The Shadow of Fire
Chapter 48: Betrayal
A/N: Sup guys, Faith here! Sorry I've been gone for what... 2, maybe 3 months? Yeah, I got some explaining.
I have been busy with life, friends, and mentality in general. In the time I've been gone, which started as mourning Monty Oum's death, I was introduced to a group of people whom I became friends with. Sadly, after a horrible series of events and a few misunderstandings, things turned out bad and I left the group entirely. During that time, I was busy playing games with them and having a grand time. However, my emotions were tested a few times. I, sadly, nearly committed suicide about a month ago. Since then, things have been "looking up," but that day still bothers me whenever I'm down. (No, I am not looking for a pity parade, but feel free to believe what you want.) I lost a large number of friends due to reasons I don't want to list to keep myself from being rude in any form, but yeah, life has been just swell!
(Insert sarcasm here.)
Well, life has actually gotten better. Returning to writing has been good for me, and contractors are in the process of building a new home for myself and a few other close friends who wanted to stay with me after I made a big move across country. Just landed a decent job till something better comes up with my profession, which might be soon! Yay! So that's all good!
Writing this story helps me focus more on what's important: you guys. Friends, if I may call you that, you all have made me strive to do better. Therefore, as per my lateness in posting, have worked my butt off to make this a long chapter! I think it is around 10,000 words? If so, it is the longest one yet. After this, the next Arc will start! And as of this chapter, the main plot has begun! Yay!
Sadly, the creator of Cheshire and I had a bad falling out, as they sort of drifted off in our friendship, to the point where arguments were regular and limits of mine were tested. As a author, I have no say in this matter other than what is best for the story. As a person, I am angry, but I honestly lost more care about all of this a while ago. Therefore, I will not simply write Cheshire off in some stupid death that would just ruin the story, and even if I wanted to I can't. She has impacted the story a bit already, and I can't just go back so many chapters and replace her. That is too difficult.
As the OC Cheshire was indeed given to me in this form, I will take full control of this version of Cheshire, not the owners version which is a tad different. This will make all actions done by this OC my own, not with input from said creator unless they feel the need to tell me not to use her, or really really really care about making Cheshire do something.
Also, I've decided that I'll do a little "answer and respond to reviews" that some authors do to get a bit connected to you guys. That might be good to add, hm? This will show up after this chapter! And NO I DON'T LIKE KILLING RUBY YOU'LL UNDERSTAND WHY I DO THAT DURING THIS CHAPTER! :3
Well, onward to the story. Enjoy!
WAIT! One more thing! Please thank and check out ElfCollaborator for making a 3rd entry of this story in Volume 2 of Weiss Reacts! GO READ IT PLS.
Also, blame G.N Over-Kite for the further delay in posting. I've been pressuring him to release the rest of Yet Another Weiss Christmas Story, but he won't! He is a silly head! Just kidding, he is very busy, but do check him out. And if you do, leave a review with just the word "Copyrighted" on any chapter you can. Thanks! :D
ENJOY BAI!
Weiss ducked as the bullet traveled towards her forehead, falling flat on the floor as her sword rolled away from her grasp.
The bullet from Saturn pistol collided with the breaker behind her, causing a power outage in the room. As the back-up generators kicked in, the turrets retracted into the ceiling to reset themselves.
Saturn spun around and quickly fired off several shots into the office above with clean cut aim.
The White Fang executives and sponsors flew back dead as the bullets hit their mark, falling to the floor as blood seeped from their fatal wounds. Touko wasn't spared, three bullets flying into her chest and right knee, falling down in pain to the floor below.
Touko landed in the middle of the group of Grimm, right next to Blake. Blake watched as the Grimm looked from her to Touko, and vice versa. Blake quickly kicked Touko away from her so she was further away from the cat Faunus.
The mecha-Grimm turned away from Blake to the leader of the White Fang, hungry for fresh blood.
Saturn grabbed Blake quickly before pushing her back to Weiss, who was now standing up. The former crime lord held his pistol at the ready as Touko began screaming.
Her own pets began tearing the White Fang leader into pieces, ripping her limbs off and clawing at her body as she cried out in shear pain.
"Let's go." Saturn said as he fired off one shot at Touko through the gaps in the Grimm, killing her instantly as her head exploded; ending her pain. "We are done here."
"They... It's over...?" Blake asked as she nearly fell to the floor, slowly bleeding out from Touko's Dust laced knives.
"Yeah." Saturn said as the mecha-Grimm climbed up to the office floor, rampaging around. "It's over."
Yang and Feng burst into the room, ready for battle as they lowered their fists, Hayden limping in afterwards.
"Seriously?!" Yang said with a huff, crossing her arms over her chest. "Why do I always miss all the action?!"
"Ugh..." Blake groaned as she leaned on Weiss for support, bleeding all over her as Feng yanked the knives out, sprinkling some Dust on the wounds.
Yang looked around at the group, blinking. "So, where's Ruby?" The blonde asked.
"Uh..." Weiss said with a gulp as she gestured to the ground nearby.
Yang followed her gesture and was met with the dead body of her sister; completely still.
"Who-"
"Saturn did it." Blake and Weiss said at once, the former crime lord grasping his heart with his hands.
"How could you? Why do you blame me instantaneously?" Saturn falsely gasped in false emotional damage.
"You're an idiot." Weiss said with a sigh as Ruby popped into existence.
"Heya!" Ruby said with a glare at Saturn. "I thought you wanted me to stop dying!"
Saturn rolled his lenses. "Hey. You can reform like that bastard Orion. I knew you'd be fine."
"And me?!" Weiss growled. "I could have been killed!"
"Thought it was obvious." Saturn shrugged. "Why would I kill my source of payment?"
Weiss sighed as they all began glowing white, teleporting away in a bright flash of light.
The Maelstrom
Med Bay Hallway
9:00 AM
Orion had utilized a majority of his strength to teleport everyone from the base as the Grimm continued to rampage inside. The God of Fate had immediately collapsed in a navy blue rolling chair, leaving Cheshire and Ruby to tend to his recovery.
