The Shadow of Fire
Chapter 53: Nightfall
Hey all! Sorry for the lack of posts! Been down in the dumps a tad and very busy with life lately! But I'll try to get chapters out faster, promise!
Reviews!:
Tatya1999: Thanks so much! :3
MONOCHROME SORROW: She is really cute! :3
Enjoy!
"Move all available forces to the west gate immediately, I cannot have any intrusion at this time." A cloaked figure said quickly, his metal plated boots clicking against the metallic walkway as his soldiers ran ahead of him towards the gate. "And someone get Xenon on call!"
"Kri van dow Grimmlock?" One the demons, much larger than the others, asked in his strange tongue.
"No. I don't need that beast here." The commander told his best troop, pausing as he heard the distant sound of a tractor beam going offline.
"Go ahead. Secure the gate. I have some visitors to deal with." The commander growled as he turned towards the source of the sound, making his way down the metal walkway as his soldiers rushed to the west gate.
The Spire
Kryata
"Well, brother? Will you make a move? All you need to do is simply shift but one of your soldiers." Xalveris chuckled sinisterly, relaxed in his dark chair with a vile grin imprinted deep on this face.
The game had proceeded as it usually did, with both sides eventually ending with but two pieces each- a pawn and their king.
"Be calm, Xalveris." Yveltal spoke calm, pushing his pawn up a spot to attempt at getting his queen returned to the field.
Xalveris could easily notice his brother's rather obvious plan, simply pushing his pawn one space forward.
"My queen, if you'd please." Xalveris grinned as Yveltal passed his brother the piece in question, claiming the pawn in return as the dark monarch returned to the battlefield.
"Check, your move, brother." The Dark God teased as Yveltal calculated his next move.
There wasn't anything he could really do. Yveltal gave in and shifted his king one space to the right, leaving his pawn in danger.
Xalveris pushed his queen up the board and knocked the pawn down with ease, claiming the piece.
"Well, this is indeed a first." Yveltal spoke low as he narrowed his eyes on the field.
"A good game, nonetheless." Xalveris agreed as he sat in his chair, content with his near victory.
"Yes..." Yveltal nodded as he placed his hand on his king, pushing it back a space.
"Retreating are we? Just submit, there's no reason to continue." The Dark God laughed as he pushed his queen forward.
The game continued until Yveltal pushed his king into his right corner of the field, with Xalveris hot on his trail.
"What are you up to...?" Xalveris frowned as he examined the field of play, having backed his brother into a corner.
"If I am unable to achieve victory..." Yveltal began as Xalveris pushed a piece forward, realizing too late his mistake.
"... then I am to make it as so neither of us can. Stalemate." Yveltal finished as he sat back in his white chair, an emotionless face watching Xalveris as he blinked in utter confusion, seemingly unable to process the loss.
"I see..." Xalveris chuckled under his breath, bringing a silent hand underneath the table.
"Well then, if you seek to use these cheap methods to achieve victory, then I need not feel guilty about what happens next."
Both the table and the chess board split in two as Xalveris brought a void colored blade up through the two surfaces, nearly cutting into Yveltal's being had he not pushed the ground below him with his feet, propelling him back to safety as chess pieces littered the floor.
"And here I thought one place in this realm could have peace." Yveltal pitied the Spire they resided within as he summoned his cane to hand, holding it to the side as his brother laughed wholeheartedly.
"There can be peace when you're dead." Xalveris retorted as he ignited his blade with hellfire, a sinister crimson hue emitting from the scorching weapon.
Xalveris ran forward and sliced at his brother, who simply weaved in and out of the Dark God's assault with ease.
Xalveris thrusted forward in a quick jab, Yveltal slamming his cane down on the weapon to drive it deep into the marble floor below, locking it in place. Yveltal pressed his palm to his brother chest, firing off a massive beam of white light that consumed the Dark God's being.
