Hey, it's the eighteenth chapter! So, this is a first, since I only have prior knowledge for the next episode for this one, but I usually have several episodes to have prior knowledge with. This means, I can't change past events for what happens in the future. Basically: Flying Blind.
Right, so Epsilon is under arrest for assault and Ultra has gone with Ruby to the Amity Colosseum to try and prove Epsilon's innocence. How and will he succeed? Or will he fail his brother? Find out now!
Chapter Eighteen - Rest in Pieces
"Really, that's the title? Your a sick bastard." Ultra sighed in annoyance. "Come on, Ruby!" He yelled as they both ran down to the bottom of the stands in the Colosseum. Ruby sat down in an open seat while Ultra looked over the edge of the arena, putting in his eyepiece on his right eye. He narrowed his eyes as he searched.
"There! Other side of the arena! Do you see her?" Ultra asked Ruby, who glanced across the stands until she sees who he means, her eyes widening,
"Emerald's... here?" She asked, confused as Emerald glared back across the arena, seemingly noticing them.
"We need to get to her before the match starts." Ultra told her as he led Ruby to the maintenance entrance. "I've go a bad feeling about this..." He burst open the door and stormed in, Ruby following not far behind.
"All right, it's now time to begin the randomization process for our next fight!" Oobleck announced as Ultra and Ruby glance towards the sound.
"'Randomization Process'. Nothing random about it." Ultra muttered, confusing Ruby. As they continued forward, someone walked out of the closet, which greatly surprised Ruby, but pissed off Ultra.
"Mercury?" Ruby asked hesitantly, squinting to make sure.
"It looks like out first contender is... Penny Polendina from Atlas..." Port told the crowd.
"What are you doing?" Ruby asked Mercury, who just smirked at her.
"And her opponent will be... Pyrrha Nikos from Beacon!" Ultra immediately realised something.
"You mother fuckers..." Ultra said coldly, glaring at Ultra. It took Ruby a few moments, but she realised too.
"No..." Ruby said quietly, realising the truth.
"Ooh, polarity versus metal. That could be bad." Mercury stated, putting his hand on his chin. Ruby glared at him and reached for her scythe, but realised she left it at Beacon.
"You always have to be prepared, Ruby." Ultra told the huntress, grabbing his machetes and spinning them a couple of times. "Always." Mercury, with slight hesitation, set himself up in a fighting pose.
Beacon Academy...
I looked out of the window at the Amity Colosseum, knowing that the next fight was about to begin, but I didn't know who the fight was with. At that moment, my scroll went off to alert me of when the fight started. I activated it and widened my eyes in fear. On the screen I saw Penny standing opposite Pyrrha. Literally the worst match up I could think of.
"Oh no..."
Amity Colosseum...
The person fully clothed in black walked off the arena as it wasn't his fight along with all the other finalists who weren't picked. They walked into the tunnels to the stands, but the person in black took a detour and reached the docks, and pulled out their scroll.
"Dragon here..." He reported "She's her?... where?... on a rooftop in Vale?... Alex, are you sure?... alright... I'm going to stop her..." He put his scroll away and boarded a ship that was exiting the Colosseum.
Ozpin's Office...
Ozpin walked towards his desk, taking a seat with his coffee as he watched the Vytal Festival Tournament, Benjamin standing behind him, typing on his scroll.
"Something wrong, Benjamin?" Ozpin asked.
"Just rechecking Epsilon's software. I'm trying to see if I can see what he saw when Mercury 'attacked' him." He explained. Happy with the explanation, Ozpin turned back to his monitor.
"It looks like our first contender is... Penny Polendina, from Atlas! And her opponent will be... Pyrrha Nikos, from Beacon!" Port said through the monitors.
Both men remained unfazed, one not knowing about Pyrrha's polarity, and one not knowing about Penny being an android.
Amity Colosseum...
"Mercury, what are you doing?" Ruby asked the man as Ultra remained by her side, weapons at the ready. "What's going on?" Mercury refused to answer, grinning with malice instead. "Fine." Ruby stepped to the side. "If you're not going to tell me..." Mercury followed her. Ruby stepped again, and Mercury followed.
"Fighters, are you ready?" Oobleck asked over the announcement system. Mercury just smirked.
"Oh, this is bullshit. I broke your fucking leg, how are you even walking?" Ultra asked, annoyed.