For the next hour or so, everyone rested. Hayden, Lucas, Jacob, Morris, and Felix were taken to the med-bay for rest as the ships A.I helped them recover. Feng insisted on helping them recover, leaving everyone else to do their own stuff.
"Eight, nine, ten, eleven." Weiss said as she pushed a large silver suitcase into Saturns hands, the former crime lord clicking it open to look at his wealth before shutting it, holding it with one of his Guardians.
Saturn gave a wicked smile. "Mmm... I suppose I should thank you... But after all we've been through, I'll only give you this."
Saturn held out an open palm, Weiss hesitantly shaking it firmly.
"You clearly haven't changed." Geist Schnee spoke in a calm tone, his leg healed thanks to Ruby and Cheshire before they left to attend to Orion.
"I try and keep my motives and attitude the same. Change doesn't help that much in my line of business." Saturn said with a shrug before thinking. "So, we are heading to Vale to put you on a craft set for Atlas, correct?"
"Indeed, Weiss?" Geist said as he looked down at his daughter, who nodded.
"And for another minor thing. A friend of mine requests to greet us first after our success." Weiss said as she shivered after speaking, frowning.
"What's wrong?" Saturn asked.
"Not sure..." Weiss mumbled as she looked up at Saturn. "Remind me, how long till we reach Vale?" The white haired teen asked.
"About twenty minutes. This boat sure can move fast when it wants to." Saturn noted, knocking on the metal wall next to him as a hollow sound echoed back in response.
"We should be able to see Vale at this point, no?" Geist asked as the trio made their way to the observation deck to check the view.
Hayden limped out of his medical room, passing the trio on their way to the observation deck. The young boy tilted his head at their strange combination of people, but shrugged it off as something he needed to be with onboard this craft.
"No no. I'm fine." Orions voice spoke out as Hayden entered the bridge of the ship, Ruby and Cheshire helping their "brother" up from a chair. "I don't need any help."
"Of course you do!" Cheshire called him out, letting go of him before holding him once more as he had begun wobbling. "You can't even stand up yourself!"
"Yeah, Orion." Ruby said quietly, backing Cheshires' claim. "You need help." The girl said as she sent more of her Godly energy into the man.
"Bah." Orion gave in, pushing the two off of him. "I am a Slayer of Xalveris! I don't need any he- aaaaaaaAAAAHH!"
Orion had stumbled forward and landed flat on the floor, groaning as the duo of Goddesses started chuckling lightly as to avoid his wrath.
Feng and the others in the med bay slowly entered the room, Jacob patting Lucas on his back.
"Hey, at least you know the cannon works well!" Jacob said happily, expressing his feelings about hitting Lucas with his weapon back in the base.
"That weapon is a disaster waiting fruit to bare." Lucas growled as they all stood near Orion.
Cheshire looked out the window, spotting the city growing larger on the horizon, frowning for a moment.
"Hey guys?" Cheshire asked in her strange voice as Ruby waddled over. "Wasn't there a fleet of boats in that harbor when we left?"
"Yeah." Ruby said with a frown, raising her right wolf ear in confusion.
"They probably went out fishing or something." Yang said with a shrug, appearing from the shadows with Blake by one of the computers, some sort of video game displaying itself on the screen.
"Don't mention fish." Blake noted as she lightly touched her aching shoulder, her wounds having healed perfectly in the short time she was onboard.
Orion grumbled as the city came closer into view, leaning on a railing as he scrunched his eyebrows towards the outline.
"Something..."
"... feels off." Weiss said as she held a palm forward, blocking out the morning sun as Saturn and Geist looked around.
"Indeed." Saturn said as the air before the Maelstrom shuttered, flickering before an airship materialized into thin air.
"Woah..." Geist said, very unprofessionally, as he gripped the steel rail of the craft.
"Sir Xenon!" A demon made of pure ice said quickly, standing at attention at his station onboard the capitol ship. "The enemy is in sight!"
"Fire." Sir Xenon said with a flick of his wrist, arms then crossed behind his back as he wore an emotionless look. "Send this craft to the bay's depths like their navy."
One by one, dozens of airships materialized into the skies above Vale, their roaring engines flaring to life as they escaped their camouflage. The airships decks began to shutter, the metal sections upon the exterior of the crafts hissed as sections collapsed, large MAC Cannons rising up from the openings. Each cannon began firing simultaneously at the Maelstrom, plasma shells soaring across the sky.
"Incoming!" Weiss shouted as she flicked her wrists up, activating a Glyph before the group just as a bolt of plasma slammed into the craft, metal melting into ashes as bits of steel flew from the opening of the ship, bouncing off the Glyph as Weiss struggled to hold ground.
Saturn stood firm, looking from ship to ship as he clenched his jaw. This was one surprise party.
"Looks like your friend set you up, Schnee!" Saturn said as several triangle shaped objects began raining down from the craft above them. The dark crafts impaled themselves deep within the exposed sections of the craft.
"It appears so!" Weiss said as she dropped her Glyph. "We need to get to Orion!"
"What is that...?" Geist said as he raised a shaky gloved finger towards the sky, gesturing to a small black dot in the sky.
Weiss's eyes drew wide, recognizing the object after seeing it several times.
"Everyone RUN!" Weiss shouted as a black object fell from the dot in the sky, rapidly gaining speed as it flew down towards them, gliding past all the enemy ships.
The trio on the crafts deck began bolting for the exit stairwell, stumbling as several plasma shells collided with the crafts surface, the ship moaning in pain as it tilted to the side before realigning itself.
"Incoming!" Saturn shouted as he tackled both Schnee's to the ground as the black object crashed in front of them.
"Weiss Schnee!" The black object hissed as it got up, appearing to be some form of human. The next few seconds, however, would prove this clearly wrong.
"Rook...?" Weiss said in a whimper, gulping as she realized it was the God of War, granted he was Fallen, but just as scary.
