A/N: Chapter 28 of REKT. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or teams of RWBY, they belong to Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum. What I do own are the characters and teams of my OCs: REKT, GTSY, KACE and DAZE.
Special thanks to the reviewers and to the readers who Fav/Alert this story, I really appreciate it.
Chapter 28: Out of Control
Outside...
The air was filled with the cries of Beowolves, drawing attention to both Huntresses and Huntsmen alike as massive bodies of darkness erupted from the forest. Soon the sounds of battle and magical energies flew through the air as the students of Beacon did their best to protect Weiss' vacation home from being swamped by the sea of black.
"What the...?!"
"Incoming Beowolves!"
"Whoa!"
"Dude! Watch out!" Sun yelled as Neptune jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding the Beowolf barreling towards him. The two of them had finished patrolling the shorelines when they heard the commotion from above and came running back. Rolling over into a crouch the blue-haired boy looked down to see that parts of his jacket were shredded from the claws, his brows furrowed with anger.
"Oh come on I got this custom made! You guys are gonna pay for that!"
"I've never seen a horde this extreme." Timber spoke as he began shooting a barrage of arrows. He sought out higher ground by positioning himself on the rooftop. Giving himself that 360 degree range he can attack from all fronts but that also meant that he himself was wide open to attacks as well. Luckily one of the chefs rushed out with a mini machine gun and gave him cover.
"OOOOORRRRRRRAHHHH!" Yang's blusterous voice reached their ears as the blonde brawler barreled her way through the sea of black, smashing her fists against any that stood in her way. True to her word Blake was right next to her, swinging Gambol Shroud to cut through the fur or relying on her shadows for protection. "You guys wanna piece of me?! I'm more than happy to give you all some of my fists!"
"Jaune! Are you doing okay?" Pyrrha asked as she and the boy stood side-by-side. He turned his head and grinned.
"I'm fine Pyrrha. I'm just a bit winded since this is a lot more Grimm than I imagined going against. But!" He blocked a claw strike before slashing upward with his sword, knocking a Beowolf back. "This is great experience and thanks to your guidance I believe I'm getting better!"
"Ora Ora Ora Ora~!" Nora sang as she swung Magnhild with ease, throwing bodies left and right. Twirling the weapon high over her head she brought it down hard enough to shake the ground. Vibrations could be felt for miles as the Beowolves fell like flies.
"Nora! Please be careful!" Ren yelled as he regained his footing, firing shots at a couple of strays that tried to attack. "You might as well knock Weiss' home while you're at it."
"Sorry Ren!" She replied, sticking her tongue out playfully. "I'm just having so much fun!"
"Right...fun..." The Hunter released a sigh as an answer, resisting the urge to roll his eyes playfully. "Only you would find this fun, Nora."
"If you don't think this is fun Ren..." Nora smashed a wolf's head into the ground before grinning at him. "I have a couple of things that may be worth your while!"
"NORA!" A terrible blush appeared on Ren's cheeks and he just gawked at her. "H-How could you suggest such a thing in the middle of battle?!"
"I'm sure you'll love it...!"
"No I won't."
"You're a terrible liar Ren."
"Has anyone seen Reina?" Efram asked before elbowing a wolf in the chest. He had some scratches along his body due to the claws of the wolves but he paid them no heed. "She's the only one who hasn't come back yet right?"
"Now that you mentioned that..." Ruby slashed away with Crescent Rose before looking around. Amidst the furry bodies of Grimm and the shapes of her comrades she couldn't find me. "Do you think she's in trouble?! If so then we should hurry and find her!"
"I'll go look for her!" Pyrrha hollered, blocking a claw strike with Akoúo̱ before stabbing the creature through the chest with Miló. Noticing a path to the forest she ran through her enemies, with Jaune not too far behind her. "No Jaune, stay behind with the others! I'll be okay, please assist the others in defending the home!"
"B-But Pyrrha!" Jaune called after her but the red-head disappeared out of sight. Tightening his grip on his sword he ran back to help the others.
Elsewhere...
"Ugh!" I yelped as my back collided with a tree. There was no way I'd let the Beowolf leader escape towards the others when they had to deal with the other lesser wolves. He seemed to think along the same line and relentlessly attacked. If there was a time and place for my mark to give me trouble, now was the time and place. While I was fighting I had to resist the urge to scratch my shoulder as it flared up, distracting me from my opponent who took advantage of that.
What's wrong? The Grimm leader growled as he held me in place. His rancid breath hit my face and I couldn't help but shudder in disgust. You aren't using your full power...why? Are you mocking me?
