Well ladies I can't tell you how hard it is to say goodbye after so long... after everything I've done, this story really has been great to me...

Which is why I ain't bloody leaving this bastard unfinished as long as I live! HA! Bet I had you going there for a bit! In all honest though, this story is NOT dead! I repeat, it is NOT dying in the bottom of some ditch on the side of the road while rabid dogs pee on its corpse!

Tempest: Rather specific there... Wait, what's this! You're finally releasing another GOD DAMNED chapter!

That would be correct good sir! After the cluster**** of the last few months, the latest chapter of my shitty story has been released, after several HUNDRED hours of my friends yelling at me to get it done. Ya boi here has been busy doing life stuff over the last few months as I finally managed to get a brand spanking new laptop, but of course since THAT has happened, I've had like 2 seconds of spare time during the week thanks to the monumental work load I've had to deal with, which means the super slow speed I actually write this has delayed the chapter a bit...

Tempest: A bit... A BIT! TRY BLOODY TWO MONTHS!

Well yes... a rather long bit of time. But, without further adieu I shall stop spewing excuses and I'll let ya'll who are still here after my little break continue on with the story!

Chapter 28:

Grimm, for want of better explanation, were not ones to know the feeling of fear. It was a foreign concept to them, much as the likes of technology was, yet it wasn't completely alien. Their lady did not permit them to accept such emotions and so it was often tempered by hate, driven towards whatever was causing this unnatural emotion, leaving little room for the contemplation of such an emotion within their minds.

Yet, as the Grimm hybrid ran through the forest he knew fear. It was as real as the grass underneath his paws, as real as the ragged breaths which were exiting his hoarse throat from the exertion… and as real as the large oaken tree careening straight towards him through the air.

"Watch it!" came a shout from beside him, one of the other humans which was similarly embedded in his plight, a needless shout but one which was received all the same. The human's black armor was a crude approximation of the nightmarish black which the Grimm constituted from and the bone-white skull over its face was even more of a mockery, but even in this plight, he felt himself forgiving these transgressions more and more.

Focusing back onto the problem at hand, a plan was hurtling through his mind as his Semblance took control to begin its work, his mind praying that it would be enough to escape with his life. With little more than a thought he pumped a burst of Aura into his legs, sending his form hurtling violently out of his path through the bunches of trees which they now ran through, wincing slightly as he heard the colossal snapping sound as the barked projectile made contact.

Its form seemed to halt in transit before it split into two sheared halves, a massive flaming mace stopping it in its tracks like an immovable fortress, the wielder grunting mildly from the exertion, but turning and continuing to run almost immediately after the massive logs tore into the earth either side to rent colossal tracks in the dirt.

Even in his remarkable prolonged life, this was not something he had ever considered even remotely likely of occurring… it was simply inconceivable that which he witnessed, a fact compounded even moreso by the fear and concern emanating from the two enemies-turned-allies which he now hastily beat a retreat with.

Again, his ears twitched as he heard the blundering form which pursued them through the woods, the quiet and harsh sound of the air parting from another projectile causing him to growl in annoyance. It was all a game, one which he had been pulled into and made to eat the proverbial cheese from the trap's very vices.

"Worm, there is another attack incoming" he spoke through gritted teeth, pushing away the lancing pain shooting through his leg after he had the misfortune of twisting his ankle, sending a pulse of Aura to keep it under control as his full-pelt sprint was interrupted momentarily by the jolt.

In response to his mildly obvious statement, the human in black pulled out his sword, throwing it behind him at blinding speeds to impale into the wood already hurtling through the air. Moments later a thick streak of lightning shot forth from the human's arm and connected with the sword, sending arcs through the length of the massive tree, pulsing for a second until the entire construct shattered into thousands of tiny splinters with a burst of lightning.

The sword seemingly evaporated and appeared once again in the boy's hands, his running continuing unabated as with the rest of them despite the hail of tiny wooden fragments bombarding them from what was the remnants of the uprooted tree.

