A/n: I am back.
I do not own RWBY or AdventureQuest Worlds.
The Chaorruption burned through the professor's mind, and as he resisted it, the more he suffered. Burned into his head was the laughter of the one that would seek to cover the world in the tides of chaos.
But he had a lesson to teach the young warrior. Collecting the blood of the Dragon of Time, the sands of the hourglass, he made the golems to guide the young warrior to his destiny.
Guiding him to create the Tenth Chaos Beast.
It was a lesson, he promised. A lesson the young warrior should learn.
The professor lost control, and Chaos took over.
]|[
Neo felt like the world was ending.
The serpent burst forth from the sea like nightmares of sailors old, sending waves that smashed across the hull of the boat, sending most of them inside tumbling. As soon as they did so, that crazy headmaster of Beacon jumped up and started to walk on air.
Then the overcast sky turned cloudy. The little assassin looked up at the clouds, forming a straight column down into the head of the snake. It darkened the area around them considerably as the abnormal movements of the clouds blotted out the sun, with the winds picking up around them. She heard the captain in the background barking out orders, in preparation for what they thought was a storm coming to them.
Neo gripped Torchwick's sleeves, feeling the worst was yet to come. Her partner pulled her close, finding comfort in each other. "What the fuck have I gotten us into, Neo...?" Torchwick muttered. "We just gotta get out of this crazy town. That's it. Just a few more…" He whispered for the both of them, and Neo's grip on his arm grew tighter.
When the world exploded around them in green and orange lights, Neo and Torchwick could only hold on to each other, as Glynda's purple hued shield covered them all.
]|[
Amidst the raining debris and seawater, Johnny ran across the wriggling serpent's back as hard as he could.
The beast was shaking irregularly, almost like in a convulsed state. Aside from the tail he cut, they must be doing something crazy up there. The adventurer felt the world shake around him moments ago, followed by a deafening boom.
He felt it then. The threads binding all life together, in its purest, concentrated form. It was raw, ancient, and powerful. Magic.
Oz?! Johnny thought. Is he the one fighting with this snake?!
Johnny shoved his thoughts aside for now. Focusing on surviving was taking all of his brainpower at the moment. The sudden spastic movements of the serpent were certainly not helping, either.
He was so focused on escaping that he almost tripped straight into what looked like a small pool of black ichor, bubbling underneath the snake's scales. The adventurer veered sharply to the side, avoiding the boiling darkness. A claw ripped itself out of the snake's flesh, and Johnny could hear faint growls behind him.
"From bad to worse." He muttered. "Every single time."
As he kept running, more and more Grimm spawned around him. Johnny slashed at the fully birthed Beowolves who saw him as the first thing in their existence, ready to tear him limb from limb in an instant. They kept coming as they kept spawning.
Johnny looked up at the hole where the head of the serpent disappeared to. It was a long way to go.
As if hearing his complaints however, the snake's body shook, and it started careening forwards. It jerked its body suddenly, moving vertically, aligning itself with the hole. Johnny, who was standing at the top, jammed his katana down at the flesh, holding on for his life.
"Oh c'mooooooooon!" He screamed as the serpent began surging through the hole in a surprising burst of speed…
]|[
Like demons from hell, Grimm surged through the blue waters of the bay.
Immediately, the ship crew went into emergency status. Crew took out equipment they normally use to deal with the aquatic Grimm, but they would be taken out quickly, as the Grimm that spawned from the felled serpent's blood were much more powerful, primal, and more importantly, unique. They were species not normally seen around their areas.
Luckily for them, they had trained combatants on their side.
Torchwick dodged a dive-bombing Griffon, twirling to the side of the beast, and sliced its wing off with his loaned longsword. It crashed to the deck, and Neo finished it off by stabbing it between the eyes.
"That freaking lightshow still stings!" Torchwick groaned, rubbing at his eyes. "What the hell was that anyways?"
"Shut up and focus on the fightin'!" Qrow snarled shooting buckshots from his shotgun at the Grimm flying overhead. He gritted his teeth. He knew Ozpin had magic, but he did not expect anything on this level! That pillar of light nearly capsized all of them, almost tearing the sea apart in two.