Xalveris landed with a dull thud across the room, bits of his trademark tuxedo burning as an ant under a magnifying glass. The Elder God growled as he struggled to get to his feet, cursing his brother under his breath.
"Halt your aggression. You are not strong enough to do anything here." Yveltal demanded as he tapped his cane on the floor below, his whole body glowing white as he did so.
"You may be correct on that, brother." Xalveris spoke low as he got to his feet, disoriented as his palms grew void in color.
"Lucky for me, I took the initiative and brought back-up."
Two orbs of dark energy flew across the grand hall and hung suspended above the marble, pulsating with a sinister energy as they exploded into massive void portals.
A pair of vile warriors emerged from the two gateways, both radiating a sinister and unholy Aura. One seemed to be wearing a traditional ninja-style outfit, glowing as dark as a black hole, while the other was massive in size, sporting a lion skin cloak with a set of animal hide armaments. The duo seemed to hiss as they spotted their father across the room from them, cursing him in a seemingly incomprehensible tongue.
"Lang. Victor. Destroy him." Xalveris barked his order to his men as they charged forward to battle.
Victor, the lion bearer, practically ripped a massive marble pillar off its stand without damaging the foundation before chucking it across the room with ease, utilizing his massive brute strength.
Lang, on the other hand, simply disappeared into the shadows, invisible even to an Elder God's sight.
The massive pillar slammed into Yveltal as he brought his cane forward in a defensive pose, splitting the stone in half as he held firm in defiance to his Fallen sons.
Lang appeared out of nowhere behind his father, a handful of shurikens pressed between his fingers as he leaped above the Elder God. Lang threw the sharpened spheres down at the man, who raised his cane to protect himself.
Yveltals cane caught a majority of the steel shurikens, burying them deep within the weapon, only three breaching his defense and traveling further on, piercing his chest as golden ichor began to flow freely from the open wounds.
As Lang went invisible once more, Yveltal stumbled backwards in pain, as the shurikens seemed to have been laced with some sort of poison. The Elder God had little time to think as Victor's massive right fist slammed into his father's skull, sending him flying into the far wall of the Spire and down to the floor, rubble scattering around as he landed with a thud.
Victor and Lang returned to their masters' side, guarding him as he made his way across the room to his brother.
"Your age seems to have caught up to you, brother." Xalveris spat as his guard stood firm beside him, ready for any battle. "You are so weak. Pathetic." The Elder God continued on, not noticing the hue of white light glowing from Yveltal.
"Your arrogance blinds you." Yveltal spoke in his timeless voice, glowing bright as he was consumed in a blinding light of pure Aura.
"Gah!" Xalveris took a step back, trying to block the searing heat the light gave off with his hands to no avail. Lang and Victor screamed in agony as they fell to their hands and knees, struggling to keep their strength as they melted away into nothingness.
A massive white phoenix rose from the white light, leaving only a burnt marble floor where Yveltal once laid as it let out an ear shattering screech. Xalveris stumbled backwards in a mix of fear and pain, trying to formulate a plan as he too began to glow in a void hue.
"SUBMIT." Yveltal's voice echoed indefinitely throughout the chamber of the Spire, his form burning with an everlasting white fire.
Xalveris's form seemed to shutter as he too changed form, glowing as dark as the center of a black hole. A black phoenix emerged from the void of nothingness, cawing as his new body burned with a magical black flame.
The two Elder Gods flew forward at each other, colliding in a massive explosion of black and white fire which shook the very core of the Spire, sending a massive shockwave throughout the realm as they did battle, both fighting for survival.
Wendar Airfield Base
Vale
"Come on Melody!" Weiss hissed quietly as she thrusted her rapier deep within the core of one of the tractor beam devices. A low whirling sound echoed throughout the chamber as the machine powered down, lowering the airship down a few feet before stopping in place, still held up by a few other devices.
"I am trying as hard as I can!" Melody grumbled as she kicked in a device of her own, lowering the craft even further. "How are we suppose to reach that one at the top?"