"Christ will this thing ever give up!" complained the human, once again speaking almost completely useless words for no benefit other than its own given the situation. As if responding to the words, a roar echoed through the forest, once again sending a spike of fear through each of their backs and into the forefront of their mind, each one of them shuddering from the unnatural sound.

As loath as he was to admit it, the Grimm hybrid could not help but admit to the futility of this situation, he was unsure if any of them would make it out alive should they confront the beast which made haste behind them. It was disgusting… not once had he run from a fight in the thousands of passings in which he dwelled on this world and yet this… abomination… was the one thing which made him run with his tail between his legs, feeling like nothing more than a pup in the utterly overwhelming presence of this creature.

It was nothing if not primal… an almost unavoidable feeling of being crushed under nothing but the weight of the soul in which presence he stood. And he hated every second of it.

"We have little chance of surviving if we keep running, a stand should be made to weaken it before continuing" spoke the other human clad in red, a trail of earth coming up behind him as his arm was struggling to bear the weight of his mace more and more, the fire bursting from his shoulders flickering more and more with each passing moment.

"As much as I would like to agree with you worm, it is utter suicide should we face it for any prolonged period… it is… unnatural, and I doubt someone of even your 'prowess' would be privy to how to bring it low" retorted the Grimm, doubling his efforts as he saw several of his kin ahead, mentally overriding their weak wills to bring their bodies under his rule, sending them to provide whatever distraction they could to aid in their plight.

The humans watched the small pack of beowolves bound in opposition to them, only to hear the sickening crunching of bones and the sight of the broken corpse of one of them fly through the air and become impaled on one of the jutting branches from an oak, its head lacking most of its jaw, the entire lower half of its body lacking in any form as well except for the last remaining remnants of its spine which were still dangling from its seared flesh.

"What the hell is that thing!" shouted the black coated human, his cry at the same times a plead and a declaration of the mere travesty that the creature behind them was on existence itself.

"It is a creature which should have ceased walking Remnant many thousands of tides ago… it is not something which I had hoped to see for quite some time and even now is unfavourable"

"Well, you seem to know what it is, how the hell do we beat this thing! That bastard is built like a tank and I distinctly remember leaving my big bloody tank gun back at home!"

"I will forgive your tongue human, but I too lack insight into how to defeat such a monstrosity, every moment he walks on this world is more power for his soul, there is no such method to his destruction which I can fathom"

"Screw this then!" came his indignant cry, both the humans stopping at once as they turned around and bared their weapons, ready to face the beast. The Grimm for once was shocked into inaction… surely these humans felt the crushing feelings that its mere presence wrought onto the world around them, and yet they would stand in the way of such a thing with no surety of any successful blows making purchase… truly the stupidity of humans would never cease to amaze him.

"Wolf man, you can stay if you want but we're going to down fighting so get out of here if you want… we're finishing our damned mission even if it means busting through THAT to get to our target"

"I would say you are insane, but your words hold no indication of ill mind…"

"If that was meant to be an insult you're going to have to try better, little ol' Hawk over here could do better by making a 'your mum' joke in that lovingly monotone voice"

"Stone, would you please just shut the hell up and focus, I'd rather not be turned to paste immediately"

"See! Just like that!" he mused, laughing at his own joke in the manner of a madman, already ensured of his death, waiting upon the steps of heaven for his end-time to arrive… and arrive it did.

In the time the Grimm-born had stopped to marvel at the humans, he had allowed his senses to wander and failed to track his enemy, that was until it was right upon them. Without so much as a breath to register the intrusion, he felt a force impact against his shoulder, jarring his entire body and knocking the wind out of him, barely leaving anything further to break when his body impacted into the ground within the blink of an eye.

The energy to fight was almost instantaneously ripped from his body, fatigue plaguing his muscles as he embraced the almost warm soil with which he was buried within. That was until his adrenaline kicked in once more and a burst of Aura put him several metres away from his impact, giving him a good view of the ground being thoroughly obliterated by a second impact mere moments later.

The dirt settled, and all was still for some time as the combatants were given some sort of respite from their pursuer. That was until it was broken by the maniacal laughter of their enemy.

