Chapter Text
If you thought last chapter was heartwrenching…
Anyways, here's your chapter. Here's the Discord: /cgFmXz3qJ5
Yang.
Yang...was...
Ben couldn't comprehend what he was seeing, he just couldn't. He didn't know what the hell to think. Yang was always one of the strongest in the Outcasts, she'd survived so much when the odds were stacked against her. All the times she managed to beat him, when she managed to survive Cinder's brutal assault back at the Fall of Beacon. He just couldn't accept that Yang was really-
He couldn't even finish that thought. Some part of his mind rationalized that if he finished, then that reality would be real, that there'd be no changing it.
Blake was doing far, far worse. Her fingers clawed at the empty space where Yang's form once existed. Her mind simply refused to accept what her heart already knew, that her beloved partner was gone, forever beyond her grasp. Desperation consumed her, driving her to reach out as if the sheer force of her will could conjure Yang back into existence.
Weiss, sensing Blake's anguish, held her back with gentle hands.
Gentle hands...
Like the ones Blake and the others provided earlier.
But this was a whole different situation.
And then there was Ruby. As she rose up from the cold, hard ground, an overwhelming sense of disorientation enveloped her, hitting her like a bolt of lightning. Yang was no longer there. The very thought of the loss sent shivers down Ruby's spine. Tears began to sting at the corners of the reaper's eyes, blurring her vision and making it hard to even stand.
"...Yang?" Ruby asked, feeling helpless. She couldn't even find the strength to yell.
"Two down," Mercury smirked.
"Five to go," Cinder chuckled before launching herself skyward and striking at Penny. The two Maidens clashed in a shower of magic and sparks as they battled in the air. Ruby was just frozen for a minute, the shock of losing her sister too much to deal with. Weiss was still trying to pull Blake back from the edge, the feline Faunus desperately reaching out to the girlfriend who was no longer there.
Mercury had no sympathy to give, though. He launched himself off the pathway he'd kicked Emerald off of and fell towards Ruby. Blake heard the gunshots and whipped around, a look of feral anger on her face as her eyes narrowed and locked onto Mercury.
"YOU!" Blake yelled, throwing Gambol Shroud and catching the assassin's leg. She yelled as she pulled Mercury to the ground and raced towards the downed assassin. He rolled out of the way as Blake brought down both the katana-like blade and the larger cleaver sheathe to cut Mercury down.
"Woah! Where was this fire the whole time?" Mercury taunted.
Blake growled in response, lunging at him again. This time, he wasn't as lucky and was caught by Gambol Shroud's blade. He grunted in pain as his aura briefly flickered.
"Guess the kitty's got claws," Mercury snarked, grinning despite the pain. Blake snarled and raised Gambol Shroud for another strike, but was interrupted by a blast of fire. She turned to see Cinder and Penny locked in a fierce battle, the flames from their magic illuminating the entire platform.
"Worried about your robo-friend? I'd be more concerned with yourself!" Mercury yelled, landing a kick to Blake's chin and knocking her off her feet. She growled and got back up rushing towards the assassin's son, only to get cut off by Ruby. The red-hooded reaper spun her prized weapon behind her and started thrashing Mercury.
Mercury dodged and weaved around the scythe, his own weapon clashing with it. Ruby's face was set with a look of hardened determination as she swung Crescent Rose with all her might, managing to land a hit on Mercury's side. He grunted in pain as the scythe impacted, but instead of his defense breaking, he managed to block the follow-up strike.
"If you think you're getting away today…" Ruby growled, her silver eyes blazing with anger.
"Awww, what are you gonna do? Tell your sister?" Mercury laughed. "Or better yet, why not tell your mommy?"
"Shut up!" the reaper yelled through gritted teeth, swinging her weapon at Mercury again. The cyborg hitman blocked the strike and kicked Ruby in the stomach, causing her to stumble back. Blake rushed forward, Gambol Shroud at the ready, but Mercury simply grinned and dodged her flurry of slashes and blade thrusts.