It didn't end their problems. The Grimm that spawned afterwards were now slowly overtaking them even with…
A violet wave of light careened across the air, sweeping across it the Grimm that dared to even target the boat they were on. With a flick of her riding crop, the collected Grimm were squashed into a single black mass, and violet bolts of light launched from Glynda, obliterating the beasts. She ground her teeth in sheer concentration, keeping most of the Grimm away.
Qrow took the charge in the boat. "Call for reinforcements now!" He barked at the people at the helm. "Grimm attack! Possibly level eight! This shit can't get into the city by any means!"
From his command, the crew scrambled away for communications. Qrow looked up at the steaming corpse of the Grimm. It was unnerving. It was not disappearing like it usually does. Something about it, aside from all the things that already happened, was not natural, even for Grimm. Instead, it continuously leaked the black blood across the sea, staining the waters a deep black.
Neo peered in as well into the waters and grimaced. As much as she loved a good fight, holding out against hordes of monsters was the last thing she wanted right now. She was an assassin! She wasn't supposed to be here right now!
The assassin barely dodged a screeching, insectoid Grimm that burst from the water, fangs raised to kill. It was like a Lancer, but it was sleeker with a long spiked abdomen, and covered head to stinger in white plates. Red butterfly-like wings spread across its back, seemingly held aloft by some force, as it was not flapping. Black dust spread from its wings, almost covering the deck in a dark shadow. It looked like a bizarre morph of a wasp, butterfly, and a dragonfly.
It jabbed its great spiked end towards Neo, and she slammed her palm at the back of the blade, catching the sharp spike on the flat. She jumped away, shaking her hands and hissing in pain. The hit was heavy, but she absorbed the attack in time.
The great insect flapped its wings, ejecting more black powder across the deck. Neo covered her nose and mouth, and held her sword defensively across herself. The powder stung at her skin, but she had no choice but to bear through it. Her eyes watered, but Neo forced her eyes open.
This revealed the strategy of the Grimm. Under the cover the black powdery smoke, it blended into the darkness, red eyes blazing hungrily.
Glynda coughed into her palm. "What is happening?!" The powder broke her concentration, and her defensive blitz stopped momentarily. Enough time for the Grimm she was holding back to resume their charge. The witch forced herself to concentrate, ignoring the burning sensation across her skin, and resumed her assault.
Neo broke into shards of glass, and reappeared near Torchwick, who had his back against the wall, coughing into his hands. She pointed at the red eyes stalking across the deck, and her partner nodded back at her.
"What I would give for air dust right now." Torchwick chuckled bitterly. "Can anyone clear the smoke?! Something to blast this shit out of the air?!" He shouted at everyone at the deck. "And someone focus on that thing with the glowing red eyes!"
Qrow shifted Harbinger into scythe form, swinging it in wide arcs across the air, clearing his space a bit. He heard a chittering cry, and he leaned back from the stinger almost piercing through his head. Flipping himself sideward, he hooked the blade of the scythe across the abdomen of the insectoid Grimm, causing it to slam forcefully down at the deck. It scrambled on its stick-like legs, clamping its claws on the wooden deck, trying to keep itself from slipping on the surface wet with seawater. Qrow recovered first, and he dragged the scythe across the width of the abdomen, cutting it off along with its stinger.
Torchwick had to raise his eyebrows at the ballsy move from the scythe wielder. "Well, that's one way to do it, I guess." He smirked at Neo. "You gonna let him out do you or what?" Neo scoffed and crouched into a ready position. With a burst of speed, the assassin dashed for Qrow and the insectoid.
Qrow, sensing something coming, leaned forwards, letting Neo launch herself at the insectoid Grimm writhing around in pain. But even then, it reacted fast enough to swipe at Neo with a claw. Neo bounced off it upwards with the impact with her sword, flipping in the air before maneuvering herself straight before the wings of the creature, slicing both appendages off with her sword.