"This time my master is not here to hold me back, Weiss Schnee!" Rook gloated as he raised his flaming sword in his hands, lifting the blade above his head as he glared downward at the trio. "Prepare to meet your do-"
Rooks words ceased to flow as he was rocketed across the deck of the craft by a glyph underneath his being, landing with a thud on the right wing of the Maelstrom. The armored man stabbed his sword into the metal of the wing, slowing his descent as he dragged his blade down and through the extremity of the airship, splitting it apart. With a hefty grunt and by swinging his body with the use of his sword, Rook launched himself from the right wing, crashing through a window just as the wing split in two. The Maelstrom groaned as it shook back and forth for a moment, the engines on the belly of the aircraft sparking to life with a orange flair to keep it steady.
Weiss let loose a gasp of hot air, standing up with both her father and Saturn as more and more plasma shells collided with the airship.
"Inside, now!" Saturn said as he opened the access hatch to the craft, slamming it shut as the two Schnees entered in just as a plasma shell consumed the section of deck they had been on in a sea of purple fire.
"This isn't good." Weiss said as they traveled down the hallway from the hatch and stairwell, dodging the various small fires that had broken out in rooms nearby. "We need to get to Orion!"
"For once, I agree." Saturn grunted as the trio ran down another hallway just as the sounds of Rook letting loose a battle cry echoed across the ship, seemingly shaking the craft as the bombardment continued.
"This... This is all wrong!" Orion stuttered out as he pushed his palm forward towards the main window of the craft, a shell of plasma dispersing before it could have collided with the bridge they stood in. "This isn't how it was meant to play out!" The God shouted as the ship shook from the explosion of said shell.
Cheshire hissed as she dodged a panel on the ceiling falling to the floor, cursing under her breath as everyone looked to Orion for some form of order.
"What's the play then?" Yang asked as she gripped a railing, brushing some of her yellow mane aside to see.
"We..." Orion said as his godly mind went into overdrive, rapidly utilizing his powers to determine the best course of action with minimal damage. "Got it!" The God shouted before he turned to the others, pointing at Jacob and Lucas.
"You two, hold the wheel. I'll need to focus if I'm going to keep these shells from causing further damage." Orion shouted at the duo, the pair nodding as Jacob turned to the knight next to him.
"No hard feelings?" The merc said with a fiery grin, holding out a hand.
Jacob rolled his eyes at the boy before him, smacking his hand aside. "Let us preform our duties before I give any form of forgiveness." The knight said as the duo ran over to the command center part of the ship, hopping in two orange chairs that rose from the floor, taking manual control of the airship.
"Now, we need to get the ship stabilized. The right wing is gone, and the thrusters won't last long." Orion said, turning to Yang.
"Blake and Yang, get a damage assessment and activate the emergency fin. We got only a fraction of time before we drop." The God said as he deflected another plasma shell.
"On it." Yang said as she huffed, tossing Blake over her shoulder as she ran down the hall to the engine room, the cat girl letting out a panicked "eeep" in response.
"Now-" Orion began as the A.I voice took effect, everyone going quiet as it sounded.
"Intruder alert! Intruder alert!" The A.I spoke as a muffled siren roared in the background. "Hull breach on levels 3, 5, and 6."
"Change of plans..." Orion said as he pointed to Cheshire and Hayden.
"Cheshire, Hayden. Clear the ship." Orion spoke in a semi-sinister tone, Cheshire growing a vile grin.
"With pleasure." The shadow Goddess said with her odd voice while Hayden simply nodded, the duo heading off towards the invaded floors.
"Morris, Felix, and Feng." Orion then proceed to say, looking over at the trio. "Get to the main battery and get some of these ships off us."
The trio nodded, Felix and Morris running out of the room together as Feng knelt down before Orion.
"Lord Orion... Is this what the Prophecy foretold?" The monk asked with his head and face facing the floor in respect.
"Yes, Feng." Orion answered as he pat the monk on his back. "Yet the story of the Prophecy has been corrupted. Something is going on in the background that even I can't see..."
"I'll then do what is needed." Feng said as Orion nodded in approval.
"Indeed. Best of luck." The Fate God said as Feng stood up, running off to an exit hatch to the top of the craft.
"What about me?" Ruby asked with a tilt of her head, her wolf ears retracting into thin air.
"Ruby..." Orion said as he rubbed his chin, adjusting his trench coat. "Listen to me. I got an idea..."
"This is quite the situation." Saturn said as he sliced two demon warriors down, his golden blades dripping with their blood and matter as he proceed down the hallway, Weiss and Geist following along.
"I can't believe this..." Weiss growled as she cut down a hidden demon with her rapier, protecting her father from attack. "I trusted him."
"I always knew the Gods were nothing but trouble." Saturn said with a chuckle. "Yet you just had to go and befriend them."
"Like being their enemy is any better." Weiss countered as she froze a wall of fire solid.
Saturn snickered. "Considering how long I've lived compared to you, counting your "death," I am pretty sure it works out better."
"Just keep moving." Weiss said as she helped her father along, pressing an elevator button on the wall.
"Aren't you suppose to use the stairs in a fire?" Saturn said sarcastically.
"I doubt this counts in that context." Weiss answered, the former crime lord simply shrugging as she looked out the window as something red flew by.
"Was that..." Weiss said as an explosion shook the ship. "Ruby?"
Ruby flew across the sky, hovering about with her Godly powers, her eyes darting around to take the severity of the situation into account.
"Okay... Let's see about this." Ruby said as she faced the closest airship, who was firing nonstop at the left side of the craft.
Ruby took a deep breath and closed her eyes, focusing her mind to one thought-line, even as plasma explosions seemingly shook the sky itself.
Ruby suddenly opened her eyes, the clocks spinning rapidly as they shined like a lighthouse.
In a bright flash, Ruby floated as she had moments ago, eyes glowing now with a silver hue, yet she wasn't alone.
