Ruby and the others have now led Apollo into the village, him immediately destroying each building and everything else in sight with the speed of his newly showcased flight. Blake and Oscar got to work evacuating as many innocent people as possible while the others confronted Apollo. Jaune attempts to strike him numerous times with Crocea Mors, only for him to take each and every blow unfazed.
"What are you?" He asked as Apollo delivered a sweeping kick with his right foot, lifting him off his feet as he spun around with his tail, kicking Jaune's center mass with both legs.
Weiss immediately rushed to his aid, ricocheting herself off of several of her Glyphs. Apollo evades each strike of her rapier before grabbing the blade of the weapon in his left hand. It snaps in two with one squeeze, causing Weiss to gasp.
He gives her a brutal knee to her stomach before knocking her to the ground with his hands cupped together.
"Little girls shouldn't play with knives." He chuckled, picking her up by the neck with his tail.
Before he can constrict, Ruby aggressively swings Crescent Rose across his chest, making him release her as she unleashes another flurry of attacks on him that he nearly effortlessly blocks.
"How could you?! I thought you were my friend! I trusted you!" Ruby shouted as Apollo conjured a ball of blue energy in his left palm. He tosses it right at Ruby's weapon, causing it to fly out of her hands as he lunges towards her, kicking her in the chest.
"I could say the same thing to you. Siding with that witch Branwen over me! I thought you'd be wise enough to stand at my side. For that you will perish like the traitor you are." Apollo spouted back scornfully, jumping on her with his knee. She screams in pain as Jaune sprints towards him.
"That's enough!" The Rusted Knight shouted
Apollo quickly flies at him, violently punching him right in the stomach, shattering his armor in that area. He spat out blood before receiving a blow to the head from his tail. Jaune swore he could hear his bones break from this.
"C'mon you can do better than that boy. I expected more from the Rusted Knight!" Apollo exclaimed before feeling shards of ice strike his back. He jolts around to see a battered Weiss, Glyph formed behind her as Ruby sped past her with Petal Burst towards the brute.
They grasped one another's hands tightly as they attempted to overpower the other. Ruby jumps up, kicking him hard in the chin with her right boot. His head only moved slightly upwards as he smirks.
He then throws her right into Weiss, sending the both of them to the ground. He creates two blue energy balls in his hands, laughing psychotically once more as he runs towards the two.
Yang and Lefteris are currently locked in an evenly matched fight, him now using a Claymore blade from one of his defeated soldiers. Raven still remained on her knees, completely silent and near motionless.
"Why do you protect her? After she had abandoned you, her own child before she was even old enough to know the difference? It's truly mind boggling" He asked, viciously swinging the blade at Yang.
"Because for so long I had let that drive my path. I wasted half my fucking life searching for her. Then after I nearly got myself and my sister killed, I learned the hard way to not let my feelings of emptiness and abandonment control me. Unlike some people" She replied, blocking the blade with her metal arm before pushing him back.
"Then you just accepted defeat! I refuse to do that!" Lefteris shouted as he sent her back with a surprisingly forceful side kick.
"Revenge isn't the answer Delphi! What makes you think killing us is gonna make anything better? You're only sowing the seeds to your own destruction." Yang said
"Because you foolish girl, you have absolutely no idea what we went through, how much Apollo and I hated your mother. When he was a boy and discovered his Semblance, the doctors quickly informed her of his unnatural power."
"No more discussion, I want his son executed immediately. Raven said to Vernal, sharpening her blade as she sat in her hut. A man shoves the sheets out of his way as he comes in.
"Ah Lefteris? I didn't ask for you." Raven said, annoyed
"Madam, please have mercy on the boy!" He said, raising his voice as two of Raven's bandits held him in place.
"He could be a great help to our people and to our tribe! Please he's just a child he could grow up to be your finest warrior!" Lefteris pleaded as he wrestled around in the men's grip.
"That's exactly what I'm worried about. One day that power of his will end up driving him completely insane. I'm sorry Lefteris, I don't want to do it but this is what has to be done. That's final!" Raven said, holding Omen's handle.
"You filthy, heartless whore!" Lefteris yelled, breaking free from the two burly men as he lunged at her. She promptly draws her blade, stabbing him in the left side of his stomach. The blade protruded from his back, covered in blood as she quickly drew it out. He collapses on the ground, beginning to lose consciousness.
"So what do we do now?" Vernal asked
"Load him on that Bullhead we nabbed." Raven responded, the last thing he had heard before blacking out.
"She had us thrown out like garbage, trapped inside the Grimm infested deserts of Vacuo. Fortunately, Apollo's latent power manifested and we managed to escape. From that moment on, I lived only for revenge. Which especially applies to her daughter. You will now have to experience the pain and fear we endured for so long, and then you will die." Lefteris spoke maliciously
Yang gives him a horrified and sympathetic look as the two exchange more blows. She fires several of her flechettes at him, promptly detonating them, causing him to spin around in the air before landing to the ground.
"Nice tricks" He said, rising back up as he swung his sword to the right. "But they will not save you."
He slashes at her several more times, evading most of her punches as kicks as he chipped away at her Aura.
"You're bound to have run out by now. I'm gonna take my time with you my dear." Lefteris spoke, the most evil, monstrous, sinister smile Yang had ever seen on anyone's face as he dragged his sword along the ground.
"You should feel honored Yang, you're going to be the first one to get it." Lefteris said, raising his sword up, preparing to strike.
Before he can swing, he feels a powerful object hit him square in the face, the object feeling like a boot as he falls to the ground, his Aura breaking as he falls unconscious.
