Imu Chapter 18: WRATH, a rwby fanfic

In all honesty, I probably should have cut this one in half as well, but I wanted to get this story wrapped up and done with so I could move on with my worryingly long list of upcoming projects. Thus, this part will likely be the length of two or even three chapters. Get comfy; we're gonna be here awhile.

Also fair warning: A lot of characters are about to bite it.

…

No one spoke as the light swept across the blackened sky. General Winter Schnee gazed into the void with an unflinching gaze, nearly all of the technicians around her equally stoic. The rest of the Atlas Fleet was visible outside the windows of the bridge, but none moved without her express permission.

It had finally happened. Time to enact the plan.

"All forces, proceed to the designated coordinates and prepare for extraction," said Winter. She was met with a unified Yes, Ma'am from those who obeyed.

"Um… M-Ma'am?" spoke one voice just behind her, "Shouldn't we… shouldn't we head home and make sure everything's okay? That was a big blast… just now…"

Winter turned in mild shock to see her Ensign trembling and looking out the window in a panic, just barely holding herself together.

The General's ice-blue eyes suddenly glowed red. Her Ensign yelped and jumped back, damn near peeing her uniform pants. Two other technicians also jumped up in a fright, but no other.

Winter sighed, "I thought we already got rid of you freaks," then drew her sidearm and put a bullet in the skulls of all three monsters. Only the targets cried out in fear as they were executed; no one else even blinked. She put the gun away and said, "Throw them off my ship. Captain, contact the rest of the fleet and have them do a sweep for any more humans in hiding, then proceed as ordered."

Another unified Yes, Ma'am. Everyone remaining followed orders without question. They knew where they belonged and to whom they answered. Every eye remaining on the ship now glowed a dull yellow.

As the fleet moved to do their duty, Winter stared out into the empty sky and muttered, "Hail the Rose."

…

Ghira Belladonna blinked as his breath fogged up in front of him. He was usually too cold for any given time of year, one of the perks of getting up there in age, but this was a new one. It was supposed to be hot right now.

His wife came up to him from behind and wrapped her frail arms around his, sighing, "We're in trouble, aren't we?"

Ghira grunted and nodded once. He didn't regret what he said about not allowing refugees to the island, but now he was starting to realize this problem was looking to be bigger than anything they'd faced before. Now more than ever he knew he should never have been left in charge of Menagerie for this long. A younger man could have actually done something about this, rather than just bury their head in the sand and wait for it to go away on its own.

No stars were visible in the night sky. Below them, the city was in turmoil. Lights and panicked voices went here and there as the realization hit; something was very wrong. Not only was the CCT entirely down, but the temperature had suddenly started to plummet for no good reason. Not a single Faunus was prepared for winter, never mind the full loss of global communication.

Ghira gently held Kali's hand as the two aging leaders of Menagerie put their heads together. Kali said, "All we can do is pray that Blake and her friends are alright in all of this. They can do something. We must have faith."

Ghira remained silent.

…

Shade Academy was as good as dead. And Headmistress Rumpole despised herself for escaping alone like a fucking coward.

Her last look at her home was a scene straight out of hell – hordes of Blind Worms were ripping the outer city apart, giant Nevermores were attacking any transports they could catch, and the Academy itself glowed orange as the great pyramid went up in flames, uncountable smaller Grimm seething through its halls like a disease.

She didn't have a very useful Semblance when it came to combat, but she'd be damned if she didn't do something to make this right. Vacuo would have to fend for itself for a while – they were pretty good at that – but they needed help. They needed some real firepower.

Ruby Rose would have a plan. She was Remnant's best chance right now.

As Rumpole flew her ship east, the eclipse came fully into view as the black sky lightened to the color of dried blood. It was horrifying. More Grimm tried to attack her midair, but she powered through and dodged them, hoping and praying she would make it. Vale was still in the shadow of the moon for some reason (wasn't the eclipse like, half an hour ago?), so at least it wasn't getting scorched right now. A few of the dunes back home were already starting to glitter as the sand melted into glass-

She never saw the Blind Worm coming; Rumpole and her ship vanished in a blast of fire between the four jaws of a giant Grimm just as she was about to escape the desert. The blast did minimal damage to the enormous Grimm as it swallowed what was left of its prey, turned and went back under the sand.

…

Director Skye sat at her desk, hands folded, as the voice of her second-in-command finally died out over the intercom. Silence fell upon the room for a few seconds as she digested what she'd just learned.

"Thank you, Jasmine," she finally said. "You are dismissed." Arrastra quickly shut off the unit before Corbett could protest any further, sighed and sat back.

This was not what she signed up for.

She remained still for several minutes, letting the dull roar of the Academy around her set the background noise while being thankful the city below was too far away to let her hear the utter chaos going on. Corbett didn't hold anything back when she explained how any and all trace of law and order had died along with that flash of light.

Skye knew full well what was going on. Dusk had been right the entire time; mankind could not handle the truth of the Rose, and when faced with what it could not understand, it broke. Truly they were the real monsters. The Creatures of Grimm had the right idea all along.

Without another word, Arrastra Skye took a heavy Dust explosive from her desk drawer and held it in front of her, armed it and tearfully proclaimed to nobody, "H-Hail the Rose…"

She cleansed the world of her existence a moment later.

…

'Poxy' cracked open his eyes and blinked, groaning. His head was doing a good impression of a bass drum, but thankfully his eyes were no longer trying to rip themselves out of his skull and run away into the woods to become one with the squirrels.

Damn… that was some party last night.

Once upon a time, he'd been Roman Torchwick, master criminal of Vale. But then that damned war happened and trashed his turf, forcing him to high-tail it outta there and find a new life. Sadly, none of the other big cities had room for a man of his caliber, so he and Neo found this little no-name town and hunkered down to wait out the storm and gather some nice coin for their retirement.

Neo – or rather, 'Desi Currant' – got a job the other day that more than paid off his bar and all their debts in one fell swoop. That Dusk fella sure knows how to take care of his own, eh? He and Desi celebrated the night away all by themselves, but that was often how they liked it. Let the rest of the world sleep.

Town was rather quiet last night… almost like everyone was busy doing something all at once. Ah well.

As he shuffled out of the bedroom and into the kitchen, he spied his dark-skinned cohort staring out the window at an alarmingly red sky. Oh yeah, that eclipse thingy was this morning. Good timing. He walked over and joined her as they took in the view together.

"You all packed?" he said.

Desi didn't respond. She kept staring at the horizon.

Poxy turned and made for the coffee maker, disappointed that it hadn't been turned on yet. "Once we're on the road, I don't plan to stop until we find a nice, secluded beach…" he frowned as he finally noticed none of the lights were working. "…and maybe a truck of booze we can hijack."

"You won't have to worry about any of that," said Desi at last.

"Oh yeah?" Poxy grunted as he finally realized the place had no power anywhere. Well that was fuckin fast. He only closed down the bar last night, they didn't need to cut him off already-

"In fact, you don't have to worry about anything anymore."

Desi suddenly grabbed Poxy by the hand and lead them back to the bedroom before tossing him onto the bed and climbing on top of him, putting on a feral grin.

Poxy raised an eyebrow, "Someone's feisty today…~"

Desi said, "I just want my Dum-Dum for breakfast." And then she changed.

A wave of Aura washed over her from top to bottom, revealing his first look at his old partner in well over a year. Seeing that pink and brown hair was more than a little nostalgic. Also weird that he'd gotten so used to Neo as a buff black girl, but that was a minor detail.

But then she changed again, and this time he could tell something was off. This wave of Aura revealed a version of Neo that looked like it was designed by an edgy teenager getting into his goth phase; lots and lots of black leather, blood-red gloves under long sleeves, and very pale skin that looked ash white in the darkness of the bedroom, along with hair that was now super long, split into pigtails, and colored black and white. Most alarming was that her heterochromatic eyes now displayed one pink and one glowing red with a black sclera. A lot like a Grimm.

"Uhh…"

Neo lifted one finger to her lips, smiled, then let the smile stretch far too wide as her jaw practically unhinged, revealing two rows of needle-sharp teeth.

Poxy just glared up at her. "Fucking hell… I always knew you'd be the death of me."

There was nothing left of Roman Torchwick after only 5 minutes.

…

Adrian Arc gulped. Things could not look any worse than they did right now.

Before him stood the true mastermind of this whole situation, finally revealed after so long, and it was the one person on Remnant he held the most respect for. All around her stood her apparent companions, fellow conspirators in the operation to bring ruin to the world, five warriors armed and with all eyes locked on Adrian himself.

Six against one. Yeah… there was no way he could make this happen. Not without a miracle.

"All of you, stand down," said Ruby all of a sudden. "I'll handle him myself."