On the latest thrust, Mercury brought his leg up in an axe-kick motion and stomped down on the thinner blade and fired off a shot. The point-blank shotgun blast snapped Gambol Shroud in half and the assassin launched himself back, using the same shot's momentum, to create some distance. Blake scrambled and quickly picked up the shattered part of the blade and gripped it tightly in her hand, almost threatening to cut her own palm. She sheathed what was left of the katana and turned her cleaver sheath into something akin to a heavy longsword.
"This is going in your heart, BLACK!" Blake threatened.
"Ha! And what would Goldielocks say if she heard that? Not like we can ask her. Oh well!" Mercury taunted.
The assassin charged forward, clashing with Blake's makeshift sword with his own armored grieves. The two fought fiercely, their weapons clanging against each other in a shower of sparks. Blake was fueled by rage and desperation, the loss of her girlfriend and her teammate driving her to fight even harder. When the feline Faunus was pushed away by a powerful kick Ruby jumped back into the fray. The numbers weren't exactly in Mercury's favor, but that didn't matter. He'd taken on far more enemies at once before, more skilled ones at that.
The red-hooded reaper was struggling to hold her own against the agility and speed of her sister's apparent killer. His skills shown during the Vytal Festival and the Battle of Haven were one thing, but this was different. All of his previous fights were serious, but it never felt like he was putting his all in, like he was still toying with his opponents. His onslaught of taunts and sneers didn't help, only serving to enrage both the shadowy ninja and the red reaper even more. The hooded Huntress swung her scythe again and again, trying to land a hit on him, but he dodged every strike with ease.
"God, you're just a mess aren't you? You're usually a lot better with those swings!" Mercury jeered, "I bet this hurts a lot, huh? I've been told I sound like Ben more than once. Your weird alien buddy fell for it, so I can't even begin to imagine what that's doing to you."
The assassin just smirked as he saw his words strike at Ruby's heart.
"Oh wait, I don't need to imagine. Cuz it's happening right before my eyes!" Mercury added one final jab.
"I-!" Ruby began but Blake cut her off.
"There won't be a BODY for them to BURY, BLACK!" Blake threatened. Ruby was caught off guard when she saw her teammate's Aura flicker and flash. For a minute, it almost seemed like two of Blake's shadows appeared, overlapping with the real her.
"Wow, bit insensitive given recent events dontcha think?" Mercury chuckled.
As Blake's fury and determination reached its peak, the shadows of Semblance were being fueled by those strong emotions. With her next attack, her shadows seemed to come alive, moving faster than the eye could follow. They transformed into invisible and intangible clones, slicing through the air with deadly precision.
Mercury's cocky grin faded as he felt a sharp, searing pain across his cheek. He instinctively touched the fresh wound, his fingers coming away stained with a small trail of blood. Confusion and disbelief washed over his face as he tried to comprehend what had just happened.
"What the...?" Mercury muttered, his voice trailing off before thinking to himself, Did she break my Aura? No...no, impossible. I would've felt it.
"Did you think I was just trying to scare you?!" Blake growled, as she and two of her shadows raced in accompanied by an unearthly screaming sound. The ninja of the Outcasts had her sclera turned black, as liquid shadow spread out from her amber pupils. The clones dashed in from the sides and were cutting away at Mercury, opening the assassin up to a powerful slash across his chest.
"Every single one of these is for YANG!" the usually composed ninja growled.
Ruby paused for a moment, seeing Blake go this crazy and one word clicked in her mind.
Berserker.
With each strike, Blake's slashes grew more powerful, more ferocious. Each swing was fueled by her grief and anger. The once graceful and calculated Faunus had transformed into a relentless force of nature, driven solely by her desire for vengeance. Her shadows moved with an eerie speed, leaving afterimages in their wake as they tore through the air.