"Come now, surely you would not deny a hunter of his prey!" came a deep and guttural tone from the figure in front of them, spoken through rows upon rows of razor-sharp teeth which were housed within jaws which were anything but natural.

Its body was another matter entirely. It easily dominated the forest, standing almost as tall as the trees around them with muscles that dwarfed even the thickness of the trees. Spikes protruded from across the rippling black carapace which coated its body, dripping with a viscous black substance which only the observant would notice dissolving the grass below upon which it dripped. A great tail protruded from the base of its spine, its lazy swinging doing nothing to reduce its deadly potential as two almost axe-like bone appendages jutted from its end, keening vast swathes through the air with every movement.

What was most prominent however were the two colossal wings which were draped across its back like some form of cloak almost, velvety hide splayed across bat-like wings which inspired awe and dread into the hearts of those who had the unfortunate luck to witness them in their full glory. The beast wrought many emotions, all of them stemming from the sheer abnormality of its existence, overshadowing the strange composition of the Grimm almost entirely.

This… this was something no mortal was ever meant to gaze upon, a being which radiated power like a great beacon… none of the three present needed any more indication than what they felt right now to know that this monster was far, FAR above them on the food chain.

"Alpha, it truly is an honor to see you" spoke the Grimm borne, hoping that he could be distracted long enough to allow his Semblance to take effect. The beast turned its eyes to bore into the Beowolf's, the Grimm having to down every urge to run.

"You are one of the Shifters, correct? Very interesting, I was under the impression that your species had died out some time ago. Such a shame that I shall have to end such a bloodline here, but such is the workings of fate"

Now that… that stung hard. His species was young, younger than the Grimm, even younger than Humans and Faunus for that matter, but they had lived a far shorter rein. As soon as the Grimm War of old had broken out, they were hunted by both sides to extinction and as far as he knew he himself was the last remaining Shifter to walk upon this world. Rather than keep the rage down he brought it to the front of his mind, relishing as his anger now pushed aside the fear, allowing him to focus more and more upon the beast.

Sparing a glance around him, he saw the two Humans, their eyes betraying their fear even though they defiantly held their weapons, their knuckles no doubt white with how tightly they were choking the leather hilt wrappings. They had drive, that was for sure, but if he himself and his new allies had any chance of making it out alive, he would need to direct it…

"Do not fret Alpha, I shall be merciful and grant you a quick death lest I show you a fraction of my power and leave these two worms with little to do"

He was pushed to flip backwards in the seconds after he spoke, a fist careening for where his face had been situated mere moments before, disrupting the air around it with its power and sending more dirt flying as it crashed into the ground.

"Do not speak to me as though I am lesser, you pathetic whelp, your existence is my gift and my charity is growing thin"

The two shared hate filled glares, daring the other to make the first move so that they could begin their show of strength… that was until they were interrupted by the human wearing black.

"Don't you think that's a little bullshit?"

The two looked down at the two humans standing off to the side, almost equally annoyed with the interruption, expecting the human to back down with the combined glares of the two of them, only to fall short when he stepped forward again and began sliding his blades over one another. Before the first human could elaborate, the other human in red stepped forward.

"I think what my companion was trying to say is, you're claiming that you are an Alpha, yet we've faced bigger and more powerful Grimm"

At those words, the great beast growled in a low predatory tone, stepping forward and stooping down to stare into his eyes, leaving mere inches between the two.

"Pathetic human, please do elaborate on WHAT Grimm would claim to be more powerful than I am? I could skewer a Beowolf with nothing more than a flick, I could bite the head off an Ursa like it was nothing more than one of your fruits, Boarbatusks break against my hide when they charge, Nevermore's feathers are nothing more than toothpicks to me and my cloaks are fashioned from the hide of Goliaths! So please, do tell me how it is ME who is the inferior here!"

The human then had the GALL to laugh in his face. That alone was enough to warrant a swift death and had he not just heard such insults spew from this creature's mouth they would already be skewered upon his claws. He was only mildly interested in what the thing had to say, so after the air had left his mouth he would be sure to let him bleed out while he dealt with the other two problems.

