The Shadow of Fire
Chapter 59: Antares, the Dream Eater
A/N: Hey guys! Hope you all enjoy!
Reviews!
Trewill91: She really can't!
Tatya1999: No worries! It was meant to be a tad confusing to people. :3
Dreamscape
Weiss emerged from the portal in a blinding flash, her eyes singed from the sheer intensity of the glare, as if she were looking into the light that guided Mortals to the embrace of death itself.
Yet she was not deceased.
The heiress emerged back in the real world, wide awake as she was alone in her shared bedroom. Evidence that Ruby had indeed left recently was apparent by the hastily eaten box of name-brand cookies near the doorway. Those were full last night, to Weiss's knowledge.
The girl stood up, cracking her neck as she poked her head out of the door.
"Hello?" Weiss asked before a blast of energy sent her flying into the air.
The girl rag-dolled towards a stand of glass bottles, yet instead of colliding into them, she simply phased through them. Her world morphed into one of a deserted beach, landing in the sand with a puff of air escaping her lungs. Weiss stood up and examined her surroundings, noticing the light snowfall nearby as the ocean churned violently.
"Atlas...?" Weiss asked aloud as she looked to her side, spotting a large tower from seemingly nowhere on a nearby island.
A blast of white smoke exerting from the base of the strange tower shot in all directions, followed soon by a massive column of orange flame as a warhead fired off into the sky. The missile tore through the violent weather seamlessly, not at all impacted by any force of nature. It flew across the sky towards a distant island, dark creatures of what seemed to be Grimm congregated upon it.
The blast of light that followed nearly blinded the heiress more than the white light had. It was of similar intensity, yet much more violent in its delivery. A shockwave came forth that was so powerful waves the size of fully developed Nevermore couldn't even reach their length.
Weiss ran.
The heiress bolted towards the snowy lands behind her for some form of safety as both the waves and shockwaves were sent flying towards her. She barely made it off the beach before the shockwave hit her, knocking her into the air without warning. Her body landed on solid ground moments later, gasping for breath as she groaned in agonizing pain, having landed on a collection of rock. Leaning up, Weiss just had enough time to see the formerly distant waves, formed miles away, upon her in but a few mere seconds. Her scream of panic was cut short by both the sound of the water and by the impact against her fragile being.
Weiss still was not dead, swimming to the surface of the water which by now had altered into a large vat of Ichor.
"Weiss." A voice offered a well manicured hand from the surface, calling for Weiss to join them in safety. As the heiress took hold of the offering, she was yanked to the freedom of the open air, tossing her across a misty chamber resembling a library.
Weiss landed somewhere between the history and the geography section, indicated by the book falling to her hands called "History of Dust". The place would have been Blake's permanent home had she been with the white haired girl. That is if any copies of "Ninjas of Love" existed here.
A taller woman standing just above five-foot-eight stood to the side of the vat Weiss had been thrown from. The woman adorned a navy blue bathrobe with the belt undone, wearing a pair of grey sweatpants and a cream top. Her brunette hair blew gently in the room as the great library was not covered by a ceiling.
Baby blue eyes regarded Weiss as she narrowed her own icy orbs. Standing firm, Weiss collected herself before speaking first.
"You... I know you." Weiss reflected, thinking as the woman interrupted.
"We met in the park." The elderly woman spoke with a similar voice. "Antares is my name, Goddess of Dreams, although I take the role of Nightmares much the same. I like the burden of work."
"Antares..." Weiss muttered as she had no clue who this was, other than the false-Ruby from earlier. It was no one she had ever encountered before, and she had never heard Orion or the other Gods mention her by name. Weiss grit her teeth as she had no idea what to expect.
"You are a very interesting girl, Weiss Schnee." Antares spoke with a crack of her neck, adjusting a pair of reading glasses on her pale, wrinkled face. "Come come, I want to show you something."
"You work for Xalveris." Weiss held her ground the the woman paused in mid-step.
"Tis true, little one." The elderly woman spoke as she plucked a random book off the shelf. "What also is true, is that you..." She began to flip pages in the large white book, stopping suddenly towards the front. "Heavily dislike blueberries, distrust your father no matter how he tries to make things right, and love to be... oh my, that is quite the naughty fetish, little one."
Weiss ignored how hot her face was getting, noticing a large snowflake on the cover.
"How do you-"
"This is your life story, my dear girl." Antares pat the cover, holding her thumb in the section she read. "Completed from birth to death."
"Death..." Weiss shivered. Wait, death?
"How could you possibly know that?" Weiss countered back.