She drew and unfolded Crescent Rose once again as all five of the others backed off and pulled away. They moved as though they were afraid of her. And considering they were probably all Imu in disguise, that implied some dire things. Ruby strode forward, putting herself between Adrian and the crowd of monsters behind her.

Not exactly the miracle he wanted, but now wasn't the time to be picky. One-on-one was much better than six-on-one. "You think you can take me down alone?" he said.

"You misunderstand, Adrian," said Ruby holding her grin, "I don't want to kill you. Hell, if I did, you would be dead already."

This information did nothing to ease his nerves.

"Any one of them could kill you even one-on-one," she said casually pointing behind her. "So sending them all against you at once would be a fucking joke. No… I don't need to kill you, I just need to beat you. As I've said many times, I've grown to like having you around. It would be a shame to waste such a valuable life as yours."

Adrian gritted his teeth, feeling the power of the God Hands flowing through him. "We'll see about that…"

He forced as much Aura into his fist as he could spare, yelled and ran forward. No one moved to stop him at all. With a shout of fury, Adrian let fly his best punch right at Ruby's smug face-

-but the shaft of Crescent Rose appeared out of nowhere and blocked him almost as easily as Cliff used to do back during their early sparring sessions. No damage. Nothing exploded.

"If that's your best… then I really don't have anything to worry about." She chuckled lightly, then turned and addressed the others even while keeping Adrian's attack in place, "You all go and keep yourselves busy for a bit. I won't be long."

The group nodded as one and darted off the roof without a word.

"Now then," Ruby returned her attention to Adrian, who had not yet given up trying to force his way past her weapon, With a casual flick of her wrist, she knocked him back about 20 feet where he stumbled a little before finding his feet again. "…Where were we?"

No effort. No struggle. Ruby Rose wasn't even trying and she easily held the advantage between them.

Guess he was wrong; things were worse after all.

…

The streets of Vale were in complete chaos. Wherever there were people around, they were either running in a blind panic or dancing like it was the biggest party in the world. Everyone had well and truly gone nuts. Various cars were overturned, a few burning, and windows were actively being broken all over town as civilization descended into madness the likes of which she'd only ever seen in the movies.

Luckily for everyone, they ignored Misty and Velvet completely. The pair of women half walked and half jogged through the streets as Misty recalled the route to the Arc home, hoping no one nearby would decide to try their luck with two seemingly defenseless ladies. Velvet had argued against leaving Beacon at first, rightly debating that they needed to stick with Adrian, but once Misty insisted that she would just go by herself, the older rabbit Faunus caved in and followed. She had said something about not letting Misty out of her sight, but otherwise kept quiet all the way through town.

However there was one demand she would not be denied, and that was for them to arm themselves. Peacemaker bounced at Misty's hip with every step while Velvet carried some kind of box by a handle on top. It looked quite ordinary; there was no visual indicator of what it could do. Still, if the mother of Opal and Crimson wielded it by choice, then it had to be something powerful.

In truth, Misty wanted to stay beside Adrian more than anyone else. That was the one place she knew she belonged. But the look in his eyes today was different to anything she'd ever seen before, and she didn't like it. He scared her. Something had changed and brought out a steel in him she'd always suspected was there but could never bring out herself, and now that it was out in the open… he felt like a different man somehow.

All Misty knew for sure was that she'd better get her Adrian back when this was all over. She would accept no one else, even if he had the same face. And of all the people on Remnant, she would be able to tell the difference.

The sky overhead was a deep, dark red color by the time they got to the apartment building. This combined with the overall ambiance of the city going insane left Misty a bit unsettled as she and Velvet reached the Arc's front door. As such, the young leader kept one hand on her gun as she knocked. The door, however, was not latched and swung freely at the impact, revealing the inside to be dark. In fact, taking another look around, Misty couldn't see any lights on anywhere nearby. Did the power go out? Most of the locks in the city were electronic, which meant there would be no safe, secure places anymore. Great. There was probably an intruder, or the place was empty. Misty drew Peacemaker and pushed the door open.

Three gun barrels appeared out of nowhere to greet her, two red and one grayish-white. Misty held her own gun ready, adrenaline already kicking in-

"Hey whoa, whoa! Back off you two!"

The familiar voice of Captain Jaune Arc cut in just before anyone pulled their respective triggers. Misty could barely see the heads of the two at the door but Jaune put his face out into the light; there was no way she could mistake that bushy blonde mustache for anybody else. "Good gods am I glad to see you," said Misty with a huff. She holstered her weapon and gestured towards Velvet, "She's with me, can we come in?"

Captain Arc's blue eyes went wide at the sight of her companion. "Velvet…? The heck are you doing here?" He didn't wait for an answer before ushering them both inside and shutting the door, quickly moving a chair to keep it closed from inside.

"I think Adrian's in trouble," Misty started to say.

"We're ALL in trouble, kiddo," Jaune cut her off. "Where is he? You guys are usually together…"

"He's back at Beacon still," said Velvet with a grunt. She took in the sight of the two men at the door, both of whom gave an awkward wave, then turned back to Jaune and said, "Guy looked like he was ready to start a war and he just makes us turn around and leave. I don't like this."

"It's gotta be that announcement from Elon Dusk," Jaune sighed. "He did something to mess up the power grid and now everything's falling apart. You guys showed up at a good time, though – once Nora gets back here, we're all relocating to the Old City. It's too dangerous to stay here now."

Misty tried to protest, "But Adrian-"

"If he sent you two out here, then he must've thought it was too dangerous," Jaune cut her off as he went into the kitchen and started looking through cabinets in the dark. "Ruby's still at Beacon, right? If he's with her, then he'll be just fine. We have to trust him."

"Trust is getting a bit scarce," said Velvet. She crossed her arms and said, "You mentioned Nora… what, did you get the old team back together?"

"Not by choice," said Jaune. He handed a few packages to a woman with glasses, Lieutenant Brand Ashens if Misty's memory could be trusted, then turned back and said, "We, uh… we've had a long couple of days. Got caught in Oyl City and held hostage, escaped and stole an airship, then we ran across Ren and Nora being attacked on the side of the road by a group of people who weren't quite… human."

Misty shivered. "You mean… they were Grimm?"

Jaune and Ashens stopped what they were doing and stared. "How did you know that?"

Misty and Velvet shared a look. "We've been pretty busy ourselves," Misty said with a groan, rubbing the back of her neck.

A side door opened to admit two more faces, both of which Misty was quite glad to see alive and well. "Alright, I've got what I need," said Pyrrha. She and Pete were each lugging a small duffel bag and set them on the couch. The woman finally noticed Misty and smiled bright enough to light up the dark room. "Ah, Misty! You're okay!" She quickly ran over and gave the smaller girl a hug. Pete did the same a moment later.

Jaune leaned over and gave his wife a kiss on the lips, ruffled Pete's hair, then quickly turned his attention to the two men guarding the door. They were peering outside through the gaps in the blinds. Misty could finally make out their police uniforms, though she didn't recognize who they were. "Sun? Neptune? Anything yet?" said Jaune.

"Nope, just mindless hordes trying to burn down all of civilization," said the blonde man.

"You know, the usual," added the one with blue hair.

"Give a shout the instant you see her. We can't waste any time," Jaune said. He turned back to Misty and Velvet and said, "Grab some water, you two. It's gonna be a long day."

Velvet did as he instructed while Misty just stood in place, still trying to wrap her head around what was happening. Funnily enough, now she understood a little of what Adrian was feeling the other night; things were going way too fast to keep up.

Jaune and Ashens quickly recounted the events that led them to Oyl City in search of Amy Currant, of all people. Misty listened as they explained how the Police Commissioner was some kind of monster in disguise who claimed to be part Grimm, how they picked up his airship to get home as quick as possible, and how they needed to land early to refuel… which led to them rescuing some old friends.

"When we landed," Jaune spoke quietly, sipping some of his own water, "Ren and Yatsuhashi were trying to fight a crowd of people near the road, civilians by the looks of them. Nora and the kids were hiding behind an overturned truck and there was another wrecked car nearby. At first I couldn't tell what was going on, but once we got close enough I could feel it – they were using the same fear effect Cardin used on us. Somehow it robs you of your strength, makes Aura useless."

"One of their allies was already down when we arrived," Ashens added in a low voice. "He went in alone and got overwhelmed in moments. Fox Alastair was his name, according to his teammate."

At the sound of that name, Velvet pressed both hands against her mouth and sobbed. "Fox… he's…?"

"Dead." Jaune's face fell, heavy with visible regret. "We were too late to save him, but we were at least able to get everyone else outta there before those freaks did any more damage."

Ashens said to Misty, "According to the map, we were just outside of Valley Glenn at the time of the attack. That's where your team was deployed while we were away, correct?"

