A/N:
SilentKnightFan- WOOOO! Things are heating up, LETS GO NITA!
Nita. Hm, that's actually a pretty cute nickname for her. And here I am, calling her Anni.
Fue stepped back. He had only felt fear twice in his life, sixteen years ago at the cathedral... and ten years ago when he saw Jaune's incredible power. Jaune's eyes also terrified him. The eyes of a man who wouldn't bow down or be controlled by anyone. This girl had those very same eyes. Those damned, cursed eyes.
Desperately, Fue made a chopping motion. When he did, a guard slammed the butt of his gun onto Anita's neck, knocking her out.
"ANNI," Esmeralda yelled, tears flying.
"DAMN YOU," Phoebus roared at Fue.
However, Fue wasn't paying attention to them. 'What... WAS that? A mere thief made ME feel fear?! And why? Why did I see HIM at that moment,' he thought.
Then, he remembered Anita's words: "You already fear him. Who said my father was a crime lord?"
Fue looked at Anita just as she was being carried away, catching glimpses of her golden hair. Her hair was as golden as his. 'She couldn't be...' He then remembered where he was and composed himself before walking in the middle of his guards, looking around at the captured Faunus. "They'll be a little bonfire in the square tomorrow and you're all invited to attend! Lock them up!"
"No! Please, Master," Ténèbres begged on his knees as he grabbed the councilman's cloak. As soon as Fue looked down at him, Ténèbres released him in despair. "No. No."
"Take him back to the bell tower. And make sure he stays there." The guards then took the crying Faunus away.
Moments later, in front of Beauté Noir, with a red sky, Fue was on the executioner's platform, standing in front of Esmeralda. The beauty was tied to a wooden beam, wood being piled around her. Phoebus was in a cage while Anita was chained to a cross that was tall enough to force her to stand. She tried to struggle, but the chains were too strong for even her. Her arms and legs were tied to where she was completely immobile, with only two guards in front of her, spears ready to impale her when given the order.
However, there was one advantage she had. She could see the keyhole on her cuffs. All she needed was something to stick into it. As if she had a Luck Semblance, when a piece of wood was thrown onto Esmeralda's pyre, a stick fell towards her. She was able to catch it with her teeth and hid it in her mouth when a guard looked at her. As he turned, she spat it out into her hand and began to carefully pick the lock. Fortunately for her, she has experience picking locks with less. She and her mother might be the only thieves in Remnant skilled enough to pick a lock with rolled-up hay.
"The prisoner Esmeralda has been found guilty of the crime of aiding and abetting a known thief, obstruction of justice, and assault on the noble guards of Minuit. The sentence of all these crimes together is death!"
The people cried out and roared in anger, trying to stop Fue's unjust actions.
"She's done nothing wrong!"
"She is innocent!"
As this was happening, the city defenses were shooting down waves of Grimm trying to enter the city, especially a particular species of Grimm, the Acrideaths. However, no one knew the Grimm that nearly destroyed their home ten years ago was so close.
Phoebus glared at Fue as he vainly struggled to escape his cage before looking towards Anita, noticing her concentration. He looked to see that she was trying to pick the lock on her wrist. He smirked when he saw the lock pop open. He then looked around to see if any of the other Faunus were trying to escape, but no such luck from them.
The doors of Beauté Noir opened, showing the archdeacon. He ran out to try and help, only for guards to stop him.
"The time has come, Faunus. You stand before the brink of the abyss. But know that our Lord God of Darkness is a merciful and understanding god. He knows of my faith in him. Through His glory and grace, I save you from the flames of this world and the next. Choose me or the fire."
Esmeralda spat in his face.
Fue glared at her before smacking her like he did Anita, almost making the beautiful thief lose her concentration from anger alone.
"The Faunus Esmeralda has refused to recant! This evil beast has put every citizen in Minuit in danger from her dark crimes! For she allied herself with a thief who promised to bring our very kingdom to its knees!"
As Fue was giving his speech, the gargoyles were trying to break and snap the chains around Ténèbres, but they were just stones trying to break metal.
"Come on, Tenny! Snap out of it," Beowolf went as he chewed on the chains.
"Your friends are down there," Beringel went.
"It's all my fault."
"You have to break these chains," Nevermore went.
"I can't. I tried. What difference would it make?"
"But you can't let Fue win," Beringel went.
"He already has."
"Would the Vale Knight give up in this situation," Nevermore asked.
"I'm not the Vale Knight. I'm not a hero. We had his daughter on our side, an actual hero, and even she lost. No one can stop Fue now."
"So you're giving up," Beowolf asked. "That's it?!"
