Chapter 14: Argus - Finale
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"I don't have much Aura left." Jaune warned as the ship came to a hover, kneeling on one side of Ren while Nora knelt on his other, the two supporting him together. A shimmer stretched out to encompass the young man and Jaune sighed, "Neither does Ren."
"We have to go, then, as soon as possible." Ruby nodded, turning to her partner kneeling behind the little trio. "Weiss?"
"Ready as I'll ever be." The woman sighed, turning to give her partner an anxious look. Her mouth opened to say one thing, then her head drooped and she sighed weakly. "Give me a hug before you go, Dolt. A-And make it a good one."
"Weiss…" The little reaper knelt and wrapped her partner up in a hug, shortly joined by the Faunus and her blonde partner. Finally, no more than a heartbeat later, she pulled away and smiled, reassuring them, "I'll be fine, you guys. I have super powered eyeball lasers! This'll be a cakewalk."
"The only walking you'll be doing is into the emergency room with a concussion if you refer to them as 'super powered eyeball lasers' again..." Maria sighed, shaking her head while she watched the Grimm go about their destructive business around them. "I hate to be the bad guy here, but time is a bit of a limited resource right now."
"Yeah," Qrow added, "the old lady isn't getting any younger, kids. Maybe we get this done before she keels over?"
The loud 'thwack' of her cane smacking out against his head drew anxious laughter from the lot of them. Limited as they were in it, one could be mistaken in thinking this a waste of their valuable time. But the Arbiter knew the value of morale going into battle, particularly against foes like the Grimm.
And he knew the importance of farewells before a mission, in the event the worst came to pass.
"All will be well in the end." He assured them all, turning to pull open the lightly armored door behind him. The wind whipped at his cloak but he ignored it, turning back to them all and nodding his head. "On the blood of my fathers and on the blood of my sons, I will guard her with all that I have."
"Thanks, I guess." Yang murmured, unable to quite comprehend the depth of his oath for obvious reasons. Turning to her sister, the woman spoke, "You better come back, young lady. Or… Or I swear to the Brothers, I guess since those fuckers are real, that I'll tan your hide. And my right arm doesn't get tired anymore."
"Yaaang." The girl whined petulantly, smiling as her sister ruffled her hair and then pushed her towards the door. Ren grunted before she could speak again, no doubt straining to hold their concealment, and Ruby frowned. "Miss Maria, get on the communicator and tell them we have a plan to buy time."
"Got it."
"We're going to land and help with the evacuation." Jaune added from the floor, giving Ruby a look when she frowned. "If you're fighting, we are, too. I won't leave my family behind. You or my sister and her wife, and my nephew."
"Jaune…"
"It is time." The Arbiter grunted, laying a hand on her shoulder before she could say anything further. Ruby only nodded and turned for the door, taking a deep and steadying breath while Thel asked, "Your aid, young Schnee?"
The Schnee didn't answer, instead setting the glyph beneath her spinning and leaning on Myrtenaster.
As it turned out, riding a giant insect through Grimm filled air was precisely as difficult as it sounded. Sat behind the creature's wings, with Ruby in front of him, they were subjected to howling wind and sharp, jerky turns as Weiss maneuvered them through the airborne battle. Many Grimm came for them as they made their way towards the Leviathan. For now, at least, the beast had confined itself to the Atlesian bases, gleefully ripping them apart while Atlesian forces did their best to keep it contained there and distracted.
Grimm cared only to destroy and kill, and made no distinction between slaughter of civilians and slaughter of soldiers. In that way, they were not so different from himself only a handful of years ago...
"Grimm!" Ruby's words barely reached him over the whipping wind but reach him they did, dragging him out of his thoughts. "Down!"
The Lancer they rode on ducked down as a blast of fire soared over their heads, exploding in their wake. The Manticore soared by with a snarl that the wind snapped away. Turning, he watched the winged monster arc around to chase them, until a missile struck it from a kindly Atlesian ship that screamed by a half-second later. Still, as they straightened, he wrapped an arm around the young reaper so he could grip the armor of the great insect beneath her.
His trip down memory lane or the Relic, one of the two brought the Grimm towards them as they moved further into the great ball of swirling Grimm and Atlesian craft.
In his youth, he had learned to wield his sword while riding a Ghost scout craft, and this was little different. The Lancer weaved up, down and side to side, ducking by Grimm that lunged for them and wayward missiles both. Any Grimm which managed to get close enough for him to reach fell, gutted, missing limbs or, if he could help it, missing the wings that gave them their flight.
