Chapter 23: The Overwhelming Power of Cooler
Last Time our heroes were victorious, easily stopping the attack on Haven, but before they could celebrate, Cooler arrived and killed Mura. Jason, Evan, and Elias must now face off against Cooler and his men, but are they strong enough to defeat Cooler find out Now!
Haven…
Jason chased after Cooler as he fell towards the ground throwing a punch towards his face. However, the galactic emperor caught the attack and kneed Jason in the gut, then throwing him towards the courtyard.
Cooler appeared right above Jason faster than he could register and slammed his foot in his chest, sending him through the ground and out the side of the mountain which Mistral was built on. Jason regained his composure and stopped mid-air in time to dodge another one of Cooler's attack.
After dodging the attack, he elbowed Cooler in the face then followed up by kicking him in the chin towards the night sky. In retaliation, Cooler shot several beams at Jason, who, in order to prevent damage to Mistral, blocked and deflected the beams. Moving at a frightening speed, Cooler once again appeared in front of Jason, wrapping his tail around his neck, choking him.
"I have to admit Saiyan I wasn't expecting you to be so strong but know that I am holding back a majority of my power you have no chance of winning." Cooler boasted as he threw Jason back towards Haven. Crashing down on the grounds of the courtyard once more, Jason struggled to get up.
"Damn, this guy is strong, way stronger than Silas or anyone I have ever fought before, but I can't give up." Jason thought.
Jason jumped back to his feet and prepared for Cooler's next attack, for he wasn't going to allow himself to lose he had to protect everyone and make sure that the man who killed his master paid for what he did.
Sensing a presence appear behind him, he ducked under Cooler's attack and slammed his fist into Cooler's gut then punched him in the face sending him into the hall. He followed not planning on letting up his assault, and once he got back to Cooler, he began to attack him with a barrage of punches and kicks, but Cooler managed to dodge each one save a few that made it through.
Cooler blocked one of Jason's attacks by wrapping his tail around his arm and throwing him on the floor. In response, Jason grabbed his tail and threw him to the ground in turn. Taking this chance, he flew up and shot Cooler with a Mega Flare sending him through the floor and deep into the ground.
"How's that for no chance of winning." Jason mocked as he slowly flew towards the hole he had made.
But as he got there, Cooler shot up and kneed him in the chin, then grabbing onto his head, dragged him across the floor. Once he was done, he threw Jason away and blasted him with several beams dealing heavy damage though none pierced through him.
"You were saying?" Cooler questioned.
"Shit." Jason gasped as he picked himself off the ground tearing off the right half of his Gi.
"That's what I thought." Cooler replied as he flew towards Jason.
Cooler punched at Jason's gut, but his fist was caught by Jason, who headbutted Cooler then slammed a ball of Ki into his chest, sending him flying away. Following up on this, Jason fired a Splitting Flare at Cooler, hitting him from several angles.
However, Cooler came out from the attack with very little damage and kicked Jason into the air. He proceeded to smack Jason around in the air hitting him from place to place like he was a rag doll until he sent him towards the ground until he kneed him in the back and tossed him onto the ground. Jason weakly got up, coughing up blood as he felt that multiple bones in his body were broken.
"Shit not good. I hope that Evan and Elias are finishing up with their fights because I won't be able to beat this guy alone." Jason thought.
"If I were you monkey, I would just give up and embrace death." Cooler suggested.
"Never, I won't lose to some copy of Frieza." Jason coughed.
"What did you just say?! I am nothing like my brother!" Cooler declared.
"I don't know, do you go around invading planets and commit genocide?" Jason asked, knowing that Frieza had done such things from Elias's stories on the tyrant.
"Of course." Cooler answered.
"Then, you're just like Frieza." Jason asserted.
"I am not many people have done this before us!" Cooler argued.
"Well, then you must have gotten it from Frieza then." Jason reasoned.
"No, I got it from my father, and so did Frieza. I told you I am the older one!" Cooler yelled.
"Well, you're certainly not acting like it when I bring him up," Jason replied.
"I'm going to kill you now." Cooler stated as he backhanded Jason.
Jason recovered just in time to see Cooler's next attack, and he intercepted by throwing a punch of his own, and the two attacks collided, sending the two of them backward. After stopping, Jason shot a multitude of energy blasts at Cooler, who blocked each one.
Cooler went on to speed towards Jason, who tricked him with the after-image technique causing. Cooler's fist to go right through him. Appearing right behind Cooler, Jason put both his hands together and hammered down on Cooler's head, sending him towards the ground. But as he fell, Jason grabbed his tail and threw him across the city towards the wilderness.
"Good I have to keep this fight away from the city I will not let what happened to Vale during the Vytal Festival happen again!" Jason thought as he chased after Cooler. Once he reached Cooler, he went to punch him in the stomach, but Cooler dodged the attack grabbed Jason by the neck, strangling him as he punched him several times in the gut.
