AND I'M BACK! This time with a new piece of 'The thunderer of Atlas'! I figured you all have waited enough for the next update for this one. And I really like what I have planned for it, so I say that its time for the next chapter of this story!
Anyway, let us get this show on the road!
"hello"- regular speech
'hello'- regular thoughts
"hello"- phone/ radio calls
'hello'- internal discussion
Disclaimer: I. OWN. NOTHING. Not Naruto. Nor RWBY. Nor any other characters I may bring in.
(In the crater)
PAIN!
PAIN!
PAIN!
SO MUCH PAIN!
ALL SALEM KNEW WAS PAIN!
As quick as her magic was pulling her back together, the woman in white was ripping her apart! And her silver eyes actually made it hard for the magic to pull her back together, meaning it HURT!
Rather, the silver Eye, not eyes. The other was a hard vengeful red, most likely a cybernetic implant to make up for the lost one. And why did it feel like she knew this one?...
…Wait…
"Well now, I didn't think you survived, Summer Rose!" Salem crooned out through the pain, trying her darndest to keep up the 'immortal, unkillable, unfeeling' persona she had crafted for herself even as summer continued to tear her apart, something that was proving difficult with her feeling pain for the first time in only she knew how long. "Evidently, you took after your father in being a thorn in my side! Though I'll admit, I had no idea you were such a capable Warrior, else I'd have killed you sooner!"
"And I had no idea you are such a whiny bitch; I'm surprised anyone can take you seriously!" Summer shouted back, planting a spin kick right into the center of Salem's chest, sending her flying back and away from the crater.
As she flew, she jerked to a stop in midair, her hands flying to her throat as she did, a sound suspiciously close to choking emerging from her throat as she hung in the open air. Her eyes moved about quickly, desperately searching for the one who was doing this to her.
Her eyes quickly landed on the black armored one, whose hand was cupped in the air holding nothing. He was the only one doing anything besides moving, so it had to be him. She quickly threw a potent blast of magic in his direction, only for the other one with the energy blade to step in front of her blast and hold out his arms, a visible shockwave emanating outward and stalling her blast out completely, forcing it to detonate before it even came close to her target.
As the brothers did their work in holding her, the silver eyed huntress began her part of the plan and trained her only remaining natural eye on the queen of all Grimm. She had to keep her eye focused on her in order for the plan to be sure to work. After all, silver eyes couldn't stop her, true. But they could make her vulnerable. Make her able to feel pain and take damage.
And with their fathers plan?
Any extra assurance of it working was welcome.
"Hold her there! I have to tap into it!" Called Naruto, holding his axes head close to his face in order to focus on it.
"Not that hard honestly. In spite of her incredible strength, her physical might does not match her magical power" intoned Vader, using about a fifth of his power to completely keep Salem's form from moving too much.
"Don't jinx it Vader! It's working, that's all that matters." Called Anakin, remaining on guard against anymore blasts she might throw to free herself.
"Can we FOCUS?!" Screamed Summer.
"She's Right, you really should." Intoned a deep gravelly voice behind Summer before a fist crashed into her and sent the matriarch of the Rose family tumbling. When her stare was broken from Salem, the Grimm queen felt a resurgence in her strength. Feeling stronger then she had in the past few minutes, she began fighting back against Vader's hold, making fairly significant headway.
"Damn it Vader, you had to say something didn't you?!" Shouted Anakin, spinning around to block shots from a well-dressed man with an incredibly ornate Revolver in his hands. When the next generations hero moved to close distance and get in melee range, the man hopped up onto a hard-light platform to evade the warrior.
"You really should have kept your mouth shut young man; you never want to invoke Murphy's laws." Criticized the well-dressed gentleman, moving around and keeping Anakin pinned down with well placed and continuous fire from his revolver. "He's a right vicious bastard when he wants to be."
"Just like me!" came the high-pitched maddened voice from behind Vader, before a pair of bladed gauntlets crashed down where Vader was standing before he moved, before Tyrian threw himself into combat with him, his vicious, high-speed movements matching head-to-head with Vader's brutal, domination-based fighting style. "After all, this is a death match of our gods most devout now!"
