?" Mars muttered, seeing Sky standing with a narrowed glare towards him, the blood on his back had stopped flowing, his chromatic silver body was now consumed by flames, the same flames Mars had used against him. "No...he took my flames?"

"I'm done playing games with you, bastard!" Sky growled like a feral animal, his body shot off the ground with a sonic stomp, and Mars had no way to prevent his suddenly gained speed, while Sky's right arm glowed with a unison of fire and sound, the light of day gleaming with both. "DON'T EVER MESS WITH OUR FAMILY AGAIN!"

His fist dug into the mechanical skull of Mars' proxy, as the entire form was consumed by a bright light of day and fire.

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*

Everyone clasped their ears when Mars was sent flying across the entirety of Vale, the body shattered very wall and building it passed through with a fiery afterburn left by Sky's arm, where several sonic booms echoed off his elbow, leaving the courtyard with a thin line slicing across the left and right of Sky, with a small, human-sized hole through almost every building in Vale directly before him.

After minutes of distant sirens and a light breeze, no-one could move, only stare at Sky, his jacket torn in the back, his right arm's sleeve completely gone, while patches of his clothing were burnt or dirty. His mouth hung open as he sucked in a lungful of air with each minute that passed, but he still managed a smile in the end.

"...How's that for a...test run?"

[Sky's POV]

For once in the last two days, I finally relaxed, seeing Roman being locked up, saving Vale, forcing all four Horsemen into retreating, and stopping the White Fang, I'd say it was worth every injury, thankfully few since this guy finally unlocked his Aura. I then looked around at everyone, Yang, Blake, and Weiss were talking with Team CFVY, Mercury and Emerald were taking care of Roman. Sun and Neptune among themselves. And Ruby...

"Are you sure you're okay?" Ruby was my nurse. I sat on a bench with Ruby bandaging my right arm, since most of my injuries were minor due to my aura, but she still insisted on making sure I was okay, but I wasn't complaining due to how much I have racking around in my head. Hell, I felt like passing out but after expending all my dust into Echo, which converted dust into sound waves...apparently...don't ask me how that works

"I am, Rubes, like I said, got a pep talk and my aura kicked in, the most I suffered was burns and that cut on my back, or lack of one now." Yeah, seems it healed up after a few minutes...even without my aura, strange. "Are you okay though...after...everything."

Ruby looked at me with that same, innocent pity, but it was met with a kind smile afterwards.

"Yep, thank you by the way, for saving me." She muttered, not looking at me for a moment. "But still, tell me everything about that new armor, how does it work? What can it do besides sonic attacks? Does it have WiFi?" Oh boy...

"It does, but it operates on its own network, so it's not entirely useful" I quickly went on guard, standing in-front of Ruby at the sight of the mangled machine I thought was turned to smoldering scrap, but here it was, wires melted and sparking, with flickering eyes. "Quick to the defense as usual..."

"It's over, flashlight, we win." I dared, with Ruby holding Crescent Rose beside me, but he only managed a robotic laugh at that, catching the sound of other weapons trained from behind

"You may think your safe, but relish this victory for all its worth, because soon," He paused, pointing to me with dark intent. "There will be nothing to prevent Vale's fall, maybe not today or tomorrow...but it will come, and you cannot prevent fate."

"Watch me." He dared, before tearing the robot's core out of its exposed chest, leaving it to crumble to the floor, before it let out a creepy laugh

"-send your fighters, one and all, then in battle, watch. Them. Fall..." Then he stopped, leaving us all in silence again

[Later...]

"Well, we did it." Yang spoke first, as we all sat on the edge of the landing platform back at Beacon, looking over at the glowing city before us

"We did it." Blake added in joy, atleast I think so

"If we don't get extra credit for that, I will be seriously disappointed." Weiss huffed, but then I patted her on the head like a dog

"Hush child, we are but pawns in the game, don't you see?" Eric whispered. To which he allowed me control again. "I am so not going to get use to that. Besides, I doubt it."

"Yeah Weiss, a two-headed snake literally crushed a bakery, I wouldn't count of it." Yang added, as I sighed in defeat

"Let's not forget how much karma loves me..." All eyes were drawn to me again, but I just scratched Zwei's head with my eyes to Vale. "I lied to all of you...again, this time I really don't expect you to forgive me."

"So then, do we call you Sky Zaffre or Kai Amadeus?" Yang asked bluntly, making me wince as I hung my head with a pathetic smile

"Why does it matter? Both are liars and horrid friends." I betrayed their trust again...I really don't deserve them

"No, I mean, if we're gonna call you Kai, how the hell do we put that in Team RWBYS?" Wait what?