"I don't know, just think of something." Weiss spoke in a hushed voice, hearing what seemed like the clicking of metal on metal as the room suddenly shook violently.
"Gah!" Weiss cried out as she fell over into a pile of unloaded machine guns, the room shaking as if it were in the very eye of a hurricane.
The tractor beam devices on the ceiling of the base blinked sporadically as they powered down, having been deactivated by the sheer movement of the base. The Bulkhead landed with a massive clanging echoed across the entire hanger, no doubt turning some heads in its direction.
"Weiss!" Melody shouted as she had given up on stealth at this point, running over to her fallen friend as she dragged her out of the pile of weaponry. "I think we should go!"
"Yeah. I agree." Weiss nodded as they both ran towards the large aircraft. Weiss bolted for the pilot's seat while Melody stood at the open doorway of the craft, looking around the hanger as a nearby door opened up and deposited a tall figure.
"Weiss...?" Melody said slowly as the figure reached for a large black and grey object behind his back, spinning it in hand.
"I'm hurrying Melody!" Weiss shouted back as she cycled the airships engines, raising the craft up into the air as a large mini-gun exited below the head of the craft, spinning rapidly as it warmed up.
The figure spun his weapon around in the air as a bolt of grey lighting exited the top of the device, striking the airship as it surged with electricity, nearly falling to the ground as the systems reset.
"Weiss!" Melody cried out as the airship spun to face the figure. The mini-gun spat out hundreds of rounds immediately towards the aggressor as they spun their weapon around, seemingly catching every bullet before they could do harm.
"Grr!" Weiss growled out in frustration as she pressed down on a blue button, launching a missile from the right wing down towards the figure.
A massive cloud of smoke greeted Weiss as she narrowed her eyes on her target, curious as she wasn't sure the weapon did its job.
The airship was suddenly rocketed backwards as some mighty force slammed into its stomach, sending it through the far wall and out into the open fields of the airstrip. Weiss lost control of the craft as it plummeted down into the brush below, tearing up the ground as it powered down.
Weiss groaned as she and Melody stumbled out of the ship, both disoriented as Weiss rubbed her aching head. As her vision faltered, she could notice the figure walking towards them, covered in a thick layer of dust and gravel, brushing it off as he went straight for the duo.
"Melody..." Weiss coughed as the figure neared the duo, struggling to find strength as the mysterious man grabbed the girl by her throat, holding her up high.
Weiss looked down at the individual, who to her knowledge was a man. The man wore a thick grey cloak and cowl, covering most of his face. A pair of seemingly robotic eyes greeted her as they zoomed and contracted on her face, seemingly studying her.
A crack of a sniper caused the man to turn away from the heiress as blood suddenly sprayed out from the man's chest, causing him to drop Weiss to the ground as he looked around rapidly, ignoring the pain in his being. The man's robotic eyes narrowed on a ridge at the far end of the base and pointed a long device down that way, blasting it with a massive bolt of grey lighting. The ridge crumbled down the mountainside in response, causing a massive cloud of brown dust to form.
"Dust to dust." The man spoke low as he turned back to Weiss, who was holding a piece of jagged metal in her hand.
"..." Weiss glared at the man, defiant to the end as he narrowed his vision upon her.
An eardrum-shattering shriek suddenly tore through the silence as the man was rocketed backwards a few yards away. Melody was standing to the side, screeching as loud as she could muster at the time to defend her friend. Weiss dropped the metal and cupped her poor ears as the vibrations flew into the man. Bits of his cloak were torn off by the vibrations, along with most of whatever weapon he was wielding as the frequency just grew louder.
The man stomped his right foot down on the ground below him, proceeding to do the same with his left as he slowly made his way forward, struggling to even move in an efficient manor without losing his foothold.
Melody could feel her powers draining, her voice lowing in pitch ever few seconds until her voice suddenly went, allowing the man to finally move forward with ease. Melody took a few steps back before falling flat on her bottom, landing in the dirt with a panicked look.
