"Demonic Speed (Super Sonic), Empowered By Wind, Air Walk" as the sudden boost of speed accompanied his body once more, (Y/N) nearly soundlessly stepped on his platform of solidified air. Shooting his way across the smoldering vacant desert with extreme speed.
He had been running for what felt like years, but in reality, it could have been minutes. His acute senses that were once so active now took a back seat to the chaos that reigned supreme within his mind. Though he ran faster than he had ever ran in his entire life, somehow someway it was still too slow, but still he ran.
The sun had risen high above, and the vacant desert revealed absolutely nothing to him but golden grains of sand, strange creatures indigenous to this land, and the wavy heat radiating across the horizon that the Awakened One stared at impatiently. It only worked to remind him of how far he was away from his objective. Finding what, or who rather, he was looking for.
Fang left the White Fang camp immediately following the information he gathered from one of Adam's lieutenants, Saw Chain. It wasn't as if what the masked man had said was the worst thing in the world, however it was still the catalyst for what brought him to the current situation he found himself in.
It wasn't the information that made him roar in anguish, but the implication of it that forced him into a state of panic. "When I arrived at the camp the central tent was completely empty" the man thought for what felt like the millionth time, replaying the events within his mind to find some sort of clarity on his predicament.
"Chairs were tipped over, water was spilled, and piled up sand had covered the fallen seats and table. No one had been in the room in a while." He stopped for a moment as he recounted the event, taking note that his analysis of the room's state matched the sequence of events that he had finished building in his mind.
"None of their Scrolls worked" he recalled, thinking of when he attempted to contact Adam and his other Lovers that were missing from the camp. "The lieutenant was outside the campgrounds alongside about twenty dead Faunus that came from the DFA. Saw then told me that the White Fang had been attacked by the Desert Faunus Alliance and that after they attacked: Adam, alongside Nix, Neyah, and Blake, went to go chase him down."
After finishing replaying the mental exchange he had with the chainsaw wielder, (Y/N)'s thought was immediately followed by another. "He told me that he wasn't given any orders from Adam, nor did he know where Anaya went!" The sudden thought roused a shout within his mind, causing him to lose control of the Skills he had active in that moment.
One moment he was running at an amazing speed, the next he was tumbling across the desert's heated sand like a skipped stone across water. "Shit!" He howled as he quickly regained his footing in the arid environment. Without wasting another moment, he grit and grinded his fangs together as he growled, "Air Walk!" At his command his skill reactivated, creating his solidified foothold for his top speed to be achieved yet again.
Once (Y/N) gained a solid foothold and his all-out sprint began once more, the words that were formerly confined to his inner thoughts began expelling into the void of life that was the Vacuo desert. "According to the lieutenant the White Fang was attacked, and therefore betrayed by, the Desert Faunus Alliance. Meaning that the Reese guy that Anaya and Adam were talking about is a 'bad guy' that's siding with Cinder" he figured.
"Presumably, Adam, Nix, Neyah, Blake, and ANAYA were in such a rush to defend the camp that they left the central tent in disarray—although it was clear that some kind of scuffle happened inside the tent—went outside the borders of the camp, brutally killed almost everyone that attacked them—even though Adam believes in a peaceful death for all Faunus—and then after all that proceeded to CHOOSE to chase down Reese—in spite of the fact the main goal the ENTIRE time was defense not offense."
Pausing for a moment he then followed with, "with Anaya, the Summer Maiden."
After forcefully spreading his cracking lips into a sickening smile he then added, "all the while all of their Scrolls suddenly stopped working." Following the events, he laid out for himself both aloud and in his mind the Faunus nodded to himself.
"Great" he concluded. "What a believable sequence of events spoken perfectly by a man named Saw Chain. Who would've thought." He managed to force a chuckle out of his cracked lips.
(Y/N)'s words paused for a moment as he focused on his running again, an active attempt to cool himself down to prevent taking another spill into the sand. "That means that everything is just fine. Anaya's just tagged along and isn't in any danger, Adam didn't suddenly turn into a homicidal maniac for some reason and is just trying to defend the White Fang via attacking the DFA, and the twins plus Blake are in absolutely no trouble what-so-ever since they just so happened to forget/destroy their Scrolls."
"Oh yeah! That's not even including the fact that the Desert Walkers' guy Nasty Peach, a tribe who also was working with Cinder, said that he was supposed to kidnap Anaya for some reason. Cool." For a moment he actually believed in the words he spoke, managing to suspend his disbelief and allowing the evidence to slip out of his mind as if his brain had suddenly smoothed over.
For whatever reason, this comment brought an unnaturally bright smile to Fang's appearance covered face. The smile shined brightly until it suddenly turned sinister, immediately being followed by a highly unbelievable statement. "Everything is just fine and fucking dandy!" (Y/N) shouted the normally joyful phrase with seething anger. As he did so he stopped himself dead in his tracks, his feet falling deep into the sand with the disappearance of his Skills.
The perfect scenario instantly came crashing down.
The ignorance of traveling blindingly towards a conflict with an easy solution shattered with a single logical thought.
Without conscious effort, (Y/N) began tearing apart the ignorance and filled them with truth. "The White Fang camp was fuckin disordered! The state of the damn room was like everybody left in a panic which was confirmed by the dumbass lieutenant! They didn't leave in a panic because someone attacked, they left in a panic because someone was trying to fucking leave!"
