Rosetta struggled to keep up with Gryphon's murder fueled strikes. Every retaliatory strike she attempted was countered, blocked, or evaded entirely. She attempted to use her semblance to blow him away like before, but he only slid back slightly before rushing in again with even more ferocity.
In a act of desperation, Rosetta pushed both of her hands out in front of her and arcs of lightning shot from her hands. They hit Gryphon, causing him to spasm for a moment before he slowly regained himself and put a hand out in front of him.
The lightning focused on his hand as if it were a lightning rod. He reared his free hand back and mimicked her movement, except a single bolt of lightning came out with a ferocious boom of thunder that sent her flying onto her back unconscious. For good measure, he whipped around and unleashed his Arc Lightning on the downed Striker which has effectively crippled the machine.
Gryphon opens his palm and Riven appears. She observes the surroundings before floating over to inspect Rosetta.
Riven: All that power from an organic semblance.
Gryphon: She was able to cut past my wards. If she was committed to her cause she would have at least hurt me.
Riven: Are you planning to spare her?
Gryphon's chest heaved as he looked at the White Fang Lieutenant. His gaze turned to the devastation occurring across the city.
Gryphon: Riven. I think it's time we brought Project Dawnbringer to fruition.
His Ghost slowly turned to him with shock.
|>—>—>—>-<—<—<—<|
The students chose to split into their respective teams to search the city while CBS divided to spread their search area. Nix and Lux remained together while Imperia and Shae went off in their own separate paths.
Following Imperia, she carries her shield as she runs down a burning street looking for survivors. She comes to a stop in the middle of an intersection. She turns in the direction of a scream to see several alpha beowolves next to a larger Grimm.
As she blinks, a memory flashes through the darkness. That same Grimm destroying an entire kingdom on it's own.
Her normally purple eyes opened to reveal a pristine silver and her voice become someone else's.
Imperia?: Hmph. I figured you'd return.
Her shield transformed into an Anti-Tank Rifle and she fired a shell into the large Grimm's back. It turned to face her, revealing it's monstrous features.
Imperia?: Oh, I have your attention now? Good.
She suddenly stabs the gun's barrel into the ground before her body becomes shrouded in a royal purple aura.
Imperia?: Queen of Vale, Juno Byzantium, demands a tiebreaker!
In a surprising display of intelligence, the Grimm Demon points at Juno and two alphas rush her. A smirk slides onto her face as she starts forward without a shred of fear, her eyes beginning to shine brightly. As Gilgamesh revs up to full power they radiate a silver flame-like essence. The first alpha beowolf pounces at her and is caught by it's neck. Juno crushed the monster's throat with brute strength.
The second alpha was caught by the bone mask with only one hand. She secures her foot on it's shoulder and tears the head from the beowolf's body, turning it to dust as well. The Demon roars and the rest of the Beowolves ran together at Juno. Juno's power focuses into her eyes before unleashing silver beams from her eyes that annihilate the assaulting Grimm, leaving only her and the Grimm Demon.
The Demon lumbers forward with decent speed and Juno begins sprinting as well. Their fists collide in the center, creating a large shockwave.
|>—>—>—>-<—<—<—<|
Shae cleaned blood from her blade, Vixen's Wraith.
White Fang bodies littered the area around her, her eyes gazed upon them soullessly and without remorse. One heavily injured member attempts to crawl away only for her to appear in front of him and grab him by the hair.
Shae: The woman with the Nevermore mask. Where.
WFM: N-Nevermore mask? There's no such thing!
Shae pulls her weapon back to strike, causing him to panic.
WFM: No! no! wait! I swear I'm telling the truth! I've never seen anyone with a Nevermore mask before!
Detecting the sincerity in his voice, Shae let his hair go and walked away without a word.
Before she could get far, a machine dropped down in front of her with it's back to her. It was an aerial variant of the White Fang Strikers.
She was about to use her Semblance to disappear until an armored figure dropped on top of the machine and tore a green power core out of the mech. The figure punches the machine, causing arcs of lightning to spread across the mech repeatedly.
The figure jumps from the mech as the mech's operator ejects. The figure walks over to Shae before removing the helmet to reveal Gryphon.
Gryphon: You alright?
Shae: I-
Gryphon: Hold that thought.
Gryphon turns around and casts Bulwark before holding it in front of him, creating a large wall of orange energy. The Striker's reactor explodes, but Gryphon's wall of light shields them both.
The wall falls and the shield disappears. He turns back to a awestruck Shae.
Gryphon: Anyway, you were saying?
Shae: Uh...my team spread out to find Skylar, she's missing.
Gryphon: In all this? Alright, I'll keep an eye out. What will you do?
Shae: I'll need to keep giving the White Fang a rough time. They won't destroy Vale, even if Beacon is crushed by Amity. After that, I'll find a shuttle and get out.
