Jane glanced around, eyes roaming over every object in sight but not staying too long. The ruined structures, burn out buildings, corpses and skeletons littering the ground, most ground into the mud, compressed into a walkway of sorts by years of heavy footfalls.

She was back in Washington, somehow. There had been no portal, no trans-dimensional gate for which to transverse. One minute she was bunking down with Yang, getting ready to wait out the rest of the rainstorm. The next, she was here.

Her weapons were gone, the LMG and over-sized pistol missing from her form. The comforting weight of her sword however, was still present. Slowly, deliberately, she drew it, thumbing the switch for the shock function. Blue sparks began to dance along the length, providing some level of illumination in the otherwise grayed out world.

She glanced ahead, seeing the ruined building ahead of her, perched atop a series of steps like a prize. It's once white walls and proud structure crumbling, suffering from the effects of time. Calmly, resolutely, she strode forth, keeping an eye out for anything that might present trouble, be it man, creature or environment.

"It's quiet," she murmured, her voice coming out with a mechanical tang. Her sword slowly swept from side to side, placing itself between imaginary threats as she ascended the steps towards the ruined building. Her caution was unwarranted however, as there was nothing present. No super mutants ready to squish her into a fine paste, no mercs or raiders to kill her, no mole-rats to nip at her heels.

She stopped at the steps, glancing upwards, seeing the giant curved dome of the White house, half of it crumbling into oblivion. The main entrance still seemed to be fine, but the east wing hadn't fared so well with the passage of time. Walking somewhat quicker, she pushed open the heavy wooden doors, their structure possibly the only thing untouched by time.

"At the height of it all this must have been beautiful," she whispered, her voice quiet enough that the loudspeaker in her helmet didn't pick it up. To her, the White house was a great many things, all rolled up into one package. The few times she had visited, it had been for different reasons.

The first time had been because of what it was. The White House, center of the American Government, the beacon shining in the darkness. In her naivety, she had assumed that such a place had not been tarnished, that it still remained pure despite the passage of time. For that error, she suffered four bullet wounds and mild burns on her right arm.

The second time was more to prove to herself that she had gotten stronger. By then she hadn't made any significant progress on finding the location of her father, and with leads drying up and nothing to do, she loaded up on ammunition, food, supplies, ready to head out. Some would remark later that cold winds and ice followed in her wake.

That was also the first year that winter had come to the Wasteland in almost 200 years.

A vicious, day and a half campaign later and she cleared out every surviving creature in and around the White house. An almost unholy number of bullets and explosives destroyed her enemies. As if it wasn't enough, there was a persistent legend around the wasteland that during the night, you could see the fires as she burned the corpses of almost a hundred super mutants and dozens of Talon company mercs.

Her third excursion to the building had been to clean house again, this time researching all she could about a G.E.C.K. device. Winter had set in around that time, forcing her to stay in the old congressional library, a place that was virtually untouched compared to the rest of the world. The winter there had helped her with her research, albeit briefly, into the matter, although she had gotten interested in other documents and books.

Her fourth excursion had been about getting out of the Wasteland, believing herself to be the driving factor towards it's death. Winter had set in, the second one in just as many years, the ice and snow firmly grasping the land in it's fist.

And now she was back, with absolutely no explanation as to how.

"Perhaps I'm dreaming?" she chuckled, rolling her shoulders. Stepping through the halls, she slowly made her way to the oval office, checking side rooms and hallways along the way. The usual rubble and decay preceded her, doors not made of metal having slowly rotted away. Scattered and molding documents littered the floor, covering what must have been a rich blue carpet. Unlike on previous ventures, there had always been loot, ranging from gore bags, all the way to discarded Talon ammo boxes.

The sound of feet on paper drew her attention, sword snapping into position. At the end of the hall was the oval office, the curved door slightly ajar. Distantly, she was aware that the office itself had been one of the few untouched things inside the building. Apparently the curved doors flush with the wall confused the super mutants roaming the wasteland.

Moving away from the side room, she slowly moved towards the office, keeping an eye out for anything that might attack. Using the tip of her blade she pulled the door open, stepping quickly into the office.

