MRRY CHRIMAS Y'ALL! Still alive, don't worry. This chapter has just been sitting on my laptop, so why not post it now? As for my Bnha fic, admittedly still in a bit of a writers block, but I'm getting there. Anyway, again I'm just shocked at how well this story has been doing and for that, I sincerely thank you. Onto Reviews!
Alucard45: Indeed, Weiss will always be Weiss to some extent, and I'm glad that I managed to nail her character down! True, current Weiss is precious, and I won't be taking that from her. Don't worry about bringing up the Semblance issues, it's just how the writers 'handled' the explanation that rubs me the wrong way, and to be honest, labelling it as 'science mumbo jumbo' is probably better for my sanity XD. Also really glad that Ruby's character is entertaining, but also sorry that her tree-chopping was cut out. Honestly was a favourite little moment of mine as well, but in due time, her frustration will boil over... really quickly. Good catch on noticing that Ruby and Yang share similar styles, and yes, they have both helped and inspired each other more than in canon, something that'll come into play a bit later. Them yelling attack names is admittedly really silly XD, but there IS a reason to it, and someone is definitely gonna take note. For Yang's Semblance, believe me, I've got a BUNCH of cool stuff waiting to be unleashed for her (and aura in general), all in due time. Always happy to continue puttin' out what I love, and I'm happy you're enjoying the fic so far!
KHARAKI TAKAN: Thank you dude, glad you liked the chapter and the changes to Yang's Semblance!
merendinoemiliano: Happy you loved the chapter my man! Believe me, you'll come to find out one of the changes VERY soon. Gotta say, the review made me bust out laughing, and I thank you for that XD.
Korst: Happy you're liking the story so far! To answer your questions, TWBY is a cute little pun I came up with, where RWBY is said like 'Ruby', TWBY is a play-off rhyme with 'To-be', hence TWBY Continued (To Be Continued). Ruby (sadly) doesn't have straight-up telepathy, rather she can read base-level emotions. Think Ren's current use of his semblance, but with less skill. Finally, it would be hilarious to see Jaune offed so easily, but that is not the case with him XD.
YuukiAsuna-Chan: Don't worry, I PROMISE, no love-triangles XD. Another author (who actually inspired this fic) Moguera did a love triangle, but it was written EXTREMELY well, and I suggest you check them out. As for Jaune's inadequacy... shh, careful you might be on to something ;D.
Now, onto the slightly longer chapter! Consider it a late Christmas Gift ;D
Fighting Rose
Chapter 6
Unexpected encounters
"So the gang's all here," Ruby chuckled as the group of eight stood shoulder-to-shoulder, their eyes on the Deathstalker stalking and Nevermore… 'nevermore'-ing? Flying, it was flying.
"Great! That means we can die together!" Yang cheered, both her and Ruby grinning at each other. "Really though, any ideas Ruby?"
"Hmm…" Her eyes darted from the Nevermore to the Deathstalker. 'Birdy's too far up to try and hit, not to mention we won't be able to lock it down, but the bug on the other hand…' Her eyes darted to Pyrrha's weapon, confirming the ammunition-clip within it that matched that of a simple rifle. "Pyrrha, you think you can hit the Nevermore from here with your weapon's rifle-form?"
"Hit it, yes," Pyrrha said, "But it's calibre isn't high enough to pierce deep through its feathers, and I don't think I'll be able to hit any vital-spots like its eyes with it moving around like that."
"That's alright, I just need some time to get one good hit on that Deathstalker! Cover me!"
"Right!" Pyrrha shouted, shifting her spear into its rifle-form and taking aim at the Nevermore. Rounds smashed into its face-plating, doing no real harm but distracting and blinding it slightly as it squawked in anger. Ruby blasted across the open field, her feet not even touching the ground before she started to spin, tensing up her right leg in preparation. No matter her speed, a straightforward attack done from such a distance away was still a telephone-punch to the Grimm, mandibles clacking menacingly as it lunged forward to snap the small girl in half: only for another burst of wind to hit its pincers, clamping down on empty air and petals. Compound eyes darted up to see the girl right above its head, her right foot drawn back.