Gryphon and Shae go their separate ways amid the chaos.
|>—>—>—>-<—<—<—<|
In the middle of Vale's Central Park, the students stand prepared to fight the White Fang Striker that is charging toward them. However, electricity arcs across it and it suddenly powers down, collapsing and sliding to a stop in front of them.
Sun: Hm. That went better than expected.
Weiss doubles over, exhausted, leaning on Myrtenaster to keep herself standing. Ruby slumps down on a fallen tree.
Yang: Ruby! Weiss! You're okay!
From the other side of the park, Yang sprinted over.
Ruby: Yang!
Yang: Have either of you see Blake?
Ruby: She went after an Alpha...and some members of the White Fang.
She pointed in the direction of a Mall that wasn't very far away.
Yang: Alright, I'll meet up with her and bring her back here.
Yang hurries off in the direction that Ruby pointed, while them gives a thumbs up.
|>—>—>—>-<—<—<—<|
Adam broke their bladelock and kicked Blake back.
Adam: This could've been our day! Can't you see that!?
Blake: I never wanted this! I wanted equality! I wanted peace!
She raises her sword, its blade folding into sickle mode, and shoots at Adam, who blocks both bullets with his sword.
Adam: What you want is impossible!
He sheathes his sword and backhands Blake across her face, knocking her over.
Adam: But I understand because all I want is you, Blake.
She begins to raise her sickle again, only for him to kick it out of her hand, knocking her over once again.
Adam: I tried moving on, really I did, but you never feared me. Not like she does. But you refuse to return to me, so I'll destroy everything you have until I'm all that's left.
Yang: Blake!
Yang's voice draws their attention to one of the broken windows. She soon comes into view and shoots a White Fang member, before looking around for her teammate.
Yang: Blake! Where are you!?
Adam looks at Blake to see her terrified expression, then returns his gaze to Yang.
Adam: Starting with her.
Adam draws his sword and stabs it into Blake's abdomen near her left hip, causing her to shriek in pain. The cry catches Yang's attention.
Yang: Huh?
Adam stands upright, pulling his sword from Blake's flesh and turning to face Yang.
Yang: Get away from her!
|>—>—>30 mins later<—<—<|
Ruby uses her Petal Burst to disorient a Striker before Weiss encases it in ice. Ruby arrives in a swarm of rose petals next to her.
Ruby: Yang's been gone for a while.
Weiss sees the worry on her face and sighs.
Weiss: Go get them. We'll handle things until you get back.
Ruby nodded resolutely and bursting into a stream of petals towards the Mall.
|>—>—>—>-<—<—<—<|
Nix and Lux were surrounded by White Fang members led by a large Titan Striker.
Nix couldn't see any way out that wasn't littered with Grimm or covered in rubble. She could see Amity now forcing Beacon Tower to lean for more than when they were near the Academy. She looked back to see Lux shaking terribly. Then, she heard a voice. The voice from her dream.
"All you need do, is ask for the power."
So she asked. And she received.
Her dark shadows became tendrils of violet energy that curled around them both. The orb of darkness grew and grew...before a monstrous purple dragon tore it's way out and unleashed a beam of purple magic from it's skeletal maw, turning the White Fang into dust. Lux was unconscious in it's grasp as it flew out of sight.
|>—>—>—>-<—<—<—<|
Ruby arrived in the Mall's cafeteria to the sounds of gunfire. There she spotted Yang attacking Adam with all she had while he dodged her attacks like they were nothing. Adam spotted her out of the corner of his eye and smiled.
Ruby: Yang!
Yang stopped her assault and looked bewildered at her sister's arrival.
Yang: Ruby?! What are you-
*SLAAAAASH!*
Yang stands frozen as her Aura disappears. A crimson line slowly spreads across her stomach before she falls forward, revealing the murderous smile on Adam's face.
Ruby's horror only grew the longer she stared. She watched her sister's hair slowly becoming more stained by the growing pool of blood. Her eyes began to shine blindingly brightly until wings of light expanded from the edges of her eyes as she screamed in anguish.
|>—>—>—>-<—<—<—<|
Skylar watched as Roman and Neo brought evacuating people aboard her ship. She winced at the blinding flash that came from the center of the city, shooting a beacon of white light into the sky.
At that moment, Beacon was crushed by Amity arena as it crashed into the cliff.
|>—>—>—>-<—<—<—<|
Gryphon sat the restrained Rosetta in the Solpiercer's cargo bay before feeling a strange pang in his heart.
Squinting in confusion, he turned towards the burning city. As he did, a pillar of blinding light shot up from the center of it and his eyes widened.
Gryphon: No...
|>—>—>—>-<—<—<—<|
-NPR were boarding an evacuation shuttle with Shae when the bright flash of light happened behind them. They watched as the academy disappeared under the falling arena with disbelief in their eyes.
What they have seen will mark them forever.
|>—>—>—>-<—<—<—<|
(How was it? Felt all over the place to me.)