Light spilled out from the windows, tinted grey by the sky. Compared to the rest of the building, it was relatively well preserved. The only sign of decay was the skeleton at the desk, dominating the rear of the room.

SLAM!

Jane spun around, leveling her sword. The door had been closed, probably from the outside. What worried her was that apparently whoever had been following her had managed to stay out of her area of perception.

Slowly turning, the steady hold on her sword faltered, eyes tracking upward slightly.

"So you're back? Going to stab me again?" It stood there, it's skeletal form standing tall. Curiously, more of it's form had been revealed though, as if a light had been shone into a dark room. It's face now clearly resembled a skull, blackened and charred. The blackness shrouding itself still moved of it's own accord, but now she could see it covered the much more humanoid figure. The most curious thing however, was the ice coating the exposed limbs, seemingly made only of bone, ice taking on a caricature of flesh.

Deep within the darkness of the chest however, she swore there was a soft yellow glow.

"YOU INTEREST ME CHILD." Jane cursed under her breath, slowly sheathing her sword, but not removing her hand from the handle.

"So you can speak? What brought this on?" she asked, carefully navigating around the creature. The President had shot himself with a 10mm pistol, surely that had to be lying around here somewhere, and her previous experience with the creature.

"YOU WERE NOT ACCEPTING. YOU NEEDED TO BE ACCEPTING." Jane snorted, never taking an eye off of the creature.

"And stabbing me with my own sword made me 'accepting,' did it? Seems like a bad way to go about doing so," she huffed, eyes drifting towards the dead president's skeletal hand. She frowned, seeing the lack of a gun. Her eyes snapped back to the creature.

"FUCK!" Jane stumbled back, away from the burned skeletal face mere inches from her face.

"LOOKING FOR THIS?" Icy skeletal claws drifted into view, holding an aged 10mm pistol. Hesitantly, Jane's gloved hand pulled the gun from grasp, trying not to react to the extreme cold that permeated her hand.

"So this is a dream then? I'm guessing there's no portal downstairs?" The being stood there imposingly, the silence being her answer. "What are you anyways? Since I'm accepting as you so kindly put it."

"A MEMORY," the being started, bringing a frozen hand up near it's face, cold black sockets staring at it. "HUMAN HISTORY, A BLOODIED CONFLICT FROM BEGINNING TO END. THOUSANDS OF YEARS OF SUFFERING AND DEATH."

Jane nodded, leaning against one of the end tables against the wall, keeping an eyes on the creature. "You didn't answer my question. A 'memory' isn't exactly a description." Silence reigned between the two of them, Jane awaiting a response.

"GRIMM FEED ON THE DARKNESS INHERENT WITHIN THE SOULS OF MAN. THIS WORLD HAD NO SUCH THING. THE DARKNESS IN THE HEARTS OF MAN HAD NOWHERE TO GO, SO IT SPREAD. I ABSORBED THAT DARKNESS."

Jane nodded, rolling the facts over in her head. "So what, you're the collective evil of humanity?" That in and of itself presented a whole host of philosophical questions.

"YES, AND NO. I AM THE SUM TOTAL OF MAN ON EARTH. ALL IT'S PROGRESS, ADVANCEMENTS, THE HATE, THE RAGE." The figure paused, lowering its hand. The empty sockets burned into Jane. "THIS WORLD IS DEAD, THERE IS NO HOPE FOR IT. MAN HAS BEEN JUDGED, WEIGHED, AND FOUND WANTING."

Jane snorted, agreeing. "Yeh, nothing I've seen really redeems the overall scope of humanity." Jane paused, a bout of introspective thinking keeping her silent. "Actually, I'm probably a good example of that," she mumbled, coughing.

"AND NOW YOU ARE IN A NEW WORLD, WITH SOULS, OF A MAN THAT MAY STILL THRIVE. I HAVE BUT ONE OBSTACLE." Jane nodded, listening. Distantly, she was wondering why she wasn't freaking out about this, that what equated to a god had bonded to her.