"Let me enlighten you to something beast. Power isn't always strength, as I've been told several times before, and with that along I already know for a fact that there are SEVERAL Grimm far more powerful than you. But do you want to know WHY I know that?"

The growl that came forth next was one of pure hatred and all that were present knew that he was cutting it thin with his words. He stepped forward and stared the Grimm beast in the eyes with a look which screamed both mischief and victory, emanating the emotions even through the dark red helmet he wore.

"Because a smarter Grimm would have noticed that it had already lost"

With a moment of confusion, the beast's eyes widened, quickly rearing back to try and find the other human which had only been standing there mere moments earlier, now nothing more than scorched grass indicating he had stood there. That was until they made themselves known when two swords plunged deep into his back, right between his shoulder blades and into the muscles which would carry him aloft on his great wings.

That was the case until hundreds of thousands of Volts of electricity began coursing through the two offending blades, cooking his muscles like he was over a spit and causing his wings to spasm out at random angles as pain racked his body. Letting out an ear-splitting howl, he reached behind and grasped a hold of the human, flinging them into the nearest tree and snapping the wood in twain, setting his hatred filled eyes upon his next target, only to find them gone as well.

Feeling the temperature beside him increase immensely, his arm swept out to crush anything that stood in his way, but all he seemed to meet was thin air. As his head swivelled to see just what had happened, he barely had any time to twist it to the side as the flaming head of a mace filled his vision. Being caught in the off-hand for once, he did not have enough time to avoid it completely and felt the jarring impact upon his face, as well as rather alarmingly the sound of breaking bone. When his vision stopped spinning, he was met with the sight of the end of one of his horns standing proudly embedded into the forest floor, the two humans standing side-by-side next to their trophy.

With little patience left, the beast was seeing red and he would not be brought so low by these to PATHETIC creatures. His fist shot out and slammed the one in red into the floor, only for his companion to suddenly piece two more swords into his fist and deliver another massive pulse of electricity through the conduits, burning his fist into a charred mess.

Roaring in rage, the beast stumbled back and glared daggers at the humans as the one he had just pummelled slowly stood up from the crater he had previously been in, pieces of his armour falling to the ground as the broken metal was wrought clean from the rest of the piece.

When the beast looked down at his fist, his rage only amplified when he tried to flex the muscles, finding his fingers unresponsive to the stimulation, feeling the same sensation when he tried to move the wings upon his back.

Never before had he been brought so low in so long, yet he felt resentment at his own body for being so weak. Maybe he had overestimated the amount of power he had left within his stores, but even these stupid humans shouldn't be a problem. So then, why could he not turn them into paste with nothing more than a thought at his fist. No… these humans would feel the power of his wrath, they would kneel before their superior so long as he drew breath… and they would know what a mistake it was to make an enemy with a Shinigami.

"Try that again Human, it shall not occur in your favour anymore" he warned, pooling energies into his fists as the eldritch energy knitted his muscles back into operation. With more energy, he directed his sight into their souls and noted that both these human's aura was plummeting with each fight they entered, bringing a smile to his face as he realised their confidence was merely a façade to cover their weakness.

"Pffffft, you believe this guy Hawk? Dumbass thinks he can take us!" noted the black human once again in a mocking tone, spinning those insipid blades around like toys. His partner thankfully did not respond, instead choosing to keep channelling his aura into creating a flaming cloak around his body and further heating the head of his mace to become white-hot.

"You should follow your companion human, he knows that your words will do little to save your life. One more blow and your body shall break, and this forest shall be painted red with blood"

"Oh really, come and hit me then!" taunted Stone once more.

Before he could come up with another jab at the beast, he would have to once again disappear in a burst of static to avoid the fist which exploded into the ground where he had been standing. The red armoured human of course tried to bring his mace down upon the fist which was now embedded into the ground, although nothing connected when he was thrown to the floor when a thick tail slammed into his back.

The beast smirked and flicked out his wings to their full span and spun around in a blindingly fast maelstrom, feeling even more vindication as he felt his wings connect with something and send it flying. Knowing he was free from the other human, he focused once again on the one who was in the process of trying to burn him with the flame-shield which covered his armour.

