Arc IV - Linked Horizons
Chapter 35 - All As One
At the sound, the screens soon turned to orange, activating a Level 9 Grimm Attack. Not good, and from the panicking people, this would only attract more.
~Ladies and Gentlemen please, there is no need for panic!~ Ironwood? How did he - Hmm, for once I wish that were true, but...
I then looked from Ruby to the sky and saw the massive Nevermore, it was even bigger than the one from Emerald Forest! It quickly landed on the protection field as it smashed its beak into the dome, trying to shatter the defenses. Once it broke through anyone in here would be slaughtered.
~Warning, safety barriers failing~
"Ruby. Ruby! Come on, we need to go!" I tried to get her to move, but she was completely broken, and in that instant, I felt a pang of familiarity run through me, so my face turned into a more determined look as people ran past us in hurdles. I then pulled Ruby's face to gaze up at me, tears running down her face
"Ruby. I know it hurts, and I wish I could have done something, but right now, our friends need our help, Vale needs our help, so please... get up." I asked her, slowly her eyes softened than she wiped them clear just in time to see the Nethermore smash through the dome, and down to the arena
"Ruby!" I called, my arm out for her to pull me along, the two of us sailing through the air toward Pyrrha in a burst of bluish-red petals, Ruby quickly grabbed one of Penny's blades, as we both struck the Nevermore back before it released a screech of pain. Together we held onto Penny's blade, both our hands grasping it high as I rebooted Cognitum
"Ruby? Sky?" Pyrrha breathed, the two of us raising the sword to the Grimm, my other hand crackling with fire
"Leave her alone!"
"Leave her alone!"
The Nevermore then took to the skies, circling back around with its beak wide enough to devour a car. We remained still, folded our arms for the blade to rest between our faces as we waited.
*Bam-Bam-Bam-Bam-Bam-Bam-Bam-Bam-Bam-Bam!*
What I didn't expect was dozens of lockers to plunge deep into the Nevermore's back, pinning it to the ground completely like arrowheads. It skidded to a halt meters from us, letting out a strained, dying cry.
That's when we watched the whole group of other students appear, grabbing their respective weapons from the lockers. Everyone from team JNPER, CFVY, and SSSN, to teams NDGO, ABRN, BRNZ, and FNKI. Every single person was geared up, but not before I saw the Nevermore began to rise again. So everyone took action, all jumping, and attacking the Grimm as it rose to its feet. Only to end with Nora smashing its skull into the ground, followed by Sage, and Yatsuhashi decapitating it from above with a swift but devastating combo.
With it gone, I ran over towards Penny's body, and from what Cognitum was giving me now, she might still be functioning, so for once, please help me save someone. After a quick scan, I raised my hand to where her power core would be, feeling the remains of an aura dwindle as a soft blue glow pulsated from my palm to her body. I kept pushing, trying to find the right wires to reconstruct, maybe, just maybe...
*ZAP-HISS*
I was sent back by the shock-wave, as my gauntlet lost its glow temporarily, and I was left to punch the tiles beneath me, even if I wasn't the same person anymore, it still hurt to fail. "I'm sorry Penny... goodbye." I never even had time to mourn as the sky above us filled with Grimm Griffins. Deciding to take one of Penny's blade for safekeeping, Cognitum formed a scabbard for me to rest it against my left thigh.
"I'm so sorry!" I heard Pyrrha whimper, as I joined the rest, Ruby looking both sad, but angry
"Me too, but it wasn't your fault." Ruby apologized too, looking just as hurt, but there was a fire in her eyes, and it started to burn
"She's right." Jaune then passed me, handing Pyrrha her weaponry. "Whoever was on the microphone, they're the ones that did this, and we have to make sure that they don't take anyone else." Well said, mate
"He's right!" I announced, I had no idea if this will work, but I've had enough of doubts for once. "I've spent a long time wondering if my life actually meant... anything, or if I was always doomed to fail... maybe I still am," Looking down at my hand for a second, I lifted my head toward them all. "But I've gained so much more since coming here, meeting all of you that seeing these... people manipulating our lives like a game, I won't let that happen! Even if it was already decided... I'll twist fate itself!"