His snarling growls continued with, "Not only did Adam, of all people, leave without giving anyone in his camp any orders, he also killed his 'fellow Faunus' damn near indiscriminately. Only one reason a man like him does some shit like that."
"Rage! He had to be pissed beyond belief! But what in the world could possibly make a man that stoic get so mad that he'd willingly slaughter his 'brethren' without care?"
The answer to the question was so obvious it disgusted him. His mouth filled with saliva and his stomach squeezed as if he was preparing to vomit up the vile words of truth. But still he pushed the words out. "Anaya got kidnapped." The impact of that phrase was only superseded by another depressing phrase. "And I'm late."
The simple words slammed into his chest like a freight train, tightening his lungs and heart to the point where breathing was almost inaccessible. (Y/N) just barely managed to choke each breath inwardly, doing the bare minimum to keep himself conscious as the overwhelming anxiety set itself in. "They have her. They have the Summer Maiden."
The simple acknowledgement of the situation at hand almost brought the supposed 'Savior of the Faunus' down to his knees. All of a sudden, the vast and vacant desert was less of an open space than it was a cell for solitary confinement. For just a moment, the façade of the Awaken One fell. The mask of control and impervious future-sight gave way to reveal a terrified human boy. One who had made multiple terrible mistakes.
But even the simple acknowledgement wasn't enough to bring the man to despair, however the one that followed would almost definitely achieve that goal. "Nix, Neyah, and Blake are all chasing them down as well. Even with the additional levels I was able to give them, they are still far outclassed! We're dealing with people strong enough to forcefully kidnap the goddamn Summer Maiden! There is no fuckin way they can handle a threat like that on their own!" He shouted into the super-heated desert.
"Cinder could fry them with the snap of a finger. And even if Adam somehow handles her, there is no telling whether or not their strong enough to handle an Emerald and Mercury who would be more than happy to kill them if they ever have the chance! Plus, that's assuming that Cinder doesn't have any additional allies, which I know is a fucking lie because of the damn Desert Walkers! Shit!" With the final curse (Y/N) powered all of his depressing frustration into his leg as he kicked up a massive ploom of sand.
However, though the aggressive action managed to curb his frustrations slightly it only left him feeling emptier. A sense of despair that he hadn't felt in a long while began creeping into his heart like a slow working poison, bringing him down to his knees with a heavy thump.
"Its all my fault" he thought, no longer having the energy to shout. "I should've never put them at risk. Glynda was right. She is so fucking right." He had argued tooth and nail with the woman. Told and reassured him that the had everything under control. In truth, he believed he did. However, now the words of assurance he spoke confidently to one of the loves of his life rang violently in his ears.
"Maybe..." he thought absently. The simple word immediately being followed by the cloud of doubt and regret he had yet to feel in his stay in Remnant. "Maybe I-" before he managed to finish the depressing thought, a shimmering light suddenly shined through the cloud of regret, piercing it with a faithful ease.
[Partner, are you alright?]
For a moment (Y/N) looked upwards as if the voice came from high above, but after that moment passed it was hard to unrecognize the voice within his mind. The being that had been with him since the beginning. The voice of infinite positivity and optimism.
[Meta is concerned!]
As Meta cleared the distasteful thought from within his mind, Fang managed to ground himself in reality once more, answering his faithful partner honestly. "No Meta, I don't think I am alright. Things are going really, really, really bad right now buddy and I don't know how I'm gonna be able to face it all."
[Meta doesn't understand what you mean! (Y/N) is the greatest! (Y/N) is super strong! (Y/N) can do anything he puts his mind to! Meta is sure you can face anything! Especially when your people are on the line.]
The words of encouragement worked wonders, but they couldn't bring even a small smile to (Y/N)'s face, "I'm glad you think that Meta, but this situation is a lot more dire than meets the eye." He thought to his mental being as he brought himself back to his feet. "Beyond even the twins and Blake being in extreme danger, Adam being delivered directly to Cinder, and Zeb probably being lost somewhere in the desert, Cinder now has Anaya, The Summer Maiden."
He then continued with, "this means that she will more than likely have direct access to the full power of the Summer Maiden, killing Anaya in the process" he scowled at the thought, but continued. "This then in turn gives Cinder the power to go directly to Shade and steal the relic of destruction."
Unconsciously, (Y/N) balled up his fist at the thought. "Vacuo and Shade is the only part of the Rwby show that hadn't aired when I 'left earth' so it's the only one I have no knowledge about. I don't know how secure the academy is, I don't know where the vault is located, hell I don't even know if they are theoretically strong enough to defend against an assault like this."
"Even though Cinder seems the type for subtly and finesse, it is terribly hard to imagine a world where she wouldn't capitalize on a situation like this to gain Salem's favor and get a relic. If this happens..." he paused for a moment, gritting his fanged teeth at the thought he was about to communicate. "everything goes to shit."
It wasn't hard for Meta to understand exactly what his partner meant by this. In fact, it wasn't hard for Meta to understand everything that (Y/N) just told him since they are quite literally inseparable, and their thoughts are much the same. As such, Meta knew that everything that (Y/N) did up until this point in time was in sever danger.