"You are not ready to face the power of the dark side." Proclaimed Vader, before a crashing wave of power threw Tyrian back rather violently, dislocating his left arm in the process. When Tyrian stopped rolling, he quickly hopped up and forced it back in without a seconds hesitation, even licking his lips as he did.
"You WILL fall, assassin." Swore Vader, before beginning his march in Tyrians direction, the obstinate black monolith prepping to force the pathetic wretch into brutal defeat, leaving his admiral to battle Salem on his own once again. As she was finally released from her shackles, Salem quickly cleaned herself and her wardrobe, removing any dust or tears in it and moved her hair back into its previous shape. Even if in the middle of battle, for her, there was no excuse for not looking her best.
"Well, this is unfortunate, but not unexpected." Commented Naruto, lowering his axe back down to a ready stance. He needed a minute at least to prep for the plan, so an uninhibited Salem was not the point in time he could use it.
"Oh? You planned for my inner circle? How did you manage that I wonder?" questioned Salem, curious if there was a traitor or spy in her ranks. It would not be the first time someone had grown disillusioned with her goals or grew bold enough to not fear her any longer. If one did exist, they would be snubbed out like the rest.
"Not your circle directly, no. but we knew you would have loyal followers who were capable enough to be a problem in a fight. So, we planned around that." Admitted Naruto, his voice sounding sheepish even through his voice modulator. His stance change to a far more aggressive one very quickly after he finished talking. "However, now it is a contest of endurance, while we wait for our followers to deal with each other. I wonder who will fall first, your inner circle, or my sons and daughter?"
"You do not have time to waste on them. your focus should be on me right now, my dear Admiral." Retorted Salem, pieces of light black armor lined with gold forming on her shoulders and arms, along with an ornate obsidian and gold chest-piece forming on her chest. As she breathed in deeply, she pulled a black bladed longsword from her shadow, settling into a basic two-handed stance with her blade. "After all,"
"I do believe I've caught my second wind."
The insidious whisper from the queen of the monsters came from behind him. Spine stiffening in the face of such an intense display of speed, he spun around with his axe in the lead, crashing hard into Salem's sword, forcing a dead lock between the two of them.
"You have roused the warrior within me, my dear. I have not felt so alive in millennia!" Crooned Salem, a large smile splitting her face. As she finished, she flourished her blade, sending his axe sprawling and bashing the pommel into his helmet, shattering the armor like ice and sending him sprawling back. As the pieces slid off his face when he rose, she cooed "there he is, the man who makes me feel so alive!"
Spitting a glob of blood from the hit, he held out his hand, the axe flying back into his hand. Before he began his approach, he stopped to stare at the weapon in his hand, before swinging it down, burying the head of his weapon into the dirt, beneath his feet.
" You deserve my best, Salem. And while Storm-breaker is my normal weapon, there are two that I'm even better with." He claimed, while holding out his hands once more. Calling out to the weapons that the one who owned his heart held for him
(At the Schnee manor)
The group that had chosen to try and launch amity were now hiding out within Schnee manor, trying to evade Atlas forces looking for them to execute the warrants Ironwood had sent out for their arrest, and help Nora recover from overloading her sembelence.
'Thunk…'
Hearing a dull thump of wood, the group quickly ready themselves in preparation for combat, thinking it an enemy that snuck in.
'Thunk…'
"What is that?" Questioned Ruby, her precious scythe clutched in her hands, eyes searching for the thing making the noise.
'Thunk…'
" I don't know? I've never heard anything around here make that noise…" whispered Weiss, her own eyes searching for the source.
CRASH!
The door leading from upstairs crashed open with a fury, Willow Schnee flying down the stairs like an army of Grimm were on her heels.
"Mother, what are you?! " Squealed Weiss, shocked at the speed with which she was moving.
Willow didn't answer, she just rushed past in the general direction the noise was coming from. Sharing an exasperated look, the group followed her down a hallway, only to stop at a broken open door.
"Mothers private study? What could be making the noise in there?" Asked Whitley, having pursued them here, his curiosity of the noise leading him here. Weiss didn't know either, after all, they weren't allowed in mothers private study, no one was, not even Klein when he was still here was allowed into mothers study.