The cloaked man seemed to hiss as he planted his metallic boot down on the Goddesses chest, keeping her pinned as Weiss got to her knees.
"Hey asshole." Weiss said low as the man turned to the source of the insult.
Weiss hand her palm raised up at the man, sporting a smug smirk as the man glanced up and noticed a giant white Glyph above him.
Before he could even react, a hidden Glyph below him activated and sent him flying upwards into the other Glyph, which in turn flung him across the grass and into the wing of the airship.
"Melody... You alright?" Weiss groaned as she struggled to stand, greeted with Melody raising a thumb upwards to indicate she was fine.
"Good." Weiss spoke low as she plucked her rapier up from the dirt, making her way over to the man.
The figure was slumped over in the wreckage, groaning himself as Weiss raised him up with two Glyphs on his arms, forcing him to face her.
"Now that we are all friends here..." Weiss began before noticing that the man's cowl had fallen back, causing his greying hair to become exposed to the outside world fully. His robotic eyes seemed shattered, allowing Weiss to now see that they were actually mechanical goggles.
"... I know you..." Weiss said in a confused tone, raising an eye brow as she struggled to place a name.
"Do you now?" The man asked as he blinked twice before a flash of light enveloped the duo.
Weiss's chard body was sent flying across the field and into a few bushes, her outfit in a blaze as she landed with a cloud of dirt enveloping the area.
"Ugh..." Weiss groaned as the man was standing now a few feet away, his body surging with light blue electricity as his strength was renewed, cracking his neck with a sigh.
"Miss Schnee, I presume." The man spoke with a chuckle. "You are far too bold for your own good."
"Grr..." Weiss growled as her whole body ached, unable to stand.
"Well, Miss Schnee, we are going to get to know each other very well from this point on." The man said with a brush of his grey hair, flashing his silver eyes. "You may call me Qrow."
Mountain Glenn
Vale
Ruby tossed and turned in her bed, unable to stay asleep. Napping was always a great way for the girl to calm her nerves, but now, it seemed to be working less and less.
"Can't sleep?" Orion asked as he stood in her room's doorway, knocking on the wall to show he was entering.
"No..." Ruby sighed as she sat up from her makeshift bed, grumbling.
"She's going to be fine." Orion comforted his technical sister, offering a warm smile.
"I know..." Ruby sighed. "I just don't like her being out there in danger... Where I can't help her."
"You can't always protect her." Orion explained as he leaned on the door frame.
"Yeah... I guess so." Ruby agreed as she pulled the blanket over herself again.
"Clear your mind, then get some rest. Gods don't need rest all that much, but it does make you feel warm inside." Orion joked as he gave a small wave to the girl before walking off down the hall.
The others in the team's new headquarters were busy doing their own things. Lucas was polishing his weapons with a few others while Jacob and Cheshire were deep within conversation with a handful of other Gods. The only one unaccounted for seemed to be Hayden, but Orion figured he was just off gathering supplies as usual.
The God of Fate passed by the pair of Mark Shadow and Morris, who seemed to be catching up on something as if they were old friends.
"It is so good to see you again, my friend." Morris said with a wide smile, brushing his hair back as a bit of drywall fell from the ceiling.
"Ditto. I mean what are the odds that I'd run into someone else from the old team, eh?" Mark said with a warm grin.
The duo shared a mild laugh as they walked off towards the cafeteria area for some dinner while sharing stories of their recent exploits around the world, most of which were from Morris's perspective.
"What's with them?" Felix asked Feng as the pair stood off to the side, just hanging around to kill time.
"You have not heard?" Feng asked as his friend simply shrugged in confusion.
"I guess not, what then?" The mercenary asked once more as Feng placed an empty cup of water down on a desk.
"Apparently those two served in the Vale Special Forces together back in the day, from what I was able to gather." Feng explained as he chuckled softly. "You should have seen their faces when they first saw each other."
"What do ya mean?" Felix pressed as he checked his revolvers for any signs of damage.
