Chapter 31: Finale
Disclaimer: I do not in any way or form own Gate: Thus the JSDF Fought There or RWBY. They belong to their respective owners, Takumi Yanai and RoosterTeeth Animations respectively.
A/N: I understand that it's been a while since I updated this. The short version: I lost interest, got sidetracked, and never came back. Sorry. But I still had some drafts lying around, so I decided to quickly stick the rest of it together, just to give this story a proper ending. So yes, this will be the final chapter of this story.
"Fire at will," Winter had commanded, and the Atlesian forces had done just that. Without a need to communicate the plan, the majority of the guns available had simultaneously been aimed at the flying half-Grimm, half-dragon monstrosity and their full firepower unleashed.
The resulting explosions had knocked it straight out of the sky, and completely disintegrated whatever unfortunate lesser Grimm got caught in the way.
A cheer rang out, but the battle was not over. Although the dragon had fallen, the other Grimm poured forth.
The robotic forces took the brunt of the Grimm's first attack. The AK-200s and some outdated AK-130s had been sent to the front lines, saving countless lives. Their fully automatic gunfire cut down swathes of the fast but fragile Beowolves and Creeps before they themselves were clawed or torn apart.
Nevertheless, they stemmed the tide, sacrificing themselves to protect the lives of the soldiers behind them. These soldiers opened fire, tearing the Grimm apart.
There were several Huntsmen present as well, and they too fired into the horde, suppressing their numbers. This was, however, not their main purpose. It was only when the hulking Goliaths, giant Deathstalkers, and two-headed King Taijitus appeared, heading straight for the defensive line, that they burst into action.
Changing their weapons to melee form, the Huntsmen focused on taking down the larger Grimm. A massive flamethrower turned into an equally massive warhammer. A shield expanded into a hard-light wall. The Huntsmen unleashed their weapons and their Semblances, decimating the larger Grimm.
The charge was halted. The Huntsmen were not a single, cohesive team, but they had one thing in common - the knowledge and skill to kill Grimm effectively.
A roar echoed throughout the skies, striking fear into the hearts of the soldiers. The Grimm dragon took to the sky on newly healed wings, a terrifying dark shape in the sky.
"Ace Ops!" Clover called out, a strange, crate-like device in his hands, "Focus your efforts on suppressing the dragon!"
"Got it!" Elm responded, her warhammer transforming into its rocket launcher form. Having loaded it with the largest payloads possible, she aimed at the rapidly ascending dragon and used her Semblance to root herself to the ground.
Harriet dashed over to her leader, saying, "You know we can't hold it for long. It's just too big."
Behind them, massive explosions erupted at the dragon's head, eliciting a roar of pain. Vine used himself as a slingshot - his Semblance extending his arms to grab onto a pair of trees - and fired Marrow up at the dragon.
"I know," Clover said, strapping the device onto his back. "Just distract it. Once I charge this thing up, we should be able to destroy it. I just need some time."
Harriet nodded, then activated Fast Knuckles, her mechanical exoskeleton. As the weapon extended to cover her arms, she told Clover, "We'll do our best." With that, she zoomed off towards Vine, who had reset his human slingshot. A moment later, she was fired at the dragon, lightning trailing behind her.
Leaving his team to their role, Clover looked around. It was absolute chaos, with Grimm swarming out from the trees and men and machines attempting to stem the tide. Finding a single person in that mess was difficult at best.
Clover got to work.
"Hold your ground!" Princess Pina Co Lada commanded, "Do not let the demons through!"
Like everyone else, she saw what they were up against. Unlike most of the others, however, she already had experience with their enemy. When the corrupted dragon had roared, the soldiers had almost scattered and fled.
Pina refused to give in to the fear. Never again would she run from any enemy, especially not one that sought to - and could - destroy entire cities. Drawing upon her inner strength, she rallied her Rose Knights, as their leader, their princess, and their friend.
Pina did not know what was happening outside of the area, but now, her focus was just on keeping her knights alive, and ensuring that the Grimm did not pass.
Ignoring the protests of her soldiers, Pina fearlessly charged to the front of the battle, Bozes, her closest friend and most loyal ally, at her side. She was immediately met with the swipe of a claw, which passed over her head as she ducked. Pina thrust her sword into the wolf-like creature, and it died, dissolving into dust. Beside her, Bozes swung her blade with deadly skill, decapitating another.
"With me, Knights! These monsters can be slain! Show them that we do not fear them!" Pina called out, and the soldiers roared in reply. They advanced together, cutting down the darkness.
Pina had an idea of what she was capable of. She could give her words power, beyond that which her rank commanded. What had the outlanders called it? Her symbol? No.
Her Semblance.
Wielding a power worthy of a princess, Pina commanded her men with unflinching conviction. The Rose Knights rallied behind their princess, leader, and founder, and crashed against the Grimm.
A horrible screech echoed from the forest, and a massive scorpion crashed out of the trees, pincers snapping. With a single swing, it sent an unfortunate knight flying, her armor crushed.
Her knights faltered, but Pina did not. "With me!" she called, dashing forward to do battle. Her sword slashed at the Grimm, only to scrape against the white armor of its pincers. Undeterred, Pina slid under the Deathstalker's next swing and, ignoring the mud that now clung to her armor, moved to stab her sword into its eyes.
Before she could, the scorpion's tail - tipped with a stinger larger than she was - swung down towards Pina. She was forced to abandon her attack and dodge to the side, causing the stinger to slam into the ground beside her, craving a deep furrow.
Off balance now, Pina saw the other claw coming but could not recover in time to avoid it. All she could do was brace for the impact... that never came.
Fearlessly, Bozes had dashed between the Deathstalker and her Princess. She was unarmed - her sword lost in the heat of battle - but she did not seem to care. As the claw came down, Bozes shimmered with a silver aura, and she caught the deadly claw with her bare hands. Roaring in anger, she grabbed onto the claw and pulled with such superhuman strength that the scorpion was momentarily pulled off balance, allowing several other Knights to come in, stabbing its eyes and between its many armored plates.
With a final screech, the Deathstalker fell, slowly dissolving into smoke. More Knights came forward, forming a shield wall against the oncoming Grimm.
Bozes turned to Pina, who had fallen onto the ground. Her hand shined like metal for a moment more before returning to normal, and she offered it to Pina. "Come, Princess," Bozes said, as she pulled her up, "I promised to be your shield. Now, lead us to victory!"
The demon dragon roared in the distance, unnatural magic permeating through the air. Her men hesitated, but her aura surged, and Pina resisted the compulsion to flee. "Stand firm!" she called out, sword held high, her voice carrying farther than it should, reaching the ears of all who needed to hear it. "Stand with your princess against the darkness! For the Empire!"
As though a spell was broken, the soldiers - Rose Knights, Elbe soldiers, or otherwise - echoed the warcry, faith rising in their hearts and suppressing the fear that sought to break them. With a mighty roar, they charged to battle the demons.
