Book II: The King's Dilemma
"Has Apollyon moved yet?"
"No, sire. I'm sorry, but our scouts say they haven't shown any sign of change, other than the Schnee and the Polendina moving."
"So, Apollyon is still there. As well as the declining Winter Maiden," Ørsted said calmly.
"Yes sir," his second in command, an Archdeacon named Absinthe, bowed deeply.
Ørsted could tell that Absinthe desperately wanted to become an Apostle herself. Being Apostles came with direct recognition from the Goddess and being directly involved in planning for a new world. But the only way to become an Apostle was to dethrone one yourself.
He tapped his cheek twice as she walked away, and he crossed his legs as he sat upon his throne.
The easiest way would be to kill the Winter Maiden, of course. Although still powerful, Fria was old and frail, meaning Absinthe could hypothetically take the maiden powers. Then the idea would be to challenge the current Lower Apostle Four, or maybe himself, with the powers, to dethrone them and win a spot.
That was why, although she didn't dare say it in front of him, she wanted to attack Atlas.
Ørsted shook his head. Unruly subordinates were truly irritating.
A green-eyed, black-haired man entered the throne room. His hair was slightly grey on the second inspection, and he carried with him an air of authority that did not fit his tall, but slim frame.
"Ah, Watts."
Arthur Watts. A disgraced former Atlesian scientist, who had defected to Salem after being denied permission to lead the top-secret Atlas Project. The Prosthetic Emulation of Neural Networks in Youth project, or P.E.N.N.Y. project, for short.
Later on, Watts became a high-ranking Archdeacon of the Goddess, but, with a lack of combative ability, he could never truly ascend to the rank of Apostle. Still, because of his high intellect, despite his combative deficiency, the Goddess allowed him into the exclusive inner circle of Apostles so that he could provide ideas, both tactical and strategic.
"Lower Apostle Three, Ørsted," Watts twirled his mustache, giving him a short, but elegant bow, that was just short of formal.
"Do you have a report for me?" Ørsted asked apathetically.
"Indeed, I do. A package of syringes and doses is coming from the Grimmlands, by air of course. Reinforcements of more Deacons and several Archdeacons will be coming your way. They should all be available for use in merely a few days. One Godsbane, as well."
"I see. That is good news. You are dismissed."
Watts turned and left the throne room, not even bothering to bow. His footsteps echoed off the walls, as the great double doors of the throne room closed.
Ørsted did not move from his throne. The room was silent. The shadows in his poisonous yellow eyes lengthened, beckoning.
Ironwood was a fine general, and with his Winter Maiden and Ace Operatives, as well as Atlas' impressive military, Gaul would not stand a chance with its current forces.
He needed to wait for reinforcements from the Covenant, and he would tell Absinthe to increase the concentration of the injections for the hybrids. It would not be wise to make any moves while Apollyon remained on Atlas soil.
He would play the waiting game.
Impulsive decisions led to losses.
And he had never lost a battle for the Goddess.
-o-o-o-
"Did he really just leave us like that?" Weiss fumed in rage.
"I'm sure he didn't mean to..." Penny said, trying to console her friend.
Off to the side, Winter Schnee pursed her lips. Perseus had left them due to the bandit queen refusing to bow down. Yet, not only that, but he had taken the two assassins with him, and left them behind to 'defend Raven'.
There was a bitter taste in Winter's mouth at doing so...
She had to admit, part of her felt like rebelling or revolting, and simply leaving the camp. But General Ironwood had given her explicit instructions to trust Perseus.
Still, she had faith that he would be back. Back before Cinder Fall and that woman approached.
-o-o-o-
Team JNR plus Yang, Qrow, and Tai, were currently approaching the town of Shion. They had passed through the end of the forest.
Seemingly coming out of nowhere, a giant tornado exploded out from the brush of the forest. Qrow and Tai sensed it, pushing the group out of the way, and Tai tanked the hit, while Qrow, on the other hand, was glanced by the tornado.
To Qrow, the tornado, on the second inspection, seemed dust-generated, and his suspicions were proven right when two men approached their group.
One was wearing a brown cloak and a brown ponytail, with a certain maniacal look in his yellow eyes. The other was a towering giant with brown hair and brown eyes and wore a coffee-colored cloak.
"Callows and Rainart..." Qrow mumbled.
"Oh, but you are correct, my fellow comrade!" Callows grinned at them, crazed, "We are all devout worshippers of her Divine Presence, her Goddess Salem!"
"Don't mind him. We're just here to take care of business. Nothing personal," Rainart grunted at them.