"THERE IS A BEING IN REMNANT WHOM IS SIMILAR TO MYSELF, BUT DIFFERENT. THEY ASPIRE FOR THE DEATH OF MAN AND FAUNUS. THEY THRIVE ON THE BLOOD AND CHAOS CREATED BY THE GRIMM. AN AMBROSIA, IF YOU WILL, AS THEY ABSORB THE SOULS."

"But you don't want that, do you?" remarked Jane, feeling brave. She pushed off the table, beginning to circle the creature. "You want to replace this mirror of yourself, but you want humanity to thrive. For what reason?"

"SOULS ARE A CURIOUS THING," began the creature, it's hand drifting up. In the palm of ice, a blue orb appeared, ghostly flames rolling off of the surface. "THEY CONTAIN THE HOPES, DREAMS, EXPERIENCES OF THE DEPARTED. I ENJOY THEM." Jane released her hand from the sword, standing to face the creature. The white lenses of her mask staring at the creature. "BUT I HAVE A LIMITATION, I CANNOT INFLUENCE EVENTS IN THE REAL WORLD AS YOU DO." Jane nodded, understanding flooding her mind.

"And through me, you can achieve your goals." Something clicked in her head, things coming together like a puzzle. "You're the Reaper." The identified being merely stared, unmoving.

"YOU AND I ARE BONDED. I HAVE GIVEN YOU POWER, POWER TO SUPPLANT THIS BEING. DO THIS FOR ME AND YOU SHALL HAVE THE PEACE YOU DESIRE."

Jane frowned, turning around, pacing. Minutes passed, her mind racing. Peace. Now there was a funny concept. Jane turned the idea over in her head, trying to figure out what peace for her looked like. And end to fighting? Lay down her guns? Retire?

With a start, she realized she didn't even know what 'peace' it was she desired. The concept was so totally foreign to her, the idea of being at peace. She snorted at the thought. The only 'peace' she had known was back in the vault. And that was iffy at best.

"And say I don't decide to do this? Say I abandon ship and find a nice little cabin the ass end of nowhere? What's to stop me?" she queried, a cocky grin on her face. Let it be known that Jane Freewrite took no orders from 'gods'.

That opinion quickly changed when an icy hand flew forward, past her chest plate, through the clothing, and into her chest. The fingers griped themselves around her heart, constricting its movement. Despite this all being a dream, the pain was real, ripping the air from her lungs, her legs suddenly giving out. The being proceeded to lift her via her heart to eye level.

"I SHALL REND YOUR SOUL INTO NOTHINGNESS OVER ETERNITY." And then it dived forward, once again into her.


Rain struck the metal roof, the sound like a waterfall inside the warehouse. Outside, wind howled, the storm having finally reached Vale. Lightning thundered in the distance, making the dark sky light up briefly.

Black ears twitched at the sound, the dull roar having left her mind. When the rain had picked up, Black had retreated into the warehouse, setting up a small shelter under some pallets. She had managed to get some canned tuna for food, food stuffs and other supplies. Her self imposed exile into Vale had been a learning opportunity.

Unlike when she had left Adam on the train, heading to start a new life at Beacon. She had hoped, desperately hoped, that she could leave the White Fang behind, that she could start this new life as a blank slate. Instead, they had followed her, indirectly of course, as well as bringing the enemies of man directly into one of the last 4 cities.

Her arms wrapped around her knees, pulling them tighter. Her thoughts strayed to Yang, her ex partner. Adam had followed her, if only she hadn't left, perhaps Yang would still be whole. If she wasn't as weak, she could have prevented Adam from getting the upper hand.

If she wasn't as useless.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, the sound lost in the dull roar of the storm outside.

BEEP BEEP!

Her amber eyes snapped to her scroll. "A signal?" she muttered, pulling the white metal phone from her coat pocket. Pulling the sides open, she checked the display, seeing she had two bars.

"The tower can't be back online," mouthed Blake, eyes squinting. It didn't make sense, the Dragon Grimm had destroyed the transmitter, located at the top of Beacon's tower, right above Ozpin's office.

Technically there was the secondary tower in the upper district, the backup system, but you needed to manually switch the connection from Ozpin's office, as well as restore power. Both of which were impossible for herself to accomplish.