Mercury tried desperately to defend himself against the onslaught, but he found himself overwhelmed by his opponent's newfound power. The cuts on his body multiplied, painting a crimson trail across his chest. The pain was agonizing and his Aura flickered with increasing frequency, the sign that it was dangerously close to depletion. Without hesitation, Ruby lunged forward, positioning herself strategically behind Mercury. With a flash of silver, Crescent Rose transformed into its sniper form. Taking aim, the red hooded Huntress fired a precise shot at Mercury's legs, attempting to immobilize him.
The bullets managed to find their marks, making the assassin stagger a bit from the shots, but his legs weren't as heavily damaged as Ruby hoped. Before she could jump in and help Blake again, Ben flew into Ruby and knocked her away from the fight, the former having been thrown by Vilgax.
The Murrian warlord leapt into the fray, the impact of him landing on the platform enough to throw ally and enemy alike off balance. Without his To'kustar blade, he relied mostly on the bio-weapons in his arm and his other usual tricks. The almost metallic whip emerged from his forearm and he raised it up, making it turn rigid and ready to impale. The tyrant thrust down, aiming to lance Ben then and there, but Ruby recovered quickly and slashed at the improvised blade. Vilgax narrowed his eyes at the red-hooded huntress and let out a hiss from his breathing mask, a clear sign of annoyance. The two enemies clashed in an impressive display of bladework, whip-spear and scythe clashing in showers of sparks repeatedly.
At the same time, the battle between Cinder, Penny, and Weiss was unaffected by the thunderous leap Vilgax took. With a large greatsword in her hand, the Fall Maiden took the offensive initiative and rushed in with a powerful flurry of heavy slashes. Penny expertly moved Floating Array in graceful counters where three blades clashed with the glass weapon and a fourth moved in during the split second where Cinder was readying her strike and cutting away at her Aura. The Fall Maiden ignore the little nicks here and there, a little pain was nothing compared to what she had in store. The familiar glimmer of Glyphs being summoned into existence reached her ear at just the right time. Using the flames under her feet, keeping her in the air, Cinder raced over a massive greatsword strike from the summoned top half of Weiss' knight. Without missing a beat, the twice-disgraced Maiden fired her weapon at the summon like a rocket. A small jet of flame roared at the pommel of the weapon as it soared right through the knight's throat.
Weiss leapt into the fray from a nearby glyph platform, summoning another one next to Cinder so she could get in close. Ice coated Myrtenaster's blade before the heiress began thrusting the weapon at her opponent. Cinder dodged and wove between the strikes with ease before readying a ball of fire in her free hand. She reared back and fired off the burst of flame, aiming to send Weiss flying off into the abyss to join Yang and Emerald. Instead, Penny's blades formed a tight knit shield that blocked the burst of fire, protecting the heiress from the shot. The burst of flame collided with Penny's blade, dissipating harmlessly, much to Cinder's continued annoyance.
"Weiss, are you-" Penny began to ask.
"I'm fine." Weiss quickly answered, sounding like she was holding back bitter tears. Cinder's eyes flickered with a mix of surprise and annoyance at the heiress's resilience. She had expected her fiery assault to be the final straw to break this little Atlesian snowflake, but this daughter of Atlas refused to stand down. Cinder's amusement quickly returned though, her fiery Maiden powers surging through her veins. She summoned a torrent of flames around her, creating a barrier of searing heat so that if either of them tried to charge or attack her, they'd be roasted.
Weiss knew she had to find a way to break through Cinder's defenses. She channeled her glyphs, weaving a complex pattern beneath her feet. Ice crystals formed around her, encasing her body in a protective shell.
Or so she thought. All that armor and yet she was still totally vulnerable.
"And I thought you," Cinder smirked as she formed up her trademark bow, "were the smart one." Arrows of pure flame were knocked into the Maiden's bow before she loosed the trio of flaming projectiles. They exploded on impact, the shell shattering into a million pieces.
Cinder grinned, but that satisfaction faded as the smoke cleared. Weiss had actually used the shell as a distraction, using that precious time to don a familiar suit of armor.
When did she harness that?! Cinder thought. The one disadvantage the Maiden had was how out of the loop she was, completely unaware of her enemies' new skills.