"H-Hazel?" Taiyang asked in pure confusion, recognizing the man. He had been a professor back when they were third years at Beacon.
"Hello, Tai."
"They're trying to delay us..." realized Jaune, his analytical prowess coming to show. The Branwen tribe was on the other side of town, according to Qrow.
"How much have you improved your semblance? Can you get us to the other side of town?" he whispered frantically to Ruby.
"I-I can get maybe two people?"
"Take Yang." Yang was the best fighter here that they could spare, and she wasn't as big and heavy as he was.
"B-But-"
"No buts. We can survive, at least until you get back. Just go, now!"
Without a moment's hesitation, Ruby made a mad dash for Yang, grabbing her by the shoulders, and she burst into petals, skirting past Tyrian Callows and Hazel Rainart. The rose petals landed behind her as she quickly blazed away, towards the other side of the town.
"An interesting decision..." mumbled Hazel, his hand caressing the beard of his chin.
"It doesn't matter!" Tyrian jumped and whooped giddily, like a child who had just received their favorite toy. "We'll make all you non-believers into true, devout worshipers of Her Goddess by the end of the night!"
-o-o-o-
"Well, we're here. Shion. Do you want me to land, Miss Nikos? Or..."
The pilot's words died in his mouth as he watched the two girls jump off and out of the bullhead into empty air without the slightest hesitation.
"O-Okayy, then."
Pyrrha vaulted out of the bullhead, Blake following in her path.
Already, Pyrrha was using her polarity semblance to slow the speed of her drop by exerting force on her armor, while tugging at the winds to increase her speed in the horizontal direction with her maiden powers. Meanwhile, Blake was shadow-cloning herself to cushion her fall.
"There!"
Pyrrha looked to where Blake was pointing, seeing an encampment just outside of the town. It was almost a speck, but she could see it.
That was where the Branwen tribe was. She had to get there in time.
Using her semblance, Pyrrha accelerated in that direction, Blake doing the same with her shadow clone semblance.
-o-o-o-
Winter stared down Vernal, who had come out now. The bandit and Raven's second-in-command stared right back without any fear or hesitation. Raven watched on in silence, as did the orange-haired girl and the younger Schnee, who both seemed on the verge of interfering.
"Damn rich ass Schnees," Vernal sneered, "Always used to having everything huh?"
"You're a criminal," Winter stated coldly, ignoring the insult, "Under Atlas law, you would be executed."
"Oh, but this isn't Atlas," Vernal pointed out smugly, "You can try, but Raven will put you in your place, with ease."
"The only reason I'm not putting you and this filthy tribe of bandits under arrest is due to Apollyon's orders. Do you want to get arrested? No? Then I suggest you shut your mouth."
"Shut the fuck up, Schnee," Vernal sneered, "You wipe your ass with thousand-dollar lien cards and drink wine for breakfast. Go die somewhere in a hole, all alone and miserable."
Suddenly, there was a shift in the atmosphere which caused them to stop their petty squabbling and fighting.
The orange-haired girl and the two Schnees flicked their gazes up.
Five women approached them.
Raven tensed herself in preparation.
It was that woman again. Lilith.
Purple, gradient eyes, cold like the unknown depths of the ocean, and inky, raven black hair that framed her face.
She wore the same elegant black wrapped top, with shimmering hints of purple that crossed across her entire body, creating a mesmerizing pattern. She had black combat pants and armored, heeled boots with purple accents. On her back, Raven could see a polearm, a midnight glaive, that seemed to stay the same, pulsing a powerful dark purple, no matter how much sunlight hit it.
Then, Cinder Fall. Amber-eyed and black-haired, she seemed to be in her element, the epitome of calm, perfectly at ease.
Two more auras demanded attention, though.
One stood to the left of Cinder Fall. Her eyes were an unusual rainbow aurora, swirling around her irises, like florescent lights... she had dark, stained purple lips, curved in the perfect cupid's bow... her hands and hair were both a pale, deathly white, contrasting her long, pointed nails that were stained with the same gradient as her eyes. With a simple glance, one could tell that she stalked forward with a hunter's grace. She wore sleek, black, combat boots with deadly bronze heels and a pleated skirt. Mesmerizing patterns crossed over her form-fitting cloak, contrasting perfectly with her eyes.
She almost didn't acknowledge the green-haired, chocolate-skinned girl next to Cinder, who was most likely a lackey of hers. Compared to the rest of them, she was rather unimpressive.
And the last one was... oddly...
W-Was that...
Summer?
She was so familiar.
Red and black hair. Red and black boots, black corset, gray tights. White cloak. Shimmering, white mechanical bow.