The effect was clear; the dark powder stopped spreading from the creature, bringing light back across the boat. Neo kicked the creature sending it flying away from her. Qrow and Torchwick caught it, stabbing deeply into the insectoid creature with their swords straight into its midsection. It screeched hatefully one final time, its red eyes blazing hatefully at the two men in front of it. Qrow grunted, plunging the broadsword even deeper in. Finally, the light from its eyes faded, and it began to flake away.
"Ugly bastard. Ugh…" Torchwick groaned, wiping his white suit off the black powder that got on him. "How many more of these have to we deal with?!" He whined.
As if in reaction to his words, more Grimm launched from the waters around them. Glynda, still concentrating on defending, clicked her tongue. The fight was going on too long, and was taxing even her.
Everyone tensed up for a fight. Qrow looked up at the steaming corpse of the serpent, leaking blood. The clouds around its peak were converging into a single column. Soon enough, lightning began to flash along its edges.
"What the hell is happening up there?" Qrow muttered.
]|[
Victorika opened her eyes. She felt the man with her holding her close. The green colored shield was cracking, but it served its purpose. It had protected her and the white-haired man with her. She tore her gaze away from him to look at the state of the serpent.
The head was blasted apart. It looked like something took a bite of the serpent's head, leaving a smoking, smoldering crater behind. Green and orange flames burned the shadowy flesh away, eating at the serpent's head. The entire left upper quadrant of the snake's head was gone, and black blood spilled into the deep blue waters.
And yet, even with all that effort, all that magic—
"It's still alive." The white-haired man beside her clicked his tongue. He pointed his cane at the still intact eye rolling around in its socket and the low, guttural growls emanating from the open maw. "It's downed for now, but it is still alive. That is not our greatest problem. Look at the blood of the serpent, Scout Victorika."
She followed the strangely nostalgic command. The black fluid seemed to stain the waters much like how an oil spill does. It looked like the blood was moving on its own, coagulating and bubbling on itself. It looks much like a-?!
"You noticed it too, did you not?" The man that spoke like her superiors said. "The blood is spawning new Grimm." Both watched Grimm surge through the waters of the sea, like a hateful swarm of black. Through the air they soared, roaring at their birth. Their numbers were thankfully small, but Ozpin thought that if nothing was done to stem their tide, a full-blown invasion into Vale would be inevitable. That would spell doom for Vale, not after it was just barely surviving the recent tragedies.
Ozpin steeled himself, placing himself into the persona of a commander. "Scout Victorika," he commanded in a grim tone. "Slay as much Grimm as you can. Use your eyes. Leave no quarter. The Grimm must not be allowed to enter the city. Do you understand?"
Despite her thoughts on the man, her sense of duty won over. She clenched her right hand into a fist and thumped it into her heart, and bowed at the waist. Much like how she did in her past life, when commanded by the royals.
With a flicker of white, Victorika disappeared. Ozpin sighed, eyeing the slowly recovering flesh of the serpent. He felt his bones ache, and the heavy sense of guilt fell on him. Of course Salem had corrupted the Valean Serpent. How could he have been so complacent? Johnny was right. If she was comfortable just sending a wyvern directly into the heart of Vale, how many more of the ancient titans were she holding in her grasp?
He clenched his cane. Time to finish this serpent. He thought deeply at the old legends on it, on how the creature was supposed to be defeated.
Before he could finish his thoughts, the body of the serpent jerked around wildly, and the headmaster stabbed into its flesh with his cane to steady himself. What was happening now?
]|[
Ella was in her element.
Everything shut down around her. The whole world; the roars of the Grimm, the explosion of green and orange, the smell of the sea…
It was only her, the skies itself, and her opponent.
Unconsciously, her eyes blazed a furious silvery white. A fact that Gustina did not miss.
"I will tear your eyes from your head, you abomination of nature!" The general hissed through her attacks. Her shadows flared in response to her emotions, and each strike of hers burned with the ancient arcane force keeping her together. Her hands blurred as she struck her silver-eyed opponent, but each attack was defended against or even outright ignored. The intense winds seemed to choke out the black flames surrounding her, and the clouds and lightning from Ella's claymore started to spread around them. Gustina felt the lightning tingle against her dead skin.