Of course, it was little concern to him and the beast's claws wrapped around the human even as the flames coursed across his skin and began cooking him where he stood. With more energy pumped through his fist, the flames were doing little more than burning away the dirt now and the human was made well aware of that fact when his fist began squeezing the blood sack within his grip.

The sound of rending metal graced his ears and his smirk only grew larger. Feeling a disturbance once more his tail flicked out as fast as lightning and only barely missed the other human who had been trying to stab him while his focus lay elsewhere. Of course, a moment later he felt the two pin-pricks of the swords embedding themselves into the thick meat of his tail.

Unlike last time, however, he made good to flare the spines along his entire body and had to quell a laugh that would have escaped when the electricity which now pumped through his veins began arcing from the spines across his body and dispersing harmlessly into the ground. Flicking his tail before the other human could extract the blades, they were flung across the clearing and embedded within a tree, a small victory for the beast which was relished while it lasted.

Which was not very long considering mere moments later he felt those same two pricks in his legs, barely kicking out quick enough to dislodge them before the electricity could course through again. Slamming his flaming prey into the ground, he eyes darted across the clearing and found the two blades vanished, now in the hands of the human who was running circles around him with blinding speed, darting in with a speed which could only be rivalled by lightning and stabbing his blades into the gaps in the beast's armoured carapace.

The spines on the beast's tail flared once more, although this time in a quantity which engulfed the entire end of the tail to a point where it resembled the head of a flail… that was, at least, until with the whipping of the appendage they were shot out like bullets and began scything around the clearing trying to catch the human between what he could tell were short teleportation bursts.

While he was distracted, the red armoured human once again made his way to his feet, picked up his discarded mace, and began running forward to smash into his target, causing only more annoyed grunts to be issued from the beast's mouth. The battle continued like this for a time, neither side seeming to gain any ground, that was until Stone decided to try and end it then and there.

Using a feint to distract his foe, he disappeared in a flash of static and appeared behind the beast's back, once again between its shoulder blades as its colossal wings beat the air around him. Funnelling the electricity into the swords, he stabbed them both into the base of the beast's neck, grinning as lightning began arcing out across the blackened body.

Although, it didn't quite end how he had expected it to. Suddenly the electricity stopped, not of his own volition but it seemed to be siphoned straight from his Semblance into the beast… and began condensing in a bright blue light around the beast's fists, a strange black energy mixing with the lightning like a writhing mass of tentacles. With one massive roar, the beast brought down both of its fists into the earth below it and a massive shockwave of dark black lightning boomed out from the impact, sending wood splinters, rocks and dirt everywhere.

Of course, the two humans were collected within the blast and were sent flying from the force, struggling to right themselves from the shock and both slamming into trees to halt their flight, the tell-tale dissipation of their aura accompanying the impact. Neither made any moves to pick themselves up as fatigue overtook their bodies from pushing their aura and muscles to the limit in a battle which could only have lasted little more than a minute.

Even after feeling the dense footsteps pad towards their bodies, they made little movement as they were systematically picked up and lifted to look into the eyes of the great beast, its eyes swirling with a strange flickering blue and black.

"Such a disappointment…" it muttered, looking between the two of them with a mix of both rage and annoyance, both humans smirking to themselves when they saw this. Even though their armour was rent and melted from the battle and their bones shattered from the monumental force that this beast could bring to bear, they both felt a manner of satisfaction within their chests, knowing that despite this they had landed more than a few good hits against this thing.

"Now, I must tell you this is where it shall end. You have failed your pathetic attempt to bring me low, your souls shall do good to feed my fire and know that your energies shall be put to good use to fuel the Alpha of all Grimm…"

"Who said… we were… trying to kill you?" choked out Stone, laughing out loud when he saw confusion now etched across the beast's face. Hawk was sure right when he pinned the beast as not exactly being the sharpest tool in the shed when it came to intellect. But getting so many over on something that could probably take on the entirety of Vale and win certainly brought a smile to his face.