Yang looks up to see her uncle Qrow, dressed in gray combat boots, torn blue jeans, and a camel colored long coat with crosses on the arms below the shoulders, a black casual button down dress shirt underneath.
"Hey Firecracker, hope I ain't too late." He said, holding Harbinger's handle still on his back.
"Just in the nick of time." She told him, smiling as she reloaded Ember Celica..
"Raven filled me in on everything. I could feel this guy's power as soon as I got within the village limits. We're not just fighting any ordinary bad guy, we're fighting a monster." Qrow said, shackling Lefteris' arms behind his back.
"Yeah you're telling me, we gotta help the others." Yang said
"Right, Raven get up we gotta go!" Qrow spoke, raising his voice.
"He's going to kill all of us. This is a fight we can't win." Raven spoke in a heavily frightened tone, causing Qrow to stomp over to her. He grabs her gently but firmly by the hair, moving her head up to him.
"What the hell are you doing?! Why don't you stop whining like a baby and fight like a Huntress!" Qrow shouted
"Why? There's no point, Apollo's unbeatable" Raven trembled
"You call yourself the leader of the Branwen tribe!" Qrow spoke, disbelief lacing his tone as he walked away from her.
"C'mon let's go" He said, morphing into his Crow form as Yang followed, looking back at her mother. Never in her life had she ever thought Raven of all people would be scared shitless of this one guy. Not even the war with Salem had horrified her this bad.
The others were locked in a one sided battle with Apollo. Everyone was beaten and bloodied but they had refused to back down. Ruby, Oscar and Blake unleash a flurry of coordinated attacks on him while Jaune heals Weiss.
"How are we supposed to defeat this guy? Nothing we can throw at him is working. Not even Stier was this powerful" Weiss cried as most of her wounds disappeared.
"Your guess is as good as mine. But we'll find a way, we always do." Jaune replied, his face hopeful
"If we get through this we need a vacation. I'd love for us to canoe across the river for a long while."
"Yeah me too." He said, the two of them smiling lovingly at one another as they rejoined the fight.
Oscar pokes him repeatedly with The Long Memory all around his blocking arms, abs and legs. Apollo only responds by chuckling briefly from each blow before grabbing Oscar by the face, tossing him into a nearby grocery store, creating even more damage to the building.
"Looks like ol farmboys' become flyboy!" Apollo shouted
Jaune tosses his shield right at him, hitting him against the nape of his neck as he and Weiss stand by the others. Ruby turns around after hearing the sounds of Yang's weapons firing.
"Apollo we will not let you destroy this Kingdom!" Jaune said
"Uncle Qrow, finally!" Ruby exclaimed as the two joined their side.
"Hey kiddo, glad I could make it in time." Qrow said to her after reforming.
Apollo bares his teeth as he grinned, analyzing this new plaything.
"Another Branwen has come to get squashed. Do you all really believe you have the strength to beat me?!" Apollo asked, almost laughing.
"Apollo, you surprised me. I guess you won the first round." Ruby said, catching her breath as she gave him a cocky grin.
"But now it's time for round two." Yang said as she charged him, her right fist raised as she ran.
Apollo beats everyone back as effortlessly as a rock traveling through the stream. He and Yang exchange several punches and kicks before he rams her to the ground. Ruby and Qrow, both their respective weapons in Scythe mode leap into the air, about to perform an overhead move. He quickly jolts back as they hit the ground, the earth underneath their blades cracking.
Ruby charges at Apollo, rage streamed across her face as she calmly but ruthlessly swipes at him with Crescent Rose. He is briefly forced on the defensive, blocking an attack with with tail. Unfortunately for him, she manages to slice the top half of his tail clean off.
Apollo shouted in pain as blue blood poured out of the fleshy stump. He stares at her, growling as he gritted his teeth. As the others prepared to swarm him, he began to produce sounds of pain as he stood in place. Humorously to Qrow it sounded like he was taking a massive dump. The stump began to pulsate as it bursted open, the half that Ruby had cut off having grown back completely. A blue slimy substance had covered the regrown tail as it dripped onto the ground.
"Holy shit are you kidding me? No fair!" Yang said
"Damn it! You have any idea how fuckin painful it is to regrow a tail? Im gonna make you regret that Ruby, I swear it." Apollo said
Wasting no time, Qrow rushes him, Harbinger now in sword form as he jumped in the air. Apollo counters by flicking his tail at Qrow, stopping his attack before spinning himself around with his hands, kicking him with both feet, causing him to spin briefly in the air before landing.
Weiss and Yang both rush him as well, with their respective abilities. Apollo then enters a football player style run, hitting them both with his massive arms as he kicks Qrow into the air. He promptly produces an Aura ball in his right hand, blasting him in the stomach and sending him plummeting into a small shack near where Raven was sitting.
Raven seemed to take no notice at this as she continued to stare off into space, pondering her fate. Qrow, now covered in nasty bruises and beaten to high hell looked over to see his sister still sitting this out. He transformed into his corvid form as he quickly flies over to her, reforming back into his human state.
"We have to escape, this is a fight we can't win." Raven cried as Qrow's stance became angrier.
"It doesn't matter if we escape or not. If we don't kill him right now, he's going to destroy all of Remnant!"
"But there's no stopping him! With his ability to channel his Aura there's no telling how strong he is."
"He ain't invincible Raven, I've seen how he blocks Ruby's attacks. He has a weakness, everything has!" Qrow shouted, clenching his fists.
"It's pointless, there's no defeating him." Raven weakly replied
"You can't be serious! I don't believe how cowardly you're acting Raven! Just leave this battle to the true warriors." Qrow said, shifting into Crow form as he flies off.
"Why? Why do they all continue to fight in vain?" Raven thought to herself