Walking in, the group found Willow trying desperately to open a large safe, a picture thrown against the wall haphazardly, muttering under her breath, her already shaky hands trembling further under her own anxiety and half-drunken stupor, trying desperately to spin in the safe combo, only for her hands to mess it up repeatedly.
"Mother…?" Weiss questioned, her own curiosity working its way up after having seen how desperate she was.
"I have to open it… he needs his tools… I have to help him… he needs me…" she muttered, before repeating her words again and again, scaring her two children, having never seen her behave like this. Blake, meanwhile, was moving over to the painting, looking to lean it against the wall so it wouldn't fall on anyone. It was heavier then it looked however, so she got Ruby to help her move it with her.
"Mother, stop!" Weiss spoke up, grabbing her mother and turning her to face her, only for her to recoil upon seeing the tears and despair on her face. Willow looked as if she was desperate to open the safe, like if she didn't her world would come crashing down around her.
"Weiss… Please sweetheart, help me… Help me save him! Help me save your father!" she asked, no begged her daughter for her help, holding her hands in her own.
"WHAT?! You hate Father! Why would you want to save him after everything he's done to us?!" Shouted Weiss, removing her hands from her mothers.
"Uhhhh…. Wiess? I don't think she was talking about Jacques…" Called Ruby, Blake, and Whitley both staring alongside her at the upturned and leaning portrait.
On it was an incredibly well done, hand-painted portrait of a much younger, much happier Willow Schnee, and an absolute behemoth of a smiling man. He was tall and broad, dressed in impeccable Atlas military dress uniform with a massive polar bear fur cloak over his shoulders. His hair gleamed like spun gold, while his eyes shone like blazing sapphires, a remarkably close shade to both Whitley's and Winter's own eyes. Willow was sat in his lap, his tree-trunks for arms wrapped around her waist, holding her close to him, protecting the woman in his lap. The woman, and her heavily pregnant belly.
"Weiss please, I promise, I'll explain everything after, to you, Winter, and Whitley. Just help me save your father first." Promised Willow, her hands taking Weiss' once more.
"…What's the number combonation?" she replied, stepping pass her mother and up to the safe, her hand on the dial.
"12, 15, 22, 5, 1, 14, 4, 20, 8, 21, 14, 4, 5, 18." Willow belted out, her voice steady and strong as she belted out the numbers.
Weiss quickly spun the dial as her mother belted out the numbers, grabbing the handle on the eighteen before pulling the door open. As she did, it opened to reveal a variety of weapons.
One was a beautifully decorated in gold and silver Bearded axe, a gorgeous serpent pattern formed on the side of the incredibly sharp blade from the gold and silver, flowing down over the beautifully carved wooden handle with gold inlays running the length of the handle.
The other was a short handled, large and heavy headed hammer with beautiful carvings over the surface of its head. The head was cradled by beautiful gold that flowed down to the handle, meeting firm, well wrapped and treated leather on the handle, which was capped off in another beautiful capstone of gold artistry.
As the door was opened, the hammer floated out, and flew around Willow, a light trilling noise emitting from the hammer as it did. While the axe let out a deep, sonorous tone. Willow, the whole time, merely smiled at the sight of the two tools.
"Hello you two." She spoke walking in to pick up the axe, while the hammer continued to float around her, trilling happily. Picking up the axe, she proceeded to break the window near the safe wide open with the axe head and then looked at it, and then turn to the hammer.
"Your master needs you two now. Return to him and bring him home to me." She commanded, before kissing the axe blade and hammers broad side, before throwing the axe as hard as she could, the axe flying off into the distance in spite of its size, the hammer following not far behind, shattering the remains of the window in the process.
Turning back too her two younger children, she sighed at seeing the looks on their faces. Right as she warmed up to explain herself, an alarm began to sound through the manor.
"Intruders…" She growled, before going back to the safe. Hidden in the back was a pair of thin, sheathed short swords. She quickly grabbed the two them and strapped the sheaths to her back before unsheathing the two blades.
