I do not own RWBY or AdventureQuest Worlds.
The professor guided him to another image of the past: a technomage from Dwarfhold, of another time and place. The young warrior learned of the three worlds the Eternal Dragon of Time ruled over, whose presence within the dragon's heart made the sands of their time spill over into his world, adding their essences together, and creating a new timeline. His timeline.
He told the hero that for a world to exist, everything has to work together in harmony, the elements chiefly. Their disagreement would cause a cataclysm that would tear this world apart.
To hold your loved ones together, and to uphold harmony with one another. It seemed that the professor's lessons had a theme…
]|[
"Rats." The White Fang Lieutenant said. "What are you doing here?" He growled out. In front of him, Torchwick and Neo stood, like deer in headlights. The two were trying to sneak out through the tunnel, but they just had the misfortune of running into the chainsaw wielding faunus. Neo's hand gripped the sword she had stolen from a grunt earlier tight. With no other way to escape, the other end of the tunnel filled to the brim with White Fang, they were in for a fight.
"Oh you know," Torchwick said easily. "Just wanted to drop by, see how the lads are doing, what you guys are doing now." The thief shook his head. "I see you animals still haven't moved on after the ass-kicking you got a few days ago. Still doing domestic terrorism, huh? That's really gonna change some minds let me tell you." He taunted.
"Oh, I wouldn't worry about changing their minds." A voice behind them said. Torchwick swore. He recognized who that was. "After we're done here, they'll know immediately that our kind is not to be trifled with. We'll remind them just why the faunus won our revolution." Adam said, a hand swinging the simple longsword idly by his side. "The ruins of Vale will stand to serve as our monument of triumph."
Neo was grit her teeth. This was looking worse and worse by the second. Her partner looked so damn relaxed and unconcerned, a hand on his pocket while twirling his own stolen sword. She narrowed her eyes. He has to have a plan of his own.
Within his pocket, Torchwick was blind dialing for Johnny and the police. Such skills came easily for a rogue like him. So is taunting the mutts that dared to block him and his partner!
"And you think you're going to just be able to escape here?" Torchwick spat back. Neo looked at her partner like he had grew another head. What the hell was he doing?! They had to get out of here! What he said would just make Adam angrier! Ignorant of his partner's panic, Torchwick continued on. "Beacon is already on the way as we speak, including the same man that had beat you." He grinned when he saw Adam's face twist into a frown. "You remember him don't you? That Dragon Faunus everyone was talking about? Seems like not every faunus agrees with your 'glorious revolution', Adam." He said with a chuckle.
That doesn't sound good for them, if Beacon's huntsmen were indeed on their way. They have the advantage of the terrain however, so Adam wasn't that worried. As for the so-called 'Dragon Faunus'…
"Oh, we already have someone in place to deal with him." The leader of the White Fang said. "It took much resources to get her, but that's what it takes to hire a legend, I guess."
"Would this legend be a human as well?" Torchwick said with a smirk. "Really can't do anything without our help, can you?" Adam snarled and charged the thief. Neo was already in front of him and caught the blade with her own. The lieutenant stood in front of Roman, blocking his moves. "That's right you fucking animals. Heel for your masters!" Torchwick laughed, and the two enraged faunus' charged their opponents.
]|[
On their little arena underground, two silver-eyed warriors clashed. Hit, parry, counterhit. Ruby and Ella were locked in a dance; a great flourish of steel, wind, and flowers. The little reaper zipped around the area, avoiding great blades of wind from Ella's claymore. The force of each strike was such that the walls around them were cracking under the pressure. Yet neither cared. Both were too engrossed in their fight.
Jaune had pulled his teammates out of the way. He had already called for help from Beacon. Help should be arriving anytime soon. He had settled to just watch the two fight it out among themselves. It almost felt like he was intruding in their dance.
Ruby brought down her great scythe in a diagonal slash, and Ella met it with her claymore. Ruby, with a surprising bit of strength, punched the shaft of Crescent Rose, forcing the blade closer to Ella's throat. Ruby pushed Ella and pinned her to the wall, but Ella had other ideas. The huntress in white kicked with her foot, enveloped in cloud and wind, launching Ruby back away. The attack carried with it winds that blew from somewhere, and threatened to send her flying much further. Ruby disappeared into a burst of rose petals.
Ella sharpened her senses. Each of the rose petals that floated down around her, any of them could be the one where Ruby appears from. From her side, a lone rose petal glided down, and every single petal rushed to it, reforming into a furious Ruby Rose, slicing upwards, seeking to cut Ella waist to shoulder.