"ALPHA! COME AND FACE ME!" came a new voice, a guttural growl which was neither the Grimm animalistic tones of their previous companion, or anything he had heard come from a mortal's mouth… but something else entirely.

With baited breath, the beast turned its head to find a third human within their clearing, a glowing maelstrom of aura surrounding them and sending flittering embers of Grimm essence into the air around them. Their eyes, two glowing red orbs within the madness betrayed just who they were, for the beast knew these eyes belonged to the wretched Shifter from before. But this energy… it should be unattainable for such a mortal to wield. This energy was born from an Alpha, energy which was the primordial essence of the world from before mortals ever graced the face of Remnant.

And only after the aural storm faded did the beast's deepest concerns find root. For once the Shifter's aura had blinked out of existence the change began. Great feathered wings burst forth from the human's back, black fur sprouting from along its arms and legs as bone which talons burst forth into sickeningly sharp scythes whilst a roar of pain echoed forth from the now wolf-like snout which took the place of its head.

"Alpha, I am Beovulfe Jur Dunne, the last in the line of Shifters… and I am your Death!"

Whilst it spoke, the transformation had finished taking hold, the once human or Grimm body now just as unnatural as the Alpha he addressed and just as fearsome. Its body looked exceedingly similar to that of a simple Beowolf, only now it stood almost as tall as a Goliath, with great Nevermore wings sprouting like some demented fallen angel. Tusks jutted out from its jaw and its paws were thickened and muscled to rival even that of an Ursa. What was truly horrific about it were the multitude of glowing purple crystals jutting from its back like some sort of solid spine, the largest pulsing with an energy which was almost physically tangible in the air, an energy which made the Grimm feel just as uneasy as when the transformation started.

The beast which held the humans threw them to the side with a deft flick of its fist, discarding them in the face of much bigger prey. It went unspoken between the two, yet both knew what this signified… the Alpha was being challenged and whoever came out on top here would be forever known as victor… and Kalazar would be damned before the day ever came where that would not be him laying claim to that title. Pulsing the last shreds of energy he had pulled from the soul of the human, energy arced across his body and sealed the cuts and cracked plates which landed during his last bout.

"Your line ends here Shifter… by the name of Kalazar Shinigami I shall cut your head from your shoulders"

The two looked at each other from across the already broken ground, sizing up each other with equal intentions of making the other realise that it was they who were the prey… yet neither would yield. And so, at an unspoken command, the two titans clashed in a monumental duel of the ages, one which could be felt by every living soul who was willing to listen…

[Haven Academy Grand Hall]

"Thank you for coming on such short notice…" came the modest voice of one Professor Lionheart of Haven Academy, motioning with is hand to greet his new visitors to his meeting, flashing a strangely forced smile for them whilst he stood at the balcony overlooking the hall.

Qrow giving a large and drawn out sigh was the only response he received, however, as the others elected to stay silent while they approached. Beside the veteran Huntsman stood Kira, Jaeger, Tempest and Markus, their weapons slung over their backs as deterrents in the event Demon wasn't being cooperative, whilst the most out-of-place of the group was Oscar who shuffled in behind the group, looking around the room with wonderment.

"Come on Lionheart, spit it out, we've got better things to be doing so this little meeting you called better be worth it" retorted the Branwen, a swig from his flask accompanying his statement as the other occupants took the time to join Oscar in his appraisal of the massive hall.

It was quite a spectacle for to behold given its colossal size and rather intricate décor, rich mahogany wood decorated the two-story structure while rich carpets and tapestries decorated the floors and awnings. At the centre of it all was the balcony Lionheart now stood upon, upheld by a stone statue depicting an exotic woman with golden embellishments chained to her wrists and waist, her arms holding up the platform like an eternal vigil.

"Why… did you bring your weapons?" asked Lionheart, avoiding Qrows jab while at the same time posing his rather strange query, doing nothing more than set warning bells of in his visitor's minds.

"We're Huntsmen, Leo, it's kinda our thing…" sceptically answered the grizzled uncle, his eyebrows raised in confusion at how strangely the Academy Headmaster was being.

