Embers licked the air as Yang charged through the Grimm, explosions going off in her wake as she blazed a path through the creatures. This didn't clear out all of them in her path however, as a pair of Beowolves pounced towards her, their bodies having been protected by the blasts by that of some of their brethren. Their attack didn't last long though, as they were buffeted with a hail of bullets from Emerald's weapons before they disintegrated and fell to the same fate as their comrades.

Meanwhile, the others continued to keep the Grimm off of each other in any way they could, from Glyphs knocking the monsters to and fro, to large pink-clouded explosions and the cacophonous noise of a sniper rifle in action. Had there been fewer of them fighting, this battle might have posed a larger risk given the sheer number of creatures spawning from Amala's body, but between the practiced students and the experienced veterans the Grimm didn't stand a chance at truly posing any real threat.

That was, until Amala began to move once again.

"ThAt's eNouGH plAyINg aRounD wITh mY pETs, woULdN't yOu aLL Say?" Her warbled tone echoed through the clearing as she swung a massive left hook towards some of the older fighters. The looming shadow that signaled the oncoming attack was easily enough to allow them time to dodge, however the shockwave it created when it struck the surface of the ground was enough to knock all of them a little off balance. "I waNTeD tO SEe hOW tHEy woUlD fARe, bUT iT seeMS I hAVe tO TaKE cARe Of ThIS MYsElF!"

"Yang! Get back from that thing!" Ruby called out in fear as her sister continued to charge towards the behemoth, her hair ablaze and trailing slight flickers of fire as she moved closer to her target. Her cry went unheeded as her sister continued to charge forward without slowing, even as Amala's form turned to face the oncoming challenger.

"ThIS iS ThE beST yOU fOoLS cAn mANagE aGaiNSt mE?! ONe gIRl?!" The massive creature then began to swing one of its claws towards Yang, even as the blonde cocked back one of her gauntlets to release a salvo of fire into the air and towards the being's face. Unbeknownst to everyone else, it was at that moment that Emerald activated her Semblance on Amala, praying that it would work, to make it appear that there were suddenly many more fireballs heading her way than the singular one actually headed for her. Unsure of whether or not it would work, the green-haired girl watched with baited breath, hoping that it had managed to affect the human part of Amala that still remained within the monster.


"You realize know what this finally means, right?" The Grimm spook with a sneer as it watched Frost pant on the ground in front of it. The boy's body was wet with sweat as he knelt on the ground, gasping for air as though he was unable to breath. "The last of the good doctor's medicine has taken effect, and I finally have the means to take over. Which means you are about to cease to exist and this body will be mine to use however I wish…But I think I'll keep you around, just on the brink of life and death to torture you more as I kill the people you so care about with your own two hands. Then I'll kill you, feeding off of the waves of anguish and despair that it will create in your final moments. How does that sound?"

"Go…to hell…" Frost's voice rasped out as he slowly angled his head up to face the creature. "This…isn't…your body…"

"Not at this moment, but it will be soon. I just want to keep you around a little longer to feed off of you before I make this my permanent one-man residence. Give me a bit of time to settle before finally kicking you out. I'm sure you appreciate me being at least somewhat lenient in that regard."

"You…won't…win…the others…will stop...you…"

"Even when they see the face of the person they've been trying so hard to rescue strapped to a table looking defeated and weak? They won't think twice about freeing you, and then I will plunge these hands right into their chests and crush their pathetic human hearts before they have a chance to blink. That's all I'll need to break you once and for all and then exact the revenge on humankind that I've been seeking for so many years."

"You…didn't even…know what revenge was…until you inhabited a…human body…"

"And now that I have, it's enlightened me to just how much our kind have been missing out on! All this time, we've simply been seeking out random destruction and death without being able to see the bigger picture! As soon as we kill off the fragments of your civilization, we would have no food, no means to survive without anything to generate fear and despair for us to harvest! With these new forms, we can continue to exist through alternate means, without fear of starving or dying slowly as we lose our purpose to exist! We will become the new rulers of this land! And nothing will get in our way!"