"Earlier in the barracks, soon after Weiss left base, Morris was polishing a few of our weapons when Mark seemed to have wandered in." Feng described as he adjusted his tunic. "Morris thought he was an intruder and they had a bit of an altercation."
"I see." Felix nodded in understanding.
"And now, they haven't been seen separated since." Feng noted as he began to walk off towards the bedrooms with Felix. "What are the odds?"
"For a very religious person, Feng, you are very susceptible to coincidence." Felix teased as they walked over to their own rooms.
"All seems well here, doesn't it?" Orion asked his brother Kell.
"You deal too much with these mortals, brother." Kell shrugged as he crossed his arms in defiance. "Once our powers are restored, I highly doubt their usefulness."
"Be mindful." Orion warned. "These mortals have done the impossible before. They can do it again."
"Once we gain our powers back, Orion, I expect you to do what is needed." Kell growled as he heard Blake and Yang talking off in the corner. "I know you have grown attached to these creatures in the time you have spent here, but your place is with us."
"Kell." Orion warned his brother, flashing an angry look.
"Just understand that as soon as we gain our powers, we are going to take down Dagonus. No waiting, no holding the mortals hands. Just battle." Kell decided as he walked off to explore the broken city, leaving a meditating Orion to think for himself on what he should do.
Vale
"Dagonus! Dagonus! Dagonus!"
The sound of a cheering crowd echoed across the city as the man in question rode along one of his demon tanks, waving to the masses as their king.
"Thank you, my King!" An older man cried out as the vehicle drove by along the empty street, tossing red roses onto the metal tank as it passed.
"All I do is to keep the people safe." Dagonus simply said into a microphone as the cheering seemed to grow in volume.
Dagonus smiled to himself as he waved to the citizens of his kingdom, loving the praise that he felt he deserved as his father's son.
Over the last day, a massive migration of Nevermore, a yearly occurrence in Vale's rather short history, swarmed the city as they usually did. The damage the Nevermore swarm yearly did would be catastrophic, causing damages in the millions as Vale's military fought to keep them out of the city and away from the people.
Dagonus, unhappy with the damages that could occur, simply waved his hand towards the beasts as they soared over the city's sky, obliterating them into nothing but dust and ash.
"We love you, King Dagonus!" The crowd- goers screamed in joy as the parade continued as planned.
Dagonus closed his eyes and smiled to himself, unable to break through Xalveris's hold over his being, unaware of the disaster boiling throughout the world...
Sea of Ghosts
Unnamed Island
Atlas Seas
"General Ironwood." Flint spoke with a mild bow towards his commanding officer, the man in question ignoring his greeting as the doctor continued to follow the general down a winding hallway.
"Testing has gone... well, in a sense." Flint began as Ironwood kept his hands firmly clasped behind his back as if he were in handcuffs. "Initial responses from all facilities all have come back with the same results."
"And?" Ironwood pressed with a roll of his eyes.
"We believe that the split of the atom would indeed create the desired explosion that you are interested in, sir." The doctor continued as he flipped through a brown clipboard. "In addition to the detonation, we have learned that, through controlled micro-analysis, that all landmass which is within the epicenter of the blast would be reduced to nothing but glass. All life within the detonation, and the resulting shockwave, would be eliminated."
"Interesting." The general thought aloud as he passed by a pair of armed guards, sporting Atlesian colors with absolute emotionless looks on their faces.
"Tests also have shown that Grimm would become unable to spawn on said glass, but we are unable to understand why at this time." Flint added as he held a door open for the general to pass through into the command chamber.
"When will it be ready?" Ironwood asked as he adjusted his white suit, glancing at all the computers and their users across the room working rapidly.
"We should have a working device within two days' time, possibly three at the latest." Flint gulped as the general nodded in approval.
"Send the prototype to my flagship once it is complete." Ironwood spoke with a regal tone, turning away towards the exit. "I shall be the one to personally test this bomb of yours, Doctor."