"O-Of course not!" I wheezed as his claws pressed deeper, crushing my lungs.
If you are unwilling to fight then why don't we stay here? We have so much to chat about. He suggested with a malicious smile on his face, one of his ears swiveling around to listen to any noises. Seems to me like the fight is proceeding smoothly. Before long all your friends will overuse their energy and we'll emerge victorious.
"Wei...Weiss, invited us to her home...so we could learn more about each other...so we could grow and improve ourselves..." I growled, gripping the wrist tightly. The blood was rushing through my ears, my heart beating erratically against my ribs. "You're putting my friends...in danger. You're ruining our fun!"
Ha! I'm not ruining anything. The wolf smiled, leaning down to whisper in my ear. You are. It's the Curse that you are bound to that are putting your friends in danger. You are the cause of it all.
"No...no...you're lying."
Don't deny it. The mark on your shoulder – although it serves as your weapon due to family lineage – has other uses and purposes. Those who bear the symbol of a 'wolf' are destined and subjected to the Curse. You mentioned that everyone holds different marks? That is true however one thing's certain: Your mark came directly from your mother.
"My mother...?"
Passed from one generation to the next. Your grandmother bore it then your mother bore it and now it's on you. Ivory white teeth flashed as the Beowolf smiled. Don't you feel lucky? Your mother sheltered you at a young age when she noticed the mark. Right away she knew what was going to happen and tried to do something to alter your fate. I wonder...do you have the same resolve as those who bore the mark before you?
"What's so special about this mark?" I asked. There were certain things that even I wasn't told about, not even members of my family told me. It was taboo after all to talk about the Curse. "Answer me!"
So you haven't been told. The wolf chuckled as if the very idea amused him. What a shame. Well...I'm not going to tell you outright because you need to figure it out yourself. One thing's for certain: Those with the same mark cannot exist together. The world's balance becomes distorted and it will keep getting worse until one mark bearer is killed. You will either find or be found by the other.
"What would happen then?"
Fight of course! If you don't fight then those around you...will be put in danger. There's no rules in regards to dragging in the innocents.
"That's terrible!" I shouted at him. "This is my responsibility and mine alone! I won't allow them to throw their lives away for me!"
Your friends won't see it that way now will they? They will no doubt help you because they're good friends.
"I wish there was...another way to prevent it..."
But it will happen and when it does...you'll lose a lot more than you already have. Your friends, your school...your everything. Your hand will be coated with so much blood you wouldn't be able to scrub it away and the stench will overwhelm you. Doesn't it make your stomach flip, knowing you would be the cause of all those glorious deaths?
"Shut up...Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Pain erupted from the mark on my shoulder as light engulfed the entire area. I felt as though my body was being teared away bit by bit. "GO AWAY!"
This isn't the last time...The voice whispered before everything faded. You can't run from your destiny forever. The light expanded till it reached the sea and disappeared. Taking with it the Beowolves and other Grimm that wondered into the area when they sensed the fear and heard the battle. Not even the winds blew, everything was dead silent.
I'm so...tired. Falling to my knees a gasp escaped my lips before I fell to the ground. Just before I lost consciousness a flash of red came streaming through my mind, almost as if it was coming towards me. Someone...is approaching...?
"What was that weird light just now?" Sun asked as he scratched his head bewildered at what had happened. The other Huntresses and Huntsmen looked around in confusion. One minute they were close to being drowned by Grimm and the next the dark creatures disappeared. "Never seen anything like that before? But somehow I got a warm tingly feeling..."
"Dude even your fur is standing up." Neptune pointed to his partner's tail which had fluffed out.
"Is everyone okay?" Weiss looked around her with concern. Despite the damaged grounds being littered with either Dust, bullets and claw marks, the house was still standing strong and hadn't received any marks from the fight...surprisingly. "Any major injuries?"
"Pyrrha!" Jaune exclaimed when he spotted the red-head emerging from the wooded area. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine Jaune." She said with a small smile. "No need to fret."
"Is...Is Reina okay?" He noticed me draped over her shoulder, still out cold. "She doesn't look too well..."
"For now, let's go back into the house and patch up." Pyrrha advised as the others dragged themselves into the shelter, weariness and fatigue on their faces. "We're gonna need to rest well after the unsuspected attack."
Back inside...
"How is she?" Ruby asked, closing the door silently behind her. Everyone had sustained injuries one way or another and were currently getting treatment. Yang had a nasty bite on her shoulder that risked getting infected, Sun sprained his wrist, Ren had a welt on his cheek, Nora's clothes were torn while the rest sported cuts in various places. Weiss herself rushed around administering first aid with Blake as her assistant.