Ella laughed at her opponent's threats, continuing her dance. Raising Murakumo overhead, she slammed it down with the force of thunder, the blade lighting up with peals of lightning. The shadow fire formed a shield around Gustina, softening the powerful blow a bit, but it was not enough. She grit her teeth in effort, but eventually the claymore broke through, and it launched Gustina back.
"Aaaaaaugh!" The undead general yelled in pain. She was sent flying through the air. Her training kicked in, and she righted herself mid-air. Her left hand blazed black, and Gustina raked it across the scales of the serpent, slowing down her fall.
Gustina looked up, and Ella was walking towards her, eyes still blazing. She had a light grin on her face, and the claymore in her hands were cracking with small lightning, enveloped deeply in clouds. She growled, forcing herself to her feet with her spear. She made the huge mistake of underestimating the monster. She would not do so again.
Gustina ran back towards Ella and leapt, stabbing down to the grinning huntsman. Ella caught her with an upward slash.
Empowered by her own darkness, she did not give Ella the chance to parry her away, and her arms tensed over. Flames reached around her body and enveloped her limbs, forcing the spear down.
The unthinkable happened. The Murakumo slipped from Ella's hands. But it was not the only weapon in Ella's arsenal.
The Fujin smashed both of its arms down, seeking to crush the undead general. The scales of the serpent beneath them exploded with lightning, and clouds covered Ella's sight. Picking up fallen claymore, she remained on guard. "Hiding won't do you any good." She scoffed. "Come on out, you rotting bitch."
"With pleasure." The voice echoed around her. Gustina's red eyes glowed from the cover of clouds, and without warning, a red streak stabbed deeply into Ella's chest.
The spear pierced even through the wind armor of the Fujin, bypassing even Ella's well-honed instincts. Ella gasped, right hand grasping the spear stabbed into her, trying to pry herself off, but Gustina shoved it in deeper.
Scout Victorika may be the fastest warrior of their old kingdom, Antonino their toughest knight, Carmina their deadliest assassin, and Alphonse their greatest swordsman. But there was a reason Gustina was made their superior. Her real skill wasn't in her fine spearwork. It was being able to erase her own emotion. It made her be able to make decisions her fellows could not, erase her own biases, in service to the crown.
Translating into combat, it erased all her simple tells that she was going to strike. Some warriors are able to predict their enemy's next move by seeing the twitch of their muscles, a shift in their weight, or even just a flicker of their eyes. Combined with the body's own sense of survival, it was what combatants called their "instinct" in battle. Sheer skill that makes surviving look like fortune.
Gustina is able to bypass all of that. Every unnecessary motion is eliminated. Every hesitation is removed. Gustina reaches the point of near emptiness, and translates her existence into pure killing.
She was made the general because she was the kingdom's greatest murderer.
"Did you really think you were at my level, you mutant?" Gustina hissed, glaring deeply into Ella's eyes. "Some wastrel mercenary swinging a hunk of steel? You dare call yourself a warrior?" She inched the spear deeper into Ella's ribs. "I spent my life killing your ilk. You won't even be the strongest I had ever faced."
Ella chuckled wheezily and spat blood to Gustina's face. The undead general growled, and Ella had to laugh at her expression. "I have to tell you something, you imbecile." She said between coughs. "Right into my trap."
Ella's eyes exploded into a bright white light, and briefly, the power of the silver eyes covered the skies, like a second sun.
Both were thrown back, and as the serpent writhed around, both were thrown off their own little battleground, and fell to the sea.
]|[
Victorika flashed around the skies, a storm of blades, killing every Grimm she could land on. She was going so fast that she almost seemed like a shooting star streaking through the sky, and it seemed that it was raining Grimm remains.
She was utterly focused, on a mission from a superior. Her supernatural strength lent to her utterly impossible moments of speed. Victorika was already fast, but her ghostly abilities made her untouchable.
She landed on the boat she spotted, with people on it putting up a valiant stand against the horde. The blonde woman with glasses looked at her curiously, but Victorika focused on the fight, immediately diving into the Grimm. Before the fighters could strike a killing blow, Victorika had already slain the beasts.
"Who the hell are you?" The one with the black hair and a broadsword asked. He held his weapon out in a guard, probably not trusting her. Victorika shook her head and turned away, facing the new wave of beasts that had risen from the sea. "Hey listen-!" Before he could grab Victorika's shoulders, she had already flashed away, returning to her slaughter.
Victorika shot for the skies again, this time targeting the Grimm glowing in violet. She glanced back at the boat, noticing the woman waving her riding crop like a conductor's baton. She must be using her powers to drag the Grimm en masse away from the boat. The scout struck the Grimm struggling to free themselves from the blonde witch's power, killing them instantly.
She looked back at the boat, and the scout saw the blonde woman waving at her, though she couldn't make out her words. She gave a bit of a salute before returning to her work.
Letting herself freefall a bit to survey the surroundings, there were still more Grimm spawning around, but that was not the most alarming thing she saw. It was the massive blast of light from the back of the serpent.
Ella! Victorika thought in a panic. It was her descendant, using her powers against Gustina. But knowing Gustina, it must've come at a great cost. The general would never allow herself to be pinned to a single point.
Sure enough, as the serpent moved, two bodies were blown away. Gustina and Ella were both freefalling into the sea. Her old comrade, and her family. They were far enough apart that she would need a couple of teleports to reach the other before they were claimed by the Grimm stained sea. Even her, she wouldn't be fast enough.
She already knew in her heart who she would save.
Victorika caught Ella's bleeding form before the hungry black ocean claimed her. Ella chuckled wheezily as Victorika clutched on her, teleporting back up. "A bit too slow there, grandma." The huntress laughed weakly, before coughing blood over Victorika's robes. "That zombie was goddamn tough, let me tell you." Ella talked even with her waning strength. Victorika grit her teeth, pushing herself to the limit, forcing themselves both to a greater height.
She looked back down, and she did not miss Gustina's red eyes glaring hatefully back at her as she was tossed under the black waves. She pushed her own guilt away, and tried to return back to the boat.
]|[
Just as they were wondering who the mysterious woman who killed all the Grimm was, she was back on the boat, carrying another person with her.
"Ella Cerulean?!" Glynda gasped. She looked at the old alumni of Beacon and now currently a criminal; there was a nasty burned and bleeding wound over her chest. Her aura was still there, curiously not shattered, but it looked like there was a hole over it. Glynda knelt over the woman, who looked over at her with glazed eyes.
"Well, well. Glynda the brown noser." Ella laughed. "Never thought you'd be my last view before I died, but It is a nice view indeed…" She said weakly, coughing over herself, and spitting blood over her white suit.
"Shut up." Glynda assessed her over. "Downed woman here!" She yelled over the people on the boat. "Get me a first aid kit!" She tore off a piece of her own cape and pressed it over the stab wound. "Stay alive Ella!"
"What the hell?" Qrow muttered. He looked at Victorika who brought Ella over. "What happened?" The scout only shook her head helplessly, and looked to them pleadingly.
"That was the bitch who nearly killed all of us in the tunnels!" Torchwick pointed at Ella. "She worked with the Fang. How'd she get here? I thought she died in that hole?" He said, questioning loudly.
Neo shook her head and pointed at the seal on their hands. Torchwick widened his eyes. "Oh yeah. Him. Probably saved her." He smirked. "What a bleeding heart our boss is, eh?" Neo kicked him in the shins for the tasteless joke.
Someone from the crew came over with a bag. "Raise her a bit. Put her over your legs." The crewmember said as he dug through the bag. Glynda followed, propping up the still bleeding Ella.
"Don't bother." Ella scoffed. "I've a hole in my heart. At least I ended my life with a win." She coughed wetly, and the crewmember clicked his teeth.
"We're not equipped enough for this. Blood is draining into her chest cavity and her lungs. She might drown before we could do anything!" He said in increasing alarm and desperation.
"Her aura is still healing her! Can't you do at least something to treat her blood loss?!" Glynda shouted back. The crewmember shook his head.
Victorika knelt over Ella, a haunted look on her face. "Why're you sad? It's not like we were close or anything. Just my distant ancestor…" Ella said. Her eyes looked over the ocean, seeing the corpse of the serpent. "That thing is still moving…" She pointed with a weak finger to the beast.
Sure enough, the serpent was moving erratically. It jerked side to side, as if trying to free itself from something. The waves grew larger and larger with each of its movements, strong enough to rock the boat. The captain at the helm yelled over the crew, but the roar of the ocean was drowning him out.
"Shit! Get to cover!" Qrow yelled. "Glynda, shield! Shield!"
They barely had enough time as the blonde witch expended her semblance once again, encircling everyone in a violet light.
Before the sea claimed the light of the sun, they saw the beast raise its tail up from the depths of the sea, with something clinging onto its sides, and a dark figure with four wings floating in the air.
]|[
Johnny held his Mana Shield up as the serpent yanked him, the undead still clinging onto the sides of the stump of the tail, and the Grimm across the bedrock and ocean floor. The pressure of the ocean was strong, and the earth almost poked holes into his arcane barrier, but it Johnny didn't let it fall. He grit his teeth, squeezing out every ounce of power he has.
"An Exalted Crown beyond all others!"
He unleashed the strength of the Legion Revenant, two pairs of black feathered wings spreading from his back.
"Echoes of the land from long past!"
The earth around them glowed, and Johnny drank deep into the magic still along the lands of Vale. His shield glowed brighter than ever, and even through the force of their ride, it didn't break.
It looked like they were going through an abyss. An inky darkness spread along the ocean, and he can't even see the sun.
Soon enough he knew why. Red eyes glowed all around him as he was dragged through an ocean of Grimm ichor. Beasts rammed and clawed into his barrier, trying to get at him, but it held. They weren't fast enough anyway, because of the force of the serpent's tail. Soon, they were all dragged along from the great creature's undertow.
When he saw the light, he and the monsters around him were flung through the air, Grimm and undead alike. He spread his black wings, feeling the warmth of the sun.
It wasn't really any better on the surface, and he'd brought along the undead with him. Grimm were swarming across the skies, the serpent was still jerking around, and soon, the undead will crawl along the serpent.
Johnny let out a breath and straightened his black cap. "Time to end all of this." Channeling the power of the elements within him, he raised his hand into the air, gathering the clouds over the battlefield. The winds picked up with a Furious Gale, and rain began to fall.
]|[
Black heels clicked as they walked through the tiled hallways of the currently being rebuilt VPD. Neve Townsend could almost smell the blood spilt on the massacre that day. The massacre that their newest collaborator, Cinder, had done. Which was why Old Man Erl tasked her one thing, find out more about their obviously dangerous new ally.
They haven't found much yet. Calls from Mistral weren't being returned, so Neve turned to the next best source they currently have: Cinder's previous allies.
The doll-like woman smiled at the robot guards patrolling the halls, who nodded back at her. Atlas was becoming a problem, and it would be nice if Cinder did do her part in their deal, but it ignored the obvious consequences of dealing with her. If the authorities could be believed, then working with Cinder spelled disaster for all of them. Her trail of blood could make a river at this point. Neve didn't like it. Too noisy. Too showy.
Reaching the end of the hallway, Neve flashed her pass that the VPD gave her, and the robot guards stood aside and opened the door, letting her into the maximum security. She grabbed a chair from a wall and placed it directly in front of the single cell in the area. The prisoner in the cell shifted in her restraints to look at her. A hard light barrier formed her cell, and there were hardly anything else in the room. Air conditioners were blasting hard, forming a cold and dry environment. Neve smiled at the temperature.
"Hello Miss Astraluna. I'm Snow. Can we talk?" Neve said. The terrorist, Beastrice Astraluna, frowned at her new visitor. She had a bad feeling about this.
A/n: Definitely not my best work. Hopefully the next one won't take as long lmao but expect longer times between chapters because hospital work is hard.