"Thrungva, Mardöll. How I have missed you two." She declared before walking back out into the hallway. After a moment of stunned silence, the huntresses quickly followed after her, Weiss at the front of them. Whitley, meanwhile, remained behind, hearing a high pitched, gentle tinkling noise in the safe. Walking in, he spotted a short sword similar to one of his mothers, sitting in its sheath.
"Well, I suppose you have a name as well, huh?" he snorted, before picking it up out of idle curiosity. When he did, his eyes light up with inner light, greatly resembling the man in the paintings. He suddenly heard a light whisper in the back of his thoughts, repeating a name.
"Ingrid, hm? I think we can get along, how about you?"
A happy chirp and a feeling of security enveloped him. Whitley smiled in spite of himself.
"Yeah, me too."
(With the rest)
"Mother please, stay back, let us handle this! You are not a huntress; you could be hurt!" protested Weiss, following right behind her mother. The rest of the group followed her, leaving it up to Weiss to talk her mother down.
"Your right about one thing in that sentence, Weiss. I am no huntress." She declared, before entering the main hall of their home, where there were no less then twenty men and women armed with firearms, their faces covered completely.
"The Schnee are still here, we'll take them too. Their heads will fetch a high price. Kill the others." Called out the apparent leader, before a group began to approach them. the huntresses prepped themselves for battle, their weapons raised in their own defense.
"Hmhmhmhm… You dare?" came the low laugh and whisper of Willow, the skin on her hands White from how hard she was clenching the blades handles. "You dare to threaten my children and their friends, in front of me no less? Just for that, NONE OF YOU SURVIVE!"
Willow roared out before charging, shocking all around her. As she did a brilliant white Schnee glyph formed in front of her, which she charged clear through. When she emerged from the other side, no longer was she wearing an expensive white dress.
Now she wore an incredibly intricate and beautiful battle armor, golden scales on top of layered leather and steel. Golden plated gauntlets covered her hands, leading up to blue lightly plated and gold edged shoulder armor, golden chainmail covering the space in between. Her waist was covered by a plated battle skirt, golden scales covering the outer layer of the skirt. Her breastplate was a base of layered leather and steel, followed by golden scales, wrapped up with a red and blue vertically striped leather piece, the top connected to the rest of the armor with a metal Schnee family symbol. The lower legs were lightly plated and armored, obviously meant for high speed movement.
The part that shocked everyone else, however, were the beautiful, deep brown Hawk-styled Human-sized Wings emerging from her back, which she put to good use as she launched herself into the air, the dual blades in her hands lighting up, Thrungva in a bright yellow and green light, Mardöll in a bright purple, blue and pink light. When she came crashing down in the middle of them, she lashed out with blade and wing alike, the blades severing limbs and slicing carotid arteries with the greatest of ease, the wings lashing out and smashing bones and dashing skulls off of the floor, painting the clean white floor and walls a disturbing red. It was finished in under 20 seconds.
When the group was all dead, she turned back to her child and her friends. The looks of shock she received didn't surprise her. After all, she thought she'd never become her true self ever again. She had thought when her beloved had disappeared, her glory days were over. Now that he was back…
The time of the Valkyries return was near.
A harsh click filled the air in the silence of her slaughter, drawing the eyes of all in the home. The leader had somehow escaped Willow's slaughter, and had a gun drawn and pointed.
Right at his hostages head.
"Nora!" screeched Ruby, about to charge at the criminal holding her friend hostage with her semblance. Only for a bullet to hit the floor in front of her foot, nearly tripping her before she regained her balance.
"My semblance is precognition kid. I can glimpse into the future. Not for long, but long enough to change events, as necessary. I know every move you'll make, before you even make it." he clarified, before turning back to the Schnee matriarch. "Now, here's what's going to happen. I'm going to walk out that door, in exchange for giving up this girl. I don't want to kill her, but if any of you take a single step closer or make any moves to double cross me, I'll blow a new hole in her head before you can kill me. What's it going to be?"
Before anyone could answer, a blue and white blur flew past them, lead by a single golden blur. Suddenly, the criminals arm dropped, cut clean off at the elbow. A blade quickly stabbed him clean through the back, grabbing Nora and pulling her away before taking his head off.