"You called?" Ruby asked herself in a joking manner, a replica of the original hovering next to her.
"Yay!" Another chirped happily. "It's so good to stretch my legs!"
"You all are delinquents." Another said, the same one from the spire back in Kryata, as serious and as professional as before.
"Come on! Don't be such a meanie!" A fourth Ruby said with a happy smile.
The fifth one hovered nearby, rubbing her head as she had been the latest to be killed.
"Stupid Saturn... Big meanie..." The replica grumbled as the original hovered before the group.
"Okay girls! Let's get serious for a second, okay?" Ruby said to her counterparts, the girls all nodding, even the serious one. "We gotta protect the ship and the city, kay? Cause if we don't, people are going to get hurt!"
"So let's go beat 'em up!" One of the replicas shouted as the other nodded in agreement.
"Yes, let us deliver them to the grave that they crawled up from." The professional one said with a nod, the others slowly nodding as they tried to ignore the seriousness of this Ruby.
"Okay! Seems we're all on the same page!" The real Ruby said with a smile, pointing to the airships nearby. "Have at it!"
The group of 5 replicas let out a collective battle-cry, flying off into battle, brandishing massive weapons as they engaged the ships, the original staying behind as she watched her past-selves swarm the enemy.
"Now..." Ruby let out a puff of air as she looked up at the portal high above, flying up higher and higher to reach it. "Let's see what's on the other side."
And with that, the red cloaked Goddess flew into the portal, disappearing from sight.
Cheshire bolted down a hallway with a sinister cackle, shadowy claws tearing through the demon intruders with glee as she ripped one in half from its stomach.
"Oh, the FUN!" Cheshire said with utter joy as she continued her rampage, easily deflecting the demons weapons and unarmed attack with magic and fists.
Hayden followed behind, cleaning up after her missed targets. Even with her rampaging around, she missed nearly half of the demons she sliced at, leaving the rest for the young boy.
Hayden's legs morphed into massive Beowulf-like legs, his arms shifting as well to the wolfs arms and claws, tearing other demons to shreds. The young boy jumped in the air, doing a front flip before slamming his giant wolf legs into the skulls of two demons, flattening their bodies into bloody pancakes as he continued running after Cheshire. Blood splattered all over the walls of the craft as the duo tore everything in their path to shreds with little to no resistance.
"Firing." Morris said aloud as he pressed down on one of the red buttons on his data screen, sitting in a black metal chair. The kinetic missile flew across the sky, slamming into the hull of one of the nearby aircraft, tearing deep into the metal of the ship.
"That's a hit." Felix said as he fired a shot of his own, his flying through the bridge of the same enemy ship, exploding as it connected with something inside, sending glass and metal flying into the sky as fire rapidly engulfed the former bridge.
"One down." Morris said as he pressed a few keys, the duos cannons reloading mechanically. "Couple dozen to go."
"Or not." Felix said as he pointed to a nearby ship, 5 red dots flying around it as beams of blue and pink shot from the specks in the air.
"Seems we have backup." Morris said as the ship they watched exploded into thousands of pieces as the dots flew off towards another craft.
"Hope they are enough." Felix said as he fired a shot before frowning, looking around.
"Hey, where's Feng?"
Feng stood on the top of the Maelstrom, in a standard martial arts front stance. Feng took a deep breath, cupping his palms as he focused his soul.
A orb of pure energy formed in his cupped palms, glowing an orange hue as he held it in one hand, standing up tall now.
"In the name of the Gods..." Feng said as he looked towards a towering command craft, one larger than most of the ships. "I condemn you to death!"
Feng did a quick 720-degree spin, throwing the orange orb as hard as he could at the command airship. The sphere of pure soul energy flew upwards to the craft. As soon as it connected to the steel exterior of the flying fortress, the entire ships shook as orange shockwaves rippled across its surface. Within seconds the command ship split into 20 pieces, each one of those chunks of craft splitting into 20 more pieces and so on until there was absolutely nothing left.
Feng fell to his knees, taking gasps of breath as his soul felt as if it was being torn from his very being, eyes watering from lack of oxygen.
"Status report." Sir Xenon said with a bored tone, sitting in a hovering white egg-shaped chair.
"Sire, command ship Delta has been destroyed, along with ten airships in the sector." One of the demons replied to his master, bowing before the seated man.
"Deploy all boarding craft from command ships Omega and Beta. I want this ship put down. Now." Xenon ordered as he stood up, walking over to the glass window. "Bring us in closer. And have the rest of the fleet uncloak."
"Yes, sire." The demon submitted, barking orders in a strange language to his fellow demons.
"Well, found the problem!" Yang said as she grabbed two metal pipes in the engine room, forcing the two ports to connect. "And done!"
"Good work." Blake said as she cut apparent a chunk of wreckage, pushing it aside slowly as she unblocked one of the energy reactors fans, allowing an intake of fresh air for the burning and overheating reactor. "That should keep the thrusters up for longer. Did you find the emergency fin?"
"Yeps!" The blonde said as she pressed a red switch, the entire ship shuttering as the remaining bit of the right wing dislodged, falling from the craft as a new, full wing extended out from the ship, finally stabilizing it. By random chance, the bit of the right wing fell directly onto a cloaked airship below the Maelstrom, destroying the enemy ship in the process.
"RAAAAAAA!" A horrible roar rose from below the duo, the pair looked at each other.
"Did we take a Goliath with us?" Yang asked as the pair ran out of the room, only to fall through a hole in the floor.
"Gah!" Yang grunted as Blake landed on her back, safe and sound as the pair stood up, spotting a black figure down the hall.
"Hey you!" Yang shouted at the figure, who turned around quickly, holding a flaming sword in hand with a tight grip, wearing black knights armor.
"Mortals!" Rook roared as he ran down the hall towards the pair of Huntresses, bolting forward as he raked his inferno sword against the walls.
"Well hello to you too!" Yang said as she activated Ember Celica, racing down the hallway towards Rook as Blake shouted for her to stop.