"She hasn't woken up yet." Kairos replied solemnly, wiping the grime off my face with a wet towel. "Pyrrha said she found her fighting off a much larger Beowolf at the bottom of a cliff. Had she didn't sense the huge output of Aura energy at that precise moment, Reina wouldn't have been found."
"The Beowolves all died off once that burst of light coated us..do you think they followed Reina here?"
"It's a possibility but that's assuming that Reina is the culprit and almost put all our lives on the line. Seriously I know that those animals either travel alone or in a pack but that was a bit too much." The Faunus breathed out slowly, rubbing some tiredness from her eyes. "I guess we lucked out in the end."
"Although there are still a lot of things unanswered..." Ruby sighed as well.
"Uuuuugh..."
"Reina!" The two of them jumped as I came to and hurried to my side. "Are you alright?!" For a minute nothing happened but soon the covers were off and I found myself snarling and lashing out.
"What's wrong? Has she gone mad?!" Ruby yelped, ducking at a pillow sailed overhead, hitting the opposite wall with a thud before falling to the ground. "Careful! Weiss will make you pay for the damages!"
"Ruby, get Weiss and bring her here!" Kairos ordered as she wrestled me against the mattress, her hand on my head and shoving my face against the soft material. "Reina, get a hold of yourself! This isn't like you!"
"Weiss! Weiss!" Ruby flung the door open and shouted for the white-haired heiress. "Weiss I need you! Weiss!"
"Ruby Rose, what is with all the ruckus?!" The sounds of heels clicking reached her ears before the voice did as Weiss appeared with a deep scowl on her face. "The others are resting and I can hear you perfectly!"
"There's no time, get in here!" Ruby pulled her into the room just in time to see me slam my teammate against the wall for the second time, my fingers curling tight on her face. "Reina stop!"
"Grrrrrr..." I turned at the sound of her voice, my eyes flashing briefly. "Grrrrr..."
"R-R-Ruby...what's going on? Did you actually call it 'Reina'?" Weiss whispered as I approached them, leaving Kairos laying dazed on the bed. "Where did that mask come from?"
"I don't know...but, we have to do something." Ruby replied, beads of sweat rolling down her face until I stood a foot away from them. My piercing gaze went from one Huntress to the next.
"Is she even inside there?" The heiress asked, debating on whether to run and grab her weapon or think of another possible solution.
"She has to be." Ruby nodded her head with certainty. "I know she is."
"Ruby, we can't harm her in any way if that's the case!" Weiss threw up a glyph to block a punch, struggling to hold me back and the floorboards groaned underneath the pressure. "Urgh! When did she get this strong?!"
"Can we tear the mask off?!" Ruby reached for my face and I noticed the movement. Rearing my head back I attempted to snap at her and her fingers retreated. "Ok, not the brightest of plans!"
"Of course not, you dolt! Don't stick your fingers where they don't belong!" Weiss retorted before shoving me aside. "And you need to calm down or else everything you break you have to pay for!"
"Grrrrrrrr!"
"Well...talking seems to not be working. Any other ideas?"
"Then use force!" Kairos regained her bearing and prepared to attack, crouching low on the mattress with her eyes focused on me. "Forgive me but I'm gonna take this fight outdoors!"
"What are you-?!"
KA-BOOM!
"Kairos!"
"Kairos!" Weiss and Ruby rushed towards the newly created hole, watching us fight on the ground. Although the Faunus' movements were sluggish due to her slow recovery she did her best to keep my attention.
"Weiss! Get the others! I'll go help and stall her!" with that Ruby jumped out and entered the fight, kicking me in the back before somersaulting away.
"Ruby! That dunce!" Weiss bit her lips and rushed downstairs in a hurry.
Outside...
"Ruby, I've never seen her acting like this before." Kairos stated, standing side-by-side with the leader. Sweat rolled down her face and her chest was heaving for breath. Not only did she fight not completely healed during the invasion but she wasn't prepared to get roughed up for the second time. "If things keep going like this we'll be in trouble."
"What is that mask though?" asked Ruby as she bounced on the balls of her feet, preparing to rely on her speed if necessary. "Why does it look like a Beowolf's?"
"This is my second time seeing it but Reina hasn't explained to me what it means." The Faunus quickly pushed Ruby away and jumped to the side, my fist hitting the ground where they were standing. The smoke and dust clouded my sight but I sensed movement behind me. Stepping to the side I grabbed my teammate's leg when she attempted to kick me and held it still.
