I know you've all been waiting for this chapter, and it couldn't come at a worse time with the news of Monty's passing, but...I'm going to get real with you all for a bit. Back in 2012 I got into writing solely for self-gratification, I wanted to be a famous writer and work at Roosterteeth. Then I saw my skills for what they truly were...garbage. I dropped the arrogance and started writing constantly to improve and I finally worked up the courage to post my first story here. I received praise and I was so happy so I kept writing and for the first time ever I finished a story I wrote. I wrote other stories, but none pleased me more than this one. I idolized Monty and wanted to be just like him, he was brilliant and he got to work on what he loved every day and I was envious. I finally got to see him at RTX 2014 last year, and I was so nervous I couldn't even approach him. I was so terrified that he would hate me, or think I was rude by stopping him and trying to talk to him that I avoided him. I never once got to speak with my hero and that devastated me, especially today. But today...of all days, I saw quotes from Monty people posted all over Twitter and I realized that I would live to attain my dreams. All one needs is a little inspiration, motivation, and hard work. So I post this chapter and decide to continue this story, because RWBY is a gift. It is a wonderful gift from a brilliant human being, and I want him to see how his creation is loved and shared by people and how what he created has spawned so many works of their own. This is my memorial to a great man, and I hope you all love it as much as I love to write it.
RWBY: The Darkness Within
Season 2- Chapter 22
Gold
Dream up anything, I'll make it all come True.
Cyan flipped backward, spinning his scythe to deflect the rain of projectiles fired by Sinon that were raining hectically into the battlefield as she was only concerned with hitting any of them and it didn't matter which one. Romeo rushed from his side as Sandman came from the other, so he swung out at the Sandman who flipped over his blade as Romeo blinked closer and aimed at him. Cyan maneuvered his body out of the way as he shifted his weight so the scythe would fly back towards Romeo, as the assassin barely moved out of the way in time. Cyan spun the blade once more bringing it's point into the sand with all his strength and a boost from his aura to send the shockwave ripping across the ground. They all flew back and stood still as they watched each other intently to see who would react first. The Sandman was the first to move as he lashed out once more with his bandages this time being exceptionally fast like the strike of a snake. Cyan could only block and dance away from them as the Sandman upped the ferocity and Romeo took advantage of the situation to mount another assault, charging as fast as he could while watching each individual movement at once. Cyan swung back, but Romeo blinked through the momentum appearing besides the assassin as he aimed his pistol in the same split second and unloaded into the assassin's head before rolling and rushing off as Cyan stumbled as his powerful aura deflecting the projectiles.
"You're a quick little rat aren't you?" Cyan asked as he focused on the Sandman again, with Romeo catching his breath.
"Well you know, when you're in the zone you've got the magic." He panted out; all of them were tired from this exchange except for Sinon who hadn't moved since the start. Cyan looked right at her as they all caught their breath and before any of them could act Cyan rushed toward Sinon at full speed. She opened fire as fast as she could but he simply deflected all of her attacks and zeroed in on her as he leveled his scythe for the killing blow and moved to swing, putting even more of his immense aura into this strike. She switched her weapon into Voulge mode and took the blow as she tried to funnel her aura into the weapon to depend but it's as if her aura was ripped to shreds by his, because his scythe cut clean through her weapon. He spun to attack again, and she saw the scythe coming but couldn't move fast enough as she felt herself falling and saw a flash of blue where she had been standing as Romeo took the scythe in his gut. He had blocked it from cutting through him by using the ice rounds in his SMG to create a thick barrier of ice, he leveled his pistol with Cyan and fired his last six rounds into the man's chest as he stumbled away and coughed up blood as two of the six had punched through his aura.
"Idiot!" Sinon cried as she rushed over to Romeo who fired a few more ice rounds into his wound to close it as he winced in pain. "Why would you even do that!?"
"You know all flirting and insults aside. It is nice to have someone to compete against, and it's even better when they're not some ugly dude." He coughed as he stood back up to fight before collapsing. She lifted him up and carried him back towards Würfel.
"Like hell I'm gonna let you die now." She groaned, "After you've given me so much shit, I'll keep him away from your kin Cyan, but after this I'm coming for you!" She roared angrily as she walked the long way back as the last two assassins standing prepared to face off. I'm forever, always by your side. Whenever you need a friend, I'm never far behind.