"Did I mention my former brother, Skila? He was the God of History, but he intruded on my domain and had to go. Now I have taken that role as well, thanks to Xalveris." Antares laughed like a song. "I keep detailed records on every event, dream, and thought of a person." She explained as she flipped to the end of the book. "Would you care to know how you die? Even I haven't read this passage yet."
"You're bluffing." Weiss gulped as she took a few steps closer, somewhat intrigued.
The Goddess read the last page of the book, her brow scrunching in confusion as she looked it over once more.
"That's odd." Antares frowned as she folded the book back to normal, placing it back on the shelf. "Well, it appears I may need to alter history then. I dislike that outcome."
Weiss paused. "What do you mean?"
"I'm afraid I'll have to cease the pleasantries and kill you now. Nothing personal. It's just my job." Antares dropped her robe to the ground, cracking her neck, and bolted towards Weiss.
Outskirts of Vale
Kingdom of Vale
"Is everyone in position?" Orion asked through a radio held in a firm grip, leveling it to his ear.
"Team One, ready." Ozpin spoke through the device.
"Team Two, waiting for the go ahead." Saturn replied on his end.
"Team Three, in the clear!" Ruby chirped, contrast to the stern voices on the channel.
"Alright boys and girls." Orion spoke into the communicator. "Let's not keep our friends waiting."
By his word, one of the various airships patrolling the skies of Vale detonated in a massive ball of orange inferno. The sky lit up with the bright light, contrast to a straight beam of purple having been fired through the bowels of the craft. The ship drifted off into the ocean, crashing into the sea with a humongous splash.
Clipping the device to his trench coat, the golden eyed God of Fate leapt from the stealth ship as it uncloaked above the fleet, rolling in the air before leveling out as his Godly companions followed suit, leaving the ship to plummet downwards without a pilot. Orion looked to his right and left as Cheshire and Aphrodite fell to his right with Kell to his left. The quartet descended down and landed on the first craft they encountered.
Kell bolted to the edge of the ship and dove off, morphing into a massive Thunderbird of legend, flapping its wings and sending a bolt of lightening into one of the smaller ships closer to the city base. Aphrodite followed suit and shifted to her dove state, chirping as she shot a beam of pure pink, oddly enough in the shape of hearts, towards smaller aircraft now taking flight from the deck. Orion and Cheshire, grounded in a sense, morphed as well. Their forms turned into the large wolf and cat respectively, firing orbs of Aura into various points of the craft they resided upon. Orion leapt across the deck, taking out turrets before throwing himself into the bridge of the ship. The wolf tore the men apart inside the ship, blasting and tearing them to pieces as Orion rampaged around. Cheshire ripped into the back tails of the craft, blowing them to chucks of molten metal as the ship began to destabilize.
Watching the carnage from the tree line, Saturn and Morris opened fire with sniper rifles into the barracks and outposts fitted at the entrance to the city. Jacob set his mortar cannon up beside the pair, firing off projectiles of Dust and steel mixed together into the walled off portions of the city. Thanks to the efforts of Dagonus, the Grimm in the area had been greatly reduced, allowing the group to exert as much damage as they wished without risking an invasion. Even with the panicked civilians, the Grimm would still take some time to form out of the shadows.
"Eight." Saturn noted as he fired off another shot, knocking a guard off one tower. "Nine."
"Show off." Morris rolled his eyes as he reloaded his own weapon.
The city was under siege, bombarded upon by the small band of warriors. Ozpin lead the main assault into Vale through the crumbling checkpoint, blasting through with Team JNPR and the un-injured members of Team CFVY. Ulysses tore through the tank reinforcements, his body bulked up immensely as he activated his Semblance. The monstrous form of the veteran Hunter broke the lines, lashing out at all who opposed him. Ozpin knocked aside men with his signature cane, breaking jaws and bone with the blunt device as Glynda Goodwitch blasted foes apart with her magic riding crop.
"Onwards!" Professor Port shouted with glee as he fired his blunder-bust, cutting down men as he sang in laughter with his friend Oobleck.
As Team One burst through the gates to the city, leaving destruction in their wake as they passed through the city lines. A sharp whistle stunned Ozpin for but a moment as he pushed Glynda out of the way just in time to avoid an artillery shell.
"Incoming!" Ozpin called to the others as they spread like ants in a crumbling colony, all running for cover as a large skyscraper down the road was firing down on the team.
"Team Two, do you have a visual on the gunner?" Ozpin asked into his radio as Saturn replied.
"No can do. Too high up for an accurate shot." The sniper shrugged as he clipped the heel of a demon solider.
"Miss Rose, are you nearby?" Ozpin asked as a low roar shook the foundation they stood upon.