"Always a flair for the dramatics, Bluey - But hey, I'm in!" Coco scoffed happily as Velvet snapped a picture of me, smiling sheepishly
"I may not be the best fighter yet, but those combat classes back home haven't failed me yet." Erika replied, bumping a fist with me
"I know, I still feel the bruises..." My sheepish murmur did lighten the air a bit
"Yeah! Lets bust these clowns!" Sun agreed as many others nodded, and readied their weapons
"Griffons." Ren groaned while we stood together, facing our opponents
"Anybody got a plan of attack?" Neptune inquired while Ruby walked up to Sun
"Sun, I need your scroll." He obliged and whipped his Scroll toward her with his tail. After she dialed a few numbers, another locker descended within seconds, revealing Crescent Rose. However, when she went to grab it a Griffon landed on the case, roaring at her. I raised a palm, but something else stuck it down, sounding like a blunderbuss
"Students, I think it would best for you to leave." Professor Port suggested with Oobleck standing before us
"But we can-"
"Miss Rose!" Oobleck halted, adjusting his glasses. "This day will surely go down in Remnant's history," Soon he smiled. "I would prefer it if my students could live to tell about it."
"Lets go!" Ruby directed us out, with myself glancing back at the Professors one last time. Heh, sure this will be quite the story for class next time
Later...
We were now on the bulkhead to Beacon, it was obvious that we were going to stay, so we gathered our bearings, and we watched as fires were razed across Vale. All the chaos, fear, death, it was horrific. To any that say they would love to be in battles like this, they could never understand the fear you held in your soul as if one mistake will cost your life, and every breath felt like it was precious. Or you can be like Roman and hijack the command ship to Atlas... oh boy.
"Ok... so I found out who took the main ship," I raised a finger bluntly, pointing toward said command ship. "Comical, annoying, wears a stylish hat."
"Roman..." Ruby grumbled, clearly not amused he was still involved to a degree. Question was, did Mars give him the credentials to access Atlas tech or did someone else like Cinder do it...?
*BOOM-WHIRL*
We then all watched in shock as Ironwood's ship erupted into flames, descending past us at a nosedive. But what I didn't see coming was Ruby running off towards the loading door with myself, Erika, and Sun dumbfounded.
"Ruby, what are you doing!?" He yelled whereas I shook myself with a small smile, following after her
"Duty calls, good luck guys, be safe, sis!" I called back, following her to the opened door as she ran and flew over the gap between here and Amity. My semblance couldn't do that so I thought of the next best things. Taking off with a powerful sprint I propelled myself with two bursts from my palms. My landing wasn't sooth as I slid down onto solid ground with my face. "...Nailed it..."
"Sky!?" She blinked, clearly perplexed so I gave her a flick on the nose
"What? And let you have all the fun?" I joked as we peered toward Amity. "So, what's the plan?"
"Follow me." She ushered me to follow her inside. The arena was empty now, say for the lockers still scattered around the locale. With Crescent Rose anchored to the locker, she held on. I did the same with my claws, wrapping my legs around the box for dear life at what she was planning
"This is both awesome, and terrifying," I laughed anxiously, and after a few numbers punched in, our destination was set, sending up hurdling through the air and higher than any other person in Vale. If not for the circumstances, this would be a spectacular view. From where our trajectory was arching it was clear where Ruby intended for us to land, Ironwood's Atlesian Airship
When the two of us landed on the ship, I knew it wouldn't take long for Torchwick to figure out we were here, and if that Neo chick is with him, that would only make things worse. Well, that is until the silent sky around us was pierced by an ear-wrenching scream.
*ROOOOOOOAR*
My eyes widened at the sheer size of the shadow passing us, belonging to a Grimm. The Wyvern was enormous, with large red bat-like wings, a pair of thick legs and a spined tail. The red membrane of the wings was translucent. It has rough, black skin with white bone-like spines along its body, including an external skull, rib cage and rows of dorsal spikes. It also has three bony spikes on its tail and large claws on its legs. Its skull has a pair of large prominent horns and six yellow-red eyes. Its jaw has teeth extending down along the creature's neck, beyond its skull.
The Grimm Wyvern flew right past us, releasing another screech as it flew towards the school. And yes, its a wyvern, since its arms are connected to its wings. But before we could react, the sky was filled with an army of Griffons, as they followed the Wyvern towards the school. One just so happened to get curious. It landed in front of us, as I ran ahead, before I brought both my blades across its wings, landing behind it. Ruby followed suit, slashing upwards sharply, cutting the Griffon in two with a left strike. But as she breathed, I pointed behind her at the girl with a scroll.