��The lamp." Ruby asked, holding onto her rifle in her lap with one arm and holding the other up, over her shoulder. He handed it to her as they neared the Leviathan and, so low he barely heard it, she murmured, "Let's hope this thingamajig works…"
Arcing around and over the creature's shoulder, the summoned Lancer brought them right across its gaze and slowed. The Grimm's eye landed on them as it straightened and they drifted by, its growl almost reverberating through the air and into his very bones. In a way that made his heart race and freeze all at once, it reminded him of the Gravemind when he had spoken to it once upon a wayward time.
They only lingered a moment before the Lancer shot off and away, towards the high coastline.
"Did it work?" Ruby called back as the insect raced away, its two riders holding on as best they could. "Did we get its attention?"
As if in answer, a great explosion threw water up and into the air, so far that it nearly showered even them.
In the wake of the froth and foam, the Leviathan pursued. A black shadow under the water that wormed side to side as it raced after its prey. Distantly, the great beast reminded him of the lurking terrors of Sanghelios, which would drag down any young warrior so foolish as to fall from the floating training platforms. A great, dangerous shadow that lurked, black beneath the waves, and pursued its prey as fast as it was able.
And faster, he realized with growing terror, than a steadily slowing Lancer could fly.
"Ruby be careful, the Leviathan is-"
His warning came too late, water exploding furiously from beneath them as the creature surged up from the depths, maw gaping to swallow them whole. The Lancer surged up almost instantly, but the beast was swifter. As its jaw began to close around them, Ruby turned and wrapped an arm around him. As the world began to darken, his vision swam, a mix of blue, green, brown, red and black all swirling together so much he felt his stomach churn.
A heartbeat and he felt his back slam into the ground, forcing the air from his lungs and sending a lance of pain through him that warned of something broken in his chest.
"S-Still not good at carrying a lot of weight like that." Ruby murmured from the ground beside him, sounding distinctly drained.
Regardless, as the water began to rain down on them, she rolled over and forced herself up and he did the same. They'd landed on the cliff, in an open clearing overlooking the ocean. It was a nice view, he found, if not for the giant Grimm obscuring so much of it.
"Are you prepared, Ruby?" He asked as the Leviathan roared and thrashed, angered at having its meal robbed from it. It turned to them suddenly, as though intimately aware of where they were, and he scowled, pushing Ruby back towards the tree line and warning, "Our time runs thin!"
"I-I know, I just… Just need to concentrate." She answered, raising Crescent Rose across herself as though it would defend her from the snarling Leviathan. "Just need to- Jump!"
Together, they turned to leap away as the Grimm's claw swept down and across the cliff, hewing through soil and rock with a titanic force.
In its wake, the wind buffeted them, carrying rock and soil like grapeshot that sparked on his shields and drew cries of pain from Ruby as her Aura flickered and sparked. It reared back and brought its other arm across in an attempt to kill them, ripping up soil and hurling trees away through the sky.
"Ruby, you must-" He was cut off by an enraged bellow that sent tremors through him, making even the loose soil tremble as the two of them swayed and fell to their knees. Rearing up and over them, the beast growled, fire flicking between the teeth of its jaw. "Ruby…"
"I-I'm trying, I just need…"
"We are out of time!" He growled, drawing his sword as the howls of Grimm from the forest reached him. Overhead, more began to circle lazily, looking for a chance to dive down upon them and take them. "The Grimm come, Ruby. Strike or move, we must do one of these things."
"I-I know, I just need… I need…" The Leviathan reared back, maw open, and he leapt between them as the girl flinched and cried out, desperately, "Jinn!"
For a moment, all was quiet, frozen peace. The circling Grimm trapped in midair, fallings leaves floating as if held aloft by an unseen force, and the Leviathan's flaming maw frozen half-open. Flames spilled from its maw, flowing towards them lazily but frozen as the beast had ejected them to serve their ruinous purpose.
Now, it was almost beautiful. A painting, of sorts, albeit one that he knew
"You do call my name in the most interesting times, Ruby." The venerable Spirit of Knowledge laughed as they turned, looking up at her floating blue form. She did not propel herself forward, though her feet and hair lazed along behind her, and instead floated towards the great beast with a small smile. "A Leviathan… And you thought you could just zap it away with the power of your eyes?"