Weiss' eyes lit up, as she pointed her new broadsword at Cinder.
"Yang would have wanted me to whip this out...especially fighting a monster like you."
"Oh how cute. Honoring your teammate," Cinder taunted, keeping up a mask of confidence, and rushed forward.
"Penny! Throw me!" Weiss yelled.
Penny didn't even hesitate. Her swords 'grabbed' Weiss like fingers, whipped her around, and tossed her like a fastball. Weiss reared her sword back, and right when Cinder was about to slash at her, she changed directions. A pair of wings suddenly appeared on Weiss' back, and propelled her upwards. Cinder's eyes widened as she realized what she was seeing.
Another Berserker!? Cinder thought, before the armored heiress swung her sword downward.
A glass shield formed before Cinder and the knight's greatsword clanged against the barrier. Cinder sneered as she saw the defensive barrier hold, but small cracks were starting to snake across its surface. While she was preoccupied there, Penny raced in from the side and tackled the Fall Maiden away. Weiss was fine as the shield fell, summoning a Glyph platform to stop her fall. Floating Array's replicas appeared behind Cinder and aimed to impale her, but she was able to kick the Winter Maiden away, blasting her with flames.
"The power of the Staff, wasted on a tin toy pretending to be human. Idiots, all of them," Cinder taunted.
"They wasted nothing on me." Penny declared, eyes narrowed in anger.
Cinder's own amber orbs started to glow. "Let's test that...shall we?"
"Let's," Penny agreed, her own green eyes lighting up. The two Maidens raced towards each other at blinding speed, turning into blurs of their respective colors, orange and green. They clashed in the sky, faster than Weiss could keep track of. The heiress needed to figure out a way to help, but she couldn't if they were moving so fast. An idea struck her and she focused her greatsword out towards where she thought Cinder would appear next. A clock-faced Glyph appeared and once it hit midnight, it ensnared its target with a nice bit of temporal slow-down. Unfortunately, it wasn't Cinder the Glyph caught. The Fall Maiden kicked Penny into the trap and used it to force her into a vulnerable position. Cinder summoned a massive glass glaive in her hands before she rushed in and began slicing away at Penny, each attack getting faster and faster before she finally batted her winery counterpart out of the trap and into Weiss. The impact knocked them both back towards one of the nearby platforms.
While Cinder had gained something of an edge, Mercury was still very much on the backfoot. An enraged Blake's shadows continued cutting into him, threatening to leave him as nothing more than pieces.
It was around now that the duo of Neo and Albedo emerged from one of the portals closest to the exit archway. The duo were shocked to see the trio of villains assaulting their friends. Ceres, Flynt, and Ivori were still trying to get as many people through as possible, but with some back-up here that freed them up.
"Hey, music guys!" Ceres shouted, "Cross over! Now!"
"Are you posi-" Ivori began.
"Now is *not the time to argue with me!" Ceres cut him off. With a nod and a quick shared glance of worry, the two Atlesian Hunters crossed over with the next batch of civilians.
Ceres?! Neo signed, looking at the different fights going on around the central location, What's-?!
"You guys help Ben and Ruby! I got Mercury!" Ceres decided in a split second.
"But Penny-" Albedo began.
"She's got it! I hope..."
Without much other choice, Albedo and Neo nodded before racing towards where Ben and Ruby were battling one of their oldest foes.
Ceres turned to face Mercury, her fists clenched. She knew he was fast, but he was also very weakened, thanks to all those berserk attacks. She charged towards him, her semblance enhancing her speed. Mercury smirked, but it quickly faded as Ceres dodged his strikes and landed a blow to his stomach.
"Oh, great..." Mercury coughed. "You're on my case too."
"You knocked my friend into an endless oblivion! OF COURSE I AM!" Ceres yelled, obviously angrier than she realized.