"These chains aren't what's holding you back, Ténèbres," Nevermore went.
"Leave me alone."
The gargoyles looked at Ténèbres sadly.
"Okay. Okay, Tenny," Beowolf said as he walked away. "We'll leave you alone," he said as he looked out of the balcony.
"After all, we're only made of stone," Beringel said as he looked out with Beowolf.
"We just thought that you were made of something stronger," Nevermore said as she joined her brothers. The three were back to being stone statues.
"FOR JUSTICE, FOR MINUIT, AND FOR HER OWN SALVATION!" Ténèbres looked up with a determined look when he heard Fue's voice. "IT IS MY SACRED DUTY TO SEND THIS UNHOLY DEMON BACK WHERE SHE BELONGS!" He then ignited the pyre.
"NO," Ténèbres roared before struggling against his chains. With his awesome strength, he shattered the chains and the columns they were tied around, the metal falling off of him as he stood up, determination burning in his eyes.
Ténèbres grabbed one of the chains and lassoed it around one of the gargoyles. He quickly and expertly swung down the cathedral before swinging through the crowd and landing on the podium, ripping the ropes off like grass. Guards tried to climb up and apprehend him, but he grabbed the beam Esmeralda was tied to and swung it, knocking all of them off. He dropped the beam and grabbed the chain before swinging away, the crowd cheering him.
"Ténèbres," Fue yelled.
Phoebus and Anita smirked as Anita picked the lock on her other hand. She then got to work on the locks on her ankles since everyone had their eyes on Ténèbres.
Ténèbres climbed the cathedral before lifting Esmeralda in front of the massive statue of the Grimm Knight. "SANCTUARY! SANCTUARY! SANCTUARY!" The people cheered at his actions.
"Captain!"
"Sir," mustache went.
"Seize the cathedral!"
Ténèbres placed Esmeralda down on a bench with a pillow. "Don't worry. You'll be safe here."
"GUARDS!"
Ténèbres ran and jumped down onto a lower level near a massive cauldron of boiling lead. He grabbed the massive beam next to it and pushed it off, destroying a nearby car, and some guards running away.
Fue growled in rage. "COME BACK, YOU COWARDS," he roared as he ran up to his newly appointed captain and took away his sword. "You men, pick up that beam! Break down the door!"
The guards ran off to help.
However, Phoebus grabbed the one in front of his cage. "Alone at last," he said before knocking the fool out.
Anita finally unlocked her shackles and landed behind her guards. "Hello, gentlemen," she said as she placed her arms around their shoulders. She then smashed their heads together, knocking them out.
"THE THIEF'S ESCAPED!" She looked to see a guard pointing her own weapon at her, trying to make it fire. "Wha-?!"
"Pardon me." He looked up to see Anita grab the staff at a certain area. "But that's MY Knock First." She then pushed a hidden button on the staff's barrel. The guard was then electrocuted before falling on his back with a groan.
As the guards were ramming the cathedral doors, Phoebus climbed onto his cage while holding a spear. "Citizens of Minuit! Fue has persecuted our people! Ransacked our city! Banished a hero! What's more, he has stolen the money that the same hero gave us in order to strengthen Upper Minuit! Now, he has declared war against Beauté Noir herself! Will we allow it?! Are we just going to wait for a hero to arrive, or will we become our city's heroes?!"
The crowd cheered before grabbing farm tools and junk as makeshift weapons, breaking the locks that caged the Faunus. The people then attacked the guards, a full-on battle occurring.
"I think the calvary's here," Beowolf said. "Still, they're gonna need help, Tenny."
"I think our siblings have slept long enough," Nevermore said with a smile.
Ténèbres looked confused before his eyes widened, the Faunus looking behind him at the army of gargoyles.
The people fought valiantly, none more than Phoebus himself, the man knocking the teeth out of a guard. Anita was mostly sneaking her way towards Beauté Noir, taking out plenty of guards on her way, but too worried about Esmeralda to properly help in the fight. Besides, she knew Phoebus was more than enough of a capable leader.
But things looked dire when the guards started shooting into the crowd. Many citizens were killed. Many more were wounded. Some were even crippled by the bullets. It didn't help that the guards were also using Dust. A Fire Dust burned a group of Faunus horribly, while an Ice Dust Bullet froze someone's arm off. The people were losing their morality.
Then, just as a guard was about to swing down his sword on a downed Faunus, a stone hand grabbed his blade. He looked up, only to be met by the roaring face of a Beowolf, the man screaming his head off before the stone Grimm smacked him away.
The soldiers climbing ladders looked when they heard one of their comrades scream, watching as he was carried off by a stone Griffon before it dropped him on a squad of guards. They didn't have time to process the event since a stone Razorwing destroyed their ladders flying by.