"I did it before…" Ruby argued weakly, relief and exhaustion mixing together with defiance as the spirit turned to look down on her. "Back at Beacon, I froze a-"
"A Great Drake." Jinn nodded, smiling pleasantly as she folded her arms over her chest and stretched back languidly. As though she were sitting on a chair that none but her could discern, even going so far as to cross her legs and look down on them. "I know. I also know that was entirely an accident, and that you have only managed to use it twice since then, of which one was another accident."
"Yeah, but… When I need it…" Jinn didn't say anything and Ruby gave up, sighing, "I'm sorry I called you without a question to ask. I just needed-"
"Time." Jinn nodded, smiling when Ruby returned the gesture sheepishly. "Which was the real reason you thought to use me to lure the Leviathan away. A trump card, or one you hoped would work at least, if- When, it turns out, you failed to perform right away."
"You needn't be so-"
"I don't mean to be cruel, Thel Vadam." The divine creation cut him off, turning a wintry gaze on him that sapped at his will. Watching him for a long, calculating moment, she sighed and explained, "I only wish to encourage her to be more cautious. That is all."
"I see." He rumbled, giving Ruby a sidelong glance and then nodding, "Forgive me, Spirit, I only-"
"You wished to protect her." Jinn interrupted once more with a curt little nod, smiling as a flare of irritation blossomed within him. "Forgive me. When you know all, including the thoughts in those speaking to you's heads, you can… Step on some toes, if you will."
"Sensible enough, I suppose…"
"I'm glad you understand." She nodded, smiling at something he didn't understand and asking, quietly, "How is that bruise by the by? You hit the ground rather hard."
"The pain has faded." To nonexistence, interestingly, though he supposed that meant the wound hadn't been so grave. Cocking his head curiously, he asked, "Why would you ask about such a-"
"No real reason." The Spirit interrupted, laughing when he scowled. "Oh, let me have my fun, Thel Vadam. Little Ruby needed time, after all, and though I won't be persisting for long without a Question, I can amuse myself to pass some of it."
"Thank you." Ruby offered quietly, "I appreciate your help, Jinn. Even if I had to, um, bend the rules a bit."
"Or break them outright, though that is just your style." The Spirit laughed, shaking her great, beautiful head and leaning forward to hover, stomach towards the ground and eyes dipping down to be level with Ruby's. "And though I can offer little, I will, just this once, offer some knowledge for free. I will not allow you to use me like this again."
"I understand."
"Good." The Spirit nodded, smiling after a moment and letting a little laugh escape her, "Although, I will admit, it was rather clever of you."
Jinn faded away and, around them, the world began to slowly turn once more. Leaves began to drift and fall again and sounds began to reach him once again, warped and stretched like a broken communicator's deranged broadcasts. And of course, the Leviathan began to loom closer, ruinous fire trickling further out of its jaws and towards them. Anxiety crawled up his spine for it, but he did nothing but wait, and place his faith in the small woman beside him.
Inside a moment, his faith was rewarded as a blinding white light rushed out from her, spreading around them like a detonation.
As the light faded away and his vision returned, he found the world moving as it should once more. The distant sounds of combat continued on as they had for hours yet, carrying over the sounds of the fallen trees settling and the waves crashing against the face of the mighty cliff they stood on. Little trails of black ash and smoke trailed into the air around them where Ruby had struck down those Grimm nearby.
Lastly was the now stone Leviathan, recoiling away from them mid-snarl, arms brought up as if to shield itself from Ruby's powerful strike.
"I did it…" Ruby murmured exhaustedly, cheering and then nearly falling as her legs gave out beneath her. His hand on her sternum gave her the support she needed to stand again, the girl laughing quietly, "That one… Yeah, that one took a lot outta me."
"At least it appears to have-" A deep rumble reverberated through him and cut him off, the Arbiter turning to look up at the great statue as a crack spread along the curve of its jaw and the bulges of its strange eyes.
"No…" Ruby murmured as more began to spider-web along its chest and shoulders, flecks falling away to reveal its glowing eyes once again. "No, no, no… No! It was dead, I-I killed it, I-"
"You need to run." He growled as the Grimm began to writhe, bucking against its stone constraints and snarling its fury.
Finally, massive swathes of the stone on its shoulders and upper chest gave way and its head reared back, fire spewing into the air as it roared in earnest and ripped one arm free from the stone. Its legs remained stuck for now though, even as it writhed, one clawed hand slamming down onto the cliff as it pulled to try and free itself.