"You!" Ruby gasped. "I thought you were a transfer student!"
Cinder grinned, "Yes, red. All this time, I was hiding in plain-"
"No wonder you looked so old..." Ruby muttered.
Behind his master, Mercury suppressed a laugh, but Cinder did not see the humor. Her eyes blazed with sudden power as she summoned forth wild winds, stirring the air into a frenzy. "You little brat! I'll make sure you die painfully!" she roared, and sent forth waves of fire.
With a shot downward, Ruby rode Crescent Rose's recoil over the flames. Weiss used a few white glyphs to skate out from just underneath the jet, and Tai followed after.
Cinder plowed into Ruby, using a fist wreathed in flame to slam her into the ground. She landed in a cloud of dust, aura taking the blow. Nevertheless, it left her stunned, unable to dodge as Cinder propelled herself downward with flames from her hands.
Ice dust peppered her body, knocking Cinder off course. Readjusting, she hovered in the air and quickly located Weiss, who had Myrtenaster outstretched and was already forming more glyphs behind her, each hiding a razor-sharp ice shard.
More focused on Ruby, Cinder chose not to engage her teammate. Instead, she gestured, and a Beringel came bursting out from the trees, roaring in fury and charging straight at Weiss. Its footsteps shook the ground as it raised a fist, ready to pound Weiss into the ground. The thundering charge seemed to freeze her solid, too stunned to avoid the monster bearing down on her.
Taiyang, however, had no such hesitation. Gauntlet aflame, he calmly stepped in front of Weiss, landing an uppercut that was followed quickly by a burst of fire. The Beringel was thrown into the air despite its size, before the following punch sent it flying back and into a nearby group of smaller Grimm, knocking them over like bowling pins.
Cinder growled in displeasure, waving more Grimm onward before turning back to Ruby. Unfortunately for her, the swift Huntress-in-training had taken the opportunity to slip away, retreating to Weiss and Tai.
Now thoroughly enraged, Cinder began to float into the air, releasing an aura of magic as she called upon her Maiden powers. An unnatural, localized storm began to form, sudden winds stirring up the ground. Flames burst forth from her hands and eyes, forming a menacing glow around her. Her rage emanated out almost physically, and the Grimm nearby felt it as well, howling and roaring into the air, agitated.
Sparks of fire and flakes of ice danced across Tai's gauntlets as he easily settled into a boxer's stance, unaffected by the chaos around him. Behind him, Ruby and Weiss too took up positions, ready to fight.
Blake dived left to avoid Cinder's scorching flames, leaving nothing more than a shade to be incinerated. Emerald was on her immediately, bullets fired and striking Blake before she could unsheathe Gambol Shroud. Her original had been lost; the new, modified one that she now wielded felt just a little bit off.
Her bullets harmless against Gambol Shroud, Emerald dived in, pistols transforming into a pair of kama. She lunged, Thief's Respite glinting above her as she attempted a full downward slash, leaving her completely exposed.
Blake saw the opportunity and took it immediately, kicking out and sending herself flying at Emerald, Gambol Shroud - as a cleaver - poised to cut across her chest. She struck precisely at her target, the blade slashing forward. Instead of contacting, however, Blake met no resistance and stumbled as Emerald completely faded away.
Her illusion revealed, Emerald took advantage of Blake's off-balance state and launched a flurry of blows, her kama landing a multitude of slashes that chipped down Blake's aura before she could recover. She did, however, quickly find her footing and unsheath Gambol Shroud's smaller blade. Blake and Emerald met in melee, each wielding twin weapons.
Gambol Shroud proved the victor, its greater weight proving too much for Emerald to effectively counter with the lighter Thief's Respite. Dashing backward, Emerald vanished before her opponent's eyes.
Scrowling, Blake tensed herself, trying her best to sense her cloaked foe before she could attack. Her eyes and ears - all four of them - on the alert, Blake scanned the forest for a sign of Emerald. Doing her best to tune out the chaotic sounds of the hundred other battles in the vicinity, she slowed her breathing, waiting for the first sign of an attack.
Crack.
Blake's cat ears flickered toward the sound immediately, and she leaped high into the air without a moment to spare. Emerald came blasting forth from nowhere, kama ripping through the clone left in her path and carving up the ground. Her momentum sent her onward, unbalanced by the lack of resistance from Blake's shadow clone.
Landing softly, Blake opened fire with her pistol, managing to land a few hits on Emerald before she could block with Thief's Respite. She returned fire, and the two exchanged bullets for a while, dodging and shooting until Emerald once again vanished into thin air.
Blake scanned the area, attempting to find an error in the illusion that could reveal Emerald's location. Her sharp eyes very quickly noticed such an oversight - the shadows did not match with what she saw. Blake now knew where Emerald was hiding, in plain sight - so when the latter exploded into motion, she was ready.
Predicting perfectly where the attack would come from, Blake dodged aside, swinging Gambol Shroud to slash at Emerald as she blitzed by.
Emerald cried out, aura shimmering as it took the blow. Realizing that Blake's faunus hearing could 'see' through her illusions, she flipped backward, releasing Thief Respite's chains to turn them into a pair of kusarigama. The moment she landed, she lashed out, sending the blades flying directly at Blake's face.
Blake immediately raised her blades to counter, only for the chains to dissipate like smoke as they touched her weapon. Instead, they wrapped around her legs, before being pulled back violently. Only a desperate, last-minute activation of her Semblance saved Blake from Emerald's vicious slashes, which utterly destroyed the clone.
Emerald pressed the attack, using her Semblance more subtly and rapidly. Blake could, if given enough time, use her ears to find Emerald's location, no matter what she could not see. Instead of masking herself, the illusionist masked her weapons as she attacked, disorienting Blake with every move.
It was not long before Blake stumbled back, aura weakening as the seconds passed. Both of them knew how things were going to end.
Yang had dove right to dodge Cinder's gust of flame, feeling its heat against her as she evaded. Mercury was on her immediately, kicking out with steel boots. Instinctively, Yang brought Ember Celica to block the attack. Their weapons met, and, with a burst of light and shock, fired, sending the two brawlers apart.
Mercury did a backflip as he landed, metal boots digging into the ground. Yang stabilized quickly as well, quickly getting into a fighting stance.
Mercury made the first move, dashing forward to get into melee range. He was immediately forced to abandon this plan, dodging aside to prevent a barrage of missiles from taking him down. Having avoided the first wave, he retaliated with a powerful overhead kick. Yang immediately dropped her ranged attack and blocked, catching the leg with both gauntlets, pushing out to thrust Mercury back into a flip, which he then took into a duck to avoid another shot from her weapons that had been aimed at his head. From his crouch, he kicked up, firing at the same time, with an attack that flipped him away while simultaneously knocking his opponent up in the air.
