"All that begins must end. So too, all that lives, dies, and in dying, value finds. Thy vaunted eternity is but hollow slumber. Beast of Disaster, evil born of mankind's folly, thy desperate wish that thy love not go unrequited is itself thy rejection's root. Of rank, nor station, no the title Grand have I need. Bear witness, goddess of life, to the testament writ with mine own blade. Thou fallen god, to beast-hood turned, if Primordial Mother be thy title, attend, and hear my name. The bell of evening tolls thy name. Touch not the sky, for by Heaven's will I shall strip thee of thy wings. From the mountain abyss, I come, and only death do I bring. I am the Old Man of the Mountain, Hassan-i Sabbah." -Hassan-i Sabbah Fate Grand Order Demonic Front Babylonia.
"Hear me remaining students of Beacon!" Naruto called drawing everyone's attention,"Over six months ago when the war against the new Grimm began, the Demonic front was established, and I told this to all of you; Beacon would fall. Its downfall was inevitable. You all could have fled, or distracted yourselves with pleasures, or given up and died with nobody to remember you by your name." he stated calmly, "Instead you pledged your lives to the fight, knowing the end is inevitable, yet still determined to resist." he declared to his growing crowd of onlookers, "Truly, Beacon and all her students, Vale and all her splendor, was a wondrous place." he said crossing his arms.
"It history, its life, its people!" he said somberly yet still proud of his ideals, "I am lucky to be one of them." he said before speaking up louder, "I'll say it again! Beacon will fall! That is a fact we can no longer change! But there is no need to lament!" he told each of them, "Why? Because if there is even one person who lives to see the dawn of victory, our ways of life will be engraved into the heart of that sole survivor!" he stated loudly, no longer were people looking down in fear, instead they each held a visage of joy, of peace, of hope and pride! Naruto's words were rallying them better than any call to war, for he was taking charge as a real leader should do.
"Even if we're to die or leave no offspring, there's a will within our people that won't be erased!" shouted the blond, "That is the essence of humanity! It's an inheritance by intellect, not blood, a succession of lives!" he called out, witnesses grabbing onto one another and gaining more hope in not just themselves but in each other, their hearts beating as one entity, "The fall of Beacon does not mean we too shall fall! We will be radiant on the dawn of victory, tethering a generation with that light!" he called as he swiped a arm to his side, "Steel yourselves, for each of you are one of the elite warriors of humanity!" he told them boldly.
"Now is the time to deny that demonic woman and her offspring her victory in the name of the gods and begin the age of man!" Naruto called out loudly as everyone gained a look of confidence that they had lost when the battle against Salem had first begun six months ago, hope building in each and every person standing before Naruto, "This will be the battle for true separation from the Gods!" Naruto declared as he clenched a fist in front of his face, "As your leader, no as your King, I call for your lives!" he demanded, "Pass on the glory that is Beacon to generations to come!" he said shoving his fist up over his head, "TO THE LAST MAN!" he roared as the crowd roared with him.
Yang looked to her sister, both feeling a sense of hope that they had thought they had lost, "Ruby!" Yang said looking to her sister, "Let's win this fight!" she declared.
"Yea, of course!" Ruby agreed.
...
...
...
It had only been hours since that speech...
...
...
...
But now... those few hours... were an eternity ago...
Salem had summoned all her lower powered Grimm... From the weakest of Beowulf to the grandest of the Wyvern, none had been seen in the last six months since she recalled them and instead sent out a new type of Grimm, the Lahmu. It was a single species of Grimm yes, but it came in several variants. Some walked on four legs, some flew with great wings, some had legs that could extend and flex like rubber, some had the ability to shift limbs into weapons, but all of them were stronger than any formerly known Grimm to have ever been cataloged in the past.
However, the greatest threat wasn't the Lahmu themselves-though they were a hassle on their own-but the great terrifying beast that Salem had given her life to birth. It was so powerful it had already defeated three of the four kingdoms. Humanity was on the brink of extinction, and this was the last known kingdom with people alive in its walls. Hundreds of caverns had been excavated the last six months and thousands were already safely tucked away within the metal walls used to construct the underground cities. Men, women and children. Huntsmen and their female counterparts alike. All manner of crop and livestock. Human and Faunus both. Untold forms of technology were all stored safely away for the inevitable.
Mankind would survive this catastrophe in their own way.
Now... all that was left was to see the fighting through to the end...
And there would be no telling on who would all see the dawn of tomorrow...
And there were no speeches given for that...
~XxX-Currently-XxX~
"King Naruto!" Ruby called as she and her sister ran across the roof towards the new King.