"I could always send you on a one-way trip after her!" Mercury taunted, quickly recovering and unleashing another flurry of kicks at Ceres. She parried several of them, but on the last kick, one of Blake's clones rushed in and slashed at his extended leg. The shadowy blade sparked against the metal prosthetic and made the assassin's son jump back. He fired off two quick shots at his opponents to do some quick damage and give himself some breathing room.
"Really getting tired of that," Mercury muttered.
"Ceres, you can help, just so long as I-!" Blake hissed, her Berserker state clouding her mind. It actually frightened Ceres, seeing the usually calm and collected Blake just going, for lack of a better term, feral.
"Blake, this is your Berserker! You're not thinking strai-!" Ceres tried to argue.
"I KNOW DAMN WELL I'M NOT! But be in my place! What if it was ARI that fell?!" The ninja of the Outcasts shouted and, despite her darkened eyes, she was on the verge of tears again.
Ceres had never heard Blake so angry. It was like she was looking into the eyes of a totally different person.
"...I'd be equally as angry. But we can't afford to let that consume us-" Ceres tried to alleviate the pain, but it was doing nothing.
"She's gone. He took her and I'll take his goddamn life to even the scales." Blake growled. "I'VE DONE IT BEFORE!"
"Oh that's right," Mercury said, "Aren't you ex-Fang? No wonder they didn't do so well if they had people like you on board."
The retaliation for that insult was instant; no one even saw Blake turn around. In a split second, Blake had wrapped her hands around Mercury's neck and was squeezing the life out of him.
"You took everything from me." Blake cursed, voice about to break.
"Good. Means we're on equal ground for the first time!" Mercury grinned.
With that, the assassin kicked back and fired a shot into Blake's stomach, launching her back into Ceres.
"You brats have gone too long without a real loss," the assassin scoffed, "Time you felt that sting."
"Oh you sick son of a-!" Ceres growled.
"Oh, we've gone a while without a real loss!?" Blake called out. "You don't think relying on some plan we half assed an hour ago is a loss!? Is this what life is to you? A game with a clear winner?!"
"A game? Maybe not exactly, but you're right on the winner thing!" Mercury yelled, kicking out at the air and firing shot after shot at Ceres and Blake. Ceres tanked the shots while Blake's clones leapt in and took the shots for her.
"Everyone in Atlas thought of themselves as a winner in this life. Security, Ironwood's favor, all of it, while Mantle got the short end of the stick!" the assassin yelled over the shots. One of Blake's clones got in close and forced him to stop his barrage. A quick kick to the side of its head sent it over the side, disappearing in a puff of smoke before it vanished into golden dust like Yang.
Meanwhile, Ben and Ruby were barely making a dent in VIlgax. The white UV powers from Ultraviolent helped, but the warlord just wouldn't quit. Every time it looked like they landed a hit to slow him down, actually wound him, he just shrugged it off and went back to the battle.
Ben and Ruby exchanged a knowing look, and simultaneously charged forward towards the warlord. As they got closer, Ruby leaped into the air, spinning her scythe above her head, while Ben stuck his tendrils forward and began to spin rapidly and violently.
The red and green duo had synchronized their movements perfectly, both of them slashing their weapons at Vilgax as they charged forward. Ben's tendrils and Ruby's scythe came together in a deadly double attack, catching Vilgax off guard.
As great a job as Ultraviolent is doing, I don't think I got a good handle on him JUST yet. Ben thought to himself and took advantage of that split second opening. He adjusted the dial on the watch and morphed into another alien.
Vilgax was greeted by a burst of flames flickering against his skin. He knew this power. He knew this alien.
And Ben knew Heatblast like the back of his hand.
"Is this some kind of joke, Tennyson? Using that form against me?" Vilgax scoffed. "I dare even say the Laceritter had me on the backfoot."
"What, acting tough in front of the alien that sent you into space last time?" Ben frowned.