The huntress parried the scythe, catching the blade on its blunt edge, and swiped it to the side with her claymore. She followed up with a great slash horizontally. Ruby split into two masses of petals, dashing over and under the blade of wind, and immediately reappeared, Crescent Rose raised with her right arm, and slamming it down on the huntress. No time to parry the surprise counter from Ruby, Ella was forced to jump away, and the blade of the great scythe dug into where she was standing moments ago.
She's furious, but... Ella looked at Ruby. The black and red haired teen was snarling. Her eyes were blazing silver white light, and her grip on her own weapon threatened to snap the shaft in half. Her rage translated into pure combat ability. Where minutes ago she was just being batted around by the sword, now she could match Ella blow for blow. She had even unlocked some greater ability in using her semblance! She's great! Ella Cerulean thought.
It excited the assassin. She hadn't had an opponent this exciting in years! And not one from her own kin, as well!
"Let's take this fight up a notch!" Ella shouted. Ruby didn't wait for her. Another cut downward, slicing across, however…
A great arm made of wind deflected the scythe. Ruby looked up, and found a great blade of intense high pressure wind crashing down where she stood. She dodged backwards, and looked at Ella.
The wind swelled behind the huntress, moving so fast that it was visible. They formed an image of a being encased in what looks like Mistralian armor; a kabuto helmet with a snarling face covering the head, and plated segments of armor covering the body and its four arms. Two of the arms covered Ella's own limbs, with one of them holding her claymore. The blade, now fully encased in the same high speed winds that moved so fast that it was glowing white. It extended to over thrice its length.
"Wha-?! What the heck is that?!" Jaune shouted in surprise. He knew semblances were crazy, but this was just insane! He felt a little silly trying to fight Ella in the first place. How was he supposed to beat that?!
He looked to his best friend, who's back faced towards him. He wondered how Ruby was supposed to defeat this Ella Caeruleum.
Ruby growled, only feeling even more challenged by Ella's display. The great sword of wind swung down. It cut through the walls, the vibrating blade slicing through stone like butter. Alerted by this, Ruby didn't try to bat away the blade with her weapon, and dodged it fully with her semblance, heading straight to the huntress. Ella raised three other limbs to smash Ruby to the concrete, but the mass of petals split in two and reformed back behind Ella. Ruby swung Crescent Rose to Ella's back, but her weapon bounced off the armor of wind.
"You're not strong enough to cut through the wind, child." Ella taunted, but Ruby was undeterred. Ruby zipped across the area, nimbly dodging the blade of wind and punches from the armored limbs, trying to cut through the armor from every different angles. She was trying to pick Ella apart, Jaune thought as she watched Ruby try to attack from the side, bringing the great scythe diagonally. Before the armored figure could crush her, Ruby was already out of there.
Within Ruby's mind, she was thinking of ways she could fight on. Ever since Ella conjured the armor, her speed has dramatically lowered, but her defenses had increased dramatically. The sword would destroy through Crescent Rose if she clashed blades with her again. There had to be an area of weakness!
She looked at the huntress again as she dodged past the titanic attacks. Every hit she did shook the room. The cracks on the wells they had made earlier now grew and grew. Despite that, Ruby and Ella continued their clash.
]|[
Johnny muttered prayers under his breath letting the girls bathe in the Hymn of Light, healing their wounds and bruises. Nora felt a little stronger, the prayer increasing her inner strength. It was enough that she was able to walk and stand alone, despite what Beatrice did to her. She picked up her Magnhild, the long shaft cut in half. She swung it around with one hand, testing it in her hands. Nora shrugged. "Good enough for me."
Blake kneeled beside Weiss and Yang. A pang of guilt hit her. Her own past comrades, hurting her friends now. Even if they had told her it wasn't her fault, that just wasn't true. She was a part of how the White Fang was formed in its current state. She had encouraged Adam's actions that lead to them going down the hole from mere activists to terrorists. She had a responsibility.
She checked the magazine on her pistol. She was still okay. She has some extra magazines packed.
"Whoa there." Johnny said. "Aren't you going to go back? You got Beatrice. Even if I healed you, aren't you gals out of aura right now?"
The orange haired girl shrugged. "I'm still okay in aura. Just feel a bit wobbly. I can still break legs."
"We can't just leave." Blake said. "The White Fang is out there. We have to stop their plan before it they can get it off."
That perked Johnny's ears. "Plan? You know what they're planning?" Blake nodded.
"Kinda. Beatrice mentioned they were going to turn the city into a crater. She said that the White fang had already gone on ahead. Ruby and the others already went ahead to stop them, and we dealt with Beatrice here." Blake said grimly. "Whatever they're going to do to apparently affect the city, we have to do it fast."
"And who's going to guard your friends here?" Johnny pointed to the still knocked out Weiss and Yang. "There's also the matter of Beatrice. You can't just leave her here."
