Cassiel POV
"This is not a tragedy. This was not an accident. This is what happens when you hand over your trust. Your safety. Your children. To men who claim to be our guardians. But are, in reality... Nothing more than men. Our Academies' headmasters wield more power than most armies and one was audacious enough to control both."
"Ha! She's calling you out James!" I said to no one.
"They cling to this power in the name of peace, and yet, what do we have here? One nation's attempt at a synthetic army, mercilessly torn apart by another's star pupil. What need would Atlas have for a soldier disguised as an innocent little girl? I don't think the Grimm can tell the difference. And what, I ask you, is Ozpin teaching his students? First a dismemberment, and now this? Huntsmen and Huntresses should carry themselves with honor and mercy."
"Both tend to get people killed." I commented out loud.
"Perhaps Ozpin thought as though defeating Atlas in the tournament would help people forget his colossal failure to protect Vale when Grimm invaded it's streets. Or perhaps, this was his message to the tyrannical dictator that has occupied an unsuspecting kingdom with armed forces. Honestly? I haven't the slightest clue as to who is right and who is wrong. But I know that the existence of peace is fragile. And the leaders of our kingdoms conduct their business with iron gloves. As someone who hails from Mistral, I can assure you; the situation there is... Equally undesirable. Our kingdoms are at the brink of war. Yet we, the citizens, are left in the dark. So I ask you... When the first shots are fired... Who do you think you can trust?" The screens turned to normal and she cut the connection.
"I can almost hear that evil smile of hers." A few seconds later, warning sirens started blarring.
"Alert. Incoming Grimm attack. Threat level: Nine. Please seek shelter in a calm and orderly fashion." The emergency announcer said.
"Define 'calm and orderly'. Nine? Really? That's hardly a threat." I said to no one.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please! There is no need for panic." Jame said into the microphone. No later did he finish that sentence did a Nevermore screech as it landed on the shield. I brought out the darkness and quickly subdued it. I called everyone I could at once, but Ruby was unreachable for some reason. Blake, Yang, Weiss, and reluctantly, Ozpin, James, and Qrow. Yes, I have their numbers too.
"The Nevermore isn't a threat right now. Most Grimm I go near right now will actually become tame, that said, try not to shoot this Nevermore. Or the other one I'm about to call." I told them
"Wait! What other one?" Weiss asked. I summoned Nightfall and shot a beam of light toward Beacon Cliff. Seconds later, another Nevermore flew up here.
"Cassiel! You are not helping the civilians by bringing more Grimm!" James shouted.
"When did I say that was the intent?" I asked. "If I were all of you, the students would take up defense at Beacon academy, the Huntsmen and Huntresses would join them and spread out into the city or defend the Successor and the other one. As for Atlas, focus fire on the larger Grimm and the assault mechs the White Fang is currently using in the streets. By the way, Ozpin, James, Qrow, I fucking called it! Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be doing my own thing unless I can find a few soon to be dead people. By the end of tonight, SOMEONE'S head is going to be mounted on my wall!"
"The White F-"
"What are yo-" *boop*. Yang and Blake tried to ask. I looked at both Nevermores.
"Would you kindly shoot the other Grimm?" I asked one.
*CAW*
"And you fly me to the academy before shooting the White Fang? And the ship Torchwick is on? I'm sure you'll be able to figure out which one."
*CAW* It lowered it's head to let me on.
Grimm are surprisingly intelligent.
(Beacon Academy)
Atlas robots are already here, trying to deal with the Grimm. I think I'll just sit tight unt- hello White Fang! On second thought, I'll just watch this play out. Everything appears to be just fine. Now I should probably be concerned, the robots just started emitting a red lig- yeah, they're shooting everything that can bleed.
"Look out!" A voice shouted. I turned and saw Weiss and Blake on the ground, being shot at by the robots. I pointed Lionheart at the 7 robots now surrounding them.
"How about no!" I shot each one in the head, destroying them instantly. I threw Dawn over to them and airstepped to it. "Finally! People start listening to me!"
"Cassiel? What are you doing here?" Weiss asked.
"I never said what 'my own thing' entailed. Welcome to the party, be warned, the other guests are assholes!" I said as I helped them up.
"Thanks for the heads up." Blake said... Was that sarcasm?
"Aaawww you're becoming a little like me."
We spent a few minutes dealing with everything that came up. Weiss dealt with the hacked(?) robots, Weiss dealt with the White Fang, and I just shot everything that was wrong with this situation. Surprisingly, no Grimm came by and interrupted us. Nevermind, I spoke too soon. An alpha Beowolf dropped from out of a falling airship.
"Fuck off!" I shot it in both it's knees(?) then put it out of it's misery. An actual gunblade (gunkeyblade?) is strangely satisfying to use. I saw Blake running towards it, so I decided to follow her as Weiss looked to have this under control. "You're not going alone, sorry."