"It wasn't cheap..." Mercury said grimly, looking at his new cybernetic leg.
"Well, I hope you got insurance." Ultra threatened, walking towards him. Mercury continued to smirk. "Ruby, sneak past if you can and wait for me to catch up."
"Got it." She confirmed. They both approached Mercury.
"Showtime." Ultra and Ruby leapt side to side, but remained a distance apart, knowing Mercury could only get one of them. Opting for the easy option, Mercury pounced at Ruby, stopping her as she used her semblance and kicked her back as Ultra got ahead.
Ruby reached for her scroll and went to call for help, but a bullet hit it and was knocked out of her hand.
"Let's just keep this between us friends-" Mercury said, but fell to the ground as Ultra slammed his right fist into the back of his head, knocking him out.
"I can't be bothered to fight him. Or write out a fight." Ultra approached Ruby and offered a hand. "Come on, we need to hurry." Ruby accepted the hand and got up, both of them running to the other side of the Colosseum.
Colosseum Arena...
One of Penny's swords flew at Pyrrha, knocking her sword out of her hand, proceeded by another sword to knock out her shield. Pyrrha used her semblance to pull her sword back to her, but had to stop and instead redirect one of Penny's swords that came flying at her.
All of Penny's swords came back to her and hovered behind her as she grinned with her arms raised. Unknown to them, Emerald focused on Pyrrha, using her semblance to alter Pyrrha's perception of what was in front of her.
Ultra bursted throug the maintenance door, looking down at the arena. In his left eye, he saw Penny's arms raised with eight swords behind her. In is right eye, covered by his eyepiece, he saw thousands of swords hovering above Penny. Without a second thought, Ultra ran down the stairs until he reached Emerald. Before she could react, Ultra swung around and kicked her in the face, knocking her back and off her seat. He quickly turned to see the swords flying towards Pyrrha, but it was too late.
Pyrrha spread her arms, sending out a large magnetic pulse which sent the thousands of swords, now seen as eight, back to Penny, who was frozen in place. The swords flew past her and pulled her back with the string. One of them wrapped around her arm and another wrapped around her midsection and they both pulled.
The strings went clean through Penny, shredding her into several pieces.
"No!" Port yelled as he and Oobleck stood up in shock.
Beacon Academy...
"NO!" I yelled in anger as I watched the screen of my scroll, the camera focused on Penny's disembodied body lying on the floor. Without thinking, I threw my scroll at the wall, smashing it, and proceeded to punch the wall several times, severely cracking it and ripping the flesh off my right knuckle.
Breathing heavily in anger, I stormed up to the door, ripped it open without unlocking it and slammed it shut as I ran down the corridor.
Ozpin's Office...
Ozpin immediately stood from his chair, looking at the screen in surprise. He turned to Benjamin, who was less surprised but more worried.
"You knew, didn't you?" Ozpin asked, already knowing the answer. "Get Epsilon, make sure he doesn't do anything irrational and dangerous."
With that, Benjamin ran to the elevator and it quickly closed, leaving Ozpin along in his office.
Amity Colosseum...
Ultra watched in horror as Penny's eyes slowly expanded until they nearly completely filled her eyes, and the mechanical sounds within her stopped. Ultra sighed sadly and walked back up the stairs, watching as Ruby exited and fell to her knees, tears filling her eyes.
"Penny..." She muttered softly as she began to cry. Ultra reached her and gently patted her on the shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. Behind them, Mercury poked out of the maintenance corridor and grinned as he saw that the plan worked. Despite being fully aware that he was there, neither Ruby nor Ultra had the will to fight him.
"Broadcast, what are you doing? Kill the feed!" Oobleck ordered from inside the commentator box.
"Something's wrong! We don't have control of the cameras! We can't even stop the broadcast!" The Broadcast Operator said.
"What! How is that possible!?" Oobleck was cut off as the screen behind him and Port and the screens in the arena all turned red, a black queen chess piece in the center of the screen.
Near Beacon...
"This was not a tragedy. This was not an accident. This is what happens when you hand over your trust, your safety, your children, to men who claim to be our guardians, but are, in reality, nothing more than men." Cinder said over the PA system, standing on top of a roof, completely alone.
Amity Colosseum...
"Our Academies' Headmasters and Headmistresses wield more power than most armies, and one was audacious enough to control both."