"Neo's here," I stated obviously while she smiled at us with a wink, taking our picture for Roman most likely. Again, Ruby took the lead, swinging her scythe at the now acrobatic Neo, who dodged effortlessly. Ruby swung to her left, followed by a right strike, then down as she spun twice, but Neo was far more agile than even I anticipated
Ruby then swung her scythe rapidly, before throwing the buzz-saw towards Neo, who just knocked it back with her umbrella. Ruby caught it, as she swung her scythe down, firing off sniper rounds towards Neo, and when they made contact, she shattered, only to appear in front of me, kicking me with a back-flip.
I then saw Roman fire a shot at Ruby by surprise, sending her flying back as she hooked her scythe into the ship, stopping her fall, I then ducked from the bladed umbrella, Neo struck to my left twice, swinging the parasol around to slash my side, and yet her confused expression was met with my shrug.
"What can I say, tough skin?" She didn't like the sarcasm since she appeared behind me to slam her heel against my head, followed by a sweeping slant but I did a handstand and spun around firing two blasts her way, both negated by that umbrella
I then ducked again, swinging out with my right blade, then I spun in the air, bringing both my bladed arms down in a spiral, but she easily blocked them, with a chill coursing through my forearms ice struck her face, but I heard the shatter in time to turn and hop back, the rapier's tip skating over my faceplate with an irritating shriek of metal.
Both of us kicked out with a shin, the two of us mimicking each other's footwork. Stepping back I craned my body and swiped with the right, her hands pressing against the surface, twisting her wrist to bring her body weight down on my right. This loss of balance gave her ample time to jab me with several kicks to the chest. Thankfully I managed to clamp my hand around her ankle, pulling her off her feet with a sharp turn to slam her back into the hull of the airship.
A protrusion of ice divided us, my own failed attack giving her time to recover, that rapier thrown toward me like a spear. I deflected the blow, feeling more weight behind it as Neo grinned beside me, shoving the tip upward and against my left eye, the scrape of metal far louder than before, making my ears ring.
Not falling for a similar trick again, I turned around a lashed out with my right hand, our blades locked while she grinned to my narrowed eyes, only then did the concussive blast from my blindspot remind me there were two other fighters. Roman had given Neo the time to fall back.
"I won't lie... you are by far, more skilled than Mercury... but far less annoying," I panted, as Neo bowed her head politely, then I mused. "But why all of this? I can understand that you chose a side, but everyone has a reason."
She paused for a moment, a glance at Ruby's one-sided fight with Roman. Then I nodded in understanding. I then looked at her, a small frown on her face.
"Understandable, but..." I then switched my blades for my grapple-hooks. "I have someone I want to protect too!"
Neo narrowed her eyes at me, vanishing again so with a roll I avoided her overhead lunge. She swung up so I shifted my body to the left, then the right, lunging with my right, the blade sent flying with a chain, scratching Neo's cheek if not for her aura. Now sunk clean into the airship and her distraction on the near-hit I drop-kicked her startled form, sending her sprawling toward Roman again, who had now knocked Ruby closer to the edge.
Tugging on the chain's grip I used the momentum to swing myself towards them, utilizing a thin layer of ice under me as a boost to nearly clothes-line Roman. He was smarter though hopping over the chain and lining a shot with my hook, with my momentum I would be sent flying over the edge, and Neo had Ruby distracted so the moment the slug made contact I felt my curved motion suddenly sway in a single direction and over the edge of the airship. With a sharp snap the chain had returned, and only Griffons and Nevermores came into view.
"Not good-not good-not good!" I was petrified, even more so when I flipped around, seeing the ground far below grow in detail. With a quick barrel roll, I missed a Griffon on impact. Controlling my labored breaths I stretched out my body to catch the wind more, holding to stall my descent for a while. "Think-Think-Think-Think!"
"Use Cognitum!" What? "You dunce, it can adapt if certain conditions are met. Locate a Nevermore and tear its wings off!"
"All this time we've only ever seen it go through an evolution based on our emotional state, so try and take something and absorb it!" Wait, Eric, you mean that because Cognitum is technically made of the same mass Grimm are? "YES-YES-YES! PLEASE DON'T DIE, I'M ALLERGIC TO DYING!"
Taking their... reasonable advice, I saw the Nevermore just beneath me, I had one shot at this, and I wasn't going to waste it. I felt time slow for me while my claws sprung to life. The brief lapse in time came to an end upon colliding with the Grimm, hearing it scream as my body drove it down toward the earth with me. Wasting no time at all I sunk my fingers into the bone joining the wing to the body I pulled up, grunting at the resistance.