Misty nodded, unwilling to speak. Valley Glenn… was that entire town full of monsters wearing human skin? She knew about Rusty from Adrian, but… had it been full of monsters… while they were staying there, blissfully unaware of the danger lurking just across the road?

Velvet wiped her eyes and steeled herself before speaking, "Where is… where is Yatsuhashi now?"

Jaune said, "He went with Ren, Nora and the kids to find us a shelter in the Old City. He was pretty badly shaken up when we found everyone."

"Yer tellin me," Sun, the blonde cop, added from the window. "That guy could wrestle Sage to the ground back when we were in the Academy, but a stiff breeze coulda blown him over back there."

"I need… I need to use the… bathroom…" Misty shuddered uncontrollably as she looked around the darkened apartment, tears threatening to spill out of her eyes. "Does the water… still work?"

"Pete, grab a flashlight and walk her back there," Jaune gestured to his son.

"Go on. I'll let them know everything while you're out," said Velvet with a kind smile.

She trusted them. That was a good sign. Misty swallowed a lump in her throat, "You sure? I can p-probably help-"

"Trust me kid," the rabbit Faunus ruffled her hair and smirked, "I've got a really good memory."

…
…

Misty didn't actually have to go at all. But she couldn't let them see her have a breakdown like this.

The diminutive leader sat on the toilet in near-total darkness (fully clothed) and held her face in her hands, trying not to sob out loud since there was no background noise to hide it. All manner of emotions flowed out of her like a broken tap, unable and unwilling to stop. They'd been bubbling up for the past couple of hours, but Velvet's reaction to the death of Fox Alastair was the final straw. She had to let it out.

People were dying. Lots of people. And it didn't seem like they could do anything to stop it.

Civilization was falling apart at the seams; even now there was still the occasional blast of noise from outside to remind her they were still out there, still losing their minds over something she was no longer certain was a misunderstanding.

The Imu were taking over the world. They had robbed her of half her team, and were on the verge of leaving her completely alone unless a miracle happened.

The world as she knew it was coming to an end. Nothing was certain going forward.

Except Adrian.

Adrian, Adrian, wonderful Adrian.

Never before in her life had Misty longed for the presence of another person as much as she did in this moment; she needed her gentle giant of a partner to hold her, to tell her everything would be alright. She needed to feel his big, warm hands holding her head like it was made of fragile glass, keeping her safe from the horrors of a broken world. She needed to see his brown eyes, to smell his sweat, to taste his lips. She needed her boyfriend and she needed him now.

Alone… she was as good as dead.

Knock knock "Um… you alright in there?"

The voice of young Pete Arc pulled Misty violently back to reality. She wiped her eyes, shocked at how damp her face had become, and took a shaky breath before replying, "Y-yeah… j-just another m-m-minute…"

"D'ya need the flashlight?"

"No, I'm good," Misty felt her thin confidence coming back with every word, though she could tell it was just a ploy. There would be no security until she was reunited with the man who kept her heart in his pants pocket. Still, no sense in making everyone else worry for nothing; Misty lightly slapped herself in the face for being such a baby when they needed a leader, flushed the toilet for good measure and went back out.

Pete walked her back to the living room (he didn't have to, but she didn't have the heart to send the little gentleman away), and Misty noted that there were a few weapons pulled out that weren't there before – Captain Arc had a broadsword at his hip and his wife now bore a spear and buckler combination that looked oddly familiar. They were ready to go.

Velvet was just wrapping up, "…And after that we walked her back into the cafeteria, locked her in one of the walk-in freezers, and as far as I know she's still there. No idea how long she'll last in sub-zero temperatures, though."

Ah, the Saphron incident. Misty's close encounter with an Imu in disguise was not a day she would soon forget. She remained quiet as she joined Pyrrha by the kitchen, listening as the adults discussed what had brought them all here.

Jaune was smiling, and for once it didn't look forced, "Damn… I knew you kids had potential, but a power that can put a Grimm under control…? Damn." He paced a bit, running his hands through his hair as he chewed on Velvet's information. "Adrian was right about my sister, I guess."

"Among many other things," said Velvet.

"So if everything else he said is accurate, that would mean Cardin willingly gave himself to one of these Grimm, these Imu, and let it kill him and take his body. He acted like he was still the same man, but Cardin Winchester is obviously dead. A literal puppet."

Velvet said, "Adrian mentioned seeing some kind of mist coming off of Rusty's body when it happened. He theorized it had something to do with the man's soul… which would mean they really did 'merge' and not just pull a switcheroo."

Ashens nodded, "Which would account for Winchester's mannerisms being such a close match, though there's obviously no way we could conduct any definitive studies on the matter-"

"Studies… what about that database you grabbed?" Jaune said. "Could that lab have been studying the Imu? Would they know how it works?"

"Haven't had the chance to look through it that thoroughly yet… and besides, it wouldn't do much good now, not with the damn things making their move."

"We don't know that," Jaune pointed to his Lieutenant and frowned. "Any new information might be the key to coming out of this whole thing alive. Keep scanning the data. If they have a weakness, we need to know what it is."

Ashens sighed, but nodded, "Got it."

"Sam had the right idea," said Neptune from the window. Both men were still watching for Nora, but also listening to the conversation. "The guy was piss drunk and had no issue standing up to Cardin. Ren was hittin the bottle too, come to think of it-"

"Who's Sam?" said Velvet.

"Another guy we picked up in Oyl," Jaune answered. "Saved our butts, in fact. He's staying with the others in case anyone tries to get to the kids. They're more important right now."

Conversation died off after that. No one seemed willing to keep the chat going until they were heading out. Misty didn't trust her voice to stay steady after having that cry in the bathroom, so she kept her mouth shut as well. Outside the window, shadows passed every so often, people on their way to nowhere. The general panic seemed to be dying down, though Misty could still hear the sounds of chaos in the distance.

Probably most worrying was the light outside – it was going on noon, but the sky was still as dark as early sunrise. The eclipse was supposed to be over and done with hours ago, so something was clearly wrong.

Out of nowhere, young Pete wandered over and gave his dad a hug. "I'm sorry, Daddy," he said quietly.

"For what, buddy?"

"For not telling you about the Imu we were hiding."

The tension in the room shot up all at once; everyone reached for their weapons at the same time, though no one went any further. All eyes were on the boy, Misty's included. She had a hand on her gun even as Jaune carefully said, "Pete… Oh man, I almost forgot about that."

"Mommy said you were angry," Pete hung his head and sniffed, "And now you guys are saying the Imu are bad."

Jaune also reached one hand back to keep it closer to his sword, though his main hand rested on his son's head. "Yeah I was, but… wait, 'we'?"

"Mmhmm," Pete nodded. "Me and Mommy. She took care of her nextdoor while I just played with her after school. We wanted to surprise you, Daddy…"

Slowly, very slowly, most of the people in the room turned to look towards the kitchen. Misty herself tried to turn around, but immediately found herself with a strong hand on top of her head, holding it in place. A prick of metal touched her cheek, and it felt sharp.

The creature wearing Pyrrha's skin said, "Surprise.~"

…

Back in the day, fighting Cliff during combat training was probably the most frustrating thing Adrian ever had to deal with (second only to the constant bullying over his stance on the Imu). The guy never let him land a single solid hit, he countered almost everything, and worst of all… he enjoyed it. The idiot had loads of fun kicking Adrian's ass, and he made no secret of that fact. Sparring with Clifford Kelly was as close to humiliating as Adrian ever wanted to get.

Now, however, Adrian could see that Cliff was a pushover; fighting the one and only Ruby Rose without some kind of weapon was like punching a brick wall without any Aura to back up the hit. All he was doing was breaking his fingers.

"Oh, come on!" Ruby casually blocked another punch, not even slightly winded. "Is this really all you've got? I've had diarrhea give me more trouble than you!"

Adrian could not find any sort of opening in her defenses. None. Even with his power boosted from the God Hands, the woman was simply too fast and too strong. He tried again and again, firing as many punches against as many weak points as he could find, even trading out a little power for more speed, but it was useless. Crescent Rose blocked everything.

As Adrian fell back to catch his breath yet again, Ruby casually spun her weapon in her hands, her attitude clearly amused. "Ready to take this seriously yet? Or have you finally come to your senses? If you ask me nicely, I'd be willing to forgive you for this little show of defiance."

"…"

"Come with me, Adrian. Join the winning side. Mankind is too far gone to save; together we can fix the world. We can make things right."

"I'd rather eat shit," Adrian eloquently replied.

Ruby's smile instantly turned into a frown. Adrian gulped.