"Give up yet, Saiyan?" Cooler asked.
"Never." Jason coughed.
"Very well." Cooler replied, throwing Jason into the ground below and throwing a large ball of Ki at him. Jason barely dodged the attack, but the blast of the attack sent him flying through several trees.
Hopping back up to his feet quickly, he leaned left to avoid a beam shot by Cooler and turned around to blast his own attack. Cooler was sent away once the attack hit, and Jason continued his assault of blasts to deal as much damage as he could.
Once he was done, he breathed heavily exhausted from the massive amount of energy he used. He was devastated once Cooler stood up from the crater that was created from his attack.
"I see you won't give up Saiyan, and I have to say you are putting up a fair fight, but I'm going to stop holding back a little." Cooler commented. He sped right at Jason at a frightening Speed so fast that he couldn't even register his movements.
Before he could react, he was kneed in the stomach sending him flying but not for long as Cooler grabbed him by the head and proceeded to punch him several times in the face. He then tossed him in the air and grabbed him by the leg with his tail dragging him across the forest and through many trees before letting him go to fly into the side of a small cliff. Jason escaped the cliff by releasing enough power to blow it up.
"Impressive but meaningless!" Cooler declared as he charged at Jason, who charged back at him.
The two clashed and held one another in place as their energy fought around the area. Jason won the struggle as he head-butted Cooler then blasted him with a Buster Flare, but Cooler endured the attack shooting a beam through Jason's leg. Distracted by the pain and new hole in his leg Jason didn't see Cooler's next attack viciously battering Jason's body, breaking several of his bones.
"A pathetic monkey like you never stood a chance!" Cooler declared as punched Jason back towards Mistral.
Jason made impact with the side of the mountain and looked up only to see Cooler in front of him, punching him through the mountain and out the top back at Haven. At this point, Jason was no longer in his Primal State, not having enough energy or the strength to keep up the form.
Soon Cooler came from the ground, grabbing Jason by the head and dragging him underground, throwing him into the relic's vault breaking the door in half, revealing nothing behind it.
"What the? Where did that door lead?" Jason questioned as Cooler kicked him back to the surface. Unknown to the two, a large blue and gold lamp laid on the floor. Once he was back up on the surface, he slowly got to his feet, barely able to stand as Cooler slowly rose from the hole in the ground.
"Seems like you're at the end of your rope, Saiyan time to die." Cooler said.
Haven Dorms…
Teams RWBY, JNPR, and Co had taken refuge in the dorms as the fight started watching their friends battle when they can out the window. It shocked them to no end, they knew that this battle will end up being far greater than the fight during the Vytal Festival.
"This is insane I guess Elias was wrong about them not being here on orders." Yang shuddered.
"Yeah, I just wish there was something we can do to help," Ruby agreed.
"But there's nothing we can do. Those guys are too strong." Alex pointed out.
"But how strong are they? Didn't you guys fight against Elias's brothers during the Vytal Festival?" Coco asked.
"Yeah, but these guys, more specifically the Frieza look-alike Cooler compared to the Tuffles, is like comparing a drizzle to a hurricane or a puddle to an ocean," Damian answered.
"He's really that strong?" Sun asked.
"Yeah, to tell the truth, I nearly vomited from his very presence," Amber responded.
"Plus, he said that his little brother blew up Jason's homeworld, so he has to be just as strong if not stronger if it's true," Alex added.
"So how does the kid stand in comparison after all his training?" Qrow questioned. Everyone present that could sense energy stayed silent, not knowing how to answer that question.
"Guys, does Jason stand a chance?" Ruby asked.
"Not if he continues to fight alone, if he were to fight with Evan and Elias, then maybe," Alex answered. Everyone went silent from the revelation if Jason and the others couldn't defeat them then who could.
"There has to be something we can do, right?" Neptune asked.
"We would only get in the way," Damian answered.
"But we can't just sit here and do nothing except guard these guys!" Blake argued, pointing out their tied-up enemies.
"Well, waiting may be a good idea because Ironwood is heading this way with his new toys that have the technology of those Tuffle guys it may just give us the edge in this battle," Qrow stated.
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. It could help us." Jaune agreed.
"I don't like the idea of someone controlling an army that can use power. Jason, Evan, and Elias have." Yatsuhashi fretted.
"I don't like it either, but at the moment, I'm glad he has it," Qrow replied.
"What I wouldn't give to get my hands on one of those." Watts mused.
"You'll never get the chance traitor," Qrow said.
"I hate waiting I just wish we could help them!" Yang complained.
"I agree I can't just sit here and wait if our friends may be dying out there!" Blake agreed.
"Even though they're stronger than us, I also want to help even though my senses are screaming at me to run," Damian said, getting up.
"There is still the high probability that we'll die." Alex pointed out.
"We know, but we can't just hide like this," Ruby replied.
"In that case, we should split up in groups half go out to help, and the other half stays here and guards the prisoners," Damian suggested.
Upon agreeing to this, everyone decided who was going where, and it was decided that Ruby, Yang, Pyrrha, Jaune, Coco, Velvet, Sun, Neptune, Amber, and Neo would go to help while the others stayed. They carefully moved through the dorms and then outside as Amber and Neo led them to the others who were at the food court.
The group decided to help with Evan and Elias first, seeing as there was little to nothing they could to against Cooler. Once they arrived, they were met with the sight of Evan and Elias fighting off Cooler's men.
"Is that all you've got pal I'm sort of disappointed." Evan boasted as he punched away Salza.
"Go cook yourself an egg, human!" Salza replied as he blasted a large beam at Evan who swatted away.
"Okay, I have to ask what's with the accent?" Evan questioned.
"Excuse me?" Salza asked.
"What…is with…the accent." Evan slowly asked.
"I'm from Space France. Is that a problem!?" Salza answered.
"No, but what the hell is Space France, and why call it Space France does that mean there is a regular France?" Evan questioned.
"Of course as well as Space Australia and Space Germany, but no one goes to Space Germany anymore since Space Hitler took over," Salza explained.
"But why do you always specify Space, you know what I don't care," Evan replied as he slammed his fist into Salza's stomach. With Elias, he was easily smacking around the other two henchmen seeing that his power level was higher than theirs.
"What the hell we can't hit this guy!" Neiz shouted.
"I can't even get a proper reading on his power level!" Dore yelled as his scouter exploded.
"Sorry, I don't have time to mess around here, so I'm ending this fight here and now!" Elias declared as he charged balls of energy in both of his hands.
"Whirlwind Flash!" Elias yelled as he spun around and obliterated the two fighters.
"I don't think they needed our help." Coco deadpanned as she saw Elias and Evan fight their opponents with ease.
"You can never be too sure," Ruby commented.
"We're just here to make sure they are okay and, if possible, help if they need it, such as if they can't fight," Amber explained.
"Evan, do you need my help, or do you have it covered?" Elias asked.
"Yeah, I got it," Evan answered as he elbowed Salza into the ground.
"Don't underestimate me, pest!" Salza retaliated. He blasted a fully powered blast at Evan, who countered with one of his own, causing a beam struggle. But soon, Evan's began to overpower Salza's pushing it back until he obliterated Salza.
"Alright done with those losers," Evan said as he and Elias touched down.
"Yeah, with a power level under 200,000, they weren't a challenge." Elias agreed.
"Nice job, guys!" Sun complimented as they approached the two.
"But did you have to kill them?" Velvet questioned.
"It was necessary, yes, but what are you guys doing here it's dangerous?" Elias asked.
"We wanted to help, we couldn't just sit around and do nothing while you guys fight," Yang explained.
"But we're going to help Jason fight this Cooler the best thing you guys can do for the moment is to sit back and watch for an opening to attack just in case," Evan explained.
"Fine, but if we can help in any other way, then we will," Sun replied.
"Understood now, let's….HIT THE DECK!" Elias screamed as he and Evan pushed the others out of the way. The building they were next to exploded, and Jason flew from the smoke and hit the ground hard battered and bruised. Neo ran to his side as Evan and Elias faced Cooler as he calmly walked through the smoke.
"What are you doing here?" Jason asked.
"We came to help," Neo answered.
"I see you killed my elite soldiers well I wouldn't say I'm too surprised, but I never needed them here to kill you all anyway." Cooler stated.
"How you holding up, buddy?" Evan asked.
"Not good I can barely move as it is, he's too strong," Jason answered.
"You guys get Jason to safety to rest up for a while, Evan, and I will fight Cooler in the meantime," Elias ordered. With some kind of plan in play, they grabbed onto Jason and ran off to go back to the others while Evan and Elias blocked Cooler.
"Do you believe fighting against me is going to go any better than it did when the Saiyan was fighting me?" Cooler questioned.
"Probably not, but we don't have much of a choice you're planning on killing my friend then everyone else on the planet, and we are not going to let that happen," Evan answered.
The two charged at Cooler going full power right off the bat, knowing that they couldn't hold anything back against their enemy. While Evan couldn't land a clean hit on Cooler, and when he did manage to get one in it did little against Cooler, Elias hit him several times.
The double team kept Cooler on the defensive, but it didn't last for long as Cooler spun around and smacked them away. He shot several blasts at the two of them, greatly injuring them, but they shook it off though Evan took a while.
They reengaged Cooler with Elias kneeing him into the Haven's Main Hall, which at the moment was just a shell of its former self. Evan provided ranged support shooting a barrage of blasts at Cooler who shrugged them off but was caught off guard when Elias kicked him in the head, sending him flying away from them.
"Jason wasn't lying when he said this guy is strong," Evan commented as he landed next to Elias.
"Yeah, but one advantage we have is that he doesn't seem able to sense energy." Elias pointed out.
"We can't take him lightly though we should stay on guard," Evan said. Just as he said, this Cooler returned kicking Evan in the face sending him through one of the many holes in the walls.
"You were saying?" Elias asked as he caught Evan.
"I don't want to talk about it," Evan responded as they flew over to Cooler.
This time as they tried to hit the tyrant, they were both unable to land a blow as he dodged their attacks. Then Cooler made two balls of Ki in his hands, slamming them in both Evan and Elias's chests as he blasted them away. Cooler chased after Evan elbowing him into the ground and flipped over an attack from Elias kicking him away.
"So far, you both are proving less of a challenge than the Saiyan is that all you've got?" Cooler questioned.
"The battle's only just begun, pal!" Elias replied, shooting a large beam at Cooler, who kicked it away.
But as he kicked the attack away, he was surprised when Elias appeared in front of him, getting a clean hit to Cooler's face. Elias then followed up by kicking him into the main hall and throwing several energy blasts at him.
Cooler easily swatted the blasts away but was taken by surprise when a massive Ki blast came from underneath him, sending him hurling into the air. From below, Evan flew out of the new hole as Elias hammered Cooler down to him, and Evan kicked him into the courtyard.
The two of them charged forward and punched Cooler in the gut together, but he grabbed onto their arms and spun around, throwing them away. Then using speeds too fast for either fighter to see, he appeared in front of Evan, slamming his fist into him, causing Evan to cough up blood then proceeded to throw him into Elias. The two landed into the main building busting through several classrooms.
"I don't think I can continue fighting this guy. He's too strong for me." Evan coughed as Elias helped him to his feet.
"We can't stop fighting now. The world is at stake." Elias said.
"I feel like every time we fight an opponent like this, the world is always at stake," Evan complained.
"Well, to be fair, this has only happened twice," Elias commented.
"Yeah, but that still counts as every time," Evan replied.
Cooler entered the room they were in and elbowed Elias through the wall and backhanded Evan through the roof. Once the two recovered, they shot large Ki blasts at Cooler, who caught both in his hands though it pushed him through the building, tearing it the section they made impact with apart.
Both then sped right at Cooler once their attacks finished for another combined strike, but he flew up, avoiding the attack entirely. Cooler then blasted them with a giant ball of Ki, sending them into the ground once more.
"It seems the people of this planet don't know when to quit." Cooler commented as he flew after the two fighters. With the others, they rejoined the guard group placing Jason on a nearby bed.
"Is he okay?" Blake asked.
"I'm not dead," Jason responded.
"But at the moment, he's out of commission." Yang finished as Neo sat next to Jason.
"What about the others?" Ren asked.
"Evan and Elias took out the people they were fighting and are now fighting Cooler in Jason's place," Amber answered.
"Sounds like fun." Tyrian laughed as he fiddled with his binds. Qrow simply punched him in the head, causing it to hit the wall.
"Knock it off," Qrow ordered.
"Seems like things aren't going well for you guess we won't be detained for too long." Watts boasted.
"You do realize if we lose here, that thing will come to kill you next, right?" Qrow questioned, causing Watts to look away grunting.
During this time of arguments and planning, no one noticed as Raven took out a concealed knife and began to cut off her restraints. Once she finished, she went to cut off Vernal's bindings, but the girl shook her head.
"Go and get the relic," Vernal whispered.
Raven nodded and proceed to sneak out of the room, and once she was out, she ran full speed to get out of the building. However, her escape did not go unnoticed as Qrow looked out the door seeing his sister flee.
"Dammit, Raven's getting away!" Qrow yelled.
"I'll go after her!" Yang volunteered as she ran after her mother.
"I'll join her," Amber said as she joined Yang.
"Great, why can't things be simple?" Nora complained. As she said this, Jason began to cough up blood, causing everyone to panic.
"Shit, he must be bleeding internally!" Damian pointed out.
"What are we supposed to do?!" Ruby asked.
"He needs a doctor," Alex answered.
"With how badly he's injured, we can't get him to a doctor," Damian argued.
Neo began to tear up. It seems as though Jason was going to die, and she didn't know how to handle losing another person important to her. As they debated on what they should do to save Jason, the entire building shook as an explosion occurred outside.
"This just isn't our day," Damian complained as he looked out the window.
"What's wrong now?" Pyrrha asked.
"It looks like Elias and Evan are losing the fight against Cooler," Damian answered.
"Dammit, we need Jason to fight again. There has to be something we can do!" Jaune shouted as he placed a hand on Jason's chest. As soon as he placed his hand on Jason, it began to glow as energy surrounded his body.
"Jaune, what are you doing?" Ren asked.
"I…I don't know," Jaune answered. Soon Jason stopped coughing as the color returned to his face, and his bruises slowly disappeared.
"You're healing him! You must have found your semblance!" Pyrrha exclaimed, giving her boyfriend a quick hug.
"I don't think I'm healing him but bringing back his power, and I think enhancing his natural healing process," Jaune explained. Not too long after Jason's eyes opened and he got up.
"Wow, I'm back to normal thanks, Jaune!" Jason exclaimed as he got up.
"Yeah, no problem," Jaune replied.
"Congrats on finding your semblance man, but we have to celebrate later. Evan and Elias need you, Jason." Damian said.
"Right, I'll try to get the fight back to outside the city, but if I can't, you may want to get away from Haven," Jason explained as he flew out the window. As he flew towards where he sensed Cooler, he took on his Primal State once more and noticed that he was far stronger than he was before.
"Not bad guess this is the Zenkai Boost Elias told me about." Jason smiled as he flew as fast as he could to aid his friends. When they came into view, Cooler was strangling the two of them in his hands. Jason kicked Cooler straight in the head, knocking him away and freeing his friends.
"Sorry I took so long how you guys doing?" Jason asked.
"I'm fine, but Evan probably needs some rest," Elias answered.
"Wait, more importantly, how are you all better you looked like you were on death's door when the others took you away?" Evan questioned.
"Jaune finally found his semblance he theorized that he was restoring my power and increasing the rate which my body healed itself," Jason explained.
"Sweet, that's a handy semblance," Evan commented.
"Are you going to have him heal you?" Elias asked.
"No, I just need a breather and join you guys in a minute, and I'd rather save his strength in case we need it later," Evan answered. As they finished talking, they had to split up to avoid a beam shot by Cooler as he returned.
"How the hell are you back on your feet, Saiyan? With the injuries I left you with, you shouldn't be back on your feet for months?!" Cooler questioned.
"It's nothing you need to concern yourself with," Jason responded as he charged at Cooler throwing a punch at him. Cooler countered with his own attack, the two colliding, but Cooler was still sent flying back as Jason had put more power into his attack.
"Zenkai." Cooler growled. The area around him began to light up. Elias fired a Torrential Flash upon Cooler sending him through the mountain.
"We need to push him outside the city so we can reduce the damages to it," Jason stated.
"Alright, but I think that ship sailed with Haven Academy," Elias commented as they followed Cooler.
Jason and Elias got side to side as they kicked Cooler together in the gut. Cooler recovered quickly kneed Elias into the mountain as he smacked Jason into the sky and went on to follow him. He appeared above Jason and punched Jason back into Haven.
"I know you're trying to get me away from the city, but I will not let that happen. The threat of the deaths of the inhabitants here keep you from using everything you have against me." Cooler stated.
He looked down upon the city seeing the people looking towards Haven Academy ever since the attack started. Still, once the battle with Cooler started, the entire city was shaking, causing every soul there to waken frightened at what was happening as the night sky lit up. Cooler then sped towards Jason, preparing a ball of Ki to blast him open, increasing the amount of power he was using to compensate for Jason's increase in power.
But before he could hit Jason Elias blasted him with his own Ki attack, then Jason followed that up with another one once he got up. The two then flew parallel at Cooler, who shot several beams of energy at them of which they had to dodge or deflect. When they reached Cooler, both attacked him from a different side, but he managed to block the two attacks.
They proceeded to attack Cooler with a barrage of punches and kicks, which Cooler managed to block nearly all of them save a few that got through. Cooler interrupted their coordinated attack by shooting two lasers out of his eyes into Elias's chest, causing him to fall to the ground. He then turned his attention to Jason, hitting him with his tail causing him to crash into the dorms first floor.
"Shit, he's still holding back. We need to take him out before he even considers going all out." Jason said as he picked himself up.
He charged back into battle as Cooler was fighting off Elias tackling him and sending him back into the main hall. Following him, the two fighters were rejoined by Evan, who recovered enough to fight once more. They landed in the ruins of the main hall and faced Cooler, who looked at them despite his body having taken very little damage during the fight.
"Doesn't seem like we've done much," Evan commented.
"Something is better than nothing now that we're all here we hit him with everything!" Jason declared.
"Just come and try it!" Cooler dared.
Before anyone could make a move, Yang shot out from one of the many holes in the floor landing on the ground. Soon her mother followed not too long after with what seemed to be a lamp attached to her belt. Following them was Amber, who attacked Raven from behind, but Raven managed to block the attack.
"What the hell is going on here?!" Jason questioned, getting their attention. Realizing that they just stepped into the fight with Cooler, the three women were cautious with their next move.
"She was trying to take the relic," Yang answered, pointing at her mother.
"Really, after all, that's going on right now, you thought it was a good idea to get the relic now!?" Evan complained.
"It is." Raven shot back.
"Well, you're not taking it, Mom I am going to stop you." Yang declared.
"This is not the time for this!" Elias yelled.
"Whatever it is, I hope it was worth dying for." Cooler said as he shot a beam towards Yang, aiming to kill the girl.
Minutes Earlier….
"Great, she's going after the relic again," Yang complained as she and Amber chased her mother, who jumped down to the vault.
"Well, we have no choice but to follow her," Amber commented as they jumped in after her. Once they landed at the bottom of the shaft, they were immediately attacked by Raven, who was expecting them. Amber blocked Raven's attack with her staff as Yang punched her mother away.
"You're seriously still trying to take the relic with all that's happening right now?" Yang questioned.
"I'll need it now more than ever Yang after hearing about the overwhelming strength of this Cooler person, and by the way, he talked he's not the only one this strong out there, and I will do everything I can to protect the tribe," Raven explained as she used the power of the spring maiden.
"Guess that's all you care about." Yang insulted.
Raven looked on at her daughter, almost sad at those words, but she shook her head and readied for battle. The three women began to fight all around the vault room, with Amber taking the front of the battle, having to clash with the maiden powers while Yang took every opportunity to attack her mother.
Amber used the power of the Fall Maiden to freeze the ground at Raven's feet, trapping her, but Raven countered with the power of the spring maiden to unfreeze her feet. Raven was blindsided, however, by Yang coming from above, hitting her in the head.
In retaliation, Raven put her sword in her holster, changing the dust cartridges and selected ice using it like Amber to trap both her daughter and the Amber in ice. Using this chance, Raven walked over to the broken remains of the vault door, attempting to open it. However, when she placed her hand on the door, nothing happened, and it remained shut. She tried again and again, growing angry and, at the same time, frightened.
"This can't be happening I can't have come all this way for the relic to be locked away forever because of a broken door!" Raven thought.
Behind her, Amber was slowly making her way out of the ice melting it, and once she was out, she began to work on Yang. Raven slammed her fist on the door, furious that everything she had done that day was for nothing.
As she looked up to the top of the broken door, she noticed a faint glow from behind going to investigate. Once she got to the other side, she saw what she had been looking for. The relic of knowledge sat in the rubble of the broken doors.
"It must have immediately returned here once the door was broken, having the connection between this world and the one where the relic was being broken." Raven theorized as she picked up the large lamp. Once she picked it up, it shrunk in size until it was small enough to fit on her belt.
When she returned to the front of the broken vault door, she was met by Amber and Yang, who were no longer frozen and ready to fight her again. Amber took the lead once again, clashing with Raven sword against staff as Yang shot bullets from a distance.
Using a powerful gust of wind, Amber shoved Raven into the door as Yang went in to and hit her mother with several punches. But Raven sent her away with a swipe from her sword then charged at both her and Amber attacking the two several times.
Raven went to stab Amber, but she was hit away by Yang, and the two stared down one another. "Just get out of my way, Yang I'd rather not have to hurt you," Raven begged.
"Really because earlier when Evan and I were fighting you, it seemed like you were so ready to kill me." Yang objected.
"Why even bother pretending that you cared for me because if you really did, you would never have left," Yang argued as she attacked Raven.
Raven blocked most of Yang's attacks but managed to shake her off soon after. Amber surprised Raven by attacking her from behind as she and Yang worked together to push her back. Getting fed up with this fight, Raven used the power of the Spring Maiden to push Yang away.
Yang jumped to attack her from above, but Raven used wind to push her through one of the many giant holes in the ceiling. Raven then followed after her with Amber going after Raven in turn. Once they arrived at the top of the hole back to the main hall, they were met with the sight of Cooler fighting against Jason, Evan, and Elias.
Raven stood stock still though she could not feel the energy she could tell the difference of power by Cooler's very presence. She considered using a portal to grab Vernal and escape with the relic, but once she saw Cooler shoot at Yang, she knew that wasn't going to happen. Yang couldn't move as she watched the beam shot by Cooler approach her seeing her life flash before her eyes.
Yang had no way to escape the beam as she fully believed that she was about to die as time seemed to slow to a still until she felt someone push her out of the way at a high speed. She hit the floor safe and looked at who had saved her, but as she looked, she was met with the sight of her mother taking her place, having Cooler's attack pierce her heart. Raven fell to the ground, barely clinging to life as Yang went to her side.
"Why, why would you do that for me?" Yang questioned.
"Because a mother has to protect her daughter." Raven began surprising Yang.
"I'm sorry I was never there for you, Yang, but I never stopped caring." Raven apologized.
"If you really cared, then you won't die and come back with me," Yang said as tears began to well up in her eyes. She believed that her mother never cared about her when she left, but knowing that she really did made it hurt, knowing that she was dying in front of her.
"It makes me happy that you turned out better than I did. So I'm glad that for the moment, you're saf…." Raven began but never finished as she passed away with Yang holding her hand.
"Mom?" Yang inquired.
"Oh well, it wasn't the one I aimed for, but another one bites the dust." Cooler commented as he prepared to fire again.
Before he could fire, Jason got in front of him, punching him away so that he could not attempt to kill Yang or Amber. Yang couldn't believe what just happened. Her mother, whom she had been searching for a good portion of her life. She had just died in front of her sacrificing her life to protect her. As she looked down upon her mother, her body began to glow as a strange energy came out of Raven and went into Yang.
Her eyes became red as aura of the same color surrounded them as she turned to face Cooler furious about what he had done. She charged forward, blasting several firebolts at Cooler, taking him and Jason by surprise as she assaulted him with the power of the spring maiden.
"What's going on?!" Evan questioned.
"Yang's mother was the spring maiden." Amber began as she picked up the relic of knowledge.
"When a maiden dies, their power moves on to another young woman at random or whoever was in that person's last thoughts." Amber finished.
"So that means Yang is the new Spring Maiden," Evan said.
"That's right," Amber confirmed. Yang continued attacking Cooler relentlessly, but he was unfazed by her attacks as he grabbed her right arm, stopping her punch.
"Sorry, but I am not a fan of these love taps." Cooler insulted as he shattered Yang's prosthetic arm. Before he could hit Yang, Evan flew in and grabbed her as Elias kicked Cooler away.
"Let me go I have to kill him!" Yang demanded.
"How? You may be the spring maiden now, but you're no match for the guy trust me. I know how hard this guy hits, and it's not fun, plus you only have one arm again. I know you're angry, but your mom sacrificed her life so that you can live don't throw that sacrifice away for revenge." Evan replied. Tears began to form in her eyes as she began to cry as Evan put her down.
"Thanks, I needed that," Yang said.
"That's the second time you've said that to me I feel like I deserve a reward." Evan joked.
"You're in the middle of a life and death battle, and you are making jokes." Yang laughed.
"What can I say," Evan replied as Yang pulled him into a kiss.
"Once this is over, let's call the visit to the club our first date," Yang said, giving him a wink.
"I like the sound of that." Evan smiled as he turned around to join Jason and Elias.
"You and Amber rejoin the others and tell them the current situation we probably won't be able to get Cooler away from the academy. In fact, he seems adamant about keeping it here, so tell the others to get far from the school." Evan added. Yang nodded as she and Amber with the relic in tow went to rejoin the others as Evan rejoined with Jason and Elias in fighting Cooler.
"Good to see you're still able to fight." Jason teased as Evan kicked at Cooler.
"Well, Yang needed a little convincing to stop fighting," Evan replied.
"Does that include kissing her?" Elias asked.
"Yeah, that was great." Evan smiled as he dodged an attack from Cooler.
The three fighters began to begin a coordinated assault on Cooler wanting to finish him off before he could cause any more damage and death to this world. However, that proved easier said than done as Cooler shrugged off most of their attacks as he threw them around.
He elbowed Jason through a hole and into the ruins of the food court as he wrapped his tail around Elias's neck, tossing him back into the ground. With Evan, he was blasted far off into the city though he just barely managed to stop his momentum before he hit a building.
"Okay, I really wish I had that power boost from being beaten up like Jason," Evan complained as he flew back towards Cooler.
Haven Dorms…
Yang and Amber burst into the dorms surprising everyone there at their sudden appearance and the fact that they had the relic in their hands. "Yang, are you okay?" Ruby questioned, noticing that her sister no longer had her prosthetic arm.
"I'm fine but…" Yang began but couldn't finish.
"Where's Raven?" Qrow asked.
"She's dead, Cooler killed her," Amber answered.
"YOU'RE LYING!" Vernal shouted.
"SHE CAN'T BE DEAD!" Vernal continued.
"She's dead, okay. She took an attack meant for me." Yang yelled. Everyone stared at Yang, astonished at what she had said with Qrow putting a hand on her shoulder.
"How you holding up, kid?" Qrow asked.
"Okay, I guess I just would like to not talk about for now," Yang answered.
"We need to leave though hiding out here isn't going to work Evan said that they can't get Cooler out of the city, so they are going to keep him at Haven," Amber said.
"Are you sure we can't help?" Nora asked.
"Cooler just crushed my prosthetic arm like it was made of butter, so I don't think there is much we could do," Yang answered.
They all began to prepare to leave, making sure their prisoners were secured and wouldn't be able to escape as they left the dorms and headed to the docks to see if a bullhead remained. To their relief, one bullhead remained, but before they could get to it, the ground beneath them broke apart, and several members of the group fell down into a small pit, and the others attempted to save them.
The ones who had fallen were Amber, Damian, Ruby, Weiss, Ren, Pyrrha, Coco, Fox, Neptune, and Sun, and the others worked to help them. However, during this confusion, Salem's minions took this time to escape with Tyrian breaking loose from his bonds and setting Hazel, Watts, Emerald, and Mercury loose. He left Vernal tied up as he did not care what happened to the girl, and the minions of Salem went to steal the last remaining bullhead.
"Damn, they're getting away. I'll go after them. You guys stay here." Qrow ordered as he ran after them. He was too late, however, as they got into the bullhead and took off. Qrow attempted to shoot them down, but he had no clear shot on them.
"Now, what are we going to do?" Yang questioned as she approached Qrow.
"We can't scale down guess we're just going to have to play it safe and stay away from the battle, at least the relic is safe," Qrow answered.
"Yay back to hiding," Yang complained.
"Before we join the others, I have to ask you're the new Spring Maiden, aren't you Yang?" Qrow asked.
"Yeah, I am a lot good that did me though against Cooler," Yang responded.
"Well, you're not dead, so that's something." Qrow consoled as they rejoined the others.
"Guess it's back to hiding, huh?" Ruby asked as she was helped up.
"Yeah, thankfully, it's nearly morning, and Ironwood's ships should almost be here to help, and we'll need it if people start figuring out what's happening the fear and panic will cause Grimm to come," Qrow answered.
"It's like the Vytal Festival all over again." Velvet commented.
"I wouldn't say that the city is mostly intact," Pyrrha said.
"Yeah, but the fight has been burrowing through the mountain. It's probably making it unstable, I mean, the ground just broke under us." Weiss pointed out.
"She's got a point." Ruby agreed.
"Whatever the case, we should head back to the dorms and go to the basement, it's the safest place we have at the moment," Qrow said as he picked up Vernal.
Bullhead…
Emerald looked out the window of the airship. She was in flying back to Salem's domain to report their failure. She was terrified at what her reaction would be, but at the moment, she was more terrified of the alien named Cooler that attacked the enemy when they were defeated. But her mind was far from that as she thought about what Elias had said to her.
"…you are just clinging to the first person who gave you the time of day…find people who will truly accept you and care for you…leave this life you live and start over…" Elias had said.
"Are you still hung up on not getting to avenge Cinder get over it we're going to have bigger problems soon," Mercury said.
"Just leave me alone." Emerald hissed. In one of the corners of the ship, Tyrian was crouched mumbling to himself, and it almost sounded like he was crying.
"What's his problem?" Mercury questioned.
"He gets like this when he fails a mission. He treats the mistress like a goddess, so he's terrified of failing her. He'd rather die." Hazel answered.
"Just don't approach him when he's like this, and you'll be fine," Hazel added.
"So, just like usual, got it," Mercury commented.
As everyone went back to silence, Emerald thought more and more on Elias's words thinking that he had a point. There was nothing for her to gain by serving Salem. The only thing she wanted when she joined her was avenging Cinder, but the words of Elias and Mercury spoke to her. Cinder never cared. She was just a tool for her, and she wanted more, and to do so, she had to leave.
She looked at the door to the ship and had an idea quickly she opened the door and hopped out before anyone could stop her falling to the ground below. Of course, being highly trained, she managed to land without injury as she ran in the opposite direction of the aircraft to begin anew.
"What the! What was she thinking?!" Mercury questioned as he looked out the open door.
"She must have been afraid of what Salem would do and run away no point in trying to catch deserters close the door," Hazel explained. Taking one last look at the ground below, Mercury obliged closing the door and leaving Emerald to her own devices.
Cooler is tossing our heroes around who themselves are fighting with all they can afford to use, and now Cooler has taken the life of Raven Branwen, making Yang Xiao Long the new spring maiden. Will our heroes have the strength to finish off Cooler and will Cooler claim any more lives? The Battle Continues Next Time!
Author's Note:
The first chapter of the fight with Cooler is done. I hope you guys enjoyed it. The next chapter may or may not be the end of the fight. It depends on if I'm going to make it a longer chapter like I did with Chapter 15. I do hope you guys like the idea of making Yang the new spring maiden by killing Raven honestly. I didn't plan on doing that when I was writing this chapter for it just came to me as I wrote it and I think it was a good decision.
As for Emerald leaving, I'm just going to say that's the last we'll be seeing of her, and her fate is open to interpretation, but if you guys want, I may write a what-if about her. Now to explain a few things so that I don't get questions about them just in case of Jaune's semblance, I slightly changed how it works for Jason though, for others, it remains the same.
For the fight against the Cooler's Armored Squadron, I know the fight was short, but that is because they were weaker than Elias and Evan, as stated, especially Elias. He could've fought all three alone, for I have him as strong as Jason in his Primal State (Before the Zenkai Boost in this chapter).
On the whole, Yang crying for her mother, I think that some may disagree about that because her mom abandoned her, but I think that actions speak better than words, so I think that her sacrifice and what she had said to Yang would cause her to shed some tears.
Finally, about the relic of knowledge appearing after the door was broken, I wanted to give a quick explanation on my thought process on this so that you can understand if you didn't. You see, I see the doors being gateways to a pocket dimension, and if broken, then that dimension is gone bringing the relic back to this world. Alright, that's all, see you guys next time!