Wow.
Apparently, MeteoriteCreature messaged me, and told me that you guys want my character in their Battles Between Two series.
Somebody pinch me.
EDIT: So I've decided to change some things. While I was looking through some of my files, I saw some bits of a prototype of this chapter I'd written a long time ago. Reading through it and comparing it with this version, I liked the older writing better, so I've changed a few things. It's a bit longer now, so if you felt short-changed with the brevity of this chapter, then I hope this makes up for it.
Chapter 41: Monster
Even amidst all the chaos, I was a million miles away, watching in horror as Grimm continued to pour out of the hole that the derailed train had created in Vale's central plaza. Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang had all leapt into the fray, drawing the Grimm's attention away from civilians and towards themselves. They yelled out in determination, alerting each other to approaching threats they either did not see, or could not counter. They were working as a cohesive unit, one perfectly suited for this kind of chaos.
I just felt my arms hang limply at my sides, my left arm still feeling cripplingly unencumbered, thanks to the lack of an intact weapon. But nevertheless, I had a duty. And like it or not, I'd have to fight.
"…rrel, come on!"
I fell back into reality, only now becoming aware of Blake yelling at me. I shook my head, and rushed forwards through the debris, towards the centre square. Firing an explosive arrow from my remaining Basilisk, I crouched on top of it, and leapt up as it exploded, propelling me to the central platform. Ruby, Weiss, and Yang had already leapt to that location, facing down the sea of monsters that surrounded them, while Blake appeared shortly before I landed heavily.
The air was tense with anticipation, as the Grimm prowled around us. We refused to make the first move, for that would be suicide. However, the Grimm seemed to have the same idea. For what seemed like an eternity, the Grimm looked up to us, as if waiting for a perfect moment.
A roar from the Taijitu looking down on us from its coiled body must have been the signal, as the Grimm began to rush forwards, fangs bared.
"Okay, I can do this, I can do this…"
A lizard Grimm leapt up in front of me, snapping its jaws at my ankles. But with a quickly fired arrow, the monster was pinned in place by its tail. As it howled in pain, I ran forwards, and unsheathed my remaining blade, driving it into the creature's neck. It gurgled, as blood and bile began to flood into its lungs, before collapsing.
A roar from behind caught my attention, but I had no time to react, before a heavy paw slammed into my side, sending me flying away. I couldn't even yell in terror before my airborne body impacted into the side of a car, warping the metal. Falling onto my knees and elbows, I took a quick glance at my Scroll, seeing the damage that hit had inflicted.
Fortunately, I still had about two thirds of a full gauge of Aura, more than enough to stay alive until reinforcements would undoubtedly arrive. Getting to my feet, I clutched my side with my weapon-less arm, and flicked my blade into a pincer.
The Ursa that had hit me growled, before pouncing forwards and standing upright, its girth casting a shadow over my body. It wound up its arm for another solid punch, and let it fly. I just weaved underneath it, and caught the beast's wrist in my pincer, beginning to squeeze tightly. The creature howled in pain, and tried to shake me off, but I still held on tightly.
But what I had not anticipated was the creature's free paw, reaching down to grab my ankles and hoist me upwards. The world spun around as I left terra firma, to be held upside down by this creature. The Ursa pulled, and pulled, but all its actions accomplished were my pincer blades slicing deeper and deeper into its arm.
The pain was immense, as I felt my torso try to pull back against the stretching. Most of my Aura was quickly draining away from the pain. Unless I did something, then my Aura would deplete, and I'd be torn apart.
Clenching my fist, I felt the pincer slice cleanly through the Ursa's arm, with a shower of dark red blood pouring from the newly opened wound in its arm. The creature howled in pain, and threw me aside. I felt the last of my aura deplete as I heard the shattering of glass, and felt the trickle of blood sliding down my skin, as the storefront window fragmented into pieces, one of which buried itself into my shoulder. The sharp pain made me gasp, as I instinctively reached for it, and yanked it out, blood leaking from the wound almost immediately.
"Oww…" I hissed in pain, trying to stop the bleeding. Hearing a roar, I looked up to see the one-handed Ursa making its way towards the shop I had crashed into. Without another thought, I dove behind a counter, and tried to still my breathing. From my hiding place, I heard snorts, as the Ursa tried to sniff me out. It wouldn't take much: the storefront didn't contain many hiding places, and sooner or later, the smell of blood would give me away.