Therefore, here she was, self imposed exile, hoping to find some sort of redemption out here. What that might look like, she wasn't sure. Perhaps it meant being able to live with herself, some way to keep the crushing guilt from consuming her.

Her ears flicked, the distant sound of scraping claws on pavement. Her hand strayed towards Gambol Shroud, it's presence reassuring. Quietly, she got to her feet, moving from cover to cover, heading for one of the skylights.

3 Beowolves, their black fur matted from the rain. They prowled down the industrial district, heads moving about and sniffing the air, hoping to catch the scent of any remaining humans or Faunus. Stealthily, she moved away from the window, heading for the side door. She could probably leave them alone, but it was a little too close to her current hideaway.

Her lithe form pressed against the exit, the door pushed open enough to see the street. From this angle, the three Grimm were facing away from her, although they had stopped. A hand reached up, grabbing the hilt of Gamboul Shroud.

A head reached toward the sky, muzzle flaring as it breathed in.

She dashed forward, pulling the blade out, the metal links clicking. The one closest turned its head, baleful red eyes seeing her. Her arm stretched out, aiming her pistol at it's face. Three shots flew forth, dancing off of the white armor plates, doing nothing more than scratch. Its body tensed, core muscles doing their best to shift the beast around, ready to engage Blake.

Falling to her knees, water splashed around her as she slid under the first Grimm, her blade splitting it along it's length. From her anatomy classes, there was a powerful group of muscles across the chest of the beowolf, giving its impressive strength. If it's cut though, they can be effectively neutralized.

Already getting to her feet, her free hand grabbed the sharpened sheath, pulling it from her harness. Swinging it around, she blocked the first swipe from the second grimm, unloading a trio of shots into its throat. Black inky blood spilled forth, rupturing the esophagus. The third beast was already on her though.

Acting on instinct, she blinked, and the world shifted. A rush of black, white dots stretching into infinity, the sound of something ripping –

And she was 6 feet above, mid spin, her blade already extended along the ribbon. A flick of her wrist and the gun fired, propelling the weapon, forcing it along an arc. The 4 foot blade sunk into the beast's flank, injuring it but not killing. Its closest arm grabbed the ribbon, pulling her towards it. The force threatened to rip her arm from the socket, but her Aura flashed, keeping it in place.

Again, she blinked, the world twisting itself into a thousand points of light, appearing below the Grimm. Pushing up with her feet, she sent the sheath of Gamboul Shroud into it's heart, the extremely wide blade rending the flesh. Blood and gore poured forth, coating her torso. Grimacing, she twisted her head, trying to keep it from going into her mouth.

"Dammit," she grumbled, blinking.

And then she stood before the beast, not covered in gore, watching impassionately as the grimm fell forward, crushing the afterimage of her into dust. Behind her, the second afterimage struck the ground, quickly turning into dust as well. Walking towards the dead Grimm, she ripped her sword from it's dissolving flank, swiftly stepping over to the one writhing on the ground, it's chest muscles pulling at nothing. A quick flourish and the blade was embedded in it's skull, all movement ceasing.

Tilting her head up, her ears pressed themselves against her head, letting the rain run down her form.

A sigh escaped her lips, shaking her head. With no grimm nearby, it was safe, at least for now.

Crack!

Her head snapped left, ears pointing towards the source of the noise. It was the sound of a gun firing, a large calibre gun. Several more echoed throughout the city, but undeniably coming from the city center. Another blast, this one closer. It sounded closer.

She paused, a memory flitting across her mind. That gunshot sounded familiar.

Yang?

Line break

Her gauntlet bucked, a red flair streaming forth. Less than a meter into it's flight, a Beowolf crumpled, it's skull caved in from the explosive force. She stumbled slightly, expecting the weight of her right arm to balance herself out.

"Keep up Yang!" shouted Jane, bisecting another Ursa, the electrically charged blade forcing the two halves into spasms, the flesh dissolving even as arms and legs kicked uselessly. She raised her pistol, the shot blowing a nearby Beowulf apart. A quick jump backwards and she cut that hand off of another one, a second shot under it's chin ending it's hateful experience.