Coming to vale, creating the Devil persona, taking over the Xiong Family, recruiting the Malachite Twins, contacting Jacques Schnee, creating a relationship with Lil' Miss, killing Roman Torchwick, establishing the Demon Clan, getting friendly with Adam and the White Fang, and even parts of both ordering the clearing of Mt. Glenn and training the huntresses of Beacon were ALL done with the end goal of partnering with Cinder.
The only reason Cinder would even want the Devil, aka (Y/N)'s, help is for the simple goal of getting the other half of the Fall Maiden's power. However, if she gets the Summer Maiden's power instead, or in addition to her Fall Maiden half, then she no longer has any need for a stealthy takeover. Making all the work up until this point absolutely worthless.
"You understand right Meta" Fang said as his eyes glazed over the heat induced wavy horizon.
[Meta understands.]
It rang silent between the semi-fused entities for a moment. An uncomfortable tension filled the air as the severity of the situation settled in for the duo. However, as quickly as the tension built, it left as the mental entity brightly 'spoke' once more.
[Meta understands, but Meta thinks (Y/N) can overcome this regardless! (Y/N)'s allies are strong and dependable! Even if you are scared, they might get hurt, Meta is sure they'll stay safe and sound! Even if Cinder gets a hold of the power of the Summer Maiden, Meta is sure (Y/N) will find a way to make everything work in his favor! Meta has faith!]
With the small exhale of a breath, (Y/N)'s scowling expressions softened slightly at his Partners words, returning to a much more neutral look. "I appreciate the optimism partner" he thought without much inflection in his voice.
[Of course! Meta doesn't have the solution to all your problems and wishes Meta could help more. But Meta has an idea!]
"Lay it on me partner."
[Meta believes this skill might help!]
*Above All* {Lvl: MAX}- You are above all that you come across and this skill executes your supreme reign not by sight, not by space, but by image. Those who see you for your supreme ability will be affected by your skill; +50% STR, +50%VIT to you and all allies; -50% STR, -50% VIT; Cost 1000mp
EX: Godly Imprint- Your influence is no longer limited by range. If your allies know of your immense power, they will be strengthened by your aura.
"Oh shit, I completely forgot about that EX ability. This'll definitely help strengthen Blake, Neyah, and Blake even though they aren't anywhere close to me. Though, I don't think the debuff effect will work on any of the enemies since they have no clue who I am. Still, it's a lot better than nothing. Nice idea Meta!"
[You are welcome, friend!]
"Above All. I appreciate you sticking with me Meta, you really are the best" he thought with sincerity.
[Anything for Meta's Friend! After all, "It's me and you against the world lil homie. We are partners for life, aint nothin gonna change that." 😊]
"I guess I did say that and of course I meant it. But honestly its kinda freaky to her my own voice in my brain from an altered perspective."
[Duly noted! Meta knows (Y/N) cares deeply about his lovers and wants to make sure they don't get hurt! But as Meta said before, they are strong and dependable! Meta didn't show (Y/N) this earlier because (Y/N) requested to not see any notifications, but now, Meta thinks you should see!]
Neyah Panthera Killed Kievv WhiteTaker of The Desert Walkers (LVL: 84)! Here are her rewards:
+8,496 {+4,248} Exp! | +52 Marks | +1 Faunus Essence |
Level Up!
Level Up!
Level Up!
Nieva Panthera, Nix Killed Skocktavion NyxNox of The Desert Walkers (LVL: 87)! Here are your rewards:
+8,765 {+4,383} Exp! | +65 Marks | +1 Faunus Essence |
Level Up!
Level Up!
Level Up!
Blake Belladonna Killed Kyak Ryak of The Desert Walkers (LVL: 91)! Here are your rewards:
+9,126 {+4,563} Exp! | +57 Marks | +1 Faunus Essence |
Level Up!
Level Up!
Level Up!
Neyah Panthera Killed Slodge Murtle of The Desert Walkers (LVL: 85)! Here are her rewards:
+8,566 {+4,283} Exp! | +48 Marks | +1 Faunus Essence |
Level Up!
Level Up!
As soon as the notifications popped inside (Y/N)'s mind and the information artificially filled his memory, a gloomy expression spread its way around his face. "So, it seems their hands were forced" he thought. "I'm glad they were strong enough to handle themselves, thank god Glynda called me and made me realize they needed to be stronger, but it still hurts to see they needed to kill when I told them it would be a last resort."
After taking a slow deep breath, Fang pushed the feelings aside for the moment and focused in on his central most thought. "Hopefully we can take this as a good sign that they will be able to handle any other threats that come there way. I wish I was at least in range to heal them or something."
[Meta understands the sentiment. But Meta is sure they can handle anything, after all they were trained by you! Also, Partner your skill cooldowns are complete and are ready for use again! Last thing, would you like to see Zeb's notifications as well?]
"Nah, I'm sure Zeb's doing fine wherever he is, but make sure to keep the girl's notifications flowing for now. I want alerts on anything and everything you can."
[Yes sir, Partner!]
"Aight bet. Let's see if your optimism can reign true buddy. I need to get to the Twins in the DFA as soon as possible, and if they aren't there then I'll assume they're heading straight for Shade Academy."
