15 years ago, Ben Tennyson entered my life. He kicked down the door into my young mind, laid out on a couch, and sat there for many, many years.
As time went on, Ben never left my mind. Things changed about me- interests, passions...a gender, ways of thinking...but he stuck with me. Eventually, his scythe-wielding girlfriend popped into existence, and she joined him on the brain couch.
At some point, they began going on adventures in the form of maladaptive daydreams. And after I told them to my best friend, we decided something.
...people need to see this. And people have to SUFFER.
When I first started writing Gemstones, I honestly didn't expect it to take off. I started writing it in March 2018 as a birthday gift for that friend. She wrote an entire 50+ page story for my birthday, so I just said 'fuck it, I'll do it too.' And it eventually led to us working on it together, then bringing in friends to work on it and...eventually we're here.
Happy 15th year anniversary to Ben 10, Happy 2nd year anniversary to Gemstones and most of all, farewell to a shitty fucking year.
Blonko rushed through the fire and flames. Some of the chaos had died down, but he wasn't sure how many people were still around. Some had succumbed to exhaustion and were sleeping amidst debris, rubble and their wounded, while others were hurriedly waiting for the Bullhead's to pick them up...
"ROOK!"
Blonko froze, stopping in front of a collapsed section of Beacon's halls. "Ben?" he cried out, concerned.
"Help! I got pinned under some rocks by that Albedo asshole!" Ben yelled, and Blonko hurried in. The hall was a mess, and Blonko looked around frantically.
"Ben? Where are-" He didn't finish his sentence- Mercury jumped down and delivered a diagonal flying kick. Blonko rolled out of the way, and Mercury chuckled.
"Man, you're so naive." He smirked. "'AHH! Help me Rook! I, the great Ben Tennyson, have been trapped under a few rocks!' It's embarrassing that you fell for that."
Blonko just glared as he removed his ID mask. Mercury gawked at him. "Jeez. Aren't you a sight for sore eyes."
"I would prefer we direct any unnecessary comments into our fight, Mr. Black," Blonko declared, drawing out his Prototool.
"Couldn't agree more." Mercury grinned. He charged in and kicked, but Blonko lunged forward and blocked it with a shield.
"Nice toy," Mercury drawled. "How easily can it BREAK?" He delivered a powerful roundhouse kick to the shield, knocking Blonko back a few feet. He quickly shifted the Prototool to its rapid fire mode, firing several shots at his opponent.
Mercury dodged all of them by performing a backflip and, in the same motion, fired two explosive shots from his own greaves. Blonko quickly leapt out of the way, the explosive rounds blowing up the ground instead.
The two stopped and stared at each other for a moment as Blonko stood up from a kneeling position. He raced forward to attack, but Mercury struck first, leading him to instead block the first kick with the shield function again.
"You really like that shield, don't you?" Mercury taunted.
"If Captain America can use it, so can I," Blonko said, before headbutting him. Mercury cursed as he stumbled back, and Blonko shifted his weapon to its bow and arrow mode. He immediately started shooting multiple energy arrows at his enemy.
Mercury ducked down and narrowly avoided the attacks. He did a kick up and fired an explosive round, hitting Blonko dead in the chest and knocking him back.
Mercury then leapt into the air and, with a spin, brought his foot down on Blonko's head, which he again blocked with a shield. After landing on the floor and dropping to his hands and feet, Mercury spun with one leg out, but Blonko raised his foot over it and leapt backward. Mercury quickly stood and leapt into the air before propelling himself off a wall. He fired a few curved shots at Blonko, which he successfully blocked with his shield-
But Mercury lunged at his opponent and FINALLY slammed his heel down on top of Blonko's head. He yelled as he dropped to the ground, clutching his aching head. Mercury grabbed him by his collar and punched him in the face.
"Don't tell me you've had enough, you little shit!" Mercury taunted as he punched Rook in the face again and again and again. "Come on! Show me how you kicked Albedo's ass! Show me that skill that made that CRDL guy surrender! COME ON! DON'T MAKE ME HUNT DOWN EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOUR FRIENDS AND KILL THEM ONE BY ONE UNTIL YOU FINALLY FUCKING GIVE ME A FAIR FIGHT!"
Rook spat in his face. Mercury dropped Rook to the ground and wiped his cheek.
"Just as I thought. You don't have any aura," Mercury laughed. "I'm surprised you were resilient enough to handle Talaria's full strength." he started to circle Blonko. "You know why I joined with Cinder? It's all because of my dad. Overprotective son of a bitch."
Blonko weakly tried to grab his weapon, but Mercury simply picked it up. "Never let me have any of the fun. Asshole was an assassin or something. Guess he made a lot of enemies, because one of those victims came in and fucking chopped my legs off. After that, dad NEVER let me out of his sight. Annoying shithead didn't realize that his coddling was just sparking this rage inside of me. So, after some time adjusting to my prosthetics...I killed him. No regrets. No remorse."
Mercury happily twirled Blonko's weapon around. "Normally I don't use guns, but this time I'll make an exception. Say good night, alien boy..."
Blonko's eyes went wide. "Wait! There is something you do not know about the Proto-Tool!"
Mercury ignored his warning and fired the gun...only to accidentally taze himself. Mercury collapsed on the ground, twitching and groaning.
Blonko sighed as he closed his eyes. "You were holding it backwards."
Ben felt sick walking through the Safe Zone. There were too many scared school children huddling in blankets and so many injured-
And nothing was worse than seeing Rook, Kevin, Ceres, and Kylie amongst the injured. Weiss laid near Kylie- she wasn't that injured, but she was tired from carrying Rook across the battlefield. Ari was tending to Ceres, who was laid out on a mat, bruised and broken. Lev was sitting near her, his arms bloody and scraped and his prosthetic legs a little damaged, but he was already doing some maintenance on them. Min laid by Kevin's side, using her powers to keep him alive for just a little longer.
"The ship's coming soon," Min said, her voice shaking. "I promise."
Ben could only stare and ignore how broken up he felt inside.
...some of his friends were still missing. Where were Yang and Blake and Ruby-
"BEN!"
He whirled around to see Ruby and Blake running across the quad. Ben immediately rushed forward, pulling Ruby into his arms and holding her close. "Oh my god, oh my god..." he whispered as she wrapped her arms around his waist.