Yang growled, her fist clenching, useless stump held close to her side. In her fist was the knife Jane had given her, the blade stained from Grimm blood. Using it was unfamiliar, as stabbing with it was far different compared to her usual style. Her lack of balance was also affecting her fight, resulting in her taking hits when she could have dodged, and missing shots she should have hit.

Ducking backwards, she brought the blade down, stabbing cleanly into the flank of an Ursa. A quick tightening of her wrist and the gauntlet fired, the force ripping the blade along the side of the Ursa, severing muscle, sinew and shattering its ribs.

"No fucking end to them!" cursed Jane, another swipe of her blade sending a Beowolf crashing across the concrete. "Use your legs Yang! You may not have an arm but you can still kick!" she laughed. As if to demonstrate, she spun around, using the heavy metal toe of her boot to kick the knee of a Beowulf, an audible snap of bone echoing through the street. The beast hit the ground, red eyes glowing with hatred. Jane replied by pulling the trigger yet again, the round burrowing into it's chest.

Yang experimentally kicked, using the recoil from Ember Cecilia to augment her twist. It didn't have the same effect as Jane, but served to stun the beast altogether. Flipping the knife around, she stuck it underneath the chin of the Grimm. She grinned when it started to dissolve, ripping the knife away.

Spinning around, ready to face the next one, Yang's crimson eyes widened, seeing the last one fall to the ground, Jane calmly removing the blade from an Ursa. "Glad we took care of that!," she exclaimed, sheathing her sword. Exchanging the magazine on her gun for a fresh one, she holstered it, pulling the full length MG42 from her side.

"Come on then, we're still not anywhere near the city generators and this rain shows no sign of letting up." Pulling the bolt back, she checked her scroll, the map telling her how far away they were. "Grimm are thicker the closer we get as well. Hopefully we're skirting the edge of a pack," remarked Jane, sliding the device shut. Tucking it away in her pocket, she swiveled towards Yang, wondering why she hadn't responded.

"Yang?" she called, observing the blond. Yang herself stood motionless in front of a glass window, the contents invisible. Glancing up, she figured Yang wasn't enthralled by the dollar store she appeared to be standing in front of. Her remaining hand, having stowed the knife, was hovering near her hair. Besides the rain matting it, she wasn't sure what Yang was stuck on.

"Come on lefty, things to do people to see!" clapped Jane enthusiastically. Yang didn't move, her eyes not straying from the image. Jane merely put her hands on her hips, sighing with exasperation.

"Jesus Christ," she mumbled, ignoring the rain hitting her mask. "Can things not go simply for once?" she muttered. Striding forward, her gloved hand tapped Yang on the shoulder, attempting to get her attention.

"What's got your panties in a bunch now?" She only received silence as the answer, Yang continuing to stare at apparently her reflection. Thunder echoed overhead, close enough that she could feel it shake her chest. Out of curiosity, she looked past the reflection in the window, seeing if there was anything interesting in the store worth looting.

"Well that's different," she mumbled. Waving her hand, she waved, raising her voice. "Hey Blake!"

Jane managed to observe the figure in the store for all of 3 second. 3 second to take in the worn out clothing, huge purple bags under her eyes, messy, unwashed hair tied behind her head, ears poking out languidly. Her stand was ridged, as if surprised that Yang and Jane would be here, in the abandoned city.

And then she turned tail, sprinting out the back of the store. Before Jane could even respond, Yang leapt through the glass, intent on chasing Blake down, red eyes almost glowing.

Rain continued to hammer, the thunder once again becoming the dominant sound. "Fuck this," grumbled Jane, pulling out her scroll. Opening a picture of Yang, she typed out a quick message.

Going to the generators. I am not motivated enough to spring after you. If by some miracle you survive, I'll be at the docks when the power is restored.

Tapping 'send,' she put the small device away, proceeding to walk towards the industrial district, where the generators were.


Despite having fallen into disrepair for over 6 months, the interior of the building was in surprisingly good condition. The walls were clean, boxes organized, main thoroughfares open and easy to traverse. Details like these were inconsequential though to Yang, whom was sprinting after the cat Faunus, desperate to catch up to her. If she was fast, she could see her disappear behind another hallway door, heading to the upper levels of the building. The soft padding footsteps of her partner were completely opposite to the heavy thuds of her combat boots, the sound ringing out across the building.