"You need to run." He repeated, turning from the beast to shove the Relic at the girl. She squealed from the force and stumbled back but he ignored her, taking the Bane up once more and sighing. "I will take its attention and-"
"I-I'm not leaving you, Thel." Ruby argued, turning as howling and baying once again reached them, echoing through the forest all around them. Clipping the Lamp on her hip, she raised her rifle, "More Grimm…"
"You must go, Ruby, before-" Once more, a growl cut him off, the Arbiter turning to look, wide-eyed at the half-freed Grimm.
Other arm free, it seemed satisfied for now and had turned its attention back to them, flames frothing around its teeth once more. He turned at the sound of heavy feet on the forest floor, Bane snapping up on instinct as a Beowolf lunged for him, impaling itself on his blade. Wrenching it free he hurled the smoking body aside and stepped forward at the next barely armored wolf, leaping forward and cutting down as it snarled, cleaving through its jaw and skull like a blade through butter.
"It's trying to breathe fire again!" Ruby called as her rifle cracked, the girl rocketing by him and spinning on her heels, the head of Crescent Rose extending like a spear to impale an unfortunate Ursa. "It looks like it's struggling though, so maybe it's reaching its limit. We need to-"
Her eyes widened and he turned to look up as the beast finally reared back, weak flames churning in its open maw. He saw it too and turned, ignoring the trickle of Grimm coming and leaping towards his small companion. On raw instinct he forced her down and turned, scowling up at the great beast, raising his armored arm to shield them both. As the scorching flames leapt down to claim them, he closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable.
He felt the roar reverberate through him, and the heat of the blaze, but not the fire. Opening his eyes, it was as though the fire was being held at bay by something he could not see. The torrent lasted a moment before it ceased and, feeling drained in a way a day of fighting didn't explain, he sank to a knee in front of the girl.
"You… Stopped the fire." Ruby murmured beside him, looking at the swathe of scorched "How did you do that, though…?"
He didn't know and the Grimm's savage, enraged roar on seeing them alive drew their attention before he could answer. Rearing back, the beast raised its claws, aiming to crush what had so mysteriously survived its blasts of fire. Beside him, Ruby looked just as tired, kneeling on the ground and covered in dirt and grime with her scythe on the ground beside her. Exhausted, both rose in a vain but primal urge to move, turning and staggering away as the Grimm's attack bore down.
The heavy and intimately familiar roar of chaingun fire pulled him to a stop, though, turning as a craft he'd seen millions of screamed by, raking the great Grimm in heavy munitions.
"Impossible…" He murmured, watching the Pelican arc around behind the Grimm as it turned, pursuing the new threat.
Its turn was wide and slow, the heavy-bellied craft turning its top to the Grimm as it turned, stone crumbling from its legs as it finally moved. A line of Grimm fire trailed behind the craft as the Leviathan turned, but the Pelican's pilot was a deft one, weaving up and down and then decelerating to dodge the seeking tendrils of ruddy orange fire. Finally, as the trailing fire died out, it snapped back towards the Grimm, rocketing right over its head. In its wake, the Arbiter recognized a little ball falling and turned, throwing up his cloak to shield both Ruby's and his own eyes.
The bright blue flash of the flare-bomb burned his retinas even facing away from it, drawing a growl from him as the sound of engines neared.
"Come on." A familiar voice ordered as he turned, meeting the familiar gold visor of his old friend, stood on the lowered ramp of the hovering craft with his hand outstretched. "We have to move. Now."
"W-Who is-"
"My friend, the Demon." Thel answered simply, grabbing her arms and yanking her up by them, practically hurling her towards the Pelican.
Her eyes widened and her mouth gaped, opening and closing like a fish as she fought to find her words. Before she could speak, though, a second Spartan stepped forward to pull her into the dropship and shove her into a seat. He gripped the Demon's hand and the Spartan pulled him up, turning to brace him as the Pelican shot away at all possible speed. Supporting him, the Spartan turned, guiding him into a seat as the craft lifted up and away, pursued by the rapidly receding Grimm's angry, bestial roar.
"The Grimm." The Arbiter grunted as the Spartan turned away, drawing his impassive gaze back to him, "The beast, the Grimm Leviathan, it must be slain. The settlement nearby, Argus, is in danger if it lives."
"It won't." Was all the Spartan said, standing firm in the bay and turning to speak a warning to the wide-eyed girl being strapped in by the other Spartan. "Brace yourself."