"H-Hey. Iota! Eric! T-Time for... a-a-an upgrade!" I breathed heavily, pulling back with a yell, my eyes clamped shut as my muscles strained painfully from the force needed to tear the wings off. Suddenly, my arms flew back, pulling with them the disintegrating remains of the wings, while this immediately made my heart stop, I saw that the vapor trails weren't flying away, but rather, they accumulated around my back.
It was amazing, I could feel something new start to take shape! It was breathtaking! "Iota, Eric, thanks for the advice. Because I may have an idea but it won't work unless we push beyond this limit of mine." I hadn't realized it at first, but I wasn't falling as fast anymore; more akin to a slow glide
"What did you have in mind?" Iota inquired, sounding relieved we weren't still plummeting
"Time for an overhaul." In time, the last remnants of that vapor trickled away
Yin/Yang had undergone a new look entirely. My armour was still a warm black but now the highlights were amethyst. The style of the high-tech armor was comparable to 16th-century Itallion armor though far slimmer. Rounded puldron with two small spikes on each. The chest's core now had two lines through the top and bottom, glowing. My gauntlets were reinforced at the edges, revealing new silver blades. My thigh still held onto Penny's sword, the armor relatively unchanged while my scalp was curved this time with the faceplate of a templar instead, the eyes no longer shrinking or expanding.
Last to appear were crests of wolves decorating my chest, and pauldron, copying the gloves Ruby made me. The best improvement were the sharp wings that fanned out, stalling my fall completely with a powerful thrust. I saw the black spines stretch out from my shoulder blades, the metal bones radiating with purple, holographic feathers with a hexagonal pattern across them.
"Woah!" I had no words for this... inthralling form of mine. Yin/Yang I think needed a new name, something... dramatic. "I think we'll rename Yin/Yang guys... let's call it..."
~[Ｆｏｒｍ Ｉ － Ｉｒｏｎ Ｒｅｇａｌｉａ]~
"Hehehehahaha! I have wings!" I laughed with pure bliss, then I froze at the Griffon that fell ahead of me, my bliss was gone and instead replaced with fear at the sight of Ruby dangling over the edge, although Neo flew off with her umbrella soon after. Clenching my fists, my wings pulled up once. "Okay... let's see what these can do!"
At my words, I felt my wings arc down, the sheer force covered the altitude I lost in seconds, my nimble body slicing through the air with ease. I flew past the edge, spotting Ruby as she clambered to her feet, staring Roman down who looked shocked that Neo was gone. While I wanted to help her... this was her fight, I knew better than to get in the way, and besides... I want to see my badass girlfriend slash leader kick his guy's ass.
"I don't care what you say!" She snapped at Roman, that fire I saw only made my smile grow with the beating in my chest. "We will stop them, and I will stop you... BET ON THAT!" Hell yeah!
Ruby's movements changed, this time using her semblance in short bursts to confuse Roman's aim, yet he was smarter, firing off a shot which he then bashed in a crescent of fire to throw Ruby back. Ruby was then punched in the gut, followed by a blast to the face, knocking her on her back.
"Ya got spirit Red!" Roman commended, swinging his cane around, but at this moment, I saw a huge Griffon making its way towards us, not good. "But this is the real world!"
"The real world is cold!" He continued, as he knocked Ruby back over and over again. But I didn't move, my eyes darting between them and the Griffon. "The real world doesn't care about spirit!" But at the next strike, Roman was kicked in the shin, stumbling back, yet this only irritated the crook more
"You want to be a hero? Then play the part, and die like every other Huntsman in history!" He barked in anger, as he walked towards Ruby, just as I saw the Alpha Griffon begin its descent. "As for me, I'll do what I do best! Lie! Steal! Cheat, and survive!" Roman always talked a big game, too bad it swallowed him whole
"Ouch..."
"Foul ball..."
"...I don't have a witting line for this..."
The Griffon then released a massive roar, deciding best to go for Ruby so I made my move, only to pause with surprise by Ruby's sudden hop atop its head, pushing down to use its own weight against it and throw it through the overhead view of the airship, the resulting crash taking out something that kept the airship... airborne, the hole erupting in a fiery explosion that shook the ship. I then swooped down to pick Ruby up, arm around her waist. With a strong thrust, I skated across the capsizing hull and snatched Crescent Rose from the edge, the two of us safely out of the reach of any Grimm or explosive ships.