Jets of steam left the vents on the warlord's breathing mask, a clear sign of annoyance. Maybe Ben actually got it right and that made him confident. His flames roared with heat as he launched himself towards the towering warlord. Ruby broke his defenses with a precise scythe slash, leaving open for Ben. She leapt out of the way right before Ben landed a flaming punch to Vilgax's chest, moving into a flaming combo that made the warlord start to stagger back. Yes! Maybe this would-!
Ben felt like his heart stopped. His eyes widened and his confidence just shattered.
Vilgax caught the last attack.
"Your flames may singe my flesh...but they will never truly burn me again," Vilgax chuckled, rearing back a punch and throwing it, cracking Ben on his fiery jaw and launching him backwards. But instead of seeing Ben thud to the ground, he watched the Pyronite form shatter. The last of the Murrians raised a brow in surprise before a barrage of crystals peppered his back, the tiny shards digging into his flesh before smaller tendrils picked them out.
"The imposter..." Vilgax turned to face Albedo, once again as Diamondhead.
"As Yang would say, 'Round 2, bitch,'" Albedo threatened.
Ben and Albedo began shooting their respective elements at the towering foe, flickering flames and hardened crystals flew through the air, colliding with Vilgax's skin. The latest member of Salem's cabal tanked their attacks and began shooting out bombs from his modified arm.
The Murrian's bio-grenades bounced once before detonating, but the blasts did little to deter the two heroes. Crystal shards and flaming spheres just kept colliding with the warlord's body. It was annoying in the first few seconds, so he lashed out, unraveling his arms into their component tendrils and had both sets swarm his enemies. Albedo morphed his hands into blades and cut down any tendril that got close. Ben scorched any tentacle that reached him, as well, but both swarms were relentless. Each tendril, whether burned or sliced, rushed in and tried to impale its respective target. But with VIlgax distracted and exposed, Ruby and Neo raced in to try and deal some damage of their own. Vilgax couldn't help but scoff at this. The unlikely duo slashed away at Vilgax, the only bit of defense the tyrant could offer up were short eye blasts and the odd tendril that he could spare from the assault on the two 'trix users.
Annoying. Vilgax mentally cursed. Their fighting styles are each so distinct, hard to decipher. They'd be overwhelming if facing a weaker opponent...I can see why Cinder had trouble with them.
With a snarl, Vilgax lashed out with his tentacles, aiming for all four of them at once. The tentacles wrapped around each of their bodies, squeezing tight and constricting their movements. Ben gasped for air as the tentacles squeezed his chest, while Albedo struggled to break free from the grip around his arms and legs. Ruby and Neo were pinned down, unable to move even an inch.
Yeah, sure. Ruby used her Semblance to speed out of her bindings, and rushed at Vilgax.
Before the Murrian could even react, she slashed him in the eyes with her scythe.
Vilgax's regenerative capabilities were impressive, always have been. His body could tank a blow and regenerate in seconds, making him incredibly dangerous. But here's a scientific fun fact, skin typically regenerates faster than eyes. Skin cells can regenerate over the course of 27 days, while cells in the cornea, the transparent outer layer of the eye, can take up to two years to regenerate. So if Vilgax was healing at an untold rate with his body, his eyes should take significantly longer to recover.
Right?
Wrong. Vilgax had learned from the last time his eyes were slashed in his first comeback fight and had taken precautions against this, enhancing the regenerative factor in his eyes. It would still be longer than his usual regeneration, but not as long as Ruby had hoped. The pain, however, did make him stagger back just a bit, taking his focus away from Ben and Albedo. The two 'trix users cut their way through the swarms of tendrils before they reached his main body. Fire and diamond collided with Murrian armor and flesh simultaneously, almost threatening to tear the warlord in half. Vilgax thudded to the ground, seemingly defeated. Ruby went in for a final stab only to get blasted skyward by a pair of eye-beams, courtesy of VIlgax's now healed eyes.
The tyrant leapt up again, facing down Neo and Albedo as Ben raced off to catch Ruby. Heatblast tore through the void like a comet to catch his girlfriend, making sure that he grabbed Crescent Rose as well.