With a deadly straight face and a concentration full of intensity rarely seen from the man, (Y/N) grit his sharped fangs and buried his feet into the sand below as he activated his skills once more. "Demonic Speed (Super Sonic), Empowered By Wind, Air Walk."
He instantly boomed from his previous position, leaving a massive cloud of twisting sand and dust in his wake as the wind began carrying him towards his objective. "Meta, can you please call Ozpin for me? Can't leave the man in the dark now, and maybe he can help Shade get reinforced just in case Cinder arrives with her posse."
[On it!]
"Anaya, Nix, Blake, Neyah," he thought. "Please stay safe, I'm on my way."
...........
"Sister" the tigress woman spoke suddenly, her head twisting sharply in the direction of the distress.
"I am aware" the snake woman responded, giving little attention to their shared sensation, instead focusing whole heartedly on her current task.
"I'm going back to him this instant! Master is clearly in distress!" Byakko raised her voice at the snake woman, a noise that the scaley woman had gotten all too used to at this point. "I'm done flying about by your whims Lilith. I am going back to my Master's side. Where I am needed."
At the comment, Lilith finally stopped what she was doing to turn to the aggravated tigress, looking at the woman dead in her eyes as she spoke. "It hasn't even been a week since the last time we were in my King's presence Sister. You've been using his emotional distress seemingly every minute as an excuse to threaten to leave" she said with a light hiss to her words. "If this is a game, I am getting quite bored of it" the snake woman added lackadaisically.
The incredibly tall tiger woman's eye twitched as her lips rose to reveal her sharpened canines beneath them. With a light growl she responded with, "this is not a game! I am in no mood for playing! I know you felt it. The master is truly in extreme stress, more so than I have ever felt before."
Lilith's eyes rolled as she listened to her surrogate sibling, "is his health decreasing? Is there some kind of curse negatively afflicting him? Maybe his mana is depleting at a debilitating rate? Is he being afflicted by a dangerous status effect that results in intense mind control? Or maybe he's actually being controlled by another much more powerful being!"
After letting a small smirk escape her lips, the snake adopted an expression of sarcastic innocence. "Wait.... I don't feel any of that. Do you Sister?"
"Grrragggghh!" Byakko roared deeply.
"I'll take that as a definitive no."
At the degrading comment, the tigress speedily stomped up to the smaller snake, towering over her as she growled her words to the woman in a low tone. "Have you no shame. Do you even care about what happens to him? Do you even love the Master?"
For what felt like an instant Lilith's calm façade fell, giving way to piercing eyes that could turn someone to stone, but as soon as it came it left. With a haughty expression the snake returned her eyes to the rift before her, continuing her tinkering as she did before. "I do care. I just don't have separation anxiety. Nor do I lord over my King's health like an obsessive mother."
Byakko's lips roused for a moment to rebuttal, but Lilith's next comment shut her down before she began. "Trust, Sister. I have trust that no matter what he will prevail. So, I don't need to worry no matter how dire the emotional strait becomes."
After the comment the tigress paused, tensing her muscles as if she were going to pounce one moment and suddenly relaxing entirely the next. Once the tension left Byakko allowed herself to fall beside her scaly sibling in a huff as she whispered "fine" to herself, but loud enough for the snake to hear.
The duo of Goddesses sat in silence for a while, with the snake visually struggling to complete the task she assigned to herself and the tiger watching her sibling get increasingly irritated at her ineptitude. Eventually, Lilith's anger got the best of her as she let out a ear shattering HISS at the rift, the target of her aggression, before harshly whispering, "imbecilic object" underneath her breath.
At the sight, the mature tigress placed a soft hand on her siblings shoulder, giving it a light tug as she moved her slightly out of the way. The basilisks gave a quick glare to the woman that touched her, but Byakko returned the look with an incredibly soft expression, one that spoke 'I got it.'
Lilith's sudden glare softened immediately, and she slithered out of the way of her sibling, giving the woman the spot she possessed. As Byakko took up position in front of the rift, she smoothly spoke, "you're not going to open it with brute strength, nor with overwhelming force of magic. At least not without shattering the whole thing and ruining your entire operation. Instead," she said tenderly as she placed her claws in between the spatial crevice, "it takes a bit of finesse."
With little effort, Byakko began prying open the tear in the air that led directly into an area outside the bounds of Remnant's worldly powers. The rift opened wide, turning from crevice to gaping hole as it appeared to grant the duo entry without the normally needed permissions. "See, just like that" the tigress added, turning to her awestruck sibling with a small smile across her lips.
Lilith quickly returned her expression to neutral, not letting her surprise at the celestial tiger's skill be shown. "Impressive" she said in a small voice, slithering up to the opening. "Now we can finally move onwards." Through the corner of her eye, Lilith looked towards the tigress as she softly added, "thank you."
Byakko returned the woman's solemn gratitude with a small nod of her own and replying with, "your welcome."
The two had an awkward silence ring between them briefly before Lilith spoke up, asking, "So, are you planning to return to 'the master' or will you be continuing with me? I..." her words stopped in her throat, but after an uncomfortable swallow she finished with, "I would prefer it if you were able to teach me how to open these rifts as you did."
Looking away, she then added, "plus, I wouldn't mind having your company."