It was just like her old teammate.
But also, unlike her. She had dulled, almost lifeless, black eyes. An aura of death surrounded her, but death rather than danger. That which spoke volumes, almost as if they were pre-destined to lose.
Raven gripped Omen's hilt, so hard that her fingertips became white. Her skin felt tight.
They were severely outnumbered.
The purple-eyed devil named Lilith stepped forward.
Every instinct in her body screamed at her to run, and yet, she stood still.
"Do you have your answer?"
One of the wooden walls surrounding their camp broke down.
Everyone's eyes flicked to a streaking blur of red and yellow.
From the skies, streaks of black and red were seen, touching the ground.
Raven's eyes scanned over who had just joined the party.
Pyrrha Nikos, the so-called Invincible Girl, had won a few regional Mistralian tournaments. She didn't know who the cat faunus was, though.
Summer's brat was the third thing she saw. Then, Yang...
"Halt! You-"
Ruby's voice died in her throat.
"M-mom?" two voices asked.
"Friend Ruby?"
"Blake? Yang? Pyrrha? Ruby?" a confused voice echoed.
"Weiss?" two other voices echoed back.
The purple-eyed monster ignored what had happened.
"I'll take it as a no, then."
The white-haired, fluorescent-eyed woman smiled. "We'll kill all of you non-believers and my Perseus will finally be in reach!"
What the fuck in the Remnant... what was this mess?
-o-o-o-
"Blake, you and me!" Yang shouted at her and streaked to attack the Summer Rose lookalike. Before Ruby caught on.
Ruby would probably get hurt. She couldn't just stand by and let that happen to her sis.
Two streaking red and white blurs that were Ruby and Weiss went for the weakest link in the system, Emerald.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Pyrrha go for the fluorescent-eyed one.
You go get 'em, girl.
Cinder went for Pyrrha, but Penny, Winter, and Vernal immediately went against her, stopping her attack in its tracks. It was good that they stopped the risk of Cinder getting the maiden powers from Pyrrha.
That left Yang's egg donor against the scary, purple-eyed chick.
-o-o-o-
The woman who stood before her had a gaze that pierced into her soul, and it made Raven feel like her soul was being laid bare before her eyes.
The hair on her nape stood up.
She was majestic.
It was a horrifying aura that permeated from the woman in front of her, one that caused her cells to scream and howl, goosebumps forming across her skin.
Her hand never left the hilt of Omen, yet her hands were clammy. Her body was refusing to fight. She would die if she did.
She couldn't remember the last time she trembled in front of an opponent. It had never happened before.
"Who are you?"
Part of her already knew the answer. The other part didn't want to know the answer.
"Lilith Pers. Upper Apostle One."
Upper Apostle One. Salem's right hand, the strongest of the Apostles.
What was an upper doing here?
Her heart palpitated in her chest.
One. Thump. Two. Thump. Three. Thump.
Breathe, Raven... Breathe...
Raven steadied herself, placing her hand on Omen's hilt. She clenched her fingers around the hilt of her blade. Her thumb slid part of the blade forward, flashing a glimpse of the firedust blade.
"Your mental strength is impressive."
Breathe... breathe...
"It haunts you, doesn't it? The little girl that died before your eyes? Summer Rose, who died before your eyes?"
The statement pierced through the clearing, like a spear that silenced and ignored all but its target.
"Even now, you still run away from responsibility, Raven. You're a coward."
The cold, factual statement pierced her. It spoke to her.
Lilith disappeared before her very eyes. One second, she was there, and the next, she was not.
Raven flinched back.
The sharp tip of a blade appeared before her eyes, and she just managed to deflect it with Omen.
Lilith readjusted, though, and the blade nicked Raven on the side of the shoulder.
Eyes blazing, Raven used her maiden powers to burst backward, avoiding the thrusts that came her way.
Lilith was incredibly fast, but it wasn't a semblance. No, it was innate speed, no semblance or magic.
Raven gritted her teeth. If she wanted to survive... she would have to fight.
The winds blew, aiding her, as Raven went on the offensive.
Raven sent a fireball at her, which was deflected with ease by the glaive.
That wasn't it, though.
Raven pushed forward, sheathing and switching Omen to a gravity dust blade, which she brought down on Lilith.
But the blow didn't connect. Rather, Lilith's glaive deflected it off to the side, her weapon barely moving while doing so.
Raven's eyes widened.
The glaive inexplicably curved, leaving arcs of malevolent, chilling frost behind it, and Raven bent backward, trying to lean under the blade.
The tip pierced her mask, and Lilith slashed the rest of the glaive in a downward motion.