"You're back." Naruto stated as he turned to them before facing away and nodding, "Take a look," he told them softly, "and see Beacon in its entirety." he told them solemnly as he gazed upon his city, "One more step and it will be wiped off the land." he said. The view, which had once been a sight of beauty and awe was now burning and crumbling apart, "The end of one world." he affirmed as the massive demonic beasts-Lahmu-walked through the abandoned streets filled with the Grimm- known to be a great destroyer Tiamat which was a Creator God-chaos mud. A powerful shake filled the air as they turned to face the monster approaching them, "He she comes, the Great Mother appears." he stated as he watched the demon.
Naruto smirked as he called out loudly, the wind blowing through the air and ruffling his head-wear, "Tonight, we stand for our beliefs and for our people, for the sake of this world! This will be Beacon's last stand against Tiamat!" he declared boldly, immense amounts of energy spreading across the ground as Naruto summoned his power, dozens of pebbles rising into the air as his power washed out over the ground, "All of you just sit back and see this through to the very end!" he told the two sisters as his city begun to glow along the wall at the same time, "Now then let the world bear witness as Humanity gives this bitch a taste of her own medicine, Raining Starlight!" he commanded as spears of light soared across the sky from his position.
As this happened, in the safety of a bunker, Glynda felt her eyes widen in shock, "You don't have any Lapis Lazuli or people out there, yet the Dingirs are operating on their own!" she called in shock.
Naruto snorted in amusement, "Who do you think I am?" he demanded, "All 360 Dingir's mounted on the wall were made by my hands." he stated seriously as the massive cannons began to spark with immense amounts of energy, and then the sky was filled with light as they all unleashed their power, "Infused with my Aura and Semblance energy and controlled by me, I can work this body to death, and control them all like this!" he declared seriously. Tiamat's cry filled the air as the vault of the King was firing everything it had at the Creator God.
"Naruto, please stop, you can't hope to fight Tiamat off like this on your own!" Ruby cried.
"Ruby, understand that everything I do, is for a reason. Everyone I have seen, everyone I have met in my life; I consider to be my greatest treasure, and the future of humanity depends on the victory we achieve here on this night! We cannot afford to hold back!" he declared.
"Naruto..." Angelica whispered in worry. The Dingirs were powerful weapons, massive cannons with enough power to wipe cities off the map, and required an immense amount of power to operate them-which was why the Lapis Lazuli were used to help prevent such a drain on those who used them. The fact Naruto was controlling them all on his own without any secondary thought to his actions was something that would have drained anyone with high levels of power the minute they tried to do so, but here he was doing the impossible again.
"From here on, I will show you, what I can do to stop Tiamat!" the king called out as Tiamat cried out once more, a explosion striking her in the face.
Yang was in awe as she watched the burning night was filled with the dazzling display of her King's counter offense, "Amazing..." she whispered before he remembered something, "Ereshkigal!" she called out loudly, "How are preparations in the cavern underground?!" she questioned.
Underground, the blond Huntress turned up towards the cavern ceiling, "Just a bit more! Hold on for just a little longer!" she pleaded.
Yang turned towards the dragon goddess, watching as hundreds of explosions filled the air, but she couldn't foresee what the beast was about to do. Naruto was the only one gifted with the ability of foresight-through his vigorous training in Aura and Semblance-and felt his eyes widen and moved before anyone could see or question him as to why, Tiamat's eyes glowed for but a split second, and then it happened. A blur pushed her to the ground and blood filled the air. Yang was stunned. The blood that fell upon her cheek and pooled across the ground was great, but at the same time the one who saved her had shocked her beyond words, "K-King Naruto?" Yang said in silent shock as the blond man rose to his full height.
"How dare you try to snipe her?" Naruto growled as he turned to his foe, ignoring the stunned looks of his allies, "You have good aim too." he said turning to walk back to his original spot, "Impressive, I must give you that, you damned beast." he stated as he cracked his neck and faced his adversary, "But I'm not finished with you yet." he snarled once more channeling his energy.
"K-King Naruto!" Ruby cried out in worry.
"Naruto, I-" Angelica cried, trying to stop him from doing something stupid.
"Worry not, it's only a mortal wound." he interrupted them all, "If you lot are still fine, then all is well." he said, "Now then, let's do this! Dingir's, work for me!" he said, his voice filled with confidence, his cannon's bombarding Tiamat once again with a endless fury from the weapons of humanity.
"Please stop!" Blake pleaded with him.
"Naruto, please, you're clearly in no shape or condition to fight as you are!" Yang pleaded.
"Are you saying it's impossible? That I have reached my limit?! That my beloved kingdom of Vale cannot fight anymore?!" he demanded, "No! This battle is far from finished!" he told them, "For as long as I draw breath, Beacon will resist until the end of our days when the maker of the universe calls upon all of us to return to the embrace of the sand!" he declared boldly, strongly. He was yet to be done with his fight, "I was born into this world to preserve it, I will not let it fade away! The future will take care of itself! Do you not agree, Yang Xiao-Long!?" the king demanded.