The people were cheering when they saw the gargoyles of Beauté Noir coming to life to help them.
Ténèbres was running through the cathedral, bringing gargoyles to life with his Semblance. He ran around to try and awaken as many as he could before his Aura ran out until he stood before HIM.
Ténèbres looked up in awe at the mighty statue of the Grimm Knight. Awakening him would undoubtedly shatter his Aura, but that's not why Ténèbres hesitated. The Grimm Knight felt too... holy for the likes of Fue. Ténèbres barely felt like he was worthy to so much as look at it, let alone ask for its help. Instead, he bowed and prayed before it.
'Please... give me the strength and bravery needed to protect Esmeralda. Give me your bravery so that I can save Minuit. Please... let me be brave enough to be a hero.' After completing his silent prayer, he went back to the battle.
Down below, three guards tried to take on Phoebus by grabbing his spear, but he was strong enough to send them flying. He then looked up to see Anita climbing Beauté Noir, the girl cutting a rope that made the guards climbing it fall to the river. 'Keep them safe, hero,' Phoebus thought.
He then looked to see mustache try to attack him, only for Phoebus to knock him out with a lariat.
"PUT YOUR BACKS INTO IT," Fue ordered as a stone Creep lunged at him. He merely grabbed it by the head and used his own Semblance to melt its head. 'Ténèbres, how DARE you hide such power from me?! Had I known you had this, Minuit would have never NEEDED that damned Arc that day,' he mentally cursed.
Just as Fue's guards broke through the doors, Ténèbres poured the molten lead, the molten metal spewing out of the waterspouts. The guards ran away, but Fue slashed his way through before the magma reached him.
Anita just barely avoided having molten lead cover her body. She watched the burning liquid spill onto the ground before continuing her climb.
"FUE, HAVE YOU GONE MAD," Archbishop went. "I WILL NOT TOLERATE THIS ASSAULT ON THE HOUSE OF GOD!"
"ALL I DO IS IN THE NAME OF THE GOD OF DARKNESS," Fue yelled as he grabbed the bishop's rosary. "NO OUT OF MY WAY," he roared as he threw the old man out of his way before rushing up the stairs. "THE HUNCHBACK AND I HAVE UNFINISHED BUSINESS TO ATTEND TO! AS DOES THAT ACCURSED THIEF," he bellowed. "And this time, you will not interfere," he went as he locked the door, rushing up the staircase for the final battle.
Ténèbres burst through the door. "We've done it, Esmeralda! We've beaten them back! Come and see!" Ténèbres smiled at the still Esmeralda, her wings lying on the ground. "Esmeralda," Ténèbres went as he walked over to her, carefully stepping over her wings to get to her. "Wake up. You're safe now." He rubbed her face. "Esmeralda?" He yanked his hand away when he felt how cold she was. "Oh, no."
Ténèbres desperately grabbed a ladle of water and tried to have Esmeralda drink, only for the water to spill off her lips. Ténèbres dropped the ladle as he began to cry. "Oh, no. Please, no." He then sobbed as he hugged her. "I'm sorry. If only I was as brave as Anita. I'm sorry," he sobbed.
He then felt a familiar hand on his back. "You killed her."
"T'was my duty. Horrible as it was, I hope you can forgive me. There, there, Ténèbres. I know it hurts, but now, the time has come to end your suffering."
Ténèbres looked up in time to see Fue's silhouette. He turned and grabbed Fue's wrist just as the man tried to stab him and pushed him to the ground, standing over the man, panting angrily while holding Fue's dagger.
"Now, now. Listen to me, Ténèbres-"
"NO, YOU LISTEN! ALL MY LIFE, YOU HAVE TOLD ME THAT THE WORLD IS A DARK, CRUEL PLACE, BUT NOW I SEE THAT THE ONLY THING DARK AND CRUEL ABOUT IT IS PEOPLE LIKE YOU! PEOPLE HEROES LIKE JAUNE AND ANITA PUT AWAY!"
"Ténèbres?"
He looked behind him happily to see Esmeralda weakly sit up. "Esmeralda," he went happily as he hopped to her.
"She lives," Feu went as he drew his sword.
"NO," Ténèbres yelled as he carried her away.
Fue chased after him, only to see no one. He then turned toward the corner Ténèbres ran to.
When he did, he was hit in the face with enough force to send him sprawling onto the ground. He groaned as he pushed himself up, his hellish red Aura sparking before looking up. His eyes widened as he gasped.
Before him was a shadowed figure, hair flowing in the wind of Beauté Noir. "This ends. NOW," the figure went.
"No. NO! YOU CAN'T BE HERE! I BANISHED YOU! HOW ARE YOU HERE, ARC?!"
"Arc? So, you figured it out, did you?"
Fue's eyes finally adjusted, the light of the burning lead illuminating the being above him. It was Anita, looking down at him as she drew her sword. "Figured it out?" Fue's eyes widened in realization.
The gold hair. The blue eye. Her mother being Neopolitain. The fact that she reminded Fue of HIM. "I already know your father," he said in the realization of Anita's words. "Your father... is Jaune Arc."
"The man you feared. Why else would you banish him from Minuit? You were afraid he would take away your power. Well, I may not be him, but after this and all the evidence I've gathered, I don't even need to be a Huntsman to send you away for the rest of your filthy life. Upper Minuit is as good as done for as well." She pointed her sword at Fue's chin. "You've lost, old man."
At that moment, Fue saw a figure appear behind Anita. He saw her father, pointing the Sword of Destruction at him, looking down at him with cold and judgmental eyes.
"It's you again. It's always you! Always, always, ALWAYS YOU! EVEN WHEN YOU'RE NOT HERE, YOU'RE STANDING IN MY WAY! DAMN YOU, ARC," Fue roared as he pointed his palm at Anita.
A ball of fire formed in his hand, surprising Anita. She barely had time to hold her arms over her chest when he fired, the blast sending Anita slamming into the stone railing. With her Aura not fully charged, she felt the full brunt of the impact, coughing up blood before falling to the ground. She groaned as she struggled to push herself up, only to fall to the ground, unconscious.
Fue panted before looking at his hand. That was the first time he had ever been able to do that. His Semblance evolved in that very moment.
Still, he didn't care about that right now. He wanted desperately to kill Anita, but even more desperately to kill another.
He stood up looking around before seeing the railing. He slowly walked toward it before looking over it. There, he saw Ténèbres hanging onto one of the waterspout gargoyles, still holding onto a weakened Esmeralda.
"Leaving so soon?"
Fue swung his sword, trying to cut Ténèbres, but he swung away, making sure not even one of Esmeralda's feathers was hit.
"Look! Up there," a guard went, people looking to see Fue attacking Ténèbres.
"Hang on," Ténèbres yelled as he swung to another gargoyle, Fue hitting him with his sword. It made his Aura spark, but it didn't shatter.
Ténèbres continuously swung, Fue missing him each time, one of his slashes going completely through a gargoyle, the statue's head falling on an unsuspecting guard, killing the man.
When Ténèbres climbed up, he had to push Esmeralda out of the way of Fue's slash, the beauty falling safely onto the walkway.
"I should have known you'd risk your life to save one of your own filthy kind, just as your own mother died protecting an abomination like you."
"What?"
"Now, I'm going to do what I should have done, SIXTEEN YEARS AGO!" He then threw his cape onto Ténèbres's face, yanking it to make him fall off.
But Ténèbres grabbed Fue's cape, swinging back onto the cathedral but dragging Fue down. The man would have fallen to his death had Ténèbres not hung onto the cape.
Fue looked up at Ténèbres, the Faunus still holding onto the cape before looking up to see Esmeralda grab his hand.
Fue looked around and saw a nearby gargoyle. For a man his age, he expertly swung over and grabbed the stone with a vile smirk.
"Hold on," Esmeralda pleaded to the exhausted Ténèbres. "Hold on."
Esmeralda then heard Fue's wicked laughter as she looked up in horror, the light of the burning molten lead making his eyes and smile turn demonically yellow as he raised his sword.
"Oh, my Great God of Darkness, accept these vile creatures as your sacrifices to your holy and glorious name! Praise be to the one true God of this world!" Fue then swung down.
BANG
Fue's sword was shot out of his hand, the force of the action causing him to flail around as he felt himself falling. Before he fell off the gargoyle, he saw Anita holding up her Knock First, glaring at him as her gun was still smoking.
In that instance, he saw her father next to her.
"No! NO! NOT AGAIN! WHY DO YOU KEEP STANDING IN MY WAY?! DAMN YOU!" He then fell off the cathedral. "AAAAAAAARRRRRCCCC!" Fue then splashed into the molten lead.
Anita, ignoring her own pain, lunged toward her friends.
"Ténèbres," Esmeralda begged. "Tenny."
Anita tried to lunge toward the two, making a grab for Ténèbres's hand, but he slipped out of Esmeralda's grasp.
"NO," the beauties went in unison.
They both felt a wave of relief when Phoebus caught Ténèbres.
Anita then groaned before sitting down on the ground.