"Thanks." She smiled a little. I popped open the cylinder on Lionheart, 4 shots left out of 24. Still have 3 mags worth of bullets. I closed it and followed her until she stopped outside the cafeteria, fear all over her face. "No." She said as she looked inside just in time to see an Atlas soldier get thrown by the man inside.
"Hello, my darling." He said once he noticed her, neither his smile nor the way he said that gave any amount of comfort, not that it would under different circumstances. Ah! He must be Adam.
Blake slowly started backing away.
"Running away again? Is that what you've become my love? A coward?" He asked tauntingly.
"Better to be a coward than a murderer and a terrorist." I said. He looked at me.
"Replace me already? I'm going to enjoy this."
"Why are you doing this?" Blake asked.
"You and I were going to change the world, remember? We were destined to light the fires of revolution!" He stepped on the person beneath him. "Consider this the spark." He drew his sword and was about to stab the man, but Blake rushed forward and locked swords with him.
("No Return", Audiomachine, Kevin Rix)
"I'm not running." She said defiantly.
"You will." That's a one sided fight, and as much as I'd love to let Blake overcome her nightmare, I really don't want to see how this plays out. I threw Dawn as a shuriken at him, he shot it out of the air (that must be a powerful gun built into that sheath), I airstepped to Dawn and shot him twice with Lionheart. He kicked Blake away and blocked both shots before shooting a Grimm that was about to attack Blake.
"I don't quite think you understand the meaning of 'revolution', certainly not 'love' any better than I do." I said. He shot his sword out of the sheath and dashed toward me, right behind it.
"Barrier!" I blocked the sword, he caught it and jumped right over the Barrier before shooting me twice and striking me, I blocked each one and locked our swords against one another.
"And you. So what has she promised you? Did she swear she would always be by your side? Like she did to me?" He asked.
"Aero!" I launched him upward and shot my last 2 bullets at him and reloaded before he landed. I airstepped behind him as he landed, The scythe blade of Dawn under his chin.
"She never promised anything of the sort," I pulled back Dawn, but he was faster and slashed at me, launching me back. As he was about to press the attack, Blake shot him several times, though he blocked every shot after the third.
"Leave him alone!" She shouted. He just smiled like he did earlier.
"So you did replace me then?"
"No, though honestly, I don't think I would say no to it." I answered as I summoned both Dawn and Nightfall for a shotlock. I kind of meant it, though it was mainly to piss him off.
"With a human no less." He said as he looked between us, disgusted.
"To be fair, I hate my own race about as much as you." Almost.
"Silence!" He shouted as he finally used his Semblance. I barely dodged the strike, good to know it has ranged capabilities as well.
"Fuck you." Dawn and Nightfall hovered to my sides as the two of us were trapped in some kind of dome. Beams of light and dark rapidly shot out from every direction at him. Even if this doesn't work, I'll still get something good out of it. He blocked as many as he could, which was a lot surprisingly. Only a few hit him. Once it was done, he was still standing.
"Is that the best you can do?" His hair glowed red. I have no idea how, but he somehow multiplied and ran several circles around me. He got close and used his Semblance faster than I could physically react. I only had enough time to remove the mask and activate my armor.
"Barrier!" Several Barriers appeared between us, but his attack still went through them and hit me. I was launched back pretty far, I could feel he cut through the armor too. I hit a wall and fell hard. My aura is definitely gone, and I can barely move much less speak. Probably should've done that thing with the mask and armor sooner, though it might have just saved my life.
"NOOOO!!!" Blake cried.
"Now that he's out of the way, I can finally focus on you." He said menacingly.
"Cu- *coughing*". Damnit! Get away from her!
"This could've been our day, Blake." Back the fuck away from her!
"I never wanted this! I wanted equality! I wanted peace!" She shouted through her tears. She shot him twice, both times, he blocked it. Run, Blake! Damnit, I'm not losing another loved one!
"What you want is impossible!" He smacked her, knocking her down.
"Cu-*coughing*. Sto-*more coughing*." Damnit, why can't I bring out my darkness??!!
"But I understand. Because all I want... Is you, Blake." She tried pointing her gun at him, but he kicked it away. "And as I set out upon this world and deliver the justice mankind so greatly deserves..." He knelt down to her. " I will make it my mission to destroy everything you love. And he was just the start."
"Blake!" A voice called out. Yang? No! Don't come closer! "Blake! Where are you?"
"And she's next." No! Nonononononononono! He stood up and stabbed Blake, causing her to scream, catching Yang's attention.
"Get away from her!" Yang shouted. Tears in my eyes, I still wasn't able to bring out my darkness right when I needed to. Yang screamed in pure rage, her Semblance activated, she launched herself towards Adam, but he cut off her right arm with a quick slash from the sheath. I could only watch as two people I love more than anything were being taken from me, again! Time seemed to slow down as he turned to finish the job, before he could turn all the way around though, a masked woman in red and black appeared out of nowhere and attacked him.