Her face tightened with effort as she swung her foot down, armoured toes smashing right into the Grimm's forehead like a hammer – no, like a pickaxe. There was a sharp *BANG* and a flash of red as the Deathstalker screeched in shock and pain, the armour on its head having cracked and almost shattering from the kick. Ruby had no time to appreciate her handiwork as it thrashed wildly, claws and stinger lashing out from every angle while she flipped backwards, landing on her feet just outside of its range. It shrieked in rage at the tiny human who dared to wound it for the first time in many years, lunging forward to spear her through with its stinger, regardless of her calm grin and ready stance. It may have succeeded had it not been for a sudden flash of white and a wave of frost, blinding it as its stinger instantly became stuck in a wall of ice.
"What on earth is wrong with you!" Weiss shouted, "Taking on an elder Deathstalker by yourself!? Are you insane!?"
"Maybe," Ruby chuckled, "But I needed to get a gauge on how tough that thing is, and what level I'm at now. The Deathstalker should have a pretty nasty rage-concussion now, but it sucks that there's no way I'd be able to get it with that one shot."
"You… used a Deathstalker…" Weiss said slowly, "…as a measuring stick for your strength?"
"Yup! Still, that was a lucky shot, I won't be able to take it down by myself at this stage," Ruby admitted, "But if my kick can crack its armour, then I know for a fact that I can cut that Nevermore down!"
Weiss stared at her for a moment before sighing. "…You're an odd one, Ruby Rose."
"I'll take that as a compliment," Ruby chuckled, "But we gotta move. Pyrrha's the only one right now who's got any kind of range to distract the Nevermore, but if we stay here then we'll just get tag-teamed by its feathers and the Deathstalker. The cliffs should have a bunch of ruins that we can use to our advantage, then we'll split up into two teams of four."
"You planned that all out?"
"Nope, pulled that outta my butt just now," Ruby laughed, "C'mon guys, grab your relics and let's get the heck outta here!" Everyone bagged their relics and took off towards the cliffs, Ruby quickly standing atop a peculiarly lonesome rock. A gust of wind picked up out of nowhere, Ruby's red cloak billowing behind her much akin to a cape. Her silver armaments glinted in the light, the sharp look in her eyes as they took in the Grimm starting to make their way towards them. Yang couldn't help but take in the sight, a soft smile on her face at the oddly heroic image of her little sister.
"Everything alright?" Blake asked, noticing Yang's pause and the pride she exuded.
"…Yeah," Yang said softly, "Yeah, everything's good."
…
The Nevermore, now unhindered from Pyrrha's shots was relentless in its pursuit, occasionally firing off a few of its spear-like feathers at the group. Weiss' Glyphs served as powerful shields, but Ruby could see and feel the growing strain on her with every large glyph she cast.
"We're here!" Ruby shouted, "Get across the bridge-!"
The Nevermore shrieked as it swooped in, blocking their path to the bridge. Both teams were quick to find cover, Ruby kissing her teeth as she thought. To her surprise, it was Jaune was quick to bark out an order.
"Nora, it should be close enough now so cover us with that cannon!"
"It's a grenade-launcher, but will do boss!" The ginger girl said with a gleeful smile, sprinting out into the open. The Nevermore was quick to react shrieking as it threw its wings forward and sending dozens of feathers screaming through the air. Nora however was surprisingly nimble, ducking and vaulting over them before she found herself in just the right spot, laughing maniacally as she opened fire with her grenade-launcher, explosions coloured pink rattling the giant avian and forcing it to back away. Everyone ran for the opening, just in time as the Deathstalker burst through the trees behind them, screeching and lashing out at everything with a vengeance.
"Let's move!" Ruby shouted, "We need at least two people to cover us from behind!"
"Got it!" Pyrrha shouted.
"I'll assist!" The boy with the magenta-streak in his hair shouted, whipping out a pair of bladed sub-machine guns from his sleeves before both of them opened fire on the Grimm. The rest of a group broke off into a sprint across the bridge, Ruby glancing at Jaune again and her jaw almost dropping at the sheer volume of Jaune's aura, a pool greater than Yang's even.