"'I'm okay, I'm okay," Ruby repeated, her voice low and soothing. She found herself smiling slightly, not for herself, but to reassure her boyfriend as he stared at her, looking for any sign of injury.
Blake ran over to the others. "Where's Yang?" she snapped.
"She went out to help the others," Weiss wheezed. "She's our...only active unit right now...aside from my father."
"We have to find the head of this operation," Ben said as he regrouped with everyone. "They started this chaos for a reason. What do they want, and where are they hiding?"
"I might know," Lev grunted. He had the top shell of his left leg open, exposing wire and machinery. He fiddled with a tool as he spoke. "The speech mentioned Ozpin by name. Chances are the mastermind behind all this will be going after him specifically. I'd start with his office."
Ruby frowned. "Beacon Tower still looks untouched. We may have a chance of cutting her off before she gets to him."
"Are you sure you wanna do that?" Kylie asked anxiously. "I mean, look at what her people did to us!" She gestured to the injured collective.
"We have to," Ben declared. "Something of this scale doesn't just happen randomly. I think whoever's behind all of this is using Beacon as a warning… and any future attack will be so much worse."
Kylie looked ready to argue, but she saw how Ruby and Blake were agreeing with him. "...stay safe, then," she sighed, watching them run off.
She could only hope they would come back safe and sound.
Back in the city, Glynda Goodwitch flicked The Disciplinarian and knocked back a few Creeps, while Qrow Branwen sliced and blasted at a few infected Knights with Harbinger.
Qrow turned around to face some more Knights, but suddenly their heads were shot off. He raised an eyebrow as he looked over to his left- General Ironwood walked forward, clearly having survived his crash, but not without injuries. The right half of his uniform was ripped, exposing his cybernetics.
Without hesitation, he shot down all of the infected Knights with Due Process, flipping it into his right hand to club the last one as it leapt at him.
"This area is secure," Ironwood declared. "We need to-"
Suddenly, Qrow's expression shifted to anger. He transformed his sword into a scythe and charged toward his friend.
"Qrow! This isn't my doing-" Ironwood watched as Qrow flew past him, cutting into the monster that had snuck up on him.
"You idiot," Qrow teased. "I know you didn't do this, but something tells me he does."
Ironwood turned around to see what could only be described as Frankenstein's monster.
"Hm," the monster mused as he observed the blade stuck in his body. "I barely feel a thing." And with a burst of lightning that knocked both Qrow and Ironwood back, he disappeared.
Qrow grabbed Harbinger as Glynda ran over to help them up.
"What the hell was that?" Ironwood asked as he brushed himself off.
"Questions for later- what happened with the drones?" Glynda asked.
"Someone's done the impossible and gained control of my machines." Ironwood frowned at the thought. "Glynda, form up the local Huntsmen and establish a safe zone here in Vale. We need to evacuate Beacon."
"Already being handled," Glynda reassured him. "The students are being very-"
Thunder struck again. Viktor reappeared behind Ironwood and reared a fist back to punch a hole through his chest-
But Qrow got in between the two, holding his blade behind his back. A loud metallic noise rang out as Viktor's fist collided with the Harbinger.
"Interesting," the monster noted.
"You two, get out of here." he ordered. "I'll handle him."
Ironwood and Glynda nodded and took off, and Qrow turned to face his enemy.
"Qrow Branwen," the monster said, bowing. Whether it was respect or mockery, Qrow wouldn't know.
"You got a weird face," he deadpanned. "Dunno who you are, but since you don't look...well, human..."
"You may call me Viktor," the alien said. "And I can assure you..." The tesla coils on his back extended. "I am very, very human."
"Right," Qrow drawled, spinning his weapon around. "So, I think we've gotten this mixer over with. Let's get to the fun part."
Viktor grinned. "Yes, let's."
Viktor, now charged up with energy, threw another punch at Qrow, only to have it blocked by Harbinger. "Basic move, Vik." Qrow grinned as he blocked a few more strikes. "Something tells me this is your first fight in some time-" Qrow lowered his weapon only to be blinded by a flash of light. He blinked and saw that Viktor was gone. Suddenly, a massive hand grabbed his waist and threw him against a wall.
"You are right about this being my first fight," Viktor said, his fists crackling with electricity. "I'm doing much better than I expected."
Qrow frowned as Viktor threw more punches. They had more weight to them, but Qrow's swings of Harbinger were fast enough to repel them. The Huntsman nimbly leaned in and out of each side, looking for an opening-
There! Viktor had paused. Qrow swung his sword-
-there was a flash of light-
And Qrow swung at the open air.
Qrow already knew what would happen next. He twirled around, bashing his sword into Viktor's metal gauntlets.
"The teleporting thing is getting old," Qrow quipped as he swung again. Viktor caught the blade between his hands and discharged a massive amount of electricity, shocking Qrow hard enough to send him flying through the window of a store.
Qrow groaned as he tried to get up. The burst of electricity had separated Qrow from his weapon, he quickly learned. He was briefly defenseless-
Viktor teleported in front of Qrow, slamming his massive iron boot down on his chest. If he didn't have aura, his ribs would've been broken.
"For a pro, you really aren't putting up much of a fight," Viktor said, disappointed. "I expected more."
"I also expected this building to have some better insurance," Qrow joked.
Viktor looked at him strangely. But then, something creaked. Viktor looked up to see a wooden beam teetering dangerously, before it snapped-
And fell right on his face. Viktor stumbled back, swearing up a storm- this place looked secure, even if he'd just thrown Qrow through the window.
Speaking of which, he looked over to see Qrow-
Gone. No trace of where he'd gone either.
Well, at least until something cleaved into his left arm. He spun around to see no one was there. The weapon was still stuck in his arm, however. He went to pull it out, only for a heel to strike the top of his head. He tried to grab said heel, but instead grabbed the air.
Viktor hissed as he looked around- that thing that all Hunters and Huntresses had, a semblance...was it something akin to teleportation?
Viktor cried out as the blade was ripped from his flesh. It left him disorientated enough that he didn't see the blade swing around and cut into his chest, leaving a notable gash.
Viktor snarled as he stumbled back, blood oozing from his torso. It wouldn't be severe, especially for someone his stature...but still, annoying.
In a swift motion, Qrow thrusted the blade at an angle for a swift decapitation, but the monster hammered back with his own fists. Viktor began throwing blind punches, while Qrow defended himself with slashes and stabs.