Raven used her maiden powers to send herself flying backward, managing to create space. Her mask fell in half to either side of her face, dropping to the ground.
They had already wreaked a small path into the forest, away from Shion and the bandit camp. They were isolated.
"Your strength deserves some praise. You possess great power, Raven."
The purple-eyed woman in front of her smiled.
Something was unsettling about how her lips curved upwards.
"But you lack knowledge in how to use it. Become one of us, Raven."
She stretched her hand out, beckoning.
"And what are you referring to by 'us'?" Raven questioned, keeping her hand on the hilt of her katana. She couldn't trust this woman.
"Simple. A devout worshiper of Salem." Lilith smiled, "Simply stop running from your fate, and accept who you are meant to be."
"I do not so readily give praise."
Raven narrowed her eyes.
If she could just let her keep talking... maybe she would stand a chance for reinforcements to arrive. Or she could find a plan of escape... she could just lead her on a wild chase through the woods before taking off with the maiden powers.
"Do you see? Even now, you are thinking of running. But you can't run forever, Raven." There was a terrifying gleam in her eyes, which took Raven's soul and laid it bare before her for her judgment.
"The strong live, the weak die," Lilith bared her fangs, smiling. "You recognize that sentiment, don't you?"
"Perhaps."
"I despise weaklings, Raven. They make my skin crawl."
Lilith extended her hand.
"Become one of us."
-o-o-o-
Winter attacked with the elegance and grace befitting that of the Atlesian specialists, but Cinder Fall simply blasted her away with fire.
Penny countered with a green beam which forced the column of fire to bifurcate, but a fireball was sent flying back, causing Penny to have to use her array of blades to deflect.
Vernal attacked from the back, firing and slicing with her cleavers. For all the talking she had done, she was still a relatively skilled fighter and a good ally here.
Laughing maniacally, Cinder deflected with black glass blades that were summoned in the air.
Winter summoned a flock of icy nevermore and sent them at Cinder, who again simply skillfully slashed through them.
A blazing fireball was shot at Winter, and she knew she couldn't afford to tank a hit. If it even managed to touch her, her aura would be scorched.
Winter used a glyph to shield herself. However, the fireball broke into pieces which scattered the ground.
"Winter, move!" Penny shouted.
Winter didn't look to check, she just moved. A glyph appeared under her feet, pushing her to the side almost immediately.
There was a deafening sound, a furious, raw burst of flames and light. Winter felt herself careen in the air, and her back struck a tree.
Vernal went on the offensive, supported by an array of beams from Penny. In response, Cinder sent fire at the ground, kicking up dust.
She burst through the dust screen, surprising Vernal, and spearing her in the abdomen with the tip of her sword, before kneeing her in the face. She slammed her boot into the dazed Vernal's abdomen again, sending her body careening in the air towards Penny, who didn't react in time to move out of the way. The two of them tumbled into the dust.
Cinder's left arm extended to chokeslam them against the ground. Winter watched, eyes wide as the arm lengthened to dozens of meters long, dragging the two through the forest dirt and out of sight.
It was a Grimm arm. With claws.
She wasn't human. Not fully.
To what extent would Cinder Fall go in order to obtain power?
"Is this all you can truly offer? This is pathetic, pitiful, even."
Cinder Fall began flying again in the direction of where Pyrrha Nikos and her opponent had gone.
Winter knew she couldn't allow that to happen. Cinder was after the remaining quarter of the maiden power, and as skillful of a combatant Pyrrha Nikos was, she couldn't take on a near maiden and another powerful opponent at once.
Slamming her saber into the ground, she took a knee.
Closing her eyes, she began summoning.
This summon would not take too long, as just a basic means for flight. She was almost done-
"Oh, no you don't."
It was a searing sensation that spread like wildfire across her chest, and the force of impact struck her to the ground.
Coughing, Winter barely got herself back up before Cinder attacked again.
A glyph got her out of the way, but Cinder Fall was no slouch. The heel of a boot struck her in the head, disorienting her.
Winter coughed, crawling backward, "How did you know?"
"I suppose you could say I was briefed by someone."
Cinder brought down her sword, leaving arcs of fire in its path. Winter was able to spring backward, but it turned out that it wasn't necessary.
Penny intercepted Cinder with her own array of swords. They spun rapidly in circles, cutting into Cinder's defense and forcing her backward.
Penny tried sweeping her blades low, but Cinder jumped over them, raising a column of fire that split Winter and Penny.
The winds in the area began blowing against Winter and Penny, restricting their movements.