Yang twisted before she hit the ground, landing heavily on her feet. She went back into the fight without hesitation, furiously landing punches left and right. Mercury was forced back a step, but he quickly went in with his feet, forcing Yang to block. With the onslaught halted, Mercury went low and kicked for her knee, sending her off balance. Yang stumbled but avoided as he kicked down again, firing at his feet.
In an acrobatic display of athletic agility, Mercury kept himself up on his hands as he dodged the shot and twisted nimbly in the air. Still on his hands, Mercury went for her leg, then managed a heavy blow across her face that made her stagger. He took full advantage of this opportunity to fire hidden guns within his boots, knocking her further back and allowing himself enough time to pull off his favored finisher.
Spinning and twisting in a manner similar to breakdancing, Mercury rapidly fired his Dust charges from his boots, sending dozens of them into the air. The charges swirled around him, creating an impenetrable vortex of volatile Dust. At the eye of the storm, Mercury grinned and sent the blazing maelstrom flying at the stunned Yang.
"Blake and Yang are in trouble!" Ruby noticed.
Tai blasted with both Gauntlets, releasing a cloud of steam at Cinder. She would burn it away in seconds, but that was enough time. With a single glance around, Tai assessed the situation. Blake's reactions were simply not quite fast enough to make up for essentially being blind, and Yang was getting hit hard by Mercury, who knew her weakness and was exploiting it, hard. "Go help them," Tai said, throwing a left hook that sent forth a burst of ice shards, impaling a pair of Beowolves and forcing Cinder a few steps back. "I'll handle her."
"But she's too powerful! You need help!" Ruby protested. As much as she wanted to help Yang and Blake, she knew that Tai could not win against Cinder.
"That's why I need you two to go, quickly, and come back," Tai calmly replied, flinging at Creep at Cinder. It did no harm, of course, but brought a few seconds as the Grimm was incinerated.
Still, Ruby hesitated, until Weiss chimed in. "Go help your sister, Ruby. I'll boost Tai and go help Blake. He'll hold until we get back."
Ruby nodded, darting off in a blur of red. Weiss pointed Myrtenaster at Tai, creating a complex glyph of gold and black gears, before seeking out her faunus friend.
Tai felt time slow around him. Team RWBY would be able to handle themselves. Now, he breathed and focused on the enemy in front of him. Cinder Fall, eyes blazing with magic power. As she summoned a bow from thin air, Tai watched with supercharged eyes, muscles tensed as he waited for the best time to strike.
As though in slow motion, Tai saw Cinder raise her bow, an obsidian arrow appearing at the bowstring. She began to draw back the bow, and Tai was moving almost before he realized it.
Taiyang punched Cinder in the face.
Lelei raised her staff. From a safe distance, she and the other mages that had come were unleashing spells against the Grimm. Protected by soldiers and magical barriers, they went all out, releasing enough magic to shake the earth.
Because of the armies between the mages and their targets, they chose to take a more indirect approach. Magic barriers to block the hail of metallic feathers. Glyphs of speed, strength, and endurance to match demonic might. Lightning that split the sky.
Amongst them, Lelei drew upon her knowledge of both Falmart magic and Remnant science to release magic unlike any she had ever seen. Her sister was the mineral mage, but even Arpeggio did not know with Dust like she did. With a trio of crystals floating around her hand like a bracelet - Rock, Fire, and Gravity - and ancient words on her lips, Lelei unleashed the power of two worlds as she held her staff to the sky. Magic erupted from the young mage, coating her in a blue-green aura.
The sky darkened. The clouds parted. Brought forth into the world by an intimate knowledge of magic and science, a meteorite entered the atmosphere. Lelei slowly lowered her staff, pointing out a path for the rock. It blazed with fire as it plummeted down, directly to the center of the Grimm horde, and their source - the dragon.
As the meteorite got steadily closer, pushing the few wisps of remaining clouds aside, Lelei began to strain. Summoning the gigantic rock had drained most of her mana, and alone, she could not sustain it. The dust crystals she wielded fell to the ground, drained and inert. Slowly, the magic around her began to dim, and Lelei realized that she could not do it alone. But the other mages were inexperienced with the tongue that she spoke, to sustain the meteorite.
Just as she considered releasing her hold on the meteorite, Lelei felt a hand grip her shoulder. The man - Arta, she recognized - chanted with her. Magic did not exist on his world, and he could not have ever studied such a language, yet he spoke it fluently and perfectly, drawing power from the ancient words and passing it to her. Lelei supposed that she could ask him how he managed to learn an almost-extinct language in minutes, but she had more important, meteorite-sized things to focus on.
The meteor came crashing down, bringing the wrath of the heavens upon the Grimm.
As Clover ran across the chaos of the battlefield, he scanned the surroundings for the demigoddess Rory. Multitasking between searching for the Apostle, carrying a fifty-kilogram weapon of mass destruction on his back, and most importantly, trying not to die, was a great stress, but he had to manage it. Honestly, he had no idea if the device would even work in purging the Grimm, but it was worth a shot. Besides, the theory was sound, according to Rory.
This holy relic was blessed by Flare, God of the Sun, himself. By itself, it repels all evil. With a sufficient application of your aura, and Dust as well, it can easily disintegrate all unholy creatures nearby. Probably.
Maybe not so sound. It was a long shot, but one of the few that they had, so Clover now sought out Rory, the Apostle whose aura had been awakened. For reasons unknown, her aura was far beyond any human's, and she was immortal anyway, so she was the perfect choice to charge the device with minimal risk to the lives of the Hunters.
Rory would definitely be on the front line, so that was where Clover was headed. Unfortunately, that meant that he was heading against the flood of Grimm. Fortunately, he had had the foresight to strap the device onto his back, allowing him to wield Kingfisher with both hands. Some mocked him for using a fishing pole as a weapon. They no longer did once he took them down in the arena.
Deftly wielding his weapon, Clover swung the hook into the trees, allowing him to swing over the majority of the Grimm. The sounds of intense battle came from nearby and, against his better instincts, he headed that way.
From his high ground in the trees, Clover spotted his target. Rory Mercury, the immortal Apostle with an oversized halberd, was facing off against Salem herself. She was joined by Qrow Branwen and Vela Fauxen, both incredibly talented Huntsmen.
Even then, it seemed as though the three were always on the defensive, barely managing to hold out against the darkness that Salem wielded.
Clover swung Kingfisher around, releasing its hook. His experienced throw allowed the hook to sail through the air, landing precisely where he wanted it - around the trunk of a fallen tree. Planting his feet firmly on the ground, he heaved, sending the tree hurtling towards Salem.
It struck Salem head-on, the sheer momentum knocking her away. As Clover ran up to them, Vela looked over and gave him a nod of thanks.
"Rory!" Clover called out. The Apostle turned to face him, a large, jagged gash across her chest closing up. Clover held up the device, quickly saying, "This device can kill all the Grimm. Charge it with your aura."
Salem roared as she returned to the fight, sharpened tendrils of darkness flying at them. Vela's blazing shield formed in an instant, and the tendrils collided with it. Both the shield and the tendrils shattered as they met, and Qrow took the opportunity to open fire.
Salem growled in anger, summoning forth a small horde of Grimm around her with a wave of her hands.
Her opponents retreated, Salem ordered her Grimm to attack, and a meteor fell upon her. The ground shook from the impact, and those nearby struggled to stay on their feet. The Grimm were destroyed by the shards of rock, and their queen was nowhere to be seen.
Vela, Qrow, Clover, and Rory all heaved a sigh of relief. The small break from combat was welcome, but it would not last long.
"Rory! Do it," Clover called. Rory obeyed, knowing that she had little time before Salem could break free. Laying a hand on the device, she paused. Having very recently unlocked her aura, she had no idea how to manipulate it. Going on instinct, she pushed out mentally and was rewarded with the sight of a slight shimmer of light, flowing from her into the machine. She felt it draining her, a feeling of safety being ripped away.
She didn't need aura, though. She was immortal.
The device made a noise, and a button on it lit up, flashing red. Rory could feel the strange combination of magic and technology within it, a button press away from being unleashed upon the world.
Salem, too, must have felt it, because she erupted from within her prison, sending debris flying out in every direction. A moment later, swarming from the trees, a stampede of rolling Boartabusks charged at it, intent on destroying it.
"Mortal!" Rory called out, "The weapon is ready!" Halberd in hand, she then charged towards the approaching Grimm, slamming them aside. "You must hold against her; there is something else I must do," she said, and with that, she sprinted off in a blur. Something had definitely caught her attention elsewhere.
Ducking and weaving to avoid dark tendrils that sought to impale him, Clover sprinted towards the device. "I hope this works," he muttered and pushed the button.
The dragon roared, fire and lightning bursting forth from its mouth. Of the five Bullheads firing upon it, three were in the path, and two of them managed to dodge aside. The last was consumed in the blaze, the metal melting from the unnatural flame. From it, the lighting chained onto one of the Bullheads that had dodged the initial strike, frying its circuitry instantly. Its engines exploded, overloaded, and the vehicle fell out of the sky, trailing smoke.
In the span of ten seconds, the hybrid dragon had taken out two-fifths of their air force.
Harriet scowled, struggling to stay balanced on its back, and pully powered up her exoskeletal suit. With all of her machine-enhanced strength, she punched down on the dragon's back. Nearby, Marrow did the same, using his boomerang-like weapon Fetch, and striking rapidly on the dragon's scale.
The dragon unleashed another breath of lightning and flame, annihilating another Bullhead. The two Aceops' attacks had done nothing against the nigh-invulnerable dragon scale, and the rapid-fire of the Bullheads' main guns were doing no better.
As Harriet looked around for another strategy, Elm was sent flying by Vine at the dragon. Yelling, she brandished her massive warhammer Timber, swinging it at the dragon. The impact managed to shake it, and the beast responded by diving immediately. The air currents whipped up by the maneuver sent Elm flying. She reacted quickly, swapping Timber into its rocket launcher form and firing into the air, using its heavy recoil to send her into the dragon.
Harriet and Marrow opened fire as well. Seeing that the dragon's natural armor was too tough for their bullets, they instead aimed for its large wings. The bullets ripped through, tearing little holes in the dragon's wings. It roared in pain and swivelled to glare at them.
"Move!" Harriet yelled, and she and Marrow sprinted away from the beast's retaliation. Lightning and fire scorched the ground as they ran, barely avoiding the intense flames that tore into the land. They tumbled away, panting.
The dragon went back to wreaking havoc. Another Bullhead was physically ripped out of the sky, the metal no match against draconic claws. Elm and Vine kept up their attacks onto the back of the beast, but it treated them as if they were no more than insects. With a spin, they were thrown off its back. Another breath, and a detachment of Atlesian Knights were turned into molten metal.
"We can't stop that thing," Marrow said.
Fortunately, it seemed that they did not need to. Somewhere else, a mage summoned forth the greatest magic the world had seen, and a meteor materialized in the air, casting a vast shadow over the Dragon. It roared its defiance, unleashing waves of lightning and flame at the gigantic rock. The force tore pieces of it away, but could not stop it any more than a flame could extinguish the ocean.
The meteor landed. The force shattered the very air, releasing a resounding boom that flattened trees and men alike. A massive wave of dust was thrown into the air, blotting out all trace of the ongoing battle. And when the dust finally settled, the great Grimm Dragon lay still.
Weiss found herself with Blake, facing off against Emerald. By all means, a two-on-one battle should have been easily in their favor, yet nothing was ever that simple with the Grimm swarming around. Even then, it had seemed manageable. They had trained for years, against both the monsters that plagued humanity, and against other Huntsmen-in-training like themselves.
But never had they fought against someone who was working in tandem with the Grimm. Emerald was more skilled than either Weiss or Blake alone. To defeat her, they had to work together and overwhelm her.
Emerald knew that, so she was doing her best to prevent it. She would attack one of them, using her illusions to gain the upper hand, while the Grimm swarmed the other, preventing her from helping. But by bit, Emerald cut away at Weiss' aura, while her counterattacks landed on illusions that shattered like glass.
Blake, pinned down by a Beringel and several Beowolves, had enough. She withdrew a red dust crystal and inserted it into Gambol Shroud, just as the gorilla-like Beringel brought its massive fists crashing down.
She darted backward just in time, leaving a burning shadow clone in her place. The ensuing fireball vaporized the Beowolves and sent the Beringel stumbling, roaring in pain. She took the chance to open fire with Gambol Shroud, peppering the Grimm with fire.
Emerald flinched as the fireball went off beside her, and Weiss pressed the attack, dashing forward and stabbing her repeatedly. Emerald jumped back, retreating from the assault, and vanished into the trees.
"You okay?" Weiss asked Blake.
Blake nodded. Whatever she was about to say was quickly replaced by a shout of alarm, "Look out!"
Weiss spun, but neither she nor her teammate reacted quickly enough. The Beringel, injured but still very much alive, grabbed a Beowolf in each hand. Howling, it flung them at the two girls.
A Beowolf slammed into her, throwing her back. It died as Myrtenaster impaled it, but Weiss was sent tumbling for a good distance before she could regain control.
When she looked back up, time seemed to slow. Every second that passed began to drag out as Weiss' mind and body went into overdrive.
Blake, stunned and lying on the ground. The Beringel, massive arms raised and ready to slam down. Emerald, scythes swinging at her.
Weiss moved. With a flick of her wrist, she pushed her Semblance to its limits. Multiple glyphs all came into being at once: a yellow, lightning-infused time dilation glyph under her feet, a number of white platform glyphs hovering in the air, and a solid black glyph to slow the Beringel's movements. And a single, rotating one behind her of unknown design, born from desperation.
Save Blake.
The time dilation glyph sped her movements up. Myrtenaster outstretched, Weiss charged forward. Moving too quickly for Emerald to stop, she knocked her scythes aside and struck, knocking her aside. Dashing onward, Weiss stepped onto her accelerator glyphs, desperate to get to the massive beast-like Grimm threatening her teammate.
In the back of her mind, Weiss knew that she did not have a plan. She just had to get there.
Her glyphs carried her right up to her target, and Weiss acted on instinct, holding her rapier up in a feeble defense, her eyes squeezed shut as she braced for impact.
None came.
Cautiously, she peeked out. The Beringel's fists were being held back, not by her own thin blade, but that of a much larger, greater one. A massive claymore, wreathed in white smoke, held by a very familiar hand, extending from the glyph behind her, was blocking the Grimm. With a twist of its wrist, Weiss' creation pushed the monster aside, before striking out, cutting deep into its chest. With a final roar, the Beringel dissipated into smoke.
Blake blinked, "Is that thing yours?"
Weiss turned, giving her a nod that was returned. They turned to face Emerald, who was fixated on the dismembered arm and the massive sword it wielded. "Let's end this."
Emerald blinked and pulled her eyes away from the summon just in time to parry an attack from Myrtenaster. Blake followed up from the other side, slashing, forcing Emerald to spin around. Stressed and tired, Emerald could not avoid all three of her enemies. Any Grimm that sought to assist her were cleaved in twain by the knight's greatsword, and Emerald found herself alone and outnumbered, rendering her Semblance ineffective.
Before long, she slipped up and found herself on her back, with her aura critical and Gambol Shroud at her throat.
"I surrender," Emerald admitted defeat, looking directly at Blake as she released her weapons. The moment Blake relaxed, assured of her victory, Emerald launched one last, desperate strike. Thief's Respite in hand - she had dropped nothing but an illusion - Emerald aimed for Blake's throat.
She struck a glowing blue sword, which shattered at the impact. Her summon dissipating, Weiss struck Emerald's head with Myrtenaster's hilt, finally shattering her aura and knocking her out.
"Looks like you saved me again," Blake commented, placing a hand on Weiss' shoulder, "Thanks."
"You're welcome," Weiss replied, smiling brightly, before she collapsed, unconscious.
Yang raised her hands before her, crossed to block the flurry of kicks that Mercury launched at her. He fired the gun hidden within as he struck with his boots, breaking through her guard, and followed it up with a devastating downward slam. Yang barely managed to roll backward, recovering just in time to see Mercury's boot slam into the ground, hard enough to leave a small crater.
He pressed the attack, only to rapidly dodge back when Ruby opened fire with Crescent Rose. Taking the opportunity to recover, Yang jumped up and reloaded her gauntlets. With a nod at her leader, she went back into melee with Mercury.
Fists and legs met in a blur as the two fighters swapped blows. Neither held back as they fought. Attacks were traded so quickly that the two were just a blur of blows, each so powerful that they sent out shockwaves as they were blocked and parried.
The brawl progressed almost too quickly for the eye to see. It was a close fight, and a single mistake could turn the tide. Ruby stuck her scythe into the ground. Using it as a monopod, she peered through the scope on the handle and drew back the bolt of the sniper. She took aim, breathing slowly as she waited for openings.
With Ruby suppressing his movements and Yang preventing him from going after her, Mercury was trapped. Yang's bombardment of blows combined with her sister's support was too much for even him to handle, and, staying on the defensive, Mercury considered his options.
Something growled behind him, and he grinned. Blocking an uppercut, Mercury used its momentum to fling himself high into the air. The growl turned into a roar, and an Alpha Beowolf burst out of the bushes, mauling Yang. Its claws raked across her aura, causing bright flashes of light.
A sniper shot struck its face, stunning it. Yang kicked out from beneath it, and followed up with a pair of shotgun bursts that caused the Grimm to dissipate.
Mercury slammed back down, sending Yang flying back. She recovered quickly, landing on her feet next to Ruby.
"His legs are metal," Ruby whispered, reloading.
"What? You sure?"
Ruby nodded. "Yes. I've noticed signs of it while we were fighting."
"How much?"
"Below his knee, at least. Go for it," Ruby said.
Yang gave a predatory grin as her gaze focused on Mercury's legs. "Got it."
"Got yourselves a plan, eh?" Mercury mocked from across the plain. "Time to end this, then."
He kicked out, firing a bolt at Yang that she easily avoided. Spinning on the spot like he was breakdancing, he opened fire with reckless abandon, creating an impenetrable whirlwind of dust charges. Once he released the hundreds of projectiles, the battle would be over.
"Get ready," Ruby whispered before dashing forward in a blur of roses. She flew straight for the tornado, moving too quickly for the eye to see. Ruby, just a red bur to any observer, went in the opposite direction of Mercury's tornado, and she gritted her teeth and pushed herself as fast as she could. She drew the wind against his storm, dodging bullets as she ran.
Yang waited. Trusting her sister to both keep Mercury occupied and to give her an opening, she waited, tense and ready to move.
A gap opened. A path formed. Yang took the opportunity to charge forward, yelling, and swung at Mercury with all her might, using her Semblance to further increase her strength. The full force of her punch landed directly on his shin and, with a crunch, it crumbled. Fortunately for her, Ruby was right, and it was not the crunch of bone she heard, but metal.
"What the hell, blondie!" Mercury screamed, falling to the ground. His dust charges lost their momentum and fell around them, exploding harmlessly.
"Hey, you were right, sis!" Yang told Ruby as she slowed to a stop and dropped down beside them, panting and leaning on her.
"You..." Mercury growled, repositioning so that his weight rested on his working leg. Yang saw his move and reacted, instinctively preparing to block. Before she could, a red blur sped past her, and Crescent Rose flashed, cleanly slicing through his other leg. The metal was torn asunder, throwing Mercury off balance once more. He fell straight into Yang's punch, sending him back onto the ground.
"As much as I'd love to stay and beat you up more, someone needs our help," Yang told him, "So just stay here until we're done. Come on, Ruby, let's go."
They hurried back to help Tai, leaving Mercury immobilized behind them, cursing and swearing.
"You face a Maiden, old man!" Cinder gloated as she faced down Taiyang Xiao Long. "Surrender and I'll only partially burn you!"
"Old man? I look no older than you, Cinder," Tai exclaimed, offended. "At least I don't look like Qrow."
Cinder, a fireball in hand, chose to ignore the insult and focused on the name instead. "Qrow Branwen?"
Unwilling to give his enemy more information, Tai responded by dashing in close and striking with an uppercut, enhanced by his gauntlet and leaving a trail of ice in its path. Cinder hastily retreated, throwing the fireball at him as she moved.
Tai's own fireball met it, exploding in a blaze of heat. He kept on the offense, firing shards of ice to cover his approach. As a boxer, Tai moved in close, landing numerous punches on Cinder while she tried to create space between them.
"Enough!" the Fall Maiden screamed. Having retreated enough, she released a wall of fire in every direction, incinerating the forest in the immediate vicinity and forcing Tai to use a rapidly created wall of ice to protect himself. "I am a Maiden!" Cinder screamed, fire blazing from her eyes. In a furious frenzy, she threw waves upon waves of flame at her target. "You are nothing! Die!"
Tai, unperturbed, checked his gauntlets. Empty, and he had no spare Dust. "You threatened my daughters," he stated, in a voice that was calm on the surface, and moved. He had been retired for years, but muscle memory never faded. Tai saw the approaching waves of fire and weaved through them, quickly closing the distance between him and Cinder. She responded by placing her hands together and unleashing a massive cone of fire at Tai, intent on ensuring his demise. She held the whirlwind of death for as long as she could, enough to burn anyone into ash. When Cinder finally stopped, gasping, an entire path had been seared through the forest, where nothing but ash remained. She gave a victorious laugh, and Tai appeared beside her, arms raised.
"You threatened her friends," he said, anger seeping into his tone, and struck. Each blow knocked the breath out of Cinder despite her aura, knocking her back. Tai had no Dust left, but he did not need it. Like a professional boxer, he struck over and over again, not allowing Cinder a moment of rest, not a moment to recover. She tried to resist, forming a pair of obsidian-black swords. Tai punched those too, hard enough to shatter them into shards. Cinder fell onto her back, her maiden powers helpless against an enraged Tai.
"And you called me OLD!" he yelled, rage erupting in his words, and ended the duel. Golden light poured from his body as he moved in for the final strike. Cinder's desperate final attempt to burn him was consumed by a blazing golden dragon, unleashed for the first time in years.
By the time that team RWBY finished off their own opponents to rejoin him, Cinder lay unconscious at his feet, her flames snuffed out.
"Hey, girls," he greeted, as they approached. Noticing that Blake and Yang were supporting an unconscious Weiss, he asked, "Is she okay?"
"Just exhausted," Ruby told him. "What should we do now?"
"The three of you are going to get her somewhere safe. I'd tell you to rest, but I know that you're going to ignore me, so help out whoever you can after," Tai told them.
"And what're you going to do?" Yang asked.
Tai looked at the distance. He could feel dark energy emanating from there; the presence of something evil. A torrent of shadows suddenly erupted, bursting high into the air. "I'm going to check that out."
Ruby nodded. "We'll come help you once Weiss is safe."
"No," Tai shook his head. He still had only about 30% aura, he estimated. It would be enough. "I'm fine. Rescue whoever you can. Go."
Ruby dashed forward, hugging him. "Stay safe, dad."
Tai rubbed her hair. "You too, kid. Now stop wasting time."
"Here," Ruby said, as she released him and prepared to leave with her team. She pushed a pair of Dust crystals into his hands.
"Thanks, kid," Tai said, and turned around. As team RWBY left behind him, he fixed his gaze on the darkness and began to walk towards it.
"Mortals! Who amongst you is the leader?" Rory Mercury demanded, facing the vast Imperial Army. Still, they stood in formation, safely away from the war taking place within and around the nearby forest. Some were unconcerned, idly looking by, but most were fidgeting impatiently, unnerved by the presence of the dark creatures that even normal mortals could feel.
Zorzal pushed his way to the front, yelling at his guards to let him pass and ignoring their warnings of danger. Even he had to know of the danger and power of the Apostles, yet he showed no fear as he stepped in front of Rory, head held high. "You speak to Emperor Zorzal, ruler of the Empire! Why are you here, Apostle?"
Something was changing in her, and Rory knew what it was. The aura that Ruby had unlocked back in Remnant was affecting her, speeding up a process that had been very slowly modifying her very essence over the past millennium. Where she once had 39 years, now she had much less. Yet, no one needed to know.
Her face unemotional, Rory overlooked the lack of decorum. Partly because she understood; they were in a war for the fate of the world, after all, or at least these soldiers should have been a part of it, instead of spectators, and partly because she knew that it would annoy her if she did. Slamming her halberd into the ground, Rory demanded, "Emperor. Why do your legions dally? Aid your countrymen at once against the demonic threat." The Grimm were not actually demons, but it was close enough a comparison.
That experimental thing that Clover had asked her to charge had not helped things. Her aura was now drained. The Grimm were not incinerated. And worst, her essence was roiling like a caged beast, eager to finish the transformation. It took all of Rory's strength and concentration to suppress it. As long as she remained calm, she would be fine.
"Because that is my strategy!" Zorzal boasted proudly, "The invaders from another world, who dared challenge the mighty Empire, and the demons of the underworld will fight and kill each other for us! Then, we will destroy whoever remains and secure absolute victory!"
"Fool!" Rory condemned, "The Grimm will not be destroyed so easily. Lend your forces to the battle at once, so that we may force them out!"
Zorzal scoffed, "Just because you are an Apostle does not mean that you give me, the Emperor of the almighty Empire, orders! Do your worst against the demons, and when you fall, we shall prevail!"
"Would you like to repeat that?"
A dangerous edge had crept into Rory's voice. She subtly dared Zorzal to continue, and even the guards standing around him felt the unsettling feeling. Too absorbed in his own delusions of grandeur, however, the Emperor failed to heed the silent warning.
"That's right!" Zorzal boasted, "We are the Empire, and I am their ruler! No force can stop my armies, demons or otherwise. You might be an Apostle, but under my leadership, each man is worth a dozen demihumans. Today, you witness humanity's -"
Rory struck him across the face, using enough force that Zorzal was sent flying, his neck almost broken. "I don't have time for this," Rory grumbled. Her soul was on the verge of metamorphosis now. If she focused exclusively on suppressing the transformation, she could have another few weeks before she lost her humanity forever.
But what was a few weeks compared to the eternity that would follow? She could not afford to be distracted now, as the fate of the world hung in the balance. It was a shame... but she had no choice. With that decided, Rory cast off the remnants of her humanity, and let her inevitable transformation begin.
Her body, invulnerable and infinitely regenerative, began to break down for the first time in almost a thousand years. Instead of crumbling like a mortal, however, Rory began to glow from within. Her skin began to crack, peeling off her mortal form. Divine light, red blood, poured forth from her body. The light grew ever brighter until it was blinding, and her body disintegrated into nothing. All that was left was a ball of divine energy, only partially present in the mortal realm.
Rory felt capable of so many things. All the possibilities were open to her now, but she still had something she had to do. She could explore her new powers later; after all, she had an eternity to go. For now, she was needed on Falmart, on the material plane, and so she channeled her power.
She did not belong there, not anymore. She could not directly manifest herself into the world, but there were ways around it. Corpses lay all around. She chose one at random and pushed her energy into it.
Rory stood up in her new body. It was male and had a hole in its chest. That was unacceptable. A pulse of divine energy fixed both those issues, turning her back into a young-looking girl.
"Wha- what?" Zorzal muttered. "How dare you strike me!"
Rory looked down at him. Even as an Apostle, she had thought him pathetic. Now as a goddess, he was little more an an insect to her, and one that she did not have time for.
"Stand aside, fool," Rory commanded, waving a hand. Struck by an invisible force, Zorzal and the guards around him were sent effortlessly flying aside, and Rory ignored them as she began to address the Imperial Army.
"The Goddess of Death commands you, mortals," she spoke, and the men listened, unable to resist the powers of a divine being. "Today, you fight for more than just an empire. You fight for the survival of your species, of every species, and of this world itself. You may find your death today, but hear my promise. All who give their lives to stop the darkness will be honored for eternity. And those cowards who dare flee - " she glared at Zorzal, who was trembling beneath her unworldly aura "- will never know peace. Now, onward!"
Zorzal's cries for them to obey him went unheard beneath the warcry of a hundred thousand soldiers. They charged into the fray, crashing down upon the Grimm. For the first time, the creatures of darkness found themselves outnumbered. Individually, the Imperial soldiers were weak, but their sheer numbers and newly-acquired devotion made them a force to be reckoned with. Still, it was unclear if that alone could turn the tide.
Then Rory herself joined the battle.
Though recently ascended and unused to her new abilities, the Goddess of Death, Violence, and War was a power unlike any other.
She came down like a vengeful angel, shattering the ground and instantly killing the Grimm unlucky enough to be in the impact zone. Her axe appeared in her hand, its blade burning with dark flames.
With a single hand, Rory swung the massive weapon. It cleaved through the air, faster than the eye could see, no heavier than a leaf in its divine wielder's hand. The air shimmered and rippled with its passing, and the creatures of Grimm, unable to withstand the wrath of a goddess, were torn asunder.
Rory raised her axe to the sky. "Soldiers, charge! Fear not death, and drive these monsters from your homes!" she ordered, her voice carrying over the army. On command, the bodies of the fallen pushed themselves to their feet, raising their voices to join the thundering warcry of the living.
Renewed, the army surged forth, crushing the Grimm. Against the odds, they began to push forward, a wall of steel and determination repelling the darkness.
The artifact erupted in a kaleidoscope of magic. The sheer force of the explosion knocked even Salem herself backward, utterly incinerating the Grimm in the immediate vicinity.
The queen of the Grimm was the first to recover. Even as her body forged itself back together, she rose up and surveyed the damage. The surroundings were destroyed, leaving only charred ground. Her enemies were recovering.
Clover Ebi. Vela Fauxen. Qrow Branwen.
Further out, she could sense their armies... still battling her forces. She laughed, a chilling sound that immediately sent the Hunters on alert. Her Grimm still lived, and with a thought, more swarmed forth from dark pools created by the dragon.
"Fools! The Grimm cannot be destroyed! I cannot be destroyed!" she gloated, raising her hands. Dark Grimm hands burst up around her, reaching out to grab her enemies.
Vela slammed her staff into the ground, once more activating her Sanctuary. Qrow and Clover huddled with her within its protection, while the Grimm arms recoiled upon contact with the flaming shield.
Salem could almost imagine the conversion going on within. The fear and desperation now that their ultimate weapon - whatever it was - had failed.
Creating several Beowolfs, she set them to work attacking the shield. They could not break through, she knew, but they would serve as a good distraction. In the meantime, she gathered dark magic within her palm. Stretching out her hand, she aimed the small ball of energy at the shield.
She readied it to fire, and a scythe cut her arm off.
"You!" Salem growled as her new attacker came into sight. Just minutes before, her body was broken and crushed. Now, the half-dragon Apostle Giselle stood uninjured, glaring at her with hate.
"What did you do to me?" Giselle demanded, scythe extended.
Salem growled, nursing her missing arm. It would heal, but having her arm amputated was not a pleasant sensation. Vela's protective shield deactivated, and the Hunters within approached her cautiously, pointing their weapons at her. Qrow's sword, Vela's rifle, and Clover's... fishing rod... were all aimed at her. Salem knew that she could destroy them all. She had never lost and would not lose now. Subtly gathering her magic, she answered Giselle. "I stole your magic."
"That's impossible!" Giselle exclaimed.
Qrow fired from the shotguns within his sword, and Salem dashed aside. Releasing her stored magic, she sent of a wave of force that pushed Giselle, Qrow, and Clover away. Vela held her ground, slamming her staff into the dirt at her feet.
"Apostle, focus! Interrogate her after we defeat her!" Vela called out, transforming her staff into a rifle and opening fire.
Salem took several direct shots, but they did little to her. With a growl, her arm regenerated, and she flexed her new fingers. She gave a grin that exposed her sharpened teeth. "Not impossible. Allow me to demonstrate," she said, and clicked her fingers. Glowing runic circles appeared beneath and above Giselle and before she could react, a translucent barrier appeared between them.
Salem looked at the imprisoned Apostle in approval. Even as she slashed furiously with her scythe, the magical cage held firm, locking her in place. Salem turned back to the others, new magic at her fingertips, waiting to be unleashed. "Stay there while I deal with these mortals."
Salem surveyed her handiwork. Her enemies lay scattered and defeated before her. She began gathering dark magic in her hands, intent on finishing the war once and for all. A sphere of shadows began to form, growing larger and larger as the immortal wizard funneled the full depth of her magic into it. She held the dark orb in her hands, raising it over her head. Sneering at the mortals before her, she could not resist the chance to gloat. "This is the end, fools. Victory is mine," she bragged, before allowing the unstable energy to erupt. The blast would incinerate a good portion of the continent, destroying all within. She would get caught in it, but she would not die. Salem knew that better than anyone else.
It did not explode.
Concentric silver rings spun around her doomsday sphere, locking the volatile magic within. Salem growled as yet another mortal stepped up against her. Yet, something seemed strange about him.
Arta pointed one hand at Salem's sphere, muttering words of magic that cast a seal upon it, preventing it from exploding. With his other, he gestured, flinging a fireball at her.
Salem ignored the burns that spread across her skin. This mortal used both aura and magic! As curious as she was about that, she was also incredibly incensed at his resistance, and killing him took priority over studying him.
She fired a bolt of lightning at him. He blocked it, a magical shield shimmering around him. Salem snorted. He was powerful, yet inexperienced. She fired again and, as expected, Arta made no move to dodge, relying on his shield to protect him.