Without warning, the legendary Huntress darted forward almost too fast to follow, swung the handle of her weapon up and caught Adrian under the chin with enough power to launch him clear off his feet. A moment later she leapt up, spun, and slammed one mechanical leg into his gut HARD. Even the Beringel didn't hit him like that. The force of the blow sent him hurling back; he skipped against the concrete once before hitting open air – she'd sent him flying off the edge of the roof – and kept flying until he slammed into, and then through, a tree on the ground below. Leaves and splinters rained down as he skidded to a full stop, totally out of air and wheezing.

By some miracle, his Aura Shield was weakened but still active. These God Hands were truly a blessing.

"You ungrateful BRAT!" Ruby landed soon after and started walking his way, yelling even before she got close. "After EVERYTHING I've done for you… ALL the rules I had to bend to keep you by my side… you DARE spit in my FACE?!"

"You…" Adrian coughed as he stumbled to his feet, his midsection throbbing in pain. "You… turned your back on… humanity…"

"They fucking DESERVED IT!" she shrieked.

"You ended the war…" he tried again, hoping to stall for a little time if nothing else. "You saved the world. Everyone loved you."

"Yeah, I saved the world," Ruby snarled as she grabbed Adrian by the collar and lifted him off the ground. "And I've regretted it every day for years!"

Adrian struggled, gasping, "It was… just… a stupid dog…"

"YOU SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH! ! !"

For a moment, he was sure those were his last words; Ruby's face contorted into one of pure, unadulterated rage as she reared back to punch his head clean off his shoulders, fist trembling with anger. The whites of her eyes turned pure black and a series of thick veins bulged out on either side of them. She was ready to pop.

"…"

A few seconds later, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, dropping him to the ground. Adrian stumbled back several steps as Ruby opened her eyes – they were back to normal – and smiled like she always used to. "No, Adrian. You won't get out of it that easily. I still have big plans for the two of us.~"

The energy of the God Hands was finally starting to fade, even though he hadn't released it into an attack yet. Apparently it had a time limit, albeit a long one. Good to know. "I'll never… join you…" he wheezed.

Ruby leaned forward and licked her lips, "Haven't you figured out by now that I can be… very… convincing~?"

"Well you sure convinced ME…!"

"…?!" Ruby didn't even have time to turn around before something slammed into the side of her head. And that something turned out to be a foot. Wearing a weighted golden boot.

Clifford Kelly regained his footing with a spinning flourish, grinned and flicked his hand through his hair, "Normally I don't do two-on-one, but hey… you convinced me that my friend needs backup, so here I am!"

Ruby only slid a few feet away, barely phased by the attack at all but simply dumbfounded at what just happened to her. Adrian had much the same look on his face as he said, "Are you freaking kidding me right now?"

A tiger Faunus bearing a short blade landed next to Cliff; Henna glared at her partner and said, "What part of 'we attack together' didn't you understand, you dumb fuck?" She then turned to Adrian and said, far more calmly, "We'll hold her off, you get out of here."

Adrian shouted, "No way! You guys don't know what you're getting into! She'll fucking kill you!"

Cliff chuckled, "I survived a punch from the God Hands, dude. I'll be fine."

Henna sighed at Adrian, "If you're not gonna run, then maybe try letting your little zappy-fingers build up for longer than two seconds. Or did it never even occur to you that you could do that?"

Build up? Longer than two… oh for the love of all things holy-

"You know…" Ruby finally readjusted herself after Cliff's surprise attack. "I've been holding myself back for several years now… trying to let things build up in the background… you know, letting my plan work itself out where no one would notice…" she turned and looked right at Cliff, her silver eyes sparkling with madness, "And you had to go and butt in when I was JUST starting to have a little fun."

Cliff and Henna wordlessly took a ready stance. Adrian gulped.

Ruby started quietly laughing, a sound that sent shivers up and down Adrian's arms. The veins around the woman's eyes bulged out once again, only this time they lingered and even started to spread further around her face. "Heh… heh heh… I need Adrian alive, but you two… especially you, Kelly…"

Adrian was almost knocked off his feet by a sudden rush of power from Ruby. She opened her eyes to reveal the black sclera once again as her grin turned feral.

"I'm gonna enjoy ripping you apart and strangling you with your own entrails."

…

"All of you, drop your weapons."

No one moved right away, so Jaune pulled his sword off his belt and set it on the floor, his eyes fixed on Pyrrha the whole time. His wife was holding Misty, Adrian's partner, at the business end of her spear. Jaune turned quickly to the others in the room and motioned for them to do the same; only Velvet resisted, the rabbit Faunus clearly enraged at the current development.

Pyrrha noticed this. Still grinning, she moved the tip of her spear and drew blood. Misty flinched. "Don't test me right now, bitch," said Pyrrha.

"Velvet, drop it," Jaune snapped.

For just a moment, he was certain his command would go unheeded… but after a tense moment, Velvet put down the box holding her camera. Sun and Neptune were also disarmed, and Ashens didn't have a sidearm to begin with so she was already considered harmless.

Pyrrha gave Misty's head a shake, "You too, half-pint. Gun. Drop it."

Misty's flaming red hair seemed to grow bright for an instant before she complied; the revolver clattered to the floor a few seconds later.

Jaune kept his eyes on the creature wearing his wife's face, Pete staying behind his legs. "Okay, we're disarmed. Now what?"

"Now we wait for Nora," said Pyrrha. "When she gets here, you all go with her, hide yourselves in the Old City, and… disappear."

Velvet growled, "And leave her here with you? Fuck no-"

"Is her life worth it?" Pyrrha pressed the tip of Miló harder into Misty's cheek. One wrong move and things would get bloody. "Misty comes with me, or she dies right here. What'll it be?"

Tears gleamed in the corners of Misty's eyes. That was all he needed to see. "Okay, okay… we'll go," said Jaune. "Just don't hurt her."

"That's not up to me, honey," said Pyrrha with a sneer. "But don't worry. The boss wants any leverage she can get to make sure your boy stays loyal. Short-stuff here is way too valuable to kill off."

Again Misty's hair seemed to grow brighter, noticeable in the darkness of the apartment. "Stop… callin me… short…" Misty growled.

"I should point out that humans can survive without legs," Pyrrha snarled at her hostage. "Then you'd really be tiny, wouldn't you? Give me an excuse. PLEASE."

Misty shut up, but her hair retained it's brightness.

Jaune barely held in his anger. Here he was, blatantly spilling everything he'd learned, all while a spy was in the damn room with them! Of all the situations for Sam Gria to be missing; if he'd been here, they would've figured out Pyrrha's secret right away and not had to risk anyone getting killed like this! Dammit!

Neptune kept his eyes on the window while Sun joined everyone else in glaring at their shared enemy. Pete stayed huddled behind Jaune's legs, trying not to start crying. Such a good kid. He didn't deserve any of this. Velvet stayed back, though she looked ready to leap forward and rip Pyrrha's head off if she got even a hint of an opening. Ashens stayed near Jaune, studying the situation. If anyone could think of a way out of this, it was her.

Ren and Nora had been gone too long. Any second now, someone would knock and send this whole situation hurling into hell; either Misty would die or be taken by the enemy, both of which were unacceptable losses.

Any second now…

Pyrrha suddenly jerked her hand away from Misty, hissing in pain. "What the-"

Ashens pulled a small gun out from under her shirt, aimed and fired. Pete screamed.

No one else moved as Misty ducked away from her captor and dove away as Pyrrha, wife of Jaune Arc and loving mother, staggered back with a hole in her forehead. She was already dissolving from the inside before she ever hit the floor; within a few moments, all that was left was an empty skinsuit.

Jaune was on his knees holding a terrified Pete as Velvet made sure Misty was alright. "Same as… same as Saphron," Misty gasped, checking her cheek to see if she was bleeding. "My Aura… it burns them…"

Jaune felt cold as he turned to Ashens and said, "Nice… nice shot… Lieutenant."

"Th-thanks," she slipped the weapon back under her shirt, revealing a bit of the harness in the process. Her hands were shaking as she quietly said, "I'm sorry… about your wife. Never thought Dad's derringer would be useful at a time like this."

Jaune nodded, staring at the remains of the love of his life crumpled up on the kitchen floor. Deep in his heart he knew the sting would come – they'd made so many plans together, set so many goals for the future, all dreams of a life scattered to the winds – but for right now he steeled himself to handle it later. He had to. If he let the grief take him now, everyone under his care would die… or worse. "We can't wait any longer," he said as he stood, picking up his son as he did so. "We'll just have to meet them halfway. Misty, you good?"

Velvet started to protest, but Misty cut in, "Y-yeah… I'm alright. But we gotta get back to Beacon. Adrian… he's in trouble-"

("The boss wants any leverage she can get
to make sure your boy stays loyal…")

The door suddenly burst open to admit a very late Nora Lie-Valkyrie, Magnhild in hand. "I heard a gunshot! Either that or a firework, which would be weird all things considered…"

"No time!" Jaune carefully put his son down, making sure the little guy could run. "We gotta move!"

