RWBY||Return of the Riftwalker

Chapter 4: Broken Normalcy: Part 3

3rd Person POV

Beacon Control Room

"SINCLINE!" Ruby screamed, staring in horror as her boyfriend fell to his knees, copious amounts of Corrupted Quintessence spilling from Sincline's chest onto the ground.

"Weapon status!" Ironwood shouted, fighting back every emotion he had as he watched Sincline, their Defender, fall to his knees.

"The Particle Barrier just came back online," Winter replied, her tone filled with ice as the room temperature dropped. Qrow, after a moment of hesitation, placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to calm and the temperature to rise... somewhat. "All weapons are ready, and our Supercarriers are standing by."

"Raise the Particle Barrier!" Ironwood ordered, glaring at the creature in the distance as it stood above Sincline. "Charge all weapons and open fire!"

Beacon City

A low hum filling the air, the Particle Barrier rose above the city once more, creating a brilliant dome of shimmering energy panels. Several panels dematerialized as energy crackled across the barrels of the railguns. The entire city seemed to glow as hundreds of Fusion Dust rounds tore through the air. At the same time, all the Assault Supercarriers opened fire with their full batteries, raining Fusion Dust rounds on the creature.

As one, all the attacks connected, and a brilliant explosion rocked the forest, burning it to the ground as a column of debris and smoke erupted into the air. The resulting shockwave flattened the surrounding landscape as a horrific shriek rent the air.

For a moment, all was still. Eventually, the smoke cleared, revealing the creature to be completely unharmed. Its wings were tented around it, acting as a shield. Its wings flexed, dark plates grating against each other as it tilted its head, fixing its gaze on Beacon city. "̴̤̀T̴̢̛ḧ̴́ͅả̷̰t̶̖̏ ̸̮̅ḧ̵̭́ų̶̃r̶͈̒t̴̟̚.̴̖͆"̴̻͋ It giggled. "̶̝͋M̶͕̾y̷̧̛ ̵̝̎t̴̜́u̷̱̍r̷̢̍n̷̹͂~̵̥̓"̸̹̚

Its left arm turning back into a clawed hand, the creature raised its arm, and a sphere of golden energy formed above its palm. Before it could fire, three missiles struck its torso and erupted, each blast unleashing a burst of gravity Fusion Dust. It staggered. "̶̦͋W̷̯͝h̵̦̋ạ̸̓t̷͖̓ ̴̺̏t̵̨͊h̶̛͎é̶̬—̵͎̚?̸̺̚!̸̧̄"̸͔́

"That was for Viper, you bastard!" Iceman pulled the trigger, and two lightning missiles took flight, striking the creature's neck while Goose and Jester dove, raining Fusion Dust rounds on the backs of the creature's legs while Merlin arched toward the creature's wing. The missiles connected, slamming into the creature's spine and unleashing a surge of electricity across its armor.

"We're coming in," Goose shouted as he and Jester pulled up, launching a pair of ice missiles toward the creature's extended arm. "Covering fire!"

Jester launched a missile, and it streaked toward the creature's extended hand. It struck, and the resulting blast of pure force and reversed gravity knocked its arm to the side just as it fired. The golden beam blurred, missing the Particle Barrier by mere centimeters.

"Yeah, we did it!" Jester cheered, pumping a fist. "We—" A blur of dark steel, and one of the creature's tails split his craft in half. For a moment, all was still. A flash of light, and his ship erupted.

"Jester!" Goose shouted, rage in his eyes. "Everyone! Fire Corrosive Warheads!"

As one, the remaining three fighters took aim, and each fired a single eight-meter-long missile. Streaking through the air, the three Corrosive Warheads hit, and three massive spheres of hexagonal energy panels erupted across the creature's back. Contained within each sphere, a spatial anomaly expanded, grating against the creature's armor as everything within the spheres was consumed. After several seconds, the spheres collapsed... leaving the creature undamaged.