"That only works on those you can see clearly, right? How about me, Sebastian? Could you see me?" Came a younger mans voice.
"Whitley?!" screeched Willow, shocked at the speed her younger brother just casually used. "How in the name of our grandfather did you move that fast?"
" That would be Ingrid here, dear sister!" Replied Whitley, setting Nora down on a lounge chair for her friends to check on.
"And just how did you know about his name and semblance, Whitley?" Questioned Willow, her eyes misty at seeing her brothers sword being used so well and so gracefully. Her older brother William would be so proud of her little boy, never mind his father!
"That scum Jacques had this one on hand as a 'Fixer' as it were. He had his name and semblance on file." Replied Whitley, kicking the body at his feet when he did so. "When I was named heir, he began introducing me to his less-then-legal business associates and had me memorize their names and semblances in order to make maximum use of them."
"Well, something he did actually worked out for us. Even a broken clock is right twice a day I suppose." Sighed out Willow, hating beyond anything that Jacques did something useful to them, but he did, and they took advantage of it. End of story.
" Mother, if you wouldn't mind, small request really, but what the hell are you wearing?!" questioned Whitley, before a sheathed sword crashed over the back of his head, making reach up to grab it in pain.
"Watch your mouth, you little brat. I'm still your mother, and I dislike you using that kind of language." Uttered Willow, her eyes narrowed into a glare that they had never seen on their mothers face before. It quickly made both of her children straighten up, feeling an intense fear they hadn't felt before.
Mothers displeasure.
Horrifying thing really.
Especially when your mother is a Valkyrie.
"Yes mother" muttered both siblings, each knowing now was not the time to displease her.
"Good, now as to what I'm wearing, it's what I wear when I'm actually being, well, me. The willow you've known is a… watered down version of me. It was a cover made to keep Jacques blind to what was actually going on around here. Including your conceptions." She explained, having a hard time putting it in to words exactly what was going on here.
"Watered down? More like liquored up…" Muttered Whitley, before his mother pinched his cheek and pulled him over, making them realize how tall she actually was when she wasn't shrunk in on herself. She stood heads over them, being well over six feet tall.
"You definitely inherited your uncles cheek; I'll give you that you little brat. That and your fathers propensity to irritate me with his foolishness." She warned, holding his cheek for a moment longer before letting go.
"So, who are you really mother? Who is behind the mask?" asked Weiss, curious of this new side of her mother. Seeing her mother smile, she knew she asked the right question.
"Who am I?" she repeated before flaring her wings out to their full 20-foot wingspan, leaving her children and guests in awe.
"I am Willow Schnee, only daughter of Nicholas Schnee, wife consort to the Atlesian god of thunder, your mother, finest female warrior Atlas has produced in 40 years, and last but certainly not least, Queen of the Valkyries!"
AND SCENE! WOW, 4K in a day! Not bad! This one just worked today, don't know why. But it was fun! Especially the Schnee family scenes. So much bloodshed. And yes, Willow is Freya from Ragnarök, but this time her Children are alive, and she'll fight to Hel and back to keep them that way. Fear the mama bear Valkyrie! She is wearing her queens armor, the one you get after Gna (Fuck that Bitch). She definitely lives up to it as well, for most people, it's completely out of the question for anyone to fight her solo, she's way too dangerous. Only Salem, Ozma, Naruto, and fully realized maidens can risk fighting her solo, otherwise you better have one hell of a numbers advantage.
Anyway, in other news imma shamelessly plug myself now. I recently started streaming on twitch! My name there is Hadradajust, if you got a twitch account and feel like supporting me, drop a follow and hop into stream every now and then to chill. I mostly play single player survival games and story driven games, due to mediocre internet right now, but I hope to play some multiplayer survival soon if I can get a better I.S.P. thanks for your time!
So, if you liked the story, leave a comment! It always helps me to read some positive reviews and constructive criticisms are always helpful. Any flamers will be used to cook well-done steaks for the hunters of Bherna village, the Soaratorium, Astera, Seliana, Kamura village and Elgado outpost. Keep your stamina up folks!