Looking around, my eyes fell on a chequebook, which had fallen to the ground when I hid behind the counter. Fingering it, I snuck a glance over the counter, seeing that the Ursa was still looking for me. Fortunately, it wasn't looking directly at me. If I could distract it for even a moment, it might give me a chance. I shut my eyes, and flung the book over my hiding place, hearing it clatter. The Ursa growled, and I could feel its heavy stomps lumbering towards the disturbance. It began to sniff again, so I decided to chance it. Quietly edging past the counter, I tiptoed away back to the store window, hoping to escape before the Grimm learned that I was in the open.
But as I gingerly lifted one leg over the window frame, I heard a familiar squealing growing louder and louder. Looking out to the street, I only caught a glimpse of some sort of projectile rocketing towards me, before I was launched back into the store, my inner thigh slicing open over the glass shards. I hit the wall with a grunt, and felt the hard floor on my face. The projectile that had hit me unfolded into an all too familiar creature.
A Boarbatusk.
I remembered back in my first class with Professor Port, how the Boarbatusk he had intended to pit against Weiss had broken loose, and attempted to kill me. I still remembered the holes in the walls I had punched it through, back when my Semblance had first activated. But with an Ursa alongside it, albeit one missing a paw, I doubted that I could repeat that incident.
The Ursa strode forwards, and wound an arm back, in an attempt to crush me. I rolled to the side, and got on one knee, my weapon held aloft, ready for battle. The Boarbatusk squealed, before charging forwards, its bony trotter's clip-clopping on the hard floor. Unfolding a crossbow, I span the drum on my elbow, seeing the image of an electric bolt appear. I took aim, and fired, watching the arrow strike the Boarbatusk in the nose, which immediately sparked with a high amount of voltage. The Boarbatusk whined, and deviated from its path slightly, crashing into a shelf next to me. Without thinking, I thrust my free palm onto the dazed creature, and felt its power rush into me.
However, once I had done so, I immediately felt sick. Maybe because I had copied a Grimm's ability, rather than a humans, it had a different kind of effect. As I retched violently, the Ursa lumbered up to me, and slammed the back of its paw into my face, sending me flying again. But this time, I could counterattack. Curling up into a foetal position mid-flight, I tumbled over and over in mid-air, feeling my back bounce off of the wall, as I began a destructive path in the enclosed space, like a ricocheting bullet. I didn't even bother to look at what was unfolding around me, as it would simply be a blur.
After a few seconds of rebounding, I heard the Ursa growl angrily, and felt its paw slam into my side again, knocking me out of my curled position, and sending me flying back out into the street. The asphalt scraped quite a lot of skin off of my body, turning most of my arm red. I sat up, groaning in pain at my injuries, only to see a pack of Beowolves slowly approaching me, their mouths slobbering. I tried to stand, but only got as far as one knee before I collapsed. I looked down to my feet, to see that one of my kneecaps was misaligned. Only now did I feel the immense pain that flooded into my leg.
Grimacing in agony, I looked to my scroll, only to see a warning message.
AURA IS DEPLETED. EXIT COMBAT IMMEDIATELY.
That wasn't an option. Even though reinforcements had arrived, with robotic soldiers gunning down any Grimm they could see, and team CFVY destroying any others remaining in the square, the crowd surrounding me went unnoticed. In a last act of defiance, I raised my arm up, and prepared to fire an arrow at one of the creatures. I didn't know what arrow it would be, and I didn't care. I had to defend myself somehow.
But it mattered little, as one of the Beowolves lunged forwards, and sank its jaws into the gauntlet. The weapon crunched and deformed in the monsters mouth, until a useless piece of mangled metal was all that remained. Using my free hand, I let a punch fly into the Grimm's nose, causing it to howl, and swipe a claw at me, slashing through my tunic and opening three fresh cuts on my chest. I crawled backwards, my dislocated kneecap jabbing agonizingly into the pavement, until my rucksack slammed against a nearby wall. The Beowolves only prowled forward, as if waiting for me to make another move.
Fear flooding my system, and with both weapons ruined, I only had one other choice.
The Fragment.
Hands shaking, I reached into my rucksack, and pulled out the gemstone, looking at it in my hands. Before I could stop myself, I pressed it to my chest, pushing it with all my might. For a few moments, the Fragment was in my hand, then it was gone, absorbed into my body directly.