Qrow carried on the offense though, sensing victory was nearing. In his hubris, however, he missed a high cut on Viktor and had to dodge a heavy swing of the monster's own fist, punching him in the chest and sending him careening into the wall.
Qrow barely had time to recover; Viktor was running at him, fists sparking with energy, and his tesla towers were starting to glow as well. Viktor punched his opponent with a lightning imbued fist, and the attack was strong enough to bring down a whole block of stores. Thunder struck the ground, tearing it up and leaving no remains of a charcoaled body that Viktor could present to his master as a trophy.
"Pathetic," he growled.
"You sure about that!?"
A bullet hit Viktor's shoulder, making him cry out. More bullets dug themselves into his torso as Ironwood walked out of the fog. Viktor turned to zap him, but he was quickly immobilized in a telekinetic bind.
"Thank you, Glynda," Ironwood said as he flipped his gun around. He pistol whipped Viktor's jaw hard enough for the monster to feel it crack. Glynda released Viktor from her bind and he fell to the ground, clutching his jaw in agony.
"It doesn't matter," he hissed. "You've still lost the battle. Beacon will fall!"
Ironwood grimaced. "From the looks of things, I have to agree. None of us could look around this place and say a good battle was fought here. But you made a mistake," he declared. "You said you won the battle. That means there's a war going on. And I can assure you-"
Ironwood cocked his pistol.
"We will win the war."
He took aim at Viktor's skull, but the monster disappeared in a loud burst of lightning. Ironwood frowned as he withdrew his weapon.
"I could've finished him off, you know."
He turned to see a crow perched on the remains of a wall. The general shook his head.
"I wanted to send a message," Ironwood said as the bird slowly turned back into Qrow.
"And I wanted to decapitate him," Qrow told him. "The dude thought he killed me."
"I honestly thought the same," Ironwood admitted.
"Had to keep to the sidelines about the whole 'turning into a bird' thing. Didn't want to blow my sneak attack," he explained. "Would you even shed a tear if I died?"
Ironwood turned away. "Would you do the same?"
Qrow grimaced as he hopped down from the wall. "Whatever."
Glynda rolled her eyes. "Men. Always have to have some tension between them."
Qrow pretended he didn't hear that.
Yang watched the last Bullhead fly off, taking some deep breaths. The day had been long enough, but still...she was sure there were still some people left at the fairground. One last check, and then she was done.
(She had told herself this about 10 times by now. It never got better.)
As the flames continued to burn down the fairground, Yang could feel the weight of all of this truly hit her. She wasn't sure where the rest of the team were, but she had been spending what felt like hours rescuing civilians and trying to get people to safety. That umbrella chick was already a step above the standard mook so she wasn't sure who was going to be next-
And that's when she heard it.
Screams...
And then fire.
Part of the fairground was engulfed in a spiral of orange as an inferno literally tore through it like a wave. Yang's eyes could only widen as she charged forward to see if there were any survivors- how had she missed some?! She thought all of them had been taken by the Bullhead!
When she arrived, all she could see was ash, burned wood, and...glass? There was a huge crater in the center of the flames, with a single woman standing in it. Her hair flowed like the hellish winds themselves, and her hands were engulfed with a powerful burning flame that had managed to find its way through the charred and skeletal remains of one of the Atlesian guards that had tried oh so desperately to fight off the witch...
And now he was nothing more than a pile of dust.
Fear, rage, anxiety...it all welled to the surface as Yang stood there and looked at the woman in the eye of the storm. She had to run, she had to try and find someone and have them help but-
How many more would die if this woman was left to run amok?
What would you do if you were faced with the possibility of death itself? Would you decide to run and get back up? Maybe face this colossal threat together and hope that you could make it out alive? Or do you fight on your own because you know that no one else will be able to... These were the whispers that Yang's mind focused on as she finally took a breath, lips curling into a scowl as she did the one thing she could-
"HEY!" Her voice pierced through the veil of lingering flame. The woman's auburn eyes flickered like sparks, suddenly turning to the source of the sudden intrusion upon her fun.
"Oh, another one. But you look different from the others; perhaps you might offer a better challenge than these ones have." Cinder's lips curled into a smile. She spun the blade in her hand, burning magma and glass shimmering as she stepped towards Yang, her movements loose and confident.
Yang stood stock still, her eyes narrowing dangerously. "You...You did all of this. That was your voice back at the stadium!"
"Perceptive. Too bad you won't be able to share such precious information. So why not do yourself a favour..." Cinder's form loomed before her, shadows flickering and stretching as she seemed to encompass every possible exit that Yang could take. She was fear, she was fire, and she was death itself.
A deafening crack sounded out. A fist struck the side of Cinder's face and pushed her back a few feet into the crater. The maiden could only clutch her face in disbelief as she saw Yang retract her robotic arm, reloading once more.
The next few seconds seemed to last an eternity. Cinder's disbelief turned into burning anger. This little brat had struck her- her!- and it had actually hurt! Oh, she wasn't just going to make this bitch suffer. She was going to make her regret ever being born. Her demeanour shifted back to her standard persona of an elegant mistress of fire...barring a terrible scowl on her face.
On the other end, Yang could feel her fist still reverberating from the punch. It was like she had struck a giant metallic wall...no...a wall of pure magma. It didn't help that she was still wired from her last battle with that weirdo- one she had only won thanks to pure luck.
Her muscles still ached and her aura was at a point where she would probably last for about five minutes if she decided to overcharge herself now. Her semblance was good at taking big hits but it didn't help if she couldn't throw them back. What would she do if she missed those shots? Would she even be able to hurt this woman again? Would she even give her the satisfaction?
No, focus Yang. You can't let yourself be scared. You're not fighting like this is some kind of bar-room brawl; these are LIVES on the line. You told Ruby that you'd protect her, you told Blake you'd keep her safe, you made SURE that Weiss could be shielded. You aren't going to back down...Because every moment that she's able to walk free, more lives are at risk.
With a sudden gust of wind, a gunshot crackled out, and both Yang and Cinder launched at one another. Both women quickly tangled in the air as their weapons collided, the dust around them lifting as they both attacked one another. It was like two lions striking one another for supremacy as the flames only seemed to grow higher around the pair.
A slash from Cinder's blade and Yang leaned herself back, launching forward with a sudden strike with her elbow. Cinder's moment of stumbling back was interrupted by Yang slamming her boot into the woman's gut with a powerful crack!