Knives was hoisted by his throat as he tried desperately to keep the blood in his body by focusing his aura over his wounds and trying to stay conscious as his airway was steadily constricted. "Is this the best that Bloody Knives can manage after defeating a lieutenant of the White Fang?" The senior lieutenant asked.
Knives clawed at the man's hand trying to break free, the blood gathering around his fingertips into claws as he scraped against the overwhelming aura that was slowly killing him. He spat at the man, and the man simply wiped the spit away, "I think it's time for you to die!" He said as he drew back to strike before a bullet punched into his aura and sent him tumbling back as he released Knives in the process who hacked and coughed as he tried to get air back in his lungs. He looked up to see Beatrice Cross holding a large pistol, which she had withdrawn from her satchel.
"I'd ask you to kindly step away from my son's friend." She said as she rose from her kneeling position and set down the bag she had taken the weapon from, and placed it in a large holster on her hip.
"And who's asking." The leader said, stepping in the way of his subordinate as Beatrice approached Knives and began healing his wounds, the wounds closing at ten times the rate they would if Caradin was doing it.
"I'm Beatrice Cross, a humble housewife and Huntress of the Atlas military only when they need me." She said eyeing the lieutenant as if she knew him, and his eyes widened with fear. "And I'm here to kick your ass." She said as she extended her left hand, and the gauntlet on it was exposed, as the Dust tubes and crystals wove together through it to enhance it's properties as a Fireball launched from it and collided with the leader knocking him back. The real fight had just begun.
Don't you worry, about the Dark
Cassim rolled and leapt from the tower trying to sprint away, but the Lightning Dust round collided with his leg and fizzled off his aura. He felt the tingling in the air and over his leg as he fell onto the roof and took off running so he could to escape the range of the man firing at him. He leveled his rifle with the boy's chest and fired his aura infused bullet that would rip through the boy's pathetic Dust rounds. The boy tossed his pistols in the air where they hovered as he drew a revolver from his jacket and fired, his bullet colliding with the bullet and ripping clean through it as the .62 caliber armor piercing round tore a hole through the building where he'd been standing and the smaller guns continued to rain out Dust rounds which were now being controlled remotely by this boy's aura. He kept running using his superior leg muscles to propel himself forward as he tracked the boy with his rifle and kept firing every chance he got.
The boy tracked each bullet and opened fire to take each one out of the sky, as he kept firing and reloading with his smaller pistols until he was out of rounds and the sky above Würfel was full of Dust projectiles whizzing through the air like angry hornets as they chased the goat Faunus and began to trap him in. He shifted his weapon into spear mode and turned to face the boy as he drew on his semblance to leap across the distance and take on the boy. He jumped, using his semblance to kick off in the air by summoning his glyphs to make the fastest path to Luxus, he swung his weapon and Luxus quickly holstered Red King as he grabbed his pistols from the air releasing his control on them as the rounds stopped around the tower waiting for an opening from their master to take out the Faunus. He spun his guns, the bayonets dancing in and out from the Faunus' flesh who was obviously the more experienced in close combat as he dodged and weaved around the poor strikes and lashed out with his spear. Luxus cast off his coat so the spear caught it instead of his body as he ducked down and performed a sweep kick to knock Cassim down. Cassim leapt into the air, and the round zeroed in on him and flew at him with full force as he summoned a glyph at the last second to propel himself forward towards Luxus. Luxus rolled away as the goat Faunus kicked out and struck him in the chest as he flew into the railing of the tower as the Faunus continued his assault swinging the spear wide and making rapid jabs that Luxus ducked and danced through. He had one final failsafe he'd been avoiding, but it looked like it was do or die so he threw his pistols at the Faunus. Cassim slashed through the pistols with his spear, striking what he assumed was an empty magazine but Luxus has kept one final Fire Dust round in each gun so the minute the metal struck the substance it ignited causing an explosion that disoriented the Faunus. Luxus ran in and tackled him and began to hit him in the face over and over with his fists using his aura to boost their strength as he laid into the Faunus, trying his best not to think about what he was doing. He felt the warm blood on his fist, the crunching of bone beneath his fists, and the grunts of pain from his opponent and wanted nothing more than to stop but he knew if he did it would be him who died. He felt the Faunus go limp and he stopped rushing to check the man's pulse. "He's still alive." Luxus said slumping back, shaking, "Thank God." He mumbled as he shook violently with fear and disgust at his own actions. He would regroup with the others once he calmed down.