In contrast, Cinder seemed almost faster than before, and she was able to outmaneuver both of them with ease.
Winter grit her teeth. It was like having the effect of a discount time dilation glyph.
Still, there was no denying that little by little, they were losing the fight.
Despite Winter's herculean efforts to block and parry, she kept taking damage. The same was with Penny, as even the array of blades that she spun slowed, allowing Cinder to get chips of damage in.
Cinder's flames felt like the inside of a volcano.
They were so hot that Winter had begun sweating from being in such proximity to them. They felt like an inferno that was never-ending, which had no sentience and only sought to destroy everything in its path.
Her saber, clashing against the hardened glass swords of Cinder, seemed to almost soften upon impact.
There was no question about how high temperature those flames were.
Her weapon was melting.
She pulled back out of shock but immediately fell into a defensive stance.
Still, it was too late. It gave Cinder the slightest edge, and she did not hesitate to capitalize on it.
She slashed violently, and Winter blocked with the still-cooling saber, trying her best to wield it even as she was on the back foot and at a disadvantage.
And there was nothing she could do about it.
They were going to lose.
-o-o-o-
Jaune fired Pathfinder immediately, but the gravity bullet was deflected by the scorpion faunus' tail.
Jaune gaped. He hadn't even staggered!
"Move your fucking ass!" Qrow bellowed.
With a jolt, Jaune realized it was aimed at him, and he did not hesitate to jump backward.
It was like his opponent had teleported. Callows appeared in front of him, and only his training reflexes allowed him to get his shield up in time.
The scorpion stinger slammed against the shield, and Jaune was sent skidding backward.
Thank Percy for that.
Regaining his senses, he surveyed the situation.
Him, Nora, Ren. Taiyang and Qrow. Five against Tyrian Callows and Hazel Rainart. Some of the most dangerous men alive.
Jaune didn't particularly like their chances. Beside his left ankle, Zwei barked ferociously.
Rainart was fighting Taiyang, Nora, and Ren, who were all trying to evade the massive giant.
Did he go help Rainart, or did he stay and fight Tyrian with Qrow?
Callows cackled in glee, sprinting at him, and this time, Qrow got in front, blocking with his massive scythe-sword. Qrow pushed Callows away, slashing at the scorpion faunus to create space.
Jaune clenched his fist in frustration, not knowing what to do.
"Go, go! I got it!" Qrow parried the strikes from Tyrian, but a few still slipped through, and he grunted.
Jaune instantly obeyed, bolting towards the others, who looked like they were struggling with Rainart. He fired Pathfinder at Callows, but the scorpion faunus casually deflected them with his tail.
Nora slammed her hammer into Rainart's exposed back, but it barely did anything. Instead, Rainart spun around, backhanding Jaune's teammate into a tree. Her back slammed against it, and she crumpled to the ground.
"Nora!" Ren shouted, firing bullets at Rainart, who swatted the bullets away like annoying flies.
Jaune fired Pathfinder with practiced ease, drawing the attention and subsequent ire of the giant.
Jaune gulped. M-Maybe he shouldn't have done that.
Bounding towards him, the giant's steps kicked up miniature dust clouds, obscuring his vision. Jaune cringed, hearing his thunderous roar.
His senses screamed at him to duck, and he obliged, dropping. He felt the air pass by his head.
He had almost just been knocked out!
Jaune gulped with the realization.
A few months ago, he might have not been able to avoid that swing. He didn't bother drawing his sword, knowing he couldn't do anything to the giant.
What was his plan, one might ask? Well, it was logical, of course.
He ran.
He wasn't going to fight a giant who he had no chance of beating. Even Nora had gotten clocked in the face!
His plan wasn't just to cowardly run, though. He wanted to be able to stall until someone could help him, and maybe Nora and Ren could get back up.
He ran towards the veteran huntsman who was supposed to handle the guy, Taiyang.
As he continued to run and somehow managed to evade the giant's strikes, Zwei, being the faithful dog he was, ran beside him, barking and nipping at the giant's ankles.
Sensing another strike coming from behind, Jaune leaped to the left, and the ground on his right exploded. Chunks of dirt and debris slammed against his side, and he was sent off balance, flying onto the ground.
Jaune shook his head, sitting up. He half-expected Rainart to be on top of him.
Thankfully, though, Taiyang had covered for him in his absence.
The veteran huntsman had his dual black gauntlets equipped and was evading Rainart's strikes expertly.
He was like water, the way he was moving and flowing around to strike at Rainart's vulnerable areas. They must have been pressure points or something, with the way the giant seemed to be affected by every strike.
Still, the giant powered through, and finally caught Tai by the bicep. The veteran huntsman struggled to get out of Rainart's grasp, but he couldn't. His golden aura was flickering.
From the other side of the clearing, Ren's automatic pistols were firing at all cylinders, but they were being ignored by the giant.
Taiyang's arm was being crushed. Tai winced in pain, grunting as he tried to kick away from Rainart, but to no avail.
Jaune frantically took aim with Pathfinder.
He fired.
Jaune's shoulder felt the recoil of the bullet as the gravity dust bullet slammed against Rainart's vulnerable nape of the neck, causing his head to recoil.
As a result, he instinctively let go of Tai, and Taiyang, instead of retreating, instantly struck at Rainart's throat, sending the giant onto his back.
Jaune and Ren fired at the man's throat simultaneously, looking to add as much pressure as possible, as Tai exploded the giant's throat with fire dust pellets from his dual gauntlets.
Following that, he leaped backward, putting distance between himself and the giant. That was smart, Jaune thought. The giant might have been playing dead, or he could have recovered.
After a few more rounds of explosives and dust bullets, both Jaune and Ren ceased fire, waiting.
The smoke and dust that had kicked up from the rounds and fire dust obscured their vision. Jaune waited for the outcome of the exchange with bated breath.
Yet, through the smoke, Hazel Rainart emerged once again.
Despite acknowledging that it could have been a possibility, Jaune's eyes became saucers.
How had he just taken that many rounds of dust bullets, specifically gravity and fire dust, to the exposed throat, and still come out fine!? It didn't make any sense.
Out of the corner of his eye, Jaune could see Nora groan,
Jaune resumed fire with Ren, but it wasn't doing any damage. No, instead, it was to stall.
The giant grunted, digging into his pockets.
Was that some kind of power-up? A serum?
Large dust crystals were held in his fists now, and he went to inject them.
There it was! They were searching for a weak point, but those crystals could be blown up!
Jaune took aim and fired.
-o-o-o-
Yang and Blake separated, diving to the side as Summer Rose attacked almost immediately. Blake darted into the trees, and Yang followed her example, doing the same.
Standing with their backs against the trees, the duo panted quietly.
This wasn't her mom.
This wasn't Summer Rose. It was an imposter. It had to be.
Yang could do this. She just looked like Summer Rose. She wasn't actually Summer Rose.
"Oh Yang, where are you? Don't you miss your supermom?" the statement came with a teasing lift to it. Just like her mom. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!" she could almost hear the familiar pout. "Don't you miss your mother's cookies?"
As Yang peeked from her spot around the tree again,
An iron grip curled around her throat. She couldn't breathe. Gasping, Yang fell to her knees, involuntary tears coming out of her eyes. She was choking. Instinctively, her hands rose to pry the grip off her throat, but she found she couldn't. The strength was incredible.
Blake fired at Not Summer, squeezing off multiple shots from Gambol Shroud. Several pinged off Not Summer's back. She took a step back, then burst into rose petals, putting distance between them.
It was the same semblance that she remembered her mother having. Yang's heart cracked in half.
Blake sensed her weakness, and she went on the offensive to cover for her partner. Blake slashed with her katana, but it was parried by the imposter, who laughed. It was a bubbly, almost joyful laugh, but there was an undercurrent of malice and faux friendliness which caused goosebumps to form all across her skin. Her hair stood up on edge, her instincts screaming at her that something was not right.
"Aww~ look who missed mommy..." the imposter twirled her axe.
Blake was stoic, her jaw clenched as she pursued, slashing with Gambol Shroud. Not Summer parried the strikes away with her axe, twirling to hook the end around Blake's wrist. The cat faunus tried to leap backward, but the woman possessed a surprising amount of strength that reeled her in like a fish on bait.
Blake was unprepared for the series of vicious blows that followed.
She barely blocked the kick to the head and abdomen, and the well-placed strike to the liver left her reeling. Aura or no aura, the feeling left her staggering, barely keeping herself up.
Yang came for backup, tanking the follow-up kick with her forearms. The blow sent her skidding backward on the ground.
With a fluid, almost blindingly fast motion, Not Summer mecha-shifted her axe into a rifle and fired. Bullets came out of the chamber, each spinning and leaving a trail of red, malevolent energy in their wake.
Yang and Blake burst out of the way, and their intuitions were proven correct when the bullets exploded upon impact with the ground, cleaving it into little craters.
Yang responded by shooting her gauntlets, one after the other, but Not Summer rolled out of the way of the fire dust.
"Close one!" she smiled cheerily, "Come on my sunny little dragon, you can do it, girl! I believe in you!"