The sudden rush of power was indescribable. All I could feel was my energy beginning to spike and grow higher than I even thought possible. I only recalled seeing a Beowolf cower in what seemed to be fear, before I blacked out.
It was over.
The Breach had been sealed, and the remaining Grimm were routed. All that remained was alerting the populace that the incursion was over. But why did something not feel right?
"Oh, I can't believe that you caught me, you've really taught me the error of my ways."
Torchwick had been found buried in the rubble of the train, and was now being carted away by a squad of Atlesian Knights to a waiting Bullhead. One of them had a firm grip on his arm.
"He-hey, watch the hat." He complained, before the Bullhead roared loudly, and ascended into the sky. We watched him go, with relief in our hearts. Hopefully, that was the last we would see of him.
"Alright, team! So now what?" Ruby asked. I looked around, trying to find a face in the crowd. But nothing stuck out.
"Hey, where's Darrel gone?" I asked. Ruby looked around, and dashed off in a flurry of rose petals, Zwei right behind her, nipping at her heels. I'll admit, all signs of Grimm had disappeared, so we didn't have a reason to worry. But even so, I had this sick feeling. As if something awful was going to happen soon. Worse than the Grimm assault.
"Arf! Arf!"
Zwei's yapping caught my attention, and we all dashed over to the source of the noise. He was standing by an alley, dark and gritty. As Ruby picked up the little guy, I decided to take a chance, and began to walk down cautiously, Ember Celica at the ready. Right as I passed by a dumpster, I heard something odd.
"…hrrr…grrr…"
Pumping my arms and forcing another round into my gauntlets, I listened carefully for the sound. Did a Grimm survive? Keeping alert, I heard the sound once again.
"…grrrr…get…"
No, it couldn't be a Grimm. Which left only one possibility…
Rounding the corner, a massive hole in the wall greeted me, leading to a garage with a half-crushed car lying on its side, resting against the wall. The growling was coming from underneath the car. Curious, I slowly made my way across the stone floor, trying not to make a sound. Finally reaching the twisted metal, I looked underneath the wreck to see an uncomfortable sight.
Darrel, bruised, battered, and bloodied, writhing about in obvious pain.
"Darrel? You okay?" I asked gently, trying not to scare him any further. He looked at me, his eyes glossy and unfazed, but somehow still seeing. His mouth moved, but I couldn't make out the words.
"…"
He was still growling, and he seemed to be in pain. Trying to lift the metal pinning him there, I felt a hand close over my arm. I looked at him, and he tried to speak again.
"…get…out…"
Was he telling me to get out? What for? Why would he want me to leave him? Ignoring him, I continued to try and lift the metal
"I'm not leaving you here, D. You'll be okay. Come on!" I grunted, still trying. What was this car made of?!
"…not for…me…for you…"
For me? Why would abandoning him be for me? But the answer soon came to me, as he started to snarl like a feral dog.
"…too many…inside me…"
Too many inside? What was he talking about? He needed medical help, now!
*KRREEAK*
The car twisted, and crumpled in on itself, like a piece of paper being scrunched up into a ball. But the weird thing was, it seemed to be doing it by itself. As if… telekinesis? As the metal orb crunched one final time, it flew to the wall, where it impacted with a fearful bang, buried in a crater. Darrel looked one last time at me, his eyes filled with regret.
"Can't… control… too… much dark… run…"
He looked away, as he writhed in pain. Darrel was now standing, his eyes and mouth aglow with a gleam that changed colour faster than I could blink. His muscles swelled, even beyond what anybody would think was physically possible, tearing his upper clothes to shreds. His hair became a raging inferno of coloured fire, and his veins glowed with a similar sheen. But his eyes were the most terrifying: they changed from a clear sky blue to a demonic red, while the whites became pure black, like a Grimm.
This young man was now a monster. A monster that made me - me, Yang Xiao Long, thrill seeker and fearless warrior - feel small and weak. Like all those years ago, when Uncle Qrow saved us. Only this time, there would be no saviour. I should have listened to him.
"GRRRRAAAAAGHH!" Darrel let out a bellowing roar that shook the whole world, right as Ruby, Weiss and Blake entered.
"What the Grimm is that thing?!" Weiss yelled over the din. Blake turned to her.
"Whatever it is, it's a major threat! We need to contain it!" She yelled. Ruby gripped her scythe tight.