"For wha-"
Suddenly, it was as though an invisible fist had plunged down from an angry god, shattering the cliff face and sending water fountaining so high and wide that it extinguished the fires the Leviathan had started. The Leviathan itself vanished under the wash of earth, rock, plant and an ocean of water. So thorough was its demise that he saw nothing more from it, not even the black smoke which normally spoke of a dead Grimm.
"Arbiter." The Master Chief spoke, turning to look at him now the beast was dead, "My team and I were tasked to locate you and, if necessary, render assistance."
"I would easily go so far as to say you accomplished that, my friend, though I wish you had arrived five minutes ago." The Spartan nodded a small, mute apology and he returned it, glad for the man's stoic presence. Turning to his wide-eyed friend and smiling, he waved an armed hand at the standing Spartan, "Young one, I would like to introduce you to the Master Chief."
"H-Hi." She waved, "I'm Ruby Rose."
"John One-One-Seven, Master Chief, Spartan Blue team lead." He answered mechanically, nodding towards the armored woman beside him, standing beside Ruby's seat at the Demon's side, "Linda Oh-Five-Eight, Petty Officer First Class. Pilot is Kelly Oh-Eight-Seven, Petty Officer First Class. Co-pilot, Frederic One-Zero-Four, Lieutenant junior grade."
"I will… Try to remember all of that." Ruby blinked, cocking her head to the side and smiling apologetically. "Are there, um, shorter versions…?"
"John, Kelly, Linda, Frederic." The Chief answered simply, turning at the Arbiter's tired laugh and cocking his armored head to the side.
"Nothing of note." He assured the great man, shaking his head and setting aside his humor for the moment. "More seriously, that was a MAC. I presume you have brought a fleet?"
"Negative." The man answered, "Blue Team was directed to pursue and, if needed, render assistance to you. We have a single ship equipped with a light-MAC battery in orbit."
"You have a frickin' space ship?!" Ruby whispered, clamping a hand over her mouth when the two Spartans turned a look on her. Scrunching down in her seat she mimed zipping her mouth and smiled.
"We lack time to cover the issue in detail, but this is a Human world, Spartan. A Human world with a second race, and no knowledge of the UNSC." The Demon turned a look on him and, visor or not, he could read his surprise. It was in the subtle movements, the way he turned slightly more of his body to him, his hands curling and uncurling at his side. "As I said, we lack the time to cover the matter at length, and believe me there is much to cover. For now, the city is under assault and needs our-"
"Kelly, prepare for a combat drop over the city. Find the largest concentration of combat and give the signal." He interrupted, reaching up, over the Arbiter's head to pull down his favored Assault Rifle, chambering a round in one smooth move and moving it to his back. "Frederic, you're piloting. Linda-"
"Don't have to say it." The woman murmured, pulling back the mighty bolt of her obviously customised rifle and handing him a submachine-gun.
"Ruby, your friends." The Arbiter urged silently, the girl blinking for a moment.
"O-Oh!" She suddenly nodded, pulling her Scroll out of her pocket and flicking it open.
"Ruby?! Where are you!? We saw the flash, but then it started moving and exploded, what-"
"The Arbiter's space friends are here to help, don't ask questions, where are the Grimm at their worst?" Ruby rattled off quickly, before her panicked sister could go on. "They're going to help Argus, so meet us there, alright?"
"...The Grimm broke through the gate when Atlas left." Yang answered quietly, "Maria says Atlas says they don't have the manpower to-"
"Got it, see you there." Ruby nodded, closing her Scroll and undoing her straps, standing and pulling Crescent Rose off her back. She was tired, clearly, but she nodded grimly regardless. "I can point it out and if you can hold the gate, my team can start clearing the city. There's a lot of flying Grimm, though, can your space ship do anything about that?"
"Negative, but our Pelican will render air support." He answered, seeming to pause and regard her for a long moment. Stepping back and aside, he nodded towards the door as the slim, armored form of a shotgun toting Spartan emerged through it. "Frederic, Miss Rose will point out where to go. Bring us over it, and render air support where safe to, valuable cargo is remaining on board."
"Got it!" She nodded, vanishing past him and through the door as the Arbiter rose.
"You know that is not-"
"If you can survive a forty foot drop at seventy five milers per hour, you can come on this mission." The Spartan dismissed him, turning as Ruby returned and asking, quietly, "Time to arrival?"