"Then I'll stay behind." Nora replied. She swung her hammer side to side. "I mentioned I still have aura. Hers is broken now. If she tries anything, I'll cap her kneecaps." She grinned sinisterly. "I'll watch over them until help arrives, then I'll follow you in." The hammer girl turned to Blake. "You go on. We'll be fine." She smiled brightly.
Johnny smiled. He can admire someone that can smile through hardship. He nodded. "Alright, we'll leave this to you. Here's something before we go on." He lifted his hand and a light enveloped the two teens. Energy returned to their bodies. Blake felt like her aura was returning, even though her own had just been broken. She felt she could fight again. Nora swung her hammer with his one hand, testing her newfound vigor. She was practically hopping in place.
"Whoa! What was that?!" Nora asked him. "I feel like I could take on the world!"
"An energy boost." Johnny smirked. Harmony was an amazing skill he had learned from Drakath in the Mirror Realm. It made everyone settle within themselves and just fight better, be stronger, move quicker. It was almost like cheating when fighting in a group.
"If you're sure, we're gonna go now." Johnny finally said. Nora nodded eagerly. "Right. Wait for backup here, follow after they secure everyone. Stay safe." He turned to Blake. "Lead where Ruby and the others left, Blake." The black haired faunus nodded and zipped off, Johnny following close after. Nora settled on a nearby wall, hammer in hand, standing vigilant over both her friends and Beatrice.
]|[
Johnny and Blake raced through the tunnels. "Ruby and the rest have gone on ahead." Blake said. "She's with the rest of the team JNPR." She grimaced remembering what Beatrice said. "She said there was someone there with the White Fang that would stop them, so we have to hurry." Johnny grunted in affirmative.
They arrived in a larger area in the end of the tunnel, finding Jaune kneeling beside his two teammates. "Guys!" He shouted in surprise. "You gotta help Ruby! She-!" A loud smash made all of them turned to the battle occurring near them. A large armored figure with four arms trying to catch a red blur, rose petals and stone debris flying everywhere. "She's the only one holding her back right now." He looked towards his team. "I feel so useless. But I can't just leave them for now. My aura broke already…"
"Stop moping." Johnny told the blond leader. "Carry them both back to where you left your other friends. Beacon should be arriving there soon. Call Ozpin or Glynda when you get to the safe place. Move." Jaune, steeling himself a bit, let out a breath, sealing away his hesitation, and moved to pick up his friends. Johnny moved on to the open area, Blake following behind him.
"Ruby!" Blake shouted for her leader. Ruby didn't turn to face them, but Ella did. The woman in white smiled excitedly. "Sorry, my kin. Time is up. My real prey is here!" The armored figure behind her raised up the wind shrouded claymore, and smashed it to the ground. Ruby's footing shook, and she dodged forward to slash at Ella. Unfortunately, Ella also was watching Ruby's patterns of movements and predicted where she would land next. "We'll fight again next time, okay?" Two fists slammed down on her figure, and would've crushed her, if not for…
"Johnny…?" Ruby muttered, finding the man in black cap in front of her, with his katana raised up and a blue hued barrier in front of him, catching the fists of the armored figure of wind. "Wha-?!"One extra fist smashed in front of them, crashing into the blue barrier, pushing Johnny and Ruby back.
"You with us again Ruby?" Johnny said. The little reaper nodded, still a bit confused from Johnny's appearance. "Good. Move on ahead. Cut off the White Fang. Help my two minions; you'll know who they are." Johnny smiled at them.
Blake laid a hand on Ruby's shoulder and nodded. Ruby shook her head and huffed out a breath. "Alright." She said. "Alright. Let's go Blake!" Both ran past Ella, and the huntress didn't stop them.
"Finally." Ella said, relishing the moment. "I've heard a lot, dragon. They said you have a thousand semblances that you can use. They said you can fly. They said you destroyed the Grimm Wyvern." She smiled a bloodthirsty smile; an out of place expression on Ella's porcelain like looks. "And you can even take hits from the Fuujin directly." Ella crouched low, readying herself for a rougher fight. "I'm going to enjoy this fight!" She said happily.
Johnny rolled his eyes. Why do all his fans turn out to be whacko villains? He remembered that sneevil that had gotten his hands on an illusion amulet that made him believe it was granting his wishes. At least Ziri was harmless. This woman had a strange way of showing her appreciation for his more heroic traits. He had no time for her.
Black feathered wings spread from behind his back, feeling the power of the Undead Legion welling from within him. His eyes glowed the ominous blue; signature of the legion's colors. "Out of the way or regret it buster." He said, leveling his katana at the woman. "I'm in a huge hurry here."