"Yang, get away from that thing!" She yelled. I looked back to the beast, and saw that he was about to crush me with a double ax swing. I leapt back, right as his two enormous fists slammed onto the ground, creating massive cracks in the stone. Ruby slammed the blade of Crescent Rose into the floor, ready to fire. I stood in front of her, hands aloft.
"Yang, what are you doing?!" She yelled. I just shook my head, and grabbed the three of them, sprinting back to the square, dragging them along.
"Yang, what in blazes are you doing?!" Weiss screeched, wrestling her arm away from my grip as we hit the square. I turned to look at her.
"That's not a monster, that's Darrel! Something's gone really weird, we need to try and fix it!" I yelled at her. The others said nothing, only nodded in understanding. But it was short-lived, as the buildings cracked, and began to crumble, as Darrel burst from the alley, reducing the cramped walls to dust. He threw his arms down, and screeched loudly.
"Fox! Velvet! Distract it!"
Coco had yelled out to her teammates, and the two agile fighters charged towards the monster. But they barely had the chance to touch him, as he swiped his arm at the ground, sending them flying away. Fox caught Velvet in midair, and came crashing backfirst into the ground, plowing through it like a torpedo. As Fox and Velvet attempted to untangle themselves, Coco unveiled her minigun once again, while Yatsuhashi sprinted to Darrel, a punch ready.
Darrel merely caught it in his flaming palm, and delivered a punch of his own, which was caught in Yatsuhashi's enormous hand. As they struggled, Coco tried to line up a shot on him. But I remembered the damage that she had wrought on most of the remaining Grimm earlier. If she hit Darrel, he'd be torn to shreds. I ran towards her, gripping the gun as she was spooling the barrels up.
"Hey! What are you doing?!" She yelled, trying to get the weapon under control.
"That's not a Grimm, that's my boyfriend! Something's wrong with him!" I yelled. Coco, obviously not believing me, swung the gun, still trying to reclaim control. A few rounds erupted from the barrels, aimed at the sky. As we struggled, I heard Darrel yell, and a massive smack erupted from him and Yatsuhashi, before he came sliding through the ground, knocking Coco off her feet. Looking back at Darrel, I realized that the gunfire must have distracted Yatsuhashi, causing Darrel to gain the upper hand. As the remaining military androids took position and began to fire on him, he howled, and slammed a double axe swing into the ground, causing a tremor to shake the ground, resulting in the mechanical soldiers to shake and try to steady themselves. But while they were occupied, Darrel reared an arm back, and a black orb, with purple spikes enveloped his fist. Using the Morningstar, he slammed it on the head of one mech, crushing it to pieces, and creating a shockwave that destroyed several more. Weiss and Blake jumped over the ripple, along with some other combatants.
Looking at my scroll, I could only see Darrel's status screen was going haywire, the meter spiking and receding at a ridiculous pace, and his bio-readings returning only as static. But a warning message quickly flashed onscreen told me everything I needed to know.
ALLY'S AURA IS INCREASING. THRESHOLD LIMIT APPROACHING.
The threshold limit... if that was broken, then Vale would be lost anyway. I'd heard legends of the threshold limit being the maximum amount of Aura one person could contain. If that limit were to be broken... that energy needed a release. And it would do so violently. But with the rate Darrel's Aura was climbing, there wouldn't even be a Vale to save. The explosion could destroy the entire kingdom. Worse, if it grew any further, not even the other kingdoms would be safe from the detonation. Shutting my scroll, I looked to Darrel, who was starting to glow, and become more wild in his movements. If this didn't stop soon, we'd all be a pile of ash. Trying to hold back the urge to let myself cry, I turned to Ruby, who was the only one still standing beside me.
"Listen, you need to buy me some time. I have an idea." I ordered.
"But Yang…!"
"Trust me!" I snapped, before dashing away. If this thing was Darrel…
Then I'd need to get him out of there, and fast.
Darkness.
That was all I saw. An endless abyss of a void. No stars, no light, nothing to prove that I wasn't endlessly falling. You see, I've always had this intense fear of an endless abyss, with nothing to indicate walls, floor, or ceiling. Fear began to well up in my gut, and my stomach lurched.
bOy.
A voice, but unlike any I had ever heard before. I could definitively say that it was a female voice, one that seemed to ring in the back of my mind, but I could barely identify it, before a dark light flashed in front of me, nearly blinding me. Shielding my eyes from the light, I saw what appeared to be a rush of events. Past? Present? Future? Who could say?