As the creature within him continued to monologue as it held its arms wide and stared into the dark abyss above them, Frost glanced over to his hand as a small trickle of energy flickered between two of his fingers. A whisper left his throat, quiet enough that even he barely heard his own words spoken aloud, much less the monster in front of him.

"That's…what you think…asshole…"


Everyone watched with shock as the monster suddenly went from swinging in Yang's direction to bringing both of its arms up in a defensive posture as the long fireball collided with its form. On the spot that it had landed on one of the arms, a large pocket of steam and black mist rose from the hole that now existed along its surface, though that didn't last long as the hole noticeably began to repair itself at a slow pace.

"HOW DARE YOU LAY A FINGER ON ME!" Amala's voice screeched across the area as her mass shifted backwards, creating a small amount of distance between her previous position and her new one. "I AM A QUEEN COMPARED TO YOU ANTS! YOU SHOULD BE BOWING THE KNEE AT MY SUPERIORITY! AND YET YOU ATTEMPT TO HARM ME AND MY CHILDREN AS THOUGH YOU STAND A CHANCE! NO MORE! THIS ENDS NOW!"

Suddenly, the air began to swirl as the monster's head arched back and a the sound of rushing wind filled the air. Everyone tried to move as the vacuum of air threatened to suck them up, however none of them could seem to pull away from the strong winds trying to pull them up from the ground. Chunks of buildings and debris began to lift from the ground as random object started to fly into the gaping maw of the gigantic Grimm. And the closer they were to Amala, the faster they seemed to lift up and towards her.

This also included Yang as she was easily the closest person to the monster as he body began to lift into the air despite her best efforts to stay grounded. Even pushing out constant blasts from her gauntlets in the hopes that the recoil would help keep her away from the threat, her body still slowly neared Amala's mouth as the winds raged on.

"Somebody help her!" Blake's voice could barely be heard as the howling winds blew all other noises about as though they were nothing.

"I'm on it!" Nora called back as she switched Magnhild from its signature hammer-form into its launcher design as she unleashed a barrage of grenades into the air. Due to their size, the small projectiles were easily caught up in the wind and pulled towards the source of the vacuum.

Unfortunately for their massive opponent, that was exactly the point of the salvo.

With a loud bang, the grenades all detonated at once as soon as they collided with the inside of Amala's mouth, her body reeling back with an extended shriek as smoke and debris rained from her now shattered jaw. One couldn't help but wince at the sight of what was once a human-like jaw now shattered and broken, holes and gaps littering her mouth as she glared towards her attackers. Due to the magnitude of the blast, some holes even littered parts of her upper body as large pockets of ice and black mist trailed up from her body and into the air.

What stood out the most, was that from within one of the these holes closer to the centre of her chest, an oddly shaped black mass seemed to pulse and throb from within.

"There's the weak point!" Qrow called out as his sword shifted into its gun form, the blade sliding aside for a pair of gun barrels to come into view as he began to fire on the monster despite the distance. "Let her have it!"

The sound of transforming weapons filled the air as all of those capable of doing so changed their weapons into their ranged counterparts, the air suddenly filled with the smell of smoke and gunpowder even as fireballs, grenades, and other assorted attacks rained on Amala's form. However, due to her sheer size, Amala was easily able to raise her unbuttered arm in the way to block most of the oncoming attacks, her weak point safely protected for the time being as the ice continued to reform over the holes in her body even as smaller holes began to litter her arm in the process. With her other hand, she casually swung out and slapped Yang's body out of the air due to her still being somewhat suspended from the vacuum that had been going on earlier.

"Yang!" Ruby called out as she lowered her rifle in fear and began to sprint towards her fallen sister.

"Ruby! Get BACK!" Qrow yelled over to his niece even as she flew towards her sister in a flurry of rose petals.

"Yang! Are you okay?!" Ruby yelled to her sister as he came to a stop before the blonde who lay in a heap of snow and debris, a trail of blood trickling down her forehead while she lay apparently unconscious on the ground. "Yang!"

The blonde's eyes cracked open slowly as she carefully moved her head to face her yelling younger sister. "Hey, Rubes. You see the number of that bus?"

