A/N: Here we are, another "bit" that was left on the cutting room floor, as it were.
Had some weather issues over here -SNOW!- that kept me rather busy, preventing me from updating one of the big guns.
It should be, more or less, as follows: Gimme that Fire, See No Evil -its a surprise~!- Don't Judge A Book By its Cover, then Embers of Hope, Kiss of Death, Daddy's Little Devil, so on and so forth.
Of course, there will be Genshin, Arcane, and Fate updates -since SOMEONE told me of the Pretender class- as well as bringing many old tales to their conclusion. Next years gonna be a BIG year and I've got lots of stories to finish before the big move.
So! Lets get on with it!
As ever, I own no references, quotes, themes or memes.
Get ready. This one goes right for the throat...and the heart. Hope you've prepared yourself.
"There's an old saying, passed down since time immemorial.
If you want something done right...
...do it yourself."
~?
Don't Cry
"NO!"
She collapsed into his arms.
He caught her -he always would- even as she fell out of that ghastly thing, leaving the ruined remnants of the monster behind. Bereft of its host, the Grimm crumbled away like a bad memory, leaving the dying huntress in his arms. Distantly, he heard her oppressor tut and walk away. Rage sparked in his chest, but it was quenched as her hand fisted against his coat. A weak tug forced him to look away. He soon wished he hadn't. Blood. So much blood.
...I'm glad it was you, whiskers."
Why was she thanking him?! "I was supposed to save you!"
A rasp tore out of her ruined throat. "...you already did. You already have."
"How is this saving you?!" he flailed, pressing his palms against her bloody stomach. "Just...just hold still! I can fix this!" light flashed, but her wounds didn't mean. "Damnit! C'mon! You're not dying on my watch!"
"Nothing can stop that now." A ruined hand cupped his cheek, and he found himself leaning into it despite her missing fingers. "You let me die as a woman, not a monster." Her dirty face dimpled in one last smile, though even that seemed to drain her. "Ruby...Yang...Look...look after them, won't you? Tai, too. Oh, and Qrow..." she coughed, spattering his coat with blood. "He was always...such a crybaby...
"You should be the one to do that!" a tear ran down his cheek. "Not me! Stay with me!"
She didn't hear him. Her eyes were gone glassy. "Don't cry. You're perfect."
Isn't it remarkable? How four little words can break you?
Four.
Little.
Words.
Her last gift to him. Her final message.
And then she just...sighed.
...Summer?"
Lifeless silver eyes gazed up at him. Eyes that would never again see the light of day. Eyes that would no longer narrow upon him when he played a prank. Lips that would no longer smile. Cheeks that would never again dimple nor darken in a rosy blush as he teased her. She was cold. Still. Lifeless. She wouldn't go home to Ruby. Or Yang. To anyone.
"No."
He shook her.
"No, no."
Her head lolled to the side.
"No, no, no!"
Naruto saw it in his mind's eye, their every moment, crumbling to ash. He doubled over, clutched her to his chest. A mournful scream pierced the air. It didn't sound human. He kept pouring chakra into her body, forcing her heart to beat, to keep it going. Something anything. He conjured clones to help him, to keep her alive, even as the creeping realization crept in. Even then he didn't stop; because he didn't dare. Someone shouted at him, tried to pry him away, but he backhanded them and continued his efforts.
"Do you see now?" a dark voice tutted above him. "All your struggles, all your endeavors...meaningless. Abandon her. Take your rightful place at my side, as you were always meant to."
.
..
...
A pale hand touched his shoulder.
"Join me, and together, we can bring an end to this rotten world."
His head snapped up. Red light built around him, sheathing him in a scarlet shroud.
Salem scoffed. "This again? I thought you had learned your lesson."
...I have...
This time, he didn't stop. One tail. Two. Three now.
...only one thing's ending today...
Four. Here at last he saw a flicker of fear in her eyes as his body boiled black and red. Five. Spikes of bone jutted from his body and here at last, he lost his grip on Summer. Her body tumbled to the wayside as his own continued to writhe and shift, twisting itself into a grotesque shape. Salem stepped back, alarmed. Of course she was. Until now, he'd held back. She'd never seen him like this. No one had.
...and its not going to be her. Never her."
Six.
His skin boiled away, never to see the light of day.
Seven.
"What're you doing?! Stop! Cease!"
Eight.
Dark laughter ripped through his head as his shadow loomed tall.
Nine.
Salem was...small.
Everything seemed so small now. Pointless, beneath his towering rage. A lone tail flicked out. High above them, Salem's tower didn't fall. That would imply it had been cut. It simply ceased to be. He barely even noticed. It was all too easy to ignore something like that in his fury. He couldn't stop. Every second twisted his mind, warped him into something that he wasn't. There had been a time when he'd wanted to help her. Save her, as he had tried to save so many others. Now? He saw her. She saw him. The Fox gathered its legs beneath him, pivoted with a snarl and leaped upon her.
Salem had just enough time to scream before that giant maw crunched down.
So ended the Queen of the Grimm. And in her wake...
Something worse had been unleashed.
A/N: Did I really just do that? Huh. Bit darker than what I usually write, but it wouldn't let me be.
So? What did you think of this little fragment? Did you enjoy it? Yes? No? Maybe so? Lemme know!
Reviews are love. Reviews are life. Reviews keep me alive!
So In the Immortal Words of Altas himself...
...Revieeeeeeew, Would Ya Kindly?
Only two previews. Sorry folks.
I'm EXHAUSTED.
(Previews)
"Victory?" Ozpin slumped in his chair. "No, James. This is no victory. We've traded one devil for another."
He curled Summer's body close.
"Can't let her die...won't let her die...no, no, no...
His gaze strayed to the Pool of Darkness. Untouched. Dormant...
R&R~!
=D