The massive armored sauropod slammed into the structure with unrivaled force, easily knocking the structure down as Ruby tore through the lobby. Support columns shattered with ease as she swung her thick tail into the stairwell, bursting through the other side. The super-structure fell back into several other buildings behind it, smoke rising from the ashes of its remains.
"A-plus work, miss Rose!" Professor Port laughed wholeheartedly as Ruby bobbed her head, moving off into the city to rampage about.
"Onward!" Ozpin thrusted his cane in the air as the massive group of warriors pressed on.
Blake leapt from rooftop to rooftop with Yang in tow, taking out snipers as they went on. Blake thrashed forward with her standard katana whilst Yang brandished a different weapon than regular.
Having only salvaged one of the Ember Celica pieces during their encounter with Rook on the Maelstrom, Yang fitted the device upon the end of a military-grade SPAZ-12 shotgun. Calling it by the same name as before, the girl could easily fire a scatter of burning Dust rounds, increasing her former damage count. A pair of fresh yellow metal gauntlets still hung on her hands, allowing her to still punch her way out of any situation.
A demon fell from the rooftops as Yang cocked back the weapon, a red shell falling from the side of the device as Blake kicked another off the edge to the streets below. The two exchanged a nod before moving on, making their way through the city building after building.
Beacon Academy was now in the distance as the group closed in on their former home. Airships fell from the sky as the Gods did battle with the fleet, tearing ships apart like putty. Everything looked to be going to plan.
A massive beam of energy in the form of a leaf green light flew into a hotel before the pair of girls, blowing it to pieces as Yang tackled Blake off their building, landing on a full dumpster safely. Their own building detonated moments later as another beam hit the brick walls, sending debris across the roadways.
"What is that?!" Yang shouted as they bolted down the road for cover, dodging another impact as a car dealership blew.
The Rune fired once more from Beacon, hitting the city once again as explosions shook the foundation of Vale. Rook himself sat upon the device and jammed his thumbs down on the fire controls. The weapon was surely impressive, even for his high standards. Humanity did come up with one or two devices that he admired, somewhat at least.
"Die!" Rook roared with laughter as he fired again and again, turning his aim upwards to deal with his family.
Orion morphed forms back to his standard, pointing his hand like a finger gun and fired off a blast of golden energy towards an airship. The cockpit blew into a flurry of glass, sending the craft spiraling downward into the city. A gleam of light caught his eye as a blast of power clashed into his back, grunting as he fell from the sky.
"Bro!" Cheshire called out as she threw a spear across the battlefield, managing to pin into his coat. Falling for miles, the God crash landed into an apartment complex, pinned to the oak walls as the spear did its work.
Kell flew through one of the airships bridge, flying out the exterior as it went down. Flapping his wings, the God of Storms tore across the sky towards Beacon.
"Kell." Rook growled low as he fired a spread, clipping the God in the wing after a few shots.
Watching Kell descend into the ocean, Rook hadn't noticed the light-purple beam of pure power flying towards his position from the depths of the city. His body was engulfed in the mysterious aura before his form melted away into nothing, leaving a chard burning landscape behind as the Rune and most of Beacon tower went with.
Ruby closed her maw from the attack, faltering as she used much of her power against the God. Her form shifted back to one of normal, collapsing from exhaustion as Blake and Yang descended on her position.
"You, uh, alright?" Yang asked her sister as Blake kept watch, leveling her pistol.
"I'll... Just need a breather." Ruby sighed as Yang rested the girl on a nearby bench.
Resting her shotgun to the side, Yang sat beside her sister, tired as well.
"When this is done, sis, I'm taking a nice long vacation." Yang sighed as she chuckled with Blake.
"Where to?" Ruby inquired.
"Probably somewhere nice and cold, maybe back home in Atlas." Yang fanned herself. "Yeah, cold sounds great. Anyone else burning up right now?"
"No?" Blake felt the girls forehead, retracting her palm quickly. "Ouch! Your skin is on fire!" The cat Faunus held the seared skin.
"Really? Cause I feel like I'm in a volcano!" The brawler started to cough violently.
Blake heard the clamoring of soldiers down the road, easily a good few minutes away.
"We need to move. Quickly." Blake leveled her pistol once more, the voices growing louder.
The last thing Blake could remember was a flash of orange and a painful cry of despair.
Dreamscape
Weiss leap over a crumbling bookshelf as a beam of white light cut through the oak, landing safely as she ran down another isle. Things were getting intense, especially without her weapon.
"I can sense your fear, Miss Schnee!" Antares spoke as she wrapped her scarf around her wrist, gripping the end of the fabric. "There's no point to hiding."