"S-Sky! You're... flying!" Ruby gasped with wide, star-filled eyes, while I chuckled, spinning a little from the angle I ascended from
"I got a pretty good view of you kicking Roman's ass." I mused but she didn't seem to smile at that
"I didn't really, he never gave me an opening, all of that was just dumb luck..." Ruby frowned, as I tapped my head against hers, my helmet retracting for the moment to allow my hair to blow in the breeze with hers
"But you still won; Don't forget the person holding you has had luck slapped in his face time-and-time again," I reminded her, and despite the chaos below, she managed a warmer smile. "Now, I need to go, think you can get down on your own with Crescent Rose?"
"Well sure... but what are you going to do?" It was time to unveil my plan, and I know for a fact she won't like it
"Does she ever like the life-risking type of plans?" Only if it means saving everyone, remember? "Hmm... perhaps, but when it involves you she becomes a hypocrite."
My head turned toward Beacon in the distance, the Wyvern circling the CC tower as we float. "That thing is attracting the Grimm now since most were killed off in the city it's starting to produce more from its own body, clearly, this thing's been around long enough to lay dormant in Mountain Glenn."
"But if we can somehow take it down, I could use Echo to broadcast a frequency precisely tuned to the Grimm that I can send them packing," My ludicrous idea made Ruby's head tilt, eyebrows knitted curiously
"How is that possible? When did you learn to do that?" I couldn't tell her, and my silence made her answer for me. "When you were gone... okay, but, how does it work - Don't go all... Weiss on me though."
"Ahem, well, to simply put, that Grimm attracts the rest because of its size, it was awakened by Vale's collective negativity, so it's acting as a catalyst for that negativity. So my plan is to take it out of the picture then use a frequency attune to Cognitum, but instead of attracting them I'm basically telling them to bugger off or... I don't know, suffer my wrath or something - Look, haven't gotten all the details down but that's the gist of it." My hasty explanation wasn't foolproof but the chances of this working were worth a shot
"Sk - Kai?" Again, my real name. Ruby looked to me, eyes clearly pleading with me to say I wasn't going to do what would make her worry, but...
"Heh... always able to see right through me," That only made her eyes widen, the grip around my shoulders only tightening. "I have to, Rubes, I'm the only one that could survive without an aura against that thing."
"...I... I know, but... what if something happens, like with Penny..." I didn't want to, but her worry laced every word and that only made this harder to do. Holding her close, I felt her own arms tighten even more, I even felt it, the warmth of her embrace through this suit. "Promise me you'll come back?"
With a click of my tongue, I pulled away to show her my confident smile, no shred of doubt in my mind of what to do next. "I promise," Holding her out she grabbed Crescent Rose, unfolding it as it swayed between us. With a final look into her eyes, I let her fall, seeing her swing around on her scythe, using bullet jumps to slow her fall. I placed a hand on my chest, my helmet enclosing my face once more. "No one else is going to die tonight, I swear it."
Putting two fingers to the side of my head, my eyes just scanned the HUD before me, my communications were still shot, probably due to Mars or perhaps that Wyvern - All the more reason to take it down, I need to know if Summer is okay, and if she's at Beacon or helping people in Vale. Shaking my head of questions I couldn't answer, the echoes boomed from afar, the Wyvern latched onto the side of Beacon tower.
Drawing my blades, I flexed my fingers first as I took off toward Beacon, picking up speed with each powerful thrust of my wings. This... hide of a Vex, it's the very reason I'm here, if not for my connection to this world I would have never met the people I love, I never would have moved on, I never would have grown so much stronger. Sure, it was because of this Vex, the real threat beyond any shadow of a doubt, but right now, I'll take this borrowed power, I'll make it my own, and I'll crush whatever tries to take it all away from me!
"For better or for worse..."
"We're here for you until the very end!"
"So for everything we hold dear..."
"We'll Keep Moving Forward!"
To Be Continued...
So much of everything! Always wanted Yin/Yang, now known as Iron Regalia, to have an upgrade, now far stronger and with wings! But next time we get to another big showdown! I hope you enjoyed, seeya in the next chapter!
Next Chapter: Battle for Beacon Act 3 - Infernal Catharsis
Sky takes the vanguard in taking out the large Grimm Wyvern circling the school in hopes of using Form II Echo to dissipate the Grimm drawn to the Wyvern. Of course, slaying a dragon isn't as easy as it seems in fairy tales.