"How touching..." Vilgax growled, turning away from Albedo and Neo and charging up another eye blast. He smirked before Neo and Albedo rushed in and caught him in the middle of a flurry of slashes and blade thrusts. The metallic whip emerged from Vilgax's arm again as he began parrying and striking back, but Albedo was too durable and Neo was too quick. A whip strike would slash against the Galvan in human form's diamond skin, while any attempt to impale Neo would just stab into a duplicate of glass.
Set it up! Neo called out before she slid under Vilgax and slashed at, what she presumed to be, both of the tyrant's tendons. The short but pained shout the warlord let out meant the hits probably stung as much as on a human.
Albedo nodded and grew the crystal spines jutting out of his back before he fired them out of his back like missiles. The large, person sized crystals stabbed into the golden pathway all around Vilgax. The tyrant looked to each of them in confusion, wondering what the plan these two unlikely heroes had concocted. A flash of red caught his attention and, when he looked back over, he noticed a much lankier, more wooden and less green version of Swampfire. The tyrant took aim with his grenade launcher, but before the first bomb could be fired, Albedo held out his hands and expelled a thick cloud of dark green gas. The breathing mask affixed to the warlord's jaw filtered out any toxins the impostor would have released in this smoke screen, so he just needed to look out for any signs of movement. Vilgax's eye caught a glimpse of Neo rushing by, so he lashed out, firing a barrage of bombs that destroyed a glass replica. Another shadow ran past him and he sliced it in half with his whip, leaving behind nothing but shards. He roared in annoyance and spun his whip around, faster and faster, until the gale-force winds cleared away the smokescreen.
Vilgax blinked a few times as he saw a small army of multiple copies of Neo and Albedo in various alien forms.
"Impressive isn't it?" Albedo asked.
Haven't decided on a name for it yet. Thinking Red Velvet, Neo smirked.
"Literal smoke and mirrors...that's all this is. Hide behind parlor tricks all you want, it makes little difference," Vilgax threatened.
Say that again when you've found us, the Neos all winked and spun around, flourishing their respective parasols.
Vilgax's eyes lit up. "That will be easy." He roared as he began firing off a massive optic blast. The Neos quickly scattered, dodging the blast with ease. They regrouped behind Vilgax, who was now facing the other way. Albedo quickly enhanced his hands with bramble and vines. He then grabbed onto Vilgax's arms, holding them tight. Neo rushed forwards, striking Vilgax with a flurry of slashes, punches and kicks. Vilgax struggled, but he was unable to break free from Albedo's grasp.
Normally, a Methanosian's grip would be incredibly easy to break out of- but this one's knowledge of the body is a deadly tool. Vilgax frowned. His grip is focused on specific pressure points and joints, making it difficult for me to break free with brute force alone. Additionally, the spines of the brambles are sharp, causing pain and potentially damaging nerves if I struggle too much...nerves will take longer to regenerate...but he underestimates me.
Vilgax closed his eyes and focused his energy, summoning a massive shockwave that sent Albedo flying backwards. The grip on his arms weakened, and Vilgax took the opportunity to break free. He spun around, firing off another round of bombs that forced Neo to retreat.
Neos and Albedos shattered all around the warlord, courtesy of bombs and optic blasts, but then something happened VIlgax wasn't quite expecting. He fired off a blast at the nearest Neo, watching her shatter and then he saw his optic blast reflected back at him, hitting him in the shoulder. He looked to where that Neo had stood and he saw one of the crystals Albedo had fired from his back earlier.
"What?" Vilgax hissed.
Awww, what's the matter V? Can't take your own lasers? Neo taunted.
"It was child's play to change the composition of the crystals to make them far more...reflective," Albedo smirked.
Vilgax chuckled. "Amusing. A child trained in basic combat could do the same move. I will not provide you with an opportunity like that again, once I get what I've come for."
"What, you doing two errands at once?" Ben frowned. "Here to kill me and steal the watch?"
"Your basic wristwatch does not catch my eye anymore."
"Wait what?" Ruby asked, taking those words in.