"Um, five seconds." She answered, earning a nod as the Spartan turned and strode towards the open ramp with his team in tow. As he reached the edge, the girl blinked and asked, quietly, "Wait, are they- Holy grapes!"
He only laughed, watching the Spartans vanish over the lip and giving Ruby a look, smiling, "It seems neither of us will be helping any further."
Her petulant whine about not getting to see them fight earned an even wider smile and a bright laugh.
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Wind and smoke whipped across his visor as they hurtled down over the walled settlement, towards an evident gate that they could see. A massive, almost mythical looking creature with a lion's head turned to intercept him mid-air and he sighed, tucking his legs in to roll over and slam foot first into its open maw. The force of a fully armored Spartan falling at that speed crushed its skull and turned him again, the Spartan spreading his arms and legs to quickly readjust as the ground closed.
Fifteen feet out he rolled again, thrusters flaring as he and his Spartans slammed down just inside the gate.
Around them, more beasts turned, snarling at them but apparently surprised by their sudden arrival. Wolves, bears, small raptor-like beasts and winged horse-like monsters on roof-tops made him feel almost like he'd fallen into one of the old myths they'd all been taught in their training days. Better days, in a lot of ways…
"Linda, roof-tops, clip their wings. Kelly, right side, I have left, share center." He ordered quietly, drawing his rifle and straightening slowly. Green lights flicked on his HUD to confirm his orders, as little as he needed them to know his orders were understood. "Engage."
He didn't even finish the word before the heavy 'crack' of a sniper rifle echoed, spearing two of the flying lions and sending them toppling down the roof and onto the street, trailing thick smoke.
That seemed to prompt the creatures into acting, a dozen of them rushing along rooftops and through the streets towards them.
Four rounds apiece burst from his rifle into the throats and heads of the rushing monsters, sending them sprawling as Linda's shots found their homes in the flying monsters above. A dozen died and a dozen more emerged from broken homes, alleys and around corners from streets he couldn't see, rushing towards them madly. Firing the last of his rounds he raised his rifle and slammed a foot out, braining a bear-like beast as he slammed a fresh magazine home and put a burst into a wolf that leapt over it.
If fell back and away and the Spartans backed up as more of the monsters came.
On his left three monsters leapt, and snapping back as Kelly's buckshot ripped into their chests. The third hit her and she fell onto her back, rolling smoothly and planting her feet in its chest, kicking it into the wall behind her hard enough to crack the stone. Rolling onto her knee the woman raised her magnum, single rounds barking out to end more of the monsters as her other reloaded her shotgun.
More and more came, roaring and falling to his Spartans' defense, either for bullets or fists and boots that crushed them.
They never stood a chance.
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And so, finally, everything comes together. The day is saved, even if all the people aren't, and a lot of neat information came to light.
For those I know who will go 'Wait, the Arbiter did something to stop the fire? How?' go back and reread the rescue at the school. Some, I saw, picked up on what happened there instantly. And I foreshadowed it far earlier, when the Arbiter was learning about Aura and the like from everyone and denied Ozpin's offer to unlock it for him.
I hope that was a good reveal, and I hope I pulled off the Blue Team arrival decently, too.
I even tossed a bit of combat at you too! I spent a while asking how I could make 'Blue Team smacks pissant Grimm' interesting and gripping, but found little answer. So I went with offering a tidbit instead. In future, against greater Grimm like Beringels, Death Stalkers, Giant Nevermore and the like, I will write more in depth fight scenes.
B ut here, it seemed needless.
Hope you all enjoyed!
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Blaiseingfire :
Yes! It did!
Error Sans :
So long as I have passion and supporters keeping it afloat, I will continue to create.
Dr Killinger :
The Black Sun is equipped with a light MAC battery and a prototype Plasma Lance along the spine and belly.
Hey Mr Jack :
Glad you like it! Only started it since a Supporter asked me to but it's been fun to write and learn.
Combine :
This is actually fairly close to canon events, minus the Arbiter's obvious presence. All I did was make Cordovin cooperative and add the White Fang as an antagonist instead. In canon, RWBY and co very much did destroy the machine and very nearly brought the fall of Argus.
RWBY is a very dark show, and if you disagree, watch V7.
Rook 435 :
Oh I know, it sucsks. But the moment I made Cordovin the character she was I knew she'd die. That's part of why, while still a raging racist and nationalist, I didn't draw too much attention to her politics. I wanted to let her be a heroic character here, so there you go.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone