Yin was distracted, seeing Yang's sudden transformation. Seeing a chance to strike, Baldur's body blurred before he kicked Yin in the gut and sent her flying over twenty feet back.
*THUD!*
Yin righted herself mid-air and landed on the balls of her feet as Baldur cackled maniacally.
"This is it.. This is the power I'll use to kill you! Come on! Give me everything you got. I'll carve fear into your body like you did with Magni-" Baldur kept talking, his anger and excitement ramping up as he declared his early victory.
But Yin was still looking at Yang, completely disregarding Baldur and filtering his words out. All she heard were vague words like 'revenge', 'fear', 'hate' and 'kill'.
Around ninety percent of her focus was on Yang. Her golden armor hugged her curves perfectly, like it was made to be worn by her. Her muscular, athletic and curvy frame moved with grace and power as she clashed with the female Grimm.
"WELL? What do you have to say for yourself?" Baldur asked, demanding an answer after seeing Yin was still silent after his declaration.
"...Huh? Oh, yellow." Yin tried to answer, figuring he was asking her favorite color.
"...."
"I asked you.. if you even knew who I was. And your answer was.. yellow?"
Yin shook her head, peeling her eyes away from Yang's ass and looking at Baldur in confusion.
"Huh? What were you saying again?" Hearing Yin's genuine confusion, Baldur snarled and charged straight at her once more.
While the fighting had properly kicked off, William had quickly left the monsters to fight amongst themselves. He knew Carmilla. If he tried to lend her a hand she'd probably kill him. Thus, he urged the pilots to move out. As he moved through the tunnel, his scoll buzzed.
*Ring!* *Ring!*
"What? Have the reinforcements arrived yet?" William picked up, seeing it was his lieutenant.
"No.. half of Vale is a warzone. All the other lieutenants have been calling and messaging for support. The other gangs, the Vale Police and even Huntsmen have gotten involved." The lieutenant answered, voice grave.
William felt his throat tighten at his words. And it only got worse the more his lieutenant talked.
"The other hideouts mobilized as soon as they got word of the attack here but as soon as they left they were attacked by the other gangs. Then the cops got involved and prioritized us! Then the Huntsmen teams from Beacon helped assist them. We're barely holding on thanks to the mechs but we've had over three hundred confirmed deaths out there and four hundred in the station! Ryuko and Roman were spotted in the chaos and then there's another team of Huntsmen from that Branwen branch along with their mercs. Sir, please.. what do we do? Should we retreat into the Mountain Glenn tunnel?"
William nearly collapsed, feeling his head spinning. Why? Why had things gone so bad so fast? Was this really all his fault? Because of that one stream that exposed his men working with a Grimm? He was completely overwhelmed. All that was left for him to do was flee.
Get out of Vale with as much men and equipment as he could get. Then, maybe after things settled down could he come back and try again.
*Click*
Various plans formed in his mind as he hung up the call.
"Vacuo.. I can lay low in the jungles. Get us out of the station." William ordered, the pilots moving the mech back to the station where Qrow and Noire were supposed to still be fighting his legion of men. Past the station area was a hidden alcove where the absurd amount of dust, weapons and lien were kept safe.
Only, instead of two tired Huntsmen there, he found over a hundred bodies. Some cut in half, some burned and some crushed to pulp. The cause? The modified mech currently unleashing a stream of blue flames from its mouth that killed the very lieutenant William was talking to earlier. The breath destroyed his aura after five seconds and incinerated him.
The mech had been modified into something that only vaguely resembled his 'Beast' series mechs. This one was plated in a solid matte black metal and resembled a Dragon. Its sharp metal wings gleamed with smoking blood and to top it all off?
Ryuko was sitting atop it, wearing a stylish white bonnet on her head as the mechs faced each other.
"Well well! Sorry you had to see the clean up process here. You see, we got lost! We were looking for the stash room and came to a minor.. wee little disagreement with these fine gentlemen." Roman's voice echoed from within the Dragon Mech, further infuriating William.
Ryuko covered her mouth in a silent laugh directed at him.
"Oh and don't worry about our Huntsmen friends. They had some bigger fish to fry elsewhere. You sure have a lot of mechs here huh? Compensating for something?" Roman teased.
"Kill them both.. We can't leave here emoty handed." William ordered, his eyes glowing with rage as his gloves lit up in activation.
-Yang XiaoLong-
Ever since Yin had fought and defeated Ifrit, Yang felt like she had been left behind. Of course, that feeling lessened when she spent that year with Yin in the dungeon. Every day they would train and after her transformation into a dragon could she see the gap between them.
A gap that still existed even now. But does that make her weak? No. In fact, her progress was astounding. She was currently at the level Yin was when she faced Ifrit.
When her sister had felled a Mythic Class Grimm for the first time.
*CRACK!!*
A red lightning whip cracked against her armored gauntlets as she moved. Almost too fast to see. The impact shook the room and made a bright flash. The Grimm woman had twin whips that felt like magic. A semi-physical set of whips made of red lightning crackled in her hands.
"You're durable. Most Huntress' aura would shatter from a lightning strike. But then again.." Carmilla eyed the supernatural armor beginning to cover more of Yang's body up, like a living entity responding to a threat.
So far, both of them had a feeling the other hadn't given it their all yet.
"Heh~" Carmilla smiled, her sharp teeth revealed beneath the mask resembling a beautiful woman's.