Lilith's bashful request did not pass by Byakko's ears. An uncontrollable smirk forming across her lips as she replied with, "I think I'll stay with you Sister. I'll try my best to have trust as you so eloquently put it."
The emotionless façade practically disintegrated at her sibling's declaration, and it was with an uncontrollable ecstatic smile that Lilith responded, "Great! Let us go then Sister!"
Byakko reciprocated with an equally bright smile, "let us."
..........
"Wait!" Blake yelled as she rose from the back of the horse. "Incoming!" Adam, in his debilitating tunnel vision had a delayed reaction to his partners announcement. Completely missing the Faunus man in the roaring crowd and watching helplessly as the beastly looking fellow slashed his blade deeply into their horse.
In what felt like an instant the pair of White Fang draped Faunus went from traveling at full speed, to crashing across the sandy streets, tumbling at that same intense rate. The massive, muscular Dune horse fell atop both Adam and Blake as they flew across the unpaved roads, just barely missing any of the fleeing onlookers in their accident.
The mass of flesh that was the horse and Faunus duo suddenly skid to loud halt as Adam slammed his unsheathed Red-Dust blade into the sand below, simultaneously bringing them to a stop while also absorbing much of the kinetic energy from the tumble.
"Grggugh!" With a single loud grunt, the bull Faunus used the strength of his free arm and trapped legs to kick the horse from top both himself and the cat Faunus lying next to him. Without wasting another moment, he quickly stood to his feet, using his sword as leverage to pull himself up, and shifted his attention to the woman next to him.
The Faunus women wasn't as quick to raise as her male counterpart, mostly because her tumble had been quite a bit worse mostly due to her standing tall before the impact, but it also didn't help that she wasn't as hardened a warrior as Adam. "Shit" she hissed under her breath as the weight of the muscular horse was forcefully removed from her body.
With Adam's one good eye, he peered through his mask and looked over her body with strict scrutiny, making sure nothing on or in her person seemed to be disorderly in any way. "Are you alright" he spoke swiftly, running his hand over her wrist that was lodged directly under their former mote of travel.
"I'm fine" she quickly responded, pulling her hand from his and looking up to him as he helped her stand back to her feet.
After reassuring the bull Faunus that she was alright, Blake bent down to gently brush the fur of their fallen ally, the one that had carried them all the way to the DFA in such a short time. "Thanks for your help," she whispered to the passing animal, "have a nice rest." With her final words the Dune horses breathing slowed to a halt as its blood spilled out into the sand below, turning the light grains from brownish-yellow, to a deep crimson almost to black to be considered a red.
Once the black cat finished sending their short-lived companion off to the afterlife, Blake swiftly stood back to her full height as she followed Adam's gaze, seeing the emptied streets as he did and taking notice of her sister lover fighting elegantly to put down the Faunus that killed their mote of transportation.
It seemed that the crowd that was formerly stampeding through the streets had fully dispersed, leaving the streets almost as empty as the open desert of Vacuo itself sparing the tents that flew gently in the wind. The vacancy of the streets was only made more evident by the clangs of metal, grunts of effort, and sickly sounds of blades crossing with flesh coming from the battle occurring not far from where the duo was standing.
As quickly as the Leader of the White Fang stood and picked up his super charged blade from the sands by its hilt, he was already crouching low without warning. His stance was one that Blake was overly familiar with, being that she had seen the technique in action many times. However, because of how frequently she had seen the attack, she knew that now was not the time for him to utilize it.
Moments before Adam was able to sheath Wilt, his trusted sword, into Blush—the scabbard—the masked black cat suddenly shouted, "Adam!" His attention was immediately grabbed, and the woman swiftly followed up with, "Go get Anaya. We don't have time to waste."
Her order gave the man pause for a moment, but after the brief hesitation Adam brought his weapon back to his side and un-crouched his stance. The bull Faunus looked at his partner for a moment, meeting her masked eyes with his own for confirmation. Once their eyes met all Blake did was nod swiftly, to which Adam returned the expression.
Before dashing off, the White Fang leader quickly said, " the Desert Walkers are a proud tribe of Faunus warriors who believe in natural strength above all else. Their weapons are often scraps of metal scavenged from those that they kill, that meaning they are often brittle and unkept. Most importantly, none of them utilize Aura and thus have no protection or Semblance to speak of, use this to your advantage."
As Adam came to the end of his rapid debrief, Blake watched on in shock as Neyah's icy Waldo impaled itself into her opponents neck. From his peripheral vision, the bull Faunus watched both the kill and his long-standing partner's reaction to it, and he chose to leave her with one last bit of information. "They are relentless warriors who will stop at nothing to kill their opponents, giving limb and life to see it through. I am doubtful they will be willing to give up at any point in a fight."
Blake shook the man's words from her head as the scene from Anaya's kidnapping began playing in her mind. Watching Adam slay their fellow Faunus indiscriminately in a blind rage as he made a mad dash to get Anaya back. Without turning back to him, Blake began dashing towards her sister lovers who were beginning to be pressed by the members of the Desert Walkers as she shouted, "hurry up and save Anaya! You don't have time to be worrying about us!"
At her comment Adam's expression only grew colder, but before his partner was out of ear shot, he spoke in a deadly even tone, "make it painless if you are able." The black cat didn't react at all to his words, but it was clear that she had heard him. So, with the last words spoken, without wasting another instant the bull Faunus gripped the hilt of his weapon as tightly as his body allowed him to as he began sprinting down the vacant streets of the DFA.
Every ounce of focus he had was immediately poured entirely into finding and saving Anaya and punishing the man who thought even for a moment he could take her away from him. "Reese" he growled as he dashed through the streets as fast as his legs could carry him, his head on a constant swivel as he searched for threats and hoped to catch a glimpse of the beautiful horned Faunus even a second before he thought he might.
It didn't matter if the Elder had a fantastic reason for kidnapping her. The bottom line was that he hurt her, Reese and the Tyrian scum did, and for that they would pay dearly. The closer Adam got to where he believed Naya would be held, the harder it became to contain the energy within his blade, but with his heightened focus and intense goal he managed to bear the pain it brought. After all, he had been holding this strength back for days at this point and he wasn't going to blow it now before reaching the finish line.
At the speed he was sprinting it didn't take long for the confusing sounds of battle to reach Adam's ears. And as his eye began focusing on where the sounds were coming from an invisible smirk dared to cross his lips. "Back the fuck up!" A familiar voice shouted at the top of his lungs as he brought his massive axe across his body to slam it into an unlucky merc.
"God this guy just won't stop!" One of the masked women shouted as she watched another of her allies fall to his deadly axe.
"Wrap around him. Go for the flank!" Another shouted as they tried to organize the mass group of mercenaries into a coordinated assault, one that might help to bring this behemoth down. But it seemed that no matter what they did the man still stood.
"HRAAAGGGGHH!!!!!" The behemoth roared as he gripped his weapons of choice and slammed against the sand beneath him, sending out a massive shockwave that pushed back the mercs that were beginning to surround him. "LET ME PASS!!!!!" He shouted once more, paying little attention to the chatter of his opponents.
"We've been trying that for the last hour, he just won't stop" a nervous voice said. "He's been fighting at full strength the entire time. He ran out of Aura before our squad even got a hit on him and we've stabbed him more times than I can count! All this damage should be entirely fatal, but the guy won't even bleed. Are you sure he's even alive?"
The woman that barked the orders angrily pointed her weapon at the ranger who spoke, "who the fuck cares if he is alive or not? If he stands before us, he must fall! Do not let him through under any circumstances! If you have to throw your body in the way for him to step over as an obstacle, then so be it! Do anything and everything to stop him!" Though the orders reinvigorated the group of warriors, it wasn't as if this wasn't what they were doing already.
Under the orders of the Elder, their employer, this group of high-class mercenaries—made of both Humans and Faunus alike— set up four powerful barricades with 7 guards for each of them. The orders were to not let anyone pass under any circumstances and ensure the deaths of anyone who looked like White Fang, especially Adam Taurus. After coming into contact with the man who loosely fit the man's description, the first wave of seven engaged him in a situation that seemed like certain victory.
However, one by one they fell, leaving them to call for the second barricade for reinforcements, but their help wasn't enough. So, soon enough, the third and fourth barricades joined in on the challenge to take down this immortal. Of the 28 mercenaries that attacked the masked demon with all their strength a total of 20 of them were still alive, but exhausted due to the relentless assault of the man before them.
Their opponent seemed like a infinite tank of bottomless energy that continuously ran at maximum output without care for the damage he dealt or took. His body was littered with gashes and holes that were entirely hollow, none of them even so much as leaking a bodily substance. His clothing was a complete tattered mess after being stabbed and slashed at so many times, his weapons were covered in blood and sand, and his hair was an absolute mess of only god knows what.
However, somehow, throughout all this, their was a small orange can that sat atop his shoulder, entirely free of sand, blood, gash, slash, or any other possible blemish. It was impossibly miraculous that not a single piece of fur on that little kitten had been out of place even in the slightest bit. All the more reason the mercs were so pissed.
"Will somebody please shoot that goddamn cat!" Someone screamed as they slowly picked themselves off the sandy floor. It didn't take long for one of the ranged members of the crew to take aim and shoot a hail of bullets with their sights deadest on the furry shoulder mount, but as it had every time before, the shots were deflected, blocked or dodge by the surprisingly swift giant.
As the masked figure finished dodging the hail of rifle shots, his eyes glared daggers into the man that aimed for his loyal feline follower. "You motherfucker!" With a quick spin the mysterious behemoth gripped a single axe in a tomahawk grip, then swiftly pulled its shotgun trigger as he launched the weapon as a ranged projectile, throwing the massive battle-axe across the road as if it was a small throwing knife.
Without even a moment to react, the blade sunk its way deep into the rangers brain, not even stopping for a second on his mask or skull. Just like that, the mercenaries dropped from 20 to 19, but even after the sudden kill the end was nowhere in sight.
As he launched one of his weapons, another merc dipped low and took a stab at his open side with a small dagger. Z was too slow to react, so he was forced to watch helplessly as the woman's dagger stabbed deeply into his side, only inches from another gash he had received early.
"Ugh!" he grunted at the sudden force. However, he rapidly recovered from the recoil of his own tomahawk throw and twisted into the woman's shallow stab, allowing him to use his own momentum to throw the merc half way across the street with the strength of his body alone. "There is just no end to you people is there" he said mostly to himself.