'No way… was he holding back? He must know how to control his aura as well-!' There was a rush of air and Ruby's head snapped to look at the Nevermore flying straight for them. "EVERYONE JUMP!" Stone and rubble were flung into the air as the already old bridge was blasted to pebbles. Blake was the least lucky in the impact, having been at the back of the group as she careened through the air. Still, she righted herself mid-air with surprising smoothness and whipped out her weapon, latching onto a lone pillar and yanking herself straight up, a hazy afterimage seeming to propel her forward and right on top of the Nevermore. Rolling to her feet, Ruby stifled a curse as she saw Ren and Pyrrha trapped on the other side of the bridge, defending themselves well against the raging Deathstalker, but one mistake and…
"Do you four think you can deal with the Nevermore?" Jaune asked as he drew his straightsword, "Nora and I will help Pyrrha and Ren!"
Ruby, Weiss, and Yang looked at each other for a moment before they all nodded, Ruby grinning and giving Jaune a thumbs up. "We'll kick its butt and be back before lunch. Good luck Nora, vomit-boy!"
"It was the one time!" Jaune whined as Nora dragged him off. The rest of them quickly made their way up the central tower of the ruins, Ruby eyeing Blake practically dancing atop the Nevermore's head with an array of beautiful slashes. And yet, none of them seemed to do any real damage. She front-flipped off the tail of the Grimm, landing with the rest of the group near the top of the tower.
"Those feathers are way tougher than they look!" Blake shouted, all four of them seeing the Grimm arc through the air to make another pass at them.
"Alright, then let's hit it with everything we've got! Gunslinger!" Yang shouted, her hair lighting up and eyes turning red. Ruby nodded and reached into her pouch, drawing two tiny crystals that looked like teal Wind-dust, yet also looked far more… refined, fitting them into place at the empty nodes in each armoured boot. Blake's weapon shifted into its firearm form, a simple pistol while Weiss rotated the Dust-chambers in Myrtenaster, glyphs forming above and behind her.
"No matter what, aim for the head, eyes and mouth!" Ruby shouted, her aura suddenly lighting up like a bright crimson fire, her hair started to raise up and red highlights began to pulse as rose-petals started to swirl around her. "And DON'T HOLD BACK!"
The air was suddenly filled with the sounds of roaring gunfire and ripped air, Yang punching forward and launching burning bolts. Weiss' glyphs crackled like shattering glass as they fired icy missiles. Blake's pistol was more powerful than it looked, each shot making her set her feet. And Ruby's legs were nothing but blurs of red and silver, each kick firing out screeching blades of aura and air. They crashed repeatedly into the Nevermore's head, some of them glancing off the Grimm but the majority of the attacks hitting it dead-on. Despite the pain of each thunderous impact, the Nevermore let out a shriek as it barrelled through and smashed into the tower. Everything began to fall apart, even though the girls managed to avoid any serious injury. Still, they were quick to act and recover, Weiss using Glyphs, Yang using her Gauntlet's recoil, Blake using her Clones, and Ruby springing off each falling piece of rubble before they landed safely on a sturdy platform that led straight into the cliffside.
"None of this is working!" Weiss huffed.
"Look again Weiss!" Ruby pointed out, all of them noting that the Nevermore seemed more… off-balance, shaking its head and rapidly blinking its eyes as it tried to steady itself mid-flight. "We've got it stunned, now we just gotta pin it down!"
"How do you propose we do that!?"
At that, Ruby glanced at the hyper-elastic ribbon of Blake's weapon and just grinned. "I've got a plan, listen close and relay it to Blake and Yang!" Weiss was quick to take mental notes and dash around the field with her Glyphs, Ruby simply kneeling down and… meditating? Regardless, Blake and Yang both nodded, the former readying herself and the latter grinning as she hopped onto the tallest available point.
"HEY BIRDBRAIN, WHAT'S WRONG!? GOT YOUR FEATHERS RUFFLED UP!? FEELING FLIGHTY!? NOT HAVIN A GOOD TIME WINGING IT!?"