"I won't regret it. Over my cold corpse! Have at thee!" The great claymore slashed widely in front of her, and Johnny parried the weapon over his head and tossed it to the side. Hands spilling malevolent, black fog, the adventurer launched himself to the silver-eyed huntress.
[Vs. Ellasar Vader Caeruleum, the Rogue Huntress!]
]|[
Neo dodged nimbly around Adam's savage swipes. The bull faunus was frighteningly fast, slashing at her while targeting multiple vital areas at once. Each strike, Neo ducked, weaved, and danced all around him. All the while, Neo struck at Adam, chipping away at his aura. Even though not as graceful, Adam defended from the strikes the best he can, absorbing the slashes with his sword through his semblance.
Adam let loose the energy from his absorbed attacks with a great wave of red from the slash of his sword. Neo bent sharply at the waist, and used the momentum to flip backwards, dodging the attack completely. The red flash propagated until it almost cut both Torchwick and the lieutenant, who both jumped back at the sudden interruption of their fight.
"Hey! That almost hit me—Aack!" Torchwick yelped, barely dodging a swipe from the massive chainsaw. He backed off, trying to regain control of the fight. "You little shit!" He snarled, slashing to the lieutenant's throat. The larger man caught the blade with the chainsaw. Their attacks bounced off one another. Torchwick was admittedly the better fighter, but the lieutenant was fighting with such savagery that Torchwick was forced to rethink his strikes, unless he gets hacked to pieces.
The sword was faring terribly against the chainsaw, Torchwick felt. Any more and the blade would crack. He couldn't waste his aura trying to extend it to the blade. He had to do something, and fast.
"Neo! Switch!" He yelled. Without missing a beat, the two partners swung over each other's arms, like practiced dancers. Adam failed to cut open Neo's head and met Torchwick's blade, and Neo delivered a high kick to the lieutenant's face with the momentum from her flip. She didn't let up. She twisted on her foot and roundhoused the larger man straight to his chin, making him grunt in pain.
Both Adam and Torchwick fared better in combat with each other. Adam didn't have to suffer through a speedy fighter that was more agile than him, and Torchwick could fight an opponent less strong than he is. He lessened the slashes in his attacks and went to poke and prod at Adam's defenses, catching an elbow or a shoulder with each strike, all learned from his fencing partner. However, Adam was learning quickly to catch the pinpoint strikes with his own sword, a display of his own skill as a swordsman. This fueled his semblance, and Adam spun on his feet, unleashing another wave of red. Torchwick ducked low, and used the momentum as he rose up to slice upwards, with Adam catching the strike with his own sword.
The advantage was still Adam's even if Torchwick fought valiantly. He was strong sure, but he did not possess the sheer talent Adam has, and the semblance the faunus had would make this fight Adam's. It was only a matter of time.
"Switch!" He yelled again. The two partners swapped without a hitch in their step. "Damnit! Where the hell is our boss! We can't go on like this!" Torchwick yelled dodging a wide arc of a chainsaw slash. Neo shrugged. As much as of a mortal danger they were in, she must admit, the fighting was fun!
It wouldn't last forever though. Torchwick did slip, and the lieutenant took advantage. He wasn't fast enough, and the lieutenant grabbed him by his collar, and slammed him to the ground. Torchwick grunted in pain. Neo's eyes widened and moved to help her partner, but a slash from Adam kept her where she stood. "You have no luxury for distractions!" Adam growled. The assassin gritted her teeth.
The chainsaw stabbed towards the downed thief but…
Bang! Bang! Bang! Three sniper rounds slammed into the lieutenant, forcing him to stumble back. Torchwick scrambled to his feet, taking advantage of his luck. He looked to who had saved him with a smile, expecting his boss, but….
"Red?!" Torchwick shouted in surprise. "And your friend too?!"
"Blake?!" Adam snarled. The black haired faunus narrowed her eyes. "Come to betray us once again?!" He pushed through his sword, cutting through Neo, who smirked, and broke into shards of glass. Briefly imbalanced by the unexpected loss of resistance from his strike, he caught a foot to the chin, and a slap in the face with the flat of a black cleaver.
He stumbled back, and a slice ran down his back, courtesy of the assassin who had appeared at his blind side.
"Two on four huh?" Torchwick smirked. "I can live with that."
"We're not doing this for you!" Ruby said with a pout. "But…" She looked at the lieutenant, expression hidden behind the Grimm mask.
"A truce then? Until the White Fang is beaten!" Torchwick said, and Ruby nodded.
"This ends here Adam." Blake said resolutely, brandishing both her pistol and cleaver. "I'm not running away anymore!" Adam snarled at her words. He backed to the side, facing both the multicolored assassin who looked mildly amused at the drama between the two exes.
Blake gulped nervously, even as she said her words. They had to win, and fast, else Vale would be flooded by rivers of blood.