RWBY||Return of the Riftwalker

Chapter 3: Broken Normalcy: Part 2

3rd Person POV

Outside Beacon City

"Scatter!" Sincline shouted, and his ship jerked up in a burst of speed as the other F-39s followed his lead... and not a second too soon. As they pulled up, the creature twitched, its armor snapping as its dark aura condensed around it... and it promptly disappeared in a burst of static. An explosion of debris erupted into the air as the creature rematerialized, fist pulverizing the ground where they had been. What the Hell is this thing?!

Its body jerking, the creature's eyes narrowed as it tore its clenched fist from the earth, trails of broken ground falling from its claws like blood as Quintessence from the impact site drained into its armor.

What the...? Sincline scanned the creature, and his eyes widened when he saw that the Raw Quintessence it was absorbing from the ground wasn't merging with it at all... it was disappearing. How is that possible? he wondered. He shook his head. He could figure that out later. Right now— "You five, pull back," he ordered, glancing at the F-39 fighters. "I'm not sure what this thing is, but it's stronger than any Grimm we've faced."

"But—" Whatever Viper was going to say was cut short as a blur of black metal surrounded by ominous black mist flashed through the air... and split Viper's F-39 Thunderhawk in half. For a moment, all was still... and then the ship was ripped apart in a horrifying explosion.

Eyes wide as the flaming wreckage fell toward the ground, Sincline and the others could only stare in shock as the bladed tail slowly retracted and curled. The creature's head jerked, one gleaming eye briefly shining red with evil glee. "̵͎̀O̸̦̓n̷̮͝ḙ̴̓ ̶̝͛d̴͔̎o̷̻̔ẅ̴́͜n̵̲̆,̴̦̈́ ̵̝̿f̴͔̈i̶͉̍v̶͓̚e̶̼̽ ̵̧͋t̸͚͂o̸͈͑ ̶̰̈g̷̝̀ọ̸̈,̶͍̽"̷͕͐ ̴̯͘ it cackled, its multi-layered voice ringing.

Sincline glared at the creature, and his grip tightened on his controls. That thing... he could feel the rage surging through his veins, and his eyes glowed. "Iceman, Merlin, Jester, Goose... fall back." His ship ruptured, shattering into thousands of purple fragments.

Hovering midair, wind coursing through his hair as the broken particles swirled around him, Sincline glared at the creature as it looked up at him, its head jerking into an innocent tilt. Spreading his arms, Sincline summoned his armor. A flash of light, and within seconds, the transformation was complete, two shockwaves bursting from his body as he erupted into his original size and form. His eyes flashed, energy burning at the edges as he fixed his gaze on the monstrosity below.

"̵̰̽Y̸̤͝ö̷͎́u̴̗͝ ̸̝̊f̷̯͋i̴̯̓n̷̬͒a̶̱͗l̸͍͆l̵̢͝y̷͉̅ ̴̟͗s̵̛͇h̶̝̕ȏ̸̼w̷̗̓ ̴͔̒ý̵̪o̶̜̽u̶̩͋r̵͕̈́ ̴̧͝t̷̻̐r̸͎͆ṵ̶̌e̸̙̋ ̵̫̈́f̶͈͊o̵̰͠r̸̭͐m̷̻̔!̵̱̇"̷̤̀ ̴̣̕ The creature flickered and vanished in a burst of static. Reappearing behind Sincline, it let out a wild cackle as its talons flashed toward his exposed back... and that's when Sincline's tail slammed into its torso, knocking it away.

To Sincline's surprise, a shower of fragments tore free of its body and glowed, turning white before dissipating in a shower of blue particles.

A burst of static, and a clawed fist raked across Sincline's chest, throwing him backward as fragments of his armor flew into the air. It... it went through my Aura like it was nothing! Taking note that its claws were able to damage his armor, his eyes narrowed as he heard yet another burst of static. His thrusters flared, and he shot up, barely dodging a blur of dark armor and purple energy as he flipped over the creature's attack.