Everything turned silent in that moment, aside from the beat of the Nevermore's wings, everyone simply giving Yang a deadpan stare.
"Booo, that sucked!" Nora shouted from across the bride, even the Deathstalker clicking in agreement. Everyone exploded back into action, the Nevermore screeching in rage as it dived right for the blonde human that made a mockery of it. Yang, slightly ticked off that the genius of her jokes wasn't met with praise, continuously firing off more and more rounds into it as it came closer and closer, its mouth open to crush her.
'Fine then, bring it!' She thought as she leapt right in, both hands shooting up as its mouth moved to snap shut. For a moment, Yang strained at the sudden pressure before she grinned, eyes flashing red as her hair steadily glowed brighter. With her newfound strength, she held open its beak with one hand and roared "I! HOPE! YOU'RE! HUNGRY!" as she delivered round after burning round right into its throat. Glancing behind her, she grinned wider as she saw that it was blinding racing right towards the cliffside, smoothly leaping out of its jaws and twisting to grab onto the side of its face-plate, right where it's eye was. Said eye widened as Yang's body seemed to burst with energy, golden flames roiling off of her as she drew her fist back, said flames coalescing around her arm.
"JACKPOT!"
The sky turned gold for a split second as Yang's fist exploded into its face with a deafening *BOOM*, a shriek of pain scraping everyone's ears as the Nevermore went spiralling right into the cliffside while Yang herself smoothly landed into a roll. The Grimm managed to get back on its feet, the right-half of its bone-white mask now charred and broken in some areas to reveal its unarmoured skin underneath, its eye burnt to a crisp. And yet, it spread its wings and screeched in defiance, preparing to take to the skies once more and rain feathers down upon them. At least, that was until Weiss tagged in, twirling through the air before thrusting her rapier right at its tail feathers, a wall of ice erupting straight upwards to trap the Grimm in place. A quick dash carried her back to the main group, Blake throwing her blade-gun-on-a-string right at Yang, the two of them pulling the elastic ribbon taut around some pillars as Ruby's eyes snapped open. She suddenly launched herself into the air, blasting right at the ribbon with a dropkick and stretching it to its limit while Weiss formed a giant black Glyph holding Ruby in place as they both took aim.
"This is the most ludicrous battle-plan I've ever bore witness to," Weiss groused, shifting Ruby and her glyph slightly to the left.
"Points for style though," Ruby chuckled before she got serious. "Got a clear shot?"
"Ha! Do I," Weiss said with full confidence. The wording however made Ruby pause for a second to stare at Weiss with a raised brow.
"… Weiss, if you got the math wrong then I'll end up – "
"Yes I have a clear shot!" Weiss shouted, annoyed as she spun on the spot, Ruby's aura lighting up once more as the Glyph pulled her further back like an arrow in a bow.
(Que Music: Red Like Roses 2, starting point 3:40)
The girl in red was launched less like an arrow and more like a red missile, the stone behind her shattering as she blasted through the air, roaring as she slammed a spinning roundhouse-kick right into the Nevermore's throat, smashing both of them right into the cliffside. Sweat dripping down her face in concentration, Weiss pointed at Ruby before flicking her fingers straight up, a line of 'Pull' glyphs leading right to the top of the cliff, keeping Ruby held in place. The latter drew her right arm back fingers pressed together as her arm seemed to blur and rose-petals swirled around her.
"Crescent Lance!"
Her hand shot forward and stabbed right into the Nevermore's face, inky liquid and miasma spilling out. It didn't have time to shriek in pain as Ruby grit her teeth and blasted straight up at full speed. The entire Grimm was yanked up with her, everyone watching with open mouths as they shattered the overarching ridge, Ruby taking her hand out as the Grimm's weight and momentum carried it well above her. She spun on the spot, charging almost every drop of aura into her leg before everything seemed to slow down… and the sky flashed silver.
"Crescent Rose KICK!"