As Rook and Yang reached each other, Yang punched forward with a right hook as the Fallen War God sliced with his powerful sword.
"What the hell is this kid doing?" Jacob said as he gripped the wheel of the Maelstrom, holding the ship steady as Lucas pressed a few holographic keys with a calculated look printed on his face.
"Who." Lucas asked in a monotone voice, flinching as Orion deflected another oncoming plasma shell from a nearby airship.
"Feng. He's up on the roof." Jacob answered, pushing a hologram of the camera feed of the roof over to the knight, who simply blinked with a confused expression.
"O...kay?" Lucas said for a moment, extremely confused as to why he was just on the roof of the ship.
"He doesn't look so good, does he...?" Jacob asked as he saw Feng was laying on his side, instantly standing up as the ship shook from impact.
"Wheel is yours; I'm getting Feng." The merc said before walking off towards the elevator in the room, Lucas looking over at him.
"If you are going out into that death-trap, do take some of these craft off us. More and more keep springing up." Lucas asked of Jacob as an airship to their right exploded due to the group of Ruby's attacks.
"You got it." The merc said with a sinister grin as he travelled up to the roof.
Jacob kicked open the roof of the elevator as a boarding craft slammed into the wall next to him, locking the metal machine in place. The merc grabbed the metal rope and began climbing upward, eventually reaching the top. With a grunt, the boy punched the top of the lift with his metal arm, finally able to climb out to the roof.
"Feng!" The merc shouted over the oncoming wind and explosions, lifting the boy in question up once he reached his position.
"The... Ships..." Feng managed out as he pointed to the incoming command ships, who were bombarding the front of the Maelstrom.
"I'll handle this." Jacob said and he set the monk down, walking a few steps forward before tapping the top of his metal arm, the device retracting down until it was but a grey metal cube in his palm.
"Alright... Let's get this done." Jacob said as he placed the box down on the surface of the airship, a small, flat, metal plate extracting from the cube. The boy pressed his foot onto the plate, the cube shaking as it expanded quickly upwards and outwards, morphing into what looked like a giant grey and black mortar. A small grey computer detached from the machine, morphing into a data tablet and drifted into Jacobs hands who began typing.
"Get the angle right... Max power and thrust..." The boy muttered as he pressed down on a red rectangle on the tablet.
The mortar tower fired off a giant ball of navy blue, the ball tearing across the skyline before it slammed into one of the command ships. The orb flew right through the belly of the ship and continued through the ship till it passed out of the top, bursting through the engine room in the process.
Moments later the massive command ship exploded into nothing but bits of steel and flames; the two airships nearby rained down upon by debris, setting the ships in flames.
"Can you get inside?" Jacob asked as he fired again, missing with a hiss.
Feng walked forward, generating a ball of pure green energy before throwing it at a group of boarding ships, all of them detonating in a massive explosion.
"I... I'll manage here." The monk said with a deep breath, pulling out a golden chain with a white Dust crystal hanging on it. The monk gripped the rare object tight, absorbing its energy before he fired off a few more green orbs.
"Seems to be the case!" Jacob said with a grin, continuing to fire.
The fight was going good, but things took a turn for the worst when Ruby fell from the sky.
"Aaahhhhhhhh!" Ruby screamed out as she fell forth from the portal in the sky, her whole body in a raging inferno as she flew directly through one of the airships, the craft imploding as she slammed into the core of the ship. The flaming girl was sent spiraling in a free fall towards the Maelstrom, crashing on its surface with a groan of pain as the flames subsided.
"Ugh..." Ruby groaned as the floor below her caved inward, falling through into an elevator shaft.
"We need to get this all under control!" Weiss said to Saturn and her father as the ship groaned in pain from the constant bombardment.
"Then come up with a plan, kid." Saturn grumbled as he waited for the elevator to reach the armory. "It's not like some miracle is going to fall from the sky." The man said as he held his arms out in a mock pose.
Ruby instantly flew through the roof of the elevator, crashing right into the metal before landing firmly in Saturns grip.
"..." All were quiet as Saturn looked up the shaft.
"It would be a shame if a briefcase of millions of lien were to fall from the sky." The former crime lord asked to the heavens above.
"Ruby?" Weiss asked as she helped her girlfriend down, frowning as the younger girl was all torn up and scorched. "What happened to you?"
"Big bad guy!" Ruby said quickly, making weird hand motions as she rambled quickly to her white haired counterpart. "Xalveris! Gods! Big robots! Grimmlock!"
"Woah!" Weiss held out her palms. "Slow down there cowgirl."
"No time! He's...!" Ruby started as a ear-shattering roar flooded the world around them, the portal expanding for something large to exit.
Lord Grimmlock, in his dragon form, flew forth from the dot in the sky, wearing a silver and black lined collar around his scaled neck. The beasts eyes were blood red and glowing like a beacon of a lighthouse, howling with utter hate as he soared down towards the Maelstrom with no deviation.
"Oh no..." Ruby gulped as the dragon God flew right through the center of the airship, tearing through floor after floor as he rampaged about. The dragon ripped out of the ship with a fearsome roar; flying off into the sky's as he breathed blasts of inferno into the clouds above.
"Woah!" Saturn stumbled as the ship stabilized after a moment of shaking. "Is everyone alright?"
"Quite so..." Geist said as the elevator dinged open; the group spilling out into the exit hall.
"Anyone got a plan?" Ruby asked as they ran past burning rooms and hallways, ducking under debris as the emergency sprinklers rained droplets of water down on the blazes.
"I got one." Weiss said as she utilized a glyph to smash through some fallen ceiling and metal bits. "I need to find my ring."
"Aaahhh..." Yang grunted out as she fell forward, stumbling around before falling to the floor as Rook stood a ways away from the girl, blood splattered all over his armor.
Yang clutched her right arm, her right hand missing from the middle of her ulna and radius, blood oozing from the missing appendage as she whimpered in pain like a wounded puppy, her Aura flaring off and on.