He wasn't even granted a second of rest as two more men charged him once more, coming from the front and the back in a pincer move, one that they had done often. Zeb reacted quickly to the formation, dashing into the merc at his front and feinting a large slash at the man's open neck. As the ram/bear Faunus expected, the man dipped low and charged deeper, a mistake that many of warriors in Remnant had made many of times. "Dumbass" Z rumbled with a tired smirk.
From his new position Zeb easily used his free hand to stop the forward advancing mercs attack by gripping his wrist in his mammoth sized hand. Without a second of hesitation, the masked hooded man spun on his heals, lifting the formerly attacking merc as if her were a wooden stick, and then swung him devastatingly into the man that was closing in from behind him.
The two bodies crashed together with a tremendous force and a resounding THUD, sending the now concussed duo soaring across the sands. "Keep it coming! You ain't stopping me!" He shouted triumphantly as he incapacitated two more of the mercs, but as he had seen multiple times over the course of this battle they'd most definitely be back soon enough.
Such a simple attack wasn't nearly enough to put these powerful enemies down for the count, it was the main reason Zeb wasn't able to push through their defenses yet. "This is taking to damn long" he thought as he ducked under a volley of arrows and kicked an approaching merc deep in the chest. "At this rate I don't think this body will hold much longer. Shit, what should I do?"
Before the Faunus man was able to come up with a potential solution, he was met with a bellowing shout from what looked like the leader of this mercenary group. "He's down a weapon and he is beginning to waver! Push up! Charge! Put an end to him now!"
"AAAARRRGHHHHH!!!!" With a chaotic roar the mercenaries united once more, standing to their feet from their positions of apathy in the sands. With the single chorus of shouts their morale had returned once more, and though exhausted, they were prepared to put an end to their enemy.
"Bring it on!" Zeb roared in response, however internally he was having a much different dialogue. "I can't keep doing this forever... it might just be time to retreat. Maybe I can recruit some of the people from the Hunters' Guild. It would help to have a few more followers." At the thought Zeb took a small step backwards as he began chaotically firing shots from his one remaining axe at the crowd of mercs, using each of the shots to push his momentum backwards towards his escape.
However, as he was soon to realize, they had already had his escape covered, "shit!" Without warning the large, masked man felt as a club slammed itself against his back, forcing him to twist quickly and retaliate against his attacker with the swing of his Grizz-Lethal. The merc in question leaped backwards to swiftly dodge the attack and as he traveled backwards, more of his group moved forward hitting Z from his blind spots.
As blades from all sides began slashing and plunging themselves into his already deeply damaged form, Zeb tried his best to fight off the attackers as best he could. Wildly swinging his arms and weapon at anything that moved close enough to touch him, howling threats at those that were waiting to attack, all keeping up the vibrato that he was unkillable. However, among the swirling crowd of wolves that were the mercenaries he seemed less like a bear and more like an injured elk waiting for its legs to finally give out.
"I can't lose this body! ARRRGHH!" He roared helplessly as he slammed his axe against another of the mercs who attempted to get to close. "Should I use it now? I think I'll have to even if it makes things worse for me in the future." In a chaotic last attempt to make space, the grizzly Faunus launched his axe, powered by shotgun momentum, into the crowd of five closest to himself.
With the moment of breathing room, he was granted he loudly growled to himself, "Fuck it!" Before reaching for the immaculate black compact bow strapped to his back, however before his fingers managed to touch the weapon, a gruff of a familiar voice rumbled over the crowd of attackers.
"Get down." Zeb wasted no time doing as the voice commanded, ducking as low as he could as a familiar crimson hair, Grimm masked, devilish horned, Faunus man suddenly made his entrance by jumping into the center of the pack of mercenaries with his sword drawn.
The wolves didn't hesitate for even a moment with their attack, but instead of their blades being met by the sounds of sheering flesh they were met with the clang of metal. Their attacks were parried almost effortlessly with a reddened blade, glowing an electrically bright crimson, held by the masked fiend that suddenly appeared.
The sheer strength of the bull-like Faunus deflecting their assaults simultaneously caused them to stagger backward. His blade crackled with energy as it propelled them away, leaving them stunned by the display of extraordinary power.
"Thank god you're here, I don't think I would've been able to handle these fucks any longer" Z said as he brought himself back to his feet. "They kinda relentless with the stabs n' shit."
The bull Faunus never took his eyes off the surrounding enemies as he replied, "I can see that brother. Your looking quite worse for wear." After a small pause, and shifting Wilt towards the scabbard at his side, he continued with, "I didn't expect to see you here at all, but I'm glad you are."
Z's eyebrow raised as he heard his reinforcements comment, "wait, actually why are you here?" His question was incredibly valid in the current situation, given that neither of the Faunus were aware of what the other was doing.
Adam, Blake, Neyah, and Nix were all here for the specific purpose of rescuing Anaya from her kidnappers, but Z being located in the DFA was entirely coincidental, if not at least extremely lucky.
Though they weren't exactly on the same page in regard to their goals and objectives in the given situation, there was one thing that was more than clear to the bull and bear.
"Now's not the time for idle chatter. We must move forward" Adam announced valiantly with his hand gripped tightly to Wilt's handle and Blush's trigger.