'Y̴̬̅͋̄̿̈́̒̽͆͒ŏ̶̢̱̞̥̳͉̹͓̯͙̯̱͋̄͐̾̎̿͠ų̷̛̞̞̘͖̩͉̖̘̬͖̗͈̲̰̃̒̉̀́̽͌̑͛͑̒̊͝͝ ̶̢̡̘͉̭̘͔̖̦͇̜̤̣͐͗͑͆̕̕̚͘͝s̸̡̛̹̠̤͊͛̿͌͌̽̉́̚̕͝͝ͅȩ̵͉̪͕͎̟̥̲͎̗̲̟̓͜e̶̢̛͉̖̫̫͍̞̟͈̞͍͛̓́̀̈́̇̋̊̽͠ḱ̴̛̝̖͗͌̃͒̂̂̌͋͋͠ͅ ̷̙̋̿̔̃̀͒̽̅̍̇̄̀̚̕p̴̢̗̹͙͖̭̖͗̓ỏ̷͖͓̤͌̀̅̚ẅ̴̬͓̤̖̺͈̝́̏͊̀̂̓͑̈́̓ë̸̼̲́͌ŕ̴͓̯͚̮͓̫̪̳̠͔̥͖̆̽̄̍̑̔̈́̒̍̂͜͠?̶̧̡̛̛͍̣̩̲̰̤͋̐̃͛̄̍͒͒͑́͋͘͠'
'What?'
The woman quickly put Adam on the defensive, he broke her sword, but she just drew another one.
'D̷̢̧̖̦͍̤͓͍̳̗̤̘̍̀̈̌̊͒̓̐̍̕̚̕͝ͅͅa̶̗̼͚̦̤͔̻̋̈́ř̵̟͍̩̯̮͓̥̹͌̔͐̾̏̇̕k̷͕͕͎̦̫͇̬̲̲̈́́̅̓́̐̋̔̀̀͠n̷̹̟͕͓̤͓͍̙̳͉̩̺̏͋̈̐̊͂̅͐̀̔͊̂ē̸̳̪̓̃̀̕͜ş̴͔̻̻̗̘̭̆̀̐̒̊͂͗͝ş̴͇͉͇̤̠͕͔͕̣͇͇̖͈̈́̆̓̃͆͛̂ͅ ̵̨̪̙͚̜̯̬̣͇͇̗̩̝͑̂̔͌̕ṫ̷͓̊ớ̷̥̉̈́̽͂̀͊̽̈́͐̎͝ ̸̢̖̣̤̹͍̣̭̝̥̀p̴̢̢͇̬̠̦̯̝͖͓͕̈́̋̈́̂̏ͅr̵̨̙̟̳͎͉̙̦̗̲̤̮͎̅̀͆́̽̑͌̉̐̑͐̕ó̴̻̘̦̭̃̀̃̀̋̎́́̇̔̈́͊̚͘ţ̴͇̠̗̮͖͓̻̣̼̙̺̘̠̐͒͌̚̕͜ę̸̨̫̹̪̲̯̯̽̌̈͐̉̽̋͊̚̕͝č̸̪͔͚͓̫̻̄̑̄̑̆̚͜͝t̶̨̧̘͇̬͚̫̻̜̍͌͌̋͒́͋͝͝ ̸̧͉̪̫͈̱̉̆̂̅̇͌́͊͂̈́̕̚͜͠y̶̡̲̼͇̭̮̓̇ơ̸̱͒̾̿̑̍u̴̢̘͙̻̰̭̻͈͖̬̗̺͐̀̉̈́r̷̗͎͓̣̼̭̼̬̖̘̣͗̓̋̾́́̏̀͑̽̈́͋͆̕̕ ̸̞̝̘̣͖̠̤̪̫̥̹̼̯̣̝͛͛͛̊͗̓͊̚͠L̵̜͚̪̝̲͓͔̮̾̈́̋̓̌̂̀̊͌̌̆͑͆͋͘ï̷͎̾̅̈̀̾̈́̑̒̓͑̚g̵̞͖̺̹̮̼͕̻̬͎̈́͌̑̔͛͑͗͝ͅh̷̝̦̹͙̟̫͖̓͂͒͝t̸̛̞̄͛̂̀̅̈́͗̓͗͋͝?̸̯͍̟́ͅ'
'Please? Help me save them?' I begged.
The woman got pushed back after blocking a strike from his Semblance.
'M̶̨͓̭̙̖̟̙̥͓̼̥̔̾́̅̽̆̂̀̓̇͐͘͝͠͠ÿ̴̨͈̯͔̪̹̙̰̠͈͇̖́ ̶̛̟̺̪̦͇͇̩̾͑̃̕̚p̶̡͕̘̘̺̫̯̮̞̦͈͍̤͐̇̒͑̇̚͘ͅo̵̡̞̬̟̘̓͛̂͌͜͠w̵̛̩̍̊̐̇͂̊̄͠ē̷̼̯̟̟̪̬̙͎̠̥͍̲͒̌̑̉r̸̡̖̟̙̩̦͔͙̺͇̣̩̖̰̠̐͗ ̸̣̜͓̯͗̓̊̄͗͒̈̌̚͘͜ĩ̸̗̙̙͓͓͙̭̬́s̸̪̠͙͇̹̠̞͌͗͛̑͐̀͜ ̴̧̹͓̮̣͉͉̬̗̲̩̓́͐͊͛͛͝ͅf̶̙͇̳̣̬̼̜̱̂̆̄̄̂o̵͚̗̦̦͓̭̣̳̍͋͛̾́͌́͑̉͝r̵̢͔̪̼̱͎̣̳̅̓͜͜ͅ ̶̢͖̮̬̊̈́́͛́̅̋͗t̵̳͗̊̕h̷̨̧̗͇͉͓͌͂̈́̋͊̉̆̍̀ͅe̶̼̳͉̦̰͉͓͌́̏̈̓̅̒͒̿͆̚ ̷̡͉̗̪͉̭͖͖̺͔͎̮̆͑̇̓̾̽͛̚b̴̧̨̨̟̭̘̗̖̟̬̲̳͑̈́̓̿̅̿̏̎̂̓̕͜͝ė̶̥̰̰̌̎̑̈͐͘ţ̶͕͐̊̉̓͋̿̐͒̎̎͊̑̍͝͝r̵̞̙̲͗͌̽̉̈͆̆̽̈͆́̇a̴̧̨̢̪̟̜̱̜̰̝̺̖̬̓̀̓̎̃͛̆͑y̷͔̖̪̙͊͒͊̋̇̈̓ẻ̵̢̧̢͎͕̘̠͕̹̳̱̗̯̺̊̊d̴̨̧̡̫̝̫̩͎̹̜̮̗̲̀͑͌̊̐̊͐̂̀̾͘͜͠.̷̛̹̦̄̌̌̈̿́̍̂́̈̿͘͝ ̶̩͕̣͖͋̐̐͗̀̈́̓̀I̸̧̛͉̲̥̥͕̗̹̳͖̳͈͈̋͐͊͛͆̌̀̉͊̋͌͋͌͝ͅn̸̢̢̩̤̳̩̖̬͓͈̥̖͙͍̈́͐̈̓̉̇̂͊̕͘ͅ ̸̧̡̯̰̹̩̰͉̻̣̤̩͓͆̈́̂̽a̷̡̨̛̪̝͍̟̝͇̙͖̬̱̬̜̻̓͒̎d̴̹͗̎̋v̷͍͂̄́̇͝ȁ̶̡̨͉̼͓̬̬̼̬̣̱͖̘̹̑ṅ̶͍͇̪̮̮̞̼̱̯͉͓͇͚̟̣̉͋ç̷̙͚̹͕̟̃e̷̹̰̗͍̮̲̟̠̹̣͆̓̏̕,̵͈̮̱̖͚̄ ̴̟͎̲͓̞̜̗̜̱̹̤̩̤̠̃̒͂̆̐̊͑̕͝ͅą̸͇͇͖̜̜̉̌̓̍̈́̊͠͠ ̴̢͇̻̼̦̰͔̲̮̼̥͉̘̺̾͋̃̉̈p̴͎͖͚͓͍̝̦͉̙̂r̴̨̗̘̖͇̥̭̪̪̈́̉̾̏̉̇̾̾͂̀̍́͠͝i̸̧̧̨̡̺̺̱̗̬͇̞̜̪͆̅̂͑͊̂c̸͉̙̹̩̠̹͇̬̍̂̽̍̍͠e̴͈̦̘̪̹̥͙̝͐͊̉̓̌́̒̉͘ ̵̰̻̭̫͚͖̳͓̲̙͎͗̓͒̒̉͌̿̚̚͜͝͝͠͠m̵̛͔͈̟͈͚͉͈̫͍̝̠͍̺͍̿̋̍͜͝͝ü̸̜͎̩̤̲̝̿͆̍̚̕̚ͅs̴̢̢̨̺͈͇̲͔̱͕͔̬͚̩̠͐̽̈́͋̏̉̓̉t̵̮̖͈̘͕͗̄̌̌͗͒̆́̀̄̚͝ ̸̧̢̞̰̣̦̺͉͎͉̳͖̓̑͋̒̂̉̈́́̽̿͑̂̇͝͝b̴̡̢̡̙͚͓͕̟͕̈́͆͑́͛̈́̋ȩ̷̜̤̠͍͕͓̗̞͔̜̪̋͐̊ͅ ̴̢̤̍̓̓̕͜p̷̧͇̹̠͚̭̠̪̝̑̓̋́̋̐̈́̏a̴̢̛̱̙̞̺̭̰̬͙̽͂̍͋͒̆̒͐̌̽͘̚i̴̪̩̹̲͒͠d̷̠̥͔̠̈́̽̈́̓̿͒.̷̖̙̥͍̬̫͕̀̆̾̅̄̓'
'Take it! I don't care!'
'T̶̲͔̰̒͒̐̉̆̈́͂͂̚h̵̢̹͚̥̺̥͓͓̻̣̺͙̀̀̅͑̃̄̿̋̔͘͜͠͝ͅe̸̜̺͕̅̔͂͐̌̍̑́̑͆͌͗̕̚ ̸̨̠͍̹̅̍̉̔̇̆̐̑͐̋͘͝͠p̴̲͚̪̫̯͙̺͖̽̈́̉̐̕̚ȁ̶̧̮̠̮͎͝c̵̨̤͚̮̙̰̣̪͎̫̋͝ͅẗ̴͉̙̠͈͕̦̟́ ̷̿͗͊̇̂̎͒́͑̂̏̎͘͜͝í̴̧̲̹̞̭̫̬̼͈͈͉͌̂̉͜s̶͓̦̪̝̻͕̖̻̟̉̎ ̶̧̺͕̼͖̝̎̈́͌͂̃̕f̴̺͉̀͂̍͘͝ồ̶̪̀͌̏̀̍̓̏̐̀́̄͝͝r̸̡̧̜̗̰̮̤̹̜̱͖̲͓̂̿̀̅̓͠g̸̡̣͉̫̩͈̘̭͑́͜é̵̟̮̙̰͚̞͂͘͝d̷̞͙̘͉̳̈̇̃͌.̷̧̜͈̘̿̊ ̸̯̒͐͆́̉̽͊͐̊͛͝͝ͅB̷̬̝̙͖̀̈̎͝e̵͚͂̎͐̉̑̈́w̶̦͈̍̽̍ä̶̡̬̟͔̼̯̖̣̝͖͍̖̺́̋̐̋̃͒͘ŕ̵̹̱̖̤̬̺̜̮̘͕͓̰̲̻̯̀́̌̔̃̊̎̍̀́͐̓̕͠e̶̢̩͖̮͙͓͎̩̦͚̜̳͐̊͜ ̸̧̗̫̲̞͖̙̖͎͇͚̿͑̋̎̿̌̈́ÿ̸̛͙̭̘͕̭̥̖͉̯͖̹͖͍́̌̅̓̾͐͆̑̆̎͠ǫ̸̟̞̳̟̟͉̫̯̘̎̓͜͝u̶͖͍̞̪̞͙͔͗͊̂r̵̼̍̇̍͛͝ ̷̘͇̗͍̜̦̣̮̳̌̄͝h̸̲̜̓̅̆͛́̉̊͛̅͌̒͗̏͐͠ͅę̶̟̝͙̹͓͖͎͍͖̼̦̂͜͜a̴̢̝̰̞͒̈͑̆̽͋̏͝r̵̰̱͙̥͇̰̣̠͍̘̠̍̄t̸̮͓̝͕̪̆̍͑̾́̆̕ ̸̞͕̣͒̃͌̏͐̑͛̂̿d̴̺̩̠̻̠͙̰̑́ͅͅr̷̨̨̻̺̹̰̩̬̠̮̩̳̯̫̈́̈́͗͑̀̌̅̕͘͜ȁ̷̫̭̌̓̾͛͝͝w̶̩̹̫̯͍͇̻̤̫̲̙̤̩̝͉̓̾͊͐s̶̨̠͇̼͔͙̖͕̜͔̰̫̎̄̔̈́ ̸̡̧͇̰̘͚͚͍̜̻͖̫̰̔̍̇͜͜é̴̡̛̖̹͓͚̖̹͈̪̤̮̞̼͋͒́͂̊͛v̵̻̤̠̯̪͇̯̜̼͙̲̑é̶̹͖̪̠̲̣̘͎̫̂͐̑͐̕͠r̴̼̼̹̘͉̓́̄̔̅̊̅ ̶͈̖̙̗̗͎̩͚͙̌͐̒͋̋͌̽c̵̡͍̖̟̃̍͒͑͛ḷ̶̢̰̱͔͉̣̜̍͌̊̌̀̕ő̷̡̨̤͔̜̺̜̬̤̜̟͎̓͗͑͛̀̌̃̑̒̕͘̚͘͜͝s̸̻͉̔ȇ̸̻͕͎͈͖̳͈̟̼̣̌́̽͌̒̈͊̾́̾̄r̸̟͔̙̘̬̙̟̮̉̽͐̄̽̐̀ ̵̝̠̩̥̟͈̤̳͆̏̄̀̔̔̉͛͘̕͠t̸̹̟̯̺͕̠̝̼͈̤̱͈̜̮͆̐͊̋̋͜͝ơ̶̛̝̣̗̲̘̬͍͖̳̄͛́̌͛̐̒͘ ̸̢̧̡̢͖̣͙̮̱̩̜̱̤͆͆͑͌͌̓͜͜D̵̨̧̺̱͕̬̳̪̳̫̰̊̏͒̽̇͌͐̾̉̈́̈́̓̈͜͜a̵̜͎͎̜̥̻͛̎̓̕r̵͔̮̤̝͓̪͖̥̫̻͎̆́̀͜͝ķ̷̢̛͖͓̩̞̳̩̠͇̙͍̗͑̾͛̅̈́̂̃̚̕̚͝͝ṇ̴̹̩͖̤͒̿͛̔̓͆ê̴̢̧̦͓̬̤̟͖̊͗̈́̈́̃͌̅̊̕͝s̴̨̳̥̑́̄̏̈͌͂̇s̸̩̘̈̿͐̏͐̇͘,̷̥̃̂̏̾ ̸̨̻͇̳̮͔̟̱̺͙͇͛̽͜b̸̡̛͕̮̩̣̘̺̖͚̟̹̼̺̥͐͌͑̂̾͋̋̾̔̆̊͐͌̚ṵ̵͍͔̞̒̍̄̈́͐̚͜t̷̡̖̠̺̮̲̝͎̪̠̣̆̑̈͂͛̒̈́̀͐ ̸̥̣͇̩̦̺̽̑̀̒f̷͔͘e̶̡̧̨̨͚̜͙̙̻̲͎͇̝̱̺͛͑̅͝͝ä̷͚́͝r̵͉̞͈̙̻͍̪͇̎̈́͑̐͐͌̚͠͝ ̸̡̜̝̺̥̲̩̼̺̰̫͌̑̍͛̾̿̍͌͐͛̚͜͝n̶̝̹͓̐̔̄̀̀̂̔̉̈̾͝͝o̶͉̱̊̈͛̒̉͝ẗ̷̜̟̱̠͗̂͛̀̅̊.̵̢̡̗̙͖͉͋͊̉̓̄'
Darkness began pouring out of my body finally. My wounds healing, breathing becoming easier, and my armor repaired itself. Though, all the dread I felt turned to hatred. I felt something burning on my chest and on my back as I tried to get up, but the pain numbed itself almost as quickly as it came. Upon seeing me get up, the woman tilted her head slightly, took one look at Yang, and left through a dark red portal she created by slicing the air with her sword. Adam stepped closer to Yang, ready to finish her, but Blake jumped in to protect her.
"Why must you hurt me, Blake?" He asked before trying to decapitate her. I moved faster than my mind could register and caught his sword with my hand as she finally ran away with Yang. "How are y-"
"Dark Firaga!" I blasted him back, a large black hand with red finger tips (think back to Terra's Dark mode) caught him and slammed him into the ground before throwing him straight up. I summoned Dawn, but it was different, it appeared as though it was entirely made out of bone. So this is what that voice meant, Way to Dawn has become Price of Exile (see I think it was chapter 9 or 10 for it's description). I flew up and attacked him, he blocked it, but still hit the ceiling.
"I will make you suffer!" I used a shotlock on him again, swirling blades of darkness were launched at him as bone spikes shot out of the ground. He blocked the blades and avoided the spikes.
"Why are you defending her? She just abandoned you like she abandoned me!"
"..." I airstepped behind him and struck his back, he turned around and tried to attack me. His movements felt so slow right now, I had no trouble deflecting him. He jumped back and threw his sword at me, it swirled like the blades I shot him with. I flipped Exile so I was holding the bone claws near the back end of it and caught his sword between the guard and hilt, throwing it away.
"I should've made s- AAAAGGHHH!" I airstepped to him, launching him in the air and slamming him into the ground repeatedly. He still has plenty of aura left.
"Gravira!" Now he's pinned enough for me to do what comes next.
"You made the mistake of hurting two people I love, now you and the rest of the White Fang can burn for all I care! That is something I cannot forgive!" I held him down with the hand from earlier.
"Not until I've made humanity pay for what they've done!" He shouted.
"All worlds begin and end in Darkness. The heart is no different, yours too steeped in it, eaten away by it. Darkness sprouts within it, grows, consumes it. Such is it's nature. In the end, every heart returns to the Darkness whence it came. Darkness is the heart's true essence. Every Light will fade, every heart return to Darkness!" I knelt down and removed his mask, I'm no longer capable of sympathy for him, not that I would be able to when he's looking at me with those hate-filled eyes.
"From Shadows, you descended upon the world. From Darkness, a messenger sent. And now, both call you home." I kicked his face as he struggled to break free. I threw him towards his sword as I wasn't done with him yet and created a projection of him to fight.
"You should've killed me when you had the chance." He taunted, like he's expecting to win this fight.
"I said I would make you suffer, and I'm a man of my word when it counts." He dashed toward me, but was intercepted by the fake. At this point, it can keep up with him easily. They both keep meeting each other blow for blow, neither has landed a solid hit. After finally pushing the fake back, Adam shot me, but the hand blocked the shots. The fake was about to unleash the ranged attack like he used against me, so it can copy a Semblance to an extent as well potentially? The attack was nowhere near Adam's, but still good to know. Adam destroyed the fake's attack and it before dashing to me.
"Stopga!" I casted when he was about half way. I am definitely going to be feeling this later.
'As the Cursebearer, source of thy power.'