Ironwood, realising who she was referring too, stormed out of his seat and up to the commentator box where Oobleck and Port were.
"They cling to this power in the name of peace, and yet, what do we have here? One nation's attempt at a synthetic army, not the first one I've seen, mercilessly torn apart by another's star pupil."
Pyrrha stared at Penny, filled with dread and her mouth covered by her hand and her eyes watering.
Beacon Academy...
"What need would Atlas have for a soldier disguised as an innocent little girl? I don't think the Grimm can tell the difference."
I tried my best to ignore what she was saying as I ran through the corridors, but her voice was inside my head. I couldn't stop it, but I needed to stop her. I reached the exit to the outside and immediately took off flying towards the Amity Colosseum.
Fairgrounds...
"And what, I ask you, is Ozpin teaching his students? First a dismemberment by one of his students posing as one from Atlas, now this?"
Blake and Weiss, along with other surrounding people, watched the screen with the black queen chess piece and red screen as Cinder spoke the truth to them. Blake turned around and up to the sky, spotting me in the distance after hearing me with her enhanced hearing.
Beacon Academy...
Huntsmen and Huntresses should carry themselves with honor and mercy, yet I have witnesses neither."
Yang ran down the corridor and reached her dorm room, opening the door with the now broken lock and found it empty, bar Zwei. She quietly cursed herself and started running back into the corridor, Zwei following her.
Ozpin's Office...
"Perhaps Ozpin felt as though defeating Atlas in the Tournament would help people forget his colossal failure to protect Vale when the Grimm invaded it's streets."
Ozpin watched he screen intently, his cane at his side with Atlesian Airships hovering beyond the window in his office. The elevator opened and Benjamin entered.
"Ozpin, Epsilon's gone." He informed the headmaster. Ozpin clenched his fist.
Amity Colosseum...
"Or perhaps this was his message to the tyrannical dictator that has occupied an unsuspecting kingdom with armed forces."
Emerald groaned in pain as she got up from behind her chair, rubbing her forehead as her aura slowly started to heal any damage dealt to her. Without anyone noticing, she exited the stadium as everyone else remained silent.
Vale Border...
"As someone who hails from Mistral, I can assure you the situation there is... equally undesirable. Our Kingdoms are on the brink of war, yet we, the citizens, are left in the dark."
The two Atlesian soldiers watched the broadcast and failed to notice the approaching Grimm until they were coming out of the mist. They both opened fire as best as they could, but it was a fruitless effort. In an instant, a cloud of yellow smoke appeared between them, and when the smoke faded, a box filled with more powerful weapons were there for them, much to their confusion. They quickly grabbed one and started killing more Grimm.
Near Beacon...
"So I ask you: When the first shots are fired... who do you think you can trust?" Cinder asked with a satisfied smirk. It faded when she heard footsteps approaching her, and she turned to see the man completely in black. He charged at her, raised his arm and without touching her, used his semblance to force her off the building, catching her scroll in mid-air.
"Everyone listen to me. You're not safe anymore. The virus that has been installed has deactivated the kingdoms defences and the Grimm are charging into Vale as I speak. Evacuate yourself from dangerous and populated areas in a calm and collected fashion and stay alive. I will help to stop the Grimm and save the kingdom, but I cannot save you all."
"If you want to trust someone, trust the kingdom leaders in Vale. Good luck. Dragon out." Dragon closed the scroll and half-heartily threw it off the building, the sound of incoming Grimm and Bullheads catching his attention.
He reached for his weapon, the silver cylindrical tube, and ignited it, creating a singular blue beam in the form of a sabre. He jumped off the building to disappear in a cloud of yellow smoke.
Amity Colosseum...
"Good luck. Dragon out." The screens went from red with the queen chess piece to static.
"The feeds are all jammed! We can't get a message out!" Oobleck exclaimed to Port. Port turned around to the others behind him.
"Will someone tell me what in the world is happening!?" He exclaimed to those behind the scenes. Before his question was answered, a loud siren went off, catching their attention as they looked at the screen, flashing orange as they stated 'CAUTION'.
"Alert. Incoming Grimm attack. Threat level: Nine. Please seek shelter in a calm and orderly manner." The Warning Announcer stated. Despite this, the crowds started running out of the stands in fear, screaming in fear. Ironwood entered the announcer box and grabbed the microphone.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please. There is no need for panic." Ironwood tried to calm the crowd down, but was cut off as two Nevermore's arrived at the Colosseum, screeching as they clawed and pecked at the shield with their beaks.