"Kairos!" Ruby yelled out a warning as I swiveled around, slamming the Faunus into the ground on her back. Blood flew from her mouth as she stared up dazed, my hand still holding onto her tightly. Lunging forward the young huntress ran towards me with eyes narrowed. "Let her go!"
Sensing the approaching threat I dragged Kairos out of the hole in the ground by her leg and swung her around and around, getting faster and faster by the minute. Taking a step forward I let her go, watching her collide with Ruby and the two of them tumbled across the ground in a heap of arms and legs. The pulsing from my shoulder continued to aggravate me and I pulled my lips back into a snarl.
"This is hopeless...we can't fight her!" Ruby said as she stood back up.
"Yes we can..." Kairos answered. "And we will...I'm not losing her to some mask!"
"What's with all this noise?!" Yang rushed onto the scene just as I round-house kicked Ruby in the ribs and slugged Kairos in the face. The leader flew back, crashing into Blake as the Faunus appeared behind Yang and the two of them crashed into the house. "Blake! Ruby!"
"What the-?" Sun appeared and stood with his mouth agape as he took in my form. "Is that...a new Grimm?"
"I don't care what it is..." The blonde brawler seethed, her burning red eyes narrowed in my direction. Ember Celica already attached to her arms, the pistons pumping with a new set of bullets. "Nobody hits Ruby and gets away with it...NOBODY!" With a feral roar she flew forward, knocking me aside with a strong shoulder slam to the chest. Efram hurried out to retrieve Kairos and brought her back, Timber rushing up with the medical box and began to administer the gauze.
Flipping over after being swept off my feet I landed in a crouch, a growl rumbled from my chest as I prepared to fight my new enemy. Yang returned with her own snarl, gesturing for me to attack. With a roar I ran towards her, the ground trembling underneath my steps. She met my punch with her own, sending shock waves through the air and we continued our fist fight.
"Oh wow, look at them go!" Nora whistled with interest. "I've never seen Yang so angry before!"
"Nora this isn't the time to be excited! Shouldn't we try to help?" Ren asked with worry.
"I don't think that's a good idea." Pyrrha answered, with Jaune agreeing with her statement. "I wouldn't want to step in...we just have to rely on Yang for this."
"Ugh!" Yang winced from getting kneed in the gut, the air rushing out of her lungs. Clenching her teeth she threw a punch in retaliation and it collided with my shoulder. I had turned at the last minute to block and her fist connected with the mark, sending waves of pain through my entire body.
"Arrrrrrgh!" Throwing the brawler down with an elbow to the head I followed up with a kick, sending her skidding across the ground and away from me. Panting heavily I stumbled a bit much to the surprise of the others, a hand to my face. Yang's blow managed to deal so much pain that I regained consciousness, becoming more aware of my surroundings. What's going on...? What's happening...to me...?!
"Yang!" Blake yelled with concern for her partner, watching Yang slowly pick herself up with blood dripping down her face. Weiss took over looking after Ruby, wrapping bandages around the girl's body.
What–? Yang? Shaking my head I could see the outline of the fiery blonde, an arm held up as an indicator that she was all right. Looking around I noticed the others watching with a range of emotion on their faces. What caught my breath was Ruby and Kairos wounded, no doubt my own doing. What have I...What have I done?
"I must admit you fight well." Yang spoke, getting my attention as she walked up to me with a grin on her face. "But I won't fall so easily. Let's continue."
Please...Yang...while I still have control...I forced my body to submit, falling to my knees with my arms held out to the side. There was a collective gasps from the on lookers, even Yang was surprised by the move. Knock me out...hurry! I don't know how long I can maintain it...
"What do you think you're doing?" Yang questioned, anger rising in her voice. The gears within Ember Celica whirled and she tightened her right hand into a tight fist. "Stand up. I'm not done yet and neither should you!" Her hair burned brightly with the amount of rage she was exhibiting and her eyes flashed red. "If you're making fun of me then you'll regret it! Here I come!"
"Yang no!" Kairos yelled as the brawler lunged towards me, her eyes widened in horror. "Please stop!"
"This is for Ruby!"
CRACK! Time slowed down as Yang's fist connected with my mask. Piece by piece it crumbled revealing my face and the brawler's eyes broadened with shock. A smile stretched across my face as the last remnants of the mask vanished but the Huntress' fist continued to move forward.
"Thank...you..." I whispered and the punch hit its mark. Everything went dark.