"As the Cursebearer, source of thy power."
'I offer thee this gift, this shard of my soul.'
"I offer thee this gift, this shard of my soul."
'Until such time passes, that my enemy ceases to be.'
"Until such time passes, that my enemy ceases to be."
'Shall he never draw power from his again.'
"Shall he never draw power from his again."
'Soulrend!'
"Soulrend!"
My aura felt as though it was ripped out of my body, it all disappeared as a bright red ord appeared in front of me. The same happened to Adam as Stopga ended. He fell to the floor, he had difficulty breathing, he looked to be in pain as he looked up at me.
"Faunus does not mean animal or monster. But you made the choice, the mistake of letting that Grimm mask define who and what you were." I used the claws on Exile and stabbed him through his hands, pinning him to the ground and causing him to scream as loud as he could before I pointed Exile towards his heart. "Perhaps Blake could have stopped you if she stayed with you. Perhaps she could have saved you from becoming a monster. But you? You should considered her before deciding YOUR justice, YOUR liberation was more important."
"What would-what would you know?" He asked weakly.
"The goal of the savior is not to be lionized, but in your case, it might have worked. I believed you to be the most likely candidate to be the martyr that almost single handedly saves the Faunus. But you just had to hurt them. I lost one family, and it'll be a cold day in hell before I lose another! Return to Darkness!" I thrusted Exile into his chest. As his heart rose from his body and he faded away, I grabbed his heart.
"Dark Firaga." After several seconds, the flames died down and my aura returned to me, his heart... I don't really care. He's dead. I looked down at my chest and saw an incomplete Heartless emblem, probably on my back too. "Problems for later if I can't cover them up." Right now, getting back to the others is all that matters. First, I'm collecting Lionheart and reloading it, Adm's weapons, and my mask.
Did I forget how to turn off my Darkness? It's not working.
(Back at the docks in front of the school)
Port and Oobleck are trying to direct everyone onto airships. Everyone else looks worn out, others look like they might be injured.
"That's it, everybody on board! This is a mandatory evacuation!" Port ordered the students.
"A safe zone has been established in Vale! Please, remain calm and listen to Atlas persone!" Oobleck advised everyone. I saw Ruby and Weiss and immediately made my way towards them.
"Ruby! Cassiel!" Weiss said, relieved.
"Oh, I found you two!" Ruby said, relieved as well.
"Where have you-"
"Don't worry, I'm fine!" Ruby interrupted. "What's going on?"
"Well for starters-" I tried to explain. Ruby looked past Weiss and was horrified at what she saw.
"And you!" Weiss interrupted. "What happened? Blake came back with Yang looking like this, and she's barely said anything since! And what's with the new look?" I'm going to pretend you didn't ask that now of all times. I ignored her and walked towards Blake and Yang. Yang was unconscious, and Blake was holding her wound with one hand and holding Yang's hand with the other.
"I'm sorry..." She apologized, tears in her eyes.
"Curaga." I healed everyone around me. They were still exhausted, but wounds that could heal were no longer an issue. This caught her attention.
"Cassiel?" She said in disbelief. I knelt down and placed Adam's weapons in front of her.
"It's not your fault. He won't be harming another anymore." I placed my hand on hers and Yang's. "You are not responsible for this! You abandoned no one!" I wiped the tears from her eyes. "I should be apologizing, you and Yang were hurt because I-"
"Stop, please???"
"Hey..." Sun joined in. "They're gonna be okay." He assured us. "The soldiers have a ship ready to take you guys to Vale."
"But Jaune and Pyrrha are still missing! *groans*" Nora said, worried for her team.
"What??!!" Ruby said.
"Look guys, that giant Grimm keeps circling the school! Even the White Fang are pulling out! We all have to go... Now!" Sun warned.
"We're not leaving- *groans*" Ren said, unwilling to leave his team behind.
"Blake, I'll be back. I promise." I told her as I resummoned Exile.
"Where are you going?" She asked.
"Cassiel, whatever you're planning, bad idea. Very bad idea!" Sun said.
"I think I know who's up there, that's at least one more head on my wall tonight!" I flew up, ignoring anyone telling me to stop. Along the way, I saw a locker fly past me. Ah, that can't be important.
(Top of Beacon tower)
The Dragon doesn't seem interested in me. Good, if it can't be subdued, that's one less problem I'll have to deal with. I saw Cinder inside, she looked to be speaking to it, not for long.
"Firaga!" I shattered the window and landed inside.
"Cassiel?" She said, surprised.
"Where are Emerald and Mercury?" I asked.
"Don't worry, they're elsewhere right now." She answered. The elevator opened up, a sword was thrown at Cinder.
(KH3, Vanitas and Terra-Xehanort)
"Barrier!" I blocked the sword, the shield, and Pyrrha's added force. Pyrrha looked at me in shock.
"Cassiel?" She looked at me angrily. "Why are you helping her? What happened to you?" She asked.
"I'm not helping her, I'm protecting you. Leave! You can't win!" I told her.