The blonde brawler stumbled up, throwing another punch at the War God, actually hitting this time as he was sent flying into the wall nearby, his form molding into the metal as Yang fired off a shot with her remaining hand, the blast slamming into the Gods face.
"GAH!" Rook roared out as he sliced forward with his sword, cutting Yangs stomach lightly with a mighty swing of the blade, sending Yang stumbling back before she ran forward again, grabbing him. The blonde then threw him forward down the hall, firing off two shots at his back as she stumbled backwards from recoil.
"YOU!" Rook roared as he ran forward to Yang as the smoke cleared, slicing down at her.
Yang, by some divine intervention, deflected the sword with her metal gauntlet; the weapon breaking into shards of yellow metal and sending Rook backwards in recoil.
Yang herself grunted as she dragged herself down the hall a ways away, propping herself up against some broken metal as she sat still.
"YANG!" Blake cried out as she pulled out Gambol Shroud, running down the hall after Rook, leaping from wall to window as she danced around.
"Die like your friend!" Rook roared as he ran towards Blake, his flaming blade at the ready.
Blake spun in the air and threw herself at the nearby window from the wall, smashing through it just as Rook ran at her, the duo getting sucked out the opening of the craft into free-fall. Blake spun in the air and threw her katana into the wall of the ship, utilizing her ribbon to drag herself back into the craft as Rook let out an animalistic shout of frustration as he fell to the waters below.
"Yang!" Blake cried out as a metal wall shut the opening of the window, the cat girl helping Yang sit up as she wrapped the wound in a ribbon.
"S-shame I'm a right-y, huh babe?" Yang chuckled in pain, closing her left hand tight as Ember Celica whined with a burst of steam exiting the weapon, the shotgun shells rolling off of the gauntlets belt-line to the floor below, clanging as the metallic objects collided.
"Be quiet. We can fix this." Blake said as she helped Yang up, plucking her right hand up and pulling that Ember Celica off. Blake hooked the weapon to her own right hand, ready to defend the duo as the pair made their way towards Orion.
Streets of Vale
"Coco!" Velvet shouted from down the end of the alleyway, her bunny ears shaking from the sensitivity of the constant explosions above. "We need to move! Now!"
"Velv!" Coco called out as she held her case-minigun to her side, firing hundreds of rounds every few seconds down the street she faced. "We can't just run! We need to hold here!"
"What we need to do is help get to that ship!" Velvet argued as she ran forward down the alley with a growl, executing a front flip before delivering a flying-side-kick to one of Dagonus's demon warriors; the demon flying off into a nearby shop window.
"Co, even I can see the futility of staying here. You can't kill a whole army yourself." Her blind teammate, Fox, stated bluntly, punching a nearby demon across the pavement as they held their ground firm.
"Don't tell me my limits!" Coco shouted back angrily as she unloaded on the demon horde before her, a fearsome look printed on her face with her black glasses shining in the sunlight.
"Coco!" Velvet yelled out as she gripped her leaders wrist firm, the gunner turning to face the distraction with a hiss.
"What!"
"Move!" Velvet said as she pointed down the road, her slender finger resting towards a large grey and black stripped craft down the road. The object was a large rectangular shaped craft with a massive funnel resting on a half-sphere on the top of the craft, pointing down the street- a crude, demonized battle tank.
Coco and her team bolted down the alleyway that Velvet had been in a few moments ago; Yatsuhashi diving in last second as the tank fired off a blast of super-heated plasma down the road. A nearby fine china shop exploded into ashes as the shell impacted with the solid wall, finally convincing Coco of the failed logic in this situation.
The group of four ran down the alleyways to flee the group of demons on their tail while at the same time, trying to figure out how to get themselves up to the airship above.
"This day is just getting better and better..." Coco groaned as the team coasted down a tunnel nearby, disappearing into the shadows.
The Maelstrom
Sky's of Vale
"Damn it!" Orion cursed as he slid backward by an invisible force, falling to a knee as the ship shook from a plasma explosion. "I can't keep this strength up forever."
Blake and Yang tumbled into the bridge behind Orion and Lucas, Blake falling due to how much larger Yang was compared to her as she successfully deposited the blonde in a chair. Blake landed with an echoed thud of the metal, drawing the duos attention behind them.
"Blake! Yang!" Orion nearly shouted as bolted over as fast as he could, lifting Blake into a chair as well while he looked at Yangs missing hand.
The Gods black sunglasses seemed to flash with a volcanic explosion, growling under his breath.
"Who did this." Orion hissed as he looked to Blake for answers as Lucas called for a medical android from the med-bay, keeping the ship airborne.
"Some guy in a knights armor." Blake explained as she softly rubbed her aching head. "I think Weiss spoke of the same person before- something like Rook."
Orion's body flared with a golden Aura, his fists tight as he pulsated with hatred. Rook has always been a thorn at Orion's side since their first meeting, but after harming one of the ones that he cared about...
"Where."
"Where?" Blake echoed with a frown of confusion.
"Where is Rook." Orion demanded as his very Aura flashed with pure anger.
"Fell off the ship. I don't know where." Blake said as he helped her wounded girlfriend get settled. "Can you help her?"
Orion's expression turned to stone as he held up Yangs handless arm, hovering his own palm over the limb as he forced some of his Aura into her body. The bleeding almost instantly stopped as Orion grabbed the severed hand and held it up to Yangs arm, using his index finger like a blowtorch to fuse the two together.
"Don't use it for a while. I'm not sure how well I did." Orion explained as Yang slowly nodded, the God slowly standing up from his knelling position, turning to Lucas.
"Keep the ship steady." Orion ordered the knight as he walked off towards an elevator, Blake walking after him.
"Where are you going!" Blake demanded out of worry and fear.
Orion turned to the girl, his eyes shining a golden hue behind his glasses as Grimmlock did another flyby of the ship; breathing hot fire into the sky to show his power.