At that response, however, conflict began brewing upon the man's visage, which was not too subtle on his part and easily picked up by those who were looking, which seemed to be everyone except a certain Scientist who seemed much more intent on observing the platform below with a mystically glowing right eye.

"Pardon my intrusion Headmaster, but were you aware that the platform you are on acts as an elevator" posed Markus, his eyes cryptically taking glances up and down the statue while his free hand tapped incessantly on the dataslate held within the grips of his left.

"You're… not supposed to know about that" he exclaimed, looking down upon the group as panic began to set in.

"Oh yes, no doubt, I'm afraid my Semblance does allow me to gain a view through solid objects and I was perplexed as to why an elevator would need to descend several stories below ground"

"Of course, another totally relevant plot device brought in by the Author to try and continue the scene!" commented Tempest in is usual completely annoying tone as the Author continue to contemplate if it really was worth keeping him in the story.

Before the annoying tick could be erased from all existence, however, they were interrupted by Qrow shifting his weapon in a blindingly fast flick and sending a spray of shrapnel into one of the rafters of the building, displacing a bird which swooped down behind Lionheart… and shifted into a Woman on the other side?

"What the hell?" muttered Kira, quickly pulling her rifle off her back and racking a bolt, followed by the rest of the weapons held by the Pilots. The woman which they now saw looked exceedingly similar to Demon in every way and it clicked not a few moments later that this must be his mother, or at least a similar relation if the resemblance was anything to go off.

"If you're going to shoot me, then shoot me. That was just insulting" mocked the voice from behind the Grimm mask, choosing to take off said helmet after finishing her introduction, revealing calculating red eyes and a face which was all too similar to their resident blonde brawler.

"WHAT are you doing here?" snarled Qrow as he aimed the point of his sword at the woman, appearing rather ticked off at her presence.

"I could ask you the same thing dear little brother… You've been scheming, and unfortunately for you you're on the wrong side"

"Raven, you have the Spring Maiden, if we work together we can beat Salem once and for all!"

"All this time spying for Ozpin and you still haven't learned… the power she wields is beyond anything you can even fathom, how do you expect to be able to win against THAT!"

"You were there on the frontier sis, you know how everything was going to hell and yet we were able to pull through! This is no different!"

"It is ENTIRELY different, you daft bird! This isn't a fight we can win, the sooner you can see that the better chance you have of living"

Qrow shook his head and lowered his weapon, his eyes pleading for some end to their bickering, yet hopeless in their hoping as he knew from the beginning there simply was no arguing with his sister.

"You know I can't do that Raven… and neither will Hawk"

"He will see how fruitless his endeavours are once he has that damnable Grimm erased from his soul… then maybe you'll finally see reason… unfortunately for you, I doubt you'll get to see that day"

Moving her hands over to the hilt of her blade, she drew it in a flared swipe and a writhing red portal burst into existence beside her, several figures stepping through the rent in space to greet those within the hall.

"Well hello boys and girls…" came the suave and sickly-sweet tone of Cinder Fall, her hips swaying as she strutted through the portal flanked by her green and grey minions, smirks gracing their faces as they silently laughed at their prey. Last to step through was another woman unknown to everyone there, besides Raven apparently as the two shared a quick look, with two large bladed rings rested in her hands.

"What have you done Raven…" Qrow breathed, his despair written across his features while said woman merely scoffed in response.

"You would have done the same Qrow, at least this way I can save my son before I lose him again"

The new combatants raised their weapons and were met with the barrels of the Pilots challenging them, a tense stand-off taking place in the hall as neither side made a move to attack. That was how it stayed for a few moments until both sides charged, wordless warcries echoed across the halls as weapons were shifted into melee forms.

Before they could meet, however, they were interrupted by the main doors bursting open in an explosion of purple before a winged figure flew through the open portal and landed roughly against the floor while another lithe form rolled to the side beside them, roped daggers clattering to the floor in the crash.

"WE FOUND DEMON!" cried their intruder, Rosaline standing up from the crash to wipe aside the hair which fell across her eyes… and allowing her to see just what she had burst in to. "Well, this is awkward…"

[Mistral Forests – Neo]

…

Always…

With… This… STUPID RUNNING

As soon as Demon turned back to normal, she was going to slap him on behalf of her legs, because with the amount of running he was making her do she wouldn't be walking for a damned week!