(End Music)
A blade of rose-red edged in silver slashed through the sky, and subsequently the Nevermore's head and left wing. After a moment, Ruby tucked her body and landed right at the top of the cliff in a crouch, the Nevermore's body crashing down right beside her… before she promptly face-planted. It wasn't long before the entire team of eight were assembled at the top of the cliff.
"Ooowww…" She groaned, her entire body numb, yet her leg was throbbing and her head was killing her. Yang laughed, slapping her leg at the state that Ruby was in while everyone else just relaxed. "… would it kill you to help me up?" Ruby whined at Yang, the elder sibling still in a chuckling fit as she gently helped Ruby up to piggyback on her.
"That was awesome sis," Yang said lowly, enough that only Ruby could hear over the din of everyone else talking. "But… did you use that thing again?"
"Yang, look at me," Ruby chuckled softly, "Besides, it's for the better. If I held back and that thing had enough juice left, we'd all be screwed over."
"Yeah, that's fair," Yang sighed before grinning and ruffling Ruby's hair. Unbeknownst to them, Weiss was off to the side, her gaze flicking from the Nevermore's corpse to Ruby.
'… what kind of strength was that?' Weiss thought, the feeling of something gnawing in her stomach. 'For not just her, but the blonde to outclass me as well…?' She shook her head rapidly, squashing her doubts as best as she could. 'No! Beating one B-Class Grimm does not qualify for being good Hunters! It doesn't matter if she was able to kick right through this stupid bird…' She idly kicked the corpse of the Nevermore, only for her mind to trail off as she felt something… odd about the situation.
"Um…" She said aloud, drawing everyone's attention, "… why isn't the Grimm dissolving?" Everyone went silent as their eyes went to the Nevermore's corpse, curiosity brimming among most of them… not counting Ruby and Yang.
"Ruby you don't think that…?" Yang started, both her and Ruby's faces full of dread. The corpse suddenly lurched, all eight of them backpedalling with screams of fear as it continued to twitch violently, almost as if something trying to make its way out. After a moment of stillness, out it came: an armoured hand burst from the upturned stomach of the Grimm, another following as it tore at the now-dissolving flesh of the Grimm. Feet stomped down onto the dirt below, the thing freeing its torso from the corpse and standing there. The first thing that shocked almost everyone was despite the obvious markings of a Grimm, this thing was human-like, not just humanoid, standing at six-feet in height, not at all too tall. Instead of white bone-plating, this thing was donned in pure black and red-lined bone-plates, wearing it as a literal suit of armour, twisted and jagged in its design with spiked pauldrons, gauntlets, and kneecaps. And its face… again, shockingly human, but with no eyes and forward-curving horns framing its face.
"SiiIIiiLllLvVvver…!" It spoke, its voice deep yet raspy, baritone yet high-pitched.
"W-what… the hell kind of Grimm is that!?" Weiss shrieked, everyone's weapons drawn even as they backed away from it. Ruby was already on her feet, her legs shaking not from fear but exhaustion and strain as she glared at the odd Grimm. She growled as she forced her aura to swell and replenish, her eyes almost rolling into her head at the effort before she stomped her feet down hard.
"Ruby, you're already tapped out!" Yang cried, "You can't afford to fight it now, just fall back!"
"But what even IS IT!?" Weiss screamed again, the mere image of it reminding her too keenly of the armoured Geist, yet its presence despite being far smaller was far more dangerous.
"…Ruby and I encountered one of these things before, half a year back," Yang said with a grimace. "All we know about this type of Grimm is that they're really tough, and really rare."
"Does it have a name?" Pyrrha asked stepping up and drawing her sword with a steady hand, ready to jump in.
"Yeah, apparently there are different types out in the world, and lucky for us this looks like the same lower-end one Ruby and I encountered, but don't let that fool you. This thing is a Scudo Angelo."
Dark Knight Infantry
Scudo Angelo
Not a moment later, the Angelo snarled as it drew a wicked-looking black broadsword and large teardrop-shaped shield with a human face in the very middle, made from the same material as its armour, pointing the blade at Ruby. "SLaY tHe siLVer MENacE!"
"Come and try it!" Ruby roared, arms wide open knees bent before everyone exploded into action. Ruby flew right at the Grimm, shouting as she threw out a heavy dropkick right at its face, only for it to raise its shield and block with ease. With the shocking strength of the Angelo and the exhaustion of Ruby, this Grimm wasn't going down easily.
"WeAK!"
Its arm blurred as it slashed straight down, the blade smashing right into Ruby's ribs and sending her tumbling back with a cry of pain, barely able to stumble to her feet. It rushed right at her, bashing the edge of its shield right into her face, her head whipping back before it smashed its foot right into her stomach, blasting her right into Yang's arms.
"RUBY! ARE YOU ALRIGHT!?" Ruby wheezed as her aura was reduced to barely a sliver once again, an uncomfortable stap of pain in her right side indicative of a fracture in her floating rib.
"F-fine," She coughed, barely getting back to her feet, "W-was a bad idea to… *wheeze*… try and… refire my aura up again."
"Damn right it was!" Yang cried, gently setting Ruby down. "Vomit-boy, get your ass over here and make sure she stays safe!"
"Yang, I-I can still-!" Ruby protested before her vision swam, Yang helping Ruby stay sitting up.
"Hell no! Sit here and rest, you deadweight," Yang teased despite the situation, a confident grin on her face. "I promise that we'll kick its ass three ways 'till Sunday!" Ruby squirmed for a moment before she relaxed sighing and nodding.
"You'd *wheeze* better! Everyone *wheeze*, hit it everywhere you can!"
Blake and Ren acted as firearm support, peppering the Angelo with gunfire from every conceivable angle they could, aiming for joints and weak-spots in its armour. Weiss constantly slowed it down or hindered with her Glyphs and bolts of dust smashing into its sides. Pyrrha and Nora served as the frontline offensive, Pyrrha using every ounce of skill she had to stay toe to toe with the Angelo. Though its consecutive attacks weren't all that fast, each swing by itself was horribly powerful and insanely fast, the champion barely able to catch herself in time to try and meet the next strike. When she did however, she shouted with effort as it thrust its blade forward while she swung her shield as hard as she could with the aid of her Semblance, bashing its weapon to the side and opening it up for Nora. The latter gave her downward swing everything she had, bellowing as the Warhammer crashed right into its face with a deafening explosion.
"…Did it wor-?" Blake started before Nora was chucked out of the smoke via a shield-bash, her nose bleeding as the dust settled to reveal its armour beginning to crack, one of its horns blasted to pieces.
"Nice… it's working!" Nora cheered, casually flicking away the blood from her nose before everyone started to realize something: almost everyone was exhausted. Weiss was struggling to make even two glyphs, Ren's posture sagging and a grimace on his face, Blake barely using her clones, everyone seemed to be almost entirely tapped out. To make matters worse, the Angelo wasn't tiring. It was taking damage, but never once did it appear to falter from weariness. In fact, it was learning. As Nora charged in again, the Angelo intercepted her with a powerful downward cut that forced her to block, the sheer power behind it making her arms cry out despite her own incredible strength, distracting her from the savage kick to her chin that launched into the air, vision swimming and balance non-existent. Pyrrha tried to go for another parry as soon as she reengaged, yet it feinted a slash for her neck before twirling to cut down at her arm. She read it perfectly, her body already moving to intercept, only for the Angelo to suddenly bash its shield into her own, throwing her off balance for a split second. Still, the Angelo wasn't the only one learning. Her eyes narrowed despite her own fatigue, sharply breathing out as she made to lock blades with it, only to angle off and let its sword slide down into the ground. She lashed out with three powerful slashes, armpit, wrist and neck of the Angelo all hit dead on in that single moment, snarling in pain as it too stumbled. Throwing everything at that one opening, she channelled her semblance into her sword and thrust forward for its neck.
Somehow, it brought its shield up just in time, throwing her stab off-course, her momentum sending her right into its powerful slash to the stomach. Her aura barely held up from the strike while the midsection of her armour was sheared through like cloth, Pyrrha grinding her teeth to stop herself from crying out loud. Despite the bleakness of the situation… almost everyone was tired. Yang dashed in, far faster than anyone had expected from her, her hands held up in a tight guard as she crashed right into the Angelo's shield. Said Grimm was forced back yet again, snarling as it set its feet and shoved Yang back to slash at her head. The cut whiffed right through the air, Yang deftly weaving under it, and the next slash after that, and the next, and the next. Her entire body started to blur as she weaved faster and faster in an infinity-motion, the Angelo trying to catch her with an array of sword-slashes, shield-bashes, and stomps, all of them whiffing by, right up until a slash came close enough to lop off a good few strands of hair. At that, Yang's face twisted into a silent rage as her body seemed to ignite once more, a small pause in her weaving as she cocked her right hand back.
(Cue Music: RWBY ost, I burn)
"Rolling Dragon."
The Angelo, despite being a Grimm, felt an intense danger coming right for it and instinctively brought up its shield, a sharp *BANG* ringing through the air from Yang's right hook. The shield was almost wrenched from its grip, its body lurching to the side from the power behind the blow, only for a left-hook to come racing for its face, another *BANG* as it impacted its shield again, shards of it flying off. Yet another *BANG* from a right hook, a *BANG* from the left, right *BANG* and left *BANG-BANG-BANG*.
"TAKE IT DOWN YANG!" Ruby shouted.
The air was filled with the rhythmic *BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG* of Yang's Rolling Dragon, the blonde roaring as she poured everything she had into her strikes, each punch forcing the Angelo back further and further, unable to retaliate from the burning onslaught. A right hook blasted right into the face if the shield before the armament shattered, along with the arm of the Angelo torn off at the shoulder. The Grimm bellowed in pain, legs shaking as it tried to remain standing at the very edge of the cliff. For a second, it seemed that Yang had finally tapped out, her body hunched over as the Grimm tried to raise its sword, until her left hand drew back even further, lighting up with golden fire just as intensely as when she hit the Nevermore… no, even more so.
"REAL…!"
The Angelo begun to swing the blade down right for her neck, everyone trying to move forward to stop it from lopping Yang's head off… until she burst into motion once more.
"IMPAAAAACT!"
(End Music)
Yang unleashed every last drop of aura into her arm and legs, her body twisting as she barely dodged the downward chop, pushed further to the side thanks to one final Glyph from Weiss, smashing her uppercut right into the Angelo's chin. A geyser of flame exploded out of Yang's fist, the Grimm unable to scream as its entire upper torso was reduced to ashes and the rest of its body flying into the air before plummeting into the ravine, turning to dust before it even clipped some of the ruins.
Everyone, Yang included, promptly collapsed. Now everyone was completely exhausted.
"We did iiiiiiit~!" Nora said almost drunkenly, trying to get to her feet before almost falling onto her face, Ren barely catching her thanks to his own aches and injuries.
"Geez, talk about a last-minute boss fight," Yang groaned, making her way over to Ruby before falling onto her backside, catching her breath. She noticed that Ruby was silent, eyebrows knit together both in frustration and deep thought. "… you okay sis?"
"Just…" Ruby grunted, trying to ignore the pain as she adjusted her sitting position. "…I wish I could've… helped you guys."
"Ruby, you already took out a giant Nevermore," Yang chuckled, ruffling her hair, "That's more than enough help."
"…mm," She hummed after a moment, looking back at the now-dissolving Nevermore corpse and thinking again, unable to ignore the ache in her eyes. And then another armoured hand burst from its head.
"ARE YOU SHITTING ME!?" Yang roared as yet another Scudo Angelo tore itself free of the corpse, everyone scrambling to their feet as to went about drawing its sword and stomping over to Ruby.
"KILLITKILLITKILLIT!" Weiss screamed, using Myrtenaster alone to fire off whatever little dust she had left, bolts of ice and stone crashing fruitlessly against its armour while Ren and Blake emptied their clips into it. The Angelo paused, looking back and forth between Ruby and Weiss before growling and setting its sights on the Heiress.
"YoU pESt!" It snarled, crossing the distance to cut Weiss down.
"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HER!" Pyrrha and Ruby crashed into its sides, even more aura flaring from Ruby as she drove a diving into the right side of its neck, Pyrrha stabbing her javelin right into the gap of its left shoulder-plate. It bellowed as it drew its shield back to slam it into Pyrrha's face, knocking her senseless before turning to try and slash at Ruby. One final surge of aura surged from her body, veins popping up on her forehead and neck, blood spurting from her nose as she twisted mid-air, dodging the slash and rocketing a roundhouse right into its face. It shouted in surprise and pain, stumbling backwards and trying to recover, Ruby landing on her feet and ready to launch herself at it once more, only for her body to give out and lock up in agony.
"A-augh!" She strangled out, feeling all of her muscles convulse, her ribs grind together and her vision twist violently, her aura completely depleted. Even then, she tried to claw her way back to her feet, the Angelo already having recovered and moving to cut Ruby down, until a new voice entered the fray.
"GeronimoooOOO~!" The Angelo paused and looked up with everyone else, only to receive a plummeting dropkick from a portly man in a burgundy suit and jacket, its body sent crashing into the ground and throwing chunks of dirt into the air. The portly man dusted himself off and turned around to smile brightly at his students, eyes and mouth largely hidden by incredibly bushy eyebrows and moustache.
"Greetings students! Professor Peter Port, perfectly happy to parlay with you, and apologies for my lack of punctuality. You've all already passed with flying colours, though I must comment you for holding your own against a Grimm that's a bit too difficult for you to handle right now." The Angelo was back on its feet already racing towards the professor and aiming to cut him right down the middle while he wasn't looking.
"Professor look out-!" Ruby cried, only for Port to stop the blade with his bare hand.
"Worry not Miss Rose!" He chuckled, casually forcing the blade away from his face. "I wished to save a personal demonstration for later in the year, but the situation calls for an early outing!" A pale yellow aura pulsed around his hand as he grunted and shattered the blade with ease, everyone's jaw dropping. Still, the Angelo roared as it stepped forward for another shield-bash, only for Port to deftly step around it, whipping out a blunderbuss-battleaxe before lopping its shield-arm off in one clean swing.
"You all handled the Scudo quite well!" He commented as he parried another couple of slashes with ease, "Attacking from multiple angles was a good idea, and you three managed to land a good few blows Miss Nikos, Miss Rose, Miss Xiao Long. However, you're all a bit too…!" The Angelo stabbed right for Port's gut, though he swiftly parried once more while stepping off to its shoulder. "Forward!"
He kicked its feet out from under it, smashing his heel into its chest to crack its armour and pin it to the floor, the barrel of his gun pointed right at its face. "And that-!"
*BANG, BANG, BANG*
"… is how it is done!" He stood up and dusted himself off, walking away from the headless form of the dissolving Angelo and up to the gawking hunter-trainees. "Now, let's get you all to some medical attention, aye? Wouldn't want to miss the Team Ceremony because of a twisted ankle!"
"…So that was a thing," Yang muttered, everyone collectively passing out from the absurdity of the situation.
(TWBY Continued...)
So... bet you all have some questions huh? Probably not expecting the chapter to end with a fight like that? Well, allow me to say this: that 'sky flashing Silver' is exactly what you think it is. However: unlike how the show canonically handle's it, every time that Ruby uses 'that' improperly, there will be consequences. NOT just her getting a headache or one-shotting everything and everyone. Props to anyone who knows where the Scudo Angelo comes from, and if you know the lore behind it, then it may give you an idea as to what might be happening behind the scenes, and as a bonus, it'll clue you in on Yang's current Style!
Also, wanted to establish something here with Port leaping in at the end. The guy is generally seen as someone who talks out his ass in both the show and a majority of other fics, fairly enough. Having him take out the second Angelo serves the purpose of showing the gap between trainees and professionals: where Yang burnt up everything she had taking out one while she was at nearly full-stamina, Port... well, you got the idea. Ciao!