"I'm taking this into my own hands." The God of Fate said as the elevator slammed shut, Blake returning to her girlfriend to keep her comfortable.
"You having fun, Hay?" Cheshire chirped happily as she slashed a giant demon in half through the waist before throwing him down the hall, taking a few demons down with its weight.
"..." Hayden simply nodded as he ripped a chunk of the metal wall off with no effort thanks to his strange powers, throwing the car-door sized shard down the corridor like a frisbee. The metal flew with ease and perfection, splitting demons in two from the neck and the waist down as the disk traveled.
RRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOO!
"Hm?" Cheshire hummed as she slid to a stop in the hallway as a massive white dragon borrowed through the airship yet again; nearly taking out Cheshire in the process.
"Grimmlock?" Cheshire asked aloud as she looked down in the hole at the giant beast, who was now flapping its wings below the ship, roaring to show its dominance over everyone else.
Cheshire grinned as she took a few wide steps backwards.
"One!"
"Two!"
"Three!" Cheshire finished as she ran forward as fast as she could; leaping down the tunnel of metal and steel towards her brother below.
Hayden blinked a few times before he followed suit, landing behind his fellow claw-wielding ally with a loud thump on the dragons scales.
"Grimmy!" Cheshire chirped as she hugged the massive neck of Grimmlock, only a tad since her arms weren't even a quarter of the way around his neck in length due to his sheer size. "I missed you!"
RRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOO!
"Grimmy?" Cheshire frowned as the dragon God took off into the sky's above, roaring with determination as it let loose a burst of hot orange fire down on the top of the ship.
"Grimmlock! Stop!" Cheshire shouted at the beast as it soared further across the roof of the airship, tearing off one of the MAC cannons in the process as it spotted Jacob and Feng.
RRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOO!
"JACOB!" Cheshire shouted as Grimmlock flung the torn MAC cannon out from its talon claws, crushing the two boys under its weight as Grimmlock roared in victory.
Cheshire's eyes began glowing dark purple and black, appearing to be hyperventilating as she grit her teeth in anger.
Cheshire let loose a fearsome battle cry as she opened her mouth wide. A glowing, void purple orb began forming at her mouth, hovering right before her body as she continued screaming in utter hatred. The Goddess pulled her head back before opening her mouth further, shooting the purple orb towards Grimmlocks neck.
The orb collided in a massive purple explosion, covering the white dragon in a cloud of black smoke as it roared out in pain.
Grimmlock fell from the cloud of darkness down towards the bay below, smoke expelling from his neck continuously as Cheshire and Hayden leaped from the God; landing on the deck of the Maelstrom as Grimmlock fell into the blue water with a colossal splash.
"Jacob!" Cheshire called out, voiced raised in a panic as she ran over to the MAC cannon, freaking out as she tried to lift it alone.
"Grrrrr! Come on!" The Goddess hissed as her tail vibrated in a frenzy.
'Cheshire! You are going to run out of power!" Sasha shouted in the cat girls mind with a panicked tone. 'You can't lift this!"
"Shut up!" The Goddess shouted back at her tail, ignoring the voice in her head as she managed to lift the metal over her head, nearly buckling under its weight.
A large hole sat where the two boys once had; the duo of Feng and Jacob laying on a catwalk in the room below, raising their hands to block the newfound sunlight.
"JACOB!" Cheshire cooed as she felt a sharp and sudden pain on her heart.
"Damn it...!" Cheshire made out as her strength failed; powers limited and blocked by the seal placed on her by her father long ago. The metal cannon would have nearly crushed her had Hayden not intervened.
Hayden ran forward and brought his Beowulf like arms upward to grip the metal, holding firm as he took the weight off Cheshires hands, still struggling however.
"Move." Hayden spoke in a firm and concentrated voice, grunting as he held up the massive weapon. "Quickly."
Cheshire quickly rolled into the opening of the ship, landing with a thud next to the the two boys as Hayden followed suit; dropping the metal back down and descending down with the others.
Orion stood atop the bridge of the Maelstrom, fist clenched as he looked around the deck of the ship, spotting Hayden and Cheshire jump down into the craft under a MAC cannon. The God of Fate simply ignored their activities as he looked around, growling like a wolf.
"ROOK!" Orion shouted as loud as he could, lighting striking in the distance as the God roared out.
A void purple portal opened up before Orion, depositing the Fallen God of War himself on the deck of the craft before dispersing.
"Brother." Rook growled under his armor as he dragged his right boot along the flooring, scraping it and sending sparks flying by into the wind.
"Let me make something very, VERY clear, brother..." Orion spoke ominously, cracking his knuckles. "You can attack me, my home, my sources of power... But you shall NEVER harm my friends!"
Rook gave a snicker in response, throwing his flaming sword off the deck as he began to pace around.
"You are so weak." Rook laughed wholeheartedly. "But Gods must be strong."
Orion's eyes flashed and teleported away, appearing to the right of the War God.
"I know." Orion answered as he delivered a right hook into his brothers helmet, knocking him aside with the force of the impact.
"That's why I am."
Rook stood up slowly and rubbed his aching head, shaking it as he looked directly at the man before him with utter hatred in his eyes under the helm. The God of War bolted across the deck, his right fist clenched as he ran towards his brother.
Orion growled and did the same; right fist tight as he ran on a collision path with his brother.
The duo let loose twin battlecries as they exchanged right punches. The duos fists connected at the knuckle, enveloping the pair in a massive white light atop the airship.
"Duck!" Blake shouted to Yang in the bridge as she tossed her katana down the entrance hallway to the room, yanking back the ribbon as she managed to cut at least six demons apart with her blade.
"This is not helpful when flying a massive airship." Lucas noted as he sliced around with his giant twin swords, staining the surface with demon blood as he fought elegantly, as Blake fought akin to an intoxicated swan.
"Gah!" Blake called out as she leaned back in time to dodge a shotgun shell from a demon nearby, who she promptly dispatched with her pistol.