After his surprise 'shift', the three girls were left dumbfounded in the clearing whilst the two bounty hunters, the Beowolf and their new 'companion' ran off on some wild chase through the trees. After they had re-found their bearings it took a few moments of arguing to make clear what would happen in this rather intense situation. With little idea of just what the hell was going on, Rosaline would take Emmily and herself back to Ozpin to try and find out just WHAT in the world that massive Grimm thing was, while Neo… well, Neo was tasked with trying to find them in this forest.

It wasn't all that hard, considering how many destroyed trees and the line of destruction which followed her little group, but they moved so GOD DAMNED FAST! Even after running for almost ten minutes she still couldn't find them!

At least, until she FELT them. Her bones rattled as some shockwave of force boomed throughout the forest, shaking the trees and bending the grass, putting all her hairs on end as static flowed across her body. Twisting herself to run towards the source, it wasn't long until shockwaves were booming throughout the forest in intervals which felt more like a beating than anything else.

After coming across several broken trees and scorched grass, she drew her misericorde and stalked towards the source of the boomings. And that's when she saw just what was happening. The fight… was like nothing she had ever seen before. Two colossal giants engaged in brutal brawl of sheer strength against strength, clashing in the open clearing and sending ripples of power and energy each time they met. The blade in her hand suddenly felt woefully inadequate and she was glad that Rosaline had left to gather back-up because she had no doubt that even with their combined strength they would not be able to put a dent in either of these titans.

Stalking around the edges of the battlefield, she caught sight of two disturbances in the green of the forest, the two humans who had previously attacked Demon laying face-down in the dirt. Their armour was cracked and melted so much that she doubted they were even alive encased within their metal tombs, but surprisingly enough she felt faint pulses from the both of them when she checked, genuinely shocked that the two had survived such an obvious beating.

Taking out her misericorde, she made to put them out of their misery, after all they were the ones to attack them without cause… yet her blade stopped just above their exposed throats. Maybe… this wasn't the right way. For so long she had been forced to kill to survive, but now was her chance to fix her ways… she was better than this. The way Blake and Weiss looked at her after killing the White Fang grunts in Menagerie truly made her feel disgusting, but now she could change that. These people were no longer a threat and they would be dealt with accordingly. The irony was not lost on Neo as she carefully moved them to a nearby tree and propped them up against it… she would finally be going to the police willingly for a change.

Turning her attention back to the fight which was still raging, she felt unease begin to surface as she noticed how bad a shape the Demon-thing was in. Two of the horns on its head were snapped off, the bones in its left wing were clearly broken given how it limply hung draped on the ground, and the skin around its right leg was mangled so much that it looked like it had been put through a meat grinder.

Yet the thing fought like nothing had even happened, bashing aside fists sent at it by the other Grimm-beast to land blows of his own upon its opponent. The Beowolf-thing looked almost as worse for ware, sporting several open wounds across its body and one of the large crystals upon its back lay shattered across the ground, spewing dark purple energy like liquid on the forest floor.

The fight looked like it could go either way, neither giving an inch of ground which wasn't punished by a brutal counter attack or from a colossal burst of energy which slammed into the other with a sickening crunch. This was how the wars of old were fought, not with firearms or blades, but tooth against claw as one side vied to crush the others spirit and body with decisive blows.

It was so entrancing to watch this pure display of power that Neo almost didn't notice the wind buffeting her hair sporadically… almost. Her eyes turned to the skies and what she saw only made her fears worsen, for blocking her view of the blue expanse above was a massive Airship unlike anything she had seen before, with guns which put the Atlesian Airships to shame…

As the belly of the craft opened to send down Bullhead-like crafts, her mind struggled to comprehend just what she was looking at, finding only one piece of the puzzle which would fit into place. Emblazoned upon the side of the ship was a large emblem which she had seen once before on the Rosaline girl's armour… three large letters reading… I.M.C.