Zeb received the crimson haired man's order with a swift nod, "Agreed" he replied as he balled his fist together tightly. "But I don't know exactly how were gonna get out of this 'situation'" he added in a whisper as the wolves surrounding them began murmuring loudly about the new arrival. "If anything, this is gonna take some time."
Adam's eyes shifted from focused to malicious in an instant. He then growled his next words in a freezing tone, "we don't have time." Without wasting another moment or giving the surrounding mercenaries as much as a single warning, the Leader of the White Fang crouched low into a particular stance.
"Hey isn't that..."
"Crimson blade that matches his hair..."
"A mask in the shape of Grimm..."
"Horns of a stampeding bull...."
"I think it is."
"Yeah... it looks like Adam Taurus."
"Then who were we fighting this whole time?" Murmured the crowd as they watched their actual designated target appear suddenly before their eyes. His strength and energy couldn't even compare to the masked man they had been battling for the last hour. It was astonishing that they were even for a moment fooled into thinking the man that they had been fighting previously was the real deal.
The captain amongst the mercenaries watched the crimson haired Faunus begin crouching low to the ground, shifting his posture as he moved his brightly blazing blood-red sword towards its blackened scabbard. His motion was so fluid and deliberate that it felt as if time itself had slowed to a stop with him being the only being able to move in this space.
As the tip of the monstrous energy filled sword contacted its holster with an echoing ting a deadly chill ran down her spine. Every nerve in her body screamed in terror, but she forced down the feeling with a large gulp as she tried to take charge of her group and finish this fight once and for all. "L-listen up!" she shouted nervously.
Though stuttering, her voice was still strong enough to carry across the road, reaching the ears of her mercs and bringing them back to attention. "Our targets are right before our eyes! Do not falter! Earn your pay!" The short speech wasn't nearly as inspirational or motivational as her former orders, but it was enough to get them back in motion.
A few men started with scared steps forward and after those courageous few came the overwhelming pack of mercs, thirsty for the blood of their victims and the pay that would come thereafter. "Aarrrrrggghhhhh!!!!" With a single loud shout from a brave warrior, the entire pack was quick to turn from meager pups to their former ferocious forms, but as quickly as their ferocity was regained, it left.
"Kill Ada-" was all the captain managed to let out before all hope was lost.
The ting of a cackling crimson blade meeting its scabbard was swiftly followed by the deafening SHING of a powerful blade being sheathed in its home. Once the two became one all chances of victory disappeared. As soon as Adam's Wilt and Blush clicked into place his entire form lit up like a flash of lightning.
Every crevice, line, and design across his entire body glew an ungodly bright crimson as the wind surrounding him became a visible blood-red and whipped up like a deadly twister. The instant all the energy he had been gathering in his blade met its catalyst the entire battlefield had turned into his domain. The area in which he controlled the lives of everyone within it.
The world fell silent. Time screeched to a halt. The sky lost its former blue luster to give way for Adam's crimson world. The senses of all those in his range suddenly shut down, leaving them entirely helpless. All the nineteen mercenaries could do was wait for the inevitable.
The horned Faunus seemingly stared down each and every one of them with his singular masked eye before unleashing the silent devastation. One moment his weapon was sheathed, the next the crimson blade had been swung in a perfect full circle by its wielder. The slice was just as deadly as it was beautiful. As it passed all of its built-up energy onto each of its nineteen targets, they all collectively disintegrated into bloodied petals that were carried off in the desert wind.
And with that one simple move, a single devastating technique, the immediate threat had been deleted. Leaving no evidence that they were once there in the first place. Even though for those within the attack it felt like an eternity, the entire exchange happened almost instantaneously, leaving a slightly surprised Z and Cheese in its wake.
As Adam sheathed his weapon back in its rifle scabbard, he swiftly turned to the building he had been focused whole heartedly on for the past day or so. "We need to keep moving. Can you still go on?"
Zeb blinked himself back to attention before briefly looking himself over, quickly realizing that he was in tatters. The appearance that his Chief had given him was almost entirely useless as the clothing had been cut to pieces by the mercenaries showing his skin in almost every part of his body but his face.
On top of this, he had many gashes and stab wounds that would make anybody do a double take, but luckily enough for him it didn't seem Adam was very interested in the status of his bodily damage.
"Actually," he said aloud as he finished his once over, "yeah, I'm right with you. Just let me...." As he spoke, Z grabbed what was left of his appearance without a shred of delicacy and tore it from his body, effectively destroying the systems equipment and restoring him to his former clothing.
This revealed his long shaggy blonde hair, large ram like horns, trench coat like lengthy leather jacket, white undershirt, and tight black jeans.
After freeing his body of the tattered appearance, and now having his body mostly covered by his actual clothing, Z reached down to pick up the last part of the system's equipment that remained, his mask. "Alright, me and Cheese are good to go" he stated as he replaced the mask by placing it inside his chest like the Chief taught him.
Adam only acknowledged the man's statement with a small nod before launched himself towards the only stable structure in the DFA, hopeful that the woman that meant more than anything to him was okay. Added with all the intent in the world to slaughter those that brought her pain. "Naya" he softly whispered, holding onto hope of seeing her again, "I'm coming."