The maiden could only scowl as she returned said attack. Fire billowed from around her as the walls of their makeshift arena seemed to bend and warp; flames were pulled into an orb of pure heat that surrounded Cinder's form, prompting Yang's eyes to widen as she quickly pushed herself back. The dirt beside her had turned into a liquid sludge as the shield around Cinder and the blasts that came from it were only causing the arena to warp more. Glass spires suddenly formed from the heated materials as her lips curled into a much more sadistic grin.
There were no words between the two, just action. Cinder continued firing off shot after shot and aiming to skewer Yang with the superheated glass, all the while Yang ducked and weaved and tried to fire off more shots...but she quickly found out they all fizzled out entirely before they hit. Yang couldn't go for a ranged approach. The only way she could try and force this woman out from her little volcanic prison would be to do something outside the box.
As the next glass spire shot out from underneath Yang's legs, she took her chance and used the momentum to launch herself up. Eyes turning a scarlet red as her hair spread out around her, Cinder's face formed an annoyed glower as she shot a blast of flame up toward the annoying girl that decided to challenge her...
And the shot hit its mark perfectly.
Yang's body was enveloped in fire as her eyes continued to glow brighter. An explosion rocked across the sky, smoke quickly billowing around Cinder as she assumed that her job was done...
Until a sudden blast of wind rushed past her, her flames actually...weakening?!
"WHAT?!" Cinder roared as she felt another gust of wind...and then another.
The sound of gunshots rang out as Yang rocketed toward Cinder, her gauntlets loaded with Wind Dust as she fired round after round. The ground beneath Cinder was pierced with mini bursts of air as the flame shield around her started to crack and shimmer. Her eyes widened as Yang let out a series of yells, her fists moving faster as Cinderwas caught in a mix of blows and powerful wind gusts...
"Go down, go down, GO DOWN!" Yang screamed before slamming her fist at Cinder's face once more, her body pushing forward as she went to put everything she had into this one strike...and it hit with a resounding crash. The flames seemed to disperse as quick as they came, Yang's eyes shifting from red to purple as she felt the ache of her muscles coming back in full force, her body shimmering as gold embers rushed off her.
It was done-
"Is this supposed to be some kind of joke? Playing the hero because of your own insignificant plight? I know now who you are; you're just as pathetic as they were." Cinder's voice was filled with malice and hatred.
Yang could only step back in shock, wincing as she could feel her muscles almost lock up. Cinder's form seemed to creak back into position like the very Grimm that she was known to fight. For the first time in a long time Yang could feel pure fear rush through her.
A sudden hand was on her arm...and Cinder simply smiled. "You're no hero. The people already see you as a monster...and they'll be GLAD that I put you down like the dog you are~" Her tone was like poison as Yang could only attempt to pull back...but there was no stopping this.
Heat crackled through Yang's arms as Cinder continued to tightly grip it. Metal popped and bubbled as the flesh upon it was quickly turned to cinders. It didn't hurt but the shock was still there as Yang was suddenly blasted back; metallic wires, gears, and more littered the ground as Cinder effortlessly destroyed the thing that she already lost once before...the thing that was her greatest reminder of her weakness. Yang's arm, her reminder that she was not invincible, easily tossed aside just like all those years ago.
Yang could only try to stand up as she was slammed into the side of the crater. Cinder simply stepped forward and slammed a heel onto her opponent's upper chest. Hearing a sudden snap, Yang's eyes looked down toward her now rapidly heating up chest.
"I'm...Not like you...!" she coughed out as she felt her chest contort and continue to be pressed against. "I'm not going around killing others for fun!" She spat out before receiving a swift kick to the face, blood splattering against one of the spires as Cinder simply leaned down and grappled her neck.
"Of course not, you're nothing like me. Because people like me are what's needed in this kill or be killed world. For too long you've lived in blissful ignorance of the greater world around you, and look where you are now: children masquerading as caped crusaders all at the whim of a man that they don't even know about, fighting in a war that they will not win!" Cinder spat as she started to ascend off the ground, flames surrounding her. Yang could only struggle, her broken ribs and aura not allowing her any leeway.
"All this time I spent watching, disgusted at how you can be ignorant of everything around your stupid little head. There's a reason that they say blondes are brain dead and you are the perfect example of that fact!" Cinder laughed as she suddenly took off.
As the skies around the pair whistled by, Cinder rushed herself down towards the streets of Vale, raising the blonde up before slamming her against the destroyed streets. Asphalt and stone crashed against Yang as she was ripped through like a knife through butter. She was sure her other arm was fucked but she still tried to struggle free.
Cinder had one destination in mind...perhaps it would be best to have this one be an example. She was sure that the others would be fine with seeing some nobody 'hero' get killed in front of those that she cared for the most. Or was that her rage talking? Either way, her destination was Beacon's courtyard. And with a sudden, deafening crash the courtyard was turned into a burning crater, Yang's body ragdolling out of it and crashing onto the path before her.
Pain...
So...
Much...
Pain...
That was all she could feel, the broken and splintered bones of her organic arm, the tightness in her chest as her heart could only pump so much blood. She was on the verge of passing out and her hair was in tatters. She looked like a goddamn wreck but that wasn't what mattered most right now.
"So tell me, hero, what are you going to do? You can barely stand let alone fight." Cinder scowled before stepping forward, hands raised as the black glass around her swirled and reformed into two smaller scimitars.
"Or perhaps you would like me to take away something precious from you?" Cinder feigned her own ignorance as she leaned forward and smiled...Yang couldn't even respond as she stumbled forward, a hand clutching her neck again as the Fall Maiden slowly started to pull the golden, dirt-filled locks of hair against her sword.
"A memento. I'm sure that it'll be good for your friends and family to see these scattered around with your remains." She grinned and, with a flick of her wrist, she cut Yang's hair clean off.
The ringing in Yang's ears wouldn't stop. Her eyes laid upon the locks of hair fluttering down around her. She could see their embers flickering out as the sunny light from within seemed to shift to a darker...blacker colour...
"Heheh..." Yang weakly croaked out, prompting Cinder to actually turn, her eyes revealing how surprised she was. Perhaps this girl still had some fight left in her? Good...all the more fun to toy with.