I will Light up the Night, with the Love in my Heart
Cole ran into the back alley and pressed himself flat against the wall as he tried to lower the sound of his breathing and heart-rate as he calmly meditated and focused his aura into cloaking his presence. It was his semblance that allowed him to vanish like a Rat, but he needed to stay calm. Tenebrous weren't truly like the rumors said where they were devils who could catch Faunus and feed on their fear and become death itself, he was just a man. As he thought this Deverou leapt over the wall behind him and landed before him, "Hello there, Rat." He said giving off a malicious aura.
Cole gulped and rushed him drawing his Dust Dagger and slashing wildly to drive the man back, venting Fire Dust he lashed out with tongues of flame as the Tenebrous drew his blade and lashed back venting Fire through his as it was a Dragon's dance as brilliant crimson flames arced from both blades lighting up the alley as they burned bright. He ducked and danced as the Tenebrous kept with the beat easily and kicked him in the head sending him into a pile of trash. He switched to lightning and the Tenebrous responded in kind as sparks and bolts of electricity swam through the air sending Cole's hair on end. He suddenly switched to Ice Dust and the Tenebrous switched to fire as he lashed out and steam spewed from both blades like a thick coat. Cole saw it as his opportunity to run and turned to do so only to find the Tenebrous already in his path clearing his glasses. "You know I never really understood why people complained about glasses fogging up until now. That was rather rude don't you think? Trying to leave in the middle of a fight and leaving your comrades behind?"
"Shut up Tenebrous! I bet your little Schnee witch was killed in the raid on Vale, I bet she died in agony thinking of how you couldn't protect her!" He smirked cruelly before seeing the calm look on the man's face.
"Ms. Schnee is not so weak as to fail in her mission. Besides, it is no longer my job to protect her for I have faith in her companions. Even if we are separated our bond will remain, because I am her friend. And I love her." He said as he ran the Fire Dust again and prepared to strike.
"Don't give me that anime bullshit! You two will never be the same again, she will leave you one day and there's nothing you can do about it!" He said as he rushed the Tenebrous using his semblance to mask himself and move through the shadows in an instant stabbing the boy in the gut as the Ice released and began to freeze the Tenebrous until he was nothing but a butler incased in Ice. "Hahahaha, yes!" Cole screamed before feeling something hot in his side, he looked down and saw the blade coated in flames sticking into his side and the Tenebrous standing over him with that calm face. "How!?"
"It's simple, I put you under hypnosis a while a go, it was just really hard to fight with a mind like yours so I wore you down a bit first so I could put you under suggestion. Once all was said and done, you were fooled." He said as he turned away and froze Cole's legs to the ground before confiscating his dagger. "Don't feel bad though, you were a tough opponent. And I'm letting you live so you should feel happy, a certain someone told me I should step out of the darkness. So I'm taking their advice."
I will Burn like the Sun, I will keep you Safe and Warm
Clay swung his axe at the ground and the boy rolled out of the way and swung with his claymore as Clay grabbed it with his hand using his aura to stop the blade. Caradin activated the Solaris Edge and Clay stumbled back releasing the blade in an instant but not before it had singed his flesh. He drew back to punch the boy, but his fist struck the aura and bounced off as he shook his hand in pain and rage. "That's right kid, just KEEP PISSING ME OFF!" He roared as he swung and struck the ground, the pavement shattering and sending pieces flying around as his dark bronze aura flared around him.
"Holy crap!" Caradin said, barely dodging the attack as he rose weakly and got ready for the second round. They ran and clashed once more, the strength behind the Bull's attacks was triple what it was before as he swung with greater ferocity and speed than before as Caradin kept his aura constantly engaged to deflect the man's attacks and keep him from breaking his guard. He kicked, jumped, and danced around the man to get any angle he could but it seemed with each blow he only grew stronger. It was like fighting Ash all over again, and it was making Caradin nervous. He was losing this battle and he was getting distracted by his own fears, he didn't even see the leg until it collided with his torso and he was sent flying back into the lamp post. It bent and broke under his weight and collapsed as he heard a scream behind him, he looked and saw the kid in front of him who had been injured by the falling glass. He ran to him and began using his semblance to treat the boy's wounds as he heard the stamping behind him and focused on hurrying as he centered some of his aura on his back as he felt the axe come down and bit into his flesh. He grit his teeth and ignored the pain as he tried his hardest to heal the child and save his own life. He felt the warmth of his blood on his back and something else, he heard a grunt and Clay stumbled back as he was faced with two new adversaries. Luxus and Deverou drove the bull back with their teamwork as Luxus fired the Red King to drive him back and Deverou lashed out with Black Rose. Caradin finished up and staggered to his feet using Wolfwood to assist him, he couldn't heal himself but he tried to rise as he felt cold steel on his back. With a swift motion his shirt was cut off and used to make a makeshift bandage for his wound as a warm jacket was set on his shoulders. It was red, and the man who stepped out from behind him wore a black shirt and his arms bore many scars and needle marks.