"Anni," Esmeralda went in concern.
"I'm fine, Emmy. Just check on Tenny."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive. Trust me, I've been through worse. Master Thieves need to be tough," she said with a wink.
Esmeralda smiled before she shook her head with a sigh. "Heroes. You always have to be so stubborn, don't you?"
"Not a hero," Anita said with a sing-song tone.
Esmeralda smiled before she ran off. Anita watched her before she gave out a relieved sigh. "I absolutely deserve a sundae after this."
Meanwhile, within the lead, Fue's Aura finally shattered, the man feeling the excruciating pain of the lead burning him alive. 'No! It can't end like this! I can't let it end here! The Faunus! The traitorous citizens! No, those traitorous CRIMINALS! That damned hunchback! That accursed thief! . . . The thief. The daughter of Arc! HIS DAUGHTER! I CAN'T DIE UNTIL THEY ARE PUNISHED!'
'GOD OF DARKNESS, I BEG OF THEE! I HAVE GIVEN YOU MY ENTIRE LIFE! MY ENTIRE EXISTENCE IS DEVOTED TO YOU! THOUGH IT IS NOT A WORTHY SACRIFICE, I OFFER MY BODY TO YOU! MY LIFE! MY VERY SOUL! THOUGH IT ALL BELONGED TO YOU ALREADY, I OFFER THEM TO YOU, MY LIEGE! I BEG OF THEE, BESTOW UPON ME THY GLORIOUS BLESSING!'
SUCH DEVOTION
Fue's eyes widened. He was no longer surrounded by molten lead but by darkness. He then realized something was behind him and looked. He then fell to his knees, tears flowing like rivers before he groveled before Darkness. "My Lord. You are even more beautiful than we mere mortals portrayed thee to be. I am not worthy to be in thy presence."
RAISE YOUR HEAD, MY CHILD, FOR YOUR FAITH IN ME HAS INDEED MADE YOU WORTHY.
"Thank you, my God," Fue went as he looked up.
YOUR ACTIONS ARE RIGHTEOUS IN MY EYES. THE FAUNUS REJECT ME, FOR I AM NOT THEIR CREATOR. A GOD LOWER THAN I HOLDS THAT TITLE.
"I knew it. One such as you would never make something as incomplete as the Faunus. Only the Grimm and humanity have such a right to be created by God."
INDEED. BUT NOW, A BLASPHEMER WISHES TO CLAIM MY POWER AND USE MY CREATURES OF GRIMM FOR HIS OWN DESIGN.
"WHAT FOOL WOULD DARE DEFILE YOUR PERFECT CREATION, LORD?!"
HAVE YOU NOT BEEN BESTED BY HIS PROGENY?
Fue's eyes widened. "Arc." He then chuckled. "I knew it. I knew he was a sinner! I KNEW HE WAS A BLASPHEMER! I KNEW HE STOLE YOUR BLESSED SWORD, NOW HE TRIES TO TAKE THY HOLY POWER AND BLESSED ARMIES!"
INDEED. HE HAS SEDUCED MY OWN DAUGHTERS AGAINST ME, AS WELL AS MY BROTHER'S CHILDREN. HE HAS MADE MY OWN FAMILY INTO MY ENEMIES. HE MUST BE PUNISHED FOR HIS INSOLENCE.
"Ask of me what you will sire! I will do whatever it is you wish," Fue went as he groveled once more.
YOUR DEVOTION IS PLEASING TO ME. YOU WILL BE REWARDED WHEN I FINALLY RETURN AND CLAIM REMNANT AS MINE ONCE MORE
"It was always yours, liege."
INDEED.
Darkness held out his hand. Fue didn't hesitate to take it, his hands barely clasping around Darkness's finger. The mad councilman then kissed the very tip of Darkness's finger, believing he was only worthy of such a small bit of the god.
RISE, MY CHILD. MY ACOLYTE. MY CHOSEN. PUNISH THOSE WHO HAVE SINNED AGAINST ME. GIVE. OUT. MY. JUDGEMENT.
Fue's eyes widened as he felt like his entire body was burning. He looked to see that he was in the molten lead again. The pain was unbearable... for a time.
Then, it started to feel pleasurable. Euphoric, even. Then, he saw that he was actually swimming in the metal. It then began to swirl around him, bending to his will. He then realized that he was able to manipulate the lead and the flames it created. It didn't take him long to realize that Darkness... had blessed him with magic.
Fue laughed maniacally as the fire and metal began to swirl around him.
A/N: Well, Guest, it's over. No more copy and pasting a movie. The next part is where the real fun begins. It's about to get wild from here. SilentKnightFan, you're in for a treat.