"Yeah yeah!" Weiss rolled her eyes as she ducked behind a shelf, pressing much of her weight against it.
The shelf fell downwards on top of Antares, leaving her crushed under a pile of books. Weiss stood atop the mountain of literature and sighed, looking around for a way out.
The end of the scarf wrapped itself around Weiss' legs, yanking her down before throwing her across the air, landing into a vat of water nearby. The heiress thrashed about as the scarf forced her deeper into the pool, Antares' form appearing just above the surface.
"A somewhat fitting death for one who has survived so much." The Goddess snickered, rubbing her neck. "You are no God, Miss Schnee. You are just human."
Weiss struggled and struggled, suffocating as she drowned in the vat. Her mind distorted as she grew drowsy, slipping away into darkness as her limbs grew weary. In a last ditch effort, the heiress formed a Glyph in the hall, drifting off into nothingness.
Antares smiled as she looked down at the drowning girl, not feeling any more resistance from her at the moment.
"A job well... done?" Antares noticed a strange symbol under her footing, blinking.
"Oh dear."
Antares was sent flying across the room with flailing arms and legs, crashing into a bookshelf. Her scarf went with her as Weiss was forcibly yanked from the pool, landing on the marble flooring nearby as the scarf went limp.
"Gah!" Weiss coughed violently as she spit up water, struggling to breathe as fresh oxygen reached her lungs. The heiress got to her feet after a minute of resting, looking over to see Antares.
"You..." Antares stood up, groaning in pain. "You've ruined my library!"
"Tough luck." Weiss reached to her side, spawning a physical Glyph in hand.
Weiss spun and threw the weapon across the room, aiming the device just right as it flew through the scarf, splitting it vertically in two. The tendril flailed violently before going still, falling limp on the floor.
"Gah! My scarf!" Antares squeaked as she stood tall, growling as she generated a long staff from thin air.
"You're going... to... pay?" Antares blinked as Weiss touched her neck, right under her throat as she took a deep breath.
"What are you doing?" The Goddess asked, confused before Weiss opened her mouth and the confusion dissipated.
Antares was thrown across the chamber through a dozen bookshelves, landing hard against the marble walls. Glass around the chamber exploded into fragments at the sheer pitch of her voice.
"Melody!" Antares cursed the girl as she struggled to pull herself from the wall she was stuck within, Weiss unrelenting in her cry.
The foundation of the room began to falter as large cracks began to emerge in the marble walls, Antares' expression growing grim.
"S-stop that!" The elderly woman cried out. "You'll bring this whole place down!"
Weiss took a step forward, followed by another as she moved closer towards the Goddess. The ground quaked as she tore the building asunder, the structure crumbling around her. She could feel her lungs aching for air as her pitch suddenly began to lower, delaying the damaged inflicted as Antares began to crawl out from her mold, reaching a hand out to grasp the edge of the wall.
One final scream at the height of her voice, Weiss summoned all of the strength she had remaining. The final shockwave sent the woman through the wall, free falling into the depths of the sky as her fortress was suspended thousands of miles in the air, nearly grazing space itself.
Weiss silenced her cry as the building began to quake further with the loss of its master, pillars of stone falling down as the floor ripped into pieces. The building was torn into dozens of chunks, falling as well as Weiss blacked out.
Mountain Glenn
Weiss awoke in a panic as she threw herself from her sheets. The girl took several deep breaths as she took in her surroundings, standing tall.
"Is this... real?" She asked as she felt her body for any wounds.
"It is real." Antares growled as she stood at the doorway, a spear in hand. "You destroyed the Dreamscape! My home! It will take me years to rebuild it! All my files and hard work! Nothing!"
"And?" Weiss growled as she yanked her remodeled rapier from the wall, spinning the dust chamber.
"I'm going to slaughter you!" Antares cried as she tossed her spear.
Weiss turned in time as the weapon phased through the wall, taking down a photograph as it went. The group picture fell to the floor as Weiss jolted forward, slashing with her blade in perfect arcs.
"Gah!" Antares stumbled back as Weiss cut a clean mark down her torso, sending her reeling to her knees. Weiss twirled the blade in hand before stabbing it downward into thin air.
Antares teleported away, standing behind the Schnee with the spear in hand, poised for the kill.
Pop! Pop pop pop!
Antares dropped to the floor, dead as a doorknob as golden Ichor pooled from her head and chest. Her body melted away into but papyrus and ink, her spear glowing briefly before going dark.
"What?" Weiss turned to the source.
Mark Shadow stood with a standard military-grade pistol, lowering the weapon.
"You alright Weiss?" Mark asked as he pocketed the device. "I heard shouting and came running."