"Nevermore's!?" Sun exclaimed, standing from his seat, Coco following just after him.
"How did they get through the Kingdom's defences!?" Coco asked.
"Dragon was right. They weren't along." Ren said in a somewhat calm voice. At that point, a cloud of yellow smoke appeared near one of the Nevermore's. Dragon spun forwards towards the Grimm and activated his lightsabre, slicing the Nevermore's head off in one clean slice. Immediately afterwards, Dragon disappeared in another cloud of smoke.
"Really, you're so lazy you're just calling it a 'lightsabre'? Whatever, it sounds cool, deal with it."
Ozpin's Office...
Ozpin tightly gripped his cane as he watched the Grimm enter the city with a horrified expression. Benjamin was speechless as he looked too. The elevator opened and Qrow and Glynda entered the office.
"Oz!" Qrow called out.
"Get to the city!" Ozpin ordered as he turned to the hunters.
"But-"
"NOW!" Ozpin cut off Qrow resolutely. Qrow and Glynda shared a glance, and left, following Ozpin's orders.
Mountain Glenn...
Willow and Peter watched from a rooftop as various different types of Grimm all turned to Vale and charged while growling and roaring angrily, Sonny whimpering as he was curled up between the Inhumans. Willow leaned against the wall and pulled out her scroll, typing on it.
"What are you doing?" Her brother asked.
"Activating Ultra's robots. We'll need them if we want a chance to survive." Willow told him and pressed a final button. From underground, the robots busted out of the floor and started shooting the Grimm as they ran towards them. "Come on, we need to help too."
The two siblings leapt off the roof and landed on the floor. Peter immediately started running at the Grimm at his super speed, taking down dozens per second. Willow's hands glowed crimson as her eyes glowed, and she fired her telekinetic energy at the incoming Grimm.
Amity Colosseum...
Ironwood, Oobleck and Port looked at the remaining Nevermore, but their attention was caught when Ironwood's scroll went off.
"Ozpin, the girl... I-I can explain!" He said through his scroll, stammering nervously.
"You're android is destroyed, but mine is out there, on his way to the Colosseum." Ozpin said gravely. "You brought your army to my Kingdom, James. Use it."
Ironwoods look turned from worry to determination as he looked up at his fleet. However, only a few moments later, one of the airships fired at the closest one, which collided into the other one. Ironwood looked at his fleet angrily as one ship remained, under the control of Roman Torchwick and Neopolitan.
Beacon Docks...
Three bullheads arrived at the academy, the middle one opening to reveal members of the white fang and their leader, Adam Taurus.
"Bring them to their knees!" Adam ordered as the other bullheads opened and Grimm jumped out and onto the docks. An Ursa roared as it readied to charge, but was caught off guard by yellow smoke appearing in front of it, and Dragon's lightsabre slicing it's head off, only for Dragon to disappear again in a cloud of yellow smoke.
End of Chapter Eighteen
So, what an ending! Penny's 'dead', Ultra is devastated that one of his kind is 'dead', Epsilon is on his own to go find find Penny, who is 'dead', and the Grimm have entered the kingdom. Will they survive? What will Epsilon and Ultra do? Who is Dragon? All of these will be answered in the near future, but for now, it's the story review:
Name: An Eclipse Of The Heart (Sun Wukong x Blake Belladonna)
Author: ToughGirlGGBG
General Synopsis: In short, Beacons a Military Academy devoted to drafting young teenagers to raise them and train them to protect current and future world leaders.
Also, I want to bring something up: there was a review not long ago, which disappeared almost immediately, but it complained that this was essentially the same story as Avengers: Age of Ultron. Now, the matter of the fact is, they are right. The first six or seven chapters are heavily based off that film, which I decided would make a good first arc to set up Epsilon, but mainly Ultra. Now, the review wasn't... nice, but I can see what they meant. This is basically a heads up: future arcs and volumes will likely be based off films, games or tv shows, since that is what I get inspiration from. They aren't copying like my other story, RWBY: The Walking Dead, but they will take inspiration from them. All in all, if you notice that I am basically following something that already exists, don't complain, that's just what I do.
As always, remember to follow, favourite and leave a review (hopefully a nice one) and thank you for reading.