"Do you...believe in destiny...?" Yang sputtered out, blood leaking from her lips as the air around her started to sizzle, her own blood turning to steam as the maiden in front of her could only look in disgust. Those words were nothing more than a substitute for people that allowed themselves to be controlled by someone more powerful than them. It was a fool's excuse for playing the hero.
"Yes..." Cinder whispered as she went to finish the job...only to notice that Yang's body was moving forward. Her eyes were now a pure crimson as the maiden could only look on with confusion. Her aura was shattered...how was she doing this?!
"Good...Because yours isn't going to play out well...!" Yang sputtered out as what was left of her hair flared into a golden light once more. Her teeth bared into a prideful smile, a smile that made Cinder glare and hold her weapons tighter. The two charged once more, flames left in both their wakes as the two went to strike one another-
The sounds of battle could be heard from all around Beacon, the flames seemingly pulled to these two warriors. The clash resulted in a huge pillar of fire that dwarfed the one seen from afar.
All parties involved could see that this was not just a battle of two Huntresses, but a clash of a dragon and a demon, two beings pushing themselves to the absolute limits of their power. The flames continued to spiral and lash out, burning more and more of the area until no one could see the pair from the light that was given off.
And just as quickly as the pair had clashed, there was a sudden flash of darkness...and Yang Xiao Long, burned, bloodied, and battered, was tossed from the flames. Her body landed in a crumpled heap on the jagged rubble as her eyes closed. CInder turned and walked away from her latest kill…
But destiny had intervened.
The sound of wings flapping could be heard as a small raven flittered down toward one of the spires, head craned and facing toward the unconscious formy of Yang Xiao Long. The embers around her showed that the entire courtyard had been scorched...but she was alive, if barely.
A woman was slowly walking away, her dress lightly charred and with some minor bruises, but nothing that her aura couldn't heal. It was clear that, just this once, luck had seemed to run out.
But Yang would not die. She wouldn't let her die.
With a few loud caws from the raven's beak, there were the sounds of footsteps. Someone else was coming and she could not stay. All she had to do was assure that everyone was in the right place.
"You won't die here...I won't let you." Those were the words that flowed through Yang's mind as the bird simply glared at the retreating maiden. She knew what was coming next; her eyes had already shown her all that she needed to know.
The black queen was about to be removed from play.
Min stared down at Kevin's still form. He was still struggling, even as Ari examined him.
"I don't think Kevin's having a heart attack," she eventually said, "but I don't have the proper equipment to confirm that right now."
"I'm not taking any chances." Min grimaced and continued to focus her powers on him. "How about the others?"
"My shoulder is still fucking dislocated," Kylie announced.
"I could reset that for you right now-" Ari offered.
"No, low priority," she said, looking over at an unconscious Ceres. "I think I'm lucky to have escaped with this kind of wound."
Ari nodded. "Understood."
"So, Cass did this to her?" Weiss asked, utterly shocked. "I knew she had a violent streak, but this...this is..."
"Even if she did beat Cass, the drawbacks of our 'final stand' forms make it far too risky to use regularly," Ari explained. "She's gonna be out of commission for a few days, even without those broken ribs."
"I never realized you were...dragonic," Weiss said delicately.
"Yeah, our skin makes us look human, but looking at it under a microscope reveals it to be..." Lev paused, looking for a word. "...Lizardy."
"Believe me, Cass could have done a lot worse."
Everyone turned to see Charmcaster strutting over. She had a small skip in her step and a sinister smile on her lips.
Kylie aimed her pistol at Charmcaster, but she snapped her fingers. Kylie found herself holding a bouquet of roses, which Charmcaster snatched out of her hands.
"Nice try, girlie." Charmcaster smiled as she threw them aside. "I'm taken."
Min frowned. "So, what are you here to do? Turn Kevin into a mirror image of you? Annoy all of us? Use some sort of hypnosis spell to make our wounded selves fight?"
Charmcaster grinned. "Oh, please. I'm just here to...prepare~"
She raised an eyebrow. "Prepare for what?"
"Her arrival." And with that Charmcaster dashed off, spreading flames in her wake.
Min gasped as she turned to Ari. "Keep an eye on him. I'll make sure she doesn't cause any trouble," she said, sclera turning pitch black.
"Right." Ari nodded as the demon ran off.
It was Min who made the first move. She charged towards Charmcaster and unleashed a massive black hand from her palm to grab her. The sorceress quickly disappeared from sight and reappeared next to Min, punching her with a magically enhanced flaming fist. Min hurled herself away just in time to avoid being seriously burned.
"You should have joined us, you know," Charmcaster said as she casually set fire to the quad. "You could've been such a great help."
"Sorry to disappoint," Min hissed, her hands glowing black. She slammed her hand on the ground and sent traces of black energy across the grass, going right towards the witch. "WALSPURGISNACHT!" she yelled as a massive black explosion erupted from out near Charmcaster. The sorceress barely blocked the attack, the black embers scorching her coat and immediately burning it to ashes.
"That was a gift..." she snarled, sending another fireball towards the forest. Charmcaster put a palm forth and conjured up an ominous skull in front of her that started to float towards Min. Wondering just what the hell this was, Min waved her hands and created a shield. The skull bashed into her shield and opened it's jaw- the jaw somehow created an opening in Min's shield, allowing Charmcaster to surprise her with a punch to the face. Min stumbled back as Charmcaster continued on her route, spreading flames across the place.
Min hissed as she transformed into a shadow. She snaked herself across the grass before latching onto Charmcaster's shadow. Min grabbed her leg and forced her to the ground.
"Didn't really think fire was a way to greet your lord," Min snarled, the smoke overwhelming her senses.
"She loves the flames." Charmcaster grinned and waved her arms around like a showman. "What fire does not destroy, it leaves a permanent mark of failure. And this place is a monument to all of Ozpin's failures."
"'She'?" Min repeated. "So, you're not working with Zs'skayr?"
"Oh, I am," Charmcaster teased as she drew a rune on the ground. A blinding light suddenly filled the area, and Min screeched in sudden pain. Holy light scorched her skin and filled the quad with the sickly sweet stench of burning flesh. Charmcaster drew another rune on her skin, increasing her speed.
Min stumbled around, feeling for the rune on the ground. She finally wiped it away, and the light thankfully faded. She rubbed her eyes and groaned. "Great. I'll be seeing those annoying spots for a while." Current events hadn't been going her way. Why?