"BLAKE! Just hold on!" she screamed. Up ahead, Blake sprinted through a door, the heavy wood slamming shut. As soon as she was near, she punched with her fist, the explosive round ripping through the wood, doing nothing to slow her down. A metal ladder to the left headed upwards, towards what looked like a roof exit. Glancing at her one hand, she growled, determined not to let it stop her. What followed was a graceless ascension of the ladder, her one hand doing nothing more than to hold her on course as her legs literally launched herself upwards.

Bursting through the hatch, she glanced around, seeing a blur to her right. Ignoring the gravel sliding beneath her legs, she scrambled, sprinting across the roof, following Blake as quickly as she could. The Faunus was utilizing the obstructions to her advantage, leaping over glass skylights and between steel and brick chimneys. Yang, having neither the agility nor the grace afforded by a Faunus heritage, was reduced to skirting the obstacles, leaping over low walls and gaps between the alleyway gaps between buildings.

"Blake! Stop!" Her voice was ragged, tearing at the end as her lungs fought for air against her will. The rain pounded her, with lightning cracking over head, every strike causing the Faunus to slow down slightly, disorientated.

Up ahead, she saw her partner make an exceedingly long jump, utilizing two shadow clones to cover what must have been the distance between a main road. Stumbling to the edge, she stopped just before she would have fallen. Gauging the distance, Yang instinctively knew she couldn't make that jump. Even with Ember Cecilia she couldn't hope to make it.

"STOP RUNNING!" She wailed, her voice reaching across. Blake just stood there, the rain soaking her clothing. Despite not actually facing Yang, she managed to get a good look at her partner.

Her clothing was worn, with rips and tears everywhere. The once black vest had been replaced with a white coat, empty stitch marks labeling it as something scavenged from a White Fang grunt. There was no bow on her head, allowing her ears free movement.

"Please!" she shouted, quieter this time, but no less demanding. "Please, don't run." Blake refused to turn around, still standing there. An ear flicked as thunder rolled, but beyond that, she remained unmoving.

"Don't leave me," the blond whispered, eyes flicking back to lilac. "I-" a hard lump formed in her throat, preventing words from forming. She swallowed, mind whirling. Words came and went, flying in front of her mind's eye faster than she could process. There were so many things she wanted to say, to ask of the Faunus. She wanted her to stay, to help get the power back, find Ruby, find Weiss, make sense of this new world they found themselves in.

She wanted to old times back, when they would laugh between classes, sleep during lectures, train until they couldn't stand, and then train some more. She wanted to spend time with them, hunting Grimm, watching movies, telling stories. She wanted to spend time with Blake, back during those lazy afternoons, where she would nap and Blake would read, both taking comfort in the silence.

She wanted her partner back.

She wanted Blake.

"I need you," she spoke, confident that the Faunus could hear her. "I need my partner, my friend. I need you!" Her voice cracked at the end, the confession leaving her. She wasn't sure if Blake understood the meaning, she hardly understood it herself.

"Don't leave me, not again."

The silence stretched between them, the only sound being the rain on the ground and the thunder in the air. Yang knew that the figure wasn't a clone, the wind pulled and tugged at Blake's form, her clothing swaying with the currents. Her shadow clones didn't have that.

Yang sank to her knees, lilac eyes fixated on Blake, the silence stretching into the minutes. For the first time in a while, she felt cold, the rain seeping through her skin and semblance, chilling her to her core. The tightness in her throat returned, a tear falling from her eye. Several more fell, light sobs racking her chest, shoulders shaking.

"I need you!" A clenched fist struck the ground, gravel exploding outwards. Blake shifted, pivoting slightly. Yang could see her face, the bags beneath her eyes, her amber orbs dimmed slightly. She looked at her lips, waiting for her to speak.

"I'm sorry."

A flash of black smoke and she was gone, leaving Yang alone on the rooftops.