Yang fired again, but this time it was deflected.
"Momma believes in you!"
"Shut the fuck up! You're not my mom!" Yang roared, bursting forward. She was going to cave that imposter's skull in.
"Yang no! It's a trap!" a panicked shout broke her out of her trance.
But it was too late. Summer Rose opened her tenebrous, black eyes.
And Yang stared into the endless abyss of unfulfilled promises and dreams. She gasped.
There was a blinding rush of red-hot pain, so intense that it felt like the sun itself was scorching her skin and a thousand nails plunged themselves into her body. Her yellow aura burned and writhed, repelled by the darkness that was carried.
Blake grit her teeth, opening fire and peppering the Grimm woman with shots, forcing her to let go of her partner. She darted forward, leaving clones to disorient her opponent.
Her opponent shifted, firing bullets to the left of her.
There! It was a small opening, but an opening nonetheless. Slinging Gambol Shroud, Blake lunged, trying to wrap the ribbon around the woman's neck.
Instead, she was met with the barrel of a pistol to the face. And one to the throat.
-o-o-o-
Weiss blitzed Emerald immediately. She couldn't afford to let a distraught Ruby take Emerald one one-on-one, especially with Emerald's semblance of hallucinations.
"M-Mom?"
"Oh, look!" Summer Rose said, smiling eerily, "My baby girl has grown up into a fine huntress! Mommy is so proud of you, just know that."
Ruby's voice hitched in her throat, and Weiss cursed, using her glyphs to get in front of Ruby. Thankfully, she made it just in time to deflect slashes from Emerald, but she had gone to the wrong place.
The Ruby she had been seeing was fake. It was Emerald's semblance.
Weiss cursed again as the illusion disappeared, whirling around to see Ruby frantically defending herself against Emerald's attacks.
Glyphs appeared under her feet, and Weiss glided across the ground, spraying ice dust crystals at Emerald, who was forced backward.
"W-Was that..." Ruby stopped, referring to her mom.
"Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. We need to focus," Weiss stressed furiously.
"Thanks, Weiss." Ruby nodded seriously, as they reunited with each other.
"Don't thank me yet. We still need to beat her." Weiss glared at Emerald.
Though she knew they could beat her, Emerald's semblance of hallucinations was good enough for her to stall for time.
"We can't get rid of Emerald so easily, and the others need help." Weiss narrowed her eyes.
"But if one of us stays here, we'll lose..." Ruby objected.
"Then let's get her, and get her fast," Weiss clenched the hilt of Myrtenaster.
Ruby twirled her scythe Crescent Rose, and together, they burst towards Emerald.
-o-o-o-
Pyrrha snarled at the smirking woman in front of her.
"You're like a pathetically feral cat, aren't you? I'm Discordia, Lower Apostle Two, by the way," the fluorescent-eyed, white-haired woman said, winking.
"I don't care what you are. You'll die, for that."
"Oh? For what?" she smirked, seemingly amused.
Pyrrha narrowed her eyes. Red arcs of lightning flickered between her fingertips in warning as her temper flared, manifesting itself in her powers.
"Percy doesn't belong to you."
"It's only natural for one to take hold of their possessions, isn't it? Oh, the things I'll do with him..."
The succubus in front of her licked her lips.
Eyes blazing, Pyrrha streaked forward, unaware that she was using her maiden powers to do so.
Discordia smirked.
Discordia's shield deployed, and Pyrrha's Miló slammed against it, clashing.
Pyrrha's emerald green eyes widened as a glowing chain whip hissed, racing through the air.
Stretching her hand out, Pyrrha reached Miló out to deflect the chain whip.
The most optimal combination was to move it to the right, then close the distance, and attack with Akoúo̱, her shield.
However, as the chain whip headed towards her, it didn't obey her movements.
It slammed into her spear, and, almost with an unnatural sentience, it wrapped around it. She could see the tip was coated with poison. All in one motion, it began pulling, trying to take her spear out of her hands.
Pyrrha jerked back instinctively, not willing to let go of her weapon. A secondary gun was drawn by her opponent, and Discordia began firing at her rapidly.
She took several bullets to the left shoulder before getting Akoúo̱ up to block.
Still, the strength of the whip increased invariably, and Pyrrha was sent off her feet into the air, careening towards Discordia.
A poison-tipped whip ripped through the air, darting towards her, and Pyrrha used her polarity semblance and maiden powers to dash toward the left. While avoiding Discordia's strikes, Pyrrha rapidly fired Miló at her opponent.
But they were blocked.
W-What?