Yang only shot her a predatory smirk before activating her semblance and skill
[Burn: Active] [Power: Active]
Her hair alight with golden flames, Yang took a sprinter's pose and blasted Ember Celica backward, enhancing her mad dash at Carmilla.
*SWISH!!*
Carmilla bent backward, evading a haymaker that could decapitate a Beringel with ease. She spun on her heel and flicked her wrists, striking Yang across the back with her whips so fast they surpassed the speed of sound and created another sonic boom that shook the aged tunnels.
*CRASH!!*
Yang flew forward, extending the Witchblade's arm blades and stabbing the ground to halt her momentum. Though she had still been sent flying into the tunnel leading to Mountain Glenn's train station.
*BZZZT!!*
"Damn she's fast.." Yang pivoted on her heel and slammed her hand down, engulfing a good portion of the tunnel in brilliant yellow flames while a dark red lightning pushed against it.
*KSSSSSHHH!!!*
Fire and lightning magic clashed, cracking the foundation of the tunnel. Yang spotted Carmilla sliding back, her body crackling with that eerie red lightning she tried to strike her with earlier. The flames had touched her and though they didn't damage her too badly, Carmilla noted how unusually strong those flames were. Originally thinking she was a maiden, Carmilla had to reassess Yang as a true threat.
"As fun as this is.. I want the black haired one. I'm going to have fun breaking her in~" Carmilla giggled, her whips disappearing as her body lit up with an absurdly powerful crimson lightning aura.
Yang furrowed her brows in anger.
"The fuck did you just say..?" In response to Carmilla's declaration, Yang's second attribute surged forth.
Light mana coalesced around her arms, forming claws that lit up their portion of the tunnel.
[Luminous Mana Claws skill created!]
*CRAAAASH!!*
With two simultaneous flashes of light, they clashed once again. Lightning crackling against light. Once, twice then over thirty times. Yang and Carmilla clashed repeatedly in a high speed fight that once again shook the entire tunnel.
-Yin XiaoLong-
Evading three claw swings, Yin backflipped and tornado kicked Baldur in the face, driving his head into the concrete wall.
*CR-CRACK!!*
Despite his speed, he was being dodged and countered. After three blocked strikes, her hair lit up and she became even faster than him.
"Khe.. hehehe!" Baldur cackled, his aura and runed skin glowing as he pulled his head out of the concrete.
"This.. This is it! This is why I gave up my humanity. I see it..! Your limits. I'm going to push you to them. Then with my own hands..!!" Baldur clenched his fist and drove it forward with a beastial roar.
*VRRRRRRR-CRAAAASH!!*
His Semblance activated in full force, making Yin feel as if a bullet train was smashing into her full force. Her arms crossed as she slid back over twenty meters until she stopped and cocked her fist back, punching out right as Baldur had dashed at her.
Both of their fists collided in the air and immediately caused a cave-in behind them, blocking off the way back to the Vale station.
Yin was forced two steps back but Baldur found his fist's armored chitin crushed and his aura taking significant damage.
*Koff!*
Baldur grunted, holding his damaged hand as he glared hatefully at Yin, who had yet to give him any kind of expression besides impassive. She was focused, yes but nothing he said or did moved her very much.
"Don't LOOK DOWN ON ME!!" Baldur howled as he dashed at his target once again.
Each punch, each swipe was imbued with his semblance, 'Aura shockwave'. But even with it active, even with attacks that tore hardened steel apart with ease, he felt like hitting an unbreakable wall.
His punches were met with Yin's palms and forearms. Every single exchange made the tunnel rumble. But every few strikes, Yin would land one. A punch to the chest, a kick to the leg or an elbow to the gut.
Baldur grit his teeth and felt the air blasted from his lungs as Yin hit his solar plexus with a flaming punch so strong it sent him flying down the tunnel like a ballistic missile. Baldur's body slammed into the steel rails and concrete until sliding to a stop thirty meters away, where he could vaguely see Yang fighting Carmilla.
*Gasp!*
"Haah... what..." Baldur croaked out, his eyes widening as he looked back and saw Yin stepping toward him, seeing her violet serpentine eyes getting closer in the darkness.
"You got potential. About three quarters of Ifrit is what you could have reached if you ever grew into your power. As of right now you're only close to half of that. But is that worth celebrating?" Yin asked, her flames dancing around her body and encompassing the tunnel behind her.
"You got on your knees and begged for help from monsters and got their power. If you had trained, got more men and armed yourself? I would respect your foolish attempt at revenge. But you latched onto a Mythic Grimm's legs, begging for a scrap of power and you act like this is power you built yourself." Baldur stood up, shaking as her words came down like a hammer in his mind.
"You're pathetic."
Baldur roared, pushing his semblance to the limit and launching himself at Yin to tear her to pieces. Yin took a deep breath and expelled her brilliant blue flames.
▂▂▃▃▄▄▄▄▅▅▅▅!!
The steel and stone tunnel melted unter intense flames as Yin unleashed her Dragon's breath. Baldur flew back, aura flaring as he was scorched by a flame that felt as hot as the sun. When it finally died down, he was nothing but a charred husk, barely keeping himself alive.
He started to fall, keeping his eyes on Yin as she walked forward.
"I see it... now...." Baldur whispered, seeing the scales, wings and horns emerging on Yin's body as she walked past him.
He finally realized..
He never had a chance to begin with.
[AN: Damn. Lotta lurkers. Prob more too that didn't comment. Now I know at least a hundred or so of you all are reading. Thanks! Lemme know how you like the Vale arc as it's ending soon.]