"Of course." Yang said as she stood back up, confidence filling her very being, hundreds of golden lights soaring overhead each passing second to impact against Tiamat with explosive force. If Naruto had such confidence in not just himself, but humanity as a whole, the she would too, "Beacon is far from finished!" she declared just as boldly as the King had done before, "We will survive!" she called out.
Naruto smirked as golden energy surrounded him, "Well said!" he stated, "Now then, I will show you what I can do to stop this demon!" he declared with pride, "From here on I will go all out!" he said before snorting, "Well, I was already going all out, but I do have a lot of vanity." he told himself.
"It's no good, she's heading into the plaza!" Weiss cried.
Angelica sighed as she stepped forward, "I'll buy us some time using my Chains of Heaven. Once I bind her, I'll be out of the fight for the remainder of the battle!" she called as she closed her eyes and concentrated.
"Can you even summon that amount of chains to restrain her?" Ishtar asked her.
"I won't know unless I try, now then... your fury will be a thing of the past." she said as she opened her eyes with a snarl, "Humanity walks on its own from here...take this, ENUMA... ELISH~" she roared as thousands of chains erupted from the ground, wrapped around Tiamat and stabbed into the earth with such force the earth shook and trembled under the strength of the chains being deployed.
When everyone opened their eyes, they blinked, "That just now..." Ruby whispered in awe.
Naruto snorted, "See for yourself." he told them. They all gazed across the plaza and gawked as they took in the sight of the restrained Grimm. Bound by the golden chains, it was incapable of moving a single inch, "Just a few more steps over here and this place would be reduced to ashes." he told them sincerely before snickering in amusement, "But it's frustrating her. With those chains, even a single step is so difficult!" he declared, "It's only a momentary restraint, but for her, a mind-numbing eternity." he said in admiration.
"Angelica... you're amazing!" Weiss whispered in awe.
"Angelica's Chains of Heaven held back the physical strength of a Grimm on par with a Creator God." he said with pride, "I once sent a friend off twice. The first time he died and the second time I was in mourning. But this time, it is different." he told them, "Angelica, unlike my friend, your proud and valiant figure...is burned into my memory for eternity!" he said looking to the unconscious girl and then to the others with a smile causing them to blink in shock, "I thank all of you!" he told them sincerely, "I doubt that even if everything in this era had been called into service, I have a feeling it would have ended here." he explained, "This would have all been for nothing if we hadn't united everyone and came together as a people."
"It is this gathering of people that was key that helped us face destruction we alone could not have overcome." he told them, "And now, it has allowed us to prepare our final move!" he declared, "The time has come." he said, the chains slowly turning to stone and cracking apart as he spoke to his friends, "I'm leaving everything in your hands now. Go, and bring us victory!" he told them.
"Right!" the girls called out to him.
"Naruto!" Ereshkigal called out, her Semblance dying down as she called out, "The phase transition between Vale and the ruins is complete!" she called out as she smiled happily, "All we need to do is dig a hole!" she declared!
"Naruto!" Yang called.
"All of you prepare yourselves." Naruto told them as he looked up, "Ishtar!" he called out, "We're going to drop Tiamat into the void!" he told her.
Ishtar smiled happily, "I've been waiting for this! Okay Naruto!" she responded as she readied herself, "As requested. I'm going to punch through the ground beneath your feet with no mercy!" she declared. The chains were crumbling apart, bu Ishtar was determined to do her part, "From the great heavens, towards the great earth!" she called, "Like Naruto said, the future will take care of itself!" she cried out, her eyes glowing a gold yellow with her power coursing through her veins.
"Everyone get ready for impact!" Glynda called out over the radio.
"Ruby!" Yang cried out to her sister.
"Right, Yang!" she said taking her hand as they all crouched behind Naruto who remained standing.
A gold glow filled the air briefly before a magenta arrow was birthed into existence. Ishtar snarled as she took aim at Salem's ultimate demon, "Angalta Kigalse" she yelled before the attack was launched with enough speed and force to cause a powerful explosion which enveloped the Grimm and ripped apart the remaining sections of the school grounds. Team RWBY, and IENS would collapse through the ground, save one.
Naruto...
The blond only gave a moment to turn around to his shocked peers, but in that moment, they could tell he was content with his choice, the small smile saying it all. He was glad to have known each of them.
To fully understand this story; we must go back. Back to where it all began. With the birth of a boy, who became a man, by becoming a King.
~XxX-18 Years ago; October 10th-XxX~
"Push, Glynda!"