As everyone went through the door, Nora looked around and said, "But where's Pyr-"

Velvet put a hand on Nora's shoulder and shook her head with a frown. She and Jaune shared a look as Nora's eyes went wide, and the two women left a moment later, leaving him alone for a brief moment.

Jaune took up his sword once more, silently bid his wife farewell, and walked out the door of his home one last time. There would be no coming back.

…

Way back in Valley Glenn, back when he tried this trick for the first time, Adrian had a brief instant where he couldn't pull his hands apart. His Aura amplified itself tremendously in that brief moment, and he never once thought to experiment. To see what would have happened if he didn't let go.

Now, facing the biggest fight of his life, Adrian figured it out.

He held his fists together and let the energy flow between them. He could feel it thrumming, louder and harder, increasing in intensity the longer he held it. The edges of his vision began to fade to white as wave after wave of blue-white lightning surged from both fists and up his arms, engulfing the immediate area around him and making the very air scream as though it was in pain. He could feel his hair dancing on his scalp, the force of the God Hands making it stand almost straight up on his head.

And the power! The raw, unbridled power!

It was almost enough to drown out the cries of pain coming from the warriors who jumped in to provide cover while he powered up; Cliff was actively being tortured by Ruby while Henna tried and failed to pull them apart. They were marginally more effective than Adrian himself had been until now, but only just. They would not last long.

"How many times do we need to teach you humans this lesson?" said Ruby as she blocked another strike from Henna's blade. It wasn't enough to make her let go of her grip on Cliff's neck.

Henna darted back and snarled, tiger ears flat on her head, "Don't you lump me in with humans! I am a proud Faunus!"

Ruby shrugged, "Eh… aside from a few extra bits, you're all practically the same."

Henna roared back into the fight, knocking the three of them around a corner where Adrian couldn't see anything. He had to make himself re-focus on getting his strength back; they knew what they were getting into when they jumped into the fight. He had to fulfill his part of the bargain.

Adrian had been holding his hands together for almost a full minute now, and while it was certainly intense, he considered it the same as holding down the gas pedal on a car – a lot of noise, but no real difference besides a bit more force to punch with.

That is, until something pulsed from deep inside his chest. It felt a little bit like a deep burp, but from the very center of his core. The source of his Aura.

And in that instant, everything changed.

Adrian's entire sense of place has been reset. He felt every scrape and bruise given to him by Ruby as though they were lit on fire, every speck of light pierced his vision and burned into his brain, the smell of smoke and blood and sweat infusing into his very being. His blood was lightning, his heartbeat thunder. Every inch of his skin tingled like he was ready to combust then and there.

Moving slowly, Adrian looked down at the glass-like armor bits on his knuckles. They glowed brightly with blue-white fire, each movement leaving an afterimage behind. A wave of his hand produced five distinct trails of light that hung in the air like magical scars.

There was only one word to describe this: Adrian had ascended.

Wow.

It took no time at all to focus his senses and locate his enemy; Ruby had knocked Henna out cold and was preparing to end Cliff by way of separating his head from his neck with her scythe. The two of them were clear on the other side of the BMAC. If he took the time to go around the wide building, Cliff would be dead.

So he went through it.

Glass, wood, concrete, nothing stood before him as Adrian ran forward, barely feeling any part of the material world trying to slow him down. He reached Ruby a moment before the scythe came down, caught it with one hand and finally landed his first real punch on the woman who had destroyed his life and his world. Ruby let loose a single cry of surprise before his fist sent her flying backwards at a far greater speed than she had done to him mere minutes before, her body crunching through another building some distance away. He barely felt the shockwave from the hit.

As the dust settled and Ruby did not immediately reappear and try to counterattack, Adrian turned and held out a hand to help Cliff get back to his feet. He spoke, and the voice that came out of his mouth sounded nothing like his own: "Hey Cliff, you alright?"

Cliff recoiled a bit, stood up with his help and brushed the dirt from his pants. "Fuckin hell, dude… you sure you're human?"

"I was sure before…"Adrian looked at his glowing hands again, still wondering about the light coming from the glassy bits, as he caught sight of his reflection in a nearby broken window. Both of his eyes were glowing brightly just like his knuckles, no trace of his normal brown pupils could be seen in the whiteness. "Huh… now that's something."

"She knocked out Henna back there," said Cliff. "You were right, Miss Rose is too strong. But you look like you can handle yourself now, sooooo…"

"Go. I'll be fine."

"Yuss…Don't hafta tell me twice…" Cliff gave a quick salute, turned and jogged over to where Henna had landed. The guy clearly had an attachment to his teammate, even if the feeling wasn't mutual. Sad that it took this long to realize Cliff wasn't a complete jackass. They could've been good friends in another life.

Adrian's heart started hammering in his chest. He'd done it. He'd leveled the playing field. No longer was Ruby the dominant force in this fight. He actually stood a chance.

But could he finish the job?

Before he had time to collect his thoughts more, Ruby struck; she darted forward out of the dust and swung Crescent Rose, clearly no longer interested in letting Adrian wear himself down. That plan was a bust; now it was do or die. Adrian shot his hand into her range and blocked the strike before she could send it, then punched Ruby dead in the face.

A crunching sound rang out in the silence of the moment. Blood burst out of her now broken nose as she flailed and fell back, dropping her weapon to hold her injury with both hands.

She glared up at him, neither combatant moving right away. Her eyes retained their black sclera, a stark contrast to his own that still glowed white. Without any hint of anger in a voice that still didn't sound like his own, Adrian said, "I will kill you."

Ruby chuffed, then pulled her hands away and wiped off the dried blood from her lips. She thumbed her fully-repaired nose back into place without even flinching and flipped Crescent Rose up into her hands with one robotic foot. "You and what army?"

She moved first; Ruby shot forward, swinging high to low, clearly aiming her blade for Adrian's head. He didn't move.

The blade came closer. Still he waited.

She stopped her attack an inch away from his forehead.

Time seemed to pause as Ruby and Adrian faced each other, one waiting for the other to move, to react. To respond to what was clearly meant to be an attempt on his life. Ruby hesitated, her weapon trembling ever so slightly. Adrian didn't even blink.

"What are you trying to prove?" said Ruby, her voice quiet but intense. "I've already won, you idiot. There's no point in resisting. Just accept your fate as my husband and let humanity die."

In response, Adrian sent his fists together faster than he thought possible, catching the blade of Crescent Rose between his knuckles and shattering it into a thousand pieces.

And along with it, all that was left of Ruby's sanity.

All defense, all control, all strategy was set on fire and tossed out the window. Ruby screamed as she let loose all of her pent up fury, striking with fists and fingers like steel claws, all of it engulfed by a strange black Aura that he hadn't seen before. He blocked it all, his own supercharged white Aura easily keeping pace. Whenever she surged forward, he held fast. When she fell back, he pressed forward. Back and forth they danced, fists of black and white flying like the gods of old, the fate of the entire world resting on the outcome.

As they fought, Adrian noticed both he and Ruby now had visible Aura shields that looked to be taking damage with each blow. His own was losing only tiny flecks whenever Ruby landed a hit, but hers was losing great chunks every time he landed his own. By that metric, the fight was already decided. He just had to get them to the point of no return.

Of course, it wouldn't just be that easy. Ruby had quit trying to talk, or really act human in any way. Now she was feral, growling and clawing at him like a beast out of hell itself. It was clear the old guidance councilor was gone, and no amount of convincing would ever bring back the woman he had fallen in love with.

Adrian felt no shock at the realization. Yes, he loved Ruby. He had for a long time, even if he could never admit it.

But Ruby was already dead. The creature before him was not her. Not anymore.

There was only one thing left to do.

Adrian tore his focus away from the fight for a moment and noticed a weapon on the ground nearby; a familiar shortsword. Henna must have dropped it here while they were fighting before, trying to buy him some time. He glanced back at Ruby and realized her black Aura was actually regenerating, and alarmingly fast. If he kept on punching, even with the power of the God Hands at full strength, she would eventually win through sheer persistence. His blows were powerful, but not strong enough to break through that shield and finish her off.

Maybe he could cut through it? He turned, bent down and picked up the weapon.

Ruby snarled and attacked his open back, claws ready to tear out his spine.

He felt his power flow into the metal. Adrian turned, both hands gripping the sword, and tried to aim for her head… but the shorter weapon and his total lack of experience with any kind of sword meant the blade did not do as he commanded. It came up short of her neck, fell lower, twisted around and instead took off her right arm just above the elbow.

The severed limb bounced off his shoulder, already bursting into blue-black flames, and flopped to the ground. It turned into ash a moment later. There was no blood.

Ruby cried out in pain and fell backwards, writhing on the ground as she clutched her smoldering stump, mechanical legs whirring and whining as she screamed. Adrian almost let the shortsword fall to the ground before he steeled himself, slightly panicking as he realized he'd missed his best chance at ending this. Even now his power was fading away. Had he botched it?

Ruby suddenly shot to her feet, most of her cloak wrapped around the place her arm used to be, though there was still no blood. No trace of her Aura Shield could be seen. Her eyes were also back to normal, though she was struggling to keep her words steady. "It… it won't grow back… You… you stupid… you piece of… dammit why'd you do that?"

Adrian gritted his teeth and walked forward.

"We… we can still… fix things…"

"…"

"You don't owe them… anything… I saved you…!" Ruby took one step back, visibly afraid for the first time since he'd met her. "W-wait… please, I… Adri-HURRGH"

The end of the shortsword didn't stick very far out of Ruby's back, even though Adrian plunged it into her chest all the way up to the hilt. She gripped his hands with the only one she had left, gasping and choking as her lungs failed. She looked up at Adrian, gazing into his eyes one last time, a trickle of blood seeping out of her mouth, before slumping into his arms. Totally still. Not breathing even a little.

Dead.

Ruby was dead.

All of his strength left him as Adrian let Ruby's body, impaled sword and all, fall to the ground. He didn't even try to catch her. He could barely stand on his own two feet, let alone support another body. All around him the world grew dim, cold and muddy again as he turned and looked for a clear spot in the dirt to sit down before he simply fell over.

Above, the sky continued to glow the red of blood. He ignored it for now. As long as the source of the threat to the world had been dealt with, they could handle the ongoing symptoms given enough time. Humanity had adapted to major threats before, and by all logic this crisis should be no different.

Adrian laid down flat on the ground, his strength used up. The only noise he could hear, aside from his own tired breathing, was a distant rumble of thunder.

…

The city was totally empty.

At some point during their struggle against the creature wearing Pyrrha's face, all of the panicked crowds and rowdy partiers had just… vanished. If not for the devastation they left behind, it would have looked a lot like nothing was wrong at all. Misty shuddered as she looked around, wondering just how many of them were staring at their group as they walked along the ruined street. She could feel eyes coming from every window, every shadow, every doorway. They were being hunted.

When Adrian first told her about these body-snatching Imu, Misty Montana had confidently decided she could deal with it. Grimm disguised as humans couldn't be all that bad. Nothing a good bullet couldn't fix.

Now, faced with the horror of realizing just how far they'd spread, Misty had had enough. No more confidence.

"It's just up here," said Nora as she led the way. Jaune, Pete, Sun and Neptune all walked right behind her while Ashens and Velvet stayed behind Misty to keep an eye on their rear.

Everyone was armed now; Captain Arc had a few spare firearms in his home for himself and those who worked for him (Misty just reloaded Peacemaker), and Pete got to carry his ex-Mom's old shield; it was small enough to work as a great defense for someone of his size. Just ahead waited an older van, and inside was Doctor Ren. They really were both here. Good. That meant nothing bad had happened while they were gone.

Yet Misty couldn't shake the feeling that things were more wrong than ever, even as Jaune opened the side door and loaded his kid into it. No one bothered them. There was no noise anywhere, not even wind. With the power grid offline, it felt like time itself had simply… stopped.

Doc got out and came around to talk to Jaune, "Where did all the crowds go? It was a madhouse when we left to find shelter…"

"No idea," said Jaune. He looked around and ran a nervous hand through his hair. "And I don't like it. We need to go before they all come out at once and swamp up-"

"Oh you don't need to worry about that, Jaunny-boi…"

Misty felt her nerves flare up at the sound of the new voice, fear almost overriding her common sense to at least turn around and see who spoke. It was coming from the direction they just came from, so she turned with a heavy sense of dread.

All were faces anyone would recognize: Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long.

Most of team RWBY stood in the road, watching them. Staring.

All with glowing, yellow eyes.

"Ruby's dealing with Adrian right now," said Yang. Her face twisted into a sneer, fully at odds with her signature grin. "We're here to collect his main squeeze, then you all can go drive off a cliff. Or something, I dunno."

Weiss pinched her nose and looked at her teammate, "You and your way with words…"

Misty yelped as a hand pulled her backwards, and several taller people jumped in front of her with weapons brandished. Jaune held his sword forward and said, in his most authoritative voice, "She's under police protection. So with all due respect… go fuck yourselves."

Ashens quietly said to Pete, "You ever repeat that word and I'll smack you in the mouth."

"Yes, ma'am," came the meek reply.

"You can't stop us," said Blake with a smug grin. "This war is already over… you just don't know it yet."

"Oh pleeeease-" Sun swung his stick weapons around a bit, merged them together into a staff and held it in the ready position. "You're outnumbered. And besides, you've been pushing pencils for a living. How long do you think you'll last against all of us?"

All three sets of yellow eyes shifted to red. Misty's legs immediately began to wobble as her strength started to fade.

…That is, until Doc helped her up and made her take a swallow of something from a silver flask. Whatever it was, it burned like fire! Misty coughed, forcing the vile substance down her throat. "Wha… what was that? Some kind of medicine?"

"In a manner of speaking…" Doc smirked, then rapidly moved to give the others a drink.

Whatever it was, Misty's strength was suddenly returning with a vengeance. One by one, each of the others that took a swallow of Ren's medicine did the same, standing up straight and once again ready to rumble. Only Jaune coughed and said, "Wait… is this whiskey?!"

"It doesn't take much, does it?" said Doc. The man put his flask away after everyone had a glug, then pulled a pair of green-colored guns from his belt and said, "They can make us afraid, but alcohol nullifies the effect. Liquid courage, if you will. You can thank Sam Gria for confirming my hypothesis."

All three former Huntresses took a wary step back, no longer as confident as before.

Nora took up a stance next to her husband and expanded her hammer into its full size. "You'd better hope I don't need any more than that, or I might go giant ape on your ass."

Ren blinked, "Dare I ask?"

Nora simply said, "Nope."

"Fair enough."

Out of nowhere, Velvet walked over and snatched Doc's flask away, popped the cap and just chugged the whole thing (or at least a lot of it). Even with everything going to hell in a hand-basket, Misty was rather impressed. She handed it back, pulled out her box and pointed directly at the blonde member of the opposing group. "You."

Yang blinked, "Me…?"

"You did this."

Yang stepped back and put a hand to her considerable chest, feigning shock. "Why, my dear sweet, loving wife… whatever could you mean~?"

"You brought that thing into our home… and got my kids killed. My babies." Velvet hit a button on her box and Misty watched in awe as it transformed into something entirely different, yet still familiar; Howlett, the arm-blades of Opal. That box was something else, man…

Yang looked over at Blake and said, "Is this what they call a domestic dispute?"

"More like a declaration of divorce," said the cat Faunus.

"Aww, beans. Now I'll have to pay alimony."

"We took away your best weapon," said Jaune with all his old authority back in his voice. "You can't make us afraid anymore. And we won't let you take Misty."

Yang shared a look with her teammates, all of whom did not seem the least bit fussed about this new development. In fact, they were still smiling. Weiss spoke up next, stepping forward to address the group, "Whether or not you cooperate makes no difference to us. Only Misty Montana needs to live. And if it's fear you want…"

"…Literally no one said that,"muttered Neptune.

All three sets of eyes – ice blue, lilac and amber – suddenly shifted to black.

"Maybe this will help~!"

And they began to change.

…

Adrian whipped open his eyes, brief panic fading to tiredness as he sat up and looked around. He'd actually fallen asleep. On a battlefield. He looked up to see what time it was, immediately remembering what was going on as soon as he saw the blood-red sky.

Hopefully he'd only been out for a few minutes. He needed to get back into town. Misty would be pissed if he took too long…

Something made a noise behind him. It sounded like a footstep.

When Adrian turned, he blinked as he beheld a sight that made no sense at first glance; a pile of gears and wires with a metallic chassis torn up and added to the pile. It looked like a robot had crapped out its guts on the ground or something. Weird… but something was familiar about it.

He stood up and walked over to get a better look, and in an instant he realized two things:

First, he did in fact recognize this machinery; it was the guts of Ruby's mechanical legs. He'd spent enough time staring at them to know some of these mechanisms, but now they looked like they'd had been sent through an industrial paper shredder.

Second, Ruby's body was gone.

"Ahh~ so you're finally awake…"

Adrian was on his guard in an instant, head whipping around to find the source of that voice. That cursed, impossible voice. She was dead! She was supposed to be… dead… right?

"Over here~"

It was coming from all around him, from everywhere and nowhere at once. The total lack of ambient noise was starting to grate on Adrian's nerves a bit, and for the first time he could remember he wanted some kind of machinery to kick in just to have some kind of sound in the background. Ruby's voice seemed to echo off the air itself.