She was focusing all her powers on Kevin. Min was incredibly worried for his well being, especially since she knew what he went through. She had to make a choice- either let Charmcaster continue her chaos, or leave Kevin to the unbiased hands of fate for just a few minutes.
Min stuck her palm out.
"Let's mess with her a bit, shall we?" she whispered, lips curling deviously. She snapped her fingers, and a trio of absolutely massive tornadoes erupted around Charmcaster, sucking in the witch and spinning her around with great force. Min quickly brought the three together and sent Charmcaster flying into the sky, before crashing to the ground face first.
As Min approached her, she could hear the sounds of Charmcaster's bones slowly resetting- that rune on her arm had been quickly changed into a healing one. "I have to admit- you're better than I thought you were," Charmcaster huffed.
"I could say the same for you," Min admitted. "I'm on a limit, though...I'm really, really thirsty." She licked her newly fanged teeth. "And you're starting to look tasty."
Charmcaster frowned. "Why side with them? You're a Chaos Demon with royal lineage. You thrive on anarchy."
"And you're from Ledgerdomain," Min countered. "You write the drafts we correct. You like order. Funny thing about that- What we perceive as 'order' is nothing but a photographic snapshot of the consequential aftermath of chaos. You're maybe responsible for a fraction of everything in life. We're the ones who do all the heavy lifting for you, and we've certainly been overworked ever since you guys...well, you know."
Charmcaster's eyes lit up as she shot up from off the ground. The rune on her arm turned red, and her skin started to turn chalk white.
"You dare mock me?!" Charmcaster screamed, her voice warped.
"I do," Min said, unfazed. "Something tells me your emotions are gonna get the better of you."
"And what makes you say that?!"
"You're using advanced black magic, stuff I wouldn't touch if I were mortal." Min grinned. "And the chances of miscasting those types of spells...not that likely, I'll be honest. But hey..." She shrugged with mock helplessness.
Charmcaster realized what Min was getting at.
"...you fucking bitch," she hissed as she exploded in a firey ball of black flames. She'd live- that healing rune on her arm was potent, having brought back many witches from the ashes during the Salem trials and the Inquisition. But it'd take a while.
Min walked off, satisfied with her battle...before realizing she still had to worry about Kevin.
Ben and Ruby sat patiently in the headmaster's office. They knew Cinder would arrive soon, so the second those doors opened, they would strike.
"Are you...feeling ok?" Ben asked tentatively.
Ruby rubbed her eyes. "I am so tired," she groaned. "I'm gonna sleep for a goddamn week after all this."
"Same," Ben sighed, looking down at the Omnitrix. "So, who'd you face first?"
"Well, Blake and I fought against Roman," Ruby told him. "He got torn apart by some Nevermore."
"Damn," Ben said, blinking a few times. "I just fought Albedo. Turns out he can evolve his aliens and...just a bunch of other crazy shit."
"Huh." Ruby awkwardly scratched the back of her head. "Neat."
"Very," Ben said. He took a deep breath and steeled himself. "So, this is probably a bad time to say this, and you don't have to say it back, but I think I lo-"
Thunder struck the tower, and the two were blasted to the other end of the office. Ben groaned, weakly standing back up in time to see what looked like Frankenstein's monster near the elevator.
"Who the fuck are you?" Ruby growled, getting up off the floor.
Viktor snapped his fingers. Immediately, Black Hand members walked out of seemingly thin air and stood behind him. These ones looked more dangerous than the other members Ben and Ruby had seen, with more regal robes and masks that reminded Ben of the Hollows from Bleach.
"So, you're one of Zs'skayr's pet freaks," he scoffed. "Makes sense."
Viktor just studied him carefully. "You are...Tennyson's grandson, aren't you?" he asked with a cruel, teasing lilt in his tone. "Interesting."
Ben froze. It'd been a while since anyone brought up Max. And it was especially strange for it to come up now...
"Yes, actually," Ben said slowly. "Why?"
Viktor chuckled. "I could sense a bit of his ignorance in you."
Ben saw red and slapped down the dial.
"Ben, wait!" Ruby yelled, but it was too late- Heatblast was speeding on over to fight Viktor, but the monster just snapped his fingers. A member of the Black Hand appeared in front of him, and Ben landed a nasty sucker punch into the cultist's gut.
Viktor hummed. "I thought it would take a lot more to rile you up. Oh well. My subject testing has been made...easier."
Ben looked down to notice the cultist he punched was glowing. The man took off his mask to reveal a glowing, screaming skull. The others behind Viktor did as well, and they started to light up-
"FUCK!" Ben jumped back as the cultists exploded.
The top of the tower blew up and Ben jumped over Ruby for cover. The roof had been thrown clear off, and multiple pillars had been destroyed, but the rest of the office was mercifully intact. As the dust started to clear, Ben looked around for Viktor, but couldn't find him. He eventually saw something moving in the dust-
And it shot something at him.
An arrow.
Ben quickly ducked down, and the dust cleared completely. Cinder Fall sauntered out from a red portal, flipping her hair and smirking. She wielded a bow in her hands, but no arrows.
That just made her powers even scarier. There was no limit, no way for Ben and Ruby to stall her.
"So," she said. "We finally meet. You may call me Cinder."
Ben immediately threw a few fireballs, and Ruby fired some Dust bullets at her. Cinder blocked the bullets and cut through the fire with her bow, before she transformed it into a proper scimitar.
"Skipping the formalities?" Cinder mused. "I would have thought this place would have taught you some manners..."
Ben didn't bother to respond- he sent more fire at Cinder, who responded by shooting her own fireball from the palm of her hand. She rushed through the smoke to slash at him, but Ruby blocked her scimitar with her scythe. Cinder smiled and unleashed a fiery palm at her stomach. The explosion caused Ruby and Ben to nearly fall off the building, but Ben used his back flames to launch them back up.
"She's smart," Ben stated. "Having that freak detonate those cultists was probably to wear us down."
"Not to mention that semblance of hers looks versatile," Ruby added. "Never seen anything like it."
"You flatter me." Cinder smiled as she took a step back. She began circling the two, her eyes cold and predatory.
"So, Cinder, was it?" Ben began, stalling for time. "Why'd you do all of this? What do you gain?"
"It's cute that you think I'm the mastermind," Cinder laughed. "But to answer your questions...It's not about what I have to gain, it's simply about overpowering an enemy. It's about taking away what power they have."
"Ozpin's just a headmaster," Ruby exclaimed. "Yes, he has some ties with the military, but, like, even then! He's just a headmaster! What, did he flunk you out?"
Cinder laughed. "You still don't know the full story, do you, Ruby~?" she teased.
Cinder's scimitar suddenly lit up. She hurled the blade at the two before it exploded in midair. Ben and Ruby were blown away from one another, and Cinder decided to first knock out the weak link.
Cinder rushed at Ben, unleashing a whirlwind of obsidian shards around her. Ben jumped back before the attack landed on him. He quickly shifted into Sea Strike swiped at Cinder. She gracefully dodged him and she sent out a crystal aimed right for Ben's head. His face tendrils caught it, however, and he unleashed a power optic blast, knocking Cinder back.
Ben ran at her, landing a punch to her face, followed by a powerful push kick that knocked Cinder to her knees. Ben prepared to annihilate her with a devastating laser blast, but Cinder quickly blocked it with multiple layers of obsidian walls. Ben didn't even see where they formed from, but if he had to guess...her arms.
"If you're done..." Cinder hissed as her hands touched the ground. Obsidian knives suddenly appeared from her flames. The knives shot at Ben and he quickly jumped back. He rapidly punched at them, trying to break them, but they were surrounding him from practically every direction-
Before an obsidian pillar suddenly encased his body. The knives? Distractions. Cinder knew he'd deal with the little things first, not the bigger issue.
Just like an idiot hero would.
Cinder smiled as she narrowly dodged a bullet to the head, instead hitting one of the crystals encasing Ben. Cinder threw a barrage of fire balls at Ruby, which she effortlessly slipped through using her speed. She got up in Cinder's face, unleashing a vicious uppercutting slash that knocked Cinder into the air, followed by an overhead scythe swing that knocked her back to the ground.
Cinder quickly got back up, seemingly uninjured. Ruby quickly realized why- she had formed obsidian armor around her body, mitigating the damage. Cinder gave her a sly smile before throwing more fireballs at her. Ruby gasped as she quickly dodged them again.
Ben, meanwhile, struggled to get free. His tendrils grasped the Omnitrix, and he slapped down the faceplate. Upgrade's form flowed freely out of the crystals and over to Ruby.
"So," Ben said. "Wanna just get it over with?"
"Absolutely." Ruby smirked and offered Ben her weapon. He jumped into the scythe, and in seconds it turned black and green and exponentially more deadly.
Ruby rushed towards Cinder, thrusting her scythe's sniper mode forward. Ben unleashed three close-ranged explosions that blasted Cinder back. Ruby bolted after her, leaving a trail of rose petals behind her, and slammed into her opponent with an upward swing of her Crescent Rose. Ben popped out and grabbed Cinder's waist, before slamming her to the ground.
Cinder stood back up, now visibly harmed. "Interesting tactic," she growled as Ruby spun her weapon around.
"...don't do that," Ben said, now slightly dizzy.
"Sorry," Ruby softly apologized. "Heat of the moment."
Cinder leapt up and formed a crescent shaped blade in front of her- Ruby jumped back and plunged her weapon into the ground. Ben oozed out of it, extending to his full height. He popped up in front of Cinder and she immediately slashed his head in half, but he simply reformed. Ruby whipped her weapon upwards and Ben formed back into a scythe, slashing into Cinder's chest.
"Nice improvisation there," Ruby said approvingly. "I thought you were gonna make the ground to blow up."
"And send us falling through the floor? No thank you," Ben answered with a frown.
The obsidian around Cinder's hands turned into machete-like blades, and she thrust herself forward, which Ruby barely ducked under. Cinder grinned- she sent an obsidian spike underneath their feet, which exploded and separated Ben and Ruby.
Ben merged out of the weapon and fell to the ground, reverting back to human. Ben shook his head in pain and weakly tried to move. He could hear Cinder's heels clicking over to him.
"Did you think you actually had a chance against me?" she taunted. "You didn't want this. You didn't want any of your friends to get hurt. Worry not- I am your salvation from this pain."
Ben tried to stand up, he really did. He was hurting all over, but he wasn't about to give up now-
Ben got on one knee and his eyes shrank in fear.
She aimed her primed bow and arrow directly at him. "Good night, Ben Tennyson."
The arrow flew-
And it pierced Ben's chest, right in one of his lungs.
Cinder smiled as he shook and lost his breath. Ruby's screams filled the air as slumped over, the arrow slowly dissolving and his grasp on consciousness slowly slipping away-
Ruby turned to Cinder, eyes filled with rage and hatred.
"Oh, dear," Cinder teased. "You should feel honored. After all, he got to be the sacrifice that will catalyze her rise to power. How does it feel to see him of all people, defeated? So weak for someone with such potential..."
Ruby stood in front of Ben's collapsed body. He was on his back, blood pooling around him, his chest barely moving. She turned back to Cinder, eyes glowing dangerously.
"Still trying to play the hero, Ruby?" Cinder smirked. "You should know better than to fight a battle you can't win." She drew her bow and fired off a few more arrows, but Ruby blocked them all.
Ruby blitzed towards her and snatched up her weapon, raising her scythe to attack. Cinder quickly jumped out of the way and looked over to see Ruby aiming her gun at her; the girl fired a shot at her head, but it missed and made a large wound in Cinder's arm.
Cinder yelled as she stumbled back. She charged towards Ruby, creating an obsidian sword and to stab the girl. Ruby used her semblance to split into three torrents of roses and flowed around the blade, appearing behind Cinder. Once again, Cinder ran as fast as she could towards Ruby, sticking her weapon out in front of herself. In that moment, Ruby blocked the sword with her weapon. Immediately several clashes between Ruby's scythe and Cinder's sword went off, slamming in every direction possible. Cinder backed off a few feet and lit her sword on fire.
Ruby grit her teeth, shifting her weapon to its war scythe function. Cinder jumped up and slashed her sword through Ruby's cape; when she tried doing that attack again, Ruby parried it using her scythe, causing several blows to Cinder's form. Cinder jumped back towards Ben, eyeing his unmoving form.
"Oh dear, he's vulnerable, isn't he?" Cinder smirked as she put her blade ever so slightly above his neck.
Ruby's eyes shrank in fear. Cinder swung her blade down, but in a flash of red the body was gone. Ruby's back had taken a nasty blow from that dangerous maneuver...not to mention she put all her energy into that. Ruby fell to the ground in a daze, her vision blurry...
"So weak for someone with such a big mouth. Your power could barely touch her ambitions," Cinder jeered.
Still weak from the attack, Ruby managed to stand up. Her cape was tattered and her eyes were glowing vibrantly. Cinder scoffed as she leaped into the air, firing off multiple arrows at once. Ruby didn't even flinch; she sliced through them effortlessly and launched herself at Cinder.
Cinder let out a thoughtful noise. She landed on her feet, deploying more Dust arrows. Ruby turned into a flurry of rose petals and dashed past Cinder. The petals felt like tiny daggers brushing past Cinder's skin, but it was a weak attack. Besides, she left Ben wide open again.
Cinder fired more arrows at the boy, but Ruby rushed past and quickly destroyed each one. Cinder was surprised; was this little fool actually trying to be a spear and shield? It would just drain her aura until she was nothing more than an easy target.
Cinder took a step back, circling the reaper with the eyes of a killer. She turned and, with a sweep of her arm, sent a fireball at Ruby. Again, she blocked it. She knew it was dangerous to put her body on the line like this, but...
No.
She wouldn't lose another loved one.
Ruby slashed her way through a storm of arrows and fireballs, making Cinder angrier and angrier. With another sweep of her arm she sent a small wave of flames at Ruby, who darted up and over the fire-
And almost into a sword slash that would have bisected her if she didn't have aura. Ruby quickly turned into petals again, but she could tell that was the last time she could use her semblance. If she used it again, her aura would be all gone...
Ruby crashed to the floor and tumbled to a stop as Cinder walked over to Ben. "All your little tricks, and yet you couldn't protect him, could you?"
Ruby groaned, her tired and broken body forcing itself to run forward, but it was too late. Cinder had her sword drawn and there was no way Ruby could reach her in time-
"BEN!" she cried out as Cinder swung down-
"Ben."
He groaned.
"Ben."
His eyes slowly began to blink.
"Wake up, Ben."
Ben slowly opened his eyes. Everything was moving in slow motion: Cinder's blade was inches away from slicing his face open, and Ruby was still far away. But now there was a third figure; he was glowing bright purple and green and standing behind Cinder-
"Grandpa?"
Max Tennyson smiled down at him, looking like he always did when he was still alive. "Looks like you're in a tight spot right now."
"You could say that," Ben groaned weakly. "...am I gonna die?"
"No, no." Max shook his head. "It's not your time yet, son. Things look dire, but you need to fight back."
Ben said nothing.
"You need to let the energy flow," Max told him. Ben didn't get it, but he listened anyway. "Ruby's putting her life on the line to save yours. I know you can do it, Ben. Do your best. And if your best isn't good enough, work harder until it is. Your friends will back you up. And remember to never give up."
Ben felt his fingers twitch.
"I love you, Grandpa."
"Love you too, kiddo," Max said as he faded away.
Ben's eyes shot open, briefly flashing an electric blue. He lifted a hand and pointed-
And shot out a lightning strike that hit Cinder dead in her right eye. She screeched as she dropped her weapon, having lost all focus on keeping it solid-
And then Ruby CLEAVED her right arm off.
Cinder stumbled back and wailed in agony. Ruby rushed to Ben's twitching form. She had no idea what happened, but Ben was alive-
He gave a weak chuckle and smiled at her, before his eyes slid shut again. Ruby almost panicked again- Ben was still breathing, his blood had stopped pooling, and from the look of things his wound hadn't killed him...but to see him in such an abject state broke her heart.
"Thank you," Ruby whispered, planting a kiss on Ben's forehead. And then she stood back up, ready to fight again.
"You BITCH!" Cinder screeched as she clutched the bloody stump where her arm once was. "I'LL...I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"
Just as she said that, the Wyvern Grimm that had been circling nearby started to respond to Cinder's negative emotions. The thing roared loudly and flew towards the tower.
Cinder's anger cooled as she turned back to Ruby. "Or I'll just let him finish the job." The woman smiled evilly even as blood slid down her face.
Ruby's glowing eyes filled with tears. She was in agony. The situation was hopeless. Ben and her friends still needed help.
Ruby screamed, and brilliant white light spilled out of her.
"WHAT?!" Cinder yelled as the light enveloped her completely-
Salem stepped through the rift her 'daughter' had made for her. The tower was in disarray, having been destroyed in an epic battle. Not to mention her pet, a dragon she'd planted in the mountains long ago, was nowhere to be seen.
She frowned as she coldly glanced down at her fallen apprentice. A puddle of blood surrounded her still form, oozing out of her wounds. Salem snapped her fingers and the body sank down into the rift.
Salem was disappointed. That disappointment was expected, however.
Salem strolled over to the unconscious forms of Ruby and Ben. These two were the greatest threats to her plans, and seeing how they both managed to take down Cinder amused her.
Salem smiled. "You know, I could kill them both right here, right now. But you wouldn't let me do that, would you?"
Salem turned around to see Ozpin standing quietly in the back.
Her voice noticeably softened. "It's been too long, sweetheart."
"How long has it been since we last saw each other?" Ozpin asked. "100, maybe 200 years?"
"It felt like eternity to be away from you. Now here we are, talking at the end of a battle." Salem chuckled. "Typical of us, really."
"Indeed," Ozpin said as he watched the bodies of Ben and Ruby get pulled through a red portal by a woman wearing a Nevermore mask. She shared a brief glance with Ozpin before she disappeared. Salem didn't even bother to turn around.
"Wise of you to get them out of the way." Salem snapped her fingers and her robes transformed. She now wore a black long sleeved, partially exposed cold shoulder robe, with the sleeves ending in middle finger loops. A red trim flowed from her raised collar, bordering through the vertical window exposing her bust, to the sides of her hips. Three crimson stripes flowed all the way down to the bottom hem of her robe. "I haven't worn this in ages."
Ozpin raised an eyebrow. "Dressed to kill, as they say?"
"No, dear." Salem smiled. "Dressed to annihilate."
A/N: A very special thanks to Man of Action for making Ben 10, a very special thanks to my boyfriend for writing the Yang Vs Cinder fight and the Emerald vs Weiss fight...and most importantly, a special thanks to all of you.
Please leave a review and...hm. Maybe reread the last chapter again. I feel as if there was a certain reveal that didn't get much attention~