"Rest a bit for now and let us handle him, we're gonna have to save the town in about a minute anyway." Knives said with a smirk as he rushed in with his blades drawn to attack. Deverou focused on the legs driving Clay back, while Luxus focused on the torso, and Knives pressed the attack towards his face. They battered Clay as he was barely able to raise his weapon in offense as Knives darted around him like a black bird, while Deverou's blade pawed at his feet. He raised his weapon high to strike and Luxus shot it out of his hands as Deverou wrapped the chain-scythe around his legs and brought him down as Knives struck. A large gash across his chest and a severed horn meant the defeat of Clay of the White Fang. The Ivory Bull had fallen, and if the team didn't rally quickly so would Würfel.
Like the Smell of a Rose on a Summer's Day, I will be there to take All your Fears away. With a Touch of my hand I'll Turn Your Life to Gold.
The leader drew his dual bladed staff and rushed Beatrice as she drew her pistol again and gave it a twist as it transformed into a three foot cleaver. He dove at her and she easily blocked the attack using her blade with one hand as she touched his chest and using Lightning Dust to send an electric current through his body and he flew back as if struck by a bolt of lightning as he coughed. Beatrice was a whole new person as the woman behind the glasses wasn't the hipster mom Knives knew, but a terrifying and cruel Huntress. "Come on now boys, I haven't even broken a sweat. When my husband says he'll show me a rough time that lasts for over an hour he means it!" She taunted with a sneer as Knives knew there wasn't enough therapy in the world to remove that from his brain. The leader staggered to his feet as Knives also stood, "Knives if you wouldn't mind staying down I've got this on my own." She said to him as she turned her attention back to the two men before her. "Now if you'll get that girl back to the other side of the wall and find the boys I would very much appreciate it."
He grabbed Ryzia and carried her into the town taking one last look at Beatrice before heading within the safety of the walls. "Now which one of you is first?" She asked looking to the lieutenant then the leader, "Because neither one of you is gonna walk away from this free men." They regained their composure as the lieutenant drew two pistols with knuckle guards and began opening fire as his boss ran in a wide circle around her. She raised her aura and took her eyes off of the lieutenant keeping her focus on the leader, so the lieutenant decided to run around and get a different angle from which to shoot her, but as he ran her aura adjusted and blocked where he was shooting. The leader rushed in and spun the staff, detaching it into two smaller spears as he jabbed and spun dancing around her to strike. She stood her ground and parried each of his blows with ease, swinging the large cleaver as if it was nothing. She launched Ice spike out at him and he was barely able to dodge them with the speed she fired them. The lieutenant switched his pistols into knuckle blade mode as he held them like knives and rushed her, she simply launched a fireball his way and when he rolled out of the way he found himself in the line of her swing as the flat of the cleaver's blade collided with his face. The leader rushed in to attack her and she spun the blade and the flat of it collided with his head knocking him to the ground.
She stood over them and fired Dust into them both unleashing Lightning Bolts, Ice Spikes, and Fireballs as they rolled around their aura deflecting a majority of the damage but they still lay there incapacitated. "Well that was hardly any fun." She said as she walked up to the lieutenant and place her foot on his crotch, "Be a good boy and lay there." She said as the leader rushed her and she kicked the weapons from his hands and grappled him into a chokehold. She looked at the oncoming waves of Grimm and the two men in her custody and sighed, "It's just going to be one of those days."
That was that, and the hiatus is over. I don't know my update schedule but I do know I need to finish this before the summer because my Summer Class Schedule is intense. I will continue to write this and do my best to honor the memory of a brilliant dreamer by striving to create, and develop as a writer and a spinner of stories. I hope you all will stay with me till the end of this story, and I hope that you decide to live your lives shining brightly. I love you Monty, and I hope you can see how your life has brightened others and how your works have inspired so many who will follow. Stay brilliant my friends.