"Hold on." Lucas called out as he held two palms towards the entrances, twirling his fingers as his swords transformed to crosses on a silver chain around his neck. The boy channeled all his Aura forward to the two areas, causing two large bubbles to form in the two locations: blocking the demons advance.
"That should hold them for a while." Lucas spoke with a confident voice as the demons barraged the bubbles with their weapons and hands.
"Good." Blake nodded in thanks as she helped Yang back into a chair, ignoring the brawlers groans.
"Stupid..." Yang huffed as she sat in the chair, feeling worthless. "I gotta stop running towards stuff."
"It's alright, Yang." Blake comforted the brawler, placing a heartwarming hand on the girls right shoulder. "Orion's handling it, okay? Beating yourself up isn't helping anything."
"Yeah yeah..." Yang sighed as she accepted the cat girls advice, relaxing in the chair as feeling slowly began rising back in her hand.
"GRAAAAA!" Orion let out in a shout as he connected fists with Rook. The resulting explosion sent Rook flying away in a dazed flop, skidding on the surface of the craft with his metal boots with a grunt; falling to his knees in pain.
Orion stumbled back, knuckle bleeding gold as he struggled to stand. The glow to his eyes began to diminish as he took several deep gasps of air.
"You..." Rook growled under his helm as he managed to get to his feet. "I'll obliterate you!" The God roared as he bolted forward like a football player, tacking Orion into the wall of metal around a MAC cannon beside them.
Orion grunted as he struggled with the other Gods strength, holding Rook by the head as Rook in-turn repeatedly punched Orion in the stomach over and over.
"Pathetic!" Rook exclaimed in victory as he punched a gaping hole into Orion's stomach; yanking out chunks of golden matter before slamming the Gods head into the MAC cannon. "Now die!"
Orion, fueled with his anger towards the War God combined with his pained adrenaline, quickly pushed horizontally with both of his hands on Rooks helmet. The Godly metal shattered as Orion's strength allowed him to push the helm flat like a pancake.
Orion pushed Rooks body back as it twitched in place before falling over dead, slipping over the edge before plummeting to the depths below.
"No... You..." Orion managed before he slumped over, stone cold from exhaustion and pain, but luckily not dead.
The Rubys in the sky didn't last as long as hoped.
Without Rubys pure Godly magic, the replicas could only fight as much as she could, but were not invulnerable as the real Ruby had once thought. One by one, the replicas died off in explosions of plasma, letting loose one last cry in anguish before dispersing into nothing.
Out of an exit hatch popped up Weiss and Company, all armed with their respective weapons. Orion stumbled towards them from behind; too exhausted to call to them.
"Welp." Weiss nodded to herself as she slipped on her gifted golden ring, taking a deep breath into her lungs as she looked up at the sky of airships. "Here goes nothing."
Weiss triple-tapped the top of the golden disk, removing her hovering finger from its surface as a loud gong echoed out from said device. The magic ring flew off the girls slender finger, down the metal of the Maelstrom before settling down on the surface. A golden, pulsating light shined out from the ring as the sound continued to grow louder and louder, almost making Weiss feel a strange sense of peace.
That was before the sky tore apart.
In a sound that could be described as hundreds of thousands of sticks being snapped all at once, the black portal in the sky expanded to the size of a mountain. Out from the void shot-out what appeared to be a group of beings, maybe 50 in total as the sky shook with the raw power the group emitted.
And from their flight pattern, they seemed to be descending towards the Maelstrom.
"Anytime now for your big plan, Schnee!" Saturn said with a bit of worry in his annoying tone, his metallic eyes grey with panic as the beings above grew closer and closer...
With a blast of what seemed to be a bolt of hot pink lightning, the golden ring expanded into a giant portal, larger than a full-grown Goliath. The vortex pulsated with a strange and foreign sense to it before Aphrodite, Goddess of Love, ran forth from the gateway in a thundering of her heels.
The Goddess of Love looked much different than her last appearance, something Weiss could only describe as utterly beautiful. The woman was about six feet tall, standing with a pair of pure glass high heel slippers upon her palish feet. Her body was very curvy in nature; a skin tight, hot pink cocktail dress wrapped around her seemingly perfect frame as her crimson-black hair flew elegantly over her shoulder, about the same style as Yang by comparison. The Goddesses pink eyes glared upwards at the incoming object above, standing firm as both of her arms were present now as opposed to the last time Weiss saw the woman.
"Hello Weiss." The Goddess of Love said with a soft smile in her direction before resuming her glare. "I wish we could have come sooner."
"We...?" Weiss frowned right before, in a blast of white light, a legion of Gods seemed to follow Aphrodite out into the mortal realm, all wearing assorted armors and wielding strange weapons.
"My family will handle this, Weiss Schnee." The Love Goddess said with a flick of her wrist as a golden long bow appeared within her grasp. "Prepare yourself for what comes."
"Aphrodite, wait-"
Before Weiss could finish her sentence, the battalion of Gods before her took a rocketed flight upwards into the sky above, blasting through airships and demons as they flew to meet the oncoming blips in the sky.
Weiss held her breath subconsciously as the Maelstrom shook with agony as a final blast from the lead command ship of the fleet soared across the skyline and into the engines of the ship, melting away at its shielding and Orion's weakened ward. The metal was chewed off by the plasma radiation, corroding into ashes and dust as the orange glow to the engines faded to darkness.
"All hands! We are going down! Brace for impact!" Lucas's voice shouted through the communications system throughout the craft, all hearing the warning of disaster while Weiss simply watched the Gods fly off to battle above.
Weiss heard the groan of the airships before snapping out of her state and turned towards the head of the airship, only to greet a horrible reality. Weiss's icy blue eyes widened out of utter surprise and lack of understanding of the situation.
Weiss felt a sharp pain in her chest as she was flung across the deck, banging her head on a metal railing, and falling into the abyss below.
As darkness seeps over the City of Vale, a small spark of rebellion is rising.