A moment of weakness had come back to bite Ozpin.
Perhaps bite wasn't quite the right word. It was gnawing on him. Taking sheer strips out of his heart.
In hindsight it had been foolish succumbing to drink as they had on that day, nine months ago; but there had been ample reason to celebrate at the time. A Maiden secured, Salem thwarted for yet another year, students graduating, really, why not break out the liquor? What could possibly happen between colleagues?
Only everything.
A simple night of passion escalated into so much more. Who could have foreseen it? One thing had led to another and...well. He was many things, but a widower he was not. He'd not given much thought to children for so many years, let alone fathering one. Yet here he was.
Now he winced as the blond woman before him gasped in pain; her pride broken at last, voice rising in a sharp cry. Her hand bit down on his wrist. Not a cry. A snarl. Her green eyes met his, sharp an' angry. Oh, dear. That really was a solid grip she had on his arm. He could feel his bones crumbling. He'd need a cast after this. James would never let him live this down...assuming he survived the next hour. Ouch! There went another bone! The next five minutes were looking dicey indeed..
"You did this to me!"
Oh gods. He could feel the nurses glaring.
"To be fair," he gulped, "That was not my intent at the time...
"Aaaaaargh!"
A poor choice of words perhaps, but it gave her the strength -or anger?- to push through.
With one final heave, he heard a nurse exclaim the good news.
"Its a boy!"
.
..
...why was it so silent?
The child didn't make a sound.
One of nurses cut the cord and swept him away.
Dread seized Ozpin's heart in a furious fist as Glynda slumped back to the bed. He feared the worst; a stillbirth. Panic reared its head as he noted Glynda's waxy complexion. No. No, the Gods could not be that cruel. She was strong, perhaps the strongest Huntress in a generation, but at this moment she was perilously weak. And that was a great deal of blood...
"Ozpin. Let me see him." her voice was a hoarse whisper. "Let me see my son."
Not a single nurse would look at him. Ozpin frowned.
'No. Not this time.'
With speed that bellied his age, he reached over and plucked the boy back. A nurse squawked at him, but he paid her little heed. His finger's brushed the baby's chest and found the malady. Aha. There. Fluid in his lungs. Easily remedied, even with what little magic he possessed. Bolstering his life force was easy. Effortless, even. It might even making the lad stronger in the coming days. Thrice as quickly, he reached over and weaved a thread of magic into Glynda. Just a bit. Just a touch, enough to spark her flagging aura and speed her healing; because any moment now-
"Waaaah!"
Sure enough, a lusty cry pierced the air.
Glynda surged upright with a gasp, expression needy.
With a patience born of eternity, Ozpin delivered Glynda's child into her waiting arms. She made a pleased noise and held him closed to her breasts. The nurses could tut all they liked, and although there would doubtlessly be questions for this later he would endure as he always had. A son. How long had it been since he'd had any family of his own...?
"Look at him. He heard Glynda coo softly. "He's perfect."
Was he? Ozpin couldn't rightly say. It had been at least two centuries since he'd tried to rear a family. Perhaps he was out of practice. Still, he felt some manner of father pride at the sight. He'd made more mistakes than any man woman or child alive, but surely this was a good thing. They'd done this. They'd brought new life into the world; one that would never have existed otherwise. Perhaps in time this boy would yet grow up and have sons and daughters of his own.
Grandchildren? Yes, that sounded rather nice. Great grandchildren even more so, perhaps even Great-great-great grandchildren?
The idea of so many descendants, a bloodline continuing long into the hereafter...it warmed his old soul.
...perhaps this time, Ozpin mused, Salem wouldn't eradicate it out of petty spite. Had she not done so before? Time and time again she'd ripped happiness from his grasp; who was to say she wouldn't make yet another attempt the moment she learned of this? No, no, he was getting ahead of himself. Focus.
On a whim, he glanced down at the newborn babe. His son, he reminded himself.
'Gods above, I really am rusty...
Bright blue eyes -by the gods they were glowing!- blinked back at him within a pudgy whiskered face, framed by a faint crown of blond hair. The baby blinked at him, and for a moment, those eyes flickered red. He blinked and the image shifted. Even then it almost seemed as if he saw him, comprehended him as an adult might. Nonsense of course. He was just imagining it. Wasn't he?
Strange. He had the oddest feeling that the infant was watching him; almost as if he knew what he'd done for him.
He'd not thought of a name for the boy; such had ever eluded him and Glynda until this moment.
But it came to him now, a whisper in his ear, impossible to ignore. "...hello there, Naruto."
Glynda gave him a black look. "You would name him that. It will do, I suppose...
Ozpin smiled indulgently. He noticed something else, just then.
...why was the baby scowling at him now?!
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