As he turned again, Adrian noticed a track in the dirt appearing every time he turned. Whoever it was, they were staying behind him just to taunt him. And using Ruby's voice… how dirty.

Something brushed his shirt from behind. "Such a strong, wide back… so vulnerable…"

He whipped around again, moving faster than his condition was ready for and causing his vision to blur dangerously. Still nothing.

"Too slooooow… hehehe~"

"Do you…" Adrian paused to let his head quit spinning, "…Do you enjoy… kicking people when they're down?"

"Usually no… but for you I'll make an exception." The voice was practically giggling at his discomfort. "Go ahead, turn around. I'll wait."

Adrian started to turn slowly, expecting some kind of trick. No sound of motion met his ears. He turned further, catching a glimpse of a dark figure standing behind him, then turned fully to see who it was.

A decision he quickly came to regret.

His first instinct was to throw a punch, but without the added boost of the God Hands it was doomed from the start; not only did she catch the hand, but it exploded in blood and pain as she effortlessly crushed it like a dead leaf. He screamed and tried to grab it with his other hand, only for his attacker to quickly change targets and crush that one, too. Blood ran down his arms as his world became blinding pain and agony.

Another fear effect bombarded him at full power, way stronger than the Imu back in Valley Glenn could ever hope to pull off. Adrian immediately fell to the ground, arms and legs trembling, as his bladder didn't put up even a hint of a fight; his pants grew very wet.

Staring down at him were the blazing red eyes of a woman who should have been dead, but was not. Her deep red hair had turned charcoal black, her silky skin faded to ashen white, and just above the burning embers on her face sat two long, curved horns of the same white, both coming right out of her skull. Her dress bore a long, narrow hole where he'd run her through, though there was still no trace of blood around the wound. No visible damage anywhere.

He could barely even look at her without whimpering in terror, unable to even recover the strength to sit up, never mind run away. The lumps of broken and tattered flesh that were once his God Hands throbbed angrily.

"Look at you," said the Grimm version of Ruby Rose, snarling down at him from on high. "Pitiful. You pull the power of a literal god out of your ass, but one hit of my Soul Crush and you're actually pissing your pants. Wow."

Her eyes faded, but remained red. The fear effect finally lifted, leaving Adrian gasping for air. "H-H-How…?"

"Funny thing about stealing the power of an immortal witch…" Ruby held up her one arm to examine her pale hand, then down at her… legs? Where did those come from? "Little things like getting stabbed in the heart don't actually do much damage. Weird, huh?"

"You… You…" Adrian used what little strength he could gather to scoot himself across the dirt on his elbows, trying in vain to put some distance between himself and this literal nightmare. The fire of his wounds had given way to an icy numbness, which was even more worrying.

Grimm Ruby just looked at him and grinned, her teeth now boasting sharp points. "You know what? I like you better when you're groveling like this."

…

The three members of team RWBY were turning into something out of a nightmare, all twitching and contorting as their bodies altered into a twisted version of themselves. An eldritch combination of human and Grimm.

Weiss changed the least, only gaining a set of claws and some armor around her jaw as well as a single horn from the middle of her forehead. Blake wasn't much better, her hands altering into long tendrils of blackness as her face gained a demonic mask over her mouth. Yang, however, ripped her own mechanical arm out at the socket and screamed as the wound suddenly burst with living darkness that formed into a new, monstrous arm bigger than the rest of her, all black with pale claws and spikes all over it. She gained two horns. All three women's skin faded to a pale white and their eyes retained the black sclera from a moment ago, though all of their pupils now burned with a steady red glow, like a burning coal.

Grimm. They were all Grimm. There was no longer any doubt about that.

Velvet didn't bother waiting for instructions; Neo-Howlett at the ready, she gave a battle cry and charged directly at the demonic version of her ex-wife. Their initial clash actually sent sparks, and the pair rapidly faded into the night, though the sounds of their epic battle rang out loud and clear.

"Guess we'll take the kitty." Sun and Neptune nodded to each other and charged together, going right for Blake and starting their own assault. It was far too dark out to follow any of the fights, and Misty wasn't sure she really needed to anyway. These guys were way above her punching weight.

Weiss was the only one left; she drew her rapier and looked directly at Jaune, "Well? Shall we dance one last time?"

Doc and his wife quickly stepped in front of them. He looked back and said, "No, you guys get to Beacon. Find Adrian, then get to safety. We'll keep them busy."

Jaune started to protest, sighed and nodded. "Alright. But don't you dare get killed out here, got it?"

Nora turned and stuck her tongue out, "You worry too much, Mister Leader!"

Doc said, "You were on his team. That kind of thing can affect a guy."

Nora simply pouted at her husband.

As one, they turned and charged into battle with the former CEO of the Schnee Dust Company, weapons and battle cries quickly fading into the all-encompassing darkness of Vale. Misty stared after everyone, silently wondering if she would ever see any of them again.

Jaune quickly climbed into the driver's seat of the van and cranked it on. Ashens got in the back with Pete as Misty rode in the passenger seat. Nobody spoke for the entire drive. There was nothing to say.

As far as Misty could tell, they'd just left their friends to die.

…

"This really hurt, you know," said Grimm Ruby. She gestured towards her right arm, showing him her stump. "Even with the power of the eclipse to juice me up, it won't grow back… you ass."

Adrian could not scoot away any further. He'd hit the remains of a wall, part of what used to be the BMAC, and could go no further. No sort of miracle would get him out of this situation. If only he hadn't missed that damn cut…

"No… wait, I have an idea…" Ruby looked around all of a sudden as though searching for something, then took two steps and stumbled forward, very nearly falling on her face. She glared down at her new legs and said aloud, "Really? Really? It hasn't been that goddamn long, come on!"

Adrian only stared, silently watching. Waiting for the inevitable.

Ruby found what she was looking for a moment later; a shard of the blade of Crescent Rose. With her one hand, she grabbed it and gave her stump a long, deep cut, drawing a stream of black fluid from the wound. Several moments later, the wound closed up again. No new arm. She dropped the piece of metal and pouted, "Dammit. No good. Thought maybe it was just jammed or something…"

She suddenly realized Adrian was still there. Moving slowly to keep herself from tripping again, Grimm Ruby made her way back over to Adrian's spot against the wall and squatted down in front of him, putting all her demonic features on full display. Her grin wasn't quite as feral as before, but it was still unsettling.

"Drink it all in, my man," said Ruby. "This is me, now. This is the face of the woman who will bear your children, and set the future of Remnant in motion with a new race of human-Grimm hybrids. The perfect race. All from the two of us."

Adrian wheezed, "I'd… rather… die…"

Ruby's smile faded and she sighed. "You're only making this harder on yourself, you know. You don't have a second option."

"…"

"Fine." Ruby stood up, blinked and started… heaving? She spasmed a little as her throat bulged out and she turned, then vomited something black and liquid onto the ground. With a cough she wiped her mouth and muttered, "Oh yeah, I can use this stuff. That bitch had a lot of tricks up her sleeve, didn't she?"

Adrian said nothing. He didn't know which horror to keep his eyes on, Ruby or the new black goo. And he was starting to get cold all over.

Ruby bent over and grabbed a handful of the goo and pulled it up into a long, thin line of pitch black taffy. She awkwardly balled up one end and, in front of the gods and everybody, slapped it onto her stump. Reddish-black lightning jumped out of her skin and ran down the length of the goo, and Adrian watched in awe as it shriveled and solidified into a stick-like arm, complete with elbow joint and working hand.

"Well I'll be goddamned," Ruby said quietly.

Adrian felt his guts churning as Grimm Ruby tested her new arm, punching the air and making several fists. The sight was abhorrent, not the least because this woman, this creature, had broken all the rules. She had turned herself into a monster. Turned her back on humanity and, for some reason, had won.

Villains were supposed to lose. The heroes were supposed to win and ride off into the sunset.

Instead he was sitting here, helpless, as the greatest evil the world had ever known did a victory dance.

"Okay, that's actually pretty cool," she cooed as she rubbed her new skeletal hand across her cheek. "But now for the thing I actually wanted…"

Adrian's vision started to blur again as Ruby reached down and grabbed up the rest of her black hell vomit, picked it up and let it stretch again, but this time she sent the red-black lightning across it early. As he watched, the shape narrowed and expanded at the end, spreading out into a shape that resembled her old weapon: a giant scythe. It wasn't exactly the same, more like a dark reflection of Crescent Rose, but when solid it would be just as deadly. Once the shape was formed, one other detail emerged – the hilt where the handle met the blade kind of… sprouted, the middle of it opening to reveal a blazing orange-yellow eye. It made Ruby's earlier transformation seem tame by comparison.