"Yes, I am fine..." Weiss finally caught her breath. "But... where is everyone?"
Mark raised a brow. "Right, you were sleeping." He reasoned. "Your friend Orion took everyone towards Vale. You can see the explosions from outside."
Mark lead the way out to the opening to their hideout, Weiss watching carefully as distant explosions lit up the sky. Long beams of energy shot forth in all directions, tearing through the mountainside nearby.
"I need to get up there. Now." Weiss nodded to herself as she hooked her sword to her hip. "Where's the airship?"
"They took it with." Mark shrugged as he looked to his side, smirking. "You don't figure Yang would be too salty if you borrowed her Bee, eh?"
Weiss turned to meet his finger pointing towards Yang's personal motorcycle. How she had salvaged it or when, Weiss didn't care. Transport was all she cared about right now.
"You good to hold down here?" Weiss asked the business man, who laughed.
"I've got that little dog here to keep company. Do me a favor and save our city." Mark pat her back as Weiss smirked, running back inside.
Grabbing her pouch of Dust, Weiss exited her room to grab the Bee and leave. Tripping on the now dull energy spear her enemy had left behind, the girl plucked the device up, leveling it in hand.
"Huh." Weiss sounded as it began to flow a faint icy blue, hooking it to her back as she hopped onto the bike, racing off towards the gates of Vale.
International Waters
General James Ironwood stood firm in his approach to the Vale mainland, arms tucked behind his back. This was a delicate operation. An invasion of a Kingdom was hard enough when it was against fellow Humans, but a man claiming Godhood? That was something entirely different. Still, the esteemed general would not be deterred. Their new weapon would be more than enough to vaporize this madman.
"Sir, initial casualty results from the algorithm have returned." A young man spoke from behind a monitor.
"And?" Ironwood asked, not looking away from the glass barrier viewing the churning sea.
"We suspect somewhat over fifteen-thousand in the first blast." The man went on, tapping away. "Secondary simulation scored about the same result."
"That is understandable." Ironwood nodded. "It will be up to Atlas to keep the peace after this is dealt with."
A hum of a song exerted itself from Ironwood's pocket, pulling forth a Scroll.
"And what do we have here?" The general hummed as he hooked the Scroll to a data pedestal.
The familiar face of Geist Schnee appeared on screen, safely back on Atlas grounds having managed to use his contacts to escape Vale. And he did not look happy.
"I have been informed you are planning on dropping this... this "nuke" of yours on my daughters location! How dare you, James!" Geist growled under his beard, glaring at the general.
"I am doing what must be done to save our Kingdom." Ironwood clicked the communication off, not phased one bit.
"Continue fight pattern." The general moved towards his quarters, leaving the chamber to utter silence.
Vale
Ruby came to first, groaning as she held her head in her hands.
Vision blurred, the girl managed to make out the situation before her, a hazy guess at least.
Yang was standing-no, hovering in the air before herself and the unconscious form of Blake. A protective wall of fire was former around the pair, oddly enough not warming them one bit. The brawler's attire was missing, exchanged with flames covering her entire body neck downward. Her air flowed elegantly as if made of inferno itself.
Her blood red eyes shot bullets into the gathering of demonic warriors before them. "Leave. Now!" She ordered with a twitch of her eye.
The demons seemed to have conversed among themselves before one hurled a spear towards the Huntresses. The wooden staff of the weapon incinerated just a few inches from her face. Not even ashes were left remaining.
"I have HAD IT!" Yang cried out in frustration as she thrusted her palms forward. Molten lava, as hot as the core of the sun, torched the group of demonic warriors into nothingness.
Yang took several deep breaths before falling to her knees, clawing at her skull as a festering pain began to grow at the base of her brain, trickling through her nervous system ever so quickly.
Ruby acted quickly, throwing her hand forward with a flick of her wrist. A bubble of pulsating Aura formed around the hostile brawler, keeping her firmly in place. Time and space distorted within the inorganic orb, confining Yang to her solitude.
Within a few seconds Ruby lowered the shield, allowing Yang to slump down freely.
"Is she going to be alright?" Blake asked as she felt Yang's wrist, feeling a faint pulse.
Ruby stood up from her sister's side, sighing as she cracked her neck.
"She's going to be alright." Ruby announced, thinking. "I sped up time in the bubble, so her whole 'enraged' stage should be over."
The young Goddess looked to the distance, spotting Cheshire dancing from roof top to roof top in search of something, wielding a fearsome looking double-edged blade as she went tearing apart snipers.
"Looks like we still have more work to do." Ruby nodded to herself, Blake lifting Yang into her arms. "Ready for round two?"