The shield shattered and the electric bolt struck Arta, piercing through his aura and almost killing him outright. He gasped, dropping to his knees. To his credit, his focus on the sealing spell never wavered, even as his breathing labored. However, as he weakened, his seal began to crack.
A few more seconds would allow Salem to break past the annoying seal and finally, finally, finish what she started. In the meantime, she spoke, "An impressive effort, yet your magic is no match for -"
"No! Die!" the enraged scream drew her attention. Vela, aura critical and missing half an arm, charged at Salem, spear wielded in her remaining arm. She flung it at her, the built-in gun firing as she did to give it more momentum. The spread struck true, piercing through Salem and impaling her to the ground.
No one else was in any shape to stop Vela as she went on an inevitably suicidal rush. By all means, she herself should not have been able to do it.
The seal was a second away from breaking when Vela reached Salem. Grabbing onto her spear, she glanced back at her allies, scattered and defeated. Her emotions burned as she glared at the cause of all the suffering and destruction, mow impaled on her spear but still very much alive. Vela's own body was not so resilient. She knew that she was about to die. As it were, only sheer rage and willpower kept her going. She focused her remaining aura on a single task and spat a final, hate-filled sentence at her enemy.
"Die here with me!"
Vela burst into flames as she released her aura, forming her Sanctuary around herself and Salem. It was small, but so much more intense than any other shield that she had ever created. Like a miniature sun, it blazed blindingly bright. But only for a moment.
The darkness within consumed both Salem and Ariel in seconds. The Sanctuary that the latter had created strained to contain the destructive power that burst forth, holding on even with its creator dead. But the power of a mortal could not withstand that of one who had lived for millennia, and the blazing shield collapsed, consumed by darkness. The void spread, corrupting all that it touched. Bullets, Dust, and every Semblance was ineffective against it. Only the power of a god could save them now.
Rory Mercury, Goddess of Death, felt the world scream in pain as a dark force was unleashed upon it. Her body and soul were losing their connection to the mortal realm and slowly becoming more attuned to another, the realm of the gods. Nevertheless, she could feel the earth's pain as evil magic wrought havoc on the land, threatening to unravel creation.
She rushed to its source as quickly as she could, leaving a trail of devastation in her wake - nothing compared to what was unfolding before her. The void sphere was expanding, despite the efforts of the mortals to slow it down.
Rory channeled her newly acquired divine magic at it. She was unsure of exactly what to do but to force magic at the darkness until it stopped. Fortunately for her, it worked, and the darkness receded.
She looked at the destruction. A massive crater now existed in the ground, devoid of matter, where life would never flourish again. It would forever be a blemish on the lands, an unhealing scar. There was nothing even she could do about it.
Rory looked around. The remaining Grimm lashed out, still striving to kill even though their master was dead. She focused on their minds, overriding the instincts that Salem had given them. Without their queen's influence, they had no way to counter Rory's intrusion. Soon, every single Grimm, even the massive dragon, froze in place, lifting not one finger as they were slaughtered by the remaining mortals.
Rory felt something - a dark, corrupted soul. The immortal soul of the cursed Queen of the Grimm was floating somewhere in her realm, waiting to be reincarnated. It stewed in a dark miasma of hate, unable to pass on. Rory tried to break the curse, using her divine magic on the chains that shackled Salem's soul, but they were made of magic more potent than hers, crafted by hands far older than she. All she did was weaken the bonds that held it. In the end, the soul returned to Remnant, where it would be reborn once more. Salem would return, but due to Rory's efforts, it would be hundreds of years in the future.
Her time was almost up. As a full goddess, she would exist on a different plane of existence, barely able to interact with the mortal plane. With her last seconds in this realm, she spoke telepathically to the leaders of the various mortal factions.
Winter Schnee and Pina Co Lada heard her voice in their minds. "This is goodbye. As much as I would like you to stay... I cannot. I will open up a portal back to Remnant. It will last for no more than a day. Let this... be the final blessing of the Apostle of Death."
In front of the battered armies, a Gate appeared. Torn into existence by the power of a goddess, the towering stone structure connected the two worlds once more. Energy swirled and crackled within, already warning of the deadline.
As those from Remnant gathered and prepared to return to their home, the four girls of team RWBY heard a soft, distant voice in their minds.
"Thank you, for everything. Goodbye."
The war was over. Salem was dead, at least for now. Her great creation, the Grimm Dragon, lay petrified underneath a hundred tons of rock. The Gate was open once more, the final chance for the Remnants to return home. There was much to be done.
"Evacuate the wounded and civilians first. All available forces, gather as much material as possible and load them on our vehicles. Move it, people, we only have a day!" Winter ordered, directing the rest of the Atlesian forces. They had to clean the battlefield up to prevent their technology from falling into the wrong hands. Still, with the number of destroyed Atlesian Knights and the strict time limit, it was impossible for them to recover everything before they had to leave. Much would remain in Falmart and end up in the hands of the locals, but there was nothing they could do about it.
Pina Co Lada had tried to talk to the leader of the Atlesian forces, but Winter had been too busy, thanking her for her help before going straight to ignoring her requests. "Don't you have your own men to handle?" she had asked. As such, Pina focused on taking control of the now-leaderless Empire Army. With Zorzal dead and Rory gone, they willingly began to follow Pina, the final successor of the Empire. Her actions and power in the battle had gained their respect, and the army followed her orders, reorganizing themselves and preparing to return to the capital.
The few remaining Atlesian Knights had passed through the portal first, both to ensure that it was safe and to secure the other side. When they passed through successfully, the wounded had been quickly sent through, as well as the civilians. Team RWBY was sent with them, along with Tai and Arta, while the Aceops had to help with the cleanup.
As they prepared to enter, one man stayed back.
"I'm not going back," Arta said, remaining where he was. The heavy wound that he had taken had been healed, but the mental scars did not.
"What? Why?" Tai asked.
Arta sighed. "Vela is dead. Ariel, too. Nothing remains for me back there. I would rather stay here. Build a new life for myself. Help these people recover. Keep our tech from falling into evil. Besides," he smiled, slightly, lifting a hand. A spark turned into a flame within his palm. "I'd like to study this magic more. Maybe I'll see you again one day."
"I understand. Goodbye, then," Tai said.
Arta waved, and Tai joined the others at the Gate.
"Together?" he suggested.
"Together," RWBY agreed.
They stepped forward, into the unknown. The dark tunnel stretched out before them, cold and lifeless. The team felt themselves speeding up, eager to reach the light at its end. Before they knew it, they were running.
Before they knew it, they were home.
THE END
A/N: Cliffhanger. Unfortunately, you're going to have to live with it, because I don't intend to continue. Partly because I have no idea what would have happened back on Remnant, and partly because I'm not coming back to this. If there are any inconsistencies in this chapter, I apologize. It's been a while.