"Yeeeeeah~… that's more like it," Ruby cheered as she swung her new weapon around, marveling at how it felt. "Better balanced than my Sweetheart ever used to be… and it matches my new theme, doesn't it? Withered Rose…"

If she was expecting an answer, Adrian had nothing. He was doing all he could to keep from passing out.

Ruby rested her new toy on one shoulder as she turned her attention back to Adrian. "Welp, I don't think you've got any more fight left in you. What's say I just take you back to my place and fuck your brains out, hmm~? Death by snu-snu sound like a good time?"

He had seconds left of consciousness, if that, and there was no way in hell he'd dignify that kind of question with an answer. Had even one of his hands been intact, he'd gladly have given her the finger instead.

Before Grimm Ruby reached down to pick him up and carry him away to his fate, something happened. Something finally decided to step in and save him, despite everything being set to watch him fail.

"Ow! What the shit…?"

Something with blue eyes.

Ruby danced back as a small, dark shape latched onto one of her shiny new legs, biting her in the ankle and not letting go. Even with his vision fading, he recognized Laz immediately… but that was all… he could do…

His last thought before succumbing to the darkness was a wish that Laz could get away.

…

Adrian slumped over and lay still, though his chest continued to move slowly. Blood trickled from his destroyed hands. Laz finally let go of her grip on Ruby's ankles and dashed over, barking, sniffing him.

Ruby stared in awe at the sight. "What is this?" she said. "You dare stand against me?"

Laz turned and barked at Ruby, standing guard over Adrian's still form, snarling and growling like an angry puppy.

Ruby let Withered Rose rest on the ground as she took in the sight of a defiant Grimm, a creature that by all rights should consider her its mother. Its creator. Yet it would not allow her to disturb Adrian.

Why…?

She studied the creature for a moment, thinking, until her eyes went wide with realization. "Wait… Weiss' report… the failed test subject from the lab in Oyl… that was you, wasn't it?"

Laz did not respond. She simply growled, bearing her teeth.

Ruby sighed, twirled the newly created scythe around and rested the shaft across both shoulders. "Very well. It really doesn't matter in the end, you know. He'll belong to me sooner or later, but fine… take him. Lick your wounds. We can finish this another day."

Laz kept growling, but now her little ears perked up. She appeared to understand.

Ruby smirked, turned and started to walk away, but she only went a few steps before turning to look back. Laz the Imu had turned her attention fully back to Adrian, licking and nuzzling him to try and wake him up.

"Heh… figures," Ruby muttered to herself. "The one thing I can't say no to… a mom."

She walked away and disappeared into the shadows only a moment before an old van pulled into the clearing.

…

He awoke from a dreamless sleep.

And quickly wanted to go back.

"Hey, easy there," said Doctor Lie Ren, though it was almost too dark to see his face. Adrian wanted to squeeze his eyes shut again and escape back to the land of unconsciousness, but his Aura was currently thrumming like a car engine. Which could only mean…

"You okay, champ?" said Jaune Arc from his other side. "I mean, silly question, right? Of course you're not-"

"Why am I alive?" said Adrian. His gravelly voice was a bit jarring to hear, especially in the echoing space they were in.

Doc answered with a smile in his voice, "Because if you weren't, a certain young woman would go on a rampage."

"Misty…?"

"She's here," said Jaune. "Can you sit up?"

"Don wanna."

"I mean, fair…"

"What about Ruby? Laz?"

"Uhh… well Laz is here, sure, but…"

…
…

Misty sat in the shadows as her boyfriend fought for his life. They had lights available, but she refused. She would not accept any comforts until he was alright. Little Laz sat by her feet, waiting. Watching.

The building around them had dilapidated greatly over the years, but it was far and away the most sound structure in the old city of Vale. It had to be considering how many human refugees were waiting within, all holding their breath for news of Adrian's recovery. And they were indeed all human, as the old man called Sam Gria personally greeted every one of them at the door to weed out any Grimm in hiding. He also made regular rounds to check and see if anyone had slipped in, though he was flanked at all times by multiple Huntsmen; the former bum had quickly become a very important man indeed. His survival was likely a key to the survival of humanity itself.

Misty had her own bodyguards, Velvet and her old teammate, Professor Adel – Coco had apparently stepped in to save her 'bun-bun' back in Vale, sticking around after that to help out. Sun and Neptune were on patrol duty along with the last member of team CFVY, a big guy called Yatsu-something. Even Hue, Dew and Lew were here, much to Misty's surprise. But of all people, Clifford Kelly had gathered quite a few of the current batch of survivors. His tale of Adrian's ascendance had inspired many of them to come purely out of awe and admiration, but mostly a desperate need for hope; Adrian Arc had gained the power of a god, and if there was one thing they needed right now, it was a miracle.

Their 'miracle' was currently getting his hands rebuilt by the best medical mind they had left.

But there was no telling how long they had.

The CCT was completely dead. Dust still functioned, though it was now a very limited resource compared to only a few days ago. And of course that damned eclipse would just not go away. A few brave souls reported that there was no way to escape the shadow of the moon and survive; everything outside that boundary was a scorched wasteland that made the desert of Vacuo look like an icy tundra, and it was believed that the rest of the world had either frozen or gotten pretty close. Several days had passed since the eclipse began, but nothing had changed. The world had gone still.

Adrian was awake now – Misty could hear him and Doc quietly chatting – but she didn't speak up. Not yet. There was still so much to think about, to consider, to do. The world had gone still… but life would not stop.

Misty held a narrow piece of white plastic in her hands, idly twirling it in her fingers. Two thin red lines sat in the display window at the middle. At some point she would have to show it to Adrian, but not yet. Not until he was ready for the news.

Life would not stop.

…

Several days later, Adrian Arc was almost fully recovered, but the woman didn't pay any attention to that news. She had more important things to worry about.

Stepping carefully around the rubble of the modern world, she made her way back into the Shadow without incident. Of course, now there would be an incident; the Grimm only inhabited this single area on the whole planet now, as no other biome on the planet could support life any longer. Remnant was effectively dead.

She lifted her hood and pulled off her goggles, letting the sand trickle off in waves. The tower of Beacon Academy stood in the distance… and next to it, barely visible but gleaming in the red light of the eternal eclipse, was a pyramid of pinkish-purple crystals. The device of Salem, relocated by the Atlas Military on the orders of their true leader.

She wanted to walk up to it and make this right, but she knew full well that this time it would be guarded. Now they knew she was aware of them. One final battle was on the horizon, and the outcome would truly determine the fate of humanity.

Amy Currant shook the sand from her curly hair and sighed. She pulled out the item that had taken her quite some time to recover, but one that now belonged to her and her alone; a collapsible cane with a white bulb at one end. Long Memory.

"Ruby Rose…" she said quietly, her purple eyes suddenly shifting to hazel, "…This is not over."

…

… … … … …

The End

…

For Now

… … … … …

…

Author's Note: Well that was exhausting.

Remember way back in chapter one when I mentioned this Ruby was based on the works of dishwasher1910 (aka Bach Do)? I didn't say which of his Rubys, now did I? For those who don't know, he created both the RWBY 3.0 and the Grimmverse AUs, both of which directly inspired this fic. And for the record, Jasmine Corbett is an OC I created some time ago to play the role of Glynda Goodwitch for Haven Academy. You know, in case anyone was wondering.

In any case, the story of Imu is done for now. This was the endgame I was aiming for, and while I fully intend to revisit this setting in the future, the narrative itself is concluded. No more shenanigans. That said, I would strongly advise all readers to proceed with caution before flipping to the bonus chapter – this fic was written to work perfectly fine as a stand-alone story, but 19 is intended to connect it to my larger multiverse project that I have affectionately dubbed the Paradigm AU. If this ending is perfectly satisfactory for you, then I recommend you leave it here and don't proceed. Leave the bonus chapter alone. Sleep well at night with the knowledge that you've just watched a fictional world meet its relative end yet still have a flicker of hope that everything will turn out okay.

If, however, your curiosity compels you to venture on and keep reading, all I'll say is that the cliffhangers I've left so far will be nothing compared to what you're about to see. This multiverse project of mine is nothing short of over-ambitious (and defo more than I can handle on my own, hence why I've roped The Layman into helping me out), and the last bit of this story will directly tie this world into a much larger story that… sadly, I have not yet started as of the date I post this. But I'm confident it won't be too much longer (Happy New Year, btw).

Anywho, big thanks to everyone who commented/reviewed, a huge shoutout to The Layman for acting as my Editor and Sounding Board, and of course to both CRWBY and the illustrious Monty Oum, may he rest in peace, for building such a wonderful playground for us creative folk to mess around in. See you guys later!

=^..^=