Her body froze. The lump disappeared, tears stopped. Her mental processes quit, lilac orbs tracking the final few particles of black dust vanishing in the wind and the rain. Her fist started to clench, knuckles whitening. Her stump started to itch, commands for her right hand to clench ending at the cut. Her breathing grew shallow, forceful, the mere act of breathing becoming an exercise in force. Her eyes shrunk to pinpricks, focussing on the spot from before.

She swore she heard something crack.

"GRHHHHAAAAA!" Flames erupted from her body, moisture turning into steam, drying her instantly. Bright yellow flames leapt from her form, rain evaporating meters away, not getting the strength to soak her. Leaping to her feat, a single powerful kick of her legs pushed her forwards, sailing over the gap between buildings. The flames grew higher, reaching several meters into the air. From a distance, it was as if a fireball had exploded into existence.

A blast from Ember Cecilia and she managed to clear the gap, landing on the building opposite. Shockwaves rippled out from the impact, gravel exploding like shrapnel, her fist striking the ground. Her legs kicked out, her form sprinting across the roof, fire continuing to burn in her wake. Her now red iris's caught a door ajar, her body already reacting.

What could only be described as a living goddess of flame exploded through the door, the heat wafting from her form already causing the structure to warp and deform from the heat. Following where she could only guess where Blake might have gone, she stormed through, disregarding her environment. Happening across a stairwell, she jumped, landing several floors below, the heat having melted the banisters all the way down.

Her fist was like steel, no longer a collection of fingers, tendons and flesh in her mind, but a single object made from the hardest metal. A single hit and the doors to the building exploded outwards, her form striding outwards into the square. Seeing that Blake wasn't there, her anger only grew, the heat reaching higher temperatures. Lightning flashed above her, as if the storm was reacting to her presence. Incoherent rage had consumed her, the pain of being abandoned again fueling her semblance.

Unnoticed by her, the metal fountain in the middle was starting to sag, the hollow copper not able to withstand the heat of her semblance. Behind her, the building she had traversed was on fire, flames consuming the structure, flames hotter and brighter than any normal building fire.

"I'm sorry."

"YOU'RE SORRY? YOU DON'T GET TO BE SORRY!" If it was possible, the flames reached higher, her screaming for all to hear. Nearby, the fountain had folded in on itself, forming a puddle. The molten copper having started to flow over the edge of the fountain, trailing slowly towards her.

"NO MORE!" Her fist flew down, striking the earth with the force of a meteor. The earth rippled outwards, waves in the cobblestone flowing out from her like ripples in a pond. When the impact waves hit the fountain, it catapulted liquid copper into the air, surrounding Yang in an instant.

Lightning struck.

Three bolts of white energy, moving at the speed of light, snapped into existence, coming down from the heavens, striking the cloud of liquid copper surrounding the brawler. Energy sprinted from droplet to droplet, racing around, the positive energy from the bolts swirling around the metal rain, an ever-closing vortex, racing at the speed of light towards the only thing more conductive than liquid copper;

A super heated Aura infused Huntress.

Less than a hundredth of a second later, the copper evaporated into the air, the combined energy from the three lightning bolts striking Yang at the same time, the force spread out across tens of thousands of droplets of copper, impacting her from every angle, her superheated body acting as the grounding rod for the purest form of Nature's wrath.

Yang had, in essence, just received a bitch slap from mother nature, telling her to shut up.

The fire quit, her anger depleted. Her body felt numb, as if every single emotion driving her recently had just stopped. Her form swayed, unable to maintain balance. One eye twitched, both crimson in coloring. The world tilted, the sky rushing downwards, replacing her vision.

"Ow," was the wheezed reply from her mouth, staring uselessly at the sky. She closed her eyes, the world fade to darkness.

The rain had stopped.


Alright, I know this took a while, and I'm meh about it. I haven't had a good idea where I wanted to take this story, and it's only recently I figured out a system that works for me. Will I continue to do massive chapters? Yeh, but I'll try to make 'massive' = +5k words. That's reasonable.

I plan on once a month publishing, although it's not firm. But I've written out some key events on what I want to happen during the story. How long do I think this story will be? Eh, maybe 30-40 chapters at most.

We'll see.

Thanks for sticking around so far, I just wish the hiatus hadn't been so long.

Also, as I've mentioned before, I own none of this, just the original idea for the plot.