"Ozpin-"
"Aero!" I interrupted and threw her back into the elevator.
"Gravity!" Goodbye!
"Not even your headmaster could stop me. What makes you so sure you can?" Cinder asked confidently.
"He was a fool, he was weak, and you're not the only one who got a power boost nor are you the only one who can use magic."
"Hmph. You know, you gave Emerald quite a scare."
"It's a shame she's not here, I would've enjoyed killing her."
"So you did see through her tricks? Impressive. I know of Someone who I think would quite like to meet you. Maybe you should consider changing sides?" She offered.
"Salem."
"Oh? So Ozpin told you did he?"
"Next to nothing though. It doesn't take a genius with a polygraph to know he's lying or not telling you what you need to know. Like how he told me nothing about the Maidens. I had to eavesdrop when he tried to involve Pyrrha."
"So you know? Less to talk about then. Now, about my offer? I'm sure She could find a good place for you in Her new world."
"Two of the people I cherish most were hurt because of the actions of you, your team, and Adam. I'm going to kill you, then I'm killing your pawns, your accomplices, and then Salem! Adam was first on that list!"
"Such a shame. You could be so much-" I airstepped to her and launched her to the window. It cracked as she hit it.
"Thundaga!" She blocked it with glass, so you're THAT bitch I thought as she shot me with a stream of fire.
"Reflega!" She was shot out the window, the rest of the windows broke as well. She flew back up, angry at what jusg happened.
"You're going to pay for that." She said.
"Not before I rip out that heart of yours." I turned Exile into a scythe and readied a shotlock. I didn't notice the Dragon flying towards us and nearly lost my balance as it crashed into the top of the tower, destroying everything but the floor we were standing on. This did interrupt me unfortunately. She was the first to recover and shot more flames at me. I kept airstepping around her until I got a clear shot from behind.
"Blizzaga!" Ice hit her in the back.
"Graviga!" It pulled her to the ground and held her there for a second. Before I could press the attack, a shield flipped her back by hitting her legs. The giant cogs and gears around us were then used to assault her and trap her. I turned and saw Pyrrha back up here (LIKE SHE SHOULDN'T BE!) and controlling the metal keeping her in place. I didn't notice the explosion about to happen though and got launched off the tower as one of the gears hit me. I saw a Nevermore flying towards me, actually, it's trying to catch me, one from earlier I'm guessing. I landed on it and scratched just behind the mask-like part.
"Thank you, good to see you're still around. Now would you kindly fly me to the top?"
*CAW*
It did as I asked and started flying straight up. Unfortunately, I was too late. I arrived just in time to see Cinder fire an arrow into Pyrrha's chest, Ruby arrived to see that as well. I felt my anger rising again, she did nothing to deserve this! She did exactly what a Huntress was supposed to do, but failed. And Ruby? That look of heartbreak, I don't think I need to say more. She's suffered enough for one night let alone a lifetime. I drew Lionheart, ready to shoot Cinder as I readied another shotlock as Pyrrha turned to... Who cares!
"I'LL KILL YOU!!!" I shouted as I shot Cinder. She just smiled sadistically as she blocked each shot.
"You're going to need more than that." She taunted.
"PYRRHA!" Ruby screamed in anguish. Light pouring out of her eyes, I heard the Dragon screech, then I felt pain. A lot of it, 0-13 in an instant, then everything became dark.
Has Ruby been holding out on us?
I regained consciousness just in time to see Qrow pick up Ruby.
"It's all right, I gotcha kiddo. I gotcha." He said as he came over to me. "Gonna need a little help with you." I tried to get up, but I couldn't, everything hurt too much. He loaded Ruby onto an airship as two soldiers did the same for me.
"Is she okay?" So I can speak, but I can't move? Figures.
"She'll be fine. Now get some rest, they told me what happened. A leader of the White Fang and Cinder on the same night? That's no easy feat." He complimented.
"Yang? Blake?" I asked.
"Yang's being treated by Atlas now in the safe zone, she should be in stable condition. As for Blake? She's fine, wants to see you from what I've heard. You've made an impression on her." He smiled.
"Where is she?" I struggled to sit up.
"The safe zone as well."
"Weiss?"
"Her old man came and got her, they're on their way to Atlas now."
"Drop me off where Blake is."
"That was the plan."
(Safe zone in Vale)
"Alright kid! Here's your drop off!" Qrow said. I had difficulty walking, but I could do it now. They landed and I exited the ship. I saw James, but ignored him. Making my way inside, it didn't take long for me to find Blake, she was sitting by Yang who was still unconscious. I sat next to Blake and after seeing who it was, she practically jumped out of her seat and hugged me.
"You came back!" She cried into my shoulder.
"I said I would." I returned the hug. "I hurt all over, I feel weak, but I'm here."
I just let her cry, not sure what I should be doing. Running my fingers through her hair feels right... I have no idea what I'm doing!
Adam
Cinder
Emerald
Mercury
Salem
I'm going to kill them eventually.