YOu fOoLIsh yOuTH. yOU tOuCH a POweR FaR bEyOnd yOur cOmprEHenSIoN. yOu cANnOt sToP THe reCKOniNG.
Doing my best to ignore the sotto voice, I looked forward to the light, trying to understand what was playing in front of me.
Panicked civilians fleeing the streets of an unknown city.
Hordes of monsters charging headlong down a street, mauling anyone unfortunate enough to be in their way.
A severed arm dissipating into the wind.
A light fading from existence, as some kind of creature rose behind it.
An autumn leaf blowing away in the wind, tattered and shredded.
And finally, from that leaf, a dazzling blast of silver light emitting from an unknown source.
YoUR eNd iS nIGh, tErrAN. aND wHEn yOu iNEviTaBlY fALl, kNoW tHaT tHE cAUse oF My ViCToRy iS nOt sOldIeRs, nOR weAPoNs…
…
IT IS YOU.
The light faded, surrounding me in darkness once again. The horrifying visuals continued to flash in my brain, but all other senses were deadened. But it didn't matter, as I only focused on one singular thought in my mind.
The world would soon end.
But by whose hand, I could not say.
"Keep firing!"
The monster in the streets had made it's way to the centre square, and was ravaging anyone unfortunate enough to get in its way. Most of the present Hunters and Huntresses, and the surviving Atlesian Knights had begun to engage the monster. As for me, I had a clear view overhead, as I had jumped onto a nearby Bullhead, ordering the pilot to fly over the carnage. I only had one chance at this.
Darrel was inside that monster.
Time to take a leaf out of his playbook.
Exhaling, I slammed a fist on a button, forcing the door to open. The wind in my hair would usually be exhilarating, but this wasn't a usual occurrence. Closing my eyes, and inhaling, I lifted my foot from the solid metal, and tumbled out of the jet, angling myself so that I was looking down at Darrel. The monster roared, and looked upwards, finally seeing me. Flipping forwards, I fired both of my gauntlets, striking the creature in the nose and the right eye, the rounds burning into the creatures flesh. It roared, an unholy sound of terror, one that was soon silenced, as I passed the creature's tongue, and passed down into the dark abyss into it's chest.
Through the horrifyingly foul-smelling innards, Darrel was somewhere in this creature. And I'd get him out, or die trying.
It was a black void inside this creature. Like it was just darkness taking physical form, and rampaging blindly. But in the abyss, I saw a hint of pale pink floating limply. Firing my gauntlets to boost myself to him, I grabbed his limp form...
and hugged him.
"Darrel... come back to me. Please." I whispered.
He stirred feebly in my arms, groaning softly, before wrapping his arms around me. His chest pressing against mine, I felt a small bump materializing from his body. Reaching for it, I felt only a small crystal.
"the fragment... take it... please..."
I didn't need to be told twice. Gripping the object, I yanked it out hard, hearing Darrel's flesh tear from it's removal. Looking at it, I recognized it as the same crystal had shown me the morning of our initiation. A bright light caught my attention, enveloping me in a blinding flash. Before I could yell, I felt myself flying through the cool air, landing hard on the tarmac. Blinking my eyes free from the harsh glare, my sight immediately lay on the monster in front of me. But it was no longer fighting.
With a hideous gagging noise, the monster clutched at its chest, and began to shrink in size. Smaller and smaller it became, until it was double the size of Darrel. The flesh of the monster began to slough off, dripping down like a gooey liquid, until Darrel, bare chested and kneeling limply, rested in the puddle of blackness. Not caring about anything else, I dashed to him, and cradled his body, his skin feeling like ice against my still-burning hands. The black marks on his face had vanished, but he was still pale. He opened his eyes, and raised a weak arm.
"Ya-ang…?" His voice was barely above a whisper, and his arm almost collapsed. But I understood what he wanted, and softly took his hand, pressing it against my cheek.
"Shh, it's okay. You're safe." I whispered, feeling hot tears rush down my face. Darrel smiled, before going limp.
I don't know how long I stayed there holding his comatose body. All I really remember was trying to shove paramedics away, and the blare of ambulance sirens, as he was taken away. I got to ride with him, though. As it should be.
As it would always be.
True, it's not my best work, but at this point, I'll take what I can get.
Anyway, time for a binge-watch of Season 3!