"Yang, this is no time for your stupid jokes! You just got hit really hard and don't look so good. Can you move?"

"A little, but it kind of hurts to do so. You should probably get back with the others though, don't want you to get hurt after all."

"Not with you lying here like this! She could kill you if she went after you again!"

"That's what I'm counting on."

"What?!"

"Ruby, seriously, you need to get back."

"Not without you, Yang!"

"Ruby, I can't blow her arm apart with my Semblance if you're standing right here!"

"Eh?!"

"What, you thought I let myself get close without having a backup plan? This was what I planned on doing in the first place...I just wasn't expecting the sudden wind tunnel she had going on a moment ago." The blonde sheepishly added as she scratched at her cheek with her robotic hand, which seemed to still be functioning properly.

"Oh."

"Why do you think Uncle Qrow didn't call out to me like he did you a moment ago? My fire can melt through most of this stuff, but if you even stumble for a moment your speed doesn't mean anything."

"But what if she hit you hard enough to kill you?"

"Ruby, I've been punched through support pillars for a road bridge and launched hundreds if not thousands of feet into the air from a turkey on a stick. I think I can handle a punch from a giant popsicle."

"…Alright, Yang," Ruby started as she slowly backed away from her sister and retrieved Crescent Rose. "But if you get killed I'll beat you up."

Yang smirked as she pulled herself up from the ground with a wince of pain. "Get going, little sis." With a flurry of rose petals, the younger girl rapidly departed the area as a large shadow came into view, a pair of beady red eyes facing Yang with disdain. The blonde's eyes flashed red in response as she smirked up at the monster's face. "Morning, Mama Bear. Mind if I warm things up a bit?"

With that, Yang unleashed a blast of fire upwards, engulfing a sizeable portion of her arms and face in flames. A long and loud agonizing scream filled the air as a massive cloud of steam and black mist filled the air as the arms on the monster began to disintegrate, leaving her weak point even more exposed than before. Within moments, gunfire and blasts of explosions rained themselves on the black mass within Amala's chest.

And just as quickly, that mass then exploded from within her form as the attacks shattered the black goop and Amala's form fell to the ground in a heap. Slowly, ice and black mist began to lift from the creatures massive bulk and drifted into the air as the creature began to disintegrate. In the end, Amala's body remained, though a pale face with black tendrils and black and red eyes now existed in place of the fair skin and green eyes she had before.

"I was…so close…" Her voice weakly trailed off as she lay limp on the ground within the outline of where her previous form had fallen as snow gently fell on her face. "I just…wanted to…live more…"

"Was it worth the price you paid, Miss Amala?" Ozpin's voice gently asked as the woman slowly turned her head to face him. "Was it worth turning yourself into a monster to meet those ends?"

"Absolutely…I just wish I'd had…more time…"

"You damned fool…" Qrow mumbled under his breath as he retrieved his flask, though he thought better of it and returned it to his hip a moment later, much to the surprise of most of those there.

"His cause…was worth it…"

"Even if it meant eternal servitude to a goddess that cared only for death and destruction?"

"No one is a saint, Ozpin…" Amala smiled from her position on the ground. "Least of all you…" And with that, she took her final breaths as her body also joined her previous form as it dissolved into ice and black mist and flew into the air, now lost amongst the winds.

"Alright, kids…" Qrow started as he drew the attention of those gathered. "Time to go finish this."

With determined expressions and readied weapons, everyone nodded as they all began to board one of the remaining airships while Winter and Ironwood climbed aboard the remaining ones to return to Atlas. This battle had ended…

But there was still one last fight before they could safely say it was over.


Not a whole lot to add this time around. I will be honest however in saying that we are slowly approaching the end of this story. Given the timeframe of my updates, it will still likely be close to a couple months if not more before we reach the finale. I hope that it doesn't end up feeling rushed as a result with what's to come around the corner, but I am also looking forward to it as I've been mentally preparing the final scenes and battles since practically the beginning of this story. So I hope that translates into a satisfying end. That aside, I will obviously see you all here again in a couple of weeks.