"You...you called the Omnitrix a wristwatch? But you-!" Ben countered, before he noticed that Vilgax was no longer looking at him, he was looking past him. Ruby's boyfriend followed the tyrant's gaze and his heart stopped. Vilgax was staring right through Penny...and his gaze was focused on the Staff on her back.
"Oh fuck," Ben and Ruby muttered as they reached the same conclusion.
"Don't tell me. You only partnered with her to make-" Albedo frowned.
"My own Omnimatrix device. You would be correct." Vilgax said. "One better tailored to my needs. I tried building one from scratch, but I lacked one crucial part. I plan to use the Staff to recreate it."
"So revenge and your own 'trix," Ben muttered.
"The former is a universal motivator, yet you act as if it isn't. Salem, Cinder, Mercury," Vilgax's eyes shifted to the side and lashed out, wrapping around the throat of Neo, who was getting ready to take advantage of the villain monologue, "Even you. I am not privy to all the details, but I know enough. The first to truly accept you, such an important connection...and yet they were lost to someone you now call friend."
Albedo's eyes lit up. "You have quite the death wish, don't you, Murrian?"
"There's nothing I wish more than to rest but I cannot. Not yet." Vilgax gripped Neo's throat tighter.
"Then let her go!" Ruby yelled, her treasured weapon in sniper mode and its crosshair locked onto the warlord's arm.
"A poor choice of words...but ones I shall oblige," the tyrant oddly acquiesced, "But, Neopolitan, I believe? You should know, the old man is not the only one who lied to you."
Neo, still struggling against the Murrian's grip, looked to Vilgax as if to say "What are you talking about?"
The warlord scoffed, jets of steam shooting from his breathing mask before he brought the girl in close and practically whispered to her three words. Three words that hit her worse than the Summer revelation could ever hope to.
"Rose. Killed. Torchwick," the warlord smirked, looking the mute girl in the eyes, solid red meeting pink and brown.
Neo's face fell as she looked to the red hooded reaper.
"What…what did he-?" Ruby asked.
"I told her the truth. The truth being that you personally ended the life of Roman Torchwick," Vilgax announced.
Ruby backed away, shaking her head. "No. No, that's not what happened- s-sure, I was THERE, but-"
Neo just kept staring at Ruby, lost for words.
"You see? She admits it. It is only right that you hear the truth...before you die," Vigax smirked. Without any fanfare, the tyrant tossed Neo over the side like a disposable towel. Her eyes never left Ruby as she fell, her vision practically blocking out everything else, except for one other thing, one other person.
Albedo had turned into Jetray by now and was about to leap down after her, but Vilgax's tendrils wrapped around him and prevented him from flying after her. Neo silently reached out her hand towards her love before, just like Yang and Emerald before her, she scattered into golden dust.
The scream Albedo let out once he realized that he was too late was horrific. It didn't even sound like it was of this world, making the entire battlefield freeze up. The sound echoed through the air, sending shivers down the spines of every person present. It was a sound that could only be described as pure and abject despair. Albedo, usually calm and collected, was nothing more than a sobbing mess as he was held in place.
"You don't deserve to join her." Vilgax frowned. "You're far too interesting an opponent to let die." Vilgax swung his tendrils back and tossed the human Galvan across the battlefield, right into the portal over to Vacuo.
Albedo was flung through and collided into Kevin, knocking him over into the sand. The human Galvan quickly scurried back to his feet and tried to race back into the central location, fight against Vilgax, avenge Neo.
"What the-?!" Kevin gasped as he got back to his feet, just in time to see the red jacket-clad Ben doppelganger dash off away from him, "ALBEDO?!"
"VILGAAAAAAAAX!" Albedo yelled, his fury and sadness mingling together into a volatile cocktail of negativity, as he charged for the portal...only to bounce off of it and back into the crowd.
Albedo tried over and over again, trying to ferally claw his way back. "VILGAX! YOU'LL PAY FOR NEO'S LIFE WITH YOUR OWN!"