Twelve black masses of flesh had exploded from her enemy's back, extending to block the bullets.
Not letting it deter her, Pyrrha landed on her feet. She burst forward, the tip of Akoúo̱ flickering with red lightning, as she looked to take her opponent by surprise.
Akoúo̱ slammed against the tentacles, but the thick, rough texture and skin of the tentacles caused the spear to only puncture into the top layers, failing to deal any true damage.
Pyrrha jerked on her weapon, trying in vain to pull it out.
It wasn't coming.
By the time she noticed another tentacle coming in to attack, it was too late.
She was slammed off her feet and sent careening into the air.
Again, Pyrrha righted herself with the maiden powers and her semblance. With only a quarter of the Fall Maiden's powers, Pyrrha knew that she needed to put them to use.
"To be brutally honest with you, I don't think you're worthy of him," Discordia said, her blindingly white chain whip snapping in the air, "It's okay, you can be my friend ~ No, my pet!"
Pyrrha knew it wasn't true, but some feelings, ugly and irrational, welled up in her chest, threatening to burst.
She went on the attack, squeezing off a few shots with Miló, which were blocked by the chain whip this time. Throwing Akoúo̱, she bolted forward using her polarity semblance again, using it to increase her speed through force on her armor and Miló.
Dashing forward, she transitioned Miló to a xiphos sword, trying to cut at the tentacles.
There were twelve of them, though, and they came from every angle, forcing Pyrrha backward. She cut at them, and even the sharp edge of Miló in its xiphos form wasn't able to harm the tough hide of the black tentacles.
She countered perfectly, but she couldn't do it.
It was no use. She couldn't close the distance, not with those tentacles in the way.
Jumping back, she created space, aware that not one, but two chain whips were heading her way this time.
Pyrrha forced a gust of wind forward, trying to deflect the two white chain whips mid-air.
While the left one seemed normal, the chain whip on the right seemed to bend to attack her, even though weapons were supposed to be inanimate.
Was that a semblance?
The left one was deflected, but the right one swerved around the gust of wind, almost as if it were sentient.
What was that? It had to be some kind of semblance, right?
But Pyrrha had damaged her earlier... unless she had taken that hit on purpose?
Pyrrha blocked with Akoúo̱, her faithful bronze shield ready to deflect the whip off her. However, almost like a snake, the whip slithered around it. It hissed, attaching itself to her vambrace.
And it began eating through her armor.
Pyrrha jerked backward in shock, but it would not let go, to her dismay. Its grip was firm.
It was... sentient. It was moving on its own when it shouldn't have.
Frantic, she brought Miló down on it, trying to separate it from her arm.
Bringing Miló down on it did nothing, only serving to clang Miló off of the chain. The clang was so hollow that Pyrrha could tell that the chain whip was magnitudes more dense than even metal. Miló sounded like a hollow piece of aluminum in comparison.
Suddenly, Pyrrha realized that the metal had been caved in. Dented, like some kind of plastic toothpick.
Miló was dented. Akoúo̱ was dented, too.
H-How?
Miló was made of a sturdy bronze alloy, the strongest metal that could be found in Mistral. And yet... there was no denying that it had somehow been dented.
Above her, a twelvefold deadly basket of tentacles formed a deadly web, falling all around her.
She moved, using her polarity semblance to accelerate herself, but the web of tentacles had ensnared her in its trap.
A stray bolt of red lightning burst from the tip of Miló, striking the tentacle. It burned through it, creating an opening, but it was too small.
Almost immediately, Pyrrha watched the tentacle regrow itself.
Again, she tried it, three bolts of lightning this time which struck with the fury of a cornered snake against the encasement, but the black, fleshy tentacles just regenerated.
She generated the same vivid red lightning, with no results. She panted, shoulders heaving with exhaustion.
"Oh! It seems like I've caught you!" Discordia smiled eerily, like a child who had caught a small animal.
Pyrrha grit her teeth, instinctually slashing at the tentacles with Miló. And again, it dented against the superior material of the black flesh.
The tentacles began closing in on her.
They latched onto her, and Pyrrha couldn't keep herself upright.
The tentacles were so... heavy...
She collapsed to the ground.
Or... maybe... maybe... it wasn't that... they were so heavy... so much as she was... tired.
Her eyelids felt incredibly heavy. She wanted to close them.
Pyrrha felt her aura rapidly draining from the tentacles...
A-And there was... there was...
There was something... other than aura too...
And she couldn't do anything to stop it.
AN: A very late New Year's update for you all. Hope you enjoyed it! The hiatus will hopefully be over in around 3 months.
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