"It's true, no color I can think of has the letters R.W.B.Y.K. Weiss?" Blake too, and she tried asking the smiling Ice Queen for an answer, but all we got was her resting a hand on my shoulder

"It doesn't matter what we call you, or how you came to Beacon, you're still a Huntsman. A friend." Blake and Yang grinned at that. "A brother to me." Weiss managed to say without hesitation. "And a close friend to our leader." Ruby looked as red as her skirt at that. "We'll hear about it tomorrow, for now, take in the fact that you won, and use your losses as lessons."

I...why am I even surprised. I suddenly embraced Weiss, holding her tightly with my head buried in her shoulder, soon, her own arms were against my back and I felt joy relish in me again. With a soft sigh, I moved away to lay on my back.

"Guess I should prepare for twenty million questions tomorrow...also...Sky is fine, but feel free to call me by either." I replied softly, my smile forming into a small frown as I stared towards the orange sky. "In other news, we won today sure, but there's still that warning Mars left with us."

"Plus, I mean we didn't solve everything. A lot of people were hurt, and we still don't know why they did this, who the Horsemen really are, or who that mystery girl is." Ruby labeled off, but what mystery - nope, don't care, figuring it out tomorrow

"Well, not every story has a neat and tidy ending." Weiss added

"We might not have all the answers, but we do have alot of dangerous people behind bars, and I think that's something we can be proud of." Well, I guess something good did come out of this, among other things

"Yeah, and if anyone tries something like this again, we'll be there to stop them." Ruby replied, as I clicked my fingers at that, and Yang yawned beside me

"Yay, teamwork, camaraderie, good guys, go team, alright good job." Yang muttered, as she and I fist-bumped. "So, what now?"

"I'd suggest training for the tournament...but I think we have that covered at this point." Weiss pointed out

"So then..." Blake drawled out, as I shrugged

"Uh, time for bed?" Ruby suggested, as everyone groaned in agreement, all adding their own input as we got up to leave

[Ruby's POV]

Okay...now its just me and Sky, come on Ruby, just say it! "Hey, Sky?"

"Hmm?" He asked me, and when I went to tell him, I felt my words leave like a mess

"i...Um-well, I wanted to say-I..." Why was a stuttering? Even my chest felt tight all-of-a-sudden, why now? "I wanted to say...thank you."

"Huh? Didn't you already do that?" He questioned with a confused look, so I explained with a shake of my head, feeling happier when I spoke it aloud to him

"For saving me, back on the train, from Morana and even saving our friends, if it weren't for you...I might have been in a worse spot right now, and what you did was...really heroic." Now I felt my face begin to turn red, as he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Ever since we met, you've helped me when I didn't have a clue about some things, and you put yourself in harms way, even if you can't protect yourself with an aura. I-I couldn't ask for anyone else to be my best friend, well, besides Weiss of course."

"Uh- s-sure, you ever need me, I'll be there! Promise." He winked, before he yawned afterwards. "Sorry, but that offer of sleeping is calling to me."

"O-Ok." I answered, as I followed him in silence with my hands fumbling among each other, but he didn't seem to mind. But I could still feel my face heat up again alongside my heartbeat. Wait...am I...no, I mean, its Sky, he's nice, funny, he can be a bit secretive, but that fine. But even so...why did I keep ending up all...weird around him, in a good way though?

"Please… we're a team, that means we look out for each other... after all, your part of the team too, but…. I also don't want to lose my friends too."

"I don't care, you're my friend, Sky, I would never abandon my friends,"

"Y-You think i'm cute?"

"..." Am I? But everything in my head felt so new...it was the same memories of...him and me...why did it all feel so nice to think about? "I..." I felt my mind stop, all this time and I've been a complete idiot to all of it...why I feel this way beside him...

"I...love Sky..."

To Be Continued in the Next Arc...

WOOT! We finally completed volume 2! And man was it fun. Still, I can't thank you all enough for liking this as much as I have, and no amount of text could describe how thankful I am. But I am :) SERIOUSLY 10000+ VIEWS!

Other than that, I do hope you enjoyed this finale. and next we'll be venturing into RWBY: Grimm Eclipse for a short arc, it is necessary since alot of shocking things happen, but until then. I'll see you all in the next chapter! (Also Ruby X Sky forever!)

Next Arc: Arc III - Light At The End

Everyday brings Team RWBYS closer to the Vytal Festival, yet a final mission ends up falling disastrously into a fight against the past, with crazy science and bio engineering, but will all of this bring Sky to the brink of collapse in the end? Or will he finally see the light among the freaks of nature?